Audience

Part of the Castos mission is to educate and inspire fellow podcasters. With a whole community of hosts figuring it out and thriving, we launched our new Creator Spotlight series.

Our goal is to feature Castos customers and their podcasts–from how they got started, what their recording setups look like, and highlighting the unique skills they use to create a successful show.

This in our inaugural interview with our first Creator who has something unusual to share. Without further ado, meet: 

Ever notice how everyone's handwriting is unique? Join professional handwriting analyst, Teresa Abram, as she explores the nuances of the letter T and talks about life with unusual and fascinating guests. If you are curious about what handwriting can reveal, fill your mug and listen in.

Don't miss our Audience episode with Teresa Abram, host of A Most Unusual T Party. In her own words, she describes her show, the intricacies of graphology, and why podcasting has fulfilled her creative side and bolstered her business.

Every podcaster has a unique setup and production process. So here's how Teresa transforms an idea into an episode.

Why people decide to start a podcast are all over the map. And really, there's no correct answer. Here's what inspired this host to finally sit down behind the mic.

I started the podcast at the recommendation of my kids because they thought other people would be interested in my handwriting analyses. When COVID-19 hit, my usual business networking stopped so I realized this was a great way to get the word out about my business.

I didn't have any prior podcasting experience so I've relied on the direction and advice from my kids. My son helped me get rolling and even produced my intro and outro. My daughter has been an invaluable source of information about podcasting, editing, and perhaps most importantly, what NOT to do. 

With any new project, there are hurdles that need to be conquered. These are the obstacles that initially got in her way.

Asking people to be on the show has been, hands down, the biggest obstacle. But it's also the most rewarding. Given that the A Most Unusual T Party is a new podcast with no real following or large back catalog, I felt people would dismiss my interview request. And rejection hurts!

But I know I can't get to episode 100 without doing episodes 1, 2, and 3 first. So my strategy to overcome this obstacle is to use Mel Robbins' 5 Second Rule. I send out invitations to people who catch my attention, and if I don't hear back from then I don't keep pursuing them. There are lots of fascinating people who are willing to participate. I've kept track and 75% of my requests are accepted and getting those yes's feels real good! 

The goal of our Creator Spotlight interviews is to pass our collective knowledge forward. We asked our first Creator to elaborate on the most successful and unique parts of their podcast.

When I set out to create the podcast there were two major challenges I identified: making sure the audience felt included in a reading that is very visual and the other was finding guests.

For the first challenge, I have a big sticky note that reminds me to be descriptive and detailed when talking about the handwriting. I know if the listeners can’t “see” it, I’ll lose them. At the heart of any handwriting analysis is a real person. I'm cognizant and respectful of the fact that a human being has shared a piece of themselves with me. By keeping that in mind, it keeps the analysis focused on my guest, not me.

Using the skills from my wellness coach trainings, I try to create a space of understanding not judgement. It allows the analysis to happen as naturally as possible.

As far as pitching my podcast, I do it entirely through Instagram messaging and email. I keep it pretty simple, with the aim of making it an easy “yes” for them.  

Do you want your podcast featured in our next Creator Spotlight? Apply now for a chance to share your show and podcasting prowess with the Castos community.

We'll continue publishing these interviews each month and plan to create themed roundups featuring the best shows and episodes.

There are a lot of podcast education courses out there. Heck, we even have one. Most promise actionable steps to take an idea and transform it into a successful podcast, providing guidance and tutorials to get you there. But when you want to learn the best tips and tricks, you have to go to the best. So that’s why we set out to talk to Rachel Corbett.

Rachel got involved with podcasting 20 years ago, right at the beginning of industry’s infancy. She was the Head of Podcasts at the Mamamia network and helped grow some of their flagship shows to over 1 million unique listeners per month and 90 million downloads! Many podcast awards laters, she how is the host and owner of Podschool.

On this week’s episode, Craig and Rachel talk more about her expertise and how she uses her audio background to teach aspiring podcasters how to get started. We jump into the common misconceptions and errors new podcasters make then how you can avoid them. And how to use traditional radio and media strategies to create a more polished podcast and find success.

Listen to the full episode now to hear more from Rachel and read her best takeaways below!

“I don’t know if I’m qualified to do this.” You’ve heard this sentence before, perhaps inside your own head. Imposter Syndrome is the phenomenon of successful people attributing their accomplishments to luck rather than ability and fear others will unmask them as a fraud. Lots of podcasters, teachers, CEOs, mothers, just about everyone, have likely felt the nervousness of Imposter Syndrome when setting out on a new project. So how can you silence the voice inside your head?

With media content, lots of creators are thrown into the deep end. Learning by doing, testing, and succeeding, and failing are how the best podcast hosts have found their way. For Rachel, her Imposter Syndrome popped up when she transitioned into teaching her Podschool course. She knew how to sit behind a microphone and record a great show, but she still felt like she didn’t know enough to teach someone else how to do it.

The game changer was seeing her students succeed as a result of her advice in real time. Suddenly it was clear that Rachel wasn’t an imposter, her background in radio and media gave her the unique ability to teach others how to create great content. This feedback loop, creating something, making changes, and seeing results improve, is the best antidote to curbing any feelings of Imposter Syndrome.

The smallest thing you can change that has the biggest impact is how a podcaster thinks about their audience. Typically hosts like to think about creating content for a huge listener based, trying to satisfy all of their needs at once. But tweaking the mindset to think about podcasting to just one person can make a world of difference.

Let us explain.

One thing Rachel notices is podcasters use collective terms like “to all of my listeners” or “hey, ladies and gentlemen”. But in radio, the best practice is to speak to one person with phrases like “when you call it, we’ll answer.” The idea is when a host speaks to someone individually, the listener feels like the show is just for them even you have a million listeners. Podcasts are already a very individualistic medium–people have their earbuds in, are performing menial tasks alone, or in the middle of a solo workout.

Using collective terms and phrases can hurt the connection with the host when a listener feels like a nameless person inside a large group. So focus on the word “you”.

Another thing podcasting can learn from radio is to keep segments “tight and bright”. The double-edged sword of radio is the strict 2-3 minutes between songs for promotions and segments. Not great for fitting in a lot of content but the perfect time limit to keep each segment concise while still having a beginning, middle, and end.

While podcasts don’t have time restrictions, Rachel argues there is still a place for them. Just because a show can go for 5 hours, doesn’t mean it should.

Bringing in radio’s discipline in timing and clarity to podcasting can help hosts rethink how to talk about their topic. The goal is to leave an audience wanting more. You don’t want them to reach the point of exhaustion without ever hearing the climax or punchline.

Our customers are consistently curious about how to improve their interview skills. Scratching the surface and uncovering the high-level plot is easy. But peeling back the onion to discover “the why” is where the real magic happens.

To get there, Rachel encourages podcasters to try a pre-interview. Hosts sit down with their guests and ask broader questions about the topics you’d like to get into within the recorded interview. Instead of asking the exact questions you want to use within the episode, use the pre-interview to cut out some of the fluff that typically comes before a guest shares their juiciest insights.

The pre-interview can help you figure out where the most interesting tangents lie and which rabbit holes you want to go down during the actual interview. And if the guest starts to tell an episode-worthy moment during your preliminary chat, don’t worry. Ask them to stop so you can hear and react to their story live during the recorded session.

Then when you’re inside the scheduled interview, focus on listening. Rachel finds not enough podcasters are present during the conversation. They’re thinking about what to say next and worrying about getting through all of their questions. She advises going into an interview with a minimal amount of notes. Keep them simple, in a bulleted list and use them as a security blanket in case the conversation hits a dead zone. Don’t let a guest’s interesting tangents fall by the wayside, instead react to their answers to uncover more hidden gems.

Learn more about How To Prepare For Your next Podcast Guest.

You’ve focused on listening to your podcast guest and they’ve said something that you can’t wait to jump on further. There’s a rabbit hole to explore but how do you coax a guest to go into more detail?

Depending on when the guest shared the information, Rachel suggests two paths forward.

If it’s during the pre-interview, follow her advice above. Interrupt the guest just as they’re starting to tell the story. It shouldn’t feel awkward or rude because this conversation isn’t being recorded and should feel a bit more relaxed.

But when it happens during the recorded interview, she’ll let the guest first finish their point. You don’t want to be the interviewer who constantly interrupts their guests. But, this isn’t a hard and fast rule. Gauge the moment because there are times when an interruption makes sense and flows with the conversation.

To help in coaxing a guest along, Rachel interviews people via video rather than just a voice call. Video provides body language cues that voice alone can’t. You can go as far as creating a visual signal to your guest if they mention a fact that you want to revisit. They’ll have a chance to finish their thought while knowing you’re going to ask them to elaborate on a point they just made.

If you have an audience at your disposal already, from a Facebook group, email list, or listeners to a previous podcast, ask them for their thoughts. While at Mamamia, Rachel’s team would send out surveys to current listeners to mine them for ideas. They would put new podcast ideas in front of them and ask if how the topic resonated and if the show was something they needed.

Use their responses and enthusiasm to shape the podcast’s format, segments, and overall topic to better suit real people’s content preferences.

The answer may not be ht one you want to hear, but it’s rooted in reality. Most podcasters don’t immediately earn any income or build huge audiences within the first year of producing a podcast.

Rachel recounts emails she has received from students asking why they haven’t earned any money after two months of podcasting. And her answer is always, “keep going.”

Since most podcasters aren’t asking for congratulations after reaching 50 downloads, new hosts feel unsuccessful when their show doesn’t achieve numbers in the triple digits. Rest assured, you’re not the only podcaster struggling to get over the 100 listen mark. You’re in the majority.

But when you chip away at it, the possibility of building a lucrative brand exists. It won’t happen overnight and there’s no silver bullet. Hard work and persistence is the only way to realize dramatic success.

A good tip to keep going: think of your listeners as actual people in a room. If you gave a talk and 50 people showed up, you’d be pretty happy with the turn out. Never forget about the people who are listening on your quest to find more audience members.

This week on Audience, we’re talking monetization. While many podcasters start their show as a hobby, more times than not, they eventually want to start thinking about how to earn some money from the show.

But rather than focus on every podcast monetization strategy, we’re drilling into one specific method: affiliate marketing. Ross Winn from Podcast Insights is an expert on promoting affiliate products to earn some extra cash. His site is the go-to for all things podcasting–from how to start, grow, and monetize a podcast for beginners.

When you land on Podcast Insights, you’ll notice a few things right off the bat. There are email courses that ask you to sign up, discounts to popular WordPress and podcasting tools, and a plethora of content all about getting a new show off the ground.

What you might not notice is how all these things are working together to support Ross’ affiliate marketing strategy. At the top of today’s episode, we talk about why podcasters should consider affiliate products as a monetization strategy. As we move through the interview, Ross then lends his tips on how to use a website, repurposed content, and a email list to drive more sales.

Listen to the full episode now to get all of this tips or read a few of his biggest takeaways below!

The key is to have a website (we recommend creating one through WordPress!). Having a place where people can learn more information is essential to affiliate marketing. It makes it easier for people to find click on the affiliate product you’re promoting and it offers opportunities to further engage your audience via email.

To get people to visit your site after listening to an episode, include it in your intro or outro calls-to-action. Remind them of the URL address and where they should navigate to to redeem your exclusive offer.

When listeners finally land on your site, it’s time to hit them with the offers. Either a list of the affiliate products you’re promoting or an email opt-in page that gives people access to exclusive content.

The email opt-in page serves two purposes. The first is to provide exclusive, high-quality content to your listeners. The second is to build an email list where you can announce new episodes and directly send affiliate links to your users.

Put an opt-in unit right on your homepage to make it super easy for listeners to subscribe. Try OptinMonster to create unique interstitial units and test copy variations to find the call-to-action that converts best.

To entice people to subscribe, we recommend using a lead generation product. That can be an e-book, access to gated content, or an online course that has information your audience is interested in and can’t find anywhere else.

Podcast Insights prioritizes email based courses around different topics their audience needs help with. Primarily how to start a podcast and how to build a website for a podcast. Each course is heavily promoted on their homepage and throughout relevant articles. The opt-in units describe the value of the course and why a user can’t find this information anywhere else. Whether someone visits the website after listening to an episode or discovers an article as a result of a Google search, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll see a promotion for one of these courses.

Podcast Insights has a podcasting course that’s designed for beginners, all sent right to your inbox. It drives people to focus on a smaller topic that’s part of the larger process of starting a podcast to avoid feeling overwhelmed. In bitesized chunks, his subscribers can accomplish the building blocks of creating a show in a more manageable way. And it works. The well-researched tips and tutorials have helped countless podcasters get their show from idea to reality.

In addition, he has a course about building a WordPress website for your podcast. It’s specifically designed for beginners as well, with actionable steps to actually create a site. From there, it goes into more detail about email magnets to create an email list, where to offer affiliate products, and how to create written content that’s optimized for SEO.

Each course offers beginner tutorials with options for more advanced instructions. They include free equipment recommendations and well-reviewed product suggestions. Some of these products are also part of his affiliate strategy, furthering his objective of earning more commissions.

Finding the overlap between written content, podcast episodes, and YouTube videos is a key part of creating a successful affiliate program. So how does Podcast Insights’ show, Podcasting Simplified, fit in?

Podcast Insights is a website first and a podcast second. The show is a repurposed version of popular blog posts where Ross explains a topic in his own words. However, his other favorite tactics are interviewing customers and aggregating testimonials to tell stories around how a brand is part of someone’s world.

The podcast episodes are for those who are auditory learners, for the person who doesn’t want to scroll through a 10,000 word article. He’s found his audience has three different preferences–those we prefer reading, listening, and watching. So in order to get the most bang for his content-buck, he can hit all three buckets by simply repurposing one article into three different mediums.

Along the way, each version of the piece of content contains links to affiliate products so he can earn commissions no matter from where someone clicks. As an added bonus, it doesn’t take too much additional time to create three different versions of the same thing.

First he writes the article. Then he records the podcast episode using what he’s already written as the basis for the script. Then he films a video walking through the tutorial again using the article as the outline for what should be in the final cut. Spending a few extra hours repurposing material into new mediums is an efficient way to extend your reach and monetization efforts.

• Check out Podcast Insights
• Sign up for the course from Podcast Insights’ homepage
• Follow Ross Winn on Twitter
• Sign up for Podcast Like A Pro with Castos
• Subscribe to Audience

Given podcasting’s spontaneous nature, it’s more than likely that you’ll run into a time where you want to capture a conversation that needs to be heard, but you don’t have your usual equipment with you. That’s where recording a podcast on your iPhone comes in.

On this episode of Audience, we're shifting gears to highlight Castos creators who are podcasting in unique ways. Rob and Jill from Fearless Camping are the first to join us to talk about how they record their podcast on-the-go.

From the mountains of Pine Valley, Utah, the duo fills us in on how they produce the show from hotel rooms, the car, and campsites. Listen to the full episode to learn why you might not need the latest gear to create an incredible podcast.

Recording a podcast outside of a standard studio presents a new set obstacles. More noises, environmental factors, and finding a stable internet connection to name a few. But we learned from The Fearless Camping hosts that they share similar challenges to others who record inside.

Here are their top tips for podcasting in general and on the go:

• Don't forget to outline: no matter where you're recording from, you can't forget to outline what an episode is about. It takes Rob and Jill no more than 10 minutes to figure out what they want to talk about before hitting record.
• Don't let the learning curve stop you: the beauty of recording a podcast with an iPhone is you don't need much equipment. The Fearless Camping is Rob and Jill's first try at podcasting and they found the process surprisingly easy! At just two months into their journey, they're already seasoned hosts consistently publishing new episodes.
• On-the-go doesn't mean unedited: just because you're recording in the wild, doesn't mean you can't go back and edit. You'll likely remove less of the ambient noise since that's part of the charm, but go ahead and cut out some of those um's and ah's.
• Bring online passions offline: a perk of podcasting from unique places is meeting others who share your passions. For Fearless Camping, that means educating a community of outdoor lovers about how to bring the whole family outside. Building these connections is the main goal for Jill and Rob.
• Planning versus serendipity: when you can record from anywhere, there is a balance between planning activities you know you want to record and letting things happen organically that become perfect podcast moments. Depending on your show's topic, you'll have to be ready for a bit of both.
• Bring some humanity to the show: for Fearless Camping, showing their human side came in the form of bloopers. Getting comfortable in front of the mic meant some outtakes. But rather than shelve the mistakes, they put together a short blooper reel for the end of each episode. Check out an example from their recent episode.
• The goal doesn't haven't to be big numbers: when you're just starting out, generating huge download numbers might not be your primary goal. For success, consider other accomplishments like educating your niche audience or creating more personal connections with them to fuel audience participation episodes.

With the podcasting market booming, a quick search on Amazon will return over 200 pages of equipment to help with recording. So we broke down what we believe to be the best options for recording on your cell phone based on versatility, transportability, affordability, and, of course, sound quality.

Fill up your cart today so you can take your podcast on the go tomorrow.

There are an endless number of apps that record audio, but only a few that do so with professional sound quality, and even fewer that will record two mics simultaneously (a critical feature if you plan to do any interviews).

That’s why Backpack Studio is considered by so many to be the holy grail of pro-quality recording on the go. It’s only $10 and lets you export directly to your audio files and save them as an .mp3, all the while delivering killer sound quality.

When looking for a mobile microphone, you want it to be compact, durable, and capable of recording high-quality sound. The iRig Mic Lav meets that criteria and then some.

It’s a hands-free mic that literally fits in your pocket and provides professional-quality recording for an iPhone, iPad, and Android. It’s also “chainable”, which, in human speak, means you can easily link two mics to the same device, making it super easy to record interviews.

You’ve got your app to record awesome content, you’ve got your mics to make it sound great, now all you need is an editor to polish it up for publishing.

For $10, TwistedWave offers detailed editing capabilities with a super simple, intuitive interface. Using just your fingers you can make precise, accurate selections on the screen of your phone or tablet.

Oh, the liberation!

No longer bogged down by big bags of expensive equipment, with these three products in your pocket (literally), you can take your podcast to any conference, campsite, coffeehouse, or hotel and produce professional results.

While these tools are capable of producing a high-quality podcast, they’re not miracle workers. A fully-equipped studio will give you marginally better results than any mobile apps can deliver, but that’s no reason to miss the ample opportunities that come with being able to record on the go.

A lot of folks tend to get caught up in perfect production when that energy is better spent on quality content. Mobile podcasting will inevitably come with certain limitations but it provides an air of rawness that you might not get in a studio.

• Subscribe to the Fearless Camping podcast
• Get in touch with Rob and Jill at fearlesscamping[at]gmail.com
• Subscribe to Audience
• Apply to be in our Creator Spotlight program