PodCraft by Alitu: Honing the Craft of Podcasting

Video conferencing and online calls have rocketed in the past couple of months, for obvious reasons!

For many this new way of working is yet another steep learning curve in amongst all the other craziness that has happened since the start of 2020….. moving from face to face to remote working and virtual meetings.

Life is stressful enough for many people at the moment, without needing to figure the best ways of working online, whilst broadband is being shared amongst a household and you’re working from the kitchen table!

So, I got together with Maryanne Johnstone from the Agile Speaker podcast to do a joint series on how to communicate online, whether it's for work - your own team or clients - or for home - family and friends. 

In this short series we'll cover the logistics, including software, gear and setups. We'll cover how to prepare for these calls, so they go well. And we'll cover how to deliver them - how to make sure they run smoothly. 

This time around it's the logistics. So, let's find out what's the best setup for online calls, including microphones, headphones, software and location. 

We recently ran a listener survey, exploring the discovery and listening habits of 780 podcast consumers. 41% of participants have never run their own show before.

Read the full report

Some of the key takeaways were

• 40% prefer to search their listening app's directory to discover new podcasts
• Podcasts are judged mostly on the description, and then their episode titles
• People don't care if they've never heard of the podcaster, or their guest
• 28.9% of listeners will give a show up to 15 minutes to “hook” them
• 27.5%, on the other hand, will only give it 5 minutes
• The vast majority of listeners are fine with ads in podcasts, within reason
• Going too long can lose you more listeners than going too short

This week, we're bringing you a final bonus episode, coming from a new show that Colin's just released, called the Podcasting Tools show. 

It's a podcast all about gear, gadgets, resources and tools for podcasters, something that Colin's super geeky about, and something that's always gone down well with readers of thePodcastHost.com. 

The aim is short reviews, comparisons and tutorials that'll help you improve your show in just 10 minutes each week. 

Listen to this episode to see if you like it and subscribe over at:
https://www.ThePodcastHost.com/podcastingtools.

This week, and for 1 more week, we're bringing you episodes from a new show that Colin's just released, called the Podcasting Tools show. 

It's a podcast all about gear, gadgets, resources and tools for podcasters, something that Colin's super geeky about, and something that's always gone down well with readers of thePodcastHost.com. 

The aim is short reviews, comparisons and tutorials that'll help you improve your show in just 10 minutes each week. 

Listen to this episode to see if you like it and subscribe over at:
https://www.ThePodcastHost.com/podcastingtools.

This week, and for the next 2 weeks, we're bringing you episodes from a new show that Colin's just released, called the Podcasting Tools show. 

It's a podcast all about gear, gadgets, resources and tools for podcasters, something that Colin's super geeky about, and something that's always gone down well with readers of thePodcastHost.com. 

The aim is short reviews, comparisons and tutorials that'll help you improve your show in just 10 minutes each week. 

Listen to this episode to see if you like it and subscribe over at:
https://www.ThePodcastHost.com/podcastingtools.

Podchaser is often referred to as “the IMDb of podcasting”.

The company was founded in 2016 with the goal of creating the “ultimate, platform-agnostic podcast database.” On this episode of Podcraft, Colin is joined by founder Cole Raven to talk about the various ways podcasters can utilise Podchaser.

The platform enables you to create your own profile. Then, you can link that profile it to all the shows and episodes you've ever been involved in.

Podchaser lets other users “follow” your show, so they'll never miss an update from you in their feed. They have a great ‘lists' feature too, so you can create themed lists of your favourite podcasts or podcast episodes. There's also a rating and review system. Cole points out that many podcasters ask for iTunes/Apple reviews on their shows, which excludes the huge number of folks listening on non iOS devices. With Podchaser, anyone with an account can leave your show a rating and review.

Users can even review individual episodes. You could start to leverage this by asking your listeners to review each episode on Podchaser to let you know exactly what they think. This could be a good way to determine what content really hits the mark, and what stuff you might want to consider dropping in future.

Podchaser is a fast growing platform that's becoming a great place to discover new shows. Users can keep up with what their like-minded friends are listening to, following, adding to lists, and reviewing.

For the interview show podcaster, it's also a really good place to seek out interesting and relevant new guests for your show.

As the platform is still relatively young, it's a good time to get on there, create your profile, and ‘claim' your podcast/podcasts. Cole and the Podchaser team are very supportive, receptive to feedback, and constantly adding new features and tweaks to the service.

New mics turn up on our doorstep all the time here at The Podcast Host. Which is handy, because our ‘best podcast microphones' article is one of the most popular on the entire site.

Many podcasters love equipment and gear. And, though it's far from the most important factor in making a great podcast, who doesn't like to try out some brand new kit?

So what exactly did we try out mic-wise in 2019? I thought I'd put together the sound samples recorded for each individual review, so you could listen through and compare them in one easy-to-listen place.

What You'll Hear

Here's what we'll be listening to, along with links to their full reviews on the site.

• AKG Lyra USB – $150
• Electro Voice RE20 – $400
• Aston Stealth – $400
• Zoom SSH-6 Shotgun Attachment – $150
• Rode Wireless Go – $210
• AntLion ModMic USB – $70
• Rode Procaster – $200
• Rode Rodecaster – $600

It's worth saying up front, that if you don't listen to this episode with over-ear headphones on, the subtle differences between each one might be lost on you.

That said, listening through earbuds in a busy, noisy place, is exactly how most listeners consume podcasts. So if you don't notice any difference at all, that could be a great reason to spend a lot less on your recording gear.

Need More Gear-Choosing Help?

The above mics are the ones we tried out in 2019, but there are plenty other great options on the market.

If you'd still like to shop around a bit, then be sure to check out our best podcast microphones and best USB mics roundups.

For more help on the audio and recording front, check out our ultimate guide to podcast equipment. This'll run you through everything you need, as well as everything you don't need.

And, if you'd prefer a bit more tailored assistance, check out The Podcast Host Academy. There, you'll get access to our community forums, live Q&A sessions, courses, resources, and much more!

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On the episode, I talk to David Bain, a long time and very prolific podcaster, the one I remember most being Digital Marketing Radio. David is also the author of Marketing Now (available very soon on Amazon!), which is a book which had it's genesis in a podcast. 

David is in good company with this type of repurposing, one of the biggest examples being Tim Ferriss and the Tools of Titans book. Tim created that book based on the hundreds of hours of content he's produced as part of his interview-based podcast. 

So, I thought I'd get David on the show, incase you want to follow in the footsteps of David and Tim. Here he talks about the 6-step process he used to create Marketing Now, and how you can create your own book. 

You'll find out:

• How David came up with the idea for the book, and how he created previous ones using the same method.
• How to think about book structure, and how that boils down into planning the audio content to base it on
• How a live broadcast is a natural extension of a podcast
• How he turned a live broadcast into the content for a book
• Where he decided to publish his book and why
• How he solved the design problem, and made it easy to create a great book

You can find David over on twitter, and you can see more about the book, and sign up for the live launch stream here: Marketing Now. 

Interviews are a big part of podcasting, and for good reason.

They break up the potential monotony of one voice talking for too long, they add expertise and gravitas to your episode, and it's a chance to tap into your interviewee's own following – a tale of two audiences!

You'll want to get the most out of your interviewee and maximise their contribution to your cause. That boils down to the conversation you have, and the questions you ask. No pressure.

We've covered how to record an interview extensively, so now it's down to what you should be asking them! That's what we cover on this episode.

Read the full article

There are two parts to this.

First, we'll go into how to formulate interview questions focused on your own topic, and on the interviewee themselves. Every good interview should be mostly tailored to the person you're interviewing after all.

But, second, we'll look at the types of more general questions you can use to dig deep and get some interesting, unexpected responses.  Bear in mind, of these, some questions will be more relevant to your show than others. Please use responsibly!

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Every successful podcast has to be unique in some way. If there's no uniqueness, then there's no draw. There's no reason to listen.

And with over 700,000 podcasts in Apple Podcasts, you have to give people a reason to listen.

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Taking on a new podcast, as a listener, is a commitment. Don't underestimate that. It's giving up 20 minute of your time, at a minimum, to find out: is this any good? Is this going to make my life better?

Dramatic? Yea. But true? Undoubtedly.

They want a problem solved. Anything from the deep three – health, wealth and happiness – to the surface one – fighting boredom. They pick their problem, and they search a topic based on that. So, when they find your category, the question becomes: “Why should I listen to this particular show, and not one of the other squillion shows on video games?”

That's where your uniqueness comes in. It's what makes you stand out from the crowd. It's what attracts listeners to you like a moth to the flame.

Do you know what your uniqueness is? Or your unique selling proposition, as some call it? That's what we're here for.

A big thanks to NameSilo for sponsoring this episode. Use our coupon code podcraft to get $1 off your first order.