DB Media

Mark Asquith has been involved in podcasting since 2013, and has focused on helping podcasters grow their businesses. In 2019, he co-founded Captivate, a podcast hosting platform that helps serious indie podcasters grow their businesses. In this conversation, he discusses his goals for the platform, and how it helps podcasters grow their businesses.

Mark talks about the company's journey from Podcast Websites to Captivate, the world's only growth-oriented podcasting platform. He talks about how the company has always been focused on helping podcasters grow their businesses, and how they built Captivate with that goal in mind. He also talks about the success the company has seen so far and how they plan to continue helping podcasters grow their audiences and businesses.

Mark talks about how he always knew Captivate would do well, because he approached things with the goal of helping users first and foremost. He talks about how the company's acquisition by Global has not changed anything in terms of the company's goals or focus, and how the partnership is beneficial for users because of Global's talent and resources.

Mark and Danny discuss Spotify's recent acquisitions and how they believe YouTube will take a similar route in the future. They also touch on how podcasting has become an industry and how Spotify's focus is on the media format rather than the individual podcasts themselves.

Key points:

00:00 Podcasting Veteran Mark Asquith on Creating Solutions

02:54 The Success of Captivate

10:51 The Future of Podcasting

15:41 The Importance of Dynamic Insertion for Podcasters

19:33 The Benefits and Challenges of Dynamic Content in Podcasting

26:13 The Future of Podcasting: An Industry Insider's Perspective

30:54 The Power of Direct Sales

Connect with Mark:

• Mark on Twitter

Contact me: [email protected]

Note: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Mentioned in this episode:

Enjoy Pod Chat? Leave a review or rating on your preferred app and show the world you care!

Did you know every time Pod Chat gets a new review, a baby podcaster takes their first steps? Help a baby podcaster walk today, by leaving a 5-star rating or review on the likes of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. Just head on over to podchat.ca/review and do your magic - these little feet are counting on you!

Review the show

Check out Trailer Park Podcast

Trailer Park Podcast focuses on the art of the audio teaser, and is hosted by Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes featuring trailers from very different podcasts.

Trailer Park Podcast

Get your daily podcasting newsletter with Podnews

Pod Chat is sponsored by Podnews - get a daily email with all the latest news about podcasting. It's free at podnews.net.

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As children, we have unbridled aspirations. We dream to be astronauts. We dream to be princesses. We dream to be the world's greatest sports star. We dream.

But if we don't meet fulfil those dreams, we never feel like we've failed. So why don't we carry that wisdom into our adult lives?

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Sometimes, when reading the news, it feels like the world is on a downward spiral. Ignorance, hate, bigotry, and pointless tragic deaths.

But then we hear of stories like the San Francisco Batkid. Or the funeral procession of strangers for a fallen war hero. Or the work of The Passage in the UK, and their approach to homelessness.

And it makes you remember that the world might just be okay.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Resources for today's episode:

• Batkid's Make-a-Wish Transforms San Francisco Into Gotham - ABC News
• War veteran Harold Percival mourned by strangers after online appeal | Second world war | The Guardian
• The Passage | Helping homeless people to transform their lives

Hari Gopalakrishna is the founder of Boomcaster, a remote recording platform designed to help podcasters produce great audio and video. He discusses the genesis of the platform and how it helps podcasters overcome the challenges of recording quality audio in a remote setting.

Danny and Hari discuss the challenges of remote recording and streaming, and how Boomcaster aims to make podcasting accessible to all. They also talk about the importance of audio and video in influencing social, cultural, and business landscapes.

Hari and Danny discuss the features of Boomcaster and how the company uses feedback from users to improve the product. They also talk about the challenges of developing software that is both easy to use and effective.

Hari delves into the process of creating and launching a podcast on the Boomcaster platform. Hari talks about the importance of simplicity and usability for the platform's users. He also discusses the partnership with Dolby and how it came about.

Key points:

03:23 The Benefits and Challenges of Boomcaster for Remote Recording and Live Streaming

12:08 The Benefits of a Simple Podcasting Platform

19:46 The Benefits of Boomcaster for Indie Podcasters

21:13 The challenges of bootstrapping a self-funded project.

29:13 The Future of Podcasting

32:53 The Benefits of Live Streaming Your Podcast

Connect with Hari:

• Boomcaster
• Hari on Twitter

Contact me: [email protected]

Note: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Mentioned in this episode:

Check out Trailer Park Podcast

Trailer Park Podcast focuses on the art of the audio teaser, and is hosted by Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes featuring trailers from very different podcasts.

Trailer Park Podcast

Get your daily podcasting newsletter with Podnews

Pod Chat is sponsored by Podnews - get a daily email with all the latest news about podcasting. It's free at podnews.net.

Visit Podnews

Enjoy Pod Chat? Leave a review or rating on your preferred app and show the world you care!

Did you know every time Pod Chat gets a new review, a baby podcaster takes their first steps? Help a baby podcaster walk today, by leaving a 5-star rating or review on the likes of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. Just head on over to podchat.ca/review and do your magic - these little feet are counting on you!

Review the show

Life moves pretty fast and, in this always-on-the-go world that we find ourselves in, it's becoming ever-harder to pause and reflect on what we see.

Yet, if we don't, we miss the opportunity to experience the things that could truly change our lives.

The Little Pod of Inspiration aims to be that opportunity to stop and savour not only the events around us, but the people, the experiences, the sights and sounds.

Through these inspiring stories and poems of love, redemption, and change, take a moment to really see all the inspirational treasures that are present.

Inspiration is all around us. All we have to do is look.

I had kids late in life. Because I'm an older dad - and, I guess, an older husband - I find myself thinking more about the future than I possibly should.

How I'll technically be a pensioner when my kids are at university. How I may die, and leave them as young adults.

But I can't be sad - because to be sad is to believe that all the alive moments will stop if we no longer share them.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

I've never been much of a religious man, yet I celebrate certain religious holidays. And I've had others celebrate holidays that, technically, could go against their beliefs.

Religion is often blamed as the cause for the world's woes and, often, it can be.

Yet for all the wrongs religion can foster, it can also enable the greatest celebration of all - the religion of humanity.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Drew Toynbee is one of the co-hosts of Sequel Pitch, a show that takes a movie that never received a sequel, and has the co-hosts pitch their own, often with a special guest to judge the efforts.

Drew talks about how the idea came about, who the biggest movie fan is on the show, how a happy accident led to a new section of the show, and how the podcast community can better help support mental health of podcasters.

While Drew had a spell as an actor, it didn't pan out and he found himself in a variety of mundane corporate jobs. However, his dreams of being able to work in a creative space never left, and this came to fruition while playing video games with university friends online. From there, Sequel Pitch was born.

When the show first started, while the numbers were okay the boys from Sequel Pitch wondered if the idea for the show was sound. However, while they were considering a rethink, the podcast started to get traction thanks to influential supporters in the space promoting the show. This showed the merit of the idea, and how it could grown.

When I asked Drew who the biggest movie fan is out of the four co-hosts, he was clear that it was him. Listen in to his recollection of special edition DVDs, and why trailers don't spoil movies for him.

As part of the growth of Sequel Pitch, the boys now have bonus episodes that are akin to the Director's Cut that movies receive. Drew shares how that came about by a happy accident, but how it's now an integral part of the show.

Drew shares how he suffers from anxiety and impostor syndrome, and he talks about Sequel Pitch's positive impact on his mental health, both through the show itself and how it's forced him to reach out and talk about issues he might be going through.

We talked about how podcasters can fall victim to anxiety, through the pressure that can come with running a podcast. Worries about numbers, how to find sponsors, are people enjoying, etc, and how the podcast industry in general can help podcasters through this.

Connect with Drew:

• Sequel Pitch
• Drew on Twitter

Contact me: [email protected]

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

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• Rate on Spotify
• Review on Podchaser

If you enjoy Podcaster Stories and you want to support the show, you can do that right here. You'll get a shout on the show, as well as a Producer Credit on the Podcaster Stories website - sweet!

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Elsie Escobar is a highly respected member of the podcasting industry who has been podcasting since 2006. She is the co-host and co-partner of She Podcasts, a podcasting movement whose mission is to empower women to continue to share their voices while creating a safe community of podcasting education and support.

She is also the community manager for podcast hosting company Libsyn, where she has been since 2007. In this episode, Elsie discusses her impressive career in the podcasting industry, including her work with She Podcasts.

Elsie shares how her very first podcast was as a teacher of yoga, and how that wasn't as strange as it might sound (teaching yoga via an audio format as opposed to a visual medium). It's through this podcast that her career at Libsyn began.

Not long after this, Elsie was chatting with Rob Walch of Libsyn, and mentioned she was going through some big life changes, and as things would have it, this tied in perfectly with something Rob was looking for with Libsyn. The rest is history.

It wasn't long after Elsie started at Libsyn that she wanted to have an official podcast from the team, to help podcasters with their questions about the medium. Despite being the new person, she was driven to create the show, and pitched it to Rob, and from there The Feed was born.

Elsie shares where she sees advances have been made in podcasting when it comes to diversity, and where we still struggle, as individuals and the bigger medium, at promoting and lifting more diverse voices up. For Elsie, this really needs to start at the board and decision-makers level.

As a regular attendee of various podcast shows, Elsie soon realized that a lot of the advice given at these events was pretty generic, and wouldn't help with the goals she had. Along with Jessica Kupferman, she co-founded She Podcasts, where women could find a private, supportive space that shared the type of advice needed to grow, and flourish.

The theme for this year's She Podcasts Live event is "undeniable", and this is something that Elsie is very passionate about for all women in podcasting. It goes beyond the goal for the event itself, and looks to make sure every woman can say "I won't be denied".

Key points:

02:23 Podcasting and Yoga: How Elsie Found Her Balance

09:59 How to Balance Work and Life

18:05 The Importance of Diversity in the Podcasting Industry

26:58 The Rise of She Podcasts: How Two Women Created a Safe Space for Women Podcasters

43:20 The Impact of the Role v. Wade Decision on Women's Lives

47:17 The Importance of Supporting BIPOC Podcasters

50:54 Podcast Recommendations for Leaders in the Industry

Connect with Elsie:

• She Podcasts
• She Podcasts Live
• Elsie on Twitter
• The Feed

Contact me: [email protected]

Note: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Mentioned in this episode:

Enjoy Pod Chat? Leave a review or rating on your preferred app and show the world you care!

Did you know every time Pod Chat gets a new review, a baby podcaster takes their first steps? Help a baby podcaster walk today, by leaving a 5-star rating or review on the likes of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. Just head on over to podchat.ca/review and do your magic - these little feet are counting on you!

Review the show

Get your daily podcasting newsletter with Podnews

Pod Chat is sponsored by Podnews - get a daily email with all the latest news about podcasting. It's free at podnews.net.

Visit Podnews

Check out Trailer Park Podcast

Trailer Park Podcast focuses on the art of the audio teaser, and is hosted by Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes featuring trailers from very different podcasts.

Trailer Park Podcast

It's my pleasure to welcome Bryan Barletta to the show, a name that will be instantly recognizable to anyone in the podcasting and AdTech space.

Bryan is the founder of Sounds Profitable, a collection of media properties that covers the changing face of AdTech and the business of podcasting. Bryan's goal with Sounds Profitable is to make the AdTech space less daunting for podcasters and brands alike, and with over 13 years experience in the AdTech space, he's the ideal person to do so.

Bryan's been in the ad tech space for over 13 years, but his early career was in the mobile tech/app space, where he was a journalist for various publications. He was there at the birth of Android, and shared what he thought of their chances when they first launched.

While Bryan's career started off in mobile journalism, it was he moved into mobile ads through an agency that he really caught the AdTech bug. He was part of the team that brought a very cool interactive ad to mobile, back when animated gifs were viewed as high end tech. This led to building data points that would track how successful the ads were when it came to conversion.

It was Bryan's work in the mobile space that saw him work at an agency that came out with a solution called One Pixel, that went beyond javascript implementation for tracking ad campaigns and successes. As Bryan shares, this tech is still being used today in a variety of forms, and is helping drive ad spend increase in podcasting.

It may seem that the hugely popular and respected Sounds Profitable newsletter and podcasts has been around for a long time, but it only came to life in 2020. When Megaphone was sold to Spotify, Bryan had a lot of ideas that he had wanted to implement around ad tech and advertising in podcasting, but didn't get the chance while at Megaphone. So when the platform was sold, he decided he'd take the rein and create a publication where he could share these thoughts, and Sounds Profitable was born.

With his place in AdTech and monetization of podcasting, Bryan has a wealth of insights around the topic of what it means to monetize. When it comes to accusations that podcasters have sold out if they accept ads, he has a very definitive viewpoint on why podcast monetization is not selling out.

With the increase in support for dynamic ad insertion for podcasters of all levels, it's never been easier for smaller podcasters to make money. From baked in ads to dynamic to programmatic, the opportunities are there. The trick, as Bryan mentions, is implementing it properly.

If there's been one thing that's driven a lot of conversation in the podcasting space in the last 12-18 months, it's been the aggressive acquisitions by Spotify. From buying podcast hosts to data analytics platforms, the streaming giant is clearly setting its stall out when it comes to its goals for podcasting. Bryan shares why he firmly believes that Spotify has won the audio advertising war, but podcast advertising still has its own place outside of Spotify.

Key points:

00:00 Bryan on the Future of Podcasting and Ad Tech

08:13 The One Pixel Mindset and Barometric's Focus on Podcast Attribution

11:13 The Benefits of Expanding Your Podcast to a Second Language

16:35 The Different Ways That Monetization Can Impact a Podcast

19:03 The Benefits and Risks of Programmatic Advertising for Podcasters

24:54 The Future of Advertising: Spotify

26:52 The Impact of Spotify's Acquisition of Megaphone

Connect with Bryan:

• Sounds Profitable
• Bryan on Twitter

Contact me: [email protected]

Note: these contain affiliate links, so I may get a small percentage of any product you buy/use when using my link.

My equipment:

• Electro-Voice RE320
• Motu M2 Audio Interface
• Sony MDR-7506 Studio Monitor Headphones
• Podcast Pro Boom Arm by Accu-Lite and O.C. White

Recommended resources:

• Captivate.fm
• Aweber email marketing
• Boomcaster remote interviewing
• My Podcast Reviews
• Reel.so audiogram creator

Mentioned in this episode:

Get your daily podcasting newsletter with Podnews

Pod Chat is sponsored by Podnews - get a daily email with all the latest news about podcasting. It's free at podnews.net.

Visit Podnews

Check out Trailer Park Podcast

Trailer Park Podcast focuses on the art of the audio teaser, and is hosted by Arielle Nissenblatt and Tim Villegas. Season 1 consists of 8 episodes featuring trailers from very different podcasts.

Trailer Park Podcast

Enjoy Pod Chat? Leave a review or rating on your preferred app and show the world you care!

Did you know every time Pod Chat gets a new review, a baby podcaster takes their first steps? Help a baby podcaster walk today, by leaving a 5-star rating or review on the likes of Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. Just head on over to podchat.ca/review and do your magic - these little feet are counting on you!

Review the show