Podcast Help Desk

News

Academy of Podcasters Awards announced for Podcast Movement on July 31st.

Including a Hall of Fame. Should be interesting watching.

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Google Kills Another Service

Google Helpouts are dead.

I, along with a LOT of other “podcast gurus”, have predicted that feedburner is next. I’m not saying that if you use feedburner you should get off now….. Ok I am, but if you don’t plan on moving, at least have a plan in place for WHEN (not if) Google kills it. Just sayin!

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Facebook Pages

Facebook has added a new subcategory for pages called “podcast”. To find it, create your page and don’t worry about what category you put it in because it won’t matter right now.

Once you get it setup, go into your page and where it says “category” select edit. Then select “other” as the main category and podcast as the subcategory. That’s it.

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Podcasting On the Cheap

There is a podcaster I know (who shall remain nameless) who podcasts for “free”. Yes, of course he had to buy a microphone and a computer. I’m guessing he also pays for a connection to the internet (Although you could get that free if you want to travel to it). It is doable.

His setup is kind of cool, but he is worried about part of his system. That part…. FEEDBURNER (we don’t talk about that enough :) ) He uses blogger for his webpage and runs 3 podcasts off of it. The problem is that Blogger (also owned by the RSS Hating Google) doesn’t have a podcast compliant feed. He stores his files on Archive.org and puts them in the feed at blogger and uses feedburner to add the tags needed to podcast correctly. Feedburner still does that correctly (for now). So, he is (mostly) podcasting for free. It is possible.

Another new friend of mine, Stan, Podcasts cheaply using Buzzsprout. He’s on the $12 per month plan. But thats all he has to pay. He can upload 3 hours of podcasts per month for that (they charge by the hour, not filesize) He uses the buzzsprout page as his website and to generate his feed. Yes, there are problems with that setup, as with the friend on blogger, but it works. His podcast is #1 in his niche! All this from buzzsprout which is a service that most will poo poo (including me). BUT, It can be done. (Check out stan’s podcast about the App CyberDust here: http://cyberdust.buzzsprout.com/ ) There are “other” reasons why you don’t want to use buzzsprout but I won’t get into that here.

I guess what I’m getting at is, a lot of us “Gurus” get wrapped up in how to set things up using the “best” way we know for growth and future proofing your brand and your system. The point is, that isn’t necessary in all cases. What I teach here is for the Advanced Amateur podcaster or for the beginning professional podcaster. If you use my methods, your podcast can grow to unbelievable size and you won’t have to change any of the technology. That being said, what I teach here is certainly NOT the only way. I’m learning that it might be good to help people at all levels of expertise and budget levels. (I still think feedburner is a bad idea) When you really get down to it, Content Rules!

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Blubrry Tip of the Week - Getting support

When requesting help with something. PLEASE include the login email for your account at Blubrry.com. We do not need your password.

Include your Feed address, your website address and your iTunes listing address if that is what you are asking about. It would save several emails back and forth on the email system or it would save time in the forum to answer your question.

Blubrry, unlike other platforms, leaves a lot of the setup to you, so YOU own it. We don’t control your feed so we can’t fix it.

Change of schedule

It seems life and other work requirements are getting in the way of my normal Sunday and Monday recording times so I’m going to switch it up to Record / Release the podcast on Tuesdays for now. Not that it matters too much, but I want to keep you in the loop.

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Follow up from my favorite snow covered mailman, Abner from Boston.

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Android podcast listening

Question for you, my listeners… Do you use Android to listen to podcasts? What software do you use (podcatcher)?

I gave my last remaining android device to my Nephew at Christmas time. I don’t really see a NEED for me to have one.

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Dynamic v.s. Condenser Microphone?

On facebook there was someone asking about microphones (isn’t there always?). There was one guy that was insisting that dynamic mics pick up more noise and that his condenser mic didn’t. I was saying he has that backwards. He couldn't be convinced. So I’m going to demo the difference here.

The first was a condenser mic (actually 2 of them on my R-05 recorder)

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Podcast Channels vs podcast category podcasting in Powerpress

Voicemail from Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting.

Podcast Channels - Good for a second podcast feed on the same wordpress site. Also good if you do Video and Audio. You can have an audio channel and a video channel feed. Much more robust than Category Podcasting. Less room for error. Also the BEST way to add a second podcast to your site after you have established a podcast on the default channel.

Category Podcasting - not a fan. You can run more than 1 podcast from one wordpress blog with categories. Not needed if you only have 1 podcast on your site. Will not work if you want to keep your default podcast feed and want to add a show. All shows will go out via the default feed no matter which category you have them in. You can still use channels with categories. Just use your category to organize your posts and the channels for your rss feeds.

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Question from Shannon

Question: Transitioned to a new website, and trying to change the URL that our podcast pulls from. It comes from our old site but I can't find a place to update it to the new platform - currently using Soundcloud for files. help!

Answer: It totally depends on what feed you submitted itunes and all the other directories. If you sent them soundcloud’s RSS feed, then you would need to contact them to forward your RSS feed to your new website’s RSS feed. If you just moved from one wordpress site to another. then you can do a 301 redirect of your old RSS feed to your new RSS feed.

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Blubrry Tip of the week

Post Type Podcasting? - What is it good for?

Post type podcasting is something relatively new to powerpress. What post types are is a little hard to explain but here I go.

If you look at your wordpress dashboard’s sidebar, you see where it says “pages” and where it says “posts” Well, in way, the “posts” are a post type. So in theory, you can add a post type (using a plugin that adds these) so it would say something like. Pages, Posts and another one with say “Shows” (don’t use podcast because of the slug problem). So when you want to post a show, you would make a new post in the shows area instead of the Posts area. This posts area would have a feed for the text of the posts similar to your site feed in wordpress for posts. Powerpress would add podcasting and a podcast only feed.

I’m just beginning to experiment with this feature so I don’t have all the answers yet, but it has some interesting uses (I think).

Podcasting news:

Sarah Koenig from Serial will be the closing Keynote for Podcast Moment in Texas this summer

Dennis Miller and Emily Morse to host the podcast awards 2015 - http://www.blogworld.com/2015/01/21/dennis-miller-emily-morse-to-host-the-10th-annual-podcast-awards-at-nmx/

Podcast Awards are open for Nominations - http://podcastawards.com/

NPR’s new Podcast Directory - http://www.npr.org/podcasts/

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Comment from Lester

Listened to show number 37 today and I want to comment on the controversy about the RSS button. YES! You need that button! Not all of us use Itunes and I use the rss to subscribe. Without a button it is hard to find your feed and the podcasters that don't have it; I tend to move on to other podcasts just because they make it hard for me to subscribe to them.

I Agree!

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Question from Abner (Audio Feedback)

Abner had GREAT audio quality whatever he was using!

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Casterbation - (Coined by Dave Jackson January 2015)

Casturbation Defined:

1. Verb: Producing content with no real value for your audience. To record for the sake of hearing one’s own voice. To record for the sake of keeping with a self-inflicted schedule.

2. Verb: Participating in activities that provide no real value to your podcast.

See the article at: http://davidjackson.org/2015/01/casturbation/

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Blubrry Tip of the week

Transferring your media to blubrry has never been easier.

Go to your wordpress dashboard and select “Migration” under Powerpress in the sidebar. It will take you through the 3 steps.

Request migration

Wait for migration to complete (might take a long time depending)

Update the site with with just one click

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Use the promo code "nobs" for a free month of podcast hosting at any level at blubrry.com

The promo code also works for blubrry premium

statistics 1 month free by using the promo code nobs.

I announce the winner of the Beginner's podcast rig (Mic, Mixer and Cables)

Question from a listener:

Wayne Brooks - Most of my podcast I listen to on iPhone sound distorted and at a high speed. Is there a setting on my phone or itunes software that I can adjust. Or is it the Broadcaster?

Click the lower left hand side of the screen where it says 1x,2x, 1.5x or .5x speed until it says just 1x speed. It worked and he's listening to me (and other podcasters) in Normal mode :)

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Moving from BTR

Paul Kennedy asks a question about moving from Blog Talk Radio:

Audio comment in the show and the answer in the show.

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Should I have a link to my RSS feed on my website? Should I even have a website?

Yes and Yes (more details in the show)

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Contest winner Announcement:

First, how I made the drawing truly fair. I put all the names/email addresses in random order using https://www.random.org/lists/.

Then I put them back into a spreadsheet in that order and then put the numbers of lines of the spreadsheet into random.org and and did it one more time.

The first name/email address on the random list was the winner.

AND THE WINNER IS: Corey Fineran! Congratulations.

From Corey:

I'm emailing to introduce myself (and to get my name in the drawing a 2nd time). After the introduction, I'll explain why I'd like to win the mixer and mic.

I'm Corey Fineran and I've been podcasting for six years. My main podcast is Ivy Envy, which covers the Chicago Cubs. We were Podcast Awards finalists last year (lost to ESPN). When we started, we basically took our backyard BBQ conversations on the Cubs and put them in podcast form. Over the years, things have changed and we're now recognized by the Cubs are legitimate media for certain events. We've been invited into the front office and been able to interview personnel from players to ownership. Of course, the most important thing we've been able to accomplish with Ivy Envy is to form an incredible community of Cubs fans around us. Podcasting has changed our lives through them.

A few years ago, I was able to take my hobby of podcasting and turn it into a career. I am in education and work with special education students and helping them transition from high school to post-high school life, primarily though employment. I pitched the idea of a podcast to my employer and they loved this idea of connecting with high school students through a medium they are familiar with.

I do The QC STEP Podcast in video and it started out just being shown in 14 high schools in our area. Since it started, I've been asked to present at conferences around the state of Illinois and now schools all around the state (and some in surrounding states) are using this pre-vocational podcast to educate their students.

The reason I'd love to WIN the mixer and mic is that my wife (Tawny, co-host of Mommy's Cocktail Hour) have been asked to teach classes on podcasting at a local public library. One of the classes will be geared towards teenagers and the library would like to set up a podcast studio for public use, so teenagers can have podcasts and record them at the library and not have to buy the equipment for themselves. Obviously, I don't need the mixer for myself, but I would love to donate it to help raise up the next generation of podcasters.

Thanks for the podcast and I'll have my fingers crossed when I listen to the winner being announced on your next episode!

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Disclosures needed in Forums and Facebook/G+ groups?

*** Disclosure: Even though I work for Blubrry and RawVoice Inc.,

News

Redit’s new podcast, “Upvoted” https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/upvoted/id954162809?mt=2

Another story about podcasting becoming popular

http://depauliaonline.com/artslife/2015/01/11/podcast-popularity/

8 Rules for podcasting in 2015

http://podcasternews.com/2015/01/05/8-rules-podcasting-2015/

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Question from Dan Kramer from the Miskatonic University Podcast http://www.mu-podcast.com/

Q:

Hi Mike.

I was wondering how you've like using the Auphonic desktop program you got at the end of the year. I've been considering purchasing it myself, but the hefty price tag and the no returns policy keep stopping me. I've had the same issue as yourself with upload times to use the online version.

Thanks for your show. I look forward to seeing new episodes of the Help Desk show up in my podcatcher.

A: Love it. Yes it’s a bit expensive ($89US 69euro) but it works great and not having to upload 1gb files is great! I found out that Auphonic uses the lame MP3 encoder which (as you know) is LAME! :) So I just use Wav and then convert to mp3 using Fraunhofer MP3 encoder (found in iTunes or Adobe Audition)

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IS BROADcasting dead? (or Dying) (Editorial)

All Music Radio sounds the same

All Talk radio stations/shows sound the same.

All Sports radio sounds the same

Local TV is only good in local news (sometimes)

Local Radio is good for news and live sports (thats about it)

Cable / Satellite TV / XM/Sirius is sucking people dry with their “bundling”

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Blubrry Tip of the week

Category Podcasting with Powerpress

Category podcasting is NOT the best way to do multiple podcasts from one wordpress site using powerpress. There are several reasons for this.

IF you are using blubrry stats, there is no way to separate the stats from each other. All “shows” will use the same redirect code. (not ideal)

Categories are easy to mess up.

If you already have a podcast using the default feed, your new category podcast episodes will go out on the feed also.

More complicated URLS to the feed.

I would (and do) use podcast channels. You can still break up the posts on your site by category using channels. See http://mikedell.com/blog/category/hamradio/ this is a second feed on my main MikeDell.com site for the Ham Radio podclass. I posted the posts to a category, but the podcast is in it’s own channel. Much easier to keep separate when posting..

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Microphone and Mixer give-away.

I’m giving away a http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/XM8500.aspx Behringer XM8500 dynamic Mic (brand new) and a slightly used Behringer UB502 Mixer (plus mic cable and computer hookup cable)http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UB502.aspx to a lucky listener. (US/Canadian Listeners only) I will also throw in an Hour of Consulting (via Go-to-Meeting) to help you get started.

The ways to enter are simple.

1. Sign up for the newsletter mailing list (no spam) found on the sidebar of PodcastHelpDesk.com

2. Send in a voicemail comment either by dialing 231-421-4490 (either a question or comment for use on the show) or use the send voicemail tab on the site or email (either audio or text) to [email protected] with a question for the show.

3. Send me an email telling me about your show and a little about yourself

You will get 1 entry for each thing you do above (limit 3 entries per person)

I will use a randomizer site to pick the winner on January 19th 2015. Deadline to enter is January 19th 2015.

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Use the promo code "nobs" for a free month of podcast hosting at any level at blubrry.

2014 - Year in podcasting

PCN Relaunches as a Podcast news site (March)

iTunes surpasses 1 Billion (1,000,000,000) Podcast subscriptions (July)

Adam Carolla settles the Patent troll suit against him. (August)

NMX Announces move to April in Vegas along with NAB (August)

1st Podcast Movement (August) in Dallas

Podcast Awards sold to NMX (September)

Serial / Startup / Gimlet Media (September)

Stitcher bought by Deezer (October)

Dave Jackson named Head of Podcasting Track at NMX (October)

Stats:

- In the US 15% of the population has consumed a podcast in the last month

- 67% of podcast listeners don't mind ads compared to only 6% liking advertising in television or radio.

- The percentage of Americans who have ever watched or listened to a podcast is 45% this is around 70 million potential listeners in the US only.

- The podcast audience used to be “early adopters” and now are just “normal” people. Not Super Geeks

- Podcast listeners/viewers continue to prefer consuming content at their desktop, not on dedicated media players, but mobile phone media consumption is surging.

- Two-thirds of podcast consumers have listened to digital audio files in their vehicles by connecting a mobile device (iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, iPad, tablet or ipod) to their car audio system.

- On September 28th, 2004 Doc Searls found 24 “hits” on the word “Podcasts” in Google. Today it’s About 130,000,000 (!)

2015 - Predictions for podcasting in 2015

Second Podcast movement - Less “Entrepreneur” focused

NMX/NAB - Best podcast event ever!

I will release “The NO BS Guide to Podcasting” in March and it will reach #1 on Amazon for Podcasting. (yes, bold and wishful thinking!)

I will Produce 50 episodes of Podcast Help Desk in 2015. (Leaving myself room to skip a couple but maybe even 52)

This will be the year of the Story-telling podcast copy-cat. Like 2014 was the year of the Entrepreneur podcast.

At least one popular Entrepreneur podcast will pod-fade (likely 100’s of copy-cats as well)

Soundcloud will be sold and their Podcasting “Beta” program will be turned off.

Google will announce that Feedburner is going away in 2016

Google will announce a Podcast listening app and directory for Android. (Crossing my fingers)

At least one “podcasting company” will shut down unexpectedly. (Not much of a stretch because it happens at least once every year)

In April, I will celebrate my 10 year anniversary in podcasting (Not sure of exact date)

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Tim of WPMasterdesign.com asked about if he should have his podcast run from his main website or should he set it up on another website.

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Microphone and Mixer give-away.

I’m giving away a http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/XM8500.aspx Behringer XM8500 dynamic Mic (brand new) and a slightly used Behringer UB502 Mixer (plus mic cable and computer hookup cable) http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UB502.aspx to a lucky listener. (US/Canadian Listeners only) I will also throw in an Hour of Consulting (via Go-to-Meeting) to help you get started.

The ways to enter are simple.

1. Sign up for the newsletter mailing list (no spam) found on the sidebar of PodcastHelpDesk.com

2. Send in a voicemail comment either by dialing 231-421-4490 (either a question or comment for use on the show) or use the send voicemail tab on the site or email (either audio or text) to [email protected] with a question for the show.

3. Send me an email telling me about your show and a little about yourself

phd-034

News

Slate: Ten Years in your Ears - Special Podcast issue

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Mobile Podcasting Revisited

John Morgan from letstalkmetaldetectingandtreasurehunting.com sent in a voicemail question to the new Voicemail hotine:

I use (currently) a Roland R-05 recorder with an XLR to 3.5mm stereo cable from a Audio-Technica atr2100 mic. The trick I learned is to turn the gain WAY down when recording and get right up on the mic. This keeps the background sounds down a bit. Then in post-production, I boost up the volume using Audition after applying a bit of compression (not too much) and leave the background noise as it is. A little isn’t bad. There is not really a good way to remove it without making the audio sound un-natural.

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Complicated website?

Here is an alternate way to do it.

Install a second wordpress install on a subdomain or a folder on your domain. Setup as a simple site with no crazy formatting. (2014 works great) You use this wordpress install to generate your feed and then use the embed code to put the player in your much more complicated website. That way you can do whatever you want to the main site. You don’t even have to have it in wordpress, and it will have no effect on the RSS feed.

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Microphone and Mixer give-away.

I’m giving away a http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/XM8500.aspx Behringer XM8500 dynamic Mic (brand new) and a slightly used Behringer UB502 Mixer (plus mic cable and computer hookup cable) http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/UB502.aspx to a lucky listener. (US/Canadian Listeners only) I will also throw in an Hour of Consulting (via Go-to-Meeting) to help you get started.

The ways to enter are simple.

Sign up for the newsletter mailing list (no spam) found on the sidebar of PodcastHelpDesk.com

Send in a voicemail comment either by dialing 231-421-4490 (either a question or comment for use on the show) or use the send voicemail tab on the site or email (either audio or text) to [email protected] with a question for the show.

Send me an email telling me about your show and a little about yourself

You will get 1 entry for each thing you do above (limit 3 entries per person)

I will use a randomizer site to pick the winner on January 19th 2015. Deadline to enter is January 15th 2015.

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Powerpress 6 is out!

I’ve been running powerpress 6 beta for a month or two on Podcast Help Desk. now it’s out for the masses!

There are a few really cool features to set up once you upgrade.

Subscribe Sidebar Widget - You will find a new widget in your widget area of the appearance settings in wordpress. This makes it easy to find your RSS feed, itunes and a link to your new…..

… Subscribe page. Powerpress will generate a subscribe page for you now. All you have to do is start a new page and then put the page ID in the powerpress settings, under the Media Appearance tab and it will populate a page for you.

Playlist shortcode. This will list your last xx (where xx is, it whatever number of episodes you want) episodes in a playlist. Very cool!

Podcast SEO

See the announcement here: http://www.powerpresspodcast.com

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Use the promo code "nobs" for a free month of podcast hosting at any level at blubrry.com

The promo code also works for blubrry premium

statistics 1 month free by using the promo code nobs.

New Voicemail Feedback Phone Line! - 231-715-1366

Geek News Central #1000 - Congrats to Todd Cochrane for reaching show 1000 on Geek News Central!

Podcast Answer Man - 9 Years of podcasting! Congrats to Cliff Ravenscraft! Listen to his VERY first episode in podcasting here: http://gspn.tv/plusaccess/001-lostcast-12-16-2005-413-521-0958/

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Patent Troll Update

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2014/12/15/eff-challenges-personal-audios-podcasting-patent-claims-uspto-week#.VJCF62TF9Ns

http://consumerist.com/2014/12/15/u-s-patent-office-to-decide-whether-patent-troll-company-actually-owns-podcasting/

Powerpress 6 coming soon! Beta 3 was released today to testers (including me) and if no trouble, it should be released to the public this week! I will have a full rundown of it's features in a future episode.

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iTunes New & Noteworthy? It’s not that important! - Listen to hear my opinion on this based on some facts.

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Feedvalidator.org - Check your feed… yes. BUT, don’t always trust feedvalidator.org. Feedvalidator.org is hopelessly out of date. It will help you to roughly test your feed. A more up to date validator is castfeedvalidator.com

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Blubrry Tip - Feed Size

iTunes and many other users and apps of RSS require a feed size of less than 512k (yes, only ½ a megabyte). If you have 50 or 60 episodes, your feed may become too big. This all depends on how big your shownotes are.

Using powerpress, you can “maximize” your feed items using Feed Maximzer. this will let you have more items in your feed while keeping the feed small. It does this by removing a lot of the not needed things in your feed for items 11 thru however many you have. The first 10 items will be full featured feed items.

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Use the promo code "nobs" for a free month of podcast hosting at any level at blubrry.com

The promo code also works for blubrry premium

statistics 1 month free by using the promo code nobs.

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How to get support / help, The RIGHT way (mini-rant)

You get what you pay for (most of the time)

Free product = poor / non-existent support

Cheap product = Some support, but don’t expect that spending $5 will get you $1000’s in personal consulting

RTFM! (Read the fracking manual

Using the words “ASAP” and “Fix it IMMEDIATELY” does not help

Using a private podcast coach (me or any of them online) can save you time and flustration.

Go back to PHD024 (http://podcasthelpdesk.com/24 for lots of places to help you

Places to learn about how to podcast:

FREE:

HERE! PodcastHelpDesk.com

http://podcastanswerman.com/learn-how-to-podcast/ (ignore the part about feedburner)

http://create.blubrry.com/manual/ Lots of great background info on how things work in podcasting.

http://www.smartpassiveincome.com/how-to-start-a-podcast-podcasting-tutorial/ (Also ingnore anything about feedburner)

Paid

but inexpensive: http://schoolofpodcasting.com (affiliate link)

Paid AND Expen$ive (but good from what I hear)

http://podcastingatoz.com (ignore Feedburner part)

Can I Charge for my podcast? - PHD032

News

PodcastOne demands their podcasts be removed from Stitcher

PCN Interview with Norm Pattiz of Podcast One

The Rise of podcasting. I’m not a fan of infographics, but this one is good. It’s over at Socialfresh.com. by Nick Cicero

MarketingPodcasts.com

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Paid Podcasting?

I’m not a fan of paid content in podcasting. It does work for a select audience, but it does nothing to gain listeners.

Most podcasters have enough trouble getting listeners when it’s free and easy.

You can do it using Wordpress plugins for a subscription (paid) site such as Wishlist member and others.

It does work for bonus content but In most cases, this does not need to be in podcast form. Videos / Audios played or downloaded from within a protected page seems to be less troublesome to setup.

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Question of the week from Mike Winter

Q. I have a RadioShack four channel mixer with a left right one quarter Jack Output. I've discovered that I can't record onto an iPhone. So I tried a digital recorder, and discovered it only recorded in mono. Is that a problem? Is there a way to record in stereo?

A. There are several ways to go about this.

Record to 1 track and then convert to True mono or Joint stereo in Audacity or other audio editing software.

Get a mono to stereo adapter.

Get a Y adapter (2 mono ¼” to 1 3.5mm stereo) aff. link:

Pyle-Pro PCBL43FT3 12 Gauge 3 Feet 3.5mm Male Stereo to Dual 1/4-Inch Male Mono Y-Cable Adapter

Connect your mic directly to the digital recorder (not using the mixer) using an adapter, either xlr to 3.5mm stereo or ¼” mono to 3.5mm stereo adapter depending on your mic cable

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Blubrry tip of the week. - Stats

Blubrry Stats Compared

Blubrry Stats FAQ

Media Stats vs. Web Stats - Blubrry Podcast Manual

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Use the promo code "nobs" for a free month of podcast hosting at any level at blubrry.com

The promo code also works for blubrry premium

statistics 1 month free by using the promo code nobs.

The Old Podcasting Geezer here :) See Quick Hits 1 for that story.

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File format

mp3 for Audio and mp4 for Video. Other formats have limitations.

Audio formats other than mp3 that will work (sort of)

m4a/AAC works on Apple devices, Android and most PC software. May not work on Microsoft Phones, Blackberry or other media players (mostly older ones)

Ogg/vorbis - Mostly a linux / open source thing.

WMA (Windows Media) Works with Microsoft products/software. (Not recommended for podcasting)

.wav, flac and formats like that will not work (and are many times larger files than mp3)

Bottom line, Use MP3. I suggest either 64kbps Mono or 128kbps Stereo encoding @ 44.1khz. At 128 Stereo, you get about 1mb a minute of audio. At 64 mono, you get about 2min per mb.

Video Formats other than mp4 that will work (sort of)

M4V This is Apple’s version of mp4. It’s almost identical to mp4, other than it adds extra “stuff” for iPads, iPhones, AppleTV and iTunes.

Ogg Theora. This is the Linux / Open Source video format.

FLV This is flash video. Not great for podcasting. It used to be good for websites, but will not work on iThingys or android (most of them)

WebM (VP8) This is Google’s supported HTML5 video format. Hasn’t really gotten too much traction but if you are doing video, it’s not a bad idea to make a version of your show in this format for supported browsers.

Bottom Line, Use mp4. (with maybe a webm/vp8 version for the player on your website) Encode using h264 and AAC audio.

.MOV and mpeg files will not work.

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Blubrry Tip of the Week - Service Settings and Program Listing settings

I don’t know how many times I get someone that asks me a question that requires me to look at their feed and when I look at their blubrry.com listing, they didn’t include that in the settings. It causes a few back and forth emails that could be avoided.

The other reasons for having your blubrry.com “Service settings” and “Program Listing settings” filled out:

Your blubrry.com listing won’t be populated unless you give us your feed address. It’s kind of pointless to be listed and have nothing there.

People that use “smartcast” (Which is a lot) won’t be able to subscribe to your show in that feature.

Your show will not be included in the Set Top Box and Android Blubrry App

The Service settings let our system know if you are going to be using the blubrry.com provided website and feed (Yes, you can do that but it’s not recommended) or if you are on your own Wordpress Blog using powerpress. These settings customize the menus you see at Blubrry.com in the manage account area and tell us in support how you are setup. You will get much quicker service if you do this.

Service Settings (hosting users only)

The 3 selections you have there are:

1.Publish from your own WordPress blog with PowerPress plugin

2. Publish from Blubrry to homepage provided by Blubrry

3. Publish from Blubrry to your own blog

*** Do not use the 3rd option unless you REALLY know what you are doing. It has to do with the “Meta WebLog API” which *almost* nobody uses.

Program Listing settings

These are just simple info about your podcast. The RSS Feed URL and you iTunes listing URL. (basic stuff) and the Category you want your blubrry listing to be in and the Parental rating. There is more things here if you are going to be using Blubrry’s feed (again, not recommended) where you can put your artwork and a few other settings.

Even if you don’t use blubrry.com for anything, it’s a good idea to have your show listed in the blubrry directory (...