Podcasting for Authors

Welcome to the seventh episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the last episode, I shared some things to help you with your first recording session. I covered some best practices regarding microphone techniques as well as choosing and treating your recording space.

Now that you've recorded your first episode, we now move into the post-production phase, which includes:

• Audio editing
• Audio processing (mixing and mastering)
• Writing show notes
• Creating graphics
• Promotion via social media, email, etc.

In this episode, I'm going to focus on the audio editing and processing aspects of this. In the next episode, I share some things you can do regarding promotion, which will touch on show notes and graphics as well.

Choose your editing approach 

I have edited my own podcasts since 2013 and have been editing for other people since 2015. There is a wide variety of thoughts and approaches to editing podcasts, and I've seen quite a bit.

• There are those that are extremely minimal in their philosophy - they just want to record and have little resistance to get the show live. If they do any editing, it's just to cut the beginning and ending, and then add their intro/outro music.
• There are those that go after the "low-hanging fruit" - They don't worry about making it sound polished.
• There are those that want a professional, polished sound. These people are usually professionals that want their message to get out and maintain high quality.

There are many variables determining how you approach this. Things like the purpose of your podcast, your financial budget, and your available time are likely the biggest decision factors. You can choose whichever way seems best for you, but I'm going line out some things here to get you started.

Importance of editing

The purpose of editing is to remove distractions from the podcast so that your message can get through with little distraction. Things like excessive crutch phrases, stumbles, and glitches can potentially distract from the message.

 

Low-hanging fruit

Getting the low-hanging fruit is the easiest way to start with editing. This is just taking out the big, obvious parts such as stand-alone ums, major stumbles, internet glitches, etc.

If you are recording with a device or program that allows you to make markers in the audio, you may be able to catch some of these as they happen. This helps to make them easier to see while editing.

Also, while editing, you should be able to look at the waveforms to see obvious gaps or issues.

 

Precision edits

As you move past the obvious edits and onto higher-detail pieces, it takes a little more skill to properly remove the bad audio.

Whenever an edit is made, you always want it to be invisible. To do this, you'll likely need to do some fading in and out. This is especially true when you have words that are close to each other.

 

Things to NOT take out

While I do advocate doing a more detailed editing job, there are times that some things should be left in.

• When words are combined and it won't leave a clean edit.
• When voice intonation and pacing don't match.
• When the remaining sentence doesn't make sense after editing.

Remember, the main goal of editing is to make the message more clear and remove distractions. If an edit is noticeable, it shouldn't be made.

 

Audio processing

Audio processing refers to the mixing and mastering steps of audio production. Most of this outside of the scope of this podcast, but let me just mention a couple of things to consider for this.

• Noise reduction
• Compressions
• EQ
• Reverb
• Volume levels

Audio processing can be an involved process, but, for many podcasts, you can use simple and somewhat "standard" settings to get good quality.

 

Closing:

While I personally notice more than the average person when it comes to editing, not everyone does. Your listeners may not care as much as I do, but you still want to respect your listeners and their time. You'll want to really think about how you'll approach the editing process.

Just like editing a book helps to improve your message and make it easier to read, audio editing helps your podcast listeners get your message in the best way possible.

In the next episode, we're going to talk about some other aspects of post-production, specifically publishing and promoting your podcast.

Welcome to Podcasting for Authors. We have covered a lot of basics about podcasting to help you get started. The first four episodes really help set the groundwork for your podcast and episode 5 gives you an overview of the tech side.

Today, we'll be talking about the actual recording process, including your recording environment and mic technique.

 

Proper preparation 

As we get started talking about recording your podcast, one of the best things to do is to properly prepare for the recording session.

It's not enough to just sit down, grab the microphone, and talk. All the things we've covered before will help make this a smoother process. Having notes or a script ready will help a lot. If you have a guest, prep them beforehand about what to expect.

Being prepared beforehand will not only make the recording process smoother, but it'll also help with the post-production. You shouldn't have to make as many edits afterwards, which can make that part much easier.

Also, double or triple check that you are recording. It is one of the worst feelings when you get to the end of the interview and realize that you never actually started recording.

A resource that can help you is using a checklist that Daniel J. Lewis created. I'll make sure to link to this Preflight Checklist in the show notes.

Mic technique

One of the things that is critical when it comes to recording is knowing how to properly use your microphone.

Microphone pick up

Each microphone is a little different in how to use it, but, generally speaking, there are two ways to talk into a microphone. There are top-address microphones and there are side-address microphones. It's important for you to find out which way is correct for your microphone.

For example, the Blue Yeti microphone is pretty popular, but there are a lot of people that use it incorrectly. It is a side-address microphone, but many people angle it down and speak into the top of it. There are two problems with this.

1. The voice is not picked up as well - it sounds more distant and allows more room noise.
2. With the microphone tilted, the sounds in the room bounce off the desk and straight into the microphone additionally creating an echo or reverb.

So you want to make sure to know where and how your microphone picks up sound and speak into it properly.

Other Best Practices

• Get your mouth close to the microphone - 2-3 inches. Many people are uncomfortable with this, but it's important to get close so it can best pick up your voice while minimizing the background noises.
• Sometimes it can be helpful to angle the microphone 45* to your mouth. This allows your voice to still get where it should, but it helps reduce the popping p's.

 

Headphones

As I mentioned before, always wear headphones when you are recording with someone else. Never let the other person's voice come over your computer speakers. If you do, it will bleed into your microphone and create reverb in the audio. Sometimes this can be cleaned up in post-production, but not always. And even when it can, the quality of your own voice could be sacrificed in the process.

 

The recording environment

When it comes to the place that you record, many people have limited options. Many times it's their home office, an extra room in their house, or even using a bedroom or dining room for dual-use.

Depending on the room you use, the conditions may not be ideal for recording. Things to avoid are hard surfaces such as wood or tile floors, walls, and so on. The harder surfaces reflect sound back into the microphone and can potentially create reverb, or echo, in your recording.

Things that can help is having softer objects like carpet, rugs, curtains, and blankets. These help absorb the sound, greatly reducing the sounds getting back into your recording.

There are also professional sound treatments that you can use, but there's no need to spend money if you don't have to. If you are able to have a room with carpet and curtains, that can help. Rooms with more furniture can help, too, because the furniture creates more angles that divert and spread the sounds around.

 

Closing:

I'm obviously not covering everything you can do to help your recording environment, but this will give you a really good start. You don't have to have perfect audio, but these tips can help you get good audio for no-to-little cost.

It is always better to try to capture the best audio to begin with than to try to fix the audio in post-production. Any fixes that are attempted in post-production takes a change of reducing the quality of the audio.

But, like I just mentioned, I'm not advocating that you spend a bunch of money to create the perfect recording studio. Sometimes, it's more important to start with what you have and do the best you can to make decent audio.

In the next episode, we'll talk about some of the post-production parts of your podcast, including editing and assembling the final mp3.

105: Podcasting Equipment

Welcome to the fifth episode of Podcasting for Authors. Today, we'll actually be jumping in and talking about about the equipment.

When I say "equipment," it's even broader to include:

1. Microphones
2. Headphones
3. Audio mixers
4. Digital recorders
5. Software

It doesn't haven't to be expensive

I have heard of many people getting into podcasting and jump in, buying a ton of expensive equipment. While I can admire the desire to get "the best" right away, many times it's not necessary. Hopefully, I can help give you a better understanding of what is available and what you might actually need. As we go through, I'll mention several options at varying price points. But you can also count on the fact that I won't recommend anything that I either haven't used personally or have had good reviews from podcasters I thoroughly trust.

Headphones

I want to start with headphones because these can make or break your podcast if you are doing anything but a solo show. And headphones can be either over the ear, over the head, or even earbuds - just something to bring the sound straight to your ears.

If you are doing a solo show, this may not be as critical, other than being able to monitor your volume levels.

If you have other people and your all in the same room, headphones also may not be necessary. But, again, it can help you all monitor the volume levels and be able to hear what sound is making into the recording.

If you are talking with guests remotely (Skype, Zencastr, or other online service), headphones are a must. If you don't use headphones of some sort, the other person's voice will get into your microphone and create an echo that is difficult or impossible to remove.

 

Microphones Microphones are probably the most popular piece of podcasting equipment for people to obsess over. And for good reason. It's the microphone that lets you be able to get your voice recorded.

There are basically two type of microphones - condenser microphones and dynamic microphones.

From the Shure website:

• When it comes to microphones, you often hear debate over which type is better: dynamic or condenser. This comes down to two technical characteristics: output level and frequency response. Condenser microphones usually are more sensitive and provide a higher output level. A higher output level can be useful because the signal doesn't need to be amplified as much by the mixer. Amplification adds hiss, and less-expensive mixers generate more of it.
• Condenser mics have better response to high frequencies than dynamic mics. This gives condensers a crisp, detailed sound; however, it can be a problem for podcasters who record at home. When you use a condenser mic, you risk picking up too much of the shhh sound from air vents or extra noises from the lips and tongue. Dynamic mics naturally mask these irritants just like a soft-focus filter on a camera hides blemishes.

Generally, I and many other podcast consultants recommend dynamic microphones. This is due to the fact that most podcasters record from a room in their house and their rooms are usually not professionally sound-treated. Another reason for this is because of mic-technique - dynamic mics are a little more forgiving.

Here are some of my recommendations for dynamic mics:

• Audio Technica ATR2100 USB - $65
• Audio Technica AT2005 USB - $80
• Samson Q2U - $60
• Heil PR-40 - $325
• Electrovoice RE320 - $295

Audio mixers and audio interfaces

If you are doing a solo show you may not need an audio mixer. Usually a mixer is used to bring in multiple microphones or sound sources.

Also, depending on the microphone you are using, you may not need a mixer or audio interface. Some microphones can plug directly into your computer, so there would be no need for another device.

Basically, don't worry about getting one unless you really need one.

There are different sizes of mixers by companies like Behringer and Mackie. Some of these also have the option of connecting to your computer via USB.

The Scarlett Focusrite audio interfaces are also really good if you have a microphone that doesn't have a USB connection.

Digital recorders

A digital record is a device that allows you to record and then transfer the audio file to your computer either via a USB cable or an SD card.

This is another piece that is optional. If you don't use a digital recorder, you'll need to be able to record into software on your computer.

Zoom makes some really good digital recorders. I would recommend:

• Zoom H4N Pro
• Zoom H5
• Zoom H6

Software There are several different pieces of software that you may consider using.

• For recording
• • Skype
  • Zencastr
  • Audacity
  • Audition
  • Hindenburg Journalist
• For editing
• • Audacity
  • Audition
  • Hindenburg Journalist
  • Reaper
• For ID3 tags

 

Closing:

In the next episode, we'll start getting into the nitty-gritty of actually planning your podcast - from a show level, but especially on an episode level.

 

Welcome to the fourth episode of Podcasting for Authors. Today, we'll finally jumping into actually prepping for your first podcast episode.

Also, preparing for a podcast episode is probably similar to work that you do as an author, so you should be able to translate your current skills easily.

Of course, the things we cover today will also help you as you prepare all your future episodes.

Your first episode

For the first episode, many times people will create an episode that talks about you as the host as well as what the podcast is about. Many even make this an episode 0. I've done this several times myself.

Another way to approach the first episode is to lead with value. In other words, just jump into the first, most important topic that your audience needs. You can include a little bit about yourself and the purpose of the podcast, but this method minimize that.

Either way you choose to go, you still want to make sure that the content is valuable to your audience.

Choose the topic

This can be one of the easiest parts about planning and preparing your podcast episode. But then again, it could be a difficult one - depending on the work you put in earlier. If you put together a good list of possible topics, this part is much easier.

There are three main ways you can decide on what topic to cover next.

1. The logic next step
2. Feedback from your audience
3. Current events

Choose main points

After you have the main topic for the episode, you'll need to choose the main points that will support that topic. Maybe it's 2-3 points, maybe it's 10 points. However many there are, get them listed out and organize them into a logical order.

This is likely similar to how you approach a writing task.

• Start by going for quantity
• Then start narrowing the list down for quality and importance (sculpting example)
• When you've narrowed it down, organize the list into whatever order is most logical for the topic.

Fill in necessary details

When your outline is done, then you can start filling in the details as you see fit. This is where things may differ from a writing project.

• If you are scripting, then you'll need to write like you talk.
• If you are not going to write a script, bullet points may be enough.
• There is also some middle ground between having a script and not having a script. You may need to write out your thoughts more fully first, and then pare back to bullet points.

Find resources and links

Finding resources may or may not be necessary depending on what you're covering or how you're covering it. I'm mentioning it here at the end, but it may be something that you do earlier as you are either creating the outline or filling in the details.

The key thing is that you should have the resources and links ready before your record the episode so that the recording process can be as smooth as possible.

Welcome to the third episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the first episode, we covered a lot of the basics - and mostly mental exercises. We looked at the importance of knowing your audience, your why, your goal, and brainstorming for your topic. In the last episode, we talked about your podcast title, cover artwork, and media hosting options.

Today, we'll be exploring different formats you can choose from for your podcast.

There are a couple basic options:

1. Solo show
2. Interview show
3. Co-host show
4. Round-table

Choose your approach

Before you actually choose a specific format, you'll need decide how you want to approach your podcast. As an author, you are likely to want to showcase your own expertise. Many times, a solo show can be best for this; but there could be ways to utilize other methods to demonstrate your expertise with the other formats. The key is to consider this thought as you decide. I share some thoughts on ways to leverage each of these to showcase your expertise with interview formats.

Solo show

A solo show is generally a great option for people that want to showcase their own expertise, or at least share their own story or opinions.

Advantages:

1. Scheduling ease
2. Full control
3. Display your expertise

Disadvantages:

1. Limited support
2. Awkward (talking to self)
3. Limited promotion

Interview show An interview show, generally, is where you interview someone that is an expert in some capacity in the topic or sub-topic of your show.

Advantages:

1. More options for finding content via guests
2. Bring different viewpoints on the same topic
3. Additional opportunity for promotion

Disadvantages:

1. Scheduling conflicts
2. Harder to display your expertise
   1. Guest recording environment/equipment
   2. Technology to connect and record
3. Audio quality

Co-hosted show

A co-hosted show is kind of a blend between a solo show and an interview-based show.

Advantages:

1. Additional perspective
2. Additional topic possibilities
3. Multiple voice can break up possible monotany
4. Additional opportunity for promotion
5. Support and help

Disadvantages:

1. Scheduling conflicts
   1. Co-host recording environment/equipment
   2. Technology to connect and record
2. Audio quality

 

Round-table show

A round-table is a suped-up co-hosted show, where you have 3 or more people weighing in on the topic.

Advantages:

1. Multiple perspectives
2. Promotion advantages
3. More content ideas
4. Variety of voices

Disadvantages:

1. Scheduling conflicts
2. Possible confusion with multiple voices (who is who)
3. Higher chance of talking over each other
   1. Guests' recording environment/equipment
   2. Technology to connect and record
4. Audio quality

How you can leverage interviews to showcase your expertise:

While solo shows are the best and easiest way to allow for showcasing your expertise, co-hosted and round-table can be fairly easy to do this as well. With interview-based shows, it is definitely more difficult, but definitely not impossible.

First of all, you want to make your guest the star during the interview. Don't use the interview time to showcase your own expertise. Allow the guest to share their knowledge and perspective.

• Have a segment after the interview where you can share your thoughts on the topic
• • Share a conflicting viewpoint
  • Share a recap or take-away points
  • Share additional pieces that weren't covered by the guest
• Have a recurring segment either before or after the interview
• • Have a series of tips you share
  • Have a series of resources
• The guest can be a client or case study
• • No need for additional segments
  • Let's the guest be the star while you can still display your expertise

You don't have to have just one format

Now the best part of all of this is that you don't have to have just one format. You also don't have to stick with one format if you decide to change down the road.

For example, you can start with a solo show so you can establish your own expertise and credibility. You can later switch to an interview show to bring variety and additional expertise.

You can also establish a pattern where you mix the different formats. There are several shows that I know alternate between solo shows and interviews.

• Bossed Up - interview on Tue, solo on Thur
• Jordan Harbinger - interviews on Mon, Wed, co-host on Fri (mailbag)
• Blogging with Leslie - alternates interview/solo each episode
• Some just do something different and preface it "Normally we do___, but today we are going to ___."

There is something to be said about consistency, but if you establish a pattern, you don't have to limit yourself.

 

I hope this episode helps you to understand some different podcasting format options. This should help you to choose the best option for both you and your podcast. You can go to the website to get specific recommendations and further help.

In the next episode, we'll start getting into the nitty-gritty of actually planning your podcast - from a show level, but especially on an episode level.

Welcome to the second episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the last episode, we covered a lot of the basics - and mostly mental exercises. We looked at the importance of knowing your audience, your why, your goal, and brainstorming for your topic.

Today, we'll be looking at your podcast title, cover artwork, and media hosting options.

Podcast Title

The title for your podcast is an important thing to consider. For this, it may be obvious to you if you are basing the podcast on a book you wrote, but here are some things to consider first.

The most important thing is how the title relates and appears to your audience. The title may be obvious to you and loyal followers, but maybe it involves some inside joke or information that an "outsider" may not quickly resonate with.

Make sure that your title:

• Relates to your audience (refer back to ep 101)
• Clearly conveys the topic of your podcast without being too long
• Can fit onto the artwork and be clearly read (more on this later)

You'll want to avoid these mistakes:

• Don't be overly clever with your title
• Don't stuff keywords

The overall idea is to make sure that your title is clear, not just clever. It is one of the first things people will see (as well as your artwork), and as such, the title needs to grab their attention.

Podcast cover artwork

As an author, you understand the importance of the cover for your book. In many ways, the cover artwork is the same for your podcast. It's one of the first things to catch someone's attention as they are swipping through the options of what to listen to. You want to make sure that your artwork will stand out. I'm not a graphic designer, but here are some tips to help:

• Make sure that title on your artwork can be easily read when it is shrunk down
• Don't make the artwork too busy
• https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/how-to-make-great-podcast-cover-art-tap191/

Technical specs to watch:

• Smallest size: 1400x1400 pixels
• Largest size: 3000x3000 pixels
• File size needs to be 500 KB or less
• Needs to be JPG or PNG

It is possible to go cheap with designing your cover art yourself or going to Fiverr, but many times you get what you pay for. Some "designers" on Fiverr have been caught stealing work from other people and sites, but you could be liable for using it. It's best to go to a reputable source to get design work done. Even though it's more expensive, you'll have a better product, not to mention more peace of mind.

Media hosting options

When it comes to hosting your mp3 files for your podcast, there are several good options to choose from as well as many false ideas to watch out for.

First of all there is a difference between website hosting and media hosting. Media files, like audio and video should not be hosted on your website host. Some have done this and been fine, but many have had their website shut down because of using too much bandwidth on their "unlimited" host. This is because the way that media files are downloaded or streamed is different than text and pictures, and regular website hosts are not optimized for that type of downloading.

My personal recommendation for media hosting is Libsyn. I started in early 2013 and this is the only media host I've used personally. I am now an affiliate with them (enter the code 'JOSH' when checking out), but that was only after being please with their service for several years.

I have also heard good things about Blubrry, Speaker, and Podbean.

Dave Jackson from the School of Podcasting has shared his requirements when it comes to choosing a media host:

1. Don't mess with my file. What I upload is what I want people to download.
2. Give me the ability to have an unlimited back catalog (unlimited storage)
3. Don't limit my audience size (unlimited bandwidth)
4. Don't control my feed, and make it easy to leave if I choose to do so. I need to be able to put in an iTunes redirect script.
5. Give me support.
6. Charge me for your service so you can stay in business
7. Give me stats so I can see what's working. It would be nice if they were accurate.

 

I hope this episode helps you to clarify your title, design your artwork, and understand media hosts. You can go to the website to get specific recommendations and further help.

In the next episode, we'll talk about choosing the right format for your podcast.

If you'd like to check out more resources, go to PodcastingAuthors.com. This will take to the podcast page on my website that links to the other episodes and a growing list of resources. You can also reach out to me personally at [email protected].

Welcome to the first episode of Podcasting for Authors. This first season will have 10 episodes. Most people looking into podcasting usually want to look at and talk about the tech aspects:

• Microphones
• Mixers
• Software
• Other gadgets

We will definitely cover these in future episodes, but the best place to start is with brainstorming and mental preparation. As an author, you may already have some of these in place, but it's best to check it anyway rather than to assume something and be wrong.

Know your audience

The first and most important thing is your audience.

At this point, you may or may not have an audience already.

No matter what your current status is, you need to figure out and understand who exactly you are trying to reach. This is a process of being very specific. Saying that you are targeting males 18-80 that love fishing is not good enough.

Here is one thought to help you: your target audience is one person. Not one kind of person. One person.

Here's some questions to help you get started:

• What is his/her name? (that's right - a name)
• How old is he?
• Is he married? How long?
• Does he have kids? How many? Names, ages, etc.?
• What is his career/job?
• What is his greatest strength?
• What is his greatest weakness?

This is just a start, but you get the idea. Be very specific about who he is. Also realize that you may tweak who your target audience is or discover more about him as you move down the road.

As you move along the podcasting journey, you may be able to broaden your audience to include additional demographics. Instead of just a 30-year old accountant with a wife and 2 kids, you may start reaching other 30-something men that have office jobs. Or you may start reaching those that are 30-50 years old. As you grow, just make sure that you always come back to your avatar. He is the center of it all.

Know your why

You need to have a "why" that is huge. Podcasting can be a slow-growing process.

Yes, there are plenty of stories of people that started a podcast and things took off for them: they had thousands of downloads, money started coming, and they became famous overnight.

However, this is the exception rather than the rule. And usually, these "overnight successes" are a result of years of strategy, skill, time, and money.

Most likely:

• You will have smaller numbers
• You won't be bringing in money for a few months or even a year
• You won't reach that celebrity status
• You'll be putting your time and money into podcasting and see little results

The average number of episodes for a podcast is 7. That's it.

In order to make it, you need a strong "why." A reason that will keep you going even when things look down. Those that persevere through these early difficult times will usually make it for the long haul.

Your "why" should be more than "I want to make money." It's not wrong to want to make money using podcasting, but it's not a strong reason to keep going.

"I want to help people do ___________" is a better reason.

To help give a better perspective about your audience size is to think in terms of holding a class in a physical location once a week. A classroom with 20-25 people is generally considered to be full. Imagine everyone listening to your podcast as a person in a classroom, all coming to listen to you every week. Does that help change your perception?

You need this strong why before you really get started so that you can have a solid foundation.

 

Know what your goal is

Very similar to knowing your "why" is knowing what your goal is.

How do you know when you reach your goal?

• A certain number of downloads?
• A certain amount of feedback or interaction?
• A certain number of email subscribers?
• A monetary value?

Nailing down what your goal is can help keep you going.

If your goal is community interaction, how important are paid sponsorships?

Whatever your goal is, keep that in front of you all the time. And this is also going to drive the call to actions as well.

If you want people on your email list, have that as the call to action. Telling people to rate and review in Apple Podcasts doesn't add anyone to your list. Directing them to your website to download some worksheet or guide will.

Know your podcast topic

This may already be decided since you're an author and have a subject matter that you're covering. But here are some thoughts in relation to your podcast.

Looking at the avatar you developed, what does he need help with that you can fulfill? Notice that this is identifying one thing that answers two questions:

1. What is your avatar's problem?
2. What can you provide?

The key is to find the intersection of those, and that will give you an overarching topic for your podcast.

Another approach to figuring out your topic may have nothing to do with your expertise of the topic. It may be driven by your passionate desire to learn the topic. In other words, you may be your avatar!

You could potentially start a podcast where you document your own learning experience through interviews, research, and other content curation. You can put things into practice and report your results.

Whether you start your podcast as the expert or as the student or guide, you make sure that you can address the problem of your avatar.

After you nail down your main podcast topic, you need to see if you have enough subtopics to make it worthwhile. If you can only come up with 5-10 sub-topics or ideas for specific episodes, things will dry up pretty quickly. Sit down and write (or type) out as many subtopics that you can think of related to your topic. You can use the journalistic questions to help (who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Let's use lawn care as an example. You may have a list that has subtopics like:

• Choosing the right mower
• Choosing the right trimmer
• How to get a clean edge along the driveway
• What to do when dandelions take over
• Why you need to use fertilizer
• When you should use weedkiller

This list doesn't have to be extremely detailed at this point. This is just a brainstorming stage. If you need help thinking of more ideas, you can use a couple resources:

• Google
• Amazon - you can search for other books on your topic and preview their table of contents
• Books and magazines - you can get a bunch of ideas from your local library
• Talk to other experts in the field of your topic
• Talk to your potential audience and see what specific problems they may have

You can take this list of subtopics and see if you can break any of them down into more specific subjects. For example, instead of just talking about mowers, you can break it down into push mowers and riding mowers. If you can come up with a list of 20-30 things, you have a great start, and this could be a great topic. As you progress, you should be able to add to this list as you engage with your audience.

 

This gives you an overview of these starting mindsets. Again you may already have a head start translating your past experience and followers as an author. But, many times, readers and listeners are different, so the approach sometimes needs to be different. So don't just pass this by - take at least a few minutes to really think about these things and you'll set yourself up for better success.

In the next episode, we'll talk about your podcast title, artwork, and media hosts.

If you'd like to check out more resources, go to PodcastingAuthors.com. This will take to the podcast page on my website that links to the other episodes and a growing list of resources. You can also reach out to me personally at [email protected].

Whether you are publishing independently or through a publishing company, you need to be continually expanding your reach. Podcasting is a fantastic way to bring your knowledge and influence, engage your audience on a regular basis, and drive sales for your current and future books. This is Podcasting Authors, and now here's your host, Joshua Rivers.

Season 1: 10-part series on how to podcast to supplement your work as an author

• 000: About this podcast and host
• 101: Getting Started: your why, your audience, podcast title, etc.
• 102: Media hosts, artwork
• 103: Choose your podcasting format
• 104: Planning your podcast
• 105: Podcasting equipment
• 106: Recording and your recording environment
• 107: Editing your podcast
• 108: Publishing and promoting your podcast
• 109: Website and SEO for podcasting
• 110: Enlisting help for your podcast