Podcast Help Desk

Apple's "Podcasts" app on IOS crashed for almost everyone yesterday.

Apple is going to be making the PODCASTS app, one of the default aps in IOS8! Good news for podcasters!

Soundcloud for podcasting

Why you shouldn’t use Soundcloud (or any other proprietary service) as your only point of presence for your podcast.

it’s in beta (after 3 years?!?!) I don’t trust beta.

It costs some money and it’s limited on the TOTAL uploads, not monthly like other services (like blubrry or libsyn)

They mess with your file. What you upload is not exactly what your listeners will download. (even if it is just a filename change)

If you use their RSS feed, you will have trouble keeping YOUR audience when you decide to leave.

One cool thing they do have is the player, but I’m guessing there will be players like that coming out for other services / systems soon.

Q: My latest podcast episode is not listed on iTunes and it’s been a week. What’s going on?

A: In the case of this questioner, it was their feed size was too big.

Here are some ways to make the feed size smaller:

1. Reduce the number of episodes in the feed

2. Write less text in your posts for podcast episodes

3. In powerpress, turn on “Feed maximizer”

I know most people want to have EVERY episode in the feed, but in most cases it’s not needed.

Q: If I’m going to add a digital recorder to my audio chain, why not use one of the cheap recorders like the Zoom H1 for $99?

A: There is no reason not to use the h1. But, look at the recorder specs of any other cheap recorders and make sure it has 2 things.

1. Line level input

2. Records in Stereo in .wav format (uncompressed)

Recording to mp3 can cause quality problems. Even on the more expensive recorders. The Zoom H1 would be a great little studio recorder for backup or even the main recording.

R-05 for $199

Q: What is the best Microphone for me?

A: I get this one a LOT! It depends on your voice, your studio, your budget and your preferences. We talk about this a lot and we podcasters (most of us) are gear heads. If your budget allows, try a bunch of mics.. you can always trade, sell them later.

I’m going to test 2 inexpensive mics here. You tell me if you think it was worth the $300 for my PR40 (other than it looks really cool).

The first one I’m going to test is the $59.99 ATR2100 from Audio-Technica

The other one is even cheaper!

The $24.99 Behringer XM8500  The cheap mic :)   Love it anyway.

As you can see, you can go as cheap or as expensive as you need and still do a great job of podcasting with good audio.. No excuses for crappy audio :)

Heil PR40 - $327.00 - my Old standby

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This week I had a lot of questions from new and prospective podcasters that show that, even though podcasting has been around a while (10 years), people seem to have trouble with how it works.

So I am going to explain it in very basic terms. This would be a good episode to pass on to people you know who ask you about how podcasting works, what it is, and how it DOESN’T work.

Ok, The first thing about podcasting you should understand is, that it is driven by the RSS feed. What is an RSS feed? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. What that means is that it’s a file on the web (either static or dynamically generated) in XML format. It contains “posts” or “items” in reverse order newest first and oldest last. RSS is a standard where the content is not formatted in a particular way as how it’s displayed. It’s just the raw content (mostly text) and the receiving program (RSS Readers) format it for display on a screen. The raw RSS was never meant for humans to see. It’s meant for machines to see, interpret and display as they see fit.

For podcasting, Dave Winer (who invented RSS) added some magic to RSS to allow “enclosures” which can be any sort of file that once delivered to an RSS reader would download to the local users device (at that time computers only). This is what allows us to enclose our mp3 files in the RSS feed for delivery to our listeners. (works the same for video files)

So basicly how this works for Real people is like a Radio. Your RSS feed is the transmitter and the listener’s Podcatching software is the receiver. They “Tune” (subscribe) to your RSS feed just like you might tune your radio to 98.1 to listen to the Bob and Tom show on your local radio station. The difference is you can “Tune” your podcatcher to more than one station at a time and it “records” (downloads) the show for playback later kind of like a DVR would for a tv show, that can be played back at a later time.

The podcatching software all works a bit differently from one another, but uses the same basic method to get your podcast files to the listener. Some now allow streaming of your files so instead of downloading the whole file before you play it, it plays it on demand. Apps like Stitcher, Tunein and even Apple’s “Podcasting” IOS app can do this. (I prefer to download the files so I don't’ have to use up my data plan when I’m away from wifi on my phone)

The import part is to have your RSS feed formated correctly so that all these podcatching software apps can read it correctly.

In 2005, Apple added podcast support to iTunes and we have never been the same since! The only issue at that time was they added some iTunes specific tags that needed to be there for the podcast to look right in iTunes. If you use a plugin like Powerpress, and fill out all the settings, all those tags will be there in the correct place and your show will look right on those apps.

While we’re on the subject of iTunes, I want to re-iterate that you do not UPLOAD to iTunes. You do not have an iTunes feed. Just because the iTunes store doesn’t LIST your episode, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. People get so worried about what iTunes shows in their listings they don’t realize that the listing isn’t the important part. It’s the RSS feed. People who subscribe to your show in iTunes are subscribed DIRECTLY to your rss feed. The iTunes store (where your listing lives) doesn’t update in real-time. If I put out a podcast at 3pm on Friday afternoon, at 301pm it will be available to be downloaded via someone subscribed in iTunes. The listing might not update for 2 hours or 2 days.

Media Hosting / Web hosting

Your web page (if you are doing it the way I suggest) is where your RSS feed lives. The place where your media files (mp3’s) live can be anywhere that is accessible on the web. To be included on iTunes,

Recovered from the great basement flood :)

Q: My podcast artwork doesn’t show properly in iTunes / Stitcher / whatever other podcatcher

A: There are 3 places in your feed that the image needs to be.

1. Is in the mp3 files itself. A image bigger than 600 x 600 needs to be in the iD3 tags of EACH of your podcast mp3’s. I do this using iTunes on my computer by dragging the mp3 into a playlist I called “edit” and then I right click on the mp3 in itunes and select “Get Info”

In there is some tabs. In the Artwork tab you can upload your image there. Also fill out the “info” tab while you are in there.

2. RSS2 image - 144 x 144 px image (or larger) I just use the same 1400 x 1400 image for all 3 items. Saves time :)

http://example.com/image.jpg

Your Podcast Title

http://example.com

3. iTunes image - 1400 x1400 px, RGB jpg or png (I recommend JPG for file size) and under 500mb.

If you use Powerpress with wordpress (Like I recommend) you can just fill out the “Feeds, iTunes and the Artwork tab in powerpress settings. (Have your image or images ready)

As always, give iTunes (especially) at LEAST 3 days to update and it can take longer (like 3 WEEKS!!).

Along a similar line:

Q: How do I force iTunes into updating my image. I changed my image over 7 weeks ago.

A: Well, as I say over and over, you don’t force Apple (iTunes) to do anything. What you can do is trick it into thinking you have a new image. Do this by changing the name of the images in your feed. This will sort of force iTunes into updating your image.

Q: Where do I find someone to make my Podcast Artwork?

A: What I use is fiverr.com. It costs $5 for someone to make your image. You might have to spend $5 a few times, but it’s much cheaper than hiring an artist to do it for you. I’ve had great luck with fiverr for images and intro voiceovers.

Q: I can’t find my podcast in iTunes by searching for my keywords.

A: iTunes SEO (thats what I call it) is much the same as Google except iTunes seems to (and nobody outside of Apple knows for sure) also weigh the search results by how popular your podcast is (how many subscribers and reviews you have). It’s not an exact science and it’s competitive. It also take a LONG LONG time to show any improvement.

Last one for this week, Q: Do I need to have my post “published” before I submit my feed to iTunes?

A: Duh! (this is why I don’t use names often in my Q and A’s ) :) Yes, for a podcast feed to be valid, you MUST have published at least one episode.

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Due to flooding in my Studio (see picture) and the fact that Servpro has about 20 fans and other noisy equipment running in my basement. I'm not able to do a full episode this week. The file I have with this episode was recorded from my iphone and sounds like crap. Sorry about that! I will be back with Episode 21 next week as long as the river doesn't rise again :)

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Today was a mobile podcast and I touched on a lot of stuff.  Even some safety tips if you are going to drive and podcast at the same time :)

I also talked about (in no particular order!)

Todd and Rob's New Media Show interview with John Lee Dumas.

Cliff Ravenscraft's rebuttal to Spenser Haws' blog post called "Why You Should NOT Start a Podcast" on the Podcast Answer Man # 355

Dave Jackson's NPR style podcast about podfading at School of podcasting.

Podcast advertising

How FREE is not a good business model

Feedblitz?!?   (This was a question from a listener)

Better show notes for the next show!

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Today I wanted to take a few minutes and re-introduce myself and this show for the many new listeners that have joined in the last few weeks that might not have gone back to the old Podcasting Tech Coach intro show.

First off, Who am I?

I’m Mike Dell.  Not the guy that started Dell Computer company, but the one who has been podcasting for 9 years on various shows.  I am located in Northern Michigan and do my show from a squeky desk chair in the basement of a 1940’s log cabin  in the woods along the shores of Lake Michigan.

I started my first podcast, The Benzoid Report, (named for the county I lived in at the time called Benzie)  in Summer 2005.  I started it using a $10 headset mic with my old Dell laptop.  It sounded awful! (at first) but got better with time and experience. If anyone has copies of the first 40 or so Benzoid Report podcasts, let me know.  That podcast is still around at Mike Dell’s World and is over 200 episodes now.  I don’t do that one too much, but every once in a while when the mood strikes.  (www.mikedell.com)

The second podcast that I did, I did with a co-host and it was called the Ham Radio Podclass.  It’s where John Martin and myself helped people pass their US Amateur Radio (Ham) license tests.  That one was very popular and we had 1000’s of people email us their new callsigns after they passed the tests.  Due to the work involved with producing that one and the fact the FCC changes the question pool (and the subjects covered in the test every 3 years) we quit doing it.  If anyone is interested in downloading the episodes, they are still available at http://geekofthenorth.com/ham-class-files/ for the Tech and General.  Lots of good information there, but a bit outdated.

My wife and I did a podcast called “Strange Today” which was a daily podcast about strange history.  We did it for a year.  That was enough.  I don't recommend doing daily podcasts unless you REALLY have a commitment to doing one.. Even if it’s short.  Ours almost never went over 5 minutes, but was still a lot of work to keep going.   That one is in the bit bucket.

I did another Daily , turned weekly called Aviation History today and then Aviation History this week.  That is another one that I didn't save any episodes of.

I had / have a tech podcast called “Geek of the North”. I’ve podfaded it, but it still exists at geekofthenorth.com and it may come back someday.  I’m keeping the site online in case.

I’m sure I’m missing a few shows I've done, but that’s the main list.

What makes me qualified to give advice?  Well, it’s quite likely, if there is a mistake to be made, I’ve made it.  If I didn't make it myself, I’ve helped other podcasters undo their mistakes.

For 5 years now, I’ve been the tech support guy for Rawvoice, Tech Podcast Network and Blubrry.  I have answered 1000’s of questions from podcasters both about Rawvoice services and podcasting in General.  I’ve also consulted with a bunch of podcasters to get them started in podcasting on my own.  People pay me to get them out of trouble.

What is this show all about?

Well, about 2 years ago, I thought it would be a good idea to have a podcast about the technology of podcasting.  The plan was to take the questions I was getting at blubrry/rawvoice and answer them in podcast form.  It took me almost 2 years to get to episode 12.  The problem was I wasn’t doing it my way.   This show was never the official blubrry support podcast or anything like that, but it was too focused on tech issues.  When I rebranded to The Podcast Help desk, I figured I would branch out more and discuss anything that has to do with podcasting that will help people learn about podcasting.  Sure there are lots of podcasts about podcasting out there already, and they are great.  I want to put my spin on it.  If you notice,

How to get your podcast kicked off of iTunes (and other things that will tick off your audience or get you sued)

Before I start, I have to say.  I’m not a lawyer and I don’t play one on the radio. Also, what I’m about to talk about applies to the USA. I’m not sure how all this works in the rest of the world. If you have any questions, please seek out legal advice from a qualified legal professional.

Patent troll story

The first part is about your rights as a content creator.  You own the copyright to your creation as soon as you publish it. You don’t need to do anything to gain that copyright.

In the US, your copyright is in place just by the fact you produced some content.  This just means someone can not copy it and take it as their own work.  Of course you have to defend it if it happens.  There are ways to make it “official”.  I’m not up on that as I never saw the point for what I do.  Maybe for what you do, it might apply.  Seek advice from a qualified lawyer.

Back in the day… (I know, overused) a lot of podcasters used a creative commons license for their shows.  That works too. I always say that this podcast is free to share and if you are going to try to make money on it, I want my part and give me credit for it.  The creative commons license can be setup to do that.  Again, I never really saw the point with this either for me.  Your mileage may vary..

Sleazy Podcast Aggregators trying to make money off your content.  There have been a few.  As podcasting gets more popular, there might be more.  Keep on the lookout and get ready with a cease and desist letter (email) if you don’t agree to it.

Things to avoid as a podcaster:

Music.  Be sure to use only Podsafe music in your podcast.  Podsafe music is just any music that you have secured the right to use in your podcast.  You can get this in many places.  I’ve gotten music from The Podsafe Music Network (music.podshow.com), http://incompetech.com/ (Royalty Free) which is where I got my intro music.  I’ve also gotten music directly from the bands and promoters.  If you are doing a music podcast you will likely be in touch with bands and promoters soon enough.  I do a radio show on a local college station so I get emails all the time with tracks to play.  On my other podcast, I’ve been known to play a lot of music also..

A couple of friends of mine have made deals to play licensed music in their podcasts.  Brian Ibbott  from Coverville has a deal where he pays royalties to the RIAA and others to play licensed music.  (See coverville.com for info about that).  Another friend uses “Taking care of business by BTO” for his intro music.  He pays Sony (I believe) a small yearly fee to use that.

Just be careful.  Fines can be HUGE from the RIAA if you get sued.  If you are in doubt, don’t play it.

Trade Marks

Lately there has been a lot of activity with take down notices being sent to iTunes to have podcasts removed from the directory for trademark violations.  Mostly by TV Networks and sports leagues (Like the NBA, NFL and MLB)   So if you do a sports FAN podcast, be sure if you use the name of a team in your title, also use “FAN or UnOfficial” or something of that sort to make sure you are not seen as official.  You should also put that in the content of your website and your audio/video.

Your cover art needs to NOT have any sports team logos or league logos in it.  A lot of podcasts have been taken off iTunes lately because they used the MLB logo or a baseball team logo.  Daniel J. Lewis has a post on Audacity to podcast about this right now.  Audacitytopodcast.com

iTunes Explicit tags

Although not exactly a legal issue, make sure you set the explicit tag for itunes if you are going to talk about anything “adult” like Sex,

This week I’m going to answer a bunch of different questions that have come up over the last week or so.

Q:  My RSS feed looks funny.  I want it to look good like a web page.

A: An RSS feed is supposed to look funny!  :)   It was never supposed to be looked at by humans.  Feedburner (back in the day) tried to make it human viewable and they did a good job.  But as I always say:  You don’t need feedburner to podcast and don’t worry how you RSS feed looks. Worry about how it works.

RSS feeds are the lifeblood of a podcast.  The format of the feed tells directories such as iTunes and others how to present the information.  The important things are the tags in the feed.  There are iTunes tags and other tags that give feed readers and directories the info they need to populate certain areas such as title, RSS2 image and so on.

The best way to look at your feed and to verify that it will work is first to look at it in firefox.  Firefox also does a sort of feedburner type thing when it comes to displaying a feed in a more human friendly way.

The second thing is to use FeedValidator.org.  Even though this site hasn’t really been maintained, it is a good way to make sure things check out correctly.   If your feed checks out, you will get a Congratulations!

This is a valid RSS feed.

You will also get some recommendations.  You can ignore *most* of this as this is where feedvalidator shows it’s lack of updates.  If you are using powerpress (as you should) it will complain about the Ravoice Namespace… Ignore this.

Other things that can cause feedvalidator to fail your feed is the iTunes order tag.  This is where you can have iTunes put your into episode at the top of the listing so people will hear this one first no matter how many other podcasts you have.  Feed validator doesn't know about this tag and will say your feed is invalid.   Ignore this as long as it doesn't have any other problems showing.

Q: I’m just setting up my Wordpress / Powerpress website for podcasting and when I try to validate my feed, it comes up 404.

A:   This is quite normal.  A 404 error means “page not found” or more accurately, file not found.  The way powerpress and wordpress work is that they generate the feed on the fly.  Instead of a static feed (like I use here) the feed doesn’t get “written” until someone asks for it.  If you try to go to a feed with no items in it, there will not be a file there or will there be a file generated.  You have to have at least ONE podcast episode published to your site before the powerpress podcast-only feed will be there.  If you have posted your first episode and the feed still comes back 404, then double check that you have the right feed address. If you do, make sure you have your podcast media file in the post correctly.

Other things that can mess up your feed are other plugins or your theme.. To troubleshoot, deactivate ALL plugins other than powerpress and change to the stock Wordpress theme.  IF the feed comes back, go to your normal theme.. If the feed is still there, turn on your plugins one by one until the feed goes away again. That will be the one you need to delete or find an alternative for.   Also, it’s a good idea to email me (mike [at] Rawvoice.com) so we can troubleshoot and see if there is a workaround for that plugin working with powerpress.  We have been lucky so far, there has only been a few that have caused problems like that.

Q:  I’m moving my podcast to another site. How do I move the RSS feed that everyone is subscribed to from the old site to the new site?

A: As with most things, there is more than one answer to this one.

If you are moving from one website you own to another one you own, a 301 redirect of the old feed to the new feed.  (listen to episode 14 for details on a 301 redirect)...

This is show # 16 for April 25th, 2014 - Podcast Statistics and the top 10 ways to grow your audience

Today I’m going to answer a couple of questions to do with stats and growing your audience.

Q.  What is the best way to track how many people have downloaded my podcasts?

A. Get free stats at Blubrry.com :)   or, if you are hosting at libsyn, upgrade to their stats package if your plan doesn’t inculde stats.  Even if you are at libsyn, you can add free blubrry.com stats (or premium stats if you want).  I believe podtrac also does free and paid stats.  Not sure on that one..

Q. My google analytics (or other webstats) say that my mp3 was accessed 30,000 times, but my media stats only say I had 302 downloads?  What Gives??

A. Web stats are not designed to measure media files.  The way media files are served (called byte range requests) cause the file to be requested multiple times per play or download which register as a “download” or a “hit” to webstats.  Media Stats such as blubrry and libsyn take that into account and know that even though a file gets 30 requests from the same IP address while downloading or streaming the file, it only counts that as one.  It is a much more accurate measure of the number of downloads.  If you are going to have advertisers, it’s much better to tell them the truth about how many downloads you have rather than inflating the numbers.  If you tell and advertiser that you get 12,000 downloads when you only really get 1000, they will think that even with 12,000 downloads, we are only getting the results for like 1000. It make everyone in this space look bad.

Q.  Feedburner says I have 200 subscribers,  What does that mean?

A.  You should, by now, know my feelings about using feedburner or any other 3rd party feed services.  BUT, I will try to explain this one anyway.  The “subscriber total” that feedburner reports is of little or no value.

What Feedburner reports to measure is “subscribers”.  What I would think that to mean is how many people, using feedreaders or iTunes, are subscribed to your podcast RSS feed. What it really measures is how many different ip addresses “hit” your rss feed in a 24 hour period.  It can vary wildly from day to day.  It might give you a very rough idea, but it’s just that a rough idea.  Also, if you are using feedburner, you have a base feed that is feeding feedburner.  Some, if not a significant number, of people could be getting your podcast directly from your base feed. (likely the feed from your website)  It’s even worse if you use a captive host such as Blog Talk Radio, podOmatic or TalkShoe because these sites also submit your “podcast” feed (from their site) to itunes and other directories.  SO, your feedburner stats will be less accurate and not catch everyone.

To switch gears a bit.   I get this question a lot….

Q.  How do I grow my audience?

A.  This is a BIGGIE…  There are a 1000 ways to promote your podcast and even more ways to NOT grow an audience.

Let me start with The top 10 that will help you gain listeners.

Be yourself.  don’t try to be the big-shot radio guy (or gal) and make it seem as though you are Broadcasting to the little people out there.  That is unless you are a broadcaster :)  The great thing about a lot of podcasts are their authenticity.  If you seem fake, people will pick up on that and will not be long-term listeners.  Be patient, it takes time.

Communicate with your listeners.  Try to learn the names and a little bit about as many listeners as you can.  Always answer your email, twitter, facebook and other forms of communication.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  Just in last weeks show, I had an editing error that caused my voiceover lady to talk over me while I was talking. I didn’t catch it until after the episode was publis...

This is show # 15 for April 18th, 2014 - Podcast Workflow at PHD

Today I am answering a question from Mark.

Mark Writes:

“I am just thinking of starting a podcast and would really like to hear what goes into the production of your podcast. What software, hardware and workflow do you use?”

I am going to answer your question step by step. I start out a few days before I record with an idea of what I’m going to cover in the next episode (most of the time). I begin by creating a document in Google Drive with the show name/number. I then paste in any questions I have received relating to that topic. This will be the basis of my Show Notes for the episode. I don’t really use it as a script. Just sort of an outline (which is mostly good enough for shownotes).

As far as equipment I use, I record mainly into my computer. I have a 27” iMac with Adobe Audition. I have a Mackie 1202VLZ3 mixer, Audiocom Pro XL Compressor, Limiter Gate. Hooked into that is my Heil Pr40 mic on a boom. To hook that to the computer, I use a griffen iMic for the Aux channel (the sound effects if I want to go live to the harddrive) and I use the line input on the mac from the mixer’s output. I also plug the second output (the tape out) on the mixer to my Roland R-05 digital recorder. I use that as a backup recording. As a lot of people will tell you, you shouldn't rely on your computer because if you do, you will, someday, lose a recording. If it’s just you, that isn’t so bad, but if you are recording an interview, you may not be able to re-do it. I would say 90% of the time, I don’t need the backup recording and I delete it after the episode is released.

Here is where I do things one of two ways… I can, and sometimes do, record live to the hard drive. This is an old podcasting term for recording as if the show was a live radio show. Putting in the intros and other sounds in as you go so that when you hit stop, you are done. Very limited post-edit needed. The way I get the intros in is via that griffen iMic hooked to the mixer on another channel. I use a program called SoundBoard (for Mac) that I can load up my spots, music and whatever. It plays out the iMic and into the channel on my mixer and gets recorded on the computer and the recorder.

The other way I do it (and this is most of the time) is record segments. Then in post edit, put in the intros, outros, ad spots and other things in post-edit. Either way is good and I have it setup both ways.

In setting up the compressor, limiter, gate, I only use the Gate portion. This is the reason you don’t hear anything when I’m not talking (or playing a track from the Soundboard program). It cuts the mic off at a certain level. It keeps the room noise off the recording when I’m not talking. This works well in a moderately noisy room, but will not sound right if there is too much noise in the room.

Recording levels are also something you should watch for. I record at -12 to -6 db peaks. Then when I process the file, I add a little compression to the finished file and boost up the level to -3 on the peaks. This is the level that most radio stations (other than NPR) use for voice. The music on music stations sometimes pushes -0 on the peaks.

I edit (if needed) in Audition. You can use Audacity (a free cross platform audio editor) and encode my mp3 at 96khz @ 44100hz sample rate. (not quite CD quality which is 128khz). This keeps the file smaller and I don’t think anyone is going to notice on a voice only file. You can even go as low as 64 if you are tight on space for hosting.

Once I have the file done, I take it into iTunes to write the ID3 tags. I made a playlist called “edit” and I drag it right in there. Right click on the file in itunes and select Get Info. I fill in the “info” tab and the “Artwork” tab (uploading my image to the file)

Once I close the window,