5 Podcasts Worth Checking Out.

It seems like every time any press happens about podcasting the same shows are mentioned (Marc Maron, This American Life, Nerdist, 995 Invisible, Radiolab). These are all good shows, but there are great shows created in people’s closets, dining rooms, without a staff of 18 behind them, they deserve the spotlight as well. So here are some podcasts I listen to, and why.

 

Red Podcast

www.redpodcast.com

redpodcast-graphic3000x3000at72-under500According to their website, “The focus of RED Podcast is to help you reach, expand, and develop your audience. If you’re a blogger, podcaster, speaker, marketer, non-fiction author, and other creative entrepreneur who wants more impact, influence, and income, this podcast is for you.’

This is why I like this show. Yes, it is a marketing show, but it’s NOT an interview show (you can do that?). Host David Hooper spent years in the music industry, has written a ton of books, shares his insights into marketing. He has great episodes titles like, “Marketing Lessons from ISIS,” “My War on Christmas,” and “Why Dave Ramsey Blocked Me On Twitter (And Why It Was A Good Idea)

It’s always well thought out, and the other thing I like about it is I don’t always agree with him. It’s a different point of view, and if I’m going to grow as a person and marketer, I need to be open to fresh ideas. In the end, it makes me think.

Check out the show in iTunes or his website

Leaning Toward Wisdom

www.leaningtowardwisdom.com

Leaning-Toward-Wisdom-1024x1024This is a hard podcast to describe, and that’s a good thing. The tag line is Modern Tales of Ancient Pursuit. Host Randy Cantrell walks you through your own mindset as you ponder what you are, where  your going ,and why. In between thought provoking segments Randy plays music that ties in with the theme of the show. As I just found this podcast, I have gone back and download a ton of old episodes. After dinner, I go down to a lake by my apartment, walk around and listen to Randy and he makes me think. He makes me go, “hmmmmm.” While other podcasts give me insights into other people, this podcast helps me gain insights into me. I’ve only listened to a few, but I really like the episode about Being a Buffalo and knowing what is wrong.

Check out Leaning Toward Wisdom in iTunes or his website

The Computer Tutor

www.computertutorflorida.com

computer-tutor-podcast300x300Scott Johnson produces this show. I love this show because it’s quick. Scott comes in, gives a tip for your computer or some cool website stuff and gets out. He uses the podcast to promote his computer repair business without making it a giant commercial. He has all sorts of hacks and shortcuts. I think one of my favorites is when I go to a website that has me go through page after page instead of giving me one long page to scroll down. Scott pointed out that if you click on the print button, this typically puts all the information on one page (even if I don’t want to print it). An example of his show is “The key to hit when your lost in Windows 8 or Windows 10.” 

Check out Scott in iTunes or on his website.

No Agenda Show

www.noagendashow.com

noagendaThis show will change the way you watch television. I know now I see so many “news” stories that are commercials. Hosts Adam Curry (you know the guy who helped invent podcasting), and John C. Divorak (well known tech writer who has a background in everything) disect the media. The really cool thing is they harness the power of a global audience and get lots of different viewpoints that you just don’t get from a US only view. Case in point, there for a while there were tons of stories about how trains were good and planes were bad. These seem to always run on NBC. Who owns NBC? General Electric. What do they make? Trains. In reality the stuff they talk about on this show is what the news should be talking about on the news, but instead we get Kardashian updates and stories of another athlete flunking a drug test. Meanwhile congress is doing all sorts of nasty stuff. This isn’t conspiracy theory tin foil hat stuff either. It’s amazing to watch them predict the news, and watch it come true.

The show is long, but always entertaining (lots of jingles, and its fun listening to John try to pronounce countries). The content is so valuable that they have people on a weekly basis giving them thousands of dollars in donations. Their shows notes are super detailed, and this is the kind of information you want to share with your friends. Check it out at www.noagendashow.com

Check them out in iTunes or on their website

Faith Family Church Audio Podcast

faithfmaily170x170This is not your Grandpa’s sermon. Pastor Mike Cameneti explained in one “teaching” (he doesn’t use the word sermon) how he use to put Acid on his eyelids as a teenager. So if you want to learn about God, and more importantly how the bible can be used in your day to day life (without being Joel Osteen’s Happy Jesus Man routine) then check out this podcast. Full disclosure, this is the church I go to, but it’s also the reason I go to it. It’s bible based teaching, that makes me think and I can use in my life to be a better person.

Check it out in iTunes more info on their Website

Podcasting: It Takes More Than Passion

I’m reading a book by Mark Sanborn called Fred 2.0 – New Ideas on how to keep delivering extraordinary results. It talks about going above and beyond in serving your community. In it he asks these questions to help you identify your passions:

 

“What do you love so much that you would do it for free?

What irritates you enough to take action?

What fields of study interest you most?

Are there certain groups of people you tend to be drawn to?

What do you want to be remembered for?

What would you do if you had unlimited resources?”

 

While we all agree that you NEED passion for your topic, you do need MORE than passion.

 

It also takes some skills. If I’m having surgery, I don’t want someone who just LOVES to cut people, I want someone with focus, direction, a plan, and skills. Does this mean you can’t start podcasting until you get comfortable behind the mic? Absolutely not. What it might mean, is it might take some time to develop that audience as you build those skills. In the book by Valerie Geller Creating Powerful Radio – Getting Keeping & Growing Your Audience she states, “It takes about three years to build a talk station.” Do you have the passion to do this for three years?

In addition to passion you need to create content that doesn’t leave a rash. Your audio can’t be abrasive. If you’re creating video, you need great audio and great lighting. Do you need a big deep voice, or a soothing voice? No, but it can’t be irritating. What is irritating? Well that is subjective (there is no one size fits all). I unsubscribed from a podcast because the interviewer repeated everything his guest said. The guest would say, “So I graduated and got a job six weeks later.” The host would then say, “That’s great! You had a job six weeks out of college.” The interview was twice as long as it needed to be. I was yelling at the dashboard, “I heard them the first time!” I also unsubscribed from a show where it was just obvious that the host was reading to me. Get someone besides your Mom to listen to your show. For me (all opinion here) it was irritating.

Your Audience

You should be focused on your audience – not you. Your episodes should be about topics that they want to talk and hear about. How do you know what they want? You need to go into that community and discover the hot topics in those circles. This will take time.

Quit “winging it.” Steven Spielberg has an editor. Steve King has an editor. In 2005 when podcasting first came on the scene you could take that stick of a microphone that came with your laptop (or heck just use the built in microphone) and go for it. You could press record and the “two guys, one brain” podcast was launched. We were all mesmerized that it was so “real,” and so “unlike radio.” That was, and IS one the coolest things of podcasting. It’s intimate and real.  The more I interview people who are not only succeeding in the download area – but in the bank deposit area, I see where they are taking it serious. They days of using the built in microphone, throwing your episodes on a free web host and hoping for the best will not provide the results they did in 2005. I’ve said it before, Milton Berle was “Mr. Television” in the 1950’s because the dude was up against a test pattern. What were there maybe three channels?

You Still Need To Promote

You need to promote your show. Maybe your last episode answers a specific question. Now it’s time to find out who is asking that question, and let them know it exists. When you are planning on launching a podcast, be sure to factor in just as much time to promote your show as it takes to create it. Do a web search for the question you just answered. See what pages come up, and then go there and make friends. Once you’ve made friends, then (and only then) point them to your episode. That’s a lot of work.

Why do doctors put up with no sleep and 8+ years of school? Aren’t they are aware of the huge medical malpractice insurance bills in their future? Because they have a passion to help people. They put in the long hours, hard work, and endless pressure because of their drive. Without it, they would never make it. Why do we go through the struggles of scheduling people on a global clock, editing, writing show notes, tweeting, tumbling, instragraming, facebooking? Because we have the drive, and we don’t mind the hard work. For some, it’s part of the service to the audience. We enjoy it.

Podcasts are Like Children

When podcasting first came out there was little competition. When I started, Rob Walch had podcast411, and I started the School of Podcasting. That was it for “Podcasts about podcasting.” Since then there have been 22 additional “podcasts about podcasting,” and most of them are DOA. Why? Because it takes more than passion. It takes more than niche. It takes a lot of hard work. I invite everyone to start a podcast about a topic you are passionate about. But I don’t lure you in with promises of giant wads of cash. I want you coming in with your eyes wide open, your sleeves rolled up, and a willingness to work.

Podcasts are a lot like children. They are a lot of work, but they also provide “one of a kind” experiences that you will remember your entire life.

Dave Jackson has been helping people launch successful podcasts since 2005. His podcast “The School of Podcasting’s Morning Announcements” has been downloaded over 1.2 million times. He speaks at media events and is the author of the book “More Podcast Money” He runs the School of Podcasting (www.schoolofpodcasting.com) and wants to help you with your podcast. Brand new to podcasting, check out his Planning Your Podcast Course on Udemy.com

Boring Bands Stare At Their Shoes – Boring Podcasters Stare At Their Technology

I remember living in Cleveland there was a band that had the most awesome musicians. They were amazing. As a musician myself, I don’t say that very often. They were jaw dropping musicians and yet…

I hated going to see them live.

Why?

Because they stared at their shoes the entire night. They had 150+ people in front of them, and they stared at their shoes. The lead singer pulled his hat down so low, he was staring at his hat.

You need to look at your audience to engage with them. Ever think someone is lying to you? What do you say?

“Look me IN THE EYE and tell me that.”

So what does this have to do with podcasting?staring-at-screen

In working with lots of podcasters I am noticing a trend.

People who obsess over their stats – don’t have any.

People who are checking iTunes 38 seconds after they publish to see if their latest episode is there don’t understand podcast subscriptions.

The STATS thing

I’m not saying don’t check your stats. I’m saying don’t check your stats every hour. In fact, once a day is a bit much. The majority of your downloads are coming the first week, so check them once a week. They will be there, you can look at them, and ask yourself, “is this bigger or smaller than the previous episode” and then come up with a game plan.

One more thing about stats. Quit stating your monthly totals. A new podcaster does a weekly show. He gets X amount of downloads in January. In February he puts out four more shows, and SHOCKINGLY February has MORE downloads (maybe cause there are TWICE as many episodes to download?).  Downloads per episode is the one you want to quote to advertisers.

The iTunes Thing

Per their own documentation Apple states ,”changes can take up to 24 hours to appear on the iTunes Store.” So people, please…

CHILL  OUT

Remember there are over 250,00+ podcasts in iTunes. Apple has to check on other podcasts besides yours. Over the last few weeks iTunes has been having issues and it may take longer than 24 hours. Here is a super easy way to troubleshoot this situation to see if it’s you or Apple that is having an issue.

SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR OWN PODCAST.  Here, let me show you.

When you subscribe to your own show, you will have access (even in iTunes) to your podcast immediately upon release. So if you get your latest episode, and iTunes doesn’t – then Apple is checking one of the other 249,999 podcasts and hasn’t got to yours yet. Give it 24 hours. If it’s not there yet, give it another 24 hours. Really, it’s going to be OK. This is why you want to teach your audience to subscribe.

Here is My Question

I understand that you created some art, and you want people to consume it.

I get it. I really do.

But do you think that many people are browsing iTunes looking at your show? NO! They SHOULD BE coming to your website where they can click to listen, and where you have a subscribe button.

In theory if someone is taking the time and effort to go to iTunes each week to see if you have a new show, wouldn’t they (even if by accident) subscribe to your show instead of having to check back weekly/daily/ etc?

Stop Screaming GROW!

I can look at a plant and scream “GROW!” but it doesn’t work. I need to water it, and make sure it gets sunlight. Looking at iTunes, staring at your stats is not going to make them grow. Quit staring at the technology and instead go out and stare at your audience and see what they want to talk about.

I was chatting with Max Flight of Airplane Geeks last night. He setup a private Slack group, and his members are talking to each other, talking to Max and his co-hosts 24/7 and they are offering topics for the show. Max isn’t guessing what is going to work on his show.

He KNOWS.

He planted a garden and it’s Spring and the flowers are blooming.

Want to know what will get people to share your show? Subscribe to your Show?

Quit staring at your stats, and start engaging with your audience.

I promise you, if you start doing this, and get your audience involved (be sure to mention them in the episode) your numbers will improve.

School of Podcasting is Closing for Two Months

If you want to start podcasting the smart way the School of Podcasting is closing and won’t re-open until June. If you want in, now would be a good time to join. 

Podcasters Lose Their Voicemail Number as K7 Bites the Dust

We need to quit being cheap.

I can go on and on about how we pay for things with time or money. Currently I’m watching Game of Thrones via Netflix DVD. They ship me a DVD with two episodes. I watch it immediately and ship it back. Two days later I get another two episodes. I could pay for HBO GO and binge watch, but I’m choosing to stick with Netflix (even though it will take me an insanely amount of time to get through all the seasons this way).

I recently heard that K7 a free service that MANY podcasters use for their voicemail is calling it quits. With K7, you could setup a phone number and it would email you the voicemail. It wasn’t the best of quality, but it was usable, and it was FREE. After all EVERYBODY has a phone and for those of us over 30, we actually know how to dial it and make a call.

Well K7 (like Podango, Mevio, and other free services) figured out that giving a service away for absolutely no money is a pretty bad way to generate income.

So now some podcasters have YEARS of episodes with a phone number that is about to go dead. You might be able to port your number over to another service if you’re lucky.

This is What Floors Me

I’ve heard some podcasters who are saying how this stinks, and now they are going to start using Google Voice.

WHAT?

Using a free service has left you looking kind of silly, and your answer is to jump on to ANOTHER FREE SERVICE?!

Oh I know, it’s Google, and they never close anything…

Kall8I’ve had the same voicemail through podcastvociemail.com since 2005. I’ve paid $2 a month Sure you pay .06 per minute, but I get maybe two voicemail messages a month so my bill is never over $4. If you do get more messages, that means you audience is engaged, and most of us would give our right arm for some engagement.

You Do have the Money

Are you going to be drinking a soft drink later (or now)? Let’s say a Coke, Pepsi, or the nectar of the Gods that is Mountain Dew. Well any Gas station, or Hotel vending machine is going to charge you $2 for something that might last 30 minutes. You can spend $2 a month for something that could bring value to your show. Keep in mind you only pay more (.06 a minute) if someone actually uses it (and you can set limits on how long a message can be).

If you are a soon to be K7.net ex-customer check out Podcast Voicemail from Kall8

Is Your Podcast Host Lying To You? Libsyn Does NOT Control Your Feed

Well I’ve been at Libsyn almost a month. I doing support, and it’s a really interesting look at the podosphere. Here are some of the things I see that cause problems.

  1. Free tutorials that are outdated (promoting Feedburner)
  2. People worrying about Libsyn “Going out of business tomorrow”.
    1. When I spoke with Libsyn, the two words I wanted to hear were “Profitable” and “Growing” before I came on board (the last company I worked for was not, and hence I was looking for a job). I heard them both. Libsyn is growing. Proof? They just hired additional support (me).
  3. Libsyn Controls Your Feed.

I see this come up over and over and over. There are companies that do this:

If you’re using Podomatic you have to upgrade to a premium version (non-free) to enter the iTunes redirect code. Blog Talk Radio requires you to send them an email. With Libsyn you don’t even have to ask. We even have directions on our own website on how to leave. Why? Because we want our customer to stat because they WANT TO not because THEY HAVE TO.

So for anyone who thinks I’m lying.

libsyn-feed

You will see in the above screen shot a place for you to put a 301 redirect, and in the Extra RSS tags you can enter your iTunes redirect.

Again, you can do this without even contacting anyone in Libsyn.

If you have multiple feeds with us (Google Play, Libsyn). they all have the same setup. You can enter your new feed anytime you want.

So if someone is telling you “Libsyn controls your feed” let me share a story.

In 2014 I was getting a Denial of Service attack on my website schoolofpodcasting.com  To put that in English, people were trying to hack it, and I had so much traffic I could not login to my website. I had “Control” but it didn’t matter. When I contacted my hosting company they advised me to get anything that required bandwidth off my site. When I finally was able to get into my control panel, the item that was getting hit thousands of times per day was my RSS feed.

For the record, I’m not “Any-Wordpress” for your podcast feed (as long as you keep the plugins down to a minimum). I just hate to see people propagating “facts” that are untrue.

Libsyn does not control your feed. If someone tells you different, you might want to think twice. If they aren’t being honest about this, what else are they not going to be honest about?
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