Podcast Pontifications

With all the attention and investment opportunities pouring into podcasting, you're probably considering upgrading your show so you can get some of that sweet cash. Or just more ears on your content.

In this short episode, I'll help you understand what sort of bang you can get for your bucks. I'll use the following directional budget-buckets to help you prioritize your plans:

• $100 lets you hire an editor, either of your audio files or of the text that accompanies your episodes. 
• $500 lets you hire a producer, which affords you the opportunity to upgrade from the basic, linear flow to something resembling a narrative podcast
• $5000 puts a whole production team at your disposal, with a suite of professionals to help make great episodes from square one. You can also afford some solid marketing and PR.

As stated, these budget-buckets are directional, not absolute. Hopefully, they give you some guide-posts and reality checks to help you on your podcast upgrade path. 

(And if you need help with your business-minded podcast at any of those levels, reach out!)

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.

Largely because of the non-stop love podcasting is getting in financial (and other) publications, developers with novel ideas are finding it easier to raise capital to build the latest and greatest podcasting app.

Some offer exclusive, pay-walled content. Some blend social sharing with listening behavior. And others have less-scrutable business goals. But one thing is certain: we'll see many more launched, and it's hard to pick the winner.

Or is it? In this short episode, I'll tell you, the working podcaster, how you can "win" this heating-up app war, ensuring your content is available no matter who winds up on top (or more likely eventually gets dumped.)

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.

Most of us get by just fine on our own. To make sure we stay on the right track, we regularly see "experts" for checkups. Doctors, financial advisor, and dental hygienists. We trust these experts to catch things we might have missed, keeping us on the path.

Maybe we podcasters need our own version of hygienists?

In this short episode, I make the case for that, offering up some tips on the kinds of routines worthy of examining in such a relationship. I have one client I do this for about every six months. And while it's not currently a core service, it might need to be. Given all the changes happening right now in podcasting, having a pro on your side to perform a set of subjective and objective tests on your efforts seems like a good thing. 

So... maybe a new service offering is in the making? Get in touch!

Also, I changed up the music and some other things in this episode. Let me know that you love it!

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.

As a professional contrarian, I know first hand the power of the dissenting voice. And I also know what it's like to be raked over the coals for espousing unpopular views.

Recently, an opinion piece by the editor of the Podcast Business Journal and a perspective by the pop music critic for the Washington Post have the podcasting community breaking out the virtual torches and pitchforks. 

This episode is my attempt to persuade you that dissenting opinions -- especially ones you vehemently disagree with on a foundational level -- are both good and necessary for a healthy and evolving podcast ecosystem.

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.

The Podcast Consumer 2019 report from Edison and Triton Digital is out, with lots of podcasters & pundits gobbling up the data and interpreting the results.

In this episode, I focus on the one slide from that report that holds the most significance to business-minded podcasters: The reasons and rationale of why people choose not to listen to podcasts.

And keep in mind: while the majority of Americans have listened to a podcast episode at least once, a good chunk of people walking around out there never have. Which means a good chunk of your customers, mailing list members, or anyone else you want to listen also have some preconceived notions about podcasting that you need to break through.

• 75% of non-listeners say podcasting isn't for them. Just like coupons will never entice me to try out a Chinese Buffet, cajoling (begging) your mailing list to listen isn't helping. Time to play the features/benefits card.
• 51% of them say there's not enough time for them to listen to podcasts. So consider the length of your episodes. If that's fine, you need to help these people in your list understand that podcast listening isn't a zero-sum game
• 49% think there's nothing inside of podcasts that they can't get through other means. Are you using those other means -- social, emails, blog posts -- to demonstrate the unique value contained inside your episodes? Or are you just auto-Tweeting headlines and a subscribe link? That's not going to work for them.

Speaking of that last one, I go into much more detail inside the episode, so give it a listen. (Though given the nature of the content of this show, it's probably immune to those reasons. Still, just in case...)

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.

Here's a fact I live but often forget: Most people aren't looking for perfection. That's as true in podcasting as it in every aspect of life.

Earlier today, I saw a Tweet from the actor Jameela Jamil that illustrated this point perfectly (he said, ironically). So on this uncharacteristic episode, I lean into the love, which is the single biggest motivating factor for a lot of podcasts.

Not everyone strives to have a perfect podcast, just like not everyone strives to have a perfect body. Hell, most people don't strive to have a perfect body. But that doesn't mean they aren't proud of their show and actually put out effort to make a good sounding show. But those people care little about what self-purported experts (hi!) say makes a good sounding show. When you do it for the love of what you create, you have a different set of success metrics. And pleasing cranky salty old-timers like me isn't high on that list.

And that's OK. Because you're podcasting for you first, not me. (I think I needed to hear this today, so I said it myself!) 

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.

I've been blessed (cursed?) with an abundance of confidence. Couple that with nearly 15 years experience in podcasting and my leadership role seems cemented.

But to be honest, I'm constantly fighting the suspicion that the processes I use and the advice I give will one day (soon?) be irrelevant.

In this short episode, I'll examine my own fears/concerns, including how I fight against this constant pressure and never-ending fear that I'll be seen as a legacy provider, rather than maintaining my leadership role.

Even if you've only been podcasting a short while, this future is in your cards too. Learn how to fight it! 

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.

As podcasters, we're always looking to get more people to subscribe to our show. But that drive runs counter to the new wave of podcast listeners, who want to be nothing more than that -- a casual listener. 

In this short episode, I'll share with you three real-world stories that lead me to this conclusion.

• One was a young woman who professes a love for listening to podcasts all the time, but doesn't subscribe to any. Instead, she just searches for something that sounds interesting. When that's over, she searches for something else.
• Another was a more mature woman -- a podcaster, even -- who listens to lots of podcasts (like this one) but doesn't subscribe. She catches lots of shows "live" on social media platforms, or follows links she sees in her Twitter feed.
• And then there was that much-lambasted study by the University of Florida and Futuri Media that claimed that YouTube was where the vast majority of listeners discover and listen to podcasts. That didn't sit well with many. Maybe not even me.

But those signs, plus the fact that Google Podcasts is transcribing content podcasting content to feed to their algorithm, and even Apple is coming out with cross-platform webpages for podcasts that are indexable by search engines... it points to a growing trend that subscribing is now more optional than ever.

What are we going to do about that? Well, I have a few ideas that are in the episode. Spoiler: They little to do with trying to convince these non-subscribers of the benefits of subscribing. 

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.

Yesterday, I went back to the gym after a 5-week break. I'm more than a little sore today, but it got me thinking about how similar this is to re-establishing a podcast that has faded away.

In this short episode, I'll walk you through the three steps you un-fading a show. Note: this isn't just theory; this is practical advice I learned when we re-launched the Bangkok Podcast a few years back.

Broadly speaking, here are the three steps to re-establishing a podfaded show:

1. Remediate! Get to the root cause behind why the show faded... and fix it! 
2. Go slow & in stealth! Too many shows make grand "we're coming back!" announcements, then fail to deliver.
3. Plan to fade again. Hey, it happened once before. And on a long enough time scale, all shows come to an end. So plan for it.

Listen in to hear more about those topics, and join me tomorrow for another episode of Podcast Pontifications! 

Also, happy 150th episode!

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.

The next big thing in podcasting is daily podcasting. Which shows how history likes to repeat/rhyme because one of the first podcasts ever was a daily show.

But with so many newspapers, magazines, and other sorts of "publishers" jumping in the podcasting space, there's a growing hunger among listeners for more frequently produced content. 

In this short episode, I'll walk through some considerations you might take before deciding to increase your publishing cadence. Sure, new listeners might be expecting more content. But what about the existing listener experience? 

Also: moving to daily requires more and different work. It's quite possible the routines you've established for your show aren't what's needed to keep a daily program running. 

Listen in to find out if you should make the jump -- or maybe start a new daily show?

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.