School of Podcasting: Expert Tips for Launching and Growing Your Podcast

The Train Wreck That is the Tiger King is in the Top 10 of Netflix

After the fourth person had asked me if I had watched the Tiger King on Netflix I decided to give it a try. It's not good. I got about halfway through and only watched the second half looking for closure. It's bad people behaving badly. I was on a Zoom call with my family and my brother had not seen it yet, and as he put it "everybody is talking about it." The whole family said the same thing, "it's awful, its a waste of time." I'm pretty sure he's going to start watching it. Why? Well here are some things podcasters can gleam from Joe Exotic (i.e. The "Tiger King").

Table of Contents:

01:27 I'm in Facebook Jail

21:53 Focusrite Studio Makeover

23:17 Misty Phillip from Spark Christian Podcast Conference

37:23 Podcast Rodeo Show Promo

39:00 Consulting with Dave

39:45 Danny Pena Connects with His Audience

42:19 Question of the Month Promo

43:08 Get On the Podcast

44:32 Bloopers

Joe Exoctic is Unique

Joe lives in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma. Even by "Florida Man" (home of bizarre behavior) standards Joe Exotic is very unique. I'm going to kind of spoil the show, so if you haven't watched and it and plan on doing so, now is the time to stop reading.

Joe is a gun-toting, country music singing, gay, polygamist, Youtuber, who likes to blow things up at his zoo where he has tigers, alligators, and other exotic animals while he manages his campaigns for President and Governor.

He is what some people might call "a character." I could go on, but I think I've made my point.

Joe Had a Unique Product That Solved a Problem

Joe would breed tigers and take the cubs on tours to small where people could pet them and get their picture taken. It's like Santa with claws and teeth. Much like Santa, Joe was taking in the cash because he was providing something you can't get anyplace else. Consequently, he was making some serious cash.

Joe Lost Sight of His Audience

Joe's arch-nemesis is Carol Baskins who is also "unique" in that her very rich husband disappeared a few years ago making her rich and they never found his body. Carol runs a large cat "Rescue" that looks a lot like a zoo. She has an army of volunteers who work for her. She is basically doing the same thing Joe is (has a large plot of land where people can see large Cats in cages) but Carol has a WHY. Some people become fans of what you do, other people become fans of people because of why they do it.

Carol helped Joe's mall tour get shut down. Instead of looking for another solution, another product, or another animal, Joe got distracted. Instead of talking to his audience and asking them what else they might want, he became 100% obsessed with competition.

Joe Started To Compare Himself to Others

Joe did some things right. He reached out to other large cat owners (who are also living "differently" than most people) and attempted to mimic their success. However, as time goes on you see Joe simply go from hating Carol Baskins, to obsessing over her. His only "TV Show" seemed to be him talking about Carol and what a bad person she was, and how she couldn't bring him down, etc. Joe forgot he was the Tiger King, and became the Carol Baskins King.

Comparison is the Thief of Joy

The more Joe obsessed over what Carol was up to, the less he focused on his audience. You don't see him looking into adding creating better environments for the cats that might also get the audience closer to the cats. I once lead classes on Microsoft Office to the staff of the Akron Zoo. That is their whole purpose. Making an exhibit that made life enjoyable for the animals while getting the audience as close as possible and keeping both the animal and audience safe. Over the years their audience has grown and their prices have risen as well as you get a great experience and don't have to spend an hour driving to Cleveland.

Surround Yourself with Good People

The part of the story that tugged at my heart more than the Tigers, was one of Joe's husbands has lost most of his teeth due to a meth problem. He stuck around Joe because Joe bought him guns, trucks, and another thing (and he got to pet large cats). Joe treats his staff horribly, takes them for granted, and creates a revolving door of workers.

Things Do Not End Well

When you are deprived of joy and become frightened, angry, or any other emotion that is not calm and collected you can make bad decisions. Joe is the king of bad decisions. It turns out that Joe had actually killed some of his older cats, and if you want to watch more disturbing things on Netflix watch Don't F*ck with Cats.

Misty Phillip From the Spark Christian Podcast Conference

I was honored to speak at the Spark Christian Podcast Conference last year. It was an amazing event, and the mind-boggling part it was thrown together in very little time. In this interview with Misty Phillip (who also has a podcast), she gives some behind the scenes of how she pulled this off. Key points include:

• She released control to someone who had experience (which is very hard as you only get once chance to make a first impression, and this was the first year of the event).
• She was amazed at how many people said YES (so if you're afraid to start something - people you think will say no might say YES)
• She did a Kickstarter to gauge the overall interest which helped her avoid getting in over her head financially
• She has built a network over the years, and those people will want to support you.

Dany Peña Still Connecting With Audience During Pandemic

Hall of fame podcaster Danny Peña has been on the show before and is known for a man who is always building and servicing his community at Gamertag Radio. So how do you do that when everyone is ordered to stay indoors (Danny is in New York City)? You use the tools you have like Voicemail, Speakpipe, and Email. In the end, Danny said it's about the connection, not the quality of the content coming in from his listeners. Check ou Danny at www.gamertagradio.com

I'm in Facebook Jail -How Do I Get Out?

I haven't changed the way I've used Facebook in the many years I've used it, but now I'm in Facebook jail.

Here is the one of the messages that I put in my own private Facebook that got flagged as Spam ( www.schoolofpodcasting.com/717 )

If you know any tips or insights, or any connections to someone at Facebook, I'd love to hear from you. Currently, you can't link to the School of Podcasting on Facebook.

Start Your Podcast Today Join the School of Podcasting

• Step by step tutorials
• Live group coaching (get your questions asked)
• Private Facebook filled with other brilliant podcasting minds
• Priority email support with private instructional videos (ask a question expect a video answer)
• 30-day money-back Guarantee

Start your podcast today. Click Here

Mentioned In This Episode

Netflix show Tiger King

Neflix show Don't F*ck with Cats.

I thought it would be a good idea for Radio Personalities (DJs) to have a podcast. I know that they often lose their jobs due to the consolidation of stations, automation, genre changes, and more. However, I only thought it was a good idea. I didn't know because I only know to podcast, Erik K. Johnson is the Podcast Talent Coach and co-host of The Podcast Review show and he's been in radio 30 years and is a program director for iHeart Media. So I asked Erik for his opinion and he gave me three reasons radio personalities should have a podcast

Note: Most of this post was transcribed from the recording, so when you read "We" it's Erik and iHeart (not Erik and myself).

Three Reasons Radio DJs Should Have Their Own Podcast

• Built-in Demo
• Freedom To Talk About Whatever You Want
• Develop a Deeper Brand

Be sure to read the contract and know what you're signing. 

Mentioned in this Episode

Thanks to:

Arnie from www.footballhistorydude.com

Steve Stewart from www.stevestewart.me

Brande Ushio from https://fandompodcast.com/

Table of Contents

1:43 Focusrite Studio Makeover

3:46 Revisit Bad Audio

5:26 Three Reasons Radio Personalities Should Have a Podcast

17:07 Say No to Puke Voice

19:53 Question of the Month

 

Ready to Start Your Podcast

See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

 

What do people mean when they say "Bad Audio" well I made some. You will hear where some strategies DO create bad audio and others (using your phone may not be horrible). 

SPONSOR: Focusrite

Focusrite is giving away a $2300 studio makeover. This includes the Scarlett 18i8, a Heil PR40, headphones, Hindenburg software, a deep discount on Squadcast, consulting and more (I wish I could enter). To enter the contest go to  http://bit.ly/PSM_Dave-Jackson

Mentioned in this Episode

Samson Q2u

Childless by Choice

Sound Off Podcast

Podcast Rodeo Show

Start Podcasting Worry Free

Join the School of Podcasting and get access to:

• Step by step tutorials
• Private Facebook group filled with great podcasting minds
• Live group coaching sessions 
• Priority Email support

Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/live

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee 

Table of Contents

01:30 Focusrite Studio Makeover

03:31 Defining what Bad Audio Sounds Like

03:54 Built-in Camera Mic

04:42 Built-in Laptop Mic

05:36 Recording into Voicememo on My iPhone

06:12 Samson Q2U in the Bathroom

07:29 Using Blankets

08:09 Dave in His Closet

09:01 Blue Yeti in the Bathroom

10:34 Blue Yeti under Blankets

11:01 Blue Yeti in the Closet

12:26 Blue Yeti on a Desk

12:55 Q2U in the Closet

14:31 Trying to Clean Bad Audio

16:16 Do Portable Audio Booths Work?

20:15 Noise Gate Example

21:56 EQ Settings to Try

24:59 EQ Examples

26:38 Podcast Rewind

29:44 Some Light Reading

31:30 March Question of the Month

32:02 schoolofpodcasting.com/725

The Corona Virus Closed My School and I Need a Podcast NOW

Across the US (and the world) schools are closed to try to reduce the number of people spreading the Carona Virus. This makes it very hard for teachers who still need to deliver lesson plans. With this in mind, I've made a video that shows you how to turn your lesson plans into a podcast. It's free, and the strategy uses free tools. 

Sponsor: Focusrite

Focusrite is giving away a $2300 studio makeover. This includes the Scarlett 18i8, a Heil PR40, headphones, Hindenburg software, a deep discount on Squadcast, consulting and more (I wish I could enter). To enter the contest go to  http://bit.ly/PSM_Dave-Jackson

Free Video Set Up Your Podcast in 20 Minutes

Click HERE to get access to video

Wait, am I giving away the School of Podcasting stuff? No. Starting a podcast is easy. Starting a GOOD podcast is not. There is no "define your audience," and "define or why" or "check your band alignment" here, this is simply putting content (that may or may not sound great) on the internet for people to listen.

Tips for Working From Home

Avoid working in a room with a television.

I've got tips on staying focused in a previous episode.

In some cases, close the door to "block out" the rest of your home (to avoid distractions).

What Does The Caronoavirus Mean For Podcasting?

In some cases, your audience may be bored. They may find themselves with "Free time."

I believe in one of Michael Hyatt's books he says when situations like this arise look around and say "what does this enable me to do that I normally don't do."

• Spend more time with your spouse and children.
• Read a book (or listen to a podcast)
• Clean your house (that's my plan this weekend)
• See who can use the smallest amount of squares to wipe their butt.
• Watch some cooking videos and cook from home. I made a dish last night called "Not Chipotle" that was chicken, rice, lettuce, cheese, and a bit of french salad dressing.
• Create an online mastermind
• Jump rope, push-ups, dust off the treadmill.
• Watch Saturday Night Live (it's still on)
• (or even better) Go to bed early.
• Eat all those things in the fridge and freezer that you bought by accident (asparagus! what?). New food is exciting (and often freezer burnt).
• There is a feature on your phone that if I understand this correctly you can "Call" (Whatever that is ) people and talk to them in real-time.

  When I was married and things would go left of center, my wife and I would look at each other and say "Well, this is going to be a fun adventure..."

  Remember where there is a shadow, there is a light. You'll be able to look back and say "I lived through that."

  Because of My Podcast: Jim Harold has Met a TON of Childhood Heroes

  Jim Harold has been on this show a few times. He is the man behind the Paranormal Podcast, and recently launch a podcast where he talks to other podcasters called "Podlords." In a recent episode he stated, "You know, I've done different podcasts over the years, some of them have, "caught on," and they are part of my business and I make money on them. There were other shows that haven't caught on as much, but we're just cool to do. Jim did a show called "The Great TV podcast" and it's still available. Jim loves classic  TV ( TV from the 60s and 70s).

  Jim did the Great TV Podcast and he got to talk to Ed Asner who Mary Tyler Moore Show. He got to talk to Marianne from Gilligan's Island. He got to talk to the late Richard Hatch from Battlestar Galactica. Oher interviews were Donnie Most from happy days ( he played Ralph M). Judy Norton from the Waltons.

  That is the power of podcasting as Jim put it, "If I had called up Ed as an agent and said, you know, I'd like to talk to Ed Asner for a half-hour about his career. I just think it would be cool. Well, that's not gonna happen. I've got a podcast. He has a new play coming out. Can I talk to him? I certainly know that is the opportunity. The people I've gotten to talk to who I would have never had a chance to get that alone aside from being my job has been a great reward. So, I mean, the opportunity, aside from money is tremendous."

  Jim has been podcasting since 2005 and podcasts full time at www.jimharold.com and does the paranormal podcast as well as other paranormal related shows. He also has many books featuring true ghost stories on Amazon.com

  Question of the Month

  For March, “If you have a podcast, have you surveyed your audience? If so what did you learn?”If you haven't surveyed your audience, why not? "

  Please (if you have one) mention the name of your show (be careful not to say it so fast I don't understand you) and your website (again, nice and clear). I need your answer by Match 27, 2020.

  Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/question

  Audio Technica 2100X vs Samson Q2u

  Today I test the Audio Technica against a Samson Q2u, and AT2005 USB. I didn't hear much difference. Keep in mind, you can always tweak these with EQ (equalization) in post-production. Check out my Gear guide for more information.

  New (Better) Affiliate Program For the School of Podcasting

  If you have people asking about how to make a podcast, you can refer them to the School of Podcasting and get paid if they sign up. You also get paid for every month they stay signed up.

  For more information go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/affiliates

  Mentioned In This Episode

  Jim Harold

  Happiness Lab

  Free "Just Get Me Started" Emergency Podcast Video

Start Your Podcast Today Join the School of Podcasting

• Step by step tutorials
• Live group coaching (get your questions asked)
• Private Facebook filled with other brilliant podcasting minds
• Priority email support with private instructional videos (ask a question expect a video answer)
• 30-day money-back Guarantee

Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

Today I am recording from Podfest Multimedia Expo 2020 and I capture a conversation with Ronsley Vaz in the hallway after he shares an amazing story about listener loyalty. 

Sometimes we are our own worst enemy. When we don't give ourselves credit, this belief limits our success.

Focusrite Studio Makeover

Focusrite wants to help remove any barriers to your creativity by outfitting your podcast studio with products from some of the best brands in content creation. We’ve partnered with them to award three podcasters with a complete studio makeover valued at over $2300 each and the chance for you and your podcast to be featured in a video project produced by Focusrite!

For more information and a list of prizes see http://bit.ly/PSM_Dave-Jackson

Enter the competition today!

Timeline

00:00 Focusrite Giveaway

03:20 Table of Contents

04:33 Because of My Podcast Ronsley Vaz

17:22. Recorded Using an iPhone

18:17. Give Yourself Credit

Mentioned In this Episode

Book: Amplify: Raise Your Voice, Boost Your Brand and Grow Your Business

The Psychology of Entrepreneurship

Sarah Mikatel podcasting Step by Step

Podfest Multimedia Expo

Lou Mongello WDW Radio (Walt Disney World)

Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks

Get Storyworthy for Free at Audible

Start Your Podcast Today

• Step by step tutorials
• Live group coaching (get your questions asked)
• Private Facebook filled with other brilliant podcasting minds
• Priority email support with private instructional videos (ask a question expect a video answer)
• 30-day money-back Guarantee

www.schoolofpodcasting.com/listen

Descript is software that transcribes your episode and then you can go to the transcript and when you removed it from your transcript, it removes it from the audio. You can fade in and cuts that are a little rough to smooth them out. You can mix in music, have multiple mics go into two different tracks so you can edit the "cough" out from person number two while person number one was talking. Enjoy the live demo of Descript in this episode 712 of the School of Podcasting.

Table of Contents

01:09 What is Descript? 08:16 Descript Demo 19:20 How Much Is It? 20:02 Descript vs Otter.ai 22:40 My Podcast Reviews Free Month Dela Extended 24:12 #podrevday March 8th 25:03 Because of My Podcast- Carey Green 29:56 schoolofpodcasting.com/start 30:29 Robin Chsitopherson loved the Glow Episode 33:07 March Podcasting Events 37:57 Bloopers

Descript Live Demo - Transcripts are more than just words

While many people take the lazy way to show descriptions by thinking transcripts are the golden ticket. In my opinion, transcripts are hard to read and I often click away (which means this is the opposite of what people were hoping for, and Google calls this "bouncing" coming to one page and leaving).

A transcript can speed up editing by making it easy to see the parts that definitely need edit,  and you will be able to see your crutch words. That is where descript has a very interesting feature. In this video, you see me right-click and erase 14 "ums." Were all the edits perfect? No, but you can use additional tools like fading into a word to smooth out and roughs edit. The price is $10 a month for up to 10 hours of transcription (which is lightning fast). We have a coupon code pec2020 through the end of March 2020 you can get 10% off a yearly subscription. Thanks to Steve Stewart and the Podcast Editors Club, and the Podcast Editors Conference for allowing us to borrow their coupon.

Watch Video

 

My Podcast Reviews - Get A Free Month Deal Extended

22:40

I interviewed Daniel J Lewis back on episode 709 talking about My Podcast Reviews which scans all of the apple stores and emails you copies of your reviews (or your competitors) where you can then share them, add them to your media kit, etc. Originally the offer of a free month was to end in February but the free month offer has been extended until March 7,2020. Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/mpr to get your free month

Podcast Review Day March 8 #podrevday

24:12 Steph Fuccio has started a tradition of picking one day out of the month to review at least one podcast. You can join in on Twitter and Instagram by using #podrevday  -more information.

Because of My Podcast - Carey Green

Carey Green is a podcast editor (see podcastfasttrack.com) and does a podcast about podcasting at podcastification.com but his show Morning Mindset has been growing very quickly, and he is having meetups with listeners, and now he is frequently receiving prayer requests. Carey is now doing one episode where it is Carey praying for multiple people on one episode. Think about the comfort and closeness one must feel to ask someone "Will you pray for me?" Check out Carey's Morning Mindset podcast at https://careygreen.com/

Robin Christopherson loved the Glow Episode

Robin does a daily Dot to Dot show about Amazon skills. He has a large audience but was looking for a new way to monetize his show. He heard my interview with Glow.fm CEO and loved it. You can hear it at https://schoolofpodcasting.com/706

If you want to check out my Glow page see www.glow.fm/schoolofpodcasting

March Podcasting Events

March 3: Podcast Portland Meetup

March 4: The Publisher Podcast Awards

March 6-8: Podfest Multimedia Expo

March 6: Podcast Editors Club, Spots Podcon and others)

March 7: Podfest Cairo

March 9-11: New Media Summit

March 11: Podup Virtual Summit

March 16: Northeast Ohio Podcasters Meetup

March 17: California Podcasters Association (Oakland)

March 17 Virginia Podcasters Association Meetup

March 19-20 Become a Podcaster in One Day

March 19: Podcast Cracking the Code

March 19: Phoenix Podcast Club Social

March 31: Columbus Podcasters Meetup

For more information see www.podcastingevents.com

Ready to Start Your Podcast?

• Step by step tutorials
• Live group coaching (get your questions asked)
• Private Facebook filled with other brilliant podcasting minds
• Priority email support with private instructional videos (ask a question expect a video answer)
• 30-day money-back Guarantee

Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

I was in Houston for the Spark Christian Podcast Conference where I was speaking. It was a great event for the first time out of the gate and I met some really cool people. My buddy Sunny from the IPN asked me if I wanted to go see Joel Osteen who runs the largest church in America and is also an author and someone I refer to as "Happy Jesus Man." Jole is incredibly successful (his church is the building where the Houston Rockets professional basketball team played. It's a stadium that holds 16,800 people).  I have listened to Joel on and off over the years. I went to feed my spiritually, but I was also there to observe and look for the clues of his success. You don't get this big without doing something right.

Time Codes

01:08 Spark Christian Podcast Conference Review

02:38 What Podcasters Can Learn from Joel Osteen

30:52 How did you get over your self Doubt?

41:10 Free Webinar on Equipment

42:19 Have you surveyed your audience?

Joel Started As A Geek

Joel was the technical person in his church working with his father. He was the lighting tech and worked for his Dad.

Joel Did Something Different

There is a style of preaching in the church known as "Hellfire and brimstone." This is where you explain to your audience that if you don't accept Jesus you are going to Hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Instead of peaching about the horrors of Hell, Joel went to the bible and found all sorts of scriptures that point out how God wants you to prosper. Some have deemed this the prosperity Gospel, and because it's different than what people previously did, this has its critics. This has not swayed Joel from his message. He is covering the bible the way he wants to.

He Makes it Easy for First Time Visitors

Sunny and I had walked into what appeared to be a side door, and weren't exactly sure where to go. It was easy to identify who the staff was and we just walked up and said, "Hi this is our first time here." The worker knew exactly what to do and before I could blink I was given to a person who was giving me a tour of the building and explaining that there was a book store and if I wanted to buy anything Joel would sign it at the end of the night. He then escorted us to fourth-row center stage seats. I felt lucky. I felt special. The sanctuary was beautiful. They had cool lights in the ceiling and an amazing backdrop behind the band, and a choir made of people of every shape, size, and color.

He Honored The Heritage of the Church and What They Believed in

He played clips of his father who started the church and acknowledged those who came before him. Oh, I'm sorry this isn't for you...

It's for the academy of podcasters. Let's move on.

It Was a Well Oiled Machine

There were no lags in the presentation. You didn't see the praise band ask, "He should we move on to the missing thing" and then someone says "Yeah, let's do the missing thing. Let's roll the mission intro." When the song was over, the mission people came out, the spoke about a conference that had just wrapped up. They introduced the video about how they were helping with Ebola in Africa and the video clip came on. Everyone knows what was next.

They Through in a Curve Ball

Their band did two praise songs (very upbeat - very easy to sing along) that engaged the audience. Then one of the soloists on the stage snuck into the audience at the end of the song. She then launched into an old Christian classic "Nothing but the blood" from the back of the auditorium so the people in the back now get the same view as those in the front. Most music performers pull this trick in concerts. They went back to singing more songs from the front of the stage.

Pacing and Anticipation

This is a great tip for those narrative style storytellers. They kept the service moving with the music, but about five songs into their performance their backdrop which looked like the galaxy with millions of stars started to reveal the word JESUS in big bright letters as the band hit a crescendo. The place erupts into applause, the band plays louder, hands are raised into the air and as the final notes of the song fade out Joel Osteen takes the stage and opens his message with prayer.

Everybody Knows and Does Their Part

The band multiple guitar players, keyboardists, and hundreds of backup singers, they all worked together to deliver the song in the best way that connects with the audience. The security for Joel was extensive. They were very good and kept him safe while allowing people to meet and greet him after the service. If you have a show with a host and a co-host someone is driving the show and someone is color commentary.

Know Your Point and Back It Up

Joel's message could be boiled down to this. "When you're in a bad situation you should still help others who are having problems." All of these scripture references helped illustrate his point. This is similar to the book I recommend Secrets of Dynamic Communications: Prepare with Focus, Deliver with Clarity, Speak with Power by Ken Davis.

Explain Things with a Personal Story

After sharing some examples from the bible, Joel explained a story about hos his Dad was trying to raise money for a new auditorium but heard about a smaller Spanish church had run out of money for their church and this "Half a church" was just sitting there gathering dust. Even though Joel's Dad needed the money for his project he gave it to the smaller church. Anytime you can make your point with a personal story, I recommend you do it. This gives your audience a chance to get to know you.

Joel Was Vulnerable

At the end of the story about Joel's father, Joel explained how he is still benefiting by the step his father took. In the middle of the sentence, he paused, tried to say the sentence again, and again he had to stop. His emotions were deep in his thought. He put his hands over his eyes and turned his back to the audience. He said, "I'm sorry yall, I cry to easy, and I cry too much. Nobody booed. Nobody shouted, "HOW UNPROFESSIONAL" and instead they cheered him on. He turned back around with his red eyes, and grabbed a tissue and wiped his eyes. I can't find another way to explain it besides saying this was a "real" moment, and instantly felt more connected with him.

Later in the service that I watched on Sunday (where he did the same service), he started one line and said, "Did I say that right? I'm going to say it again."

Joel Knows His Why and It Aligns with his Call To Action

Joel's goal is to get you to know Jesus and accept him. At the end of the service, he has a call to action to accept Jesus.

He Promotes Subscriptions and Makes it Easy

During the service and at the end, they put a link to their website on a giant screen with mentions of their podcast.

Joel is a Collaborator

I see on his website he is doing a service with Kanye West.

He SERVED His Audience

At the end of the night, he went through hundreds of people meeting them, signing books (or not) and treating each and every person like they were his favorite person in the whole world. He had his crew borrow their phone and snap pictures so they could share it on social media. So they could easily share what a great time they had a Lakewood church. By the time he had made it to me, there was talk he might shut down the line as it was long. He made it through. He was visibly tired. He had just performed a service and was probably feeling the dip as the adrenaline of preaching in front of thousands of people had left his body, but instead of instructing his team to send us home he waved us in knowing it would just add another 30 minutes or so to his evening. Whenever you have a chance to meet your audience to do it and say thank you.

How Did You Get Over Self- Doubt To Start Your Podcast?

12:56

Dan Kreiness of the Leader of Learning podcast uses himself as a target audience member. If it holds his attention, it probably holds someone else's attention as well. 

John DeRosa of the Classical Theism podcast likes the idea of having guests. If people didn't want to listen to you (they do) they might listen to your guests. 

Paul Cheall from Fighting through World War II change the question from nobody would listen to Would they? His downloads are getting a few downloads a day (it features memoirs from his Father). 

Holland Webb grom The Afterword podcasts didn't care about others opinions. They did it to have fun talking to each other and if other people want to listen - fine. 

Thomas from Novel Marketing had my favorite answer, "When you love your audience more than you care about your own pride you will take steps to publish your show."

Free Webinar: The Right Podcast Gear

Joing the free webinar on 2/26 at 7 PM to get all of your questions about gear answered. 

see http://www.schoolofpodcasting.com/webinar

Question of the Month for March 2020

42:25

If you surveyed your audience, what was the biggest thing you learned? If you didn't survey your audience (or a focus group) why not?

Answer at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/question

 

Table of Contents

01:29 How Do You Compete Against Large Networks?

06:44 25 People Vs 1

09:42 Two Things That Kill Podcasts

11:52 Buying an Audience

15:32 Life Without the School of Podcasting

17:01 So How Do You Compete?

19:24 Jet Ski vs Cruise Ship

21:53 Downloads are only ONE way of measuring Success

24:28 Free Webinar 2/26

25:01 Golden Mic Announcement

34:23 Where I Will Be

34:45 Question of the Month

I hear this question a lot:

How am I supposed to compete?  It'll be something like I've been podcasting for three years. There are these other podcasters who I'm pretty sure are buying their audience. They're spouting their numbers, and they're gigantic. How am I supposed to compete with somebody like that?

I totally understand that question. Here are some things to consider:

You Can't Compete

Because its a good visual. How would a seventeen-year-old boxer compete against the champion who has held the title for six years? You don't put that kid in the ring. He's going to get killed. The experience, the stamina, he just isn't ready. He is completely out of his league.

But I've Been Podcasting For Three Years

But Dave, I've been podcasting for three years. You say that in some cases, you know people who are really starting to make a difference with their podcast at three years mark. To this I say"Uh-huh," but here are some things that we need to think about. We never know what's going on behind the scenes with a podcast. You might have a job (or two) and a spouse and some kids. The other podcast may not have any of those. Can you imagine how much free time you would have to promote if you didn't have any other activities and could focus on your podcast 100% of the time?

So if you look at podcasters from the outside, there's a person with a podcast here, and another podcaster over there and you think they are the same and they are not. We have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. They might have a background in selling and your background is in teaching.

Radiolab thanked 25 people at the end of their show. I am an army of one. Can I compete? In 2015ish I was up for a Podcast Movement Podcast Award and one of the shows in my category was Reply All.  I was competing against them. I've also had my Logical Weight Loss podcast compete against Jillian Michaels. Can we compete? Yes. The minute you turn on the microphone you are competing. Some of the things these teams of 25 use you don't need (original music?). While great production is like icing on a cupcake, if its all icing (and no cupcake) that doesn't work (see serial season two).

The Two Things That Kill a Podcast BABIES

Babies are so selfish. It's all about them. All they scream is feed me, wipe my butt, I want a nap. That can really get on your nerves (kidding).

COMPARTING YOUR PODCAST TO OTHERS

When you say "how do I compete" at the hear you are comparing your show to others, and that can seriously do nasty things to your content. If you ever feel yourself comparing yourself - STOP.

STOP COMPARING YOUR SHOW TO OTHERS.

You need three things to create good content:

Your attitude

Your health

The support of those around you

(see this episode for a deep dive into this subject).

There is no competition

I am a co-host on the Podcasters Roundtable with Daniel J. Lewis and Ray Ortega. Technically both of these people are my "competition" but they are not. Why? Because you can listen to me on Monday,  Daniel on Tuesday, and Ray on Wednesday. As long as you deliver value, you're safe and don't have to worry.

You Can't Buy An Audience

You can buy an opportunity for people to hear your show, but you can't pay them to listen. Your podcast needs to provide value so they will come back because they want more.

Holly Barey is beautiful. In 2004 they put her in a Catwoman suit, spent a million dollars to my $82 million (a loss of 18 million). On Rotten Tomatoes the movie has a ranking of 9 out of 100 with 197 people voting.

In 2009 Disney worked on a movie called John Carter based on a popular book. According to Wikipedia is the most expensive movie ever created. It was a super popular book. It's kind of a sci-fi fantasy thing. It had a young, hot actor from Friday Night Lights, which was a very popular TV show here in the States.  Yeah, they lost $200 million on that movie

You cannot buy an audience.

And upon the release,  it received a mixed critical reception. In other words, it wasn't any good. There are great visuals. It had a great soundtrack. It had great action sequences. But the biggest criticism was toward the characterization and this thing called the plot that movies have, and you kind of need a good plot, you need a story.

It's the content. It's delivering value. And apparently, this movie did not deliver value because it lost them $200 million.

And I remember seeing all the ads for this movie, that all the promotion.

Before You Start Spending Money to Grow Your Podcast

I see a lot of people who say, "I'm not getting enough downloads and they turned to Facebook ads or advertising an overcast or Spotify or Castro (all podcast listening apps). They are trying to get the word out about their show. You can buy eyeballs/earholes but you can't buy an audience because an audience is someone who comes back for more.

Do What Your Big Networks Can't

Answer every email (in my travels big shows don't do this)

Get your audience on the phone. In the book Superfans (and in the Colin Morgan Interview on Podcast Juinkes) Pat Flynn and Colin Morgan talk about reaching out to random members of their audience via the phone (you can get a free Google Voice number, or Podcast Voicemail to mask your real phone number). How do you provide great content? You know who your audience is. How do you know what they want? You talk to them.

You are a Jetski, they are a cruise ship. You can change your content in record time. They can't. You are much more flexible. They are not. You need to identify your weaknesses and your strengths. You also need to identify your "competition's" strengths and weaknesses and don't try to cover the same area whey they will unquestionably squash you.

Go to where they are. In some cases, if a show is so big they can't go out in public. You can, and while you're there you can get feedback on how to make your show better.

Be sure to poll your audience. This can be as simple as "what do you like about the show, what do you wish I would do differently?" If you want to ask, "How did you learn about the podcast" so you can do more of that.

There is More Than One Way To Measure Success

Keep in mind there are more ways to measure success than downloads. These includes:

• Is your show successful (are you achieving your "why?"
• Comments on your website
• Email responses
• Social marketing interactions
• Business metrics (new customers)

The Right Podcast Equipment Webinar

On February 26th there is a free online webinar at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/webinar where we will go over podcast equipment and the best option for you. If buying the right equipment has been a hurdle for you this will help you get over the hurdle. See www.schoolofpodcasting.com/webinar

Life Without the School of Podcasting

Today I helped someone who randomly contacted me on Facebook. They hadn't purchased enough storage space for their show. They were exporting their files in the wrong format. They didn't know how to export in the proper format. They were using the wrong format for artwork. Podcasting can be fun and fulfilling when you don't have to band your head against a wall to release a simple episode. At the School of Podcasting,   we show you in videos how to export your show in the proper format. We show you how to order the right plan for your podcast so your media host matches your strategy. We help you podcast frustrating free. Join today at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/start

The New Academy of Podcasting

Let's start off with the positive. Wondery, a company with 82 employees and revenues (according to growjo.com) of around 15 million per year organized a new "Academy of Podcasters" and will launch a Golden Mic awards in 2021. Per their website, "The Academy is professionally run by an Executive Director and an Account Manager.  These roles are overseen by a volunteer Board of Governors who set the strategic vision and goals of the organization. 17 Founding Members will establish the organization and guide its initial creation with a goal of 1) moving The Golden Mics into a key recognition position and 2) encouraging growth and networking of the Academy and the industry. Members are individuals in the podcast industry who are part of one of the Academy’s Peer Groups; each Peer Group will vote on its respective categories for The Golden Mics." 

So it's great that big companies with big budgets are going to be promoting podcasting. This is a good thing.

Someone Needs to Learn How to Google

The companies listed above need to learn how to do some Google searches. When you come in with a "We've arrived" mentality, you can easily offend those who have already been here working in the trenches. I mean who do you think you are the pilgrims?

The larger media companies keep saying things that seem to just ignore history. For example, an article that came out THIS WEEK stated that " Born in the halls of public radio, podcasting has emerged as one of the fastest-growing businesses in media over the past few years." Podcasting was NOT born in the halls of public radio. It was born in a hotel room where Dave Winer and Adam Curry met. In the past, I've just let them roll off m back, but I remember someone from one of these companies who stated there weren't any women podcasters in the early years (completely erasing people like Mignon Fogerty and Murr Raferty. Who can forget Steve Jobs referring to podcasting as "Amateur Hour."

So when I approached Hernan Lopez the founder and CEO of Wondery that there HAS BEEN a  “completely peer-based, not for profit, fully representative" awards show and I had won such an award he apologized.

I'm Not Saying Get Off My Lawn

Lopez was at an educational conference stating a lack of education. I'm not saying get off my lawn. I'm saying Marc Maron didn't invent podcasting (nor did Serial) and if you want me to greet you with open arms, it would be much easier if you would stop kicking me in the balls.

To the best of my knowledge, the Adamy of podcasters which controls the Hall of Fame is still in existence. It hasn't had a ceremony since 2018 due to a lack of sponsorship. This is sad. While some may feel this is just a bunch of friends slapping each other on the back, if you do some research that it's not just old white guys but women and people of color (granted the majority of the recipients is middle-aged white guys because when podcasting first started THOSE WERE THE PEOPLE WHO WERE PODCASTING.

So I look forward to seeing the spotlight the new academy will point at podcasting, and just ask them to quite saying things that make use feel invisible or worse, erase the past.

Speaking of the past, here is a link to the Academy of Podcasters Hall of Fame

New Podcasters Academy

Question of the Month

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Today we introduce a new segment, "I told you so!"

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