Podcast Pontifications

Some once-exclusive podcasters are challenging the notion that you can never go home again. They assume their audience will be happy to see them. But reality may not line up with those assumptions.

Podcasters who’ve gone exclusive do the calculus on moving back to free and wide distribution by making three assumptions. Assumptions that could do with some challenging.

Assumption #1: My existing listeners will keep listening when the podcast is no longer exclusive.

Yes, I think that assumption is largely true. But what if the exclusive app you left is only for exclusive podcasts? Or you burned a bridge your podcast is no longer be welcome there? And what if the listener’s experience is truly better on that platform? 

Assumption #2: The listeners I lost when I went exclusive will love to have my podcast back.

Are you sure about that? Some grudges run deep and are hard to get over. And every lost listener found other content and hosts to fill the void left by your podcast. Because people move on.

3rd Assumption: Wider distribution + loyal fans + the fans who returned = larger audience.

The math checks out on that, but the big question is: larger audience than when? There’s a very good chance you lost a lot when your podcast went exclusive. And a lot of your old fans won’t return. You may have to learn a new hustle game.

I’m not opposed to shows deciding to take the exclusive route if that is the right opportunity for them. Just be sure you’ve thought through what happens when the exclusivity is over. The game may have changed while you were away.

-----

Links:

• Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm! 

• She Podcast LIVE - https://www.shepodcasts.com/live/

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/from-free-podcast-to-exclusive-podcast-back-again.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Kido Dong on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

You can’t judge a book by its cover. But our podcasts are judged by a single episode—our most recent. It’d be better if we were judged by a collection of our best episodes. But how would we do that?

There are a number of untapped opportunities for podcasters—and podcasting—if we knew the relative popularity of podcast episodes. Here are three quick ones: 

A “Start Here” collection for new listeners. What better way to ensure new listeners have a great experience than letting them first listen to your greatest hits?

Better-deserved podcast awards. A single episode isn’t enough to determine if a podcast is award-worthy. But a collection of episodes would make for much more informed decisions.

Better experience in podcast listening apps. Present that “Start here” concept to new subscribers. And if they consume all of those episodes, auto-subscribe the listener to the full show.

But back to my question; how do we know which episodes are popular? 

Do we base on downloads? Meh. It’s a start. And some forward-thinking podcasting peeps are on that case already.

Data from listening apps would be much better, using things like play-thru, multiple-plays, time-to-consume, and other human-based interactions.

Or inbound link data. Data-normalization issues aside, perhaps an existing social monitoring service would be interested in doing something like this for podcasts? 

I wonder what I missed? And If you're a podcast service provider. I'd love to know what you think you could do with “popularity” data and how that would make your podcasting service better. 

-----

Links:

• Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm! 

• Twitter thead by forward-thinking podcast providers - https://twitter.com/podcastharry/status/1447307179808149504

• What did I miss? Email me at [email protected]

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/showcasing-the-best-episodes-of-your-podcast.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

Consistently releasing episodes on a set schedule is a good idea to keep your overall audience happy. But that doesn’t mean that every individual listener is listening to every individual episode. Is that OK?

Last week, I didn't get to listen to any new episodes of any podcasts. Why? Because I was exploring the jungles and beaches of Belize, that’s why! 

After six days of neglect and on the ride home, I started listening again. But I didn’t start at the top of my listening queue. Not with a backlog that large. 

I chose to catch up on two serialized podcasts I’m listening to more or less in time with the show’s release schedule. Then I listened to the latest episodes from only three different podcasts out of that backlog. And then we landed.

Will I go back and listen to all the non-serialized podcast episodes I missed? No, I probably won’t. Even though I genuinely enjoy those podcasts. Because I know that those shows will soon release a new episode, probably this week, which will let me get my fix. Without having to go back and listen to what they published that I missed.

In a similar vein, I texted a podcasting friend a week or so ago with a great idea for an episode of their show. A show of which I’m a huge fan. Their response? “I did that a month or so ago”. 

Oops. I missed it. So did I go back and listen to that previously produced episode which was on the very topic I wanted to hear? No, I did not. 

This happens a lot. A lot more than we probably want to admit to ourselves. 

No one can ensure that every episode of your show will be listened to by every one of your listeners. 

My advice? Don’t sweat it. And also don't assume that every one of your subscribers hangs on your every word. Some do, for sure. But many more do not. 

-----

Boostagram Corner:

Thanks to Steve Stewart, Coach JD, Biray Seitz, and Gary Arndt for their support! Links in the next section. 

-----

Links:

• Getting more than 10K downloads per episode? Talk to Gumball.fm! 

• Steve Stewart - https://twitter.com/SteveStewartMe

• Podcast Editing For Busy Podcasters - https://stevestewart.me

• Coach JD - https://twitter.com/jd_thejedi

• Health Talks With JD - https://www.veritasfit.com/podcast

• Biray Seitz - https://twitter.com/Befitt

• Gary Arndt - https://twitter.com/EverywhereTrip

• Everything Everywhere - https://everything-everywhere.com

• Fountain - https://www.fountain.fm/

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/listening-to-podcasts-is-an-easy-habit-to-break.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Gigi on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

There are those who would have podcasters believe that they have to grind out episodes, day after day, week after week, month after month, and never take a break. I am not one of those. ‘Cuz that’s dumb.

If you’re a brand new or an infrequent listener, this episode is going to sound unusual. 

I’m not producing episodes this week because I’m on vacation, exploring some of the beaches of Belize in Central America, and enjoying the warm Caribbean ocean right outside my hotel room.

But I promise to you that I shall be back on Monday, October the 11th, 2021 with yet another Podcast Pontifications. 

-----

Links:

• Running ads on your podcast? Talk to Gumball! - https://gumball.fm/?utm_source=sponsorship&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=podpont

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/blame-the-beach-for-this-interruption.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/value-4-value

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Meritt Thomas on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

It’s International Podcast Day! A day when podcasters around the globe celebrate their craft and their journey, regardless if they’ve been podcasting for 17 days or 17 years. Speaking of that last one…

I’m going to break down the +17-year journey of one podcaster—me!—if only to prove that, for many of us, podcasting is quite a tangled path.

My official entrance to podcasting started in October of 2004 with The Dragon Page. Soon after that we launched Slice of Scif, followed quickly by Wingin’ It. After adding a podcast we didn’t host called The Dragon Page With Class to our roster, we launched the first scifi podcast network called FarPoint Media. And it was still 2005!

Parallel to all of that, I personally started working with authors to help them podcast, soon creating a network of “podiobooks”, a portmanteau of podcasting and audiobooks, if that wasn’t obvious. Tha directly led to me co-authoring Podcasting For Dummies and Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies.

 parting ways with FarPoint Media in mid-2007, I launched two short-lived podcasts: Cult Cast and Found Things. You’re better for not hearing either of them.

And because I sometimes bet on the wrong trends, I also co-hosted Palm Fu, a podcast all about the Palm Pre smartphone, plus a podcast build on Google+ called The Books & Beer Hangout. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Some time in there, I decided the world needed more me so I did a limited run podcast called Evo at 11. A show that I’m very, very glad I pulled after 100 episodes. Apparently, I can be an asshole behind the mic. Who knew? (Kidding. I knew.) 

Then my wife and I left the country, using a podcast to document our travels around the world. Then I found out it’s a lot of work to produce a journalistic style podcast. But those travels led me to living in Bangkok where I became the co-host of the 2nd season of The Bangkok Podcast.  And Bangkok is where my podcast consultancy, Simpler Media, was born.

I’ve been back in The States since 2018, and podcasting is very much what I do. Not just with Podcast Pontifications, but I also do some hired-gun hosting for RadioMD, am the editor for Sounds Profitable, and sit on the advisory board for Captivate.fm, Maps,fm, Scrib, and a few others.

My wish for you on International Podcast Days is that your podcasting journey be as varied and rewarding as mine. Cheers!

-----

Boostagram Corner:

Thank you, Dave Jackson, for the sats boost! Links in the next section. 

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• International Podcast Day - https://internationalpodcastday.com

• The Dragon Page - https://www.dragonpage.com

• Slice of Scifi - https://www.sliceofscifi.com

• Tee Morris - http://twitter.com/teemonster

• Podcasting for Dummies - https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Podcasting+For+Dummies-p-9780471748984

• Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies - https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Expert+Podcasting+Practices+For+Dummies-p-9780470149263

• D. Patrick Lewis - https://twitter.com/dpatricklewis

• Sheila Dee - https://twitter.com/sheila_dee

• Debbie Walker - https://twitter.com/spellwight

• The Opportunistic Travelers - https://www.theopportunistictravelers.com

• Greg Jorgensen - http://twitter.com/bkkgreg

• The Bangkok Podcast - https://www.bangkokpodcast.com

• Simpler Media Productions - https://simpler.media

• DoctorPodcasting/RadioMD - https://doctorpodcasting.com/

• Captivate.fm - https://www.captivate.fm/

• Maps.fm - https://maps.fm/

• Scribl - https://scribl.com/

• Dave Jackson - http://twitter.com/DaveJackson

• Fountain - https://www.fountain.fm/

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

Podcasting is easy. For like five minutes. Then reality sets in. The reality of making great content that people can’t help but share. Podcasting doesn’t come with guarantees. So is it worth it?

Chat with me about growth marketing for podcasts, and it won’t be long before I utter the phrase “Podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve.” Those eight words have become part mantra, part axiom for me. Because they do accurately represent my overarching worldview of podcasting. 

My axiom has nothing to do with your worth and everything to do with the product you produce. Is it just good or is it great? Are the conversations interesting or are they incredibly compelling? Do all the parts kinda work together, or was it packaged with the utmost care?

Does your podcast fit neatly in the lives of your audience? Did you choose your length to do just that, or for some other reason? Are you giving them the perfect amount of new content? And do they like the host, or are they bordering on fanaticism?

The operative word that brings this whole axiom together is tend: “podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve”.

Tend means that neither success nor failure of any given podcast is a foregone conclusion. Tend allows for external pressures and serendipitous events that live outside your control. 

Does your podcast deserve a bigger audience? That’s a decision that lies in the relationship between your podcast and your audience. But I stand by my axiom: Podcasts tend to get the audience they deserve. You can try to buck the trend, sure. Or you can examine the relationship between your podcast and your audience and adjust accordingly.

-----

Boostagram Corner:

Thank you, Dave Hanley from AdvertiseCast, for the virtual coffee. Links in the next section. 

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• Dave Hanley (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/dwa_hanley

• AdvertiseCast - https://www.advertisecast.com

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/value-4-value

• Now booking sponsorships for 2022! - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/podcasts-tend-to-get-the-audience-they-deserve.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Edge2Edge Media on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

It’s hard to predict which podcaster will be successful. But it’s fairly easy to see who won’t make it for long just by looking at their actions. Or inactions. Here are some of their bad habits for you to avoid.

Not all of the podcasting habits you develop as you get in your groove are good. In fact, bad podcasters tend to accumulate a collection of bad habits. Bad habits you (and I) would do well to avoid. With that...

Bad podcasters don’t listen to their own shows. Yes, you might have spent four, 40, or 400 hours in production. But if you aren’t listening to the finalized audio proof as if you were a listener… you’re missing things! 

Bad podcasters don't respond to their listeners. No one owes you anything for making your podcast. So when a listener takes the time to say nice things—publicly or privately—You owe that to them to respond in kind.

Bad podcasters invest more in gear than they do content. Yes, the quality of the audio you produce is super important, and better gear might get you there. But it's not nearly as important as your ability to tell great and compelling stories on a consistent basis. 

Bad podcasters have production schedules that mirror their release schedules. Get ahead. Like, really ahead. Weeks or months if possible. Yes, I’m calling myself out on this one.

It's very likely that you, like me, currently have one or more of these bad habits. That doesn’t necessarily make you a bad podcaster. Heck, even having all of these bad habits doesn’t necessarily make you a bad podcaster.

But if you can break those bad habits in favor of better ones, how much better could you and your podcast be?

-----

Boostagram Corner:

Thank you, Matt Mederios, of podcast Matt Reports and of Castos, for the Twitter boost. Links in the next section. 

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• Parkinson’s law - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinson%27s_law

• Matt Mederios (Twitter) - https://twitter.com/mattmedeiros

• Matt Report - https://mattreport.com

• Castos - https://castos.com

• Value-for-value for this show - https://podcastpontifications.com/support

• Want to sponsor Podcast Pontifications? - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/avoid-these-4-bad-habits-of-bad-podcasters.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Return the value-for-value of the podcasting wisdom of this episode and more at https://PodcastPontifications.com/support

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe/follow today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Bianca Berg on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

Micropayments have been touted as the next big revenue source for podcasters since the beginning without much success. But could changes by social media finally herald in our money-flowing future?

You let your listeners listen on whatever listening app they want, don’t you? You let your listeners reach out to you on lots of different communication channels, don’t you? 

So as a smart and savvy podcaster, you’ll take that same attitude for receiving direct payments from your listeners, won’t you?

Not long ago, podcasters picked a listener-support platform and drove their listeners to that podcaster-chosen platform. But Twitter just flipped that cart upside down and announced that direct payments would be integrated into the social platform. With a few clicks—and never leaving Twitter—your listeners can send you funds directly from Twitter. And it’s a safe bet other social platforms will quickly follow.

And that has a lot of implications for all podcasters to consider. Here are a few I’m thinking of at the moment:

1st, there’s going to be a wave of buzz around this, and it’s important that you’re able to be funded. So go through the process as soon as you can. 

2nd, The direct-payments and crowd-funding industries aren’t going to take this sitting down. I don’t think it’s too crazy to see funding platforms allowing creators to publish content directly to the platform

3rd, to quote the noted economist Gorgeous George; this will get messy. Some apps/services will do a better job of integration than others. Hopefully, we don’t slide into the chasm that is the Tyranny of Choice. 

So my advice: get there, hold on, and see what happens. Let’s embrace the concept of letting our listeners provide value back to us on their terms.

-----

Boostagram Corner:

Thank you, Kyle Hebert of The Intergalactic Boom Box Podcast, for the Twitter boost. Links in the next section. 

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• Twitter announces direct payment methods - https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/product/2021/bringing-tips-to-everyone

• Noted economist Gorgeous George: https://clip.cafe/snatch-2000/this-will-get-messy/

• Kyle Hebert (Twitter) - http://Twitter.cin/kylehebert

• The Intergalactic Boom Box Podcast - https://www.podpage.com/the-intergalactic-boom-box/

• New support page is updated! - https://podcastpontifications.com/support

• Want to sponsor Podcast Pontifications? - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/a-little-bird-and-the-future-of-value-for-value-in-podcasts.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Buy him a virtual coffee to show your support at https://BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by dole777 on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

It’s true that it’s cheap to start a podcast. It’s also true that the best podcasters don’t often podcast on the cheap. Getting serious about podcasting means selecting serious podcasting tools and services.

As is the case with most other creative pursuits; podcasters have options to use a better suite of tools and services that allow them to save time and—in the long run—money by letting them focus more on mastering the craft of podcasting.

To that end, I offer you five upgrade paths for tools and services used by serious podcasters.

1. Upgrade to a serious DAW. Yes, I know you can do everything you currently need to do for your podcast with the free digital audio workstation (DAW) that you're using. But I assure you there are a great number of options, efficiencies, and enhancements you've not been exposed to because of your continued use of the tool that came on your computer or the one you downloaded for free.

2. Clean your audio before adding it to your DAW. It may sound, to you, that pre-cleaning audio instead of letting your DAW’s plugins is a needless step. But done right, doing pre-clean will sound, to your listeners, like an essential step.

3. Improve your recording environment. Acoustically treating the space you use the most to record and getting rid of those cheap, noisy mic cables can make a huge difference that your audience will hear. 

4. Pick a centralized communication, coordination, and collaboration service. Your Rube Goldberg-esque system using Dropbox, Google Docs, Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, and email can only be pushed so far.

5. Start outsourcing. No, not your audio editing. Start by getting a trusted assistant to do every rote task, and then consider investing in a pro to master every episode before it’s published. Both allow you to be that much better.

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• Hindenburg Journalist Pro (DAW) - https://hindenburg.com/products/hindenburg-journalist-pro

•  Adobe Audition (DAW) - https://www.adobe.com/products/audition/free-trial-download.html

• Reaper (DAW) - https://www.reaper.fm 

• Logic Pro (DAW) - https://www.apple.com/logic-pro

• Pro Tools (DAW) - https://www.avid.com/pro-tools

• iZotope (cleanup) - https://www.izotope.com

• Accusonus (cleanup) - https://accusonus.com

• Waves (cleanup) - https://www.waves.com

• Audimute (sound conditioning) - https://www.audimute.com

• KOPUL (mic cables) - http://www.kopulcables.com

• Mogami (mic cables) - https://mogamicable.com

• Basecamp (comms) - https://basecamp.com

• Notion (comms) https://www.notion.so

• Monday (comms) - https://monday.com

• ClickUp (comms) https://clickup.com

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Podcasting+For+Dummies-p-9780471748984

• New support page is finished! - https://podcastpontifications.com/support

• Want to sponsor Podcast Pontifications? - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/get-serious-about-your-podcast-with-these-5-upgrades.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Buy him a virtual coffee to show your support at https://BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.

Starting a podcast is easy. But becoming better by following self-serve, learn-at-your-own-pace materials will only get you so far. Sometimes, you need a specialized curriculum to make you a better podcaster.

Writing Podcasting for Dummies back in 2005 taught me to love podcasting. Writing Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies a few years later almost made me hate it.

Why? Because the journey to becoming a better podcaster is a thousand or more different paths, each winding in, out, and around the others. Anyone selling you a master class on podcasting is probably only offering a master class in how they podcast.

So today, I'm going to break down six—yes, only six—educational resources designed for seasoned podcasters to up their game

1. Take a Transom.org Workshop. Transom’s goal is to make you the best storyteller you can be. But fair warning, these educational programs, like many good educational programs, are not inexpensive.  

2. Read Out On The Wire, by Jessica Abel, a timeless book I think every serious podcaster should have in their head as well as on their bookshelf. But it’s not a book filled with worksheets and actionable takeaways. Instead, it’s about the process of making great audio. 

3. Get NPR-level training from NPR. They’ve packaged up a wide range of incredibly insightful resources that podcasters can consume. It's a huge treasure trove of information that’s worth regular visits to see what new information they’ve made available to all of us podcasters. 

4. Up your podcast marketing with Polymash if you’re looking for higher-level marketing and optimization strategies specific to podcasting. 

5. Get Better With Other Podcasters In The Podcast Academy. I’m excited to see a shift in focus this year to mentorship groups where seasoned podcasters meet and collaborate on a regular basis, allowing each small group to evolve in its own way that serves the needs of in each small group. 

6. Get specialized audio training from The Podcast Audio Lab. Coming very soon, Marcus dePaula will offer short, highly focused training videos designed to solve very specific audio/recording challenges faced by more advanced podcasters.

If I missed your favorite resource (which is bound to happen), please share your thoughts in the Advancing Podcasting community with a hundred or so other seasoned podcasters who want to get better at the craft of podcasting.

-----

Links:

• FREE 3-week trial of My Podcast Reviews - https://mypodcastreviews.com/pp

• Podcasting for Dummies (1st Edition, the newest is 4th) - https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Podcasting+For+Dummies-p-9780471748984

• Expert Podcasting Practices for Dummies - https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Expert+Podcasting+Practices+For+Dummies-p-9780470149263

• Workshops from Transom - https://transom.org/workshops/about

• Out On The Wire by Jessica Abel - https://jessicaabel.com/out-on-the-wire

• NPR training site - https://training.npr.org

• Podcast marketing & optimization courses from Polymash - https://polymash.com/my-courses

• The Podcast Academy - https://www.thepodcastacademy.com

• The Podcast Audio Lab - http://podcastaudiolab.com

• Advancing Podcasting community (Discord) - http://advancingpodcasting.xyz

• Email me - [email protected]

• New support page in progress - https://podcastpontifications.com/support

• Want to sponsor Podcast Pontifications? - https://podcastpontifications.com/sponsor

-----

A written-to-be-read article and a full transcript of the audio of this episode can be found at https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/6-training-resources-to-make-you-a-better-podcaster.

Visit https://twitter.com/evoterra for more podcasting insights from Evo Terra as they come.

Buy him a virtual coffee to show your support at https://BuyMeACoffee.com/evoterra.

And if you need a professional in your podcasting corner, please visit https://Simpler.Media to see how Simpler Media Productions can help you reach your business objectives with podcasting.

Allie Press assists with the production and transcription of the show. Learn more about Allie at http://alliepress.net.

Podcast Pontifications four times a week to provide ideas and ask questions every working podcaster should be thinking about. Subscribe today at https://PodcastPontifications.com.

Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash

Mentioned in this episode:

Support For Abortion Rights

While Americans overwhelmingly support the right of an individual to make their own decisions about abortion, unfortunately, that right is no longer protected everywhere in the U.S. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24th.