Pump Up Your Pod

When you’re creating content for your podcast, it’s important to always have your listener in mind. 

Now that might seem like a “no duh Brianna” statement, but it is still quite surprising to me how many podcasts I come across in my research that feel like they’re trying to annoy their listener.

Of course, I’m sure this isn’t the case. No one wants to purposely piss off their listener.

So if you’ve ever wondered whether your show could potentially be annoying - then here’s a few reasons why it could be.

1 - Your Audio Quality Sucks

2 - Badly placed ads

3 - Episodes of Live Recorded Content

4 - Inconsistent Release Dates

5 - Selling Too Hard

6 - You’re Rambling

7 - Too Many Ads

Episodes I mentioned:

• The best mic for noisy environments:
• How to improve your home recording setup
• The best place to put ads in your show

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

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@bamby_media

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If you are looking to upgrade your podcasting equipment for your home, or on location recording then listen on up!

Here at Bamby Media we test a lot of equipment and I have a few absolute favourites that I'll be recommending for you on today's episode.

With any equipment upgrades, the first thing to check is what you actually NEED. If you already have gear that's working well then don't upgrade. Don't buy things you don't need. I want to get that off my chest first because I am not a fan of pushing people into buying things because they're on "sale".

With that aside, here are my personal recommendations for quality gear that will last the distance and will give you that extra level of professionalism that you may currently be lacking.

BEST SMALL USB MICROPHONE

Rode NT-USB Mini

Our favourite little microphone that packs a serious punch!

Fantastic small microphone that you can easily bring with you on location if you’re recording remotely too.

Very simple to use and has an in-built pop filter so you don’t need to buy a separate one.

A great all-in-one option for entry level podcasters. It is quite small, so attaching to a boom arm is a good option to get to the right height.

BEST STUDIO MICROPHONE

Shure MV7

High quality USB microphone with a wide spread frequency response and pop filter attached.

You will need a stand or boom arm for this microphone.

A dynamic microphone with both USB and XLR outputs so you can start using it just with your computer via USB, and then if you upgrade your home studio setup and you switch to XLR, then this microphone is still usable!

Connect via USB and explore additional set-up features and Auto Level Mode within the ShurePlus™ MOTIV app, to control your vocal tone, and distance from the microphone.

BEST MICROPHONE ACCESSORY

Rode PSA1 Studio Boom Arm

The PSA1 is a professional studio boom arm that allows easy and precise placement of a microphone.

It features an innovative parallelogram design that keeps the mic direction constant as the height is adjusted, as well as internal springs for quiet operation.

The gold standard for microphone boom arms and a crowd favourite here at Bamby Media.

Rode PSA1+ Studio Boom Arm

The latest release from Rode and has a few significant improvements from their OG model.

The biggest difference is the almost silent operation when moving the microphone around as its fully damped internal springs and neoprene arm cover eliminate mechanical noise for completely silent operation.

Integrated cable management ensures your setup is tidy and its extended reach and full 360-degree rotation make it easy to position your microphone exactly where it needs to be.

If you need any other recommendations, head to our Gear section of the Bamby Media website:

https://www.bambymedia.com/podcast-equipment

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Today I’m talking about how to rebrand your podcast. This is something I get asked about a lot and here at Bamby Media we’ve helped a bunch of our clients go through the rebranding process to give their podcasts a nice refresh. It’s like buying a brand new outfit!

So if you want to rebrand your show, do you have to start from scratch?

The answer is no! Depending on how far away from your original brand you want to go, it’s totally fine to give your podcast a bit of a refresh with a new name and updated artwork, while still maintaining the original subscribers. 

When going through the rebranding process, it’s important to think about your social strategy. In this episode, I talk about making changes to your podcast name, artwork, intro music, and voiceover and how this all ties together to meet your target audience. I also share how to practically make these changes from your podcast distribution platform. It’s actually really easy!

This is quite a topical episode for us as we’re currently in the process of rebranding our original Bamby Media podcast, Convos with Kiddos. I talk a little about this, why we’re rebranding and what you can expect to see in the near future! Make sure you go check it out. It’s a stupidly cute and ridiculous podcast targeted to children and grown-ups and I just adore it. 

LINKS

Listen to Convos with Kiddos on Apple Podcasts here

Listen to Convos with Kiddos on Spotify here

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you pick headphones that are right for you in an absolute sea of choices?

In this episode, I’m going to fill you in on the different types of headphones you can use when recording your podcast. We’ll explore the benefits and limitations of each type and I’ll share with you what I’m using and why it works for me.

But do you even need to wear headphones?

If you’re recording by yourself in a quiet room, you actually don’t need to have headphones on when you’re recording BUT if you want to monitor and hear what your microphone is picking up, you should definitely throw a pair on.

In fact, in most situations, it’s preferable to wear headphones.

I’ll run you through the benefits and limitations of earbuds (both wired and wireless) and overhead headphones.

I’m currently using Rode NTH-100 Headphones and they’re super comfortable, not too heavy and are wired. I have to wear headphones for hours and hours of editing podcasts and often find different brands can become really uncomfortable and start to hurt my head and ears.

The frequency response is also a true indication of the sound which is so important because I need to know how it actually sounds to everyone before I do any editing.

I’m giving away a FREE pair of the Rode NTH-100 headphones! All you have to do is leave Pump Up Your Pod podcast a review on Apple Podcasts or Podchaser, screenshot and then send it to me via Instagram DMs or email me at [email protected].

LINKS

Resources mentioned: 

NTH-100 | Professional Over-Ear Headphones

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How often should you update your podcast social media assets?

I’ve recently been asked this question through Instagram and it’s so worthwhile that I wanted to bring it to everyone. 

Within Bamby Media, we supply social assets in packages to our clients that include snippets, purchased templates with their branding, quote graphics, audiograms and more. Everything changes colours (based on their branding colours) to keep them eye-catching but they’re still the same graphics each week. 

It’s a great idea to update your social media asset templates around every 3 to 6 months. Especially if you’re always sharing them the same way on the same platforms - you’ll find your feed filling up with the usual graphics and people won’t engage with them as thoroughly. 

I’ll take you through how to provide context for your social assets and gain a bit more longevity out of your templates. 

You can also definitely shake things up by sharing a video instead of the usual audiogram. Videos change in every recording so you’ll be able to make every episode interesting and enticing to keep your audience engaged. 

LINKS

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, I read a super interesting article from Marketing Brew that included a survey of 15 podcast industry experts talking about the best place to put an ad in your show.

The results will speak to you whether you’re advertising your own offers and services, doing some affiliate marketing, or running an ad for a sponsor. It’s really important for you to know where to put the ad to maximise conversion.

In this episode, I wanted to explore the results of the survey so you can start using their tips today! 

Surprisingly, a longer ad (around 60 to 90 seconds) has a higher rate of converting to sales than if your ad is sitting around the 30 second mark.

You’re able to explore your offer in depth and take the time to convince your audience to find out more. But remember, if you put in too many ads, your listeners will get angry and frustrated and completely switch off from listening.

There’s definitely a balance. 

I’ll give you an example of one of my midrolls to showcase where to input your own ad and how engaging it can sound when it’s done with music and sounds awesome.

I’ll then run you through prerolls, midrolls and postrolls to show you the places you can put your ad and which one is the absolute best to engage your listeners.

Take a look at your current advertising strategy and make use of these killer tips today.

Resources mentioned: 

https://www.marketingbrew.com/

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here!

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I recently attended one of the biggest global podcasting conferences, ‘Podcast Movement Evolutions’ and thoroughly enjoyed exploring how the American podcasting market (which is much further ahead) can be applied to us here in Australia.

One of the biggest takeaways was - video podcasting.

YouTube has announced its new podcasting department. This is going to change the way we listen to and WATCH podcasts. There is a massive push from YouTube for podcasters to put their shows on YouTube.

This could mean that you can access a brand new audience but what does this mean logistically?

Do you need to have a professional set up and film your podcast episodes each week?

No, don’t stress. But consider looking at having a presence on YouTube because they’ll be pushing this new department hard.

You could do shorts and have an entire channel that’s just snippets of guests and episodes that have amazing content.

Spotify and Twitter have also just announced their video podcasting platform. It’s still early days but it’s another medium you can look at uploading your videos, but you can’t monetize videos on Spotify so if you had to do one - just consider YouTube.

Video podcasting is definitely a very effective way to grab your audience’s engagement and attention - even if it’s only a short snippet, so why not get creative and try something new?

LINKS

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Something that often gets overlooked in podcasting is the value of targeted podcast episode show notes. 

Great show notes filled with targeted keywords and key phrases are what will help get your show to the top of the search results. When looking for a new show, many listeners use keywords to search in their podcast app so you want to make sure that your show comes up in that search!

In this episode, I talk about how to increase the searchability of your podcast by writing comprehensive show notes using thoughtful keywords and phrases. I also talk about how to repurpose content by including the show notes on your website and social platforms. 

Creating a high quality podcast involves more than just recording an episode and uploading it to a podcast host. Listeners need to be able to find you! If you’re not already including show notes with every one of your podcast episodes, start doing it TODAY! 

LINKS

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why isn’t my podcast growing?

Tempted to just give it up and shut down the whole thing?

This is a very common thought and a vast number of podcast shows never make it passed the first 7 episodes!

Firstly, I want to change the thinking that if you’re not having thousands of downloads, it’s not worth doing. You don’t need a big audience to have a successful podcast!

In this episode, I’m going to share why your podcast isn’t growing and what you can do about it. I’ll explore how your guest choice, collaboration and episode frequency all have a big impact on your listenership and are points to consider.

Perhaps your content is getting repetitive. Your audience will most likely jump ship if they’re hearing the same thing every week. So keep your content engaging, exciting and fun!

Examine how you speak to see if you’re monotone and super boring to listen to.

Or maybe your audio quality is just not up to scratch. People don’t want to listen to episodes that have poor production quality and will move over to a show that is more pleasing to the ears.

The MAIN reason why your podcast is not growing is you’re not giving any strategy long enough to work. Downloads don’t all come in within the first few days, they continue throughout the month and even longer so you need to give your strategy time to filter through to your audience.

If you want to learn more about growing your show effectively, join the waitlist for The Pod Lovers Plus!

LINKS

Previous episodes mentioned: 

• Stop being boring

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know the difference between an audio editor and a podcast producer?

If you’re wondering how you can start taking your podcast to the next level, you might want to think about enlisting the help of one or both of these professional services. But first, you need to know what they actually do!

In this episode, I break down what audio editors and podcast producers do specifically and why you might consider engaging them for help with your podcast.

Audio editors and podcast producers have completely different roles. Audio editors are all about making your audio sound beautiful and troubleshooting audio issues. They are the engineers behind the sound.

Podcast producers, on the other hand, look at the broader strategy to help make your show a really good one. They work to improve the quality of the overall show by being involved in content, guest selection, and growth strategy, you name it.

After you listen, have a think about what role you might need to help grow your show. 

Bamby Media does it all - so don’t hesitate to get in touch!

USB MICROPHONE OPTIONS:

Rode NT-USB Mini Check out my podcast episode about this mic here

Rode NT-USB

Fancy USB Setup

Rode Podcaster

Rode Shockmount with inbuilt pop filter

Rode Studio Boom Arm 

XLR MICROPHONE OPTIONS:

Rode PodMic 

BUT if you're wanting to get a bit fancier you can get this one:

Rode Procaster

Then you'll need these accessories:

Rode Shockmount

Rode Studio Boom Arm

Planet Waves XLR Microphone Lead  Do NOT skimp on the lead quality. I know you can get them cheaper, but planet waves have the best longevity I've come across (I've had the same leads for almost 10 years and I use them all the time).

Join me in Let’s Get Launchy here! 

Our website:

www.bambymedia.com

Join The Pod Lovers free community:

www.thepodlovers.com

Our socials:

Bamby Media YouTube Channel

@bamby_media

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.