Podcast Help Desk

Recorded Live to the Hard Drive PHD049

News: Rob Greenlee is now the Head of Content at Spreaker.

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Podcasting as a Business

Abner from Boston asks about making a business for your podcast (legally)

I’m setup here as a DBA (Assumed name) and a sole proprietor. (Boonadello Marketing). TWIT uses an LLC. I know of lots that use a C corp or an S corp. I’m not a lawyer or a tax adviser, and I don’t play one on the interwebs :)

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MasterMind Groups (WARNING, Opinion coming)

Over the last couple of years, there has been a lot of talk about Mastermind groups. I have strong thoughts about this.

NEVER pay for a mastermind group

A group bigger than about 10 is unworkable

An informal group of friends or colleagues is the best bet.

NEVER PAY TO BE IN A MASTERMIND GROUP

If you are in a group (formal or informal) make sure you contribute to it. Don’t just take but give freely.

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Soundcloud - Should you use it?

Soundcloud: The new shiny object

Thats just one of the reasons I don’t recommend soundcloud as your primary host. There are others (listen to hear those)

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Blubrry tip of the week

Because blubrry has so many ways to use it’s services, it can be a bit more complicated (but not really hard) to set things up. You have to do things in order to get everything to work the way you want.

Example:

To host your media with blubrry and run your RSS feed from your own website, you need to do it in this order…

Setup your wordpress site and install powerpress

Configure powerpress settings (switch to advanced mode recommended)

Go to http://create.blubrry.com/resources/podcast-media-hosting/ and order your hosting. (use promo code HELPDESK for a free month) When setting up your show at blubrry.com be sure to use your Podcast Only feed (found in the feeds tab of powerpress settings) DO NOT USE CATEGORY FEEDS.

In powerpress settings in the services and stats tab, configure blubrry hosting (big blue button).

Upload and post your first episode.

Once that is done, look at your feed in FIREFOX (no, other browsers won’t work for this step) and make sure the artwork shows up. Make sure the post title is correct and that there is a media file attached.

Then you are free to submit the feed address to the directories (iTunes, Stitcher and others)

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Subscribe on Android now implemented in powerpress

So far, these are the apps on android that will work with Subscribe on Android or will soon.

Podcast Addict Ver 3.0 - Released

Beyond Pod - Implementing

Podcast Republic - Released

Simple Podcatcher - Released

Podkicker Pro - Implementing

Podcatcher Deluxe - Released

PlayerFM – Implementing

Spreaker - Implementing

Pocketcasts - Implementing

First, beating a herd of dead horses

Today, I want to beat some dead horses. In case you are a new listener (and I’ve had a good blast of new listeners lately, welcome) I want to go over some of the things that should be common knowledge by now.

But first…. A disclaimer:

*** Even though I am part of the Blubrry and RawVoice support team, the advice given here is MY educated opinion based on 10 years of podcasting and is given freely and without regard to my relationship to any podcasting host or service and would be the same if I didn't have that relationship. ***

Now some news

News:

Soundcloud Podcasting is out of beta (open to everyone)

http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/28/soundcloud-opens-its-podcasting-features-to-everyone/

Sarah Koenig makes Time’s Top 100 influential people.

http://time.com/3823276/sarah-koenig-2015-time-100/

Podbean now allows 301 redirects of feeds! (from Daniel J. Lewis from the Audacity to Podcast)

"Just wanted to let you know we've already updated the 301 redirect feature, so it is now available for Podbean users wishing to easily redirect their feeds when moving to a new service."

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Feedburner

Feedburner is the best of 2006 technology. While it does still work, it causes more problems than it solves. I think the word is getting out there that you don’t need feedburner to podcast, some “gurus” still say to use it.

It used to be the #1 support question but now it’s down to maybe #10. Not that Google has fixed anything, just podcasters are getting smarter about it. (I will take *some* credit for that). Along with my Colleagues Dave Jackson of the School of Podcasting, Daniel J. Lewis of Audacity to Podcast and Todd Cochrane of The New Media Show, Geek News Central and the CEO Of Rawvoice Inc. (parent company of Blubrry)

FREE hosting

We had another “Free” podcast hosting outfit pop up last week. Podcasts.com (Great domain). Just remember, if the service is worth money and you pay nothing, you are the product.

Podcasts.com is owned by http://www.emergemedia.com/ which also has the great domains Translate.com, brands.com and a bunch of other high profile domains. My guess is there are only into it for the money and will figure out that free is a lousy business model. Other companies have tried this and failed. Mevio.com (Podshow), Podango.com and a few more.

iTunes

RELAX - iTunes listings are what they are, you should worry about keeping your RSS feed healthy. The rest will follow.

Category Podcasting

I had an episode of QuickHits about this and I’ve talked about it here, but Unless you have a need for it, don’t use it. Use channels or post types instead.

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Top 6 things to keep your wordpress podcast healthy

1, Make sure you are on a good webhost. Godaddy LINUX, BlueHost (use my link), dreamhost and many others. Just make sure you can install wordpress from the control panel.

2. Keep everything updated as soon as an update is available. There was a Wordpress problem lately, so if you haven’t updated, do it.

3. Don’t get too fancy. Make sure your podcast works before you worry about how the website looks. If you HAVE to have a complicated website, maybe you should install a second wordpress install to power your podcast. This also includes keeping the number of plugins low. The more plugins the more stress you are going to put on your webserver.

4. Test everything when you add a plugin, update a plugin or update wordpress. Here is my checklist for double checking things are working:

Do the episodes still play

Look at your RSS feed in FIREFOX (other browsers won’t work as we...

A quick hit talking about the #1 tech support issue I have. Category podcasting.

One line can sum it up.... Don't use it unless you have a REAL good reason for it. Use channels or the default feed from powerpress. It's much more bullet proof and channels have all the features included whereas, category podcasting feeds do not include everything powerpress can do for you.

That is all!

Podcast Patent Troll Beat by EFF

https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-busts-podcasting-patent-invalidating-key-claims-patent-office

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NAB / NMX Wrap Up

Congrats to the Podcast Award winners! Brian Ibit, Brian Brushwood and Tom Merritt.

The end of FM Radio?? http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/norway-first-country-end-fm-790131

Nobody accidentally listens to a podcast.

Audacity Website move.

Something is happening with Sourceforge.net I guess. Not sure what the story is, but if you are looking for Audacity - The Free audio editor, go to http://web.audacityteam.org/ instead of the old site at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

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Is your podcast website mobile friendly ? https://www.google.co.uk/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

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Blubrry Tip - New stuff from Blubrry

Android One click subscribe

Evergreen podcasting

Expanded directory BB

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Q: I updated my wordpress and my media players have disappeared. HELP!

A: Wordpress sometimes tweaks how it does things and surprises Plugin developers. Powerpress has you covered! Login to your wordpress dashboard and go to powerpress settings > media appearance and where it asks “Having issues?” Select one of the 3 “Yes” answers. Save your settings.

I’m going to have Angelo Mandato (The Blubrry CIO) on the podcast soon to explain the geeky reason for this, and more. That should be in the next few weeks.

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Tired and glad to be back home after a week in Vegas!

Please use my Promo code HELPDESK at blubrry.com for 1 month free service for media hosting or premium podcast statistics.

I'm going to call this my 10 year Anniversary show. I'm not EXACTLY sure, but I think I recorded my first podcast episode around the 15th of April, 2005. If anyone ever finds Benzoid Report #1, please send me a copy or a link! I talk about how podcasting has changed for me and for podcasting in general over the last 10 years +

Maybe no show next week as I will be in Vegas for NMX. If I get a chance, I will put updates at mikedell.com/blog/ (both audio, text and photos)

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Please use my Promo code HELPDESK at blubrry.com for 1 month free service for media hosting or premium podcast statistics.

I’m doing an experiment this week. I’m doing minimal post-editing and podcasting without fancy intro, outro and bumper music. As we called it “back in the day”, live to the hard drive. This is not a format change. It’s just to show you that you don’t need to do all that fancy stuff to put out a good podcast. In fact, I’m recording from my mobile studio (my van) using the mobile setup.

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Just a bit about my “Real Radio” guest hosting the other day….

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Apple changes the artwork spec (again)

New Software out for podcasters

New Version of Audacity 2.1.0

New version of Powerpress 6.0.2

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Complicated does not mean good

Sometimes complicated makes things better. Sometimes not.

Complicated web sites do not get your more viewers to your website and can cause operational problems with your podcast

More complicated production of your show won’t get your more listeners (most of the time)

Better mic *might* help if your audio is crappy. but once you get a good sound, go on to the next thing

Find a workflow that you are comfortable with and then concentrate on the content rather than the tech.

The default feed from wordpress and powerpress is best. Channels are second best. Post types (even though they are complicated to setup) are 3rd best followed in LAST place by category feeds.

Don’t start a Network when you are new at podcasting. Start with one show and make it Good. Then maybe start other podcasts.

Don’t start by trying to do interviews by skype.

Don’t try to make everything perfect right away. Your first show is going to suck compared to your 10th, which will suck compared to your 45th (I hope) :)

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Blubrry Tip of the Week

This one is for the listeners. Blubrry is 3 different things.

1. Podcast Services company - Powerpress, Hosting, Stats

2. Podcast Directory - http://www.blubrry.com/explore/ 30k+ podcasts

3. Podcast Advertising Company

I’m going to talk about the #2 thing as you already know about #1.

MyCast

Group your shows into 1 feed

Watch or listen to your podcasts on Set Top boxes (Roku, Boxee, Samsung TV and more)

Subscribe to all your podcasts easy with one RSS feed

For podcasters - Get your podcast listed on the blubrry directory FREE! :)

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RSS Feed size. Does size matter?

This is for those of you that have been podcasting a while.

itunes feed size limit is 512k

You don’t want your feed to take a long time to load.

Ways to limit the size of your feed.

Limit your feed to the last 50 episodes (299 is the limit in iTunes)

Use Feed Maximizer tool in powerpress

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New Media Expo / NAB Show April 13th - 16th at Las Vegas Convention Center and Westgate Hotel and Casino

I will be at the Rawvoice / Blubrry booth (N7709) in north hall at NAB / NMX at LVCC. Stop by and say Hi if you are going to NABShow

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Catch me next time.

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New PROMO code for Blubrry. HELPDESK/strong> the Old code, nobs will also work, but I figured it would be best to better brand my promo code :) (you can also use mike if you want)

Also, you can support the show by going to PodcastHelpDesk.com and on the right sidebar (on a desktop/laptop browser) there are some banners there. Amazon is one. If you shop at Amazon, and everyone does, click on my banner first and then go do your shopping. It doesn’t cost you anything more and gives me a...

News:

Update your Yoast plugin (if you use it).

iTunes down: Having Issues

March 11th

Goes to prove that even the mighty Apple is run by humans and computers which are subject to “issues”.

From Todd Cochrane, of Geek News Central and the CEO of RawVoice Inc.

“Hey bit of a heads up!

I hope this is an isolated incident. Every podcaster should go over to YouTube and search for their show. It seems in at least one instance, someone went to the trouble and made a channel for a podcast, and then uploaded all the episodes. They used album art from the podcast and monetized the channel.

The podcast host did not authorize this, nor does he have access to the YouTube account. This looks as if a bot did it. Please spot check and make sure there is not some rogue element out their doing this.

Todd..”

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Question from John Morgan: (Answered from the car)

http://LetsTalkMetalDetectingAndTreasureHunting.com

Question: How did you post process the audio of you podcasting while driving and make it sound good?

Answer: I’m just that good :) (Listen for the REAL answer)

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A voice comment from MR. Jim Farley from Musicalworld.us

I will be Guest Co-hosting and reading the news on Omlette and Friends on March 24th from 6-10am EDT on 97.5 FM / 98.9FM in Northern Michigan or on the web at WKLT.com (or Tunein Radio, search for WKLT)

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Want to get in the Microsoft Podcasting App? (and whatever else they are doing?)

From Microsoft:

Thank you for your interest in podcasts. We are no longer supporting an active database of podcast feeds for Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8.0 or Zune. Please see the instructions below for enabling podcast discovery in Bing.

Windows Phone 8.1

Windows Phone 8.1 uses a Bing-enabled search mechanism to locate podcasts. To improve the search results of your podcast, add "feed:podcast" to your keywords tag within the RSS podcasts feed. Podcasts can also be located by entering the RSS feed directly into the podcast app search window.

Improve Bing-Enabled Podcast Search Results By using Webmaster Tools, you can tell Bing about your site. In return, Bing Webmaster Tools tells you how well your site is performing in Bing and Bing-powered search and keeps you up to date about issues we see on your site.

To inform us about sitemaps or RSS feeds, including those containing podcasts, follow these steps:

1. If you haven’t done so already, sign up with Bing Webmaster Tools.

2. Add the site that hosts the Podcast RSS/feed and verify ownership of the site.

3. Use the Submit Sitemap tool and submit the full URL of the RSS feed containing the links to your podcasts.

Within a few hours, you’ll see whether Bing successfully downloaded your sitemap or feed so that it can be indexed.

Another reason to

A. Put an RSS link on your website

AND

B. Not use feedburner feeds, libsyn feeds or any other feed that doesn’t have your domain name in it or is on a site you don’t own. Your podcast will likely not be in Bing/Microsoft’s platforms. To be fair, I think Libsyn does have an agreement with Microsoft to include it’s shows in the microsoft podcast app (whatever it’s called)

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I get this question a lot.

Q: Why does my iTunes listing look this way? This goes for Stitcher, Windows Podcast App (Still not sure what it’s called), Downcast or any other directory. The truth is, there isn’t a way to control how someone uses your RSS feed in their app.

Think of your RSS feed like a baker looks at a bag of Flour

Today is a SPECIAL episode of Podcast Help Desk.

We have a joint interview with Omelette from the morning radio show "Omelette and Friends" on WKLT FM in Traverse City, Michigan.

The fun part was we recorded this in HIS studio at the radio station and it was sort of me interviewing him and he was interviewing me. It takes up most of the hour and there are some real gems that apply to Broadcasting and Podcasting.

Tune in next week for a more NORMAL Podcast Help Desk.

Be sure to visit Steve's website (and soon podcast) at omeletteradio.com

PHD042 - The Meaning of Life, The Universe and everything

DON’T PANIC and don’t forget your towel!

Being the big geek I am, I have to do this every time I get to episode 42 on a podcast I do. It’s, of course, a tribute to Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Nowadays, we say Don’t forget your smartphone instead of your towel and the Hitchhikers Guide.

Now on with the REAL content for this episode!

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Correction:

As you heard, last week I had an audio problem. I could have fixed it by re-recording those segments. I felt the content was good enough to put up with the little popping sounds.

Also, on my checklist, I have removed the part about audacity. Truncate Silence. It’s too easy to screw something up for me to recommend using that.

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Recording only with an iPhone?

Yes, you can record only with an iPhone. There are several good ways to do it.

Boss Jock Studio - Play clips, record and edit. Saves in mp3, ready to upload.

Mobile Podcaster. AAC only

Voice Memo - Stock iPhone program by Apple. Very good for quick notes and recording segments. BUT, saves files in AAC format instead of Mp3 so you *should* edit them and re-encode to mp3.

You can add a professional mic to the iphone using the “camera connection kit” usb adapter. or you can use the mic/headphone jack with a splitter. Rockit Headphone/Microphone Splitter

While I’m playing with it, How about a mic shootout using the studio mixer?

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Q: I uploaded my show yesterday, it’s still not in my Podcast Listing at iTunes… HELP!!

A: RELAX! 2 things to do to help you not worry about this “problem”

Look at your RSS feed in FIREFOX (other browsers do not work the same) and verify your latest post is in there with it’s media file.

Subscribe to your podcast in iTunes (on your computer) or the IOS “podcasts” app. Verify that your new episode shows up.

If 1 and 2 are OK. RELAX and give iTunes up to 3 days to list your show. If it takes more than 3 days, email Apple ([email protected]) and give them your listing address and your RSS feed. You may get a run-around or a form response. Reply to that with the same info. Sooner or later they will have a human answer you.

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Podcast on Radio? Then the recording of the podcast on radio, on a podcast?

At the risk of generating at vortex here, I’m going to play one local radio show’s take on my segment about how lame music radio can be from Episode 36.

As heard on the Omelette & Friends radio show on WKLT in Traverse City (1 day after they interviewed Bob Seger!!

Next we are going to have the Guy behind the mic at Omelette & Friends, Omelette Himself on this very podcast!

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Blubrry Tip of the week

Teach your listeners how to subscribe and make it easy for them.

In powerpress 6 there are 2 new ways to get your listeners to subscribe.

One is the Subscribe page. If you go to podcasthelpdesk.com/subscribe you will see that I have a neat page there that makes it easy to just press a button on a smartphone and subscribe. It’s easy to set this up with powerpress. Make sure you have everything including the iTunes subscription URL block filled out in the Feeds and iTunes tabs in powerpress.

Create a blank page called Subscribe (or whatever you want to call it) publish the page and go into edit it again and write down the page ID.

Go into powerpress settings > media appearance and where it says “Subscribe Page” Paste the page ID in the block and save settings.

Go back to your page and you can edit the words in ...

Do it right the first time - Changing things later isn’t hard, but it’s not instant.

Replacing a file after publishing it is easy, but not instant or fool proof

Get EVERYTHING correct in your site and feed before you submit to iTunes, stitcher and other directories. Changing things later isn’t hard, but it’s not instant.

Take the time to make sure things are correct before publishing. Create a checklist. Download mine here (***Mine is complicated, yours doesn’t need to be.)

POSTS! Not pages!

Do not Post WAV files!

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Podcast Help Desk - My Sample Workflow Checklist (with explanations)

1.Create an outline for the episode (beginning shownotes) -

- I use Google Docs (Drive) for this. I make a document with the episode number and through the week make notes of subjects I want to talk about. Some people use evernote for this.

- Once you have the outline “done” figure out the title for the episode

- Create featured image artwork for the episode (you can skip this depending on your wordpress theme)

2. Record - I start with the intro and just record this segment. then I go through each item I want to talk about in my outline and record that segment. Saving all the files (as .wav) in a folder I create for this. If you just do “live to the harddrive” then record your whole episode.

3. Edit - You can do a lot of editing or just a little

Run segments though Audacity “Truncate silence filter” (removes log pauses while I think when recording)

Assemble the segments (if you do it this way) in Adobe Audition (Audacity will work) at this point I also apply some compression in Audition or audacity.

Add bumpers, intro and outro

Render to .wav

4. Post Process

Run .wav file through auphonic. (I use the desktop version but the online version will work if you don’t mind waiting for the upload/download)

Spot listen to the file to make sure it came out the way you wanted it. (!! important !!)

5. Render to MP3 ( I do this in audition) You can do this in iTunes desktop program as well. I use 128kbps Stereo but you could do it compressed more if you want to save file size. Don’t go above 128kpbs

6. Tag mp3 file

I do this using Powerpress and Blubrry Hosting online so at this point I just skip 6

You can do this in iTunes Desktop by importing your mp3 into iTunes (I use a playlist called EDIT) so I can find the file. Right click and select info. In there you can fill out the tabs and add artwork.

7. Upload and Post Shownotes

Make sure you make any links you referenced in your show “live” in your shownotes

upload featured image

publish (set date ahead if you are scheduling your post)

8. After it’s published, download and listen to episode Make sure you are subscribed to your own podcast in at least 1 podcast app. (I use Apple’s Podcasts app on iphone) I also test the player on my page at this point. I listen on my computer speakers, my headphones in the studio, on earbuds from my iphone and in the car using bluetooth on the stereo (over the next day or so) just to make sure it sounds good in all those places. .

9. Verify it made it to all your distribution channels (24 hours after publish)

check iTunes listing

check stitcher

check blubrry.com listing

check Tech Podcast Network listing

Check Roku TPN channel

10. start next week’s “Shownotes”

For a 30-60 minute episode, from the time I record the first segment to publishing (or scheduling the post) takes about 2 hours but I’ve been doing it a while. You should figure about 4x recording time for the whole process.

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