The Next Picture Show

Almost immediately after BOTTOMS premiered at this year’s SXSW, the heightened mix of satire and violence in Emma Seligman’s new film drew comparisons to Michael Lehmann’s HEATHERS, which in 1989 set a new high-water mark for upending the high-school movie tropes of the day through a darkly comedic lens. How does a movie that turns teenage suicide (don’t do it) into a punchline fare by today’s standards? That’s up for discussion in this half of our pairing, along with how HEATHERS executes its tricky tonal balance, its characterization of the high school experience and the parents and teachers who just don’t understand, and an ending that’s either a cop-out or the complete opposite, depending on who you ask and when. And in a Feedback letter inspired by our recent episode on ENCHANTED, a listener challenges us to name some recent films that could become “flawed pioneers,” without the benefit of hindsight. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about HEATHERS, BOTTOMS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ira Sachs’ new PASSAGES centers on a relationship broadly similar to the one at the center of SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, but approaches it with a different level of intimacy and intensity (one that earned it an NC-17 rating before the filmmakers opted to release it unrated). We’re joined once again by freelance critic and friend of the show Noel Murray to talk through the different points of characterization and performance on PASSAGES’ love triangle, before looking at how the two films compare and contrast in their critiques of hetero-monogamous normativity, their ideas about suppressed jealousy and art, and their frank, arguably “graphic” depictions of homosexual desire. And in Your Next Picture Show, we offer a mini-revisitation of another John Schlesinger film that is impossible to avoid when considering this pairing. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, PASSAGES, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Emma Seligman’s BOTTOMS and Michael Lehmann’s HEATHERS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ira Sachs’ new PASSAGES is treading ground that was broken in part by John Schlesinger’s 1971 British drama SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, which also concerns the tortured intimacies of an MMF love triangle, albeit with a bit more reserve. We’re joined by freelance critic and friend of the show Noel Murray to talk over our responses to that reserved approach in relation to SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY as a product of its era and as a counterpoint to Schlesinger’s previous film, MIDNIGHT COWBOY; how this portrayal of a love triangle balances desperation and dignity; and whether this movie actively hates kids, or if the Hodson children serve a greater thematic purpose. Then we reopen the BARBIE discussion with the help of a couple of listener comments in Feedback. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, PASSAGES, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Did ENCHANTED walk so that BARBIE could fly? Or is Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster, which has us wondering if it might actually change the world, operating on a satiric level the 2007 Disney-princess pastiche could only dream of? Our panel, joined once again by Vulture/New York Magazine critic Jen Chaney, is divided on that point, but in agreement that BARBIE gives us much more to discuss in its nuanced, subversive gender critique. After talking through our responses to the world and worldviews of Barbie, Ken, and most importantly Allan, we bring ENCHANTED back into the discussion to see how it stacks up to its successor in its big musical production numbers, fish-out-of-water comedy, and ability to create an “authentically artificial” world. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ENCHANTED, BARBIE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Ira Sachs’ PASSAGES with John Schlesinger’s SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Greta Gerwig’s mega-hit BARBIE is both a satirical sendup of and a loving tribute to the titular fashion doll, which is a not-unheard-of storytelling approach, though few stories attempting to strike the balance have done so with such direct involvement of the corporate entity responsible for their existence. That element of Mattel’s BARBIE is what led us to Disney’s ENCHANTED, Kevin Lima’s 2007 live-action fractured fairy tale that prods at Disney Princess tropes without quite upending them. This week we’re joined by Vulture critic Jen Chaney to consider what’s made the comparatively slight ENCHANTED such a touchstone for some viewers, the areas where its gentle subversion works and where it falters, whether there’s anything redeeming in the film’s messy final act, and, naturally, what Abel Ferrara’s ENCHANTED might look like. And we continue the trope talk in Feedback, inspired by a listener’s response to a certain GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 gag. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ENCHANTED, BARBIE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like its obvious predecessor WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, the new THEATER CAMP is an improv-heavy mockumentary about a cash-strapped theatrical operation — but in this case at least there’s real talent in the mix, thanks to the many gifted child actors populating the AdirondACTS summer program for aspiring young performers. This leaves THEATER CAMP’s adult cast, some of them former child actors themselves, free to lean into self-satirizing buffoonery while maintaining a degree of sincere admiration for theatrical weirdos everywhere. We dig into the ups and downs of that tonal balance in THEATER CAMP before comparing it to GUFFMAN’s own blend of affection and condescension toward amateur theater, the people who make it, and the audiences who respond to it, as well as how the mockumentary style has evolved in the years separating the two films. And in Your Next Picture Show, we use the presence of Molly Gordon and Ayo Edebiri in THEATER CAMP as an excuse for a mini bonus episode on a recent season of TV that also features both: THE BEAR. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, THEATER CAMP, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: Greta Gerwig’s BARBIE with Kevin Lima’s ENCHANTED Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Sundance favorite THEATER CAMP, which uses the mockumentary format to lovingly skewer amateurs pursuing their theatrical dreams, is clear in its homage to WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, a comedy whose own skewering of wannabe actor types is somewhat less loving. Our revisitation of Christopher Guest’s 1996 film considers GUFFMAN’s tricky tonal balance of satire and sincerity, along with the benefits and limitations of both its mockumentary format and improvisation-based filming style, and whether we should read condescension or admiration into Guest’s portrayal of Corky St. Clair and the small town that adores him. And in Feedback we tackle a reading of ASTEROID CITY that we hadn’t considered, courtesy of an astute listener. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, THEATER CAMP, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Celine Song’s new slow-burn drama PAST LIVES is an unrequited-love story in the same way John Carney’s slow-burn musical drama ONCE is — that is, just on the surface. But each film’s central would-be romance is a delivery device for deeper ideas about the weight of carrying nostalgia for past relationships and always wondering “what if?”. We’re joined once again by David Chen of DecodingEverthing.com to talk through PAST LIVES and how it functions as a different kind of immigration narrative, and the way it connects to ONCE in its depiction of sublimated longing, creative pursuits, and the language barriers that both unite and divide. And in Your Next Picture Show we take a brief look back through the many, many unrequited-love stories we’ve covered on this podcast over the years. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ONCE, PAST LIVES, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s THEATER CAMP and Christopher Guest’s WAITING FOR GUFFMAN. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Celine Song’s feature directorial debut PAST LIVES follows two not-quite lovers through different points in their lives as they figure out how to move past the possibility of romance, a story of low-key longing and bad timing that reminded us of the serendipitous musical relationship at the heart of John Carney’s 2007 arthouse hit ONCE. So before taking up the multiple timelines of PAST LIVES, we’re joined this week by David Chen of Decoding Everything to dig into ONCE’s single, transient moment of musical and romantic connection, characters who express themselves best (and maybe only) through music, and how the film’s DIY, of-the-moment style reflects both its demo-tape narrative and a singular transitional moment in digital filmmaking. Plus, a Feedback letter asking us to go deeper into Wes Anderson’s ASTEROID CITY sends us down a rabbit hole. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ONCE, PAST LIVES, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

As filmmakers, Wes Anderson and Charlie Kaufman have distinct styles without a lot of obvious overlap, but Anderson’s new ASTEROID CITY and Kaufman’s 2008 directorial debut SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK share a central concern — the struggle to create art — that invites a degree of self-awareness and metatextuality that plays well with both of those distinct styles. So after attempting to pull apart the layers of ASTEROID CITY’s play-within-a-play-within-a-TV-production-within-a-movie, we return to SYNECDOCHE to compare the different ends to which these filmmakers apply their respective meta moves, the ways they deploy their sprawling ideas and even more sprawling casts, and how each navigates the overlapping worlds of theater and film. Then in Your Next Picture Show, we share a few thoughts on another film we considered for this week’s pairing. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, ASTEROID CITY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Next Pairing: John Carney’s ONCE and Celine Song’s PAST LIVES Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Wes Anderson’s new ASTEROID CITY is a self-aware film about making art from a director of exacting control, which put us in mind of Charlie Kaufman’s 2008 directorial debut, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, a self-aware film about making art from a director of exacting chaos. Kaufman is one of our most-discussed filmmakers on this podcast, as both a writer and a director, but that doesn’t make parsing the immersive, shapeless, bleak SYNECDOCHE any easier. But we do our best to track Kaufman’s various obsessions through the film’s unconventional structure, and even attempt to unearth some moments of (arguable) levity along the way. Then the meta hijinks continue in Feedback, when a special guest calls in to put our hosts on the spot when it comes to their position on Charlie Kaufman, director.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, ASTEROID CITY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Nicole Holofcener’s new YOU HURT MY FEELINGS finds its characters grappling with many of the same issues as those in 2001’s LOVELY & AMAZING, but with a couple more decades of personal growth informing how they let outside criticism inform their own self-worth. It’s a more mature, less prickly film, and whether that’s an asset or a liability is up for debate in our discussion of YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, along with how acceptable it is to share an ice cream cone with your significant other in public. Then we look at the two films side by side to see what’s changed and what’s stayed the same when it comes to Holofcener’s ideas about soliciting and rejecting criticism, professional flailing, and the intersection of validation and vanity. And in Your Next Picture Show, we offer up another recent Holofcener to keep the conversation going. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LOVELY & AMAZING, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Next Pairing: Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK and Wes Anderson’s ASTEROID CITY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In a bonus episode originally recorded for our Patreon, Keith, Scott, and Tasha got together to talk through their recollections, fond and otherwise, of VHS and the video-store era, from misleading box art and unrated oddities to tracking knobs and rewinder machines. The cassettes and stores themselves may be gone (mostly — shout out to Madison’s Four Star Video Rental!), but the memories live on, though they may have gotten a little fuzzy from too many pauses and rewinds. Enjoy the hit of nostalgia, and come back next week for our next proper pairing: Terrence Malick’s BADLANDS and Luca Guadagnino’s BONES AND ALL. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

14 years after Martin McDonagh’s feature film directorial debut IN BRUGES, he has reunited with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson for THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, a quieter and arguably much darker film about a different splintered friendship, with similar ideas about morality, mortality, and guilt. We’re joined once again by critic Siddhant Adlakha to talk over some of those ideas as they play out in BANSHEES, how they color where our sympathies lie in the civil war between the film’s protagonists, and how much any of that matters when considering this story as a metaphor. Then we bring IN BRUGES into the discussion to consider how both films tap into McDonagh’s particular cinematic and comedic rhythms, use their female characters as a corrective to impulsive and irrational male behavior, and conclude with a choose-your-ending ambiguity. And in Your Next Picture Show, we talk over a different pairing we considered for this week and our reactions to the film that inspired it: WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN BRUGES, BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Outro music: “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” by The Killers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Martin McDonagh’s THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN reunites the writer-director with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, stars of his debut film IN BRUGES, for another tale of a platonic breakup between wordy Irishmen, in a very different but equally picturesque setting. This week we’re joined by critic Siddhant Adlakha to head back to Belgium circa 2008 and examine how IN BRUGES engages with its titular city on a dramatic, comedic, and thematic level, how McDonagh blends theatrical and cinematic languages, and what gets revealed and obscured in the film’s many meandering, profane exchanges. Plus, with various interpretations of TÁR rolling in since our last episode, we take up one listener’s reading of what the film shows us, and what it leaves out. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN BRUGES, BANSHEES OF INISHERIN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “On Raglan Road,” by The Dubliners Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The contemporary setting of Todd Field’s new TÁR has inspired some to label it a movie about the modern idea of “cancel culture,” but the film’s baseline ideas about sex and power are more timeless, and its story of a woman using her social influence to manipulate others, and her attendant downfall, links it specifically to 1988’s DANGEROUS LIAISONS. While we could have easily spent this entire episode and then some dissecting and debating the many small, nuanced details that bring TÁR to life, we do eventually bring our discussion around to the other film in this pairing to consider what it shares with DANGEROUS LIAISONS in its depiction of feminine power in a patriarchal society, sexual gamesmanship, and public humiliation as comeuppance. Plus, we use Your Next Picture Show to consider the other highlights of Todd Field’s small but mighty directorial filmography. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DANGEROUS LIAISONS, TÁR, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Outro music: Mahler Symphony No. 5 Next Pairing: Martin McDonagh’s IN BRUGES and THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The abuse of power and resulting fall from grace in Todd Field’s new TAR put us in mind of another cautionary tale of entitlement and bad behavior, in the form of 1988’s DANGEROUS LIAISONS. So this week we’re revisiting Stephen Frears’ lush, lavish depiction of not-so-secret affairs among the French aristocracy to consider what keeps this 17th-century period piece from feeling stodgy, the cruel intentions at work in its many romantic pairings, and what distinguishes its final shot as one of the all-time greats. Plus, listeners bring some of their own interpretation and insight to our recent pairing of BRIEF ENCOUNTER and DECISION TO LEAVE.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DANGEROUS LIAISONS, TAR, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Beyond My Control” by George Fenton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Park Chan-wook’s new DECISION TO LEAVE openly takes inspiration from David Lean’s 1945 classic BRIEF ENCOUNTER (along with VERTIGO, which we also considered for this pairing), but the extramarital affair at the center of Park’s film is much more complicated than that of its inspiration — a murder mystery will do that, after all. We do our best to unpack the pileup of telling details informing Park’s slow-burn romance, before bringing Lean’s film back into the discussion to explore how these two stories connect in their respective studies of forbidden love and judgmental societies, the romanticism of stolen moments, and the metaphorical power of fog. Plus, we nod to an episode that almost was in Your Next Picture Show, sharing our brief reactions to Ruben Östlund’s TRIANGLE OF SADNESS and some of the films we considered pairing it with.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BRIEF ENCOUNTER, DECISION TO LEAVE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Works cited: “‘Decision to Leave’ brings back dark obsessions for ‘Oldboy’ director Park Chan-work,” by Tasha Robinson (polygon.com)

Outro music: Jung Hoon Hee w/ Song Chang-sik, “Mist”

Next Pairing: Stephen Frears’ DANGEROUS LIAISONS and Todd Field’s TAR Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Park Chan-wook’s quiet thriller DECISION TO LEAVE is about an affair of the heart between two people who have to hide what they’re feeling from the world, a dynamic drawn directly from David Lean’s 1945 melodrama BRIEF ENCOUNTER, which Park cites as one of his inspirations for the new film. So this week we’re returning to the station and rekindling our affair with BRIEF ENCOUNTER, to discuss what makes this intimate Noël Coward adaptation such an enduring cinematic reference point, and how its unbalanced point of view colors our perception of and reaction to the story’s central love affair. Plus, some late-breaking feedback on NOPE prompts us to consider our own personal limits of implausibility in film. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BRIEF ENCOUNTER, DECISION TO LEAVE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Lover Please” by Clyde McPhatter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Greg Mottola’s new CONFESS, FLETCH has so far flown under the radar in a modern-day moviegoing landscape to which it is not particularly suited, but we were won over by Jon Hamm’s take on the character first portrayed by Chevy Chase, who here takes on a slacker-detective persona more reminiscent of the protagonist of Robert Altman’s THE LONG GOODBYE. We’re joined once again by longtime friend of the show and longer-time FLETCH quoter Noel Murray to dissect what makes this new iteration tick, before bringing Altman’s film back into the picture to consider what these protagonists share, and what distinguishes them, in their ability to enter spaces uninvited, their propensity for comedic asides meant for an audience of themselves, and the supporting cast of quirky characters who surround them. Plus, Keith offers some follow-up viewing with his Your Next Picture Show pick, Robert Benton’s THE LATE SHOW.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LONG GOODBYE, CONFESS, FLETCH, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Outro music: Hank Mobley, “This I Dig of You”

Next Pairing: David Lean’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER and Park Chan-wook’s DECISION TO LEAVE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Greg Motolla’s new CONFESS FLETCH revives the character of Irwin Fletcher, popularized by Chevy Chase in the mid-‘80s, but its low-key, shaggy-dog quality is less reminiscent of those films than Robert Altman’s 1973 comic neo-noir THE LONG GOODBYE. So we brought longtime friend of the show and Altman aficionado Noel Murray in to join us in revisiting the director’s hazy, distinctly ’70s Los Angeles take on Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould), a chain-smoking detective who’s like a magnet for trouble — but that’s okay with him. Plus, we address an oversight from our recent discussion of THE THIEF OF BAGDAD. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LONG GOODBYE, CONFESS FLETCH, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “The Long Goodbye,” by John Williams, performed by Jack Sheldon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Adapting the appendices of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga for a streaming series slated to run for 40 episodes is a much different exercise than paring down the writer’s most celebrated work to feature-length, which is one reason, among many, that Prime Video’s new THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER feels like a different beast than director Peter Jackson’s celebrated film trilogy that kicked off with 2001’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. But the two projects are naturally in conversation with each other by virtue of their source material and the expectations that come with it, which we attempt to parse as we share our early reactions to RINGS OF POWER’s first three episodes with help from our returning special guest, Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi. Then we bring FELLOWSHIP back into the equation to consider how the two tales converge and diverge around Tolkien’s mythology, how each handles this saga’s big themes of good vs. evil, friendship, and cooperation, and how well their respective large-scale fantasy worlds function on both a narrative and visual level. Plus, Keith and Roxana dig briefly into the extended cuts of Jackson’s films for Your Next Picture Show.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, RINGS OF POWER, or anything else in the world of Tolkien, film, or Tolkien on film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Works cited: • “The Rings of Power Looks on the Bright Side” by Roxana Hadadi (vulture.com) • The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodic recaps by Keith Phipps (vulture.com)

Outro music: My Chemical Romance, “Kiss the Ring”

Next Pairing: Robert Altman’s THE LONG GOODBYE and Greg Mottola’s CONFESS, FLETCH Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new streaming series THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER is not technically a prequel to Peter Jackson’s early-aughts film trilogy, nor is Jackson involved with the series, but it’s hard to imagine it existing in a world where Jackson’s films hadn’t already provided a best-case scenario for large-scale screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth saga. So before delving into the crown jewel of Prime Video’s streaming lineup, we’re revisiting 2001’s THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, with some help from special guest Roxana Hadadi, to see what it taught us about Tolkien on screen, and how it helped shape a generation of fantasy filmmaking. Plus, we begin digging into the mountain of feedback we received regarding Jordan Peele’s NOPE and our discussion thereof. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE RINGS OF POWER, or anything else in the world of film and/or Tolkien, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Frodo, Don’t Wear the Ring” by Flight of the Conchords Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

George Miller’s new fantasy-romance THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING may not have made a splash in theaters, but your Next Picture Show cohort agrees it’s the sort of odd-duck movie that tends to age well, in part because it fits nicely into the sturdy category of “stories about storytelling.” Even more so than its central djinn character, that interest in storytelling is what links this film to 1940’s THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, and so after unpacking our reactions to Miller’s film, we bring THIEF back into the discussion to compare two fantastical tales, one sincere and one self-aware, about how desire and love can shape the nature of beings both mythic and mortal.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Works cited: • “Every George Miller Movie is a Mad Max movie,” by Joshua Rivera (polygon.com)

Outro music: Sophie B. Hawkins, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”

Next Pairing: LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

George Miller’s new 3000 YEARS OF LONGING is a story about storytelling that’s full of color and pageantry, which makes it a nice match for producer Alexander Korda’s 1940 fantasy THE THIEF OF BAGDAD — and that’s before the films’ respective djinns even enter the equation. One of the most technically ambitious films ever made, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD’s influence is all over cinema, but this week we’re imagining what it would have been like to experience it in 1940, before considering how its effects, acting styles, fairy-tale love story, and Western-centric understanding of the East holds up to modern standards. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our interpretation of perhaps the pivotal scene in Werner Herzog’s GRIZZLY MAN.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE THIEF OF BAGDAD, 3000 YEARS OF LONGING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “The Gin Song,” The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Tasha announces plans for the next pairing: 'Three Thousand Years Of Longing" and 1940's "Thief of Bagdad." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In terms of narrative, there’s not that much connecting NOPE’s flying-saucer story with that of THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, but Jordan Peele’s latest is as likely to someday serve as a document of this particular moment as its 1953 predecessor. A thematically dense and bracingly cinematic film, NOPE is uninterested in providing its viewers with neat answers, but we do our best to (begin to) untangle Peele’s web of ideas before bringing his film into conversation with THE WAR OF THE WORLDS, to consider the alien motivations and human responses that connect these two invasions across the decades. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAR OF THE WORLDS, NOPE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Outro music: Michael Wincott, “Flying Purple People Eater” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Jordan Peele’s latest film, NOPE, tells a flying saucer story decades removed from the Atomic Age concerns of Byron Haskin’s 1953 adaptation of H.G. Wells’ WAR OF THE WORLDS, but both operate from a similar understanding that an encounter with hostile aliens is never just an encounter with hostile aliens. There are other forces at work in both films, and this week we’re digging into WAR and its effects on science-fiction stories to come, from its reflection of contemporary anxieties to the unexpected bleakness of its supposed happy ending. Plus, a bevy of new feedback prompts some lightning-round responses about IP hypocrisy, alternate Baz Luhrmann timelines, and candid vs. scripted monologues. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAR OF THE WORLDS, NOPE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Two Little Men In a Flying Saucer” by Ella Fitzgerald Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Sara Dosa’s new documentary FIRE OF LOVE is more stylized than Werner Herzog’s GRIZZLY MAN, but it’s a remarkably close companion piece, with its interest in themes of obsession and fatalism, and in people who felt the most important thing in the world was bringing their passion to others, even if they had to die doing it — and in both cases, did. We talk over what we got from FIRE OF LOVE, and what was denied to us by the filmmaker’s choices, before bringing GRIZZLY MAN back in to compare the quixotic quest of “freelance” volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft to that of amateur naturalist Timothy Treadwell. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GRIZZLY MAN, FIRE OF LOVE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Outro music: The B-52’s, “Lava”

Next Pairing: Byron Haskin’s THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and Jordan Peele’s NOPE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The festival hit FIRE OF LOVE follows a pair of volcanologists who yearned to get up close and personal with nature at its most dangerous, eventually paying for their obsession with their lives, a tragic arc that naturally calls to mind Timothy Treadwell, whose doomed self-directed study of wild bears was immortalized in Werner Herzog’s GRIZZLY MAN. The 2005 film is a fascinating artifact and one of the most perfect matings of documentarian and subject imaginable, revealing almost as much about Herzog as a filmmaker as it does Treadwell as a self-proclaimed protector of the grizzlies. This week we dig into some of the philosophical contradictions between subject and documentarian, as well as how the film toes the line between humor and condescension. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GRIZZLY MAN, FIRE OF LOVE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear” by Elvis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In covering the entire scope of Elvis Presley’s career, ELVIS defies certain biopic conventions while embracing others, but it’s as distinctively a film by Baz Lurhmann as MOULIN ROUGE. Like that 2001 musical, ELVIS expands the frame of history in an attempt to recreate the earth-shattering effects of a moment in culture, while also poking at some of the uncomfortable questions raised by Presley’s popularity. It offers much to discuss, which we do before bringing MOULIN ROUGE into the conversation to compare the two films’ shared interest in the tension between art and commerce, to what effect anachronisms are used in each, and how each attempts to toe the line between appropriation and homage. Plus, some recommendations from Keith for supplementary Elvis viewing and reading.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MOULIN ROUGE, ELVIS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, leaving a short voicemail at 773-234-9730, or commenting on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Show Notes Works cited: • “Can Elvis Rise Again” by David Browne (rollingstone.com) • “Nobody Cares About Elvis Anymore” by Will Leitch (williamflietch.medium.com)

Outro music: Elvis Presley, “Unchained Melody” Next Pairing: Werner Herzog’s GRIZZLY MAN and Sara Dosa’s FIRE OF LOVE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Would the feverishly stylized, irreverently ahistorical spectacle of Baz Luhrmann’s MOULIN ROUGE! resonate with audiences today the way it did in 2001? We may be about to find out with the director’s latest, ELVIS, which takes a very similar approach to a very different story. Before getting into the parallels between the two musicals next week, we’re revisiting a movie that was either an “apocalyptic moment” for film or a canny predictor of the next two decades of pop culture — or maybe both? — to consider what it gains and loses in its expansive, fluid relationship to music, history, and musical history. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MOULIN ROUGE, ELVIS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, and Pink Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION is in constant, open communication with 1993’s JURASSIC PARK, from its nostalgic casting to its egregious callbacks. But there’s more going on in Colin Trevorrow’s second sequel to JURASSIC WORLD — perhaps too much, thanks in part to the layers of new mythology that the 2015 film added to the original JURASSIC PARK formula. Is this merging of the two JURASSIC eras to be derided or commended for its ambition in stretching beyond the “dinosaurs on an island” conceit? We argue it out in our discussion of DOMINION, before placing it side-by-side with its source material to consider how the franchise has evolved, and not, in its anthropomorphizing of dinosaurs, its thematic interest in parenthood and reproduction, and its attitudes toward science, heroism, and corporate evil. Plus, the return of Your Next Picture Show, with a recommendation from Keith of Phil Tippett’s MAD GOD. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JURASSIC PARK, JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION , or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes and more.

Show Notes Works cited: • “The ‘Jurassic World’ Movies Were Only About Chris Pratt Holding Out His Arms” by Miles Klee (melmagazine.com) • “Star Wars effects legend Phil Tippett explains his 30-year nightmare project Mad God” by Tasha Robinson (polygon.com) Outro music: George Clinton & the Goombas, ‘Walk the Dinosaur’ Next Pairing: Baz Luhrmann’s MOULIN ROUGE and ELVIS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, we were so preoccupied with whether we could do a JURASSIC PARK pairing, we didn’t stop to think if we should. But if not on the occasion of JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION, the new sixth film in the two-trilogy series kicked off by Steven Spielberg in 1994, then when? So we’re traveling back to where it began to examine what made JURASSIC PARK a high-water mark for both the franchise and ’90s blockbuster filmmaking, whether its cutting-edge blend of practical and CG effects holds up to modern-day scrutiny, and how it balances theme-park spectacle with big ideas about scientific progress and the philosophical quandaries surrounding it.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JURASSIC PARK, its JURASSIC successors, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited: • “‘Everything new will kill you’ is the worst trope in horror” by Tasha Robinson (polygon.com)

Outro music: Jurassic Park Theme Song (Melodica Cover) by Patrick T. Lo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Despite its box-office success in 1988, Robert Zemeckis’ WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT never received a direct sequel, but the new CHIP ’N’ DALE: RESCUE RANGERS works as a spiritual sequel in more ways than one. Recognizing that this direct-to-streaming feature based on a short-lived Disney cartoon from the ‘90s has some extremely large, squeaky shoes to fill when compared to its groundbreaking predecessor, we unpack the two films’ shared cartoon DNA through their villains, their human allies, and their common Hollywood setting, and try to parse some of the specifics of how toons in this shared universe function in both the entertainment industry and society at large. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, CHIP ’N’ DALE: RESCUE RANGERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more. Next Pairing: Steven Spielberg’s JURASSIC PARK and Colin Trevorrow’s JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

From its Hollywood setting to its central missing-toons mystery, the new Disney+ streaming exclusive CHIP ’N’ DALE: RESCUE RANGERS is openly and carefully patterned after 1988’s WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT. Robert Zemeckis’ groundbreaking hit set a high bar for cameo-packed, self-aware stories that try to redefine the relationships between animated characters and the physical world, packing in layers of setup and reference and payoff that continue to reveal themselves on rewatch after rewatch. We attempt to unpack some of those layers in our revisit of this group favorite, as well as how it uses our familiarity with noir and cartoons alike to its narrative advantage.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, CHIP ’N’ DALE: RESCUE RANGERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Works Cited: “Book Vs. Film: Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” by Tasha Robinson (avclub.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS carries its director’s fingerprints more clearly than most films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but is it ultimately more of a Sam Raimi movie or an MCU installment? We hash out that question this week with the continued assistance of our friend Matt Singer, before bringing back in what is unquestionably a Sam Raimi film, 1993’s ARMY OF DARKNESS, to compare how the two movies operate as vehicles for the director’s filmmaking sensibility, as sequels, and as Bruce Campbell showcases. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ARMY OF DARKNESS, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: The Lovin Spoonful, “Do You Believe In Magic?”

Next pairing: Robert Zemeckis’ WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT and Akiva Schaffer’s CHIP ’N’ DALE: RESCUE RANGERS

A CHIARA opens exclusively in theaters Friday, May 27. More info at CinemaMadeinItaly.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Unlike so much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the newest Doctor Strange entry carries the unmistakable stamp of its director, Sam Raimi, so we’re preparing to enter the Multiverse of Madness next week with a film that’s an undiluted hit of Raimi: the third entry in the Evil Dead trilogy, 1993’s ARMY OF DARKNESS. We’re joined by our longtime friend and colleague Matt Singer to revisit a film he calls the “pure essence” of Raimi, which makes up for its lack of deeper themes and nuanced character work with a commitment to fun, cartoonish excess that could be looked at as a deconstruction of heroism — or perhaps fun, cartoonish excess for its own sake is the point. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ARMY OF DARKNESS, DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Every Sam Raimi Movie, Ranked From Worst To Best” by Matt Singer (screencrush.com) • “Stop Telling Me to Turn My Brain Off During Movies” by Matt Singer (screencrush.com)

Outro music: Sufjan Stevens, “Sugar” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Due to some unavoidable scheduling conflicts, your regularly scheduled Next Picture Show pairing is delayed a week, but in its place, Genevieve, Keith, and Tasha are sharing some of their favorite films of the year so far. Some of these got an in-depth discussion on the regular podcast, some showed up as subjects of a bonus episode on our Patreon, and some are completely new to the podcast, but all of them have stuck with us. Will these films make it to our final lists of 2022’s best films? It’s too soon to say for certain, but at the moment, the odds look good. Please share your own standouts from this year, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Next pairing (revised): Sam Raimi’s ARMY OF DARKNESS and DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT contains a lot of the same DNA as ADAPTATION, but instead of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, the film’s meta energy is focused on star Nicolas Cage, once again playing two competing sides of the same tortured talent. This week we get into how the confluence of actor, persona, and screenplay works differently in each film, but first we process UNBEARABLE WEIGHT’s lighthearted excavation of its central talent, and consider whether we may have already moved past the stage of Cage’s career that the film is commenting on. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ADAPTATION, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, Nicolas Cage, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: Kesha, “Nicolas Cage”

Next pairing: Sam Raimi’s DARKMAN and DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We’re offering four Nicolas Cages for the price of two with this week’s pairing, inspired by Cage’s latest, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, which finds the actor playing two connected versions of himself. But before entering that hall of mirrors, we’re heading back to 2002’s ADAPTATION for a different strain of meta exercise centered on another set of Nicolas Cages, this one playing the film’s screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, as well as his twin brother/personification of his own self-loathing, Donald. The exact nature of Donald’s character and how it shapes the film’s third act is a big point of discussion this week, as is how literally we are meant to take the film’s title when it comes to its literary source material. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ADAPTATION, THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more. Outro music: The Turtles, “Happy Together” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Despite its clear thematic and philosophical connections to the other film in this pairing, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s BLIND CHANCE, Daniel Schienert and Daniel Kwan’s new EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is a unique experience, a bold, humanistic film full of big messages and also butt jokes. It’s a film that’s built to surprise and delight on first viewing, but what does it offer in terms of rewatch value? That’s one of the things we debate in our discussion of the Daniels’ film, before bringing Kieślowski’s back into the picture to talk through some of those thematic and philosophical connections. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BLIND CHANCE, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, recommendations, and more.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • Everything Everywhere All at Once review by Walter Chaw (filmfreakcentral.net) • Blind Chance: The Conditional Mood, by Dennis Lim (criterion.com)

Outro music: Son Lux w/ Randy Newman, “Now We’re Cookin’"

Next pairing: Spike Jonze’s ADAPTATION and Tom Gormican’s THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In addition to being an examination of how much chance determines the person we become, as well as something of a Rosetta Stone for the work of Krzysztof Kieslowski, BLIND CHANCE also plays like the 1980s version of a multiverse story, making it a clear precursor to Daniels Kwan and Scheinert’s new EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. But Kieslowski’s film has different ideas about fate, determination, and the invisible forces that shape our lives as much as the choices we make, all of which we attempt to unpack in our conversation, along with what connects BLIND CHANCE's three timelines, what about the politically minded film invited resistance upon its release, and the significance of that opening scream.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BLIND CHANCE, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: Talking Heads, “Once In a Lifetime”

The Tale of King Crab opens April 15th at New York City's Film at Lincoln Center before expanding to cities across the country. Find theater, tickets, and more at kingcrab.oscilloscope.net Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ti West’s new X is very much inspired by Tobe Hooper’s 1974 shocker THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (and to an extent, Hooper’s lesser-known EATEN ALIVE), following another bunch of ill-fated van passengers, this one a group filming a low-budget porno, who wind up on the wrong side of the owners of a remote Texas farmhouse. The film’s late-’70s setting invites all sorts of analysis and interpretation about sex, death, and their intersection with cultural and religious conservatism at the dawn of the 1980s, which we dig into, once again with the help of film writer and horror aficionado Katie Rife, before turning our focus to some of the specific echoes between X and TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, X, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: Blue Oyster Cult, “Don’t Fear the Reaper”

Next pairing: The Daniels’ EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and Krzysztof Kieslowski’s BLIND CHANCE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ti West’s new horror film X is very openly inspired by THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, carrying through the spirit of Tobe Hooper’s 1974 shocker more capably than most of the subsequent films in what would become a nine-film franchise (in particular this year’s dreadful remake). Before getting into how it does that next week, this week we’re revisiting Hooper’s film with the help of film critic and series expert Katie Rife, to consider what made this film hit the way it did at the time, why it so often gets lumped in with the slasher genre it preceded, and whether it's a film that gets more brutal — or, perhaps, more comforting — with time. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, X, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Works Cited • “For nearly 50 years, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies have made a meal out of raw panic,” by Katie Rife (avclub.com) • “Every Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie psychoanalyzes the original,” by Daniel Dockery (polygon.com)

Outro music: Kesha, “Cannibal” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kogonada’s new AFTER YANG plays in many ways like a mirror to Steven Spielberg’s misunderstood android epic A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE as it explores ideas about human nature through the experiences of an artificial being. It’s also an unusually warm, thematically rich science-fiction film that opens up countless avenues of discussion, a few of which we travel down before bringing AFTER YANG into conversation with Spielberg’s earlier model to consider these stories’ shared features: a disrupted family unit, a journey of discovery, adoption ethics, and rumination on what it means to be human. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AFTER YANG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more. Works Cited: • ”What the Year’s Best Sci-Fi Movie Has to Say About Asian Identity and Adoption” by Sam Adams (slate.com) • “After Yang intentionally subverts sci-fi’s fetishistic ‘hollow Asian’ trope” by Leo Kim (polygon.com) • “After Yang Is a Gorgeous Movie About the Life and Death of a Robot” by Alison Willmore (vulture.com)

Outro music: Mitski, “Glide”

Next pairing: Tobe Hooper’s THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and Ti West’s X Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kogonada’s new science-fiction film AFTER YANG wrestles with the humanity of artificial beings, and their relationship to humanity, in a way that feels distinctly reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s 2001 feature A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Both films are highly sympathetic toward the android companions on which they center, but Spielberg’s film, which began life as a Stanley Kubrick endeavor, has a more sour view of humanity… or does it? That’s one of the main questions up for discussion this week as we delve into the complexities and contradictions of A.I., a film with no shortage of discussion points, many of which coalesce around the film’s still-divisive ending. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A.I., AFTER YANG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: Cliff Edwards and Dickie Jones, “Give a Little Whistle” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Soderbergh’s new thriller KIMI is as brisk, stylish, and sure-footed in its approach as Tom Tykwer’s 1998 arthouse hit RUN LOLA RUN, but with a much different set of cinematic goals and references in play. Does KIMI’s spare, simple, stylish approach alchemize into what one of our panelists calls “pure entertainment” that’s “easy as breathing,” or does it leave too many unfilled spaces and narrative holes to trip over? We hash it out before bringing LOLA in to compare the two films’ commitment to brevity and adrenalized filmmaking, how that commitment plays out via their respective soundtracks, and the ways in which each tackles conflict and codependency in relationships.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KIMI, RUN LOLA RUN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Outro music: Elastica, “Connection”

Thanks Raycon!. For a limited time, go To buyraycon.com/NEXTPICTURE for 15% off your entire Raycon order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Soderbergh’s new straight-to-streaming movie KIMI wears its many influences on its sleeve, but we saw our inspiration for this week’s pairing in its protagonist’s colorful dyed hair, reminiscent of one of the many eye-popping elements of Tom Tykwer’s 1998 international breakout RUN LOLA RUN. But what really links the two films is the breakneck pace they share as they chase after women trying to achieve an urgent goal on a short deadline. This week we home in on RUN LOLA RUN to parse its interplay of style and substance, and debate how and to what extent this fleet film stumbles over its weighty themes of time, choice, and fate. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about RUN LOLA RUN, KIMI, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more. Outro music: Franka Potente, “Believe” (Run Lola Run) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kat Coiro’s new MARRY ME is a rarity in 2022: a major-studio romcom released to theaters (okay, and Peacock), that features recognizable stars and tries to honor the genre without apologies or winky self-awareness. It’s a modern yet old-fashioned romcom that relies on audiences’ affection for its genre, and in particular its incandescent star, Jennifer Lopez, to smooth over its rough patches, which we poke at — affectionately — in the second half of our star-crossed romcom pairing. We’re joined once again by special guest Scott Meslow, author of the new book FROM HOLLYWOOD WITH LOVE, to discuss how MARRY ME works through the romcom formula, and where it stumbles, before bringing Roger Michell's NOTTING HILL back in to consider how both films fit their respective ideas about celebrity, infidelity, and humility into the genre’s well-established storytelling structure.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about NOTTING HILL, MARRY ME, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Next pairing: RUN LOLA RUN and KIMI

Outro Music: “On My Way (Marry Me)” by Jennifer Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Despite a very 2022 premise, the new MARRY ME acts in many ways like a romantic comedy from the genre’s late-20th-century heyday, from its star-driven nature to its central fantasy of a romance between a world-famous celebrity and an everyday schlub. That particular combination pointed us in the direction of one of the era’s romcom highlights, 1999’s NOTTING HILL, starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant as characters with deep ties to their actors’ respective personas. This week we look back at the film that cemented Richard Curtis as a romcom auteur, with an assist from someone who literally wrote the book on the genre — Scott Meslow, author of the new “From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy” — to consider how NOTTING HILL figures into the careers of both its screenwriter and its stars, what director Roger Michell brings to the equation, and the film’s mixed-blessing view of stardom. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about NOTTING HILL, MARRY ME, or anything else in the world of film, romcom or otherwise, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Is Joel Coen’s new THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH the most by-the-letter, scrupulous adaptation of Shakespeare’s play ever put to screen, or a series of subtle but surprising decisions applied to an extremely familiar text? We’re a little divided on that question this week, as we’re joined once again by David Chen, host of the Culturally Relevant podcast (among many other projects), to parse what distinguishes this approach to The Scottish Play, how it plays within the Coen filmography, and whether every other Coen film is also, in fact, Macbeth. Then we bring Akira Kurosawa’s THRONE OF BLOOD back into the conversation to compare the two films’ chicken-or-the-egg prophecies, their minimalist/maximalist styles, and the shared motivation to adapt this story in the first place. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THRONE OF BLOOD, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more.

Works Cited: • “In the Coen brothers’ punishing world, morals are everything,” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com) • “The Tragedy of Macbeth Is Pretty Much Just One Phenomenal Denzel Washington Performance,” by Alison Willmore (vulture.com) • “Dialogue: Macbeth and the Movies,” by Scott Tobias and Keith Phipps (thereveal.substack.com)

Next pairing: NOTTING HILL and MARRY ME

Outro Music: “Fair Is Foul & Foul Is Fair” by Babes In Toyland Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

There are no shortage of adaptations we could pair with Joel Coen’s new THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, but for our purposes the choice was always clear: Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 classic THRONE OF BLOOD is an ideal Next Picture Show companion piece for the way in which it takes what it needs from the original Shakespeare while changing the language, setting, and performance style, and cherry-picking elements of the plot. We’re joined this week by super-podcaster and super-fan David Chen to talk through some of those elements, including a Lady Macbeth who is both more and less passive than her play counterpart, as well as the film’s unexpected jolts of humor, and a deliberate sense of pacing that toes the line between building tension and repetition.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THRONE OF BLOOD, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net. We may respond to it on our Patreon (patreon.com/NextPictureShow), where you can also find bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, recommendations, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Mamoru Hosoda’s new anime feature BELLE moves the classic fable of Beauty and the Beast into a futuristic VR world, but that’s not the film’s only major departure from its original source material. Although it contains some direct visual references and corollary characters to Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, it’s ultimately concerned with different, more unruly emotions, which drives the story in unexpected directions. This week we hash out our responses to BELLE and debate how much worldbuilding is necessary and/or desired in Hosada’s approach, before bringing in its Disney counterpart to consider side-by-side our isolated protagonists, childlike beasts, and backgrounded fathers, as well as how the two films function differently as musicals. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, BELLE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Mamoru Hosada’s new anime BELLE is the latest take on a certain tale as old as time, one that was previously enshrined in the animated feature canon with 1991’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, one of the touchstones of Disney’s storied late-20th-century renaissance. This week we crack open the clamshell VHS case on Disney’s version, in particular its labored-even-by-Disney-standards development process, its unforgettable Ashman/Menken music, what made it stand out in the animation landscape back then, and how those same elements look compared to the film’s modern-day successors. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about either version of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, BELLE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our look back at 2021 in film concludes with Tasha, Keith, and Scott’s picks for films number five through one on their respective top 10 lists—or at least their top 10s as they stood at the tail end of December. All three acknowledge that the year offered several quality releases that on any other given day might have made their way onto one of these lists, but for the overlapping factors of time, availability, and the inherently mercurial nature of annual list-making. And so they also dig into the films they weren’t able to see in time for this episode, as well as the honorable mentions that just missed the cut. If you have thoughts you’d like to share on our picks, your picks, or anything else about the past year in film, you can send an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net or leave a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We’re kicking off 2022 by setting aside our usual format for a look back at 2021 in film, via that tried and true structure, the Top 10 list. Keith, Scott, and Tasha have each come to this two-part episode bearing their individual top 10 lists, as well as broader thoughts on a year in which established moviegoing models seem to be shifting more rapidly than ever. This week covers the films at the 10 through 6 slots on their lists, as well as an abbreviated discussion of the film that’s number one on the list of films we wish we could have covered on the main show. If you have thoughts you’d like to share on our picks, your picks, or anything else about the past year in film, you can send an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net or leave a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Guillermo del Toro’s new NIGHTMARE ALLEY is a first for the director, a film with no supernatural or fantasy elements at all, and yet it is still arguably more recognizable as a del Toro film than as a remake of the 1947 Edmund Goulding noir of the same name. Why this project, for this director, and with these actors? We’re joined once again by our friend and critic Noel Murray to hash out our varied reactions to del Toro’s project, before bringing Goulding’s version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY back into the discussion to examine what makes each version of this story distinct. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent viewing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about either version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY, both versions, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “The Theme That Ties All of Guillermo del Toro’s Movies Together” by Tasha Robinson (gizmodo.com/io9)

Your Next Picture Show: • Noel: VOIR on Netflix • Tasha: Jasmila Žbanić’s QUO VADIS, AIDA? • Scott: Maggie Gyllenhaal’s THE LOST DAUGHTER

Outro Music: “Spookshow Baby” by Rob Zombie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Guillermo del Toro has emphasized that his new NIGHTMARE ALLEY is not a remake of Edmund Goulding’s 1947 noir of the same name, but rather an attempt to more faithfully adapt the 1946 novel by author William Lindsay Gresham, about a carnival con artist who expands his hustle into spiritualism and subsequently opens himself up to disaster. Nonetheless, this week in preparation of our discussion of del Toro’s NIGHTMARE we’re taking a deeper look at Goulding’s, with an assist from our friend and critic Noel Murray, to see how it follows and diverts from the noir tradition, particularly in its trio of distinctive female characters and performances, and how the morality of its tacked-on ending undercuts its deeper themes. Plus, our recent episode on THE POWER OF THE DOG has inspired a lot of feedback, which we begin digging into with some thoughts on its Hitchcockian and literary connections.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about either version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Carnival Games” by Nelly Furtado Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With less of a narrative focus on survival than DELIVERANCE, Jane Campion’s new POWER OF THE DOG takes a comparatively subtle approach to unpacking the nuances of toxic masculinity and the myriad ways in which it can poison relationships — but there’s nothing subtle about that ending and the way it makes everything leading up to it click into place. We dig into the power of POWER’s storytelling, performances, and late-Western vibe before bringing it into conversation with DELIVERANCE as complementary studies in performative masculinity and its relationship to the natural world, encroaching civilization, and sexual threat. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent viewing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DELIVERANCE, THE POWER OF THE DOG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: STATION ELEVEN on HBO Max • Keith: The Hughes Brothers’ MENACE II SOCIETY • Scott: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s WHEEL OF FORTUNE AND FANTASY and DRIVE MY CAR

Outro music: “Ugly Duet” from POWER OF THE DOG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Jane Campion’s new POWER OF THE DOG includes a tense passage involving a banjo that plays as a nod to the 1972 John Boorman classic DELIVERANCE, but the two films’ shared thematic concerns go much deeper than banjo duels. Chief among those is the theme of toxic masculinity and its myriad manifestations, which we explore this week via DELIVERANCE’s four male archetypes and their misbegotten river adventure. Plus, we’re still getting feedback about LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, which means we’re still talking about that third-act twist. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DELIVERANCE, POWER OF THE DOG, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Dueling Banjos” performed by Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Rebecca Hall’s new PASSING takes a more restrained, internal approach to its story about racial identity and the rejection thereof than Douglas Sirk’s 1959 classic IMITATION OF LIFE, but the two films share an awareness of how style and subject matter can work hand in hand. We’re joined again this week by critic Odie Henderson to discuss how each film balances its messaging, storytelling, and style, after digging into PASSING’s black-and-white cinematography, literary source material, and ambiguous ending. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent viewing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IMITATION OF LIFE, PASSING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes: Works Cited: • “One Last Bit of Black History” by Odie Henderson (Big Media Vandalism) • “Angels of Death: A Prairie Home Companion and All That Jazz” by Odie Henderson (Slant Magazine)

Your Next Picture Show: • Odie: Douglas Sirk’s LURED; Lewis Seiler’s WOMEN’S PRISON; Mamoru Hosada’s BELLE • Tasha: Hayao Miyazaki’s FUTURE BOY CONAN • Genevieve: Penny Lane’s LISTENING TO KENNY G • Keith: Todd Haynes’ FAR FROM HEAVEN; Mike Mills’ C’MON C’MON

Outro music: “Irene and Claire” by Devonté Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Rebecca Hall’s new film PASSING centers on a complicated female friendship defined in part by semi-porous racial boundaries, a thematic throughline that pointed us directly to Douglas Sirk’s IMITATION OF LIFE — with an assist from RogerEbert.com critic Odie Henderson, who in his recent review of Hall’s film invoked Sirk’s 1959 melodrama, citing it as his #3 film of all time. We’re joined this week by Henderson to discuss how IMITATION OF LIFE's wrenching storyline about a Black woman’s ongoing rejection by her white-passing daughter operates within the whole of a film that has several other plot concerns, primarily those of a white woman played by the film’s lone movie star, and how the film’s performances and overall heightened style mesh with its messaging about race and class. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding one of our major problems with LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, and how it plays across the pond. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IMITATION OF LIFE, PASSING, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Trouble of the World” by Mahalia Jackson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO director and co-writer Edgar Wright is never shy about sharing and celebrating his influences for each new project, which in this case includes the other film in this pairing, Ingmar Bergman’s famously inscrutable PERSONA. We get into the connections between those two, including their portrayals of relationships between two women and their allusive tendencies, after digging into what makes Wright’s newest film so intoxicating… for its first half, at least. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent viewing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PERSONA, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes: Works Cited: • “Last Night in Soho’s Edgar Wright doesn’t want to give you homework… but he will” by Tasha Robinson (Polygon.com) • “Inside Last Night in Soho’s breathtaking trick dance with Matt Smith and Edgar Wright” by Tasha Robinson (Polygn.com) • Edgar Wright Breaks Down 25 Films from the 1960s That Inspired ‘Last Night in Soho’” by Zack Sharf (indiewire.com) • Edgar Wright’s Adventures in Moviegoing (criterionchannel.org)

Your Next Picture Show: Keith: Mario Bava’s BLOOD AND BLACK LACE Genevieve: SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE (2021) on HBO Scott: Pablo Larrain’s SPENCER Tasha: Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King’s THE SPINE OF NIGHT

Outro music: “(There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me” by Sandie Shaw Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In familiar Edgar Wright fashion, the director’s new LAST NIGHT IN SOHO is brimming with cinematic allusion, but that self-reflexivity combined with a focus on a pair of similar-looking women whose identities begin to merge in uncanny ways brought us immediately to one of film’s most mysterious and scrutinized movies: Ingmar Bergman’s PERSONA. Broadly concerned with two women’s power struggle and eventual convergence, Bergman’s film is open to countless, sometimes overlapping interpretations, many of them concerning the nature of cinema itself, leading to its reputation as the “Mount Everest of cinematic analysis.” We consider that reputation, and what about the film invites it, in part one of this double double-feature. Plus, we respond to a multi-part question about DUNE that we only mostly disagree with. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PERSONA, LAST NIGHT IN SOHO, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Personality Crisis” by New York Dolls Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Denis Villeneuve’s new DUNE (or, more accurately, DUNE PART ONE) begins the process of adapting Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, which itself drew from the biography of T.E. Lawrence, the inspiration for another film concerned with “desert power” and messiah mythmaking: 1962’s LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. While the two films each slot into different genres — science-fiction and historical war story, respectively — their narratives are remarkably similar, particularly when it comes to the white-savior overtones of their protagonists and their reverence for the desert as a visual and symbolic force. They also stand as complementary representatives of large-scale filmmaking produced some six decades apart, which we dig into in our comparison of the two films, as well as our reactions to DUNE PART ONE, and how they’re informed by our knowledge that this is only half the story. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent viewing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DUNE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: RESERVATION DOGS on FX on Hulu Tasha: MAYA AND THE THREE on Netflix Scott: Mia Hansen-Løve’s BERGMAN ISLAND Keith: Scott Z. Burns’ THE REPORT

Outro music: “Weapon of Choice” by Fatboy Slim ft. Bootsy Collins Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The 1965 Frank Herbert novel that gave rise to Denis Villenueve’s new adaptation DUNE drew direct inspiration from the life of T.E. Lawrence, the subject of one of cinema’s towering classics: LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. David Lean’s 1965 film is a celebrated, Oscar-winning classic that’s become shorthand for “big screen epic,” but for every major set piece where Peter O’Toole’s Lawrence seems to consider himself immortal, there’s an accompanying intimate moment where he gives in to his self-doubt. It’s a complexity we see again in DUNE, and which we dig into this week in a conversation about LAWRENCE’s rich and complicated legacy. Plus, our recent episode on REMINISCENCE prompts a listener question about other, better uses of water as a symbolic force. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DUNE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Desert Song” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

When it comes to the cultural obsession with origin stories that’s led to the underwhelming Sopranos prequel film THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, how much credit/blame should be placed at the feet of THE GODFATHER PART II as an originator of this storytelling fixation? That’s among the questions we consider as we parse our mixed-to-negative reactions to the newer film, and bring it into conversation with Francis Ford Coppola’s classic to compare the films’ respective entwining of crime, American history, and father-son dynamics. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE GODFATHER PART II, THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK , or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Jason: “Prime Time Panic” Fun City Edition box set (featuring FREEDOM, DREAMS DON’T DIE, and DEATH RIDE TO OSAKA) Keith: Barry Shear’s ACROSS 110TH STREET Scott: Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER

Outro music: “Core ’ngrato” performed by Dominic Chianese Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Sopranos-inspired film THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK is both a prequel and a follow-up to one of the most acclaimed and influential mafia stories ever told, a description that also applies to Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film THE GODFATHER: PART II. Coppola’s follow-up to his 1972 smash has a prequel embedded within its flashback structure, but its dual narrative makes it much more than just an origin story — it’s a very different film than its predecessor, but does that make it, as the conventional wisdom goes, the superior GODFATHER? We’re joined this week by special guest and New York City cinema expert Jason Bailey to parse that argument, as well as what distinguishes PART II within both the larger GODFATHER story and the work of Coppola during that period. Plus, we respond to some feedback inspired by our recent episode on STRANGE DAYS and other unavailable movies. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE GODFATHER: PART II, THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Family Reunion” by The O’Jays Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like HARD EIGHT, the new Paul Schrader film THE CARD COUNTER puts a professional gambler on the road to redemption via his relationship with a confused and volatile young man, in the latest iteration of Schrader’s “God’s Lonely Man” character. We unpack that character, along with CARD COUNTER’s view of him and his sins, with the help once again of critic and Schrader expert Vikram Murthi, before putting these two films side by side to discuss their respective approach to father-son relationships, casinos and gambling, and lives lived in limbo. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about HARD EIGHT, THE CARD COUNTER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Every Paul Schrader Movie, Ranked” by Vikram Murthi (vulture.com) • “Cogs in the Machine: American Despair in Paul Schrader’s ‘Blue Collar’” by Vikram Murthi (musings.oscilloscope.net) • “’The Card Counter’ Is a Tense Second Act to Paul Schrader’s Doomsday Period” by Charles Bramesco (insidehook.com)

Your Next Picture Show: Vikram: James Foley’s AFTER DARK, MY SWEET Scott: Michael Mohan’s THE VOYEURS Keith: Jean-Pierre Melville’s BOB LE FLAMBEUR Tasha: James Wan’s MALIGNANT

Outro music: “Rambling Gambling Willie” by Bob Dylan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The uneasy pact between a professional gambler and a young man from his past in Paul Schrader’s THE CARD COUNTER recalls the surrogate father and son at the center of Paul Thomas Anderson’s debut feature HARD EIGHT. Both films follow solitary men into dark casino halls, but on very different paths to redemption. For this week’s focus on HARD EIGHT, we’re joined by freelance critic and longtime friend of the pod Vikram Murthi to debate Anderson’s approach to withholding and revealing character motivation, which of the standout performances stands out the most, and PTA’s enduring wish that the film be called by his preferred title, “Sydney.” Plus, we respond to a listener prompt about minor characters we can’t get out of our heads.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about HARD EIGHT, THE CARD COUNTER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Go Down Gamblin’” by Blood, Sweat & Tears Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our recent pairing of Michel Gondry’s ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MINDS with Lisa Joy’s REMINISCENCE was actually a second-choice selection forced by the ongoing unavailability of the film we initially thought of as a slam-dunk companion to Joy’s new film: Kathryn Bigelow’s 1995 thriller STRANGE DAYS, another noir-inflected science-fiction story concerned with the intersection of technology and memory. But that film is nearly impossible to find these days (at least through official channels), which prompted this off-format discussion in which we spend some time digging into why STRANGE DAYS feels like a “missing piece” in our modern-day discussion of both Bigelow’s career and cinema overall, particularly its daring racial and sexual politics and visceral violence. Then we widen the lens a bit to consider the overall phenomenon of impossible-to-find movies in the streaming era, and what it says about our past and present attitudes toward film preservation.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about disappearing movies, STRANGE DAYS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works cited: • “The convenience trap: What the changes at Netflix reveal about an insidious trend,” by Sam Adams (avclub.com) • “Film preservation 2.0,” by Matthew Dessem (thedissolve.com) • “Song of the South: the difficult legacy of Disney’s most shocking movie,” by Scott Tobias (theguardian.com)

Outro music: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Where Michel Gondry’s ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND used the conceit of a memory machine in service of a science-fiction romance, Lisa Joy’s new feature debut REMINISCENCE uses a similar device in service of a science-fiction noir, but despite their different genre footholds, both are naturally fixated on the idea of revisiting memories and what they can tell us about ourselves. Despite a high-style approach reminiscent of Joy’s work on WESTWORLD, her REMINISCENCE hasn’t been particularly well-received, and we talk a bit about why in this week’s half of the pairing, before bringing it into conversation with SUNSHINE to discuss where these films align and where they diverge when it comes to memory and subjectivity, asynchronistic storytelling, and the intersection of style and substance. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, REMINISCENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Tasha: Alain Bidard’s BATTLEDREAM CHRONICLE Scott: Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger’s RESTREPO Keith: Hsiao-Hsien Hou’s FLOWERS OF SHANGHAI

Outro music: “Memory Machine,” by Dismemberment Plan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Lisa Joy’s new REMINISCENCE turns on a techno-magical procedure that blurs the distinction between memories and reality, a conceit that immediately reminded us of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND. Michel Gondry’s 2004 film was one of our collective favorites back when it premiered, but do our memories of it hold up to the reality of a present-day rewatch? This week we re-examine our relationship to ETERNAL SUNSHINE’s unlikable protagonists and the decisions they make, and to writer Charlie Kaufman’s broader filmography. Plus, we respond to some listener feedback about recent episodes on ANNETTE and THE GREEN KNIGHT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, REMINISCENCE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Forget You” by Cee-lo Green Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like Francis Ford Coppola’s 1982 musical folly ONE FROM THE HEART, Leos Carax’s new rock opera ANNETTE is not interested in playing it safe, whether that means, like Coppola's film, enlisting idiosyncratic musicians for songs that challenge movie-musical convention, or enlisting a puppet to play the titular role. We’re joined again this week by our friend Joshua Rothkopf to unpack which of ANNETTE’s provocations work and which don’t, before placing it alongside ONE FROM THE HEART to discuss the two films’ use of high artifice, the troubled relationships and troubling men at their centers, and how their respective engagement with sex and nudity reflects the times in which they were made. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ONE FROM THE HEART, ANNETTE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Josh: Julia Ducournau’s TITANE Genevieve: Richard Linklater’s SCHOOL OF ROCK Keith: David Bruckner’s THE NIGHT HOUSE Tasha: Bill Benz’s THE NOWHERE INN

Outro music: “So May We Start” by Sparks et al. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

As a self-consciously artificial musical about a troubled couple (among other things), Leos Carax’s new ANNETTE put us in mind of another original movie musical with little use for convention: Francis Ford Coppola’s 1982 folly ONE FROM THE HEART, a famous flop that also represents a singular artistic achievement. We’re joined this week by critic and old friend Joshua Rothkopf to consider how this tarnished labor of love stands the test of time, whether the film’s surplus of style is enough to offset its narrative and character deficiencies, and whether it represents Coppola’s “midlife crisis film.” Plus, we respond to some listener questions about music that takes us out of a movie, and “green” movies that draw us in.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ONE FROM THE HEART, ANNETTE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Is There Any Way Out of This Dream” by Crystal Gayle and Tom Waits Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We just can’t resist discussing a new David Lowery film here at the Next Picture Show, and his latest, THE GREEN KNIGHT, gives us plenty to chew on, taking an alternately minimalist and maximalist approach to a story about honor, myth, and magic that takes place on the edges of King Arthur’s legend. Its bordering-on-abstract narrative stands in high contrast to the more expository approach seen in John Boorman’s EXCALIBUR last week, but the two films’ shared source legend provides a wealth of connections between them, including their respective examinations of honor and chivalry, of nature as magic, and of the symbolic and literal power wielded by women. We get into all of that, plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about EXCALIBUR, THE GREEN KNIGHT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes Works Cited: • “The Green Knight is glorious and a little baffling. Let’s untangle it.” By Alissa Wilkinson (Vox.com) • “Ralph Ineson spills the secrets of playing the Green Knight” By Tasha Robinson (Polygon.com)

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: Janicza Bravo’s ZOLA Scott: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz’s THE VIEWING BOOTH Tasha: Edson Oda’s NINE DAYS Keith: Kon Ichikawa’s TOKYO OLYMPIAD

Outro music: “Lose Your Head” by London Grammar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new low-key fantasy fable THE GREEN KNIGHT plays with favorite David Lowery themes like time and death and memory, cross-pollinated with familiar Arthurian themes like chivalry and honor, and one era giving way to another. That combination reminded us of a similarly personal vision of Arthurian legend, albeit one working in a decidedly different tonal register: John Boorman’s 1981 fantasy epic EXCALIBUR. In this first half of the pairing, we consider the unwieldy storytelling, unpredictable performances, and unruly style of Boorman’s Arthurian passion project, and how well its big, messy approach reflects an era of big, messy change. Plus, we respond to some listener feedback that critiques some of our recent critiques. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about EXCALIBUR, THE GREEN KNIGHT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “O Fortuna (Apocalypse Chorus Mix)” by Apotheosis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

This episode contains discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, free help is available 24/7 by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or texting the Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741).

Continuing our pairing of documentaries about the interior life of dark-minded artists who became celebrities without expecting it, we take up Morgan Neville’s new Anthony Bourdain exploration ROADRUNNER, which in crafting its narrative about the late chef-turned-author-turned-TV personality makes some filmmaking choices that have prompted criticism and conversation about the distinctions between documentary and journalism. Those conversations feel like echoes of some of the ones that took place around the classic film in this pairing, Terry Zwigoff’s CRUMB, back in 1995, only in a much different cultural context. We unpack what has and hasn’t changed about biographical documentary in the space between these two films, plus their respective approaches to mental illness and celebrity, and the notable voices left out of the telling of each man’s story. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CRUMB, ROADRUNNER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes: Works Cited: “The Anthony Bourdain Documentary Faked His Voice. Would Other Filmmakers Do the Same?” By Sam Adams (Slate.com)

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: TASTE THE NATION WITH PADMA LAKSHMI on Hulu Noel: THE PURSUIT OF LOVE on Prime Video Scott: E.L. Katz’s CHEAP THRILLS Keith: Terry Zwigoff’s LOUIE BLUIE

Outro music: "Anemone" by Brian Jonestown Massacre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new ROADRUNNER plumbs some of the darker emotional depths of the late Anthony Bourdain, and has come in for scrutiny about some of its methods for doing so. That combination reminded us of another documentary about a similarly unlikely public figure: CRUMB, Terry Zwigoff’s 1995 examination of his old friend and underground comics legend Robert Crumb, alongside some other more troubled members of his deeply troubled family. We’re joined this week by an old friend of our own, freelance critic Noel Murray, to discuss how CRUMB navigates its subject’s fraught upbringing and the often controversial ways it was manifested into art. Plus, a call from a listener prompts us to share some of our favorite “overlooked masterpieces” that due to timing or context haven’t received their proper due.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CRUMB, ROADRUNNER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Fine Artiste Blues,” by R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our look at the musical happenings of the summer of 1969 shifts from upstate New York to uptown New York City to experience the Harlem Cultural Festival, rescued from historical obscurity by Amir “Questlove” Thompson in his new documentary SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED). We’re joined once again by music critic Steven Hyden to consider how SUMMER OF SOUL works as a music documentary both in its own right and as an “answer film” of sorts to Woodstock, the subject of the other half of this pairing. Then we bring the two films together to discuss their respective approaches to the concert film as a social document, and how the filmmakers behind them chose to depict the performers onstage as well as the audiences watching them. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WOODSTOCK, SUMMER OF SOUL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes:

Works Cited: “By the time we got to Woodstock 99” by Steven Hyden (avclub.com)

Your Next Picture Show: Tasha: The Maysles’ GIMME SHELTER Scott: John Badham’s SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (director’s cut) Keith: Michael Sarnoski’s PIG Steve: Garret Price’s WOODSTOCK 99: PEACE LOVE AND RAGE

Get your new wireless plan for just $15 a month. Mintmobile.com/NPS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The summer of 1969 saw several large-scale music festivals, but few have crossed into the realm of myth as definitively as Woodstock, thanks in no small part to Michael Wadleigh’s landmark 1970 documentary, released less than a year after its titular event. Questlove’s new film SUMMER OF SOUL seeks to add another, less-discussed concert to the musical narrative of that summer, which we will bring into the discussion next week, but in this WOODSTOCK-focused half of our pairing we’re joined by music critic Steven Hyden to debate whether it’s possible to separate Wadleigh’s film from the broader cultural understanding of, and nostalgia for, the festival, and how the movie’s hyper-verité style meshes with its generally sunny view of an event that had an oft-overlooked dark side. Plus, we’re still getting feedback about the Scott-provoked Shrek-toversy, which means we’re continuing our ongoing discussion about criticism, fandom, and the uncomfortable relationship between them.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WOODSTOCK, SUMMER OF SOUL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “Woodstock” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

When it comes to streaming services, we’re leaving the Wild West era and entering a new one where multiple corporations with slightly varying distribution models are jockeying for dominance in an increasingly crowded landscape. Where does this leave the new films landing on these services, the audiences who want to watch them, and the fate of the theatrical model as we emerge from the past pandemic year? In this episode, originally recorded for our Patreon subscribers, Scott, Tasha, Keith, and Genevieve got together to discuss those questions as they apply to some of the major streaming services — specifically, those that are acting as distributors of new films, rather than library-focused services. But, due to the multifaceted nature of these services, both library titles and television make their way into the discussion as well because, as Next Picture Show listeners know, no movie exists in a vacuum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like last week’s film, WEST SIDE STORY, Jon M. Chu’s new big-screen adaptation of IN THE HEIGHTS is about the American Dream, but it acknowledges that the dream isn’t one-size-fits-all—only, you know, in song! In this half of our pairing we debate how that mission squares with IN THE HEIGHTS’ fundamentally optimistic outlook, before bringing the two films together to compare how they work as movie musicals, as stories about immigration, and, in different but related ways, as subjects of controversy. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WEST SIDE STORY, IN THE HEIGHTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: Keith: Francis Ford Coppola’s RUMBLE FISH Tasha: Norman Jewison’s FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Scott: Scott Frank’s A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES Genevieve: Bo Burnham’s INSIDE

Outro music: “Piragua” by Lin Manuel Miranda Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new IN THE HEIGHTS is a film derived from a Broadway hit that challenged mainstream notions about musical theater, which in addition to being a love story examines the immigrant experience through the framing of a specific Manhattan neighborhood — all of which can also be said about Ray Wise’s 1961 Oscar behemoth WEST SIDE STORY. And so while we recognize that WEST SIDE STORY will be receiving the modern-update treatment later this year, we’re instead taking this earlier opportunity to compare two very different, yet unmistakably related, musical visions of the American Dream. This week we dig into what holds up about WEST SIDE STORY, and debate whether the film’s central love story is a limitation — and if it is, how willing we are to overlook it in favor of the production’s other charms. Plus, we respond to some feedback inspired by our recent REAR WINDOW episode, as well as a query inspired by Scott’s recent SHREK-inspired controversy.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WEST SIDE STORY, IN THE HEIGHTS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: “America” from West Side Story Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Australian film THE DRY is an adaptation of a hit novel, set in Victoria, that considers a remote community beset by grief over a mysterious loss, all of which reminded us of Peter Weir’s Australian New Wave classic PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK; but despite those similarities in general shape, the specific contours of the two films are vastly different, particularly in their respective approaches to mystery and resolution. But there’s lots of interest to examine in that contrast, which we do in this half of the pairing focused on THE DRY and how it connects to and departs from the storytelling approach in PICNIC. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, THE DRY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Keith: Thomas Bezucha’s LET HIM GO Genevieve: Eric Roman Waugh’s GREENLAND Scott: Walter Hill’s STREETS OF FIRE

Outro music: “Under the Milky Way” by The Church, as performed by BeBe Bettencourt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new thriller THE DRY makes a central character of its setting, a rural Australian town plagued by a drought that’s turned it into a (literal) tinderbox, and haunted by a tragedy that threatens to send it into (metaphorical) flames. That heavily symbolic use of the Australian landscape, combined with its focus on a community in the aftermath of tragedy, struck us as an opportunity to revisit 1975’s PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, Peter Weir’s Australian New Wave classic about the disappearance of three schoolgirls and a teacher in rural Victoria, which is loaded with symbols and suggestion, but short on straightforward answers. That last part is a major point of contrast with THE DRY, which we’ll get into next week, but this week we’re basking in PICNIC’s luminous ambiguity. Plus, we respond to a listener's question about the home video format’s modern-day relevance in the culture generally, and our lives specifically.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, THE DRY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: Kate Bush, “Running Up That Hill” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW hangs a lantern on its obvious homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW, but how does Joe Wright’s latest fare when placed into conversation with such a vaunted comparison point? We’re joined again this week by freelance critic Roxana Hadadi to determine just that — the answer probably will not surprise you — as well as the two films’ use of voyeurism as compulsion vs. plot device, their respective “secret protagonists” that prove more compelling and complex than the main characters, and how WOMAN IN THE WINDOW ascribes to the Gilligan’s Island Theory of the “second coconut bonk” (trust us, it makes sense when Tasha explains it). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about REAR WINDOW, THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Scott: Joyce Chopra’s SMOOTH TALK Tasha: Otto Preminger’s BUNNY LAKE IS MISSING and Marilyn Agrelo’s STREET GANG Keith: Basil Dearden’s THE MAN WHO HAUNTED HIMSELF Roxana: Haifaa Al-Mansour’s THE PERFECT CANDIDATE

Outro music: “I’ve Been Seeing Things” by They Might Be Giants Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Joe Wright’s new adaptation of the bestselling novel THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW is hardly the first film to tip its hat to Alfred Hitchcock in general and 1954’s REAR WINDOW in particular, in no small part because Hitchcock’s film is in many ways a movie about the act of watching movies. But it can also be processed as a film about storytelling in general, or the journalistic impulse in particular, both readings of the film that we get into this week with our special guest, freelance critic Roxana Hadadi, who joins us to discuss REAR WINDOW’s tricky psychological themes and even trickier characterization. Plus, a piece of feedback about our recent episode on BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA prompts a discussion that ranges from how we process movie stereotypes to what’s good in Iranian cinema. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about REAR WINDOW, THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Tegan and Sara, “Living Room” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new MORTAL KOMBAT, directed by Simon McQuoid, drops a new, nobody protagonist, Cole Young, into the videogame world’s established mythology, positioning him as an outsider within a generations-spanning supernatural battle. That conceit is a big part of why we chose to pair the film with John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, but does it make for a compelling movie narrative? No, it doesn’t, and we discuss why in our debriefing on MORTAL KOMBAT, before bringing it into conversation with BIG TROUBLE to compare the two films’ respective approaches to violence and the supernatural, how they each work (or don’t) in the East-meets-West tradition of Hollywood martial arts films, and how each deploys the figure of the motormouthed antihero to very different effect. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, MORTAL KOMBAT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: “Interior Chinatown” by Charles You Scott: Blake Edwards’ A SHOT IN THE DARK Tasha: Amp Wong and Zhao Ji’s WHITE SNAKE Keith: Frank Borzage’s HISTORY IS MADE AT NIGHT

Outro music: “Mortal Kombat Anthem (Club Mix)” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The newest film iteration of MORTAL KOMBAT is a fighting fantasy with roots in the tradition of Asian martial arts movies, but with a pronounced supernatural component that pushes it deeper into the realm of the uncanny. That particular combination, along with the film’s outsider protagonist, put us in mind of John Carpenter’s BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, a 1986 action-comedy that plops a mostly hapless Kurt Russell in the middle of a chaotic conflict that moves from the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown to an underground kingdom presided over by a malevolent spirit and supernatural warriors. This week we get into BIG TROUBLE to discuss its sloppy charm and Western tropes, and how well it handles the cultural stereotypes baked into its premise. Plus, we respond to some “anything else in the world of film” feedback inspired by our recent episodes on RACHEL GETTING MARRIED and SHIVA BABY.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, MORTAL KOMBAT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: John Carpenter’s Coup de Ville, “Big Trouble In Little China” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The second half of our pairing looking at young women publicly testing the goodwill of their loved ones drops in on another awkward community function in the form of SHIVA BABY’s titular gathering. We’re joined again by film writer Jordan Hoffman to talk about Emma Seligman’s extraordinary debut feature and how it connects to Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED in its view of familial and social expectations, filmmaking that reflects its protagonist’s anxious state, and character details that hint at even deeper dysfunction. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SHIVA BABY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Work Cited: “Celebrate Passover With the Very Jewish Angst of Shiva Baby,” by Jordan Hoffman (vanityfair.com)

Your Next Picture Show: Keith: Monte Hellman’s THE SHOOTING and Richard Rush’s THE STUNT MAN Jordan: The Coens’ A SERIOUS MAN, Paul Mazursky’s ENEMIES, A LOVE STORY, and Barry Levinson’s AVALON Scott: Joan Micklin Silver’s CROSSING DELANCEY Genevieve: Christopher Landon’s FREAKY

Outro music: Neil Diamond, “If You Know What I Mean” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new indie comedy SHIVA BABY’s focus on a young woman attending an obligatory family event and finding herself the center of attention reminded us of a similar cinematic predicament set at a very different sort of major life event: Jonathan Demme’s 2008 drama RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. Revisiting the film for this week’s pairing, along with our special guest, film writer Jordan Hoffman, was a potent reminder of the late Demme’s talent for capturing humanity and optimism onscreen, not to mention vibrant and celebratory musical performance. So this week we dig into what makes RACHEL GETTING MARRIED what one of our panelists deems “the most Demme movie of all,” where it stands in the pantheon of onscreen weddings, and whether to categorize the cultural mishmash of Rachel's wedding as a “melting pot” or “cultural appropriation.” Plus, in place of feedback this week we talk about some of those other onscreen weddings, and which ones we’d most like to attend (or claim for ourselves). Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, SHIVA BABY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Neil’s Young’s “Unknown Legend” as performed by Tunde Adebimpe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In Apple's live-streamed presentation on April 20, 2021, they announced several new products and offerings. But in only a couple minutes, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned Apple Podcasts with announcements that will affect the whole industry.

Disclaimer: This episode contains my live-streamed initial thoughts, along with consenting participants, recorded shortly after Apple's presentation. Any misrepresentations are accidental.

“Subscribe” changed to “follow” The first change is something we've known about for a few months. With iOS 14.5 and macOS 11.3, Apple is changing the label for getting episodes automatically from “subscribe” to “follow.” While I and many other podcasters rarely saw issues with the word “subscribe,” frequent studies and experiences have demonstrated that most people think you have to pay when you subscribe. For example, subscribing to a newspaper, streaming entertainment, Internet service, and such.

But while I feel like the word “follow” implies a more personal thing, like following a person or a brand on social media, I think it removes the potential misunderstanding about any involved costs. Spotify and a couple other podcast apps already use the word “follow,” and Twitch even already uses both “subscribe” and “follow” on the same platform to mean different things: subscribe to pay the content creator, or follow to simply see when they publish new content.

I suspect YouTube and other podcast apps will soon follow suit (pun unavoidable).

I also really like this change because for a long time, I've wanted to add a new feature to My Podcast Reviews to help podcasters grow their audiences by providing a smart link with the right podcast options. I quickly registered FollowthePodcast.com and we launched that as an included new feature on My Podcast Reviews!

So even though you might still be struggling to say “Apple Podcasts” instead of “iTunes,” I think switching from saying “subscribe” to “follow” will not only match current and future options, but maybe even help you get more listeners because they'll understand quicker.

Premium subscriptions in Apple Podcasts If you didn't already read it, here's the emailed announcement from Apple. I recommend you read all the links, too.

Dear Podcast Creator,

We are thrilled to share the following announcements and updates.

Introducing Apple Podcasts Subscriptions

Starting today, creators in more than 170 countries and regions can offer premium subscriptions on Apple Podcasts, which will be accessible to listeners next month. Creators set the pricing for each subscription, which are billed monthly by default, and define the benefits, such as ad-free listening, early or exclusive access to new series, or access to additional or archival content. Creators can also offer annual billing and provide free trials and sample episodes.

Creators interested in offering subscriptions can log in to Apple Podcasts Connect and enroll in the new Apple Podcasters Program for an annual fee, which provides access to all of the tools required to build and distribute premium subscriptions on Apple Podcasts.

New Tools in Apple Podcasts Connect

Also beginning today, all creators can access an updated Apple Podcasts Connect dashboard, which includes new features that make it easier to manage your content on Apple Podcasts.

With Apple Podcasts Connect, you can now create channels, which are groups of shows that can be personalized with unique titles, descriptions, and artwork. Just like shows, you can offer free channels, which make it easy for listeners to discover all of your shows, plus paid and freemium channels through Apple Podcasts Subscriptions.

Additionally, you can now view and edit podcast metadata, schedule and manage show availability for each country and region, and organize shows into channels right from the dashboard. With Analytics, you can gain insight into how listeners are engaging with your shows through new performance metrics and visualization tools, such as engaged listeners, listeners by city, and the new episodes performance graph. Apple Podcasts Connect also now offers a robust system for managing multiple users and roles, making it easy to invite collaborators to manage your subscriptions, channels, and shows.

Apple Podcasts for Creators

Apple Podcasts for Creators is a new destination where you’ll find resources for developing, marketing, and managing your content on Apple Podcasts. Explore articles, tools, and guides that will help you learn the basics and stay up to date with the latest podcast news.

For more information about Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, visit Apple Newsroom. To get started go to Apple Podcasts Connect.

Best regards,
The Apple Podcasts team

“Introducing Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and more” sent from Apple Podcast on April 20, 2021

IMPORTANT: Own your directory listing and email address! Now, even more than before, it's crucial that you have access to the email address(es) in your RSS feed. Some podcast-hosting providers (like SoundCloud and formerly Anchor) default to use their email address, but probably let you easily change it to your own.

You also must own your podcast catalog listing or else you won't have access to these new features (or the deeper stats Apple has been providing for years). If you worked with an agency when launching your podcast, they can help you get things in order. If you let Anchor submit and own your podcast-catalog listing, you'll need to follow these instructions to reclaim ownership.

Apple Podcasts on Android? Now that Apple has a direct way for them to make money from podcasts (since they get our annual program subscription fee and a fair portion of the subscription payments), I think they now have a direct financial incentive to bring Apple Podcasts to other platforms. Not only to split up iTunes on Windows like they did on macOS, but also to finally bring Apple Podcasts to Android!

They didn't announce anything about this, but I've been publicly predicting this for years, and I suspect we'll finally see it happen in 2021 or shortly after!

New hardware also great for podcasters Apple is going “Oprah” with their new Apple Silicon chip, M1: “You get an M1! And you get an M1! Everybody gets an M1!”

The new iPad Pro and 24″ iMac have Apple's incredible new M1 chip that's faster and far more energy efficient. Not only does this mean you can get things done faster, but they said the new 24″ iMac is so energy- and temperature-efficient that its fans run at only 10 dB under normal load! That will provide a practically silent machine for podcasting and maybe even remain silent for live-streaming!

There's a lot more to this announcement that Apple gave only a couple minutes in their presentation. I and other podcasting-industry professionals will be talking about this for quite a while!

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The new Bob Odenkirk-starring revenge thriller NOBODY could be read as commentary on the revenge thriller form, but that may be an overly generous reading — or it may just be because we’ve paired it this week with Steven Soderbergh’s THE LIMEY, which is much more overtly reflective about its fantasies of violence and retribution. After working through what did and didn’t work for us about NOBODY, we put it into conversation with THE LIMEY — and by extension the long cinematic tradition of the revenge movie — to discuss the films’ respective approaches to violence, motivation, and middle age, and how they use music and location work to different effect. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LIMEY, NOBODY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Scott: Michael Verhoeven’s THE NASTY GIRL Keith: Richard C. Sarafian’s VANISHING POINT Tasha: George Romero’s THE CRAZIES

Outro music: Steve Lawrence, ‘I Gotta Be Me’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new NOBODY, starring Bob Odenkirk as an unlikely action star, is drawing on a long tradition of revenge movies, which means we had our pick of comparison points this week, but Steven Soderbergh’s 1999 film THE LIMEY struck us as particularly apt not just for the commentary it provides on the revenge narrative, but also for its focus on its protagonist’s relationship to his past. In this first half we dig into THE LIMEY, a film one of our panelists considers top-three Soderbergh and another considers a pale imitation of the filmmaker's better work, to debate how its fluid, almost dreamlike non-linear structure impacts the viewing experience, if its casting choices are considered “metatextual” or “extratextual,” and whether the film’s style overshadows its story. Plus, we respond to a listener question about movies that shifted our worldview, and some thoughts about kids’ capacity for cinematic weirdness inspired by our recent episode on THE LAST UNICORN. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LIMEY, NOBODY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: The Byrds, “It Happens Each Day” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new HBO documentary TINA touches briefly but memorably on the release of 1992’s WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, but it’s much more focused on providing a bird’s-eye view of Tina Turner’s entire career, beyond the years she spent in a creatively fruitful but abusive partnership with Ike Turner. Watching the two films together, as we did for this week’s pairing, reveals how the films’ respective documentary and narrative approaches both support and push against each other when it comes to portraying the breadth and depth of one woman’s experience. We’re joined again this week by Vulture critic Jen Chaney to discuss what makes TINA stand out among similarly structured music documentaries, before tackling how these two distinct but inherently linked films each approach the portrayal of abuse and trauma, the scope of Tina’s career, and the extraordinary onstage charisma that made her a star. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, TINA, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Tasha: Martin Scorsese’s SHINE A LIGHT Genevieve: Josh Greenbaum’s BARB AND STAR GO TO VISTA DEL MAR Jen: John Hyams' ALL SQUARE Scott: HBO’s TIGER

Outro music: Tina Turner, "I Can't Stand the Rain (Live)" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

It’s rare that one of the films in a Next Picture Show pairing is directly addressed in the other film, but that’s the case with WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT and the new documentary TINA, two films with distinctly different approaches tackling a common subject: the life of soul music legend Tina Turner. This week we zoom in on Tina through the lens of Brian Gibson’s 1993 biopic, a film that treats the abuse Tina received at the hands of her husband/tormenter Ike Turner as its narrative North Star. We’re joined by critic Jen Chaney to debate how well that choice works, celebrate the transformative performances by Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne, and discuss which of the many liberties the film takes with the historical record actually matter in the broader context. Plus, we respond to some feedback about our recent discussions of two films now vying against each other in multiple Oscar categories, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN and NOMADLAND.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, TINA, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: Ike and Tina Turner, “Fool In Love” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Do you want to improve the content on your podcast? Jarvis (also known as “Conversion AI”) can help! It uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate blog post ideas, headlines, phrases, captions for images, and more.

How good is it? That first paragraph was generated using Jarvis's “Blog Post Intro Paragraph” template! And all the italicized text in this article was generated or enhanced by Jarvis with little to no tweaking from me.

Click here to try Jarvis yourself with a FREE 5-day trial!

(As an affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases through this link. But I recommend products I truly believe in, regardless of earnings.)

Unless otherwise noted, the following input descriptions and text were provided by my email subscribers.

Improve your podcast descriptions Jarvis is a nifty little tool that will take your podcast description and make it the best you've ever seen. With just three clicks, Jarvis automatically finds all of those perfect words to fit in there without any effort on your part!

Jarvis offers multiple frameworks to help market products:

AIDA: attention ➜ interest ➜ desire ➜ action
PAS: problem ➜ agitate ➜ solution
BAB: before ➜ after ➜ bridge

I ran the same podcast title and description through all three of these frameworks to demonstrate the different results you can get.

Podcast: ExtraVirgin Food and Travel

Description: ExtraVirgin is a podcast for gourmands who love to travel and travellers who love good food. Join your hosts, food and travel journalist Natascha Mirosch and bon vivant Samantha Donsky, who between them have eaten their way around more than 60 countries, as they meet the passionate people who make wandering the world so rewarding and so delicious.

AIDA framework:
Join us on our journey as we explore the world and all of its delicious food.

We’ve eaten our way around more than 60 countries, meeting passionate people who make wandering the world so rewarding and so delicious.

You won't want to miss out on this podcast that will make you hungry while also making you laugh!

Subscribe now to get all our episodes free!

PAS framework:
Traveling can be a lonely and stressful experience, especially when you are constantly surrounded by unfamiliar food.

The best way to combat this is to learn about the local cuisine so you know what ingredients to look out for at the supermarket. But it's also important to meet people who live there, not just tourists. You need locals as your guide through their culture and customs.

That's where ExtraVirgin Food & Travel comes in! We'll help you understand how locals eat and travel in different countries around the world while sharing our tips on how we've made these experiences even better with our own hacks! Join us as we explore new cultures together from a traveller’s perspective while eating some of the most amazing food that each country has to offer!

BAB framework:
You love to travel, but you also love good food. However, finding the best restaurants and local eateries is always a challenge.

Imagine having a podcast that tells you about the best places to eat in every city you visit. It's like having your own personal tour guide who knows all of the hidden gems and where to find them!

Join Natascha Mirosch and Samantha Donsky as they take on the world one bite at a time with ExtraVirgin Food & Travel!

Brainstorm episode topics I've spoken before on ways to brainstorm episode ideas for your podcast. But this AI can make it much easier!

With Jarvis, you can brainstorm the next episode topics for your podcast. You just need to type in a few words and it will give you an infinite amount of ideas! This app is perfect if you're struggling with what's going on this week or running out of topic ideas because some episodes could sound similar.

Podcast: Logbook Memories

Description: An aviation podcast where we discuss stories that are torn right from the pages of your pilot logbook. We're here to remind each other why we fly. Our guests look back in the pages of their logbooks and find a flight that was particularly memorable or meaningful, and share the story of that flight or adventure in their own words.

AI-generated topic ideas:

• Private pilot tips for composite aircraft
• What do you love about flying?
• 25 Things to Cross Off Your Pilot Bucket List

Build episode outlines Jarvis is a great service that can outline your episodes for you! All you have to do is input an overview, which Jarvis then transforms into bullet points with accompanying notes. It's like having a virtual assistant who gives feedback on how well-structured or informative your content was at every turn—no more second guessing yourself!

Podcast: Talaterra

Episode title idea: How to nurture your relationship with the outdoors

AI-generated outline:

1. Get outside and explore your surroundings
2. Take a walk with your partner or friends in a nearby park
3. Plant flowers in pots on the porch or balcony
4. Buy furniture that is made locally
5. Hang pictures of family members throughout the house, including outdoorsy shots where you are hiking, camping, etc., to remind yourself of all the great times you've had together

Find new marketing angles Jarvis is the master of marketing and he's right there to help when you need it most. He can find new angles for your podcast in seconds so you don't have worry about a thing!

Podcast: Daily Radio Bible

Description: The Daily Radio Bible is a daily podcast of the Bible read by Hunter Barnes, taking readers through the Bible in one year. If you have ever wanted to read through the Bible in a year, or just want to use your time during your morning commute to feed your soul, the DRB is just for you. You don’t have to go it alone, we can experience the word of God together.

AI-generated marketing angles:

• Receive a daily word from the Bible
• Get biblical encouragement and knowledge in your mailbox every day
• Listen to God's word read by our narrator, Hunter Barnes
• Support those that are reading through the Bible this year
• A modern way of reading through the Bible for today’s generation

Respond to reviews (especially negative reviews) Let Jarvis help you respond to podcast reviews, especially negative ones. It's a great way of showing that you're human (even though you're using an AI!) and not just some faceless podcast in the world.

1-star review from “gehyra”:

1 minute of information wrapped in 30 minutes of self promotion! This podcast has almost no content: it's a merciless listener-grab and affiliate marketing attempt… packed with worthless buzzwords like “How To…” and “Top 5…”, but it doesn't deliver.

He seems like a nice guy, and I'm surprised he would try to treat people as naive-cash-cows and listener-statistics

AI-generated response:

Thanks for taking the time to review The Audacity to Podcast, gehyra. I'm sorry you didn't find it helpful.

It's true that my podcast is a marketing strategy and affiliate marketing opportunity–but there are also 30-plus episodes of content with interviews from experts, entrepreneurs, authors, etc., as well as practical tips and resources on how to start your own podcast or improve yours. So while I do have an incentive to get people onto my email list through this free resource, I hope they'll stay for more than just the promo or one episode!

Focus on your podcast's value and benefits One of the ways you can use Jarvis is to help people understand your podcast's value and benefits. In other words, answering “What's in it for me?”

Podcast (not used by this template): School Savvy Podcast

Description: The School Savvy Podcast shares knowledge with parents and students to help students in grades k-12 succeed. You will learn about academic skills, life skills, student mental health, careers, college, and more. We answer questions you didn’t know you had. Remember, when you increase your knowledge, you increase your options. Join us each week and get School Savvy.

AI-generated “unique value propositions”:

• A podcast for parents and students.
• 100% FREE weekly podcast that covers the basics of life skills, academic skills, student mental health, career planning and more.
• Learning about school and life skills is easier than ever with School Savvy.

AI-generated “features to benefits”:

Standard benefits:

• Get your child to love school.
• Learn how to help them thrive in their classes.
• Learn from experts in the field.
• Be informed with up to date information about education.

Emotional benefits:

• Give your child the best education possible.
• Feel like you're a part of the solution for your children's success.

Write better headlines The headlines on your blog posts and episodes are the first thing people see. It's important to craft a headline that will catch their attention while still being relevant.

Whether you're looking for an episode title, or your sub-headings within your episode, Jarvis can help!

Description: Jarvis can help you improve your podcast promotion and content.

AI-generated headlines:

• Improve your marketing and content with Jarvis
• Get more downloads, subscribers and engagement with Jarvis
• The best podcast maker for podcasters on the market today
• Podcast growth made easy
• Put your podcast on steroids with Jarvis
• Get the most out of your podcast
• Why you need more listeners and sponsors for your podcast

Watch my walkthrough/demo videos AI should never completely replace YOU! While many of these examples are amazing and could probably be used verbatim, you may need to tweak some things. Jarvis doesn't know everything, so it can be factually incorrect sometimes—like saying your podcast started in 2008 or guessing on some details. But you can easily correct these.

You also know yourself, your show, and your audience better than an AI, so you can use the AI-generated results as starting points to create your own content or edit the results to better fit your unique needs.

But what I've found the Jarvis AI can do is give me a much better start to many things, help me brainstorm stuff, and it has often helped me get in a focused mindset to then create content myself.

Click here to try Jarvis free for 5 days!

(If the free trial expires, joining through my link will probably still give you some kind of bonus.)

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Unlike the last unicorn in the eponymous 1982 animated film by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr., this week’s last-of-her-kind fantasy creature knows what happened to the rest of her kind, setting the new Disney Animation feature RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON off on a quest narrative that takes a much different shape than THE LAST UNICORN. We’re joined once again this week by John Maher to discuss RAYA’s shiny, roller-coaster-like thrills, and then compare the two films’ respective journeys, the mythical beasts at their centers, and the paired dynamic of parent villains and children who switch sides. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LAST UNICORN, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Moribi Murano’s UNICO IN THE ISLAND OF MAGIC John: Isao Takahata’s THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA Tasha: “The unsung genius of Studio Ghibli’s risk-taking realist, Isao Takahata (by John Maher, polygon.com), and Gore Verbinski’s THE RING Keith: Rob Savage’s HOST

Outro music: Jhené Aiko, “Lead the Way” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

While the new RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON shares far more with its Disney Animation brethren than anything made by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass, those filmmakers’ 1982 animated adaptation of Peter S. Beagle’s THE LAST UNICORN shares RAYA’s interest in telling a story about humanity via the plight of a fantasy creature believed to be the last of its kind — it just goes about it in a much more idiosyncratic, often flat-out weird way. To dig into all the ways THE LAST UNICORN defies convention and expectation, we’ve brought in cultural writer and animation expert John Maher to help discuss some of the big literary themes crammed into this small and not very literary movie, the film’s penchants for both poetry and anachronism, and what to make of that Rankin/Bass animation style. Plus, we respond to some feedback about our recent discussion of JEAN DE FLORETTE, and where we personally draw the line between film and television.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE LAST UNICORN, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro music: America, ‘In the Sea’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Yes, Lee Isaac Chung’s new feature MINARI is a story that involves family farming and scarcity of water, but its connections to Claude Berri’s 1986 tragedy JEAN DE FLORETTE go beyond plot similarities and into deeper explorations of community and outsiders. After discussing our initial reactions to MINARI we dig into those connections, as well as how the specifics of each film’s setting — rural Arkansas and Provence, France — shape those communities. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JEAN DE FLORETTE, MINARI, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Scott: Paul Mazursky’s ALEX IN WONDERLAND Keith: John Farrow’s WHERE DANGER LIVES Tasha: Philippe Lacôte’s NIGHT OF THE KINGS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Lee Isaac Chung’s new MINARI centers on a family starting over in the country, a theme that got us thinking about French director Claude Berri’s 1986 film JEAN DE FLORETTE, and how its concerns of agrarian hardship in general and water scarcity in particular echo those in Chung’s film. In this half of the pairing we get into JEAN DE FLORETTE’s unsparing view of an oft-idealized provincial setting, its showy yet subtle performances, and what it reveals about French filmmaking in the 1980s. Plus, we respond to some of our favorite kind of feedback — voicemail feedback!

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JEAN DE FLORETTE, MINARI, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: The Temptations, “I Wish It Would Rain” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In Chloe Zhao’s new NOMADLAND, Frances McDormand’s Fern “drops out of society” not by choice, unlike the yuppie couple at the center of Albert Brooks’ 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA, but she proves much more adept than they at surviving (perhaps even thriving?) outside the mainstream. This week we bring NOMADLAND’s view of life on the road into conversation with LOST IN AMERICA’s satirization of the impulse to pursue that lifestyle, to consider their respective approaches to dropping out of society and living without a safety net. Plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LOST IN AMERICA, NOMADLAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Tasha: David Lynch’s THE STRAIGHT STORY Keith: Agnès Varda’s DAGUERREOTYPES Genevieve: The New York Times Presents FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS Scott: Sarah Polley’s STORIES WE TELL Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Chloe Zhao’s new feature NOMADLAND presents a “houseless” life on the road as a choice born half out of desperation and half out of curiosity about life outside the American mainstream, which called to mind the yuppie adventurers looking to “drop out of society” in Albert Brooks’ 1985 comedy LOST IN AMERICA. This week, Brooks’ film serves as the catalyst for another Scott-Tasha showdown, as we dig into the nuances of both Brooks’ comedic style and the satirical premise he sets up in LOST IN AMERICA. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our recent episodes on AMERICAN PSYCHO and PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LOST IN AMERICA, NOMADLAND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Johnny Cash, “I’m an Easy Rider” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Though Emerald Fennell has cited Mary Harron’s AMERICAN PSYCHO as one of the inspiration points for her buzzy debut feature PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, there’s not a whole lot obviously linking the films in terms of protagonist, narrative, or even their respective satirical targets. But as we discuss in this week’s comparison, both woman-directed films are deeply concerned with ideas of male privilege and toxic masculinity, make ample use of high-pop needledrops, and engage with violence in a heightened and stylized manner that underlines their thematic concerns. We get into all that, plus Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN PSYCHO, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Scott: Abel Ferrara’s MS. 45 Keith: Mary Harron/Guinevere Turner’s THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE and CHARLIE SAYS Tasha: “Emerald Fennel Explains Herself” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com) Genevieve: Eugene Ashe’s SYLVIE’S LOVE

Outro Music: Juice Newton, “Angel of the Morning” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN writer-director Emerald Fennell has cited AMERICAN PSYCHO as one of her cinematic reference points when creating her first debut feature, which was enough reason for us to revisit Mary Harron’s 2000 cult classic ‘80s satire to see if there’s more to that comparison than the films’ shared taste for dark, dark humor. First up this week, we dig into AMERICAN PSYCHO’s inscrutable protagonist and even more inscrutable ending, its approach to adapting what many considered an unadaptable Bret Easton Ellis novel, and whether the characters in this film who are not named Patrick Batemen have any lasting resonance. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding our recent episode on Pixar’s SOUL, and another about the pandemic’s effects on our home-viewing habits.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN PSYCHO, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited: • “The Frustrating Tradition Behind Soul’s Great Flaw,” by Robert Daniels (polygon.com) • “Stop Telling Me To Turn My Brain Off At Movies,” by Matt Singer (screencrush.com) • “Pixar’s Troubled ‘Soul’” by Namwali Serpell (newyorker.com)

Outro Music: Huey Lewis and the News, “Hip to Be Square” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With the new ANOTHER ROUND, Thomas Vinterberg saw Alexander Payne’s 2004 middle-aged-men-drink-and-have-feelings comedy SIDEWAYS and said “Hold my Akvavit.” After swooning for a while over Vinterberg’s film — in particular its spectacular closing scene — we bring it into conversation with Payne’s to consider what the two films are each driving at when it comes to their ideas about middle age, lost youth, and drinking culture, and tackle the inevitable (but perhaps uninteresting) question of “is this alcoholism?” Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SIDEWAYS, ANOTHER ROUND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Tasha: Blake Edwards’ DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES Genevieve: Steven Soderbergh’s LET THEM ALL TALK Keith: Joko Anwar’s IMPETIGORE Scott: Sergio Leone’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST

Outro Music: Scarlet Pleasure, “What a Life” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Among other accomplishments, Thomas Vinterberg’s new ANOTHER ROUND has unseated Alexander Payne’s SIDEWAYS as the ne plus ultra of funny films about sad men drinking their way through midlife crises. In celebration of that feat, this week we’re looking back at what made SIDEWAYS so intoxicating back in 2004, discussing the film’s many small moments that carry a wealth of character, what to make of the connection between Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Maya (Virginia Madsen), and whether we feel comfortable characterizing oenophile Miles as a snob. Plus, we respond to some feedback taking us to task for our comparison of MANK and CITIZEN KANE, and inquiring about our favorite examples of a timely movie trope.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SIDEWAYS, ANOTHER ROUND, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Neil Diamond, “Red Red Wine” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Both Pixar’s new feature SOUL and Powell and Pressburger’s 1946 fantasy-romance A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH center on a soul gone missing from heaven’s ledger because he’s anxious to get back to his life on earth, but the journeys each of them takes to get there end up drawing different conclusions about the meaning of life. This week we’re joined again by critic and 812FilmReviews founder Robert Daniels to dig into SOUL and debate whether it manages to strike the delicate tonal balance it’s reaching for, how it carries its status as the first Pixar film with a Black protagonist, and how it fits into director Pete Doctor’s filmography, before bringing MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH into the discussion to compare the two films’ depictions of afterlife bureaucracy.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, SOUL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Tasha: Hirokazu Koreeda’s AFTER LIFE and Goran Dukic’s WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY Robert: Regina King’s ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI Keith: Alexander Hall’s HERE COMES MR. JORDAN Scott: Benjamin Ree’s THE PAINTER AND THE THIEF

Outro Music: Jon Batiste, “Collard Greens and Cornbread Strut” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With the image early in SOUL of a conveyor belt ferrying new souls into the afterlife, the new Pixar film makes clear the thematic debt it owes to Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 fantasy-romance A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH. But there’s much more to the Powell and Pressburger film than that indelible image; in this week’s half of our pairing we dig into what lies beyond the stairway to heaven with an assist from critic and 812FilmReviews founder Robert Daniels, with whom we discuss MATTER’s central romantic relationship, its varied approach to tone, and its relationship to the afterlife, both stylistically and narratively. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our recent WOLFWALKERS episode that wonders if the film is "actually AVATAR for kids," as well as a letter seeking clarification on our collective aversion to the term “dated.”

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH, SOUL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Dolly Parton, “Stairway to Heaven” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

As we say goodbye to a moviegoing year like none other, we go off-format this week for a year-end discussion about what it meant to go to the movies — or not, as the case may be — in a pandemic year that’s still in the midst of upending the theatrical experience as we’ve known it. We also share our hopes for our filmgoing futures; look for some glimpses of a silver lining amid the havoc 2020 has wreaked on the industry; and welcome some special guests to share their under-the-radar favorites of the year. Then, we collectively grit our teeth and present our individual Top 5 films of the year lists, despite everyone but Scott’s reluctance to commit to a ranked list in a year when there was so much we missed… and yet we still manage to find some consensus picks for the best of this remarkable year for movies.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about this year, or any year, in film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: New Pornographers, “Twin Cinema” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

WOLFWALKERS’s consideration of the connections between humans and nature via the history and fables of Ireland is in keeping with previous films from Irish animation house Cartoon Saloon, but we’re reaching back a little further, and into a different filmmaking medium, to connect the new animated film to John Sayles’s 1994 magical realist fable THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH. After gushing a bit over WOLKWALKERS’s visual and emotional punch, we look at both films within the traditions of shapeshifting and animal myths, as well as their shared interest in broken families, controlling father figures, and the specter of British colonialism. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH, WOLFWALKERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Darius Marder’s SOUND OF METAL Scott: Alexander Nanau’s COLLECTIVE Keith: Natalie Erika James’s RELIC Tasha: Mike Newell’s INTO THE WEST

Outro Music: Aurora, “Running With the Wolves” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like Irish animator Tom Moore’s previous films, the new WOLFWALKERS has a strong base in Irish legend and Celtic design, which, along with the film’s story about a young girl striking out on her own in a world of shapechangers and mythology, put us in mind of American filmmaker John Sayles’ 1994 venture into Irish legend, THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH. In this half of the pairing we consider whether ROAN INISH falls under the heading of children’s movie or arthouse film, how it fits into Sayles’ filmography, and how to contextualize, and even appreciate, its traditionalist messaging. Plus, we set the stage for next week’s WOLFWALKERS episode with a discussion of some of the non-traditional animated films that have surprised, delighted, and confounded us.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH, WOLFWALKERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Mason Daring, “Return to Roan Inish” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Though David Fincher’s new MANK certainly makes the case for giving Herman Mankiwiecz more of the credit for CITIZEN KANE than he’s often received, it’s more interested in peeling back the layers of a complex character and exploring the many personal and cultural themes that found their way into KANE. That makes it all but impossible not to discuss the film in relation to the Orson Welles classic, which is exactly what we do this week, comparing how the two films function as biography, how they each tackle politics and cronyism, and how they use non-chronological storytelling to different effect (and success). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CITIZEN KANE, MANK, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Tasha: Aaron Sorkin’s THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 Keith: Sofia Coppola’s ON THE ROCKS and Steve McQueen’s SMALL AXE Genevieve: Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s SAVE YOURSELVES!

Outro Music: “Teamwork” by Bing Crosby & Bob Hope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

It’s rare that a new film suggests a historical comparison point as strongly as David Fincher’s new MANK does, so we’re taking the bait and putting it in conversation with the film that is its raison d’etre: Orson Welles’ towering 1941 directorial debut, CITIZEN KANE. Is there anything new to say about a film frequently hailed as the form’s crowning achievement? Perhaps not, so in this half of the conversation we dig into KANE’s legacy as much as the film itself, to consider how the film plays in the context of everything it inspired, whether it’s a useful dividing point in film history, and the ways it still manages to surprise us after all this time. Plus, Scott Tobias presents an abbreviated 2020 edition of his annual “Movies to See” checklist, covering all the films you need to see to be conversant in this past year in film.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CITIZEN KANE, MANK, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: The White Stripes, “The Union Forever” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Writer-director Sean Durkin’s long-awaited followup to MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, the new THE NEST casts Jude Law and Carrie Coon as an unhappily married couple in the 1980s who relocate their family to an isolated British country estate, a move that hastens the seemingly inevitable collapse of their family unit. Though the film is separated from the setting of Ang Lee’s 1970s-set THE ICE STORM by a decade and an ocean, the two films express a similar merging of period values and family values, and build to nearly identical dark-night-of-the-soul climaxes. We get into that and more as we bring THE NEST into conversation with THE ICE STORM. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE ICE STORM, THE NEST, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Keith: George Romero’s SEASON OF THE WITCH Tasha: Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl’s PROSPECT Scott: Michael Cimino’s HEAVEN’S GATE (Director’s Cut)

Outro Music: “No Place Called Home,” by The June Brides Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

THE NEST, Sean Durkin’s chilly new drama about a marriage on the brink, weaves together its very 1980s setting and the issues afflicting its central family in a manner we found reminiscent of Ang Lee’s 1997 feature THE ICE STORM, which examines a similar sort of familial dysfunction through the lens of 1970s libertine values. In this half, we debate how well THE ICE STORM holds up another two decades removed from the time period it depicts, what stands out about its approach to that time period, and what it has to say as a film about parenthood. Plus, in place of our usual Feedback, we take some time to survey the career of Ang Lee via a discussion of his films that have most stuck with us. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE ICE STORM, THE NEST, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Melanie, “Brand New Key” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA is a fairly traditional concert film — at least as traditional as a collaboration between David Byrne and Spike Lee can be — which differentiates it from Byrne’s vignette-based 1986 ramble TRUE STORIES, but both projects are indelibly marked by the musician’s mindset, clearly the products of someone who works intuitively and metaphorically. This week we attempt to parse how the “David Byrne” character has evolved over the decades separating the two films, and how TRUE STORIES and AMERICAN UTOPIA echo each other’s interests in American stories, collective celebration through music, and how technology can foster human connection. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TRUE STORIES, AMERICAN UTOPIA, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: Marielle Heller’s WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME Keith: Costa Gavras’ Z Tasha: Michael O’Shea’s THE TRANSFIGURATION Scott: John Huston’s FAT CITY

Outro Music: “Burning Down the House” from DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Spike Lee’s new feature-length document of David Byrne’s stage show AMERICAN UTOPIA seemed like a prime opportunity to look back on the the iconoclastic alt-rocker’s own 1986 directorial effort TRUE STORIES, which also uses the framework of Talking Heads songs to muse about the state of America and how humans seek and find connections in the modern world. In the first half of our Byrne double feature, we consider TRUE STORIES’ vignette-based journey through the fictional Virgil, Texas, through the overlapping lenses of comedy, music, and Byrne himself. Plus, we respond to some feedback regarding our recent episode on DOGTOOTH.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TRUE STORIES, AMERICAN UTOPIA, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited: • “David Byrne’s American Triptych” by Keith Phipps (Slate.com)

Outro Music: Talking Heads ft. Annie McEnroe, “Dream Operator” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Longtime listeners of The Next Picture Show likely have at least passing familiarity with THE FALL via the many, many mentions it’s received over the years from co-host Tasha Robinson, one of the foremost advocates of Tarsem Singh’s hard-to-find, cultishly adored 2008 film. Joining her in that small but mighty fandom is Elliott Kalan, Emmy-winning comedy writer and co-host of THE FLOP HOUSE podcast, where he has shared Tasha’s experience of singing THE FALL’s praises to his bemused co-hosts. So in honor of… well, nothing, really, other than a shared appreciation of an obscure and highly discussable film, Keith Phipps convened Elliott and Tasha to discuss this extremely weird masterpiece, how its highly unusual filming circumstances resulted in a singular film, and why it’s ultimately a movie that’s “more felt than thought.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

If you’ve ever wondered, “What if Miranda July made her own version of DOGTOOTH?”, her new film KAJILLIONAIRE would be a pretty good answer. In this half of our pairing of darkly comic films centered on cloistered, dysfunctional families, we parse our reactions to KAJILLIONAIRE before bringing in DOGTOOTH to consider the two films’ respective handling of parenting with an agenda, isolation and the threats of the outside world, and sexuality and romance. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DOGTOOTH, KAJILLIONAIRE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Dave McCary’s BRIGSBY BEAR • Genevieve: Todd Haynes’ MILDRED PIERCE and BIG MOUTH season 4 • Scott: Bob Bowen’s PHINEAS AND FERB THE MOVIE: CANDACE AGAINST THE UNIVERSE • Keith: Matt Spicer’s INGRID GOES WEST and Alan Metter’s GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN

Outro Music: Eurythmics, ‘Would I Lie to You’ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The cloistered familial bubble at the center of Miranda July’s new KAJILLIONAIRE felt reminiscent of the one in Yorgos Lanthimos’ 2009 breakthrough DOGTOOTH, and that was before the film’s introduction of an outsider who contaminates said bubble, a complication carried out to slightly more disturbing ends in DOGTOOTH. In this half of our pairing we dig into the nature of DOGTOOTH’s sadistic parental experiment, whether the film’s highly symbolic premise overwhelms its story, and our respective interpretations of the film’s ambiguous ending. Plus, we respond to some recent listener feedback about parental viewing suggestions and podcast pairing regrets. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DOGTOOTH, KAJILLIONAIRE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Works Cited: • The Movies’ 50 Greatest Pop Music Moments, thedissolve.com

Outro Music: Irene Cara, “What a Feeling” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kirsten Johnson’s new DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD is a rumination on memory, death, and movie illusion, one that brings the veteran “cameraperson” in front of the lens, alongside her titular father. In that, it’s reminiscent of an earlier essay film with a strongly autobiographical bent, and a similar fixation on what remains after we’re gone: Orson Welles’ F FOR FAKE. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we debate how — or whether — Johnson’s film successfully skirts exploitation of its central subject, before diving into how these two films each tackle matters of authenticity, illusion, and making art in the face of death. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about F FOR FAKE, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: •”’We Think the Audience is Smarter Than Us’: Kirsten Johnson on Making Another Personal and Original Film With ‘Dick Johnson Is Dead,’ by Matt Prigge (filmmakermagazine.com) • “Documentarian Kirsten Johnson on Fake-Killing Her Own Dad (Over and Over) in Dick Johnson Is Dead,” by Rachel Handler (vulture.com)

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Banksy’s EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP • Scott: Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats, and Jacques Perrin’s WINGED MIGRATION • Keith: The Tobolowsky Files podcast • Tasha: Walt Dohrn’s TROLLS WORLD TOUR

Outro Music: Oingo Boing, “Dead Man’s Party” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kirsten Johnson’s new film DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD is an unconventional documentary perhaps more at home under the nebulous subgenre known as the personal essay film, a form that was, if not popularized, then at least institutionalized by Orson Welles with 1973’s F FOR FAKE. In preparation for discussing Johnson’s film next week, we spend this week working through how Welles made a highly personal film using someone else’s cinematic scraps, and whether watching the final product is, as one of us puts it, “like picking up a handful of water,” or, as another calls it, simply “miraculous.” Maybe it’s both. Plus, we respond to some recent listener feedback inspired by our episodes on BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about F FOR FAKE, DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: Belle and Sebastian, “A Century of Fakers” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Dear NPS listeners — we’ve been forced to make some changes to our schedule, which means our previously announced pairing of DOGTOOTH and KAJILLIONAIRE has been postponed a few weeks, and we’ll be back next week with the first part of our pairing of DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD and F IS FOR FAKE. In the meantime, though, we’re offering you a sneak peek behind the Patreon paywall, a bonus episode of our quick-reaction post-viewing series The Lobby, wherein noted Disney live-action skeptics Genevieve Koski and Scott Tobias talk over Disney’s new take on MULAN. Enjoy, and if you like what you hear, consider becoming a $5-a-month Patreon supporter, which will net you regular access to all of our bonus episodes, at patreon.com/NextPictureShow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS plays into some of Charlie Kaufman’s favorite preoccupations — surrealism, questions of identity and self, quietly desperate men, and the breakdown of order — which makes it not only an ideal pairing with Kaufman’s film screenwriting debut BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, but also an illustration of how those preoccupations have deepened in the years since Kaufman's breakout. It works better for some than others on our panel — which this week once again includes Screencrush editor and Filmspotting Family member Matt Singer — and we get into precisely why before bringing in MALKOVICH to discuss Kaufman’s history of sad, delusional men, his fixation on interiority and the life of the mind, and how it all plays into a broader interest in identity and how it shifts. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Charlie Kaufman’s SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK • Scott: Martin Ritt’s HUD • Matt: Dean Parisot’s BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC

Outro Music: Jesse Plemons, “Lonely Room” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With 1999’s BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman kicked off a two-decade run of dizzying audiences by playing around with identity and surrealism, and channeling and expressing anxiety, a mode he’s continued right on through to his latest, I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, which he also directs. Before we dig into his latest next week, we’re going back to the beginning to examine the mind of Charlie Kaufman via his “big swing debut” BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, with some help from Matt Singer, our former compatriot at The Dissolve, now editor and critic for Screencrush, and late of Filmspotting: SVU. Plus, we respond to some recent listener feedback inspired by our recent episodes on LORD OF THE FLIES and EUROVISION SONG CONTEST. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: They Might Be Giants, “Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The school-age boys at the center of Amanda McMaine and Jesse Moss’s new documentary BOYS STATE may not be facing the sort of life-and-death circumstances that frame Peter Brook’s film of LORD OF THE FLIES, but the two films undoubtedly echo each other in their portrayal of humanity’s tribalist instinct run amok. After discussing BOYS STATE and whether the kids are indeed all right, we look for connections between the two films and find many, not just in the aforementioned portrayal of tribalism, but also the films’ respective depictions of self-governance, maturity vs. immaturity, and the “adults in the room.” Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LORD OF THE FLIES, BOYS STATE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Masaaki Yuasa’s LU OVER THE WALL and Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s FULL BATTLE RATTLE • Scott: Michael Ritchie’s THE CANDIDATE • Keith: Agnès Varda’s LE BONHEUR, part of Criterion’s Varda box set • Genevieve: Kris Rey’s I USED TO GO HERE

Outro Music: Chicago, “Vote For Me” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The engrossing new documentary BOYS STATE, about a group of young men attempting to build a functional democracy and all of the ways it can go awry, naturally invites comparisons to William Golding’s LORD OF THE FLIES, but as we discover in our revisitation of the latter in the form of Peter Brook’s 1963 adaptation, the allegorical nature of Golding’s story doesn’t shift so easily from page to screen. This week we dig into the unusual production circumstances of Brook’s film and how they both detract from and amplify the film’s visceral power, in addition to some “freshman English” analysis of Golding’s tale. Plus, we respond to some listener feedback on our recent episodes on Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF and FIRST COW. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about LORD OF THE FLIES, BOYS STATE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Mr. Mister, “Kyrie” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

After slogging across the Oregon Trail with Kelly Reichardt’s MEEK’S CUTOFF last week, this week we’re going even further back in the 19th century for Reichardt’s new FIRST COW. We’re joined once again by Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson to discuss FIRST COW’s offbeat humor and quiet reverence for the artistry of cooking, on the way to discussing what it shares with MEEK’S CUTOFF in terms of the portrayal of masculinity and vulnerability, the films’ respective approaches to history, and the handmade aesthetic that links them as Reichardt films. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEEK’S CUTOFF, FIRST COW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Rebecca Stern’s WELL GROOMED • Scott: Atom Egoyan’s SPEAKING PARTS • Keith: Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer’s PLUS ONE and HBO Max’s LOONEY TUNES CARTOONS • Alissa: Kevin Rafferty and James Ridgeway’s FEED, and Jan de Bont’s SPEED

Outro Music: Doja Cat, “Mooo!” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Kelly Reichardt’s latest, FIRST COW, finds the veteran indie filmmaker returning to territory she’s visited before — specifically 19th-century Oregon Territory, a historical terrain Reichardt first explored in her 2010 anti-Western MEEK’S CUTOFF. This week we’re joined by Vox Culture critic Alissa Wilkinson as we hitch our proverbial wagons to MEEK’S CUTOFF to discuss how it fits into Reichardt’s tradition of road movies that don’t go anywhere, and our respective reactions to its deliberately slow pace and frustrating ending. Plus, we respond to some listener feedback on our recent episodes on GROUNDHOG DAY and EUROVISION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEEK’S CUTOFF, FIRST COW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Talking Heads, “Road to Nowhere”

MASTERCLASS.com/pictureshow for 15% off Annual All-Access MasterClassPass Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Hulu comedy PALM SPRINGS wouldn’t exist without the broad comedy and sentimental romance of GROUNDHOG DAY, but there are some key differences in its depiction of life and love inside a time loop — chief among them the decision to give Andy Samberg’s character a partner in looping, played by Cristin Milioti — that make it a very different sort of circular journey. We’re joined once again by Vox critic at large Emily Vanderwerff to discuss the efficacy of that decision, as well as how the two films function as romances, as parables, and, most importantly, as comedies. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about Groundhog Day, PALM SPRINGS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes Works Cited: • “Cristin Milioti Explains the Time-Loop Science Behind Palm Springs,” by Rachel Handler (vulture.com) • “Torn apart in production, The Emperor’s New Groove came out at exactly the wrong time,” by Petrana Radulovic (polygon.com)

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Leslye Headland and Natasha Lyonne’s RUSSIAN DOLL • Emily: Michaela Coel’s I MAY DESTROY YOU • Scott: Hlynur Palmason’s A WHITE, WHITE DAY • Tasha: John-Paul Davidson and Trudie Styler’s THE SWEATBOX

Outro Music: Hall & Oates, “When the Morning Comes” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

GROUNDHOG DAY didn’t invent the time-loop genre, but it’s safe to say that without Harold Ramis’ beloved 1993 Bill Murray-starring comedy, we wouldn’t have nearly as many film and television series about people stuck in a period of time that keeps resetting and endlessly repeating — including the new Hulu comedy PALM SPRINGS, the subject of next week’s discussion. We’re joined this week by our friend and former colleague Emily Vanderwerff, Vox’s critic at large, to dissect how our feelings about and memories of GROUNDHOG DAY have evolved over the years, and discuss how the film functions as both a religious and moral parable, as well as an exemplar of that endangered cinematic species, the American small town movie. Plus, we tackle some listener feedback about representation in film and critics’ responsibility in discussing it. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GROUNDHOG DAY, PALM SPRINGS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Frank Yankovic, “Pennsylvania Polka” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA concerns a different genre and different part of the world than Christopher Guest’s folk-music-focused A MIGHTY WIND, but the comedies share an irreverently reverent approach to parodying their chosen music scene. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we debate whether that approach is helped or hindered in EUROVISION by the presence of Will Ferrell, along with the function of the film’s centerpiece “Song-Along.” Then we bring EUROVISION into conversation with A MIGHTY WIND to compare how the two films each tackle music, comedy, and the intersection thereof. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A MIGHTY WIND, EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Eurovision Director David Dobkin Never Wanted to Make Fun of Anyone,” by Chris Lee (vulture.com)

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Las Culturistas podcast, “Family Style (w/Will Ferrell)"; “Love Me Like You Should: The Brave and Bold Sylvester”; Sam Feder’s DISCLOSURE • Tasha: Gina Prince-Bythewood’s THE OLD GUARD • Keith: Byron Haskin’s THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) • Scott: Tobe Hooper’s THE FUNHOUSE

Outro Music: Fire Saga, “Ja Ja Ding Dong” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Netflix comedy EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA sneaks moments of real pathos into its parodic look at a highly specific music scene, a sly approach it shares with another classic of the musical-spoof form: 2003’s A MIGHTY WIND, the third in a series of improv-heavy comedies directed by Christopher Guest and starring a cast of ensemble players. In this unfortunately “Ja Ja Ding Dong”-free half of our pairing, we dive into A MIGHTY WIND to examine the source and efficacy of said pathos, and how it aligns with Guest and co’s approach to both folk music and improv comedy. Plus, feedback on our recent Studio Ghibli bonus episode prompts further discussion of the oft-ignored Isao Takahata and the sub-vs.-dub debate.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A MIGHTY WIND, EUROVISION SONG CONTEST, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Outro Music: “A Mighty Wind” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Spike Lee’s ambitious new war epic for Netflix, DA 5 BLOODS, is brimming with cultural and historical reference points — including an extended homage to the other film in this pairing, John Huston’s THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE — but it’s also full of Lee signatures, in both its story and its style. We break down some of them in our consideration of DA 5 BLOODS, before connecting Lee’s doomed treasure hunt to Huston’s by way of their respective depictions of paranoia and madness, their ideas about foreign interlopers and native populations, and their grimly ironic endings. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, DA 5 BLOODS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods Misses the Mark—and Does a Disservice to Its Women,” by Cassie Da Costa (thedailybeast.com) • “21 essential films about Black lives, in every major genre,” by Adam Davie as told to Tasha Robinson (polygon.com) • “Black Life on Film” by Adam Davie (letterboxd.com)

Your Next Picture Show:

Genevieve: Spike Lee’s PASS OVER Tasha: Ousmane Sembene’s BLACK GIRL Scott: DA Pennebaker’s ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: COMPANY Keith: John Patrick Shanley’s JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO

Outro music: Marvin Gaye, ‘What’s Going On’ (Lead Vocals Only) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Spike Lee’s new DA 5 BLOODS has no shortage of cinematic and historical touchpoints, but its focus on the literal and metaphorical weight of gold — not to mention that whole “stinking badges” thing — is a direct nod to the 1948 John Huston classic THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. In this half of our pairing we assess what’s made TREASURE endure, from the knotty moral complexity of its central trio to its utilization of real locations, and go beyond the most quotable moments to explore some of the film’s less-discussed standout scenes. Plus, some feedback on our recent episode on THE HAUNTING prompts some discussion of non-auteurs and the lost art of the commentary track. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, DA 5 BLOODS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes Works Cited: • “The subversive masculinity of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com) • “Forum: Treasure of the Sierra Madre” by Genevieve Koski and Keith Phipps (thedissolve.com) Outro Music: Stone Roses, “Fool’s Gold” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

2020 is the year that Japan’s beloved Studio Ghibli fully enters the streaming age, rolling out its films for Netflix viewers around the world, and for HBO Max subscribers in the U.S. This marks a major shift from recent decades, when Ghibli’s films were mostly relegated to boutique DVD releases and special theatrical events. So in celebration of Ghibli’s films being readily available to a wide audience for the first time, we’re departing from format a bit for an in-depth look at the studio’s very first film, CASTLE IN THE SKY, which is packed with early signifiers of director Hayao Miyazaki’s authorial stamp, from his fascination with flight and reverence for the natural world, to his distrust of the military and cynicism about humanity. Then, we each offer our respective starting points for the Ghibli catalogue, as part of a larger discussion about how one’s first encounter with Ghibli can shape the experience of all future viewings. Show Notes Works Cited: • “Welcome to Studio Ghibli Week,” by Tasha Robinson (Polygon.com) • “Studio Ghibli’s first film, Castle in the Sky, is like no Hayao Miyazaki film that followed,” by Tasha Robinson (Polygon.com) • “The gross fluids and clean fluidity of Spirited Away,” by Tasha Robinson (TheDissolve.com)

Outro Song: Azumi Inoue, “Kimi wo Nosete/Carrying You” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Introducing the newest Audioboom original podcast, Truth vs Hollywood. Join Film lovers David Chen and Joanna Robinson as they do a deep dive into well known films and discuss how similar they are to the actual story. Truth vs Hollywood premieres 6/12. Subscribe to Truth vs Hollywood on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Josephine Decker’s new SHIRLEY uses the home of a fictionalized Shirley Jackson to tell a different sort of haunted house tale, one that shares some thematic links with one of the best-known Jackson adaptations, 1963’s THE HAUNTING, if not necessarily strong narrative ones. This week we’re joined once again by Alison Willmore of Vulture to discuss SHIRLEY’s expressive style and dissolute ending, then dig into how it connects to THE HAUNTING in its depiction of madness, divided personas, and sexuality. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HAUNTING, SHIRLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Alison: Andrew Patterson’s THE VAST OF NIGHT Keith: Christopher Guest’s BEST IN SHOW and A MIGHTY WIND Scott: Dan Sallitt’s FOURTEEN

Outro music: Diana Ross, “It’s My House” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Josephine Decker’s new SHIRLEY attempts to invoke the spirit of Shirley Jackson in suitably discomfiting fashion, which makes Robert Wise’s 1963 Jackson adaptation THE HAUNTING something of a prerequisite for the new film. How does THE HAUNTING stack up against its reputation as one of the scariest films of all time, and what makes it both a paragon and an anomaly of the haunted house genre? Joined by special guest Alison Willmore, we dig into those questions, plus the film’s distinctive visuals, its melange of performance styles, and its place in the broader scheme of Jackson adaptations. Plus, we share some feedback on episodes of the recent and not-so-recent past. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HAUNTING, SHIRLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Gerard Way, “Baby You’re a Haunted House” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

How serious are you about improving and growing your podcast?

In this miniseries, I'll explore the different labels used to describe podcasters.

The labels “amateur” and “skilled” do indicate quality. So while it's okay to stay in one group and own it with pride, I do encourage you to seek to move into the “skilled” group.

What are amateur podcasters? The late Steve Jobs once referred to podcasts as “amateur hour” in one of his last Apple keynotes. But don't let the term “amateur” be demeaning. Instead, consider it a way to describe where you might be now, but not where you're staying.

Amateur podcasters accept where they are They may not be content with where their podcasts are, but they often don't consider how they need to improve and grow themselves.
Amateur podcasters have vague or no goals If an amateur podcaster has goals, they're often rather vague, such as growing or monetizing.

Vague goals look for vague successes.

For example, if an amateur podcaster says merely, “I want to grow my audience.” Then if they get even one more person listening, then they accomplished their goal. But did they really want only one additional listener?

Or if they say merely, “I want to monetize my podcast,” and they make 3¢. Then they monetized their podcast.

Amateur podcasters ask broad questions I often see the same overly broad questions asked in online podcasting groups. For example, “How do I grow my podcast?” “What's the best microphone?” “Who is the best podcast host?”
Amateur podcasters say “good enough” There are big differences between being resourceful under limitations and quitting when something seems “good enough.”

When something is “good enough,” it probably actually isn't.

Amateur podcasters want free options Yes, there are many budget constraints on podcasters of all types. There's nothing wrong with using free options. But I think looking for only free options can indicate commitment levels.

For example, Anchor currently hosts almost half of all valid podcast feeds in Apple Podcasts, but more than half of those shows have 3 or fewer episodes. And there are more 1-episode shows on Anchor than the total number of shows any other podcast-hosting provider hosts. [Private data via My Podcast Reviews.]

The first time I revealed this data in “What New Data Suggests about Podcast-Hosting Customers” from December 2018, I suggested that the tool itself is not creating dead shows, but the extremely low barriers to entry (and with very little education) was probably making it easier for low-commitment people to start podcasts.

Does simply paying for something help you be more committed? Perhaps. Or maybe more-committed people are already willing to pay for stuff.

Amateur podcasters are jealous of others' success Spotify has been making some big moves in the podcasting industry. They started getting disruptive with the recent announcement that The Joe Rogan Experience will soon become exclusive to Spotify—not simply be on Spotify, but be only on Spotify and nowhere else: not Apple Podcasts and not YouTube.

Amateur podcasters might be jealous of this, thinking they deserve some of that money or attention.

Amateur podcasters practice when it's convenient Concert pianists don't become that by working on their art only when it's convenient. They practice over and over, often beyond physical comfort, let alone convenience.

You'll probably see that in almost any other field of art.

But you won't see amateurs among great artists.

Amateur podcasters want things to be easy A lot of great things have been forfeited because getting them was “too hard.”

You make things easy, either by investing in better tools or investing in better skills.

What are skilled podcasters? I think the pandemic of 2020 has revealed the true skills of many people. For example, look at many of the top broadcasters who suddenly seemed like amateurs when they had to broadcast from home.

But you can also look at the skilled broadcasters and see that they simply adapted and continued. For example, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and Ask Me Another are both recorded usually in front of a live audience, which brings great natural energy with it. But I've found those shows equally entertaining even recorded from the cohosts' homes. There are many other shows with similar skills.

It's okay if you consider yourself an amateur podcaster—we all were at some point. I only don't want you stay that way.

Skilled podcasters pursue personal growth A skilled podcaster will often introspect before seeking external growth. They'll find ways to improve their planning, their communication skills, their tools and processes, and such.
Skilled podcasters have “SMART” goals You might consider it cliché or overly used, but I still think the “SMART” goals approach is highly applicable and valuable.

Here's how I define “SMART”:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time-bound

Listen to “How to set and achieve SMART goals for your podcast” for more information.

Skilled podcasters seek specific answers Instead of asking broad questions like, “How do I grow my audience?” skilled podcasters will search for answers first (because skilled people often know how to find answers on their own). And when they do ask questions, they're usually specific.

For example, “My podcast gets 100 downloads per episode. I have an email list with 1,000 subscribers and a 25% average open rate. My podcast is about pet-grooming. If I have only $100 to spend, should I buy ads in Overcast, an industry website or publication, or sponsor another podcast in the pet industry? Or should I spend it somewhere else?”

Skilled podcasters say “what's next?” Constant growth is a signature of skilled people. It's not a lack of contentment or even an obsession with outdoing themselves, but a motivation to always improve.

So whether it's finishing an episode, reaching a milestone, or accomplishing a goal, skilled podcasters will seek new innovations, milestones, and goals.

Skilled podcasters invest for results Whether spending time, energy, or money, skilled podcasters will see it as an investment they hope will result in some kind of improvement. That could be directly measurable, like spending $100 to get 150 new subscribers. Or it could be more intangible, like upgrading your tools so things are easier, faster, better, or remove a frustration.
Skilled podcasters celebrate and learn from others Back to news about The Joe Rogan Experience, I think skilled podcasters would be looking for what they can learn from Joe's success and how they can apply that in their own situation.

Applying lessons doesn't mean imitating (do we really need more “____ on Fire” entrepreneur-interview podcasts?), but it means adapting and interpolating for your uniquenesses. Sometimes, you might even decide to do the exact opposite and you could have even greater success!

Skilled podcasters train and practice diligently Every great artist became great with diligent work. They practice, learn, or refine daily. They work hard. They push their limits.
Skilled podcasters want labor to be worth it Cliff Ravenscraft now lives by an inspiring line he heard from one of his clients, “I don't want easy; I want ‘worth it.'”

You've probably heard this idea said in different ways, such as “If it's worth having, it's worth waiting/working for.”

The difference isn't in how much labor there is, but in why skilled podcasters are doing it.

For example, I once replaced the alternator in my car. I had never done that before. It wasn't easy and I didn't even have the right tools for it. But it was worth it to me because it mean spending only 25% of the money it would have cost for an auto shop to do it for me. And it actually took me less time, too!

If you've already launched your podcast and want to become a skilled podcaster, I think Podcasters' Society is the best place for you to improve and grow!

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Coky Giedroyc’s HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, based on British humorist Caitlin Moran’s own life as a teenage music writer in the British Midlands, plays in many ways like Cameron Crowe’s mostly autobiographical ALMOST FAMOUS, translated to a new time and place. But it’s also a different sort of coming-of-age story about a very different sort of protagonist, based on the life of a very different sort of writer, all of which we get into by way of the two films’ respective approaches to writing and journalism, to family and origin stories, and to their respective love interests. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALMOST FAMOUS, HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: Tayarisha Poe’s SELAH AND THE SPADES Scott: Todd Berger’s IT’S A DISASTER Keith: Todd Haynes’ DARK WATERS and Jane Campion’s IN THE CUT Tasha: “A Boy’s Life (In Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll)” by Anthony Bozza (rollingstone.com) and Caitlin Moran’s MORANIFESTO and HOW TO BE A WOMAN

Outro music: Lily Allen: “Alfie” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Who has the final say for your podcast?

In this miniseries, I'll explore the different labels used to describe podcasters and encourage you to own your label with pride!

An aside before diving in, I never liked the term “procasters” because it made it seem like indie podcasters couldn't be professionals at what they do.

How are independent and corporate podcasters similar Independent (or “indie”) podcasters and corporate podcasters share the same similarities I shared in my previous episode about hobbyist vs. professional podcasters. Here's that list for your convenience.

Both can have excellence
Both can have passion
Both can have audiences of any size
Both can “PROFIT”

So let's jump to what sets them apart!

What are indie podcasters? 1. Indie podcasters make their own decisions “The buck stops here” for an indie podcaster! They make their own decisions, big and small. They might involve their cohosts, community, or other collaborators. But everything about their podcast is their own to choose.

Indie podcasters are agile On a whim, indie podcasters can change technology, launch a donation system, create a new product, redesign their branding, and much more. There's no approval process and usually the only delays are in how much time it takes to implement something, or how long it takes for that delivery to arrive.
Indie podcasters made the podcasting industry Don't let anyone mislead you! No broadcast company or executive invented podcasting—it was indies: Dave Winer (who created RSS) and Adam Curry. And the foundations of podcasting are very much “pirate radio.”
Indie podcasters are resourceful Indie podcasters are used to working with what they have or very limited resources. They're well-acquainted with recording in a closet or under a blanket, using pantyhose for a pop filter, or hacking things together.
Indie podcasters are the majority Of the nearly 1.1 million podcasts at this time, I estimate there are only a couple or few thousand podcasts (under 1%) are hosted by corporate podcasters. The rest are the indies!
Indie podcasters reach the niches There's almost no niche too small! You can find a podcast on almost anything and usually hosted by people passionate about and highly experienced in those topics.
Indie podcasters want (and deserve) to be involved in the podcasting industry No matter the direction the industry goes, I think no one cares more about it than the independent podcasters. Sometimes, it even seems like podcasting is a way of life to an indie.

If you're an independent podcaster, please get involved in The Podcast Academy to ensure the indie majority is represented.

What are corporate podcasters? 1. Corporate podcasters are subject to external oversight “Design by committee” is a phrase that makes almost any designer cringe. Corporate podcasters have committees, executives, corporate interests, sponsors, and even legal regulations often dictating what can and can't be done.

Corporate podcasters move slowly and deliberately The oversight in corporate podcasting slows things down. But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. This slow and intentional movement often results in a more successful product and launch.
Corporate podcasters brought the podcasting industry mainstream Podcasts would not be anywhere near as popular as they are now if it wasn't for corporate podcasters. They brought and continue to bring mainstream attention and large audiences to podcasts.
Corporate podcasters have powerful leverage Because of the much larger audiences and bigger relationships corporate podcasters have, they can move things in much bigger ways than indies can. This could mean bringing major brands to podcasting (through content or sponsorship), inspiring majority actions in the audience, and more.
Corporate podcasters are the popular minority Yes, corporate podcasters often dominate the charts and publicity. That's a benefit of their mainstream audience and powerful leverage. But compared to the bigger world of podcasts, I estimate fewer than 1% of the current 1.1 million podcasts are from corporate podcasters.
Corporate podcasters reach the broad masses Big broadcasters literally can't afford to go super-niche. But what they can do, and that they often do really well, is appeal to broader audiences. And their experience and connections help them do this.

Even when a corporate podcast gets niche, such as hosting a podcast about their own product, it's still intended for the larger audience.

Corporate podcasters use the podcasting industry I believe that corporate podcasters see podcasting as simply another tool to reach new audiences and grow their empires. (There's nothing wrong with using podcasting for that!) The investments they make and changes they want in podcasting are usually motivated by these corporate interests.

For example, an indie podcaster might want things to be easier, but a corporate podcaster might want more data on their audience.

What do you think of these labels?

Don't make this an “us vs. them” battle Although it seems corporate podcasters often ignore and even metaphorically spit on the foundations indies have built, I think the indies can learn a lot from corporates.

Also, I would like to see more corporate podcasters recognize and take advantage of the niche and highly skilled experience of indie podcasters. One initiative that I attempted to start was to help local broadcast stations connect with their local podcasters to use as subject experts. After all, podcasters have the gear and usually the communication skills broadcasters want!

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The new HOW TO BUILD A GIRL is a heavily autobiographical film about a teenage music journalist, which means it inevitably gets mentioned in the same breath as Cameron Crowe’s ALMOST FAMOUS, a heavily autobiographical 2000 film about a teenage music journalist, this one inspired by Crowe’s own past as Rolling Stone magazine’s youngest-ever correspondent. In this first half of our pairing looking at young, uncool kids chasing their own ideals of cool, we dig into ALMOST FAMOUS—in particular the much longer, and superior UNTITLED cut thereof—to see how it weaves its undeniable spell, how it occasionally drops the ball (particularly when it comes to Kate Hudson’s Penny Lane), and how our own experiences as entertainment journalists color the film’s message that “these are not your friends.” Plus, we tackle a couple of the numerous responses we got to our recent, contentious discussion on THE ASSISTANT.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALMOST FAMOUS, HOW TO BUILD A GIRL, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Elton John, “Tiny Dancer” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Do you podcast for the fun or art of it, or to build a business?

In this miniseries, I'll explore the different labels used to describe podcasters and encourage you to own your label with pride!

How are hobbyist and professional podcasters similar? 1. Hobbyists and professionals can have excellence Neither label indicates quality levels. It's possible for hobbyists to rival “professional quality,” and it's also possible for professionals to sound like “amateur hour.”

Hobbyists and professionals can have passion No one has exclusivity on passion in podcasting. Pardon the pun, but anyone can be “on fire” for anything.
Hobbyists and professionals can have audiences of any size Whether a narrow niche or a broad topic, there are no upper or lower limits for hobbyists or professionals.
Hobbyists and professionals can “PROFIT” Podcasting PROFIT™ is popularity, relationships, opportunities, fun, income, and tangibles. These are all attainable for hobbyists and professionals. Neither has a monopoly on success.

What is a hobbyist podcaster? 1. A hobbyist podcaster focuses on the experience Satisfaction is often the main goal of a hobbyist podcaster, regardless of their topic. That satisfaction could come from laughing, talking about your favorite subjects, inspiring people, and more.

A hobbyist podcaster has few pressures Hobbyists are often not burdened by many deadlines, expectations, bills, and such.
A hobbyist podcaster reserves podcasting for “nights and weekends” Like most other hobbies, podcasting for a hobbyist is probably something they do when the more important things are done. Podcasting comes after the job, after family time, and after household responsibilities.
A hobbyist podcaster spends for bills or pleasure Usually, a hobbyist is spending money on the necessities of podcasting, or simply enjoying any kind of extra income they get.

What is a professional podcaster? 1. A professional podcaster focuses on the outcome For a professional, podcasting needs a return on their investment; it needs to grow a business or market something.

A professional podcaster is running a business Like other parts of running a business, podcasting income and expenses will be tracked, reported, and deducted for budgeting and taxes.
A professional podcaster integrates podcasting into their strategy Podcasting is part of the “day job” for a professional podcaster.
A professional podcaster invests in returns When a professional podcaster PROFITs, they reinvest that into the business. That could be investing in people or resources to make podcasting easier or better. It could be investing into marketing to grow the podcast or business.

What are you? Are you a hobbyist podcaster, or a professional podcaster?

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Kitty Green’s recent day-in-the-life drama THE ASSISTANT, starring Julia Garner as a new assistant to a Weinstein-like executive, is nowhere near the crowd-pleaser Mike Nichols’ 1988 corporate Cinderella story WORKING GIRL was, and its scenario places the film squarely within a very current cultural conversation; but taken together the two films provide an apt illustration of what has and hasn’t changed for women in the workplace in the last three decades. After digging into our surprisingly divided opinions on THE ASSISTANT and its would-be sympathetic protagonist, we look at these two films together to consider what they tell us about the evolution of women’s role in the workplace, the importance of office allies, and what the characters’ working wardrobes say about their respective ambitions. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WORKING GIRL, THE ASSISTANT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: Keith: Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz’s MESSIAH OF EVIL Genevieve: FX on Hulu’s MRS. AMERICA Scott: Chantel Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES Tasha: Mike Nichols’ CLOSER

Outro music: TLC, “His Story” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Even though podcasting is usually an audio-only experience, attractive images can enhance your podcast branding and help you promote your podcast better! Here are suggestions to consider for podcast-level and episode-level images.

How images help your podcast Establishing and reinforcing visual branding * * *

Are Disney's movies Frozen and Frozen II related to Pixar's movie Onward? Many of the 5by5 podcast network's cover art shares the same style, making the relationship obvious. Marketing your episodes Artwork makes your podcast look a lot better when shared in social networks like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

Having images, especially for each episode, can help enable you to promote your podcast in visual-only platforms, like Pinterest and Instagram.

Engaging your audience Look at No Agenda‘s art generator.

Communicating without words “A picture is worth 1,000 words.”

Square image for podcast apps and Instagram
Crop-friendly wide image for video and social
16:9 for video
1,200 × 628 for Facebook and Twitter
Crop-friendly tall image for Pinterest
2:3 for Pinterest
9:16 for video stories
Thumbnail image for your website

I suggest you design for a square crop but with margin for different ratios.

Here's what square episode images look like on The Audacity to Podcast's homepage. 5. Background image for creativity

What I love being able to use background images in SecondLine Themes as my WordPress theme! You can easily add a color overlay, style effects, and even blur your images.

Ensure it doesn't conflict with text over it.

How this episode's background image looks, thanks to Tusant from SecondLine Themes. 6. “Open” image for audiograms

Headliner and Wavve are great tools for making audiograms.

Show images for profile branding Visit Sprout Social's guide to social-media image sizes.

How to make these images Hire a professional * Mark Des Cotes from Podcast Branding * DesignCrowd * 99designs

Do it yourself * RelayThat * Adobe Spark Post * Canva * PicMonkey * Photoshop Elements * Any design/layout software you have

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Mike Nichols’ 1988 hit workplace comedy WORKING GIRL is set in a very different era than Kitty Green’s new, more somber THE ASSISTANT, but taken in tandem, the two films reveal how certain gendered power dynamics haven’t changed much in the 32 years separating them. This week we look at WORKING GIRL in the context of a string of 1980s workplace-empowerment movies and Nichols’ career alike, and try to parse its broader points about women in the workplace, and how they function within what is in many ways a traditional Cinderella story. Plus, we respond to some recent criticism regarding “protagonist bias” in our episode on BAD EDUCATION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WORKING GIRL, THE ASSISTANT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Carly Simon, “Let the River Run” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

On Friday, April 17, 2020, Apple Podcasts surpassed 1 million valid podcasts in their catalog. So have we reached “peak podcast”? Is it too late to start a podcast? Will your podcast only be lost in the sea of over 1 million other podcasts?

Short answer: NO!

Here's why.

Saturation is a matter of perspective Listen to “There Are Now More than 800,000 Podcasts and More Industry Stats” for more information behind my Podcast Industry Statistics site.

According to the top results in Google searches:

There are more than 31 million YouTube channels
There are more than 97 million songs
There are more than 140 million books
There are more than 600 million blogs
Not all podcasts are active
Not all podcasts are consistent
Your niche is much smaller
Your podcast could do what others don't, can't, or won't
There will always be ways to innovate

View Details

In its adaptation of a true story of malfeasance and misappropriation in a Long Island high school, Cory Finley’s new HBO film BAD EDUCATION sets up a clash between shady educator and meddlesome student that put us in mind of Alexander Payne’s 1999 political satire ELECTION. In this half of our pairing, we debate the level of sympathy we’re able to extend to Hugh Jackman’s corrupt superintendent in BAD EDUCATION, before putting the two films in conversation to see what they have to say about the fraught interplay between student and faculty, precocious young women, and the corruptibility of adulthood. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ELECTION, BAD EDUCATION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

• Tasha: Richard Kwietniowski’s OWNING MAHOWNY and Seven Soderbergh’s THE INFORMANT! • Keith: Eugene Mirman’s IT STARTED AS A JOKE • Scott: Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

Outro music: The Who, “Did You Steal My Money?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Did you know I once directed a podcast network? I retired it in spring 2019, and here are some lesson I hope can help you.

The network's history I founded Noodle Mix Network (originally called “Noodle.mx Network,” but always pronounced the same) with the launch of The Audacity to Podcast in June 2010.

My goal was to bring together like-minded podcasters with high-quality shows to grow together through synergy, community, support, crosspromotion, and sponsorship.

Noodle Mix Network combined my pre-existing shows, the Ramen Noodle and Are You Just Watching, with a brand new show called The Audacity to Podcast.

It since grew to host a wide variety of shows:

the Ramen Noodle
Are You Just Watching
The Audacity to Podcast
Beyond the To-Do List
The Productive Woman
Christian Meets World
The Sci-Phi Show
ONCE
Welcome to Level Seven
WONDERLAND
Under the Dome Radio
Resurrection Revealed
Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast
Inside the Podcasting Business

What the network did well * Quality * Branding * Rally for awards * Sponsorships

What the network did poorly * Audience-relevant common theme * Cross-promotion * Cross-integration * Full and consistent community

Why I retired the network * Allow me to focus on fewer things * Give each podcaster more room to expand

Read my announcement post.

Should you start or join a network? * If run like a business * If an obvious audience-relevant benefit * Not if it's only a club

For more information, I highly recommend Dave Jackson's episode of School of Podcasting (in which I'm a guest), “How to Start a Podcast Network: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly.”

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Cory Finley’s new BAD EDUCATION is based on a real-life incident, whereas Alexander Payne’s 1999 high school satire ELECTION is based on a Tom Perrotta novel (itself inspired by the 1992 presidential election), but they both use their high school settings to make their way toward similar conclusions about the corruptibility of adulthood. In this half of our pairing looking at morality, ethics, and the educators who unwittingly illustrate the difference to their students, we dig into ELECTION’s satirical aims and accomplishments, debate the merits of Tracy Flick’s campaign for student body president, and consider what, if any, conclusions the film draws about elections and democracy. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes inspires a brief convening of the Next Picture Show Book Club. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ELECTION, BAD EDUCATION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Election: That’s Why It’s Destiny,” by Dana Stevens (criterion.com)

Outro Music: Ennio Morricone, “Navajo Joe” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The RØDECaster Pro is my new favorite piece of podcasting gear! I'll have a thorough review soon. In the meantime, here are some tips to help with one of the biggest complaints I've heard about the RØDECaster Pro.

Why the RØDECaster Pro transfers files so slowly The RØDECaster Pro (RCP) can read and write to a variety of microSD cards, including extremely high-speed cards. But its transfer speed is limited because the interface with your computer is only USB 2.0!

USB 2.0's maximum transfer speed is 480 megabits per second (or 60 MB/s because there are 8 bits in 1 byte). But USB 3.0's maximum transfer speed is 5 gigabits per second, so it's about 10 times faster than USB 2.0.

Thus, not matter how fast your computer or the microSD card are, the RØDECaster Pro has a bottleneck transfer speed. In my real-world testing, this came out to be about 8.1 MB per second.

How to speed up file transfers (and workflow) 1. Update the app and firmware The RØDECaster Pro Companion app version 2.0.4 performed so horribly in my tests that I stopped trying to measure transfer times when a stereo file was taking more time to transfer than the recording itself!

I realized this could be from one or both of my following conditions:

macOS Catalina—this was most likely the cause
Encrypted hard drive

In this scenario, the app was spiking my CPU and taking hours to transfer files, even if I used a USB 3.0 reader!

But simply using version 2.1 of the app fixed the CPU spike and dramatically improved transfer speeds.

If you're facing similar unreasonably slow performance, make sure you update the app and firmware!

Record in stereo instead of multitrack
Use the RØDECaster Pro companion app for multitrack recordings
Use a separate microSD reader …
… And upgrade to a faster microSD My SanDisk Extreme Pro microSDXC UHS-II was more than 2.1× faster than my SanDisk Ultra microSDHC UHS-I, and about 23× faster than the RCP's USB 2.0.

But remember that because of the RCP's USB 2.0 bottleneck, you will see these performance benefits only if you use a separate and faster microSD reader.

Performance results * SanDisk Ultra RCP 2.1, via app + 1-hour, stereo, 1.04 GB: 2:05 + 1-hour, multitrack, 7.28 GB (9 files): 14:29 * SanDisk Ultra via USB 3.0 microSD card reader and RCP app + 1-hour, stereo, 1.04 GB: 0:12 + 1-hour, multitrack, 7.28 GB (9 files): 1:24 * SanDisk Extreme PRO via USB 3.0 microSD card reader and RCP app + 1-hour, stereo, 1.04 GB: 0:06 + 1-hour, multitrack, 7.28 GB (9 files): 0:37

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Sandisk Extreme Pro - Flash Memory Card - 64 GB - microSDXC UHS-II - Black, Red

SanDisk 32GB Ultra microSDHC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter - 98MB/s, C10, U1, Full HD, A1, Micro SD Card - SDSQUAR-032G-GN6MA

View Details

Where the unsettling illness metaphor at the center of Todd Haynes’ 1995 film SAFE tendrils out in a manner that defies easy resolution, Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ newly released debut SWALLOW tracks a similarly metaphorical affliction toward a more finite ending point. But within those two very different arcs, the two films explore complementary ideas about isolation, gender roles and archetypes, and societal expectations about sickness and recovery, all of which we get into following an in-depth discussion of SWALLOW’s successes and failures as both film and metaphor. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SAFE, SWALLOW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Op-ed: Ban the backstory!” by Noel Murray (thedissolve.com) • “Safe: Nowhere to Hide,” by Dennis Lim (criterion.com)

Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi’s FREE SOLO • Scott: Crystal Moselle’s SKATE KITCHEN • Keith: John Sayles’ EIGHT MEN OUT • Tasha: Bernard Rose’s CANDYMAN

Outro music: The Wailin’ Jennys, “Swallow” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

I have a confession: I'm a perfectionist, at least to some level. (That I want to define my level of perfectionism—or “professionalism,” as I prefer to call it—only confirms I am, indeed, in the perfectionist spectrum.) As might be obvious, this gets meta because I know I can't title this episode “How to Overcome Perfectionism” since I haven't overcome it myself!

If you've been following The Audacity to Podcast for a while, then you've witnessed perfectionism—both its benefits and its disadvantages.

So instead of seeking to teach you how to overcome a personal struggle like this, I want to share what I'm learning, doing, and reminding myself. I hope this will help you in your own podcasting journey, too.

Your audience needs you Keep podcasting, especially right now, because your audience needs you!Click To Tweet People like you

“I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”

“Stuart Smalley”

Perfectionism is not inherently bad You can't make “perfect” But you can still make “excellent” “Published” is better than “eternal draft” Would you rather sacrifice, or starve? The “bar” can be changed Perfectionism kills momentum Momentum is greater than stagnation There is no shame in doing the right thing Your audience would rather hear from you than not Delaying allows others to take over Don't “fake it till you make it” Train it till you retain it!

Don't 'fake it till you make it'; train it till you retain it!Click To Tweet Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We continue our shelter-in-place film series with a pair of films featuring magazine-perfect housewife archetypes struck by mysterious illnesses that are inextricably linked to their oppressive environments: Todd Haynes’ 1995 feature SAFE and Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ debut film SWALLOW. In this half we dig into the many shifting metaphors at play in SAFE, how they reflect both the film’s era and our current moment, and how they’re all held together by Julianne Moore’s remarkable central performance. And what to make of that ending? Is there any sense of optimism or closure to be drawn from Haynes’ film? All that, plus some feedback that uses specific movies as jumping-off points for some big, sprawling questions about film. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SAFE, SWALLOW, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes Works Cited: • “Todd Haynes on the unsafe world of Safe,” by Scott Tobias (thedissolve.com) • “Safe: Nowhere to Hide,” by Dennis Lim (criterion.com)

Outro Music: Tom Lehrer, “Pollution” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Soderbergh’s viral thriller CONTAGION may have come out in 2011, but it’s never felt more timely than in the midst of the world’s current coronavirus crisis, which makes it a natural stand-in for the “current film” half of our pairing with Elia Kazan’s 1950 plague noir PANIC IN THE STREETS. Watched today, Soderbergh’s film, a kaleidoscopic treatment of an illness called MEV-1 with a startling 25 percent mortality rate, is both alarming in its prescience and comforting in its diversions from our current reality, a dichotomy we dig into on the way to debating whether it holds together as a film vs. as a scare tactic. Then we bring in PANIC IN THE STREETS to compare the two films’ depictions of the media, their use of time to foster a sense of urgency, and the untold stories playing out in the backgrounds of their high-stakes narratives. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PANIC IN THE STREETS, CONTAGION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show • Tasha: Andrea Arnold’s AMERICAN HONEY • Keith: Takashi Nomura’s A COLT IS MY PASSPORT • Scott: Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy’s BLOW THE MAN DOWN • Genevieve: Autumn DeWilde’s EMMA and Amy Heckerling’s CLUELESS

Outro music: The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The 2020 coronavirus outbreak has affected virtually everything about our modern world, including the movies we watch, how we watch them, and how we podcast about them. It’s a sobering but fascinating lens through which to view past films that have wrestled with outbreaks, from Elia Kazan’s 1950 noir PANIC IN THE STREETS up through Steven Soderbergh’s 2011 pandemic procedural CONTAGION. We tackle the first half of that double-feature this week, unpacking the central metaphor — or lack thereof — in Kazan’s crime drama, along with its attitudes toward government and police, its subtle and canny use of locations, and the standout performances from Richard Widmark and a young Jack Palance. Plus, we use our usual feedback segment to check in with each from afar, and see how your Next Picture Podsters are navigating this strange new reality. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PANIC IN THE STREETS, CONTAGION, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Warren Zevon, “Don’t Let Us Get Sick” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Leigh Whannell’s new take on H.G. Wells’ 1897 novel THE INVISIBLE MAN is a Blumhouse film, so of course there has to be a twist — and in this case, it’s one that makes this version of INVISIBLE MAN less like the many adaptations that preceded it, and more like George Cukor’s 1944 film GASLIGHT, which is similarly focused on a man’s malicious manipulation of a woman at the expense of her own credibility. In this half of our gaslighting double feature, we talk over what makes this new INVISIBLE MAN work as well as it does — primarily Elisabeth Moss’s stellar central performance — before diving into what the two films share in their portrayals of manipulation, madness, and trauma, and how each uses atmosphere and physical space to to amplify their sense of unease and terror. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GASLIGHT, THE INVISIBLE MAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show • Scott: Jonathan Demme’s RACHEL GETTING MARRIED • Tasha: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s THE PLATFORM • Keith: William Asher’s NIGHT WARNING, aka BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER Outro music: They Might Be Giants, “I Am Invisible” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Leigh Whannell’s new take on THE INVISIBLE MAN comes with a modern twist, one based in a dynamic — a husband pushing his wife toward mental illness for personal gain — that was entrenched in the pop-cultural lexicon thanks in large part to George Cukor’s 1944 film GASLIGHT, starring Ingrid Bergman as a woman whose husband mounts a disinformation campaign against her for insidious purposes. In this half of our gaslighting double feature, we dig into how the film’s direction, design, and fine-tuned performances open up what could have been a very set-bound adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s 1938 play, and how Cukor’s reputation as a “woman’s director” connects an otherwise varied filmography. Plus, Tasha responds to some pushback against her critiques of PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE in Feedback. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GASLIGHT, THE INVISIBLE MAN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Dixie Chicks, “Gaslighter” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like the landmark 1991 film THELMA & LOUISE, the latest DC comics movie entry, BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN) uses a recognizable form to take its female protagonists to some unfamiliar places. The newer film hasn’t received that same sort of critical acclaim as its predecessor, but some on our panel — which this week once again includes Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture.com — argue why perhaps it should have, on the way to discussing what the two films share in their attitudes about female emancipation in a man’s world, and in their refreshing depictions of women misbehaving without remorse. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THELMA & LOUISE, BIRDS OF PREY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes: Works Cited • “It Doesn’t Take Much to Be Seen As an Unruly Woman,” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com)

Your Next Picture Show • Genevieve: Hulu’s HIGH FIDELITY • Angelica: Paul Mazursky’s AN UNMARRIED WOMAN • Scott: Kitty Green’s THE ASSISTANT • Keith: Hong-jin Na’s THE WAILING

Outro music: June Smollett-Bell, “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN is part of an inconsistent and fitfully realized tradition of female-empowerment stories told within a high-gloss genre framework, a tradition that reached one of its too-rare high points with THELMA & LOUISE, a Ridley Scott-directed, Callie Khourie-scripted take on a buddy road movie/chase film that ruffled plenty of feathers when it became a sleeper hit in 1991. This week we’re joined by Vulture.com critic and friend of the podcast Angelica Jade Bastién to consider how the conversations THELMA & LOUISE inspired in 1991 would — or wouldn’t — be different today, how the film’s structure and performances subtly underline its feminist themes, and whether complaints about the film’s “cartoonish” male characters hold any water. Plus, we answer some feedback on our recent pairing of THE PIANO and PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THELMA & LOUISE, BIRDS OF PREY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “Every Brad Pitt Movie Performance, Ranked,” by Angelica Jade Bastién (Vulture.com) • “The Third Woman of ‘Thelma and Louise,” by Larry Rohter (The New York Times, June 5 1991) Outro Music: Charlie XCX, “Vroom Vroom” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, Céline Sciamma became the first woman director to win the Queer Palm at Cannes, an embarrassingly belated milestone reminiscent of Jane Campion becoming the first woman director to win the Palme d’Or in 1993 with THE PIANO. And while these two films have much more in common than their directors’ gender, as we discover when we put them in conversation this week, both Sciamma and Campion bring a distinct point of view to their respective stories of repressed desire in repressed times that feels inextricably tied to ideas about womanhood and an oppressive patriarchy. We get into how that point of view colors the two films in their expression of desire and consent, the artistic gaze, and the function of myth and legend. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PIANO, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes: Works Cited • “French filmmaker Céline Sciamma on looking, longing and falling in love in Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” CBC Radio • “Portrait of a Director on a Hot Streak,” by Scott Tobias (theringer.com) Your Next Picture Show • Genevieve: Céline Sciamma’s GIRLHOOD • Scott: Jane Campion’s IN THE CUT • Keith: David Lynch’s WHAT DID JACK DO? • Tasha: Christopher Landon’s HAPPY DEATH DAY and HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U Outro music: Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 2 in G Minor (The Four Seasons, “Summer”) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Céline Sciamma’s 2019 Cannes sensation PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE is a lush, romantic film set on an isolated island and concerned with irrepressible desires in deeply repressive times, a description that neatly applies to another Cannes breakout from 1993: Jane Campion’s THE PIANO. But the love affair at the heart of Campion’s film plays with a much trickier power imbalance, which we get into as we process THE PIANO’s complicated relationships, its most essential performances, and the conversation around it both now and then. Plus, we tackle some feedback from a couple of recent episodes regarding some details we got wrong, and some we got right. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PIANO, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • “Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, gangsta rap, and The Piano” by bell hooks (1994) Outro music: Judy Garland, “I Love a Piano” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to the trenches of the first World War to consider Sam Mendes’ 1917 within the greater history of World War I films generally, and as a companion to Peter Weir’s GALLIPOLI specifically. Following some debate over whether 1917’s continuous shot gimmick makes it more or less emotionally affecting, and an attempt to parse the film’s attitudes about war, we look at these two films in tandem to consider what they have to say about the failures of leadership in wartime, their respective depictions of young male friendship and communication, and to what extent each registers as an anti-war film. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GALLIPOLI, 1917, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited • “‘Full Metal Jacket’ Seduced My Generation and Sent Us to War,” by Anthony Swofford (The New York Times Magazine) • “Before 1917: Revisiting the greatest first world war movies,” by Scott Tobias (theguardian.com) • “The 50 Greatest War Movies Ever Made,’ by Keith Phipps (vulture.com) Your Next Picture Show • Scott: King Vidor’s THE BIG PARADE and Lewis Milestone’s ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT • Genevieve: John Chester’s THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM • Tasha: Sergio G. Sanchez’s MARROWBONE, Sebastian Schipper’s VICTORIA, and Makoto Shinkai’s WEATHERING WITH YOU • Keith: Francis Ford Coppola’s THE COTTON CLUB Outro music: “Wayfaring Stranger,” performed by John Stirratt Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by this year’s surprise Oscar favorite 1917, we’re digging down into the trenches and slogging through the mud and blood of World War I, with two films centering on young soldiers delivering crucial messages that decide the fates of thousands of other young men. First up this week is Peter Weir’s 1981 film GALLIPOLI, which stars a shockingly young Mel Gibson as one half of a pair of Australian mates who join the war effort out of a mixture of patriotism, pride, and recklessness; we dig into the emotional effects of film’s unusual structure, which saves the wartime action for its final moments, how its Australian provenance makes it stand out among other WWI films, and how it indulges Weir’s affinity for wide open spaces and historical authenticity. Plus, we tackle a listener question about ideal movie-watching conditions whose response may prove the undoing of Scott and Keith’s long and amicable relationship. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GALLIPOLI, 1917, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “Before 1917: revisiting the greatest first world war movies,” by Scott Tobias (theguardian.com) • “The 50 Greatest War Movies Ever Made,” by Keith Phipps (vulture.com) • Strange Stars: How Science Fiction and Fantasy Transformed Popular Music, by Jason Heller Outro music: “Adagio in G Minor” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to Orchard House and Concord via Greta Gerwig’s new LITTLE WOMEN, which takes a much less traditional approach to Louisa May Alcott’s famed novel than Gillian Armstrong’s 1994 version, while still hitting on enough nostalgic touchpoints to feel like a faithful adaptation. In this second half of our March family double feature, we dig into how we processed Gerwig’s approach as an intellectual experience versus an emotional one, and how the film’s bold ending works in the context of the familiar story as well as Gerwig’s career. Then we dive into how Gerwig’s film aligns with and diverges from Armstrong’s version in its depiction of love and marriage, talent and ambition, and charity and virtue. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all versions of LITTLE WOMEN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • “Little Women and the Marmee Problem,” by Sarah Blackwood (newyorker.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: DICKINSON on Apple TV+ • Scott: James Cameron’s THE ABYSS • Keith: Wim Wenders’ UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD • Tasha: James Ivory’s HOWARDS END and Paul Downs Colaizzo’s BRITTANY RUNS A MARATHON Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In the first half of the 20th century, a steady stream of adaptations made it seem like every generation would have a version of Louisa May Alcott’s novel LITTLE WOMEN to call their own. Then the film adaptations just… stopped, until 1994’s Gillian Armstrong-directed version starring Winona Ryder as Jo became a hit, and set the stage for the latest cinematic iteration of the March sisters, courtesy of Greta Gerwig. In this first half of our LITTLE WOMEN double feature, we dig into the cozy confines of Armstrong’s version to discuss what makes it a quintessentially ‘90s version of the tale, the efficacy of Claire Danes’ iconic cry face, and whether the choice to double-cast Amy at two different ages helps or hinders the film’s navigation of its trickiest romantic relationship. Plus, we tackle some long-tail feedback letters on the respective roles of commercialization and violence in film, inspired by past episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all LITTLE WOMEN, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Sisters,” from WHITE CHRISTMAS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Though Josh and Benny Safdie are avowed admirers of John Cassavetes, the aggressive intensity of their new gambling drama UNCUT GEMS stands in stark contrast to Cassavetes’ more enigmatic, melancholic take on a similar sort of degenerate in 1976’s THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE. Nonetheless, the two films do share a lot beyond protagonists trying to rebound from some bad bets with bad people. After sharing our (sometimes visceral) reactions to the relentless tension of UNCUT GEMS, we get into some of those commonalities, including how both films approach gambling, death, and the intersection thereof, and their use of female characters as accessories to their male-centric worlds. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, UNCUT GEMS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • "The Safdie Brothers' Full-Immersion Filmmaking," by Kelefa Sanneh (The New Yorker) Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Robert Wise’s RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP • Scott: Todd Haynes’ DARK WATERS • Genevieve: MIKE BIRBIGLIA: THE NEW ONE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by the Safdie brothers’ new thriller UNCUT GEMS, we’re traveling back to 1976, and the other side of the country, to look at another film about a gambling man at the end of his rope, made by one of the Safdies’ favorite filmmakers: John Cassavetes’ idiosyncratic take on the gangster genre, THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE. In this half of our pairing about bad bets with bad people, we dig into CHINESE BOOKIE’s seeming delight in setting up expectations it has no intention of satisfying, how we’re meant to process our protagonist’s aspirations and art on their own and in relation to Cassavetes himself, and how the film invites different, even opposing, readings of its main character and his motivations. Plus, our discussion of MARRIAGE STORY continues to generate some very strong, and very long, feedback. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE, UNCUT GEMS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “What’s Yr Take on Cassavetes?” by Le Tigre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Rian Johnson’s new KNIVES OUT is much broader and goofier than the writer-director’s first foray into a murder-mystery genre, 2005’s BRICK, but as with his feature debut, Johnson acknowledges the audience’s expectations for the genre and then subverts them in order to create an outsized world for his characters to play in. After digging into why that approach works to such crowd-pleasing effect in KNIVES OUT, we bring in BRICK to talk about what the two films share, and where they diverge, in their respective deconstructions of murder-mystery tropes and archetypes. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BRICK, KNIVES OUT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Sergio Pablos and Carlos Martinez Lopez’s KLAUS • Scott: Scott Z. Burns’ THE REPORT • Tasha: Tom Harper’s THE AERONAUTS • Keith: Stuart Cooper’s OVERLORD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

On December 10, 2019, Apple Podcasts surpassed 800,000 valid podcasts! Here's some more information and statistics on the podcast industry, with data from My Podcast Reviews.

I won't include the raw numbers or percentages here because I suggest you look at the latest as they're updated nightly at MyPodcastReviews.com/stats.

Read my press release here!

Total valid podcasts You may have heard higher numbers than I show on my stats page. While other services may be counting removed podcasts or former iTunes U content, My Podcast Reviews looks at only valid podcasts. We count a podcast as valid if it can be subscribed to in a podcast app (duh, right?), and has episodes that can successfully download. This excludes the tens of thousands of iTunes U courses as well as removed/deleted podcasts.

Total episodes available in feeds There are many shows that have hundreds of episodes, but probably not all of their episodes are available in their RSS feeds. A feed will show only as many episodes as the podcaster or publishing tool allows. And the lowest limit I've seen is 10. So the episode number on the page does not reflect all episodes of all podcasts ever released; it's only what's made available right now through the valid RSS feeds.

Added and removed Podcasts are added to and removed from Apple Podcasts nearly every day. Most of the added podcasts are all-new shows, and a very small few may be returning after having been hidden or removed years ago (and before I started tracking in December 2018).

Removed shows are no longer available in Apple Podcasts and may have been removed for multiple reasons, including:

Technical problems: such as a broken feed or no more downloadable podcasts in the feed
Podcasters' choices: to hide or removal a podcast
Policy violation: keyword-stuffing, spamming, breaking Apple's rules, gaming the charts, etc.

Apple does not remove podcasts for simply being old or inactive. As long as the RSS feed is valid and episodes download, Apple will continue to list the podcast.

On the Podcast Industry Statistics page, you can also see what the last 7 days of activity have looked like with additions and removals. It's common that you'll see almost no activity on the weekends and a weekday or two with almost no activity. But the weekdays usually don't follow a pattern.

Active vs. inactive podcasts We define “active” as any podcast that has published at least one episode in the last 90 days, and “inactive” as any podcast that has not published any episode in that same time.

“Inactive” does not necessarily mean those shows are dead, podfaded, or podflashed. “Inactive” could include these along with shows that have been ended, retired, put on hiatus, or have an infrequent publishing schedule.

For example, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History can sometimes be in the “inactive” group because months can go by between his highly researched episodes. But his show has not podfaded or been abandoned. It's simply inactive—”dormant” is an even better word to describe that podcast.

Podcasts by available episodes in feeds At this time, about half of all available podcasts have 10 or more episodes in their RSS feeds. Remember, any count of episodes above 10 becomes invalid because of varying feed limit defaults.

The other half is broken down by shows that have only 1 episode, 2–3 episodes, and 4–9 episodes.

Active vs. inactive by available episodes Digging deeper into the previous stat, the Podcast Industry Statistics page shows how many episodes are available in podcasts and splits them by active and inactive. I was surprised that everything under 10 is dominated by inactive shows. But once we hit 10 or more episodes, the majority of those shows are active.

For those wanting a more exclusive definition of “active” podcasts to filter out podflashes (shows that barely started before being abandoned), we suggest looking at podcasts that have four or more episodes with at least one episode published in the last 90 days.

Podcasts by latest episode age This is where I think you should pay the most attention with my the Podcast Industry Statistics. You may feel intimidated by trying to stand out among 800,000 podcasts (or over a million in 2020!). But look closely at this chart.

This statistic looks at shows that have published a new episode in a variety of time period, 0–7 days ago and longer up to 5 years or more. This is measuring the age of the latest episode, not of all their episodes. Any show that hasn't published a new episode in the last 5 years is most likely ended.

But for you, look at that 0–7 stat, which is a significantly smaller number than all the other stats. Instead of trying to stand out among every podcast, commit to publishing weekly and you'll already be in the small minority of podcasts! Plus, the numbers start getting much smaller when you filter them to your category and then especially your niche.

Why this data? I'm building an all-new product with great new features to bring data like this to podcasters. I've shared some of my findings before in “What New Data Suggests About Podcast Hosting Customers,” but this is only the beginning!

Please contact me if you would like podcast-industry statistics for your agency or podcasting-service-provider!

And if you want to see and share all your podcast reviews from everywhere, then sign up for My Podcast Reviews! It's free for personal use and paid plans with extra features and allowance for business-oriented podcasts start at only $5 per month!

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Rian Johnson’s new KNIVES OUT is much more of a romp than 2005’s BRICK, but it hearkens back to Johnson’s debut feature in the way it upends the conventions of mystery stories and gives the audience much more up-front information about the plot-inducing murder than is typical for the genre. In this half of our Johnson mystery pairing we go back to the beginning to consider what BRICK looks like from the other side of the writer-director’s genre-hopping career, how the film navigates its transposing of noir and high-school movie conventions, and which elements make it stand out as a distinctly Rian Johnson endeavor. Plus, we take on some follow-up feedback, and put out an open call for your comments about “anything else in the world of film.” Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BRICK, KNIVES OUT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “A Show of Hands” by Nathan Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Released 40 years after Robert Benton’s Best Picture-winning KRAMER VS. KRAMER, Noah Baumbach’s latest, MARRIAGE STORY, depicts a process that hasn’t grown any easier in the intervening time, but has certainly become less novel. After discussing whether Baumbach’s portrayal of modern divorce might actually be a stealth feel-good movie, and which three of its many great scenes make the film, we get into the shared nuances that connect these two films across the decades, from their portrayal of the legal mechanism of divorce to how gender roles play into their respective depictions of day-to-day parenting and the trials of shared custody. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KRAMER VS. KRAMER, MARRIAGE STORY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Alma Har’el’s HONEY BOY • Keith: John Badham’s DRACULA • Scott: Mads Brügger’s COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD

Outro music: Rilo Kiley, “Breakin Up” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Noah Baumbach’s acclaimed new family drama MARRIAGE STORY has invited comparisons to Robert Benton’s acclaimed 1979 family drama KRAMER VS. KRAMER over the films’ shared preoccupation with the end of love and the challenges of finding happiness while also doing right by the next generation. We’ll dig into the nuances of that comparison via this pairing, beginning with a discussion of how KRAMER VS. KRAMER balances, or doesn’t, its portrayal of divided parenting, why its ending feels like a cop-out, how the film’s style and performances contribute to a sense of intimacy, and how our knowledge of what went into those performances behind the scenes shifts that effect. Plus, we tackle a listener’s big, two-part question about metaphors and second viewings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KRAMER VS. KRAMER, MARRIAGE STORY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” by Tammy Wynette Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our brief, incomplete history of cinema’s attempts to make comedy out of Adolf Hitler brings us to the present day and writer-director Taika Waititi’s discussion-generating “anti-hate satire” JOJO RABBIT, which doesn’t share much in the way of thematic material with our last film, Mel Brooks’ THE PRODUCERS, but does exhibit a similar eagerness to paint the führer as an object of ridicule. We discuss whether JOJO succeeds in walking the tricky tonal tightrope it sets itself on, and try to locate the precise nature of the controversy the film has invited, on our way to discussing what it shares with THE PRODUCERS not just in its depiction of Hitler, but also how both films present insecure and anxious figures under the sway of terrible mentors, and how both engage, to different extremes, with the idea of women as playthings. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PRODUCERS, JOJO RABBIT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Taika Waititi’s BOY • Scott: Disney’s PERRI (1957) • Genevieve: Jérémy Clapin’s I LOST MY BODY Outro Music: The Beatles, “Komm Gib Mir Deine Hand” Thanks Skillshare. Get 2 months of unlimited access at Skillshare.com/nextpicture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Take Waititi’s new “anti-hate satire” JOJO RABBIT extends a cinematic tradition of casting Adolf Hitler as a buffoon that goes back to Charlie Chaplin, though Mel Brooks’ 1967 debut feature THE PRODUCERS is ultimately more concerned with the question of how to contextualize the very idea of laughing at Hitler. In this half of our pairing, we debate the extent to which Brooks’ rock-solid premise — in which a producer and an accountant bank on audiences being turned off by a musical called “Springtime For Hitler,” only to discover they find it hilarious — and the presence of Gene Wilder makes up for the bumpy ride that is the rest of THE PRODUCERS, and what it’s ultimately saying about how we as audience members are able to view Hitler. Plus, we tackle some feedback about the state of the movie trailer in 2019. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PRODUCERS, JOJO RABBIT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes Works Cited: • “Screen: ‘The Producers’ at Fine Arts,” review by Renata Adler, The New York Times archive, 3/19/1968 • “Terminator 2 and the world’s biggest spoiler,” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com)

Outro music: “Springtime For Hitler” by Mel Brooks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Bong Joon-ho’s new PARASITE feels weirdly similar to his 2006 film THE HOST, even though there’s no monster in sight — unless you count entitlement, inequality, and greed as monsters, which given how they shape PARASITE’s story, maybe you should. But it also features the return of Song Kang-ho as a father figure, albeit a more capable and traditional one, and a story shaped by Bong’s obsessions with family bonds and duty. In this half of our Bong pairing, we look at all the other things these two films share, from their thematic and visual fixation on high and low spaces, to how they utilize humor ranging from the slapstick to the ultra-dark. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HOST, PARASITE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “Bong Joon-ho on Weaving His Personal Memories Into Parasite,” by Karen Han (polygon.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Pedro Almodóvar’s PAIN & GLORY • Keith: Craig Brewer’s DOLEMITE IS MY NAME • Tasha: Nick Tomnay’s THE PERFECT HOST • Genevieve: Dexter Fletcher’s ROCKETMAN

Outro Music: Ray Charles, “Them That Got” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Switching to the Gutenberg Editor was probably the most controversial change in WordPress's history. I'll help you decide whether you should start using Gutenberg for your podcast's WordPress website.

What is the Gutenberg Editor? If you’ve been working with WordPress for a while—before version 5.0—then you know the WordPress editor for creating pages and posts is similar to nearly any software where you compose a document to be sent, viewed or printed. You can write paragraphs or headings, you can adjust the text to be bold or in italics, and other common formats. It’s very basic; it’s very linear; and it’s also very limited.

The Gutenberg editor changes all that by building an all-new editor around the ideas and needs that we have in the media space today.

Now, when we’re creating content on WordPress websites, it’s not so linear. Sometimes, we’re telling stories, we’re inserting images and videos and multimedia into posts. We’re embedding lots of information with tables, charts, buttons, multimedia, opt-ins, and much more. We couldn't do this stuff very easily before with the classic editor; we needed extra plugins or else knowledge of web technologies like HTML and CSS or perhaps even some PHP and Javascript. Gutenberg simplifies all this by building new functionality into the new editor, and it’s all centered on the idea of blocks.

Every bit of content inside Gutenberg is a block. Headers, images, paragraphs, lists, embed, and more are all blocks. You can even have blocks inside of blocks (like a text block inside a column or grid block). All of this makes Gutenberg much like a page-builder, which I talked in episode 337.

You can drag and drop these blocks to reorder them, style them, and do some basic things with them. You don't have the full control you would with a dedicated a page-builder such as Elementor Pro, Beaver Builder, or Divi Builder. But you can do many of the same things in more simplified ways. So maybe you don’t need all of the features of a page-builder.

The Gutenberg and WordPress developers say Gutenberg is the future of WordPress. That sounds lofty but it’s also true. The plan for Gutenberg is to not only let you edit your content better but to help you edit your whole site better. The Gutenberg editor will someday help you build your header, sidebar, and footer. When you get comfortable using Gutenberg, you’ll be ready to edit the rest of your site in the future.

If you’d like try Gutenberg, then click here to learn more and try live without even having to have your own website. You don’t have to create an account or sign up in any way.

Gutenberg's benefits Interested? I think these are the biggest reasons you should use Gutenberg.

Make repeatable content and templates with reusable blocks This benefit is huge! This one alone may be enough to convince you to use Gutenberg. This can save you time, it can save you frustration, it can make the process of writing your show notes so much easier. And also make it so you don’t need to use several other plugins as it’s built into Gutenberg.

I’ve previously talked about how to write show notes faster (episode 244) by making repeatable content with custom shortcodes and content templates. Shortcodes will be a short word or phrase wrapped in square brackets, like [this], that you see in the post editor but when you preview or publish, the shortcode is replaced with something else. Shortcodes can display players, multimedia, buttons, text, and more.

I previously recommended using shortcodes to display text that you always repeat at the end of every episode such as:

How to subscribe
Links to your social accounts
Special promotions
Affiliate disclosure

Instead of wasting time copying and pasting text, you could use one or multiple shortcodes to make it easier to update across all of your site when you edit the original content and then clear your website cache to make the changes propagate across your website.

Custom shortcodes are not easy to make. In the least, you’ll need to know a little code to get them to work. To date I haven’t found a good shortcode plugin.

I’ve also previously talked about using Simple Content Templates for creating starting templates in WordPress. This would let you create the basic structure of your show notes you could use as a starting canvas for each new post.

These sound great, right? With the Gutenberg editor, you can do these same things with “reusable blocks”!

A reusable block can be one or multiple blocks grouped together as a single block you can place in multiple pages and posts. So instead of needing some code to make a custom shortcode, you can simply make your content with blocks in a page or post, select them, and save them as a reusable block.

You can even have reusable blocks inside reusable blocks! For example, your affiliate disclosure inside your show-notes closing block.

To make a whole content template, make all your placeholder blocks, select them, and turn them into a reusable block. When you place that template block into a new post, click on the More Options button, then convert to regular blocks and it will break it apart again so you can fill in your content.

I made a video tutorial that teaches how to do this, exclusive to members of Podcasters' Society.

Unlock more content-formatting options The classic editor works fine for basic writing, but it falls far short for more advanced formatting and content.

Sure, you could always dive deep and edit the CSS or HTML to get your content just the way you’d like, but Gutenberg makes this much easier!

Here are some of the many things Gutenberg can help you insert and manage better.

Images: more layout and alignment options (support added by your theme), faster caption-editing, and easy sizing.
Buttons: change the colors and style without needing an extra plugin or CSS.
Tables: add rows and columns easily for displaying tabular data.
Multimedia: embed with ease, and have more control over your embedded multimedia.
Widgets: you can finally put a WordPress sidebar widget in your content!
Replace many separate plugins with Gutenberg features Because Gutenberg brings so much built into WordPress, you may not need as many plugins for basic features, like buttons, tables, shortcodes, and such.
Use high-quality themes and plugins to get more Gutenberg blocks and options SecondLine Themes, among others, provide additional tools to allow you to do even more than what might have been available with the classic editor. This can bring in colors from your them, offer more layout options to make your content look great on your site, and more.
Paste formatted text without so many worries Pasting text from other places into the classic editor used to be a big problem. If you wrote your show notes using Google Docs or some other word processor, and then pasted it into WordPress, you might end up with all sorts of extra—but hidden—code making it hard to get your text to look like you want. Gutenberg is far more paste-friendly, especially with Google Docs, so you don't have to worry about extra code messing up what you’re trying to put in place.
Edit faster and without page-refreshes Although WordPress has always been a somewhat fast tool, the Gutenberg editor makes writing in WordPress even faster by doing things without page loads! Save a draft, publish your post, and more without having to reload the page, thanks to the modern Javascript backend of Gutenberg.
Navigate your post quickly with an outline If you write your content with a hierarchy through headings, there are two ways that you can navigate your content very quickly without having to scroll.

Block navigation will show a list of the types of blocks in the order you have them allowing you to click on the one you’d like and get to it quickly.

Content Structure shows you the hierarchy with your headings, like a table of contents. You’ll be able to see at a glance what you already have and can click directly to that section.

Plus, this structure works create to select (from the bottom) to copy a quick outline.

Access advanced options more easily When you’re working in any block, you’ll see its options on the right side of the screen.

The advanced section even allows you to enter a CSS class for that block or a link anchor. Before, you would have to add this stuff by editing the HTML code, but Gutenberg makes it more accessible.

Edit a block in HTML for advanced needs If you do need to edit the HTML code for your content, Gutenberg makes that easier, too.

Previously with the classic editor, you to switch the whole editor to the code or “text” view or to adjust the HTML. With the Gutenberg editor you can edit the individual block in HTML without having to change over the entire page. This allows you to keep your place and work more efficiently.

Gutenberg's disadvantages These are some of the most common problems and oppositions I've seen for Gutenberg.

It's a drastic change I think people often resist change simply because it's different. Things aren’t where you expect them to be or something doesn’t work the way you’re used to.

The Gutenberg editor arrived with a completely different interface, so I understand that it can be a bit of a shock. However, Gutenberg still works fine for simple typing and pressing Enter. Plus, if you really try to use it and all its new features, I think you'll come to like it.

There are still some compatibility issues with other plugins Some plugins built functionality into the classic editor. So when you switch over to the Gutenberg editor, that functionality could b missing. Sometimes, the feature is still available, but now it's in a block.

In some cases, though, it’s more serious and a plugin you use isn’t working as it should. When that happens, it’s worth reaching out to the developer of the plugin and letting them know you’re using Gutenberg so they can go about investigating the problem.

If you have a plugin that works with only the classic editor, then use the Classic Editor plugin to switch back for that specific page or post.

Classic Editor

It may slow down some editing functionality Some users have reported that Gutenberg makes the interface run slower. The Javascript backend could introduce the possibility for more conflicts. But Gutenberg is generally faster and the report of slowness are rare.
Managing reusable blocks is a little weird right now The process for managing blocks, right now, is to edit a page or post, click to add a new block, scroll down to reusable blocks, and then click a link to manage your blocks.

That's a little tedious, but you can either bookmark that resulting page, or add /wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block to the end of your domain, such as https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block. (Change wp-admin to match your URL pattern, if you have altered that default.)

Many features may be more simplistic than you want Gutenberg takes a simple approach to creating different blocks. For example, you can create basic tables, but you'll need an additional plugin if you want more advance control over your tables.

In some cases, a page-builder may be the answer to your needs.

That said, if the Gutenberg provides what you need, then it can avoid extra bloat and save you time by just using what it has available.

Tips for using Gutenberg If you're ready to use Gutenberg, here are some tips!

Install the plugin version if you want the latest version Gutenberg has been included with WordPress since version 5.0. But if you want the latest version of the Gutenberg editor, for the latest fixes, features, then try the plugin.

The plugin will replace the pre-installed editor without your having to do anything further. Just keep in mind it might be so cutting edge that it could have some bugs.

Gutenberg

Install the “Classic Editor” plugin Even if you’re all in with Gutenberg, install the classic editor and have it deactivated but ready in case something breaks.

Classic Editor

Don't worry about your past content You don’t have to go back and convert your past content over to Gutenberg. All your old content will be in a single classic block and you can still edit it.

But if you'd like to replace your reliance on an old plugin, or you want to improve how your old posts look, then you might want to consider updating your older content.

What do you think of Gutenberg?

Need podcasting help? If you need one-on-one help, or you haven't launched your podcast, yet, click here to request a personal coaching and consulting session and we'll connect you with a podcasting expert we trust!

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the show notes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Follow The Audacity to Podcast * Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, other Android apps, or in your favorite podcast app. * Join the Facebook Page * Subscribe on YouTube for Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast * Follow @theDanielJLewis on Twitter

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Korean director Bong Joon-ho has a long-running interest in films about family, one that’s mirrored in two of his best-known films: His international breakout THE HOST and his new film PARASITE, both of which star Song Kang-ho as a father trying to keep things together on his kids’ behalf, and both of which are about the sense of duty among protagonists who have to improv their way through unexpected situations. In this half of our pairing, we revisit Bong’s monster movie THE HOST with a focus on its human cast and their family dynamic, and consider how the film’s political and emotional elements square with Bong’s insistence that there is “realism” at the heart of this movie about a rampaging fish-monster. Plus, we continue to wade through the sea of feedback we’ve received on our episodes on THE DARK KNIGHT and JOKER.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE HOST, PARASITE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes:

Works Cited: “Bong Joon-ho’s Dystopia Is Already Here,” by E. Alex Jung (vulture.com)

Outro music: Kacey Musgraves, “Family Is Family” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

If you're frustrated by your WordPress theme's limitations, you don't know how to or don't want to write custom code, or you want a lot more flexibility in your website, you might want to consider a page-builder plugin for WordPress.

Benefits of page-builders 1. You don't have to know HTML, CSS, PHP, or JavaScript to design your own webpages Although these are the four most used things to build your website and webpages behind the scenes you don’t have to know them in order to create webpages.

Having a tool that makes it so you don’t have to think about those things makes it easier for you to just build your pages.

A page-builder makes web-design fast with WYSIWYG drag-and-drop editing WYSIWYG stands for “What You See Is What You Get” and is an approach used not only on page builders but also in most word processing apps. It makes it so easy to change the font, colors, borders and many other aspects by dragging and dropping to get just what you’d like to see while you’re making it.

If you want a box for example with a colored background and a certain border with text inside you can do so in less than 60 seconds. Page builders allow you to make the page look and act as you want it while taking care of the coding for you without any direct input to coding needed by you.

You don’t have to write code, save, refresh and go back and forth between tabs to see what it will look like. Page-builders eliminate all of that extra work.

A good page-builder can be used anywhere on your site Most of the page builders offer the opportunity for you to do this.

Let’s say you’d like to use a common element in different places like a newsletter sign up or a call to action. A good page-builder will be able to let you make this and then call it into use where you need it without having to rebuild it again and again.

In the case of Divi it uses shortcodes to allow you to place the content where you need it quickly.

A page-builder lets you build sections and pages “in your own image” If you want your background color to be purple for example then you can have the background as purple as you’d like. You can make the pages look just like you’d like them to regardless of what the theme you’re using may have set as a color.

Speaking of colors; One of the best design concepts you can learn is contrast. Making sure that things that need to look different from each other do so. And things that are supposed to be connected look similar.

The way that two different colors work together is very important too as to not only how the page looks overall but also how well it can be read. Contrast also applies to fonts as you don’t want to mix fonts that crash with each other either.

Page-builders will probably someday integrate directly into the Gutenberg editor I know a lot of people don’t like the Gutenberg editor as it’s so different than what you may have grown used to with the old WordPress editor. But even if it bothers you I suggest that you work with it as much as you can because it works in much the same way that page-builders work. So, if you can use Gutenberg then you can use a page-builder and vice versa.

The way things are going with the development of Gutenberg and page-builders we may well see the day where instead of working in a page-builder outside of the WordPress editing screen it would instead be integrated right inside. This would allow you to make changes all in one space and adding in a page-builder would open up new functionality.

Start with a page-builder now so you’ll be ready for it when that sort of functionality arrives.

Tips for using a WordPress page-builder 1. Ensure your theme is compatible Most page-builders work with most WordPress themes but there may be some conflicts. You’ll need to check for this before committing in case there’s a conflict that might break your site.

Use a page-builder only when you need more than Gutenberg can offer It’s really easy to get excited about what a page-builder can do but don’t jump to one too quickly. Gutenberg brings a lot of functionality to the WordPress platform that you simply couldn’t do with with the old WordPress editor.

You may have just what you need already built in so consider this before making that leap.

Avoid page-builders for full post content Don’t write your show notes inside a page-builder for example.

Thinks of a page-builder as for special content. A page-builder is designed to help you build pages. An About page, your store page, your Opt-in page, a subscribe page, or a gear page for example.

Speaking of which I’ve got a new gear page! I used a page-builder to make the page and the individual elements inside the page and it was much easier that it would have been had I done it manually.

Another reason to not use a page-builder for the full post content is what might happen should you decide to stop using a page-builder or perhaps change to another. You may end up with broken pages or lots of extra code laying around making it very hard to get straight.

There may be tools in place to allow you to back out of the use of a page-builder or transition to another one but I’m not aware of any yet.

Use global styles over single styles whenever possible Think of a button you’d like to be blue, don’t build all sorts of buttons styling them one-by-one to be blue. Instead, go into the page-builder settings and set the style to how you’d like it to be.

Doing so will allow you to easily change all of the buttons later by changing one setting instead of chasing down many more than that to get it right.

Look for free or premium addons to extend your chosen builder Do this before you consider switching builders. For example you might be on one of my 2 top recommendations; Elementor or Beaver Builder and see the other one and get excited about feature the other has that yours doesn’t have. This might make you want to switch but before you do so look for free and paid plugins or add-ons that might do just what you need to the page-builder you have already. Both of these page-builders are very popular and there are a lot of add-ons available.

As I mention in last week's episode SecondLine Themes includes the free version of Elementor page-builder and comes with some Elementor widgets for you to use.

Our favorite WordPress page-builders 1. Elementor Pro Much of what Elementor Pro has going for it is also available in Beaver Builder.

All of what you get in Elementor isn’t all that’s available. There are add-ons and features that you can add to enhance an already great framework.

For example I use Elementor on The Audacity to Podcast as well as My Podcast Reviews and I purchased ‘Essential add-ons’ plugin for Elementor to use on My Podcast Reviews as it had some features that the add-ons did better than Elementor Pro.

It was easy to use as all I had to do was make the purchase, install the plugin and what I needed was in place ready to use.

There’s also a free version of Elementor! It’s included with SecondLine Themes so if you purchased a theme there based on episode 336 then you already have Elementor in place.

I upgraded to Elementor Pro for some of the advanced widgets, the pop-up builder, and the theme builder.

For example check out my Podcast Movement 2019 Interviews and my gear page. When you get to the gear page look at the header and you’ll see different sections for different categories of gear. In each of those sections you’ll find different items and each of those individual pieces of gear standalone and can be used in other places as needed easily. That way if I ever need to update anything about that piece of gear I can do so in one place and it will update everywhere I have that content inserted.

Keep in mind you don’t have to upgrade to Elementor Pro as the free version does a lot as is.

Elementor Page Builder

Divi Builder Previously Divi was #4 in my list but shifted as I was recording the episode due to the new version they just realized.

Elegant Themes makes one beautiful theme and a couple of plugins too. You could get it as part pf a theme and as a standalone plugin as well. What made Divi difficult though was it was only for page content. It looked beautiful and was easy to work with but it made it hard to work with other elements like buttons for example.

Version 4.0 was just released and brings theme-building features so now you can use Divi to build your header, or your footer or your entire site for that matter.

You can get Divi as an annual renewal or with a lifetime purchase.

Unfortunately, there’s no free version. If you decide to try it you’ll need to purchase it and if you find you don’t like it then they have a return policy.

Beaver Builder Similar to Elementor not only in the functionality but also in the ay it allows other developers to create add-ons.

Updates aren’t as frequent but when the do release new versions they’re really good. But there’s a free version of Beaver Builder!

WordPress Page Builder – Beaver Builder

Themify Builder Themify puts out a lot of beautiful themes there themes all include the Themify builder or you can use the builder on its own.

Themify builder gives you a lot more granular control, great if you have some experience in basic web technology. One of the things I don’t like is that their updates have often broken things.

For example they might add new fields but have placeholder text that reads “Add subtitle here”. This actually happened to me once and the placeholder text showed through and displayed on the website!

Themify offers many beautiful themes and handy plugins, which are all included in some membership options.

Themify also has a free version.

It was because of the granular controls available in Themify builder that I was able to do certain things on Podcasters’ Society the the other builders simply couldn’t do.

Themify works really nicely with Gutenberg editor too.

Themify Builder

With all of this said, keep in mind what you need to do without getting too wrapped up in what you can do. If you've ever read a Spider-Man comic or seen one of the movies you know that “With great power comes great responsibility” and your site is no different.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by our recent pairing of THE DARK KNIGHT and JOKER, we’re diverging from our usual format this week to look at a new TV show that stems from the same era of comic-book history as those films: HBO’s new Damon Lindelof-helmed “remix” of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ seminal superhero deconstruction WATCHMEN. In this one-off episode, we dive into the series to discuss the promise it holds, as well as its potential to run screaming off the rails, based on the first two episodes that have aired so far. Plus, we dip into the deep well of JOKER feedback we’ve already received to discuss how the film and its reception represents the “festival effect” in action.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WATCHMEN, or anything else in the world of film (or television, or comics), by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasters need a WordPress theme designed with features and flexibility to support podcasting. Here's why I think SecondLine Themes are your new best choice!

Integration with PowerPress The reason I’m listing this as number one is because Powerpress is the top podcasting plugin for WordPress and is used by more than 60,000 podcasters. It’s also a really good framework for supporting podcasting on a WordPress website.

With PowerPress in place, if you wanted to switch your podcast player, you simply switch the player plugin and it automatically changes for all of your past and future podcast episodes. No need to go back through each episode post and change the player.

If you’re publishing your RSS feed from PowerPress, then having a theme that works with it is really a no-brainer. I’m surprised how many WordPress themes say they’re a podcast theme, but they don’t support PowerPress!

SecondLine Themes does support PowerPress, which is really important to me and I think it is important for any podcast WordPress theme to do.

Support for other podcasting plugins for WordPress If you don’t use PowerPress, then no worries! SecondLine Themes also supports other podcasting plugins:
Seriously Simple Podcasting
Simple Podcast Press
PodLove (WP plugin)
Buzzsprout (WP plugin)
Smart Podcast Player (from Pat Flynn)

Smart Podcast Player doesn’t support PowerPress by itself, but you can easily integrate it with PowerPress by using SecondLine Themes!

If there’s a major plugin that SecondLine Themes doesn’t support, or that’s really important to your workflow, reach out to their support and they can probably get it integrated easily and quickly.

A versatile embed field for more player options Maybe you don’t want to use a WordPress plugin to put a player on your website and would rather use one from your podcast hosting provider, such as Libsyn, Captivate, Simplecast, Anchor, and such.

SecondLine Themes makes it really easy to paste the embed code for your player into a special embed field and then it will display that player in the normal places instead of the built-in SecondLine Themes player.

This embedded player can be HTML, an iframe, or Javascript. Simply paste that code into the special embed field and the theme will take care of the rest.

Just getting a player to display with the excerpts for your episodes can be really difficult if that player doesn’t have a WordPress plugin but SecondLine Themes makes that really easy.

You can even use it for one-off things like a special embed code from another podcast or a YouTube video.

Beautiful design Yes, SecondLine Themes have the standard theme features: responsive design, support for SEO, optimized for speed, and such. But let’s focus on the aesthetics!

SecondLine Themes are beautiful! They’re clean, modern, and future-technology focused. There are some podcast themes that focus on using images, but images will slow down a website. Images don't look good on all devices, especially smaller screens or high-resolution displays (iPhones, Google Pixels, MacBooks, etc.).

If you do like to use images with your episodes, as I like to do, SecondLine Themes have some great options for how to display those, even with special effects!

I personally designed and custom-programmed The Audacity to Podcast's previous WordPress theme, built on the Genesis Framework. People would ask where they could get the theme, but it wasn’t for sale and I no longer offer web design services. But with SecondLine Themes I can recommend a solid design that they can use.

Podcast-focused features In addition to supporting PowerPress, other podcasting plugins, and embeddable players, there a lot of podcast-focused features that many podcasters want on their sites.

A big feature you might love is that several of the themes from SecondLine Themes have built-in support for a podcast network! Even if you don’t have an official network, you may have multiple shows.

On The Audacity to Podcast website, I actually have multiple shows:

The Audacity to Podcast
Inside the Podcasting Business (which I may bring back)
I’m also a co-host on Podcaster’s Roundtable (but that has it's own website for the content itself)
I also publish a separate Podcasting Videos by The Audacity to Podcast (and upload to YouTube and Facebook)

Tusant and Bolden have built-in features for podcast networks (and the other themes probably will eventually, too). These let you associate individual episodes with your separate podcasts so that they look different for those separate shows.

For example, each episode can use a show header that includes the podcast title, cover art, and subscription buttons. Then, when someone lands on the single episode webpage, they see the promotion for the show in a beautiful way.

Plus, SecondLine Themes include a great subscribe buttons plugin that is a pretty good competition for my own Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress.

Some podcast themes are still talking about “iTunes” (now called “Apple Podcasts”) and they may not even support Google Podcasts, Subscribe on Android, Spotify or others. The subscription buttons plugin that you can get with SecondLine Themes does support these!

If you don't want to mess with third-party player or podcasting plugins, SecondLine Themes still has you covered!

Yes, many WordPress themes have audio players, but they aren’t ideal for using with podcasts and really have no true podcasting support. But the players SecondLine Themes includes are meant for podcasts and work very well.

There's also built-in styling for popular email-newsletter-subscription plugins!

Easy setup I was blown away by how easy it was to get set up with SecondLine Themes!

For example, it asks for your license key as you’re installing the theme, so you don't have to find where to enter that later. And it recommends and auto-installs plugins for you. It can even import a bunch of sample content for you to use while setting up your website! This makes the onboarding experience much better most themes.

Friendly Elementor page builder There are many different page builders out there, and my next episode will talk more about what a page builder is, how to use one, and my recommendations, which include Elementor.

In short, as the name implies, a page builder helps you to build a webpage. But it does so very easily without your having to know all about HTML, CSS, JavaScript, or PHP. You can drag and drop items, scale them as you’d like, and more to get exactly the results you’re looking for.

Elementor is, in my opinion, the best page builder. It’s very powerful and there’s even a free version to get you started!

But you don’t have to pay for Elementor Pro because SecondLine Themes includes the free Elementor version. Plus, the themes include Elementor widgets for you to display a list of episodes with players, and more.

Extensive customization options SecondLine Themes contain a lot of options for you to change how your site looks through the standard WordPress Customizer. You can change fonts, colors, layout options, toggle features, and much more all without having to know code. Plus, you can see what your changes will look like before you publish.
Fantastic support and updates I have emailed Thomas from SecondLine Themes a lot! I've suggested things, reported bugs, and asked for help. The support they provide is fantastic! They’re fast, they push out updates frequently, and they are supporting the theme really well.

There was a previous theme for podcasters that I recommended, but then they just disappeared. Their support team disappeared first then they stopped answering emails, then the website broke. Then it came back but they stopped putting out updates. But SecondLine Themes is very active in supporting their themes and I expect them to stay strong for a long time.

Also, SecondLine Themes doesn’t require you to buy another framework (like the Genesis Framework) in order to use their themes. Pricing and licensing are simple!

SecondLine Themes makes it easy. You can subscribe to only one theme, a bundle, or you can purchase lifetime access. (I suggest the lifetime option as it gives you access to all of their themes, lifetime updates, and is ideal if you have multiple websites.)

Plus: free podcast-importer plugin They also offer a free podcast-importer plugin great for re-syndicating your podcast. For example if you had a network website and you have separate podcasts on different websites with different RSS feeds, you can use the free podcast-importer plugin to bring those all in to the central network site, regardless of how the other podcast feeds are generated (even if they're not WordPress)!

If you use one of those network-ready themes—currently Tusant and Bolden—then this importer plugin can automatically put things in the right places so your network site can look and work great for you!

For me, Tusant already did about 90% of what I wanted! For my own websites, I've worked with Themify, Divi, and Beaver Builder, and some other themes. I had an idea of what I wanted to do with my site, but it was taking so long to develop.

If you’ve been following The Audacity to Podcast for a while, you may have noticed that I updated the cover art but didn’t update the website design to match. I was digging into PHP code and other elements trying to get it different themes to work, then updates would break things. It was a mess and was taking too long.

But Tusant already does about 90% of what I was looking for! And as they update it, that number is only going to climb without my having to do any sort of custom coding.

I was working with other themes for a couple of years and didn’t launch the redesign of the site. With Tusant, I had my site nearly ready with only a couple hours of work, and then was able to fully launch over a weekend.

So if you want the best WordPress theme for podcasting, I highly recommend any from SecondLine Themes!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Todd Phillips’ new JOKER gives a concrete origin story to a character who, in Christoper Nolan’s 2008 film THE DARK KNIGHT, willfully obfuscates what turned him into Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime. In this second half of our look at two grim-and-gritty takes on the character, we examine JOKER, and some of the discourse around it, in an attempt to pinpoint meaning within an audacious and violent film, and consider how it fits into Phillips’ filmography of put-upon males processing rejection; then we dive into how it connects to DARK KNIGHT, not just in its treatment of the Joker, but also its depiction of Gotham, and its considerations of class and morality. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK KNIGHT, JOKER, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Show Notes

Works Cited: • “Todd Phillips Was Destined to Make a Movie Like ‘Joker,’” by Keith Phipps (theringer.com)

Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Robert Eggers’ THE LIGHTHOUSE • Keith: “The Booj” episode of the TWENTY THOUSAND HERTZ podcast; 1964’s MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, 1964’s GHIDORAH, THE THREE HEADED MONSTER, and 1965’s INVASION OF THE ASTRO MONSTER • Scott: Noah Baumbach’s MR. JEALOUSY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The narrative and tone of Todd Phillips’ latest is heavily inspired by TAXI DRIVER and KING OF COMEDY, but given the attention paid to the work of Martin Scorsese on this podcast of late, we decided to look at Phillips’ new JOKER in tandem with a more literal cinematic predecessor: Christopher Nolan’s THE DARK KNIGHT, featuring Heath Ledger’s posthumous Oscar-winning performance as the Clown Prince of Crime himself. In this half we consider Ledger’s Joker in the context of a film that took a radically different approach to the comic-book movie and its villains, debate some confounding plot specifics—and whether they ultimately matter that much to one’s enjoyment of the film—and try to remember what it was like experiencing DARK KNIGHT independent of the subsequnt superhero movie deluge it helped spawn. Plus, we respond to some feedback on our recent episodes looking at CASINO and HUSTLERS. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK KNIGHT, JOKER, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Hans Zimmer, “Why So Serious?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Lorene Scafaria portrays the criminal scam at the heart of HUSTLERS with a sort of cinematic brio that has earned the film comparisons to the work of Martin Scorsese, in particular the similarly flashy Vegas epic CASINO — and not just because both prominently feature chinchilla fur coats. In this half of our vice-ridden pairing, we talk over what works and what doesn’t about HUSTLERS before diving into the two films’ shared preoccupations with destructive trust and capitalist systems and compare the filmmaking flourishes Scafaria and Scorsese use to draw viewers into their seductive worlds. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CASINO, HUSTLERS, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “The Hustlers at Scores,” by Jessica Pressler (thecut.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Takashi Miike’s FIRST LOVE • Scott: Jim Jarmusch’s THE DEAD DON’T DIE • Genevieve: Anthony and Joe Russo’s AVENGERS: ENDGAME Outro music: Britney Spears, “Gimme More” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The big question at the heart of Lorene Scafaria’s new HUSTLERS — one about the corrupting force of American capitalism and who is allowed to rip off whom — is the same one that drive’s Martin Scorsese’s 1995 Vegas gangster epic CASINO, a question both films address with no small amount of verve and flash. In this half of our vice-ridden pairing, we dig into CASINO’s reputation as a GOODFELLAS retread and how its characters conform, or don’t, to our expectations about Scorsese characters. Plus, a couple of otherwise unrelated feedback letters get us talking about the expectations we bring to films and how they can shift the viewing experience. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CASINO, HUSTLERS, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Devo, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

It’s too early to know whether Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s horror-comedy READY OR NOT will eventually become a cult hit in the manner of 1985’s CLUE, but the two films share a foundation in dangerous games and the even more dangerous people who play them. After parsing how READY OR NOT works as both horror and comedy, and inducting star Samara Weaving into the scream queen hall of fame, we dig into the two films’ crucial central performances, how both incorporate elements of class satire and farce, and the extent to which each is indebted to actual game mechanics. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLUE, READY OR NOT, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Ognjen Glavonic’s THE LOAD • Keith: Netflix’s THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE, Criterion’s The Koker Trilogy Box Set, Olive Films’ BUCKET OF BLOOD Blu-ray release • Tasha: “The Crazy Story of How ‘Clue’ Went From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph” by Adam B. Vary at Buzzfeed.com Outro music: “The Hide and Seek Song” from READY OR NOT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The gamified murder and mayhem of the recent horror-comedy READY OR NOT put us in mind of a similarly scrappy, low-budget affair with board games in its DNA: John Landis and Jonathan Lynn’s flop-turned-cult-classic CLUE. In this CLUE-centric half of our deadly games pairing, we get into how much both sides of that flop/cult reputation are earned, how much of the film’s genesis in a board game comes across on screen, and how much those additional endings add to the film. Plus, we respond to some feedback taking us to task for one of the many controversial elements of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD that we left out of our discussion of the film. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLUE, READY OR NOT, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited:• “The Crazy Story Of How ‘Clue’ Want From Forgotten Flop To Cult Triumph” by Adam B. Vary (Buzzfeed.com) • “Why Are You Laughing At Bruce Lee?” By Walter Chaw (Vulture.com) • “Bruce Lee’s Daughter Says Quentin Tarantino ‘Could Shut Up’ About Her Father’s Portrayal” by Audrey Cleo Yap (Variety.com) Outro music: Bill Haley and the Comets, “Shake, Rattle and Roll” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

A few decades and a whole industry removed from Barbara Kopple’s HARLAN COUNTY, USA, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s AMERICAN FACTORY is an entertaining yet dispiriting illustration of how much working conditions, labor relations, and blue-collar work have changed — and, in some ways, haven’t. After wrestling with AMERICAN FACTORY’s sometimes-funny, sometimes-demoralizing portrayal of the current state of American industry, unions, and national identity, we dive what unites and separates these films’ approach to depicting the struggles and setbacks of the working American. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about HARLAN COUNTY USA, AMERICAN FACTORY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: INFINITY TRAIN on Cartoon Network • Genevieve: Barbara Kopple and Cecilia Peck’s SHUT UP AND SING • Scott: Barbara Kopple’s AMERICAN DREAM • Tasha: Richard Linklater’s WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE? Outro music: Bruce Springsteen, “Factory” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Netflix documentary AMERICAN FACTORY is funnier than Barbara Kopple’s 1976 Oscar-winning documentary HARLAN COUNTY USA, and not nearly as fraught with violence, but it pivots on many of the same core tensions between workers and corporate bosses. In this half of our pairing of labor struggles past and present, we look back at HARLAN COUNTY to see how the time Kopple’s team spent embedded in Harlan County shaped the film, as well as the 1973 miners strike it depicts; how the film’s style reflects Kopple’s involvement with the Maysles brothers and direct cinema; and which of Harlan County’s colorful residents leave the biggest mark on the film. Plus, we respond to some feedback on recent episodes and go over some of the dozens of suggestions we got for 2019 pairings we received when we recently put the call out on Twitter. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about HARLAN COUNTY USA, AMERICAN FACTORY, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Hazel Dickens, “They’ll Never Keep Us Down” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD looks back at 1969 Hollywood from a 2019 vantage point, where Hal Ashby’s 1975 satire SHAMPOO examines that same era from a much closer distance, but the two films share a funny but bittersweet outlook on what would turn out to be a turning point in history. In this half of our pairing of 1969-set “Hollywood endings,” we share our responses to Tarantino’s newest film, and to some of the discussion surrounding it, before diving into what links these two films, including their shared focus on a single event as a historical turning point, and their respective engagement, or lack thereof, with the counterculture. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SHAMPOO, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Alan Elliott and Sydney Pollack’s AMAZING GRACE • Keith: Jacques Demy’s MODEL SHOP • Genevieve: Lulu Wang’s THE FAREWELL Outro music: The Mamas & The Papas, “Dedicated To The One I Love” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Quentin Tarantino’s ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD filters its wistful look at the end of an era through the lens of a real historical event (albeit one altered for the film), an approach that mirrors the one taken by director Hal Ashby and star/co-writer Warren Beatty in 1975’s SHAMPOO, which situates its late-1960s Hollywood satire within the broader sociopolitical context of the Nixon presidential election. Both films concern characters looking out at an uncertain future and fearing what unhappy endings might await them, and both function as after-the-fact reflections on a turning point in Hollywood, and American, history. In this half of our pairing we dive into SHAMPOO to consider how well it’s aged, whether it feels prophetic about our current reality, and to what extent we’re meant to sympathize with/pity its lothario protagonist. Plus, we respond to two listeners who wrote in with the same observation regarding our recent episode on THE ART OF SELF DEFENSE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SHAMPOO, ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: The Beach Boys, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Riley Stearns’ new dark comedy THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE centers on an underground scene of fighters who engage in their own version of the transgressive tactics Tyler Durden plays with in 1999’s FIGHT CLUB, but both films are ultimately about the catharsis of violence. After digging into how ART OF SELF-DEFENSE spins the “fight club” premise to its own ends, we pit these two films against each other to see which reigns supreme!…Or, to determine what each movie has to say about their shared interests in misogyny, toxic masculinity, and the dehumanization of life in corporate America. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about FIGHT CLUB, THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Alfred E. Green’s BABY FACE • Tasha: Tom Harper’s WILD ROSE • Scott: Avi Belkin’s MIKE WALLACE IS HERE Outro music: AC/DC “Spoilin’ For A Fight” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We’re looking at two films featuring underground fight clubs, secret identities, and male protagonists trying to reclaim their self-worth through violence, beginning with David Fincher’s FIGHT CLUB, which traffics in many of the same themes as Riley Stearns’ new THE ART OF SELF DEFENSE, albeit with decidedly more stylistic flourish. In this half of our toxic masculinity double feature, we dig into what made FIGHT CLUB so divisive in 1999, and what makes it seem so prescient today. Plus, some feedback asking about our podcast hometown of Chicago and its many cinephiliac offerings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about FIGHT CLUB, THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Dust Brothers, “Psycho Boy Jack” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our look at musical films that willfully straddle the line between fact and fiction brings in Martin Scorsese’s newest effort for Netflix, ROLLING THUNDER REVUE: A BOB DYLAN STORY, to see how it applies that MO to a documentary format, where Todd Haynes’ VELVET GOLDMINE applied it to a narrative one. After debating to what extent ROLLING THUNDER REVUE tells us anything about its slippery subject, we bring these two films together to see how they each play with ideas about alter-egos and disposable identities, what they have to say about art and commerce, and how each reflect their 1970s setting. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about VELVET GOLDMINE, ROLLING THUNDER REVUE, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. SHOW NOTES Works Cited: • “Truth and Legends: The Extraordinary Documentaries of Martin Scorsese,” by Scott Tobias (theringer.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Larry Charles’ MASKED AND ANONYMOUS • Scott: Martin Scorsese’s GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD • Genevieve: John Cameron Mitchell’s HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Outro music: Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall [Live]” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Martin Scorsese’s new ROLLING THUNDER REVUE takes a documentary-esque approach to Bob Dylan’s titular 1970s tour-slash-roadshow, blending fact and fiction in a manner reminiscent of Todd Haynes’ 1998 cult favorite VELVET GOLDMINE, which creates a similar sort of parallel fiction around an extraordinary moment in music history. In this half of our pairing looking at “print the legend” musical histories, we focus on VELVET GOLDMINE and its dense, post-modern approach to crafting an ersatz Bowie biopic, debating the advantages and disadvantage of doing a fictionalized history of a real movement, and whether it matters that Bowie himself did not approve. Plus, still more GODZILLA feedback and a theory inspired by our recent BIG episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about VELVET GOLDMINE, ROLLING THUNDER REVUE, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Shudder to Think, “Hot One” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

What went wrong with F. Gary Gray’s attempt to revive a franchise with MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL? There are many answers to that question, which we dig into this week, but a lot of the DOA sequel’s problems can be traced directly back to the successes of 1997’s MEN IN BLACK. We look at the newest MEN IN BLACK alongside its much funnier, more sprightly forebear to see how the two films’ respective use of humor, movie stars, and setting contribute to their success, or lack thereof. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all MENS IN BLACK, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. SHOW NOTES Works Cited: • “Rewrites, Infighting and No ‘Urgency’: Behind Sony’s Lackluster ‘Men in Black’ Relaunch,” by Borys Kit (The Hollywood Reporter) • “‘Men In Black: International’ and the Zombie Franchises That Won’t Die,” by Tim Grierson Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: John Dahl’s THE LAST SEDUCTION • Keith: Steven Knight’s SERENITY • Genevieve: HOMECOMING: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ • Scott: The CHILD’S PLAY franchise, particularly BRIDE OF CHUCKY and SEED OF CHUCKY Outro music: Danny Elfman & Chris Bacon, “Red Button” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcast media (whether audio or video) must live somewhere on the Internet so it can be downloaded via RSS feeds. This hosting needs to be powerful enough to deliver the media files quickly and handle the load of hundreds or thousands of simultaneous downloads when new episodes are released. Here are the performance results from the most popular podcast hosting companies.

Does podcast hosting speed even matter? The short answer is yes, but only to a point.

I started this project curious about feed-hosting performance between separate web hosting providers (shared, managed, and VPS), different caching options, and mirroring tools (FeedBurner and Podcast Mirror). Aside from two specific exceptions (more on that below), feed performance from numerous providers was acceptably fast. While one host might be faster than another, it was faster by less than a second on feeds that were already loading in under 1 second.

So as long as a feed loads within 1 or 2 seconds, exact speeds become a moot point. If, however, a feed takes several seconds or longer to load, that increases the possibility of timeouts, which can result in a podcast app's failure to refresh podcast RSS feeds to even see what new episodes are available to download. I've seen this happen before where one podcast app could download all the episode, but another app wouldn't refresh the feed.

And then, I realized my test could be easily adapted to measure and compare file-hosting speeds. So I turned my attention to media files, which were easier to compare and possibly more important to measure.

But as with feeds, media hosting across most of the providers was fast enough that it wouldn't cause any noticeable difference.

A feed and media host is fast enough when someone can press a button and start listening with little to no delay.

(Podcasters can make the mistake of attaching large images to ID3 tags, which can cause playback delays because the ID3 information must download before audio data.)

It's also important to remember most podcast apps will check feeds and download new episodes automatically in the background. So even if it took five minutes for an episode to download, most of the audience might not be affected because the episode will be there waiting for them when they open their podcast app.

This audience-helping benefit is a big reason we need to keep downloading possible in podcasting, instead of catering to money-focused advertisers who want to kill the download and switch to streaming. But that's a different discussion.

Testing methodology You're free to skip this part if you don't want the technical details.

I wrote a program in Node to measure the time it takes to download a feed or media file from a given URL. I included options to test feeds with Gzip compression or HTTP/2. You can view my Podcast Speed Test source code and try it on your own computer or server.

Each feed or media URL was tested 10 consecutive times and then combined into average and median results. If there was a significantly different average from median, I would re-run the test, except in the case of Podiant. Every first one or two tests of Podiant resulted in very slow download times. I suspect Podiant doesn't propagate a media file to local servers until it is first requested from that location, and thus the first download is slow. Because this was predictable and repeatable, I left the data in (reflected on averages) and I think it's concerning for that poor first soul who must download from their local server more slowly than the next person.

Using Vultr as my VPS provider, I tested from sixteen regions:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA
New York/New Jersey, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Dallas, Texas, USA
Los Angeles, California, USA
Miami, Florida, USA
Seattle, Washington, USA
Silicon Valley, California, USA
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Paris, Italy, France
Frankfurt, Germany
London, England, United Kingdom
Tokyo, Japan
Singapore
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Each region has a high-speed network connection of multiple gigabits per second.

Feed testing specifics Podcast RSS feeds can be difficult to test and compare because each feed-generator (WordPress with PowerPress, Libsyn, Buzzsprout, Spreaker, etc.) may do things differently. And it wasn't reasonable to try replicating a complete RSS feed across every tool. Some tools may include extra tags for every episode, while other tools omit such tags. Some tools may truncate the show notes, while other tools publish full show notes.

Instead, my method was to find a small feed (100–250 KB) and a large feed (2 MB or more) from each generator, mirror those feeds to a benchmark host, and then compare the performance against that consistent benchmark. I chose FeedBurner and Podcast Mirror, but FeedBurner can't handle feeds larger than 1 MB, so I used it for only small and medium feeds. A third option I could have used would have been to copy the RSS feed code to my own server, but I stuck with Podcast Mirror because it's something anyone can use. This kind of mirroring resulted in only a 1–2 KB difference in feed size, but gave me a relative standard. After 10 consecutive tests, a sample feed's median result would be ranked based on its performance factor compared to the feed on Podcast Mirror as the benchmark. Thus, each feed would be above or below 1.0 compared to the Podcast Mirror benchmark.

Media testing specifics Media hosting was much easier to test than feed hosted. I used the 1-hour MP3 from episode 229 of The Audacity to Podcast. That file was 44.1 KHz, mono, 16-bit, 64 kbps, giving me a 27.5 MB file. I uploaded that to every media host I reasonably could, and ran the same download tests.

Unfortunately, some media hosts re-encoded my file, changing the file size, and thus making the measurements a little unfair, but I included them nonetheless and indicate the file sizes in the charts.

Try your own tests! If you're comfortable installing and running Node from a command line, you can download my Podcast Speed Test source code to run on your own computer or server. Use at your own risk, and some of my sample tests may be removed or broken by the time you test.

Feed performance results Because of the complicated nature of testing feeds (described above), I didn't run as many tests, because I realized it was mostly a moot point with nearly every feed provider loading feeds (which are usually smaller than 1 MB) in a fraction of a second. So for the sake of brevity, I'll omit all that data for now.

But there were two important exceptions.

SoundCloud feeds were consistently the slowest, taking seconds to load a small feed, and longer to load larger feeds. Because of this, I recommend never using a SoundCloud RSS feed. If you must use SoundCloud for podcast hosting (they're a really bad podcast-hosting provider), mirror your feed through Blubrry's free Podcast Mirror service or even use FeedBurner (but I still don't recommend FeedBurner's features, like SmartCast).

Uncached feeds were as bad as SoundCloud. Sometimes slower, sometimes faster. Such feeds were usually powered by WordPress or another content-management system. But all it took to fix that performance was simple caching. With caching, it's important to check that the podcast feed is being cached with whatever caching option you're using. For example, caching plugins like WP Rocket and WP Super Cache allow custom inclusions and exclusions, usually defaulting to include the RSS feeds. But other caching plugins might not offer such options, or might not refresh all the caches when you publish a new episode, or might exclude the RSS feeds altogether (SpinupWP's page caching excluded the feeds, but Liquid Web and Flywheel included the feeds).

So the takeaways here are:

Don't use Soundcloud (for hosting your feed, or if you do, then use Podcast Mirror).
If you generate your feed with WordPress, implement proper caching or use Podcast Mirror.
Any poorly performing feed could be improved by switching to Podcast Mirror.

Podcast media performance results For hosting my sample MP3 file, I tested:

Amazon S3*
Anchor, which uses Cloudfront
Archive.org*
Audioboom (re-encoded to 55.6 MB)
Blubrry
Bunny CDN*
Buzzsprout
Captivate
Castos
Fireside
iVoox
Libsyn
Omny Studio (thanks to Adam Jaffrey from Wavelength Creative)
Pinecast (thanks to Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting)
Pippa
Podbean Unlimited Audio
Podbean Unlimited Plus
Podbean Business Basic
Podcast.co
Podiant (re-encoded to 41.2 MB)
Podigee (re-encoded to 35.7 MB)
Podmio, which uses Amazon S3 (thanks to Podrick Scuadrick from PodScure)
podOmatic (re-encoded to 41.37 MB, but paid plans make re-encoding optional)
Podserve.fm
RedCircle (re-encoded to 55.1 MB)
Simplecast
SiteGround*
SoundCloud
Spreaker
Transistor (thanks to Podrick Scuadrick from PodScure)
Whooshka (re-encoded to 55.1 MB)
ZenCast

*Not a podcast-hosting provider.

I could not get test accounts with Art19 or Megaphone.

Please note that some of these hosts re-encoded my MP3 file without my option to change it, always resulting in a bigger file than I uploaded. One exception is Buzzsprout who re-encodes only down, but never up. So my 64 kbps mono file was not re-encoded up to 96 kbps mono on Buzzsprout like it was re-encoded up to various rates with the other indicated hosts.

For disclosure, some of the paid-for hosting options were provided by the respective companies at no cost to me for the sake of my testing and review. I also invited any hosting company to preview this article before publication, which often opened a beneficial dialog, but did not affect the data.

If you represent a podcast-hosting company I didn't include and you want to see your service tested and listed here, please contact me!

Combined global averages and medians First, let's look at the combined global timings for each hosting company. Each test was performed 10 consecutive times and those results combined to calculate regional and global averages and medians. Where the average and median greatly differ illustrates potential slowness in a host.

About Podbean and podOmatic Whoa there, Podbean and podOmatic! Those two were the slowest hosts. Podbeans Unlimited Audio and Unlimited Plus plans are designed with lower performance to be more budget-friendly, while the Business Basic plan performs on par with competitors.

This slower performance may seem horrible, but remember this is a 60-minute MP3 that downloaded completely in a global combined median under 10 seconds. That's about 6 minutes of audio downloaded in only 1 second. Even if the MP3 was encoded at higher bitrates, it's still fast enough that most podcast consumers would not notice a difference. Nonetheless, if you have a large audience or your business depends on your podcast, it's worth investing in a faster hosting option.

podOmatic didn't appear to have a free trial for their premium plans, so I wasn't able to test for differing performance.

If you host with Podbean's Unlimited Audio and do not use their RSS feed for your podcast, I suggest updating your download URLs to the new mcdn.podbean.com URLs, which nearly double the previous performance, as shown in the following chart.

(This CDN change is automatic for customers using the Podbean RSS feed.)

Regional medians Get ready for data overload! Here are the median results from all 16 test locations. Click on items in the legend to hide that date from the chart and make other data more visible. (I'll embed the full data table at the end of this article.) To make the charts more visible, I split the slowest hosts into their own chart.

About half of the providers offer extremely-fast hosting for North America, but slow down in other parts of the world, especially Sydney and Singapore. Buzzsprout, Fireside, Pinecast, Pippa, Podbean Business Plus, Transistor, and, surprisingly, Soundcloud were the only options with consistently fast downloads to every test region (including Sydney and Singapore).

Remember these are medians, not averages. So a single bad test out of 10 consecutive tests would barely affect the results.

Wi-Fi timings Wi-Fi is a significant normalizer for download speeds and it's more likely how most people will download podcast episodes. Here are the results of the same download tests conducted over a Wi-Fi 5 network (formerly known as 802.11ac) with a 200 mbps (down) Internet-service provider in greater Cincinnati.

This raises the floor from milliseconds to seconds. There's still some significant difference between hosts (such as Podbean and Buzzsprout), but the Wi-Fi connection (at least at 200 mbps) makes more of the hosts perform about the same as opposed to the multi-gigabit network speeds of my Vultr servers.

Untested factors My regional tests were performed on virtual private servers with a multi-gigabit network connection. Real-world results will vary greatly depending on Internet speed, wireless signal strength, and device hardware. That's another reason you may not need the fastest host: typical Wi-Fi connections and local bandwidth could normalize a lot of these results.

Every test was performed consecutively, with no overlap. Thus, my data doesn't reflect potential performance differences when there are hundreds or thousands of devices requesting the same thing at the same time. But I think it's likely that the best perform providers also have the backend performance to meet the high demands of simultaneous downloads. And this is why a CDN is important: if the file lives in only one place on the Internet, such as with Amazon S3 or a web host, then simultaneous downloads can easily overload the bandwidth of that single point. But with a CDN, someone in California could be downloading a file from a completely different server compared to someone in London.

I also could not test the upload performance of each podcast host. I've heard from some podcasters outside North America that uploading to some providers is extremely slow from their region because the media must first go to a server in the USA before spreading across the CDN. As frustrating as this could be for podcasters, it's something that occurs only once per episode and doesn't affect the audience. Nonetheless, if it becomes too frustrating for your situation, you might want to consider a different host.

An important discovery on stats Only a podcast-hosting company will provide podcast stats. This is a big reason to avoid hosting your podcast media on a non-podcast host (like Amazon S3, your web host, or a private CDN) unless you can layer reputable tracking (such as Blubrry Stats) into your download URLs or, of course, you build your own IAB certified system to analyze the raw download logs.

Because my testing was done with bots that were not declaring a user agent (let alone a podcast-app user agent), I wanted to see how some of these hosts would count my test downloads. 0 would be best, 16 (1 per test region) would be acceptable, and anything more than 16 would be concerning.

These podcast hosts did not count any downloads from my bots:

Blubrry
Buzzsprout
Captivate
Castos
Libsyn
Omny Studio
Pinecast
Podbean
podOmatic
Transistor
Whooshka
ZenCast

These podcast hosts counted some downloads:

Anchor: 16
Podigee: 16
Podserve.fm: 16
RedCircle: 16
Simplecast: 8 (I'm guessing it counted only one per continent)
Spreaker: 16

Podcast stats were not available from Amazon S3, Archive.org, SiteGround, and Bunny CDN because they're not podcast-hosting companies.

And here are the concerning hosts I suggest avoiding because their stats counted more than 1 download per bot (for unknown reasons):

Audioboom: 32
iVoox: 32
Podiant: 32
SoundCloud: 24

And here's the current naughty list of hosts that counted every bot download (at the time of this test), resulting in 160 fake downloads.

Fireside—working on changes in July that should better filter downloads
Pippa—see below for how to change the default and make Pippa stats more accurate
Podcast.co—working on changes in July that should better filter downloads
Podmio

I hate to throw any company “under the bus,” but the tracking from these four offenders was so vulnerable that I could have a single bot download the same episode 1,000 times in 15 minutes, and it artificially inflated the stats by exactly 1,000.

In the interest of journalistic integrity, I reached out to these four hosts to alert them of the vulnerability and let them see my data before I published, so they will probably work to resolve this vulnerability as soon as possible. Fireside was already refining their tracking, and Pippa pointed me to a buried option.

Pippa's buried “analytics windowing” Pippa offers an “analytics windowing” option buried in the advanced settings, described as follows.

Windowing affects the way that plays of your podcast are counted and presented. For example, with a 1 hour window, if the same device plays the same episode twice within 1 hour, then only 1 play will be counted in the analytics. Windowing does not affect delivery of the podcast to listeners, only presentation of the analytics. Your chosen window will be effective going forward, not backwards.

(When Pippa says “play,” they really mean “download.”)

Thus, Pippa presents three windowing options: deactivated (the default), 1 hour, and 24 hours (IAB's measurement guidelines). I conducted my tests with the default show settings, and thus with windowing deactivated. This explains why the stats were so easy to manipulate on Pippa. When I changed the windowing option and retested, Pippa counted only 1 download per region.

That's an acceptable number, but leaving this option to the user, buried in advanced settings, and having it deactivated by default is still corrupting the data. For Pippa stats, this would always require the question, “How is your analytics windowing configured?” Thus, it's possible to have three separate podcasts with identical audiences report three completely different numbers.

Conclusion If you want the truly fastest podcast media hosting, or you want to ensure your hosting can handle the high demands of simultaneous downloads, then I recommend choosing the best performers from this list (in no particular order).

Top recommendations: Blubrry or Captivate tied for first place—IAB certified
Libsyn—IAB certified
Transistor—claims to follow IAB guidelines
Simplecast—IAB certified
Buzzsprout—IAB certified
Podbean Business Basic—IAB certified
Pinecast—claims to follow IAB guidelines
Whooshka—IAB certified (but they re-encode up)

Complete data table

| Host | Stats | Wifi Average | Wifi Median | Global Average of Averages | Global Median of Medians | NY/NJ Average | NY/NJ Median | Chicago Average | Chicago Median | Dallas Average | Dallas Median | Los Angeles Average | Los Angeles Median | Silicon Valley Average | Silicon Valley Median | Atlanta Average | Atlanta Median | Miami Average | Miami Median | Seattle Average | Seattle Median | Toronto Average | Toronto Median | Amsterdam Average | Amsterdam Median | Paris Average | Paris Median | Frankfurt Average | Frankfurt Median | London Average | London Median | Tokyo Average | Tokyo Median | Singapore Average | Singapore Median | Sydney Average | Sydney Median | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Amazon S3 | 3,638 | 2,519 | 2,298 | 1,490 | 485 | 345 | 530 | 536 | 703 | 699 | 1,163 | 1,151 | 1,419 | 1,421 | 502 | 479 | 586 | 559 | 2,681 | 1,558 | 679 | 598 | 2,127 | 2,125 | 1,712 | 1,774 | 2,039 | 2,012 | 1,657 | 1,614 | 6,773 | 3,752 | 8,847 | 4,945 | 4,875 | 4,582 | | Anchor (Cloudfront) | 16 | 2,548 | 2,548 | 402 | 131 | 280 | 149 | 411 | 236 | 862 | 164 | 102 | 102 | 200 | 136 | 1,084 | 896 | 367 | 174 | 122 | 114 | 590 | 466 | 636 | 126 | 319 | 75 | 290 | 68 | 495 | 151 | 91 | 82 | 169 | 106 | 416 | 111 | | Archive.org | 3,907 | 3,812 | 2,589 | 2,462 | 2,546 | 2,559 | 1,701 | 1,379 | 950 | 988 | 566 | 360 | 475 | 404 | 3,169 | 2,366 | 2,415 | 2,214 | 602 | 556 | 2,445 | 2,022 | 3,194 | 3,127 | 3,421 | 3,489 | 4,848 | 3,981 | 2,796 | 2,747 | 2,671 | 2,607 | 4,678 | 4,205 | 4,958 | 4,539 | | Audioboom (55.6 MB) | 32 | 3,284 | 3,278 | 1,188 | 318 | 383 | 282 | 511 | 360 | 499 | 355 | 229 | 222 | 289 | 151 | 1,219 | 1,062 | 597 | 410 | 469 | 248 | 802 | 686 | 273 | 244 | 317 | 135 | 335 | 128 | 538 | 253 | 2,526 | 2,503 | 4,928 | 4,808 | 5,108 | 5,018 | | Blubrry | 0 | 1,807 | 1,778 | 2,139 | 102 | 104 | 71 | 142 | 61 | 203 | 80 | 113 | 96 | 78 | 56 | 138 | 128 | 95 | 68 | 414 | 400 | 261 | 255 | 391 | 68 | 516 | 189 | 110 | 108 | 434 | 78 | 1,975 | 1,882 | 26,180 | 4,665 | 3,072 | 2,984 | | Bunny CDN | 5,188 | 2,542 | 685 | 151 | 464 | 118 | 164 | 111 | 528 | 235 | 145 | 143 | 1,756 | 298 | 184 | 188 | 243 | 175 | 781 | 349 | 1,736 | 970 | 818 | 145 | 1,500 | 95 | 488 | 103 | 154 | 157 | 109 | 106 | 135 | 112 | 1,769 | 331 | | Buzzsprout | 0 | 1,837 | 1,840 | 362 | 225 | 338 | 299 | 447 | 347 | 336 | 281 | 259 | 237 | 621 | 252 | 320 | 342 | 481 | 501 | 216 | 209 | 419 | 175 | 375 | 156 | 282 | 159 | 274 | 127 | 345 | 213 | 271 | 206 | 262 | 261 | 555 | 154 | | Captivate | 0 | 2,019 | 1,823 | 517 | 188 | 263 | 196 | 157 | 118 | 271 | 130 | 255 | 239 | 321 | 266 | 208 | 198 | 328 | 181 | 570 | 452 | 169 | 147 | 328 | 101 | 490 | 270 | 128 | 130 | 404 | 221 | 161 | 150 | 149 | 148 | 4,078 | 2,487 | | Castos | 0 | 1,806 | 1,769 | 365 | 157 | 169 | 150 | 129 | 116 | 226 | 226 | 192 | 174 | 427 | 400 | 198 | 161 | 185 | 147 | 266 | 258 | 148 | 139 | 204 | 154 | 207 | 207 | 166 | 145 | 288 | 170 | 438 | 147 | 496 | 146 | 2,104 | 2,076 | | Fireside | 160 | 1,695 | 1,698 | 251 | 179 | 415 | 240 | 264 | 262 | 254 | 242 | 200 | 179 | 154 | 152 | 223 | 219 | 203 | 198 | 232 | 227 | 189 | 187 | 165 | 151 | 175 | 179 | 152 | 162 | 349 | 130 | 332 | 164 | 356 | 109 | 364 | 145 | | iVoox | 32 | 3,056 | 2,670 | 1,613 | 1,033 | 113 | 90 | 1,236 | 991 | 816 | 437 | 1,243 | 1,222 | 1,556 | 1,134 | 264 | 241 | 662 | 603 | 2,069 | 1,722 | 753 | 518 | 806 | 575 | 2,164 | 2,074 | 2,263 | 2,149 | 1,893 | 1,736 | 1,675 | 1,076 | 595 | 482 | 7,711 | 7,343 | | Libsyn | 0 | 1,787 | 1,781 | 402 | 92 | 234 | 106 | 248 | 80 | 397 | 95 | 132 | 129 | 128 | 125 | 300 | 138 | 83 | 64 | 452 | 394 | 298 | 63 | 105 | 81 | 709 | 193 | 89 | 73 | 436 | 83 | 88 | 75 | 110 | 89 | 2,627 | 2,172 | | Omny Studio | 0 | 1,811 | 1,709 | 1,310 | 333 | 305 | 265 | 689 | 367 | 936 | 345 | 227 | 223 | 240 | 151 | 1,482 | 1,209 | 503 | 443 | 346 | 322 | 1,295 | 1,209 | 865 | 231 | 727 | 129 | 165 | 135 | 268 | 243 | 2,495 | 2,476 | 5,101 | 5,028 | 5,316 | 5,214 | | Pinecast | 0 | 1,696 | 1,696 | 621 | 227 | 276 | 228 | 266 | 224 | 856 | 319 | 192 | 198 | 528 | 210 | 421 | 386 | 431 | 274 | 420 | 284 | 260 | 183 | 2,397 | 941 | 1,199 | 296 | 322 | 207 | 599 | 227 | 462 | 197 | 499 | 155 | 818 | 944 | | Pippa | 160 | 1,687 | 1,703 | 345 | 187 | 223 | 189 | 277 | 278 | 359 | 309 | 189 | 194 | 633 | 193 | 241 | 249 | 192 | 174 | 161 | 153 | 154 | 160 | 188 | 180 | 118 | 114 | 195 | 199 | 428 | 178 | 559 | 177 | 783 | 185 | 834 | 237 | | Podbean Unlimited Audio | 0 | 20,363 | 19,652 | 21,612 | 7,596 | 6,751 | 7,629 | 5,049 | 4,757 | 4,136 | 4,089 | 8,165 | 5,505 | 5,879 | 4,695 | 6,339 | 5,957 | 7,081 | 6,340 | 9,277 | 7,563 | 4,835 | 4,771 | 20,327 | 20,907 | 29,214 | 30,074 | 11,544 | 10,057 | 12,033 | 13,649 | 13,879 | 12,563 | 178,954 | 137,692 | 22,330 | 25,055 | | Podbean Unlimited Plus | 0 | 21,882 | 22,161 | 24,667 | 9,036 | 6,775 | 7,104 | 4,250 | 4,377 | 2,842 | 2,581 | 9,716 | 9,381 | 7,002 | 6,637 | 6,795 | 6,998 | 10,297 | 10,211 | 10,319 | 7,576 | 5,284 | 4,160 | 26,152 | 25,962 | 31,526 | 22,927 | 15,470 | 13,978 | 11,101 | 8,692 | 17,240 | 16,634 | 203,250 | 133,332 | 26,666 | 25,081 | | Podbean Business Basic | 0 | 2,066 | 2,048 | 345 | 122 | 166 | 149 | 204 | 140 | 220 | 135 | 196 | 83 | 231 | 79 | 159 | 120 | 286 | 109 | 248 | 119 | 518 | 491 | 1,291 | 163 | 232 | 216 | 459 | 176 | 272 | 124 | 371 | 73 | 149 | 98 | 526 | 75 | | Podcast.co | 160 | 2,013 | 1,788 | 451 | 173 | 293 | 181 | 596 | 283 | 284 | 252 | 322 | 211 | 302 | 164 | 583 | 455 | 192 | 115 | 289 | 151 | 365 | 136 | 268 | 125 | 259 | 243 | 364 | 185 | 289 | 138 | 584 | 106 | 128 | 126 | 2,097 | 2,123 | | Podiant (41.2 MB) | 32 | 4,267 | 2,625 | 3,036 | 251 | 5,911 | 219 | 4,266 | 171 | 2,597 | 230 | 2,656 | 96 | 6,096 | 325 | 400 | 392 | 1,679 | 544 | 1,321 | 83 | 280 | 273 | 1,266 | 131 | 1,516 | 488 | 7,790 | 112 | 2,342 | 114 | 3,315 | 575 | 3,341 | 451 | 3,805 | 3,893 | | Podigee (35.7 MB) | 16 | 6,799 | 6,917 | 5,194 | 2,888 | 1,870 | 1,821 | 3,333 | 2,951 | 2,928 | 2,905 | 3,522 | 3,479 | 3,457 | 3,454 | 2,841 | 2,871 | 2,833 | 2,761 | 3,360 | 3,372 | 2,342 | 2,330 | 360 | 336 | 1,007 | 907 | 170 | 146 | 623 | 492 | 6,167 | 6,181 | 35,234 | 33,151 | 13,069 | 10,275 | | Podmio (S3) | 160 | 2,544 | 2,533 | 2,115 | 1,450 | 401 | 363 | 539 | 531 | 814 | 816 | 1,233 | 1,195 | 1,441 | 1,427 | 688 | 530 | 632 | 589 | 1,478 | 1,473 | 637 | 637 | 1,864 | 1,838 | 1,666 | 1,677 | 1,903 | 1,900 | 1,561 | 1,551 | 3,500 | 3,447 | 5,951 | 4,792 | 9,543 | 4,533 | | podOmatic (41.37 MB) | 0 | 12,072 | 13,086 | 21,447 | 3,256 | 2,190 | 2,060 | 2,175 | 2,117 | 2,146 | 2,166 | 1,498 | 1,449 | 792 | 794 | 3,056 | 3,055 | 2,989 | 2,514 | 2,517 | 2,007 | 3,528 | 3,458 | 9,774 | 10,017 | 6,721 | 5,431 | 5,651 | 5,697 | 5,046 | 5,156 | 7,828 | 6,660 | 259,541 | 171,036 | 27,700 | 26,927 | | Podserve.fm | 16 | 2,634 | 2,325 | 1,043 | 202 | 173 | 97 | 434 | 376 | 78 | 77 | 78 | 76 | 198 | 196 | 477 | 505 | 718 | 697 | 706 | 668 | 215 | 209 | 244 | 168 | 728 | 83 | 271 | 164 | 307 | 171 | 2,093 | 2,126 | 6,621 | 6,483 | 3,361 | 3,128 | | RedCircle (55.1 MB) | 16 | 3,966 | 3,943 | 3,415 | 2,496 | 1,927 | 1,760 | 1,261 | 1,124 | 1,273 | 1,161 | 2,303 | 2,206 | 5,053 | 5,095 | 2,200 | 1,995 | 1,442 | 1,287 | 1,919 | 1,886 | 1,419 | 1,308 | 2,975 | 2,886 | 2,886 | 2,879 | 3,236 | 3,205 | 2,865 | 2,787 | 4,225 | 4,188 | 9,582 | 7,993 | 10,076 | 8,949 | | Simplecast | 8 | 2,462 | 1,792 | 991 | 187 | 183 | 147 | 271 | 184 | 150 | 149 | 193 | 93 | 200 | 100 | 265 | 189 | 202 | 205 | 569 | 568 | 877 | 813 | 341 | 206 | 238 | 106 | 286 | 133 | 317 | 141 | 1,718 | 1,646 | 3,111 | 3,102 | 6,942 | 5,936 | | SiteGround | 3,278 | 3,022 | 10,127 | 3,688 | 3,240 | 2,928 | 4,410 | 4,330 | 2,877 | 2,730 | 5,227 | 4,914 | 4,425 | 3,793 | 2,932 | 2,705 | 3,089 | 3,027 | 3,030 | 2,958 | 2,693 | 2,680 | 3,642 | 3,479 | 4,846 | 4,564 | 3,719 | 3,599 | 4,116 | 3,777 | 70,788 | 10,282 | 34,359 | 26,537 | 8,648 | 9,262 | | SoundCloud | 24 | 1,871 | 1,767 | 422 | 145 | 190 | 143 | 321 | 230 | 207 | 156 | 135 | 121 | 788 | 147 | 428 | 375 | 240 | 180 | 561 | 545 | 499 | 459 | 1,681 | 116 | 360 | 77 | 223 | 71 | 295 | 154 | 83 | 80 | 234 | 114 | 522 | 100 | | Spreaker | 16 | 7,424 | 5,138 | 2,414 | 2,342 | 1,322 | 1,290 | 2,007 | 1,845 | 6,433 | 5,050 | 2,291 | 2,308 | 2,271 | 2,376 | 3,358 | 2,531 | 1,452 | 1,553 | 3,567 | 3,585 | 2,476 | 2,376 | 1,708 | 999 | 581 | 381 | 443 | 442 | 427 | 391 | 3,242 | 2,997 | 2,993 | 2,906 | 4,058 | 4,054 | | Transistor | 0 | 1,709 | 1,702 | 380 | 198 | 506 | 247 | 468 | 350 | 245 | 234 | 260 | 209 | 171 | 162 | 511 | 242 | 270 | 172 | 225 | 216 | 329 | 220 | 649 | 120 | 386 | 188 | 385 | 155 | 408 | 185 | 409 | 211 | 436 | 141 | 431 | 157 | | Whooshka (55.1 MB) | 0 | 4,415 | 4,113 | 1,001 | 212 | 697 | 239 | 888 | 271 | 826 | 242 | 474 | 164 | 912 | 169 | 698 | 281 | 926 | 281 | 468 | 164 | 1,782 | 1,605 | 3,205 | 487 | 811 | 165 | 784 | 166 | 2,130 | 190 | 405 | 172 | 636 | 176 | 384 | 234 | | Zencast | 0 | 2,622 | 2,637 | 2,951 | 2,491 | 2,443 | 2,046 | 2,397 | 2,399 | 2,611 | 2,617 | 4,761 | 3,167 | 3,414 | 3,449 | 2,488 | 2,514 | 2,401 | 2,469 | 3,789 | 3,811 | 1,941 | 1,982 | 404 | 398 | 388 | 396 | 462 | 433 | 491 | 502 | 6,036 | 6,100 | 6,309 | 6,264 | 6,895 | 6,887 |

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The lackluster new MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL has failed to rekindle much interest in the action-comedy franchise — more on that in the next episode — which makes the 1997 blockbuster from which it stems seem like even more of a miracle in hindsight. Having seen how the franchise’s formula can fail, we’re going back to the source to see how director Barry Sonnenfeld, with no small assist from stars Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones and effects master Rick Baker, achieved that rarest of cinematic feats: a weird blockbuster. This week we dig into the strange performances, mindful effects, and sharp political allegory that enliven this lean, mean galaxy-defending machine. Plus, some feedback on our recent GODZILLA episodes, and a thought experiment inspired by CHINATOWN. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all MEN IN BLACK movies, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • “An Oral History of Vincent D’Onofrio’s Perfect Men in Black ‘Sugar Water’ Scene,” by Rachel Handler (vulture.com) Outro music: Will Smith, “Men In Black” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS looks and acts a lot more like one of the other recent entries in Warner Bros’ “Monsterverse” than it does the classic creature features inspired by the original GODZILLA, but it also consciously echoes Ishiro Honda’s 1954 film in some key ways. After airing our grievances with the frustratingly incoherent KING OF THE MONSTERS, we dig into what links this newest film to its very different predecessor, from its city-flattening monster effects to its shaky attempts to inject human drama amid the kaiju destruction. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all GODZILLAs and/or monsters, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Kirill Serebrennikov’s LETO • Tasha: Olivia Wilde’s BOOKSMART • Keith: William Gibson’s ALIEN III (an Audible Original Drama) Outro music: The Flaming Lips, “Godzilla Flick” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new CGI spectacle GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS further extends the longest running film franchise in history, but it’s a far cry (roar?) from the 1954 film that first set this fire-breathing, city-flattening phenomenon in motion. So this week we’re looking back at Ishiro Honda’s originating film to speculate how and why its central nuclear metaphor shifted over the decades, to discuss how the film and its effects—don’t call them dated or Keith will be sad!—benefit from Godzilla’s literal and figurative weight, and debate what, if anything, the central love triangle adds to this story. Plus, some feedback taking us to task for some things we overlooked in our recent discussions of THE WARRIORS and JOHN WICK 3. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all GODZILLA movies, or anything else film-related, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Kesha, “Godzilla” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return again to the deadly streets of the Big Apple at night to discuss Chad Stahelski’s latest entry in the JOHN WICK franchise, CHAPTER 3—PARABELLUM, and its place in the action pantheon alongside Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic THE WARRIORS. After talking over our reactions to the latest JOHN WICK, and the series as a whole, we bring in THE WARRIORS to compare how these two films’ respective styles approach the streets of New York and action choreography, how they both embrace the trope of “honor among thieves,” and how their respective portrayals of masculinity play on the juxtaposition of vulnerability and indomitability. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WARRIORS, JOHN WICK or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Stanley Kramer’s ON THE BEACH • Scott: Sebastian Lelio’s GLORIA BELL • Tasha: Marti Noxon’s TO THE BONE Works Cited: •”Horror Sequels Are The Exact Opposite of Horror” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com) • The Big Picture Podcast, “Making John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum With Chad Stahelski, and Watching It With Shea Serrano” (theringer.com) Outro music: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, “Angry Mad” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The latest chapter in the JOHN WICK saga, the new PARABELLUM, follows its assassin hero on a long perilous journey through hostile territory, a setup that brought to mind Walter Hill’s controversial hit turned cult classic THE WARRIORS. In this half of our pairing of violent journeys through the night, we examine Hill’s film in the context of the director’s late-’70s/early-’80s hot streak, to discuss how its rain-slicked streets and stylized version of New York gang culture came to typify a certain strain of ’80s action filmmaking, and debate whether its portrayals of masculinity and romance work in the context of Hill’s bare-bones approach to storytelling. Plus, the UNDER THE SILVER LAKE feedback keeps rolling in. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WARRIORS, JOHN WICK 3, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • Primer: Walter Hill, by Scott Tobias (avclub.com) Outro music: Pop Will Eat Itself, “Can U Dig It?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

It’s rare for a rom-com to situate itself firmly in the realm of contemporary American politics, which makes Jonathan Levin’s new Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen-starring LONG SHOT feel in many ways like a spiritual sequel to 1995’s THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, right down to both films’ exploration of moral compromise through a big environmental initiative. But LONG SHOT takes a distinctly different comedic approach to its material, which we dig into before bringing these two political romances together to talk about the role dignity, or lack thereof, plays in selling their respective fantasies, how they function as both a romance and a comedy, and how each pulls off its respective grand gesture. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, LONG SHOT, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Jason Reitman’s YOUNG ADULT • Scott: James L. Brooks’ HOW DO YOU KNOW? • Keith: Yimou Zhang’s SHADOW • Genevieve: Andrew Rossi’s THE FIRST MONDAY IN MAY Outro Music: Boyz II Men, “Motownphilly” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Charlize Theron/Seth Rogan rom-com LONG SHOT looks for comedy at the intersection of love and the highest tier of American politics, an unusual combination that positions it as a spiritual successor to an earlier, much more earnest portrayal of a similarly unlikely romance — that of Rob Reiner’s 1995 Aaron Sorkin-penned crowd-pleaser THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we look back at THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT to consider how its Clinton-era populism scans in today’s much different political atmosphere, how it functions as both a political film and a rom-com, and how it handles the extreme power differential at the core of its central romance. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent episode on UNDER THE SILVER LAKE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, LONG SHOT, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Kylie Minogue, “Mr. President” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

David Robert Mitchell’s wandering, shaggy, endlessly referential UNDER THE SILVER LAKE isn’t nearly as tightly plotted as Roman Polanski’s CHINATOWN, one of its many cinematic reference points, but it’s just as stark and cynical about both human nature and its Los Angeles setting. In this half of our pairing of twisty, paranoid LA mysteries, we dig into whether UNDER THE SILVER LAKE is a movie that can be solved, or a movie that mocks attempts to solve it, before bringing in CHINATOWN to see how these two films approach conspiracies and paranoia, L.A. as a setting and symbol, and women and their would-be saviors. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHINATOWN, UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Joe Cornish’s THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING • Tasha: Julia Hart’s FAST COLOR • Scott: Alex Ross Perry’s HER SMELL Outro Music: R.E.M. “Strange Currencies” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In David Robert Mitchell’s new UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, every clue leads deeper down a rabbit hole toward an endpoint that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the beginning point. In a film as referential as Mitchell’s, that structure seems purposefully lifted from Roman Polanski’s 1974 classic CHINATOWN, another sunlit noir about a private investigator who starts with a simple philandering case and winds up peeking into a secret battle for control of the city. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we dig into CHINATOWN’s legacy and how to reconcile it with the Polanski Problem, examine how its story and performances diverge from the noir tradition, and consider whether its twisty mystery ultimately lands in a satisfying place. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent episodes on US and VELVET BUZZSAW. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHINATOWN, UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Destroyer, “Chinatown” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new superhero movie SHAZAM owes such a debt to Penny Marshall’s weird and whimsical 1988 comedy BIG that it includes a giant piano as an homage, but the connections between these two wish-fulfillment fantasies go beyond their shared premises. After discussing how SHAZAM distinguishes itself from other superhero films, and what it might say about the future of the DCEU, we bring in BIG to see how these two films echo and refract each other in their ideas about what maturity looks like to kids, in their depictions of home and family, and in their use of toys as signifiers of childhood. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG, SHAZAM, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Wim Wenders’ WINGS OF DESIRE (via The Criterion Channel) • Genevieve: Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek’s THE BREAKER UPPERERS • Keith: Joseph H. Lewis’ MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (via The Criterion Channel’s ‘Columbia Noir’ Collection) • Scott: Don Siegel’s THE LINEUP (via The Criterion Channel’s ‘Columbia Noir’ Collection) Outro Music: Queen, “Don’t Stop Me Now” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new SHAZAM, about a 14-year-old kid granted the power of becoming a grown-up superhero, openly acknowledges the debt it owes to Penny Marshall’s 1988 breakthrough BIG, which made a potent comic fantasy out of what adolescents imagine adulthood to be. In this first half of our pairing of the two films, we wrestle with BIG's age-shifted central relationship and marvel over how stars Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins manage to find some real sweetness within an uncomfortable romantic scenario, which leads us to consider how the horrors lurking beneath the comedic premise reveal themselves with age, and whether the film works despite that. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent episodes on INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and US, and a response to some criticism of our recent string of superhero pairings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BIG, SHAZAM, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • ’Big’ Is Secretly a Horror Movie, by Shea Serrano (TheRinger.com) • ‘Big’ Review, by Keith Phipps (TheDissolve.com) • Robert De Niro and the origin of “The Face,” by Scott Tobias (TheDissolve.com) Outro music: Nelly, “Country Grammar” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our pairing of devious doppelgängers arrives at Jordan Peele’s new US, which brings into 2019 some of the same themes of paranoia and dread seen in one of its many predecessors, Philip Kaufman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. After comparing our reactions to US’s “messy by design” narrative and the conversations that have sprung up around it, we bring these two films together to compare how they reflect their respective eras, how each works as horror, and the weird character relationships that underscore the human drama behind the allegory. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, US, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works cited: • Unpacking Reddit’s Wildest Theory About US, by Rebecca Alter (Vulture.com) • What Was Hands Across America, and What Does It Have to Do With US?, by Keith Phipps (Slate.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s AMERICAN FACTORY, Rachel Leads’ KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, and Hassan Fazili’s MIDNIGHT TRAVELER • Tasha: The IMMUNITIES podcast, and Terry Gilliam’s THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE • Keith: Steve Mitchell’s KING COHEN, and Larry Cohen’s THE STUFF and GOD TOLD ME TO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Jordan Peele’s new US extends a long history of horror stories that use doppelgängers to explore identity, one that includes as a cornerstone Philip Kaufman’s 1978 adaptation of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. This episode we delve into the film’s eerie version of San Francisco to talk about how its atmosphere of dread and late-‘70s malaise distinguishes it from other versions of this story, and amplifies the human drama within this classic alien-invasion narrative. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent TOTAL RECALL episode and a broader question on the state of film criticism. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, US, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Imogen Heap, “Bad Body Double” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our pairing of sci-fi action films with a side of meditation on memory and identity brings in the new CAPTAIN MARVEL to see how Carol Danvers’ journey of lost and reclaimed memories looks next to the very different (and much bloodier) journey taken by Douglas Quaid in Paul Verhoeven’s TOTAL RECALL. We share our reactions to CAPTAIN MARVEL and its choice to center its narrative on an amnesiac hero, then bring in TOTAL RECALL to compare the two films’ approaches to their central ideas about memory, how they function as science-fiction stories, how they treat their female characters, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TOTAL RECALL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works cited:• Captain Marvel’s Cat Wrangler Explains How Goose Became a Flerken Hero on Set, by April Wolfe (Vulture.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra’s BIRDS OF PASSAGE, and Movie Premieres Unlimited (@NightOpening) • Keith: Robert Aldrich’s VERA CRUZ • Genevieve: Robbie Thompson and Niko Henrichon’s MEET THE SKRULLS comic, and FX’s WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS Outro Music: Smashing Pumpkins, “Today” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The newest MCU entry CAPTAIN MARVEL is, among other things, an action-packed science-fiction film that’s also interested in the question of how memory relates to identity. That, plus the film’s 1990s setting, put us in mind of another cosmic blockbuster from that era with similar ideas crackling beneath its action-movie surface: Paul Verhoeven’s TOTAL RECALL. In this half of our pairing of brawny-yet-brainy blockbusters, we debate how much TOTAL RECALL is asking us to interrogate the bloody action in which it revels, whether casting Arnold Schwarzenegger as a would-be ordinary Joe contributes to or detracts from the film’s self-awareness, and if there’s any validity to the reading that Quaid’s memory trip is all just a dream. Plus, some feedback inspired by our recent pairings, and pairings that could have been. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TOTAL RECALL, CAPTAIN MARVEL, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Jerry Goldsmith, "The Big Jump" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, Steven Soderbergh’s new Netflix digital experiment HIGH FLYING BIRD looks at what it takes for talented basketball players to survive outside of the professional leagues, with a high-stakes corporate heist in place of that film’s street-level hustle. This week, we talk over our reactions to HIGH FLYING BIRD’s story, dialogue, and in particular its iPhone cinematography, before bringing these two films together to look at how they each depict baller life outside the NBA, and how their respective cinematic styles buck sports-movie conventions. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, HIGH-FLYING BIRD, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Dean DeBlois’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD • Genevieve: Spike Lee’s PASSING STRANGE • Scott: Christian Petzold’s TRANSIT • Tasha: Christopher Caldwell and Zeke Earl’s PROSPECT and Lee Cronin’s THE HOLE IN THE GROUND Outro Music: Lupe Fiasco & Evidence, “Catch Me I’m Ballin’” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Soderbergh’s new quick-and-dirty Netflix film HIGH FLYING BIRD follows a basketball agent’s bold attempt to work outside the dictates of a professional league, a hustle that calls to mind the Venice Beach street-ball scene of Ron Shelton’s 1992 comedy WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP. In this half of our look at freelance ballers and the games they play on and off the court, we talk about what WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP has to say about the game, friendship, race, and how they intersect, and dig into how and why Shelton has so reliably put his own unique spin on the sports movie. Plus, some feedback inspired by our VELVET BUZZSAW episode and the Academy’s newly crowned Best Picture. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP, HIGH FLYING BIRD, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like Roger Corman’s A BUCKET OF BLOOD, the new Netflix release VELVET BUZZSAW, director Dan Gilroy’s follow-up to NIGHTCRAWLER, presents as an art-world satire wrapped around the bones of a horror movie, though it doesn’t deliver on the horror element until pretty deep into the film. We talk over whether that approach is a benefit or detriment to both sides of the horror-satire equation, and about whether Netflix’s current content model is a natural evolution of the “give ‘em what they want” strategy that guided Corman’s American International Pictures. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BUCKET OF BLOOD, VELVET BUZZSAW, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Steven Soderbergh’s HIGH FLYING BIRD • Keith: Samuel Fuller’s 40 GUNS • Tasha: Chiwetel Ejiofor’s THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND, and “At Netflix Who Wins When It’s Hollywood Vs. The Algorithm?,” by Shalini Ramachandran and Joe Flint (wsj.com) Outro Music: Talking Heads, “Artists Only” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by Dan Gilroy’s new VELVET BUZZSAW — and a listener suggestion — we’re looking back this week at another darkly humorous tweaking of the destructive world of high art and those who inhabit it: Roger Corman’s 1959 low-budget horror-comedy A BUCKET OF BLOOD. In this half of the pairing we talk about how Corman and screenwriter Charles B. Griffith balance the film’s tricky tone, how its obvious cheapness reflects Corman’s storied ability to work within restrictions, and what it’s like to watch iconic character actor Dick Miller in one of his rare starring turns. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on UNBREAKABLE and WIDOWS. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A BUCKET OF BLOOD, VELVET BUZZSAW, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Chris Smith’s new Netflix doc FYRE tells the story of huckster Billy McFarland and his doomed Fyre Festival as a compelling piece of meat-and-potatoes journalism that’s far from the verité of Smith’s portrait of Mark Borchardt in 1999’s AMERICAN MOVIE. But for all their surface differences, at heart FYRE is another movie about a charismatic leader who overpromises and under-delivers. After dissecting what FYRE shows us — and doesn’t show us — about McFarland’s history of scammy endeavors, we dig into what connects and separates Smith’s two protagonists in terms of their ambitions, their approaches, and their intent. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN MOVIE, FYRE, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes / Works cited: • Fyre Fest Fiasco GoFundMe (gofundme.com/exuma-point-fyre-fest-debt) • Fyre Fight: The Inside Story of How We Got Two Warring Fyre Festival Documentaries in the Same Week, by Scott Tobias (TheRinger.com) • Amateurs, Con Artists, and Vanishing Movie Stars: Inside the World of Chris Smith’s Documentaries, by Scott Tobias (TheRinger.com) • The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars, by Keith Phipps (Vulture.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: George Hill’s THE BIG HOUSE • Scott: Talal Derki’s OF FATHERS AND SONS • Genevieve: Jason Reitman’s TULLY Outro Music: Beth Ditto, “Fire” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Netflix documentary FYRE: THE GREATEST PARTY THAT NEVER HAPPENEDfinds director Chris Smith returning to a character type that defined his 1999 Sundance breakout AMERICAN MOVIE: the charismatic dreamer who overpromises and under-delivers. In AMERICAN MOVIE, that dreamer is one Mark Borchardt, an independent filmmaker from Milwaukee whose moviemaking dreams are continually stymied by circumstance, both external and of his own making. In this half of our Smith pairing, we revisit AMERICAN MOVIE and Borchardt to see how our perceptions of both have been changed by time and distance, debate what we’re to make of the film’s curious relationships, and analyze how Smith constructs a compelling story around an ambitious eccentric. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about AMERICAN MOVIE, FYRE, or anything else film-related by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: The Kinks, “Groovy Movies” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The evolution of a divisive auteur. We return once more to the Shyamalaniverse to dig into the culmination of the so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, the new GLASS, which purports to be the thrilling conclusion of a story that began with 2000’s UNBREAKABLE. Has divisive auteur M. Night Shyamalan discovered a new trick up his sleeve, or is GLASS and its climactic parking lot fight yet another example of the diminishing returns that have plagued his filmography? After breaking down our reactions to GLASS, we bring in UNBREAKABLE to talk over what the films reveal about Shyamalan’s evolution, or lack thereof, what they have to say about the idea of determination vs. free will, and whether Shyamalan’s female characters will ever catch a break. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Barry Jenkins’ IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK • Scott: Chris Smith’s COLLAPSE • Tasha: The Odd Splice podcast and Karyn Kusama’s DESTROYER and THE INVITATION Outro Music: Annie Lennox, “Walking on Broken Glass” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With M. Night Shyamalan’s new GLASS purporting to be the culmination of his so-called Eastrail 177 trilogy, we’re returning to the film that set it in motion, and that many rank among the divisive writer-director’s best: UNBREAKABLE. How does this brooding, stylistically bold superhero origin story look today, in a culture where both comics and their movie adaptations play a much more central role than they did in 2000? How do Shyamalan’s various auteur signatures, good and bad alike, play out in this film and his filmography more generally? We get into all that and more, with some bonus disagreement on Shyamalan’s breakthrough, THE SIXTH SENSE, and some feedback on our recent episodes on THE FAVOURITE and INTO THE SPIDERVERSE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UNBREAKABLE, GLASS, or any other corner of the Shyamalaniverse by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The remarkable new animated film SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE has us thwipping through the beloved web-slinger’s cinematic history to see how it culminated in a Miles Morales origin story that doubles as a giddy trip through Spidey-lore. After some collective swooning over SPIDERVERSE’s unique and eye-popping style and clever conceit, we put the new film in conversation with another top-tier Spider-man film, Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2, to see what the films share, and how they differ, in their respective handling of their various Spider-entities, their villains, and their setting. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SPIDER-MAN 2, INTO THE SPIDERVERSE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited • “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse directors on the film’s gorgeous style,” by Devon Maloney (TheVerge.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Phil Johnson and Rich Moore’s RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET and Jacques Audiard’s THE SISTERS BROTHERS • Keith: Jon S. Baird’s STAN & OLLIE • Tasha: Hirokazu Koreeda’s SHOPLIFTERS • Scott: Travis Knight’s BUMBLEBEE, George Tillman Jr.’s THE HATE U GIVE, patreon.com/gemko Outro Music: Chris Pine, “Spidey-Bells” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Spider-Man, the web-slinging comics creation of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, has made the leap to movie screens many times, but arguably never as successfully as in Sam Raimi’s 2004 sequel SPIDER-MAN 2 — or, perhaps, in the new animated entry INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. This week we’re putting two of Spidey’s cinematic high-water marks in conversation, beginning with a deep dive into why SPIDER-MAN 2 holds up so well, how its performances and action work together to honor its comic-book roots, and whether we prefer our web-shooters organic or engineered. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a reader question about whether different generations regard the film canon differently. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all Spider-men (or Spider-women, or Spider-pigs) by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our trip through Girl World makes its second stop with Yorgos Lanthimos’ new period piece THE FAVOURITE, to see how its portrayal of women battling for social advantage in Queen Anne’s court looks next to the more contemporary high-school machinations of 2004’s MEAN GIRLS. After sharing our reactions to THE FAVOURITE and pinpointing its most “Lanthimosian” characteristics, we pit these two films against each other to see which portrayal of the cruelty and backbiting of Girl World—and Guy World!—is ultimately more fetch. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Roy Del Ruth’s IT HAPPENED ON FIFTH AVENUE • Tasha: John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE • Scott: Michael Dweck’s THE LAST RACE • Genevieve: Wash Westmoreland’s COLETTE Outro Music: New Kids on the Block, “Favorite Girl” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Yorgos Lanthimos’ THE FAVOURITE is, in the words of star Rachel Weisz, a bit like a “high-stakes MEAN GIRLS”: It’s the story of a woman in power challenged by a fresh young outsider, only it plays out in the halls of court rather than the halls of a suburban high school. In this half of our pairing examining the power plays and back-biting of “Girl World,” we look back first at Mark Waters’s MEAN GIRLS to ask whether the much-quoted Tina Fey-penned comedy is still totally fetch, and which of its insights about teen girl-dom circa 2004 still resonate today. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a discussion of other pairings we considered for THE FAVOURITE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEAN GIRLS, THE FAVOURITE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Boomkat, “Rip Her to Shreds” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to the City of Big Shoulders circa the present day for a discussion of Steve McQueen's thrilling new WIDOWS, a Chicago-set heist movie that builds on a foundation of urban corruption in a manner reminiscent of Michael Mann's 1981 debut THIEF. After sharing our reactions to WIDOWS, we look at the two films in tandem to see how they portray their respective criminal leaders, how they incorporate the city's deeply entrenched corruption and cynicism, and how they each handle Scott's Beloved Violence (TM). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Sara Colengelo's THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER • Scott: Lazarus Lake's THE BARKLEY MARATHONS: THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG • Tasha: The Coen Bros.' THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS Outro Music: Sade, "The Big Unknown" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Director Steve McQueen’s new thriller WIDOWS is a Chicago-set heist film that puts to good use the city’s notorious corruption, which puts it in the company of Michael Mann’s stylish 1981 feature debut THIEF. In this half of our Windy City-centric pairing, we dig into THIEF and its strangely compelling criminal protagonist Frank, played by James Caan, to see what the film says about the kind of city Chicago was (and is), and the kind of filmmaker Mann would become. Plus, still more feedback on Bradley Cooper's version of A STAR IS BORN. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIEF, WIDOWS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Tangerine Dream, “Final Confrontation” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

A landmark first feature shot in the 90s but never seen until now. Where Orson Welles' THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND is the story of a movie finished years after its director let it go, Sandi Tan’s new SHIRKERS is the story of a film its director could never really let go. In this half of our discussion on lost films found, we share our reactions to Tan’s unusual film, before bringing in Welles' WIND to see what the two films share in their portraits of auteurism, their difficult production histories, and their respective movies-within-the-movie. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, SHIRKERS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Frederick Wiseman’s MONROVIA, INDIANA • Keith: Luca Guadagnino’s SUSPIRIA • Tasha: Christopher Caldwell and Zeek Earl’s PROSPECT Outro Music: Weish’s “Tick Tick” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Orson Welles' final film is finally finished. We’re switching things up this week to look at a pair of new films that are also old films — sort of — which together show that while making movies is always hard, some are harder than others. Orson Welles shot THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND decades ago, but the previously unfinished film is only seeing the light of day now, alongside a documentary about another kind of lost film, Sandi Tan’s SHIRKERS. In this first half, we dig in to why WIND is the loudest of the many ghosts haunting Welles’ filmography, debating whether it feels like a finished film, or even a good film, and to what degree it needs to be either. Plus, some feedback on would-be pairings past and our recent query on what a ‘90s STAR IS BORN would look like. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, SHIRKERS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Queen, “Ride The Wild Wind” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In the middle of 2018, Apple started cracking down on keyword-stuffing in podcast tags. My own show, The Audacity to Podcast, was even affected, and I've been tracking and testing other podcasts. Here's what I found!

TL;DR: Make the title tag the title, the author tag the author(s), and put descriptive text in descriptive fields. Don't try to game the system.

Background First, I'll admit I knew I was crossing this new and not completely defined line for what was allowed in podcast tags. Although I never encouraged stuffing or spamming your RSS tags with keywords, I had been giving the advice to include some keywords in the form of a sentence-style tagline as this can help with podcast SEO.

But when some unethical podcasters learned how Apple Podcasts / iTunes search works, they would abuse these tools and spam their RSS tags with keywords, hoping to boost their podcasts' findability.

For the whole of this blog post, only my own podcasts and those acceptable examples will be real podcasts. Unacceptable examples will be fictionalized. (But do the spammers really need the protection?)

How much is “spamming”? Because Apple Podcasts currently searches only the title and author tags (show-level and episode-level), some podcasts would fill those fields with extra keywords and descriptions. Here's a clear example of abuse (again, this is fictionalized but based on actual samples):

Title: My Awesome Podcast – Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Passive Income, Relationships, Bitcoin, Business, SEO, and Vanilla Cream Soda

Author: John Smith, expert entrepreneur who interviews and discusses marketing ideas from people like Pat Flynn, Seth Godin, Zig Ziglar and more. If Steve Jobs was still alive, he would be on this podcast

I'm going to assume you're among the intelligent and ethical podcasters and podcast-fans. So you can probably immediately recognize that this example is trying way too hard.

Without a doubt, if your podcast has a title or author tag that looks like the above, it will be rejected. This is happening immediately for new podcasts submitting through Podcasts Connect, and it's also happening to existing podcasts (read on for when that seems to happen).

The unacceptable gray area Perhaps a podcaster is trying to be ethical but also trying to make their podcast findable for relevant search terms. Thus, they may be more conservative with their keyword usage, even in line with what I used to teach.

Here's what my own podcast was before Apple rejected it.

Title: The Audacity to Podcast – how to launch and improve your podcast

Author: Daniel J. Lewis, podcasting industry expert and how to podcast teacher

I left my podcast like this when Apple started tightening the standards and I knew my podcast had the potential to be removed. But as you can see, I wasn't stuffing my tags with a list of keywords; I was giving my podcast and myself what I consider to be “taglines” or “subtitles.”

In the process of discussing things with the Apple Podcasts support team, I learned that while my title contained extraneous information, it was especially the author tag that got my podcast kicked out of Apple Podcasts.

What is the acceptable limit? If your own podcast has been rejected by Apple, you've probably seen this response verbatim from their support team.

Your show was rejected because the author field or title field contains extraneous information that should be included as part of its description (<description>, <itunes:subtitle>, or <itunes:summary>) tags.

While you might think this is a vague response from Apple, I think it's a clear enough definition of the limit. Not the “extraneous” part, but “information that should be included as part of its description.”

In my own podcast, “how to launch and improve your podcast” was not the title; it was a description. And “podcasting industry expert and how to podcast teacher” was not the creator of the podcast, it was a description of the creator.

Put in a profound way:

The title tag should be only the title.
The author tag should be only the author.
The descriptive tags should contain the descriptions.

“Duh,” right? I think Apple's standard does make total sense.

If you have multiple regular cohosts or there's a company or network behind the podcast, it would also be acceptable to include those names in the author tag. They are, after all, authors of the podcast! Thus, author tags like the following are acceptable:

Daniel J. Lewis | Noodle Mix Network
Mike Carruthers | Wondery
John Smith, Jane Doe, and Christian Wolff • ZZZ Accounting
Focus Features, Stitcher, Limina House & Jad Abumrad
Malcolm Gladwell / Panoply

In further correspondence with the Apple Podcasts support team, I learned there's a little more flexibility with the title, but not much. A quick look at the top 200 of all podcasts in Apple Podcasts gives several good examples of acceptable flexibility in titles.

Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc.

Dark Topic: A True Crime Podcast

Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked

Steve McNair: Fall of a Titan

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah: Ears Edition

Oprah’s Master Class: The Podcast

Let's Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast

UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America

Unsolved Murders: True Crime Stories

The Church of What's Happening Now: With Joey Coco Diaz

Death by Misadventure: True Paranormal Mystery

Fantasy Footballers – Fantasy Football Podcast

Dan Carlin's Hardcore History: Addendum

Notice that, contrary to some of the legalistic fear and advice, these titles do contain separators, such as colons (:) and hyphens (-). Some of these titles are even unnecessarily redundant with the host's name in the title! (So, yes, there's still some room for improvement, but I recommend not including the host's name in the title.)

Also, notice that none of these titles contain a tagline in the title. The extra text is either part of the unique branding (such as Snap Judgment Presents: Spooked) or a generic title of the genre (such as “true crime podcast”).

This leads me to believe my biggest concern for findability—fan podcasts—will still be allowed to include the title of the fandom inside the title of their podcast. Thus, I think titles such as the following would be acceptable and serve the need for podcast SEO.

ONCE – Unofficial Once Upon a Time podcast
Welcome to Level Seven: Agents of SHIELD fan podcast

What about podcast SEO? I was the first to thoroughly study, test, and create a complete course on SEO for Podcasters (major revisions planned for 2019!). And I know that the big reason podcasters want to get extra keywords in their tags is that this helps with search-engine optimization (SEO). As the thinking and my previous teaching went, the “My Awesome Podcast” show would be more findable for a topic like “marketing” if that keyword was in the title or author tags, since that's all that Apple Podcasts and iTunes currently search. (Most other podcast apps also search the show-level description tags.)

But in my example, “marketing” would be a description of the podcast, not a title. Thus, it shouldn't be in the title. So how else could the podcast be found for that and the other topics?

This is where other ethical podcast-SEO strategies need to take priority. Many of the top podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts/iTunes, include some information from individual episodes. Web searches especially prioritize the individual posts' information. Thus, if you want your podcast found for certain keywords that aren't part of your show-level title, I suggest making well-titled episodes about those topics. Using my fictionalized example, I could make episodes like the following.

Awesome Marketing Tips
Should You Invest in Bitcoin?
Why Vanilla Cream Soda Is the Best
Thinking of Becoming an Entrepreneur?
10 Passive Income Strategies
How to Make Relationships Last

You can even apply this to fan podcasts.

Top 10 MacGyver Episodes
The Best LA Dodgers Games
Why Watch Once Upon a Time?
Most Popular iPhone Models

These episode titles contain those target keywords, so they contribute to the overall show's findability for those same keywords. But even more importantly, these titles make a better experience for the audience by clearly communicating the subjects of each episode. So when you practice better SEO techniques, you're actually serving your audience better!

And that leads to a question you may be wondering.

Why does Apple suddenly want to stop the keyword-stuffing? I think Apple cares about cleaning up the podcasts in their catalog for one huge reason: the user experience. There seem to be three sides to this.

Cleaner listings Scrolling through a chart of top podcasts or a subscription list is actually a much better experience when the titles are clean, clear, and concise. I noticed this when I was looking through my own podcast subscriptions. The shorter, non-truncated titles were easier to read, the screen was less cluttered, and the titles actually stood out more!

My subscriptions went from something like this:

The Audacity to Podcast – how to launch and improve…

Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs: effective ways to…

Overcoming Fear: Everything you need to succeed in…

Everything about Everything: The podcast that covers…

To now something like this:

The Audacity to Podcast

Marketing Tips for Entrepreneurs

Overcoming Fear

Everything about Everything

The charts and feature lists in podcast apps are also a lot easier to read when titles and author tags are not truncated!

These cleaner listings really do make a better user experience!

Voice-based interactions Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant, and more vocal interaction technologies are entering our world through smartphones, smartwatches, smart speakers, entertainment systems, apps, automobiles, and more. These interactions are supposed to feel natural and not robotic, and I think this is a big reason Apple wants to clean up their podcast catalog.

A couple months ago, if you said, “Hey, Siri, subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast,” should would have responded, “Just to confirm, do you want to subscribe to the podcast ‘The Audacity to Podcast, how to launch and improve your podcast,' by Daniel J. Lewis, podcasting industry expert and how to podcast teacher?” Imagine if my title or author tags were longer!

But when the title and author tags are cleaned up, Siri's response isn't so overwhelming: “Just to confirm, do you want to subscribe to the podcast “The Audacity to Podcast” by Daniel J. Lewis?” Isn't that nicer?

And although this is probably not required on any voice assistant, can you imagine having to say the entire title correctly in order to subscribe to the podcast?

“Alexa, subscribe to My Awesome Podcast.”

“I found 200 podcasts by that name. Which one do you want?”

“Alexa, subscribe to My Awesome Podcast – Entrepreneurship, Marketing, and Business.”

“I'm sorry, I can't find a podcast by that name.”

“Alexa, subscribe to My Awesome Podcast – Entrepreneurship, Marketing, SEO, and Bitcoin.”

“I'm sorry, I can't find a podcast by that name.”

“Alexa, subscribe to My Awesome Podcast – Business, Relationships, and something about soda.”

“I'm sorry, I can't find a podcast by that name.”

“Alexa, throw me out the podbay doors.”

Cleaner tags make a much better spoken user experience!

Cracking down on spammers and cheaters At the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2018, James Boggs, a manager in the Apple Podcasts team, said:

We're continually refreshing and managing our directory, automatically retiring shows which become technically unavailable or those that run afoul of our directory content guidelines, such as those with spammy content or shows seeking to manipulate our top charts. Don't do that. Just please don't do that.

—James Boggs, WWDC 2018, session 501: “Introducing Podcast Analytics”

Content creators are already familiar search engines tweaking their algorithms to demote or blacklist sites using unethical tricks in attempts to cheat their way to the top of search results. I think James Boggs made it clear that Apple is seeking to do the same thing with Apple Podcasts, probably with the hopes to expose and reward those with high-quality content and a truly engaged audience the podcasts earned legitimately.

We can apply this to many other fields and quickly realize how annoying it is to be confronted by those who are trying way too hard to close the deal: used-car salespeople, politicians, and those overly zealous people at mall kiosks.

How is Apple finding podcasts to reject? The first place Apple is looking is at newly submitted podcasts. For years, we've been familiar with rules for podcasts in Apple Podcasts, such as avoiding profanity in the text or cover art, a valid podcast RSS feed, and some more requirements and guidelines. If a podcast doesn't meet these standards, it gets rejected before even entering the Apple Podcasts catalog.

But, like my own show, many existing and even long-running podcasts are being rejected (unfortunately, it seems to be without notice, too). What I can tell for sure, based on data from tracking tools I've developed, is that Apple is keeping a close eye on the top 200 of all podcasts and probably featured sections (“New & Noteworthy,” “What's Hot,” and such). I've been tracking several podcasts I thought would likely get rejected, some of them, including my own, have been going for months or even years. But in most cases, the very day they made it into the top 200 of all podcasts, they got rejected. I've seen this happen as quickly as three hours after breaking into the top 200.

And you may think this means your podcast is “safe” from ranking in the top 200, but the top charts in Apple Podcasts are based on new subscriptions. And as testing and data consistently confirm, it really doesn't take a lot of new subscribers in a day to push a podcast into the top 200. My own The Audacity to Podcast was sitting below the top 200 for months and then it must have been featured or mentioned somewhere else because it jumped overnight into the top 200—and I didn't do a single thing! It's even on a hiatus (this important episode being the exception)!

For clarification, I'm not referring to the top 200 within any of the 67 genres or categories in Apple Podcasts. Instead, I'm referring to the top 200 of all podcasts in Apple Podcasts. While I've seen several podcasts get away with spammy tags in the top 200 of those other genres, I doubt it will be long before Apple expands their scope to police more areas.

It also seems Apple is auditing podcasts that change their show-level information, such as the title, author tag, description, or cover art.

Beyond that, there could be some other algorithms to help surface suspected podcasts, such as monitoring shows with heavy activity or recently published episodes.

And I think what catches Apple's attention might not be any kind of separator (like a colon, pipe, or dash), but the length of the title and author tags. That's not to say something long will get kicked, but something long might be more likely to catch Apple's attention, so simply omitting a separator is not adequate protection.

I've seen podcasts kicked that were abusing only one tag, but not both.

What happens if your podcast is rejected? Maybe you didn't fix your podcast in time, or you want to know what the risk is. Here's what I've observed.

New podcasts: fix and resubmit If you are submitting a new podcast to Apple through Podcasts Connect and it gets rejected, the best thing to do is clean up your tags, get a new feed URL (even if by simply changing one character or using a service like Podcast Mirror), and then submit that new feed URL.

Because this has the possibility of requiring you to change your feed URL, I recommend submitting to Apple before submitting anywhere else. That way, you'll know you have an acceptable feed and won't have to mess with maintaining multiple URLs or switching other destinations.

Apple may notify you of the rejection, or you may have to log in to Podcasts Connect to check on the status of your submission in order to know that your podcast was rejected.

Existing podcasts: fix and contact Apple If your show was already in the Apple Podcasts catalog and it got rejected, make the changes in your podcast feed and then contact Apple through Podcasts Connect. Ensure your changes are visible in your feed and tell Apple that you already corrected the issue. Then ask for your podcast to be reinstated with its ratings, rankings, and reviews intact.

The more information you can provide Apple, and the less back-and-forth you initiate, the quicker you can get your podcast restored.

I haven't heard from any podcasters who were notified by Apple that their podcasts were kicked out. You could check for yourself on a regular basis if you're walking that ethical line, or you'll soon be able to use a special tool I'm creating to be notified if there's a problem. Or, simply don't do bad things and then you probably won't have to worry about it!

Will the rejection affect existing subscribers? This was a big concern of mine and I shared a bunch of in-depth details inside Podcasters' Society. But I'm pleased and relieved to confirm that no, your existing subscribers will not be affected.

This is thanks to the decentralized nature of podcasting. With only a few exceptions (Spotify, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, and maybe some others), podcast apps will subscribe people directly to a podcast's RSS feed. This is even the case with Apple Podcasts.

I did have a concern over how Apple Podcasts behaves with their mirror URLs (such as https://pcr.apple.com/id[ID_NUMBER]), but through testing, I've confirmed that even if the mirror URL is broken (as happens when Apple removes a podcast from their catalog), your subscribers are still connected directly to your RSS feed.

Thus, even if your podcast is removed from Apple Podcasts (or other podcast apps, with only those few exceptions), your subscribers can continue to access your RSS feed and download your new and past episodes.

There is a warning with this. If you submitted the mirror URL Apple gave you (https://pcr.apple.com/id[ID_NUMBER]) to any other apps or directories, a rejection from Apple will disconnect you from your audience. But this is only if you submitted that mirror URL to other places or linked to it, which I and other podcasting experts have advised against and I doubt many (if any) podcasters have done anyway. We also urge you to subscribe to your own podcast(s) in Apple Podcasts or iTunes and in your preferred podcast app if you use something other than Apple's apps. This will not only confirm for you that your podcast is still available to subscribers, but it also lets you see that your latest episode downloads even when it's not yet visible in Apple's catalog.

Your podcast in other apps There are many other popular podcast apps (such as Overcast) using the iTunes Search API. This allows those other apps to not have to maintain their own podcast catalog with creator submissions, but to instead search the most popular catalog to which most podcasters have already submitted their shows.

When your podcast is rejected from Apple Podcasts, it also gets removed from the iTunes Search API. This makes your podcast not findable in those other apps, and thus makes it much harder for people to subscribe to your podcast in those same apps. (Any good podcast app will still allow manual subscriptions by pasting a podcast RSS feed URL, but that's a cumbersome process.)

Like Apple Podcasts and iTunes, no longer being findable affects potential new subscribers but not your current audience.

What you need to do NOW Yes, I think you should make some changes immediately.

Don't wait Please don't wait for Apple's “ban-hammer” to come down on your podcast! You may think your podcast is safe because it's never “at risk” for being a top-200 podcast. You may think it's safe because you removed separator characters from the <title> or <itunes:author> tags. But it really could be any moment that your podcast catches Apple's auditing attention and gets kicked out of Apple Podcasts and iTunes.
Clean up your show title Make your podcast title tag contain only the title. If you host a fan podcast, go ahead and include one title of the object of your fandom, but still keep it as clean as possible. For example, don't make it something like, “ONCE – Unofficial Once Upon a Time fan podcast with theories, reviews, interviews, and your feedback,” make it simple, “ONCE – Unofficial Once Upon a Time podcast.”
Clean up your author tag Who creates, owns, and hosts your podcast? That's what should be in the author tag. There should be only names in there: no titles, no taglines, no keywords. It's okay to have multiple names of regular cohosts, but don't include the names of guests, mentors, or inspirations.
Improve your episode titles Like show-level titles, your episode titles need to be clean and not stuffed with keywords. But episode titles are easier to work with because they can be far more specific and descriptive than a show title can be.

So please don't title your episodes with only bland numbers or dates. Be descriptive and compelling, especially for topics people might be searching for.

And don't try to stuff your episode titles, either! Remove extraneous text that belongs in other places, like the show-level title or repetitive (and thus probably useless) text.

Make episodes to cover your keywords Lastly, if you don't already have episodes about those topics you wanted to stuff in your other podcast tags, start making those episodes now! Like my previous tip, ensure these titles are clear, concise, and compelling.

Following these best practices will help ensure podcast apps don't kick out your show. And these principles help you build a stronger brand, and help make a better experience for your audience!

View Details

Bradley Cooper’s debut directorial feature A STAR IS BORN is the fourth film to bear that title, and the second to translate this Hollywood tale of rising and falling fame to the music industry. And much like George Cukor’s 1954 version starring Judy Garland, it’s a fantastic showcase for its leading lady, played this time around by Lady Gaga as an aspiring songwriter to Bradley Cooper’s fading rock god. In bringing this oft-told tale to the screen, Cooper’s version follows most of of the broad strokes of its predecessors — but does it do enough to distinguish itself among its lineage? We talk it over before getting into the connections between Cooper and Cukor’s STARS, from their respective approaches to musical performance to their messy gender dynamics. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all versions of A STAR IS BORN by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited • “How the Media Would Have Covered the Events of A Star Is Born,” by Nate Jones (Vulture.com) • “A Star Is Born Makes a Romance of Rock’s Most Damaging Myths,” by Sam Adams (Slate.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: George Cukor’s WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? • Keith: Elizabeth Chomko’s WHAT THEY HAD • Tasha: Joseph Kahn’s BODIED • Scott: Ol Parker’s MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN Outro Music: Lady Gaga, “La Vie En Rose” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Bradley Cooper’s new A STAR IS BORN remake is a current-day spin on a Hollywood fable that’s been around since the 1930s, about a struggling male star and the young ingenue he pushes toward fame. But its music-industry setting makes it a particularly apt match for George Cukor’s 1954 musical spin on the tale, starring a career-redefining Judy Garland as the titular star to James Mason’s fading one. In this half of our two-part discussion of the films, we dig into the legend and legacy of Cukor’s STAR, piece together what the film lost and gained via studio meddling and reconstruction, and debate the nature of the story’s central tragedy. Plus, by listener request, we give some of our recommendations for first-time film festival-goers. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about any and all of Hollywood’s takes on A STAR IS BORN by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Judy Garland, “Born In A Trunk” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Robert Redford says that his starring role in David Lowery’s new THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN will be his final film performance, and if that turns out to be the case, it is in many ways an ideal bookend to Redford’s breakout role in the classic 1969 Western BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. In this second half of our Redford pairing, we talk over the many echoes between OLD MAN and BUTCH CASSIDY, from their respective views on a life of crime and methods of robbery, to how each treats their central cad’s trusting love interest. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Drew Goddard’s BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE • Scott: The Ringer’s HALLOWEEN UNMASKED podcast, Tamara Jenkins’ PRIVATE LIFE • Keith: Robert Siegel’s CRUISE and Phil Alden Robinson’s SNEAKERS Outro Music: Bonnie “Prince” Billy, “Easy Does It” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

David Lowery’s new THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN draws purposely and purposefully on the legacy of Robert Redford, which makes it a perfect bookend to Redford’s star-making turn in George Roy Hill’s elegiac 1969 blockbuster BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. In this first half of our Redford double feature, we dive into that earlier film’s legacy, considering its place in the Western tradition, its quirky yet widely appealing tone, and the complimentary but very different performances of Redford and his co-star, Paul Newman. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on MALCOLM X and BLACKKKLANSMAN. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: BJ Thomas, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Is FAHRENHEIT 11/9, Michael Moore’s latest essay-film about the state of the nation under Trump, a natural extension of the techniques used in his 1989 debut ROGER & ME, or a worst-case-scenario evolution of Moore’s filmmaking style? We try to wrap our heads around that question as we put the two films in conversation, looking at what they tell us about the figure Moore has become, how he’s affected the development of first-person documentary, and whether his approach plays in 2018’s heightened political climate. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ROGER & ME, FAHRENHEIT 11/9, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Alan J. Pakula’s STARTING OVER • Genevieve: Andrew Bujalski’s SUPPORT THE GIRLS • Scott: Robert Greene’s BISBEE ’17 Outro Music: K’naan, “With God On Our Side” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With Michael Moore’s latest provocation, FAHRENHEIT 11/9, in theaters, we’re returning to the liberal gadfly’s cinematic origins: 1989’s ROGER & ME, a first-person documentary about the declining fortunes of Moore’s hometown of Flint, Michigan, which makes a notable return appearance in his latest film. In this half of the pairing, we consider the impact of Michael Moore, for better and worse, on the culture and documentary form alike, and whether the criticisms leveled at the film upon its release have grown more or less relevant over time. Plus, we take a bite out of the feedback we received on our recent mega-shark double feature. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ROGER & ME, FAHRENHEIT 11/9, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: The Beach Boys, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Though BLACKKKLANSMAN is, like MALCOLM X, drawn from real life, Spike Lee’s newest film takes more liberties in telling its ostensibly true story (something that’s drawn criticism from some corners). And also like MALCOLM X, it’s a film set in the past that’s commenting, often directly, on the present. Together the two films give us a lot to talk about, from their respective uses of speechmaking and divided identities, to their perspectives on white allies. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MALCOLM X, BLACKKKLANSMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • Boots Riley’s thoughts on Blackkklansman: twitter.com/BootsRiley/status/1030575674447212544 Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Colin Minihan’s WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE • Scott: Bing Liu’s MINDING THE GAP • Genevieve: Susan Johnson’s TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE • Keith: Steve Mitchell’s KING COHEN: THE WILD WORLD OF FILMMAKER LARRY COHEN Outro Music: Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose’s “Too Late To Turn Back Now” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Spike Lee’s new BLACKKKLANSMAN is an urgent call to look to the past to understand the present, an approach it shares with many of Lee’s films, though perhaps none as strongly as his 1992 epic biopic MALCOLM X. The films revisit two different chapters in 20th-century history, and star two different members of the Washington family — Denzel and his son, John David — but both are pure Lee in both their narrative motivations and their filmmaking technique. In this half, we consider what makes MALCOLM X the rare cradle-to-grave biopic that works, how Lee finds the dynamism in near-constant speechmaking, and whether Angela Bassett elevates a thankless role, or simply channels its innate nuance. Plus, some feedback asking our two less confrontational co-hosts to step up with their unpopular opinions. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MALCOLM X, BLACKKKLANSMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Sam Cooke, “A Change Is Gonna Come” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Jon Turteltaub’s new late-summer sharkstravaganza THE MEG isn’t shy about the debt it owes to Steven Spielberg’s JAWS, nor about its clear conception as an international co-production partially aimed at the Chinese market. We discuss whether those qualities end up being an asset or a liability in our discussion of THE MEG, before bringing in JAWS to examine how the shark movie has progressed, and not, from 1975 through the current day. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JAWS, THE MEG, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “The 20-year journey of The Meg, the movie the internet wouldn’t let die,” by Brian Raftery (Wired.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: byNWR.com • Genevieve: Lenny Abrahamson’s THE LITTLE STRANGER • Tasha: Jon M. Chu’s CRAZY RICH ASIANS Outro Music: Lady Gaga, “Teeth” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new Jason Statham late-summer vehicle THE MEG, like so many middling shark movies before it, can trace its lineage directly to the 1975 film that made us afraid to go into the water: Steven Spielberg’s JAWS. In this half of our sharktastic discussion, we’re diving in (cautiously) to what your NPS crew considers a perfect movie, considering what gives JAWS its hidden depths, what it told us about the director Spielberg would become, and whether its impact on the blockbuster model is a net positive for movies. Plus, some feedback on our recent MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and SORRY TO BOTHER YOU episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JAWS, THE MEG, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • “The great lost Jaws rip-off” by Keith Phipps • “The men, monsters, and troubled waters of Jaws” by Noel Murray, Keith Phipps, Nathan Rabin, Tasha Robinson, and Scott Tobias Outro Music: Dwight Twilley Band, “Shark” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With its latest entry FALLOUT, the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise has solidified its evolution from the spy thriller Brian De Palma made in 1996 into the setpiece-centric, Tom Cruise-endangering action series we know it as today. In this half of our franchise-spanning conversation, we look at what FALLOUT, helmed by first-time returning director Christopher McQuarrie, brings to the table in terms of stakes-raising action and plot. Then we pull at the many strings connecting the two ends of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise, most notably its seemingly ageless star, Tom Cruise, as well as its treatment of Ethan Hunt’s associates, both professional and romantic. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE, give or take a FALLOUT, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • Get Ready for Mission: Impossible—Fallout With This Recap of the Entire Series (From Michelle Monaghan’s Character’s Perspective) by Matthew Dessem (Slate.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Guy Richie’s THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. • Keith: Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail’s TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES • Genevieve: Carlos Lopez Estrada’s BLINDSPOTTING • Scott: Bo Burnham’s EIGTH GRADE Outro Music: Lorne Balfe, “Mission: Accomplished” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE — FALLOUT is the latest entry in a franchise that’s become a showpiece for Tom Cruise-endangering stunts and practical effects, but the surprisingly enduring action series began as something more akin to a spy thriller built around a handful of Hitchcockian setpieces. In this half of our franchise-spanning pairing, we look back at 1996’s MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, in which Brian De Palma helped shape what the series would become, while also exerting his own iconoclastic style on the film. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on HEREDITARY and DON’T LOOK NOW. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, give or take a FALLOUT, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: Pulp, “I Spy” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

As with Robert Downey Sr.’s 1969 satirical oddity PUTNEY SWOPE, there’s a lot going on in Boots Riley’s new SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, which takes a similar anything-goes approach to the intersection of race and capitalism. In the second part of our “white voice” double feature, we dig into the anti-capitalist philosophy that unites Riley’s work and keeps SORRY TO BOTHER YOU on the rails, then we look at how the two films compare in their views of race and capitalism, and their use of satire and surrealism. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PUTNEY SWOPE, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Works Cited: • “Why Sorry To Bother You director Boots Riley thinks artists should be activists” by Alissa Wilkinson (Vox.com) Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: The Coup’s SORRY TO BOTHER YOU and TuneYards’ I CAN FEEL YOU CREEP INTO MY PRIVATE LIFE • Scott: Lynn Ramsay’s YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE • Keith: Lewis Teague’s CUJO • Tasha: Federico D’Allesandro’s TAU Outro Music: The Coup f/ Lakeith Stanfield, “OYAHYTT” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Rapper-director Boots Riley has said he hadn’t seen Robert Downey Sr.’s 1969 satirical comedy PUTNEY SWOPE when he made the buzzy new SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, but the films share so much on both a surface level (white men providing the literal voices of black characters) and deeper thematic ones (concerns about capitalism, race, and what it might take to burn down an unjust system) that we had to put them in conversation with each other. In this half, we try to make sense of the fascinating mess that is PUTNEY SWOPE, considering how it works as both satire and comedy, and whether Downey’s choice to overdub his black title character’s voice with his own is an asset or a liability. Plus, feedback on our recent INCREDIBLES 2/GOLDFINGER episodes and some general thoughts on auteur theory and film categorization. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PUTNEY SWOPE, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ari Aster’s debut feature HEREDITARY carries over the themes of grief, guilt, and extrasensory perception found in Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 shocker DON’T LOOK NOW, another emotionally grueling story about parents wrestling with loss. After discussing our sometimes-visceral reactions to Aster’s film, we put these two movies in conversation with each other, talking over their use of shock tactics, the supernatural, and a memorable setting. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DON’T LOOK NOW, HEREDITARY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Works Cited: • "How Hereditary composer Colin Stetson made the movie 'feel evil,'" by Bryan Bishop (The Verge) • "The biggest shock in Hereditary was almost much worse," by Bryan Bishop (The Verge) Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: “How Pixar’s Open Sexism Ruined My Dream Job” by Cassandar Smolcic (Variety/Medium) and Debra Granik’s LEAVE NO TRACE • Scott: Tim Wardle’s THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS • Keith: Dave Itzkoff’s ROBIN and Marina Zenovich’s ROBIN WILLIAMS: COME INSIDE MY MIND Outro Music: The Muppets, “Pass It On” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ari Aster’s breakout debut HEREDITARY draws on a fair number of horror touchpoints, but it’s linked by its themes of parental grief and psychic distress to another terrifying film about the lingering impact of a death in the family: Nicolas Roeg’s form-busting 1973 thriller DON’T LOOK NOW. In this half focused on Roeg’s film, we discuss why the film’s intensity of emotion is integral to its horror, what makes its shadowy vision of Venice so unnerving, and what's behind the film’s famously graphic sex scene. Plus, some feedback on our recent episode on GOLDFINGER and INCREDIBLES 2. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DON’T LOOK NOW, HEREDITARY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Don’t Look Now” by Torch Song Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

On the surface, Brad Bird’s new animated family adventure INCREDIBLES 2 wouldn’t seem to have a lot in common with Guy Hamilton’s swingin’ 1964 James Bond entry GOLDFINGER, but superhero films and spy movies are actually pretty closely thematically related, as we discover in our comparison of the two films. After discussing our reactions to INCREDIBLES 2, a follow-up to what one of us calls “a perfect movie,” we look at how these two very different versions of 1960s heroism compare in their evolution (and establishment) of familiar tropes, in their respective wish-fulfillment fantasies, and in how they handle extraordinary individuals with a license to kill. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GOLDFINGER, INCREDIBLES 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: The Science Behind Pixar exhibit • Tasha: David Lynch and Kristine McKenna’s ROOM TO DREAM • Keith: Sidney J. Furie’s THE IPCRESS FILE Outro Music: Michael Giacchino, “Pow! Pow! Pow! - Mr. Incredible’s Theme” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

This week on the podcast, it’s supervillains, secretive heroes, and slippery schemes as we pair Brad Bird’s new, long-delayed INCREDIBLES 2 with arguably the best iteration of one of Bird’s oft-cited reference points — James Bond — the third film in the Bond franchise, 1964’s GOLDFINGER. In this Bond-centric first half, we discuss how GOLDFINGER helped codify the 007 we know so well today, how its aspirational qualities and gender politics have aged, and how playing Bond shapes an actor’s subsequent career. Plus, some (semi-spoiler-y) feedback on our recent episode on FIRST REFORMED. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GOLDFINGER, INCREDIBLES 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Goldfinger” by Shirley Bassey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our examination of Paul Schrader’s fixation with “God’s Lonely Man” continues with the critic-turned-screenwriter-turned-director’s 20th film, the searing and excellent FIRST REFORMED, which shares more in common with the Schrader-scripted TAXI DRIVER than just a lonely male protagonist. After examining our reactions to FIRST REFORMED — including its bold ending — we look at how these two films make use of their female characters and the idea of the male savior, what they have to say about societal values and decline, and their conspicuous use of voiceover. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TAXI DRIVER, FIRST REFORMED, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Alex Richanbach’s IBIZA • Scott: Baltasar Kormakur’s ADRIFT • Keith: THE ATOMIC CAFE and THE VALLEY OF GWANGI Works cited: “Let’s talk about the ending of First Reformed,” by Kevin Lincoln (Vulture.com) Outro Music: Iris Dement, “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Paul Schrader’s excellent, difficult new film FIRST REFORMED inspires us to travel back to Schrader’s first screenwriting collaboration with Martin Scorsese and grapple with TAXI DRIVER, to see how Schrader’s vision of “God’s Lonely Man” first graced movie screens. In this first half focusing on TAXI DRIVER, we discuss the techniques Scorsese uses to force us into Travis Bickle’s sick mind, and consider what effect that approach has had on the reception and legacy of this “dangerous” film. Plus, some feedback on our recent episode on THE RIDER, and another question that asks us to ponder the state of STAR WARS. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TAXI DRIVER, FIRST REFORMED, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Late For The Sky” by Jackson Browne Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In part two of our comparison of two part twos, we dig into the meta magic that animates both GREMLINS 2 and DEADPOOL 2 (and get a little meta ourselves in the process). After discussing what works and doesn’t in DEADPOOL 2, a film with a lot that works and a lot that doesn’t, we look at how these two studio sequels tap into similar but different veins of self-aware and reference-based humor, how they play with the restrictions and perks of studio filmmaking, and how to break the fourth wall without losing the audience. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GREMLINS 2, DEADPOOL 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Taika Waititi’s HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE and John Cameron Mitchell’s HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES• Genevieve: Agnes Varda and JR’s FACES PLACES• Keith: Christopher Nolan’s “unrestored” 70mm 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and Jennifer Fox’s THE TALE• Scott: Joe Dante’s HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD, James Schamus’s INDIGNATION, and John Boorman’s QUEEN & COUNTRY Outro Music: Celine Dion f/Deadpool, “Ashes” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new DEADPOOL 2 shares a self-aware sensibility and anarchic spirit with Joe Dante’s GREMLINS 2: THE NEW BATCH, which saw the director returning reluctantly to the franchise and wreaking havoc on everything that had made it a hit, up to and including the much-loved (by everyone but Dante) mogwai Gizmo. That approach works far better for some of us that others, and so we spend much of the first half of this pairing debating whether GREMLINS 2 is a funny movie, a good movie, both — or neither. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes pairing X2 and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GREMLINS 2, DEADPOOL 2, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “New York, New York,” by Tony Randall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR is the culmination of a decade of Marvel moviemaking, but much of the mechanics of this massive superteam machine can be traced back further, to what was once the biggest teamup of the modern superhero era, 2002’s X2: X-MEN UNITED. After we spend some time helping Scott work out his emotions surrounding INFINITY WAR, we dive into the connections between these two films, including their mass-extinction plots, their lazily conceived romantic pairings, and their respective fealty to their comics source material. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about X2, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Paul King’s PADDINGTON 2• Scott: Tony Zierra’s FILMWORKER• Tasha: Julia Hart’s FAST COLOR• Keith: Mike Flanagan’s HUSH Outro Music: Infinity War Cast, “The Marvel Bunch” (via The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The Russo Brothers’ new, massive AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR may exist in a different cinematic universe than Bryan Singer’s 2003 sequel X2: X-MEN UNITED, but the two films use a lot of the same tricks to bring Marvel's four-color heroes to a live-action setting, and both function as middle chapters in a bigger ongoing saga. In this half of the pairing, we consider how X2’s superteam dynamics look after 15 years of subsequent superhero-movie evolution, dig into the malleability of the mutant metaphor, and wonder whether the morality of mutant freedom is as cut-and-dry as that metaphor suggests. Plus, feedback on some recent episodes and a discussion of our thought process around superhero-movie pairings. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about X2, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “X-Men Opening Theme” by Ron Wasserman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Chloe Zhao’s THE RIDER’s naturalistic synthesis of documentary and narrative has some roots in Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 Iranian classic CLOSE-UP, but with a very different story to tell, about a very different part of the world. After discussing what made The Rider one of our favorite films of the year so far, we look at how these two films both dance on the line separating fact and fiction, through their use of non-actors, their respective sense of place, and their preoccupation with identity. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLOSE-UP, THE RIDER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Kay Cannon’s BLOCKERS • Scott: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s THE ENDLESS • Keith: Francois Truffaut’s TWO ENGLISH GIRLS and MISSISSIPPI MERMAID Outro Music: Woody Guthrie, “Gamblin’ Man” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Chloe Zhao’s new THE RIDER lives in the space between the real world and a fictional world that was memorably carved out by Abbas Kiarostami’s 1990 classic CLOSE-UP, which blends documentary and narrative to find a third approach that draws on the strengths of both while committing to neither. In this half of the comparison, we dig into what makes CLOSE-UP tick, where it fits into a Western understanding of Iranian cinema, and how Kiarostami calls attention to the artificiality of filmmaking. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes on CHICKEN RUN and ISLE OF DOGS. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLOSE-UP, THE RIDER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We continue our examination of stop-motion animals conspiring to escape captivity by bringing in ISLE OF DOGS, Wes Anderson’s new Japan-set homage/provocation, to see how it stacks up against Aardman Animations’ 2000 feature CHICKEN RUN. After weighing the controversy that’s arisen around ISLE OF DOGS against our own reactions to the film, we dig into what unites these two tonally distinct features, from their deployment of cinematic reference points to their ideas about human/animal interaction to their respective death machines. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHICKEN RUN, ISLE OF DOGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Sergio G. Sanchez’s MARROWBONE• Keith: Plane viewing via the Starz app• Genevieve: Jeff Baena’s THE LITTLE HOURS• Scott: Christian Nemescu’s CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ SHOW NOTES: Works Cited:• “Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’ is often captivating, but cultural sensitivity gets lost in translation” by Justin Chang (latimes.com)• “Orientalism Is Alive And Well In American Cinema” by Allison Willmore (buzzfeed.com)• “Unpacking the Akira Kurosawa References in Isle of Dogs” by Charles Bramesco (vulture.com)• “Wes Anderson Explains Hayao Miyazaki’s Influence on ‘Isle of Dogs’” by Zack Sharf (indiewire.com)• “Stream These 12 Great Films From Romania” by Scott Tobias (nytimes.com) Outro Music: Cat Stevens, “I Love My Dog” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Is there such a thing as “auteurist animation”? That’s a question that unites this week’s pairing, which looks at two highly collaborative stop-motion animated films that nonetheless bear the fingerprints of a singular filmmaking presence: Wes Anderson’s new ISLE OF DOGS and Aardman Animations’ 2000 feature CHICKEN RUN, co-directed by Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park. In this half of the pairing we focus on CHICKEN RUN, digging into what exactly gives it that “Aardman Touch,” whether its storyline reflects its status as a US-Britain co-production, and the advantages of silicone over plasticine when it comes to chicken puppets. Plus, feedback on our recent episodes on TRON and READY PLAYER ONE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CHICKEN RUN, ISLE OF DOGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. SHOW NOTES: Works Cited: “Home is a reminder that DreamWorks Animation needs an actual identity” by Tasha Robinson (thedissolve.com) Outro music: “Flip, Flop, and Fly” by Ellis Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Lisberger’s groundbreaking live-action Disney film TRON is one of the few 1980s properties that doesn’t get explicitly referenced in Steven Spielberg’s new adaptation of Ernest Cline’s novel READY PLAYER ONE, but the earlier film makes up a significant portion of RP1’s source code. After discussing our reactions to READY PLAYER ONE, and hashing out what made Cline’s novel become so strangely controversial, we look at what connects and distinguishes these two films about life inside a video game, from their attitudes about human/computer relationships to how they approach the idea of corporate control. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TRON, READY PLAYER ONE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Anders Walter’s I KILL GIANTS• Scott: Andrew Haigh’s LEAN ON PETE• Tasha: Rich Moore’s WRECK-IT RALPH SHOW NOTES: Works Cited:• “The Ready Player One Backlash, Explained” by Constance Grady (Vox.com)• “Ready Player One is a truly awful book. I’m really looking forward to the movie” by Todd VanDerWerff (Vox.com)• “Ernest Cline: Ready Player One” (review) by Kevin McFarland (AVClub.com)• Ernest Cline’s “Ultraman is Airwolf” (ErnestCline.com)• “Here are all the references in Ready Player One” by Abraham Riesman (Vulture.com)• “I Kill Giants director Anders Walter on making a likable fantasy with a hateful protagonist” by Tasha Robinson (TheVerge.com)• “Our film critic and the director of a movie he hated sat down and tried to work out their differences” by David Ehrlich (Indiewire.com) Outro Music: Rush, “2112 (The Temples of Syrnix)” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Steven Spielberg’s new READY PLAYER ONE turns videogaming into both a fantasy adventure and a meta-narrative about adventure fantasies, a premise that feels directly inspired — and given Ernest Cline’s source novel, almost certainly is — by Steven Lisberger’s 1982 Disney oddity TRON. Before digging into what connects the two films, we dive into TRON’s glow-y, rudimentarily CGI-ed mainframe to consider the bits and bytes that drive this fascinatingly flawed film, from its confusing religious undertones (overtones?) to its strange real world/virtual world disconnect. Plus, we continue to wade through the ocean of feedback on our episodes pairing STALKER and ANNIHILATION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TRON, READY PLAYER ONE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Only Solutions” by Journey (TRON OST) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like H.G. Clouzot’s DIABOLIQUE, Cory Finley’s directorial debut THOROUGHBREDS develops around a plot between two women who enter into a pact to murder a purely malevolent man, but to much different effect. After discussing our reactions to THOROUGHBREDS’ hyper-formal style and disconcerting ending, we dig into how the two films compare and contrast in terms of their many stylistic flourishes, their motivations for murder, and their respective killer conspiracies. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DIABOLIQUE, THOROUGHBREDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea’s CLOUZOT’S INFERNO• Genevieve: Anna Deavere Smith and Kristi Zea’s NOTES FROM THE FIELD• Scott: Clarence Brown’s INTRUDER IN THE DUST Outro Music: The Sweet Hurt, “All The Things” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Cory Finley’s stylish directorial debut THOROUGHBREDS follows an unlikely pairing of women as they endeavor to kill a domineering man in their life, a setup reminiscent of H.G. Clouzot’s classic 1955 shocker DIABOLIQUE, which took that premise and then applied one of cinema’s all-time greatest twists. In this half of our pairing, we dig deep into DIABOLIQUE, discussing whether its legendary ending is “spoiler-proof,” admiring the skill with which Clouzot keeps viewers off their guard (and how it differs from the approach of Clouzot’s contemporary, Alfred Hitchcock), and debating what makes for a believable on-screen drowning. Plus, a glimpse at the mountain of feedback we received on our episodes pairing STALKER and ANNIHILATION. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about DIABOLIQUE, THOROUGHBREDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Deadly Valentine” by Charlotte Gainsbourg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We take another science-fiction-adjacent journey into the unknown via Alex Garland’s new ANNIHILATION, a distinctive cinematic vision that nonetheless calls back to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 film STALKER in terms of its structure and filmmaking — if not quite the specifics of its dreamlike narrative and themes. After discussing what puzzled and delighted us about ANNIHILATION, we discuss what connects it to STALKER, and how both challenge viewers in their own way. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STALKER, ANNIHILATION, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman’s LOVING VINCENT• Tasha: Duncan Jones’ MOON• Keith: Saul Bass’ PHASE IV• Scott: Travis Wilkerson’s DID YOU WONDER WHO FIRED THE GUN? SHOW NOTES:Works Cited:• “So, the lady or the tiger? 28 stories that make the audience choose the ending” by Tasha Robinson et al (The A.V. Club) • “The original scripted ending of Annihilation sounds better” by Tasha Robinson (The Verge)• “Annihilation Co-Composer Ben Salisbury Explains How That Weird Little Melody Wound Up in the Film’s Trailer” by Marissa Matinelli (Slate.com)• Instagram account @petrifiedrainbow Outro Music: Crosby, Stills & Nash “Helplessly Hoping” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Alex Garland’s new ANNIHILATION is a loose adaptation of a novel, but its premise, themes, and style give it just as strong a connection to Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 philosophical science fiction film STALKER. In this half of the pairing, we venture into STALKER’s mysterious Zone on a search for meaning and metaphor within an enigmatic cinematic landscape that’s as beguiling as it is intimidating. Plus, feedback on some recent episodes that were, and episodes that might have been. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STALKER, ANNIHILATION, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Meditation” by Eduard Artemiev Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to the deep, dark waters of the id to unpack what SHAPE OF WATER director Guillermo Del Toro saw in Jack Arnold’s 1954 horror-sci-fi classic CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON that inspired him to literalize a relationship between a woman and a fish-man. After analyzing the range of reactions we had toward Del Toro’s film and debating whether it is a “snowglobe movie,” we plunge into the connections that link the two films, from the obvious character analogs to their not-so-obvious shared nostalgia. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, SHAPE OF WATER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Joe Dante’s MATINEE • Scott: William Wyler’s MRS. MINIVER • Tasha: Agnieszka Smoczynska’s THE LURE Outro Music: Sally Hawkins, “You’ll Never Know” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Guillermo Del Toro has made clear that his new THE SHAPE OF WATER stems directly from his obsession with 1954’s THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, and his desire to see the “romance” between the monster and leading lady work out. We unpack that desire by revisiting Jack Arnold’s horror-sci-fi classic, to consider the film’s place in the Universal Monsters pantheon and mid-century sci-fi boom alike, ponder what makes the image of a screaming woman being spirited away by a monster so enduring, and pinpoint the Herzogian echoes in the film's ill-fated excursion to the Amazon. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE and PHANTOM THREAD. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, SHAPE OF WATER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Underwater Love” by Smoke City Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

David Wain’s new A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE brings the deconstructive spirit of his cult comedy classic WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER to the biopic formula, putting a meta, self-aware spin on the story of Doug Kenney, co-founder of The National Lampoon. After digging into the benefits and limitations of Wain’s approach as applied to a sprawling biopic-slash-portrait of a scene, we talk over how the two films work together, as points of comparison as well as contrast. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Elaine May’s A NEW LEAF • Genevieve: Michael Almeryeda’s MARJORIE PRIME • Scott: Abbas Kiarostami’s 24 FRAMES Outro Music: Martin Mull, “The Time Of My Life” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

David Wain’s new biopic spoof A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE had a pretty ignominious Netflix debut, but that seems in keeping with the comedic director’s history of films that are unappreciated in their time but grow a cult following — a history that was established with 2001’s WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, a Sundance flop that’s now rightly considered a comedy classic. In the first half of our comparison of the two films, we talk over our WET HOT impressions then and now, share some theories for why it didn’t hit with critics or audiences, and consider the limitations of Wain’s affectionate but ultimately insincere, sketch-comedy-influenced style. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on PHANTOM THREAD and I, TONYA. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER, A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Higher and Higher” by Craig Wedron and Theodore Shapiro Articles cited: • Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now, by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (New York Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With PHANTOM THREAD, Paul Thomas Anderson has repurposed REBECCA to his own ends, telling a personal story that’s unique from the original yet still resonates with echoes of Hitchcock’s gothic romance. We tug at the many threads Anderson has woven throughout his film, before diving into what unites it with REBECCA, from the two films’ character analogs to their complementary relationships with food. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about REBECCA, PHANTOM THREAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: William Oldroyd’s LADY MACBETH and Frederic Tcheng’s DIOR AND I • Scott: Michal Marczak’s ALL THESE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS • Keith: Christopher Landen’s HAPPY DEATH DAY • Tasha: Brian Taylor’s MOM AND DAD Outro Music: Chic, “I Want Your Love” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Paul Thomas Anderson has made it clear that his new PHANTOM THREAD is a purposeful riff on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 Best Picture winner REBECCA, inspiring us to return to Manderley for a reflection on the film that brought Hitchcock to Hollywood (and to producer David O. Selznick, whom he famously clashed with). We talk over what REBECCA gained and lost from being produced under the Hays Code, what it signaled for Hitchcock’s career going forward, and what to make of the two big relationships (or would-be love triangle) at its center. Plus, some belated but welcome feedback on our CALL ME BY YOUR NAME discussion. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about REBECCA, PHANTOM THREAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Walking With a Ghost” by Tegan and Sara Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Like Gus Van Sant’s TO DIE FOR, Craig Gillespie’s new I, TONYA takes a light, playful tone with a lot of ugly events, an approach that’s earned it acclaim and some criticism, particularly for its treatment of domestic violence. We talk over our reactions to that and the rest of I, TONYA, then dive into the many connections between these two films, from their portrayals of a scandal-hungry media to their depictions of ambitious women in bad marriages to their conspicuous use of attention-getting music. Then we wrap up by sharing our individual picks for the top 5 films of 2017. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TO DIE FOR, I, TONYA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro Music: Joanie Sommers, “Little Girl Bad” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Craig Gillespie’s crowd-pleasing new I, TONYA features a tragicomic tone, a genesis in tabloid true-crime, and an abundance of style, all qualities it shares with Gus Van Sant’s 1995 mockumentary TO DIE FOR, starring an ascendant Nicole Kidman. In this half of our discussion of the two films, we attempt to pinpoint where TO DIE FOR fits into Van Sant’s varied filmography, how it navigates its tricky tonal and narrative divides, and what exactly its broad satire is actually targeting. Plus, in place of our usual Feedback segment, our four hosts share the first half of their individual lists of 2017’s best films. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TO DIE FOR, I, TONYA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Outro music: “Season of the Witch,” by Donovan Works cited: • “Naked Animals and Sacred Cows: Buck Henry” by Tim Sheridan at StopSmilingOnline.com • “The 15 best movies of 2017” by Tasha Robinson at TheVerge.com • Filmspotting #661 and #662 (“Top 10 Films of 2017”) at filmspotting.net Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to the consideration of pleasure and heartbreak under the Italian sun via Luca Guadagnino’s sensual new romance CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, a film with a very different narrative than THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY that nonetheless shares some of its major characteristics. After sharing our reactions to CMBYN, we dive into a discussion of what the two films share, and don’t, in their portrayals of life in (and a little bit out of) the closet, their approach to the Italian/American cultural divide, and their use of music as an emotional and thematic underpinning. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Dee Rees’ MUDBOUND • Scott: Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’ THE WORK • Keith: Wim Wenders’ THE AMERICAN FRIEND Outro Music: The Psychedelic Furs, “Love My Way” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The new CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’s gorgeous invocation of Italian summers and repressed desire brought to mind an earlier film that does the same, though to much darker ends: Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, starring top-of-their-games Matt Damon, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Gwyneth Paltrow. In this half of the discussion, we dig into what all three of those actors bring to their respective roles, as well as the additions Minghella brings to his adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel — including a pivotal character created for the film — and how he manages the film’s tricky tone. Plus, feedback from our recent episodes on ED WOOD and THE DISASTER ARTIST. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Outro music: “Tu Vuò Fà l’Americano” from THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our so-bad-it’s-good moviemaking double feature continues with a new film from James Franco that channels the spirit of Tim Burton’s ED WOOD: THE DISASTER ARTIST, about the tortured making of Tommy Wiseau’s cult hit THE ROOM. We discuss the new film in some depth before going into its connections to ED WOOD, from their depictions of the filmmaking process to their shared instinct to send their tragic subjects out on a high note. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ED WOOD, THE DISASTER ARTIST, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: “The Battle over ‘The Room’” (Entertainment Weekly); “What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in The Disaster Artist,” by Marissa Martinelli (Slate); “The Room Actors: Where Are They Now” (Funny or Die) • Genevieve: Craig Gillespie’s I, TONYA • Keith: You Must Remember This: Boris and Bela • Scott: Santiago Rizzo’s QUEST Outro Music: Kitra Williams, “You Are My Rose” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by James Franco’s new THE DISASTER ARTIST, we look back at another movie about bad movies and the people who make them, Tim Burton’s 1994 comic biodrama ED WOOD. In this half of our discussion, we muse on the motivations driving Wood and Burton alike, locate the emotional core of this highly stylized film, and try to determine what makes a good bad movie, rather than just a plain old bad one. Plus, some feedback on a recent episode and a suggestion for a pairing that might have been. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ED WOOD, THE DISASTER ARTIST, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Outro music: “Que Sera Sera,” by Bill Murray w/Mariachi Band (from ED WOOD deleted scenes). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Following our visit to David Mamet’s STATE AND MAIN, we head to another small town for a different sort of redemption tale: Martin McDonagh’s THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. While the two films may not have a whole lot of overlap in terms of plot, they share a theatrical lineage as well as a tweaked view of small-town life, and both feature stacked ensembles with a strong handle on writerly dialogue, all of which we dig into here. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STATE AND MAIN, THREE BILLBOARDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Brett Morgan’s JANE and Chris Smith’s JIM & ANDY: THE GREAT BEYOND • Genevieve: Nora Twomy’s THE BREADWINNER • Tasha: Joachim Trier’s THELMA • Keith: Jamie M. Dagg’s SWEET VIRGINIA Outro Music: The Four Tops, “Walk Away Renee” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

A podcast failure doesn't mean you should quit podcasting. Here are 9 steps to help you recover and keep moving forward!

Stop complaining Complaining about what you call a failure is only wasting time. Your complaining won't improve anything, it won't fix the problem, and it won't inspire others. Complaining gives your mistakes more power over you.

When you stop complaining, you can start doing.

Define your “failure” What actually happened that you are calling a “failure”? Try to define and even measure it. Shift away from using the “failure” label and into a descriptive and measurable goal you didn't reach. You should be describing a fact, not an interpreted consequence.

This, alone, may help correct your perspective because you might realize what you called a “failure” was only one small missed goal.

For example:

“My podcast launch failed” might really be, “I didn't get into ‘New and Noteworthy.'”
“I failed at monetizing” might really be, “I couldn't get the 5 sponsors I contacted.”
“My cohost is a failure at podcasting” might really be, “My cohost didn't do what I expected.”
“I'm failing at consistency” might really be, “I haven't been publishing episodes on the same days every week.”

As you get more descriptive and measurable in how you define your “failure,” you'll probably realize it was merely one goal you didn't achieve—and maybe only not yet.

Take responsibility Most likely, you're the leader in your podcast. Regardless of how you describe the failure, you need to take responsibility for it.

Don't blame Apple, your cohosts, your audience, the technology, the niche, the competition, or anyone or anything else. Doing so is like handing over your success and control to someone or something else.

This is probably hard to accept: you are responsible for what went wrong. Maybe you didn't work hard enough. Maybe you didn't make pursue excellence. Maybe you didn't do the right things. Maybe you didn't communicate properly. Maybe you didn't have the right expectations.

Yes, mistakes or bad things can happen that are outside your own control. But letting these things wreck your podcast is your responsibility.

This really isn't about what happened, but about how you contributed to it and how you handle it.

Understand what went wrong When you have your “failure” defined and you're taking responsibility, you can seek to understand how things led to what you call a failure.

For example, if your cohost has been a horrible companion for your podcast, look at what kind of expectations you set for them as well as held yourself. Look at how you communicated. You might realize your cohost never knew what you expected of them, or maybe you never reinforced it.

Most importantly, when you know what broke, you'll know what you need to fix.

You may have even already had a plan, but maybe you didn't follow it—either because you chose not to, or you were unable to.

Make a new plan Recovering from any level of failure requires a strategy. You have to know what you'll stop doing, what you'll change, or what you'll start doing. This means making a new plan (because, obviously, your old plan either didn't work or wasn't followed.)

You must clearly communicate this plan to everyone else involved.

Ensure your new plan doesn't have the same problems as your old plan so you won't be making the same mistakes.

Remove, repair, or replace the broken parts This far into the process of recovering from a failed podcast, you probably recognize what's not working for your podcast. It could hardware, software, workflow, perspective, people, content, and more.

With each problem area, you can do one of three things:

Remove it—This may give you more time, money, or other resources to invest elsewhere in your podcast.
Repair it—This allows you to keep things you want, but make them perform better.
Replace it—You might not be able to repair something, and removing it would leave a horrible void. In such cases, you could replace it with something better.
Rebrand or relaunch When you're ready to move forward with your show you have three choices:
Rebrand when it's a fresh take on the same topic for the same audience. This is a great time to adjust your visual and audio branding, too.
Relaunch with a new podcast when it's a new show for a similar or different audience.

Listen to “Should You Rebrand a Podcast, or Launch a New Show?” (episode 268) for more help on this decision.

Build anticipation in your audience Whether you feel you need to rebrand your existing show or launch a new one, let your existing audience know what's coming. Instead of apologizing for change, get them excited about the new direction! Make sure you also include simple instructions for what they need to do to get the new show.

If you're rebranding, ask them to stay subscribed so they'll receive the new episodes, but to expect the title and cover art to change (if true).

If you're relaunching, ask them to visit the new podcast's website where they can learn more and subscribe.

“Keep moving forward” In the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons, a boy's invention fails on its first try. But that small failure is celebrated with the line, “Keep moving forward.”

I think a failure is truly a failure only if we let it beat us and we quit there.

Make the necessary adjustments in your podcasting and keep podcasting forward!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Logo17, from the USA, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Absolute Gem. Daniel has an angelic voice. His free podcast has been an INCREDIBLE resource for helping me with my own Podcast. I’m so so thrilled I found this when I did.” * Charone, from the USA and host of Habeas Humor, (hay-be-us) wrote in Apple Podcasts, “A must-subscribe. I recently discovered TATP, and I became a big fan after hearing just a few episodes. There is great information here. For example, one of the recent episodes gives a list of things you should check for with your RSS feed. Before listening to this, I barely knew what an RSS feed was. I also had no idea that a show can make it into Apple's new and noteworthy if it is not new. (I thought both labels had to apply.) This show offers both advice and encouragement to podcasters. Plus, with hundreds of episodes in the archive, you can just browse for the topics you are most interested in. Take advantage of this resource!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by Martin McDonagh’s new pitch-black comedy THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI, we look back at another playwright-driven film about redemption set in a small town populated by a colorful ensemble: David Mamet’s 2000 comedy STATE AND MAIN. How does the sex scandal at the center of Mamet's film look in a post-Weinstein 2017? What are we to make of the film’s cynicism toward Hollywood and those who populate it? And just what is the deal with that running matzo gag? We discuss all that and more, plus dig into some excellent feedback from recent episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STATE AND MAIN, THREE BILLBOARDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Outro music: “The Song Of The Old Mill” by Patti Lupone Articles cited: • “David Mamet’s State And Main Engineers A Perfect Punchline,” by Mike D’Angelo (The AV Club) • William H. Macy Interview (2001), by Scott Tobias (AV Club) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Many podcasting tools offer the ability to automatically crosspost your audio podcast to YouTube. Here are eleven reasons I think you shouldn't do that.

I often use the term “fake video” to describe what some podcasters make. It's when they take the whole audio of their episode, put it into a video file, and display a simple image (static or sometimes moving). It's essentially audio with pixel dimensions.

I think the short, animated videos commonly called “audiograms” are entirely separate and beneficial. My following thoughts address the “fake video” approach.

The supporting reasons are mostly misunderstood and short-term I usually hear four reasons to publish fake video on YouTube:
To make your content discoverable on Google and YouTube—Maybe true, at first, but it will soon be demoted.
It's easy and maybe even automated with publishing tools—Simply because something is easy doesn't mean it's good.
It reaches a non-podcast audience—True, but it's reaching them so ineffectively, you might not see any positive results.
“It can't hurt”—Actually, it can hurt, as you'll understand from the following points.
It's abusing the platform YouTube is a video platform. It's designed for videos. When people search or browse YouTube, they expect to watch videos. Posting fake video goes against the simple premise of video.

If someone writes a long blog post, takes a screenshot, and shares that image on Instagram, we would consider that abusing the platform.

If someone makes a blank image and uploads to Instagram only so they can write a long blog post, we would consider that abusing the platform.

If someone releases a series of silent podcast episodes only so they can put out the titles in podcast apps, we would consider that abusing the platform.

And if someone publishes only audio, but no video, on a video-based platform, we should also consider that abusing the platform.

This is not an effective technique for sharing content appropriate to the platform. This is more like a blackhat hack with a bait and switch.

The “view” stats are meaningless If you publish fake video, or you see other fake videos, you may initially think it's a success because of the view counts. But like “downloads per time,” view counts don't tell the whole story and are a meaningless stat.

Social networks count something as a “view” after different amounts of time. YouTube seems to have a 30-second threshold. So someone could watch a video for only 30 seconds, and it would be counted as a view. But if your video is as short as a few minutes or much longer, only 30 seconds is meaningless to actual consumption.

Think of it as a local store. The way YouTube and other social networks work, they would count you as a customer every time you drive by and look at the store. But were you really a customer if you didn't at least go inside?

Contrast that with the nature of podcast downloads and consumption. This is more like counting everyone who entered the store. True, maybe not everyone stays in for long or even buys anything at all, but they were still a customer by entering and behaving like a customer.

I've seen data on some fake videos that seemed highly successful: as many as nearly 23,000 views on one video! But the real truth is in the retention stats.

Only a 3.4% average view duration. 90% of the initially 23,000 viewers were gone within 90 seconds!

All data I've seen, from multiple sources, show that most fake videos lose 90–95% of the audience within only 90 seconds! Interestingly, this does seem to differ among countries. But that makes sense, considering that podcast consumption is not as popular or possible in some other countries.

You might think that later videos, which averaged about 200 views, had filtered down to loyal fake-video consumers. Retention rates were, indeed, better. This time, it took only about 4 minutes for 85–90% of the “loyal” audience to abandon the videos!

Retention stats on a later video with 175 views.

The resulting audience who did stay to consume the majority of the video ended up being only 6–8% of the view count. Thus, only about 16 people benefitted from the video. That's 16 out of an initial audience of nearly 23,000!

Engagement rates are horrible If you dismiss the meaningless view counts, you must measure other forms of engagement: retention, likes, comments, subscriptions, clickthroughs, and shares are common metrics on YouTube.

A video with nearly 23,000 views received only 35 likes, 24 comments, 2 shares, 18 subscribers, and 19 dislikes.

Fake videos show horrible engagement in all these metrics. I've seen videos with more than 20,000 “views” receive only a few likes, subscriptions, and no comments. This shouldn't be surprising when you consider that almost all the audience is gone within a few minutes. But even of the small number of remaining viewers, they still don't engage with the fake video.

Comment, like, and dislike engagement rates are almost nonexistent compared to the supposed view counts.

Your channel's and videos' rankings will be demoted The top reason I hear people advocate for fake videos is that they make the content show up in search rankings. That may be true at first, but it doesn't last. Furthermore, the consequences can prevent future videos from ever ranking.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, uses several factors to measure a video's popularity and thus rank it in search results. They use all those same engagement metrics:

Retention—if most people quickly abandon the video, it's probably not worth ranking
Likes and comments—if no one is interacting with the video comments, it's probably not worth ranking
Subscriptions—if no one is subscribing to the channel as a result of the video, it's probably not worth ranking
Clickthroughs—if no one is clicking through to other videos and staying engaged on YouTube, the video is probably not worth ranking

Fake videos perform notoriously low on all these metrics. Consequently, Google's algorithms will consider the video a waste and demote it in the rankings. After all, if almost everyone else doesn't like it, why would they recommend it to others?

Could you imagine my recommending a doctor by saying, “No one ever sees him, and he's not a very good doctor anyway”?

YouTube doesn't like your making people leave Google wants people to stay on YouTube. It's easy to waste hours and hours on YouTube because it was designed with exactly the scientifically proven tactics to get you to stay! Even when I was preparing this episode, I got sucked into watching video after video (real videos!).

YouTube won't like it when you make people leave YouTube, either by closing the browser tab or by following a link that takes them away from YouTube. Such links might be to your website or your podcast in a podcast app. They'll either demote your video or sometimes even find other ways you might be violating their community guidelines.

Content ID gives content owners control over your videos When you upload a video with any copyrighted material (regardless of your use), YouTube's advanced bots will recognize and flag it with Content ID. The copyright-holder can then control many things about your video:
Keep your monetization (or share it, if they're generous)
Block the video from some countries or worldwide
Block the video from certain platforms (such as mobile or embedded)
Mute the video

I've seen many legitimate videos get flagged by Content ID, such as a movie-review podcast that comments on and plays a portion of the movie or soundtrack.

You can dispute a Content ID claim, but failing that could lead to even bigger consequences.

Copyright strikes are aggressive In extreme cases, your videos could give your channel a copyright strike. This usually means the video will be removed and you'll carry a strike on your account, which might limit features (such as monetization or live-streaming). Further abuses will usually result in a complete closure of your account.
Monetization may be limited YouTube is a monetized platform. They don't really like it when you monetize your own content without letting them have a piece of it. Podcast sponsorships, promoting your own products, and affiliate links can be in this gray area. YouTube has already cracked down on this kind of monetization when a product or logo is displayed as a paid advertisement.

Regardless of how you monetize your own podcast, YouTube can decide to ban it from YouTube at any time if they decide it's not in compliance with their standards.

YouTube may flag your fake videos as spam Most fake videos look the same. Usually, that's simply the cover art. Sometimes, it contains “buttons” or calls to action.

When YouTube sees multiple videos being uploaded regularly and they all look the same, their algorithms have often flagged this as spam. But I'm not surprised because it really does look like spam!

Video, channel, and comment spam It's not okay to post large amounts of untargeted, unwanted, or repetitive content in videos, comments, private messages, or other places on the site. If the main purpose of your content is to drive people off of YouTube and onto another site, it will likely violate our spam policies.

It's not okay to post large amounts of repetitive and/or re-uploaded videos to your channel. If the main purpose of your channel is to monetize other channels' content, it will likely violate our spam policies. If you believe your copyright-protected work was posted on YouTube without authorization, you may submit a copyright infringement notification.

[“Spam, deceptive practices & scams,” YouTube.com, emphasis added]

It makes your channel the little boy who cried, “WOLF!” Each time you publish audio on a video platform, it's misleading your potential audience. As more and more of your fake videos show up in search results, they'll learn to not trust your channel. It's like the boy who cried, “WOLF!”

I've seen this with some experimental channels. With each fake video released, the view counts and retention get worse and worse. Then, the ranking starts to fall because of all the other metrics.

Absolute view counts of the first 15 audio episodes published on YouTube show significant dropoff after the initial attention

So if you ever want to do a real video on your video channel, publishing fake videos will have demoted your channel so much that your real video may never receive attention.

Conclusion: Publish fake videos if you don't actually care There are better ways to use YouTube with podcasting (episode 186). You can live-stream, make video promos, make specialized video content, make short snippet animations or videos, and more.

If you really don't care about the YouTube platform and don't care much about its users, then go ahead and publish fake videos. But keep in mind the potential consequences, costs, and extremely low return on your investment (time, skill, or money).

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * nabus19, from the USA and host of The Redrum Theatre, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “High Five Brother. I love podcasts, and have enjoyed them as a media for 10 years now. Recently I began my own, and I was looking for some wisdom in doing this well. Of all the How-To podcasts I listened to, this is the only one to survive. Great topics, current issues of podcasting, and real knowledge from a professional podcaster. I especially love when he used to review a podcast and give some helpful tips. Bring it back brother! My podcast is called The Redrum Theatre, … We watch movies, we love movies, we were raised by movies.” * Covert Nerd, from the USA and host of Covert Nerd podcast, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “… Because of you I have stepped out and started a hobby podcast. Right now it isn't that good, but because of you I got the courage to at least start. I am sure many others have done the same thing because of your work. I would encourage other like you do to just start your podcast and you can work out the details as you go. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to the dawn of the millennium to discuss Greta Gerwig’s new solo directorial debut LADY BIRD, and how it echoes the sardonic coming-of-age comedy that characterizes Terry Zwigoff’s GHOST WORLD. After parsing our individual reactions to and readings of LADY BIRD, we look at how the two films compare in terms of their view of nostalgia and mainstream culture, as well as the respective family dynamics that affect each protagonist’s view of the world. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GHOST WORLD, LADY BIRD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Taika Waititi’s BOY • Tasha: Caroline Labreche and Steeve Leonard’s RADIUS • Scott: Switchblade Sisters podcast Show Notes: Articles cited: • “How Greta Gerwig Turned the Personal ‘Lady Bird’ Into a Perfect Movie,” by Esther Zuckerman (RollingStone.com) • Interview with RADIUS’ Caroline Labreche and Steeve Leonard, by Tasha Robinson (TheVerge.com) Outro Music: Dave Matthews Band, “Crash Into Me” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Working with other podcasters can be energizing, but it can also feed your inner troll. Here's how you can build friendships instead of enemies in podcasting.

Respect One of the first times I met Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love, he told me of his then-upcoming 48th wedding anniversary. So I asked him what he considered the secret to his long and happy marriage. He said, “One word: respect.”

Oh, how much better our world would be if we had respect—and even love—for one another! Insulting someone's intelligence or attacking their preferences won't help anyone. We must have a heart of respect for each other, and that can go very far.

Treat each person individually If you hang out in online communities for long, you'll see the same questions asked several times. While you probably don't mean to, it's easy to pile up your feelings about the repetition of those questions. So when you see the thirtieth person ask the same question, it's may be easy to lash out either overtly or passively.

But look at things from that person's perspective. They need help and they went to that community hoping they could get the help they needed. True, they probably could have found the solution by searching, but being in anxious need often seems to distract us from the obvious.

Consider a community for podcasters. If someone comes in and asks, “How do I upload my podcast to iTunes?” and they get a flurry of harsh responses, that person may see them as saying, “You're stupid.” And then be hurt from their experience.

I must honestly call myself out on this one, too. I don't think we do this kind of thing intentionally. But treat each person individually—again, with respect.

Accept different methodologies Blubrry, Libsyn, SoundCloud, Anchor, Podcast Websites, SquareSpace, FeedBurner, WordPress, and much more are merely tools to accomplish certain goals within podcasting. While some tools are certainly better for certain tasks than others, that doesn't mean we must try to convert everyone to that tool.

I once met a fresh new podcaster at an event. They had just started their podcast and website, and they met a vendor with a competing product to what they used. Instead of helping that podcaster understand the benefits of the competing product, that vendor came across as belittling to that podcaster, and a poor opinion was formed. Sadly, I've actually seen that happen many times, and I might have even done it myself a couple times.

We don't need to act so exclusive about how to podcast. It's not a moral issue; there's no single right way to podcast—and that's what makes podcasting wonderful!

So whether you're discussing PlayStation vs. Xbox, Windows vs. Linux vs. macOS, Android vs. iOS, Democrat vs. Republican, or anything else, respect others' decisions and don't try to change them (at least not right away).

Even when there is only a single right way to do something (like an RSS feed with enclosures in order to get your podcast in Apple Podcasts), we don't have to be jerks about it.

Foster community, not competition What do you do when you see someone else start a new podcast about your same topic? What if they get attention when you don't?

How you treat your competitors is a reflection of your maturity. Sometimes, we adults can be quite childish.

Instead of trying to conquer your competitors, find ways to collaborate as colleagues in a larger community (listen to episode 108 for more about that).

Choose positivity Who are you going to be among other podcasters? Will you be the self-promoter? The giver? The passive-aggressive troll? The encourager?

We can choose and control the attitudes we communicate. It can be a real challenge, sometimes, but that's what makes us stronger.

Exchange value In a thriving community or marketplace, there's an active exchange of value. Some people deliver products, some offer services, some offer payments. Look at podcasting the same way.

This doesn't mean we should all be each others' financial patrons. (If we're each giving each other $5, the service providers get to keep a little off the top, and we lose that little bit of money with each exchange.) Instead, exchange value. That could mean offering some help, being an evangelist, or participating in the community. These and more have actual value—tangible or intangible.

There may be times you buy something from a podcaster and they buy something from you. But in that process, you're still exchanging value outside of the money. For example, I pay to be a member of Mike Morrison and Callie Willow's Member Site Academy, and Mike pays to be a customer of My Podcast Reviews. This isn't any kind of unfair or ungrateful exchange, it's a respectful acknowledgment and exchange of value.

Looking for a place to grow with other podcasters? If you're ready to improve and grow your podcast, connect with other passionate and encouraging podcasters, and get the training you need to overcome the challenges of podcasting, then Podcasters' Society is the best place for you! We offer expert support, encouraging community, and in-depth training.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * gopstud, from the USA, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “I listened to this wonderfully informative podcast about listening to podcasts on iOS 11 on iOS 11. This review is proof of the new simplicity of user interactivity of the Apple Podcasts app. I’m from Clinton, Iowa and I will be a podcaster someday. This show keeps inspiring me to do so!” * Joe Lamp'l, from the USA and host of The joe gardener Show, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Best Podcasting Resource of All Time. I've been listening to Daniel's incredibly helpful podcasts for about a year. Not surprising, the audio quality is perfect. That alone should get the attention of would-be podcasters. This guy knows the technical side to everything we need to know to make a great podcast too. The beauty is, Daniel is so skilled in simplifying the tech details and is completely prepared with every episode he delivers. The information is priceless and presented in a clear and concise manner. I love the delivery and format he's developed over the years. Thank you, Daniel, for all you do. The podcasts, videos, and training you offer are the best! …” * Tony Chan, from the USA and host of Game Dev Loadout, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Thanks, Daniel, for all of the awesome tips. My podcast just turned three months today, whoop whoop! My download numbers were okay in the beginning but when I implemented your SEO tips and advice on giving back to my audience, my numbers slowly started to rise. People have been sending me thank-you messages which are really heartwarming and fuel my drive to make the podcast even better. Honestly, I notice that a lot of game developer podcasts don't last long, and so I was worried that mine would be the same. You motivated me to keep going and realize that I need to be patient. …”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

48 Days to the Work You Love: Preparing for the New Normal

View Details

Greta Gerwig’s fantastic directorial debut LADY BIRD is set in 2002, when its protagonist might have recognized a contemporary kindred spirit in Enid, the protagonist of Terry Zwigoff’s 2001 coming-of-age comedy GHOST WORLD: Both characters are creatively minded outcasts who are leaving high school and facing uncertainty about their futures. In this half of our pairing of the two films, we focus on the prickly and not-quite-lovable iconoclasts who populate GHOST WORLD, discussing its garish version of the turn of the millennium, how it translates Danial Clowes’ comic of the same name for movie screens, and whether it contains the best existential fart joke ever committed to film. Plus, feedback from our recent episodes on MOTHER! and THE GRADUATE. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about GHOST WORLD, LADY BIRD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Devil Got My Woman” by Skip James Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Feed hits and monthly downloads are two podcast stats the may confuse or mislead podcasters. Here's why you should never rely on these meaningless numbers.

Why feed hits are a meaningless stat Every time a podcast app check for new episodes, it's checking for updated information from your RSS feed. That counts as a feed hit each time.

Tools like FeedBurner, FeedBlitz, and some startup podcast hosting companies may offer stats on how many times your feed is loaded.

But such a stat doesn't tell you the true size of your audience, for the following six reasons.

There is no measurement standard Unlike the industry standard we have for measuring podcast downloads, there is no association setting a standard or guideline for measuring feed hits.

For example, should only full downloads of the feed be counted, or should head requests (probably checking the “Last-Modified” date) be counted, too?

Apps refresh feeds throughout the day Whereas a podcast episode is usually downloaded only once, a podcast RSS feed will be loaded multiple times. Some apps refresh the feed every hour. Some apps refresh even more frequently than that!

This then requires more filtering to reduce the excessive duplication by IP address.

There's no way to track a single device across multiple IP addresses Speaking of IP addresses, most mobile devices will probably have at least three different IP addresses in an average day: one for home, one for work, and one for mobile. But there could be even more if your mobile device automatically connects to additional wifi networks (such as a store, a coffee shop, a friends house, etc.). And if you leave a particular region, it's likely your mobile data provider will give your device a new IP address as the location changes.

For media downloads, this kind of IP address behavior can be accounted for with some different filtering and crossreferencing. Even at the simplest level of measurement, podcast apps will download an episode only once unless the user forces it to redownload.

But since mobile devices refresh the feeds throughout the day and their IP addresses change as their location changes, a single device could show up as multiple devices based on RSS feed hits.

Feed traffic varies every day Podcast RSS feeds are only checked based on app settings and user interaction. This usually results in lower activity on the weekends. Measuring RSS feed hits would make it seem like your audience unsubscribes on the weekends.

Many website statistics tools, such as Google Analytics, will track a user across multiple visits, so it's easy to see how many unique visits you had across time (such as a week or month). But FeedBurner and other RSS tools don't offer such tracking, and thus report only a daily number or an average across days (but not tied to actual users).

Feed stats exclude non-RSS plays Trying to measure “subscribers” raises the question, what really is a “subscriber”? While it may seem reasonable to say anyone who has pressed “Subscribe” on your podcast is a subscriber, that excludes many loyal audience members.

Some people will faithfully visit your website and press play on your latest episodes. Some people will watch or listen on social networks. Some people will add your podcast to their app without actually subscribing to it. Some people use apps or services that subscribe to your feed only once for thousands of users (such as Stitcher, iHeartRadio, or Google Play Music).

People on those platforms could still be loyal consumers of your podcast, but they're not individually subscribed to your own RSS feed. Thus, anything that tracks you audience through RSS hits or downloads will not count any of these other loyal fans.

iOS 11 refreshes feeds repeatedly (possible bug) Lastly, Apple Podcasts in iOS 11 introduced some strange new behavior regarding podcast RSS feeds. This is resulting in a significant increase is feed hits since iOS 11.

A significant increase in feed hits started with the release of iOS 11 on September 19, 2017. (Weekend dips removed for clarity.)

While there are different theories to explain this, we do not yet know whether this is an intentional design by Apple or a bug in the app. But we can compare these daily feed hits to daily downloads and see this increase is not an actual increase in audience.

Why downloads per month/week/day is a meaningless stat You'll often see podcasters speak highly of their downloads per week, per month, or per day. While some numbers can be fun to celebrate (my own Noodle Mix Network reached 15 million total downloads in Fall 2017), these “downloads per time” (DPT) don't really mean much; they don't tell you any truth about the size of the audience!

Here's why.

It's not enough information Downloads per time tell us nothing about the podcast's actual reach. It doesn't tell us how many episodes were published, how many episodes were already available, how many people downloaded episodes, or how many episodes people downloaded.

Downloads per time would include downloads for new episodes released during that time and all old episodes also downloaded during the same time.

For example, if I say I delivered 10,000 downloads in a month, that may sound impressive until you learn that I published 10 episodes that month and I have 1,000 episodes in my back catalog.

But even with that information, you still can't calculate the audience size, because these numbers don't tell you how many people downloaded your episodes.

It seems most podcasters like to share this meaningless number because it's an impressive number or they don't understand the lack of information.

It will always be changing You may think downloads per time will grow with your podcast, but that's not the case. Downloads per day, for example, will always be highest the day you release your latest episode unless you publish late in the day. Weekends will be low for some shows and high for others.

Downloads per week or per month will also change based on how many episodes you published or skipped during that time. Trying to account for these constant changes could drive you crazy!

It's easy to inflate without growing the audience Here's a little secret. Want to double your downloads per month? Simply publish twice as many episodes! Or, go from publishing weekly to publishing daily and septuple your downloads per month!

While these things will increase your downloads per time, the inflated stat does not reflect an increase in actual people consuming your podcast.

In other words, you can increase your downloads without ever growing your audience (episode 260).

It's misleading to advertisers Absolutely don't use your misleading downloads per time stat to entice a sponsor! They may expect their ad to receive that same reach, but because of these reasons I just shared with you, your actual reach could be a much, much smaller portion of that impressive number.

This is because most advertising will be put into only specific episodes. There are some dynamic ad-insertion technologies that can put an ad into every episode in your entire catalog, but setting that up can be complicated, especially if you didn't prepare for it with all of those episodes. Plus, dynamic ad-insertion can feel even more disruptive to your audience.

How should you measure your audience? The industry standard we've had for years is downloads per episode (DPE), typically 30 days after release.

But raw download logs are still not accurate. That's why Association of Downloadable Media (ADM) many years ago and Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) more recently have created podcast measurement guidelines. These account for things like partial downloads, bots, public IP addresses, user-agent filtering, repeat downloads, and much more.

Blubrry, Libsyn, Podtrac, and soon Spreaker, contributed data to and are in compliance with these agreed-upon industry standards. That's why you hear these companies recommended by professionals—we know we can trust these companies to uphold the standard and conform where necessary all in the interest of accurate measurement, not impressive data.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Tony Arsenal, from the USA and cohost of Reformed Brotherhood, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Great for both new and seasoned podcasters. When I started my podcast, the Reformed Brotherhood, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I stumbled through it like a blind man. After about 40 episodes I discovered The Audacity to Podcast and it was an eye-opener. Daniel helped me understand what I had done right, and what I had done wrong. My podcast is demonstrably more successful than it would have been otherwise.” * Kit Parks, from the USA and host of Active Travel Adventures, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Helped me to launch! I've only been on the air for a week and Daniel's The Audacity to Podcast has been a lifesaver! He gives clear, actionable advice on how to do the best job possible on your podcast with the least amount of headaches. I highly recommend subscribing and then going back and reviewing his show notes afterward so you can put into place his recommendations.” * Gloria Mitchell, from the USA and host of Living a Phenomenal Life with Gloria Mitchell, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “The best podcast on podcasting! Daniel provides INCREDIBLE value every week! He is always up on the latest in the podcasting world and always offers tips to help you make your podcast better. As a result of listening to his show, I was able to launch my podcast with confidence! Daniel, Thanks for always putting out great episodes! …”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

November is National Podcast Post Month (#NaPodPoMo) and I decided to participate by not only publishing a daily podcast episode, but launching a whole new show!

Journey inside the podcasting business with me, Daniel J. Lewis, host of The Audacity to Podcast. I'll share behind-the-scenes peeks at how I run my podcasting business of helping podcasters. You'll learn about the tools I use, how I delegate and work with others, how I market, and more!

This show will run every day during NaPodPoMo, but may even continue after that.

The show is so new, raw, and authentic it doesn't even have cover art yet!

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe on Android
Listen on Anchor

Despite all the ways Anchor is currently bad for podcasting, I chose to use Anchor for the quick simplicity.

Comment below or tweet me if there's something specific you'd like to know about running a podcasting business!

View Details

Noah Baumbach’s new THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES (NEW AND SELECTED), starring Dustin Hoffman, has some strong connections to Hoffman’s star-making role in Mike Nichols’ THE GRADUATE, in particular, its depiction of generations trying to escape one another. After discussing our largely positive reactions to the new film (with one major exception), we talk over how the two stories reflect and refract each other, in their Hoffman performances as well as their respective family dynamics and female characters. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE GRADUATE, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Jeremy Rush’s WHEELMAN • Genevieve: Sean Baker’s THE FLORIDA PROJECT • Keith: Elaine May’s THE HEARTBREAK KID • Scott: David Miller’s LONELY ARE THE BRAVE Outro Music: Adam Sandler and Grace Van Patten, “Genius Girl” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

A podcast launch can be fun and jumpstart momentum for growth. Starting your podcasting with multiple episodes is often advised, but is it right for you?

Don't believe the myths about launching with multiple episodes You may hear some “gurus” and “marketing experts” say you must launch with multiple episodes in order for your podcast to succeed. But that's a big myth that shows up in three different ways:

Myth: More episodes help the podcast get featured in “New & Noteworthy” “New & Noteworthy” (N&N) is a combination of two kinds of podcasts: those that are new, and those that are noteworthy. Apple has 100% editorial control over what appears in N&N. If you actually look closely at podcasts in there, you'll see old and new podcasts, and you'll see some podcasts with only one episode, others with more.

Myth: More episodes make the podcast rank better Podcast ranking is based on subscriptions, not episodes. However, there is a very small, indirect truth to this myth. More episodes provide more keywords for search, which can make your podcast show up in more relevant searches when you have more episodes, but your position in such results is not based on the number of episodes.

Myth: More episodes mean more downloads The default behavior of most podcast apps is to download only the latest episode of a podcast when subscribed. So merely launching with more episodes doesn't mean they'll all be downloaded; they'll only be available to be downloaded if your new subscriber chooses to do so.

How many episodes should you launch with? One episode is all that's required to get your podcast in nearly all apps and directories. And it doesn't even have to be a full episode!

With iOS 11, Apple now provides a “trailer” episode type you can use. But even without that, your first episode could be a 30–60-second trailer of the podcast yet to come.

This is not an “episode 0.” Most of these end up being all about the podcaster and what's to come. I think these kinds of self-centered episodes are a waste of opportunity and time. If you want to build excitement for the upcoming podcast, do that in 30–60 seconds. But make your first episode deliver so much value your audience will feel compelled to subscribe.

So when I'm referring to launching with multiple episodes, how many should that be?

I will be basing the following benefits and disadvantages on launching with 3–5 episodes. I think that's a good number because it's small enough that can do it quickly but large enough that it gives your audience a great taste of your podcast and gives you more opportunities.

However, my advice does exclude the “seasonal dump” approach of publishing an entire season of episodes all at once (such as S-Town, ConversionCast, and some Netflix or Amazon Prime shows).

Benefits of launching with multiple episodes The decision of launching with only one or with multiple episodes is up to you. I will share the benefits and disadvantages I see, but the mere number of one or the other shouldn't be your deciding factor. You must decide what's right for yourself, your podcast, and your audience.

Showcases more of your content Assuming you have good episode titles, launching with multiple episodes gives potential subscribers a good view of what your podcast is about. They can preview your topics without having to read your podcast's description.
Boosts search-engine optimization (SEO) In Apple Podcasts, some other podcast apps, and website search engines, each episode and accompanying post contribute to the findability of that podcast. For example, even if your podcast title or description don't include “Best vanilla cream sodas,” an episode by that title can make your podcast or website appear in relevant searches.

Thus, the more episodes you launch with (and eventually hold in your RSS feed), the more opportunities your podcast can be discovered!

Demonstrates commitment to consistency “Podfade” is the probable unintentional consequence of inconsistency. It's when a podcast slowly fades from active status because episodes are no longer published and there was no official announcement about the podcast's future.

According to Blubrry's year over year statistics, most podcasts podfade within 7 episodes. I've seen the same thing in casual browsing, plus, they usually had an inconsistent publishing schedule.

That doesn't mean you must launch with 7 episodes. But if you're committed to your podcast, you can show that by launching with multiple episodes.

When you do this, backdate your episodes so they reflect the publishing schedule you want to have. WordPress with PowerPress, Libsyn, PodBean, and other good publishing platforms give you the ability to change the date on already-published content.

Sets expectations When you market and write the description for your podcast, you're making a kind of promise with your audience. You're promising to provide certain content, to promote certain results, with certain perspectives, and on a certain schedule.

Launching with multiple episodes helps set those expectations for your quality, uniqueness, consistency, and more.

“Hooks” your audience People often like to binge on what they like. Launching your podcast with multiple episodes not only gives them that opportunity to binge on your new show, but it also gives them a deeper taste of your content. That can result in their getting hooked more easily.

Unfortunately, there's a fine line between marketing and drug-dealing. But the point of marketing should be to give people what they need to improve their lives! That said, consider addictive substances for a moment. Most people don't get hooked with a tiny taste; it takes a bigger sampling.

You can often see this in TV shows, too. One episode may not be enough, but after you watch a few episodes, you probably get more wrapped up in the characters and plot.

I've felt this way about several podcasts myself.

Creates more engagement opportunities Each episode of your podcast can create engagement. Launching with multiple episodes multiplies those opportunities. Things like your website address, email address, phone number, or social accounts will be more memorable when they're heard multiple times, especially if in a short amount of time.
“Blitzes” your promotion There are many ways to promote your podcast to grow your audience. If your episodes can stand alone, launching with multiple episodes gives you that many more pieces of content you can use to promote and grow your podcast.
Builds trust, respect, and authority faster Consistency is one of the most important ways to build trust, respect, and authority, but that takes time. You can give yourself extra momentum in the beginning by launching with multiple episodes. This allows your audience to receive a larger sample of your passion, communication skill, and production quality.

Each episode is a little boost to your reputation, so launching with multiple episodes can give a jumpstart.

Disadvantages of launching with multiple episodes There are plenty of positives, but also some negatives. Don't let this be a mere numbers comparison, but figure out what applies to your situation.

Increases startup “costs” Each additional episode you include in your launch increases the “costs” by almost a whole factor. That cost could be in time, creativity, or even actual financial investment.

The profound truth is that launching with 3–5 episodes “costs” about 3–5 times as much as launching with only 1 episode.

It's like launching a business with 10 employees versus only 1.

You must consider whether the increase in startup “costs” is worth it.

Postpones the launch Because launching with multiple episodes costs more time, that time will most likely mean your podcast will have to launch later.

This happened to me with the launch of my Once Upon a Time podcast. I was so focused on launching with multiple episodes, that we didn't actually launch until right before the show went on a hiatus!

But before you think a botched launch means the failure of a show, we were still able to grow our podcast to the #1 unofficial podcast for that TV show.

Remember that your podcast—no matter the subject—has the potential to positively change lives. So do you really want to postpone that change so you can launch with more than one episode?

Reduces agility Unless you have massive skill and resources at your disposal, your first one or several episodes will probably not be as good as later episodes. You can improve as you go!

Your audience's feedback is crucial to helping you improve your podcast. So if you launch your podcast with multiple episodes and your audience points out something that needs to be improved, you won't be able to improve it as quickly. It could be several episodes before the changes make their way into your podcast. And in the meantime, your show's shortcomings could be turning away potential subscribers.

But if you can have a more agile workflow—that is, able to quickly change as necessary—you can make important improvements before the next episode, and your audience can enjoy the fix right away.

Delays audience involvement Getting your audience engaged and even involved with your podcast is key to turning them into ambassadors. If you involve your audience in any way, launching with multiple episodes means they won't be included for a while, depending on how quickly they listen to your episodes.

This is especially apparent if you're asking for audience participation. You'll sound lonely and unappreciated if you're asking for several episodes before you have anything to share.

May hurt your timeliness If your podcast covers any kind of current events, such as news or sports, trying to launch with multiple episodes is almost pointless because your older episodes will probably be irrelevant. This only partially applies to podcasts about TV shows and such, because true fans will probably be interested to hear older episodes anyway. However, those older episodes may sound stupid considering the knowledge you and the other fans may have by the time you launch.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Rosie:82, from the USA and host of On Deadline, wrote in Apple Podcasts. “Love it. This podcast is clear and easy to follow with the right mix of practical knowledge and personality. I’m a television reporter at ABC27 News in Harrisburg, and we launched a podcast called On Deadline almost one year ago. At first, it was difficult because we didn’t have any other comparable podcasts to follow as a model. But discovering your podcast allowed us to set concrete goals and develop strategies to get us there. The media landscape is changing, and it surprises me that more news organizations aren’t branching into podcasting. By the way, I especially like your episode about fixing interviewing problems; great insight for journalists, regardless of podcasting experience. Thank you for developing this resource!” * Austin Carroll, from the USA and host of Fastpass to the Past: The Theme Park History Podcast, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “A Podcast for Podcasters. Thank you, Daniel, for encouraging me to start my own podcast. Your episodes are so in depth and I am so glad I found your podcast. I even went back and found older episodes that walked me through my specific needs: SEO, Podcast Titles, etc. This podcast is a must listen to for even the most seasoned podcasters. …”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Noah Baumbach’s new THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES casts Dustin Hoffman on one side of a generational divide, which naturally brings to mind Hoffman’s breakout role as a character on the other side of that generation divide: Mike Nichols’ seminal 1967 comedy-drama THE GRADUATE. In this half of the discussion dedicated to that earlier film, we discuss how THE GRADUATE’s sympathies shift with age, argue over the nature of Ben Braddock’s affair with Mrs. Robinson, and swoon together over that perfect ending. Plus, a brief sampling of the mountain of feedback we’ve received on our recent episodes on BLADE RUNNER 2049 and MOTHER! Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE GRADUATE, THE MEYEROWITZ STORIES, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Show Notes Articles cited: "The Best Thing About Blade Runner 2049 Is What It Isn't" at Vox.com Outro music: “Sound of Silence” by Simon &Garfunkel Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Regardless of who you use to host your podcast media and generate your podcast RSS feed, check these eight things to own your platform.

Episode 270 will help you decide whether you show use your media host to also create your RSS feed, or host it yourself.

Check which RSS feed is actually being used I'm surprised how often podcasters either don't know which feed Apple Podcasts and other apps are actually using or they don't even know their own RSS feed URL!

Regardless of your own situation (I'll assume the best about you), here are a few ways to check what feed is being used.

Log in to Podcasts Connect, click on your podcast, and look at the “URL” field.
Use this tool by Regan Starr to search for your podcast by title or author and see what feed is listed. (Sometimes, you have to re-enter the search if no results show.)
Subscribe to your podcast in the app and you may have an option to copy or see the feed URL. (In iTunes, right-click your podcast in your subscriptions and click “Copy Podcast URL.”)
Subscribe to your podcast in the app, export your subscriptions to an OPML file, open that file in a text-editor, look for your podcast name and the feed URL after xmlUrl= in the same block.

Feed URL changes from redirects or the <itunes:new-feed-url> tag may take up to a couple days to be reflected in podcast apps and catalogs.

Check who controls the Apple Podcasts Connect account Without control of your podcast in Apple Podcast Connect, you won't be able to fix Apple compliance issues, you won't be able to refresh your catalog listing, and you won't be able to see your podcast analytics from Apple.

Most likely, this isn't a concern for you because no good podcast host submits their clients' podcasts to Apple. If a company does do this, then they're not a good podcast host!

Apple is in the slow process of verifying and moving podcasts between Apple IDs (or assigning them where missing). So please be patient with their team. I suggest waiting until the second quarter of 2018 before you contact Apple to change or add your Apple ID.

Check whether you can redirect the RSS feed Although we can debate the finely detailed definition of “owning” and “controlling” your podcast RSS feed, I think the most important requirement is the ability to redirect your feed to somewhere else. This level of control ensures you can move your podcast feed to anything else and take your audience with you.

Ideally, this redirect should be three things:

A 301 permanent redirect (not 307 temporary)—All my top-recommended hosting companies do this
Remain in place even after you cancel your service (forever is best)—Some companies (Libsyn is one of them) may charge extra for this
An option you can set yourself (with several safety precautions)—This is quite mixed with companies and it probably depends on your account status

Learn more about the different types of redirects in episode 280.

Check that your email address is in the feed Even if you don't control the Apple ID used to submit your podcast to Apple, it's easy to verify ownership and stay informed about issues with your podcast when your email address is in the RSS feed.

There are two places an email address appears in a podcast feed:

The <itunes:email> tag inside the <itunes:owner> block—This is the most important.
The <managingEditor> tag—this is less important, but still best to be your email address.

The email address itself isn't important, but it is publicly accessible, so you should probably make it something branded to your podcast and not your personal email address. But that you have access to that account is important.

Some podcast hosting companies will default to using their own email address. I consider that a sin, but many companies (even SoundCloud) will let you change that to your own email address.

But if a company puts their email address in <itunes:email> and they don't let you change it, leave now!

Check that the website URL points to your website RSS feeds contain simple <link> tags that point to web pages. The top <link> tag (before the <item> tags) should point to your website for your podcast. I recommend inserting the URL to your podcast-specific page if your podcast is not the primary purpose of your website.

Most podcast media hosts will default to inserting their URL for your web page on their platform, but you can usually change it to your own website.

Many podcast apps and directories will link to this URL in their catalog listing for your podcast. In iTunes and Apple Podcasts, for example, this is the “Podcast Website” link in your listing.

This is most likely not a problem if you're generating your podcast feed from your website (such as with PowerPress or if you want the podcast host's web page). But you may still need to update the URL if your podcast is not the primary purpose of your website. And you should change this if you're creating your RSS feed separate from your website.

Check that episode links point to the correct episode web pages For a while, there have been concerns over search-engine optimization (SEO) and usability if your episode links pointed to the wrong web pages. Apple Podcasts in iOS 11 made this a whole lot more important because each episode now includes an “Episode web page” link in the app.

This URL usually comes from the <link> tag for each episode (in the <item> tag), but some apps may also look at <guid> if it is a valid permalink URL. However, that tag is usually set to <guid isPermaLink="false">, which is a way of saying that even if the GUID looks like a URL (such as from PowerPress feeds), to not treat it like one.

This is most likely not a problem if you're generating your podcast feed from your website (such as with PowerPress or if you want the podcast host's web page). But you should change this if you're creating your RSS feed separate from your website.

Check that you can include HTML in the show notes Many podcast apps will display the full blog post or show notes with your episodes. That would come from the <content:encoded> tag if your feed includes it. WordPress feeds, for example, have the option to use only the summaries, and not the full content, and thus would not include your full show notes.

Because of this wide support, it's becoming easier to tell your audience to get your show notes from inside their podcast app instead of always sending them to your website. And if you want basic formatting of those notes, including lists and especially hyperlinks, you need the ability to include HTML.

This doesn't mean you have to know any HTML. High-quality platforms like WordPress (with PowerPress) and Libsyn give you a rich text editor that makes hyperlinking as simple as a click of a button on some selected text.

Some platforms, like SoundCloud, strangely support HTML in the content, but they don't let you enter it yourself. But if the content was entered with an API (such as Libsyn's OnPublish), then the HTML and carried through.

Other platforms allow only plain text. But most apps will still hyperlink a plain-text URL as long as it is a full, valid URL (including the http://).

Check for full support of the new iTunes tags Apple's iOS 11 introduced new features in the Apple Podcasts RSS spec. These new features are not mandatory, but implementing them can make your podcast a better experience for your current and potential audience. Plus, it's more likely Apple will feature your podcast if they see you are using their new tags effectively.

Not every podcast needs to have seasons, use the serial type, or include trailer or bonus episodes. But I do think it will make a better experience if all podcasts use the new <itunes:episode> tag for episode numbers and <itunes:title> for clean episode titles (without episode numbers or podcast titles).

These are reasons why I think full support for the new iTunes tags is an absolute requirement for any podcast media host. Blubrry, PowerPress, Libsyn, and Podbean were quite quick to support the new tags. I've also been pleasantly surprised by how many of the less-popular startup hosts had full support in place before iOS 11 was released: Art19, SimpleCast, Megaphone, and Podiant supposedly had full support in time (though I haven't verified).

The companies you hear professionals diminish will probably never offer such support.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Andy Wang, from the USA and host of Inspired Money, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “Found the answers when I needed it. Thanks Daniel for providing so much information and being a fantastic resource to podcasters. Your blog/podcast really came in handy recently when I was up late one night uploading files to Libsyn for the first time. With the help of The Audacity to Podcast, my podcast Inspired Money has been launched. … ” Read the full review. * Scott Albrecht, from the USA and host of Ice Fishing Radio, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “After listening to your podcast my podcast has gone from novice to somewhat not novice, but this is not due to the lack of your explaining things it's due to the slow learning curve. Your advice on missinglettr.com has really boosted my Podcast from my marketing standpoint and the information on how to best brand and Market your Podcasts. … [I] often drive by Cincinnati listening to your podcast. It's because of your podcast that I know that my podcast is both a TV show podcast and a current events podcast and thanks to you I know why I podcast and that's the F in profit which is for fun.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Our consideration of Blade Running through the decades continues with a discussion of Denis Villeneuve’s new BLADE RUNNER 2049, which picks up several of the threads left dangling by Ridley Scott’s BLADE RUNNER and adds a few more of its own in the process. After discussing our mixed reactions to the new film, we dig into the many ways 2049 is informed by its predecessor, and the ways in which it manages to distinguish itself as well. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BLADE RUNNER, BLADE RUNNER 2049, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: S. Craig Zahler’s BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 • Genevieve: Susan Lacy's SPIELBERG • Tasha: Angela Robinson’s PROFESSOR MARSON AND THE WONDER WOMEN • Keith: John Carroll Lynch's LUCKY and Kevin Phillips’ SUPER DARK TIMES Outro Music: Lauren Daigle, "Almost Human" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasting is a time-shifted media. While many subscribers will consume podcast episodes as they're released, some fans will binge on all your content, which can reveal some areas to improve your podcast.

I use my own My Podcast Reviews account to automatically collect and notify me of reviews from all 155 Apple Podcasts catalogs. The reviews are usually positive and encouraging. Even though they're reviews on my podcast, they often include insights you can apply in your own podcasting.

On September 5, Damian, from the USA and host of Adventures in Erylia, wrote the following 4-star review for The Audacity to Podcast (contains minor edits for clarity). There are some great podcasting lessons here!

Great Content, But I Miss The More Amateur Vibe I'll preface this by saying, my listening habits and experiences are far from the norm. I began listening to The Audacity To Podcast [TAP] in early July. It is now early September and I am caught up. That's right, in about 2 months, I have listened to over 300 episodes of TAP.

I'll start with the good. Daniel is very good at what he does: presenting. You don't listen to someone talk in your ear for 200 hours if they aren't a good presenter. He is extremely knowledgable at his topics. I have learned so much information that I can, and am, using to improve my podcast since listening to his show. TAP is what gave me the drive to stop pointing my podcast domain at free services and get my own webhost and my own wordpress site up and running. It is still a work in progress. I learned about Chris' Dynamic Compressor and feel that using that has greatly increased my sound. I've been learning all sorts of tips and tricks for my SEO and how to market myself and my podcast. I have binged through everything and the content is so good I will continue being a loyal listener.

However, the show isn't without what I would consider some faults. In the beginning, the ads for Citrix drove me crazy. Keep in mind, I was hearing a new, ham-fisted, Citrix ad every hour for days on end while listening through, while if you listened early on or at a slower pace, it's only once a week.

It really bummed me out when Daniel made the switch from Audacity to Audition. I get that this was a good move for him, but to me, this was the beginning of the show losing it's amateur feel. I use Audacity, largely because I can't afford to move to something like Audition, and Daniel's use of Audacity, as well as his routine of focusing on how to use it every 5 episodes really connected me to the show and told me that I could have a successful and profitable podcast with this free software. That being said, if I could afford the switch, I'd look into it, too.

My biggest criticism of TAP is his cross- and self-promotion. I don't mind his promotions for My Podcast Reviews so much because of a few pieces of criteria, but I can't stand the ads for Podcasters' Society. My Podcast Reviews gets a large pass for me because Daniel does offer a free version that you can use to get a feel for the tool and see what value it brings to you. I am signed up for it, though I am haven't gotten any reviews from foreign stores to really benefit from it so far. I also enjoy his usual way of promoting it, by reading some of these reviews and promoting the shows of those that leave him a review. Sometimes when he tries to work it into other parts of his show, it carries on a little too long for something you already know about and was only brought up as a promotion tool.

Podcasters' Society has really ground my gears, for a few reasons. This has especially been an issue while binge listening. I wish he could work things out to have the “free for an extremely short amount of time” webinars be free indefintely as a trial. As an amateur and a hobbyist, I simply cannot afford the $50/mo it takes to join his elite club. I understand that there is a lot of work that has gone into the society, but there isn't a good way to check it out and see what value would be brought by joining at such a high price.

There is also the issue of it being closed to new members so often. Even if you have the money to join, you often can't because he closes it to new members regularly. It's exceptionally annoying to be advertised to for a service that you couldn't even join if you wanted to. I digress though, this is another thing I know I would sign up for without any issue if it wasn't so out of my budget. It's unfortunate to hear about a service I am sure I would get great value out of, but know I cannot experience.

If I have such a problem with a big part of his content, why am I still giving it 4 stars? The answer to that is simple. Daniel runs a business. He needs to make money off of his products and services to provide for his family. He also offers a ton of knowledge outside of his premium tools for absolutely free. If listening to him talk about a product he worked hard on (that I can't afford) for a few minutes is the price I have to pay for him to keep doing what he's doing, so be it, he deserves a high review, and it'd be 4.5/5 if I could.

And for you Daniel, as I know you are reading this. Thank you for what you do for the podcasting community, please don't take what I said too harshly.

My podcast is Adventures in Erylia over at adventuresinerylia.com. We are currently on a hiatus because we switched from a Blue Yeti for 5 people to a Zoom H6 and 5 dynamic mics. We will be relaunching on September 30, AKA International Podcast Day.

People will binge when they like your show

I'll preface this by saying, my listening habits and experiences are far from the norm. I began listening to The Audacity To Podcast [TAP] in early July. It is now early September and I am caught up. That's right, in about 2 months, I have listened to over 300 episodes of TAP.

… You don't listen to someone talk in your ear for 200 hours if they aren't a good presenter. … I have binged through everything and the content is so good I will continue being a loyal listener.

Damian found my show and liked it enough to go back and listen to about 300 hours of content! Feeding this level of passion is why I recommend letting your RSS feed contain as many episodes as possible.

This is also why your first episode will usually be one of your most popular. Some people will get your latest episode and then jump all the way to the beginning, and some people will start at the beginning and work their way to the present.

Your audience will stay when you consistently deliver value

I'll start with the good. Daniel is very good at what he does, presenting. You don't listen to someone talk in your ear for 200 hours if they aren't a good presenter. He is extremely knowledgable at his topics.

When someone finds a podcast they like, they tend to stay subscribed. This is why the audience size for any decent podcast should be generally growing: every new subscriber stays and thus causes a minor incline. The greater the incline in per-episode consumption, the more your audience is growing. If your podcast's stats are in a consistent range (neither increasing nor decreasing), then you're probably losing subscribers at the same rate you're gaining them. And if your stats are on the decline, then you're losing subscribers faster than you are gaining them.

There was once a podcast I was extremely excited over. Having only read the description, I was sold on its being my new favorite podcast. When I finally did listen to one of the episodes, it confirmed all my hopes: this podcast was exactly what I needed and wanted.

But then I listened to more episodes and saw a lot of cheap repetition, forced outlines, and sacrificed depth. Each episode failed to deliver at least the same value (or close to it) as the episode before it. Although I had plenty of available listening time and had thus downloaded all the back-catalog, I gave up on the podcast and deleted the episodes.

And this had very little to do with the length of the episodes. However long they were, they were too long for what little value they delivered.

On the other side, I recently listened to my first episode of Dan Carlin's Hardcore History. Being raised a military brat, I was drawn to Dan's episode 59, which was all about nuclear weapons and the crisis they present. That the episode was three hours long didn't matter to me because there was so much value. In fact, the episode wasn't three hours long, it was nearly six hours long! Even though I listened across many sessions, I kept coming back because of the value Dan delivered in every minute.

Can your audience say the same thing about your podcast? Are there moments they skip because of low value? Is your growth stagnate because you're not consistently delivering value?

Your message can change lives Ever since my epic 3-hour-long story of how my life was changed and saved through podcasting, I finally found my “why”: I believe you can share a message to change the world, and podcasting is the best way to do it.

“Changing the world” may not be on the scale of global, national, or even regional issues. But you may change the world for one person. You may give them hope when they're hurting, encouragement when they're empty, community when they're alone, entertainment when they need to be distracted, education when they want to learn, and much more.

Although I talk about podcasting—technology, technique, and more—I changed Damian's life for the better in a small way, which will help him to better reach others and change their lives, too.

I have learned so much information that I can, and am, using to improve my podcast since listening to his show. TAP is what gave me the drive to stop pointing my podcast domain at free services and get my own webhost and my own wordpress site up and running. It is still a work in progress. I learned about Chris' Dynamic Compressor and feel that using that has greatly increased my sound. I've been learning all sorts of tips and tricks for my SEO and how to market myself and my podcast.

So whether your podcast topic is silly or serious, you can improve the lives of your audience.

Repetition across episodes can become annoying Now, we get to the constructive criticism.

… the show isn't without what I would consider some faults. In the beginning, the ads for Citrix drove me crazy. Keep in mind, I was hearing a new, ham-fisted, Citrix ad every hour for days on end while listening through, while if you listened early on or at a slower pace, it's only once a week.

One of my greatest regrets in my history of podcasting is my “selling out” for some extra money. Sure, it was nice to get some bills paid, especially when I had not yet launched a business from my podcast. But the products I was advertising were barely relevant to my show or my audience.

Someday, I would love to edit out all the irrelevant ads from my past episodes. (You're welcome to help by telling me timecodes when those irrelevant ads start!)

Repetition is a powerful thing and I wasted it in my early days by trying to fit in a sponsor who really wasn't relevant, even though I used them for a time.

Aside from ad spots, this same negative aspect can apply to anything else you include in your podcast. Maybe it's a particular flow of questions or a call to action.

The easiest way to make things less annoying is to rotate through what you promote. For example, for each week of the month, you might have only a single, strong call to action:

First week: subscribe to your email list
Second week: share the episode
Third week: buy your thing
Fourth week: send feedback

That's not to say you have to avoid all other calls to action. But this is about what's strongest and avoiding an annoying recurring pattern.

But if you can't rotate through separate calls to action, consider changing how you do it each time.

Repetition is also powerful to make things stick That Damian could remember Citrix, My Podcast Reviews, and Podcasters' Society after more than 300 episodes proves another point: repetition is effective.

This is why podcast sponsorship works best when it's done consistently for at least a month or two. It takes repetition for it to stick.

Since I'm running a business, it's important for me to bring podcasters to the products and service I create to make their podcasts better. Of the three brands Damian mentioned in his review, one of them isn't mine. But that the other two are mine, and they stuck because of the repetition.

It's interesting and even amusing that Damian didn't mention D.Joseph Design, which is the legal name of my company and the brand (and collection of now-retired services) I also promoted in my early days. So either my promotion wasn't effective, or my other repetitions pushed out that brand.

Look at what you repeat across episodes. Is it something you actually want to stick in your audience's minds? For example, do you really want your request for reviews to be the one thing that stands out and sticks more than anything else?

Your audience may not be ready to grow at your pace Like TV shows with child actors, long-term podcasting presents challenges with personal growth. You're probably not the same person today as you were when you first started your podcast. Your experience, perspective, knowledge, and more have expanded with time and new information.

That's a great thing!

Unfortunately, it often means outgrowing either your audience or the premise of your show.

It really bummed me out when Daniel made the switch from Audacity to Audition. I get that this was a good move for him, but to me, this was the beginning of the show losing it's amateur feel. I use Audacity, largely because I can't afford to move to something like Audition, and Daniel's use of Audacity, as well as his routine of focusing on how to use it every 5 episodes really connected me to the show and told me that I could have a successful and profitable podcast with this free software. That being said, if I could afford the switch, I'd look into it, too.

When I first started The Audacity to Podcast, it was always going to be first about podcasting. But I didn't explain that well, and my early marketing intentionally attached me to the Audacity software. Although I still recommend Audacity for beginners, my needs have grown and I've found more limitations in the software (and I certainly felt I reached the limit of what I could talk about in Audacity for podcasting). So if my audience was joining me primarily for the Audacity information, I slowly stopped feeding that desire.

Now, after 326 episodes, I still stay focused on my core theme of podcasting. If my podcasting led me along a different path and I changed the show's premise to follow that path, I believe I would be breaking an implied promise with my audience and doing them a great disservice by changing my show too much.

This doesn't mean change is a bad thing. It's about potentially leaving your premise.

Consider this example. Because I've been displeased with some weight I've gained, I've been making changes to my diet and also trying to get back into my favorite physical activity—karate. With a simple look at what I was eating, I realized my diet had way too many carbs, so I've had to cut back on that. One of the easiest ways I've done that is to eat eggs for breakfast instead of something filled with carbs.

How many ways can you cook an egg? (There's a podcast waiting to hatch!) There are hundreds if not thousands of ways to cook eggs, or using eggs as the primary ingredient. But take the eggs out or demote their importance and you're no longer cooking eggs.

However you grow while you're podcasting, remember your audience may not be able or willing to grow with you. As long as you continue to deliver value on your premise, your audience will probably stay. But if you grow beyond that premise, the shift may be too radical for your audience to follow.

Satisfied audience members won't mind engaging promotion

My biggest criticism of TAP is his cross- and self-promotion. I don't mind his promotions for My Podcast Reviews so much because of a few pieces of criteria, …. My Podcast Reviews gets a large pass for me because Daniel does offer a free version that you can use to get a feel for the tool and see what value it brings to you. … I also enjoy his usual way of promoting it, by reading some of these reviews and promoting the shows of those that leave him a review.

Why did I start giving shout-outs to podcasters who wrote reviews for The Audacity to Podcast? It helped me (1) get to know my audience better, (2) encourage more reviews, and (3) create more opportunities to naturally promote My Podcast Reviews.

And because that promotion is engaging, I've heard from many podcasters who don't mind it or even enjoy it.

The same thing goes for ads I hear in podcasts, too. I usually skip the ads for the same-old current wave of podcast sponsors. But when a host either integrates that promotion into their content, or makes the promotion engaging, I intentionally choose not to skip the ad. And those ads then become more memorable.

I still remember sponsors of Good Mythical Morning, FilmRiot, The Way I Heard It, and more because the ad engaged or entertained me—yes, even when the ad might have seemed irrelevant to the show!

Squeezing promotion everywhere it fits is too much

Sometimes when he tries to work it [My Podcast Reviews] into other parts of his show, it carries on a little too long for something you already know about and was only brought up as a promotion tool.

On the extreme end of making ads, calls to action, or any kind of promotion engaging is obnoxious integration.

Imagine if I mentioned My Podcast Reviews and gave you the URL every time I referred to Damian's review!

Integrating promotion is like a seasoning or spice for food. It only takes a little to be effective.

Timeless content complicates timely promotions Yes, we will probably all have something timely to promote at some time. It could be the Podcast Awards, an upcoming event, a special sale, or anything else that may happen only at a specific time (even if repeating).

The first iteration of what become Podcasters' Society was Podcast Master Class. That was an intense month-long course with in-depth training, podcast evaluations, personal coaching, and more. I stopped doing it after the first time because I struggled too much to include promotion in my episodes.

The struggle was twofold: simply remembering to include it and recognizing that the promotion would be a permanent part of those episodes for years to come.

This kind of timely promotion bothered Damian, too.

My biggest criticism of TAP is his cross- and self-promotion. … I can't stand the ads for Podcasters' Society. …

Podcasters' Society has really ground my gears, for a few reasons. This has especially been an issue while binge listening. I wish he could work things out to have the “free for an extremely short amount of time” webinars be free indefintely as a trial.

When I created Podcasters' Society, I knew it could finally be something I could regularly promote without worrying much about time-sensitive offers.

However, time-sensitive stuff still happens. So anytime I promote something timely, I try to include some way to keep the promotion timeless.

My approach to “free for an extremely short amount of time” makes a whole lot more sense when they are recurring events. However, that the high-value content then becomes exclusive to members of Podcasters' Society also increases the value of membership, and creates something I can continue to promote.

It's a careful balance. Your audience could miss the timely thing by a couple days or by years. I don't think it's reasonable for you to keep timely promotions available forever, but I do recommend finding a way to make your promotion timeless.

For example, if you're promoting an upcoming event (whether in-person or online), consider pointing to a URL that will always have updated information. Or, that URL could contain the recap for those who missed it.

Don't overprice for the audience you want Pricing may always be a challenge because not everyone values something the same. Even something as seemingly simple as milk could be available in some form that costs ten times what the cheap stuff costs.

If you ever hire or act as a consultant, then you have experienced this same challenge. Consider someone like Gordon Firemark. He's an entertainment lawyer and he's an expert dealing with intellectual property (especially for podcasters). An hour of his time could cost thousands of dollars or more, but if that time either saves or earns you tens of thousands of dollars, isn't it worth it?

As an amateur and a hobbyist, I simply cannot afford the $50/mo it takes to join his elite club [Podcasters' Society]. I understand that there is a lot of work that has gone into the society, but there isn't a good way to check it out and see what value would be brought by joining at such a high price.

… this is another thing I know I would sign up for without any issue if it wasn't so out of my budget. It's unfortunate to hear about a service I am sure I would get great value out of, but know I cannot experience.

That Damian felt there wasn't a good way to see proof of the value is definitely something for me to work on.

There's also another issue here that you may run into: pricing for the audience you want.

If I made Podcasters' Society only $5/month, either no one would use it or it would be abused (and some people would still say it's too expensive). Look at your value in the same way! I commonly hear business say it's the cheap customers who cause the most problems and ultimately cost the most.

Money is an exchangeable measurement of worth. When someone pays a high price for something, they take good care of it because they've assigned a particular worth to it. And when they pay a low price, the thing has much less assigned value and is often treated the same way.

So when you sell something at a price—whether a product or service you create, or even your own podcast for sponsors or donors—you are assigning a measureable value to it. If you charge too little, it won't be respected. If you charge too much, it won't be purchased.

I know the value of Podcasters' Society is worth more than I'm charging for it. Several members have already said similar things, even in regards to a single small but relevant resource. But at the same time, I have to charge a price in line with what my ideal customer will consider a fair value.

After all, it's often not about the real numbers, but about what those numbers mean to us.

Avoid “breaking” timeless promotions If you do succeed in promoting timeless or even timely things in a timeless way, ensure that never breaks!

There is also the issue of it [Podcasters' Society] being closed to new members so often. Even if you have the money to join, you often can't because he closes it to new members regularly. It's exceptionally annoying to be advertised to for a service that you couldn't even join if you wanted to.

Closing Podcasters' Society was something I hated doing. I see some sleazy marketers talk about creating a false scarcity. But since Podcasters' Society provides ongoing value, there's no true scarcity to it. So the reason I most recently closed it for several months (costing me a lot of potential new members, too), was because I genuinely needed to rebuild the inside of it and I didn't want new members coming in when things were broken.

And where that especially hurt was when I had already previously said Podcasters' Society would be open indefinitely. So in my case, rather than merely closing it, I offered a waiting list and kept those interested subscribers informed on how things were progressing. And when I was ready to finally reopen, I gave them a special offer for their patience.

Among many reasons, what I love about Podcasters' Society's being a membership site instead of being a month-long course like Podcast Master Class™ was is that I can promote Podcasters' Society at any time.

So if you have any kind of timeless promotion in your podcasts, make sure it's either always available—even years later—or that there's some appropriate substitute or promise.

People will accept your selling when you give value first After all that stuff Damian said he didn't like about my promotions or one of my products, he still likes the podcast and continues to listen. Why?

If I have such a problem with a big part of his content, why am I still giving it 4 stars? The answer to that is simple. Daniel runs a business. He needs to make money off of his products and services to provide for his family. He also offers a ton of knowledge outside of his premium tools for absolutely free. If listening to him talk about a product he worked hard on (that I can't afford) for a few minutes is the price I have to pay for him to keep doing what he's doing, so be it, he deserves a high review, and it'd be 4.5/5 if I could.

And for you Daniel, as I know you are reading this. Thank you for what you do for the podcasting community, please don't take what I said too harshly.

There are two big things in what Damian said.

First, he recognized that I'm running a business that must provide for my family and others (I regularly pay several other people who do valuable work for me). He respects the reason I sell.

So if you're trying to sell something, too—product, service, sponsor, donations, etc.—make sure your audience knows the reason you're selling.

“Donate to the podcast because it lets me buy a fancy latte.” That's not a good reason; it's selfish.

“Donate to the podcast because it helps us to continue giving value to you.” That is a good reason.

The second thing in Damian's comment is that he accepts the “selling” because he already receives so much value.

This principle plays out in many areas of life. We accept certain inconveniences because of the value we receive despite those inconveniences.

So if you want to sell anything to your audience, make sure you first give! Give, give, give, give, and give some more before asking for anything in return.

Make sure you check out Damian's podcast, Adventures in Erylia!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Denis Villeneuve’s new sequel BLADE RUNNER 2049 made an inauspicious debut with audiences and critics alike when it opened, something it shares with its predecessor and inspiration, Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi noir touchstone BLADE RUNNER. Will the new sequel follow in its ancestor’s footsteps and become a cult classic that viewers are still picking apart 35 years later? It’s too soon to tell, but we do know that the original BLADE RUNNER offers plenty to talk about in this first half of our discussion, which digs into the film’s unusual tone and structure, its many variations, and whether the “Is Deckard a replicant?” question ultimately matters. Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on STAND BY ME and IT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BLADE RUNNER, BLADE RUNNER 2049, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Tears In Rain” by Vangelis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to the realm of societal allegory in our examination of Darren Aronofsky’s divisive horror-comedy-whatsit MOTHER! and how it relates to Luis Buńuel’s 1962 surrealist satire THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, a film Aronofsky has cited as direct inspiration. After grappling with our reactions to MOTHER! and its abundance of malleable metaphors, we look at what the two films share — and what they don’t — in terms of their central allegories, their relationship with religion, their tone and style, and depiction of nightmares. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, MOTHER!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: JG Ballard’s HIGH RISE and David Cronenberg’s SHIVERS • Scott: David Gordon Green’s STRONGER • Tasha: Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert’s THE BIG BAD FOX AND OTHER TALES Outro Music: Kate Bush, “Mother Stands For Comfort” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasting is unlike any other media. This is why its year-over-year growth has been more gradual than anything else. We may never see a “hockey-stick” spike, but you, as a fan or a creator, are the most powerful influence to bring more people to podcasts.

For this presentation from International Podcast Day, I'm joined by Elsie Escobar (@yogeek), cohost of The Feed and She Podcasts, and one of the experts from Podcasters' Society. Much of this information has matured since my previous episode, “How to Help the Podcasting Industry Grow” (episode 265).

You have the most power to help podcasting grow Because podcasting is a grassroots industry, we independent content-creators and podcast-fans are the best evangelists to encourage more people to try a podcast.

Share and talk about your favorite podcasts Like how you talk about your favorite TV shows, movies, and music with friends, family and coworkers, include podcasts in those conversations!

Especially with today's political environment, it could be great to offer content relevant to current conversations, but without all the definite big-media bias or limited coverage.

Explain the podcast content, not the podcasting technology While there is a place to walk people through the technology of podcasts and how to subscribe, the most important thing is to get people interested in the content.

Do your favorite podcasts make you laugh? Do they encourage you to become better? Do they motivate or equip you? Sharing these are more engaging than explains RSS feeds, enclosures, downloads, and more.

You can even help attach this content to a trigger, like commuting or doing a chore. Explain the content you can enjoy during those mundane activities.

Simplify the podcast-consumption experience Instead of simply referencing podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play Music, or more, point others directly to where they can listen—even if that doesn't mean subscribing yet.

For example, you could share the direct link to your media file, so no matter where they are, they can click and listen.

You could rotate through different types of links, such as direct media URL, link to Apple Podcasts for their iOS device, a link to your website with an obvious player, and so on.

Help people find podcasts they'll like Often, your podcast may be irrelevant to the person you're talking to. So it's more important to help podcasts grow, and not grow your own podcast.

Ask about hobbies, favorite TV shows, work industry and suggest podcasts that fit those interests. You could even keep in mind a few general-interest podcasts you can recommend, such as The Story Behind. Pay attention to other places where independent podcasters share their shows, or even places like New & Noteworthy, to know what podcasts could be great to recommend.

Also consider having a list of kid-friendly podcasts you can recommend, as many parents may be interested in playing podcasts for their kids (through a mobile device or smart speaker).

You want someone else's podcast to be something so relevant to them, that they get hooked.

Teach how to subscribe After you have gotten someone hooked on podcast content they'll love, then you can teach them how to subscribe so they receive every episode automatically.

Instead of likening podcasts to the radio, it might be easier to liken them to audiobooks.

While you may have a podcasts app you love after trying dozens, make it simpler for the person you're talking to. Point them to the podcast app that may already be installed on their device, point them to a free app they can install, or even consider giving them a few dollars for them to pay an app you recommend.

Make your own podcast as easy as “visit website; press play” and include the top subscription links When it's relevant to promote your own podcast, the best way is to point people to your own website. From there, they should see an obvious player and relevant subscription links.

The best links to include are Apple Podcasts, Android (with SubscribeOnAndroid.com), and RSS.

Test your own website and the podcast-consumption experience on mobile devices, because that's most likely how someone will visit your website. Thus, ensure the player works on mobile, it's large enough to tap with big fingers, and the site layout is optimized for the small screen.

Become an advocate in your local community Go to your local library, Chamber of Commerce, universities, or other associations and offer to teach a podcast workshop. This isn't to teach how to create podcasts, but how to consume them.

Keep an eye on Cincinnati for some upcoming examples of how you might be able to become a local advocate for podcasting.

Teach your audience language they can repeat Instead of ensuring a verbatim tagline, be so consistent with your message that your audience can easily explain it to someone else.

This comes from clarity and repetition. You must know what your show is really about and why it matters to others.

Celebrate International Podcast Day International Podcast Day is like our own “Got milk?” campaign. Use this day to further promote podcasts.

If you believe in the power you and I hold to help podcasting grow, please share this episode!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Chef Robert, from the USA and host of The Happy Diabetic Kitchen, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “The help I need! Daniel, I have heard Dave Jackson talk about you for a very long time. So happy I decided to tune in. I just heard your most current episode. WOW great stuff and I admire your passion. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Apple products get a lot of attention in the podcasting space, but iOS is actually not the most popular mobile operating system. Here's how you can ensure you don't forget your Android podcast fans!

Respect Android and its users Data from Edison Research, Blubrry, and Libsyn continue to show Apple devices dominate podcast consumption by huge numbers. But there are far more Android devices than iOS devices.

Have you heard the story of the two shoemakers in a foreign country?

One shoemaker arrives and notices the natives are all barefoot, so with a voice of defeat, he calls his supplier and says, “Forget it. No one wears shoes here. This is a failure.”

That's how many podcasters look at Android users. They think something like, “They represent such a small portion of the podcast audience, so why bother reaching them?”

But the other shoemaker has a different worldview. He arrives in the same foreign country and also notices natives are all barefoot. But this shoemaker eagerly calls his supplier and says, “No one wears shoes here! SEND ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!”

It's a difference of perspective. You might disrespect Android users and assume they're not the “type” of people to consume podcasts. While that may be true in some cases, the stereotype doesn't apply to all Android users.

Perhaps the reason most podcast consumption happens on an Apple device is based on the early history and corporate level of support for podcasts.

But this is no reason to ignore or especially not to alienate a huge potential audience for your podcast. Imagine getting as many Android subscribers to your podcast as you have iOS subscribers. You would probably see at least a 50% increase in your audience size.

Isn't that worth the work?

Don't focus so much on “iTunes” One of the big ways we tend to alienate our potential audience of Android users is by pushing “iTunes.”

First of all, we should stop saying “iTunes” when we really mean “Apple Podcasts,” since podcasts are not consumed in iTunes on the majority of Apple devices. And if Apple ever releases some kind of podcast-consumption option for Android, it's likely to be called “Apple Podcasts,” and not iTunes.

Branding aside, referring so much to iTunes—both in encouraging subscriptions and in asking for ratings and reviews—is instantly excluding anyone listening or watching through an Android device.

Keep in mind ratings and reviews do not affect your ranking in almost any podcast app. But if you're going to ask for ratings and reviews, remember to offer an Android option, such as Stitcher. And don't worry about having yet another place to check your podcast reviews, because My Podcast Reviews has been able to automatically collect your Stitcher reviews for years.

So I recommend either excluding mention of specific apps or platforms altogether, or being more inclusive of popular Android options whenever you mention “Apple Podcasts” (or “iTunes,” if you keep accidentally saying the wrong thing).

Offer Android subscription options My first two suggestions focused on changing your mindset toward Android users. Now, look at the practical ways to support your current or potential podcast audience on Android.

It starts by offering a simple Android subscription link.

Yes, we probably all have the “Subscribe in iTunes” links, buttons, and icons on our sites. (My own Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin is switching from saying “iTunes” to “Apple Podcasts.”) But that's not good enough for Android users—except BeyondPod, which is the only Android app I know that can use an iTunes link for subscribing on Android. Even then, the label still says “iTunes” or “Apple Podcasts,” and thus won't be obvious to BeyondPod users.

For a while, Stitcher was the most-recommend podcast app for Android, but Stitcher has lost a lot of market share over the years. However, we can all be thankful Stitcher no longer rehosts your podcast media and now allows users to download podcast episodes for offline consumption. Great job, Midroll and E.W.Scripps (Cincinnati companies!). Nonetheless, Stitcher may not be the best option to recommend to your Android-using potential audience.

And since the beginning of blogging and podcasting, a manual RSS link has been extremely popular, but has significantly decreased in recent years. But I think it's still one of the most important links to include on your site, because a direct RSS feed is entirely decentralized and compatible with any podcast app.

You may also see some companies, like Libsyn and Spreaker, offer additional-cost options for you to get a standalone Android app for your podcast. I don't think that's a bad option. It certainly has a bunch of benefits (especially in helping podcast-ignorant people easily “subscribe” to a podcast by installing its app). But a standalone app, while only $100 or so per year, might be out of the budget for many podcasters.

So what is best for helping your potential audience to subscribe on Android? That's exactly it: SubscribeOnAndroid.com.

This is a free, opensource, barely branded option created by Blubrry to help you engage the Android users. Search for your podcast or paste your RSS feed URL into SubscribeOnAndroid.com and you'll get back a slightly altered URL that now works as a one-click subscription option supported by a bunch of the most popular podcast apps on Android.

If someone visits your SubscribeOnAndroid.com link and doesn't have one of those great podcast apps already installed, the link will instead recommend those great paid and free podcast apps.

There's no approval process for SubsribeOnAndroid.com. It's super simple, and it works great, especially if you then make a friendly URL with your domain, like TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/android.

Then, include this Android link anywhere on your site along with your Apple Podcasts and RSS links.

Test your podcast in popular apps for Android The last thing to do is ensure your podcast actually works in the popular podcast apps for Android. That may mean spending only a few dollars to buy the popular apps yourself, or you might be able to ask an Android-using friend to check and test some things for you.

Here are some specific things you should look for:

Your podcast even exists in that app (look at PodcastPlaces.com for information on submitting your podcast to different apps and directories)
Correct title, cover art, and description
Updated list of episodes
What keyword searches return your podcast
How your podcast episodes display and play in the app (for example, whether your show notes or episode-level image show)

As a starting place, I recommend the following most popular podcast apps for Android:

Pocket Casts
Podcast Addict
Podcast Republic
BeyondPod
CastBox
Stitcher
DoggCatcher
TuneIn
Google Play Music (yeah, Google's nearly abandoned official podcast app)

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Barbara Stevens, from Australia and host of Breakup Recovery, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “… I had no previous experience in podcasting, interviewing people or recording, so I was keen to find a podcast that could give me the knowledge and information that allowed me to feel confident in producing my own podcast. And that is what ‘The Audacity To Podcast’ has done for me. … I am grateful for podcasts like ‘The Audacity To Podcast’ that encourage fellow podcasters to continually improve and achieve amazing results.” Read the full review. * Zachary Webb, from the USA and host of Serious About Tech!, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “… I was able to start a podcast, Serious About Tech!, because of what Daniel taught me.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

In Darren Aronofsky’s MOTHER!, Jennifer Lawrence is stuck in a creepy old estate while a series of bizarre, inexplicable events drive her to the brink of madness — a premise and tone that’s surprisingly similar to the surreal black comedy of Luis Buñuel, in particular his 1962 classic THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL. In this half of the discussion, we dig into Buñuel’s film, its place in his filmography, and what the film's deadpan satire and surrealism reveal about its maker's opinion of human nature. Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on OCEAN’S ELEVEN and LOGAN LUCKY. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL, MOTHER!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Exterminating Angel” by The Creatures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Apple released iOS 11 on September 19 for iPhones and iPads. It brings many new features to support podcasting and improve podcast consumption! Here's what I think you should love.

Improvements for consuming podcasts Most of Apple's improvements to the Podcasts app in iOS 11 are designed to improve the experience for users. And I think we should all be advocates for making things easier for the audience.

The new seasons and serial features make it easy for someone to enjoy a podcast in the right order and not miss anything. The new bonus and trailer episode types make it easier to preview a podcast and enjoy extra content. And the app leverages new and existing tags to enhance the browsing and listening experience by displaying episode types, episode numbers, teaser text, full show notes, and an option to visit the episode's webpage.

As a podcaster, you don't have to update all your old episodes to use the new features, but doing so could make your podcast appear a lot nicer in the app. If you have a seasonal show, I definitely recommend assigning at least the most recent one or two seasons.

New and upcoming Siri integrations Siri's default English voice sounds more natural in iOS 11, but she can do more, too! Try saying, “Hey, Siri. Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast.” She'll find the top podcast match, read the title and author to you, and ask you whether you want to subscribe. (You can also say, “Play the latest episode of The Audacity to Podcast,” and she'll do it, but that was available before iOS 11.)

Now that Apple supports an episode number tag in the RSS feed, I expect you'll eventually be able to ask Siri to play a specific episode or season of a podcast.

iOS 11 also opened more support for developers to integrate with Siri. For example, you can tell Siri to make a new note in Evernote. I'm sure other podcast-app developers will work to integrate Siri into their systems, too.

Easier rating and reviewing Before iOS 11, rating and reviewing a podcast on a mobile device was a huge pain. Even though I recommended pointing people to your Apple Podcasts URL (I hope with a friendly /applepodcasts URL on your domain), that might behave weirdly:

If they weren't already subscribed to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, your iTunes link would take them to your podcast in the Apple Podcasts catalog and they could find the area to rate or review.
If they were already subscribed to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, your iTunes link would take them to your podcast in their subscription library in Apple Podcasts. But there was no way to rate or review from there!

Thus, the only ways you could ensure they would get to an area to rate and review would be to use a complicated URL hack or to tell them to find your podcast with a search in the Podcasts app!

But in iOS 11, existing ratings and reviews along with the ability to rate and review appear with the podcast in both the catalog and in your subscription library! So even though your iTunes URL still takes them to your podcast in their subscription library, they can swipe to below your episodes and easily tap to rate and review!

Apple will still show only the reviews from your country, but that's where My Podcast Reviews will help by automatically collecting and sending your latest reviews from all 155 iTunes stores. With that, you can save time and better engage your audience. Remember that ratings and reviews don't affect your ranking, but they are good for a lot more!

Easier podcast ~~discovery~~ recommendations “Podcast discovery” is a mythical problem. Yes, podcasters think there's a problem with their shows being discovered, but discovery isn't a problem for the consumers. Ironically, nearly everyone trying to solve this mythical “podcast discovery” problem is making an app or website that has to be discovered!

Discovery isn't the problem. Relevant recommendations might be.

For years, Apple has suggested other relevant podcasts on your podcast's catalog entry. But the most common time someone would see that is when they're finding the podcast for the first time! After that, those recommendations were relegated to stay in the podcast catalog and never be seen again.

But in iOS 11, those recommendations are now displayed with the podcast inside the subscription library! Thus, simply swipe all the up and you'll see a “You might also like” section. Looking at my own listing for The Audacity to Podcast, all but one of the recommended podcasts are about podcasting! And the top two are School of Podcasting and The Podcaster's Studio!

As a podcaster, don't rely on this boosting your numbers a whole lot. Word of mouth from personal recommendations will still be the most powerful way people find new podcasts.

Analytics for podcasters If you launched the Podcasts app on iOS 11, you may have noticed it has its own terms and conditions you must accept before using the app. That's because the Podcasts app in iOS 11 is now tracking actual consumption of episodes! This means when Apple opens the data to podcasters in late 2017, you'll be able to log into your Podcasts Connect account and see how people consumed your episodes! You'll see where they skipped, where they abandoned the episode, how quickly your episodes reach download or completion thresholds, and more!

Seeing this deeper data may hurt your pride a little at first, but it can be a great way for you to know how engaging your episodes are. For example, you could learn:

How much of your audience skips any part of your episode: opening, closing, ads, or other calls to action
How much of your audience listens to all (or almost all) of your episode
Whether a particular section of your podcast inspires your audience to abandon it

What this data probably won't confirm is the ideal length of a podcast episode, because there really isn't one! I expect we'll see a lot of public-radio podcasters claim their data shows shorter episodes might be better, but that data can only apply to their shows. So maybe their shows should be shorter!

I look forward to learning what kind of retention long podcasts like Dan Carlin's Hardcore History or No Agenda get!

Listen to Podcasters' Roundtable round 101 for some more conversation about stats, including what's coming from Apple.

And yes, the email you may see from Chel Torres is truly from Apple and it shows they're working to fix “Apple IDpocolypse” so you'll eventually have access to the new analytics even if the Apple ID stuff is messed up for your podcast.

Better tools for creators iOS 11 brings a lot of other updates that allow developers to make better apps.

For example, iPad users can now drag and drop stuff between apps. That can make creating content much easier when you don't have a computer!

Safari (the default web browser in iOS 11) finally supports WebRTC, which is the technology that makes possible multiender tools like Zencastr, Ringr, and Cast.

And I think somewhat surprisingly, Apple added a QR Code scanner to the native camera app. That makes QR Codes cool again! (Imagine all the sarcasm you want for that statement.)

What other things do you think make iOS 11 great for podcasts and podcasting?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * DarkCrystal34, from the USA, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “… His information on The Audacity to Podcast and other podcast sites/shows is informative, clear, very to the point, and always unique in that he strikes the perfect balance of nerding out with nuanced detail, but keeping the broad level important points in place, in a way that's organized and easily digestible. Kudos for this podcast production information! Folks may also want to check out Podcasters' Roundtable, which includes Daniel with other podcast show guests having round-robin conversations about all things in the podcast production world.” Read the full review. * Mark Paul, from the USA and host of Overtime Hockey Talk, wrote in Apple Podcasts, “… I have started my own podcast and his advice has saved me from making mistakes early on that may have otherwise railroaded me and got me off track. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to the realm of Stephen King adaptations for a first-impressions review of the new IT, whose vision of 1980s childhood camaraderie and adventure shares a lot with STAND BY ME’s vision of 1950s childhood camaraderie and adventure — only with a really scary clown in the mix. We dig into how the two films reflect some of King’s favored tropes around bullies and adults, how they each handle their period settings, and whether or not they’re both “rite of passage” movies. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STAND BY ME, IT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Stephen King’s PET SEMATARY and “Why is John Denver's Music In So Many Movies This Year?” by Karen Han at Vulture.com • Keith: Robert Bierman’s VAMPIRE’S KISS • Scott: Houda Benyamina’s DIVINES and Adam Leon’s TRAMPS Outro Music: New Kids On The Block, “Hangin’ Tough” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Should you podcast alone, or get a cohost? Cohosts can make some things easier, some things harder. Here's help you to pick what's right for your podcasting.

Potential benefits podcasting with a cohost First, let's focus on the positives, and probably the reasons you're thinking of podcasting with a cohost.

A cohost can bring additional content and perspective Unless you have a mental clone, another person on your podcast will have a different perspective from different experience. This could be in small areas like seeing something you missed, or in big areas like holding a drastically different set of beliefs.

This variety brings more ideas and a more thorough approach to content.

For example, one of our ONCE podcast cohosts studied Greek mythology. When the Once Upon a Time TV show had a story arc deep in Greek mythology, she brought fantastic expertise and perspective to our conversations! What would have taken me time to research and understand (if I even recognized things), she was able to explain from the knowledge she already had.

Here are several tools I recommend for collaborating with cohosts (episode 220).

A cohost can create dialogue It takes a lot of intentional practice and personal development to monologue well. But even when you're good at talking by yourself, energy can be missing. For example, comedy is a lot easier when there's someone else to laugh at your story or punchline. Without that instant feedback, your timing could be all wrong or you may undermine your own comedy (such as with an “uh” while you wait for the joke to hit).

Monologues aren't bad. But dialogues can be a whole lot more authentic and personable. Thus, they can be more entertaining or more engaging for your audience.

Dialogues can also help your audience feel more represented. Your cohost could ask you the same questions your audience might be asking.

A lecture-style podcast, like The Audacity to Podcast, is not the only way to teach. You can teach through dialogue or even a shared presentation.

A cohost can share podcasting responsibilities I think a lot of starting podcasters don't have realistic expectations for how much work creating and growing a successful podcast can take. Most of us can't simply record and publish in a single sitting with no other overhead. Podcasting effectively takes planning, preparing, presenting, producing, publishing, and promoting (episode 165).

I already covered an aspect of sharing the presentation responsibilities, but a cohost can also help in potentially three other important parts:

Preparation: Collaborate on your content before you record. You bring some of the content, and your cohost brings the other content. You can segment this however works best for you.
Production: Your cohost might have the skills to edit your audio or video, write your show notes, capture sound clips or screenshots, or design images to make your podcast better.
Promotion: Having multiple people participating in your podcast means potentially double the reach to your existing and potential audience. You can both share the latest episodes on your personal accounts and take turns engaging in relevant communities.
A cohost can help with consistency Many experts across many fields agree that consistency is one of the most important things to building influence and relationships. And your podcast is no exception.

It's much easier to be consistent when you have a cohost. This is probably because there seems to be a lot more tangible reward or penalty associated with your consistency. For example, if you and your cohost have a weekly schedule, then you know you have to be ready when you connect with each other.

And because you and your cohost (or cohosts) share the burdens of your podcast (whether it's some of the workflow responsibilities, or simply bringing content to each episode), it means it's easier for you since you're not taking the whole burden yourself.

Potential disadvantages podcasting with a cohost Working with cohosts is not without potential disadvantages. These may be avoided with proper planning and agreements, but they should certainly be handled agreeably between you and your cohost.

A cohost can complicate things Schedule, ownership, responsibilities, and especially money can all get complicated when more than one person is involved in your podcast. For example, who owns the podcast if one of you wants to quit? Who has to pay the bills and who gets to keep how much of any money that comes in? Who has to take responsibility if certain things go wrong?

You should listen to “10 tips for podcasting with cohosts” (episode 114) for ideas on how to prevent or handle such complications.

Having a cohost can also complicate your podcasting technology requirements, whether they're in your studio or remote.

A cohost can bring down your podcast If you don't have sufficient agreements in place, it's possible falling out with your cohost could result in the death of your podcast.

But even before a show's death, if a cohost isn't doing their job well or isn't bringing their best to the microphone, your episodes and your audience could suffer. I've seen cohosts kill humor, stop a good flow, and pull the conversation into negativity.

A cohost can distract you While it's true a cohost can help remove distractions so you can focus on the podcast—whether they're sharing responsibilities or they're carrying the conversation in an episode while you're doing something else—they can also distract you.

For example, you may have a lesson you want to share, but your cohost keeps interjecting thoughts or contradicting your information. There is certainly a time for that, but if that moment is the wrong time, then it can become a major distraction for you and your audience.

You or your cohost could also have issues outside that podcast that may creep into the episode (and thus bring it down, as with the previous point), or that looms over you and distracts either of you from performing. I remember a couple times I had a personal issue with a cohost and that hurt our on-mic performance.

A cohost might not be a good podcaster You may be a seasoned podcaster: you have good mic technique, you know how to tell a good story, you know what your audience wants, you're focused on improving your podcast by being in Podcasters' Society, and you're skilled with all your podcasting tools. But your cohost might be none of those things.

What makes a good friend or business associate doesn't always make a good cohost. You do need a good dynamic with each other, but they might be lacking necessary skills to be a good cohost.

For example, they might be horrible with technology and thus always mess up some aspect of the audio quality. Or maybe they're not good at speaking to an audience, so their funny story or interesting insight might not be easy to understand.

The good thing is all this can be learned! You can find tools to simplify your process (even if it means sacrificing a little quality). You can help them improve their microphone technique. And you can help guide (or even edit) the conversation so it communicates well.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Louie Marsh, from the USA and host of Disciple Up, wrote, “… Daniel is a natural teacher and encourager and is open and honest with his audience. I've learned so much from him and can tell you for sure that my podcast, Disciple Up would not exist without his help. That help includes several personal e-mails he took the time to send me. He doesn't just share information, he cares about his audience as well and that really comes through.” * Sean MacGuire (AKA “Godless Poutine”), from Canada and host of Share a Slice with Sean, wrote, “I first saw Daniel on YouTube reviewing mics and immediately discovered a wealth of good information. Now you could find this same information elsewhere but it's the crystal clear, warm and calm delivery Daniel uses which really encourages rather than overwhelms. I say overwhelm because that's how I felt with the adoption of my second son as newborn and the ongoing challenges with raising the first. I was still dealing with the pain of having to reset my expectations of releasing weekly or even twice monthly when I heard Daniels excellent episode on podcasting when life becomes unpredictable. I wish I had found the episode when I was struggling to get baby and first born to sleep and then sitting there too tired to work on the podcast and not having had the chance to talk with my wife the entire day! In short, fantastic podcast and extraordinary episode, Daniel. It raised my spirits.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

On the surface, Andy Muschietti’s new adaptation of Stephen King’s IT is about a scary clown and fear itself, but beyond that, it’s also about friendship, nostalgia, and the moment when childhood ends — themes it shares with another of the better cinematic King adaptations, Rob Reiner’s 1986 film STAND BY ME. In this half of our comparison of the two films, we speculate why King thought STAND BY ME was the first film adaptation to get his work right, what in the film holds up (the performances), and what doesn’t (that framing device). Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS and DETROIT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STAND BY ME, IT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “Stand By Me” by Ben E King Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Effective follow-up can make a huge difference to the growth and success of your podcast. Here are some tips to help you!

Follow up after publishing episodes Your work isn't done when you click publish. Now, it's time to promote that episode!
Share it on your social-network accounts
Pull out quotable moments to turn into images, “audiograms” (such as with Wavve or Audiogram), and tweets
Send an email to subscribers
Share it in relevant communities where appropriate
Respond to comments on the episode
Continue promoting for as long as it's relevant (such as with SocialJukebox)
Follow up after events I think it's ironic that in my previous episode about mistakes to avoid at events (episode 321), I forgot to include the mistake of not following up!

When you attend an event of any kind, you probably meet new people, get new ideas, and have things you'll need to take action on when you return. Your investment being at the event could be wasted if you don't follow up afterward.

For people you meet, I recommend collecting a business card and writing something about your conversation or next step. You can easily scan cards with Evernote and then set a reminder. When you return (or maybe even from the event), follow up with an email or other forms of contact.

When you get an idea or learn something you want to try, make sure it's recorded and accessible later. You could even set a reminder for yourself to review your notes and take action at a specific later date.

Follow up after interviewing When you interview someone on your podcast, follow up with a simple and genuine note of gratefulness. When you publish the episode, send another follow-up with the relevant links and suggested messages and other resources your guest can use to share the episode with their audience.

But don't pester your guest to promote your show. You already received their greatest value: the content in your episode.

Follow up after guesting When you are a guest on someone else's podcast, make sure you follow up with any promises you made to the host or to their audience. For example, free offers or engaging in the comments.

Even if the host doesn't ask you to, follow up by promoting your appearance on their podcast. You could even consider adding it to a reposting queue to share on your social networks every few weeks (SocialJukebox makes this easy).

Follow up after requests Whether you're asking for a guest, a product to review, feedback, or making any other request, be patient and allow some time for the person to read and respond to your request. But don't leave it alone for too long! Consider a quick follow-up message or call to ensure they saw your first request.

I really like Boomerang for Gmail to manage this kind of follow-up. I can set an email thread to return to me at a later date based on certain conditions, such as if they haven't responded, if they haven't opened the email, or regardless of engagement.

Follow up after offers If you offer something to your audience, follow-up to ensure they get it.

For example, if it's a special offer you send to your email subscribers, make sure you send another email before the offer expires (but filter out anyone who already took the offer).

And for the people who take your offer, follow up to ensure they received what they expected. You could also take that opportunity to connect them with more relevant stuff. For example, I can promote my SEO for Podcasters course to anyone who previously accessed my free podcast SEO cheat sheet.

What other ways do you follow up in podcasting? Comment to share the tips or tools you use!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Ronnie Obenhaus, from the USA and host of Redeeming Bad Movies, wrote, “Thank you, Daniel. Your positivity and passion have inspired me to start my own podcast. Your episodes helped to give me confidence to just start. I feel like my content has gotten better over time and I owe a lot of that to you. So thank you sir. The Good in the Bad by the Ugly podcast is a passion project of mine to try and get people to rethink their initial ratings of movies. With your enthusiasm, I was able to add a voice to my thoughts. Now, with my ramblings, the army that is my listeners can help bring a movie from the brink of obscurity to the safety of mediocrity. Thank you.” * Allen C. Paul (AKA Ap88keys), from the USA and host of The God and Gigs Show, wrote, “When I first realized that a podcast would be a good fit for my project God and Gigs, my faith-centered community of mainstream artists and musicians, I was immediately worried that I wouldn't be able to figure out all the nuances of yet another broadcast medium. … After a few fruitless Google searches, I found Daniel's show, and his clear and concise style immediately made it seem less stressful to find information. … I'm thankful for this show for helping me successfully launch the first episode of the God and Gigs Show. …”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

For the second half our gentleman-thieves pairing, we bring LOGAN LUCKY into the discussion, to see how it fits into the reliably eclectic filmography of Steven Soderbergh, and how it stands up to its clear forebear within that filmography, 2001’s OCEAN’S ELEVEN. But there are marked distinctions between the two films as well, from their wildly different settings and characters to the mechanics and styles of their central heists, all of which we get into in Connections. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about OCEAN’S ELEVEN, LOGAN LUCKY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Matt Spicer’s INGRID GOES WEST • Keith: Michael Curtiz’s THE BREAKING POINT • Tasha: Jules Dassin’s RIFIFI and Sidney Lumet’s DOG DAY AFTERNOON • Scott: Eliza Hittman’s IT FELT LIKE LOVE and BEACH RATS Outro music: Farrah Mackenzie, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Attending events relevant or beneficial to your podcast can hold exciting opportunities—unless you make these mistakes.

I also recommend you listen to “How to Get the Most from Podcasting and Social-Media Conferences” (episode 229) and “9 Tips for How to Grow Your Audience by Attending Social-Media Events” (episode 54).

Going without a plan You may be tempted to wait until you're at the event to go with your feelings on decisions, but this often leads to missing important things.

If you have people you want to meet, sessions you want to attend, or other things you want to do, you'll be far more likely to accomplish them all if you make a plan before the event.

Committing or trying to do too much Even with a plan, it can be easy to overcommit yourself at an event. Schedules need margin for each event to account for travel, traffic, overtime, physical needs, and any other kind of delay or extension.

At Podcast Movement 2017, I wanted to record audio interviews for a podcast episode and record video testimonials from Podcasters' Society members. Neither of these actually happened because I didn't have a plan and even if I did, I was trying to cram too many things into an already tight schedule with other commitments.

Neglecting your body's needs Events can be rough on your body. There's the stress of travel, the potential shift in time zones, probably less sleep, a lot of talking, contact with germ-carrying creatures (often called “other humans attending the event”), and the adrenaline rush that can distract you from what your body needs.

Podcast Movement 2017 was right after I had a weird tonsil issue, so my throat was still sensitive and I was prone to frequent coughing. So I needed to hydrate with a lot of water. Consequently, this also meant I had to use the restroom quite frequently. Neglecting either of these physical need would have put me in greater discomfort and reduced health.

Listen to my hilariously embarrassing story of when I neglected my body's needs at a CES.

Investing in the wrong places I want to make this point with my own experience, which could be completely different from your own results.

At this point, I have very little booth and sponsoring experience with conferences: I've had a booth at two Podcast Movements. But what I'm about to share is more a reflection on me, my business, and what I have to offer. So this is not about the potential value of sponsoring in general, or of sponsoring Podcast Movement.

That said, I now realize it was a mistake for me to sponsor with a booth at Podcast Movement. This is because I realized it's not a good fit for me. I think the advertised cost for my little kiosk was $1,800. Add to that the expense of getting banners made and my investment was a little over $2,000.

I loved having a place where people knew they could almost always find me. But it became more of a burden that meant I had to be there almost the entire time.

At least this year, I had fellow Podcasters' Society expert Erik K. Johnson (also host of The Podcast Talent Coach and cohost of Podcast Review Show) helping me with the booth, and that was a wonderful relief when I needed a break or it was time for my session. And Erik did a great job representing Podcasters' Society and My Podcast Reviews.

So why was this the wrong investment for me?

Having a booth is great for brand awareness. But I realized that I don't need to raise awareness for Podcasters' Society (maybe for My Podcast Reviews). If the only people who joined Podcasters' Society were people, like you, who already follow me or the other experts, then it would still be a success. In fact, I'd rather have you join than some random stranger who doesn't already know me or the other experts. Thus, I did not and do not need to raise awareness to strangers. It would be far better for me to better market to the audience I already have.

Having a booth is also great when you need a “home base.” This is great for live-streaming, demonstrations, and even some kinds of interviews. This one aspect was, indeed, good for My Podcast Reviews, which speaks for itself better in a demonstration than my marketing material does. But that's a product available for free or as little as $5/month (depending on your needs).

So to earn back the $2,000 investment, I would've needed about 50 podcasters to join the $5 plan and stay for at least a year. The investment would be easier to earn back from new Podcasters' Society members, but that's still something I could more effectively promote to my existing audience and probably get better results.

Plus, I think that $2,000 could have been better invested into many other ways to improve my marketing or even my products themselves, and the returns would have been greater.

So, for me, my business, and what I had to offer, a booth was the wrong investment. I spent under $200 to buy a meal for all my present Podcasters' Society members, and I think that was a far more worthwhile investment into relationships, even though they were relationships that I already had! (I'm guessing each person who joined us for breakfast feels a little more connected and maybe even more loyal after that.)

But your situation could be completely different. For example, companies like Libsyn, Blubrry, and Spreaker had much greater potential to reach their existing and potential customers through a booth.

It could also be that you do need to raise awareness to strangers or have a “home base” for your operations.

And it could even be that while bag inserts were a good investment for me, they might not be for you.

The real unfortunate thing about this is that you might not know the right answer for yourself, unless you either invest and learn the hard way, or hire an experienced consultant to save you before you invest further.

Investing could also mean your time.

I think it can be easy for anyone—introvent or extravert—to spend most of their time with people they already know. It's certainly good to invest in those relationships to continue growth. It's also good to invest in new relationships or seek to grow shallow relationships into deeper ones.

You might also find you get more or less benefit at an event by investing most of your time with a small selection of vendors instead of trying to see them all. For example, at NAB Show 2016, I ended up speaking with very few companies: Sennheiser, Adobe, Electro-Voice, and a couple others. I could have spent only a day at the event with only those few companies, and I think it would've been a good investment.

On the other side, you might overinvest into one particular vendor and miss a bunch of other opportunities.

So, again, you have to figure out what the right investment will be for you.

Taking too much stuff I've learned to pack light when it comes to clothing. (At many events, you could go half-naked and return with a new wardrobe! At least a wardrobe full of T-shirts.) But when it comes to technology, I tend to overpack. At least I didn't have to lug around my notebook PC, thanks to my lightweight iPad and keyboard.

Since I was trying to do too much at Podcast Movement, I took a DSLR camera, tripod, wireless microphone, and even an LED light panel and reflector! How much of that did I actually use? NONE OF IT!

I could have used all that gear if I had planned better and didn't overcommit.

I remember my first BlogWorld and New Media Expo (RIP). I took four boxes of business cards!

This also applies to how much you're carrying around during the event. Do you really need to carry a bunch of gear, marketing materials, or tech if most of your time will be spent in sessions or conversations?

Shying away from conversations And speaking of conversations, that's often where the most value and long-term impact can be from events. One of the most disappointing things someone could say to me after an event is, “I wanted to talk to you, but it looked like you were busy or I didn't want to interrupt.”

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO INTERRUPT!

Events are full of good networkers. These are the kinds of people who, when they see someone standing nearby, waiting for someone, will expand the circle of people to invite that person into the conversation. I'm trying to practice that myself.

The other mistake in shying away from conversations is in being literally shy. Maybe the person you want to meet is a celebrity to you. Please don't let that stop you from meeting them! They may have only a small amount of time and no relationship may come from your meeting, but you should still try to get what you can.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Steven Soderbergh’s recent return to feature filmmaking, LOGAN LUCKY, has drawn comparisons to the director’s 2001 smash hit OCEAN’S ELEVEN, and not without good reason: The two crowd-pleasing heist films share a lot in terms of their structure, team dynamics, and filmmaking style. In this first half of our discussion of the two films, we dive into Soderbergh’s OCEAN’S to talk over how this finely tuned entertainment machine reflects its director’s preoccupations as a filmmaker, how it utilizes its movie-star-heavy cast, and whether it has anything deeper on its mind than a good time at the movies. Plus, some belated feedback from our recent episodes on 1968's PLANET OF THE APES and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about OCEAN’S ELEVEN, LOGAN LUCKY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Outro music: “A Little Less Conversation” by Elvis Presley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

To “profit” from your podcast means money to many people. But I think “PROFIT” stands for something more, and every podcast needs it!

Make PROFIT stand for something I like the profound philosophical sound of that headline, but I also mean that PROFIT is an acrostic for the different types of profit a podcast can bring:

Popularity
Relationships
Opportunities
Fun
Income
Tangibles

Thus, profiting from your podcast can mean much more than merely making money.

Furthermore, PROFIT isn't only about what you gain from your podcast, it's also about what your audience gains. What's in it for them?

Thus, as I talk about what PROFIT is, think about it from the perspective of what you gain and what you give.

Popularity Some people enjoy fame. With popularity often comes influence, the ability to affect people's thinking.

A podcast can certainly help you become popular. After all, you're the one with the microphone and audience! Whether your audience is tens of people or thousands of peoples, you can be popular and be looked up to by your followers.

But how do your podcast help your audience get popular? How do you help them influence others (for good, I hope)?

Relationships When most people reach the end of their lives, you hear them talk about their relationships. When many people reach success, they credit their relationships. And when many people struggle, they depend on their relationships.

Podcasting creates relationships: friendships, partnerships, community, and even marriages!

You usually can't put a price on a relationship—almost any relationship!

Podcasting can introduce you to some of your best friends. Podcasting can connect you with partners who can help boost your business or push you toward your goals. And podcasting can give you friends around the world. I know because podcasting has done all that for me, too.

Yes, podcasting can make competitors from some friends, but your maturity can make your relationships stronger than that.

What kind of relationships do you appreciate now that you couldn't have had without your podcast?

Now, think about how your podcast helps your audience improve their relationships. Maybe you become their one friend. Maybe you give them the courage to do what's right in their relationships. Maybe you distract them from relationships long enough that they can refocus with a new perspective.

Opportunities Dave Jackson's School of Podcasting has a frequent segment called, “Because of my podcast.” The answers are always amazing! Because of their podcasts, I've seen people get their dream jobs, get to travel abroad, get to try interesting things, get to attend exclusive events, and more.

How do I get to speak at podcasting and social-media conferences all over? Because of my podcast.

How have I had the opportunity to interview some celebrities? Because of my podcast.

How have I been featured on local TV and heralded as an industry expert? Because of my podcast.

I don't share this to brag, but to give you a glimpse of what's possible.

None of these opportunities happened overnight. Most of them happened after years of consistent persistence. And most of them happened because of relationships.

What opportunities has your podcast created for you? And how can you help create amazing opportunities for your audience?

Fun Yes, fun is a way to profit. You can make people laugh or cry; you could help them focus or get distracted when needed; and you can give them, and yourself, something to look forward to.

Having fun is a totally acceptable reason to podcast. For you and any possible cohosts to have fun and invite your audience to have fun with you.

And fun, like all these other aspects of PROFIT, is not exclusive of the others. You can have fun and monetize. You can have fun and create opportunities.

Make sure you're keeping podcasting fun (episode 152) for yourself and for your audience!

Income Yes, money. Although I recommend everyone to find the PROFIT in their podcasts, that's not always money. And money should almost never be the main goal.

It's only a minority of podcasters who can attribute their entire income to their podcast, especially so direct that if they stopped podcasting, their income would cease. Even successful podcasters like Pat Flynn or John Lee Dumas earn the majority of their income from outside their podcast, but their podcast does bring the audience.

I often see polar opposite ideas in podcasting: either that income is evil and should never be considered, or that income is the primary goal. I think both of these ideas are wrong.

A hobbyist podcaster isn't concerned with getting a paycheck from their podcast (if they are, then I'd say they're no longer a hobbyist!), but they also shouldn't undervalue themselves or others.

A business-oriented podcaster might be obsessed with monetizing their platform, but they should focus on delivering real value.

There are plenty of ways to make money from podcasting: direct and indirect. But have you considered how your podcast can help your audience with their own income? Maybe you save them money. May you help them spend money on better choices. Maybe you help them be more productive so they can become indispensable. Maybe you help change their mood so they're able to serve others better within their jobs.

Tangibles The final type of profit is the kinds of things you might normally have to pay for but is loaned or given to you because of your podcast. For example, movie passes, free travel, products to try (and sometimes even keep), and more!

Despite what you might think, this type of profit is often not exclusive to the most popular podcast, but it's more about relevance and quality. For example, audio-gear companies frequently let me borrow or even keep gear to test, review, provide feedback on, or simply use.

This kind of profit takes time because you have to build a reputation. Stick with it and you could someday have more offers than you can handle! Look back to “How to Get Press Access for Your Podcast” (episode 313) for some more about positioning your podcast to receive such tangibles.

YES! You must PROFIT! I think PROFIT is possible and even necessary for every podcast. Without PROFIT for you and your audience, what's the purpose of your podcast?

These 6 types of PROFIT are part of the 5 cornerstones of a great podcast: content, presentation, production, promotion, and PROFIT. That's what Podcasters' Society is all about: helping you improve your podcast so you can PROFIT (even if that's without income)!

Podcasters' Society is now open to new members and this is the best way to get what you need to improve and grow your podcast after episode one. Come join us for encouraging community, inspiration training, and expert support!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Joe Shortridge (“Toledo Joe”), from the USA and cohost of 222 Paranormal, wrote, “I am always scanning the podcast to learn more. I landed on your podcast and a ray of light shined through the roof and landed on my computer. LOL This by far is the best and most informative podcast out there. Thank you so much for all your help. Keep up the great work. Oh and your episodes on security made me go back and change a lot of things. I didn't realize how many things I was doing wrong. Oh and I did have a file in my comp called Passwords, ….” * Philip Wilkerson (“illphil500”), from the USA and host of Positive Philter, wrote, “… each episode provides me with at least one tangible action step that I can use. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Like Gillo Pontecorvo’s BATTLE OF ALGIERS, Kathryn Bigalow’s new film DETROIT expresses a strong point of view on racial injustice through a careful recreation of a real historical event — and also like BATTLE OF ALGIERS, it’s stirred up some controversy surrounding its docu-journalistic approach. We unpack that controversy, and DETROIT more generally, before diving into how the two films compare in their visceral style, their portrayals of law enforcement, their use of female characters, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, DETROIT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Dave McCary’s BRIGSBY BEAR • Keith: Sabaah Folayan and Damon Davis’ WHOSE STREETS? and Ronal Neame’s HOPSCOTCH • Scott: Gillo Pontecorvo’s BURN • Genevieve: Amanda Lipitz’s STEP Outro music: The Roots, “It Ain’t Fair” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Recording audio or video podcasts at an event can present many challenges. Here's the onsite podcasting equipment I recommend to make your production great!

No one expects studio quality Events are noisy, but that's okay for your podcast as long as the primary voices can be heard and understood above the noise.

You don't have to run noise removal. When your audience knows the context of the recording, they'll be more forgiving of a difference in quality. You don't have to apologize for it or explain it; saying simply, “I'm at [event] …,” is usually enough for your audience to understand the context and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Assuming that you'll be in a noisy environment, the biggest things that will affect your podcast are your microphone's pickup pattern and your own mic technique.

The closer you are to the microphone and the more you stay within its pickup range, the more it will pick up your voice over the background noise. So ensure you always have the microphone pointed at you, and that you're as close as possible.

Whatever podcasting equipment you choose from my following recommendations, test it and familiarize yourself with how to use it before you take it to an event. The worst audio I've ever recorded happened when I used someone else's gear at CES and the system wasn't configured properly, so my recordings had such horrible preamp hiss that it was impossible to edit out.

Cringe with me at this horrible audio:

Simple: handheld recorder A handheld recorder like the Zoom H1 or Tascam DR-22WL is small enough to fit in your pocket, but has built-in microphones good enough for using almost anywhere!

When I attended the NAB Show in 2016, I used a Zoom H1 as my handheld interview mic and I was very pleased with the results! With a windscreen and mic flag, it didn't even look like I was holding a tiny recorder.

Here's an example video (no noise reduction was done on this):

The microphones on the H1 and DR-22WL are condensers, but that doesn't mean they pick up more noise (that's a common misconception). The microphones are directional, so they do well to pick up the audio directly in front of the and reject more of the surrounding audio.

This works great for audio podcasts, and I used for my interviews at Podcast Movement 2016 in “Creative Solutions to Podcasting Problems” (episode 278).

A handheld recorder like this can also work for video, as you saw me accomplish, but it means having to synchronize your separately recorded audio and video, which can complicate your workflow.

Higher quality: handheld mic and recorder For higher quality, a more professional look, and more comfortable performance, consider a handheld interview mic connected to a recorder.

At NAB Show 2015, I borrowed a Sennheiser MD46, which is one of my two favorite handheld interview microphones! It has a long handle, internal shock protection, and it's more directional with its cardioid pickup pattern. This video demonstrates how I used it and the results I got:

That video also shows my other recommendation: the Tascam DR-10x plug-on XLR recorder. This recorder connects directly to your microphone, so you still have the cord-free freedom of a digital audio recorder, but with a fantastic microphone attached.

Another great microphone is the Electro-Voice RE50N/D-L. Like the Sennheiser MD46, this microphone is XLR and has a wonderfully long handle, but it's omnidirectional, so it's more forgiving if you're not good at pointing an interview microphone back and forth.

A long handle is really nice for single-mic interviews because your arm doesn't have to work as much and pointing the microphone back and forth could be a simple turn of your wrist. Watch how much I have to move my arm in the above Pilot Fly video compared to the DR-10x or EOS 70D videos.

Like a handheld recorder, using a plug-on recorder with a handheld mic can work for video (as you saw me do in the Tascam DR-10x video), but it still requires manually synchronizing the audio.

Sit-down discussions: mics, recorder, and headphones The previous two options are great for “record and run” interviews where you have to move around a lot. The simple and compact solutions make the gear extremely portable, but do require some skill.

If you're going to an event where you'll be mostly stationary, such as having a booth or other designated recording area, you can use more versatile options.

I recommend the Zoom H5 or H6, or the Sound Devices MixPre-3 or MixPre-6. These recorders are good enough for directly connecting multiple microphones. You could optionally add a headphone splitter and a pair of headphones for each participant, which would help them stay on mic.

Then, your microphones could be almost any XLR mics with a reasonable desktop stand. I like that the repackaged Samson Q2u microphone (which is very similar to the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB or AT2005USB) now includes a riser for their tiny desktop mic stand. A couple of these, cables, and your recorder can easily fit in a small carrying case.

Many of the podcasters in my Podcasters' Society group have used this kind of setup and had great results! These include Lee Ball (This Is Rammy), Jason Bryant (Mat Talk Online), and Max Flight (Airplane Geeks).

If you use the Zoom H6 or even the Zoom H5, you'll love my new Zoom H6 for Podcasters course!

Video interviews: camera, mic, wireless system Everything gets more complicated when you add video because it's another dimension to your recording.

All of the above methods could work with video, but they would each require synchronizing the audio. So if you can afford it, I highly recommend upgrading to a wireless system so you can record your audio directly into your video camera.

I recommend (and recently purchased for myself) the RØDE RØDELink Newsshooter Kit. Like the RØDELink Filmmaker kit, this is a completely digital wireless system. It smartly adjusts to the best channel in the 2.4 GHz spectrum.

The Filmmaker kit includes a transmitter and RØDE's fantastic LAVALIER mic. That's great for solo video shooting in a controlled environment, but it's not very good for events, especially for interviews. Thus, I prefer the greater versatility of the Newsshooter because it's a plug-on transmitter for XLR microphones. Thus, you could get the Sennheiser MD46 or Electro-Voice RE50N/D-L and wirelessly transmit the audio from the great interview mic directly into your camera. This makes postproduction significantly easier!

When you do this, I recommend you turn your camera's input level to one notch above completely off, and then let the RØDELink's higher-quality preamps do the work to amplify your audio.

The next time I do video interviews at an event, you'll see me using an Electro-Voice RE50N/D-L, transmitting through a RØDELink Newsshooter into my Canon DSLR or a Sony Mirrorless camera.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Mark Struczewski, from the USA and host of The Mark Struczewski Podcast, wrote, “In early July 2017, I decided to join the podcast movement but had no idea how. So, I went to my iOS Podcast Player and searched “podcast” and Daniel's is one of the first ones that popped up. In just a few weeks and after about 10 episodes, I've learned so much. … Because of Daniel, my show notes are not boring. They are more detailed …. More than anything, Daniel has given me the confidence to create The Mark Struczewski Podcast (which is about taking your productivity to the next level). …” Read the full review. * David Caddy (“DustyStripes”), from Australia and cohost of Tangential Soup, wrote, “I discovered the Audacity to Podcast six months ago when I was gearing up to start my own. I've been an avid listener ever since and have caught up on plenty of the back catalog … . Daniel regularly shares words of wisdom from his years of casting experience and his passion is infectious. … The episode discussing loudness levels has proven especially invaluable in improving the quality of my podcast.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Podcasters' Society is now reopen for new members! Join for help with everything after episode one!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Rode RodeLink FM Digital Wireless Filmmaker System

Tascam DR-10X Plug-On Linear PCM Digital Audio Recorder for XLR Microphones

Rode RODELink Newsshooter Kit Digital Wireless System for News Gathering and Reporting

Sennheiser MD 46 cardioid interview microphone

Electro-Voice RE50N/D-L Handheld Interview Omnidirectional Microphone with N/DYM Capsule and Long Handle, 80-13000Hz, 9.5" Length, Semi-Gloss Black Finish

Tascam DR-22WL Portable Handheld Audio Recorder with WiFi,Black

Zoom ZH1 H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder

View Details

Kathryn Bigelow’s intense, controversial new docu-drama DETROIT owes no small debt to Gillo Pontecorvo’s intense, controversial 1966 film THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, which covers another volatile historical moment with a potent mixture of newsreel-style realism and expressionistic fervor. In this half of our comparison of the two films, we discuss what makes BATTLE OF ALGIERS such an unsettling and resonant film, debate what point it’s making around the issues of terrorism and torture, and, somehow, find the echoes of Pontecorvo’s film in James Cameron’s AVATAR. Plus, a listener takes us up on our request for feedback on “anything else film-related” with a fruitful prompt on unadaptable adaptations. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS, DETROIT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

If your podcast isn't improving, it might be stagnating. This can hurt your growth and your potential. Here's what you need to improve!

If you want to make your podcast better, the best way I know (because I designed it for this) is to join Podcasters' Society. It reopens this week!

Change Getting better means something has to change. That could mean adding, removing, or improving any aspect of your podcast.

Consider a marriage. The relationship won't get any better unless the husband or wife change in some way. That could be accepting something that's unchangeable, or it could be changing something that's unacceptable.

Doing the same things the same ways won't give you different results.

Intention “Practice,” alone, doesn't “make perfect.” Consider a starting pianist learning their scales. They could keep messing up at the same place for a mystical 10,000 hours and still never get better at their scales.

To improve, you must be intentional. Yes, it's possible to accidentally do something better, but repeating that requires intention.

Humility Contentment is important, and I think humility is a type of dissatisfaction about your present place while acknowledging that there is something better.

The person who thinks they can't be any better than they are has simply reached the edge of their own knowledge and can't see there's more beyond their limits.

Patience There's no magical “10,000-hour” rule. Improving, changing, and growing all take time. You might try something new with your podcast and not see results for several weeks or even months.

I remember getting both excited and discouraged when I earned my first few dollars in Amazon affiliate income. It was so minuscule that it didn't seem worth it. Now, many years later, my Amazon affiliate earnings are very important to my business's income. If I had given up then, my business couldn't be where it is today. (That actually applies to many aspects of my life.)

Curiosity I think the core quality of self-improvers is curiosity: a drive to try new things, discover alternatives, and test the limits. Perhaps that's innate, or maybe it's fostered.

Investment Making anything better requires investing resources. Making your podcast better may take time or money; one often counterbalance the other. You can invest money to upgrade your tools, hire help, or invest in marketing and potentially see quick results. Or, you can invest time to learn or do things yourself.

I can hold a dollar in my hand for 20 years and—unless that dollar is a collectible—it won't increase in value or given me a greater return later.

Critique A painful part of growing and improving is some necessary negativity. You may not like hearing that you wasted time in your podcast, something failed, or that something isn't as good as you thought it was. But such critiques (even from harsh criticisms) are necessary to find exactly what needs to be fixed.

Other people Lastly, but certainly not least important, you need the perspectives of other people. Going back to a marriage example, I can think I'm the best husband in the world and truly believe I'm doing nothing wrong. But what does my wife think?

We each have faults we can't see. So we must be grateful when others point out our blindspots, because they see something we might have never seen.

Oh, I have countless times where I've said or done something I thought was acceptable (or had no reason to think it wasn't), but someone else had the courage and kindness to share a truth I didn't know.

You don't have to be perfect! I've listed several things I think are required to make your podcast better. I don't think you must have all of these things, but it's certainly easier to change when you have more of them.

But perfection is the goal you should never have because it's impossible to reach! Yes, there will be flaws and there will always be ways you could be better. The maturity in all this is in recognizing your shortcomings and working on what you can.

And if you need help to improve and grow your podcast, I think there's nothing better than Podcasters' Society! Check out my new promotional video!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Jonathan Bloom, from the USA and host of FrazlCast, wrote, “I met Daniel J. Lewis years ago at a local event. Since then I started up my new podcast, FrazlCast, and each time I've had a question—Google has brought up his show each time. There is a reason, Daniel explains things in a simple to understand, yet deep way.” * Scott Smith, from the USA and host of Recovering from Religion Podcast, wrote,”… [Daniel] sets the example by interacting with his listeners through Twitter, Facebook, email and livestreaming on Facebook where he answers questions. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to the PLANET OF THE APES series to see how it’s evolved from the 1968 original to Matt Reeves’ stunning new WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES. After discussing why the new trilogy, and WAR in particular, works so well in the current era, we examine how the two ends of this franchise speak to each other over the span of five decades, discussing their ape effects, their social themes, and their very different central performances. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PLANET OF THE APES, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Scott: Amanda Lipitz’s STEP, Kogonada’s COLUMBUS, and Brett Leonard’s THE LAWNMOWER MAN • Keith: the rest of the PLANET OF THE APES original series • Genevieve: The Ross Bros.’ CONTEMPORARY COLOR Outro music: The Kinks, “Apeman” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

You may not need to spend thousands on multiple pieces of audio equipment to get a good-sounding podcast. Here are modern solutions.

Audio equipment has significantly matured since I first talked about bare minimum equipment in my early few episodes. Back then, I still recommended a microphone and mixer. Today, the options are a lot simpler and more versatile!

IMPORTANT: Preorder The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary I believe anyone can share a message to change the world, and podcasting is the best way to do that! That's why I'm so excited about The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary. Please preorder your own copy so we can get the movie to #1 in iTunes and show the world the power of podcasting!

Basic: solo and VoIP In the simplest form, all you need to make an audio podcast is a microphone and recorder. You could use the mic built into your smartphone (which is better than the mic on a phone headset). With some good technique and a low-noise, low-reverb environment, you can get decent results.

But if you want to be serious about your show, I really recommend you get a dedicated microphone. For starting out, I recommend the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB.

While this certainly is the best USB microphone, I think it's the best for most starting podcasters (and a better choice than the Blue Yeti or Snowball).

It's USB for connecting directly to your computer
It has a built-in 3.5 mm headphone jack for monitoring your own voice. And if you set your PC's output to the ATR2100-USB, you'll hear audio from your USB through the same headphones.
It sounds good.
It's a cardioid mic, so it picks up less side audio.
It also has XLR so that if you ever upgrade to professional audio equipment, you don't have to throw away your mic.
And the ATR2100-USB has a lifetime warranty!

Because of that lifetime warranty, I still think the ATR2100-USB is a better choice than alternatives. But sometimes, the nearly identical Audio-Technica AT2005USB or Samson Q2u are more affordable or available in other countries.

With nothing but this microphone and your computer or mobile device (with a USB adapter), you can easily record solo shows. Many apps and services, such as Ringr, Zencastr, Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype, Pamela, and such will let you record both your own voice and a remote participant—even into separate tracks!

It's possible to combine multiple USB microphones, especially with Spreaker Studio for Windows and macOS, but this gets more complicated and it's when you would want to consider further upgrades.

Intermediate: multiple people and same location When you need to start mixing multiple participants, especially in the same location, that's exactly what a mixer is for.

But mixers often come with complications, such as routing and recording. Plus, low-cost mixers mix all channels together into a single stereo channel, so you can't take advantage of multitrack recording.

That's why a mixer might not be the best next step. Instead, consider a professional digital audio recorder. I recommend the Zoom H4n Pro or especially the Zoom H5 or Zoom H6.

These devices are actually simple enough that you could record directly into them with their own built-in microphone or included mic capsule. You can even use them as a USB microphone connected to your computer or mobile device (Elsie Escobar, cohost of She Podcasts and The Feed – The Official Libsyn Podcast, does this for her podcasting)!

But where the H4n Pro and especially H5 and H6 stand out as an intermediate solution is that you can connect multiple XLR microphones (as well as 1/4″ or 3.5 mm lines) to mix and record in multitrack—without a computer! Plus, these recorders can be powered via batteries or an AC power adapter, so you can have extreme portability and a small physical footprint.

You can use inexpensive XLR microphones, theATR2100-USB/AT2005USB/Q2u, or even connect high-end professional microphones, like the Electro Voice RE320.

There's a whole lot these recorders can do, especially the Zoom H6. So I'm thrilled to announce the availability of my new Zoom H6 for Podcasters course! This is designed for the H6, but most of the information is applicable to the H5 as well. This course teaches all about configuring the H6 for podcasting, choosing the right mic capsule, and even shows how you can accomplish multiple mix-minus outputs without a mixer! Zoom H6 for Podcasters will be available on August 15, 2017, for only $79, but you can preorder it before its release and save $10!

Advanced: high versatility and portability If you want much more versatility in your podcast setup, but you still don't want to compromise portability, a new champion option has arrived!

The Sound Devices MixPre-3 and MixPre-6 do come with a high price: $649 and $899, respectively. But one of these could easily replace a mixer, multitrack digital audio recorder, multitrack USB audio interface, and multichannel analog limiter! Thus, it's the about the same value, but the MixPre-6 still packs more features. And their physical footprint is almost as small as a book! I recently got to borrow and record a video review of a MixPre-6, and I think the MixPre-6 and MixPre-3 are almost perfect! With a few tweaks (that could be very likely), I might be replacing my Behringer X1832USB mixer, Behringer MDX4600 compressor/limiter/gate, Zoom H4n, and multiple USB audio interfaces with a tiny MixPre-6!

So while the Zoom H6 requires a little hacking to get a mix minus (and I show how to do it in Zoom H6 for Podcasters), the MixPre-3 and MixPre-6 make it easy. And the Zoom H6 can only be either a recorder or an interface, but the MixPre-3 and MixPre-6 can be both a recorder and interface simultaneously!

So for someone like me, with multiple pieces of audio gear, multiple power plugs, multiple ground loop isolators, and a spaghetti of cables and adapters, a single MixPre-6 could connect to my microphones and VoIP devices with ease! The only thing it can't do—that a Zoom recorder can—is be a microphone.

What's right for you? It's easy to spend way too much money on features you may never use in your own podcasting. (Such was the case for my friend and fellow podcaster from Cincinnati Joe Taylor, host of On Faith's Edge. He recently downgraded from a mixer to a Zoom H6 and has loved it!)

I used to hate getting new shoes when I was a kid. My mom would make me try a pair on both feet and walk around in them. Then, she would have me stand still while she would squash my toes with her thumb as she felt how much room there was to grow into the shoes.

Shopping for podcasting gear needs to be kind of how my mom shopped for my shoes. Consider what you know you truly need and add a little margin to account for a growth.

That's why I will never recommend a USB-only microphone: there's no room to grow! If you have a USB-only microphone, you have to replace it when you want to use professional audio equipment.

These options may not give you the ultimate flexibility of a high-end mixer with multitrack interfacing and recording, but they are great minimums—both in price and size—with room for expansion.

Listen to “When to Upgrade Your Podcasting Tools” (episode 232) for more thoughts on picking the best podcasting gear for future growth and when you should upgrade.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Madalyn Sklar, from the USA and host of Twitter Smarter Podcast, wrote, “Daniel J. Lewis shares the best, most helpful advice of starting, hosting and running your own podcast. I look forward to every episode! He cares about his listeners and is always on the cutting edge of what's new and worth taking notice.” * > What if you could learn helpful Twitter tips, tricks & resources that will help you get noticed right now? As a top ranked Social Media Power Influencer, I have a simple goal of teaching people how to “work smarter not harder” on Twitter. Each week I interview amazing movers and shakers in the world of social media and online marketing like Pat Flynn, Mari Smith, Kim Garst, Mark Schaefer, Michael Stelzner, Peg Fitzpatrick and leaders at HootSuite, InfusionSoft, ManageFlitter, Mention and so many more. I’m asking them one simple question: “What are your best Twitter tips?” In this podcast you’ll get the best Twitter information & resources that you can use right now. Join me on this journey where you'll learn what the pros are doing so you can become Twitter Smarter. * Issa, from the UK and host of Young Free and Coupled Podcast (UK), wrote, “As a fellow podcaster and devout podcast consumer, The Audacity to Podcast helps me out doubly! (if thats a real word). Very informative and straight to the point but also extremely easy to listen to. Keep up the good work Daniel, you have helped me so much with my podcast and I will continue to listen when new episodes come out.” * > Here at Young Free and Coupled we have a very unique outlook on everything. We take in information, apply our ‘realness' filter, then converse in the most eloquent way possible to you guys! We have been married nearly 10 years, have four children (whom we homeschool), live in hustling and bustling London, and we love to talk. This podcast is our way of putting our unique views out into the world and staying off the beaten track of celebrity news and other fodder out there. That's not to say we don't discuss what everyone else is, just that we extract the hidden lessons and scenarios, and talk about the underlying issues they may provide us.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Get my new Zoom H6 for Podcasters course! Learn everything about using a Zoom H6 for podcasting in my new video course. I cover settings, connections, mix minus, USB interfacing, and more!

Zoom H6 for Podcasters will be available for $79 on August 15, and you can save $10 if you preorder before then! If you join Podcasters' Society, the Zoom H6 course is included, along with several other courses, at no extra charge!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Electro-Voice RE320 Large Diaphragm Dynamic Vocal Microphone

Zoom H4N PRO Digital Multitrack Recorder, Black (H4nPro)

Samson Technologies Q2U USB/XLR Dynamic Microphone Recording and Podcasting Pack (Includes Mic Clip, Desktop Stand, Windscreen and Cables), silver

Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone,Black

Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone

Zoom H5 4-Track Portable Recorder for Audio for Video, Music, and Podcasting, Stereo Microphones, 2 XLR/TRS Inputs, USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered

Zoom H6 6-Track Portable Recorder, Stereo Microphones, 4 XLR/TRS Inputs, Records to SD Card, USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered, for Stereo/Multitrack Audio for Video, Podcasting, and Music

View Details

This week, we’re exploring two films from the opposite ends of the same ape-filled franchise. First, we focus on the cry of “YOU MANIACS” heard ’round the world, 1968’s PLANET OF THE APES, which introduced a fruitful concept that would continue evolve through sequels, TV series, remakes, and a modern prequel series, the most recent installment of which, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, we’ll discuss in Pt. 2. In this half, we tease out the various thematic notions that have kept this premise enticing over the decades, debate the merits of Charlton Heston’s hammy lead performance, and more. Plus, some spirited feedback from our recent episode on A GHOST STORY. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PLANET OF THE APES and WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, and all other ape-related queries, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

With the release of iOS 11, Apple supports new podcasting tags for your podcast RSS feed. Here's how you can start using them today.

What are the new and updated iTunes tags for podcasts? At WWDC 2017, Apple announced iOS 11 and released information about new tags being added to the iTunes podcasting spec and coming support in the Apple Podcasts app.

<itunes:type> (show/channel level): “episodic” for non-chronological episodes that will behave as they have for years and download the latest episode, or “serial” for chronological episodes that should be consumed oldest to newest.
<itunes:episodeType> (episode/item level): “full” for normal episodes; “trailer” to promote an upcoming show, season, or episode; or “bonus” for extra content related to a show, season, or episode.
<itunes:title> (episode/item level): only the episode title—no episode number, season number, or show title. This can be used with any show and episode type.
<itunes:episode> (episode/item level): any number to indicate the current episode number, which can be relative to the entire show (like “316”), or relative to the current season (like “5”). This can be used with any show and episode type.
<itunes:season> (episode/item level): any number to indicate the season in which this episode belongs. This can be used with any show and episode type.
<itunes:summary> (episode/item level): this updated (but not new) tag is best for a short description of your episode. It will display above the full show notes.
<content:encoded> (episode/item level): this updated (but not new) tag is for your full show notes. It will display below the title and summary.

Listen to my episode 310, “Apple's iOS 11, Podcast Analytics, and Podcasting Spec Update,” for more information about these new and updated tags.

Using the new iTunes tags in PowerPress If you're using WordPress with the PowerPress plugin to generate your RSS feed, the following steps will help you enable the new podcast tags for iTunes. You will probably notice red “new!” text next to the new options.

Login to your WordPress admin dashboard.
If you aren't already PowerPress 7.1 or later, go to Dashboard > Updates and update PowerPress (you may have to click “Check Again” if the update isn't listed yet.)
Go to PowerPress > Settings > iTunes tab.
Set “iTunes Type” to “Episodic” or “Serial.”
Then go to the Episodes tab.
Checkmark the new tags you want to use: “iTunes Summary Field” (old, but new behavior), “iTunes Episode Title Field,” and “iTunes Episode Number, Season and Type Fields.”
Click Save Changes.
Create or edit a post.
Scroll to the “Podcast Episode” widget.
If you're changing an already-published episode, checkmark “Modify existing podcast episode.”
Enter the appropriate information in the new “iTunes episode” and “iTunes title” fields.
Enter a one- or two-sentence description in “iTunes Summary” or leave blank to use your excerpt (if written) or a truncated version of your show notes.
Click Update or Publish when you're finished editing your post.

Using the new iTunes tags in Libsyn If you use Libsyn to host your media and manage your podcast RSS feed, the following steps will help you use the new podcast tags for iTunes.

Login to your Libsyn account and show.
Click on Settings in the menu.
Scroll down to iTunes Show Type and choose between “Episodic” and “Serial.”
Click Save.
Go to Content and either “Add New Episode” or “Previously Published” to find an already published episode to update.
Go to the Details tab.
Enter your full show notes in the “Description” box.
Scroll to “iTunes Optimization” and enter the appropriate information in the new “iTunes Title,” “Episode Type,” “Season Number,” and “Episode Number” fields.
Enter a one- or two-sentence description in “iTunes Summary” or leave blank to use a truncated version of your “description.”
Click Publish when you're finished editing your post.

Using the new iTunes tags with a different podcast-publishing system PowerPress and Libsyn are my top recommendations for creating and managing a podcast feed. As other podcast-publishing platforms add support for the new tags, their processes will each be different. However, you will probably see the new tags in these places:

Show-level settings to set “iTunes Type” to either “Episodic” or “Serial.”
Episode-publishing and updating interface for the additional tags:”Episode Type,” “iTunes Title,” “Season Number,” and “Episode Number.”

You can probably expect to not see these new features in FeedBurner's SmartCast or SoundCloud.

Apple gave enough advanced notice and documentation of the new tags that if your podcast-publishing system doesn't support them by the time iOS 11 is released in fall 2017, then I recommend switching to Blubrry or Libsyn and use my affiliate promo code “noodle” to get a free month.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * David J Harmon (AKA “Graphikos Man”), host of Star Citizen Zone, wrote, “Thanks for help on podcasting, it's a hard world out there to podcast.” * Steve, from the Marshall Islands, wrote, “I am a new listener but have been binge listening. I have been wanting to find information on how to podcast etc. It seemed to be an endless search pulling pieces from several sources. This podcast, and the website are exactly what I needed to get started and motivated to launch.” * Gail L. Nobles wrote, “I love how you explain about niches, profit, and the voice of podcasting. You cover so many things. Thanks for sharing your great knowledge! Thanks for building our confidence, and sharing your ideas and opinions! Audacity is great. Thanks for sharing the meaning of the word! ????????????????❤️”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Come see me at Podcast Movement and be part of an episode by telling me what inspired you to start your podcast. If you haven't registered yet, use promo code “noodle” to save 10%.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to a plane somewhere between life and death (and between horror and drama) to discuss David Lowery’s new A GHOST STORY, both on its own and in the context of Herk Harvey’s similar haunting and genre-defying CARNIVAL OF SOULS. We talk over how the two films tackle big, weighty concepts like the nature of time and the afterlife, as well as how their distinctive use of music contributes to their eeriness. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CARNIVAL OF SOULS, A GHOST STORY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Genevieve: Douglas McGrath’s EMMA • Tasha: Tom Weaver’s interviews with Candace Hilligoss on BMonster.com and Hirokazu Koreeda’s AFTER LIFE • Scott: Brian Knappenberger’s NOBODY SPEAK: TRIALS OF THE FREE PRESS and Malcolm D. Lee’s GIRLS TRIP Outro music: Dark Rooms, “I Get Overwhelmed” from A GHOST STORY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Word of mouth is the best way to grow your podcast. Here's how you can inspire and equip your audience to share your podcast.

Make a great podcast Nothing else you can do to your podcast matters as much as making a great podcast. If your podcast is horrible, then no one will want to share it, regardless of how easy you make the process.

When people consume content, they're looking for one or both of these two things:

They want to be helped—inspired, educated, motivated, informed, encouraged, etc.
They want to be entertained—humored, amused, provoked, engaged, etc.

If your podcast doesn't do at least one of those things, then you have some important work to do.

Liken your podcast to a restaurant. It doesn't matter how good their branding and marketing are, if the food and service are horrible, no one will want to eat there, let alone recommend it to others.

Your audience might already be telling you how good your podcast is (or isn't) in their feedback or podcast reviews.

Is your podcast actually good?

Ask for shares This may seem obvious, but it's often forgotten. If you want your audience to do something, you have to ask them to do it!

The first thing to do is make sure you always give value before you ask for value in return.

I think many podcasters can easily fall into giving too many calls to action: subscribe, rate and review, comment, share, donate, support the sponsor, follow some recommendation, and more. So the second thing to do is stop asking your audience for so much. Reduce and simplify the things you want you audience to do.

Of all the things your audience could do for you, telling others about your podcast is usually the best. That will help your podcast grow far more than ratings and reviews.

How you ask is also important. Focus on the benefits your audience can give to others by sharing your podcast. Don't focus on the benefits you get.

For example:

Bad: “Please share the podcast so we can get more subscribers.” This focuses on what you gain.
Better: “Please share the podcast so our community can grow.” This focuses more on growing the community your audience is in.
Best: “If you liked this episode and think someone else would, too, please share it!” This focuses on helping your audience help others.

Write descriptive, shareable titles As I teach in my SEO for Podcasters course, titles are the most important text on the Internet. By default, titles are what display in and most-affect search results, what show in podcast apps, what display largest on your website, and what share in social networks.

A good title will be three things:

Descriptive—making it clear what the episode (or overall podcast) is about
Compelling—inspiring curiosity to relevant people
Shareable—short and written without first-person pronouns

For example, imagine an episode that seeks to share and review the best vanilla cream sodas.

“Bottle Fights” is cute, but wouldn't describe the episode's contents.
“Vanilla Cream Sodas” is more descriptive, but it wouldn't compel people to click on it.
“My Favorite Vanilla Cream Sodas” is descriptive and a little more compelling, but it's not shareable because the “My” becomes the voice of the sharer.
“The 10 Vanilla Cream Sodas You Should Try” now incorporates all three principles.

Enhance the website experience A frequently asked question in podcasting is about which link you should use when promoting your podcast.

The most common options are:

Your main website
Your Apple Podcasts / iTunes URL
Your Android subscription URL
Your episode's web page
Your “how to subscribe” page

I think the best strategy is for you to promote all of these with some rotation and in relevant contexts.

But for your audience, the best and easiest thing for them to promote is either your episode directly from their podcast app, or your episode's web page.

You need to make it a positive experience when people visit your episode's web page. There are several ways to do this:

Embed a big, obvious player near the top of the page
Provide a written summary of the episode (no more than a paragraph)
Provide more thorough show notes (such as an outline or article)
Link to the top subscription options
Offer social-sharing buttons

Your primary goal should be to make your podcast's website as easy as “visit website; press play.”

Add the right social-sharing buttons Social-sharing buttons are now standard for website content. And if you want your audience to share your content, adding social-sharing buttons is the simplest way to make that possible.

Plugins like Social Warfare can give you buttons for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Email, Buffer, Google+, and many, many more.

But offering more choices for sharing makes the decision harder, and even reduces the chances of someone's sharing your content. Thus, you don't want to litter your site with every social-sharing button a plugin offers, but you need to look at your website analytics to see what social networks are most popular, and include only those buttons.

At the least, I recommend Twitter and Facebook buttons, as those are usually two most common ways for people to share and engage. Then, other buttons will depend on what fits your content and audience the best.

For example, if you have a creativity-focused site with a lot of attractive images, Pinterest will be really important for you and your audience.

Social Warfare is my favorite plugin for adding social-sharing buttons to a WordPress website, and it has great options built in.

Optimize the social metadata Don't stop with merely enabling the social-sharing of your content. By default, social-sharing tools will use the web page title, first or featured image, and an excerpt (if written) or the first words of your post. That may not be the best experience for your current and potential audience.

There are plenty of ways to make your content stand out and thus be even more shareable. Using Social Warfare for example, you can do all the following for each post on your site:

Add a custom wide image that will be embedded with your link on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and other social networks
Add a custom tall image that will share to Pinterest, since tall images work best on Pinterest
Write a custom title and description for when your episode is embedded on different social networks (including Facebook, Twitter, and Google+)
Write an optimized message, with possible hashtags and @mentions, for sharing your content on Twitter and Pinterest—a separate message for each!

There are other plugins, such as Yoast SEO and some other social-sharing plugins, that will allow you to set this custom metadata, but I like the way Social Warfare does it best.

Look for other ways to simplify sharing Whether integrating social-sharing on your site, automating sharing on your own social profiles, or even following up with guests, make the process as easy as possible and appropriate for the context.

For example, if I'm a guest on your podcast, you could send me some suggested messages and link I could share on my own social accounts. Such messages would be best if they are short, written from my perspective, and communicate the reason I think my audience should listen to your episode.

For example:

Bad: “Listen to @theDanielJLewis on the How to Be Awesome podcast! [link]”—This is bad because I would never need to @mention myself in my own message, and it doesn't tell my audience why they should listen.
Better: “I had a great time on @JohnDoe's podcast. Listen at [link].”—This is better because it's in my voice, but it still doesn't tell my audience why they should listen.
Best: “Do you know what the best cream soda is? Listen to us talk about sodas, podcasting, and more on @JohnDoe's podcast: [link]”—This is personal, descriptive, and compelling.

You can offer these as text someone can copy and paste, or get fancy with your own links that will prefill a message from their account.

Within your post, you can also simplify sharing of content from your episode, instead of merely sharing the episode. This could be pull-quotes, images, “audiograms” (short, animated videos with an audio excerpt, such as from Wavve or Audiogram), or other kinds of excerpts.

Whatever you do, remember to keep it simple, relevant, useful, and to not overwhelm your audience with too many options.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Paul C., from the United Kingdom, wrote, “I keep pretty much all Daniel's episodes loaded on my iPod in my car and routinely listen to them over and over again. I'm currently on episode 13 of my own show and still learning new things to consider and incorporate. Daniel has a very patient, clear style which suits me and I rather wish I'd listened to his show earlier! But plenty of stuff to take on board for the more accomplished podcaster too. I now look forward to each new release.” * Steve Higdon (“Katinrok”), from the USA and host of The Insider Threat Podcast, wrote, “Thank you so much for the fantastic tips and strategies that you provide for people trying to improve their podcasts. Without your show, there is no way that The Insider Threat Podcast would have even gotten off the ground, much less experienced the unexpected success that we have had so quickly.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by David Lowery’s new A GHOST STORY, we’re looking back at another microbudget horror-drama that’s haunting in both the literal and puntastic sense: Herk Harvey’s creepy cult hit CARNIVAL OF SOULS, a 1962 oddity about a woman trapped somewhere between life and death who can’t ditch the strange figures following her. In this half of the discussion, we look for links to Harvey’s background in industrial filmmaking and interest in European cinema, contextualize the film’s strangely wooden performances, and consider just what makes this strange film work, seemingly against all odds. Plus, some feedback on recent episodes and a brief discussion of another pairing we discussed for this week. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CARNIVAL OF SOULS, A GHOST STORY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

You are influenced by the people around you. So here is who you should have in your circle to help your podcast succeed.

For the geeks, this is episode 314, which is commonly known as pi. Thus, the “circle” theme.

Cohosts If you have one or more cohosts, you need to be friends with them and have connections outside the podcast. This helps with the energy, flow, and experience of your podcast.

Glenn the Geek, from Horse Radio Network, suggests picking the kinds of cohosts you wouldn't mind to take on vacation with you. This is a great mindset because you and your cohost need to have relationship dynamics stronger than those of mere coworkers.

If you and your cohost don't have a good relationship, try to either fix that, or consider getting a new cohost.

Audience The people listening to and watching your podcast should be part of your circle of influence because they should be your podcast's top priority. They can inspire new content, critique new ideas, encourage perseverance, and more.

When you welcome your audience into a circle with you, the stop being merely an audience and start becoming a community.

And remember to never treat your audience as “below” yourself. You are a leader to your community and that could mean being only a couple steps ahead of your followers, not a tyrant lording over them.

Peers It's a huge help to know, talk to, and hang out with others who share your interests. These peers could be fellow podcasters across different genres, but who share the same passion for this method of sharing a message. For example, local podcaster meetups, online communities, events like Podcast Movement (use promo code “noodle” to save 10%!), or Podcasters' Society.

These peers could also be people who participate within the same niche, but who may not necessarily be podcasting, too. Such as bloggers, YouTubers, companies, and such.

But remember that your peers are usually not your ideal audience. This is why it's neither a generous nor profitable idea to share the latest episodes of your podcast with your peers (such as in online communities).

Competitors There are probably other people who podcast about the same topics you do. And yes, I think you should not only allow competition within your niche but also invite your competitors into your own circle.

This requires a lot of maturity on your part and that of your competitors, but it can be profitable for both of you—in opportunities, income, and more.

For example, I consider Dave Jackson a very close friend—and we're actually competitors! But that's okay because we attract different types of people and we have different approaches and offerings. But beyond the details, it's a huge relief to have someone else doing the same kind of thing I do and with whom I can relate in struggles, victories, frustrations, and more.

I think your goal should be to create community and collaboration with your competitors.

Mentors Cohosts, audience, peers, and competitors are all mostly on equal levels with you, maybe a little behind or a little ahead. That can be great for encouragement and support. But to accomplish major change and growth, you need people farther ahead of you.

Imagine you're in a pit. The other types of people with you can boost you from the same level to help you out of the pit, but a mentor can reach down from above and pull you out, or see the situation from a completely different perspective and give you better advice.

Mentors could be direct, such as one-on-one coaches and consultants. They could be indirect, such as a speaker or author. Or they could be direct as one-to-many in a coaching group, membership, or some other community under their leadership (like Podcasters' Society!).

You can grow slowly with the other kinds of people in your circle, but if you want to improve and grow more efficiently, then you need a mentor of some sort.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Nick Savides, host of The nsavides Podcast in the USA, said, “I've been producing my podcast for a couple of years now, and there's still so much to learn or update. … The Audacity to Podcast has become my go-to show when I want to get up to speed on a certain podcast topic. I'll just try the search bar on the show's site, and more often than not, Daniel has already released an episode that addresses my question. The show is definitely an invaluable resource to the podcast community.” * Justin K. Hite, host of The Failed Artist Podcast in the USA, said, “Just came across this fantastic podcast, and have already binged on around 5 episodes this afternoon. Daniel does an amazing job of presenting the topics (and the content, info) for all enthusiasts of the industry. This is essential for all podcasters!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Bong-Joon Ho’s new Netflix release OKJA has some commonalities with Chris Noonan’s 1995 family film BABE — beyond just a porcine protagonist — but it’s a decidedly different animal. In this half of the discussion, we talk over the odd beast that is OKJA, then consider the how it and BABE both engage with the question of whether it’s wrong to eat meat, how they use very different settings and time periods to similar effect, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BABE, OKJA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Keith: Nicholas Ray’s THEY LIVE BY NIGHT • Scott: Alison Maclean’s THE REHEARSAL • Genevieve: Edgar Wright’s BABY DRIVER, Michael Showalter’s THE BIG SICK, and James Mangold’s LOGAN NOIR Outro music: The Mamas and The Papas, “Dedicated To The One I Love” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Press access can get you sneak peeks, free trials, and more value for your audience. Here are 11 tips to help your podcast get these special media privileges.

Invest in professionalism Despite the popular advice, many people do “judge a book by its cover.” Even though this may seem wrong, as creators, it only makes sense to make the “cover” match the quality of the contents.

Look at everything that could give a possible first impression about you and your podcast:

Your logo
Your audio branding
Your production quality
Your presentation skill

These and more things combine to form the brand by which people perceive and recognize your podcast.

It's okay to have some fun and break some rules here and there. And if you want press access, you must demonstrate a level of professionalism that will help others trust you.

You don't have to spend a whole lot of money on this, but you should invest what's necessary to make you stand out—or at least stand close enough to the colleagues in your field.

Stay in your niche This may already be obvious to you, but it's important enough to emphasize. The press access you're pursuing must be relevant to your niche. If your podcast is primarily about video games, it may be difficult to get press screenings for movies.

However, there may be times where your niche is a theme more than a media. For example, my own ONCE podcast covers ABC's TV drama Once Upon a Time. That show is about magic, fairy tales, hope, and other classic stories. So to both my audience and outsiders, it makes sense for the podcast to review movies like Beauty and the Beast, Fantastic Beasts, and Into the Woods because these movies appeal to the same audience and carry many of the same themes.

Keep an updated “portfolio” As they say, “it takes money to make money,” it also takes reputation to build reputation.

When you approach a company and request press access, they will probably want to see samples of your other work, so they can know how professional and relevant you are.

This “portfolio” of sorts can be past episodes or special posts. And you don't need special access to make these things. Review something—maybe even anything—relevant to your niche and do a great job.

As with a regular portfolio or list of testimonials, you want to display your best stuff. So as you get better, update your list so you're always showing off your best work.

And the portfolio can help you reach higher. For example, you may have never reviewed a theatrical movie release, but your DVD and Blu-Ray reviews can help you get there. Or you may have reviews from one field that can help you cross over into another field.

I suggest adding to this “portfolio” often enough that your latest sample is not older than a year. Some places, such as the Consumer Electronics Show, want to see proof that you've been in the space for a while and are staying current.

Be timely When I first got press access to movie screenings for Are You Just Watching? (our entertainment-based critical-thinking podcast for Christians), the representative said movie studios are more interested in getting the word out quickly than necessarily getting it out to the largest audience.

So whether you're reviewing books, movies, products, or anything else, publish your content as quickly as possible. This will not only enable you to help the company spread the word about their new thing (which is the whole reason they would give you access), it also gives you something to promote at the absolute best time to promote it.

Talk to the right people Most big companies already have a process in place to get coverage for their new stuff. They may have a press section on their site, and email list for news and updates, or contact information for media inquiries. In the event you can't find such resources, the next best thing to do is directly contact the company and ask to connect with their marketing department.

The profound truth is customer service is interested in serving customers, sales people are interested in selling, and the marketing people are interested in promoting the new stuff. So it's the marketing team you want.

Some companies will hire a third-party marketing firm. This can often be better for you, because that marketing firm may represent other companies you also want to work with.

If you can find only the name of the marketing firm, you can contact them and ask for who represents the company you're interested in, or even find a specific person through LinkedIn and other social-network searches.

It can also help to talk to others you know have the same kind of access you want. They may be able to refer you to exactly the right person, or find the right person for you.

Build relationships Until you become popular enough for people to pursue you, you have to go out and build relationships. In other words, become known to the company: known for using and liking their products, known for talking about them, known for providing valuable feedback.

To become known, you have to show up and care. So stay connected with the company. If they're at an event you're attending, stop by and chat, even if they have nothing to offer. If they have something to celebrate, congratulate them. If they have news to share, pass it on to your audience.

When they see you engaging with them, it will be easier for them to engage with you.

Plus, don't focus on only relationships with those companies you want access to, start building relationships with the other press nearby. Especially as a podcaster, you may be unique from everyone else covering the same event, and if you build relationships with the others, it could lead to special value for your own audience, or special opportunities for you to get other press coverage.

Become a journalist Companies don't want only opinions, they want publicity, especially to highlight their strengths. Becoming a journalist doesn't mean you have to silence your opinion, be unbiased, or share only the facts. It means being thorough, sharing both sides where possible, accurately reporting the information, and maintaining a standard of integrity.

Along the way, you may need to learn about necessary disclosures. For example, if you're paid for the review, given a product for free, bought the product yourself, and such. This level of transparency, especially when paired with personal honesty, will build trust with your audience and with the companies.

Focus on relevance, not numbers When you're just starting out, you may not have impressive numbers: website stats, podcast downloads, and such. But the raw numbers are sometimes merely a way to filter out the amateurs.

When you can demonstrate professionalism and, most importantly, relevance, your small numbers may not matter as much.

Make yourself available An incredible thing happens with reviews: they compound. When you review one thing, the makers of similar things will often want you to review their thing, too. So you need a process in place for handling such requests. That could be a special contact page, a footnote on all your reviews pointing others to how they can submit something for review, and making yourself reachable for reviews.

As the requests start to come in, it can be tempting to say yes to all of them. But you must remember to stay in your niche and not to overcommit.

Respect Companies are putting a lot of faith in you when they let you review what they offer. So they may impose deadlines, require nondisclosure agreements (NDAs), or place an embargo to prevent information from being released prematurely.

Your compliance with such agreements, legally binding or otherwise, is crucial for both your own reputation and for the company's own success.

Yes, this may mean you don't get to be the one to “break” the story. But a lasting relationship is better than a momentary blaze of attention.

Another aspect of respect is that you are honorable in how you treat the company and their product. Don't damage the product and don't slander. You can be honest about what you don't like, but that's not an excuse to attack the company.

Your mom's advice could be relevant here: “If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all.” If you truly hate the thing you reviewed, consider giving such feedback directly to the company instead of broadcasting the negativity to others.

Persist Lastly, you may do all these things and still not succeed in getting press access. But don't give up!

Check in with the company every now and then—no more frequently than once a month. It could be a bad time for them, they could have limited quantities, or they may not have taken the time to consider how serious you are.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Rhonda Orr, host of The Rhonda Orr Show, wrote on Stitcher, “I love this podcast, and I am admittedly not a techie! But Daniel does a great job on his non-technical episodes … dare I call them “philosophical?” … and I enjoy his point of view. They're always worth considering, and I've applied many of his concepts to my podcast, The Rhonda Orr Show. I think my first episode was the one where Daniel said it was cliche to use an image of a microphone or headsets in your cover art. He was right. So I didn't! Thank you for all your advice.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by Bong Joon-ho’s new OKJA, we look back at another whimsical fantasy film about a super-pig and its human, albeit one of a decidedly different breed: BABE, Christopher Noonan’s 1995 family hit about a taciturn farmer and his innocent sheep-pig. In this half of the discussion, we consider the film’s well-honed storybook sensibility, the endurance of its then-cutting-edge special effects, and the note-perfect perfect performance at its center. Plus, some of the excellent feedback we received on our recent episodes on THE THING and IT COMES AT NIGHT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BABE, OKJA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

While Americans celebrate their independence on July 4, we podcasters can celebrate our independence with every episode! Here's what makes the independence of podcasting so powerful.

Direct connection with your audience Never before podcasting have you been able to consistently and directly communicate with a global audience using the authenticity of your own voice. Your message is being communicated directly into their ears, and often exclusively and individually.

Additionally, there's no “middle man” in podcasting. Your audience can subscribe to your show from their own location and with their own app preference. They don't have to go to authorized distributors, be part of a membership, or use a particular app.

Even if you never listed your podcast in catalogs, such as Apple Podcasts, your audience could still subscribe directly to your content without needing Apple's approval.

Authentic passion The written word can be altered and perfected. You can write something, refine it, have others edit it, get an authority's approval, and repeat the process until everything is perfect.

That doesn't really happen in podcasting.

You're speaking with your voice. You can edit or script, but such things are evident in the final results. But you can't edit passion and authenticity. It's raw, relatable, and powerful.

When you speak a message, even if only through audio, others can hear your confidence, your passion, and your skill to communicate. If writing was like one dimension, speaking is like three dimensions!

Power of the niche I recently spoke about podcasting to a group of IT professionals—most of them above 40 years old. I asked, “How many of you played video games in the '80s?” and most of the hands went up. I then asked, “How many played video games on a computer at home during that time?” and about half the hands went up. I narrowed it down further and asked, “How many of you played on an IBM PCjr?” Then, only two hands were raised.

Up until that point, the response had only been raising and lowering of hands, and maybe some grins. But then I asked those two people, “Did either of you play King's Quest on a PCjr?” And without hesitation, the one remaining person answered, “OH YEAH!”

(Side note, one of my guilty-pleasure podcasts is Upper Memory Block—all about these kinds of DOS-era PC games.)

There was the niche; and with it, the passion! None of those attendees expressed enthusiasm when I asked about video games during the '80s. But when I got into the niche, then someone got excited.

Popular broadcast media is designed to appeal to a broad audience. It has to, or else it won't pay its own bills!

But as podcasters, we can, “Boldly go where no man has gone before.”

You may find a niche and hit an audience ceiling of 100 people. But those 100 people are much more passionate about that niche than about the broad topics. And in that passion is great power: power for intimate connections, power for influence, and even power for profit.

This is how “small” podcasts can have a more loyal following that the podcasts topping the charts. Your podcast may not be #1 in any public ranking, but it could be #1 to your audience.

And that's true power!

Your rules Although there are some technical rules to follow for your podcast to be compatible, you can set your own rules for everything else. You can say what you want, when you want, and how you want.

You can be as holy or profane as you want. You can be as tolerant or prejudice as you want. There are, certainly, recommendations and principles to consider, but you can make your own rules—or even break your own rules.

(Yes, there may be platform restrictions, but I'll address those later.)

Your agenda As a podcaster (especially an independent one), you can choose whom you let advertise on your show—or take no sponsorship at all! You can be uninfluenced by the agendas of advertisers, endorsements, networks, producers, executives, and more.

If you want to podcast purely for fun, you're under no obligation to monetize. If you want to be honest about a product or service, you can! If you want to promote only your own products, services, or agenda, you can! It's your show and your agenda!

Portable consumption There has never been another media you could consume consistently and without interruption regardless of where you go. Download your favorite podcast and listen while you commute, work, relax, shower, fall asleep, and more.

You're not at the mercy of signal strength, local programming, or devices with reception. With a device that can fit in your pocket, you have a world of information available, and you can take it with you wherever you go.

That's what makes audio especially powerful. Video can show you places, but audio can take you there. Plus, you can take audio anywhere you go.

Ownership of your platform Unlike other forms of media, podcasts are decentralized. Yes, there are big directories, like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play Music, and such. But those merely point back to your own platform and direct distribution method.

Even if you get kicked out of Apple Podcasts or some hosting service, as long as you own your own platform, you can keep your audience and take them with you. This is because your audience subscribes to your RSS feed, not someone else's. In fact, most podcast apps (certainly all the good ones that are developed by people who understand the podcasting industry) allow people to subscribe to an RSS feed even if the feed isn't listed in any catalogs.

With your own platform, you can change tools without losing the audience you worked hard to build.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * BEFaske wrote in iTunes (USA), “What I appreciate most about Daniel is his willingness to share so much for free, despite being in the podcast business. While he isn't shy about promoting his Podcaster's Society, numerous website plugins, and other revenue-generating offers, I never feel like he is ‘selling' me anything during this show. He has the heart of a teacher and I think it's worth subscribing and listening.” * Amanda Semenoff, host of Overthinking Conflict, wrote in iTunes (Canada), “Having recently launched our podcast, I really appreciated how much of the necessary information was right here. Daniel saved me a lot of time and headaches.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My H6 for Podcasters course is launching soon! Make sure you're on my email list for an opportunity to get a preorder discount! * Speaking of discounts, Amazon's annual “Prime Day” is July 11 and will probably bring many great deals on podcasting stuff. Sign up for Podcasting Deal alerts so you won't miss the big savings!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to matters of isolation and paranoia in the second half of our comparison of John Carpenter’s THE THING with Trey Edward Shults’ new horror-drama IT COMES AT NIGHT. After debating IT COMES AT NIGHT’s difficult ending and almost perverse commitment to ambiguity, we talk over what the two films share — and don’t — in their portrayals of paranoia, the ties that bind, the apocalypse, and, naturally, dogs. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE THING, IT COMES AT NIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: John Sayles’ LIMBO and Jack Sholder’s THE HIDDEN • Keith: Brad Bird’s THE IRON GIANT • Scott: Alain Guiraudie’s STAYING VERTICAL Outro music: Brian McOmber, “It Comes At Night” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

You may sometimes fall into a podcasting rut and you've lost your passion. Here are 9 tips to help you get out of the funk and back to your podcast!

Refocus on your “why” Why are you podcasting? What's the “profit” in your podcast?

It can be easy for us to get so focused on the everyday of our podcasts that we forget why we wanted to do them.

Your “why” could be to simply have fun. It could be to talk with amazing people. It could be to share the conversations you're already having. It could be to connect with others who share your passions. It could be to build something bigger.

You've probably heard the story of the bricklayers:

A man came upon a construction site where three people were working. He asked the first, “What are you doing?” and the man replied, “I'm laying bricks.” He asked the second, “What are you doing?” and the man replied, “I'm building a wall.” As he approached the third, he heard him humming a tune as he worked, and asked, “What are you doing?” The man stood, looked up at the sky, and smiled, “I'm building a cathedral!”

Now, imagine if the man had asked why the bricklayers doing this. It might go something like this:

A man came upon a construction site where three people were laying bricks for a cathedral. He asked the first, “Why are you doing that?” and the man replied, “Because I was told lay bricks for my job.” He asked the second, “Why are you doing that?” and the man replied, “To provide for my family.” And then he asked the third, who said, “I'm helping to change the world.”

So why are you podcasting? Refocus on that original reason. Or, it's possible your “why” has matured over time, but you've simply forgotten about it.

Read your testimonials It's easy for a negative review or piece of feedback to discourage us. But I suggest keeping a collection of your best feedback. Especially if the praise is a testimonial that supports your “why.”

This could be a folder in your email program, a list of favorite tweets, a tag or notebook in Evernote, or your 4- and 5-star reviews from My Podcast Reviews.

Don't look for pure praise. Look for the transformations you have caused. For example, I have many emails and podcast reviews from people who said I helped them launch their first podcast. Or I revealed a way they could improve. Or I helped them overcome a struggle.

Even if you have an entertainment-focused podcast, you could be the cause for someone's only smile or laughter in an otherwise depressing day.

Take a limited break We're not designed to work without stopping. Our bodies need rest, and so do our minds!

A break could be a season-long hiatus or it could be only a few minutes. The point is to detach yourself from the work and give your brain a rest. This allows you to come back with fresh perspective.

Even in preparing this episode, I took a brief break to reheat some delicious meatloaf for lunch. While I was standing by the microwave, not even thinking about this podcast, two more ideas came to me.

I recommend your break be as away from the work as possible. So you're not simply switching browser tabs, but you're moving to a different place (with or without your computer).

Before you take your break, set a limit on how long it will be and honor that limit. If the break will affect your audience, then let them know about it and tell them when you'll be back.

Hang out with passionate people One of the biggest rewards I get from attending events is new inspiration. Sometimes, that's from stuff I learned. But it's often simply from being around passionate people.

It's best if you can have something in common with these passionate people, but it doesn't have to be podcasting. (Although the best place to hang out with other passionate podcasters is as Podcast Movement! Use my promo code “noodle” to register and save 10%!) You might hang out with others passionate about the subject you podcast about, or it could be something completely unrelated.

Passion is contagious. It can even spread within yourself. If you get “on fire” about one thing, you can often channel that energy into something else.

Review your successes Look back at what you've overcome and what you've achieved. “Success” may not be money in the bank or an award. It could be opportunities you had, episodes you thought went really well, guests you felt lucky to interview, and more.

When you find those successes, think about how you feel when you review the success. Think about how you felt when you reached that success. And then remember how you felt before you reached that success and recognize that you could be only a few steps away from your next success.

Be transparent with your audience When you're really struggling with your passion, it's okay to transparently share that with your audience. Even if you don't ask for their support, you will probably be amazed at the positive response!

Be careful that your transparency doesn't pull your audience down with you.

Try something new Change for the sake of change can be a good thing when you actually need change! You could change your environment, your branding, your format, your approach, or many other things. The change doesn't even have to be permanent! You could tell your audience you're trying something new and get their feedback.

This change could give you something new to be excited about, or it could even remind you how much you liked the way you used to do things.

Seize moments of inspiration You may feel burned out only at a specific moment or even for a majority of the time. But as soon as inspiration strikes, ride it for as long as you can!

This is why I think you should always carry a way to make notes (Evernote is great for this). You could be sitting in a meeting, trying to fall asleep, or working on something else. As much as possible, respectful, and safe, capture that inspiration.

When you can record the idea, you make something to look forward to revisiting.

Push forward anyway Lastly, you may face times where you have to take action despite your feelings. As hard as it may be to start, this discipline can get your brain working and the inspiration flowing. You are, effectively, making a moment of inspiration.

It's like how I felt about baths as a kid: I hated baths! I felt like my mom would have to nag me over and over before I would take a bath. But once I got in and started playing with the bubbles, it was hard to get out! I loved baths!

Momentum is what you need. It may be hard to get started, but once you do, things will get easier and then you may forget about the struggle.

If you find yourself in a rut, consider joining Podcasters' Society! This is exclusively for those who have already launched their podcasts and want to improve and grow through encouragement, training, community, and support!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Cgcook89, host of Moo Point, A Friends Podcast, wrote in iTunes USA, “… I used a lot of his advice to launch Moo Point, A Friends Podcast, and I am looking at starting in on a second one soon! It's been a blast and I'm glad this podcast helped us get started.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Trey Edward Shults’ new IT COMES AS NIGHT takes as one of its influences John Carpenter’s 1982 bloody masterpiece THE THING, which is as good a reason as any to revisit one of our favorite genre films. In this half of the discussion, we geek out over the film’s how’d-they-do-that gore effects and distinctive ensemble, and theorize why THE THING didn’t connect with audiences in 1982, and why it holds up so well today. Plus, a small taste of the deluge of feedback we got on our recent episodes on WONDER WOMAN and PATHS OF GLORY. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE THING, IT COMES AT NIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

At the 2017 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), Apple announced several big changes that will help podcasters and podcast-consumers. Here's what you need to know.

WebRTC coming to Safari on macOS and iOS WebRTC stands for “Web Real-Time Communication.” It's the technology that enables many browser-based streaming tools, such as Zencastr, Ringr, Facebook Live, Cast, and even the late Blab.

For a long time, WebRTC has work in Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, on Windows, macOS, Linux, and even Android. But noticeably absent was Safari for macOS and especially for iOS.

Finally making Safari support WebRTC means many of these streaming tools may now be usable on iOS devices! This is great news if you rely on tools like Zencastr, Ringr, or Cast to record multiender conversations with guests or cohosts.

This means, in theory, your guest or cohosts will no longer have to install an app on their mobile device in order to participate in your podcast!

It could even make voice-feedback systems, such as SpeakPipe, work entirely in the browser without the need for apps, plugins, or Adobe Flash!

Redesigned Apple Podcasts app Apple's Podcasts app on iOS is still the most popular podcast-consumption method by far. With the redesign iOS 11, it will be easier for subscribers to listen to or resume playback for any of the shows on their device.

The interface is simpler, the display of data is smarter, the experience is smoother, and it will be a whole lot better for seasonal or serialized content!

Updated podcasting spec and iTunes RSS tags Apple has barely updated the iTunes podcasting spec since they created it in 2005. But with the launch of iOS 11, Apple will support several new and updated RSS tags.

New RSS tags <itunes:type> This is the only show-level tag (also called “channel-level”) Apple added. It sets the type of podcast you have, either episodic or serial. Apple may add more types in the future.

“Episodic” is the default type and it's the same as what we've been using for all shows until now. This is when standalone episodes can be consumed in any order. “Episodic” can have seasons. With or without seasons, the newest episode will be displayed and downloaded first, with the other episodes listed newest to oldest.

“Serial” is the new type and it's best when your episodes should be displayed and consumed oldest to newest. This is ideal for any podcast that's best consumed from the beginning of the season or complete series. For example, audio dramas (e.g., The Fall of the House of Sunshine), storytelling (e.g., Serial), or sequential parts (e.g., “How to Podcast” with each episode being a step in the process). This also supports seasons. With or without seasons, the first episode will be downloaded and consumed first.

The rest of these new and updated tags are episode-level (also called item-level).

<itunes:title> This tag is for the title of your episode and only the title. There shouldn't be any episode number, season number, show title, or show abbreviation.

If you use <itunes:title>, it will take precedence over the standard <title> tag for each episode, and that can still contain all the other stuff, if you want.

The purpose of this is to get a clean title for the episode to display differently depending on context and other factors.

For example, if the show type is “serial” and you use seasons, “Season #, Episode #” will display above the episode title, and only the episode number will display in the beginning of the title. But if you don't use seasons, only “Episode #” will display above the episode title, and there won't be a number displayed in the title.

I like this because it makes the display of titles a whole lot cleaner. And for those rare shows that actually need season and episode number information displayed prominently, Apple Podcasts will handle those nicely.

So if this should contain only the episode title, what about those season and episode numbers? That's where the next two tags come in.

<itunes:season> This tag lets you set the season number to anything greater than zero. Apple Podcasts will group the episodes into seasons and play/download them newest to oldest for episodic show types, or oldest to newest for serial show types.

Apple Podcasts will only display the season number when you have more than one season in your feed. And it displays the season with those episode groups as well as above the title of the currently playing episode.

No matter when you publish an episode in your RSS feed, it will be included with the appropriate season when you use the same season number.

<itunes:episode> This tag indicates the episode number—anything greater than zero. It's useful for seasonal, serial, and even non-seasonal or non-serial shows.

The episode number will display with and above the episode title when the show type is serial. Otherwise, it will display only above the title when the show type is episodic.

You may initially be discouraged that this tag supports only numbers above zero. But Apple has accounted for that with another new tag!

<itunes:episodeType> This tag can be set to full, trailer, or bonus.

“Full” is the default episode type and the same as what we've published for years. This would be a regular, possibly numbered episode.

“Trailer” is a short episode that could promote either a season or the whole show. It will be displayed more prominently than the rest of the episodes. This could take the place of “episode 0,” if you wanted to do that kind of thing.

“Bonus” is any kind of extra content for a show, such as behind the scenes, Q&A, extras, or anything like that.

Although Apple didn't clarify, I think “trailer” and “bonus” types will display in relation to their set season and maybe even set episode number. For example, publish a “bonus” episode that uses the same number as another episode, and the episodes may play like this:

Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Bonus for episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5

Thus, I think “trailer” episodes will display before their relevant content: before an entire season, or within a season but before the defined episode. And I think “bonus” episodes will display after their relevant content: after an entire season or within a season but after the defined episode.

Updated tags Apple also changed a couple tags from previous recommendations.

<itunes:summary> We've previously been able to use this tag to force different show notes to display in Apple Podcasts. It could support basic HTML formatting (paragraphs, bold, italic, lists, and links), but was limited to 4,000 characters.

Now, Apple says this should be a short description for the episode. Try to make it only one or two sentences and probably 255 or fewer characters.

This will display with the episode as a short description of the episode's contents. It will no longer support HTML. If your summaries already contain HTML, then it will be stripped and ignored.

<content:encoded> This is a standard RSS tag to contain the entire post. Previously, Apple Podcasts would truncate this text, and that often meant I couldn't display my full show notes. But in the new update, it seems Apple will display this full content below the episode description and player, and it will support basic HTML formatting (paragraphs, bold, italic, lists, and links). There doesn't seem to be a character limit.

I think this brings Apple Podcasts in line with how most other podcast apps display the full show notes. (Overcast will even display images!)

Publishing your full notes in this tag will significantly increase the size of your RSS feed, which could be further reason to abandon FeedBurner and ensure you have proper caching on your site or use a reliable third-party feed tool, like Libsyn.

Clarifications <guid> The GUID (globally unique identifier) has been part of the RSS standard for practically forever. I've talked frequently about the importance of not changing this tag, especially when you change domains, migrate your feed to a new host or tool, or switch from HTTP to HTTPS. The GUID for each item is how any RSS client (including podcast apps) will know whether that item has already be loaded.

So you could change everything about an episode in your RSS feed, but if the GUID is the same, the episode will not redownload. The inverse is also true. You could change nothing about an episode your RSS feed, but change the GUID—even by only a single character—and that episode will be forced to redownload.

That's why, for a long time now, I've stressed the importance of not changing the GUID except when it's absolutely necessary to force your audience to redownload an episode (such as when it was so messed up it was unlistenable or unwatchable). But if you change domains, media hosts, feed-creation tools, or anything else about your podcast, the GUID absolutely must remain the same, or else you could force your audience to redownload all your episodes and thus corrupt your stats.

So there's nothing new about Apple's advice to “Assign the GUID to an episode only once and never change it.” And their reason is, “Assigning new GUIDs to existing episodes can cause issues with your podcast’s listing.” Or in other words, cause your episodes to display multiple times. But even more interestingly, they pointed out that it “can cause issues with your podcast's … chart placement in Apple Podcasts.” This makes sense because it means splitting the popularity of a single episode across multiple instances (separate GUIDs), or it means there could be an episode that will seem like it was never downloaded.

Think of it this way. Apple Podcasts doesn't see unique episodes, it sees GUIDs. So it will track the popularity of a single GUID for many years. But if you change the GUID of that same episode, you're starting over with tracking and popularity. It's like throwing the episode's reputation away and starting over from nothing.

While it may be tempting to do some unethical things with your GUIDs in order to artificially inflate your numbers, this will only hurt your podcast in many ways. The only time you should change the GUID is when it's absolutely necessary for your audience to be forced to redownload that episode, and they would be grateful for it (such as to fix a corrupted episode).

Podcast cover art size During Apple's presentation, they mentioned the 3,000 × 3,000 JPEG or PNG spec for podcast cover art, but they also said, “Under 1 MB.”

Currently, podcast cover art larger than 512 KB in the <itunes:image> tag has caused feed submission and refreshing issues. My theory is that the feeds are processed linearly, and if there's a timeout or error anywhere, it prevents any of the following code from being loaded. Because the cover art is loaded near the top of the feed, a bad cover art file can cause issues with the rest of the feed.

But Apple specifically said, “under 1 MB.” That may not be supported right now, but it makes me think it will be supported with the public release of iOS 11 in late 2017.

I really hope this is true because it can be very difficult to compress some 3,000 × 3,000 images below 512 KB and maintain acceptable image quality (some images compress more easily than others).

Consumption analytics from Apple Podcasts The biggest podcasting news from WWDC, and what you've probably already heard about, is Apple's new Podcast Analytics coming to Podcasts Connect.

When Apple first launched Podcasts Connect in early 2016, I theorized it could be the framework for future stats and other tools. Invited partners have already been able to see download, stream, browse, and even basic demographic stats from iTunes and Apple Podcasts. But the new Podcast Analytics looks like it will be available to all podcasters through their own Podcasts Connect account.

This isn't simply server-side download data we've had for many years (and is mature enough to be trustworthy). But this is specific playback data, limited to Apple Podcasts (and probably iTunes).

Instead of seeing only that an episode was downloaded and how, you'll be able to see how much of the episode was played after the download (or during a “stream”).

Then, this can show you how many people skip ads or segments, when they abandon the episode, and how many consume the entire thing.

You can learn a whole lot from this data and use it to improve your podcasts. I'll talk more about that when we real data from these analytics.

You'll also be able to see how many of your audience are subscribed or not subscribed.

Additionally, Apple will show you the consumption of episodes based on each episodes age, nicely parallel with each other. With this, you would see that one episode reached 500 plays by day 10, while another reached 500 plays by day 6. And these are actual plays since release, not merely downloads.

It also appears you'll be able to filter data by location (probably countries), platforms (probably iPhone, iPad, macOS, Windows, and such), and even “listeners” (probably subscribers versus nonsubscribers, or maybe even demographic data).

There's probably even more we'll be able to see with these stats.

Even though these analytics will be limited to Apple's own Podcasts apps, that represents 60–70% of all podcast consumption (according to both Blubrry and Libsyn), so it's a large enough majority—and the largest single platform by far—that it's reasonable to extrapolate this data to the rest of your audience. However, it's possible (and maybe even likely) consumers outside the Apple platforms are more faithful to podcast consumption than the more general public using and browsing on the Apple platforms.

This is really exciting because it means podcast analytics will now be more accurate than all other media, except for streaming. For example, you can see whether a banner ad displayed when someone loaded a page, but you can't know if the person even saw it. Or you can know how many magazines are sold, but you can't know how many people read them, let alone saw the ads. And you can only assume how many people are watching or listening to broadcast media, but you can't know whether they skipped the commercials.

This is fantastic for content creators as well as advertisers. I believe it will show that dynamically inserted ads are usually skipped; but personable, host-performed ads are usually consumed. I think it will also show people abandon episodes when podcasters overwhelm their audience with calls to action.

And, I suspect, it may even show greater loyalty to smaller shows.

How and when can you use all this new stuff? Unfortunately, this will require some patience. Developers already have access to iOS 11 and can test the new Podcasts app, but these new features will be practically useless until iOS 11 is released to the public in Fall, 2017, and then as iOS users upgrade.

The top podcasting tools (such as Blubrry, PowerPress, and Libsyn) are already being tested and updated to support these features. So you won't get access right away, but you will probably get access before iOS 11 is released. In the meantime, implementing the new RSS tags won't do anything for you. So please be patient.

The new Podcast Analytics will probably be available at the same time as iOS 11, or shortly after. Apple did say “this year” (2017).

But this does introduce a new problem: how to access your show in Podcasts connect. If someone else submitted your show to Apple, or you lost access to your Apple ID, you may not be able to see these cool new analytics for your show. However, Apple already has a process in place for transferring ownership of apps in the App Store, so I think podcast transfers aren't very far away.

As tempting as it may be to remove your podcast from Apple Podcasts and resubmit under an Apple ID you control, I strongly advise against that, as you would lose all your ratings, reviews, and ranking for your show. So you'll have to simply wait.

We also have yet to see how these changes affect podcast SEO, but I'll share any such updates in Podcasters' Society and with students of my SEO for Podcasters course.

Watch Apple's presentation about these podcasting updates Official WWDC page.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and hundreds of other podcasters at Podcast Movement! Use promo code “noodle” to save 10%!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to the battlefields of WWI to talk over Patty Jenkins’ new WONDER WOMAN, both on its own and as it relates to Stanley Kubrick’s PATHS OF GLORY. After discussing what worked and didn’t work in WONDER WOMAN, we bring in the Kubrick film to discuss how these two stories approach themes of leadership and the military, as well as their views of the Great War specifically and all war in general. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PATHS OF GLORY, WONDER WOMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: • Tasha: Karl Freund's THE MUMMY (1932) • Keith: Amber Tamblyn's PAINT IT BLACK and Bill Morrison's DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME • Scott: kogonada.com and the work of Kogonada • Genevieve: The One Perfect Shot video-essay database (video.filmschoolrejects.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcast episodes about current events (including fan shows) may not have a long life, but you can still use them to promote and grow your podcast!

A current-events podcast might cover news, politics, sports, TV shows, movies, books, music, and such. Essentially, anything that has a schedule and isn't as popular after it has passed.

If your podcast can offer timeless content, then listen to my previous episode 308, “6 Ways to Make Your Content Live Longer.”

Build reputation in related communities Many timely things have fan communities all over the Internet: Facebook Groups, Reddit Subreddits, Google+ Communities, and more. Your ideal audience hangs out in these communities, and they may be interested in your podcast.

But don't start spamming a bunch of communities with your self-promotion. That will quickly get you banned.

Instead, pick a couple or few places where you can participate in the community. Post questions, share answers, comment on things. Become an active, contributing member of that community. Then, when it's relevant and appropriate, you may find opportunities to share an episode of your podcast.

Here are a few specific ideas you can use.

When someone posts a question, respond with an answer in your comment, and link to your relevant podcast episode for more information.
If you don't already have relevant content for that topic, incorporate that person's thought in an episode and then share it with them.
If you spot your existing audience members in the community, ask them to become evangelists for you to share your podcast episodes.
When you have something special that truly appeals to everyone in the community, ask the moderators for permission for you to share it. They may even be willing to share it for you!
Find the extremely active community members and invite them onto your podcast, either as a guest for a whole episode or suggest they submit a segment. (You might need “How to Get Good Audio from Your Podcast Guests.”)
If you're allowed an introductory post, be human and also use the opportunity to tell about your podcast.
Ensure your personal profile and signature (if applicable) contain something about your podcast.
Share relevant content no one else has shared yet and that's not your own.
Participate live Anything that's live-broadcast, either simultaneously or time-shifted across time zones, could give you a great opportunity to connect with other fans.

Find the official hashtag and participate on Twitter. To make it even easier to join the conversations, use a tool like tchat.io or TweetChat. These will let you see the hashtagged tweets in real time, and respond or post with the hashtag automatically added.

If you already have an audience, you could host your own live chat during the event. That could be powered by your own hashtag or by a chat room embedded on a /live page on your own website. ChatWING, Chattango, Flyzoo, and Chatroll are some chat rooms great for this.

This is especially easy when the event is simultaneously broadcast across multiple time zones, such as with sports. But if the live broadcast is shifted with each time zone, then you need to always be clear what time zone your live participation is in. Due to broadcasting schedules, Eastern and Central usually broadcast together and might have the most audience. More on time zones later.

Live-stream after the event Doing anything live during the event you podcast about could be too distracting for you or your audience, so you may get more participation by hosting a live aftershow. I recommend that be no more than 15 minutes after the event, which is probably enough time for you and your audience to transition.

This could be a great time to share initial reactions, incorporate instant feedback from your audience, or set up conversations that will happen later in the week.

As with participating live, a live aftershow may reach the most people if you host it from Eastern or Central time zones for national broadcasts.

It's especially good to live farther East for such events because you might be able to record and publish your aftershow before Western audiences even finish watching. Then, your episode is already available when the event is over in their time zone.

Align publishing with the event schedule Publishing quickly and consistently are the most important things you can do with a current-events-based podcast. But if you want to incorporate audience feedback, then you'll need to allow enough time for your audience to watch and send their feedback.

It is possible to wait too long, as well. If you publish your episode too close to the next event, then your audience may not have time to listen or watch before that next event is public. Even worse, you could sound dumb if your theories are proven wrong so quickly from your audience's perspective.

For weekly events, I recommend publishing between 2–4 days after the event occurred, which gives your audience 2–4 days to consume your episode before the next event.

If your source events are far less frequent, such as book or movie releases, then you could allow for more time to incorporate feedback. But you'll still get the best results by publishing as quickly as possible because that's when there's the most interest around that thing.

Account for other time zones Whenever you do anything on a schedule with your audience, try to accommodate different time zones as reasonably as possible.

For example, hosting a live stream at 7 pm Eastern may conflict with people still at work when it's 4 pm Pacific. Or a 10 pm Pacific event is 1 am Eastern.

That doesn't mean you can't do anything at those times, only that you should be aware of how such choices may limit your audience's participation.

Eastern and Central seem to be the best places to host a TV-show-fan podcast from because of how most TV shows broadcast to both time zones simultaneously (when you see two times listed, like “8/7 Central”) and because of the population density across those two time zones.

Thus, if your live show coincides with a live TV broadcast, you may get more participation if it's based on the Eastern and Central schedule.

And always include the time zone when you mention a time. You could use either your own local time zone, or consider using Eastern if you're in the USA. That's considered the official time in the USA because the capital is in Eastern Time.

I'm not a fan of giving multiple time zones because people can look it up themselves. If you give four numbers, it's more likely they'll forget the correct one. But if you have an international audience, I do recommend you share the GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) offset for your time.

Unfortunately, GMT doesn't follow Daylight Saving Time (DST), so if your time shifts with DST, you'll have to adjust the offset, too. For example, Eastern Standard Time (EST) is GMT-5, and Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) is GMT-4.

Lastly, I recommend you also try to be technically accurate with your time zone abbreviations. “EST” applies to standard time, while “EDT” applies to Daylight Saving Time. But if you don't want to mess the DST and GMT, simply saying “Eastern Time” could be enough.

Promote quickly Assuming you publish your relevant episode quickly, you need to promote it as quickly, too! It would also help to promote it for days following the event.

In fact, you could create a recurring schedule for your promotion that could look something like this:

Day of event: Promote live chat and after show
1 day after: Promote after show episode
2 days after: Promote after show episode and ask for feedback
3 days after: Ask for feedback and promote upcoming mid-week episode
4 days after: Promote mid-week episode
5 days after: Promote mid-week episode and encourage upcoming live participation
6 days after (day before next event): Encourage upcoming live participation

As you may notice, it's a balance of looking back and looking forward. Yes, that schedule is designed for two episodes per week, but you can adapt it based on your own schedule.

People will care most about your podcast when the subject is already on their minds. So the more quickly you can publish your content about the current event, the more your existing and potential new audience will be interested in your episode.

Watch for timely opportunities The actual event may not be the only opportunity you have to leverage the audience's energy. Watch for breaking news, birthdays, special releases, and other announcements you can use to create or promote relevant content.

Also, the latest event could be connected to something from weeks, months, or even years ago. So this could be a great time for you to promote that older content. For example:

“It's been two years since we've seen [that character]! Here's the episode where we discussed his story. [Link]”
“Happy birthday to [person]! This was our favorite conversation about her: [Link]”
“The DVD and Blu-Ray for [movie] are now available! Listen to our original review: [Link]”
“[Movie sequel] was great! We reviewed it in [link], also hear what we thought of the original: [link]”

Even if nothing is happening around the scheduled source content, you could have some hiatus episodes to feed the fandom. These could share news, spoilers, hindsight on the past year or season, hopes or theories for the future, and more! You could be a hero for keeping the conversation going when your audience isn't getting new content directly from the source.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Scott Orr, host of Code 3, wrote in iTunes USA, “The Gold Standard. I ran into this podcast while I was looking into Audacity compressor settings. I've been podcasting for a while, but I figured I'd give this one a listen. I was blown away by the depth of Daniel's information. He offers easy-to-follow instructions on every part of podcasting, and I found that very useful! When I started my current podcast, Code 3, I put into practice many of the techniques and hints that Daniel recommends. I'm still implementing them…with 300 shows, I have yet to hear all of the advice he has. I've listened to several other ‘how to podcast' podcasts, and this one is clearly the gold standard. Plus, he's a Christian and isn't afraid to say so. Good for you, Daniel. And keep the content coming!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Watch for my next episode (or a members-only webinar in Podcasters' Society) to learn more about Apple's recent announcements of upcoming updates for podcasting. * Join me at Podcast Movement 2017! Use promo code “noodle” to save 10%!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Patty Jenkins’ new WONDER WOMAN takes World War I as its setting, opening up a host of comparisons to a much earlier, much different cinematic vision that looks to the Great War to uncover the best and worst of humanity: Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war drama PATHS OF GLORY. In this half of the discussion, we focus on PATHS OF GLORY, marveling at its efficiency and technical achievement — and at how both contribute to the film’s delicate but scathing unilateral indictment of the military system. And in lieu of feedback this week, we also discuss some other potential pairings we considered for this episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PATHS OF GLORY, WONDER WOMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

“Long tail” is when a podcast episode has a long life of relevance and consumption. Learn what you can do to keep your old episodes alive and use them to grow your audience.

Create timeless content If your older content doesn't have continuing relevance, there's not much sense in promoting it. By definition, timeless content doesn't refer to and is not restricted by any specific time. Timeless content from years ago could be equally helpful or entertaining today.

So if you want your episodes to live long and prosper, they must be designed as such.

Think about the movie industry. Old movies like It's a Wonderful Life are certainly “dated,” but the story of love, friendship, and hope will be forever relatable. That's why so many people continue watching it! (It's actually a Christmas Eve tradition in my parents' home!)

Instructional content can sometimes be difficult to make timeless, depending on the type of instruction. If it's technology based, you have to assume it will change someday. But if your instructions are based on principles, they can transcend technologies.

Unfortunately, not all content can be timeless. Podcasts about sports, news, politics, and other current events are inherently timely. Fan content, such as for movies, TV shows, music, and books are part timeless and part timely. If the content you base your show on has its own long tail, your podcast could, too. But the time of that content's release will usually be the best days for your episode about it.

As much as possible, try to keep the bulk of your podcast timeless and then it will actually make sense to promote old content later.

If your content can't be timeless, you might not benefit as much from this episode. But don't fret, because my next episode will be about better promoting timely podcasts!

Keep the information updated As the world and your own perspective change, the information you shared may need to be updated. This form of maintenance is especially beneficial if your content attracts a lot of people from searches.

For example, I recently updated the show notes for episode 126, “How to Change Your Podcast Information in iTunes/Apple Podcasts,” to include relevant information for the Libsyn RSS feed. I might also update the notes to reflect other changes in PowerPress and the podcast feeds in general.

Updating your show notes is easy, and that should be the first priority. Updating the podcast may be a little more difficult, because you may want to edit in the new information or re-record. But there's a simpler method!

First, as much as possible for instructional content, refer your audience to your show notes for the most updated information. If your instructions have changed enough that your recording may be overly outdated, you could simply prepend an announcement. For example, you could say, “Due to updates, the information in this episode has changed. So please [visit the show notes / visit this updated link] for the latest information.”

If you edit the episode, you'll need to re-upload it, with the same filename, to your media host. On Libsyn and most other monthly-upload-limited services, replacing an old file will probably use up some of this month's upload allotment. But Blubrry Media Hosting offers “Long Tail Podcasting,” which allows you to replace any episode you've already uploaded with another by the same name and it won't count against your monthly limit. (The replacement must be within a 10% difference from the original file.)

If you decide the updated information is important enough to record a new episode, then consider redirecting or at least linking the old episode to the new one.

Cross-reference your content If your content remains relevant to your audience, you should have plenty of opportunities to cross-reference your previous content.

When you do this, don't assume your audience remembers the old episode. You may need to remind them what it was about, quote from it, or mention it as a more in-depth resource. For example, now that I have an episode all about redirects, I can reference that episode anytime I talk about redirects, like I did in my episode 306, “How to Move Podcast Hosts and Your RSS Feed.”

In my clean-comedy podcast, there are certain jokes or stories we reference, and we can tell our listener what episode to revisit to hear that full story.

You can even plan this to your great advantage! Make a “cornerstone” episode (or even a series) that's so focused and core to your content that you reference it frequently. It could quickly become one of your most popular episodes.

Anytime you can get your audience to engage more with your content, and it meets their needs (to be helped or entertained), they become more connected to you and your podcast, and thus more loyal.

This kind of relevant cross-reference also helps your search-engine optimization (SEO) by showing the relationship between high-quality pieces of content. It could also help connect influencers with other pieces of content they may want to share, too, and thus further increase your ranking and reputation!

If your older content has a descriptive title, consider using that for the hyperlink. For example, “Redirects and How to Use Them in Podcasting.” You hyperlink a description of the episode and its relevance, if the title isn't descriptive or doesn't flow well in the sentence. For example, “Learn more about the different kinds of redirects from my episode 280.”

Whatever you do, don't merely paste the URL in your show notes or link it with simply, “Click here.”

When you reference the old episode within your content, I recommend giving the episode number (if you use numbers) and point your audience to the your current episode's show notes for the link to the old episode. For example, “To hear that story, listen to episode 270, or click on the link in our show notes for this episode at [simple show notes URL].”

Add your best episodes to an email autoresponder sequence If you have any kind of an email list, consider making it valuable to your audience with an autoresponder sequence (sometimes called “automation” or a “series”). This is a series of emails that send sequentially to every subscribe from when they first subscribe or take some action. So everyone receives email 1, then email 2, and so on, regardless of when they're added to the sequence.

You can make these sequences be anything you want, and they can even do some automatic marketing for you! And you can also use this to promote your timeless episodes, especially those that are so far back your audience may have forgotten or maybe never even heard them.

Here's an example of an email I'm adding to my own sequence:

Hi, [First name]!

You may hear people talk about “redirects.” This can be a URL—either memorable or simply hyperlinked somewhere—that redirects people who use it to somewhere else.

For example, theaudacitytopodcast.com/siteground redirects visitors to my recommended web-hosting provider, SiteGround, through my affiliate link.

The two most-popular redirect types are 301 permanent and 307 temporary. I recommend you use a permanent redirect for anything on your own site, and use a temporary redirect for anything on someone else's site (like /amazon) or that may ever change (such as /live).

If you'd like to learn more about redirects and how to use them, I did an episode all about that!

Click here to listen to “Redirects and How to Use Them.”

Faithfully,

Daniel J. Lewis

Notice that the email gives value first? That makes it more likely someone will read it, stay subscribed, open future emails, and even click the link!

But your emails could be simpler. For example:

Hi, [First name]!

Have you ever been confused by “redirects” and which one you should use?

I have an episode all about that! Click here to listen!

Faithfully,

Daniel J. Lewis

Sprinkle these kinds of reminders of your timeless content throughout an email sequence and it will help your audience engage more with your older content. It may even point them to the exact thing they needed but didn't know you had!

If you need an email service provider, here are my recommendations, in this order:

ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit
MailChimp
Aweber
Automate recurring shares Automation can save you time and help you engage your followers. It's not evil! For example, if you live-stream on a consistent schedule, why not schedule a recurring message to remind your followers that you're going live and give them the link to join? That will remind them of something they want, and it will save you the time and distraction when you're trying to start your show.

If your content is timeless and thus still relevant today, why not reshare it? This could expose people to content they may have never known even existed. It can also bring new people to your podcast!

I use a tool to automatically reshare my old but timeless content. From my personal Twitter account alone in the last month, 197 people viewed that old content. For 75 of those people, it was their first time visiting my podcast site! And I continue to see results like with almost no extra work on my part.

This works by loading up a queue with compelling messages and links, and then an automation tool cycles through that content, publishing it for me on a set schedule.

From my episodes about Internet- and WordPress-based automation, here are the tools I recommend:

Social Jukebox (save $10 through June 7, 2017 with promo code “SUPERJUKE10”)—My preferred social-automation tool. It's more affordable than the alternatives and I think it packs some better features.
Edgar—Probably the most-popular social-automation tool. It has a beautiful design and simple usability, but it's a bit pricey.
Revive Old Post / Revive Old Post Pro or Tweet Wheel / Tweet Wheel Pro—These are similar to the previous tools, but they're tied directly into and managed from your WordPress website.
Missinglettr—This is a new service I've signed up for. Give it your RSS feed and it will automatically pull shareable quotations, images, and make quotation images. Then, it can create a recurring campaign to share that old information for you. It's like the previous tools, but with multiple messages from and for the same content!
Manually repost when relevant Even if you set up an automation tool, there may be times when your old content may be more relevant. For example, if your podcast reviewed the original Star Wars trilogy, then people might be interested in it when a new Star Wars movie is released.

Or, continuing the movie example, you originally published your review when the movie was released in theaters. Now, it's being released on disc or download, so it's a good time to remind your audience of the original review.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Michael Larsen (“Mkltesthead”), producer and frequent commentator on The Testing Show, wrote in iTunes USA, “Never Too Late to Learn/Refine Your Podcast. Even though I've been podcasting for years in various formats, as the producer of a niche technical podcast, I like to hear of ways/techniques to make my podcast the best it can be. Danel J Lewis ‘The Audacity to Podcast' is a terrific broad brush show that covers a lot of ground. If you are a new podcaster, you will learn so much to get off on the right foot. If you are a seasoned veteran, you will still learn a lot, as there is so much to the process of podcasting, including all of the “isms” and “ities” of your podcast to consider. Thank you, Daniel, I've really appreciated the content. Thank you for helping an old dog learn a few new tricks.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My Zoom H6 for Podcasters course is almost complete! I shared the draft preview in Podcasters' Society and already heard from one member, “This is stellar. You're a freaking rockstar dude.” It will be available for purchase soon, but subscribers to my email list will get the opportunity to preorder at a discount!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We brave the choppy comedic waters of the new BAYWATCH movie to see how it stacks up against the parodic TV-to-film genius of 1995’s THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE. Spoiler: Not well. But the comparison allows us to unpack the nuances of each film’s comedic approach, and consider how the films’ respective approaches to self-awareness, casting, and sophomoric humor contribute to their overall success. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, BAYWATCH, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Genevieve: Howard Zieff’s PRIVATE BENJAMIN * Tasha: “Logan: Superhero Movies Get Old” by YouTube user Nerdwriter1 * Keith: Goran Olsson’s THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Loudness normalization conforms audio to a perceived loudness level. Learn why that's important in podcasting and how to make your podcast meet the standard.

Why a loudness normalization standard matters Imagine you press play on a podcast episode. The intro music is a bit louder than the previous podcast you listened to, so you turn down the volume. Then, the main host comes in to introduce the topic, but they're quieter than the music, so you have to turn up the volume. Then, the cohost comes on and they're even quieter than the host, so you have to turn up the volume again or else not be able to hear them.

After a while, they segue into their interview with some bumper music, which is much louder than their voices, so you rush to turn down the volume before you damage your ears. This is a separately recorded interview and you are, again, having to continuously adjust the volume level so you can hear both participants and not damage your hearing.

At last, the podcast is over, but you have to turn down the volume one last time because the outro music is too loud. Then, the next podcast on your player starts playing, and it's too quiet, so you have to turn up the volume again, and the fight continues.

Does that sound familiar? That kind of frustration happens every day and could happen to any podcast—even the professionally produced ones!

That's why podcasts need loudness normalization! This would ensure the only time a listener must adjust their volume is when their environment changes, not when the podcast's audio changes.

This volume-fighting annoyance could be easily solved with loudness normalization in three places:

Within each episode—ensuring the participants and sound clips are all at the same loudness level.
Across episodes—ensuring that all episodes of one podcast are the same loudness as each other.
Across podcasts—ensuring that podcasts from separate creators are all the same loudness.

Loudness normalization solves that by conforming all pieces of audio to the same standard.

How loudness is measured Perceived loudness is now commonly indicated by “loudness units relative to full scale,” or “LUFS” (pronounced “luhfs”) for short. In the past, it was also called “loudness, K-weighted, relative to full scale” (LKFS), and there used to be some technical differences between LKFS and LUFS. But today, they're essentially the same—so much that whenever you see “LKFS” you can assume it also means “LUFS.”

LUFS are an absolute measurement relative to the full scale of 0 dB. Thus, you'll see LUFS indicated with negative numbers: -16 LUFS, -19 LUFS, -23 LUFS, and such. (You may also hear people abbreviate “negative 19” to “neg 19” in speech).

LUFS are an indication of the unit of measurement, which is actually “loudness units” (LU). LUs are equal units to decibels (dB). So if you need to amplify by 2 loudness units, you would simply amplify by 2 decibels.

The algorithm behind LUFS is designed to measure long-term averages of audio, not mere peaks (like most normalization tools). For example, audio with a loud but momentary peak will barely affect the long-term measured loudness of the processed section. But a standard normalizer would raise or lower the audio so that that peak reaches a target level, regardless of the rest of the audio.

Despite the louder portion in the beginning, this clip's loudness measurement would reflect the majority of the audio.

Loudness normalization is, therefore, the measurement of only the average, long-term perceived loudness of audio. It actually has nothing to do with dynamic range or peaks.

However, the user experience and perception of loudness is made of three parts:

Loudness range (LRA): the statistical difference between loud and quiet over time, measured in loudness units (LU)
Integrated/program loudness: the perceived loudness of selected audio, measured in LUFS
True peak: the microsampled level of the loudest point in the audio (more accurate than a normal peak), measured in dB or dBTP (decibels true peak)

Standard loudness-measurement tools will show you those three parts because they help you ensure a fully consistent loudness experience.

For example, audio with a program loudness of -16 LUFS but a loudness range of 20 LU could have so much variation that a listener still has to fight with the volume controls. Thus, the loudness range should be reduced to make it more listenable, and then the whole renormalized to the target loudness.

And although true peak is often measured in loudness tools, it actually doesn't affect our perception of the overall loudness. For example, audio at -16 LUFS with a true peak of -4 dB would sound the same as the audio with a true peak of -2 dB. That's because the peaks are so small that they are usually unnoticed. It's when audio peaks for a longer time that it becomes noticeable. Nonetheless, limiting the true peak reduces the chance for distortion.

The loudness standard for podcasts Broadcast radio and television generally have a loudness standard of -23 LUFS (gated so it excludes measurement of audio below a reasonable threshold). But podcasts are Internet media and not broadcast radio or television. The technical considerations and environments are significantly different.

Many popular media programs already offer loudness normalization through optional features (such as “voice boost,” “sound check,” and other terms). So when many of the greatest minds in audio engineering and contributors in broadcast standards proposed a loudness standard for podcasts, they align nicely with pre-existing common practices. This not only provides a consistent experience for Internet-based media, it also accounts for the diverse environments people consume Internet-based media.

Thus, we have the standard of -16 LUFS for stereo and -19 LUFS for mono (more on the 3 dB difference in a moment). I've referred to this as a “proposed standard” for many years, but seeing the broad adoption and lack of significant support for any competing proposal, I'm now comfortable calling this the loudness standard for podcasts.

The reason for the 3 dB difference between stereo and mono is because of “pan law” (or sometimes called “pan rule”). This is a mixing and recording principle based on the physics of sound. Pan law is intended to ensure a consistent volume level if you were to pan audio between left, right, or center it across two channels. Essentially, the doubling of a mono signal on most devices will result in a 3 dB increase in perceived volume. You may see this in audio-editing software where converting a stereo track to mono, or a mono to stereo will actually change the waveform, but may not affect the perceptual loudness.

There are caveats and exceptions to this, and it seems the industry of apps and devices may never shift to fully compensate for pan law. Although that's the goal, in the meantime, we should account for pan law by making the adjustments ourselves based on the format of media we publish.

That's why the standard for mono is 3 dB lower than for stereo. Although it will measure lower with most tools (but some tools actually measure mono and stereo to the same perceptual loudness), most apps and devices will play the -19 LUFS mono audio at the same loudness of a -16 LUFS stereo audio. Paul Figgiani has a nice explanation in “Podcast Loudness: Mono vs. Stereo Perception.”

Here are two audio samples you can download and try yourself (right-click to save/download the WAV audio files):

Mono -19 LUFS
Stereo – 16 LUFS

So, the loudness standard for podcasts is -16 LUFS for stereo and -19 LUFS for mono.

In addition to that standard, there are some ideal targets for true peak and loudness range.

I recommend the true peak not be any higher than -1.5 dB. This isn't part of the standard and there no requirement for what the true peak should be, only that it's best that it not go above that limit in order to minimize the chance of distortion.

Loudness range (LRA) is something else to consider, but there's no standard on it, either, only a recommendation.

There are several factors that could require different loudness ranges. Music, for example, is designed with a wide loudness range, and you may want to keep that (especially if your music fades in or out). But there could also be cases in your podcast that you would want the music to not have as much dynamic range, such as when it's in the background and you don't want the strong contrast to conflict with the foreground voices.

In general, spoken word is probably best with a loudness range below 8 loudness units (LU). But consider the cause for the loudness range. For example, you may get emphatic during a portion of your content, and it might be important for the increased loudness to remain noticeable. But if you intend to stay at a consistent loudness and see a high loudness range, you may want to target an LRA below 6 LU or maybe even 4 LU. But if your audio starts sounding overly compressed and almost robotic, then your loudness range is probably too small.

Also, the loudness range could be affected by variations between participants, where one person is consistently quieter than the other. In such a case, it would be better to normalize the multiple sources (whether on separate tracks or within a single track) to the same LUFS target so there's not as much loudness difference between them. If the voices are on separate tracks, then you can easily normalize them without compression, and the loudness range will also improve.

Universal workflow for loudness normalization Ready to dig in? Even if you have a tool designed for loudness normalization (which I'll cover below), it's important to understand the whole loudness normalization workflow so you can make appropriate adjustments when necessary.

The elements of loudness normalization and what affects them are as follows.

Loudness range (LRA) is affected either by vocal technique consistency and adjustable with compression, or it's affected by mismatched loudness from different tracks and adjustable with independent normalization.
Integrated/program loudness is affected by recording levels and adjustable with gain/amplification.
True peak (dBTP) is affected by the loudest points in your audio and is adjustable (or distortion prevented) with limiting.

I made a video tutorial to demonstrate this process with exact details and how to use each tool. That's available exclusively to members of Podcasters' Society (if you're a member, click here to watch the tutorial). Here's a summary of the process (inspired by Paul Figgiani's “Podcast Loudness Processing Workflow”).

Measure loudness range with r128x-GUI for macOS or Orban Loudness Meter for Windows.
Compress if necessary to reduce the loudness range.
Measure LUFS to see how offset they are.
Adjust gain to an intermediate target of -24 for stereo, or -27 for mono.
Hard limit to -9.5 dBTP, which is best with a true-peak limiter, but a standard limiter will probably be okay.
Amplify by 8 dB.
Remeasure to ensure you're at the target.
Adjust gain if necessary, but a small variation in loudness is acceptable.

These steps, along with the free measuring tools, will work with any audio-editing software, such as Audacity, GarageBand, and more.

However, you may get better results or save more time by using tools designed for this exact thing.

Easy tools for loudness normalization * r128x-GUI (free, macOS): for measuring loudness, LRA, and dBTP. * Orban Loudness Meter (free, Windows): for measuring loudness, LRA, and dBTP. * Auphonic (free and paid options; web, Windows, and macOS): my favorite tool for processing audio quickly and easily. You can set the target loudness, enable the adaptive leveler to reduce LRA, and it has an automatic true-peak limiter. Auphonic can also reduce background noise. * Adobe Audition's included “Match Volume” (paid, Windows and macOS): loudness normalization built right into my preferred digital audio workstation (DAW). The Match Volume tool works on files or multitrack clips and can measure and adjust to a customizable target, with built-in true-peak limiting. However, it doesn't measure or affect LRA, so you may need to do that separately. * Adobe Audition's included “Loudness Radar” (paid, Windows and macOS): not for normalizing, but for visually measuring. This will show you the loudness, LRA, and dBTP of any played audio. It even works if you use the playback shuttle to play your audio faster! * Hindenburg Journalist and Journalist Pro: the best standalone, single-purchase DAWs for podcasting, in my opinion! Both Journalist and Journalist Pro can automatically loudness-normalize any clip you drop into the editor. Then, you can export with a target loudness preset. * FixMyLevels (free and paid options, web): the new kid on the block in loudness normalization. FixMyLevels has more aggressive algorithms than Auphonic, and they have designed it specifically for podcasts. It's free to try during the beta stage and seems it will cost less than Auphonic once launched. * Standing Water Studios Simple & Mighty (SWS / S&M) extensions for Reaper (plugin is free, Reaper is paid, Windows and macOS): measurement and normalization within the popular and inexpensive Reaper DAW. More information here.

There are other tools for measuring and adjusting audio, too. Either through a plugin, standalone app, or built-in feature. With these measurement tools, “online” refers to during playback, while “offline” can analyze the audio faster than real time and without playback.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Zachary Webb wrote in iTunes USA, “Daniel provides great information on the Audacity to Podcast. The way he shares information is easy to understand. Thanks for doing this podcast, Daniel!” * Sean Hiland, host of Slept in Government Class, wrote in iTunes USA, “Utility, Clarity, Sincerity: These are the three words I first think when I listen to Daniel's episodes. I always hear something I can use and never have to filter through garbage to get to the gold. Daniel also presents a clear desire to help people improve at something he truly loves. When I was first starting out, I listened to Daniel AFTER I paid for a website service my new podcast didn't need. Thanks to Daniel, I was able to get a refund before the trial period ran out. That's real utility in a format I can enjoy.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Watch for my upcoming Zoom H6 course, available first and free to members in Podcasters' Society!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by the less-than-inspiring new BAYWATCH movie, we consider the strange alchemy that is the cheesy-TV-show-to-feature-film adaptation, via one of the genre’s standout entries: Betty Thomas’ 1995 spoof THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE. In this half of the discussion, we debate how essential knowing the source material is to the BRADY BUNCH MOVIE’s comedy, which of the many standout Brady performances reigns supreme, and whether the film’s moments of slapstick add anything to a movie that thrives on a very different strain of humor. Plus, some feedback from recent episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE, BAYWATCH, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Moving podcast hosting companies and keeping your subscribers doesn't have to be complicated. Here's what you need to know, especially to avoid losing your entire audience.

Before you move podcast hosts Don't rush I've seen many podcasters hurt their own shows because they were too quick to make a move (often for the wrong reasons) and didn't know or outright ignored the consequences.

Although moving is a relatively simple process, skipping something important or making the wrong decision could make you lose your entire audience with literally a single click.

Don't wait too long Although it's good to take your time, don't wait until the last day of your current provider's billing period to move your podcast. This process is usually quick, but as you'll see soon, some steps are best done with some time to let them sit.

Move for the right reasons Podcast-hosting companies are designed to provide two core features and an optional third:

A content-distribution network (CDN) to serve your media files quickly and take the load off your website
Industry-standard, reliable, and accurate download statistics
(Optional) Fully customizable podcast-ready RSS feed

Some podcast-hosting companies may provide additional features, such as automations, sponsorship opportunities, live-streaming, a basic website, crowdfunding, and such. These features can be useful for some. But they are features you must opt in to use.

It's not the podcast-hosting company's responsibility to promote your podcast, submit it to all the podcast apps and directories, make your podcast discoverable, or handle your content. Like the opt-in features, these are also your responsibility.

So never think that your podcast will grow better on one host over the other. These companies provide tools and services you must use to promote and grow your podcast yourself.

That said, here are some good reasons to move podcasts hosts.

To have more control and ownership over your feed
To get better stats (unless you're already using the industry leaders)
To get better built-in features for your desired workflow (such as WordPress integration, standalone apps, live-streaming, or a managed website when you don't want your own platform)
To save a large amount of money (moving merely to save a few dollars might not actually be worth it)
To have more reliable stability
To save your podcast from a failing hosting provider (cough, SoundCloud, cough)

Choose a new company that truly understands podcasting Because moving your podcast hosting and especially the feed are delicate processes, it's vital that you choose a company you can trust to do the right thing.

I can't recommend any company that:

Can't migrate your media for you
Doesn't mirror the GUIDs (more on this below)
Doesn't have an available support staff

This is why I recommend only these three companies:

Blubrry—best for a WordPress-based workflow
Libsyn—best for a standalone workflow and mobile app
Spreaker—best for a live-streaming workflow and multiple shows

Try any of these three (or even Podbean) with promo code “noodle” and you'll get at least one month free.

If your old and new hosts understand podcasting I hate to say that some podcast-hosting companies don't understand podcasting, but it's unfortunately true. They may be ignorant of vital smaller details that can have serious ramifications on your podcast and your audience.

But assuming both your old and new hosts fully understand podcasting (or at least enough to allow you to leave the old host), here are the steps you should follow.

Migrate your media My top podcast-hosting recommendations, Blubrry and Libsyn, offer simple media migration. With Blubrry, it's free and can be easily done yourself within PowerPress. With Libsyn, it costs a flat rate ($25 for up to 10 GB as of April, 2017) and you only have to request it and they do it for you.

If you don't migrate your old episodes, you risk losing them forever (if you didn't backup your masters) and it means new subscribers won't be able to enjoy your old content.

If you're simply switching feed-creation/enhancement tools (such as from FeedBurner to PowerPress, Libsyn, or Spreaker) and your media isn't being moved, then you don't have to worry about migrating the files.

Copy and update all your feed data Blubrry's and Libsyn's migrations will automatically copy all your podcast information from your old feed to your new one. But it's still a good idea to double-check that the information is all where it should be.

This is also a good time to consider updating some of the information, such as the web address, copyright, description, and maybe even the cover art.

Mirror the GUIDs Some cheap podcast hosts may say they migrate all the feed data, but they forget about the globally unique identifier (GUID) for each episode.

The GUID is how podcast apps know whether an episode has been downloaded before. The GUIDs may be a URL or a random string of characters. The GUID's actual value is almost irrelevant, but it's crucial that it remain the same on your new host.

If the GUID is changed, even by a single character, podcast apps will think the episode is new and thus force a redownload.

I've seen this happen far too many times to big-name podcasters (who, unfortunately, chose a cheap new host) and it causes their entire back catalog of episodes to redownload. This effectively invalidates the stats and frustrates the audience.

Blubrry and Libsyn do mirror the GUIDs for you, but I don't know of any other companies that do, too.

Update the media URLs (if applicable) If you're moving only your media and not your RSS feed, then you need to update all your old media URLs.

If you use PowerPress, this could be as simple as going to PowerPress ➜ Tools ➜ Find and Replace for Episode URLs. There, enter the old URL path (less the filenames) with the new one. For example, “Find in URL” http://myawesomepodcast.com/media/ and “Replace with” http://traffic.libsyn.com/myawesomepodcast/.

However, this is only easy if both the new and old media URLs follow their own consistent patterns. SoundCloud and some other cheap hosts have a completely different URL for every media file. In such a case, you would have to manually update the media URL for all your past episodes one at a time.

But if your new host handles the migration and creates your new feed for you, then they'll update the media URLs in the new feed and you won't have to worry about it.

Insert <itunes:new-feed-url> into your new feed Apple's <itunes:new-feed-url> tag is a good extra step to confirm its Podcasts app and iTunes are reading the correct RSS feed, and to more quickly update the catalog and subscriptions.

It's pointless to put this on the old feed if the old feed is being redirected. That's because a redirect happens before the feed contents are loaded.

Test and validate the new feed Before you throw the final switch, subscribe to your own new feed and ensure it looks and works properly. You could also test it with Podbase Podcast Validator and Cast Feed Validator. It would be horrible if you point all your subscribers to a new feed and it's actually broken!
Update the “original feed” in FeedBurner (if applicable) If you're using FeedBurner, login and update the feed URL it's using as the “original feed.” This is also necessary to do if you're completely leaving FeedBurner.

If you're simply leaving FeedBurner's horrible “SmartCast” feature, you may not need to update the original feed if it's already the feed with your podcast information in it (such as a PowerPress feed).

Place a 301 permanent redirect on the old feed forever The final step, and the switch that makes all your subscribers start using your new feed, is to redirect the old feed to the new one.

This must be with a 301 permanent redirect. As the name makes obvious, this communicates a permanent switch. It's like telling the post office not to temporarily hold your mail, but to forward all your mail to your new address and notify every sender of the address change. Learn more about redirects in episode 280.

If the redirect isn't a 301 permanent redirect, then podcast apps won't update where they look for your feed.

Unfortunately, not all podcast apps make a permanent change when they load a 301 permanent redirect. Thus, you need to keep that old feed URL redirecting to the new one forever, if possible.

With FeedBurner, you do this by deleting a feed and enabling “With permanent redirection” before you complete the process. But then never permanently delete the feed from your FeedBurner account.

With Libsyn, a lifetime redirect is unfortunately a $25 fee, but they'll keep it online even if you close your Libsyn account.

Blubbry and some other providers will place a lifetime permanent redirect for free on request.

If you own the old feed URL, then you can redirect it yourself. But ensure you keep that domain renewed!

In an absolute worst-case scenario, keep the 301 permanent redirect in place for at least 90 days and let your audience know they may have to resubscribe if they stop receiving episodes.

Last resorts if your old host doesn't understand podcasting well I'd like to assume you're at least moving to a good host, like Blubrry, Libsyn, or Spreaker. But I know we were all young and ignorant once, so we may have made some mistakes in our pasts. So, if you've made some mistakes, too, and are moving from a bad “podcast hosting” company, here are some different things you could try.

Unlike the previous section, these are not sequential steps, but different things you could try in order to save your podcast from the shriveled clutches of the undead. (Notice that “shriveled clutches” is abbreviated “SC”? That was actually unintentional, but oh so appropriate!)

Try to follow the previous steps If you're moving to a good new host, then they'll be able to do all the good stuff they're supposed to do. They may even be able to tell you the precise steps you need to take to leave your old host.

Try to get a 301 permanent redirect on the old feed Regardless of what bad podcast hosting companies may say, they do have the ability to place a 301 redirect on their servers. So it's really a matter of whether they're willing to do that for departing customers.

But if you can get a 301 permanent redirect, get it! Even if it means paying for a few extra months so the redirect can be there for at least 90 days.

Try to get <itunes:new-feed-url> in the old feed Some providers may not be willing to place a 301 permanent redirect but they will let you place custom RSS tags in your feed. (Podomatic is one such company.) This may mean upgrading your account for a few months, but it might be worth it to keep your hard-earned audience!

Update the URL in the following code to use in the old feed when you can't get a 301 redirect.

<itunes:new-feed-url>http://new-feed-url.goes/here</itunes:new-feed-url>

Like a 301 redirect, leave this in place for at least 90 days. In the meantime, publish a “please resubscribe” episode in this old feed. More on that below.

Update the feed URL in the major podcast apps (or contact their support team) Most podcast apps and directories will appropriately handle a 301 permanent redirect and update their own databases. But watch out for those that don't. You may have to login to a portal and update the feed URL, or you may have to contact their support.

For example, with iTunes and Apple Podcasts, a 301 redirect and <itunes:new-feed-url> tag will work properly, but if you're not able to do either of those, this is one of the few moments you would need to change the feed URL in your Podcasts Connect account, or ask Apple's support to do it for you if you don't have access to the podcast.

Submit a new feed to podcast apps and directories and have the old one removed Absolute worst-case scenario is to submit your new podcast feed all over again to the apps and directories and ask them to remove the old one.

But if you didn't place a 301 redirect on your old feed, simply updating the directories (either through resubmission or through a URL update) will probably not carryover all your existing subscribers.

Publish a “please resubscribe” episode in your old feed If you couldn't get a 301 redirect on your old feed, or you're not able to keep it forever, remove all the old episodes and publish a single “please resubscribe” episode. In this short episode, explain why they need to resubscribe, how to do it, and point them to a website with the new subscription links or instructions.

It's far from ideal to ask your audience to go through the resubscribe process, but it's better than completely losing them.

Accept that you may lose some subscribers Whether through poor technology implementations, incompatibilities, or even mere differences in statistics algorithms, you may see a drop in your download numbers. Even if it actually means fewer people are subscribed than before, at least you can know that those who stayed are probably more loyal.

If you need help with this process, I can either help you in Podcasters' Society or refer you to another podcast consultant.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Lee Ann Hopkins, host of Hooray Weekly, wrote in iTunes USA, “The Podcaster's Podcast. Daniel J. Lewis is a gift of the highest caliber. I only learned about The Audacity to Podcast AFTER I had started my podcast, Hooray Weekly. I wish that I had been listening to him long before I started publishing my podcast. Every week I learn so many things. I can't tell you how many times I've exclaimed, ‘so THAT's how you do it effectively and efficiently!' As the commercial goes, ‘I could've had a V-8!' He's so awesome, I think I've got to hire him! Thank you, Daniel. Keep on, keeping on! You're a gem!” * Andrew B. Steiner, host of Weirdball, wrote in iTunes USA, “Big fan! … It really inspires me to keep evolving with my own show, Weirdball. ”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Come to Podcast Movement with me! Use promo code “noodle” to save on your registration!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

In this half of our appreciation of the late, great director Jonathan Demme, we bring what would be his final film, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, into the mix, to see what connects it to the director’s first foray into the concert-film genre, STOP MAKING SENSE. The two films focus on very different musical acts, but they’re undeniably connected via “the Demme touch,” and function as appropriate bookends to an impressive filmmaking career (which we can’t help but explore a little more broadly in this discussion as well). Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STOP MAKING SENSE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Scott: Kitty Greene’s CASTING JONBENET * Genevieve: Paul Thomas Anderson’s music video for Haim’s “Right Now” * Keith: Ben Young’s HOUNDS OF LOVE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Episode length is sometimes a heated discussion in podcasting. There's helpful data from different sources. But what's right for your podcast? I'll help you decide!

I suggest a “who, what, when, where, how, and why” approach to determining the perfect podcast length for yourself.

Who is your audience? Because most podcasts target separate niches, it can be very difficult to make blanket recommendations on all podcasts.

Many of the podcasts from public-radio showrunners are intentionally and skillfully designed to reach a broad, general audience. But your podcast may reach a smaller, more focused audience that may never be interested in general content (or general perspective).

When you get to know your audience, you can better understand their specific needs and situations. For example:

New moms may not have much listening time while caring for young children.
Business executives may not have time to listen during business hours, but they want to continue their education away from the office.
Kids may have a shorter attention span, especially for non-entertaining content.
Agricultural workers may have many lonely hours away from the Internet, and they may be eager for something stimulating.

Thus, you can probably imagine that a 5-minute podcast could be ideal for one audience, but too short for another. Inversely, a three-hour podcast could be ideal for one audience, but too long for another.

Your listener is the most important person to your podcast (“Duh,” right?). So what's the best way to serve them?

What is your subject? Because broadcast media reach a wide audience, they need topics that appeal to the general population. That's why most long-form radio talk shows are about money, relationships (including religion), tech, politics, and sports. That information interests nearly everyone.

But podcasts are far more focused. You don't have to worry about appealing to employees on their rush-hour commute home. You only have to be concerned with the smaller group of people interested in your subject.

And not all subjects are equal. Although it's possible that nearly any subject could be shared (to some degree) in a few minutes or in a few hours, some subjects may be better at different lengths. For example:

Educational content depends on the depth of the information. It's good to be short when it's a lot to take in (for example, Grammar Girl). But it can also be good to be long when a concept needs more explanation to be understood.
Inspirational content may be good enough to be short. Think of all the devotional-style books that provide quick inspiration and make it easy to consume each day.
Entertaining content that is good will probably never be long enough. Look at how well the Lord of the Rings extended editions sell compared to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. They're both entertaining, but the quality of one far outweighs the quality of the other.

Some podcasts may be harder to consume because their subjects require uninterrupted attention. But you can easily stave off that concern by ensuring your content is segmented in a way that is friendly to multiple listening sessions.

No Agenda is a twice-weekly, three-hour-long podcast that has huge success. I listen to it, myself, and I listen all the way through (except for the techno stuff at the end). I don't complain about the length because the episodes are entirely informative and entertaining. But there's no way that I could listen to a single Grammar Girl episode for three hours!

So what is appropriate for your subject? Do you need more time to explain something, or do you need only a few minutes? Do you have enough good content that will rapture people from time?

When do you publish? I've always considered frequency and length to be closely associated. Daily shows may seem lucrative, but they take a lot of work. Plus, daily shows can be more difficult for listeners to stay current, depending on their own schedules and the length of your episodes.

Your publishing schedule needs to be a consideration with your episodes. In general, I recommend more frequent shows to be shorter and less frequent shows to be longer.

But that's not a hard rule, either! No Agenda publishes twice a week and it's three hours long. Grammar Girl is once a week and it's usually shorter than 15 minutes. And I don't see many people (if any) complaining about the length or frequency of either.

Thus, while your audience will really care more about the value you provide than the length or even frequency, your personal schedule may be the bigger issue. It's generally much easier to create short podcasts than long ones. So you may be able to give your best value only if you make shorter episodes when you publish more frequently.

Where does your audience listen? According to “The Infinite Dial” study (and “The Podcast Consumer” report), by Edison Research, 51% of Americans cite their home as the top place they consume podcasts most. That's followed by 22% in an automobile and 14% at work.

But where they ever listen is 84% at home, 65% in an automobile, 42% walking around / on foot, 39% at work, 29% excercising, and 29% on public transportation. (These total more than 100% because this was a multichoice question.)

Different locations have different mental freedoms and practical limitations. At home has the most freedoms and least limitations, while at an office job probably has the least freedoms and most limitations. Driving and exercising probably have plenty of mental freedom, but also plenty of practical limitations.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average American commute is 25.4 minutes. While that's helpful to know, (especially in considering how long certain topics could be in your show), it doesn't have to influence episode length.

Even if someone listens at 1× for only 25.4 minutes on their way to work, the podcast is still there for them when they get back in their automobile to go home. It's probably even easier for them to resume listening than to switch podcasts! The more interesting and relevant the content is to them, the more likely they'll be to resume listening, and perhaps continue listening across multiple sessions.

Consider, for example, if your podcast helps employees with daily inspiration or education. It would make sense for that content to fit within their commute so they can consume it completely before their commute is over.

Then again, average commute lengths could be completely irrelevant to your own show.

How do you present your message? Presentation is equally as important as content. You can have great content, but people won't benefit from it if it's presented horribly. You can also have the presentation skills of the greatest public speakers, but bad content will leave people empty.

If you can maintain your energy level, the quality of content, and the relevance to your audience for only 20 minutes, then that's your ideal length. If you can maintain it for longer, then a longer show could be an option (though not a necessity).

In Beyond Powerful Radio, Valerie Geller said, “There is no such thing as too long, only too boring.”

I host a fan podcast about the TV show Once Upon a Time. Because it's a broadcast show, it must fit a specific amount of time. There have been many times we've called episodes or scenes “filler” while other things seemed too cut. The hard clock they have to follow both forces them to make content and limits them from telling the full story. That's why movies can often tell a story better: they don't necessarily have an imposed clock format they have to follow.

Why length actually doesn't matter much Some broadcasters (such as those behind Bridge Ratings) have said because the average commute is 25.4 minutes, your podcast episodes should be that long, too. But as I've demonstrated, there are many more factors and success stories at all points in the spectrum.

In addition to No Agenda, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History is another podcast with extremely long episodes (up to 6 hours!), but the length hasn't held back these podcasts! In fact, Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations at Libsyn (the largest podcast host and distribution platform) has said that among their customers 84% of the podcasts with more than 100,000 downloads per episode are longer than 51 minutes.

Even Edison Research's own findings confirm that long form isn't a problem. According to their study in 2017, the average podcast-consumer listens to 5 hours and 7 minutes across 5 podcasts per week. Thus, the average length of a consumed episode is 61.4 minutes. This is actually more a reflection of how long the episodes are that the participants listen to, than a reflection of the success

Again, these are all averages and broad studies. They can be nicely informative, but the diverse niches in podcasts make the data almost impossible to apply without deeper, segmented studies.

I like to summarize it this way:

The ideal length of a podcast episode is the same as the ideal length of string: as long as it needs to be.Click To Tweet

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Chris, from Real World Redneck Outdoor Adventure Podcast, wrote in iTunes USA, “Inspiring and Helpful. Thank you for the many useful tips and tricks that you share. You have inspired me to start my own podcast called ‘Real World Redneck Podcast.' It's a show about outdoor adventures and hacks. Still a little rough around the edges, but I'm having a blast! Thanks again. * Nivek Thompson, from Real Democracy Now!, wrote in iTunes Australia, “I've listened to the Audacity to Podcast on and off since I started my podcast journey mid-2016. I recently came across the automation series and it was just what I needed. Real Democracy Now! a podcast is a passion project for me and I do everything (with some graphic design help from my daughter). So it was wonderful to be talked through a range of automation tools that will help me reduce some of the workload of producing a weekly podcast. I really like the series approach as it makes it easy to listen and to check the Show Notes without having to search a huge back catalogue to find relevant material. If you are a podcaster, especially a newbie like me, this series will be invaluable.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Get your podcasting questions answered live on Mondays at 2pm ET!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We’re still mourning the recent death of Jonathan Demme, a director of incredible range capable of working across many different genres — most notably, for our purposes, the concert film. This week, we hold our lighters aloft for Demme by looking at his first and last concert films, 1984’s STOP MAKING SENSE and 2016’s JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS. In this half, we consider the first film’s enduring legacy and influence on the concert-film genre, and how the film functions as a symbiosis of the unique talents of both Demme and Talking Heads frontman David Byrne. Plus, some very strange but undeniably well-executed feedback on our recent episodes on BURDEN OF DREAMS and THE LOST CITY OF Z. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STOP MAKING SENSE, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Interviewing non-podcasters presents many challenges, so here's my advice to ensure you get the best sound quality possible from your podcast guests.

This has been one of the most-requested topics. More recently requested by Max Flight, Onai, Jeremy Jackson, Candice Jones, and Mike Rapin.

We podcasters can tend to obsess over audio quality. It's certainly important to ensure your audience can hear and understand you, but remember that nearly no one subscribes to a podcast solely because of its audio quality. (Though a lack of good audio quality is certainly a reason people unsubscribe.)

Thus, the following tips will help you find a balance of audio quality and other factors so that you can deliver the best podcast reasonably possible.

Make it easy for your guest Your guest is doing you a favor by being on your show. They're already taking time out of their busy schedules to spend it with you, often times knowing that they may not get much value in return. So why make it difficult for them?

Shipping microphones, using multi-ender recording tools, and more can be great ways to ensure the utmost audio quality from your guest. But using any of these could be a bit too much for your guest, especially when it requires installing apps, creating accounts, connecting equipment, and such.

For some guests, even getting Skype could be too much to ask!

So work with what you can. If your guest has a smartphone, that may be the easiest option that also returns the best results.

Installing and using apps—Skype, FaceTime, Ringer, or anything else—may be easier than on a computer. Plus, most smartphones have really good microphones, so you only need an app to use that good microphone. Thus, having your guest use a voice over IP (VoIP) app on their device, but holding their device as if they were making a phone call puts that high-quality microphone near their voice.

Using the handset also reduces the chances of rustling noises, filtering, and other issues that can negatively affect the audio quality through any kind of headset or earpiece.

If this isn't possible, compromise and accept a standard phone call.

What's more important: that all your guests have great audio quality but you can't get the guests you really want, or that you get the guests you want but with lower audio quality?

Focus on the message Your audience consumes your podcast because of the messages you share, not because of the audio quality and maybe not even because of the guest themselves. Thus, it's far more important for you to bring those messages to the world than to obsess over getting pristine audio quality.

Yes, try to get the best results you can. But don't sacrifice a great message simply because the audio isn't studio-quality. As long as your audience can hear and understand your guest and their message, the audio quality is acceptable.

Maintain your own audio quality It's okay if you can't get the best audio quality from your guest, but your own audio needs to be its usual best. This is because you are your podcast's “constant.”

We're actually quite used to this kind of mismatch. In radio and television, it's quite common for special guests to be joining through a simple phone call.

So however you record your guest's audio, I recommend you record your own with your normal means—even if your call-recorder is also recording you. This will ensure your own audio is consistent. This also reduces the chances of your call-recorder's capturing your voice in a lower audio quality. And such differences usually are noticeable.

Encourage good mic technique and environment In many ways, technique and environment affect audio quality more than the gear itself.

Please don't overwhelm your guest with pages of instructions; remember that they're doing you a favor. But here are some quick points you're welcome to copy the section relevant to your connection method.

So you'll sound the best and my audience can hear your message, please follow these recommendations:

[For VoIP]

Stay 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) from your microphone.

Wear headphones.

Go somewhere quiet. If you hear something, the microphone probably can, too.

Turn off notification sounds or set to DND.

Try to stay still.

Don't worry if something goes wrong.

[For telephone]

Don't use speakerphone.

Go somewhere quiet. If you hear something, the phone probably can, too.

Turn off notification sounds or set to DND.

Try to stay still.

Don't worry if something goes wrong.

I recommend giving them only the set of recommendations relevant to them. That will keep it the most simple.

For your benefit, here's why I suggest those recommendations.

Stay 4–6 inches (10–15 cm) from your microphone—Reverb and room noise increase with distance from the microphone.
Wear headphones—This eliminates potential echo and audio feedback.
Don't use speakerphone—Not only is speakerphone usually used to allow distance from the mic, it also usually creates audio feedback and over-amplifies the microphone.
Go somewhere quiet. If you hear something, the microphone probably can, too—You don't have to educate them on acoustics. “Quiet” is good enough.
Turn off notification sounds or set to DND—Skype, Slack, email, calendar events, and more notifications can create a distracting background noise, especially if the device making the noise is the same as what's capturing their voice.
Try to stay still—This reduces the chances of rustling noise if they're wearing or holding the “microphone,” and reduces the chances of bumping the mic if it's detached.
Don't worry if something goes wrong—This can help assure them things don't have to be perfect and they don't have to apologize for minor distractions.

It can take skill, but it's possible to handle or even integrate distractions into the message. Consider how Professor Robert Kelly's interviewed on BBC News could have gone better:

BONUS! I ran across this funny parody:

You may still have a guest who ignores or didn't read your recommendations. when you're connected. In such a case, focus on the smallest things you can do to return the best results.

If your guest is a fellow podcaster, you can hold them to a higher standard and inform them when their audio may not be working as expected (such as having the wrong microphone selected).

Separate guest and studio audio Multitrack covers a multitude of sins. If your guest's audio can be recorded into its own track, then you have a whole lot more flexibility to fix and improve the audio in your postproduction:

Fix volume differences
Reduce background noise
Edit out crosstalk or overly active listening
Apply separate compression and EQ for improved quality

For more information about recording in multitrack, listen to these past episodes:

Why and Why Not to Record Podcasts in Multitrack
How to Record Podcasts in Multitrack

Match loudness Your audience will accept lower audio quality as long as they can still hear and understand the guest. The most common fault I hear in interviews is mismatched loudness between the host and guest.

This is much easier to fix if you've recorded your voice and your guest's separately.

What I love about loudness normalization standards is that we finally have a way to measure and ensure consistent volume levels within and across episodes.

This is more than “peak normalization.” It ensures the perceived loudness is consistent.

The simplest way to match loudness is with Auphonic (online or desktop app). You can also normalize the loudness with your editing software.

Usually, the process involves:

Compression—to reduce the loudness range
Limiting—to ensure the audio peaks never distort by going beyond a limit
Target amplification—to raise or lower the results to match a target loudness standard (for podcasts, -16 LUFS stereo, -19 LUFS mono)

Tools to help you record podcast guests (Updated May 9, 2017.)

Skype, Hangouts (or Hangouts on Air), Zoom, Facetime (macOS and iOS)—These are the most popular VoIP tools for connecting with others in higher quality audio.
Ringr, Zencastr, and Cast—These multi-ender VoIP tools handle the conference call and record each participant into separate tracks at the local source. Thus, there's almost no risk of bandwidth problems distorting the quality. They run through a browser or iOS/Android app.
Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype (macOS), Ecamm Call Recorder for Facetime (macOS), MP3 Skype Recorder (Windows), Pamela for Skype (Windows)—These are single-app call recorders that do their jobs well, but are limited to specific apps. Also, because they integrate directly with the VoIP apps, any update has the potential to break the integration.
Loopback (macOS), Audio Hijack (macOS), Voicemeeter (Windows), Virtual Audio Cable (Windows)—These apps can record or virtually reroute from any source on your PC. Because they're standalone, you can use them with any VoIP tool.
JK Audio CellTap 4C Wireless Phone Audio Tap—This device connects to any mobile device's 3.5 mm TRRS audio jack (or adapter) and splits the audio into left and right channels to output to a stereo recorder via 3.5 mm TRS. Learn more in my video from NAB Show 2015.
Skype Out / Skype In, Google Voice, UberConference, Anchor—These tools allow you to make or receive telephone calls. They may have recording capabilities, but they're using recording both sides at telephone quality and mixed into a single track.
Sound Recorder (Windows), Windows Voice Recorder (Windows), and QuickTime (macOS)—These preinstalled (or officially free) apps could be the easiest way for a guest to record audio from their own PC, if you want to do it that way.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

JK Audio CellTap 4C Wireless Phone Audio Tap

View Details

There’s a lot more connecting Les Blank's BURDEN OF DREAMS with James Gray’s new THE LOST CITY OF Z than the jungle setting, though that of course factors into our discussion of the two films. In this half, we share our reactions to Gray’s stately new film before delving into how the two films engage with obsession and hubris, the clash between European and South American cultures, and the handling of early-19th-century stories. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BURDEN OF DREAMS, THE LOST CITY OF Z, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Genevieve: Paul F. Tompkins’ “The Great Undiscovered Project” and Jonathan Demme’s RICKI AND THE FLASH * Keith: Les Blank’s GARLIC IS AS GOOD AS TEN MOTHERS * Scott: Francois Ozon’s FRANTZ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

When you have more podcast episodes than your RSS feed holds, it can affect your audience, marketing, and more. Here are eight options to fix it.

Learn about episode limits Before you get much further in this episode (or in reading these show notes), learn “What You Need to Know about Episode Limits and Your Podcast RSS Feed” from my previous episode:
The episode limit is set by whatever creates your podcast RSS feed
More episodes make your podcast RSS feed bigger and slower
Directory limits don't affect your subscribers
Your old episodes could be irrelevant
Your old episodes could be timeless
Many people will want to binge on your podcast
Every episode contributes to your podcast SEO

With these things in mind, you can determine which of the following options are best for your podcast and, most important, best for your audience.

Raise the limit There is no universal hard limit to how large an RSS feed can be, neither in its file size nor in its number of episodes. There are, however, practical limits, as I discussed in my previous episode, such as the speed and compatibility of large feeds.

Most podcast-feed-creation tools default to 10, 20, 50, or 100 latest episodes. If you have more episodes than that and you want them to display in podcast apps and be downloadable by your subscribers, then you should raise the limit in what is creating your RSS feed.

WordPress default or category feed: WordPress ➜ Settings ➜ Reading ➜ Syndication feeds show the most recent
PowerPress feeds: WordPress ➜ PowerPress ➜ Settings (or your feed under Podcast Channels or Category Podcasting) ➜ Feed ➜ Show the most recent
Libsyn: Libsyn show ➜ Destinations ➜ Libsyn Classic Feed ➜ Advanced Options ➜ Episode/Post Limit

Even if a podcast directory limits the number of displayed episodes (such as the Apple catalog's current limit of 300), you can increase your number of episodes beyond that. This will make those older episodes still fully accessible to your subscribers, even if they don't display in podcast catalogs.

Optimize the feed data When you raise the limit on your RSS feed, it could add significant data to the feed, which could result in slower performance.

There are three ways to fix this.

Use a highly-optimized, podcast-only RSS feed that contains minimal data (such as a Libsyn feed separate from your website).
Use “Feed Episode Maximizer” on your podcast-only RSS feed from PowerPress so it will reduce the amount of data accompanying older episodes.
Switch WordPress to publish excerpts instead of the full content in the feed by going to WordPress ➜ Settings ➜ Reading ➜ “For each article in a feed, show” and set to “Summary.”
Remove irrelevant episodes Make sure you use a podcast-only RSS feed for podcast apps and directories. Otherwise, including text-only posts in the same feed can cause unnecessary inflation and bump out podcast episodes from item-limited feeds.

If your feed contains only podcast episodes, you might want to consider cleaning up your archive. Look for any kind of announcement-only episodes—such as for a hiatus, upcoming event, or special circumstances—which are no longer relevant.

You could even consider filtering your feed to include only your best content. So you could remove:

Replaced episodes, such as when you changed your mind or information significantly changed—especially if you're concerned the old content might lead your audience in the wrong direction
Overly time-sensitive content (if your whole show isn't covering time-sensitive content)
Low-quality episodes

But I actually caution against this. There are certainly times it may be appropriate. But for most of us, our archive of episodes tell a bigger story that help build our authority and influence.

Sell the back catalog If your content is timeless and you limit your feed to only your latest episodes, you may be able to sell access to your older episodes. You could do that through Patreon, MyLibsyn, or a membership system on your site (such as with the MemberPress plugin for WordPress).

The Adam Carolla Show and Ben Greenfield Fitness are a couple podcasts that do this.

Although you could sell individual episodes, I think it would be easier for you and your members, as well as foster an ongoing relationship, if you treat it more like membership access. This would allow them to pay a recurring fee to keep access to everything.

But ensure the members-only feed does contain everything and has no limits! This would allow paying members to subscribe to that feed instead of your public feed, and then they will have access to all your old and new episodes from a single place, as long as they maintain their membership.

Create an archive show Although an RSS feed theoretically has no limit to the number of episodes, podcast directories might (Apple currently limits it to 300). Thus, your old episodes may be available to subscribers, but not findable through search.

If you want your episodes to remain findable in podcast apps beyond those directory limits, then consider creating one or multiple archive shows.

For example, John Lee Dumas's podcast, Entrepreneur on Fire, is far beyond the 300-episode limit for the Apple podcast directory. His main podcast feed contains all his daily episodes, but only the latest 300 are findable through Apple Podcasts. So John creates and submits separate RSS feeds with 300 episodes in each: 1–300, 301–600, 601–900, and so on. This ensures his old but timeless content is still findable, which is especially important for popular guests or topics.

John makes these separate feeds by creating additional shows on Libsyn. This gives each show full control over a dedicated RSS feed without having to use FeedBurner. It also provides separate archive stats. But this does cost extra for each new show.

A big benefit to John's method of completely separate hosting is that he can edit those episodes differently to make each one encourage subscribing to the main feed.

Thus, the more affordable and easier way to create archive shows is with categories—either in WordPress, Libsyn, or your other feed-creation tool. These categories could be named simply, “Archive 1,” “Archive 2,” and so on. With PowerPress, you can enable Category Podcasting to have full control over each RSS feed. With Libsyn, you would need to run the category feeds through FeedBurner—and yes, use the dreaded SmartCast feature—to have control over the feed data.

Consider these archive shows a form of passive SEO. You don't have to promote them, but they are there and findable for anyone.

Do nothing You could simply do nothing and let your podcast episodes disappear after they're bumped beyond your limits—either by the podcast directories or by your own feed limits.

This could be totally fine for many podcasts that lack ongoing, timeless value (also known as “long tail”) for older episodes.

For example, episodes from a current-events podcast are no longer relevant after the current events have past (and possibly been forgotten). This could apply to podcasts that cover news, sports, day-in-history, and such.

Work within your limits Limits aren't always a bad thing. So regardless of the timelessness of your episodes, you may decide to do nothing with your feed itself. But when you know your podcast's limits, you can make decisions that help you to podcast better within those limitations.

For example, working within limits could help you:

Know what content is accessible to new subscribers (so don't often recommend episodes that are no longer in the feed)
Not have to worry about bandwidth on old episodes (but not a problem if you're using a real podcast host, like Blubrry or Libsyn)
Not have older, embarrassing content still accessible to new subscribers
Know what might happen if you release too many episodes in a short period of time
Set appropriate expectations for sponsors
Promote time-sensitive things appropriately

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Dave.Rex wrote in iTunes USA, “A Free Show With Huge Value. Daniel J. Lewis has given me so much more than just some tips or tricks to podcast. This show has given me the courage, drive, ideas, tools, resources, and education it takes to start my own podcast. Daniel is incredibly devoted to showing YOU how to succeed. This show is a testament to that, I have learned more here in a couple weeks than I did in years on my previous show. If only I had discovered this man sooner I would already be 100 episodes deep. If you want to start your own podcast, start here.” * Lee Conway (“Leensarah”), host of Frequent Fear Podcast, wrote in iTunes UK, “A podcast Audio Bible. After taking over the recording & running of a podcast, I was recommended this show. It has become a staple of my commute to work, leaning me so much towards improving both quality and listenership of my podcast. Thanks and here's to many more lessons.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Interested in improving and growing your podcast? Join the waiting list to be the first to know when Podcasters' Society is open to new members!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

James Gray’s new jungle adventure THE LOST CITY OF Z inspired us to take another trip to the Amazon via Les Blank’s BURDEN OF DREAMS, the 1982 documentary chronicling the notoriously difficult filming of Werner Herzog’s Amazonian epic FITZCARRALDO. In this half, we talk about Herzog — both the director and the pop-culture character we’ve come to know — and the borderline-mania that seems to drive his unique process. We also wrestle with what BURDEN reveals about how the indigenous people who worked on Herzog’s film were treated. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on THE MATRIX and GHOST IN THE SHELL. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BURDEN OF DREAMS, THE LOST CITY OF Z, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

After podcasting for a while and you may see old episodes disappear from podcast directories and your RSS feed. Here are seven things you should know.

Come back for my next episode where I'll share, “What to Do When You Have Too Many Podcast Episodes in Your RSS Feed.”

The episode limit is set by whatever creates your podcast RSS feed WordPress, Libsyn, or whatever else you're using to create your RSS feed is also what sets the limit on how many episodes that feed can hold. If you use FeedBurner, it doesn't affect the episode limit in any way.

Exactly where you adjust that limit depends on how you're using the tools to create the feed. Here are the three most-common places:

WordPress default or category feed: WordPress ➜ Settings ➜ Reading ➜ Syndication feeds show the most recent
PowerPress feeds: WordPress ➜ PowerPress ➜ Settings (or your feed under Podcast Channels or Category Podcasting) ➜ Feed ➜ Show the most recent
Libsyn: Libsyn show ➜ Destinations ➜ Libsyn Classic Feed ➜ Advanced Options ➜ Episode/Post Limit
More episodes make your podcast RSS feed bigger and slower Be careful increasing or removing the episode limit. Every additional episode will proportionally increase the size and decrease the speed of your podcast RSS feed.

For example, a feed with 200 episodes will be approximately double the size and double the load time of the same feed with 100 episodes.

There are some exceptions and workarounds to this, which I'll explain in my next episode.

Directory limits don't affect your subscribers Apple's podcasts directory currently limits podcast listings to 300 episodes. (There are some rare cases where 301 or just below 300 will display, perhaps due to a bug.) Other podcast directories may have lower limits.

But thanks to the wonderful, decentralized nature of podcasting, these directory limits don't matter. That's because most people subscribe directly to your podcast RSS feed, so the directory has no affect on what the subscriber has access to. Thus, it's possible for your subscribers to see all of your episodes, almost regardless of what app they use, even if the directory shows fewer.

There are some “walled garden” apps that don't honor the spirit of podcasting and may limit what the user can access because the app doesn't actually subscribe them to your feed.

Your old episodes could be irrelevant While you may be tempted to offer all your podcast episodes in your feed, you should be realistic about their long-term value. This is often referred to as “long tail.”

A current-events podcast, for example, has little to no value in old episodes after the events have passed. This may be only partially true for fan-based content (TV shows, movies, sports, etc.).

Thus, increasing your episode limit may not provide any extra value to your audience, because you're only exposing irrelevant content.

Your old episodes could be timeless On the other side of irrelevance is timelessness. When your content has long-term value, it has “long tail.” These are the kinds of episodes that are still relevant today. You may often refer back to them, they rank well for common search terms, or they provide content that will always be valuable.

Here are some examples of timeless content:

Comedy
Stories
Interviews (depending on the focus of the interview)
Education
Reviews
Inspiration

Fan-based content (TV shows, movies, etc.) is most relevant during the release of the stuff your podcast is about. But there's still some long tail because people may watch the TV show or movie years later and want a podcast to follow with it.

If your content is truly timeless, then increasing your episode limit exposes more valuable content to your audience.

Many people will want to binge on your podcast Easy access to timeless content (via Netflix, podcasts, and more) feeds our present binging culture. Some creators are even publishing entire seasons of content in one big drop instead of slowly over time.

Even if you publish episode over time, it doesn't take long to build a back-catalog of content. If someone enters your podcast through high-quality, relevant, engaging content, it's likely they'll go back to consume older episodes. They may even do this in a very short amount of time (thus binging).

The more episodes you offer to subscribers, the deeper someone can get engaged with your content. And the deeper they get engaged, the more loyal they become.

Every episode contributes to your podcast SEO Lastly, your podcast's findability (or search-engine optimization (SEO)) within podcast apps and directories is often greatly affected by the episodes in your feed.

Apple's podcasts catalog, for example, searches not only show-level information, but also episode-level information. Thus, you could be found for a search based solely on a single episode when your show-level information doesn't contain any of that content.

The more episodes with good titles you have in your feed, the more opportunities you have to be found for various terms, or to rank better for specific terms.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Lenny Jennison (AKA “Wendellfish”), host of Victim's Voice, wrote in iTunes USA, “Must listen! This is all the information you have ever pestered other podcasts hosts for…without any luck!! This podcast covers EVERYTHING you have ever wanted to know about setting up your pod, from website to how to appropriately provide worth to listeners BEFORE asking for money!” * Eli Persinger wrote in iTunes USA, “Detailed and Delightful! Daniel's The Audacity to Podcast is THE place to go on a ‘listening tour' as you prepare to launch your own podcast. Heck, if you've already been at it awhile, you should STILL listen because this guy has THOUGHT THINGS THROUGH. Whether talking about SEO, show notes, equipment or URLs, the advice here is SOLID and DETAILED. What a find!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Come back the next episode to what you can do when you have too many episodes in your feed!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

In this half of our discussion of the “weird conceptual sandwich” that is THE MATRIX and GHOST IN THE SHELL, we puzzle over why the latter hyper-stylish, cerebral film fails where the former succeeds. The two films ultimately have different aims, but their approaches are surprisingly similar — though it’s how they differ that’s most telling. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE MATRIX, GHOST IN THE SHELL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Keith: Makoto Shinkai’s YOUR NAME and David Cronenberg’s EXISTENZ * Genevieve: Netflix’s FIVE CAME BACK * Tasha: Jonathan Glazer’s UNDER THE SKIN * Scott: Oz Perkins’ I AM THE PRETTY THING THAT LIVES IN THE HOUSE and THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The poorly received new live-action GHOST IN THE SHELL draws inspiration from a lot of different sources — including one that was itself inspired by the original GHOST IN THE SHELL anime: The Wachowskis’ 1999 future-thriller THE MATRIX, which turns on a similar form of science-fiction dysmorphia. In this half of the discussion, we focus in on tiny miracle that is THE MATRIX, a studio-backed, creator-driven sci-fi film that drew from a deep well of cinematic, literary, and philosophical reference points — and would go on to influence countless other films in turn, including, naturally, the new GHOST IN THE SHELL. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on ALIEN and LIFE (2017). Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE MATRIX, GHOST IN THE SHELL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

It’s perhaps unfair to compare the uninspiring new LIFE with the genre-defining ALIEN, but we do it anyway in this half of our discussion of how the Ridley Scott classic (and GRAVITY) informed Daniel Espinosa’s halfhearted homage. After wrestling with our apathy toward the newer movie, we compare the two films’ extraterrestrial baddies, their effects, and their use of space, both outer and inner. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALIEN, LIFE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Tasha: “Junkyard” by Clifford D. Simak (via Tangentonline.com); “No Offense, But What Is Donnie Darko?” by Rachel Handler (MTV.com); “Beauty and the Beast’s Lumiere and Cogsworth Have a Fascinating Real-Life Backstory,” and “Game Over, Uwe Boll,” by Darryn King (VanityFair.com) * Keith: John Waters’ MULTIPLE MANIACS and SERIAL MOM * Scott: Julia Ducournau’s RAW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

To celebrate 300 episodes of The Audacity to Podcast, I'm drawing lessons from this show's first episode to help you launch your podcast better, or learn how you can improve.

I published the first episode of The Audacity to Podcast, “You Need Passion, Organization, and Dialog (POD) to Podcast,” on June 17, 2010. It's launch coincided with the launch of Noodle Mix Network.

Serve your audience In my first episode, I spent too much time talking about what a podcast is. (Even as far back as 2010, I addressed the debate over the word “podcast”!) But my target audience was existing and want-to-be podcasters, so it's reasonable to assume they know what a podcast is.

First, why are you podcasting? If serving others isn't part of that answer, then you may need to re-evaluate your reasons for podcasting.

Second, whom are you podcasting to? What do they actually need? Understand and get to know your audience by asking them questions.

Third, what expectations are you setting up for your podcast? A lot of people came to The Audacity to Podcast looking for information on the Audacity software, which I didn't directly discuss until several episodes in (a point Dave Jackson even made when he first discovered my podcast). Deliver what people came for, and they'll often stay for more.

Respect your audience's time I cringed when I discovered that my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast started with an ad! It was an ad for my own (now retired) graphic and web design business.

I also spent too much time talking about myself and talking about the podcast instead of simply giving the podcast.

In fact, that first episode took nearly three minutes to get into the actual content!

While some people may not mind much if you waste a little of their time, I'm confident no one will hate you for respecting their time.

Don't worry about making your episodes an “ideal length.” Make every minute count, and your audience will most likely not care how many minutes you give them.

Plan your show's future Before I started The Audacity to Podcast, I made a list of 35 topics I wanted to cover. That simple plan gave me direction for the future and that approach continues to help me consistently create new content.

Whether you're launching your podcast or you've been podcasting for a while, try brainstorming a list of future topics: themes, guests, stories, reviews, and more.

The first iTunes review I ever received was from Erik Fisher (now a great friend and the host of Beyond the To-Do List, which is on my network) and it demonstrates the perceived value in having and following a plan:

Let me be the first to say that this show will be around a while. I say that not just because Daniel has it planned out, but because even after just two episodes, it's that good. This show will empower you to podcast through information and motivation. Great job!

Prepare your content and presentation I don't remember exactly how long I spent preparing my first episode, but I have a feeling it was only as long as it took to come up with “POD: passion, organization, and dialogue.” I probably spent no time preparing how I would communicate that message.

The better you prepare, the fewer mistakes you'll make (and thus fewer things you may want to edit out).

Be yourself When I started The Audacity to Podcast, I was still finding my voice. I was not necessarily trying to be anyone else in particular, but I was trying to be “bigger than life” in a way that didn't actually fit my own life. I could hear in my voice how I was trying to sound like a radio DJ or voiceover artist.

Masking or inflating your personality takes extra energy and can wear off, but the real you is the most natural person you can be. It's okay to amplify yourself a little, as that may communicate better when your audience isn't one-on-one, face-to-face, and in person with you. But remember to amplify yourself, not something else.

Stay focused Wow, was I distracted in that first episode! I was trying to explain the podcast, trying to demonstrate my expertise, and trying to engage with a live chat audience. Because of that, I got distracted many times by being interrupted by the chat room or by stumbling over how I said something.

As much as possible, focus on the message you want to share and whom you want to share it with.

I also recommend focusing on building only one podcast at a time. In my first episode, I teased the idea of starting a podcast in a void that had been left open. Instead of starting that podcast, I focused on The Audacity to Podcast and it paid off!

Don't obsess The audio quality of my first episode wasn't great. It sounds even worse, now, because I someday went back and re-processed the audio. There was noticeable background noise from my computer, horribly amplified breath noises, and an annoyingly gate that made the background noise more noticeable by “punching” it in and out.

That first episode also launched alongside the extremely underdeveloped Noodle Mix Network.

Sure, those things probably mattered and might have turned away a few people back then. But those were short-term problems that don't affect me anymore.

Today, the #1 obsession for new podcasters seems to be with their “massive launch”: reviews, iTunes New & Noteworthy, ranking, episodes in the can, and launch partners. When I started, I had zero reviews, but I was featured on the front page of iTunes. That was fun and inspirational, but the real work in growing my audience started weeks later when the New & Noteworthy spike dropped off.

Regardless of where you are in your podcasting journey, I think obsession is unhealthy. If anything, you could obsess over delivering value to your audience, and you'll be respected for that. But that may come at the cost of a personal connection with your audience (as I often struggle with).

Don't give up Not everyone loved me or The Audacity to Podcast when I started. It especially seemed like listeners from Australia and New Zealand disliked me, as demonstrated in this 3-star review from “Aussie-Jack.” This was only my second review and my first international review:

Tends to waffel on a bit, but generally not bad. Second to the PodcastAnswerMan (Cliff has been doing it for awhile, now). If Daniel has the long-term passion, he will only get better. Go Daniel! -Congratulations

Yes, I have the long-term passion and I know my show has gotten better.

Wherever you are in podcasting, don't give up if you're not yet where you want to be. Reach out to experts, join my Podcasters' Society, or do whatever it takes to keep growing and improving. You will see returns when you invest with smart work!

BONUS: Emily Prokop's review When I first announced what I would be doing to celebrate my 300th episode, Emily Prokop responded with such value, I could not merely quote from it. So listen to Emily's full ten minutes and check out her great podcast, The Story Behind.

(Emily referenced my article, “There Is No #1 in iTunes Podcasts ‘New and Noteworthy.'”)

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * April 2, 2017 was my tenth anniversary in podcasting! To celebrate, my next episode will feature my wife (and a little bit of Noodle Baby) interviewing me and helping to tell my full story (even with the ugly details) of podcasting and my business. It will even include how podcasting helped me through what I call “the year of hell” when I felt like everything in my life was killed or dying. Watch for that in episode 301!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The new LIFE has come in for some pointed comparisons to Ridley Scott’s ALIEN, which seems like as good an excuse as any to revisit the unimpeachable 1979 space thriller. In this half of the conversation, we marvel at how a film so narratively economical can be so deliberately paced, and still manage to induce scares after multiple viewings. Plus, some feedback from our recent episodes on KONG: SKULL ISLAND and GET OUT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ALIEN, LIFE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return to Skull Island to puzzle over the stylish curiosity that is Jordan Vogt-Roberts’s new take on the classic film monster, KONG: SKULL ISLAND. Why is this movie aping APOCALYPSE NOW? Have we reached our limit of giant CGI creatures pummeling each other? And, most pertinent of all, how does this bigger, bolder vision of Kong reflect and react to the legacy of its legendary cinematic ancestor, 1933's KING KONG? Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Genevieve: Macon Blair’s I DON’T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE * Keith: Robert Zemeckis’ ALLIED * Tasha: Danny Boyle’s T2: TRAINSPOTTING * Scott: Theo Anthony’s RAT FILM and the True/False film festival Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

People can be wonderful parts of your podcasting team by relieving some of your burdens. I include people as an “automation tool” because they can be so skilled that all you need to do is assign a task and they return amazing results. So please never underestimate the value of others!

Here are the most powerful roles you can assign for podcasting “automation” with people.

The premise of “automation” (versus automatic actions) Many tools can do things automatically. But all of the following tools are focused on automation, that is, automatically doing many things for you and not only a single task.

Automation may have a learning curve, but the ultimate result will make up for it!

Contributing content Your podcast content doesn't have to be created solely by yourself. You could “outsource” work to other contributors in the form of cohosts, guests, audience feedback, and audience submissions (such as research, production pieces, content, and more).

Editing audio or video Podcast-editing is usually one of—if not the—most-hated tasks for podcasters. But some people love editing (God bless those superheroes)!

Delegating audio or video editing to someone else could be the biggest stress relief you'll ever have in podcasting, perhaps even more than getting a cohost!

Writing What's the second most-hated task for podcasters? It's usually writing show notes. But a good writer can help you in many other ways, such as helping with marketing copy, repurposing content, and improving existing content.

Moderating Whether you have an active community or you receive a lot of feedback, a moderator can help filter everything and keep everyone engaged. Usually, the ideal person for this position is already extremely active in your community.

Designing “With great power comes great responsibility” [Spider-Man]could apply to the myriad of design tools now available. It's so easy to create images that anyone can create a disaster of pixels.

You may not be able to afford an ongoing designer for your regular design needs (website, print, or other images), but I do highly recommend you invest in a professional designer for your most important stuff, like your podcast cover art.

Consider hiring someone from 99designs, DesignCrowd, or contact me if you need a designer and I can refer you to someone I trust.

Booking interviews Whether you like to have guests on your podcast or you like to be a guest on other podcasts, it can be a huge pain to find, filter, contact, and follow up with every possibility. That's why I highly recommend delegating this to someone else, and they can probably do a much better job!

I recommend Jessica Rhodes' Interview Connections to help you “rock the podcast from both sides of the mic” (booking guests for your own show and booking you as a guest for other shows). If you want to focus solely on being a guest expert and optimizing your entire marketing plan around that, then I recommend Tom Schwab's Interview Valet.

Managing your website Remember the Spider-Man quotation, “With great power comes great responsibility”? All that power should be handled cautiously regarding your website. You could easily crash your podcast, your site, or even your entire server by running bad code, not updating things, or making some bad choices.

Whether you need a developer or a designer, I highly recommend that you get someone else to manage the technical stuff for you.

For a reliable web host, I recommend SiteGround. If you need much more powerful hosting and more management, then I recommend WP Engine.

Contact me if you need a website expert or developer and I can refer you to someone I trust.

Marketing A marketing department sounds like an option exclusive to multi-million-dollar companies. Not true! You can have your own marketing “department” with only one person who helps promote your stuff.

This marketing manager can help with social-media content, optimizing your website, improving your email newsletter, and much more.

If you're trying to aggressively grow your audience or to build your business, a marketing manager will be a great investment!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * cafewhiskey wrote in iTunes USA, “I've found that most ‘how to' podcasts are not as informative or helpful as this one. Daniel obviously does this to promote his own products at times. But first and foremost are the tips and advice about podcasting. I especially find tips on audience growth and marketing very helpful, which most other podcasts do not cover. To make it even better, Daniel has a way of packaging advice in easy to-the-point tips that are easily accessible.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Last chance to help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode! Listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast, then send feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve. * I celebrate my ten years of podcasting on April 2, 2017! I'll bring a special episode to you that will share my full and unfiltered journey with and into podcasting.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Does every generation get the Kong it deserves? That’s the question on our minds with the release of Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ new take on the great ape, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, which inspired us to go all the way back to the source: 1933’s medium-defining KING KONG. In this half of the discussion, we attempt to separate the movie from the cinema myth, grapple with some less savory aspects of the film’s legacy, and give Keith a few more opportunities to rail against the term “dated.” Plus, a few of the many, many great comments we received in response to our last discussion on GET OUT. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about KING KONG, KONG: SKULL ISLAND, or any other Kongs present and future, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

WordPress is powerful for running your podcast website and it can be the base for automating your podcasting workflow. Here are 13 WordPress plugins to help your podcast automation!

The premise of “automation” (versus automatic actions) Many tools can do things automatically. But all of the following tools are focused on automation, that is, automatically doing many things for you and not only a single task.

You've probably heard the phrase, “time is money.” Although that seems more applicable and measurable in business, think of time as if it's money. When you spend it on one thing, it means you don't have as much to spend on another thing.

The purpose of automation is to save you time and money! Yes, many of these automation tools cost (although many are free or have free options), but they will all save you time so that you have more time for the more important things. These automations could even help you make more money!

Think about it like this. You could save some money by learning how to hand-code your own RSS feed, but that costs a bunch of time. Instead, you invest a little time into powerful tools (like WordPress, PowerPress, Libsyn, and many others) to save you time, frustration, and prevent you from having to learn stuff you don't want.

“Automation,” by XKCD

Automation may have a learning curve, but the ultimate result will make up for it!

WordPress plugins I love WordPress for running websites, and there are plenty of ways to automate it for podcasting. Here are my favorites.

Revive Old Post Like Social Jukebox and Edgar, Revive Old Post will automatically reshare your content from your archive. But this is entirely powered and manageable from your WordPress website! The pro version unlocks extra features, like custom share messages, sharing with images, and more.

Simple Podcast Press I usually talk about Simple Podcast Press as a better podcast player for your WordPress website. It also has great automation built in!

If your podcast feed is generated by anything other than your own WordPress website, Simple Podcast Press can automatically import all your episodes to your own site and include your episode's player. This works on all past episodes and automatically for all future episodes!

Add Shortcodes Actions and Filters I have previously recommended Shortcode Exec PHP and then Shortcodes Pro, but neither WordPress plugin is being developed anymore. Now, I recommend Add Shortcodes Actions and Filters.

The most powerful use of this is in creating your own shortcodes. For example, [show_notes_close]. That shortcode can automatically insert your podcast's closing text into the WordPress post. That saves a lot of time and ensures consistency.

This becomes an investment in future automation. If you ever decide you want to change that closing text, you need only change it in the shortcode and it will be automatically changed everywhere you used that shortcode!

BackupBuddy, UpDraft, BackWPUp Announcements * To help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast. Then send me feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Jordan Peele’s writing-directing debut GET OUT translates the satirical horror of Wes Craven’s THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS from the Reagan era to the Obama era, to very different — and highly entertaining — effect. In this half of our discussion of the two films, we rave for a bit about GET OUT’s willingness to make us uncomfortable, then discuss the two films’ respective horror-to-satire ratios, as well as their approach to comedy. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, GET OUT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Keith: Gore Verbinski’s A CURE FOR WELLNESS * Tasha: Colm McCarthy’s THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS * Scott: Anthony Mann/John Alton collaborations T-MEN, RAW DEAL, and HE WALKED BY NIGHT Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Web services can automate parts of your podcasting workflow, even when you're not online! Here are my favorite web-based automation tools.

The premise of “automation” (versus automatic actions) Many tools can do things automatically. But all of the following tools are focused on automation, that is, automatically doing many things for you and not only a single task.

Automation may have a learning curve, but the ultimate result will make up for it!

Zapier or IFTTT No conversation about automation is complete without mentioning either Zapier or IFTTT (If This Then That). Both services will monitor a myriad of sources and trigger actions based on customizable criteria.

IFTTT is free, fairly simple, and limited to a single action.

Zapier is a paid service and offers more powerful automations and multiple actions.

Here are some examples of things you could automate with either tool:

Automatically send a text message whenever someone buys something from your online store.
Automatically crosspost content from one platform to another.
Receive data from other services and automatically reformat and route it somewhere else.
Automatically do almost anything you want with your latest podcast reviews (via a paid My Podcast Reviews account).

Email service providers Building an email list for your podcast is helpful for many things: engagement, marketing, education, and much more (episode 198). These automations could be a series of emails or other processes based on subscriber activity.

For example:

Write a series of emails to automatically send every week for a year. Then, every new subscriber starts at the beginning and never misses the same great content everyone else gets.
Automatically send an email to a subscriber based on their activity on your site (or lack thereof). This can get them more engaged or connect them with other stuff they wanted.
Automatically segment your subscribers based on almost any criteria. With that, you can ensure only the right people receive the right messages.
Automatically deliver special offers or resources you give away.

Here are my favorite email service providers, and what I would recommend them for.

ActiveCampaign: This is my new favorite email service provider! ActiveCampaign makes powerful automations easy. Plus, it has website activity-tracker unmatched by anyone else! I haven't found anything other platforms do that ActiveCampaign can't do better.
ConvertKit: This is the cool new kid on the block. ConvertKit simplifies automations with a single list.
Aweber: This may be the industry-standard tool for email newsletters and autoresponders. Their reputation and delivery is high, and they provide fantastic support.
MailChimp: Get started for free with an email list up to 2,000 subscribers or 12,000 emails a month. I think MailChimp is the easiest-to-use provider and offers simple automation options (though it seems more is coming).

Wavve or Audiogram I don't think podcast audio has a “viral” problem, but there are times you may want to share a snippet of great value from your podcast. Putting this in video makes it available to and stand out more on visual platforms, like Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Wavve automates this process by allowing you to create a template for your videos, and then uploading your audio clip to be processed and applied to the template. You can even have multiple templates, ideal for different platforms (such as square video for Instagram)!

Audiogram works in much the same fashion allowing you choose an audio clip from an episode you've already published or upload it. You can then change the font, background image and visualisation style to suit your needs and brand.

My Podcast Reviews Podcast reviews don't affect your iTunes ranking, but they can be a great way to build your reputation and engage your audience (episode 263)! The problem is that there are 155 different iTunes stores for 155 different countries. Each store has its own reviews for your podcast. Checking all of these would take a long time.

Even when you find reviews in iTunes, you can't share them, you can't copy them, you can't sort them much, you can't filter them, and you can't integrate them with any other tool.

But My Podcast Reviews can help you with all that!

Automatically find and collect all your podcast reviews from all iTunes stores and other podcast directories.
Automatically email your new reviews on the day you record so you have them for your next episode.
Integrate with Zapier, IFTTT, and other apps for automatic display, sharing, and more.
Sort and filter all your reviews so you can see exactly what you want.
Share individual reviews that also contain subscription links to help you build your audience.

Social Jukebox or Edgar I rarely recommend automating content on social networks, but automating a schedule (especially a recurring schedule) can be a great way to save you time and better engage with your followers!

Social Jukebox is a bit more affordable and has a better system for scheduling recurring messages, and Edgar is a bit easier to use with a simpler interface and RSS-based queue.

Here are some examples of queue-based social automations you can do with either Social Jukebox or Edgar on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and someday more:

Automatically post leading up to, and during regularly scheduled events, such as a live-stream.
Automatically reshare old but timeless content, such as blog posts, podcast episodes, and guest appearances
Automatically start conversations by engaging your community with questions.
Automatically and regularly promote monetized content.

I urge you to custom-write your messages, so they're personal. Also, I recommend you set your schedule to no more than once per hour, but less frequently if you don't have a lot of content to share.

Buffer or Hootsuite Whereas Social Jukebox and Edgar can spread out recurring sharing of timeless content, Buffer and Hootsuite are nice ways to automatically share, crosspost, and spread out sharing of new content.

Buffer and Hootsuite works on the idea of a one-time queue. You can load it up and the messages will post on your schedule, but they won't repeat unless you requeue them.

They're also handy for simply crossposting the same message on multiple accounts right at the moment.

Libsyn's OnPublish, Blubrry's Post to Social, or Repurpose Speaking of crossposting, there are several tools that can do this as soon as you publish your own content.

Libsyn's OnPublish feature uses their feed to automatically crosspost your latest podcast episodes across many social and content platforms.

Blubrry's Post to Social feature can do the same thing from the PowerPress feed for Blubrry hosting customers. Blubrry's option can even truncate the audio and automatically add a trailer, such as saying, “To hear the rest of this episode, listen and subscribe at MyAwesomePodcast.com!”

Repurpose is a standalone service that, as its name suggests, repurposes your audio or video content from nearly any source (even Facebook Live!) and automatically reposts to other destinations.

Auphonic I talked about the Auphonic desktop app in my episode about Windows- and macOS-based automation tools. This time, I want you to look at the Auphonic web service.

Clear, consistent, and understandable audio is crucial for all podcasts (audio or video). Auphonic can automate the processing and more! Here's an example workflow Auphonic could do:

Reduce background noise and hum
Reduce reverb
Even out volume differences
Raise or lower perceived loudness to a target industry level
Add an intro and outro
Create a transcript
Mixdown to mono
Encode to MP3
Upload to your media host

Auphonic is available with a limited free plan and premium plans for larger limits.

Quuu Quuu automatically shares your content with other influencers in your space. It's also a great way to find relevant content you can automatically share on your own social accounts.

Relay Created by my friend and fellow podcaster Craig Carpenter, Relay dramatically speeds up the creation of professional-looking, branded images for your blog or podcast. You can create a template, enter your text, and then Relay will automatically create the multiple sizes ideal for different social networks.

Designfeed Designfeed is somewhat similar to Relay, but it automates the process of finding relevant images based on the text you insert.

Appointlet, Doodle, Calendly, or ScheduleOnce (and many more) If you need to schedule anything with someone else, you probably know the frustration of finding a time that works for you. Even when you pick the right time, it takes extra work to remind and follow up.

That's where an online scheduling tool helps! Appointlet, Doodle, Calendly, and ScheduleOnce each have their unique features and they're all focused on making it easier to schedule time with someone else. Plus, they offer different types of automations, simplifying the process of reminders, followups, integrations with other tools, and more.

Google Alerts It can be tough to stay on top of your industry, but Google Alerts makes that easy by finding and sending you relevant stuff from across the Web. This can be with simple keywords or advanced search queries (like excluding certain things).

Announcements * To help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast. Then send me feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by Jordan Peele’s excellent new writing-directing debut GET OUT, we’re looking at another horror film that openly addresses race, inequality, and its era: the 1991 Wes Craven oddity THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS. In this half, we debate how the earlier film’s central metaphor holds up divorced from the Reagan era that inspired it, how it reflects and fits into Craven’s directorial viewpoint, and to what extent it's actually scary and/or funny. Plus, excerpts from some of the most detailed feedback we’ve ever received, on our previous BATMAN discussion. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, GET OUT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

PCs (Windows or macOS) are powerful podcasting tools and ideal for automation. Here are 9 tools for automating many computer-based podcasting workflows.

Please comment below with the best Linux alternatives!

The premise of “automation” (versus automatic actions) Many tools can do things automatically. But all of the following tools are focused on automation, that is, automatically doing many things for you and not only a single task.

You've probably heard the phrase, “time is money.” Although that seems more applicable and measurable in business, think of time as if it's money. When you spend it on one thing, it means you don't have as much to spend on another thing.

The purpose of automation is to save you time and money! Yes, many of these automation tools cost (although many are free or have free options), but they will all save you time so that you have more time for the more important things. These automations could even help you make more money!

Think about it like this. You could save some money by learning how to hand-code your own RSS feed, but that costs a bunch of time. Instead, you invest a little money into powerful tools (like WordPress, PowerPress, Libsyn, and many others) to save you time, frustration, and prevent you from having to learn stuff you don't want.

“Automation,” by XKCD

Automation may have a learning curve, but the ultimate result will make up for it!

Hazel or Hygeia Hazel (for macOS) and Hygeia (for Windows) automate tasks on files and folders. Here are some automation examples:

Automatically move your recordings from your SD card into a new episode folder and prepare for editing.
Automatically upload an ID3-tagged MP3 to your media host.
Automatically copy your image template files into new episode folders.
Automatically rename and move anything dropped into a particular folder.
Automatically process files or folders with AppleScript or other apps when they match a criteria.

Thanks to Dr. Ryan Gray, from Medical School HQ, for showing me some Hazel workflows, and even inspiring this whole episode!

TextExpander or PhraseExpress Text-expansion was one of the first PC productivity hacks I ever learned, and it's part of what convinced me to switch to Mac.

But tools like TextExpander (macOS and Windows) and PhraseExpress (Windows) aren't only about text-expansion shortcuts. They can also help with automation! For example:

Insert an automatically shortened URL.
Turn a regular link into an affiliate link.
Automatically populate fields with processed data (such as pulling an image URL from a page when you have only the URL).
Run other tasks and programs.

Both TextExpander and PhraseExpress offer nearly limitless possibilities with powerful scripting options.

Auphonic Clear, consistent, and understandable audio is crucial for all podcasts (audio or video). Auphonic can automate the processing and more! Here's an example Workflow Auphonic could do in a single step:

Reduce background noise and hum
Reduce reverb
Even out volume differences
Raise or lower perceived loudness to a target industry level
Add an intro and outro
Mixdown to mono
Encode to MP3

Auphonic is available as either a desktop app (macOS and Windows) or as a web service.

Quadro (formerly called Actions) If you have an unused iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch, Quadro can turn it into a customizable action pad. This can trigger tasks on your PC, such as executing a command or launching a program. And it can also run an entire workflow of tasks with a single button!

For example, a single button in the Quadro app on your mobile device could launch and prepare nearly all the apps and files you need open for a particular stage in your podcasting process.

Automator or AutoHotkey For more advanced automation, macOS comes with the free program Automator, and Windows users can install the free program AutoHotKey. These can make custom automations (sometimes called “macros”) to run tasks in a variety of programs, or give easy access to developer-level tools built into many apps.

AutoHotkey can even rerun mouse actions on your screen, so it can click all the right buttons for you!

BackBlaze Since your PC is probably the home for most (if not all) your irreplaceable digital data, keeping it backed up should be your top safety priority!

I recommend BackBlaze because it automatically backs up everything important on your computer. You don't have to add folders or drives. It simply grabs it all, even your external storage!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Teawaterbay wrote in iTunes USA, “Up-to-Date and Enthusiastically Thorough. Daniel is a podcasting pioneer who continues to stay fresh and current on all things in the podosphere. I have listened over the last several years to many podcasters on podcasting and I find The Audacity to Podcast to be one source that I tap into more than most. Many roundtables and discussions reference what Daniel has said or is saying on issues and developments. The field is fortunate to have such a devoted, smart, and generous contributor making this podcast proposition so inviting—and thanks to him and others—accessible to more podcasters. His work has significantly contributed to my recent start-up of my own podcast. Yes, I accumulated the needed audacity—and content—to do it. Thanks, Daniel.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * To help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast. Then send me feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Tim Burton’s BATMAN kick-started the cinematic and pop-culture proliferation of the now-ubiquitous Batman, who today can not only sustain multiple movies at once, but also provides ample fodder for the reference-happy new THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE. In this half of our discussion of all things Batmen, we talk about all the ways LEGO BATMAN draws on — and benefits from — the character’s long history, and consider how the larger Bat Universe has evolved on film since Burton’s day. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BATMAN, LEGO BATMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Tasha: ’66 BATMAN, BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS, and BOY WONDER: MY LIFE IN TIGHTS * Keith: Kirsten Johnson’s CAMERAPERSON * Genevieve: Stephen Frears’ FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Regularly evaluating and critiquing your own your podcast, especially from your audience's perspective, will help you improve and grow the podcast. Here are four steps to get you started.

Save your podcast for later It's important to add some distance between yourself and the podcast episode you want to evaluate. The longer you wait, the more you will have changed and the more likely you'll be to no longer have the information fresh on your mind. Thus, when you consume the podcast later, your perspective can be fresh enough that you have no context for the content.

With no context, you can then see how well your podcast stands alone.

Consume your podcast like your audience does To help put you in the place of your audience, consider the classic five W's and one H: who, what, when, where, how, and why.
Who is consuming your podcast? Are they working guys in their 20s? Are they stay at home moms? Are they seniors with limited technology?
What other podcasts might your audience be comparing yours to? What would compel them to listen to your podcast over others?
When is your audience consuming your podcast? Do they consume before you publish your next episode? Do they consume during the week, or on a weekend?
Where is your audience consuming your podcast? Driving? Working? Relaxing? Are there distractions?
How is your audience consuming your podcast? Headphones? High-speed? On a computer, or on a mobile device?
Why is your audience consuming your podcast? What profit is in it for them?

You may be able to get this exact information by surveying your audience, or you may have to assume some things.

Listen to “8 ways people consume podcasts and how to make a better experience” to gain some more perspective.

The word “avatar” is often used in conversations about your audience. What most people mean when they say, “your avatar” is actually “your audience's avatar.” Because you want a representation of your audience (their avatar) and not a representation of yourself (your avatar).

Critique your podcast as if it is someone else's It's often said that we are our own worst critics, but I think our pride often makes us too gentle on ourselves.

If you have ever received negative criticism, it can inspire a useful perspective for critiquing your own podcast. For example, if someone says that your information isn't helpful, imagine you don't know anything about the subject, and then try to learn about it from yourself.

In a way, a critical perspective is similar to how you listen and look for things to edit. But critiquing is broader. Instead of merely looking at the small details, look at the overall message. For example, instead of counting your ums, listen for how easy it is to follow and understand the idea being shared. Or consider how much you talk about yourself instead of providing value to others.

Something may even help get you in the right perspective is if you listen to an episode of a podcast that annoys you—even if it's a different niche. This irritation can fuel extra negativity, so make sure you use it to critique yourself and not attack others!

Check the tech Podcasting is a combination of all kinds of technology. There's a lot that could go wrong, so it's easy to imagine how many people can be overwhelmed (and thus make poor decisions).

Check the different, audience-affecting pieces of your technology. Here are some examples:

Volume levels: Within a single episode, across episodes, and compared to other podcasts
Sound quality: Is it easy to hear and understand what's being said?
Compatibility: Does your podcast work in different players and apps? Does your website work well on mobile devices?
Call-to-action processes: If you ask your audience to do something, do it yourself first, and maybe even on someone else's device. This will ensure everything works, that you're giving accurate instructions, and maybe inspire ways to simplify.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * From the UK, “Jonahtron” said, “INCREDIBLE resource! If ONLY I'd found this podcast 6 months ago. I've just started podcasting a short time ago. I feel as though I have made every mistake there there is to make along the way, inadvertently going against some of the sensible and good advice that Daniel has shared in this series. BUT I'm a convert now. … I'm not sure I'll ever need the amount of detail he offers with his paid content, but it's a testament to the guy that he puts out so much free content. …” Click here to read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * To help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast. Then send me feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week’s show tells a tale of two Batmen — plus a whole bunch of other Batmen in between. The success of the new family-friendly LEGO BATMAN MOVIE inspired us to go back to a very different earlier iteration of The Caped Crusader: Tim Burton’s 1989 series-starter BATMAN, which took the comic-book hero into darker realms than he’d previously occupied onscreen. In this half, we talk about how Burton and Michael Keaton’s vision for the character functions in the larger context of Batman adaptations over the years, as well as Burton’s subsequent career. Plus, some feedback from our last episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BATMAN, LEGO BATMAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Life can get crazy and unpredictable. It can be joyous moments like a birth or marriage. It can be sad moments like a death or job loss. It can be trying moments like a move or transition of any kind. Here are 10 tips for keeping your podcast going, despite life's challenges.

As an extra resource, check out my webinar, “How to Prepare Your Podcast for Breaks,” inside Podcasters' Society.

Make life your highest priority Whatever is making your life unpredictable is probably more important than your podcast. It's far better to invest yourself in your life and relationships. Like the instruction on airlines to put on your oxygen mask before helping others, you may not be able to help others through your podcast if you're suffocating your life.
Reduce your expectations Is it truly reasonable to think you can keep up your podcast during an unpredictable season of life? You may have had a great schedule for consistency, and I think we all know how important consistency is. But when life is crazy, you may have to drop your expectations altogether.
Be open with your audience Podcasting is already a more intimate form of media, so it's okay to be open with your audience. You don't have to share all the dirty details. But if you open up to let your audience know something's going on, they will usually be amazingly supportive!

From February, 2016 to February 2017, I published ten fewer episodes than usual. During that year, I took three breaks—a sabbatical, an emergency break for a death in my extended family, and time off for the birth of my first child. Never did anyone criticize me for those decisions. You and the rest of my audience were amazingly supportive! (THANK YOU!)

What you express is what you attract (one of my most-tweeted quotations). So when you're human with your audience, they'll be human back.

Discard old plans and make new ones (with flexibility) Before your life changed, you may have had your schedule all planned out. You knew you could podcast on a particular schedule and have your episodes published consistently by a particular time.

Throw that all out.

During an unpredictable time, you need to make new plans. And yes, you should make plans, but they'll be very different from before.

With whatever plans you make, remember to be flexible.

Focus the time you do get In his book Why We Want You To Be Rich, Robert T. Kiyosaki defines “FOCUS” as “Follow One Course Until Successful.” The core idea is that “focus” means doing nothing else but that task you mean to do, and doing that until you're finished or out of time.

Because your time may be so short for the tasks you have, it's vital that you spend that time entirely focused on those tasks. Even if it's only a few minutes, isn't that better than no time at all?

Here are some episodes, from fellow podcasters on my network, that I highly recommend to learn more about focusing effectively.

Consistency: Srinivas Rao of The Unmistakeable Creative talks about consistency, comparison, the resistance and focus
Staying Focused & Paying Attention
Continuously plan and prepare new content You may no longer get the hours of preparation time you're used to. Instead, make it a regular practice to always be planning and preparing new stuff for your podcast.

This is why I highly recommend tools like Evernote and Workflowy. They're available from PCs, tablets, and mobile devices, so they're very easy to load, edit, and add stuff as you develop ideas.

You may find that carrying a notepad works better for you. Whatever your method, capture every idea and develop it as much as you can whenever you can.

The point is to have developed content ready for when you have an opportunity to record.

Have bare-minimum solutions ready It's common for podcasters to obsess over their gear. While it's good to record at the highest quality you can afford, that may not be possible when life is unpredictable.

Even if you have a multi-thousand-dollar setup, have a bare-minimum option you can use if you must. Here are some suggestions:

A portable recorder, such as the Zoom H1
A USB microphone (such as the ATR2100-USB/AT2005USB/Q2U) and your computer or even your smartphone and an adapter (such as the Lightning to USB Camera Adapter for iOS devices)
Your smartphone—yes, used well, it can still sound great!

It's okay if you don't sound as pristinely as you usually do. The main things are for your audience to be able to hear and understand you. You don't have to apologize or maybe not even explain why your quality is different.

Seize opportunities to record If you've been continuously planning and preparing new content, then be ready to record at any moment!

New parents know the rarity and unpredictability of silence. Whatever your situation, when that opportunity comes up that you can record and you have content ready, jump on it! You may have no idea when you'll have another opportunity like it.

Enlist helpers When you're open with your audience (back to tip #3), they may also be eager to help you. Such help could be in writing show notes, editing your episodes, publishing on your site, and more.

This may even open up opportunities for future help, and be good practice for delegation.

Create a new normal after this season Your life will probably be forever different after everything settles down. Embrace that difference and redefine your “normal.”

During the unpredictable season, you may have discovered new hacks that can drastically improve your workflow. You may have discovered that you can cut out certain things from your process without negatively affecting anything else.

Like consuming certain foods after an intense diet, you may discover a new appreciation or even a new distaste for what used to be normal. Thus, you may face some difficult decisions about the future of your projects.

Whatever you decide, be open and respectful toward your audience, and they'll understand.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * From the UK, Tim Lewis, host of Begin Self-Publishing Podcast, said, “Great show for more advanced podcasters. Daniel gives information that more experienced podcasters need. The internet is awash with people who have run a few podcasts and start a podcasting course, but Daniel really knows his stuff and takes you through without too much waffle the important points a modern podcaster needs to know.” Look at Tim's site for some great examples of “getting started” and “what is a podcast” pages!

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Personal update: It's a boy!

My wife, Jenny, and I are thrilled to have finally met our son, “Noodle Baby”! We're thankful to all our friends and family for the wonderful support.

I don't normally ask for “handouts,” but if you know of any podcasting-themed baby things, you know they'll be perfect gifts for Noodle Baby!

The Audacity to Podcast

PO Box 739

Burlington, KY 41005

Announcements * To help celebrate and contribute to my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast. Then send me feedback and critiques as if you want to help that podcaster improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We turn our attention now to Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's cringe-inducing 2016 behind-the-scenes campaign documentary WEINER, which plays in many ways like a natural extension of 1993’s THE WAR ROOM. After discussing how WEINER plays today — after its star, disgraced Congressman and mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, arguably had a hand in sinking Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes — we talk about how the newer film’s versions of scandal, politics, and media compares to those of THE WAR ROOM. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WAR ROOM, WEINER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Genevieve: Michael Dowse’s WHAT IF * Keith: Michael Dudok du Wit’s THE RED TURTLE * Scott: Clay Tweel’s GLEASON Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

This week’s pairing tracks the rise and fall of Clintonism in America via two behind-the-scenes documentaries following dramatic Democratic campaigns: 1993’s THE WAR ROOM and 2016’s WEINER. In this deep-dive discussion of the earlier film, we talk over the advantages and limitations of Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker's fly-on-the-wall documentary style, compare the yin-yang personalities of stars James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, and, inevitably, wonder about the lasting effects of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign on the 2016 election. Plus, some feedback from our last few episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WAR ROOM, WEINER, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In lieu of our regularly scheduled episode — postponed two weeks due to the collision of illness and the Sundance Film Festival — we bring you a recording of our recent live episode, recorded at the Chicago Podcast Festival in November 2016. Inspired by the selection process that goes into each Next Picture Show pairing, with each host pitches a future episode inspired by a 2016 film (and letting the audience decide which we'll do). Plus, a game where the hosts — and live audience — challenge each other to find the connective tissue linking two seemingly unrelated films. Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for our discussion of WEINER and THE WAR ROOM. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Jim Jarmusch’s new PATERSON is one of 2016’s best films, and plays like a natural mirror to his breakthrough, STRANGER THAN PARADISE. After waxing rhapsodic about PATERSON for a while, we talk about how the two movies are connected, through their observational approaches, their quirky relationships with time, and their appreciation for the small things in life. We also try in vain to determine whether Jarmusch actually hates dogs, or just finds them unpredictable. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STRANGER THAN PARADISE, PATERSON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: * Tasha: John Schlesinger’s COLD COMFORT FARM * Scott: Fritz Lang’s American films, specifically FURY, YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, SCARLET STREET, and HOUSE BY THE RIVER (as curated from this Noel Murray overview of Lang’s career: thedissolve.com/features/career-view/222-the-sprawling-obsessive-career-of-fritz-lang) * Keith: Wim Wenders’ KINGS OF THE ROAD * Genevieve: Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens’ BRIGHT LIGHTS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by Jim Jarmusch’s new PATERSON, we take a trip through Jarmuschland, way back to the director’s second and breakthrough feature, STRANGER THAN PARADISE. We talk over the ways in which STRANGER THAN PARADISE helped redefine American independent filmmaking, through its bare-bones style, dry humor, memorable characters, and glimpses of underexplored parts of the country. Plus, some feedback on LA LA LAND and UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, inspired by our last episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STRANGER THAN PARADISE, PATERSON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our melancholy-musical double feature heads from Cherbourg, France, to Los Angeles USA, to see how Damien Chazelle’s new “modern-throwback” musical LA LA LAND stacks up against Jacques Demy’s UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. We talk over LA LA LAND’s nostalgic appeal and speculate about its staying power, then compare how the two films utilize their settings, love stories, and singing to different but complementary ends. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UMBRELLA OF CHERBOURG, LA LA LAND, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Your Next Picture Show: *Genevieve: Jeff Nichols’ LOVING * Keith: Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE, Maren Ade’s TONI ERDMANN, Pedro Almodovar’s JULIETA * Scott: Karyn Kusama’s THE INVITATION Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Damian Chazelle’s new big-screen musical LA LA LAND takes its cues from various singing-and-dancing cinematic predecessors, but its melancholy tone is directly descended from Jacques Demy’s classic 1964 musical THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG — a Next Picture Show favorite that we dig into in this first half. We talk over the effects of the film’s sung-through style and working-class setting, and try to pinpoint that certain je ne said quoi that makes UMBRELLAS so indelible. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on MOANA and ARRIVAL. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, LA LA LAND, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Disney Feature Animation had some ups and downs—both artistic and commercial—in the years between MULAN and MOANA, and we chart them in the second half of our comparison of the two films. After taking a moment for a big collective squee over the great MOANA, we get into the evolution of the Disney female heroine (and her sidekicks) and discuss how music features in these films—perhaps with some singing involved. (You're welcome!) Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MULAN, MOANA or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Supplemental materials: *"The Translation of 'We Know The Way' From 'Moana' Makes Perfect Sense" (Bustle): bustle.com/articles/196387-the-translation-of-we-know-the-way-from-moana-makes-perfect-sense

*"How Pacific Islanders Helped Disney's 'Moana' Find Its Way" (Vanity Fair): vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/moana-oceanic-trust-disney-controversy-pacific-islanders-polynesia

*The 25 Best Films of 2016: A Video Countdown (David Ehrlich): vimeo.com/194508152

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

MOANA is a successful new entry in Disney Feature Animation’s ongoing experimentation with non-Western stories and non-white characters, an experiment that was still in its nascent stages around the time of 1998’s MULAN. Inspired by an ancient Chinese poem about a female warrior who disguises herself as a man, the film is an odd mishmash of comedy and war movie, of ancient and modern reference points, and of traditional and CG animation. In this half, we talk over how MULAN fares in 2016, and puzzle over a couple of the movie’s stranger casting choices. Plus, lots of feedback, most of it on ARRIVAL. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MULAN, MOANA, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Whether you're planning a holiday break, a seasonal hiatus, or need some time off, here are ways to stay connected with your audience so they will anticipate your show's return.

I'm giving away over $3,000 worth of podcasting products and services in my 12 Days of PodChristmas Giveaway! Click here to sign up!

Set expectations If your hiatus break will skip more than one episode, I recommend communicating a plan with your audience.

Your plan could be as simple as “we won't have any episodes until we return on _____.” That tells your audience not to expect episodes, but to expect your return during that time.

Or, if you choose to use any of the following tips to stay connected with your audience, communicate that. “I won't be here in the podcast, but I will be active in _____.”

I recommend that you give advanced warning about the hiatus, and release a “Currently on hiatus” miniature episode. When you return, you can remove that episode from your feed.

Point to active social account(s) It's easy to post on social networks. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and such allow you to stay engaged with your audience without requiring high production or preparation.

I don't recommend pointing to every social account you have. Where Pat Flynn is known for saying, “Be everywhere,” I like to say, “Be everywhere you can be well.” Thus, instead of pointing to a dozen places people can follow you and not posting much to any of them, point them to one or two places to stay connected. With very few places to manage, it's easy to post frequently.

This can also be a great opportunity to get better with a particular social network by forcing yourself to use it frequently.

Preproduce miniature content A full podcast episode can be a lot of hard work. During a hiatus, you can scale back your commitment (as long as you've set the expectations with your audience).

Imagine if your favorite podcasts took a three-month hiatus. Would you prefer to hear nothing from them until they return, or would you rather get tiny bits from them to hold you over.

Miniature content can be short podcast episodes, blog posts, an email series, informal videos, live events, and anything else that doesn't take much time but maintains the relationship with your audience.

Such miniature content can be preproduced and scheduled for automatic release during the hiatus.

Use an email newsletter/autoresponder If you don't already have an email list, now could be a great time to start one! You can use your email list for many things, even during a hiatus. Your emails could be behind-the-scenes stories, short tips, or anything else that would be relevant to your audience.

If you don't have an email list yet, I recommend getting started with MailChimp, Aweber, or ConvertKit.

Participate in an online community Whether owned by you or by someone else, participating in a community during a hiatus can be a great way to continue the relationship with your fans. It can also help build your reputation, authority, and influence, which could result in gaining new subscribers.
Offer direct contact You may decide maintaining a public connection with your audience isn't right for you and your show. If you still want to stay connected, consider offering a way for your audience to contact you directly. For example, “If you need help while we're on hiatus, please email us directly and we'll reply when we can.”
Pick what's doable and fitting Going into a hiatus is not a good time to overcommit yourself. These tips I've provided are only options (and I welcome your suggestions in the comments!). Make sure the choice you make is something you can actually keep up with, and that it's an appropriate fit for your audience.

Regardless of what you choose to do during a hiatus, remember the #1 tip: communicate so your audience will know what to expect.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * brakeb wrote in iTunes USA, “I learned a lot from Daniel. Daniel's show has definitely made me a better podcaster… He just makes you want to have a better podcast. I like how he lays everything out simply. His show notes are light years better than mine, which I'm working on. If you are a content producer, you definitely want to add this to your listening rotation.” * Sophie, host of The Edtech Podcast, wrote in iTunes UK, “A truly valuable resource for podcasters. Daniel has developed for the podcasting community a vast array of indepth, practical resources, through which to deliver great content and to innovate as the medium develops. Thanks Daniel!!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Sign up for the 12 Days of PodChristmas for a chance to win one of over $3,000 worth of prizes! * I'm going on hiatus until late January while my first son or daughter (we're going to be surprised!) is born.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Our conversation about movies about talking to aliens moves to the present with Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, which hits many of the same narrative points as CONTACT, but points them in a different emotional direction. We talk about our reactions to the newer film, and how its ideas about science, communication, and emotion compare with CONTACT’s. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 00:00-01:40 - Intro 01:41-25:34 - "Arrival" 25:35-39:41 - Connections 39:42-50:40 - Your Next Picture Show: Genevieve: Ava DuVernay’s 13TH Scott: Paul Verhoeven’s ELLE Keith: Criterion’s LONE WOLF AND CUB box set Tasha: TORCHWOOD “Children of Earth” miniseries, Ben Wheatley’s HIGH-RISE 50:41-53:41 - Outro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Christmas, New Year's Day, and many more holidays affect people differently. Learn whether you should keep podcasting or take a break during a holiday.

I cover this more thoroughly in a members-only webinar I did for Podcasters' Society, “How to Prepare Your Podcast for Breaks.” That's one of many resources to help you improve your podcast, available exclusively in Podcasters' Society. Click here to join and get immediate access to community, training, and support!

Know your audience Geography What holidays affect your audience? The easiest way to know that would be to look at where your podcast is being downloaded.
Libsyn: Stats ➜ Show ➜ Geographic
Blubrry: Stats ➜ Geography ➜ World

Most likely, if the top country (by a large margin) isn't your own, you may need to consider whether your own holidays will matter to the majority of your audience.

For example, Memorial Day, President's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving (in November) are nationally observed American holidays. Some of these may be known outside the USA (like Independence Day and Thanksgiving).

Regardless of how you let a holiday affect your podcast, I recommend always being inclusive to those who may not know the holiday. Instead of being vague and saying, “the holiday,” be specific (for example, “It's Independence Day in America this week, …”).

Immediacy It's also good to know the timelessness or “long tail” of your podcast episodes. Most podcasts will get the majority of their downloads in the first 72 hours. (Edison Research reports that 73% of podsumers play an episode within 48 hours of access.) If your podcast has this same “immediate” consumption pattern, then timely events and holidays may have a greater effect on your audience. But if your podcast has significant downloads continuing after the episode's first week, then timely events may not be as relevant to your audience.

Lifestyles If you know your audience is affected by the same holidays as you, and they consume your podcast quickly, you should also think about the prominent lifestyle of your audience and how your podcast might fit into that.

Consider Christmas and New Year's Day (which seem to be the most prominent international holidays). This is about a week or more that your audience's daily routines are significantly different. They may take time off work and thus may not be commuting. They may spend more time with family and friends and thus less time alone. They may spend more time with new “toys” and thus less time with established habits. And they may spend more time traveling to visit loved ones, but such traveling may be with others instead of alone.

With this in mind, how does your podcast fit into the lifestyle of your audience? If your podcast is business-focused, then it may not be relevant or even desired around the holidays. If your podcast is entertainment-focused, it could be a way for your audience to escape holiday stress. And if your podcast is focused on something more relevant to the holidays (like family, health, and such), then your audience may need your podcast at that time.

Know yourself Be realistic. How plausible is it for you to continue your podcast around a holiday? This significantly depends on your workflow and episode backlog.

If you all your podcasting steps (planning, preparing, presenting, producing, publishing, and promoting) are within close proximity, then you may have very little margin for holidays.

If your podcasting steps are more spread out, either through batching or through being several episodes ahead, then you have a lot more margin for holidays.

What is actually doable for you? If you decide to podcast through the holiday, remember that value isn't measured in time. So your holiday episode doesn't have to be as time-consuming as your others, but it should still be as valuable.

If you think it will be too stressful to podcast through the holiday, then don't feel bad for taking a break!

Plan ahead Look at a calendar to see what holidays (or other events) might affect your podcasting schedule. When you know what's coming up, you can plan accordingly.

For example, if you plan to take the entire month of December off but you want your podcast to continue, you can prerecord episodes weeks in advance.

Or if you decide to not release episodes during that time, you can plan other ways to maintain a connection with your audience.

Think long-term How will your decision today matter six months or a year from now? If your podcast is new, then taking a break in the beginning could certain slow your growth. If your podcast is established, a holiday break may not have a negative effect.

Also consider how your decision will affect your podcast relative to your “competition.” What if you podcast when they're taking a break? Or what if you're taking a break while they're continuing to podcast?

This also means that announcements or apologies about breaks won't matter once the break is past.

Which is right for you? I don't think there's a definite right or wrong answer on this issue. It really depends on you, your podcast, and your audience. Some podcasts should probably continue through holidays, others should probably take a break.

Consider these few things and make the decision you think is right for you. And remember that there may always be someone who will disagree and complain.

For more information on this, including practical steps to prepare your podcast for breaks, join Podcasters' Society and check out our library of webinars, tutorials, and the amazing support of a mature community of podcasters!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Ed Plumacher (AKA VI-EJP), host of iAccessVO, wrote in iTunes USA, “Informative and timely road map. Thank you for helping to shorten the learning curve for the launch of our podcast, iAccessVO. 29 episodes and one year later, we still find your podcast to be a valuable resource. Thank you for sharing such great information.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * I'll host one more episode and then go on an indefinite hiatus while Noodle Baby is born. * Listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast and send me feedback and critiques for my upcoming 300th episode!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week, we look to the skies to consider two films about the difficulty of communication between worlds, and the inward journeys involved in looking to the stars. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, we begin with an in-depth discussion of an earlier film with which it shares many thematic and narrative elements: Robert Zemeckis' 1997 Carl Sagan adaptation CONTACT. We consider the film’s ambition, dissect its blockbuster qualities, and try to determine what makes this unwieldy, emotional movie work so well, almost despite itself. (Spoiler: It’s mostly Jodie Foster.) Plus, a brief feedback discussion on cultural empathy and the movies. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our discussion of lyrical portraits of unrequited love turns its attention to Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, the look and feel of which—the final third in particular—recalls the bittersweet tone of Wong Kar-Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. We share our reactions to MOONLIGHT, and consider the two films’ shared qualities, including their use of unusual framing and the thematic importance placed on food. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, MOONLIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-03:00 Main Discussion: 03:01-39:50 Your Next Picture Show: 39:50- Tasha: Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn’s TROLLS Keith: Kelly Fremon Craig’s THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN Scott: David Farrier’s TICKLED Genevieve: Park Chan-Wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN Outro: 51:07-54:30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about podcast search-engine optimization (SEO). I have this information in my SEO for Podcasters course, and I want you to have the core understanding for what SEO stuff actually does and doesn't matter in podcasting.

Through the end of 2016, use coupon code “podcastseo” to save $100 on my complete SEO for Podcasters course. Or, join Podcasters' Society and you get immediate access to the course and much more!

Common podcast SEO bad advice and myths Before I get into what does matter, I need to point out some common misconceptions, bad advice, and myths I've heard from many podcasters (even some podcasting experts).

Misconception: Podcast transcripts help SEO Getting your podcast audio transcribed is not an instant solution to podcast SEO. For the most popular podcast apps, those transcriptions will not affect your SEO at all. For websites, a transcript for show notes is better than a single sentence or paragraph.

The fault of transcripts is in the amount of words relative to the quality of the content. Solo or interview podcasts may result in somewhat helpful transcripts, but conversation podcasts give horrible transcripts.

Bad advice: Treat your author tag as a subtitle Although the author tag appears along with the title of your podcast in iTunes and other podcast apps, it is not a subtitle and should not be treated as such. The author tag is the place to put the creator (or creators) of the podcast, not to expound on the title or subject matter.

Bad advice: Stuff your author tag with keywords The author tag is where you list the actual authors/creators/hosts of the podcast. The is not the place to stuff it with keywords, similar podcast names, names of your guests, or names of relevant famous people.

Here's an example of the kind of bad author tag I'm talking about. I changed this to protect the quite guilty.

Daniel J. Lewis chats with entrepreneurs Michael Hyatt, John Lee Dumas, and Pat Flynn with motivation from Steve Jobs, Abraham Lincoln, and Alexander the Great. If Seth Godin had a podcast, this would probably be it.

Of all those names, who actually creates and hosts the podcast? Only one of them. And of all those names, who is actually alive?

This kind of stuff will look horrible in your podcast listing, and it can even get your show blacklisted by Apple!

Myth: ID3 tags affect your SEO ID3 tags are metadata you attach to your MP3 files. These are helpful for compatibility with various podcast apps and players, but they don't affect SEO because they aren't searched until they downloaded. Even after being downloaded to your subscriptions, some apps may not search the ID3 tags.

I think this confusion comes from cross-platform terminology, like “tags,” “meta tags,” “metadata,” and “meta information.” These are is often used in reference to RSS feeds and webpage stuff, which do affect some SEO. But these tags in your ID3 tags don't affect SEO.

Myth: Your podcast description is not searchable While it's true that some podcast apps don't search the description, other podcast apps do! (I'll point out which do one below.)

The main purpose of your show description should be to tell someone why they should subscribe to the podcast and what to expect. That can be done with some SEO keywords, but it shouldn't be a priority to stuff the keywords.

For example, if your description includes something like, “We talk about awesomeness, things that are awesome, and give tips for being awesome in your daily life,” you are both including keywords and telling more truth about your podcast.

Myth: Podcast ratings and reviews affect iTunes ranking There are plenty of good reasons and uses for podcast ratings and reviews, but ranking is not one of them. Many podcasting experts (including Rob Walch, Paul Colligan, and myself) have tested, researched, and proven multiple times that subscriptions are the most important metric to podcast ranking. The charts weigh more heavily on new subscriptions within the last few days, and then fallback to total lifetime subscriptions.

Doesn't it actually make sense for subscriptions to matter more than reviews? Think about measuring a book's popularity. Wouldn't you expect its popularity to be based on number of copies sold instead of on the number of reviews about the book?

Misconception: Cover art doesn't matter for search The point of SEO is to make your podcast show up in relevant searches and to attract the right audience.

The words in your podcast cover art will not make your podcast more findable. But where your cover art can help is in communicating the quality and subject of your podcast.

Imagine you want a podcast about baking cakes. You enter some keywords in iTunes and the #1 result has cover art that shows a couple machine guns and cats. How relevant would that podcast seem to baking cakes?

Your cover art is an opportunity to not only catch someone's eye, but also to help attract the right audience.

Myth: Every word in certain fields is searchable Podcast apps search differently and place different emphasis on different types of words. A while back, a search for “clean comedy” would ignore the word “clean” and thus search for only “comedy.” The results were the top comedy podcasts—all explicit. Yikes, right?

Many search engines have a list of words or types of words they ignore. These are commonly called “stopwords.” Those are usually short and seemingly unimportant words, like “a,” “the,” “to,” and such. Thus, some apps may return results for “audacity podcast” when you search for “The Audacity to Podcast,” even though the “the” and “to” in my title are extremely important.

Besides these stopwords, some apps search with different styles of queries. Here are some examples with “audacity podcast” as the query:

“or” searches will return any results that match “audacity” or “podcast.”
“and” searches will return any results that include both “audacity” and “podcast.”
“exact” searches will return any results that include the exact phrase “audacity podcast” and would thus exclude “audacity to podcast.”
“similar” searches will use some intelligence to return results with similar words or similar forms of words, such as “podcasts” when you searched for “podcast.”

I'm about to share a whole lot of information about different apps and RSS fields, so get my Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet for a quick reference!

Get the Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet

What matters to iTunes for podcast SEO Apple's iTunes and Podcasts apps are the top places for podcast searches and consumption. Thus, it's important to ensure your podcast is in Apple's apps and is appropriately findable.

Most people (even many podcasting experts) think there are only three fields iTunes searches, but there are actually four!

Show title This is the overall title of your podcast, in the channel-level <title> tag of your RSS feed.
Show author This is the overall author/creator of your podcast, in the channel-level <itunes:author> tag of your RSS feed.
Episode titles This is the title for each individual episode, in the item-level <title> tag of your RSS feed.
Episode authors This is the secret one most podcasters don't know. It is the author/creator/guest for each individual episode, in the item-level <itunes:author> tag of your RSS feed.

I show how to leverage each of these tags and best-practices inside my SEO for Podcasters, which is now included for all members of Podcasters' Society!

What matters to Google Play Music for podcast SEO Google finally got back into supporting podcasts when they started including podcasts in Google Play Music in early 2016. I believe this will eventually become a major destination for podcast consumption (“podsumption”), so it's important to ensure your podcast is findable there.

Google Play Music will first use any <googleplay:…> tags in your RSS feed and will fallback to the equivalent <itunes:…> tags if the Google Play Music tags don't exist.

Show title This is the overall title of your podcast, in the channel-level <title> tag of your RSS feed.
Show author This is the overall author/creator of your podcast, in the channel-level <googleplay:author> or <itunes:author> tag of your RSS feed.
Show description This is the overall description of your podcast, in the channel level <googleplay:description>, <itunes:summary>, or <description> (in that order of priority).

See? I told you your description is searched!

Want to see all this information in a handy cheat sheet?

Get free access to the Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet

Again, I show how to leverage each of these tags and best-practices inside my SEO for Podcasters, which is now included for all members of Podcasters' Society! The Google Play Music part isn't in there, yet, but will be in the course updates in 2017.

What matters to other popular podcast apps for SEO iTunes and Google Play Music are not the only popular podcast apps, so I researched more highly popular apps for what matters in their searches.

Stitcher: show title, show author, show description (<itunes:subtitle> or <description> field), episode titles, episode descriptions
Overcast: show title, show author, show description (<itunes:subtitle> or <description> field)
Pocket Casts, Downcast, and Castro: show title, show author
Podcast Addict: show title, show author, show description (<itunes:summary>, episode titles, episode authors, and optional iTunes search engine

I know this is a lot of information, so look at my Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet to get a quick understanding and comparison.

Click here to view the Podcast SEO Cheat Sheet

Through the end of 2016, use coupon code “podcastseo” to save $100 on my complete SEO for Podcasters course. Or, join Podcasters' Society and you get immediate access to the course and much more!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Mike Hayes (AKA “Hayesman22”), host of College Debt to Career Cash, wrote in iTunes USA,” Extremely helpful for a brand new podcaster as myself. Like many of us, I am trying to fine tune my audience and message. So to think in terms of reference or habit is thought provoking. To grow an audience, I think a good show will do both! Thanks for making me think more about the goal of my show. Also I enjoyed you mentioning the bible and the spiritual stuff! My podcast is: College Debt to Career Cash. I only have four episodes out and I have major improvements planned so go easy on me!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by one of the year’s biggest indie sensations, Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, we’re looking at another highly romanticized tale of unrequited love: Wong Kar-wai’s beautiful 2000 film IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. In this half, we talk about how affecting LOVE’s central non-love-story is - and why - and consider how the film reflects Wong’s improvisational methods and his desire to create a dreamlike return to the Hong Kong of his childhood. Plus, feedback from our last episode on AMERICAN HONEY and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, MOONLIGHT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Reference or habit? These two approaches to your podcast could make a huge difference in engaging with your community and growing your audience.

This topic was inspired by a conversation with Clay Lamb from Home Contractors HQ (current name).

Why “reference” versus “habit” matters What I'm about to share with you could be the key in understanding why your podcast promotion may not be working, why your podcast audience may not be growing, and why you could be struggling to keep your podcast going.

What is a “reference” podcast? A “reference” is something you use when you have a specific need. For example:

YouTube video on how to weld plumbing
Dictionary definition of a word
Encyclopedic resource to understand a subject
An answer to a question

Generally, these are things you might not consume on a regular basis; people rarely read the dictionary page by page!

You might have a “reference” podcast if each episode is serving only one or more isolated needs.

There are cases where all of those combined needs may form a habit. For example, understanding how to maintain a car requires knowing how to check oil, tire pressure, change a flat tire, read indicator lights, add windshield-washer fluid, and more.

Even then, when the need is met, the consumer might not stay.

What is a “habit” podcast? A “habit” is something that becomes part of your life. Some habits are by choice, some are by necessity, and some are unintentional. Habits often connect to passions and lifestyles. For example:

Movies, novels, and comedy feed an ongoing desire for entertainment.
Self-help and spiritual materials feed an ongoing desire for improvement.
Topic/industry-specific content feeds an ongoing interest or passion.
Education feeds an ongoing need for knowledge and understanding.

Note the theme of “ongoing” in each of these. A habit is ongoing.

You might have a “habit” podcast if all your episodes are serving a bigger need, and people want to consume your episodes regularly because the podcast feeds an ongoing need or desire.

A “habit” contains many needs. You may not be able to distinguish or even see all of your needs. Consider this very content for example! You may have never considered whether your podcast is a reference or a habit, but it's something that is feeding your ongoing interest in improving your podcast.

How “reference” and “habit” affect your podcast Think of it this way. “Reference” generally means “one time,” and “habit” generally means “ongoing.”

I believe for your podcast (a series you want people to subscribe to), you should seek to make it a “habit” podcast—fulfilling the ongoing needs or desires of your audience.

“Reference” and “habit” may not be immediately evident from any particular podcast. For example, Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing could seem like a reference podcast, but it actually makes a habit out of reference. Each episode shares valuable information you might be searching for, and the overall podcast feeds a bigger desire (and need) to get better at communicating in English. I have listened to every episode since the show's beginning, and I sometimes search the archive as a reference.

Timely versus timeless content I think reference and habit are separate from timeliness and timelessness. Habit content can be timely or timeless, and reference content can also be timely or timeless. So I don't think you should see only timeless content as valuable and timely as a waste. Instead, you can choose the timeliness or timelessness of your content based on how well it feeds the habit for your audience.

Audience growth If your podcast is purely reference content, then you could struggle to grow your audience because people don't think your podcast meets an ongoing need or desire.

When you can design your podcast to provide habit content, then it's easier to grow an audience because they'll want to keep returning for more.

Presentation perspective Even if you provide reference content, how you approach and communicate the content could make it also habit content.

Movie-discussion podcasts are good examples of this. Each episode could be a self-contained discussion and reference about a one particular movie. But if the hosts integrate their unique perspectives (or an overall perspective of the podcast, such as music, philosophy, a specific actor, etc.), subscribers will become more interested in what the hosts think about any movie than simply wanting a reference about a particular movie.

Interview-based podcasts can be both reference and habit, too. People will listen to your interviews not always because of the guest, but because of the conversations you create. Even for John Lee Dumas's template approach to EOFire (an approach overly imitated), people listen because of the expected value John designed his template to provide.

Consider this example. You may have hundreds of recipes you want to share. If you have no authority or influence yet, people probably won't care about receiving recipe after recipe. But if all those recipes support the same diet, then each recipe becomes a reference to feed a habit.

These approaches are more about how you present the content than the content itself.

Focus on making “habit” content I think your best results will come from making your podcast feed a “lifestyle.” That is, an ongoing need or desire, either in the content itself or in your approach to the content—even if you offer “reference” content!

This approach is what makes your audience put your podcast in their regular routine, instead of putting it on the shelf to reference only when necessary.

(Personal aside to my fellow Christians: apply all of this to your perspective of the Bible and accountability and encouragement from fellow believers. These should not be merely “references,” but habits and part of our lives!)

What kind of podcast are you creating? What kind of relationships, if any, are you inspiring by how your present your message?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Jason (AKA “SkepticSmash”), from Skeptic Smash Talk Podcast, said in iTunes UK, “Brilliant and Informative. Really enjoy the tips and strategies, particularly when it comes to listener engagement and how to respect listeners, I wish more podcasters would pay attention to this.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Listen to my first episode of The Audacity to Podcast and send me feedback and critiques for my upcoming 300th episode! * Join Podcasters' Society for encouragement, training, and support to improve and grow your podcast from average to amazing!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week’s regular episode has been postponed a week, but in the meantime, Tasha and Genevieve get together to chat a little about why we’re postponing, and how we’re collectively figuring out how to care about movies again when so much else is going on in the world. Check back in two weeks for our regular episodes on IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and MOONLIGHT. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Internet security and privacy are deeply connected and important to your safety. Here are 17 tips to help you stay safe and secure in podcasting.

Prioritize your privacy Transparency may seem great online, but this could be at the cost of your own privacy. Listen to my previous episode, “How to Protect Your Privacy While Podcasting,” for more information.
Maintain reasonable ownership As much as possible, ensure you own or at least have significant control over the most important parts of your podcast:
RSS feed—Do you own the URL? Can you redirect it whenever and wherever you want? Is the URL reserved so no one else can steal it?
Domain—Always point people to your own domain, even if it merely points to somewhere else when you're starting out.
Hosting—You could have more control by leasing a VPS or dedicated server. However you host your website and media, keep backups so that you can more easily move, if you must.
Use secure passwords Weak passwords are one of the easiest ways for “hackers” to access anything. Generally, the harder a password is to speak, type, and remember, the better it probably is!

Secure passwords should be:

Long—Use the maximum number of characters a site or service will allow
Contain a mix of characters—Use numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols
Avoid anything from a dictionary—Words are easy to guess
Not include anything personal—Birth dates, names, places, and such can all be figured out

The only passwords you need to know are the ones you must enter without a password manager. For example, your mobile device's password, your PC's password, or your password-manager's password.

Activate two-factor authentication everywhere Two-factor authentication (often abbreviated “2FA”) is when a second device or method is required for authorization. This could be a link or code sent through email, SMS, postal mail, phone call, or other notification.

With 2FA, logging into a supported site or service on a computer would require not only the username and password, but also a code either generated by a different algorithm and available only on another device, or something sent to another location.

Make up answers to security questions Darwyn, from Dealing With My Grief Podcast, commented on my episode about privacy:

One thing that I do to protect myself when setting up accounts, is to never use true information for the security questions… For example, if one of my security questions for the account is “What's your mother's maiden name?” or “Name of your first school?” my answer might be something like “Applesauce.” The information doesn't have to be true, just something to which you can provide the correct answer. With things like classmates.com, ancestry.com or a Google search, it's very easy to find the real answers to these questions.

You've probably seen those additional security questions that you can choose or customize. “Where were you born?” “What was your first car?” “Who was your first crush?” And so on. While some of these may be things only you know, it's probably more likely someone else could figure them out, especially with how transparent social networks make us.

Usually, the answers don't actually have to be correct or even make sense. The answer could even be another secure password!

Be careful with things like birth dates, as some services may require a photo ID at some point if you're locked out of your account. If the dates don't match, you could face a hard time.

Use password-managers My previous three tips focused on securing your logins. That can be very difficult when you have only your memory to guide you. Thus, I fully recommend using intelligent password-managers to create, secure, and prefill this information for you.

For password-managers, I recommend LastPass and 1Password.

For two-factor authentication, I recommend Authy (which uses Google Authenticator), LastPass Authenticator, or 1Password.

These tools will manage all your secure passwords, encrypt and store them securely, and protect other secure information (such as those fake answers to security questions).

Backup regularly (and redundantly) Accept this fact: the universe isn't perfect and, at some point, something important will fail. This is why it's so important to backup all your important stuff (if not everything).

Consider backing up:

Your computer hard drive (at least your important data on it)
Your mobile devices
Your podcast episodes
Your website files
Your website database(s)

Think of it this way. If a nuclear bomb went off where you store your data, do you have a backup somewhere?

For WordPress backups, I recommend BackupBuddy.

For PC backups, I recommend BackBlaze as your remote backup and an external hard drive for local backups.

Archive instead of deleting What happens to podcast episodes after they die? Keep an archive of all your podcast episodes, even if it's only the MP3s. I've worked with some podcasters who had lost their episodes and had no way to recover them.

When you finish with a podcast episode, I recommend you compress the episode folder and archive it somewhere safe and secure. My current favorites are BackBlaze B2, Amazon S3, and Amazon Cloud Drive (my current choice). You could also use a spare hosting account, if that's acceptable use of their service.

Update frequently (and upgrade when you can) WordPress, website plugins, apps, and many other tools release frequent updates. I'm not saying you need to upgrade to the latest versions, but I do think you should stay updated with the latest patches.

For example, an operating-system upgrade may be too risky with older hardware and software, but you should keep that operating system version as updated as possible with all its security patches.

You should do the same for your website, too.

The latest upgrades will usually be more secure, so it's best to upgrade when you can.

Share login access smartly and rarely Many sites, services, and people may require access to your other accounts. As much as possible, avoid outright giving usernames and passwords—especially to fringe social-media tools.

Use APIs or OAuth (authenticating through a service instead of giving your login) as much as possible when one thing needs to access another.

If you must share login access with another person, use a password-manager to share the login without exposing your password. You could, instead, make or authorize an additional account for temporary access.

For example, make another admin account if you need someone to do something on your WordPress site. Then, when they're finished, you can delete the account or downgrade its access.

Or, someone might need to access your Google account (for YouTube, Google Docs, FeedBurner, Anaytics, etc.). Instead of giving your username and password, authorize their Google account to access that thing of yours, or transfer the thing (such as a FeedBurner feed) to them (if you trust them).

And as much as possible, avoid sharing login access with anyone or anything.

Instead of logging into sites with a social account, I recommend creating a username and password for each site. This way, if someone gets access to your social account, they're not able to login to a bunch of your other accounts.

Also be careful with what sites or services you connect to your social accounts, even if it's through API or OAuth. They may post without your knowing it.

Be cautious on public or unsecure Wi-Fi You would be surprised how much information can be harvested over public or unsecure wireless networks. Ensure anything you login to is done over HTTPS (you'll see “https://” in the address bar).

Another good way to protect yourself is by using a virtual private network (VPN) that allows you to encrypt and route your Internet traffic through somewhere else.

Secure your mobile devices Mobile devices could be the weakest point in your security. Not only could they already contain sensitive information on them, but they could also be used to access your other secure accounts (with two-factor authentication). And because mobile devices are small and valuable, they're also big targets for theft.

So ensure your mobile device has the utmost security enabled: encryption, location-tracking, “bricking” or erasing after a certain number of failed login attempts, and instant-locking (instead of locking with a password after some time).

Beyond the digital side of the security, also be secure with the physical side. Protect your phone from damage by putting it in a protective case. If it's your two-factor authentication device, you wouldn't want it to be disabled when you need to login! Also protect the device from theft by carrying it in harder-to-steal areas and not setting it out where someone could easily grab it and run.

Think critically A whole bunch of disasters can be avoided by making smarter decisions. I can't say your gut will always be right about what or whom to trust, but when you feel like something is not right, do not proceed!

Here are some suggestions.

If someone—even someone you trust—sends you a URL with no explanation, you probably shouldn't click on it.
Don't give out personal information to companies calling you! If they claim to be from the government or a company you do business with, insist on calling them back through a number you trust.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true.

A little critical thinking can go a long way to protecting yourself! (And don't fall for those scams claiming to be the IRS!)

Monitor weak spots There will always be potential holes in any system. So here are some ways to keep things in check to alert you to problem or quickly fix things once they've been compromised.
Monitor credit-card and bank statements to ensure you're not paying for things you didn't buy.
Regularly re-evaluate OAuth and API access you've granted. This is usually in a section like “Applications,” “API,” “Access,” or “Connected Accounts.” If you don't use something anymore, revoke its access.
Look for indicators of problems, such as sudden performance issues, which could indicate a brute-force attack; password-reset requests on your accounts; and other suspicious activity.
Scan for malware on your websites to ensure no one snuck anything on through some security hole.
Implement protections Protections are important, but you can't always rely on them. The most common protections are:
Antivirus—blocking and scanning for threats that can damage and spread
Firewall—preventing unauthorized or suspicious activity from getting through (in or out)
Malware-scanning—finding and eliminating stuff that shouldn't be there
Denial-of-Service prevention—protecting against systems that will use brute force to crack a password or simply crash a server
Enable encryption Think about your own computer. It may have a username and password required to use the computer, but what if someone connected the hard drive to a different computer? They may be able to access all your files with little or no problem. Encryption can prevent that.

Encrypting data will make it inaccessible without a decryption key. The latest operating systems usually offer advanced encryption technologies that will barely affect performance. On my macOS PC, for example, the decryption adds only a few seconds to my boot-up and an imperceivable delay on launching programs.

Find people you can trust All of these methods for protecting yourself and your data are important. It's also important that you have a couple people you can trust with access to all of this. I think the first person should be your husband or wife. Additionally, consider trusting someone outside your family.

Think of the worst-case scenarios and take necessary steps to equip others to help in such cases.

What steps are you taking to keep yourself and your podcast safe and secure?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Rudy (AKA “Biggrood”), host of Cascade Hiker Podcast, said in iTunes USA, “I have used soooo many tips from your show. Thanks for always answering my questions… even though I haven't ever asked you one! The show notes have been helpful in the past as well. My podcast, Cascade Hiker Podcast, has been gaining traction thanks to this show.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcasters' Society re-opens very soon! Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com if you want to join as soon as it re-opens (and you may even save some money!).

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to the road in our two-part exploration of America and self, jumping to the current day with Andrea Arnold's sprawling, music-packed AMERICAN HONEY, a film with some of the same concerns as MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, but a much different stylistic approach. In this half, we talk over how the two films handle matters of poverty, style, infatuation, and "the other America." Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, AMERICAN HONEY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-04:10 Main Discussion: 04:10-52:09 Your Next Picture Show: 52:10-1:03:02 Keith: William Richert's WINTER KILLS Scott: Xavier Dolan's TOM AT THE FARM Tasha: "For Youths, A Grim Tour on Magazine Crews" (New York Times Magazine) and "My Own Private Idaho" (Interview Magazine) Genevieve: Jonathan Demme's JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & THE TENNESSEE KIDS Outro: 1:03:04-1:06:36 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Your privacy is important and you could be compromising it with your podcast! Here are eight ways to protect your personal and professional privacy while podcasting.

Why is privacy important? There are a lot of horrible people in the world who could harm you or your family. Such harm could be physical, emotional, financial, or other intangible forms.

You should be even more concerned about your privacy if you have shared any kind of controversial opinions (especially conservative ones).

Besides worrying about the creeps of the world, you may also need to protect your privacy because of your job, contractual obligations, or anything else. It may not be an issue of what's allowed, but more about what honors the spirit of relationships, positions, agreements, and associations.

For example, Apple is extremely protective about what messages are communicated from the company. Employees may be prohibited from publicizing their employment with Apple. They may also be prohibited from engaging in certain conversations because they could be seen as endorsements from an Apple representative. Other companies may have similar—and reasonable—policies.

While protecting your privacy may seem to limit freedoms, it can also give freedoms you wouldn't otherwise have.

For whatever reasons you hold, here are eight ways to protect your privacy while podcasting.

Consider a pseudonym or partial name Creating a fictitious name or not using your full name will make it harder for others to compromise your privacy. This is not necessarily the best option, but it may be the most effective with the least effort.

This will most likely not work if you have already put your name out in the public. But if you're starting out, it's something you can consider.

Listen to my previous episode, “Should you podcast under your real name, or a pseudonym?” for more thoughts on whether this is the right choice for you.

Beware the “whole story” you're telling You may not be giving away your home address in a single episode, but you have to think about every clue you reveal.

For example, you may reveal all of the following facts across different episodes, blog posts, and social-network posts:

Where you shop and what's nearby
How far you drive to work
What your company does
Something unique about your home area
A photo of your house
The name of someone else who might not be as protective of their privacy
When and where you attend a regular meeting, such as a church service

With a combination of information like this, it would be fairly easy to figure out where you live, what valuables you might have, and when you'll be gone.

Scary, right? You should be scared! This kind of stuff may sound like something from a spy movie or show, but it can be a reality. You need to be very careful, especially with how impossible it is to completely remove something from the Internet.

Adjust privacy settings on social networks Facebook is notorious for frequently changing privacy settings. You should be aware of such changes and adjust your settings for any social network or account you make.

For example, some sites may make public:

Your birthday
Your home city
Your location in a photo or post

Beyond what information you share on such sites, you may also need to customize who can see that information. Facebook, for example, lets you group friends into different lists. You can then customize which lists can see what information in your account, or exclude certain lists from seeing things.

Read privacy policies Generally, if a company has a privacy policy, that seems to make them more trustworthy. Nonetheless, it's still important for you to read anything you're agreeing to.

For example, a privacy policy may address who can access your contact information, what rights the company has with showing your association, and so on.

You usually don't have the option to use services without agreeing to their policies, but reading their policies can inform you on what you may need to do to further protect your privacy.

Rent a mailing address If you need to enter a physical address anywhere other than with trusted online retailer, I think you should consider having another address.

For example:

WHOIS information on domains shows a name, address, telephone number, and email address
Some annoying sites ask for a physical address when they really don't need it
You may want to give your audience the ability to send you things
Your address may used to populate a user map or display your city (this is a bigger concern if your physical addresses is in a smaller town)

For these uses and others, I highly recommend that you have another address you're okay with sharing. This could be any of the following:

PO Box
Local shipping/mailbox company
Earth Class Mail or other online mail service
Invest in privacy protection and ID-theft insurance Speaking of addresses, have you ever looked at what information is freely available when someone does a WHOIS search on a domain you own? Try it yourself!

Many hosting companies and domain registrars offer privacy-protection services for the WHOIS database. Instead of displaying your home address, the company might display their own contact information and forward stuff to you. This is typically a few dollars per year per domain. Thus, it may cost more or less than renting a mailing address, depending on how many domains you own.

Since you're putting your life online (even a small aspect of it), you may want to also invest in ID-theft protection. This might come through your home insurance, business insurance, or a separate insurance provider.

ID-theft insurance may not protect you from identity-theft, but it could alert you to concerns, cover expenses when you face a problem, and even replace your income if you must take time off work in order to resolve problems.

Use separate email accounts or addresses You may not be able to see what email address is associated with someone else's online account, but many tools can search for online accounts based on an email address.

For example, tools like Rapportive can show someone your name, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other information based on your email address. Using multiple addresses prevents the reverse-searches.

If you use Gmail or Google Apps, an easy trick is at “+SOMETHING” to your email address. This will function as an additional email address without having to create additional accounts. For example, you could have john+twitter@gmail, john+facebook@gmail, and such. However, some sites won't accept a plus sign in your email address.

Whatever address you use must be highly secure. If someone could get access to your email account, they could take over any other account tied to that email.

If you use email forwarders, make sure access to those settings (usually on your domain registrar or web host) is also extremely protected.

Implement security measures Online security is another issue all to itself, but poor security can compromise your privacy.

In short, here are some things you should be using in order to keep your private information secure:

Separate, unique, secure passwords for everything—A good password should be long and contain numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and no words.
Password manager—LastPass and 1Password are the best and most popular managers. These can generate secure passwords for you, encrypt and store them in the cloud, and allow you to access them across different devices.
Two-factor authentication (2FA)—This is when signing into something requires an additional step, such as entering a code from an app, SMS, or email.
Secure storage for sensitive information—Don't save your passwords in a “passwords.txt” on your desktop! Ensure whatever sensitive information you have is stored securely and encrypted.

These eight things will help you protect your privacy while podcasting, and even while doing almost anything online.

How else do you protect your own privacy? Comment below!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Rodger Paxton, host of The LAVA Flow, wrote in iTunes USA, “I listen to lots of podcasts on podcasting, and this is the best in a category with lots of greats. I never miss an episode. I started listening to TAP to start my first podcast, and now I have two out and I'm starting a new podcast network, thanks in no small part to Daniel. Keep up the great work!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * You will be able to join Podcasters' Society this week now that I'm completing a backend migration. That also means that I'll be back to hosting free, monthly webinars!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week, we’ve all come to look for America, and we’re looking for it in a pair of road movies about underprivileged outsiders and the dreams that keep them hustling from place to place. Inspired by Andrea Arnold's sprawling new AMERICAN HONEY, we look back at Gus Van Sant's 1991 indie-punk-surrealist-fantasy-coming-of-age mishmash MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. In this half, we attempt to wrangle IDAHO's many moving parts, admire and mourn its central performances, and share some crazy (or not so crazy??) fan theories. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, AMERICAN HONEY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:11 Main Discussion: 06:12-34:47 Feedback/Outro: 34:48-43:38 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Here are several ways to accomplish the flexibility of multitrack recording with different podcasting hardware and software.

Before you go down this path of learning how to record podcasts in multitrack, check out my previous episode about why and why not to record podcasts in multitrack.

Multitrack basics To produce your podcast in multitrack, you three things:

Separated audio channels (voices, sounds, etc.)
Multitrack interface/recorder
Multitrack editing software (also known as “digital audio workstation” or “DAW”)
Separated audio channels Multitrack recording is pointless if all your audio is mixing together into the same track.

Every participant in your podcast should have their own microphone. This is not only necessary for separating the audio channels, but it's also necessary for clear listening. There are some exceptions, such as in-person newscaster-style interviews or high-end video with specialized equipment and techniques.

Podcasting with remote participants can make separating audio channels more complicated. For example, if you have multiple participants connected through the same method (such as Skype, Hangouts, telephone, and such), their voices are mixed into a single channel. You'll run into a similar complication if you use the same device for both remote participants and your soundtrack (music, segues, sound clips, etc.). I'll explain possible solutions further down.

Depending on your podcasting hardware and software workflow, you may have to make choices about how you separate audio channels. For example, you may be limited to only two channels, but you have three voices. In such a scenario, you must choose which channels to combine into the same track, such as in-studio cohosts on one track and remote participants on the other track.

Multitrack interface/recorder When you have separated audio channels, you need a way to capture that audio without mixing everything together.

Most of the mixers within podcaster budgets may have multiple input channels, but only two output tracks. So even if you have a 6-track recorder, you'll be limited to the number of tracks your interface can support.

The inverse could also be a problem. You could have a multitrack mixer, but your recorder may be limited to only two tracks (stereo).

The ideal multitrack recorder will let you capture each audio channel into its own track, instead of combining channels into separate sides of a stereo track.

Multitrack editing software Most audio- and video-editing software supports multitrack editing on PCs. But multitrack editing is not as common with mobile apps.

Workflow will vary with each app. Generally, you need the ability to edit or process one track without affecting the other, as well as the ability to edit or process multiple tracks.

For example, can you delete a cough from one track without deleting the words from another? Or can you delete something and have it shift all the tracks together and maintaining alignment?

Multitrack editing requires a little more knowledge of the tools, especially understanding things link synchronization, target tracks, cross-track edits, split-edits, and more. The most popular multitrack editors (including Audacity and Adobe Audition) already support these features.

With understanding these three basics, you can work with your particular tools or upgrade to the right tools to accomplish your needs.

How to separate tracks through PCs and mobile If you host your podcast with remote participants, there are two ways to separate each voice (or soundtrack) into separate channels.

Record each participant independently at the source This is usually called “double-ender” or “multi-ender.” It's the easiest way to get every participant on their own audio track and get the highest audio quality from each of them!

When you record the mix you receive, it can be susceptible to quality-limitations set by the software (maybe the app won't stream the audio any higher than 16 kbps) and also a victim of available bandwidth (due to Internet connectivity or the device's own processing power). The result could then be much lower quality than what was sent.

Thus, the core idea for multi-ender recording is to have each participant record the audio from their side. This means the recording comes directly from their equipment and is thus more likely immune to software and connectivity limitations (as long as they're using the right tools). Always test before you rely on this.

One way to accomplish this is by having each participant record their own side, such as through their own tools or software.This is a more complicated approach, and I would never recommend this for a guest who isn't already familiar with such tools. Always ensure the recording settings (especially the KHz rate and bit-depth) are the same for each participant and this will minimize the chance of audio that doesn't stay synchronized (also known as “drift”).

The other way to accomplish this is with specialized tools that handle the recording and synchronization. Such tools come and go, but here are the top three I recommend (as of October, 2016):

Cast
Ringr
Zencastr

The multi-ender technique will give you multiple audio files, each with only one voice in them. If you don't use a tool that synchronizes these for you, I recommend you use something to capture a reference mix of everything. Then, have each participant take turns with a loud clap that will give you a spike for easily aligning your multiple tracks. (This same technique works for recording separate audio with video projects.)

Separate each participant into different different devices and channels If you have more than one remote participant, the most effective way to record them in multitrack is to completely separate their audio. This gets complicated and expensive, because it means you need multiple audio interfaces and call “lines.”

For example, you could run multiple instances of Skype on a single PC and add multiple audio interfaces to that PC. This would allow each instance of Skype to send its audio to a specific audio interface, which then connects to different inputs and outputs on your mixer.

Alternatively, you could use completely separate devices for each participant. You can use separate PCs, smartphones, tablets, or even iPod Touches for each incoming participant. Again, this would require multiple inputs and outputs from your mixer.

What makes this even more complicated is that each input needs its own targetable output so that you can send that participant the mix of all the other tracks minus their own voice. That's why we call it “mix minus.” So if your mixer has only one auxiliary or effect output, then you're most likely limited to only a single mix minus.

You may be able to work around this if you have a fancy multitrack interface with your PC. But that may still require software to combine the separate tracks into virtual mix minuses for each participant.

See how complicated this can get? The more participants you want on their own tracks, the more expensive this gets. That's why many podcasters are turning to more modern, more intelligent multi-ender methods.

How to record multitrack with most devices (2-track stereo) Nearly all audio mixers, interfaces, and recorders support stereo. Stereo can be considered a single track with both left and right tracks when you need audio-positioning effects (such as in music reviews, dramas, and other experiential effects). Otherwise, consider any stereo device to be a two-track device.

Capturing two separate tracks with a stereo device is probably the easiest method. Simply use the pan/balance controls to move one channel fully left and move the other channel fully right. This control is usually built into every channel on nearly all mixers.

This will sound a little weird while you're recording, because you'll hear yourself in one ear and the other audio (whether a person or your soundtrack) in another ear.

If your audio gear doesn't allow you to adjust the pan or balance of the audio, you could consider upgrading, or buying a simply splitter for your audio recording. But you must pay attention to what the splitter can actually do. Most “splitters” you see are really only cloning the same audio into two separate destinations instead of splitting one channel from the other.

When you use “stereo” for multitrack recording, you'll end up with completely different audio in the left side from the right side. For the love of audio, please don't publish your episodes sounding that way! It's not only a horrible listening experience (even if you reduce the stereo separation), but it could be impossible for some people to listen when they can use only a single earbud or headphone.

Fixing this separation is really easy. You could mixdown to mono when you create your MP3. But most editing software (even Audacity) will have a way to split a stereo track into separate mono tracks. I have a tutorial showing how to do that inside Podcasters' Society.

I have two cautions with this workflow.

VOIP/live-streaming software—Depending on the program and interface, you may be sending stereo-separated audio to your audience (such as with “Studio Mode” in Hangouts on Air). But if the program uses mono (such as Skype or “Voice Mode” in Hangouts on Air), it may select only the left channel. Thus, put your voice—or whatever is supposed to go back out to your participants or live audio—in the left channel.
Headphone leak and mic placement—If you follow my frequent recommendations to avoid plosives by pivoting your microphone around your mouth 45º to the right or left (so that it points at your mouth from a slight side), this places your microphone closer to one particular ear. Thus, it's easier for the microphone to capture audio leaking from your headphones. Since I recommend putting your voice in the left channel (in accordance with my previous caution), I also recommend putting your microphone on that same side. That would keep other audio from leaking into your microphone and causing a slight echo. Alternatively, you can reverse the orientation of your headphones or earbuds so that your audio is still in the left channel, but you put your left earbud or headphone in your right ear.

How to record multitrack with a recorder Perhaps, instead of an app or an interface, you have a multitrack recorder. For example, the Zoom H6 records up to six tracks.

You could use such a device in the place of a mixer, audio interface, and PC and connect multiple audio sources directly to it. That works fine for in-person multitrack. Because the H6 isn't a mixer, you won't be able to do mix-minus to easy account for remote participants.

However, you could allow one remote participant to hear your local voices through the device's built-in microphone but route their own voice into the recorder (where your headphones are also connected).

Another way to handle the multitrack with a recorder is to use a mixer that has multiple separate outputs. For example, the Behringer 1204 line offers two main outputs and two alternate outputs (other mixers may offer “subgroup” outputs). This gives up to four separate output channels.

If you're not doing mix minus with your mixer, you could even use your auxiliary and effects outputs as two separate outputs.

Then, you may need some cables and adapters in order to send these to the right inputs on your recorder.

How to record multitrack with a multitrack mixer or interface If your budget allows, you may consider a high-end digital mixer or audio interface that connects via USB 2.0 (or higher), Firewire, or Thunderbolt. These usually send each channel as a separate track, and then you simply need to set your recording software to record all the tracks (and perhaps map them appropriately). Even Audacity can record as many tracks as the single device supports!

Some mixers, such as the Behringer UFX1204 will also function as recorders and save the separate audio tracks to an external hard drive.

Make sure you research the multitrack device carefully. Many of these will record all tracks “prefader,” which means that any muting or fader adjustments on the device won't be reflected in the recording. That's not a huge inconvenience, but it could affect your workflow since it means each mic is effectively always unmuted.

It's complicated and expensive; do you really need it? As you can tell, multitrack recording can be very complicated and get really expensive. Thus, I think you should consider whether you truly need all the flexibility you get with multitrack recording. Listen to my previous episode to further explore why or why not to record in multitrack. Consider what else you could do with the time and money it would cost for an ideal multitrack setup.

If you truly need the flexibility of multitrack, and you have regular cohosts, consider simple tools like Cast, Ringr, or Zencastr; or consider teaching your cohosts how to record and send you their own audio.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * For my upcoming 300th episode, listen to my first episode and either share a lesson for it, or tell me what you would tell that podcaster to help him improve.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return to WESTWORLD in the second half of our double-feature, this time venturing into the wilds of television to discuss HBO's high-profile new series, which uses the concept of Michael Crichton's 1973 film as a jumping off point for a sprawling meditation on humanity, AI, evil, and where they intersect. We talk about how the series extends some of the ideas of the original film, and talk about what the two share—and don't—in their portrayals of humans, robots, and techno-paranoia. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WESTWORLD v.1.0, WESTWORLD v.2.0, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-01:50 Main Discussion: 01:51-42:22 Your Next Picture Show: 42:23-53:56 Genevieve: Every Frame A Painting Scott: Kelly Reichardt's CERTAIN WOMEN •Keith: Babak Anvari's UNDER THE SHADOW *Tasha: "How Hollywood Whitewashed the Old West" (The Atlantic), and Rick Morales' BATMAN: RETURN OF THE CAPED CRUSADERS Outro: 53:57-57:09 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Multitrack recording keeps audio source separate. Here are some reason why you may and may not want to record your podcast in multiple tracks.

The difference between channels and tracks Mixers, audio interfaces, recorders, and other audio devices will often refer to tracks and channels.

Generally, channels are how many separate audio paths a device supports. For examples, Mackie describes their mixers by the number of channels: 8-channel, 12-channel, 18-channel, and such. Behringer uses the word “inputs” to mean the same thing (although they technically have more inputs than they say).

Tracks, also sometimes called bus, represent the final mix and separation of all the channels. You know 1-track audio as “mono,” and 2-track audio as “stereo.” However, the number of tracks does not necessarily imply any kind of perceived physical positioning (such as left and right). Most devices support at least two tracks, which are usually treated as stereo.

Consider the Behringer X1204USB and the UFX1204. Both are 12-channel mixers. The X1204USB (and most of the 1204 line) outputs only two tracks through USB or through the main outputs. You can get an additional two tracks from the Alt or Subgroup outputs, effectively turning it into a four-track analog mixer (but the USB is still only two tracks).

The UFX1204 outputs up to 16 tracks via USB to a PC or directly to USB storage. That makes it a 16-track device. Each track can be treated as an individual mono source.

Stereo audio is technically multitrack. If you have the same audio going to both tracks, you're treating it as a single, stereo track, not two separate tracks. However, it's possible to use stereo for multitrack, which I'll explain further in the next episode.

Thus, when we refer to multitrack, it generally means separating audio sources into their own tracks. Here's what a 4-track podcast could look like:

Track 1: Main host

Track 2: Cohost

Track 3: Guest

Track 4: Soundtrack

Benefits to recording podcasts in multitrack Multitrack has some definite advantages that you might want for your podcasting. It's all about the flexibility multitrack-recording offers.

Powerful editing When each participant or the soundtrack is separated, it's easy to edit almost anything. Here are some examples.
If one participant coughs while the other is talking, you can edit out the cough without affecting the speaking you want your audience to hear.
If participants talk over each other (accidentally or intentionally), it's easy to edit out or shift things so the conversation is still understandable.
If you have any background audio during the opening or closing, you never have to worry about perfecting the timing because you can shift things in editing when they didn't align in recording.
If make a mistake while you have background music or other audio, you can edit out the mistake and shift the background. This won't sound obviously edited because you didn't have to cut anything from the background audio.
Specific loudness adjustments A common problem when there's more than one audio source (whether a person or a soundtrack) is the loudness between the multiple sources. For various reasons, one cohost's voice could be a different volume from the other.

Compression can help with this, but when it's really only one source that needs the loudness-correction, recording it on its own track means you can adjust it without affecting the other tracks.

Targeted processing Audio equipment, microphone technique, voice, and environment could be—and most likely are—different for each audio source (person or soundtrack). Thus, the ideal processing for one source may not be ideal for another.

Here are some practical examples.

Audio compression (evening out the dynamic range between loud and quiet) is usually good for voices, but not good for music.
Male voices usually need different processing than female voices. There's even enough variety within each gender that two males (or two females) may sound best with different processing from each person.
One participant may have more background noise (or other interference) than anyone else. So you can reduce the noise on only their track and not have to process the others.

Benefits to recording podcasts in a single track Single-track recording (even if you're treating stereo as single track) offers a lot of simplicity.

Simple management and workflow When everything mixes down to a single track (mono or stereo), it's easy to route the audio appropriately.

For example, using a multitrack interface may make it complicated for a remote participant or your live audience to hear everything being recorded. However, many multitrack interfaces offer a separate stereo-track mixdown of all the tracks. This is easier to manage when you have only one track.

Editing in single track means far fewer files to manage and the processing is much simpler. Instead of separately processing several tracks, you have only one to process.

More-affordable equipment It seems multitrack audio gear is always more expensive than single-track equivalents. For example, the Behringer UFX1204 16-track mixer is more than twice the price of the X1204USB 2-track mixer, even though they both have the same number of channels; the Mackie Onyx 1220i 12-channel mixer is nearly three times the cost of Mackie's VLZ and ProFX 12-channel mixers.

There are even more advanced multitrack audio interfaces, offering USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt connectivity, and these can cost even more—$1,000 and up.

Sticking with basic stereo/2-track recording works with most of the professional-quality audio equipment available and at much lower prices.

Improved skills If you record all your participants and the soundtrack into the same track, you'll quickly discover you can't rely on editing to fix everything. To avoid capturing mistakes, your best option is to prevent the problems in the first place by improving your skills.
Fix crosstalk by learning to not interrupt each other and to share your thoughts effectively.
Fix coughs or other distractions by muting or moving away from the microphone.
Fix background noise by turning off noise-makers or moving away from them.

Improving your skills will not only make your podcasts better and easier to edit, but it will also make you a far better communicator.

Do you record in multitrack or single-track? What benefits or limitations have you discovered?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Danny Stern (“Middleagecrank”), from Art Dealer Show, wrote in iTunes USA, “Must listen for both the novice and seasoned podcast vet. One year ago with nothing more than an itch to start a podcast of my own. I decided to binge on every podcast I could find that covered the topic. There are many indeed. And the value of them ranges greatly. But of all of them, you’ll never find one better researched, delivered and thoughtfully put together by someone who knows of what he speaks. And done by a good guy to boot. Now a year later I’m several episodes into my podcast Art Dealer Show and very grateful for the role this podcast took in getting me there. Thank you Daniel.” * Brad Hargis, from The Cinema Guys, wrote in iTunes USA, “Fantastic show and very informative. I'm very new to the world of podcasting and recently started a podcast, The Cinema Guys. After we recorded our first episodes I wanted to learn more about podcasting and work to make our show better. As I researched and came across many great shows, I found The Audacity to Podcast. It has been a great help with improving not only my podcast but inspiring me to work on creating more shows in the future. Thanks for the great episodes and keep up the awesome work!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Follow me on Instagram (@theDanielJLewis) for some behind-the-scenes photos and videos while I'm building my DIY acoustic panels for my podcast studio.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week, we take two trips to Westworld—one via hovercraft, in Michael Crichton's 1973 film of the same name, and one via underground train, in the new HBO series that blows out the film's premise to a serialized-television scale. In this half we focus on Crichton's film, questioning whether it's a political film or just a sci-fi lark, how WESTWORLD plays into its creator's ongoing fixations (ahem, JURASSIC PARK), and what the deal is with those weird robot hands. And yes, we also talk robot sex. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WESTWORLD v.1.0, WESTWORLD v.2.0, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:50 Main Discussion: 06:51-36:52 Feedback/Outro: 36:53-44:31 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Whether you're podcasting for business or pleasure, promoting affiliate products and services can be a great way to monetize your podcast. Here are 10 tips to help you use affiliate marketing effectively.

Before I talk about this, keep in mind that you don't have to monetize in order to profit from your podcast. I don't think monetization should ever be your primary focus, even for a commercial podcast. Nonetheless, bringing in some extra money can help you continue or improve your podcast.

You probably won't get rich with affiliate income, but it can be a nice added benefit to give you a few extra dollars and better serve your audience.

What is affiliate marketing? An affiliate program is where a company gives you a special link or code you can promote to your audience. When people take action with that link or code, you may earn a commission. These are usually based on a percentage of what the referral spends, anywhere from 1%–75%. But some programs do pay a flat rate for particular things.

Affiliate programs are different from sponsorships. Nearly anyone can join affiliate programs (as long as you comply with their terms and maybe meet some basic requirements), but sponsorships are more targeted and carefully picked.

“Affiliate marketing” may sound like a dirty term, but it really isn't. You are delivering extra value to your audience by recommending something of value, and you receive value in return. That's the ideal model.

Seek to meet your audience's needs Your listener/viewer is most important in monetizing your podcast. If what you want to promote isn't relevant to your them, either by need or desire, then it's not worth whatever income you might earn.

Get to know your audience to discover their needs. Ask them questions about their pain-points, what they enjoy, how they use your content, and such.

You may think a particular affiliate program is a perfect fit for your audience, but they may not need it, want it, or be able to afford it.

For example, the average listener to my Once Upon a Time podcast probably doesn't a way to watch the TV show, because they already do! They're also probably not interested in Internet-business products.

When you meet your audience's needs with your recommendations (usually within relevant context), your audience will be far more likely to take action.

Promote what you truly believe in When you promote something, it's a form of endorsement from your reputation. Companies know host-endorsed sponsorships are far more powerful than ad-insertions, and even preferred by the audience. So consider carefully whether you truly believe your audience will be well-served by what you're promoting.

It's okay to use affiliate links to things you may not like (such as within comparisons or reviews). After all, not everyone will agree with your conclusion and your criticism may actually convince them why they want the thing you don't recommend.

For example, I am an affiliate for a podcast-transcription service, just in case someone truly needs that, but I don't promote it. If you've been following me for longer than a couple months, then you probably know how negative I am toward podcast-transcriptions for show notes.

You don't have to limit yourself to only what you've used, but try at least research anything you recommend, even if only to know the quality of the company enough to endorse new things they offer. For example, when Harry's sponsored one episode of The Audacity to Podcast, I got to try a Harry's razor and I compared it to a fresh razor from the company I had been using. That experience gave me personalize talking points that allowed me to be more effective. And in case you're wondering, yes, I'm still using and paying for Harry's razors because I truly believe in what I advertised.

Become an ambassador Instead being merely a catalog of recommendations, promote the product or service as if it was your own or you had some vested interest in it.

Here are some ideas:

Make a review and explain why you like the thing, especially why you like it more than alternatives.
Make tutorials showing how to use the product or service.
Create a landing page that educates your referral on their decision instead of merely pointing them to the product page.
Offer to help your audience with the decision or with the thing you recommend.
Create a bonus for high-value affiliate/joint-venture (JV) deals.

Becoming an ambassador for your recommendations will help your audience make their decision, build further influence and authority for yourself, and possibly even open a relationship between you and the provider. For example, I now podcast with an Electro-Voice RE320 that was given to me by the company because they were familiar with my videos and endorsements.

Make it relevant and get creative The two most-common affiliate-promotion techniques I hear are either fake-sponsorships (“This episode is brought to you by …,” which is legally questionable) or contextual recommendations (“buy this thing we're talking about at …”).

Contextual recommendations will definitely be the most relevant to your audience. For example, when you're talking about a particular book, that's a perfect opportunity to promote your affiliate link for that book.

You can also get creative with your promotions. You could have a special segment that promotes an affiliate, such as “what I'm listening to/reading/watching this week.” Or a “tool/tip/recommendation of the week.”

Here are a couple examples (you're welcome to copy these).

The featured podcaster microphone of this week is the Electro-Voice RE320. I use this microphone myself, and so do Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting and Stargate Pioneer from Better Podcasting. Tweet me if you use an RE320, as well! And if you would like to use this same great microphone, learn more about it and buy it through theaudacitytopodcast.com/re320 and that will help support the podcast.

This tool of the week is TextExpander, suggested by John Doe. This is what he uses to save time entering simple and even complicated text into almost anything. When we looked at TextExpander, we can see why John and many others recommend it! Visit theaudacitytopodcast.com/textexpander to learn more, get your own copy, and even support the podcast at no extra cost to you! Thanks for the suggestion, John!

Give simple calls to action If you're going to recommend a product ensure the process for your audience is as simple as possible. If you have to give instructions beyond visiting a simple URL or promo code, then try to simplify.

For example, asking people to visit your website, find a banner in your sidebar, click or search for the product, and then purchase is too many steps. Instead, give them a simple and memorable URL and include it in your show notes.

This is one reason I so-often recommend Pretty Link (Lite or Pro version). It's much easier for me and my audience if I say, “Try SiteGround's great web-hosting at theaudacitytopodcast.com/siteground.” Both free and paid versions of Pretty Link allow you to make those simple URL redirects (which should be 307 temporary redirects).

If you have a lot of URLs or recommendations, then point your audience to your show notes for the appropriate links. For example, I say, “Visit theaudacitytopodcast.com/affiliatetips for the links to everything I just recommended” instead of overwhelming you with a dozen different links.

Track each podcast's earnings separately Most affiliate programs allow you to add sites, campaigns, IDs, or other forms of tracking. This allows you to see which podcast or “brand” is earning income. This also means you don't have to create multiple affiliate accounts, which is especially nice with platforms like Amazon Associates where your percentage goes up when you refer more sales.

I don't recommend that you get crazy making separate campaigns for every episode (unless the process is as simple as updating a URL). Start with tracking simply the separate podcasts or brands that you host.

When I first started the Podcasting Deal Alerts newsletter, I made the mistake of using the same Amazon tracking ID as The Audacity to Podcast. Thus, after a very profitable holiday season, I had no idea whether that increase in profit was from the deal alerts. Now, I have a separate tracking ID for the deal alerts so I can see how profitable it is to my subscribers and to myself.

Comply with laws, terms, and commonsense ethics Money makes things complicated. It's best for you to disclose when you'll be compensated for a recommendation. I know this can feel tricky because then your audience may think you're compromising your morals simply for a few dollars. That's where you must invest in building your authority, reputation, and influence. Also, how you promote the affiliate deal can also inspire or dispel suspicions.

Furthermore, make sure you read the terms of your affiliate relationship. The most common things you need to know are where and how you're allowed to promote your affiliate relationship. With any affiliate link, it's reasonable to assume using your own affiliate link is against their terms and will get you kicked out.

Also consider commonsense ethics. For example, don't promote illegal activities, don't promote adult things to an audience of minors, don't promote scams or marketing traps, and such.

A potential affiliate approached me for my Once Upon a Time podcast with an offer that sounded like a perfect fit. We set up the agreement and when I tested the affiliate link, I was horrified to see the URL bounce through several questionable URLs (most of them blocked by my ad-blocker); and then the final landing page seemed like nothing more than an email-harvesting tool to add people to a marketing email list. That smelled like spam to me. I immediately ended that relationship and explained why.

Your relationship with your audience is worth far more than money. Be very careful and respectful of that relationship and your own reputation.

Simplify your processes Promoting and linking to different affiliates can start to get complicated. Here are the three best tools I recommend to simplify your own process.
TextExpander—This can make linking to affiliates as quick as typing a short abbreviation. You can also do fancier things, like turning a standard URL into an affiliate URL.
Pretty Link Pro—This is one of my favorite and most-valuable WordPress plugins. Not only does it allow for easy friendly-link creations (like /affiliate), but the Pro version can do more advanced things such as automatically hyperlinking keywords with your affiliate link (like this: Pretty Link Pro) and version 2 can dynamically redirect users based on their location (for example, theaudacitytopodcast.com/amazon takes USA visitors to the USA Amazon store, Canadian visitors to Amazon.ca, and so on).
EasyAzon Pro—This is my favorite Amazon-affiliate link-maker for WordPress. Inserting an Amazon affiliate link into your WordPress content is as easy as pressing couple button and searching for your product—all without leaving WordPress! The links can even be internationalized so visitors in other countries will be taken to the relevant search results (or even directly to the product) in the Amazon store in their country.
Remember your international audience Because podcasting is global and you probably have an audience outside your own country, ensure your affiliate links work for the majority of your international audience.

Some promotions may be limited to only a particular country and can't be helped. Others may be available worldwide. And others, such as Amazon, may need to be localized.

That's where Pretty Link Pro or EasyAzon Pro can make things much easier by allowing you to internationalize your links. For example, I might point you to /atr2100 to buy the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB microphone. But in the United Kingdom, that microphone is twice the cost of the Samson Q2U, so I could make /atr2100 point UK visitors to equivalent microphone.

Be patient Affiliate income is usually a slow build. When your content is timeless, every affiliate promotion has the potential to exponentially increase your income.

Here's how that works. Assume that every episode you publish has one relevant affiliate link. With only one published episode, you get have one opportunity to earn money from each “podsumer” (my term for podcast-consumers). 50 episodes later and you have 50 times as many opportunities.

Plus, any one of your old episodes could be found and inspire someone to purchase through your link.

Here's another way to look at it. Assume each episode of your podcast earns $1 its first month, 50¢ the next, and 10¢ per month after that. With 50 published episodes, you could be earning $5 per month from episodes you already published in addition to what you earn from new episodes!

Yes, you make get a wave of income with each new episode, but every wave still leaves continuing ripples.

What has been most effective for you in using affiliate links? Comment below or tweet @theDanielJLewis.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * From the USA, TADAMS4U said, “I just discovered this podcast. I must say, I'm learning a lot. Great job and thanks for the info.” * Also from the USA, Robert (Qohelet1213), from Theology Simply Profound, said, “Excellent source for learning how to and sustaining your podcast. I first learned of this excellent resources just looking for help with Audacity as I was beginning a podcast for the first time for our church (Theology Simply Profound). Since then I've used this remarkable website and podcast for help with everything from audio quality to WordPress technical issues. Most of all, Daniel is just a great encouragement….thanks much.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me at WordCamp Cincinnati, October 15–16. I'll present “How to Podcast with WordPress.”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

In this half, we look at a successor to WAIT UNTIL DARK that puts a very different sort of blind person in the middle of a home invasion: Fede Alvarez's recent horror-thriller DON'T BREATHE, which stars Stephen Lang as a blind ex-Marine who turns out to be much more than a simple victim. We talk over the new movie's more grisly aspects, and compare how the two films both use their settings and space, empathy, and blindness itself to eke different kinds of thrills from their viewers. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAIT UNTIL DARK, DON'T BREATHE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro: 00:00-02:19 Main Discussion: 02:20-37:10 Your Next Picture Show: 37:11-44:43 Keith: IMAGINARY WORLDS podcast Scott: Kirsten Johnson's CAMERAPERSON *Tasha: Andrea Arnold's AMERICAN HONEY and Mira Nair's QUEEN OF KATWE Outro: 44:44-48:33 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We return from hiatus with a much-requested pairing inspired by Fede Alvarez's new breakout horror hit, DON'T BREATHE, which reminded us, and our listeners, of a different cinematic take on the story of a blind person fending off a home invasion: Terence Young's WAIT UNTIL DARK, a 1967 Audrey Hepburn-starring thriller that plays on different sympathies than its modern successor, but delivers similarly chilling results. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WAIT UNTIL DARK, DON'T BREATHE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-06:35 Main Discussion: 06:36-40:21 Feedback/Outro: 40:22-50:06 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Hanging out with other podcasters can be inspiring and profitable! Here are five tips to help you find and connect with other podcasters in your area.

Search Google and iTunes This is probably already obvious. Search Google for things like “[city] podcast” or “[city] podcaster.” In iTunes or your favorite podcasts app, search for “[city]” and look for the podcasts that mention your city in the title, author tag, or description.

Once you find them, visit their website or look inside their RSS feed for an email address or other contact information.

Use Twitter Advanced Search When you use Twitter search, the two most important results you'll see will be accounts and tweets.

Try searching Twitter for keywords like “[city] podcast” or “[city] podcaster.” You could even turn those words into hashtags. Remember to also try local abbreviations (for example, Cincinnati is often abbreviated to “Cincy”). Clicking on “Accounts” in the search results will show you the personal or brand profiles that match your search based on their location, bio, or name. Clicking on “Live” will show you tweets that match.

These simple keyword-searches may already return plenty of results. To get more advanced filtering and results, try the Twitter Advanced Search. This lets you search specifically by location. You can also add this information to any Twitter search, for example, podcaster near:"Cincinnati, OH" within:15mi will search for any tweet or bio with the word “podcaster” and where the bio or the tweet's location is within 15 miles of Cincinnati. You can also use a zip code instead of a city name.

I've used this method to find podcasters in “middle of nowhere” towns.

Find or make Facebook groups Facebook can be a fantastic way to find and stay connected with local podcasters. The best thing to try is finding a group that may already exist for podcasters in your area. Make sure you search for the nearest well-known city or metropolis names and not only small towns.

If you can't find a group, consider creating one to start connecting local podcasters with each other.

Attend or host local events Local meetups may be your ultimate goal for finding local podcasters. It's possible such events already happen, so search Facebook events or sites like Meetup.com.

Don't search only for podcasting-focused meetups. Blogger, entrepreneur, social-media, “YouTuber,” WordPress, and other types of meetups may be appealing to other podcasters and give you the opportunity to meet or event present around podcasting.

If you can't find any such meetup, consider starting one yourself! It could be as simple as having a meal or drink together, or you could rent or borrow a space (such as a library or conference room) for training and structured discussions.

Support your local podcasters When you find other podcasters in your area, help each other with shoutouts in your show, compiling a list on your website, cross-promotion, and encouragement.

Try these methods and tell me how many podcasters you found near you! Comment below or tweet @theDanielJLewis with #LocalPodcasters.

I found #LocalPodcasters I hadn't met before! Thanks, @theDanielJLewis!Click To Tweet

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * International Podcast Day 2016 was fantastic! It was mentioned by CNBC, famous people were tweeting about it, it was trending in the top on social networks, and I even got featured in my own local news! * Hear me talk about SEO for Podcasters in Marketing Speak with Stephan Spencer (Podcasters' Society member). * Join me at WordCamp Cincinnati, October 15–16. I'll be presenting “How to Podcast with WordPress.”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasters tend to ask too much of their audience and often too soon. Here's why that could be hurting your podcast and how to overcome it.

We commonly refer to things you ask your audience to do as “calls to action” (CTA). Here are some example podcasting calls to action:

Subscribe to the podcast
Send feedback
Leave a rating and review
Share the podcast
Join an email list
Visit the show notes
Follow on social networks
Buy from a sponsor or affiliate
Donate to the podcast

None of these calls to action are bad in themselves. You have to examine your overall strategy with calls to action.

So here is why you should stop asking your audience for so much.

People need good reasons to give If I was a stranger to you, would you give me money if I asked for it? Your first response is probably something like, “It depends on how you ask,” or “It depends on why you need it.” Both of these and many other responses ask a core question: why?

The relevance of the answer to “Why?” is what could inspire someone toward or deter them from further action. Consider my money-asking example. How would your likelihood to give change based on the following reasons?

I want to buy a lottery ticket.
I'm suffering from a disease and I can't afford the treatment.
My wallet is empty.
I have something you need or want.
I already gave you something valuable.
I can give it and more back to you.
I can use it to help someone you care about.

Each of these are reasons, and how compelling they are to you depends on how well I make each reason relevant.

For your podcast, answer “Why?” for each call to action. For example:

Why should someone send you feedback? Because you value their thoughts and want to share them in your podcast.
Why should someone donate to your podcast? Because you provide an experience they appreciate or enjoy, and their support enables you to continue and do more.
Why should someone visit your show notes? Because you have more valuable information and resources that will be easier for them to get from your show notes.

Practice this with the example calls to action I shared above and come up with good and compelling reasons for someone to do any of them.

You may not have given enough first I often hear podcasters start their episodes with one or several calls to action. Usually, it's sponsors, subscribe, rating and review, or send feedback.

Your calls to action may be very important for both you and your audience. But putting this stuff first (called front-loading) actually makes it less important to your audience.

The reason for this is the social psychology principle of reciprocity. Essentially, reciprocity is a feeling that you owe something to someone else because of what they've given you. Think about birthday or Christmas gifts. Don't you often feel like you need to give someone else a gift because they gave one to you?

Reciprocity comes into play in podcasting when you give your audience what they want and they feel compelled to express their appreciation—to reciprocate.

Whether your calls to action are for sponsors, feedback, subscriptions, reviews, or anything else. I suggest you seek to give—and give a lot—before you ask to receive.

Hardly anyone dislikes a genuine giver. But most people dislike selfish takers.

Whenever you want to ask for something from your audience, ensure you have given them enough first.

Too many choices cause confusion Alvin Toffler created the term “overchoice” (also known as “choice overload”) in his 1970 book, Future Shock. The idea is that people will have a harder time making a decision when faced with too many choices.

You've probably experienced this in your own life: grocery shopping, ordering from a restaurant menu, reading comparisons between products, and such. I think this thinking is why fewer people vote in the American primaries than in the election, and why elections generally have so few political parties.

Think about this for your podcast. If you start asking people to subscribe and follow you on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat, iTunes, Google Play Music, Stitcher, and more, most people will be overwhelmed and probably not choose the one that's most important.

This applies to your calls to action in both your podcast and on your website. How many subscription buttons do you have? How many social-sharing buttons are on each post? How many banners do you have in your sidebar?

Repeating the same few choices is good. Offering too many choices is bad.

There are so many things you want your audience to do that if you were to ask them all, your audience would probably do none of them.

Here are some ways you can effectively reduce your calls to action.

Stop giving calls to action that no one ever does.
Narrow your calls to action to what's truly most important.
Create and promote funnels on your website or autoresponders on your email list that disperse your calls to action.
Rotate through calls to action across episodes. This is easier to do when you publish at least weekly.
Adjust your language so a call to action is no longer a request. For example, “Please subscribe to receive every episode automatically” is a request; “Thanks for subscribing so you can receive every episode automatically” sounds like something special to join.
Your audience isn't on the same step with each other It's true that many people will binge-consume podcasts they love (and you'll see that in a podcast review I recently received). But you can't assume that everyone in your audience is at the same place in their fandom and understanding of your podcast. For example, asking your audience, in every episode, to subscribe or follow you on social networks could be wasting time for the majority of your audience who have already done so.

Rotating through calls to action across episodes is one way to better reach your audience members who are on different steps. Pointing to funnels can be another way.

Here's an example funnel:

Every podcast episode promotes joining an email list.
When people join the email list, you welcome them and give them something of value right away.
A week after they joined your email list, you ask them to subscribe to your podcast.
A week after that, you ask them for some feedback.
A week after that, you promote one of your best episodes or resources.
A week after that, you ask them to write a review for your podcast.
A week after that, you ask them to tell someone else about your podcast.

This kind of funnel can be automated through autoresponders with an email service provider (such as MailChimp, Aweber, or ConvertKit) or on your website through special software or plugins that show things based on interactions with your site. You could also automate this on social networks with Buffer, SocialJukebox, or Edgar, but then everyone sees the messages instead of being led through a progression.

When you can funnel your audience, you can help them take the right action one step at a time, instead of overwhelming them with things that may not matter, yet.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * leafbreeze said, “Everything you need to know. Daniel J. Lewis is a brilliant teacher that has created a resource for podcasters that has few equals. I discovered him as one of the guests on the Podcasters' Roundtable, and have since binge listened just about every episode I can get my iPod to hold. In just two weeks I have gone from noob to pro in everything from scheduling and show prep, to content creation tips and technical requirements. Daniel's manner, voice, and easy-to-follow advice makes it possible for anyone to create a podcast. If you're going to start a podcast — THIS IS WHERE YOU START! Thank you for putting this out into the world, Daniel! With your help, I'm now off to start my first podcast!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * September 27 is the last day to submit your podcast for the International Podcast Day Gratitude Award! * Watch the International Podcast Day live stream starting 6 pm (EDT/GMT-4) on Thursday, September 29 and through Friday, September 30. * Share your International Podcast Day celebrations with #PodcastDay.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

International Podcast Day is September 30. Here's how to celebrate podcasting, whether you're a podcaster or a podcast fan!

How podcasters can celebrate International Podcast Day Of course, we have a lot to celebrate. Podcasting may have enabled us to pursue our dreams, build lifelong relationships, enjoy new hobbies, and much more.

Meetup with local podcasters Check Meetup.com, Facebook communities, and Twitter searches to find other podcasters in your area. Meetup for a meal, a snack, or simply to hang out and watch the International Podcast Day live stream.
Do something live with your audience Consider an open Q&A, fan-appreciation day, or behind the scenes. Any way you can help your audience celebrate International Podcast Day with you.
Submit your podcast for the Gratitude Award For the 2016 International Podcast Day Gratitude Award, your podcast will win based on global reach, as measured through international podcast reviews in iTunes. Get more details from the International Podcast Day website.

How podcast-fans can celebrate International Podcast Day Celebrating podcasting isn't only for the podcasters, it's for the fans, too!

Share your favorite podcasts with others Blog, post on social networks, email your friends, or tell anyone you meet about your favorite podcasts. Not only what they are, but how to subscribe and why they should.
Support the podcasts and podcast apps you enjoy Podcasters need support. So if you truly appreciate the value you're getting week after week, put that gratefulness into action! Write a review, purchase their products, join their community, send a donation, mail a letter or fun item.

And think about your podcast app. Consider the huge amount of life-changing value and connections you get through podcasts compared to what you get through TV. Is that worth $10 per year or whatever your preferred podcast app costs? (Hint: the answer is probably “YES!” That's why I'm a proud premium user of Overcast.)

Try a new, niche podcast You may be loving the podcasts you listen to, and you see the popular articles recommend the popular podcasts. But I suggest you find a smaller, more niche podcast that hasn't received news coverage and doesn't have a big audience.

For example, check out any of the “7 Great Podcasts You Probably Haven't Heard” I blogged about on my personal site.

Many more ideas There are plenty of other ways to celebrate International Podcast Day on the site. However you celebrate, tag it with #PodcastDay.

Also, listen to my 2015 episode with Steve Lee about how to celebrate International Podcast Day.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Stephen, host of Heartland Running, said, “The perfect name. Thank you for this show Daniel. Your great advice did give me ‘The Audacity' to start my podcast. I had been wanting to start a podcast about running in the midwest for more than a year but didn't know how to go about it. Your show really did give me the confidence to finally launch Heartland Running Podcast. Thank you again.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcasters' Society is currently closed to new members for a very short time while we do some backend upgrades. If you want to join as soon as we reopen, email me. * Hear me talk about WordPress, podcasting, and more on WordPress.tv with John Parkinson. * Hear me talk about shifting in podcasting and business on Shift the Story with Beca Lewis (Podcasters' Society member).

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasters are often guilty of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). It's okay to intently focus on important things, but here are ten podcasting things not worth the obsession.

Launching Yes, your launch is important. I think it's good to make a “big splash” when you launch a new podcast. But I think too many people focus too much on the size of the “splash” and not enough on what they're actually throwing into the “water”!

You'll see some supposed experts overhype the importance of iTunes “New & Noteworthy,” ratings and reviews, building a launch team, and having a specific launch day. None of these things are bad in themselves and each can help your podcast to some degree. But the amount of work you might put in obsessing over these things could be far better invested in going where your ideal audience is and building rapport.

Stop obsessing over your podcast launch!Click To Tweet 2. Your microphone “I listen to the podcast only because they have a great microphone,” said no one, ever.

The purpose of a microphone is for people to be able to hear and understand you. “Decent” and understood is better than “perfect” and never launched.

I know you want to sound your best. You may even have certain conditions (personal or environmental) that make finding the right microphone more difficult. But you must remember that you are your worst critic and your audience probably doesn't care as much as you do. After all, even a cheap microphone can sound good if you know how to use it!

Stop obsessing over your podcasting microphone!Click To Tweet 3. Minor distractions Outside noise, a microphone bump, a mispronounced word, or a verbal crutch can all be distractions for you or your audience, but they don't have to be! In fact, your audience will probably notice it less than you do, especially if you don't even acknowledge it.

I'm referring to the minor distractions. The stuff that doesn't actually prevent you from being heard and understood. Holding a crying baby in your arms while you're podcasting is not a minor distraction, but a lawn mower outside might go unnoticed.

Yes, there are plenty of things you can do to improve the quality of your audio, and plenty of ways that you can reduce or completely eliminate distractions. But don't make your distraction your audience's distraction. And don't let minor distractions prevent you from communicating your passion!

Stop obsessing over minor podcasting distractions.Click To Tweet Don't let minor distractions prevent you from podcasting your passion!Click To Tweet 4. Competition No matter your niche, you will have competition at some point. But competitive rivalry is based more in your beliefs than in reality.

Competitive rivalry is based more in your beliefs than in reality.Click To Tweet I've struggled with rivalry before, and I sometimes still do! I would sometimes seethe while listening to a “competitor,” being critical about everything they say and how they say it. I would want to attack their success. I would want to write nasty iTunes reviews. I would want to expose their flaws.

Disgusting, isn't it?

There will always be competition, maybe even copycats, especially if you were first. Obsessing over competition will do nothing to inspire your audience. Instead, look for ways to collaborate with your “competition.”

Obsessing over podcast competition will do nothing to inspire your audience.Click To Tweet Stop obsessing over #podcasting competition.Click To Tweet 5. Negative feedback If you haven't received negative feedback, wait. You'll get your chance!

Negative feedback can hurt. It can hurt your pride, your feelings, and how you handle it can even hurt your passions.

Learn how to handle negative feedback. Sometimes, the negativity comes from people with negative lives. Sometimes, the negativity comes from someone who isn't your ideal audience. Sometimes, the negativity comes from someone you can't win back. And often, the negativity comes from a minority of your audience.

That's not to say “negative” feedback is worthless. You can learn great things and discover weak spots you may never have seen yourself. But when you obsess over your negative feedback, you're only beating yourself up. Plus, you may be trying to change yourself for a very small number of people who have already left your podcast. Instead, improve things for the people you already have!

Stop obsessing over negative podcast feedback.Click To Tweet 6. Stats Let's be honest. How many times have you parked your browser on your podcast stats page and hit refresh every few minutes? I think we've all done it.

It's certainly wonderful to see your podcast spreading. But remember that stats are merely numbers. Instead of trying to get those numbers up, what if you spent the same amount of time refreshing your feedback inboxes or building relationships with your audience? Then, 10 close relationships would be far more mutually valuable than 10,000 passively disconnected followers.

Stop obsessing over your podcast stats. Focus on relationships!Click To Tweet 7. Making money It's not often that people start a hobby with hopes or expectations to monetize. Yes, it's possible (certainly in exchangeable hobbies, like collecting). If you're podcasting for business, profit is absolutely important. But obsessing over monetary profit will never lead to success.

Consider some of the greatest tech companies today: Apple, Google, and Microsoft. We know these companies not because of their income, but because of what they offer.

Obsess over giving instead of getting.

Obsess over giving instead of getting.Click To Tweet Stop obsessing over making money #podcasting.Click To Tweet 8. The latest technologies Oh, how we love our podcasting toys! Microphones, mixers, cameras, processors, apps, and much more. I'm sure we could easily spend our entire incomes on nothing but podcasting technologies.

There's certainly a place for upgrading your podcasting tools or trying new things, but chasing the latest interesting technologies is like a puppy chasing a butterfly. If you build your entire platform on the tool instead of using the tool to build your own platform, your empire could collapse literally overnight.

Don't build your platform on the tools. Use the tools to build YOUR platform! pic.twitter.com/qILcoAXgV9

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) September 12, 2016

Stop obsessing over the latest #podcasting technologies.Click To Tweet 9. Rankings, ratings, and reviews You hear it often, and maybe do it yourself. Podcasters love ranking better and getting ratings and reviews, so they ask frequently.

The truth many people (especially marketeers) don't realize is that these things don't work like they think they do. Ratings and reviews do not affect ranking. iTunes “New and Noteworthy” is not a ranking system. And these things don't have the power many people ascribe to them.

Ratings and reviews are good for some things, like getting to know your audience and building social proof. In fact, your spread of global podcast reviews could help your podcast win the International Podcast Day Gratitude Award.

But podcast rankings, ratings, and reviews are more reward and indication of what you're doing, they aren't the cause for your success.

Stop obsessing over @iTunesPodcasts rankings, ratings, and reviews.Click To Tweet 10. iTunes/directory listing An amazing thing about podcasting is how it opens many doors for you to list and syndicate your content through hundreds of popular podcast apps and directories. Each app and directory has its own uniqueness and popularity, but iTunes still dominates.

I see many podcasters obsess over their directory listing. Their podcast search-engine optimization (SEO) isn't work as well as they expected, their listing isn't showing the correct information or displaying it in the way they want, or their latest episode hasn't displayed in the directory yet.

Don't panic! There are several things you should know and check when your iTunes (or other) listing doesn't seem to be working. But you shouldn't obsess over it. As long as you can download your own episodes when you're subscribed to your own podcast, your audience probably can, too.

Stop obsessing over your @iTunesPodcasts listing or update issues.Click To Tweet What podcasting things have you wrongly obsessed over?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Inyang Effiong, from The Inyang Effiong Show said, “Good information and well organised. I just started listening to ‘The Audacity to Podcast' and the way each episode is organized around a theme and the consistent way information is makes it a good resource. I like the recent series on ideas and things to do to improve your podcast and have picked up a few tips – like using TV exposure to improve your chances with sponsors! I will be incooprating tips from this podcast into my podcast ‘The InyangEffiong Show' over at inyangeffiong.com.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Thank you for supporting The Messengers: A Podcast Documentary! They reach 110% of their bare-minimum campaign. * Hear me talk with Todd Cochrane about the IAB podcast ad metrics and more podcasting news in New Media Show. * Listen to the latest Podcasters' Roundtable about podcast workflows.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We turn our discussion of puppet-driven fairy-tale adventure stories to Laika Studios' new stop-motion wonder, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, to see how it extends THE DARK CRYSTAL's tradition of deep personal investment on the part of committed craftspeople. We discuss the two films' shared strengths and weakness, and how they're reflected in how each utilize puppetry, villains, and mythology. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent film-related experiences in hopes of putting something new on your radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK CRYSTAL, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro: 00:00-01:59 Main Discussion: 02:00-37:08 Your Next Picture Show: 37:09-49:46 Keith: THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION Tasha: "How the father of Claymation lost his company" (via Priceonomics.com); Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal; Mark Osborne's THE LITTLE PRINCE (Netflix) *Genevieve: Jim Henson's Creature Show Challenge, "Return of the Skekses"; Journey; WEINER Outro: 49:47-52:50 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Inspired by the new Laika stop-motion marvel KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, we look back at another unconventional children's movie, made by unconventional creators pushing the envelop of their craft: Jim Henson's live-action puppet fantasy THE DARK CRYSTAL. In this half, we talk about how Henson and conceptual designer Brian Froud created their high-fantasy world, and wonder whether there's room for a satisfying story among all the visual wizardry. Plus, we talk over some of the other suggestions we got for KUBO pairings from our listeners. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DARK CRYSTAL, KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro/Keynote: 00:00-07:01 Main Discussion: 07:02-41:53 Feedback/Outro: 41:54-50:55 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Learn about 301 and 307 redirects: what they are, which ones to use, how to make them, and how to use them effectively.

Redirect types When data is requested through the Internet, it usually includes extra information in the header. This could help with caching, identification, and redirection. A “response code” is a three-digit number that corresponds to behavior or a result. For example, you're probably familiar with “404 error.” 404 is a response code that means “not found,” and it's what you would get if the data you're trying to load can't be accessed.

When we talk about redirects by their numbers—301, 307, and such—we're referring to technical differences in the response codes and how those are interpreted.

Here are what the most-relevant types of redirects do.

300 “conditional” (my nickname) This is an interesting one you may have experienced without knowing it. A 300 redirect is offers multiple choices and redirects based on certain conditions. It's like telling the Post Office to split and forward your mail based on the recipient.

For example, a 300 redirect could point visitors in the United States to one link, and visitors in the United Kingdom to another. Or, it could point Android users to one link but iOS users to another.

Cool, right? This is quite technical to implement, but some plugins can do this for you on some level.

301/308 permanent redirect This is the most common redirect you hear us talking about in podcasting. This redirect is permanent and cacheable. It's like telling the post office to forward all your mail and notify the sender of a change of address.

Being a permanent redirect, any search-engine ranking for the old URL will be passed to the destination. Apps should eventually stop looking at the old URL and start looking at the new URL. If the apps don't update what URL they check, they do cache the destination URL. So if you changed where a permanent redirect goes, many apps might not follow it properly.

301 and 308 are both permanent redirects. The difference is technical. Whereas a 301 redirect can be interpreted slightly differently with GET and POST, a 308 redirect resubmits the GET or POST based on the original request. 308 redirects don't support protocol changes, such as HTTP to HTTPS.

Most of the time we refer to a permanent redirect, it's a 301, and that's the kind of permanent redirect you should probably use.

302/303/307 temporary redirects Temporary redirects are common and we should probably use them more often that we do. (More on my recommendations later.) A 302, 303, or 307 redirect is temporary and not cacheable. It's like telling the post office to forward your mail to your vacation spot, but not notify anyone of a change of address.

Being a temporary redirect, search-engine ranking for the old URL will not be passed to the destination. Apps will usually follow temporary redirections but won't update the URLs they check each time and won't cache the destination URL. Thus, whenever you change where a temporary redirect forwards, all apps should follow.

The differences between 302, 303, and 307 temporary redirects are technical and similar to the differences between 301 and 308 permanent redirects. A 302 redirect was intended to be interpreted a particular way with GET and POST requests, but some apps forced one way or the other. Thus, the 303 and 307 redirects were created to remove the ambiguity. A 303 redirect forces a request as a GET (even if it was originally a POST), but a 307 passes it on in the same way it was requested.

302 redirects are still supported for backward compatibility, but 307 is the ideal temporary redirect.

304, 305, and 306 These other redirects are most likely too technical for podcasters to have to know. 306 is deprecated and 305 uses a proxy (but isn't universally supported).

304 “not modified” is the interesting one because it communicates that the destination data has not been changed since a date in the HTTP headers. Theoretically, this is ideal for RSS feeds as it would prevent a client from loading an entire RSS feed to find new data. Instead, a 304 redirect would allow the client to compare only the last-modified dates and only continue loading the data if the dates didn't match. However, this is rarely implemented in apps at this time.

When to use each redirect type Maybe your head is spinning from all the different types of redirects, so here's what you need to know for making your decisions.

Use 301 permanent for your URLs, SEO, and unchanging things Treat 301 redirects as permanently as possible (even though the Internet is always changing). You almost can't go wrong using 301 permanent redirects for stuff you own.

Here are my recommendations for when to use a 301 permanent redirects.

Domain changes: http://olddomain.com ➜ http://newdomain.tv
Protocol changes: http://myawesomepodcast.com ➜ https://myawesomepodcast.com
Shortcuts for your own content: http://myawesomepodcast.com/100 ➜ http://myawesomepodcast.com/the-most-awesome-celebration-ever-episode-100
SEO rank passing for updated content: http://myawesomepodcast.com/why-feedburner-and-soundcloud-are-awesome ➜ http://myawesomepodcast.com/why-you-should-not-use-feedburner-or-soundcloud
URL/permalink structure changes: http://myawesomepodcast.com/page/about/contact ➜ http://myawesomepodcast.com/contact
RSS feed changes: https://feed.horrible-podcast-hosting.com/myawesomepodcast ➜ http://myawesomepodcast.com/feed/podcast

Remember that a 301 redirect should only be used for what you intend to be permanent. Thus, I really don't recommend it for affiliates, other people's sites, live-streaming sites, and such. That's when you should use temporary redirects.

Use 307 temporary for others' URLs and changing things Being temporary, 307 redirects are best for the things you know or suspect will change. You almost can't go wrong using 307 temporary redirects for stuff you don't own.

Here are my recommendations for when to use a 307 temporary redirects. Any of these could change at any time, by you or by whoever owns the destination URL.

Affiliate URLs—the URL pattern may change, the company may change affiliate programs, or you may want to refer to a different store
Resources on someone else's site—they may change their URL structure, they may start or end an affiliate program, or you they may have updated something
Live-streaming services—unless you use your own /live page on your site, you may be redirecting to different services each week, or they may give you a different URL for each event, or you may even want to stop embedding the live on your own site and sending everyone to a service's site
Anything else that you can't control and that might change

Because 307 redirects are temporary and uncached, an app or visitor should be properly redirected each time they access the URL.

Where to make temporary and permanent redirects Depending on your needs, you may want to make your redirects at the server level, with a WordPress (or other content-management system) plugin, or in a file on your site.

Server-side redirects If you're hosting on a server running Apache, most server-side redirects would be placed in a .htaccess file in your site root folder or through your control panel. If you're hosting on a server running Nginx, most server-side redirects would be placed in a .conf file inside or accessible to the Nginx configuration. Either of these support regular expressions for advanced redirecting.

There are plenty of ways to do these, and they're easy to get wrong and break your website, so you may need to ask your hosting company for help.

WordPress plugins I use and recommend Pretty Link Pro for easily making your own 301 and 307 redirects. This doesn't support very advanced stuff, but it's really easy to use and has great features (including location-based redirects in Pretty Link Pro 2.0, automatic keyword-linking, and more).

For more advanced redirects, including regular expressions or exhaustive imports and exports, I recommend Redirection (free). This also works nicely to track and redirect page and post URLs you change. I've used this for redirect a large list of URL changes in one of my forums.

And for some clever, alternative methods of redirecting, including easily redirecting an existing page or post, or for some clever support for your own affiliate program, try Quick Page/Post Redirect Plugin (free). I've used making AffiliateWP work with LeadPages for Podcasters' Society.

Files on your site If you don't want to risk breaking your site and you can't use a plugin, you can create redirects inside of files on your site, but these may have to be named with .php (or another extension) at the end to be interpreted by your server.

Guidance on using redirects For blogging and especially for podcasting, here are some of my general recommendations for using redirects.

Don't go crazy Redirects are powerful, but they are also best when simple. You may not need a redirect for everything you link to on your website.

Keep them simple If you are making redirects to speak in your podcast, ensure the redirects are short, unambiguous, easy to understand when heard, and easy to type. Avoid symbols, hyphens, underscores, and leading zeros.

Be smart about numbers Since making redirects are free, it's okay to make multiple redirects for the same thing when you think there could be some confusion, such as whether numbers should be spelled out or used as numerals. Instead of complicating your call to action by explaining which way, simply make both ways to make it easy for your audience.

Stay lowercase Although email addresses, domains, and top-level domains (.com, .net, .market, etc.) are case-insensitive, anything after the slash in a URL could be and probably is case-sensitive. Thus, /iTunes and /itunes may actually be different URLs on your server, especially a Linux server (which most of them are).

The best thing is to use only lowercase for your URLs

Say “slash” I have a small pet peeve over unnecessary redundancies (think about what “PIN number” or “ATM machine” really mean, unabbreviated). “Forward slash” is another redundancy. The opposite of “backslash” is simply “slash.” People are quite familiar with what a slash is. Think of common uses, such as “n/a,” “and/or,” “c/o,” “s/h,” “his/her,” and fractions like “1/4.” In each of these, people either pronounce the symbol as “slash,” or wouldn't pronounce it at all. Could you imagine someone saying, “and forward slash or”?

Also, people know what button to press on their keyboards to get a slash. You really don't have to help them distinguish between a slash and a backslash. As they said in the 2001 Microsoft-depicting movie Antitrust, “Dust the colon and the backslash key! Only geeks use those keys.”

Rarely use subdomains A subdomain would appears in a URL like this: http://subdomain.domain.tld.

Subdomains are a way for your domain or server to easily run completely different software or even connect with a completely different server. They might work nicely for live.myawesomepodcast.com or store.myawesomepodcast.com, but they can also be confusing.

Many people still wrongly assume domains require “www.” in them (that's actually a subdomain, too!). So if you use a subdomain for a redirect, they may still prepend it with “www.” and then land on a broken page.

Point to valid, full URLs You may be able to create a redirect on your domain like /live, but the destination URL must be complete with the protocol (“http://” or “https://”). Some apps—such as browsers, WordPress, or Google apps—will assume a protocol, but that doesn't work for redirects. (how many times have you commented on a social network and your URL didn't become a link? This is why!)

Bad: /live ➜ myawesomepodcast.com/live

Good: /live ➜ http://myawesomepodcast.com/live

You may be able to omit the domain if you're making an internal redirect, such as /live ➜ /live-page, but it's still a good practice to use full URLs.

Have really good reasons for speaking several URLs When you can make your own redirects, it's really easy to throw them all over in your podcast. But be concise, especially in important calls to action. The best thing to do is point your audience to your show notes (with an easy URL!) for all your links and resources.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Sven Brandsma (Seffen99), from the Netherlands and Praatje Podcast, said, “… In my case, the audacity to podcast literally gave me the guts to pursue my dream of starting my own podcast. And It happened! I now have a Dutch podcast for over a year now. I present it with my best friend who is the co-host. Our podcast is about Video Games, Movies, Music and Technology. It's called Praatje Podcast. Where “Praatje Pod” is kind of a Dutch synonym for small talk. Thanks you Daniel for all your wisdom, information and fun.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Support The Messages: A Podcast Documentary!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasting connects with people in more personal—even more intimate—way than blogging, radio, video, and more. Here are 8 things that make podcasts different.

Being authentic There's a realness to podcasting that you don't get anywhere else. Writing is often edited. Video has a lot of production to it. Radio is very rigid. And similar issues exist with many other media.

You may watch every episode of your favorite TV show, but do you feel like you truly know the people you see on screen? Probably not, because what you see is an act.

Most of what people share in podcasting is their authentic selves. “Authenticity” is about being real, not about being fully transparent (especially not overly transparent).

Speaking directly to individuals Most TV and movie content doesn't speak directly to the audience. Radio gets close, but since radio is live, the hosts often speak to a mass audience with terms like “all of you.” Plus, you probably never hear an audience member named unless they call in at that time.

Podcasts are different. They are almost always consumed via download within a short time after they were recorded and published. Even if a podcast has millions of listeners, most people listen by themselves, not surrounded with fellow fans. Thus, speaking to the listener as an individual makes it feel more intimate.

Building relationships Good relationships are built on trust, and authenticity creates that. Not only will your audience feel like they know you, but they will often get to know you personally through various levels of engagement—social-network conversations, in-person events, direct correspondence, and such.

When your talk directly to your audience, and they're listening by themselves, it's easy for a small personal connection to mature into a relationship at varying levels.

Publishing consistently You may hear bad husband joke, “I told my wife I loved her when I married her, so if anything changes, I'll let her know.” But I'm sure you know the importance of consistently reinforcing your love and commitment for each other. (In fact, here's a fun test. Ask your wife if she would rather have a dozen roses today, or one rose per week for the next twelve months. What about saying, “I love you,” seven times today versus saying it every day this week?)

Consistency is key to any form of “intimacy.” Friends who don't stay connected with each other often drift apart. Spouses who don't spend consistent quality time with each other usually feel neglected.

Because of the time-shifted nature of podcasts, it's easy for people to structure aspects of their lives around a podcast's release schedule, or to form regular patterns to their week. For example, I see and listen to episodes of School of Podcasting, She Podcasts, or Libsyn's The Feed every Monday morning. If they weren't consistent, my Mondays wouldn't feel the same. Likewise, one of my all-time favorite podcasts (That Story Show) is on hiatus, and now my lawn-mowing is not as enjoyable.

These daily or weekly routines start to establish a deeper connection with each new episode.

Taking content everywhere Because podcasts are consumed primarily via download, most people can take those episodes with them everywhere, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and other mobile devices. Audio consumption significantly trumps video consumption because we can listen in more places than we can watch or read. Many people will listen while driving, mowing, cooking, cleaning dishes, folding laundry, working at their jobs, and even using the restroom! These are places other conversations are either impossible or unwelcome.
Engaging with real people Although podcasts can certainly engage with inflated personalities (especially in business-related interview shows), a lot of podcasts bring real conversations with real people. That could come through an interview, a cohosted conversation, or even the interaction you have with your audience.

You'll rarely hear radio shows refer to the same listener multiple times. But you hear this often in podcasts. Because of the more social nature of podcasts and the community around them, it's also possible for your audience to know each other.

Podcasting doesn't require a degree in broadcasting or any kind of professional training (although that can certainly help your communication skills!). Thus, many podcasters tend to be on the same level as their audience. More than authenticity, this makes you relatable as people see how much you are like them.

Connecting through social media Podcasting is deeply connected with social media. Facebook, Twitter, and many other social networks are foundational to podcast engagement and growth. Many would even categorize podcasting as social media instead of broadcasting. This makes podcasting inherently more social (“us together”) than a broadcast medium built on broadcasting ideas (“me to many”).
Focusing on the niches I'll take a risk and say that no great relationship starts like this, “Do you like breathing oxygen? ME, TOO! Let's be best friends!”

It's the narrow similarities that make deeper connections—in another word, the niche. The more niche interests you share with another person, the easier it is to connect with them (despite other differences).

Max Flight said this in Podcasters' Society:

I think one factor driving the intimacy of podcasts is that many have a narrowly focussed topic and target audience. In that environment, the producers and the consumers share a very specific interest. The conversations that result are thus more meaningful to those participating.

What makes podcasting and listening to podcasts intimate for you?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * DivineYoganista, from Canada, said, “Value Packed & Well Produced. Definitely worth the listen if you're a podcaster! I also subscribed to Daniel's email list and I've been getting a lot of super useful tips to get reviews on my new podcast. I'm brand new to podcasting and I feel that I'm in good hands with Daniel. Can't wait to dive into the archives, Thanks Daniel, you rock!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Did you miss “What You Must Know about the Law and Your Podcast” with Gordon Firemark? It's now available exclusively to members of Podcasters' Society!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Continuing the legacy of Carroll Ballard's THE BLACK STALLION, David Lowery's new Disney live-action remake of PETE'S DRAGON treats kids' films, kid audiences, and the emotional lives of children with respect and intelligence. In this half of the discussion, we talk over the two films' use of stories within stories, cinematography, child actors, and our relationship with animals and the natural world. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BLACK STALLION, PETE'S DRAGON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-02:17 Main Discussion: 02:18-43:52 Your Next Picture Show: 43:53-53:27 Scott: James Schamus' INDIGNATION Tasha: THE ALIEN MINUTE podcast and David Mackenzie's HELL OR HIGH WATER * Keith: Kinji Fukasaku's THE GREEN SLIME *Genevieve: Mike Birbiglia's DON'T THINK TWICE Outro: 53:28-59:29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Concluding the series on fixing common podcasting problems, here are ways others have creatively solved problems they faced with their podcasts.

Making interesting openings Colleen Mullen from Coaching through Chaos and Shrink 2 Shrink.

Avoid saying the same thing in your episode openings.
Engage your audience right away.

Getting sponsors Maurice Cherry from Revision Path.

Only go after sponsors you actually use.
Convince sponsors on the value of your show and that it matches their value.

Appearing on TV and interviewing popular guests Stephan Spencer from Marketing Speak and Optimized Geek

Call TV producers with a timely proposal (ideally with local relevance).
Incorporate props into your segment.
Create a media page with your TV appearances.

Learn more about “Becoming a Celebrity through TV Appearances” from Stephan's podcast. Plus, download and learn from Stephan's TV segment proposal (PDF).

Reducing reverb 1. Use a mirror to find the places that reflect directly into your mic. 2. Reduce flat surfaces. 3. Hang multiple layers of blankets or towels. 4. Build your own acoustic panels.

Telling stories Alex Blumberg from Startup and Gimlet Media.

Practice.
Experiment.
Test on others to see how it works.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * General Snobbery said, “This is a podcast that demonstrates podcasts at their best. Podcasts, above all, are here to help us. Here's a podcast geared entirely toward helping others. No ivory tower, no ego – simply a kind, intelligent man spreading quality information. Thank you, Mr. Lewis!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Gordon Firemark in our free webinar, “What You Must Know about the Law and Your Podcast” this Thursday, August 25, at 3:00 pm (EDT/GMT-4).

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The director of the new Disney live-action remake PETE’S DRAGON, David Lowery, recently cited as inspiration Carroll Ballard’s 1979 film THE BLACK STALLION, noting the older film’s careful merging of art and the mainstream. Following Lowery’s example, we look back this week at THE BLACK STALLION’s wondrous beauty and split structure, and try to ascertain what makes the film unique among films aimed at children. Plus, we’re still fielding feedback from our GHOSTBUSTERS episodes, and we have some more to share. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE BLACK STALLION, PETE’S DRAGON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro: 00:00-03:41 Keynote: 03:42-07:16 Main Discussion: 07:17-40:35 Feedback/Outro: 40:36-47:28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Interviews can create good content and share powerful stories across all media. Podcasting is full of interviews with problems, here's how to fix them.

Before anything, respect your guest Regardless of whom you interview, make it easy for them! Don't give them a multipage checklist or require them to do complicated things to be on your podcast. Whatever problems you face, remember to respect your guest, their time, and choose wisely what is really worth inconveniencing your guest to fix or prevent.

Poor audio quality Unless you're interviewing other podcasters, it's very likely that your guest is not as passionate and knowledgeable about audio quality as you are.

Before I help you understand and fix poor audio quality, you should know that content and presentation are far more important than production. As long as people can hear, understand, and get value from what your guest says, your guest's audio doesn't have to be as good as yours. In fact, most people will forgive lower audio quality from your guest, but expect higher audio quality from you.

The following three things affect your guest's audio quality the most, even more than the particular technology they use.

Mic technique Ensure your guest knows how to use a microphone. Generally, this means doing only three things: talk into the mic, stay a consistent distance away (a fist-width away is usually ideal), and don't touch the mic or anything connected to it.

Thus, instead of their using their computer and it's built-in mic, consider suggesting they connect with you over their smartphone (via Skype, or whatever tool you use). The reason for this is smartphone mics are often pretty good, especially when they remain a consistent and short distance from the voice.

Environment Ensure your guest is in a quiet and low-reverb space for recording. This should also be somewhere with a good Internet or cellular connection (wired is best if talking over a telephone line or a computer).

Processing This responsibility is yours. Regardless of the technology you use to communicate with and record your guest, you will probably need a little audio processing afterward. Usually, the only things you need are loudness normalization (to get your guest's volume level to match yours) and maybe compression (to reduce the difference between loud and quiet spots).

Other considerations If your guest is more tech-savvy or willing to try better things, consider more advanced call-recording solutions such as Cast, Zencastr, or Ringr.

Scheduling Getting availabilities to align can be almost as hard as aligning the planets! But here are some general tips for fixing scheduling problems.
Suggest specific times—Even if you have a scheduling system, it may be most convenient for your guest if you simply suggest a couple specific times that you know will work.
Always use time zones—Your guest might be anywhere in the world, so always ensure you're talking about the same time. If you know their location, it may be best to speak according to their time zone, but still include the time zone in case they are traveling. (Sidenote and pet peeve: American time zone abbreviations change with Daylight Saving Time, and so do GMT/UTC offsets. So make sure you're either using the correct abbreviation—such as “EDT” versus “EST”—or keep it universal—such as “ET” or “Eastern Time.”)
Prioritize your guest's schedule—Unless you're famous, be flexible to accommodate your guest instead of forcing them to fit your schedule, especially for really important guests.
Use a scheduling system—Avoid the back-and-forth emails with trying to pick a schedule. Use a tool like Appointlet, ScheduleOnce, Calendly, or one of the many other online-scheduling tools that make it as easy as possible for your guest to pick a time that works for both of you. Remember to make it easy and simple. Don't force them to create an account or complete a long form!
Introductions “Tell me about yourself” communicates one unfortunate thing about you: you're lazy. (I know that probably hurts a little. Please hear me out.)

As a interviewer, a guest, and a listener, I think it shows far more respect and communicates more relevance when you are the one who introduces your guest. And you do so without merely reading their bio.

This means you need to do at least a little research on your guest. The better you know them, the better you can introduce them.

Another common problem I hear in podcast interviews is a double introduction. The host will often pre-record the interview with an introduction in it, and then they record their episode opening with an introduction in it, too. Consider whether what you're saying leading into the interview is redundant with the interview's opening itself. Sometimes, this may mean removing whatever introduction you recording into the interview.

Weak questions and answers The burden of a quality interview rests on you, not on your guest. I recently heard an interview with Gary Vaynerchuck, who has all kinds of amazing insight and value to give. But the interview was horrible! It wasn't Gary's fault, it was the interviewer's fault.
Research your guest and their industry—Ask questions you know your guest will be good at answering. You may get ideas based on other interviews or things they've been doing lately. Those ideas could be for questions to ask, to avoid, or quality questions no one else has asked them.
Avoid questions that lead to simple yes/no answers—”Does,” “did,” and “are,” at the beginning of your questions are usually signs of yes/no question.
Don't try to be the expert with your questions—Let your guest fill in the details, especially if you know the answers.
Don't force your outline—Some questions will be irrelevant to your guest, or they may have already answered the question.
Listen—This was Marc Maron's single-word advice from Podcast Movement 2015. Listen to everything your guest says and communicates through their emotions and you may discover more value than you ever anticipated.

Unless your guest is an expert interviewee and decides to work harder than you in the interview, the general rule is bad questions lead to bad answers.

Legal issues How are you protecting yourself and your podcast if your guest doesn't like their interview, you don't use the interview, or some other issue comes up? You really should have a legal release form your guest signs (not only records verbal acceptance) before you record. This should cover some basic things:
Compensation—Will they get paid? What if you later charge for this episode or make a product from it?
Release—What are they letting you do with their recording, their imagery, and the content they share? Do they have rights over their episode?

There are more legal issues about podcast interviews that you need to consider. In fact, there are big legal issues all around podcasting! That's why I'm thrilled to have entertainment lawyer Gordon Firemark as my guest in a free webinar on Thursday, August 25 at 3:00 pm (EDT/GMT-4)! We'll discuss copyrights, trademarks, releases, contracts, and more! Click here to register for the free webinar. (A free replay will be available for a limited time afterward before the webinar is exclusive to members of Podcasters' Society.)

Irrelevant value People live interesting lives, and you may bring some of that out in your podcast. But does that really matter to your audience? If you're going to get off-topic (or spend too much time getting to know your guest), I suggest you move that to the end of the interview (even if through editing) or save it for an opt-in bonus.

I'm not saying that content has no value—it could be even more value than the interview itself! But is that value relevant to your audience? Maybe, or maybe not. That's for you to decide.

Wasted words Remember that, generally, bad questions lead to bad answers. But even good questions may return wasted words.

Wasted words could be on your guest's part as they are forming their answer in their mind. They may also be wasted because they're giving a verbose answer to a simple question.

You could also be wasting words by asking unnecessarily complex questions or giving possible answers in your questions.

Much of this can be removed in editing, but it's far better to refine your skills so you won't have to edit later.

Bad or no transitions An outline is great for keeping a structure to your content. But don't be so rigid with that outline that you have bad transitions or no transitions whatsoever.

For example, a guest could end their response with, “and that's when I discovered I have cancer and only three months left to live,” and then you, focused on your outline, say, “How did you grow your business?”

This goes back to Marc Maron's advice, “LISTEN!” Listen to what your guest says more than you focus on your outline. Listen for followup questions. Listen for potential transitions.

Erik K. Johnson, from Podcast Talent Coach, often points out that no one says, “And now it's time for …” in real conversations.

Transitioning well is a skill that takes practice.

What podcast interview problems have you faced, and how have you fixed them?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Zach (“1peter2:24” on iTunes), from HearSpurgeon.com, said, “Favorite Podcast about Podcasting! I listened to a handful of podcasting podcasts when I was starting up my own podcast a few months ago. Daniel's is the only one I still listen to regularly. He provides the most value-per-minute with clear, easy to understand, thoughtfully laid out content. He also talks just enough about his own life and beliefs that I feel I can get to know the man behind the mic, which I rather enjoy 🙂 Thank you, Daniel, for holding this toddler podcaster's hand and teaching me the ropes.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Register for my free podcasting, copyrights, and the law webinar with Gordon Firemark at 3:00 pm (EDT/GMT-4) on Thursday, August 25. * Join Podcasters' Society to improve and grow your podcast. Weekly webinars, expert support, podcast evaluations, exclusive discounts, a friendly and mature podcasting community, and more!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Our comparison of bad-guys-doing-good films continues with THE DIRTY DOZEN’s ultra-modern, ultra-messy progeny, the new DC Extended Universe entry SUICIDE SQUAD. We try to make sense of the many issues plaguing the newer film, and decipher how the two films each come down on the ideas of villainy and leadership. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DIRTY DOZEN, SUICIDE SQUAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-01:45 Main Discussion: 01:46-42:44 Your Next Picture Show: 42:43-52:56 Scott: Joachim Trier’s LOUDER THAN BOMBS Keith: Justin Lin’s STAR TREK BEYOND Tasha: Sian Heder’s TALLULAH Genevieve: Andrew Haigh’s LOOKING: THE MOVIE Outro: 52:57-55:01 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

David Ayer has characterized his new entry in the DC Expanded Universe, SUICIDE SQUAD, as a modern take on Robert Aldrich's THE DIRTY DOZEN, a 1967 war/heist film that set the standard for movies about a band of criminals teaming up to take on a greater evil. In this half of the conversation, we put THE DIRTY DOZEN's violence and attitude toward war in historical context, and tangle with the film's difficult morality. Plus, lots of feedback from our last episode on the GHOSTBUSTERS of the past and present. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE DIRTY DOZEN, SUICIDE SQUAD, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes Intro: 00:00-02:32 Keynote: 02:33-5:33 Main Discussion: 05:34-34:50 Feedback/Outro: 34:51:45:44 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

WordPress is the best platform for blogging and podcasting. And with so many parts, something could break. Here is how to fix the most common problems you may face with WordPress.

The common WordPress troubleshooting steps Review the “11 WordPress Troubleshooting Tips” (#226, /wptroubleshooting) I have previously shared:

Backup
Consider hiring help
Trace the problem logically and linearly
Test with “incognito” and other browsers
Revert changes
Deactivate WordPress plugins
Try a default WordPress theme
Optimize performance (and clear the caches)
Ask your web host
Tighten security
Hire help

The most commonly successful steps are to clear (or disable) caching or deactivate plugins.

Review the official “Common WordPress Errors” resources Most of the common problems you'll face are already addressed by the WordPress team:

The White Screen of Death—You visit your front-end or back-end and the screen is blank and white
Internal Server Error—Also called “error 500”
Error Establishing Database Connection
Failed Auto-Upgrade
Connection Timed Out—Stuff takes a really long time to load and may eventually give up
Maintenance Mode Following Upgrade
You Make Changes and Nothing Happens
Pretty Permalinks 404 and Images not Working—Also called “page not found”
Custom Post Type 404 Errors—Also called “page not found”
Specific Error Messages

Numbers appended to URLs or a slug/URL is already taken A “slug” is a section of a URL usually after the domain and usually between slashes. For example, TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/this-is-a-slug/. WordPress makes a slug for most content (pages, posts, products, pretty links, and custom post types) and taxonomy (tags, categories, and some other taxonomy for custom post types).

With few exceptions, these slugs must be unique. Thus, if you have two items with the same name, WordPress will usually append a number to the slug to prevent duplicates.

This is also why you may have trouble making a /podcast URL with PowerPress installed, but there's a workaround.

To avoid duplicate slugs, you may need to check your pages, posts, categories, tags, and other plugins to delete or rename anything already using the same slug (for example, I recommend you make your category slug “podcast-episodes” or “audio-podcast” instead of “podcast”).

Some URL-creating plugins, such as Pretty Link, may be more sensitive to pre-existing slugs. In fact, I discovered and reported a bug in a version of one such plugin where it would not allow a new slug to end with anything the same as another slug (for example, you can't make “/mypodcastfeed” because “/feed” was already used).

Stuff doesn't update In addition to WordPress's own recommendation for clearing your browser cache (under “You Make Changes and Nothing Happens”), you may need to clear or disable your website cache, as well. Remember that there may be multiple layers to clear or disable, such as WordPress cache, server cache, and external/CDN cache (like CloudFlare).

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * 5 stars in iTunes by Sleep with Silk from USA on June 7, 2016: “… His information has assisted us greatly to improve our “Sleep with Silk” podcasts. Daniel's tips have allowed us to create better podcasts to help our stressed and sleepless listeners to relax and fall asleep easier to nature sounds, calming voices, background noise, and binaural beats. He is also enthusiastic and engaging – so he won't put you to sleep like our podcasts will! …”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Thank you for your patience while I was absent with illness and a death in my extended family. * Support The Messengers, an upcoming podcast documentary.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Our GHOSTBUSTERS discussion turns its attention to Paul Feig's new remake, which was made with obvious affection for (and cameos from) the 1984 version, and replicates certain character types and plot points. But it also breaks from it in significant ways we'll discuss, as well as thoughts on the effects, the villains, New York City, blockbuster culture, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about Oldbusters, Newbusters, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-02:09 Main Discussion: 02:10-51:24 Your Next Picture Show: 51:25-58:50 Genevieve: Emily Carmichael's STRYKA Tasha: Entertainment Weekly's GHOSTBUSTERS oral history Scott: Hirokazu Koreeda's OUR LITTLE SISTER Keith: King Hu's A TOUCH OF ZEN Outro: 58:51-1:02:58 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

This week, we ain’t afraid of no ghosts, but we’re a little freaked out by the politics of busting them. The strange controversy over Paul Feig's gender-reversed GHOSTBUSTERS has us looking back at the original 1984 GHOSTBUSTERS to see what about it has inspired such strong feeling. In this half of the conversation, we focus on the then-and-now of Ivan Reitman's original, while trying (unsuccessfully) to dodge the dreaded "N" word: "nostalgia." Plus, some extra-long, extra-great feedback from our SUSPIRIA/NEON DEMON episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about Oldbusters, Newbusters, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-02:50 Keynote: 02:51-05:10 Main Discussion: 05:11-41:02 Feedback/Outro: 41:03-51:25 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We move our conversation of Dario Argento's 1977 film SUSPIRIA to Nicholas Winding Refn’s THE NEON DEMON, which works as a contemporary companion piece. In this half, we talk over the two films' respective uses of color, violence, and female competition. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about SUSPIRIA, THE NEON DEMON, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-02:01 Main Discussion: 02:17-40:13 Your Next Picture Show: 40:14-47:13 Tasha: ACTION MOVIE KID on YouTube Keith: Isaac Florentine's NINJA: SHADOW OF A TEAR *Scott: Hong-jin Na's THE WAILING Outro: 47:14-50:18 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasting encouragement and tips about taking breaks, refocusing, saying “no” so you can say “yes,” and Podcast Movement 2016.

Until I write thorough show notes, please listen to the episode to hear my thoughts.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Nicholas Winding Refn’s new THE NEON DEMON inspired us to look back at another tale of female rivalry that plays out in lurid colors and more than a little violence: Dario Argento’s classic 1977 horror movie SUSPIRIA. In this half, we explore the specific, lurid style in which Argento works, and consider how it functions as both cinema and horror. Plus, lots of MEMENTO feedback from our last episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about NEON DEMON, SUSPIRIA or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-03:25 Keynote: 03:26-07:09 Main Discussion: 07:10-42:06 Feedback/Outro: 42:07-51:34 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

We dive into the murky waters of Andrew Stanton's new FINDING DORY to search for links between Pixar's latest and Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller MEMENTO. Turns out the two disparate films have more in common than even we thought, in their respective treatments of memory, identity, mystery, and more. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEMENTO, FINDING DORY, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-02:16 Main Discussion: 02:17-43:41 Your Next Picture Show: 43:42-52:51 Genevieve: Jason Benjamin's SUITED Scott: Brian De Palma's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE Tasha: Frank Perry's THE SWIMMER Keith: Alexander Hall's HERE COMES MR. JORDAN Outro: 52:52-55:43 Outro music by CapnDesDes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The conceit behind Pixar's new FINDING DORY, about Ellen Degeneres' forgetful fish character, inspired us to talk about a very different film about memory and the limits thereof: Christopher Nolan's breakthrough feature MEMENTO. In this half, we consider the unsolvable mysteries of Nolan's film, how it fits into his larger body of work, and whether it qualifies as a noir. Plus, some contentious feedback from our SPINAL TAP/POPSTAR episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MEMENTO, FINDING DORY, or both by sending an email tocomments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-03:59 Keynote: 04:00-6:30 Main Discussion: 06:31-38:23 Feedback/Outro: 38:24-54:51 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our look into the mockumentary's trajectory from THIS IS SPINAL TAP through the new POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING delves into the comedic complexities of The Lonely Island's supremely silly update of the Spinal Tap formula. In this half of the discussion, we consider the two films' respective use of editing, music, pop culture, and the comeback narrative. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIS IS SPINAL TAP, POPSTAR, or both by sending an email tocomments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-02:38 Main Discussion: 02:39-46:54 Your Next Picture Show: 46:55-57:20 Keith: Anna Rose Holmer's THE FITS Scott: Noah Baumback and Jake Paltrow's DEPALMA Genevieve: Rick Famuyiwa's DOPE Tasha: Robert Benton's TWILIGHT Next Show Announcement/Goodbyes: 57:21-1:02:22 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Recording problems can result in noisy, corrupted, or missing audio. Test before anything important! Here are solutions to these common podcasting problems.

Missing audio Whether through software or hardware, there's a chance you're not recording everything you think you are. Here are some things to check.

Can your tool record what you want? I've seen a lot of podcasters think recording Skype calls was as simple as using Audacity, but it's not. Whether you're using hardware or software, ensure that it can even do what you want it to do with the tools you have.
Is everything properly connected? Cables might be loose or not connected, or apps might not be running.
Is everything on? Power, mute, volume, and more could be simple switches or knobs that might not be in their right place.
Are signals properly routed? Trace the cables and audio processing chain to ensure everything is going where it should be. On the software side, ensure that your apps are looking at the right devices for inputs and outputs.

Corrupted audio It's horrible to record audio only to discover it's completely unusable due to corruption. Here are some things to check.

Reboot before recording.
Quit as many background apps and processes as possible and don't run anything resource-intensive.
Unplug and reconnect digital audio interfaces.
Keep enough free space on recording devices.
Ensure your input levels aren't too high.

Noise Unwanted noise comes in many forms. You may be able to remove it with software, but it's best to remove it before you record. Here are some things to check.

Ambient background noise: turn off what's making noise, move away from it, put things between your mic and the noise, and point your mic away from it.
Constant hiss (not background noise from your environment): get closer to the mic (about a fist-width away), use quality equipment, and don't let low-quality gear handle the audio amplification.
Humming, buzzing, or strange interference: keep audio cables away from power cables, plug everything that's connected to each other into the same surge protector, use a ground-loop isolator, use a HumX, move equipment farther away from each other, and invest in quality gear (including cables).

Volume If the audio is too loud, it will clip and distort. If it's too quiet, then you may introduce more noise when you amplify the audio. Here are some ways to ensure consistent volume levels.

Learn good microphone technique: stay a consistent distance from the microphone, but move farther away when you get louder.
Watch volume meters when testing different sources: have each host or sound source come through one at a time and ensure they average the same volume range.
Record test audio for review: it's hard to mix your own voice with others' in real time. A recording will let you see and hear the actual differences to tweak.
Listeninstead of looking: loudness is more than the visual waveform (although it is generally a good representation). A highly compressed signal may look quieter than an uncompressed signal, but it could still be louder.
Use proper measuring tools: use a LUFS-measurement tool, such as r128x-GUI for OS X, Orban Loudness Meter for Windows, or the measuring tools in professional software to get actual numbers. These are integrated loudness (measured in LUFS), loudness range (LRA), and true peak (dBTP). Ideal targets are -19 (mono) / -16 (stereo) LUFS, under 4 LU LRA, and -1.0 or lower dBTP.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Timm S. from Switzerland said, “Bingeworthy. Whether you've just started podcasting or are a seasoned podcaster, this show will bring you useful tips with depth and humor.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcasters' Society opens to new members on July 1. Join the waiting list for a special bonus! * I'm taking a sabbatical in June 1 through July 15, 2016. I'll still have publish podcast episodes and my weekly email newsletter, but I'll be available only to members of Podcasters' Society. All emails, voicemails, and other comments during that time will be automatically archived and will not be responded to unless you email again after July 15.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Inspired by the new Lonely Island feature mockumentary POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING, we look back at the grandaddy of mock-rock-docs: Rob Reiner's THIS IS SPINAL TAP, which helped set the template for modern comedy in more ways than one. In this half of the discussion, we go deep into the hows and why's of SPINAL TAP's improvised humor, and consider how the film's message scans in the current music-industry climate. Plus, lots of feedback from our L.A. CONFIDENTIAL/THE NICE GUYS episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THIS IS SPINAL TAP, POPSTAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Time Codes: Intro: 00:00-03:23 Keynote: 03:24-07:04 Main Discussion: 07:05-39:18 Feedback/Outro: 39:19-51:47 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

iTunes is the largest podcast directory and it powers many podcast apps. Here's how to fix the most common podcasting problems you may face with iTunes.

Directory information All the information about your podcast in iTunes (title, descriptions, episode, cover art, copyright, etc.) is pulled from your RSS feed. Thus, to change how your podcast is listed in the iTunes store, you need to change the information in your RSS feed.

This would be in FeedBurner only if you're using the horrible “SmartCast” feature. Otherwise, make the changes where the feed is being generated.

Ratings, reviews, ranking, and related podcasts are maintained by Apple, and you can't change them.

Missing the latest episode I'm quite certain this is the most common iTunes issue podcasters complain about. They'll publish a new episode and then look at their iTunes listing only to see the latest episode isn't there yet.

DON'T PANIC!

First, if the episode downloads fine for you (subscribed to your own podcast) and others, then there's probably nothing wrong. People are subscribed directly to your RSS feed, so it doesn't matter whether iTunes displays the latest episode in the store. Your subscribers will still download it automatically according to their app's settings.

iTunes caches everything, so it can sometimes take up to 24 hours for a new episode to appear. However, iTunes also learns your publishing frequency and may update your podcast more quickly around the time you consistently publish a new episode.

If you've waited at least 24 hours, login to Podcasts Connect with the Apple ID you used to submit your podcast, click on your podcast and click to refresh your feed. Then wait another 24 hours.

If your iTunes listing still hasn't updated, there may be a different problem with your feed causing issues with iTunes. Libsyn has seen this to most commonly be the podcast cover art. See the next section for tips on fixing that.

But if the latest episode doesn't download, then you may need to fix common podcast RSS feed problems.

Podcast cover art hasn't updated If you changed your podcast cover art but it hasn't updated, yet, in iTunes. It could be one of several issues.

Broken URL—This is the basic “Did you turn it on?” issue, but it could still be a problem. Ensure the URL actually works. I recommend opening a private/incognito browser window to check.
Time—Wait at least 24 hours. If it still hasn't updated, login to Podcasts Connect with the Apple ID you used to submit your podcast, and refresh your feed. Then wait another 24 hours.
File size—This is the most common problem I see. The image file needs to be smaller than 512 KB for iTunes to be able to process it. Try extra image compression, smoother or no textures, or fewer colors to get the file size smaller.
Filename and URL—iTunes will only know to update the image if the URL has changed. This could be automatically changed if your image URL has a date. But I still recommend changing the file name. It could be as simply as adding a version number or year to the file.
Pixel dimensions—Your cover art should be at least 1,400 × 1,400 or at most 3,000 × 3,000. Anything outside that may cause issues.
Image hosting—Where your podcast cover art is hosted must support HTTP HEAD requests. Most web-hosting and all podcast-hosting companies support this. But file-sharing tools may not.
Color format—Images must be 16-bit RGB. Anything else may cause problems.
Wrong file format—Images must be JPEG (.jpg or .jpeg) or PNG (.png). Anything else won't work.

If you change anything, remember to wait at least another 24 hours.

In the very rare case, there may be a problem on Apple's side, so contact them through Podcasts Connect to ask that they force refresh, after you have done everything else.

You can't see your podcast's reviews Being able to see your podcasts' reviews in iTunes has several layers and points of potential oversight.

Different countries—iTunes is currently available in 155 countries. When you submit your podcast to Apple, your podcast is automatically added to all these others iTunes Stores (explicit podcasts are excluded from a few countries). Each iTunes store has its own rankings, ratings, and reviews for your podcast. Thus, you may simply be looking at the wrong country. You could manually switch iTunes between its 155 countries, or use My Podcast Reviews to check them all automatically.
Confusion with ratings—People can rate a podcast with one to five stars without writing a review, but every written review must have a rating. Thus, it's possible someone merely rated your podcast but didn't write a review. Apple doesn't offer any identifying information or ratings API.
Incompleted process—It's possible whoever wrote the review didn't complete the process.
Automatic filtering—Apple has automatic filters to prevent profanity from appearing in iTunes. Thus, any review with profanity may be automatically removed.
Time—Because Apple caches the iTunes stores, it could take 24 hours for new reviews to appear, or even longer if Apple is already having problems. Some of the My Podcast Reviews copycats have also run into API issues that result in missing reviews, but My Podcast Reviews has been specially designed to not be susceptible to such API issues.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Please remember to vote for our podcasts and our friends' in the Podcast Awards every day through June 12. * Podcasters' Society opens to new members on July 1. Join the waiting list for a special bonus! * I'm taking a sabbatical June 1 through July 15, 2016. I will still publish podcast episodes and my weekly email newsletter, but I'll be available only to members of Podcasters' Society. All emails, voicemails, and other comments during that time will be automatically archived and will not be responded to. So if you need to reach me, please try again after July 15.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We bring our discussion of L.A. noir into the modern era by connecting L.A. CONFIDENTIAL with the slick new buddy action-comedy from Shane Black, THE NICE GUYS. The two films are playing on very different sandboxes, and decades, but we find connective tissue in their central ideas of justice, their period settings, and their view of L.A.'s secrets. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE NICE GUYS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. TIME CODES  Intro: 00:00-02:19  Main Discussion: 02:20-48:33  Your Next Picture Show: 48:34-59:17  -Keith: Kaneto Shindo's THE NAKED ISLAND  -Tasha: Jodie Foster's MONEY MONSTER and Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's WEINER -Genevieve: Patton Oswalt's TALKING FOR CLAPPING -Scott: Arthur Penn's NIGHT MOVES Next Show Announcement/Goodbyes: 59:18-1:02:30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

This week's pairing brings us into the twisted world of L.A. noir, courtesy of two period pieces that follow byzantine plots to the depths of human depravity. Inspired by Shane Black's new THE NICE GUYS, we're revisiting Curtis Hanson's L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, which has a much different tone, but similar spirit. In this half, we zoom in on the tabloid sleaze and police corruption that inform "Confidential," and how it reflects the preoccupations of L.A. noir. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE NICE GUYS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.  Intro: 00:00-03:06  Keynote: 03:07-05:19  Main Discussion: 05:20-39:45  Feedback/Outro: 39:46--48:36 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

If your RSS feed breaks, your podcast breaks. So here are the most common RSS problems you may face in podcasting and how to fix them.

Validation errors A lot of podcast RSS feed problems are related to validation problems. This is when something, often technical, is inside the feed that shouldn't be there, something is there that shouldn't be, or something is formatted incorrectly. Here's how to check that.

Validate your feed.
1. FEED Validator—This is a basic RSS validator. “Warnings” won't break your feed, but errors will. Try to find where the error is.
2. Cast Feed Validator or PodBa.se Podcast Validator—These feed-validators are designed for podcasters and will more appropriately point out problems like missing enclosures, poor hosting, and other issues specific to podcasting.
Fix the problem.
1. If it is an invalid RSS feed, the problem could be a hidden or invalid character (such as a space or quotation mark) that you simply need to retype. Other times, it may be some code you need to remove from a post (such as embedded Flash objects or other special coding).
2. Follow the advice the validation tools give for replacing or fixing other problems.

Inaccessible feed If your feed is completely missing (you'll usually get an 404 error), there could be many things going wrong.

Double-check the URL—Ensure you spelled everything correctly, ensure you're using or not using “www.” as your domain is set up.
Reset permalinks—Some things can break this, so simply save your WordPress permalink setting again.
Test for conflicts—Plugins and themes could cause conflicts with your RSS feed (though PowerPress is now protecting the default podcast-only feed), try disabling all other plugins to see if your feed can still be reached, then reactivate them one or two at a time. Try changing your theme, too.

Timeouts When your feed takes a long time to load, some RSS clients will give up after a certain amount of time. Your feed may be valid, but if it's too slow, it times out and will be the same as if it was inaccessible.

Reduce your feed size—1 MB is the practical maximum, but I recommend smaller than 512 KB.
Use caching—Implement a tool to caches your RSS feed so it isn't regenerated with every request, or consider making it a static file on your site. You may need the caching on the rest of your website in order to make your feed load better.
Ask your web host about performance issues—It could be your site or someone else's on the server with some bad code that is hogging the server resources.

Missing episodes Your feed could be missing the latest episode or past episodes. Here are some things to check.

Properly attached the episode—A blog post without a podcast episode properly added won't appear in podcast apps. There have been many times I published a post and forgot to attach the media.
Check the channel/category—If you use custom channel or category feeds, you may have put the post in the wrong place.
Low item/episode limit—The WordPress default limits RSS feeds to 10 items. You may need to increase that in the WordPress Reading settings, PowerPress, Libsyn, or whatever is creating your RSS feed (FeedBurner doesn't create feeds, so don't look there).
Combined blog posts and podcast episodes—If you don't have a podcast-only RSS feed, each blog post could be bumping out your podcast episodes from the item limit.
Theme/plugin settings—Some WordPress themes or plugins may offer the option to filter the main blog page, which could affect what goes in your RSS feeds.
Caches—Website caching, CDN/external caching, and feed caching may need to be refreshed for your latest episode to display.
Duplicated posts—Some tools may allow you to duplicate a post, but it in rare cases, it may also duplicate the globally unique identifier (GUID), so most RSS clients won't recognize the new post as a new episode.

Accidental redownloads If your subscribers have been forced to redownload your old episodes, it could mess up your stats and annoy your audience.

The core cause is the globally unique identifier (GUID) in every item/episode of an RSS feed. If that GUID changes, RSS clients and podcast apps will think that is a new post.

Don't change that GUID! Here are some specific situations to be cautious.

Migration—When moving your RSS feed from one place to another, ensure your new feed-generator will also migrate the GUIDs. Blubrry, PowerPress, and Libsyn are smart enough to do that; I can't say the same for other providers.
Find and replace operations—If you're editing your database, be very careful when running find-and-replace. It's best to filter such operations to only specific columns and thus exclude the GUID.
Correcting episode mistakes—Unless it's absolutely necessary to force a redownload, reuse the existing post, URL, and filename for fixing mistakes. Creating a new post—even with the same URL, title, and filename—will force a redownload.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Please remember to vote for our podcasts and our friends' in the Podcast Awards every day through June 12. * Podcasters' Society opens to new members on July 1. Join the waiting list for a special bonus! * I'm taking a sabbatical June 1 through July 15, 2016. I will still publish podcast episodes and my weekly email newsletter, but I'll be available only to members of Podcasters' Society. All emails, voicemails, and other comments during that time will be automatically archived and will not be responded to. So if you need to reach me, please try again after July 15.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Because your RSS feed is the life of your podcast, where you host it is crucial for ownership and control. Here are some things to consider for whether you should host your feed yourself.

Feed ownership and hosting are hotly debated among podcast-hosting companies. Each side has some valid arguments, and I'll address more of those shortly. It often comes down to two things: ownership and reliability. Ultimately, the choice is yours to make, and here are some things to consider.

What is “owning your podcast RSS feed”? There are several definitions to what it means to “own your podcast RSS feed.”

One side of ownership says you only own your feed if it's on a URL you control, the other side says you own your feed as long as you can redirect it (via 301 permanent redirect) wherever and whenever you want.

I think both sides are right and are not mutually exclusive.

At its core, owning your feed means that no one can take it away from you. You can switch your podcasting technology and keep your audience. You're in control of what goes into your feed.

With some third-party feed-creation tools, you can add your layer of ownership with your own domain. This could be through a 302 or 307 temporary redirect, or through advanced DNS mapping (such as the MyBrand feature in FeedBurner). Such freedom may come at a higher cost, but may be worth it.

How truly reliable is your podcast RSS feed? With very few exceptions (Google Play Music, Stitcher, Spotify, and a couple other podcast apps), when someone subscribes to your podcast, they subscribe directly to your RSS feed. Thus, it really doesn't matter to your audience if the podcast directory (such as iTunes) doesn't work or kicks your show out, because your audience gets your episodes from you (via the RSS feed), not from the directory.

If your podcast RSS feed goes down, your podcast episodes will be inaccessible for downloading. (However, this won't affect those who have already downloaded the episodes.) Similarly, if the feed is up but the server hosting your media goes down, no one can download new episodes. If either your feed or your media hosting are inaccessible for an extended period, your show will probably be removed from the podcast directories.

For nearly every podcaster, we're at the mercy of something outside our control with our feeds. Server hardware could fail, a network could go down, a company could go out of business, and more. Even if you run your own server, you're still at the mercy of the network connection (which is probably outside your control) and even DNS providers (who make domains work). Because of this, no RSS feed is 100% reliable. Nearly everyone gives up a little control and must put their trust in someone else's stability.

Some providers have proven themselves more trustworthy than others with protections, redundancies, and a high priority to keep your feed or media hosting online. Blubrry and Libsyn are the two companies that have been around long enough to prove their reliability, which is why you hear me and others recommended these two providers so often. Spreaker and Podbean are good, too, but they don't have that thorough experience and as much time to prove themselves. (Use promo code “noodle” for a free month with Blubrry, Libsyn, Spreaker, and Podbean.)

Even FeedBurner, when you have its questionable features disable, has proven itself to be fairly reliable. Certainly more reliable than shared hosting or some low-end “podcast-hosting” providers.

4 reasons you may not want to host your own podcast RSS feed Let's use Libsyn as an example (since they are the only third-party feed-creation service I can fully recommend). Libsyn can create and host your RSS feed for you, whereas FeedBurner merely rehosts the RSS feed you're already creating (and FeedBurner can optionally enhance your non-podcast feed with “SmartCast,” but never use that feature if you already have a podcast feed). Here's why you might want to let someone else host your feed.

This information is repurposed from my blog post, “Why you may NOT want to host your own podcast RSS feed.”

Website stability When your podcast RSS feed is on the same server as your website, you risk hindering your podcast downloads when your website has problems. Even when your web host promises 99.99% uptime, that leaves about 53 minutes of potential downtime per year, but you could likely see more than that.

If you’re featured somewhere and 1,000 people try to load your site at the same time, it could crash your website and take down your RSS feed with it.

Plugins like PowerPress are great for making and managing your RSS feed. If you want extra stability, you could use Angelo Mandato’s Static Feed plugin for WordPress to reduce how much work your website has to do to serve an XML file for your RSS feed. But even this static file will be inaccessible if your server crashes.

Bandwidth requirements There is no hard rule about the size of your RSS feed. But a maximum of 512 KB or 1 MB is still a reasonable guideline, if for no other reason, be considerate of your subscribers who have to download that feed file every time their podcast app checks for new episodes. Learn more about how to shrink your RSS feed and why it's important (episode 269).

While your RSS feed is not as big as your media files, the feed would be downloaded more often and could actually cause more problems on your server than hosting your media on your server.

It's not all that likely, but it is still possible.

Feed volatility This is the most-cited reason for generating and hosting your podcast feed away from your website content management system (CMS), like WordPress.

It’s true that some themes, plugins, or buried website options can break your RSS feed. This happens when any of these insert invalided information into your feed, change how the tags are populated, strip functionality, or have some other poor coding that causes a conflict.

I’ve helped several podcasters before with my flat-rate, standard feed repair service. I’ve seen membership plugins, SEO plugins, themes, and simple user error break podcast feeds.

Yes, it is possible to break your podcast RSS feed with even popular plugins. The more plugins you have on your site, the more chances there are that something could break.

But before you panic, realize that as long as you use tested, respected, and well-written plugins, and stick with only what you truly need, the chances of breaking your feed are quite low. But if you don't want to risk it, either use your media host's feed (as long as you can “own” it) or protect your feed with FeedBurner (that is, with no features enabled, FeedBurner feeds can still stay online when the source feed is down), but still consider using your own domain.

Dangers on shared hosting If you host your website and podcast feed on a shared hosting provider, then you could be the victim of someone else’s abuse.

On shared hosting, every account has equal access to the server’s resources. If someone else’s account hogs those resources (through compromise, abuse, or bad code), it affects the rest of the accounts on that server—up to thousands of other websites.

The most common symptom is that your website will run extremely slowly (even with all plugins disabled) and your feed may often timeout. Raise this issue with your shared web-hosting provider and they may be able to fix it, or help you know if you're the one causing the problem and suggest some things to check.

4 reasons you may want to host your own podcast RSS feed Whether using PowerPress, hand-coding, or some other feed tool, if the RSS feed lives on your site, you're hosting it yourself, and here's why you might want to do that.

This information is repurposed from my blog post, “Why you may WANT to host your own podcast RSS feed.”

Ownership When your podcast RSS feed is on your own domain, you own it. You can transfer it to another domain, use whatever software you want to create it, or redirect it to anywhere else.

You’re not at risk of third-party company shutting down their service (there have been rumors of FeedBurner’s demise for many years) because you own your feed, not them.

And if you’re ever dissatisfied with the performance of your feed on your server, you can take it anywhere else you want, and never lose your subscribers.

Total control Hosting your podcast feed on your server opens up a world of possibilities for how you generate and manage that feed. You can do anything you want with it.

Your total control of your RSS feed let’s you change media hosting as fast as a find and replace tool (PowerPress has a great one built in). You can also integrate any stats provider you wish.

When new RSS features become standards, it’s easy to implement in your own feed.

You can change, add, or remove anything you want when you create and host your own RSS feed. And all of this can be done with powerful self-hosting tools (like WordPress with PowerPress) that don’t require you to know anything about RSS or XML. With the right skills or instructions, you can even customize PowerPress to support edge technologies.

Simple workflow You should already have a platform for your podcast on a self-hosted website you own and control. I highly recommend WordPress hosted on either BlueHost or WP Engine.

As your platform, this should be the home for your content. If you use well-designed tools like WordPress and PowerPress, then this platform can also be the tool to create your podcast RSS feed. It’s not complicated.

A podcasting plugin like PowerPress allows you to continue your regular, familiar workflow of blogging with WordPress, and then add a simple extra step to turn a blog post into a podcast episode.

This means your platform is where you create your blog, sell your products and services, engage with your community, and create your podcast RSS feed without much extra work. It’s all coming from a single website so you can manage everything in one place with all the extra features you may want.

If you want the most simple workflow with your WordPress site, then consider using Blubrry media hosting. This allows you to not only create your text in WordPress, but also upload your media directly through WordPress, manage your episodes, and even automatically add ID3 tags! Now, Libsyn also has a WordPress plugin that simplifies the workflow for using their feed with WordPress, but this is somewhat limited and can't be retroactive (as of today).

Extendability When your feed comes from your own platform, it’s also very easy to launch additional podcasts or offer additional feeds for the same podcast. Other hosts may provide these features, but usually at extra costs.

If you use your website to create your podcast feed, then you can use a single media hosting account, but use PowerPress to give you multiple podcast feeds. For example, you could have one account with LibSyn, but use PowerPress to create an audio edition and video edition of your podcast, each with their own RSS feeds.

Or you could use the same media hosting to power multiple podcasts, either coming from a single website or from multiple websites. You don’t easily get that kind of extendability with the feed coming from a media host. (Yes, you can sometimes generate additional category feeds, but then you have to use FeedBurner to adjust that feed for your needs.) AfterBuzz TV is a large TV-aftershow podcast network successfully generating hundreds of RSS feeds with PowerPress from their one site.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcast Awards daily voting starts on Sunday, May 29. Please vote for The Productive Woman, The Audacity to Podcast, ONCE – Once Upon a Time podcast, and our other podcast friends. Click here for more details and to get daily voting reminders. * Join me at Podcast Movement with promo code “society” to save $40!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

We return again to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see how the armor-plated seed planted in IRON MAN has blossomed into the sprawling new CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. We discuss how the newer movie carries its added weight, and compare how the two films - and their MCU brethren - handle matters of heroes, villains, and the Marvel House style. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-02:14 Main Discussion: 02:15-52:07 Your Next Picture Show: 52:08-1:01:36 -Scott: Paul Thomas Anderson's 35mm music video for Radiohead's "Daydreaming" -Genevieve: Tom King's comic series VISION -Keith: Whit Stillman's LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP -Tasha: Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR Next Show Announcement/Goodbyes: 1:01:37-1:04:52

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

RSS (“RDF Site Summary” or “Really Simple Syndication”) is the core to distributing your podcast. Here's why the RSS size matters, what affects the feed size, and how to reduce the size of your podcast RSS feed.

Why the size of the podcast RSS feed matters Most podcast apps (sometimes called a “podcatchers”) or RSS clients download an entire RSS feed every time they check for new items (blog posts, podcast episodes, etc.) from that feed. (A few apps, web directories, and browsers will read special server code that essentially tells the requesting client that nothing has changed since the last check and to not redownload the feed.)

Thus, the larger your feed, the more bandwidth is required every time the app checks for new content.

Feed size matters for mobile data usage For example, the Apple Podcasts app will automatically check feeds up to every hour. If the podcast feed is 1 MB, then that's 24 MB the app downloads per day and around 720 MB per month. And that's for only one podcast!

If a subscriber doesn't have their app set to limit refreshes or downloads when on cellular data, you could be causing unnecessary large data consumption for your subscribers.

Feed size matters for speed Small stuff downloads quickly; big stuff downloads slowly. This is also true for podcast RSS feeds. Keeping the size down makes it download faster and thus lets your audience get your latest episodes more quickly.

Yes, this may seem trivial when you have a high-speed data network on your phone, but that may not be the case for your worldwide audience.

Self-hosted feed size matters for your server If you host your RSS feed yourself (PowerPress, hand-coding, or another website plugin), then you must provide the bandwidth for delivering your full RSS feed to the majority of your audience.

For example, if your podcast feed is 1 MB and you have 200 subscribers, that means serving potentially 200 MB per hour or 4,800 MB (nearly 4.7 GB) per day—for only your RSS feed! That may be perfectly acceptable for your web server, but it's something to keep in mind.

Aside from the bandwidth requirements, an uncached feed on your server also means more queries required to build the dynamic RSS feed with every request. A single RSS feed could cause thousands of queries, which requires more resources from the server (RAM, CPU, and disk activity). Multiply these requests by how many other subscribers are making the same requests simultaneously, and you can imagine how easily a server can crash from exceeding its resources.

Read more about why your may want to host your own RSS feed and why you may not.

Some tools limit the size of your RSS feed FeedBurner and some other tools have explicit limits to the size of feeds they support. Currently, FeedBurner's limit for the source feed is 1 MB (up from 512 KB not long ago). If you use FeedBurner or other limited tools and your feed gets too big, your podcast might stop updating.

What affects the feed size The size of the RSS feed is based on how many characters are included in the feed itself. For example, “Los Angeles” requires more space than “LA” and long paragraphs require more space than a short sentence.

Also, RSS is made up of separate XML (“Extensible Markup Language”) tags, such as <description>, <itunes:images>, and such.

The size of images, videos, audio, and other linked assets don't matter, because the code in an RSS feed is only linking to those assets, not embedding them.

All of these pieces of data combine to make the RSS feed and each piece affects the overall size. Thus, the more an RSS feed holds, the larger it will be.

RSS feeds can be compressed with GZIP through a caching plugin or intelligent RSS tool. But the core idea of shrinking an RSS feed is in reducing the amount of data it contains.

5 ways to reduce the size of your RSS feed The following features may be limited based on the podcast-feed-creation tool you're using.

Enable GZIP compression If you use a third-party tool, such as Libsyn, to create your RSS feed, they probably already compress the feed to reduce its size.

If you're self-hosting your RSS feed, then set up a caching plugin for better performance and ensure it caches and compresses the feeds, too (and that it's compatible with PowerPress).

Use a podcast-only RSS feed If you blog on your WordPress website (which I do highly recommend) and use your site's default RSS feed (/feed), then blog posts and podcast episodes are being combined. That's fine for a the primary feed, but that's not what you should use for your podcast.

When your feed contains both blog posts and podcast episodes, two things happen.

Podcast apps or directories will usually read only the podcast episodes and skip the blog posts. Thus, you're wasting space in your podcast feed by including the blog posts.
Blog posts will bump out podcast episodes when you reach your feed item limit. For example, If you have 50 episodes and 50 separate blog posts with a feed limit of 50, you might see only 25 episodes in your podcast app.

For WordPress, the best way to get a podcast-only feed is to use PowerPress's default podcast channel feed (/feed/podcast). Using a category's RSS feed (/category-name/feed) can work, too, but it has never been the best idea (except in very rare cases). The PowerPress default channel feed will always contain only podcast episodes entered into the “Podcast Episode” widget of a post.

If you can't or don't want to use a PowerPress feed, consider using the RSS feed from your media host. The only hosts I currently trust for this are Libsyn and Blubrry. If you're using any other host, I suggest running the feed through FeedBurner (with all stats and features disabled).

Activate PowerPress's “Feed Episode Maximizer” If you use PowerPress to create your podcast's RSS feed, activate the Feed Episode Maximizer feature. This will reduce how much information is attached to episodes past your latest 10, and thus significantly reduce the size of your RSS feed.

Through PowerPress 6.3, Feed Episode Maximizer is available only on channel and post-type feeds. But later versions of PowerPress offer the feature on category and taxonomy feeds.

Switch the feed from full content to summaries Remember that every character in your RSS feed takes up extra space. So instead of publishing thorough show notes or a complete transcript in your RSS feed, consider reducing that to summaries.

If you use WordPress, go to Settings > Reading to switch “For each article in a feed, show” from “Full text” to “summary.” This will use the first 55 words of your blog post—or the full excerpt, if you enable and write that for each post—instead of the entire post.

The more text you write for your podcast, the more this will help. But it's also mostly irrelevant if you use PowerPress's Feed Episode Maximizer, since this will include the full text (if that's WordPress's setting on your site) only for the latest 10 episodes.

If you use a different tool for creating your podcast RSS feed, such as Libsyn's or Blubrry's media-hosting feed, then how much content you include is your decision, not a switch in the software.

Simplify formatting Rich-text-formatting (bold, italics, colors, size, hyperlinks, and more) may not appear to change the number of characters you see, but it adds HTML code to make those changes.

For example, compare these two pieces of text:

The Audacity to Podcast
The Audacity to Podcast

The code behind them looks like this:

The Audacity to Podcast
<a style="color: #003300;" href="https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/">The Audacity to Podcast</a>

This doesn't mean you should avoid rich text formatting, but I do recommend keeping things clean. Avoid changing colors because this adds extra code and it could make your text unreadable in some apps. Paste as plain text with Cmd-Shift-V (MacOS) or Ctrl-Shift-V (Windows, Linux), or use WordPress's “Paste as Text” toggle (buried in the “more options” toolbar of the post editor) if you're pasting from other programs and it will clean up the hidden code that is often included.

Reduce the post/episode limit Lastly is the most obvious, but my least recommended option. You could set a smaller limit to how many episodes your podcast RSS feed contains.

This will probably have the greatest impact on the size of your feed, because the individual items account for most of the data in your feed. For example, in a feed with 100 items, each episode will account for an average of 1% of the feed size. Thus, reducing the number of episodes by 50% will probably reduce your feed size by the same 50%.

However, I recommend this as your last choice, especially for timeless podcasts. Apple's podcast apps limit directory listings to the latest 300 episodes of a podcast. All those episodes contribute to the podcast's findability or search-engine optimization (SEO). Once subscribed, someone can access your archive beyond the latest 300 episodes, for as far back as your RSS feed goes.

Thus, adjusting the limit for your RSS feed has more of a personal impact than merely changing the size of your feed. It's ultimately your decision, but here's what I recommend you consider.

For timeless content—that is, stuff that people will still want years from now—I recommend setting the limit to 300. If you have more episodes than that, consider publishing Archive feeds in iTunes for your first 100–300 at a time, as John Lee Dumas does with Entrepreneur on Fire. Thus, each episode is still easily findable and consumable in iTunes.
For current-events content—that is, time-based stuff that won't matter much or at all years from now—I recommend a smaller limit, such as 50 for a weekly podcast (and thus the last year's worth of episodes). I wouldn't count TV-show-fan podcasts in this, because people might watch the TV shows years after they aired.
For podcasts that sell the back catalog, I recommend 3–10 episodes. That seems enough to get someone hooked and eager for more, while not giving them access to everything. But remember that fewer episodes means less SEO for your podcast.

If you use a PowerPress feed, you can adjust this episode limit in the PowerPress feed settings. If you use the default WordPress feed (which I don't recommend), adjust the limit in Settings > Reading. If you use a third-party tool to create your RSS feed, then look inside their settings (in Libsyn, Destinations > Libsyn Classic Feed > Advanced Options > Episode/Post Limit).

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * vivwill wrote in iTunes USA, “What I Like Most Is Daniel is so honest and earnest. It’s not a scam or a brag about how great he is ever. Some other podcasts feel always like mini-marketing ads for their owners. His doesn’t-it’s clearly his love and livelihood, but never spammy. It’s clear, and he really wants to help his listeners. …” See the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Watch Podcast Success Summit for free and learn from top podcasters! * Join me at Podcast Movement and save $40 with promo code “SOCIETY”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This week, The Next Picture Show is going full-on superhero. Inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe's latest offering, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, we look back at the movie that serves as the Big Bang for the MCU: 2008's IRON MAN. This half of the discussion focuses on how Jon Favreau's interpretation of Tony Stark's superhero transformation helped set the template for what became the biggest thing in modern blockbuster cinema, and how that vision holds up under the weight of what followed. Plus, we share some excellent feedback from the last episode about GREEN ROOM. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IRON MAN, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. Intro: 00:00-03:05 Keynote: 03:06-06:22 Main Discussion: 06:23-42:30 Feedback/Outro: 42:31-50:44

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

When changing directions in podcasting, should you rebrand your existing podcast and keep your audience, or launch a new podcast and start over from nothing?

This is a common question I've received and an issue I've seen other podcasters face. Just recently, Kala Williams, host of Marketing for Yoga & Wellness Professionals Podcast ask me this question on Twitter. Here are my recommendations.

Don't feel bad for changing directions It's totally acceptable if you're pursuing one thing and then realize something else is better. What I do think is an unwise choice is not putting your best effort into your choice, or holding to a commitment to press through the hard times.

For this discussion, let's consider that you know changing direction is the right thing for you to do.

Consider what is truly changing “Rebrand,” “relaunch,” and many other business and marketing terms can lose their meanings to us. Critically evaluate what it is you want to change, as this should guide your decision in rebranding versus launching a new show.

Here are some example questions you could ask yourself.

Am I changing what I talk about?
Am I changing how I describe my show?
Am I changing my perspective on the same topic?
Am I changing the audio or visual identity of my show?
Am I changing which people I want to reach?

Rebrand your existing podcast for the same topic and audience When you want to change something about your podcast but it doesn't change the core message, you should consider a rebrand.

Look at soda/pop/soft drinks (or whatever you call it in your region). Pepsi recently did a rebrand, but they didn't change their soda. Sometimes, they may slightly tweak their recipe, but it's essentially the same soda, intended for the same consumer, simply repackaged for whatever marketing reasons they have. Usually, it seems they rebrand to modernize themselves or to reach a new audience.

Why did your audience choose your show? Think about what attracted your audience to your podcast. That's usually connected to the expectations you set with the promises you made.

For example, The Audacity to Podcast has always been a podcast about podcasting. Yes, in the beginning I talked about Audacity a lot, and the name of my podcast was intentional for some double meaning. Since I launched the show in 2010, every episode has been focused on some aspect of podcasting: tools, resources, how-tos, philosophies, encouragement, and more (not only limited to the “tech” of podcasting). My visual branding and marketing have changed over the years and will change again in the future. But the core message is the same and it's intended for the same audience.

So if the changes you want to make aren't changing your core topic, the reasons people subscribe, or the promises you made, then you should consider a “rebrand.”

When you rebrand, you might change the visual design, the audio branding, the cohosts, the domain, or even the title. But the core of your podcast remains the same.

Warn about significant rebrands If you're going to make a big rebrand, such as radically redesigning, changing your audio branding, or changing your show's name, let your audience know ahead of time.

This will help prevent confusion and could enthuse your audience about the upcoming change.

Point old locations to the new one If your rebrand involves changing domains, social accounts, or other online “addresses,” try to redirect the old location to the new. This will help people transition as well as ensure no one gets left behind.

For example:

Place a permanent, 301 redirect on your old website address.
Place a permanent, 301 redirect on your old RSS feed, if the website redirect (or other tool) doesn't cover that.
Recreate your old social account to point people to your new account.
Monitor old email addresses and social accounts for people who haven't switched to your new brand.

Launch a new show When you want to radically change the content you show with your podcast, then you should consider launching a new show.

Let's reuse the soda example. If Pepsi wants to add vanilla to their core product (a brilliant idea!), they're creating a different product that will appeal to different people. Thus, Pepsi Vanilla was born (long live vanilla-flavored sodas!). It's a new flavor that deserves to exist next to their existing offerings.

Relate this with your show. If what you want to talk about is different from what you have already been discussing or is different from the promises you made to your audience, you should probably launch a new show that will appeal to different people.

For example, if I wanted to start talking more about Apple products in The Audacity to Podcast, and such discussions are not about podcasting. Then I'm already lying to you about what you can expect from my podcast. Instead, I might discover I have a passion for Apple products and launch a completely separate show for that topic and to appeal to a different audience.

Launching a new show means creating a new RSS feed, new podcast cover art, submitting a new show in iTunes, new ranking and reviews, and maybe even a new website (if the new show is not relevant to the existing audience).

Keep your old show If you decide to stop talking about your other content, I recommend you keep that old show separate and online. This means people will continue to find you through that old content, and will continue to benefit from the value you already put out.

Don't force your new show on your audience I think it's quite unethical if you change your existing show but keep the same RSS feed. Sure, this means your “new show” will carryover all of those subscribers. But you're stealing from yourself by forcing people to get content they may not want. A decision like this seems motivated by greed and laziness, not generosity.

Yes, starting a new show means starting with no audience. But think of the benefits! You can leverage your exist audience to make the launch of the new show even better. Because of your more advanced experience, the new show could greatly benefit from being featured as a new show (including in iTunes “New and Noteworthy”).

Sharp focus on new content With a new show dedicated to your new message, that show can focus on being optimized for that specific content. People can binge-consume your entire archive and receive entirely relevant content.

Your website, branding, episodes, reviews, and more will all be focused on the content of the new show. Thus, there will be no confusion, no deception, and no dashed hopes.

Rebrand and launch a new show for topic splits There may be those times where you drift from your promised content, or maybe you weren't clear on your content in the first place.

For example, I could start the Daniel J. Lewis show to talk about whatever I feel like. At some point, I may realize that I have a lot to say about the same couple topics. Thus, I may rebrand the Daniel J. Lewis show to better communicate what I primarily talk about in that show, and then I launch a new show to address the other recurring topic in a more focused way.

Then, the two shows can crosspromote each other.

This doesn't have to mean twice the work, either. It could be an equal split to run the two shows, but now each show is “niched down” and thus more valuable.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Listen to our previous Podcasters' Roundtable rounds: Podfading and What Could Podcasting Be Doing Better?

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Feeling frustrated or overwhelmed with your podcasting tasks? You may need to delegate in order to improve!

Delegation doesn't have to cost money. So get all the way to the end where I'll share some suggestions how where to find help.

Podcasting tasks to delegate The book that changed my business most in 2014 was Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business, by Chris Ducker. In it, he shared the three lists of tasks we should delegate.

Tasks you don't like doing
Tasks you can't do
Tasks you shouldn't do

These lists will likely be different for each podcaster. But I think the things we shouldn't be doing will be similar for all of us—anything that prevents us from making great content. Learn more about delegation and these three lists in Chris Ducker's interview by Erik Fisher on Beyond the To-Do List.

I encourage you to make your own three lists to discover what you should delegate. The following are my suggestions.

Post-production Editing is like a leech for many podcasters; it sucks the life out of the host. While there are many ways to speed up podcast editing, this may be the ideal task to delegate to someone else.

Even if you enjoy editing, consider how much better you could make your podcast if you didn't have to edit your episodes yourself.

Writing show notes Show notes are important for search (SEO), accessibility, and engagement. There are also many ways to speed up writing podcast show notes, but this may be something you need to delegate.

I like to write my own show notes for The Audacity to Podcast because it's a form or content-preparation and rehearsal for me. My Once Upon a Time podcast has cohosts with different perspectives and talking points. We collaborate on our notes, but then I have someone else writing our show notes while we're live-streaming. This speeds up the process because the show notes are often ready within a short time after we record the episode.

Writing show notes doesn't have to be an “all or nothing” approach. You may have your basic outline and then someone fills in the details. Or maybe your notes are done and you need someone else to add your multimedia, hyperlinks, and formatting.

Design Unless you're a professional designer, I highly recommend you get someone else to handle your visual branding. This could be one-time work, such as designing your website, podcast cover art, logo, cards, and such. Or, it could be recurring work, such as designing episode artwork, special promotional imagery, and social-network assets.

I'm already a professional designer, but I no longer offer design services to others. In fact, I'm even realizing I should delegate this so I can focus on what's more important.

Coding If you need something special done on your site, you could spend hours, days, weeks, or even months trying to figure it out yourself. Or, you could delegate this task to someone who can complete it in a small fraction of the time it would have taken you (and they'll most likely do a better job, too!).

Website management Content-management systems, like WordPress, give website-owners a lot of power over their own sites. But there may come a time when you need someone else's help to manage your own website. This could be small tasks such as updating plugins or publishing your content; or bigger tasks such as managing your metadata, keeping your server running, or finding the best solutions for your needs.

Marketing Podcasters are often horrible at marketing. Tweeting, “new episode now available,” isn't sufficient. You might need help in spreading your message across multiple platforms, optimizing your content for different outlets, scheduling your promotions, and more.

Moderation If you allow your audience to comment on your website, in a social community, or through direct email, you may need some help with moderation. A moderator can block the spam, keep the conversation going, sort feedback, and more.

When I started a forum for our Once Upon a Time podcast, it quickly became obvious that I would never have the time to moderate. I put out the request and found the most active participant who had valuable contributions, and they were thrilled to become a moderator (and now podcast cohost).

Alternative perspective You probably can't represent every opinion in your monologues. That's where a cohost can be a huge help. They could be present for your entire conversation, or perhaps only for a specific segment.

Podcasting tasks I think you shouldn't delegate Not everything about your podcast should be delegated. These are the two most important things I think you should handle yourself.

Content Preparing, rehearsing, and presenting the content is up to you—even if you are the interviewer! If it's your podcast, then it needs to be your authentic voice.

Others can help you with your content, but I think this should be your top priority to handle yourself.

Relationships As much as possible, you should be the one to create and nurture valuable relationships. You won't be able to engage with everyone, but you can try to do for a few what you wish you could do for many.

Where to find help Delegation doesn't have to cost a lot of money. In fact, there are many ways you could delegate for free!

Automation Look at your repetitive tasks and find ways to automate them. It may be to automate a schedule, automate a workflow, or automate certain content that you have created.

Your audience When you need a person's help, ask your audience, first. You may be amazed at the talent and eagerness represented in your own audience. Some of them may be professionals or highly skilled hobbyists.

Their payment may be the joy of supporting a show they love, gaining experience, being promoted in your show, getting special perks or gifts, or even earning money.

Podcasting communities When you need help related to your podcast, there are likely others in podcasting communities with the skills you need. When you post a request, be clear about your needs and what you're offering in return.

Referrals When you can't find anyone yourself, ask for referrals for someone who could help. You may be only a couple degrees of separation from exactly the help you need.

Schools Students are often looking for real experience and willing to work for whatever they can earn. Check your local high school, community college, or even university. Some states even have special internship programs that cost you nothing but provide the talent you need—some states even pay you for this!

Job sites If you're serious enough that you can afford to hire someone, use Upwork, Virtual Staff Finder, Fancy Hands, or another job site to hire a person or team to help you. Be as clear as possible on your needs, timeline, and expectations.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * 5 stars in iTunes USA by Cieloscent, host of Skincare Talk Radio, “Truly Helpful For The Newbie Podcaster! I truly enjoy listening to Daniel J Lewis! Easy to follow and a pleasant personality! I highly recommend listening! I am happy to share with my fellow Skincare Professionals! Thank you, Daniel! Bravo!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * I updated the Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress with new support for Google Play Music, Spotify, Periscope, Blab, Snapchat, and eight more networks!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business

View Details

In this half of our ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13/GREEN ROOM discussion, we bring Jeremy Saulnier's chill-inducing new thriller into the picture, and consider the many ways in which it reflects John Carpenter's earlier work. The two films have a lot to say about each other, particularly in their distinctive approaches to political statement and violence, and the way in which they both use callbacks to create a distinctive narrative. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ASSAULT, GREEN ROOM, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Effective podcasting can be hard work. When hard things come, you may feel like giving up. Here are the hardest things you may face, and some tips for overcoming them.

Starting Yes, starting is one of the hardest parts of podcasting. There are plenty of decisions to make about your technology. But as I show with The Audacity to Podcast, there's much more to discuss in podcasting than merely the tech. Nonetheless, the technology can be a hurdle for many people.

When you're starting out, get what will accomplish your basic needs and consider hiring someone to help with the rest. Don't obsess over your microphone, recorder, website design, and such. If you never start, your technology choices won't matter. If you need a starter microphone, get the ATR2100-USB (USA) or Samson Q2U (usually cheaper outside the USA). Microphone? Done. Move on.

The plan for your podcast is the more important hurdle you'll face when starting. What will you talk about? What's the purpose of your podcast? What helpful or entertaining value will you provide with your first episode? If you're going to obsess over anything, make it your content and goals—key parts of your plan!

My biggest two tips for starting a podcast are:

Don't strive for perfection; jump in!
Have a plan.

Negative feedback No matter how well you communicate or what you talk about, you'll receive negative feedback. The negative feedback usually affects us most. We could have a hundred pieces of positive feedback, but be tormented by the one piece of negative feedback.

Here's what I previously shared about dealing with negative feedback toward your podcast:

Don’t get depressed from negative feedback
Don’t feed the trolls
PAUSE
- Prepare (pray, get the facts, seek godly counsel, develop options)
- Affirm relationships (show genuine concern and respect for others)
- Understand interests (identify others’ concerns, desires, needs, limitations, or fears)
- Search for creative solutions (prayerful brainstorming)
- Evaluate options objectively and reasonably (evaluate, don’t argue)
Look for what you can learn and improve from criticism
Keep and revisit a “praise” folder of positive feedback
Remember your focus
Go uplift someone else
Respond respectfully
Remove the negative feedback if truly necessary
Or just ignore the negative feedback

Controversy Every podcast has the potential to hit controversial issues. It could be big issues—such as religion, politics, or morality—or smaller but passionately held opinions (for example, Playstation vs. Xbox, Android vs. iOS, or Windows vs. MacOS). No matter how “politically correct” you may try to be, you'll still offend someone on divisive issues.

There are times to avoid controversy and times to speak out. Here are my previous tips for addressing controversy in your podcast (remember “LAURA”):

Listen
Acknowledge
Understand
Respect
Accept

I have faced an extremely controversial issue in one of my other podcasts. The first time I faced it, I chose respectful silence and received a firestorm of hate. The second time, I chose to address it as respectfully and lovingly as I believed I could, but without compromising. Although I still receive hate for my position, I'm also receiving far more respect and even support.

This showed me that it was better for me to speak out and be hated or loved for being authentic, than remaining silent and confusing nearly everyone.

Whether you speak out or remain silent, you'll probably need the previous tips on dealing with negative feedback.

Continuing Sometimes, we can tire of the hard work it takes to make an effective podcast. For every podcast I've hosted, I have felt like quitting at some point and for various reasons.

Continuing means more hard work; it means something might have to change (either you or the situation); it means something might not be working; it means something might not be meeting your expectations.

But if we stop whenever something gets hard, we would never grow stronger! I believe this applies to every area of life! Looking at my own still-young marriage, there was the “honeymoon phase,” then the tough years. But if I had given up then, I would never have gotten to enjoy the stronger, beautiful years now.

The struggle in continuing could come from confrontation (even outside your podcast), burnout, complications, and more.

Listen to these three episodes (or read the show notes) for inspiration to keep going:

5 steps to an UNSTOPPABLE vision for your blog or podcast
How to prevent podfading and podcasting burnout
7 ways to make podcasting fun
7 free and easy ways to give your podcast new life
5 reasons your podcast audience isn’t growing

Improving It's easy to fall into a pattern of doing the same thing over and over. Sometimes, we even expect different results!

I think we should always be improving everything we do. Yes, there are the times of “rest.” But if we rest too long, we'll grow stagnate.

I talk frequently about the five cornerstones of a podcast:

Content—the message you share
Presentation—how you communicate your message
Production—the technical quality of your presentation (everywhere!)
Promotion—how you grow your audience and promote calls to action within your podcast
Profit—what you want to gain, why you're podcasting, and what you want your audience to gain

Improving is the main focus of Podcasters' Society. Whether you're a hobbyist or a professional, I want to help you improve what you do and increase the “profit” of your podcast.

Instead of changing things merely for the sake of changing, look first at what seems to not be working well in your podcast cornerstones.

Maybe your content isn't very good and you need to improve the message you share.

Maybe your chosen presentation method isn't working for your content and you need to change formats, lengths, or something else.

Maybe you need to upgrade your podcasting tools to get better production.

Maybe you need to learn effective and ethical marketing techniques to improve your promotion.

Maybe you need to refocus on your goals and build your podcast around a plan to reach your goals in order to give or receive profit.

No matter how good we are, there's always room for improvement!

Ending Closing your podcast could be hard for many reasons—even the emotional attachment you may have despite your desire to quit.

If you run out of content or passion, your podcast may become a zombie—not alive, not dead, but “undead.” I hear some podcasters reach this point, and that's when they start to podfade.

It's hard to say goodbye, to end something you have invested your time, passion, money and more into. Listen to “When and How Should You End a Podcast?” for some ideas.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * 5 stars in iTunes USA by Dbensonnj: “Professional informative. I found you through the great Ray Ortega at the podcasters studio. I am glad you guys are so caring of the community that you cross share your expertise! Daniel is an intelligent kind teacher who makes learning a snap! Excellent professional production and detailed notes on website and itunes show notes. Thank you so much for assisting me on my journey!” * 5 stars in iTunes USA by Mike Mahoney (“Wordsmif”), from Orange County Copywriters: “Extremely well done! Polished, professional, informative! … I've been searching high and low for a truly valuable, informative, no-nonsense podcasting resource, and have finally found it with The Audacity to Podcast. I listened to my first episode recently and felt like I was getting a one-to-one consultation. In fact, every episode has felt that way. I appreciate the excellent production quality and the fact that there are no ums, uhs, or rambling grabs at expressing your thoughts. I'm a veteran business communicator, whose goals include developing my own series, and use what I learn to monetize the knowledge through workshops or consulting. I'm a long way from part 2 but feel so much closer after discovering TAP!! Thanks for all that you're doing and keep up the outstanding work!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * I'm back from speaking at Social Media Marketing World and recording interviews at NAB Show. I came back with a new mic (Electro-Voice RE320) and seven videos I'll be publishing soon on my video podcast in iTunes and on my YouTube channel. * Google Play Music Podcasts finally launched,

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

As John Carpenter fans, we were excited to see director Jeremy Saulnier citing Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 as a specific influence on his excellent new film GREEN ROOM. Watching the two movies together, it’s hard to miss the connections: Both feature an outnumbered and outgunned group of people barricaded in a small, remote space, figuring out how to either hold off waves of merciless attackers, or make a break for it through enemy lines. In this Carpenter-focused half of this week's discussion, we’ll talk about the roots of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, what it says about its era, and how it reflects some of John Carpenter’s most recognizable signatures as a director. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about ASSAULT, GREEN ROOM, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Don't wait for your friends, family, and people you meet to discover podcasts on their own! Here are six tips to get more people listening to podcasts.

Explain podcasts (not podcasting) People can't adopt things they don't understand. Most of us were consuming podcasts before we started podcasting ourselves. We are now the best ambassadors of podcasts!

When explaining podcasts, focus on the benefits and avoid the technical jargon. At the same time, I highly recommend sticking with the industry-standard name, “podcast.” Feel free to use my own explanation:

A podcast is like an on-demand radio or TV show, but you can download every episode automatically through the Internet by subscribing for free with an app on your computer or smartphone. There are audio or video podcasts about almost any topic you like, and the engaging conversations are hosted by people like you and me. [In fact, I host my podcast talking about ____, and I have a loyal audience from around the world.]

Understanding a podcast is big enough for most people, so you should probably avoid explaining podcasting, which is the act of creating podcasts.

Help people find a podcast they'll like I know your first thought may be to promote your own podcast, but I suggest doing that only when your show is truly relevant to the other person. Instead, ask them about their interests. For example:
Hobbies
Job
Favorite TV shows
Aspirations

Then, use your smartphone or maybe even theirs, to show how to search for, subscribe to, and consume a podcast they would like. As much as you may be a loyal user of a particular podcast app, it would probably be best to recommend the app they may have preinstalled (such as the Apple Podcasts app) or suggest a free app (such as Stitcher) if they don't already have one.

Promote your show with “visit website; press play” When it's appropriate to promote your own show, the best and easiest thing to do is point someone to your website where they can press play to hear your latest episode.

If your website isn't as easy as “visit website; press play,” then you need to improve the design and podcast player.

This is far better than telling someone to search for your podcast in an app they may have never used. Plus, you don't have to rely on your own podcast search-engine optimization (SEO).

Teach how to subscribe on your site Your podcast may be in a popular niche where people aren't familiar with subscribing to podcasts. First, you should go back to tip #1 and explain what a podcast is and how it benefits the visitor.

The next step is to explain how someone can subscribe to your podcast. Dave Jackson made a great tutorial for the Apple Podcasts app at LearntoSubscribe.com. You could send your audience there, or make your own written or recorded description on your site.

A “subscribe” or “how to subscribe” page on your site would also be a great place to recommend free or premium podcast apps you like, and include those extra subscription icons for the other apps. (Social Subscribe & Follow Icons is a great WordPress plugin for that.)

Remember that even though you are telling how to subscribe to your podcast, you're also giving your visitors the knowledge to subscribe to other podcasts!

Include the top subscription links throughout your site Ensure your podcast website has the most popular subscription links prominently displayed. These must be on your homepage, but the would also be great to have on all your content pages.

Here are top subscription links to include, in my suggested order of priority.

iTunes / Apple Podcasts—This represents about 70% of podcast consumption
Google Play Music Podcasts—The easiest option for updated Android devices
SubscribeonAndroid.com—This is the best fallback and one-click subscription option that supports many podcast apps on Android
Stitcher—This is available on every major platform and boasts a huge catalog
RSS—The easy fallback for all other options
Email—Either an email newsletter (such as with MailChimp or Aweber) or using SubscribeByEmail.com

You may a dozen or more other podcast links (TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Miro, Overcast, etc.), but those are best saved for your “subscribe” page.

I created my WordPress plugin, Social Subscribe & Follow Icons, to make these simple and scalable links easy to add and customize. But you can often get official button code from each service provider.

Celebrate International Podcast Day™ I recommend doing all these things to promote podcasts throughout the year, with anyone interested. But we also have September 30 as International Podcast Day to celebrate podcasts and further the conversation! The International Podcast Day website offers plenty of ideas for celebrating and telling the world about podcasts. (I'm one of the founders and organizers, so you'll see me doing a lot on that day!)

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * emckillen wrote in the iTunes Canada store, “Real, helpful, human: Launching my own podcast. Have been following similar podcasts and blogs and have read 3 books on podcasting, but this is the best source I've come across. Praise, praise, praise.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Subscribe to my video channel on YouTube and on iTunes for my videos from NAB Show! * My recent appearances: Win's Women of Wisdom with Win Kelly Charles, talking about podcast marketing; and Creative Studio Academy with Joshua Rivers, talking about narrative podcasting (this is the start of a series about narrative podcasting)

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet44Share22Share5Pin576 Shares

View Details

Our CLOSE ENCOUNTERS/MIDNIGHT SPECIAL discussion turns toward the newer film, and the ways it reflects its Spielbergian inspiration – and the many more ways it diverts from the earlier film. We'll talk over how the two films explore spirituality and mystery, and the similar ways they utilize child actors. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

If you're launching or running a WordPress website for your podcast, these WordPress themes will help your podcast's branding, engagement, and make things easier for you and your audience.

All of these themes look great on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. They do cost, but they are worthy investments in your podcast.

Any WordPress theme can be a podcast theme Before I get into my recommendations, you need to know that your WordPress theme doesn't have to be designed specifically for podcasting. All it takes to turn a WordPress theme into a “podcast theme” is a podcast player, which you can get in PowerPress, Simple Podcast Press, Smart Podcast Player, or Cool Cast Player (new in 2016). It's also good to add iTunes, RSS, Stitcher, and Android subscription links, which some themes include, or you can add yourself with my own plugin Social Subscribe & Follow Icons.

Those two features (podcast player and subscription links) can be integrated onto almost any WordPress theme by using plugins. Then, you turn your WordPress website into a podcast website.

Now that you know that, here are my best WordPress themes for podcasters.

NEW ADDITION: SecondLine Themes designed for Podcasting In place of Appendipity for my recommendations, I've been impressed with SecondLine Themes. They specialize in making clean, modern WordPress themes designed specifically for podcasting! They have built-in support for PowerPress and other podcast players.

SecondLine Themes also don't require an additional framework purchase like Appendipity did.

StudioPress for simple beauty and developer extensibility Rainmaker Digital (formerly Copyblogger) makes beautifully designed themes through StudioPress. Not only do they make Genesis Framework, which has enabled many great child themes (including Appendipity), but they also create their own beautiful child themes.

The StudioPress themes are truly beautiful and I have used many on my own websites.

Some of the StudioPress themes require some basic HTML in widgets, but they provide thorough documentation and code examples that are easy to adjust to your needs.

What attracted me first to StudioPress was their wonderful framework, which allows for plenty of extensibility through custom coding. The Audacity to Podcast, My Podcast Reviews, Podcast Places, Podcasters' Society, and all of the Noodle Mix Network sites are using or have used StudioPress themes at their core, and I've been able to enhance the sites with some extra PHP.

Without knowing HTML, CSS, and PHP, you won't get a lot of customization on these themes, but every theme they offer is clean and beautiful as it is.

The StudioPress themes focus on being great themes, so most of the extra functionality you may want will require additional plugins.

Similar to Appendipity themes, all StudioPress themes are available for individual purchase, or you can join the Pro Plus Package membership (recurring fee) for access to all their themes and those from select third-party developers.

Browse and buy WordPress themes from StudioPress.

Elegant Themes for easy, beautiful customization Maybe you want a theme that is beautiful right away, but that also gives you plenty of customization for content and basic site design—without knowing any web coding! Then check out Elegant Themes for truly elegant WordPress designs!

The two best themes from Elegant Themes are currently Divi and Extra. They both have the wonderfully easy Divi Builder built in, which allows you to create beautiful page layouts with a simple drag-and-drop interface. (Divi Builder is also available as a separate plugin to integrate with any other theme, but you get the most wonderful control if you use the Divi or Extra themes.)

Divi and Extra (and the Divi Builder) offer a wide selection of modules for making beautiful and engaging websites and without your knowing HTML, CSS, Javascript, or PHP. But if you want to tweak the design, these themes and the Divi Builder give easy access to each module's CSS for adding your own customization.

Elegant Themes offers access to their themes, plugins, and updates via a recurring membership. But they also offer a reasonably priced lifetime membership plan where you pay once and get access to everything for life.

Browse and buy WordPress themes and plugins from Elegant Themes.

Themify for total control and front-end design In my exhaustive (and exhausting) search for great WordPress themes for my own future needs, I discovered Themify.

Similar to Elegant Themes, Themify offers WordPress themes, premium plugins, and their own drag-and-drop page builder plugin. Their themes are also beautiful and highly flexible.

Every theme from Themify includes the powerful Themify Builder. Like the Divi Builder, Themify Builder gives you plenty of modules for making beautiful and engaging websites without your knowing HTML, CSS, Javascript, or PHP. But what you will probably love more is that you can customize these things on the front-end of your website! That means you can be looking at your page, click a menu, and then edit the page's modules and design in a “what you see is what you get” view of your page! No more jumping between multiple tabs or waiting for a preview page to reload!

If you're a developer, Themify also offers super-easy hooks for further customizing your design.

Themify Builder offers the most customization of all the themes I've tested. They even offer a free Themify Flow theme for full control of your website layout templates!

Of all these great themes I've mentioned, I chose Themify for my upcoming redesign and new podcasting resources in development.

Browse and buy WordPress themes and plugins from Themify.

The best WordPress theme for your podcast If your podcast website is not as easy as “visit website; press play,” then you may need to consider a new theme (or plugins). Focus on getting a theme that means your most top podcasting needs and then allows you to focus on your most important task: creating great content.

Look at these themes features and demos. Each provider includes a money-back guarantee. But don't obsess over your WordPress theme unless you have extra time. If you decide you would be best served by a custom theme or a professional designer or developer to tweak things for you, please email me and I'll refer you to someone I trust.

Listen to these past episodes for some more tips and ideas.

6 Needs for a Podcast's Website Design or WordPress Theme
5 Ways to Optimize Your Podcast Website
14 Features Your Podcast Website Needs

Never let your theme get in the way of your main thing.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Chris Nesi, host of House of #EdTech Podcast, said “Be Audacious and LISTEN: Daniel has been knocking it out the park from day 1! The content is fluid and Daniel has shown growth and gained insight as he’s continued to produce this high quality podcast about podcasting. Thanks to Daniel and his content I’ve been able to successfully launch my own podcast and I’ve now been podcasting for over two years. Stop reading this and click subscribe already :-)”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My speaking schedule: Social Media Marketing World in April, Podcast Success Summit in May, and Podcast Movement in July (use promo code “SOCIETY” to save $40 on Podcast Movement) * Watch my “Cheap Sound Treatment Tests in a Commercial Office” video to see some of my new office and my ugly attempts to reduce reverb.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet21Share38SharePin1170 Shares

View Details

Director Jeff Nichols cited the 1977 Steven Spielberg classic CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND as one of his primary inspirations for the new MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. But while the two films work toward a similar ending, they don't necessarily work toward the same ends. In this half, we dig into the wonders and optimism of CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, and the many ways in which the film reflects both its director and its era. Plus, we share some of the great feedback we received from our PSYCHO/10 CLOVERFIELD LANE episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasters often ask for ratings and reviews, and I created My Podcast Reviews to get all your reviews and more. But do ratings and reviews actually matter? Here are 7 ways ratings and reviews are important for your podcast's growth and success.

Before I tell you what good ratings and reviews are, here's some information for how to get more reviews:

Learn how to get more podcast reviews!

Podcast ratings and reviews are NOT for Apple Podcasts rankings Podcast ratings and reviews are NOT for @ApplePodcasts rankingsClick To Tweet There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about how Apple Podcasts rankings work (and even what they are!). One of these biggest is the power of ratings and reviews.

You'll hear many podcasting marketeers pressure push for podcast reviews during launch or throughout your podcast. Usually they imply or explicitly say that ratings and reviews help your podcast “climb the charts.”

But that's not true.

First, Apple Podcasts' “New and Noteworthy” is not a ranking system. Most of the podcasts that are featured on the front page are hand-picked by the Apple Podcasts Podcasts team. You'll often see podcasts in there with few or no ratings and reviews.

Second, the true rankings in Apple Podcasts (the “Top Podcasts” lists) have been tested and confirmed by Rob Walch to be based almost entirely on subscriptions with a weighted average on the most recent days. Thus, to rank well for a short time, you must get a lot of new subscribers within a short period of time. To maintain that position, you must have a large number of subscriptions over the lifetime of your podcast.

Ratings and reviews appear to have nothing to do with your podcast's true ranking. After all, when would someone review a podcast without being subscribed (unless it's a shady review exchange)? Like a “bestsellers” list, doesn't it make sense for rankings to be based on actual consumption, and not merely reviews?

Yes, ratings and reviews may help Apple notice your podcast more, but this is most likely cross-compared with your actual audience growth (subscriptions, plays, and downloads).

Now that you know what ratings and reviews are not, I'll tell you what they are.

Podcast ratings and reviews are social proof Podcast ratings and reviews are social proofClick To Tweet While ratings and reviews don't help your podcast rank better, it's possible for them to contribute to your podcast's success by boosting your “social proof.” This is a psychological effect that can influence decisions. Think of it this way. If you see two restaurants next to each other, but one is crowded with a long line to get in but the other is almost empty. What are your impressions of these two restaurants?

For most people, the “social proof” of the crowd influences more positive opinions about the place with more activity. This is especially true when someone is unsure of a choice; they will usually conform to what they see others doing.

It's the same for podcasts. When there are two podcasts about the same subject, the higher number and score of the ratings and reviews will highly influence that person's decision.

Thus, the power of ratings and reviews can increase exponentially and help you to get a larger audience, simply because potential subscribers see who the larger crowd is following.

Podcast ratings and reviews are public testimonials Podcast ratings and reviews are public testimonialsClick To Tweet Look past the raw number of ratings and reviews and read the content (the reviews). These can be powerful testimonials of how your podcast has positively affected others.

Like any testimonials, the written reviews are great for quoting and displaying so others can read them. This goes beyond the basic influence of “social proof” and starts giving more personable influence.

People relate with people, not rankings or ratings. A testimonial is one person telling another why they should subscribe to your podcast.

So when you receive great reviews, showcase them! They may even work for promoting your business, too!

Podcast ratings and reviews allow other people to praise you Podcast ratings and reviews allow other people to praise youClick To Tweet We often form a bad opinion of others when we see them bragging.

Consider, for example, if I said this of my own podcast.

I share my vast knowledge of podcasting freely because I truly want you to succeed. You will be impressed with everything I offer.

That seems quite arrogant, doesn't it? But how about this actual review I based that on?

Daniel is a down to earth real guy with a love for helping people. He shares his vast knowledge of podcasting freely because he truly wants other podcasters to succeed. I was so impressed with everything that he offers that I joined his Podcasters’ Society and I couldn’t be happier with the decision.

—Mark Des Cotes [via My Podcast Reviews]

When someone else says nice things about me, I no longer seem arrogant.

I like the way King Solomon of Israel said it, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2, ESV).

Podcast ratings and reviews engage your audience Podcast ratings and reviews engage your audienceClick To Tweet You may have podcast subscribers who never send you feedback because they think they have nothing to add to the conversation. But writing a review for your podcast is a way to get them engaged.

When you publicly praise something, it's a simple step that gets you more connected and even more loyal. When your audience takes a simple action like rating and reviewing your podcast, they become more invested and will be more likely to take further actions when you ask.

If you read all your global podcast reviews in your podcast, it also validates your audience.

Podcast ratings and reviews highlight your strengths Podcast ratings and reviews highlight your strengthsClick To Tweet My Podcast Reviews is now tracking more than 80,000 international podcast reviews for more than 1,100 podcasters. In all that data, we see an overwhelming 93% of reviews include a 5-star rating! Add the 4-star reviews to that, and that totals a 96.8% average positive ranking. That's a lot of good reviews!

Quality podcast reviews (those from your actual audience, not from shady review-exchanges) will often highlight something the subscriber particularly likes about your podcast. This not only tells you what you're doing well, but it can also help you know what you should do more.

Podcast ratings and reviews reveal your weaknesses Podcast ratings and reviews reveal your weaknessesClick To Tweet Not all ratings and reviews are positive. Looking back at the data My Podcast Reviews has from over 1,200 podcasts, 2.1% are “negative” 1- and 2-star reviews. Although someone can leave a star-rating without writing a review, every review must include a star rating. Thus, the negative reviews are usually from those who cared enough to take the time to explain why they don't like the podcast.

It might be a little painful, but you can learn a lot from negative reviews. It's especially helpful when you can see a pattern in the negativity. This doesn't mean you must change something, but it can help you know where you need to improve or what you might want to avoid.

For example, when I filter the reviews for The Audacity to Podcast to only those with 3 stars and below (you can do this kind of filtering and sorting with a premium My Podcast Reviews account), I see a small pattern about some audio quality issues and promotion techniques. Since then, I've addressed those and changed how I do some things.

So when a review reveals a weakness, you can then know to either fix, avoid, or ignore that issue and your show could improve while remaining authentic.

Want more reviews? Now that you know the true value in podcast reviews, you probably would like to know how to get more. The best two tips are:

Make it easy for your audience.
Thank your existing reviewers by name with excerpts of their reviews in your podcast.

More more tips, get this email series from My Podcast Reviews.

Click here to learn 7 ways to get more podcast reviews!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My speaking schedule: Social Media Marketing World in April, Podcast Success Summit in May, and Podcast Movement in July (use promo code “SOCIETY” to save $40 on Podcast Movement) * Recently appeared on Podcasters' Roundtable talking about show prep, and Over the Edge with Josiah Loye talking about turning a podcast into a business.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet38Share42Share1Pin485 Shares

View Details

Our PSYCHO/10 CLOVERFIELD LANE discussion brings the newer film into the picture, grappling with how the Dan Trachtenberg-directed/JJ Abrams-produced psuedo-sequel echoes Hitchcock's film both deliberately and accidentally. We'll talk over how the two films approach fear the the unknown, highlight their unusual sound design and marketing, and determine whether 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE falls into the grand tradition of "the gearshift movie." Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PYCHO, 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Throughout this episode, I'll liken podcasting to piano performance. (The Real Brian would be proud!)

Prepare As the proverb goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” My worst episodes have always been when I didn't spend enough time preparing.

Don't only prepare what you want to say, but how you want to say it and how you want to transition between things. This will significantly reduce how much you'll have to fix and speed up your podcast-editing.

You don't have to script your podcast. But I have found that “scripting” is a great way to prepare the content and presentation, even if I don't read from that script.

(Here's the iPad teleprompter and PromptSmart Pro app I use for my video shoots.)

This is like learning the music a pianist is going to perform. They don't have it perfect, yet, but they're still preparing the finer details.

For fewer podcasting mistakes, prepare more!Click To Tweet 2. Practice After you have prepared the “what” and “how” of your communication, practice it!

There have been several times I threw away an episode I had just recorded because I thought I didn't communicate well. Then, when I rerecorded it, the episode was far better. Why? Because that first recording was essentially a “dress rehearsal.”

But you don't have to practice an entire episode. Sometimes, concert pianists will practice only small sections over and over until they play it perfectly every time.

Practicing doesn't even have to be out loud. You might simple review your notes and remind yourself how you'll be transitioning or specific things you want to say.

Slow down There's nothing wrong with going fast. But as with driving, it's easier to crash when you're going faster. Sometimes, you may simply need to slow down so you don't stumble over your words or start adding filler words.

If necessary, pause completely. It's far easier to edit out long silences (or short, if you used your recorder's pausing feature) than to edit out bad content.

Slowing down isn't only for your presentation. You may also need to slow down with everything else around your podcast.

Are you rushing your preparation? Are you in too much of a hurry to publish an episode that you forget important things?

There are times to be fast and times to be slow. Like the performing pianist, you may simply need to slow down on the difficult parts.

Review Reviewing is something you can do both before and after you record your episodes. Reviewing beforehand is a form of practice. Reviewing afterward is a form of quality control.

I'm not necessarily recommending that you relisten or rewatch your complete episode looking for things that need to be fixed. But reviewing can be a good way of finding those big distractions or things you might have forgotten to edit because you were so focused on the smaller details.

Reviewing could take only a few minutes to jump around to particular spots or double- and triple-check the common areas where you struggle.

Overcast is a my favorite podcast app for iOS. If you support the app as a patron, then you can unlock an “uploads” feature. This is perfect for listening to your draft MP3 through your podcast app.

Fix as appropriate Sometimes, a mistake makes it way through and you have a few choices. You could either continue without acknowledging the mistake, like a good piano performer would do. Or, you could correct the mistake in the moment, like a communicator should usually do. Or, you could takedown the mistake altogether (and perhaps force a redownload of the fixed version).

Listen to “How to Fix a Podcast Mistake” for some practical and technical tips on what to do when something goes wrong with your podcast.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * cardosofill from Ireland said, “You should listen! If you intend to start or improve your podcast, TAP is one of the greatest. You can see Daniel puts a great effort into teaching you every aspect of podcasting.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My speaking schedule: Social Media Marketing World in April, Podcast Success Summit in May, and Podcast Movement in July (use promo code “SOCIETY” to save $40 on Podcast Movement) * Recently appeared on Podcasters' Roundtable talking about podcasting hacks

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet33Share24Share1Pin3K3K Shares

View Details

Two women skip town in a hurry and find themselves in an isolated place, overseen by a gentle-toned but temperamental host: You might think us mad to compare PSYCHO and 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, but we all go a little mad sometimes. There's more than just the setup connecting these two films, though. In this half of the discussion, we dig deep into Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror-suspense classic, getting into its legacy, style, and psychology, and how all three affect a modern viewing of the film. Plus, we wrestle with some of the feedback we got for our contentious MASH episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about PSYCHO, 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Nearly every podcaster wants a bigger audience. Simply promoting your podcast isn't good enough, you need to actually grow your audience. These five methods will give you the best podcasting growth!

Make a great show Don't miss this! No method of marketing, advertising, or promotion will be effective if your show is horrible.

You don't have to have a professional background to make a great show. The two most important cornerstones of a great podcast are:

Great content that is helpful, entertaining, relevant, and compelling—as Dave Jackson says, “Make your audience laugh, cry, think, or groan”
Dynamic presentation that is personable, authoritative, and communicates clearly

Production, promotion, and profit matter, too. But the content and presentation will always be the most important.

Before you invest in other ways to grow your audience, ensure you have something worth promoting! Otherwise, you'll waste your time promoting garbage.

Make your podcast worth promoting.Click To Tweet 2. Leverage your relationships and influence I'm surprised how many business podcasters I talk to who have large email lists, but have used that list only once (if at all) to promote their podcast.

Your “vertical influence”—email subscribers and social-network followers—may not be subscribed to your podcast yet! Don't spam them, but certainly create a strategy for regularly promoting your podcast to the relationships you already have and people you already influence.

Look, also, at your “horizontal relationships”—your peers. There are probably ways you can work together for mutual benefit, such as appearing on each other's shows.

As my friend Joel Boggess said, “Podcasting is the new networking.”

Get others talking about your show “Word of mouth” is a powerful marketing tool. Some says it's even the most powerful method of marketing.

Make your podcast so good that others want to talk about it! They'll tell their friends, family, and coworkers. Equip your audience to become your ambassadors. This is as simple as asking your audience to share your show, but also making it easier with friendly links and sharing tools.

Equip your audience to become your ambassadors.Click To Tweet It also helps to catch the attention of other influencers—based on their relevance and value, not their size. Always start with a relationship, even if that means building it while you go.

Invest where your ideal audience is Merely going where your potential audience gathers is not enough. Your presence is probably not so amazing that you'll instantly attract subscribers. You need to invest.

Investing requires an exchange of value. Give value before you try to get an audience. Start or join conversations. Participate as a peer. When appropriate and relevant, you may have the opportunity to link back to your podcast. If you do so after you have invested, then the returns will be much greater!

Also consider investing in advertising to your target audience when you're unable to participate. Paid advertising can often targeted to the exact type of people you want, and thus it can be highly profitable for your goals.

Be noteworthy No, I didn't say, “Get in ‘New and Noteworthy.'” That's one of the most misused and overhyped parts of podcasting marketing! In fact, much of what people say about “New and Noteworthy” is false! For example, there is no true “#1” in “New and Noteworthy”!

Instead of putting all your hope in some mythical magic, try to be noteworthy. I love what John Lee Dumas often says, “If you want to be, do.”

If you want to be noteworthy, then do something noteworthy. Don't wait to get lucky—make your own luck!

If you want to BE noteworthy, then DO something noteworthy.Click To Tweet True growth is a slow process

You will not be a big hit right away. You will not get rich quick. You are not so special that everyone else will instantly pay attention. No one cares about you. At least not yet. Get used to it.

You know those overnight-success stories you’ve heard about? It’s not the whole story. Dig deeper and you’ll usually find people who have busted … for years to get into a position where things could take off. And on the rare occasion that instant success does come along, it usually doesn’t last—there’s no foundation there to support it.

Trade the dream of overnight success for slow, measured growth. It’s hard, but you have to be patient. You have to grind it out. You have to do it for a long time before the right people notice.

—Jason Fried, Rework (also on Audible)

That “massive” success was built convert by convert. …

So stop thinking that you can’t get there because you don’t have a huge audience already. Start building that audience today. Start getting people interested in what you have to say. Then in a few years time you’ll get to chuckle about your overnight success as well.

—David Heinemeier Hansson, “Overnight success takes years“

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * My speaking schedule: Social Media Marketing World in April, Podcast Success Summit in May, and Podcast Movement in July (use promo code “SOCIETY” to save $40 on Podcast Movement) * Recent appearances: on Carey Green's Podcastification talking about hosting multiple podcasts at once; and on Jaime Jay's Stop Riding the Pine talking about podcasting for money, competition, and becoming amazing

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet38Share102Share1Pin2K2K Shares

View Details

Our MASH - WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT discussion digs deeper into the two films' many contrasts, finding unexpected connections in the films' depictions of the military, women, and downtime. We also get into the two films' very different strains of black humor. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MASH, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Attention. Attention: This week’s movie pairing looks at the communities that spring up in the middle of war, and the odd ways people try to push back against the insanity that surrounds them. Inspired by the new Tina Fey wartime dramedy WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, we look back at Robert Altman's 1970 breakthrough MASH to see how the lives of those at war – and the visions of those depicting it – have changed in the years between Korea and Afghanistan. Fittingly, this turns out to be our most contentious selection ever. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MASH, WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcasters often focus on increasing downloads for better stats. These tongue-in-cheek ways will boost your podcast download but not grow your audience.

To be clear, do not do these things!

Change each episode's GUID in your RSS feed The globally unique identifier (GUID) is what distinguishes each item in your RSS feed. This unique ID, which could be any text (URL, a word, random characters, a post ID number, etc.), doesn't change even when you change everything else about the post (URL, title, podcast episode, etc.).

If you change the GUID for an already published episode, RSS readers and podcast apps will think it's a new episode in your feed and redownload.

This is what I accidentally did on March 11, 2015. I messed with my website database to change all HTTP links to HTTPS to make TheAudacitytoPodcast.com a secure browsing experience. I wanted all the links changed so you wouldn't see mixed-content warnings, which is what happens when a secure website (HTTPS) loads insecure (HTTP) stuff. My GUIDs were based on URLs. So when I did a “find and replace” on the database, all of my GUIDs changed, too. Thus, your podcast app would think all 259 previous episodes of my podcast were brand new.

I tried to fix this as soon as I realized what I did, but I was too late for many of my subscribers. I'm very sorry about that inconvenience. It probably took extra bandwidth and storage on your mobile device.

But how about those daily download stats, huh?

Why you shouldn't do this As tempting as the download spike looks, this resulted in absolutely no increase in my actual audience. While this may encourage existing subscribers to consume old episodes, this more likely frustrated the audience I worked so hard to build!

Tweet several times per hour with shortened direct links to your media files In 2014, a marketing trick emerged that became known as “Twitter-bombing.” This involved one or multiple tactics:
Tweet dozens or hundreds of times per hour.
Include direct links to the podcast media files (often pre-shortened with Bitly or other URL-shorteners).
Tweet from several accounts.

Podcaster and podcast-producer Bryan Orr critically tested Twitter-bombing himself and saw amazing results.

Why you shouldn't do this Sharing your podcast, even a direct media URL, on social networks is a good idea! It can certainly help you reach a new audience or remind your existing audience about recent or past episodes.

But what isn't good is spamming Twitter with links designed to result in automatic plays. The test above proves that Twitter-bombing worked. But shortly after Bryan's experiment, he was back to normal download numbers. There was no significant increase in human audience!

Set embedded players to auto-play or buffer “Auto-play” is when you visit a page and audio or video starts to play automatically. For example, YouTube and Pandora automatically start playback as soon as the webpage loads.

Some embeddable podcast players give the option to make the media start playing automatically when someone visits the webpage. Put this on your homepage or every page of your site and every visitor counts to as a new download!

Some podcast players or web browsers will also buffer the first 200 KB or so of linked media. You may not be able to prevent this from happening in certain, but you can choose a player or embedding method that causes the automatic buffer. (Good stats, such as from Blubrry or Libsyn, filter out such buffered downloads.)

Why you shouldn't do this This is essentially spamming your audience. Auto-play forces your visitor to start downloading content they may not even want, and they may not even stick around to hear or view more.

There are a few good places for auto-play, such as a live page and other places your audience is expecting playback to start upon visiting the site.

Publish more episodes Easily double your “downloads per month,” by simply doubling how many podcast episodes you publish each month! This will cause your subscribers to download twice as much as before, and your stats will double!

Look at what happens with my Once Upon a Time podcast during the hiatus month when we publish far fewer episodes.

Why you shouldn't do this (only to increase downloads) Increasing how much content you publish certainly can help your podcast grow! After all, that's more opportunities to share fresh content, more opportunities to be found through search-engine optimization (SEO), and more opportunities to target new listeners with content relevant to them. So there's nothing inherently wrong with publishing more episodes.

Increasing your publishing frequency, alone, does not result in a proportional increase in audience.

In the above chart, the months with the most episode downloads where the months with the most published episodes (up to 8 times as many episodes as the hiatus months). My per-episode downloads, however, show a gradually increasing trend in subscriptions, not the spikes my monthly downloads reflect.

Additionally, many podcast players will pause someone's subscription when they haven't played a recent podcast episode. (iTunes/Podcasts app for iOS pauses after 5 unplayed episodes.) Thus, the monthly downloads are likely to decrease the following month as subscribers struggle to keep up.

Increase the item limit in your RSS feed This is similar to publishing more episodes. When you increase the limit on your RSS feed (such as from the default 10 to anything more), you'll get more downloads of your old episodes, especially if new subscribers never downloaded your whole archive.

I have always had high limits on all my show and for the podcasters I help, so I don't have any charts to show for this point. I would be happy to share yours, if you have done this!

Why you shouldn't do this (only to increase downloads) This is not nearly as bad as changing the GUIDs in your feed and forcing redownloads. I recommend having as many episodes of your podcast available as possible. (The iTunes podcasts directory will display and search no more than 300.) But if you increase your RSS item limit, you'll get more downloads from your existing subscribers, not a new audience.

Wait longer to publish a new episode When you have a longer-than-usual gap in your publishing schedule, it makes one episode remain the latest episode for a longer time. This means more people will hear that episode as they stumble across your podcast.

Here's an example from a podcast I worked with. Look at the drastic difference in numbers because there was 36-day gap between episodes.

Why you shouldn't do this It's okay to take a break or hiatus when you must. (It's best to tell your subscribers what to expect.) Instead of spreading your new subscribers evenly across new episodes, they bulk onto a single episode because it's what they'll first click.

Leaving a gap merely to force more downloads for a particular episode will not increase your audience. This could actually harm your growth as visitors may think the show has ended or is erratic.

Buy downloads or spam the podcast player This is the dirtiest tactic of them all. It's easy to find people with fewer ethics who will use a system to download your podcast multiple times—through iTunes or pressing play on your website.

Some providers claim to use only humans for these tasks and boast of providing up to 20,000 downloads. They even offer money-back guarantees!

Provided by Emily Prokop from Classy Little Podcast (also Podcasters' Society member).

Why you shouldn't do this I hope your morality core recognizes the fraud in this. Purchased downloads result only in mere numbers, not human connections.

Use bad stats Not all podcast measurement companies are alike. Switch to an underdeveloped company or a company following public radio's “wild west” methods of measurement, and you'll instantly see much higher download numbers!

Why you shouldn't do this Numbers can lie if the numbers are not calculated correctly! There are a variety of circumstances that many podcast-measurement companies have not learned how to filter. For example, what happens when a file download is interrupted due to a pause or poor Internet connection.

Trusting bad stats will give you a higher—but more inaccurate—number, without ever growing your true audience.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is currently meeting with the top podcast-measurement companies (Blubrry, Libsyn, or Podtrac) and other influencers (Apple, Google, public radio, and more) to set an updated standard on podcast measurement. Until such a standard is finalized, I recommend only Blubrry, Libsyn, or Podtrac for trustworthy, reliable podcast stats.

Conclusion: Increasing downloads does not grow your audience Increasing downloads doesn't grow your audience. Growing your audience increases your downloads!Click To Tweet You probably noticed the recurring theme under each point. These eight tactics will certainly increase a number you see, but they don't result in increasing the actual number of humans engaging with your content.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Laura Lyster-Mensh from USA said, “One of my most important podcasting tools. Everyone’s talking about podcasting but very little of it is practical or specific to the needs of real podcasters. I’m so grateful to this podcast, and look forward to every episode!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet29Share24Share2Pin435490 Shares

View Details

Batching can be an effective way to improve your podcasting workflow. But is it right for your podcast? Consider these benefits and disadvantages.

What is “batch-podcasting”? Batching your podcasting work is usually when you combine similar tasks from multiple episodes or multiple shows and perform them within the same portion of time. For example:

Record a month's worth of interviews in a single day.
Prepare your entire miniseries of episodes within a single focused time.
Finalize a bunch of episodes and schedule them for automatic publishing.
Record several different shows together on the same day.

Benefits of batch-podcasting The following are the benefits that stand out most to me. Please comment with the biggest benefits you see to batch-podcasting!

Focused mindset When you batch work, you can focus on the same task for multiple projects. This helps you get into a “groove” or “zone” to perform such tasks faster and more thoroughly.

This can help you with your content presentation, such as recording separate episodes for aspects of the same core topic.

Saved time Batching can enable you to complete several similar tasks together in less time than it would take to perform each task independently. This is because there are far fewer transitions (mental, software, physical, etc.) between different tasks.
Feelings of accomplishment When you finish batching, you will have completed several things instead of only one. You can enjoy this feeling by relaxing or moving on to focus on other things.
Efficiency in dedicated space Your time in a certain location may be limited. Batching may help you to ensure every minute in that location is spent on only the sole purpose of that space.
More margin With planning ahead and batching your work, it gives you margin in many areas of life and your podcast. For example, you may have something you want to promote, and it may be easier to ramp up that promotion if you're batch-podcasting. Or, you don't want upcoming limited availability to affect your publishing schedule.

Disadvantages of batch-podcasting The following are the disadvantages that stand out most to me. Please comment with the biggest disadvantages you've faced with batch-podcasting!

Lots of work Batch-podcasting is not easy; it's hard work! If you plan to batch your recordings, you have to prepare all of that content, schedule all of those interviews, or ensure your cohost(s) have the same availability and attention span.

The amount of work to batch could also hinder you from making the time to perform the tasks. For example, you might be able to record eight episodes in a day, but the task of editing all eight may be so overwhelming that you procrastinate.

Energy loss Because of how much work batching takes, you may find yourself running out of energy near the end of your batching. This can show up in your voice, your passion, or even more errors that slip through near the end.
Unwanted or missing crossovers If you're recording either multiple episodes of the same show, or episodes of separate shows, you might end up with some unwanted things crossing over between episodes.
This could be humor, such as joke from a previous episode that won't make sense to your audience of this episode (separated by your publishing schedule).
This could be emotion, carrying over too much of the emotion of one show into the other (such as comedy into something serious).
This could be content, which might be something you wanted in each episode, but didn't include because you so recently shared it that you neglect to share it again. It could also be something that won't make as much sense due to the length of time between your published episodes.
Less flexible content schedule Depending on whether you number your episodes and how you communicate show notes, batching could prevent your being able to address time-sensitive material. Often, such material can't be predicted, as it could be the result of an unexpected announcement, world events, and such.
Inconsistency for a live audience If you enjoy live-streaming in audio or video, batching might not be for you. This is because you might be doing a month's worth of recording in a single day instead of several days across the month.
Impossible for some content Any podcast based on current events or “dripped” content (such as TV shows) will probably not do well for batching. You need to receive your content spread across time, so queuing that up to batch means your audience will miss the content when it's most relevant.

Is batch-podcasting right for you? Whether you choose to batch-podcast is really up to you and your unique situation. Here are some of my suggestions.

Interview-based shows are probably the easiest to batch, especially if you can schedule all your interviews for the same day.
Current-events or “dripped”-content podcasts should probably not be batched.
Cohosted podcasts depend on the availability, willingness, and energy-sustainability of everyone involved, not only you.
Solo shows depend greatly on how much time you can invest in your preparation.
Any live-streamed show should probably not be batched if you want a true, live engagement. But you could live-stream raw sessions after you have recorded them.

I attempted to batch The Audacity to Podcast, and even announced that I would be doing such. As a result, I have a new list of nearly 100 episodes. But as much as I tried, I found that batching didn't work well for me. A big part of that is in how much time I spend preparing for each episode (about three hours).

I also decided against batching The Audacity to Podcast because I love doing the show live every week. This is fun, engaging, and helps me grow the show, and I wasn't willing to sacrifice that relationship with my audience.

What I learned from my trial will help me when I must batch content for when I have less availability (usually due to travel or holidays). And it will certainly help me in other areas of my business.

What is right for you? Why do you batch-podcast, or why do you not? Please comment below!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * TeoTecnologia from USA said, “I'm putting together the equipment needed to start a podcast. This podcast has been very useful to figure out what I'm missing in the process. Thanks Daniel!!!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Thank you for supporting Noodle.mx Network! We recently crossed over 9 million downloads!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet18Share14Share1Pin942 Shares

View Details

Our THE WICKER MAN - THE WITCH conversation goes deeper into the two films' shared qualities, including their portrayals of religion and women, and their canny use of (very different types of) music. We'll also get deeper into the question of "is it horror?" and whether that ultimately matters. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WICKER MAN, THE WITCH, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

In February, 2016, Apple launched Podcasts Connect. This new portal gives podcasters the ability to manager their shows in iTunes and Apple's Podcasts apps. Here's what you need to know about these podcasting updates.

Did you receive Apple's emails? Apple regularly sends important news and updates to podcasters. In February, 2016, Apple sent two emails to announce these new updates.

These emails usually go to the email address in your RSS tag. If you don't have access to that email account, then change your RSS feed to use an email address you can access. DANGER: some third-party feed-creation tools will default to their own email address, and may not let you use your own.

But you may also receive the email to your Apple ID account.

If you don't receive these important emails from Apple, then make whatever changes are necessary so that you won't miss these announcements!

Podcasts Connect (Side note: “Podcast Connect” (without the S) is Todd Cochrane's company hosting the Podcast Awards, which are back and need your input!)

The biggest news is Apple's new Podcasts Connect feature, which is the new way for submitting and managing podcasts in iTunes and the Podcasts apps. Logging in requires an Apple ID, which you should have if you ever submitted a podcast through iTunes.

This new control over your podcast listing means you won't need to wait for Apple's support or explanations. It also means you can now submit a podcast without having iTunes—great news for Linux and mobile-device users!

Based on the language in the revised documentation, Podcasts Connect seems to be more than a management tool for podcasters. I think Apple is positioning it as a podcast submission platform. This makes logical sense, as it was often complicated to explain how submitting to iTunes put you in other distribution channels, too. “Podcasts Connect” is generic and descriptive enough to include iTunes, Podcasts for iOS, Podcasts for Apple TV, and other apps connected via the iTunes API. Plus, it is future-proof for new platforms, such as an Apple Podcasts app for Android.

Thus, you'll hear me start saying, “Submit to Podcasts Connect” instead of “Submit to iTunes.”

What can you do with Podcasts Connect? 1. Submit new podcasts—now with validation and concise explanations of issues! 2. See all podcasts previously submitted with your Apple ID. 3. See status and last-update information for previously submitted podcasts. 4. Force a feed refresh—only use this if you know your feed is working and subscribers can download new episodes, but the updates haven't shown in iTunes for at least 24 hours. This won't affect your subscribers. 5. Temporarily hide a podcast from Podcasts Connect platforms (iTunes, Podcasts apps, iTunes API)—this won't affect your subscribers. 6. Permanently delete a podcast from Podcasts Connect platforms—this won't affect your subscribers. 7. Get your show's standard iTunes URL. 8. Get your show's Mirror URL and update its source RSS feed (more details in a moment).

Please note that these changes affect only your directory listing in the Podcasts Connect platforms. They will not affect your subscribers (with one possible exception in the Mirror URL).

What are “URL” and “Mirror URL”? The most confusing new features in Podcasts Connect are the Mirror URL and ability to change your RSS feed URL.

The Mirror URL is a little like FeedBurner's pure, uncorrupting, vanilla state with none of its archaic features enabled. This URL, following the pattern of pcr.apple.com/id[PODCAST-ID-NUMBER], is a simple 302 temporary redirect for your RSS feed. This means if you enter the Mirror URL into a browser, you'll be redirected to your RSS feed, but in a way that doesn't assume you should always land on that destination URL. It's like a temporary forward of mail at the Post Office. You haven't permanently moved, but you want everything going to the old address forwarded to the new address without notifying the sender of a permanent change of address.

Thus, this means that once your podcast is in iTunes, you could potentially submit the Mirror URL feed to other podcast directories, and maintain control of your RSS feed without other third-party tools (such as FeedBurner). But if you have control of your feed URL already (such as using PowerPress, Libsyn's RSS feed, or even FeedBurner already, then you don't need the Mirror URL.)

This brings me to the “URL” field. This is a dangerous field, because it doesn't do what you might think it does.

To be clear, changing your feed address in the “URL” field will not redirect all your existing subscribers. This change will affect only your directory listing in Podcasts Connect platforms.

As of February, 2016, it seems that none of Apple's platforms use the Mirror URL for subscribing to podcasts, but I predict that could change in the future. Why? So that you can more easily change your podcast feed URL and it change for all of your Podcasts Connect platform users. Thus, until Apple changes that with an update, changing the URL field to point to a different feed URL will affect only the directory listing and those few (if any) subscribers who are subscribed to the Mirror URL.

Think of Mirror URL as a magical door in front of your home. If you tell people to walk through that door, they will also arrive at your home, regardless of where that home is. But right now, everyone is already at your home, so they don't need that door. But it is possible that an update from Apple would force everyone to start using that door in such a way that it wouldn't make any difference to them.

So the “URL” field is really only the source for the Mirror URL and your directory listing.

If you want to redirect your subscribers to a new RSS feed, the best way to do that is with a permanent 301 redirect on the old feed URL. The second best way is to use the RSS tag in your old feed, but that will only affect Apple's apps and a few others.

The last resort, if you have no option to place a 301 redirect or that custom RSS tag, is to change the “URL” in Podcasts Connect, then release a last episode in your old RSS feed telling your audience to resubscribe to the podcast. But the massive inconvenience to your audience could mean losing many subscribers.

(The Mirror URL will not work if the podcast is hidden or deleted from iTunes.)

Podcasts Resources and Help Along with the launch of Podcasts Connect, Apple has completely revamped the podcast resources and help into something much more resourceful and helpful!

Getting started guides
Podcasts Connect news
Frequently asked questions
Handy resources, like Podcasts Partner Search
New method for receiving support from Apple (back to email, but now using a helpful message template)

Not everything is immediately visible from the main page (such as RSS tags for Podcasts Connect or About submission status), but this is a lot better and provides a lot more help than before.

If you have any issue with Podcasts Connect or its platforms, please consult this new resources and help section before contacting Apple.

HTTPS Support As part of the update, Apple announced that HTTPS is now fully supported! This includes podcast episodes, cover art files, and your podcast RSS feed.

If you use HTTPS for any of these, remember to keep your certificate renewed!

Podcasting specifications updates At the same time as these front-facing updates, Apple has also made a very interesting updates to their podcasting specifications, which they now call “RSS tags for Podcasts Connect.”

Apple now recommends cover art of 3,000 × 3,000, while keeping the minimum at 1,400 × 1,400. But Apple has more strict requirements for being featured (most likely in places other than the mythical magic of “New & Noteworthy”): 3,000 × 3,000 cover art with no Apple-branded content, and more.
Apple still doesn't say it specifically, but it's best to keep your cover art smaller than 500 KB, which might mean more file compression.
is now officially “clean” or “explicit.” If your show was previously untagged (or used “no” or “false” values), then it is now marked “clean.” I don't like how black-and-white this now is. It means you have to question whether your content is truly “clean” and kid-friendly. You can, however, still have individual episodes marked differently from the entire show.

From what I can tell, most of the other tags remain the same.

It's important that whatever you use for creating your RSS feed stays updated with these correct values. FeedBurner's SmartCast feature, for example, incorrectly presents you with three options for the Explicit tag and still recommend podcast cover art to be 300 × 300.

For more information If you're a member of Podcasters' Society, you have access to a new video overview of Podcasts Connect. It shows how to use Podcasts Connect for managing your podcasts.

Also watch or listen to our Podcasters' Roundtable discussion with Ray Ortega, Todd Cochrane, and myself as we talk about these podcasting changes.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * mtk3 from USA said, “Super Content: I avoided this podcast for awhile because I thought it was based on “Audacity” software. Boy, was I wrong. Daniel has terrific content: backed by his extensive experience, well organized, and complete but succinct. A definite must for podcasters.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet9Share7SharePin117 Shares

View Details

The buzzy new horror film THE WITCH inspired us to look at another period piece about good, evil, self-righteousness, and murder: Robin Hardy's 1973 cult classic THE WICKER MAN. (No, not the Nicolas Cage one - though it does come up.) In this half of the discussion, we talk over both films' reputations as horror (or not), and get into how THE WICKER MAN cultivates its very specific strain of dread. Plus, lots and lots of feedback from our last Coen Brothers-centric episode. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE WICKER MAN, THE WITCH, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Does your podcast website accomplish what it needs to? Here are five ways to optimize your podcast's site for goals, mobile, SEO, speed, and accessibility.

This is the conclusion to my “podcast website” series. Make sure you listen to the other episodes for more information!

How to Choose the Right Hosting for Your Podcast Website
6 Needs for a Podcast's Website Design or WordPress Theme
14 Features Your Podcast Website Needs
Optimize for goals What do you want your podcast website to do? Judging from the majority of podcast websites out there, it seems podcasters either don't know what their goals are, or they have far too many goals!

Try this exercise. Imagine your website was allowed to accomplish only three things. What would you want those three things to be? The actual number doesn't have to be three, but that is a good starting point.

Here are some things I suggest as overall high-priority goals for podcast websites (but don't pick all of them):

Listen to your podcast
Subscribe to your podcast
Share your content
Join your email list
Buy something from you

Here are some low-priority goals, that you will often see litering podcast websites:

Follow on social networks
Visit affiliate links
Send feedback
Write a review for the podcast

You may have different goals for different sections. For example, the goal of your feedback/contact form is for someone to send a message, so you may not want any email-list opt-ins on that page. Or, the goals for your individual episode post is for someone to listen to or watch that episode, and then to share it or take some other action.

Think carefully about what you want people to do when they visit your site. Then, try to remove any distractions from that goal.

Don't treat your website like a Christmas tree (where there are never enough lights or decorations). Instead, treat it like a road that takes your visitor to a specific destination.

Optimize for mobile The growth of mobile website-browsing will only increase. Optimizing for mobile has several aspects that you should consider on your podcast website.
Responsiveness: Your site design needs to respond to the size of the browser (called “responsive web design”). This makes engaging with your content easier on smaller screens.
Compatibility: Make sure features on your website actually work on mobile devices, such as podcast players, sharing buttons, feedback forms, and such.
Usability: Most mobile interactions are done with the imprecision of a finger. Thus, ensure your links, buttons, form fields, and other such interactions work well with fingers of all sizes.

Most of this is related to your website design. But some of your mobile-optimization is based on decisions you make: plugins, hyperlinks, images, amount of information, etc.

I don't ever recommend hiding or removing functionality on your website for mobile users. Quite often, a mobile user wants to do the same things as a PC user.

Optimizing for mobile not only helps the user experience, but it also helps your search-engine visibility. This is because Google and other search engines are prioritizing mobile-optimized websites for searches done on mobile devices.

Optimize for search (SEO) Search-engine optimization (SEO) is such as large topic, that I have a complete SEO for Podcasters course about it.

What's most important for you to remember is that you're optimizing for humans who use search engines, not optimizing for the search engines themselves. This is especially true as search-engine algorithms are regularly tweaked to provide the kinds of results humans want.

Thus, the two most important aspects of search-engine optimization are:

Titles—Have clear and compelling titles with the most important information first
Written content—Have high-quality written content with the most important information first

Additionally, think about the search on your site. This is primarily powered by your titles and content, but also by your internal tags.

Especially in WordPress and related-post tools, tags are ways to add keyword themes to content and connect one piece of content to another.

Optimize for speed People want things quickly—food, customer service, information, and more. Your website should, ideally, be usable within three seconds.

The usual culprits for slowing down your website are big images, social-network buttons and boxes, and too many plugins.

For more information, listen to my previous episode about speeding up your website for more information.

Speed also relates back to the goals for your website. Even if your website loads within one second, it won't help if it then takes a visitor several minutes to get what they want.

Thus, make your website as fast to use as possible. Don't make people have to think hard in order to use your podcast website.

Optimize for accessibility Finally, it's important to ensure your website is accessible to the physically impaired.

Usually, if you follow best practices for the other tips, you'll have a mostly accessible website. But there are other practices to ensure anyone is able to use your site.

Add “alt” text that describes images
Add simple navigation
Use headings for hierarchy, not visual style
Use a website theme with accessibility features built in (like “skip to content” links and more)
Be careful with icon-fonts
Test your website in screen-readers
Maintain high contrast between text and backgrounds

Don't stop with making your website accessible to users with bodily limitations. Also think about other restrictions, such as filters, bandwidth limitations, browsers, and ad-blockers.

You may not be able to guarantee an identical experience for everyone. But ensure that the main purposes of your website are served and accessible to everyone.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Maekala from USA said, “… Between Daniel and Dave Jackson, I'm close to feeling ready to start my own podcast. My biggest issue is Daniel's over reliance on scripture. …” Read the full review (including what Maekala said about my open Christianity, which I'll address in a future episode). * Mark Des Cotes from Canada said, “A vault of podcasting knowledge: Daniel is a down to earth real guy with a love for helping people. He shares his vast knowledge of podcasting freely because he truly wants other podcasters to succeed. I was so impressed with everything that he offers that I joined his Podcasters’ Society and I couldn’t be happier with the decision.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcasters' Society is now closed to new members and won't reopen for a while. In the meantime, visit the website to join the waiting list.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet14Share5Share3Pin179201 Shares

View Details

Our cinematic matchup of Coen brothers past and present continues as we dive deeper into the connections between 1991's BARTON FINK and the new HAIL, CAESAR! In this half of the discussion, we get into the films' shared lineage as "movies about movies," and try to home in on what exactly gives both films "that Coen Brothers feeling." Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BARTON FINK, HAIL, CAESAR!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

How your website functions is highly influenced by the features you add with plugins and coding. Here are my general recommendations for podcast websites.

Podcast players Your podcast website needs to be as easy as “Visit website; press play.” Your site's design makes the players prominent, but the plugins or embed code are what put a player on your site.

Here are the podcast players I like best for WordPress.

PowerPress players (free)
Simple Podcast Press
Smart Podcast Player
PodcastPlayr (coming soon)

If you're not on WordPress, or you are okay with pasting code in each post, then consider these embeddable players that work anywhere HTML and iframes are accepted.

Libsyn's embeddable player (included with your account)
Spreaker's embeddable player (included with your account)

Choosing a podcast player for your website is a commitment. Consider how easy the player is to integrate with your existing tools, what kind of workflow it requires, and whether it is templated and retroactive.

Backup Keeping your site and information backed up is crucial. I think it's even more important than security because if your site is compromised, you could still restore from a backup.

You can manually backup your site by copying folders and exporting your database. Your web hosting company may provide regular backups (but understand what their policies are before you rely on them!). If you're running WordPress, my favorite premium backup solution is BackupBuddy.

Security Security is important for your site and your audience. Ensure your web host takes the appropriate measures to keep the server secure. Managed hosting providers (such as WP Engine) will also keep your site secure.

You can use a plugin like WordFence or iThemes Security Pro to protect your WordPress website.

But remember that security starts with you! Use secure passwords, don't install questionable themes or plugins, don't click on malicious links, don't give out your admin password (if a trustworthy company legitimately needs access to your site to fix something, make a temporary admin account for them). In other words, be smart; don't be dumb.

Contact information You need to be accessible enough that someone can contact you from your website. This should be at least a contact form (I recommend Gravity Forms) or email address. There are more ways you can be contactable, but start with the essentials and add what you're comfortable sharing.

A vital place you should double-check is the email address listed in the section of your RSS feed.

Out of 320,000 rss feeds going to iTunes, 42,000 feeds contain 1 of 25 email contact addresses from podcast providers that have more than 500 feeds submitted to iTunes.

Which means 42,000 Podcasters can never be contacted from the email address in their podcast feed. This means they will never get notices from iTunes when there is an issue with their feed, and with syndication providers.

So whose email address is in your podcast feed?

—Todd Cochrane [source]

The biggest offender is SoundCloud. If you use SoundCloud's RSS feed for your podcast, check your content settings and ensure “Email address displayed” is set to your email address.

Social-Sharing Make your content easy to share by including social-sharing buttons. Appendipity themes already include these, or you can add basic buttons to any WordPress theme with Shareaholic and other social-sharing plugins. But my absolutely favorite social-sharing plugin is Social Warfare, which allows me to customize the images and text that go to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and even Pinterest!
Search-engine optimization (SEO) Make your podcast findable with quality SEO. While some WordPress themes include SEO features, I recommend Yoast SEO (formerly WordPress SEO by Yoast). This maintains your SEO if you ever switch themes.

Make sure whatever is generating your podcast RSS feed also gives you control over the SEO.

I'll talk more about search-engine optimization in my next episode about website optimizations.

Learn more about SEO for podcasters in my complete course!

Stats What do you know about how people consume your content and how many there are? This what stats are for. Google Analytics is really easy to integrate with any kind of website.

For podcast stats, use Blubrry Podcast Stats or host your media on Libsyn.

Podcast and website stats will be worthless if you don't integrate them properly, so make sure you follow the instructions!

Speakable URLs If you ever need to refer to something on your website, it's easiest if you have a familiar and speakable URL. For example, these show notes are accessible at TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/websitefeatures. You could use episode numbers, names, topics, or other keywords. It's most important that your spoken URLs be memorable, relevant, and unambiguous.

I love Pretty Link Pro for making all of my speakable URLs. The Pro version makes it faster and easier to create additional URLs for my pages and posts. Plus, the Pro version can automatically hyperlink customizable keywords with my own links. For example: HostGator, TextExpander, Spreaker, Appendipity. Those were turned into links automatically with Pretty Link Pro.

Speed While thinking of the features your site needs, don't forget to keep your site fast! Reduce the number of images, optimize your image file sizes and resolution, and remove unnecessary plugins.

Listen to my past episode about speeding up your website, and I'll talk more about website speed in my next episode about website optimizations.

Engagement How much engagement you allow is your own decision to make. Many of the following methods can be enhanced or added with plugins.
Feedback
Post/episode comments
Forum
Real-time chat
Polls and surveys
Search If your content helps people with things (and is not only for entertainment), you may need the ability for people to search your website. WordPress has a basic search widget you can add, but you can get a lot better results and enhanced features with SearchWP.

But search will be almost pointless if you don't have searchable content. Ensure you write some basic show notes and use tags on your site to build relationships between similar posts.

I talk more about “internal SEO” in my SEO for Podcasters course.

Podcast RSS There are reasons you may want to host your own podcast RSS feed, as well as reasons you may not want to host your own podcast RSS feed. If you decide to host it at the same place where you are managing the rest of your content, then you need a plugin to make that podcast RSS feed possible.

PowerPress is the only podcasting plugin I recommend for WordPress users. Some others may be okay, but PowerPress has the stability, maturity, features, and quality support behind it that you can rely on.

If you're on a content-management platform that doesn't provide good podcasting tools, then consider using FeedBurner with SmartCast. (Otherwise, avoid the SmartCast feature. It and stats are what make FeedBurner horrible, unreliable, and sometimes damaging to your podcast.)

Email opt-ins (optional) Growing an email list is vital for online businesses, but having an email list also provides many benefits for regular podcasters.

It's best to offer an incentive for people to join your email list. Consider these different ways of providing the opt-in form.

Embedded form—You can get the code from your email service provider, or use a form plugin like Gravity Forms.
Offsite link—Make a simple icon, link, or button that takes people to your email service provider's hosted form for joining your email list.
Intelligent opt-ins—Use LeadPages, OptinMonster, or Rapidology (free from LeadPages) to make smart and ethical popups, buttons, and more features that are scientifically proven to get more opt-ins. I use LeadPages and I've grown my email list more than 1,000%!
Monetization (optional) If you choose to monetize your podcast, you may need features on your site to make podcast-monetization possible.

Here are some recommendations if you're going to keep your monetization on your own site (as opposed to using off-site tools).

Donations—Use a simple PayPal button or get more advanced with Gravity Forms.
Selling—Easy Digital Downloads and WooCommerce are the most popular WordPress ecommerce plugins. You may also need a security certificate for your site if you accept payments on your site.
Affiliates—I love Pretty Link Pro for easily promoting my affiliate links, and EasyAzon Pro for easily making internationalized Amazon affiliate links.
Affiliate program—If you sell stuff, have you considered offering your own affiliate program? I recommend AffiliateWP for that.
Display ads—If your site receives a lot of page views (more than 100,000 per month), you may wish to monetize with display ads from Amazon CPM, Google AdSense, and such. I recommend AdRotate Free or AdRotate Pro to manage those ads.

What website features are crucial to your own podcast? What features do you love from other websites?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Troy Heinritz for a live, free webinar on February 18, 2016! We'll share “Amazing Ways to Promote and Grow Your Podcast.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet12Share12Share2Pin198224 Shares

View Details

This week's pairing seems like an obvious one: Two Coen Brothers films about Hollywood, set at the same fictional studio, during roughly the same time period–what do you need, a roadmap? But Joel and Ethan Coen's 1991 breakout BARTON FINK has very different things on its mind than the brothers' new HAIL, CAESAR! In the first half of this week's discussion, we get into our various interpretations of BARTON FINK, its titular character, and what it says about the Coens' work as a whole. Plus, listener feedback on our last pairing, complete with some other, non-JOHN CARTER suggestions for a Mars-set double feature. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BARTON FINK, HAIL, CAESAR!, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Ensure your podcast website is designed with these six things to help grow your audience, engage better, and build your authority. These will help you whether you're hiring a designer, choosing a WordPress theme, or using a website-builder.

A prominent player “Visit website; press play.” That should be the goal of your website design or WordPress theme for your podcast. With such a simple design, you don't have to tell people to find your podcast in any particular app. You simply tell them your website address, and when they visit it, the design makes it obvious to press play.

This doesn't mean your podcast player has to be the biggest thing on the page, but certainly don't let it be hard to find or missing from the front page.

You don't have to have a podcast theme in order to have a great website design for your podcast. Take any other theme (I also like those from StudioPress, Themify, and Elegant Themes), and add a prominent player to it. PowerPress, Libsyn, Simple Podcast Press, and Smart Podcast Player provide great players for your website.

Your site's design then helps make these players more prominent. Such as placing your player higher in your content, but not necessarily at the top; having a large player with big buttons, instead of a small image; or making a prominent “playlist player” on your homepage or other appropriate pages.

A mobile-optimized experience Podcasts are primarily consumed on mobile devices, so it makes sense that your website should be optimized mobile devices, too. To see what kind of traffic your website gets, use Google Analytics and go to Audience > Mobile > Overview, then add “mobile” and “tablet” together. (Other stats services usually provide similar information.) My Once Upon a Time podcast, for example, gets 50% of its traffic from non-PC devices.

“Mobile-optimized” means more than not using Flash. It means that the design and flow of your website adjusts to the size of the browser. This is called “responsive web design.” High-quality modern website themes support this without the need for extra plugins. The benefit of using a responsive theme is that it maintains your visual branding (fonts, colors, logo).

My favorite theme makers (StudioPress, Elegant Themes, Themify) make only responsive WordPress themes now.

Visit your own website on a small mobile device (like an iPhone 5/5s, which has a 4-inch screen) and see how easy it is to use. Is it as easy as “visit website; press play”? Does your player extend beyond the screen? Do videos scale proportionally so there aren't black bars?

Especially take note of how your widgets behave on small devices. The widgets may move to the bottom or disappear altogether. This is one of many reasons the sidebar is no longer as important, and you should avoid referring to items on your website by their horizontal locations (left or right).

Calls to action Here's a general rule on calls to action: have one and repeat it.

Many podcasters are guilty of too many calls to action:

Subscribe in iTunes
Subscribe in Stitcher
Subscribe in Google Play
Rate and review
Comment on the episode
Share the podcast/episode
Like on Facebook
Follow on Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Pinterest, etc.
Join the email list
Buy something
Visit a sponsor
Email/call/record feedback

I say this with all love: STOP IT! We're often asking way too much of our audience, and sometimes before we have even given any value!

Think of your call to action as the one thing your want someone to do if they do nothing else. Now focus on making multiple calls to that one action.

And with every call to action, ensure you communicate the value you're proposing.

Include separate calls to action where most relevant. (I'll talk more about calls to action inside Podcasters' Society.)

A tagline description Your website needs to communicate what your podcast is about within only a few seconds. Visual branding helps, but the clearest way is to include a short “tagline” for your podcast prominently on the homepage and a little less prominently on subsequent pages.

Think of your tagline description as how you would explain your podcast in fewer than 5 seconds.

Unified branding Your website design needs to match the rest of your podcast branding. This doesn't mean you have to hire a professional web designer (though I can refer you to one). It can be as simple as using the same colors and imagery as you use in your cover art. (Matching fonts can also help, but that can be complicated.)

If we turned this into a game, could someone easily match your podcast cover art to your website design?

Cleanliness Stop thinking of everything you could add to your site. The more you add, the less you give. This “less is more” ideology has proven itself effective in many contexts. The fewer items you have on your website, the more focused a visitor can be on what they came to do.

Seriously consider everything already on your site to decide whether it truly needs to be there. Common things worthy of removal are social-network boxes (these can significantly slow down websites), sign-up forms (use a button and a popup), latest posts (think “most popular” instead), and categories or tag clouds.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Michael Young from USA said, “Must-subscribe if you want to podcast. This podcast is always a must-listen, even if I already consider myself well-versed in a particular topic because Daniel ALWAYS looks at things from all the angles and always mentions something that I never thought about. The amount of research he puts into each episode is apparent as is the fact that he cares about his listeners and e-mail subscribers. I just started my own podcast, “Your Creative Push,” but I thank Daniel for helping to give ME the push to finally do it.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Troy Heinritz for a live, free webinar on February 18, 2016! We'll share “Amazing Ways to Promote and Grow Your Podcast.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet20Share17Share4Pin102143 Shares

View Details

The second half of our JOHN CARTER/THE MARTIAN comparison looks at the various ways Ridley Scott's film succeeded where Andrew Stanton's failed: its humor, its production design, its approach to adaptation, and its overall simplicity. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts and questions about JOHN CARTER, THE MARTIAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Your podcast needs its own website in order to be successful. Here's how to choose the right Internet home for your podcasting needs.

Figure out your needs and goals How you host your website should really be determined by what you need in order to accomplish your goals.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

Do you need to sell anything from your website?
Do you need freedom and flexibility to do whatever you want on your site?
Do you want to manage everything about your podcast in the same place?
How much can you afford to spend each month?
If you're moving hosts, what do you need that your old host didn't provide?

Choosing your hosting isn't a lifelong commitment, but you'll be more likely to make the right choice when you think about these and other things before you choose the solution.

Choose your content-management system (CMS) The content-management system (CMS) you choose can make it easy or impossible to meet your goals. The best answer is not always “WordPress”!

If you don't want to manage plugins and updates, but you want the familiarity of WordPress, consider PowerPress Sites or Rainmaker Platform. These are both built on WordPress and offer most of the features you could use, but they're backed with professionally optimized and managed hosting. If you need something cheaper, consider WordPress.com, but it lacks podcasting optimizations.

If you would rather try a different CMS, Squarespace has drastically improved in its podcasting support.

I can't recommend any other hosted CMS provides (Wix, Weebly, etc.), but if you must use them, manage your podcast feed with third-party hosting from Libsyn or Spreaker (and use promo code “noodle” for a free month).

If you want total freedom with your podcast website, then I recommend “self-hosted” WordPress on a shared server or better.

Know your “budgets” Everything costs; if it doesn't cost money, it costs time or skill.

If you have no time, skill, or desire to manage your website backend, then consider managed WordPress hosting or another professionally hosted CMS.

If you can't afford the higher costs of professionally managed options, but you need better performance, consider running your own virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated server.

And if you simply need to get started and you're okay digging into technical stuff a little, then WordPress on shared hosting may be right for you, and at the lowest costs of anything.

When you consider your budgets, remember that it's not only money. Some hosting solutions could cost $150 per month, but they provide amazing performance and support, which might be worth it to you. Other solutions could be only $5 per month, but you have to manage some things (or everything) yourself.

Ask others for recommendations When you know what you need, I recommend staying away from hosting review websites. These are often ranked based on affiliate deals. And it's usually the disgruntled customers who speak up.

Ask people you trust for their recommendations. And here's something else other people will love: ask for someone's affiliate link.

Here are my recommendations as of February, 2016*:

Shared hosting: HostGator with promo code “noodle” for 30% off
Managed and restricted WordPress: PowerPress Sites, Rainmaker Platform
Managed and unrestricted WordPress: WP Engine
VPS (managed or unmanaged): Linode or Vultr
Dedicated server: WiredTree or HostDime
Third-party podcast management: Libsyn or Spreaker with promo code “noodle”
Alternative managed CMS: Squarespace

*Subject to change without notice.

Be patient Starting a new website or migrating an existing one can be a tedious process. Plus, it may take a little time to become comfortable with your new hosting platform, or for the managers to get everything optimized for your site.

Please be patient with whomever you're working with. If there's a problem, give as many details as possible: steps to reproduce, expected results, errors, your technology environment, your skills, etc.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Troy Heinritz for a live, free webinar on February 18, 2016! We'll share “Amazing Ways to Promote and Grow Your Podcast.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet13Share3Share1Pin468485 Shares

View Details

This week, we look back to one of last year's biggest blockbusters — and an Oscar frontrunner — for inspiration, and turn up an interesting, misbegotten cinematic comparison point. Ridley Scott's THE MARTIAN is critically and commercially successful in a way Andrew Stanton's D.O.A. JOHN CARTER never even approached, but the two Mars-centric films viewed in tandem offer interesting takeaways about the nature of science fiction and fantasy, the perils of source-material fidelity and visual poetry. Can one's failure be better understood through the lens of the other's success? Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about JOHN CARTER, THE MARTIAN, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Keep your podcast growing and up to date with these ten things you may want to update at least every year.

Update your podcasting goals (You do have goals for your podcast, right?)

How are you doing on reaching your podcasting goals? It may be time to make “SMARTer” goals for your podcast, or you may need to update the goals you've been working toward.

There's no shame in changing directions when you realize you have going the wrong direction, or when you have reached your goals.

Updating your goals may mean dumping what you had and starting over, or it could mean refining the goals you already had.

Update your software Think about all the podcasting software you have and what new and relevant abilities the latest upgrades give you.

Website software First, look at your copy of WordPress and all your plugins. While this may seem like a “no-brainer,” keeping these updated can be a little challenging. It's true that any WordPress or plugin update has the potential to break your site and podcast feed (but the likelihood is quite small, especially if you use quality plugins). Because of that, many people will wait a little while to update.

If you have been waiting, too, it's time to update! If you have plugins or themes that haven't caught up with the latest technologies, then you may need to better find alternatives.

Desktop and mobile software Next, look at the desktop applications and mobile apps you use.

Adobe Audition now includes much better loudness normalization. Internet Explorer versions under 11 have been officially retired and will no longer be updated. The new version of Windows, OS X, and Linux are more stable and compatible. And some tools, such as Levelator, have been dead for so long that it's time to let go and move on to better tools, like Auphonic.

There's a big difference between “updating” and “upgrading” when it comes to software. Updating is usually minor additions, bug fixes, and performance enhancements. Upgrading is a bigger move from an older version to a newer. This often brings vastly improved parts, but also often costs to upgrade.

Upgrading could be costly, so certainly consider whether you truly need the latest and greatest software. Always prioritize what will save you time or make your workflow easier.

Update your format How you present your content in your podcast may need to change as your podcast matures. This doesn't have to be a radical change, but maybe it's time to let go of things that aren't working and try new techniques to better present the information you want to share with your audience.

Whether this be adding or removing a segment, or changing the style of your presentation (such as from solo to interview), you may find a new way that's not only easier for you to communicate your message, but also connects better with your audience.

Update your branding “Branding” covers many aspects of your podcast.

Podcast cover art How long have you had your podcast cover art? It may be time to update it! Todd Cochrane, from RawVoice/Blubrry has said that updating podcast cover art has often resulted in an increase of new subscribers.

But don't update only for the sake of updating. Consider getting a better design, removing clichés (like a microphone, headphones, or RSS icon), or making your design more relevant for your more matured podcast.

If you need new podcast cover art, I can refer you to a designer, or consider using 99designs.

Website design Your visual branding also includes your website design. The website design industry has changed radically in the last several years. Modern design is clean, responsive, and lightweight.

If your website isn't already optimized for mobile, then you absolutely must update! But even if you already have a mobile-friendly website, it might be time to enhance the design to make your podcast website as easy as “visit website; press play.”

These are my favorite WordPress themes for podcasters:

Appendipity
StudioPress
Elegant Themes

Audio branding Your show's audio branding can be much more than merely the music you use. But perhaps it is time to update your music, too!

Consider everything about your podcasts' audio identity. How do you start and end each podcast episode? How do you segue between topics or segments? More than the words you say, this is how you present the information, how you set the mood, and how you make your show unique and memorable.

My favorite way to update the audio branding is to put something unique before your theme music. For The Audacity to Podcast, this is the title of the episode or a brief tease for what's coming.

Video branding (for video podcasts) If you host a video show, then it might be time to update its visual branding, too. Especially do this if you have updated other aspects of your visual branding, so that you can make everything consistent—cover art, website design, and video branding.

Look at your title screens, lower thirds, animations, and more.

Update your podcast information Do your podcast descriptions, tagline/subtitle, and about page still accurately describe your podcast? Have you stuffed your description with keywords that can be removed (because descriptions don't matter for podcast SEO in iTunes)?

Maturity usually comes with time. So it may be time to update your podcast descriptions to accurately explain what your podcast has matured to become.

Update your intro and outro Similar to your written descriptions, it may be time to update the spoken opening and closing of your podcast. This is how you let people know what your podcast is about, as well as the last words you say as you close.

The Audacity to Podcast has gone through many transformations in the years. For example, I no longer reference the Audacity software in my intro, and I no longer use the quaint “POD” for “passion, organization, and dialog.”

Make sure your intro and outro don't conflict with your audio branding. If your branding says your tagline, then you don't need to repeat it.

Update your call(s) to action How long have you been asking your audience to do a particular thing? For example:
Subscribe
Rate and review
Join your email list
Visit your sponsor
Buy something from you
Send feedback
Follow you on social networks
Visit the show notes

Re-evaluate which action is really the most important to you. If you have been giving multiple calls to action, try narrowing it to a single, strong call to action.

Consider how you can update your request to inspire more action For example, instead of saying, “You can review us in iTunes,” consider thanking specific reviewers and pointing people to your website to click the link to write a review. (My Podcast Reviews is perfect for this!)

Or, instead of asking your audience to take action at the beginning of your episodes, wait until later or at the end after you have presented value.

Update your media kit You probably already know that podcast media kits are great for getting sponsors. But media kits can also be great for getting press coverage, convincing people to be your guest, and more.

Most likely, you need to update your stats and demographics, as these tend to change over the years. This may also affect your advertising rates.

You might need to update the description of your podcast in your media kits, or rework it to be more relevant to a potential guest or sponsor instead of a potential listener.

Look at anything that is outdated, inaccurate, or incomplete and update it.

Update (or create) printed pieces As your visual branding or purpose of your podcast may have changed over the months or years, you may have physical items to update. Paper can be recycled (or be kindling for a family bonfire), so don't feel so attached to using up your stock of paper marketing pieces that you're hesitant to update them.

I recently realized that all of my own podcast cards need to be updated with more correct information. And I have to completely ditch my standard business cards (they were branded with “I design websites, presentations, and podcast cover art”—which I no longer do!).

My favorite place for getting business cards and other things printed is GotPrint (no affiliation).

Update your “subscribe” and “follow” links When was the last time you tested your subscriptions links? Are you still using the old iTunes URLs (with “webObjects” in the URL)? Does your iTunes URL launch iTunes directly to your podcast? Do you link to dead or unpopular podcast apps (like Zune)? Are you ready to link to the new Google Play Music listing for your podcast? Have you tried SubscribeOnAndroid.com yet? Do you link to social profiles that you no longer update?

Consider using my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress. This contains the popular app, social, and directory icons and buttons you would want (and I add new networks by request).

What else do you frequently update for your podcast?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * aldesign from UK said, “So many tips! Daniel is an expert. Clear and concise, his episodes break down everything you need to know about podcasting, tips for beginners and pros alike. The archive is well worth going through and digging out an episode relevant to you.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and The Real Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet22Share40Share8Pin979 Shares

View Details

Our discussion of "old marrieds" past and present reveals that Andrew Haigh's new 45 YEARS covers a lot of the same ground as Mike Nichols' WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF — it just does it a lot more quietly. We talk over how the two films relate and diverge when it comes to their depictions of a long marriage, how the past informs those marriages, and what emotional inflections each film brings to the party. Plus, Your Next Picture show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, 45 YEARS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Plan out the next year of your podcast with these 5 steps. This will help you save time and focus on accomplishing your podcasting goals.

Plan with a calendar Your first step is to grab a calendar for the next year. Start your planning here as this well help you be aware of events that may affect your podcasting.

Holidays, for example, may inspire you with timely ideas (it's usually best to publish holiday-themed episodes before their holidays). But holidays could also affect your schedule by either motivating you to postpone an episode, or else plan and record early for a scheduled release.

When you know how the upcoming year's events affect your publishing schedule, you will have a target number of episodes to release.

Brainstorm an episode list Now that you know how many episodes you need and what episodes might publish near a significant holiday, you know how many episodes you need to plan for.

Start brainstorming for future topics or guests. The point is to make a list of as many ideas as possible. Don't try to organize or plan their details yet. Simply get the ideas into a list.

If making a list of 50+ individual topics/guests is too much of a challenge, consider picking monthly themes and then figuring out the subdivisions to those topics. For example:

Twitter
- How to getting started with Twitter
- How to get more followers
- How to automate your sharing schedule
- How to manage multiple accounts
Podcasting
- How to start a podcast
- How to grow your podcast audience
- How to monetize your podcast
- How to get others on your podcast
Finances
- How to make a budget
- How to overcome debt
- How to teach your kids about money
- How to plan for the future
Organize your episode ideas Now that you have a list of topics or guests for your podcast, look back at your calendar and place the easiest topics on the ideal dates. Such as:
Holiday-themed topics on or before holidays
Special guest appearances when they are relevant to your guests' events (such as launches)
Prerecorded content when you'll be away

Simple to my previous point, also look for or create themes for certain months. These could tie in with notable holidays or be arbitrarily assigned to specific months (such as January, 2015 is a “new year” theme for The Audacity to Podcast). Sometimes, designating a month as a particular theme will inspire more ideas for that month to fill or extend it.

Commit to a schedule Now that you know what you want to cover and when you want to do it, you need to look at your calendar again and “budget” your time.

Podcasts don't produce themselves, so you need to figure out when you're going to plan, record, and edit these episodes. This is especially important if you want to batch your work.

Be flexible Now that you have a plan, it's time to build in some space for mistakes, sickness, traveling, breaking events, and such. This margin gives you more flexibility for change as well as the freedom to leverage time-sensitive opportunities.

One simple method to be more flexible is to avoid episode numbers when possible. It's easy to change an episode number in text, or maybe even easy to change the number in your intro (depending on how you do your intros). But it's much harder to change numbers if you refer to your episode number throughout an episode (such as for your show notes URLs).

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * DanielleBean from USA said, “Daniel teaches you the basics without ever talking down to you. He's honest & helpful, entertaining & informative. A must-listen if you are learning to podcast! I just launched my podcast (Girlfriends) this week & could not have done it without this incredible resource. Thank you Daniel!”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and The Real Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet11Share76Share5Pin4K4K Shares

View Details

The release of Andrew Haigh's beautiful 45 YEARS got us thinking about another film about the toxic dynamic between a long-married couple: Mike Nichols' 1966 film debut WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? In this half, we discuss how Nichols brought Edward Albee’s play to the screen, how Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton brought the tension of their own famously fraught marriage to their performances, and what the film says about the institution of marriage, our capacity for illusion, and American society itself. Plus, lots and lots of feedback from our STAR WARS episodes. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, 45 YEARS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

2015 was a huge year for The Audacity to Podcast! Here are my plans for what I'll be doing to help podcasters in 2016.

Podcasters' Society In 2016 and beyond, Podcasters' Society will be my primary business and podcasting focus. This exclusive community for podcasters will receive more tutorials, tools, and other resources to help them improve and grow their shows.

With Podcasters' Society as my new top priority, I no longer offer design or podcast-setup services (though I can refer you to someone else). I'll continue to offer RSS repair and one-on-one consulting, but at higher rates to match the increased value.

My Podcast Reviews Nearly 1,000 podcasters are saving time and getting their international podcast reviews delivered automatically by using My Podcast Reviews. It's the first and best online service of its kind, and it even now has copycats!

We're already testing the next updates to My Podcast Reviews. These updates will make the service faster, easier, and offer new features.

More courses SEO for Podcasters was extremely well received! In 2016, I'll be making more courses to help starting and existing podcasters. The beginner and intermediate courses will be available first and free to Podcasters' Society Gold members.

How to use a mixer
How to start a podcast
And several tool-specific courses

New studio In 2015, I announced plans to move to Arizona, but my wife and I have since decided to stay in the greater Cincinnati area. Thus, we're looking for a new house and I'll be building a new studio/office onsite and documenting the process.

In the meantime, I'm renting commercial space nearby and love having the extra flexibility.

Batching To help me focus more on my higher priorities, I'm planning to start batch-recording The Audacity to Podcast. I'll probably do it 4–5 episodes at a time, which would give me a month of content.

More from my podcast network In January, 2016, we're launching a Christian-focused podcast on Noodle.mx Network. During the rest of the year, I'll be rebranding the network and bringing in more clean podcasts that fit with our new focus.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet2Share15Share3Pin102122 Shares

View Details

Our conversation linking the very first STAR WARS film with the new sequel (or is it a reboot? a remake?) THE FORCE AWAKENS delves into the myriad ways the two films are connected, and how the cultural impact of A NEW HOPE plays out in the new film. And in a special edition of our recommendation segment Your Next Picture Show, we'll share our top films of 2015, our ultimate recommendation for what to watch during the January catch-up season. Please share your comments, thoughts and questions about A NEW HOPE, THE FORCE AWAKENS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

J.J. Abrams' record-breaking smash THE FORCE AWAKENS consciously reaches back to the very first entry in the STAR WARS universe, 1977's A NEW HOPE, for inspiration, plot points and design — and offers us an opportunity to look back at how George Lucas changed the game for science-fiction, and film in general, forever. In this half of this week's discussion, we'll look at Lucas' inspirations, the story A NEW HOPE tells, and how the legend around it grew into a billion-dollar business. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about A NEW HOPE, THE FORCE AWAKENS, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Several podcasters share expectations, concerns, and anticipations for podcasting in 2016.

Podcasting predictions for 2016 What do we expect will happen in podcasting this year?

Large companies will get into podcasting

Large media companies like Time Warner, Disney, etc. will get into creating (and possibly monetizing) content and creating networks

David LaFaire

The Unwritable Rant Podcast

This will be the year commercial radio embraces podcasting.

Seth Resler

More and more broadcast professionals moving into podcasting.

Big media companies (broadcast and otherwise) taking steps to establish themselves in the podcasting space.

Advertising companies changing their models to work with podcasts (like dynamic ad insertion in streaming episodes.)

Some people have misunderstood me and assumed I mean that podcasters must change. No, my real message is that podcasters need to introspectively evaluate their work and decide if the changing landscape mens they need to change. For some yes, for many no.

As a result of this infusion of professional interests, audience expectations of production values will increase. The bar will rise and the listenership of “ameteur” podcasts will drop. Ameteur means two guys in their basement talking about “whatever.”

Max Flight

Airplane Geeks

Consumers will become more discerning

In 2016 I believe that podcast listeners will be more discerning about what they listen to. They will not put up with fluff. They will cull their podcast subscriptions to those that add value to their work, faith, family and leisure life. More podcasters will quit than begin new podcasts. The rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer in terms of how many people listen to their podcast.

Douglas Brauner

Praying With The Eyes podcast

Measurement standards will emerge

Motivated by ad agencies, industry-wide measures of listenership will emerge. Consistency of measurement will be more important than absolute accuracy. (Same as we now have in print media, TV/cable, and radio.)

Max Flight

Airplane Geeks

Some podcasts and companies will die We see companies open and close all the time. Some companies grow while others crash.

SoundCloud will either go under or be sold to a private investment firm and retooled… either way, not viable for podcasters (no surprise).

David LaFaire

The Unwritable Rant Podcast

I expect to see more podfades as those of us who started on the wave of late 2014 consider keeping up the kind of work podcasting is indefinitely without the kinds of returns some thought we would get. (Not me, I knew this was a long and slow process and invaluable for my kids' education long term.)

Cheri

Creation Science 4 Kids

There will be more podcast-media-hosting competition

The Libsyn/Blubrry media hosting dominance will come under attack from new competitors. Most likely new entrant: Google, who, by the way, will use their voice recognition technology to index spoken word recordings.

Max Flight

Airplane Geeks

More international podcasters

I predict an increase in podcasting within the UK. Most of this will be due to the increased availability of equipment and hosting solutions but also a net result of the “I can do that” effect as audiences grow. There will also be an increase in the area of comedy podcasts largely due to the relaxation of copyright controls regarding parody that has stifled this area for some time.

John Richardson

StarfleetComms

Consumption will shift from standalone apps to seamless experiences

The utility of podcast-specific apps will fade. Podcast subscriptions per listener will increase and nobody wants a dozen different interfaces.

Integrated podcast listening technologies will improve and offer a continuous listening experience regardless of device/vehicle/location.

Max Flight

Airplane Geeks

Podcast-awareness will increase more than usual Since the creation of podcasting in 2004, the industry has seen steady growth in awareness. But with more major media focusing on or getting involved with podcasts, I think 2016 will see a more significant increase in consumer awareness and consumption of podcasts.

Podcasting fears for 2016 What things worry you about podcasting this year?

The government could impose regulations

There's always the chance the government will decide to become a major Big Brother in which case my whole online ministry vanishes overnight.

Cheri

Creation Science 4 Kids

Professional talent will diminish

I think we're right at the cusp of something new in the media industry. In my opinion some commercial radio stations are suffering a lack of creative investment. Many are being bought up, re-branded, watered down and used as advertising cash cows. The personality of these stations is slowly being eroded and the content is largely the same with some very notable exceptions in the UK and of those exceptions I count the BBC stations that are funded differently. My hope is that we, as podcasters, take that fear and turn it into an opportunity to make original and creative content. The fear is we don't take advantage of this quickly and effectively enough.

John Richardson

StarfleetComms

Highly acclaimed podcasters and companies will burnout I think the over-hustling will yield a lot of burnout in the coming year. It could be from major networks, “overnight” successes, or big companies that overvalued or overspent.

Podcasting hopes for 2016 Expectations aside, what do you hope will happen in podcasting this year?

Listeners should be discerning

I hope that the listeners in 2016 will be discerning of content and and that there will be more dialog between podcasters and listeners.

Douglas Brauner

Praying With The Eyes podcast

Podcast-searching should be easier

I hope to see easier ways to search for podcasts by niche, not just keywords. A way to weed out the podfaded shows when I search by topic would be wonderful, too. It's not fun being beaten out by shows that uploaded last in 2009.

Cheri

Creation Science 4 Kids

Podcast-consumption should go mainstream

I hope that the value of podcasts is realised. By that I mean that while it's a popular medium it could be much more mainstream. I think that Google Play getting involved with podcasts will help with this as they'll offer that much needed “one stop shop” mainstream alternative to the iTunes ecosystem however I recognise this is not the only requirement to boost audiences in general. Quality (or lack thereof) can turn off audiences and I hope that we all find a way to continue to improve our podcast quality overall.

John Richardson

StarfleetComms

Standalone app creation should less expensive

A cheap way to get my own app on android would be awesome.

Cheri

Creation Science 4 Kids

Podcast media hosting should become more competitive

More podcast hosting firms enter the space to drive innovation and create more competition to reduce costs

David LaFaire

The Unwritable Rant Podcast

Audio/video technology should become more podcast-friendly

Audio companies creating partnerships (or done through innovation) to offer a professional grade podcast console that will create, capture, track, and mix all the various inputs for podcasting (auto ingest various input sources like XLR/USB/Skype/audio bridges/other computer sources, etc. Reduce the tech footprint.

David LaFaire

The Unwritable Rant Podcast

More independent podcasters should be recognized Audience size is only one aspect of measuring a podcast's success, but influence is the best measurement. I would love to see more attention given to the individual podcasters with influence in small niches.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet6Share15Share1Pin103125 Shares

View Details

It's the new year and this is a time for many New Year's resolutions. Here are five podcasting resolutions I suggest for your podcast in the coming 365 days (even if it's not New Year's Day).

Resolve to publish consistently Consistency is one of the most important aspect of building an audience around content.

You may justify a short hiatus because of holidays or other events, but those could be prime opportunities to make your podcast stand out and gain a new audience.

What changes would you have to make in order to not miss a single episode for the next year?

Resolve to improve Regardless of where you are in podcasting, there's still room to improve. Consider the five cornerstones of a great podcast:
Content—the message you share
Presentation—how you communicate the message
Production—the technical side
Promotion—how you market your podcast
Profit—the purpose and goals of your podcast

Improving your podcast after episode 1 is the focus of Podcasters' Society. So maybe you need to join Podcasters' Society in order to fulfill this resolution!

Critically evaluate your own podcast (or ask someone else to do it). What areas do you see where you can improve?

Resolve to grow your audience I think we would all love to have a larger audience. Growing your audience is usually not a passive thing. It takes extra work, some planning, and maybe some financial investments. It takes real action to grow your podcast beyond standard “podcast inflation.”

What can you do to grow our podcast audience larger than if you did nothing?

Resolve to attend a relevant, in-person event Networking is hugely beneficial—not only for the potential to meet new people and partner, but also the new energy such events can infuse into your passions!

I love Podcast Movement and other social-media conferences, but the best event for you may be something far more relevant to your niche. Consider other local, regional, national, or international events that may have far more people interested in your niche.

For ideas, look at conference sites like Lanyard, Meetup, or industry websites and publications.

Resolve to do something new and bold Lastly, try something radical this year!
Create your first product for your podcast
Host a live, in-person event for your community
Start a new show
Add another media platform (video, audio, blogging, social, etc.)
Start using a new tool

There are so many opportunities to do something new and bold that you might get overwhelmed. But pick only one and resolve to accomplish it in the coming year.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet9Share13Share2Pin428 Shares

View Details

Our conversation about the links between Werner Herzog's 1972 cult classic AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and Alejandro González Iñárritu's new THE REVENANT delves into the way the two films handle the themes of imperialism and madness, and how each is informed by their reportedly tense and exhausting shooting conditions. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about "Aguirre," "The Revenant," or both, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

There are givers, takers, and wasters all around us. Which one are you and your podcast?

Good podcasts will always have an appropriate proportion of giving and taking. But my focus, here, is to explore whether you are being a giver, taker, or waster.

Are you a podcasting giver? A giver seeks to bestow good on others before or without receiving anything in return.

Podcasting givers have the shows we love. They provide valuable content, episode after episode; they interact to the best of their limited availability, and they are regularly looking for how they can give bigger or better.

This doesn't mean a podcasting giver will never receive something in return. Quite the contrary, you will often see the biggest givers have also received the most.

Giving starts with recognizing what you have been given; it comes from a heart of gratefulness. Giving doesn't have to cost money. Instead, it could cost time, knowledge, happiness, and more.

What do you give with your podcast?

Are you a podcasting taker? A taker seeks to have good bestowed upon themselves, often before or without giving to others.

Podcasting takers may provide good content; their purpose is not to give, but to take from others. They want fame or fortune (not bad in themselves) and they focus selfishly on those pursuits.

Takers usually fixate on what you can do for them. They ask for things upfront, they focus most on themselves, and they don't often leave positive impressions.

Takers are easy to spot at networking events. They're the people who start handing out business cards at the beginning of the conversation (sometimes without even participating!).

It's okay to take or receive. But evaluate your podcast to see whether its focus is on giving or on taking.

Are you a podcasting waster? A waster is neither giving nor taking. They may not even be seeking anything in particular. No positive or negative energy comes from this kind of person. They simply waste what they have and waste what is given to them.

Podcasting wasters are often without direction. They usually don't give value, don't engage, and don't bring anything unique to the world.

I've listened to “waster” podcasts before. There was no value—no entertaining or helpful content. Such shows usually seemed like people talking about nothing.

Wasters may desire much, but “they have not because they ask not” (James 4:2, paraphrased).

You can change! Ideally, we should all be givers in podcasting. But don't think that means you can't profit! There's plenty to profit by being a giver!

You may not be a giver right now. You may be a taker or even a waster. But you can change, if you want to. It takes work to change, and it starts with your recognizing where you are and where you want to be.

Podcasters' Society is not for takers who are interested in podcasting only to make money. Podcasters' Society is for givers or those who want to become givers and see the bigger vision of “profit.” To get you started, join our free webinar on January 28, 2016, with Brian from ProfitCast. We'll talk about what podcasting profit really is and how to get it.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Join me and Brian from ProfitCast for a live, free webinar on January 28, 2016! We'll share “Why You Must Profit from Podcasting and How to Do It.” Click here to register!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet10Share10Share2Pin931 Shares

View Details

BIRDMAN director Alejandro González Iñárritu is back with THE REVENANT, a half-revenge thriller/half-survival adventure that recalls in many ways the work of cinema’s most intrepid adventurer, Werner Herzog – particularly AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD. In the first half of this week's discussion, we talk about how Herzog's 1972 cult classic, about Spanish conquistadors searching for El Dorado, informs "The Revenant," in both its depiction of arrogant non-natives trying to exploit a foreign land, and its central figure of a man who is pushed to the brink of madness and beyond. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about "Aguirre," "The Revenant," or both, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Discovery may not be the biggest problem you face in growing your podcast. It could be that your podcast isn't easy! Here are 8 podcasting tips to help you reach your audience better.

Make it easier to play “Visit website; press play.” That's how easy it needs to be for people to start consuming your podcast.

Accomplishing this is a twofold process.

Get a good WordPress theme, such as the podcast-focused themes from Appendipity.
Get a good podcast player, such as Simple Podcast Press or Smart Podcast Player.

You can accomplish much of this yourself with web-design skills.

Make it easier to hear I think the biggest “sin” amatuer podcasters commit is publishing bad audio.
Poor quality—distortions, reverb, noise, etc.
Bad volume levels—hosts are different volume levels, episodes are too loud or too quiet, background audio is too loud, soundtrack is too loud or too quiet, etc.
Unskilled mic technique—talking off mic, bumping the microphone, cross-talk, etc.

Better equipment isn't always the solution. Knowledge and skill are truly more powerful here.

The simplest way to discover audio problems is to listen. Listen while you record (have all participants wear headphones), listen while you edit (do things sound the same volume, if you're not using a measuring tool?), and listen in environments your audience might be in (in the car, doing chores, etc.)

Auphonic can do a lot of cleanup for you. But it's always best to record good audio, first, so there's not much to clean up.

And in case you're wondering, never publish audio with voices separated between left and right. That's okay for special effects in audio-dramas, but it's always best to keep the voices centered.

Make it easier to subscribe We've always been in a multiplatform world. Although one particular platform may dominate podcast consumption, it's important to have options for others, too.

Don't tell your audience to “find” you in any platform. Your SEO may not be good, or it could change with any algorithm tweak.

Point people to your website—your podcast's true home on the Internet—and let the website point people to the right place to subscribe.

Consider using the iTunes Linkmaker for a handy link that opens directly to your podcast in iTunes or the Podcasts app. Use Subscribe on Android for broad compatibility with Android apps, and eventually use your Google Play subscription link.

I created Social Subscribe & Follow Icons to make this easier for podcasters to make these subscribe and follow buttons and links on their sites.

Make it easier to contact I know people are often concerned about spam and privacy, but don't put the burden of protecting yourself upon others.

I recommend having at least three contact options on your site:

Email address—Feedback@yourdomain.com is best and can simply forward to Gmail for great spam protection. Use Email Encoder Bundle, Email Address Encoder, or CryptX to protect your plain-text email address. Please don't write your address like “feedback [ at sign ] your domain [ d o t ] com.”
Contact form—Some people don't like using their email program for quick contact. Making a contact form is easy with Jetpack or Gravity Forms (my favorite).
Phone number—Create a direct-to-voicemail phone number people can use at any time to leave you voice feedback or try to contact you. Use Google Voice or Kall8.

There are plenty of other ways you can allow your audience to contact you, but these three are the most important and universal.

Make it easier to share Podcast reviews are nice, and I do offer a service that gathers your international podcast reviews and can help you get more. But the best thing people can do to help your podcast is to subscribe and share.

How easy is it for someone to share your episodes? Ensure you have buttons for Twitter, Facebook, and other popular social networks.

I've tried many social-sharing plugins for WordPress. My favorite is now Social Warfare (I use it on all my sites). If you need social-sharing buttons for a non-WordPress site, consider ShareThis or Shareaholic.

Make it easier to support Whether you're selling something or asking for direct support from your audience, you need to make it as easy as possible.

I generally recommend keeping the branding and tools on your website. But it would be better for you to a third-party tool (such as Patreon, Gumroad, Shopify, etc.) and make the option available than to spend months building something yourself.

Remember that technology can change. So I don't recommend that you ever use the tool's proper name in your calls to action. Instead, point your audience to a standard place on your site or show notes that can point them to the right place from there. For example, say, “Please support our podcast with a monthly pledge by visiting ONCEpodcast.com/sponsor,” instead of, “Please support our podcast through Patreon by visiting Patreon.com/ONCEpodcast.”

If you're selling something, remove all the things that prevent or distract people from completing their purchases. It could be that you have too many options, you don't explain your options, you ask for too much information, you don't support their preferred payment method, or you have other things on your site stealing their attention.

Make it easier to engage If you accept engagement with your podcast, make that as easy as possible. I still support website comments, and I like Disqus for make friendly comment forms on my sites.

Sometimes, making it easier to engage also means starting the conversation by asking good questions.

Make it easier to find Like I said earlier, never tell people to find something of yours. Give them a direct link. That goes for your podcast, show notes, calls to action, or anything else. (It's often easiest to put all of that in the show notes and make that the single URL you refer to.)

There will also be plenty of times your audience will want to find something on your site. So ensure your on-site search works well. I recommend SearchWP as a more powerful, more accurate search plugin for WordPress.

Also ensure that potentially new subscribers can find your podcast with quality and ethical search-engine optimization techniques.

What do you wish podcasters would make easier?

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * stan ze man from USA said, “I’ve listened to 5 or 6 shows in the last few days and I’ve learned MANY things that will help me with my existing podcast and with a new one that I’m starting soon. … He’s able to articulate concepts clearly and can break things down so that even the novice podcaster can learn a great deal here. Highly recommended!” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Now is a great time to find great podcasting deals! Click here to join my special email list for instant deal alerts!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet20Share17Share2Pin551590 Shares

View Details

Our conversation on Pixar's trajectory from 1995 to today delves into the company's most recent offering, discussing how THE GOOD DINOSAUR fits in with the rest of Pixar's output, including TOY STORY, as well as the modern computer-animated-feature landscape. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about TOY STORY, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

There are controversial issues in every industry, including those covered by podcasting. Remember “LAURA” when you need to discuss controversy in your podcast.

Listen A controversy is one form of conflict. And one of the best ways to deal with conflict is to simply listen.

I don't mean to listen only to the words others are using, but listen to what they are expressing with their words and emotions. Are they hurt? Are they angry?

Not all negative emotions are valid and reasonable, but listening will help ensure your information is correct.

Also listen most to your audience. They are your community. There could be controversy in your industry, but your audience may not care about it very much. Or, your audience may care a lot more about certain issues than others.

Some of my worst decisions while addressing controversy have been when I stopped listening to my audience and instead shared what I thought they wanted to hear or avoided what I thought they didn't want.

But even though you listen, that doesn't mean you're obligated to address the controversy—from a particular perspective, or even at all.

Acknowledge You may not need to fully discuss the controversial issue because simply acknowledging it could be good enough for your podcast.

Acknowledgment is very effective, especially when paired with respect. Think about your own conflicts with people and how different they would go if the other person simply acknowledged your opinion before they responded with theirs? (I'm still working on this, myself!)

Understand Do you truly understand everyone's interests and feelings? It's easy for us to marginalize something when it doesn't matter to us.

With understanding comes sympathy, or perhaps even empathy. When you listen to those affected by the controversy, you'll usually be confronted with some form of “You don't understand.”

You should also try to truly understand the issue. It's possible there is a lot of misinformation fuelling the controversy: rumors, misinterpretations, baseless attacks, and such.

I love this quotation from Ender's Game.

In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves.

Respect The hardest part of handling controversy is showing respect. You may let the controversy put you at complete odds with others, but never forget respect.

The Bible is full of radical ideas. Among them is Jesus's words, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you …” (Matthew 5:44, ESV). You may not agree with anything else from or about Jesus, but think about how radically different our world would be if we truly respected each other, despite our differences?

Sometimes, respecting the issue, people, and feelings may mean remaining silent. Maybe your podcast is not an appropriate forum for you to address the issue, or to address it in the way that would be truest to your beliefs.

But if you do decide to address the issue, then do so with great respect. Recognize that on “hot-button” issues, people can be extremely quick to misinterpret and react to almost anything you say, and it's just as easy to not say something to avoid giving certain impressions.

Accept Finally, comes acceptance. This doesn't mean tolerating other beliefs, but it means accepting the people with other beliefs.

You may also have to simply accept the hate you receive for your position, but not retaliate or try to appease.

You also need to accept that you most likely won't change someone else's mind on controversial issues.

Lastly, you may have to accept the fact that there's controversy, and move on.

Listening, acknowledging, understanding, and respecting someone’s opinions can all be done without compromising your own. Accepting their opinion is different. Unless you are accepting that their opinion is different than yours.

—Mark Des Cotes from Solo Talk Media

Some thoughts from Podcasters' Society members

I think because podasting is often compared to the wild west, even though there aren't rules regarding what is said — “if they don't like it, they don't have to listen” — it's worth noting that topics of controversy aren't always the best way to grow an audience. Unless, maybe that podcast IS geared toward a specific point of view.

…

My husband, who is very opinionated is surprisingly quiet when he hears people with points of view I know he doesn't agree with. I asked him why he didn't speak up yet, and he said, “Have you ever argued with someone and actually got them to change their opinion? It's very rare that happens, so it's not worth the energy. Best case scenario, you agree to disagree. But the worst case scenario can be much worse.”

—Emily Prokop from Classy Little Podcast

My take on controversy, if you want to get involved (and sometimes you don’t) is to state your argument in a clear precise matter once and leave it at that. If someone doesn’t view it the same way you do there’s seldom any amount of convincing that will work. And repeating yourself over and over to try to drive your point home is a sure way to to escalate the conversation into an argument.

—Mark Des Cotes from Solo Talk Media

I think it really depends on the nature of your show. If your show is about issues, address it, talk about it, deconstruct it. But if you want to honor the feel of your show and your audience perhaps taking the time as a host and say something like “we understand this is an issue but not one that fits the feel our show but here are a couple really good conversations that are going on about this issue”… something like that

—Jeff from An Irenicon

I also think the art of debate is lost. Everyone gets offended. Then they lash out emotionally. Which offends the other side and they do the same thing. Once your emotions kick in the battle is lost.

—John Bukenas from To Be Honest Podcast

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * ListenerMom from the USA said, “After getting a bit intimidated by the editing process, I searched out resources and found this podcast to be very helpful. The information is direct and easy to understand but includes some more technical details I need as well. Great material for podcasters of any level.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet13Share11Share2Pin632 Shares

View Details

The second Pixar film of 2015, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, inspires us to look back at the revered animation company's auspicious beginning: 1995's TOY STORY, the first computer-animated feature film. In the first half of this Pixar-spanning discussion, we discuss the history of the company that would go on to change feature animation forever, and how the seeds of that change are apparent in TOY STORY. Please share your comments, thoughts and questions about TOY STORY, THE GOOD DINOSAUR, or both, by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Our conversation on the many connections between BATTLE ROYALE and THE HUNGER GAMES series continues with the Forum discussion focusing on the films' respective styles, their different approaches to violence and teen angst, and their influence on the YA film genre as a whole. Plus, Your Next Picture show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about BATTLE ROYALE, THE HUNGER GAMES series, or both, by emailing comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Next to podcast-editing, show-notes writing is one of the most dreaded parts of podcasting. Here are several suggestions for speeding up the process!

Do show notes matter? Yes! High quality show notes (not transcriptions) are important for accessibility, search-engine optimization (SEO), and demonstrate a seriousness about your podcast.

Learn more about why podcast show notes matter:

9 Steps to Better Podcast Shownotes and 7 Benefits
Does SEO really matter in podcasting?
Make or collect talking points first When you know your discussion topics, it's a lot easier to recall what you said and write sufficient show notes.

This is also important to do before you record, to prevent straggling information. For example, if you have cohosts and discuss news stories, it's easier if you have each cohost provide their links before you record instead of trying to get them afterward.

Write show notes before you record We usually dread writing show notes when we postpone their writing until after we have recorded. Instead, try writing your show notes as part of your preparation.

This will not only allow you to publish your episodes more quickly, but it is a great way to mentally rehearse your content. This allows you to present the content a lot more effectively and smoothly, which also makes audio/video editing faster!

When you're finished recording, you need only to finalize your notes and add what little missing information there might have been.

This may not always be possible with cohosts, but if all of you write something before you record, it makes the process much faster after you have recorded.

Change your approach Like with audio/video editing, the burden of work depends largely on your approach. Your show notes don't have to be a verbatim transcription or complete record of every thought you shared in your podcast. Let your notes be more concise.

Summarize your discussion into one or two sentences, instead of trying to represent every piece of information you share.

Here's a trick for deciding what to include in your show notes. Answer the “What was that _____?” questions.

For example:

What was that list?
What was that link?
What was that video or image?
What was that guest?
What was that resource?
What was that topic?

Answer these and similar questions with your show notes, and you'll probably be just as thorough as you need to be. (But there's always room to do better!)

Create templates Most show notes follow typical patterns. For example, The Audacity to Podcast always contains:
Featured image
Intro paragraph
PowerPress shortcode
Full notes
List of recent reviews
Announcements
Closing stuff

Instead of remembering this format for each post, I simply load a template.

Your template could be something you copy and paste each time (such as from Evernote), but I love the free WordPress plugin Simple Content Templates. This allows you to create post templates from a WYSIWYG editor or HTML. But remember to choose your template before you edit your post!

These templates can contain rich text formatting, images, links, shortcodes, or anything else you can put in a WordPress post. For more features (Custom Post Types, Custom Fields, Tags, Categories, Featured Images, etc.), upgrade to the premium version, Advanced Content Templates.

Make your templates for a little more than you need. It's always faster to delete a section you won't need for an episode than to add in what you need.

Create shortcodes Shortcodes are keywords, sometimes with attributes, surrounded in brackets. For example, [magic_shortcode mind="blown"]. WordPress will usually display the shortcode in plain text while you edit, but it will replace the shortcode in the published version.

I've previously recommended Shortcode Exec PHP and Shortcodes Pro, but those WordPress plugins are no longer maintained or available. I now use Add Shortcodes Actions And Filters.

Use shortcodes for anything you need to regularly include. For example, feedback information, special promos, sponsors, and more.

The beauty of using shortcodes (even inside templates) is that you can change the shortcode settings and all posts that used that shortcode will be updated. For example, when I changed my contact information, I had to change it only once in the shortcode, refresh my website cache, and that one change was replicated across dozens of previous posts.

Shortcodes are also a great way of running some fancy PHP inside your posts. But shortcodes can also be simple text.

Write while you record Consider this one cautiously. Most of us can't write while we speak, but it might be possible for you to jot a quick note while your guest or cohost is speaking. But always keep your focus on the conversation! (Think of it like texting while driving.)

Combine this with editing techniques and things could be easier for you in post-production. For example, you might have forgotten to mention a resource in your show notes before you recorded. So while you're recording, you pause, mark, or leave silence while you quickly write what thing resource is, and then resume.

Alternatively, you could get a volunteer or virtual assistant to take notes while you're live-streaming your show, and then you have your notes waiting for you when you're finished recording.

Mark topic changes while recording You may not be able to write your notes ahead of time. Instead of listening back to your entire episode for discussion points, mark those times while recording.

You could invent your own code, such as a symbol, color, or double-mark pattern to recognize what spots need audio/video editing and what spots contain topic changes.

With this list of topic changes, skip to those moments to quickly know what was discussed without having to hear the whole conversation.

Learn writing shortcuts Writing with PCs is getting faster and easier with better tools. Markdown is one common way to speed up your writing and you can use it with a WordPress plugin or third-party writing app. Many other writing tools are implementing Markdown-like shortcuts for quick formatting.

For example, WordPress and Evernote support some Markdown syntaxes, such as “- ” to start a bulleted list, “## ” to start a heading 2, and so on.

There are other common keyboard shortcuts, such as Ctrl/Cmd-B for bold, Ctrl/Cmd-K for hyperlinking, and such. WordPress includes a really handy shortcut: when you have a URL copied to your clipboard, select text in the WordPress editor and press the normal paste shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd-V). Instead of replacing your selected text with the URL, WordPress now hyperlinks the text.

Set up automatic hyperlinking You may find that you need to regularly hyperlink the same text within your content. It could be products, people, topics, or anything else.

Pretty Link Pro (well worth the paid upgrade!) includes a keyword-replacement option to automatically hyperlink text with my pretty link. For example, the following keywords were typed in WordPress, but Pretty Link Pro changed them into hyperlinks.

HostGator
Spreaker
Blubrry Media Hosting
Simple Podcast Press

Each pretty link can have multiple keywords assigned to it, and it will replace any of them that it finds. You can also adjust certain thresholds and limits.

Use text-expansion Any kind of text you regularly repeat could be more quickly inserted with text-expansion. I use TextExpander for Mac to replace all kinds of things. For example:
tap.url → https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/
djl.htmlbio → As an award-winning podcaster, Daniel J. Lewis help others launch and improve their own podcasts for sharing their passions and finding success. Daniel creates training resources (like SEO for Podcasters) and podcasting tools (like My Podcast Reviews); he offers one-on-one consulting and group training (like Podcasters' Society); is a keynote speaker on podcasting and social media; and Daniel hosts a network of award-nominated shows covering how to podcast, clean-comedy, and the #1 unofficial podcast for ABC's hit drama Once Upon a Time. Daniel also writes about entrepreneurship and technology.

But text-expansion can also do far more than simply paste text. It can process things (like create a short link), it can insert formatted text, it can do tasks (like opening multiple browser tabs), and more.

Listen to my previous episode about the power of text-expansion for more tips. I'll also be sharing some of my special, advanced TextExpander snippets inside Podcasters' Society.

Listen faster while you write show notes Lastly, if you still decide to write your show notes after you have recorded, try listening to your episode at a faster speed. VLC is an easy multimedia player for that. Open your media in VLC in adjust the playback speed from the Playback menu. This will change the tempo without changing the pitch (so you won't get that “chipmunk” sound).

How do you write show notes faster? Please share your tips or your experience with any of these!

All of the following text and links are included in my template.

↓ This is a shortcode ↓

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

↓ This is a part of the template ↓

Announcements * Get Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other podcasting deal alerts! * Podcasters' Society registration is opening up for one last, super-special sale of the year. This special will probably never be offered again.

↓ The rest of this is from another shortcode ↓

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Tweet27Share60Share4Pin1K1K Shares

View Details

With the final installment of the blockbuster YA series THE HUNGER GAMES hitting theaters, we look back to the material many accused HUNGER GAMES author Suzanne Collins of ripping off: 2000's BATTLE ROYALE, a hyper-violent Japanese film adaptation of a hyper-violent manga about kids killing kids in a government-mandated slaughter. In this episode, we get into the many similarities – and many more differences – between the two, as well as BATTLE ROYALE's reputation and place in the larger scope of Japanese cinema. Please share your comments, thoughts and questions about BATTLE ROYALE, THE HUNGER GAMES series, or both, by emailing comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

The Next Picture Show's discussion of ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and SPOTLIGHT continues with the group Forum discussion. In this half, Scott Tobias, Tasha Robinson and Keith Phipps talk about the films' respective approaches to journalism, the cities of Washington, D.C., and Boston, and visual style. Plus, Your Next Picture show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about "All The President's Men," "Spotlight," or both by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Welcome to The Next Picture Show, a movie of the week podcast devoted to a classic film that has shaped our take on a new release. With director Tom McCarthy's SPOTLIGHT getting lots of acclaim for its treatment of the Boston Globe's investigation into the Catholic Church sexual abuse scandal, Scott Tobias, Tasha Robinson and Keith Phipps devote their debut show to arguably the Fourth Estate's finest couple of hours on celluloid, the 1970s classic ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN. Part of the Filmspotting Podcast Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View Details

Podcast editing is one of the most tedious and hated parts of podcasting. Here are several tips for faster audio- and video-editing.

Plan more Failure to plan is a plan to fail (similar quotations have been attributed to Benjamin Franklin and Winston Churchill). Having an effective plan for your podcast episode significantly reduces the need for editing.

Know where you want to go with the conversation, who leads certain segments and transitions, and know your information well enough that you'll have everything you need to communicate well.

Improve your presentation Most of the things podcasters want to edit out are mistakes. It's certainly a valid point that imperfections are what make us human (more on that in the next tip).

If you get better at communicating clearly and presenting well, then you won't have as much to edit.

Instead of trying to edit out every imperfection, work to reduce your reliance on such verbal crutches. Then, if a little verbal crutch does make its way in, it won't be very distracting and you won't have to worry about editing it.

Presentation skill goes beyond the words you use. It's about how you communicate and share information. Generally, confident communication requires less editing than uncertain communication. Or if you're passionately expressing something, people will get less distracted by some of the verbal crutches that sneak in.

A great presentation requires much less editing

Change your approach Planning and presenting well help reduce the number of mistakes that may need to be edited. You may also need to change your approach to your podcast-editing.

Many podcasters are harming themselves by trying to obtain perfection in their recordings: edit out every verbal crutch, fix every mistake, or have absolutely no dead air. These can kill your enthusiasm for podcasting.

Instead of looking for what to editing, consider editing only the significantly distracting things. Or even better than that, challenge yourself to record episodes with no intention of editing.

These first three steps may not seem like podcast-editing time-savers, but they're small conceptual investments that make the rest of your editing faster and easier. Now, I'll get into the practical tools.

Create templates Whatever tools you use, you probably have the ability to either make a project template, or keep a template project as your starting point.

Professional software (such as Adobe Audition) will allow you to make actual templates, which are usually selectable when you create a new project. But if you can't do that with your software, make a project with everything except your unique vocal track, then open that and “Save As” when creating your new project.

This template might contain any of the following.

Bumpers—Pre-insert your intro, outro, and segues onto their own track with fades already configured. Then, you need only to shift them to their right times.
Track effects—Some editing tools allow you to apply effects to any audio on a particular track. This saves you from having to reprocess the audio each time.
Timings—Place a marker on your bumpers so you know exactly where your vocal track(s) should begin or end.
Use the right tools Sure, you can probably drive in a nail with a spoon, but a hammer does the job much better. Using the wrong tool for the job could be making more work for yourself, or making it impossible to do what you need.
Learn how to use your tools effectively All podcasting software and equipment has a learning curve. And each tool, especially software, probably has something that could make your podcast editing easier and faster.

Learn more about each tool you use, and you may discover that you don't need to upgrade because you can do what you want with what you already have.

Upgrade to better tools Free tools have a cost—usually in time or knowledge required to use them. I switched from Audacity to Adobe Audition primarily because of how it improved my workflow.

Other free tools may be limited in features or functions (Auphonic‘s free online service will only process so much audio per month).

I once spent an hour fine-tuning the advanced noise reduction processor in Adobe Audition. But then I tried the same original audio in desktop Auphonc Leveler and I got even better results in a tiny fraction of the time.

Speaking of Auphonic, you may want to consider upgrading to desktop Auphonic Multitrack. It will do all of the normal Auphonic processing, but also compare across synchronized tracks for beautiful cross-track processing. For example, Auphonic Leveler may increase the crossover audio your cohost's microphone picked up, but Auphonic Multitrack will recognize which track has the active audio and appropriately adjust the others.

The best time to upgrade your tools is when they would make your work easier.

Mark edit points To support changing your approach to editing, mark the times you know will need something removed.

This could be where anything bad happened that you think was distracting enough to edit out later. For example, cross-talk, an interruption, a horrible mistake, etc.

Many recording apps and devices allow you to place a marker directly in the recording. But test this before you rely on it.

Alternatively, you could keep a small note going to quickly write the timestamp of where you need to edit.

If your edit points are not marked directly into your audio, then edit from the end to the beginning. This ensures that you're not shifting all the timestamps you wrote down with each edit before it.

Give margin for easy editing If you make a mistake big enough that you decide to edit it, make it easy for yourself by pausing and restating what you meant to say.

Hard to edit: “I bought a podcast microwave—I mean microphone—the other day.”

Easy to edit: “I bought a podcast microwave—[pause]. I bought a podcast microphone the other day.”

If you restate something, try to say it just as smoothly as you were saying it the first time, instead of trying to “squeeze in” your correction.

This kind of margin makes it easy to cut out the whole messed up part, instead of trying to cut inside of a sentence.

Watch the transitions The most likely edit points in podcasts are transitions. (TIP: Get better at transitioning!) This is especially true with cohosted or interview episodes.

If you recording in multiple tracks, then it will be easy to see where one person stopped talking and the other started. This are prime areas for mistakes, awkward silences, cross-talk, or pointless babble (as someone fills silence before their actual answer).

Look at both the beginnings and endings of such transitions. I estimate that 75% or more of your presentation-improving edits will be in those places.

If you host a show by yourself, these transitions would be when you move from one point to the next, one segment to the next, or one topic to the next.

Use and customize keyboard shortcuts Nearly every app has keyboard shortcuts. These could be a universal key combination, like Ctrl-V or Cmd-V for pasting, or they could be something combined with your mouse activity (click, scroll, hover, etc.).

Often, these shortcuts are designed to make logical sense. For example, Apple and Adobe apps use generally Shift to constrain or select a range, Alt/Option to change the the behavior.

A good command of these shortcuts means potentially never having to move your hands away or searching for the thing you need.

Play at faster speeds It can get crazy, but many editing apps allow you to playback the audio or video at faster speeds. Unfortunately, this usually results in a higher-pitched, “chipmunk” voice. But it can work great for quickly finding areas to edit.

Audacity has a playback speed feature, but Audition currently requires you to hold down the mouse cursor on the forward button during playback.

Truncate silence If you can stop the habit of using verbal crutches to fill dead air, you may end up with some awkward silences. Sometimes, a truncate silence tool (included in most audio-editing apps) can easily reduce these.

I don't recommend that you try to completely remove silences, because silences are important in communication. It's also possible that removing the silences in your slow sentence will make you sound robotic.

Seek only to reduce the duration of these silences. Most of the truncate silence tools allow you to do this by specifying a ratio for condensing the silence. For example, a 3:1 ratio would condense a 2-second silence to 2/3 of a second. Thus, the silence is still there, but only shorter.

What tips do you have for speeding up your podcast editing? Comment below!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

TweetShare39Share2Pin2K2K Shares

View Details

Video podcasting requires a lot of different gear from audio podcasting. Consider the following 7 categories of podcasting equipment for a video podcast.

Microphone(s) Audio is the most important part of video. Thus, you need a microphone close to your voice in order for your message to be heard.

Most audio podcasting microphones won't work well for video because they're too big and distracting in the shot. However, you can sometimes frame your shot tight enough that you can use a studio microphone just barely out of frame. Here's an example where I've done that.

The best kind of microphone for video is something that's small, not distracting, or completely invisible.

Typically, that leaves you with the following options.

Lavaliere microphone—This clips on your clothing but can sometimes be hidden in a hat, a color, hair, or underneath clothing. A lav mic usually allows for free arm movement, but it may be susceptible to clothing noise or decreased pickup when you turn your head.
- Cheap: JK MicJ 044
- Mid-range: Røde SmartLav+ (connects to mobile devices)
- High-end: Røde Lavalier
Headset microphone—Not the kind of cheap headset mic and headphones you typically see gamers wearing, but a professional mic-only headset. You see these often used by public speakers. They're small, keep the mic always the right distance from your voice, but can be visible and distracting in videos.
- Cheap: Røde HS1
- High-end: Countryman E6 mic
Shotgun microphone—This is usually a very long microphone that would be mounted out of frame, usually above or below the talent. This is the kind of mic you typically see in professional filming with a boom arm and assistant. This mic stays in one place (unless you have an assistant to follow you), is out of frame, and picks up a very narrow cone of audio. These produce great quality but can be expensive.
- Cheap: Røde VideoMic Pro
- High-end: Røde NTG-4+
Handheld microphone—In noisy environments, or when you need to interview someone at an event, a handheld microphone is often the best choice. This does a great job of reducing background noise and focusing more on your voice, all with very little setup. It's great for interviewing, too, because you can control the conversation by holding onto the mic and pointing it at whom you want to speak. Make sure you get a mic designed for this use, so it will have minimal handling noise.
- Sennheiser MD 46 cardioid interview microphone
- Røde REPORTER Omnidirectional Dynamic Interview Microphone
Condenser microphone—Although condenser microphones are not ideal for most audio podcasters, they could be great for video! Listen to how well a condenser microphone works for Rhett and Link's Good Mythical Morning on YouTube. This kind of microphone would usually be in the frame, but could be nicely decorated to be part of your set. This would definitely record some post-processing.
- High-end: Blue Microphones Mouse

The worst microphone you could use would be the microphone on your camera. That is not only a cheap microphone, but it's also usually so far away from your voice that it would pick up a lot of background noise and reverb.

Here's a great example from LeadPages of different video mics (they, unfortunately, chose a lav mic known for horrible quality, so this isn't necessarily a fair comparison):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubGeREz-EJM

Audio recorder or wireless system Assuming you're taking your video quality seriously to not be using the built-in microphone, you have two options for recording your audio:

A. Connect the mic to the camera via cable or wireless system This is the easiest method to use, but it could be cumbersome or expensive. As long as your connection produces no latency in the audio, your video editing will be easy because the audio is recorded straight into the video.

A wired system may have to rely on the camera's built-in preamp, which is usually not very good. But you could use a recorder or mixer with a preamp between your mic and the camera.

Or, consider a wireless system, like the Røde RØDELink Filmmaker Kit or RØDELink Newsshooter Kit (not yet available). Both of these are digital wireless systems. This allows you to wear or hold the microphone and maintain full freedom of motion.

B. Connect the mic to an external recorder and sync in post If you're on a budget, then consider recording your audio and video separately. This can sometimes produce even better audio quality because you don't have to rely on the camera's preamps at all.

Connect your mic to a portable audio recording (or even your smartphone) and start your video and audio recordings simultaneously. Consider a Zoom H1 for a small recorder. Record a snap or clap (ensure it's close to the camera mic) as a synchronization point, and then start your content.

In post-production with your video editing software, align the spikes of the snap or clap from your camera audio track and separate audio track, then mute or delete your camera's audio.

To ensure this works without audio drifting, put your audio recorder and camera in the same recording rate (usually 48 KHz).

This is how I've recorded most of my videos. Here are a couple examples.

In this video for International Podcast Day, I used a couple lav mics (that I tried to hide.

This video from NAB Show 2015 shows that I was recording my handheld microphone with a cable to a Zoom H5, but I'm also talking with TASCAM their DR-10X plug-on recorder for XLR mics.

Lighting Good lighting is the second most important part of quality video. Great lighting can make even a cheap camera look good. This is because a well-lit scene doesn't require the camera to work so hard to expose everything.

For example, watch this video I recorded from a webcam (Logitech C920) and see the huge difference the lighting makes.

Lighting doesn't have to be expensive. There are two cheap kits I recommend, both under $170: one with two softboxes and an overhead light (3,800 watts) (my kit), and the other with three softboxes (4,500 watts).

Ideally, you'll want three points of light:

Key light: bright light from the front, angled from either left or right.
Fill light: dimmer light for fill-in from the front, angled from the opposite side as the strong light.
(Optional) Rim light: usually an overhead and rear light, from an angle, that helps separate the subject from the background. Ideally on the same size as the fill light, but shining from the back.

If you can't afford a lighting kit and you don't have enough other bright lights to help, then try to record near a window with sunlight coming in. Try to diffuse direct sunlight with a white sheet, tablecloth, or shower curtain. Then, you could use white surfaces (like a dry eraser board, white sheet, back of a poster, or small reflector) to reflect some more light from different angles. Or use house lights to better light the subject or “studio.”

Camera(s) Now, we come to the camera. This is often the first thing people think about when wanting a quality video, but remember that audio and lighting are more important.

I recommend that you camera capture, at a minimum, 1,280 × 720 (720p) at either 24 or 30 frames per second (FPS). Some cameras may capture at higher resolutions, but at a sacrifice in other ways. For example, 720p will always look better than 1080i. And some features, such as image stabilization, might not work as well at 4K as it would at 1080p. Higher frame rates (like 60 FPS or more) are usually only necessary if you want to make slow-motion videos.

If you want to record the audio from your mic into camera (via cable or wireless system), then ensure your camera has an audio input and turn its gain all the way down. It's better to let a wireless system or other interface handle the preamp for your mic. But if your mic is connected directly to the camera, then set the input gain where necessary.

Generally, the larger a camera's sensor, the better the image quality will be. It's not a matter of megapixels, but how well the pixels are captured. For example. a DSLR often gets great video because of its sensor that is tens or hundreds of times larger than a smartphone's sensor.

Another factor for beautiful video is the aperture of the camera. This is how much light the camera lets in by opening its aperture. The “f/2.0” number indicates how closed the aperture is. Thus, f/1.4 is open wide while f/6.0 is more closed. In addition to letting in more light, an open aperture also creates more depth of field, where the background is in less focus compared to the foreground.

There are, currently, four different types of cameras you could consider. Here they are, in my order of recommendation.

Camcorder—A dedicated, HD digital video camera that captures or SD cards or other digital storage. This will allow you to record for as long as you have available storage. You may not have interchangeable lenses or the full depth of field that a DSLR would provide, but these are often compact, flexible, and affordable.
DSLR or mirrorless camera—These cameras are usually focused on photography, and USA import laws prevent them from recording longer than 29 minutes and 59 seconds.
- Canon EOS Rebel T6i DSLR
- Sony A7s II Mirrorless
Smartphone camera—Cameras in mobile devices are becoming smarter and better quality. But so many improvements have been made in the last several years that I don't recommend relying on a smartphone camera older than 3 years old. The right recording app on your smartphone could make your videos a lot better.
Webcam—Although not always ideal, versatile, or portable, an HD webcam can still look good with decent lighting. Learn how to use your webcam software (or buy additional software) to control the exposure and white balance. Also ensure the camera is at a flattering angle for your videos.
- Logitech C920

You may even want to consider getting multiple cameras to be able to switch live or in post-production. This can help cover up editing points, make things easier to see, or simply look a lot more interesting and professional.

Background Think about everything visible to the camera and how it looks for your studio set. Ceiling fans, doors, windows, clutter, pets, people, rooms, and more can make a video look extremely amateurish. The background should never compete with the subjects for the viewer's attention. But it's also okay for the background to contain interesting lighting and props (that's where depth of field can blur the background to make it look great).

You could create a background with props, or consider a solid-colored background with a colored backdrop. Or, record in front of a chromakey green screen to add your own background or virtual set. But that kind of effect can very easily look cheap if you're not skilled with the software.

Accessories As with ideal audio podcasting equipment, there are some accessories you should consider for your video studio.
Foreground or background props or accent lighting to make the set more interesting
Table, desk, or counter for holding other accessories, important items, or essential tools (like your computer)
Regular chair, stool, or something else to make sitting or standing comfortable
Tripod or mount for your camera
Stands for your lights and backdrop
Live-streaming interface If you want to live-stream your video, then that adds all kinds of new complexity. Video live-streaming requires a lot of bandwidth and computing power.

For live-streams more professional that using webcams, you'll have to think about HDMI or SDI capture interfaces for your PC, live-streaming software (such as Wirecast, vMix HD, and such). You may need video-switching capability in addition to on-screen displays, like lower thirds.

Stepping up to this newscaster level of live quality can easily start to cost a few thousand dollars and may even require an assistant to run things for you. But the results can look amazing and then require little to no editing in post production.

This is not everything In the last several episodes, I have endeavored to give you a “detailed overview” of the setup and gear for your audio and video podcasting “studio.” Listen to the other episodes to learn more:

Ideal Equipment for an Audio Podcasting Studio
How to Optimize Your Podcasting Studio for Good Video
How to Optimize Your Podcasting Studio for Good Audio

I'm confident that my recommendations will help you launch or improve your podcasting studio, but I can't promise this will cover all of your needs or possible scenarios. Thus, if you need more help than I could provide in these episodes, please consider scheduling a one-on-one consulting session with me.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * pbcmedia said, “I have found Daniel’s tips and suggestions helpful in launching my podcast. I particularly enjoy knowing that each week the topics are indeed about podcasting and geared to that one subject. It helps a newcomer focus on the right fundamentals.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Pro Lavalier Lapel Microphone JK MIC-J 044 Compatible with Sennheiser Wireless Transmitter - Omnidirectional Condenser Mic

Rode SmartLav+ Omnidirectional Lavalier Microphone for iPhone and Smartphones, Black

Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920, Widescreen Video Calling and Recording, 1080p Camera, Desktop or Laptop Webcam (Discontinued by manufacturer)

Fancierstudio 3800 Watt Softbox Video Lighting Kit Light Kit with Carrying Case by Fancierstudio 9060SB4

Countryman E6 Omni Earset - Sennheiser SR 3.5 locking, Vocals, Tan, 2mm

Rode VideoMic Pro Compact VMP Shotgun Microphone

Canon EOS Rebel T6i Digital SLR with EF-S 18-55mm IS STM Lens - Wi-Fi Enabled

Rode Reporter Omnidirectional Dynamic Interview Microphone

Rode Lavalier Lapel Omni-Directional Condenser Microphone

Rode NTG4+ Supercardioid Condenser Shotgun Microphone with Inbuilt Battery

ePhoto 3 Photography Studio Continuous Lighting Kits 4500W Digital Photography Studio 3 Softbox Lighting Kit Light Set + Carrying Case H9060S3

View Details

Before you buy all kinds of podcasting gear that you may not need, consider the following 7 categories of equipment for an audio podcast. (I'll discuss video equipment in the next episode.)

Microphone(s) The quality of your recordings start first with you—your voice, mic technique, and speaking style. But the first piece of equipment that picks up your voice and affects the recording is your microphone.

The ideal spot for most microphones is 4–6 inches (10–15 centimeters). This ensures that the microphone picks up more of your voice than reverb and other noise.

Because most podcasters are not in soundproof, acoustically treated studios, a large-diaphragm, dynamic microphone is usually the best choice.

Get a microphone that will grow with your podcasting needs. USB-only microphones don't scale well, which is why I always recommend against using them. For example, combining multiple USB microphones, remote cohosts, live sound effects, or live-streaming can all be difficult or nearly impossible, unless you make some big sacrifices.

As of 2015, there are only three microphones I can confidently recommend:

Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone—Usually $50–$60 (and sometimes as low as $35), this mic can connect directly to any PC and mobile devices via USB, but it can also connect to professional audio equipment via XLR. It's the only microphone of its kind with a lifetime warranty. And the sound is quite good! The kit comes with the mic, a long USB cable, a thick XLR cable, a mic clip, and a small mic stand. If you can't get the ATR2100-USB affordably in your country, try the Audio-Technica AT2005USB or the Samson Q2U. These two mics have the same features and general quality of the ATR2100-USB, but they have only one-year warranties.
Electro-Voice RE320 Variable-D Dynamic Vocal and Instrument Microphone or Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone—Both of these mics are $300–$325 and produce superior sound. I think the RE320 is a little more universal for most voices, but the PR40's frequency response can be great for non-sibilant, higher-pitched voices. The RE320 is designed to reduce the proximity effect (bassy response when you get closer to the mic), and the PR40 is designed to better reject off-axis noise. (Sidenote: I can sell either of these microphones!)
Microphone accessories A microphone, alone, is usually not enough for recording well. In order of priority, here are some of the accessories you might need.
Mic stand or boom—You need something to hold your mic within 4–6 inches (10–15 centimeters) from your mouth. A mic stand is similar to what you see on stages; it sits on the floor (or desk). A mic boom is like a robot arm that allows you to more easily place the mic exactly where you want it. My favorite mic boom arm is the Heil Sound PL-2T
Pop filter or windscreen—A pop filter is the disc-shaped mesh that sits between you and the mic and it's best for in studios. A windscreen is the sock-like foam that fits over the microphone and it's best in portable or outdoor environments.
Shock mount—Vibrations, such as typing on your keyboard, bumping your desk, or touching the mic or mic stand, can cause low-frequency noise in your recordings and sound amatuer. A shock mount suspends the microphone in a sort of spider-looking cage that absorbs the vibrations.
Preamp—If you don't already have a good preamp in your recording chain, you may need to add a dedicated one. The preamp is what amplifies the microphone's signal (gain) before passing on through your audio chain. A cheap preamp will introduce a constant hiss. Quality preamps can be found in many mid- and high-end mixers, or you can add your own with a Cloudlifter CL-1, DBX 286s, or a Fethead.
Headphones A good pair of headphones is important for recording for three reasons:
Hear yourself—It's important to know how you sound in the microphone. This will help you know when you're too loud, too quiet, too close, or too far.
Hear what is and isn't picked up by the mic—This helps you to know whether the microphone picks up the dog outside, your sniffle off-mic, your typing, that bump on the desk, or any other nearby sound. You may sometimes be surprised what does and doesn't make its way into your recordings.
Hear what you're supposed to hear—Each participant in the podcast needs to hear each other and hear any sound clips you may use.

Listen to my episode about headphones to help you pick the right pair.

A recorder The audio from your microphone needs to be recorded somewhere. Here are my recommendations, in order of quality, stability, and reliability.
An external digital recorder—A standalone device dedicated to recording. This could be a smartphone, but you can a lot more reliability and quality from something like a Zoom H5 or Zoom H6.
Standalone recording software on your PC—Any app on your PC that can record, such as Audacity, Adobe Audition, or even QuickTime Player. You may need to virtually mix things with Virtual Audio Cable (Windows), Audio Hijack (OS X), or one of the audio apps from VB-Audio (Windows).
VOIP recording software on your PC—Software that connects directly to Skype or whatever other voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) tool you're using. Consider Pamela for Skype (Windows), Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype (OS X), Ecamm Call Recorder for Facetime (OS X), or Ringer (iOS and Android).
Live-streaming recording software on the Internet—Most live-streaming tools also allow you to simultaneously record, but this usually has to reduce the audio quality for the sake of bandwidth. Consider Google+ Hangouts on Air, Blab, Spreaker, and Mixlr.

If you have remote guests or cohosts, then your recorder must be able to capture all of those sources. I recommend splitting yourself from your remote participants (even with a simple left-right separation for recording, but mixdown to mono for publishing).

Learn why it's a good idea to use an external digital audio recorder.

A mixer A mixer isn't mandatory for a successful podcast. But a mixer can make a lot of complicated things much simpler, or enable you to do things a little better.

Most mixers give you the same basic mixing abilities:

Combine sources—Multiple microphones, soundtrack, and other inputs.
Adjust volumes—Make real-time tweaks to the audio levels of any input or output.
Provide preamps—Adjust the sensitivity of your microphones.
Combine or separate outputs—Output to a recorder, headphones, live-streaming interface, audio-processor, VOIP or phone option, and more.
Add some effects—Tweak the equalization (EQ), add some compression, or add special effects.

Learn more about mixers and whether you need one for your podcast.

A live-streaming interface If you want to live-stream your show over the Internet while you're recording, then that adds an extra layer of complexity. As for your equipment, you should be able to feed all of your audio sources (you, your participants, and the soundtrack) to a single output.

If your live-streaming tool is also integrating with your remote participants (such as Blab, Hangouts on Air, Spreaker, etc.), then you may not need a separate interface.

Learn more about live-streaming from the many episodes I've done about it.

An audio processor Depending on your other equipment choices and live-audio needs, you might need to consider additional audio processing.
Better preamps—Some mixers or recorders will introduce hiss on your microphone tracks, but a good preamp can reduce that
Compression—Smooth out the dynamic range between loud and quiet spots.
Limiting—Protect the audio from getting too loud and causing distortion.
Gating/expanding—Prevent noise from being captured when you're not talking.
Addition processing—De-essing, EQ, and other effects could also be done on your audio in real-time before going to your recorder.

Learn more about software vs. hardware compressors.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * iPad 4 Work from Canada said, “I went from being a mere fan of podcasts to launch ready because of this podcast. Extremely helpful.”

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * November's free webinar from Podcasters' Society is still in planning, but I'll have details soon!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Cloud Microphones Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator

Heil Sound PL-2T Overhead Broadcast Boom

dbx 286s Microphone Preamp & Channel Strip Processor, Mono 4-Way

View Details

Recording video (for podcasting, YouTube, or anything else) adds several layers of complexity over standard audio. Here are 6 tips for getting better video from your “studio.”

Choose your video style(s) The styles you choose for your video drastically affect your needs. For example, how many hosts you have could influence how many cameras and microphones you need. Also, one kind of microphone may be adequate for solo shows, but the same kind of mic won't work for cohosted shows.

You may need a green screen for background effects, a counter-height table for demonstrating a product, a separate or overhead camera for special product shots, and so on.

Your “studio” may not work for every kind of style you can imagine, so decide on what's important before you start adjusting the studio space for your video podcasting.

Optimize for audio Audio is the most important quality factor for video. If people can't hear you well, then it won't matter how good your video works because they can't receive your message.

Review all of the points from my previous episode, “How to Optimize Your Podcasting Studio for Good Audio“:

Move away from noise
Move the noise away from you
Stop using noisy things
Point your microphone(s) away from noise
Reduce reverb
Consider your in-studio cohosts

Video podcasting in your studio may require extra work on your audio because the needs are usually different. When recording audio alone, it's okay to have a large microphone close to your mouth. But this same setup may be distracting and hinder the viewing experience for video.

Going back to my first point, the video style you choose influences the kind of microphone you need. Shotgun mics often produce the best audio when placed well, but a lavaliere microphone may be more versatile (and affordable) for your style.

Almost anything else will be better than the microphone built into your camera.

If you can't get a microphone made for video, then consider using your standard microphone and framing your shot tightly. This would let you get the microphone close for good audio, while keeping it out of the shot. You could also try to hide the microphone behind a prop.

In this video, I used my Heil PR40 microphone barely out of the frame:

Here, I used two Heil PR40 microphones out of frame:

In the following two videos, I used lav microphones.

(In the second video, we forgot to turn something off and my microphone had some interference.)

Does your audio need to be perfect? No. But do try to make it as good as possible, and avoid using the built-in mic on your camera.

Give yourself enough space You can record an audio podcast with even the tiny space of a closet. But video needs more space.

Cameras, backdrops, lighting, props, backgrounds or backdrops, and a table or counter all take space. Also, if you want a nice depth of focus effect (where the background is blurry while you remain in focus), you need at least several feet between you and the background.

The lens and camera you use can also affect this. 50 mm lenses are very popular for their size and wide aperture, but they're also very close to the focal length of the human eye. But put a traditional 50 mm lense on a cropped-sensor camera (usually any camera under $2,000), and there may be a magnification factor of 1.5× or 1.6×, thus making the 50 mm lense function like a 75 or 80 mm lens. Being that zoomed in means either very tightly cropped video, putting even more distance between the subject and the camera.

Don't forget about your vertical space! Lights, shotgun mics, and overhead cameras may need 8 feet or more clearance to keep them out of your video frame. Some homes may have fixtures or ventilation that either hangs so low that it's visible in your shots, or it gets in the way of the gear you want to use.

Work with lighting While audio is the first important quality factor for video, lighting is the second factor. It's possible to get great video from a cheap camera (even a webcam) with good lighting, as the following video demonstrates.

If you need a cheap starter lighting kit, consider one of these:

Fancierstudio FL9060S4 3800 Watt Softbox Video Lighting Kit Light Kit With Carrying Case—this is the kit I use and I chose it for the overhead light instead of a third softbox
ePhoto Pro Studio Video 4500W Digital Photography Studio 3 Softbox Lighting Kit Light Set and Carrying Case H9060S3—this is essentially the same kit as above, but it has three softboxes instead of the above kit's two softboxes and overhead light

But if you can't afford even these, get creative with what you have.

Face a window on a sunny day.
Angle yourself near a window on a sunny day, and use something bright to reflect light from the other side.
Use as many house lamps with the bright bulbs safe for use.
Use work lamps you might have in your garage.

In the following video, I had an open window to my right (diffused with a white sheet or shower curtain) and a few very bright daylight-temperature CFLs in a regular house lamp to my left.

Lighting is a science all to itself. But the general idea is that the more light you get pointed at the subject, the better your videos will look.

Also look at a cheap reflector (or something else large, flat, and white) to have more control over lighting.

Make it comfortable for your needs Different video and presentation styles come with different needs. For example, product demonstration videos often work best if you can stand behind a counter, conversational videos may work best with your sitting down, or promotional videos may work best standing with nothing in front of you.

Here are some examples.

This video was a promotion for my SEO for Podcasters course, and it was shot in the more conversational format of the whole video series.

In this video, we're both sitting (because I didn't have any surface high enough for standing).

In this video for Podcasters' Society, it was more directly promotional and I was standing with nothing in front of me (great for using hand gestures).

In your videos, it might be important to you to have relevant items visible in the background. There are plenty of styles, and you need to ensure your space is comfortable for that style.

Consider future expansion Can your video studio grow with you? Maybe you'll want to start recording a new style of videos, or you want to add a cohost, or you want to leave your equipment permanently set up.

If possible, keep these things in mind and work with your space in a way that will allow you to expand and try new things in the future.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Register for my FREE webinar, “Growing your podcast with Instagram, email subscriptions, and sponsorships,” with Todd Uterstaedt, 3:00 pm (EDT/GMT-4), Thursday, October 22, 2015. * Get ready to join Podcasters' Society when the registration opens for only 48 hours October 22–23, 2015.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Neewer 43 Inch/110 Centimeter Light Reflector 5-in-1 Collapsible Multi-Disc with Bag - Translucent, Silver, Gold, White and Black for Studio Photography Lighting and Outdoor Lighting

View Details

Whatever space you use for podcasting might need a little work on the acoustics to help your podcasts sound better. Here are 6 tips to get you started improving your “studio” for audio.

Move away from noise The first issue you may need to solve in any “studio” space could be the noise from other items. It could be appliance, HVAC, outside noise, and such. If you can't turn these off, move as far away from them as possible. Also, have as many layers (walls, closed doors, curtains, etc.) between you and the noise as is practically possible. This may even mean using a different room that may be more ideal.
Move the noise away from you Spinning-disk hard drives, computer fans, and speakers are common noisemakers that come with having a computer. If any of these are making noise, try to move them farther away from your microphone, or turn them off.
Stop using noisy things Mice, keyboards, chairs, pens, and all kinds of other random objects can make noise as we use them. While you're recording, try to avoid these things.

That may mean being a little uncomfortable in a quiet chair, using a touchpad instead of your nice mouse, dressing differently, or not having the heater or air conditioner making your room more comfortable.

You may be surprised what noises do and don't get picked up my your microphones. But the best practice is to avoid being part of the problem yourself.

Point your microphone(s) away from noise When you can't distance your microphone from noise, at least point your microphone away from the source of the noise. This works best with most end-fire, cardioid pickup pattern microphones (these generally capture what's in front of the microphone much more than what's around or behind it).

This is also an effective way to reduce audio crossover between multiple microphones. Try to point your microphones away from each other, which also places your cohosts in ideal positions to see each other.

But be aware of what new problems you might create by pointing the microphone at a reverberant surface.

Reduce reverb While background noise is the biggest problem to reduce, the most common problem you'll face with a podcasting studio is reverberation (or “reverb”).

Reverb is when audio bounces off surrounding surfaces and mixes together but doesn't produce a distinct echo. For example, the sound of your voice in a bathroom is reverb. But shouting into a large space and hearing yourself back is an echo.

The first step to reducing reverb is to be closing to your mic, so that the mic picks up more of your source audio (your voice) than the reverberated audio.

For optimizing your podcasting space, try to reduce the flat surfaces in your room.

Put carpet or rugs on the floor.
Place soft furniture in the room.
Hang things from the walls.
Put a curtain over the window.

A cheap way to reduce reverb in a room is to hang blankets and open closet doors. The idea is to have as few flat surfaces and as many soft and angled surfaces as possible.

Depending on your microphone, you may even get some reverb from the computer monitor directly in front of you. To fix this, try slighting turning or tilting the monitor away.

Consider your in-studio cohosts You might get your studio set up perfectly for your own workstation and microphone, but adding an in-studio cohost could complicate things. Their mic placement could result in more reverb or noise from their side.

An additional problem could occur, depending on your setup. If your cohost is next to you, it's easy to turn your head to talk to them and consequently turn away from your microphone. Learning to pivot around your mic can improve this, but that can sometimes also change the tone of your voice.

It would be more ideal to face your cohost(s) as directly as possible, and thus reduce or eliminate the need for turning heads.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Register for my FREE webinar, “Growing your podcast with Instagram, email subscriptions, and sponsorships,” with Todd Uterstaedt, 3:00 pm (EDT/GMT-4), Thursday, October 22, 2015. * Get ready to join Podcasters' Society when the registration opens for only 48 hours October 22–23, 2015.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasting costs money. Before you spend more money on podcasting gear, audio or video equipment, and other podcast resources, learn how to create a podcasting budget and stay within it.

Business or hobby? The first thing for you to consider when creating your podcast budget is whether your podcast is part of a business, or if it's purely a hobby.

If your podcast is generating income, then you should probably treat it like a business. (There may even be legal requirements to do so, but you should consult an accountant for such advice.)

Look at it this way. A business is intended to return a profit, a hobby is intended to return pleasure. There's some crossover for many of us, and that's okay, but you should talk to an accountant about your best practices.

If your podcast is part of a business, then your budget needs to focus on return on investment (ROI): larger audience, more conversions, bigger opportunities, and improved quality.

If your podcast is a hobby, then your budget needs to focus on enabling you to continue enjoying what you do.

For example, $300 microphone may make perfect sense for a business podcast that wants to have superior audio quality. But for a hobby podcast, $300 could be better spent in annual hosting bills.

What's the “income”? Whether your podcast is for a business or a hobby, it needs some kind of “income.” Keeping expenses below income should be common sense.

For a business, the income could come from a marketing budget, or perhaps from revenue the podcast generates.

For a hobby, the income could come from what the podcast does bring in (through donations, affiliates, etc.), or it's simply an amount of money you're allowed to spend every month on your hobby.

Whatever money you're able to spend on your podcast is not your budget; it's merely the limit. Your budget is the plan for what you can fit within that limit.

Budget for startup expenses How much money are you allowed to spend in order to launch your podcast? That's your budget for startup expenses.

Consider all of the following potential expenses for starting your podcast.

Hardware: microphones, mixer, cables, adapters, etc.
Software: audio/video-editing, plugins, image-editing, etc.
Education: consulting, courses, training materials, etc.
Services: hosting, website or cover art design, professional support, etc.

These expenses might not all be necessary for your launch. Most of these are one-time expenses, but some could be recurring.

For a hobby, typical startup expenses could be $100–$600. For a business, you could be looking at $500 to $2,000 or more.

Budget for recurring expenses Like owning a car requires regular maintenance (changing the oil, refilling the gas, replacing the tires, etc.), a podcast also has ongoing expenses that could be monthly or yearly.

Consider all of the following potential recurring expenses for continuing your podcast.

Software: “rented” software (like Adobe's), premium plugin renewals, etc.
Services: web and media hosting, podcast stats, promotional tools or support, virtual assistants, etc.
Education: memberships (like Podcasters' Society!), premium subscriptions, etc.

Again, these aren't all necessary, but you should remember that podcasting does have ongoing costs. Yes, you can do things for free, but “free” costs in complexity, time, knowledge, and it limits your potential.

For most podcasters taking their hobby seriously, I think $30–$50/month will cover the important stuff (web and media hosting) with a little room for extras (like My Podcast Reviews!).

For business podcasters, I recommend $100 or more per month.

(In case you're wondering, my monthly podcasting expenses are above $600 per month, mostly because of the people I pay so I can focus on what I do best. But my total monthly business expenses are more than that.)

Save for repair, replacement, or improvement A successful budget doesn't spend everything, but it also saves money for improving or fixing things. Podcasting tools and resources cost, and the better ones usually cost more.

Make a portion of your budget for saving up to improve things in the future. You can also use these savings for replacing something that breaks. (What would you do if your microphone died and it was out of warranty?)

Technology doesn't last forever. You could buy software that works great now, but operating-system updates or hardware upgrades could break it, mandating an upgrade for your continued use. (At this time, iOS 9, Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, and Windows 10 are all quite fresh, and each one has broken some older things.)

Also, some items will simply die after extended use. If you can't continue without that thing, you'll have to either repair or replace it.

I think all podcasters, at some point, get “gear-acquisition syndrome” (GAS). We see something new and amazing, and we want it. There's nothing wrong with upgrading, even when it's somewhat pointless or won't bring in more money. But you should ensure that you have the money saved for that upgrade or that you're not preventing a more important upgrade.

For example, I would love to switch my personal microphone away from the Heil PR40, which I've learned is simply not the best mic for my own voice. But I have far more important expenses at this time. Also, I might be able to improve my sound with some simple EQ.

Here's another example. I did not originally plan to upgrade my MacBook Pro until 2015. But in 2014, some hardware issues, a water spill, and then some support issues put me in a position where I had to buy a replacement. Thankfully, I had enough money saved that I could afford to upgrade to what I needed, instead of settling for something less.

Or, my last example, I was tired of planning my video-recording schedule around good-weather days so I could get great sunlight. Thus, I saved up and invested in a cheap lighting kit, and I now use it almost every day!

The amount you should save each month depends largely on the initial investments you already made, and how well you care for what you have.

One reason podcasting professionals like to recommend the ATR2100-USB so much is that it grows well with your needs and it includes a lifetime warranty. But it's not entirely future-proof or the universally best podcasting microphone.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Podcasters' Society reopens for registration later this month!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

This is not a debate between scientific theories and interpretations of evidence; it's about your approach toward expectations and efforts in growing your podcast.

In science, the theory of special creation postulates that the Bible's record of history is true—that God created everything in intentional acts over a short period of time (6 literal days) about 6,000 years ago. The theory of evolution postulates that life makes upward, beneficial changes over long periods of time, influenced by surroundings.

Regardless of which theory you accept in science, I'll explain why I think you should take a “creationist” approach to your podcast.

Evolution: letting stuff happen on its own Many podcasters start with big expectations: making money, growing an audience, expending little effort, etc. They are, in a sense, applying the theory of evolution to their podcast. That is, they're putting out content and expecting it to grow on its own.

Certainly, there is a little bit of truth to the iconic line from The Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” Someone will find your content somehow. Relying solely on this passive model will not return the results that most podcasters want.

Look at everything you want in podcasting and challenge yourself to stop being passive.

Are you waiting for feedback?
Are you waiting to get featured in iTunes' New & Noteworthy?
Are you waiting for an audience to find you?
Are you waiting for sponsors to contact you?

If this is your approach, you could be waiting for a long time, just like the theory of evolution requires millions of years.

Creation: intentionally working within a plan Reaching success (however you define it) takes intentional effort. Look at all of the successful podcasts and you'll see plenty of hard work behind them: hard work building a platform before launching the podcast, hard work marketing the podcast, hard work making the podcast great, and more.

Sometimes, we can be working hard but without a plan. Thus, we end up wasting time and effort doing things that may not even help us.

Thus, instead of waiting for good stuff to happen on its own, do the work yourself to make it happen!

Are you waiting for feedback? Inspire conversation!
Are you waiting to get featured in iTunes' New & Noteworthy? Market your podcast yourself as if Apple will do nothing for you!
Are you waiting for an audience to find you? Strengthen the relationships with your existing audience, equip them to promote your podcast, and go find a new audience to reach!
Are you waiting for sponsors to contact you? Go find relevant companies and initiate the sponsorship conversation with them!

No, this doesn't mean it will take you only 6 literal days to reach success. But when you intentionally work in the right parts of your podcast, following some kind of plan, you will see positive results!

Where should you be focusing effort? Depending on your goals, you may need to focus your work in different areas of your podcast. First, consider the four cornerstones of a great podcast:

Content—what you share
Presentation—how you share the message
Production—how you edit and design the whole “product”
Promotion—how you market and grow
(Optional) Monetization—how you profit

Because each of these cornerstones build on each other, the area you think needs work may be only a surface symptom of a deeper problem. For example, if you're not monetizing well, then maybe you need to focus more on promotion and growing your audience. You could also be overloaded with editing, when improving your presentation would make production easier.

Thus, where you focus effort depends on your own needs and situation. What's most important is that you do the work instead of waiting for stuff to happen.

This is the kind of stuff we dig deep into with Podcasters' Society™—helping you grow your podcast from average to amazing.™

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Christopher___Peterson said, “Overflowing with value … One of the most important shows for anyone looking to get anywhere with their podcast.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * International Podcast Day is this Wednesday, September 30! Watch the live start on Tuesday afternoon and all the activities in the following 30+ hours.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Periscope, Blab, and Meerkat have brought fresh attention to live-streaming, even though similar technologies have existed for years. But live-streaming well requires a bit more work.

These tips will apply regardless of what technology you use—Periscope, Blab, Meerkat, YouTube Live, Google+ Hangouts on Air, or any other tool.

Have good reasons to go live New tools like Blab and Periscope can seem like fun toys, but remember that they're only tools. As such, they may enable or simplify your ability to connect with people in a particular way.

Before you jump into live-streaming, have some good reasons to do so. Here are some examples.

Offer live interaction.
Host an event immediately following a timed event.
Hold yourself accountable to produce new content by a specific time.
Give your audience a place to interact with each other around your content.
Become a better host A tool is only as good as the one using it. Many live-streaming tools allow almost anyone to reach an audience in real time. But live-streaming requires a whole new level of hosting skills you wouldn't normally exercising in offline recording.
Multitasking
Moderating
Avoiding distractions
Presenting clearly the first time
And more

If you watch live-streams, you'll often see poor hosting skills—people talking over each other, derailing the conversation, not having any structure, and more.

Yes, this stuff happens in normal conversations. But live-streaming technologies can make this kind of experience worse due to half-duplexing (one person's audio cancels out someone else's), lack of physical sound direction (voices are mixed between left and right), and more.

Focus on your content Most likely, you're live-streaming to share a message or participate in a conversation. Thus, don't get distracted by the live-streaming tool.

On social live-streaming platforms (like Blab, Periscope, and Meerkat), viewers can provide real-time feedback with comments or simple reactions (hearts, likes, props, etc.). It's okay to acknowledge that, but don't let it distract you from the content you're there to share.

During your recording, it's also important to smoothly excuse or work through live problems. It can be easy to start talking about the production instead of the message.

Speak to your primary audience As much as the latest social-media tools often seem to be the Internet's newest crush, it's likely that the live viewers still represent a very small portion of your live audience.

If you live-stream while recording your podcast, most of your audience will not see the chat, the reactions, or maybe not even see what you're showing in the video.

Because of this, you may need to describe visual things instead of merely showing them. Also, focusing too much on your smaller live audience can significantly alienate your time-shifted audience.

Learn how to use the right tools Blab, Periscope, Meerkat, YouTube Live (with or without Google+ Hangouts on Air), and whatever other live-streaming tools come out all have something unique and might have some technology quirks. It could be video orientation, the proper way to connect your mic and camera, the flow and display of comments, or anything else.

It's also important to know which tool is the right tool for you, your show, and your audience. If you don't have a good Internet connection, live video is probably not right for you. If you don't need audience interaction for your show, the live-streaming might not be for you. Or if your audience isn't tech-savvy, then you might need to use something simpler.

Include your live audience intentionally Some live-streaming platforms focus more on interaction than others. Blab, for example, makes it easy for anyone to join the conversation.

Whether it be with comments, inviting a participant, or any other method for including your audience, don't merely let it happen and interrupt your message. Be intentional about how you incorporate the responses.

Also be cautious with whom you let participate in a live event. For example, laws in some countries (such as the USA) might prohibit allowing any child under 13 years old to participate in any kind of social network. Also, be discerning to prevent one particular person from dominating the conversation.

A common trick would be to avoid allowing anyone into your conversation when you see them start watching and immediate requesting to join.

Plan for repurposing Although you may intend to record only your audio podcast, you might have content you could repurpose in other ways. Perhaps you leave the recording in that tool's profile, or you upload it to YouTube or Facebook, or you could edit short snippets and share anywhere.

This kind of repurposing could enable you to reach a new audience or provide better ways for your existing audience to engage with some of your content.

Ensure quality audio The most important production-quality point for video is actually the audio quality. You may not be able to control the audio quality of your live participants, but you should ensure that your audio is as good as it can be.

This is probably easy for you if you're live-streaming from your computer. But if you live-stream from a mobile device, you might want to consider one of the following options.

3.5 mm TRRS to split RCA cable and 3 RCA to 1/4″ adapters. Use these to connect your mixer's output to a mobile device's input (via the yellow line) and the mobile device's stereo output (via the red and white lines) to the mixer's input (if necessary).
TRRS lav microphone, like the RØDE SmartLav+ or Shure MVL (review coming soon). These work on iOS, Android, and Windows Phone devices and are great for simple live-streaming from your phone.
Digitally connected microphone, like the Sennheiser ClipMic Digital or MKE-2 Digital “Lighting lavs.”
Analog or digital mic interface, like the IK Multimedia iRig PRE (any mobile device) or iRig PRO (iOS) for connecting any XLR mic to mobile devices, or a Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter for connecting a USB mic to iOS.
Light yourself well After audio quality, the second most-important thing about video is the lighting (not the camera itself). Good lighting can make even a cheap webcam's video look great!

You don't have to buy a lighting kit (even though you can get a lot of light for under $200). You could get great results simply by being near sunlight coming through a window, or putting lamps in front of you instead of behind you.

Promote your own platform, not someone else's This is one of my pet peeves, but it's especially important in this age where technologies come and go quite quickly.

Promote your platform first. You do this by pointing people to your website for your content. Even if you use a non-embeddable tool, you can serve your audience better by creating a redirect from your domain.

For example, MyAwesomePodcast.com/live could point to Blab, Meerkat, a Google+ Hangouts on Air event page, or even your own page with a YouTube Live (with or without Google+ Hangouts on Air) or other live video and chat embedded on it.

If you don't do this, you risk losing your audience if you ever have to switch tools.

The most important thing to remember here is that all of these cool new or innovated technologies are only tools. They are not your platform in themselves. You may use Periscope today, but Blab tomorrow. But your platform, such as your own website, is the best way to ensure everyone can always connect with you, regardless of the technologies you choose.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Sakki.net from Norway said (roughly translated), “Incredibly detailed program on all aspects of creating a podcast. … D.J.Lewis … is not afraid to take the time to use and look at each topic from all possible angles. When he gives tips, he also always explains why this is a good tip.” Read the full, untranslated review. * Jon Baca from USA said, “Daniel really focuses on tips and advice that anyone can use themselves to improve their own podcast, and I really appreciate the research that goes into making these episodes. Unlike a lot of the how to podcast shows, Daniel has been at this for quite a while, and for me he is a very credible source of info and opinions.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Come watch my FREE webinar with Mignon Fogarty (AKA “Grammar Girl”) on Thursday, September 24. This is a Podcasters' Society webinar that is open to the public for live-viewing and a 36-hour replay. Podcasters' Society will also be open to new members during those 36 hours. * Celebrate International Podcast Day on September 30!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

IK Multimedia iRig Pro instrument/microphone interface with MIDI for iOS and Mac

Shure Microphone, Black with Red Foam (MV5-B-LTG)

Hosa GPR-101 RCA to 1/4 inch TS Adaptors (2 pieces), Black

View Details

Everything ends, so here are some tips for deciding when to retire your podcast and how to do it without “podfading.”

When to end a podcast Should you end your podcast? Here are some tips to figure out if and when.

Because you feel any one of these at a particular time is not a sign that you should end right then. Consider ending when these conditions are regularly true.

When you run out of content Some podcasts have limited material, such as a TV-show-fan podcast. If you're out of content, then you would be wasting time to talk when there's nothing to talk about.
When you lose the passion You've probably heard about “passion” in podcasting so much that you're sick of that word. Because we use our voices in podcasting, a lack of passion will be obvious.
When you need to make room for something else Life changes. It's not always that something gets in the way. Sometimes, you simply get more interested in something else. Unless you have a commitment to fulfill, there's nothing wrong with ending a podcast to free up your time for other opportunities.
When you've tried everything else Whether the work is too hard, you're not reaching your goals, or whatever other reason, make sure you to jump too quickly into quitting.

Here are some past episodes that may give you some ideas for reviving your podcast.

7 free and easy ways to give your podcast new life
5 reasons your podcast audience isn't growing
7 ways to make podcasting fun
5 steps to an UNSTOPPABLE vision for your blog or podcast
How to prevent podfading and podcasting burnout

How to end a podcast You've decided to end a podcast, but you need to end well.

Be intentional (don't “podfade”!) “Podfading” is when a podcast slowly dies by fading into oblivion. The usual sign is that the publishing frequency starts to become inconsistent and more spread out.

Be intentional by planning your ending. Maybe you'll have big finale, a party, a live show, take call-ins, wrap up with your best content, or anything special.

The point is to act deliberately and finish well.

Tell your audience Part of being intentional is to communicate your plans. Don't leave your audience wondering when or if your podcast will continue. If you mean to end it, tell them it's over.

Finish well in how you tell your audience. This is not a good time to complain. Even if there were problems leading up to ending the show, don't make a legacy of those problems by dumping them into your last episode.

If you can, tell you're audience that you're ending the show before you end it. This gives your audience time to send in their finale feedback or something they've wanted to share for a long time.

Keep the podcast online Even though you may stop actively podcasting, your show could still have value and many people could still benefit from it. Leave your podcast online for as long as possible.

Yes, this means continuing to renew domains and hosting, but those costs can often be reduced since you won't need as much with a retired show. With Blubrry or Libsyn, you could downgrade your account to the bare minimum plan and still maintain your entire catalog of episodes and RSS feed.

If absolutely necessary, you could migrate your media to archive.org and your website to something like WordPress.com.

Be open to returning What would make you resume this podcast? Would it be donations, extra time, a returning TV series, or something else?

Don't give your audience a false hope that you may return, but I suggest that you remain open to the possibility of resuming your show when the important conditions are met.

When do you think a podcast should end? Have you ended a podcast before? Why and how? Please comment to share your experience!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Beca Lewis said, “… Wow. SO helpful. I ended up buying one of his courses and just worked my way through what he said. Much easier than listening to a ton of opinions. …” Read the full review. * Homeschooled Nerd said, “As a podcaster, I've found this podcast very helpful. Daniel has some great advice and I even learned a lot from episodes that I listened to which I thought wouldn't apply to me. It just packs so much content in each episode. …” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Celebrate International Podcast Day on September 30!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

International Podcast Day is September 30. Here's how to start the conversation and celebrate podcasting!

Thanks to Steve Lee, lead founder of International Podcast Day and a podcast host at Modern Life Podcast Network, for joining me in this episode!

What is International Podcast Day? International Podcast Day is your day to start the conversation about podcasting. But it's also an official day that we, as a global community can come together to make a concerted effort to growing the podcast industry. The day has even been proclaimed in California!

Steve got the idea for starting International Podcast Day by listening to the radio and realizing there are official days for other meaningful and meaningless purposes.

In 2014, we hosted the first National Podcast Day, but have since rebranded to embrace the worldwide audience by calling in International Podcast Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6XsTi0Y4bg

What podcasters can do to celebrate International Podcast Day International Podcast Day needs you to promote and grow International Podcast Day! Here are some suggestions.

Get audio, video, and banners to promote International Podcast Day on your own site and podcast.
Host a local meetup
Get your audience involved
Submit video for the “Stuff Podcasters Say” video
Submit your podcast in the International Podcast Day Gratitude Award
Tag your social posts with #PodcastDay (use tchat.io or TweetChat to easily participate on Twitter)
Visit the International Podcast Day website for more ideas
Share your ideas, too!

Here's Steve's video from visiting his local water district.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHjh_7u86zs

What podcast-enthusiasts can do to celebrate International Podcast Day There are more podcast-enthusiasts than podcasters, so it's very important to get other podcast listeners and viewers to celebrate with us!

Tell your friends about your favorite podcasts
Help your friends find a podcast they would enjoy
Write reviews for your favorite podcasts
Donate to your favorite podcasts
Try another podcast you might love
Tag your social posts with #PodcastDay (use tchat.io or TweetChat to easily participate on Twitter)
Visit the International Podcast Day for more ideas for podcast-enthusiasts
Share your ideas, too!

International Podcast Day Gratitude Award There are already great podcast awards (People's Choice Podcast Awards and The Academy of Podcasters Awards) and we're announcing a new award for the podcast that makes the most impact.

The International Podcast Day Gratitude Award is sponsored and powered by My Podcast Reviews™. Here's how to enter.

Submit your own podcast to the Gratitude Award.
Ask your audience to write or update a review in iTunes or Stitcher between September 1 and 26. Especially ask them to include what kind of impact your podcast has had on them.

This is not a game with raw numbers. We've designed the algorithm so that small podcasts will have an equal chance to win as the big podcasts.

The winner will receive a beautiful plaque and free account on My Podcast Reviews.

Even if you don't win the award, you still win from your audience by getting a load of great new reviews and expressions of gratitude!

Live podcasting events on September 30 International Podcast Day actually starts first in Australia and moves around the world across time zones.

We'll be hosting office live streams throughout the day from many countries (and probably in many languages). Stay updated and subscribe on International Podcast Day's website for the upcoming schedule.

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Grow your podcast from average to amazing in Podcasters' Society! Join us for a free webinar with Mignon Fogarty (better known as “Grammar Girl”) on September 24.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

I'm thrilled to announce the launch of Podcasters' Society—an exclusive podcasting community for podcasters like you to equip and encourage you to improve your podcasts.

Announcements * If you're an Appendipity customer, join me and Joey Kissimme for a customer-exclusive webinar this week, or watch the replay in your customer portal. * Attend New Media Europe, September 12–13 in Manchester, UK. * Prepare to celebrate International Podcast Day on September 30!

Why Podcasters' Society? A couple years ago, I discovered that my biggest passion in podcasting aligned with an unmet need in the space. That was helping podcasters improve.

There are already plenty of “how to podcast” guides and courses (and I'll have my own at some point, too). But I wanted to move beyond launching.

Thus, Podcast Master Class was born and had its session in February, 2014. This was a month-long course with eight 2-hour-long webinars and in-depth podcast evaluations. The first course had only two students, who have since gone on to do amazing things (including Jordan Harbinger, host of The Jordan Harbinger Show and former host of The Art of Charm).

As much as I loved Podcast Master Class, I realized it wouldn't scale well and the high admission price made it inaccessible for most podcasters. I stopped promoting it and started developing a similar idea.

I knew that to truly help podcasters improve, they would need ongoing support, not merely one month of training and then pushed on their way.

In June, 2015, I started hosting some live webinars for podcast SEO, and I absolutely loved the webinar format. The approachable style, the ability to show things, the engagement with the viewers, and the ability to provide valuable content that could promote something of even more value (my complete SEO for Podcasters course).

Also this year, I tried to focus more on participating in podcasting communities. But because these communities were free to join and members didn't have any vested interests, the conversations often repeated themselves while quality conversations would get lost among other questions.

I offer one-on-one consulting, but that was often unaffordable for people who needed only a few answers, but more detail than I had the time to answer via email.

Considering all of these things, I started planning Podcasters' Society. Despite having two S's in the middle, I fell in love with the word “society” when I was researching different names, such as “club,” “community,” “class,” “association,” and more.

A “society” is essentially an organized group of people focused on the same thing.

But would the idea work? I shared the idea in my mastermind groups and everyone was overwhelmingly positive and said it sounded perfect for me and highly needed in the industry. Then, I teased the idea to some people at Podcast Movement 2015 and received plenty of validation and eager anticipation.

On August 20, 2015, I opened the doors to Podcasters' Society and I've been thrilled with the response!

The 4 cornerstones and a bonus Everything about Podcasters' Society revolves around improving the four cornerstones of a great podcast:

Content
Presentation
Production
Promotion

Additionally, we discuss monetization for those desiring to make money from podcasting. But these four cornerstones apply to every podcast—hobby or business!

Live, weekly, interactive webinars Each Thursday at 3:00 pm (US Eastern Time), we'll meet in a live and interactive webinar focused on helping podcasters improve. These webinars will follow a rotating pattern:

Training: I'll teach something conceptual or practical, but always actionable.
Q&A: open discussion time for asking and answering podcasting questions.
Community podcast evaluation: we pick a podcast and review it for constructive criticism together.
Guest conversation: another podcaster (not only “A-list podcasters”) will join us for discussing something amazing they're doing in podcasting.

Each webinar will be live and interactive. These structured sessions will be flexible enough to also offer Q&A and opportunities to dig deeper based on the community's needs.

This means four hours of premium, live training every month! That, alone, is worth more than the membership fee!

Of the four webinar formats, the guest conversations will be open to the public with a 24-hour replay option. But only Podcasters' Society members have full access to all webinar replays and continuing conversations.

Our first guest conversation will be with Mignon Fogarty, better known as “Grammar Girl.” Register to attend this free webinar!

Private community and chat This society is more than presentations. We have our own private and active forum for in-depth conversations, questions, answers, and more. This is hosted on our own website for higher security, accessibility, and easy searching.

Additionally, we have a private Slack team for real-time communication and sharing.

Here are some of the great conversations we've already been having in the forums and chat.

Getting your spouse's support for your podcasting
Using Periscope to promote your podcast
Leveraging offsite trackbacks and pingbacks
Optimal mic placement
Speeding up show notes creation
Cross-promotion techniques
Bumpers and intros

And that's only within the first few days!

Experienced and personalized answers and advice Podcasters' Society is exclusive to podcasters—you can't join unless you already have a podcast in iTunes. Because of this requirement, the community answers and advice come from more experience.

Plus, you'll have more access to me for podcasting answers. Already, I've recorded a couple casual videos to demonstrate techniques or show tools and members have loved the visual help!

This can't entirely replace one-on-one consulting and coaching sessions, but by posting questions in the community, everyone benefits from the answers!

Exclusive savings Every member of Podcasters' Society will have access to exclusive savings for podcasting tools and resources! This could be discounts on podcasting equipment, free trials, premium training and courses, WordPress themes and plugins, one-on-one consulting, technical support, design services, and more.

Such discounts will be available only to Podcasters' Society members.

More to come! This is only the beginning! The value of Podcasters' Society will continue to grow, and so will the admission fee. But when you sign up, you lock in on that admission price, which will never increase for as long as you maintain your membership.

Charter membership registration is open only through September 10, 2015. After that, registration will be closed. The next time I open registration, the cost will be higher to account for the increased value.

Join Podcasters' Society today and grow your podcast from average to amazing!™

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Microphones, mixers, software, and more podcasting tools can help you podcast better, but when is it actually worth upgrading your podcast equipment?

This topic was inspired by our recent discussion about the evolution of a podcaster's gear in Podcasters' Roundtable.

Think before upgrading to “improve your quality” Many podcasters will think they need to upgrade something to improve their quality. This can be true, at times. But other times, you need to learn how to properly use the tools you already have.

For example, the Audio Technica ATR2100-USB ($40–$60) is a great starting microphone for most podcasters. I would score this mic at about 7.5 out of 10 for a podcasting microphone. But I would give the Electro Voice RE320 ($300) or Heil PR40 ($325) both 9 out of 10. So is an extra 1.5 “points” worth spending an extra $300? Maybe, maybe not.

Misuse an ATR2100-USB, RE320, PR40, or any professional microphone, and you'll still sound horrible.

Thus, upgrading your microphone or other equipment is not a guaranteed way to improve your quality. Sometimes, it can help, but sometimes, you can do more to improve with what you already have.

Upgrade when your podcasting tool is causing frustrations You may be merely tolerating the podcasting tools you have. Maybe a program keeps crashing, something is extremely slow, or something is so complicated that you keep messing up settings.

These frustrations can often be solved by replacing or upgrading the tools you're using.

Here are some examples.

Poor performance on your popular website can often be resolved by upgrading to better hosting.
A slow workflow with your audio-editing software can often be resolved by upgrading to better or easier software.
Hiss and other noise in your audio could be resolved by upgrading your microphone, mixer, preamp, or even the space where you record.

A frustrating experience with your podcast could slow you down and eventually kill your enthusiasm for podcasting. Don't let a podcasting annoyance get in the way of sharing your passion!

Upgrade when your podcasting gear breaks This may seem obvious, but you may forget it when the time comes. When something breaks, you know you have to replace it anyway. So why not consider taking this opportunity to upgrade the replacement?

Check with the warranty, first (the ATR2100-USB has a generous lifetime warranty!). Some companies may be willing to give you a credit toward an upgrade instead of replacing the item you had.

Upgrade when you outgrow your podcasting tool Like with clothing, we often outgrow the things we use.

Maybe you started out as a solo podcaster but now you have cohosts and your single-input mixer or interface is too small. Or maybe you have too many people visiting your website for you to remain on cheap, shared hosting.

But when you upgrade, don't upgrade only to the level of your immediate needs. Give yourself a little room for more growth.

Upgrade when you need new features or functionality This is the most important reason to consider any upgrade: when you need to do something that your current podcasting tools can't do.

For example:

take live calls,
live-stream,
produce video,
setup mix-minus,
sell something on your site,
go mobile,
interview people,
and more.

Discern your needs from your wants. This is especially important to remember whenever new smartphones are released. When Apple introduced the larger, faster iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, I wanted one, but I realized I didn't need one (though I'm hoping the next generation will have more of what I need).

A “need” is something you can't do without. You can't, realistically, host the podcast the way you want to without this thing.

A “want” is something you can do without, but it would be nice to have or make something more fun.

Do you need a Zoom H6 as a simple two-track digital recorder for your mixer at home? Probably not. But do you need it if you want to carry only mics, cables, and a recorder when you record up to six people offsite? Then, you might need it.

When do you upgrade your podcasting tools? How have you decided on upgrades you may have made? What needs did the upgrades fulfill?

Please comment to share your experience!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Attend Europe's best social-media and podcasting conference, New Media Europe, in Manchester, UK on September 12–13, 2015! * In my next episode, I'll tell you all about my new thing podcasters will love!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcast Movement is now the best podcasting conference by and for podcasters. Here are my reactions and review of the 2015 event in Fort Worth, Texas.

Attendees As seems to be the norm with a podcasting conference, it seemed most attendees were thrilled to be at Podcast Movement. I could sense the passion everywhere I went. Everyone wanted to talk and hang out, even late into the night.

One late night, I asked the hotel's front-desk staff if this kind of late-night networking happens with other events. They said it did, but that this group seemed like the most friendly and energetic they've seen.

It seemed that about one third of the attendees had not yet launched their own podcasts. And the attendees were quite diverse in topics as well as professional and hobbyist.

It was great to meet several radio people also attending the podcasting conference, and getting more excited about podcasting.

Networking Talking with other podcasters (or about-to-be podcasters) is my favorite part of conferences like Podcast Movement. This networking is where casual connections are turned into relationships, relationships are deepened, partnerships are formed, and inspiration is shared.

It's great to meet many people who have listened to The Audacity to Podcast for a while. And it's equally great to meet new people who don't know who I am.

Yes, it's possible to be star-struck with podcast “celebrities” like Pat Flynn, John Lee Dumas, Marc Maron, Roman Mars, and more. But it's even more amazing to see many of these people hanging out with the rest of us, having conversations, asking and answering questions, and taking photos together.

Despite how much time I spent talking with people, there were still several people I didn't get to meet in person.

You can probably guess my one big criticism: loud music at “networking” events. Please turn off the music, save the money and don't hire a band! If people want to listen to music, give them headphones and a playlist.

Keynotes The Podcast Movement keynote sessions were a balanced mix of people who rose from humble beginnings—such as Pat Flynn, Lou Mongello, or John Lee Dumas—as well as “greats” with years of broadcasting and story-telling experience—such as Roman Mars, Sarah Koenig, and Marc Maron.

Each keynote presentation was entertaining, educational, and inspirational. My only criticism was surrounding Sarah Koenig's keynote, which told the story behind Serial. Her presentation was great, but I was disappointed that there wasn't more about podcasting in her presentation or in the questions.

Breakout sessions The line-up of sessions at Podcast Movement were so good, that I'm guessing the hardest decision for attendees was which sessions to watch!

The speakers came from a variety of backgrounds (not as entrepreneur-focused as many felt Podcast Movement 2014 was). I heard nothing but praise about every session.

My personal decision was to not attend any sessions, but spend as much time creating and fostering relationships in the hallways.

My own session (“How to Improve Your Podcast's WordPress Website”) was moderately attended. But what's more important is that the attendees were highly engaged.

Vendors You don't go to a podcasting conference like Podcast Movement for the vendors. (That's what NAB Show does best!) But this year's vendors showed a true respect for podcasting among professional product and service providers.

There were the usual podcasting vendors: Blubrry, Libsyn, BuzzSprout, Spreaker, WordPress, Ringr, and such. But there were also new vendors who were thrilled at the response they received: Heil, Sennheiser, BSW (Broadcast Supply Worldwide), Aweber, Shure, and more.

At each booth, the vendors were not only friendly, but open and eager to receive feedback and discuss issues podcasters face.

Academy of Podcasters Awards Podcast Movement 2015 hosted the inaugural Academy of Podcasters (AoP) Awards ceremony. This is a new kind of podcast awards that has quickly established itself as another prestigious event to recognize great podcasters.

Whereas the People's Choice Podcast Awards is about awarding the podcast with the most engaged community (not necessarily the largest), the Academy of Podcasters Awards focuses on curating and awarding unique and high-quality shows, regardless of their audience. Each podcast was rated and reviewed by the academy, putting everyone on equal standing.

The awards ceremony was a thing of beauty and professionalism. I had recently submitted a list of about thirty things the People's Choice Podcast Awards could do better, and nearly every one of those was done or surpassed in the Academy of Podcasters Awards. (I did not directly influence the AoP Awards, but I did contribute to some of the ranking methods.)

The ceremony felt like a hollywood-level production. There were no awkward moments of recognizing a winner and discovering that they were not present to receive their award.

Several veteran podcasters—such as Todd Cochrane, Leo Laporte, and Danny Peña—were honorably inducted into the podcasting hall of fame.

I still believe there's a good place for the People's Choice Podcast Awards (now owned by New Media Expo), but the Academy of Podcasters Awards have stepped up to be a worthy alternative and additional model for recognizing podcasting talent.

Credit to the great team behind Podcast Movement Dan Franks, Jared Easley, Gary Leland, Mitch Todd, and a great team (whose names I don't know) made Podcast Movement great! The event was well planned, marketed, and executed. From small details—like a custom hotel keycard— to snagging some of the biggest names in podcasting, this team has done an incredible job!

This year, I was extra impressed that none of these gentlemen appeared on stage. They were great “servant leaders” who didn't care about being recognized by everyone, but were focused on making Podcast Movement an incredible time for everyone.

Future This was only Podcast Movement's second conference, and it already doubled in size. I'm eager for Podcast Movement 2016 in Chicago, July 6–8 (even though it will probably be significantly more expensive).

I once recommended New Media Expo over Podcast Movement, but I'm changing that now. If you can make it to only one conference this year, make it Podcast Movement! I hope to see you in Chicago for Podcast Movement 2016! (When I have a coupon code, it will probably be “noodle” to save on your registration.)

Are these conferences worth it? Ultimately, the question of attending may come down to one of your own affordability. But I don't think the value of such conferences can be denied.

For example, you could hire me to consult or coach you in podcasting and receive several hours of training for the cost of the conference. Or, you can spend the same money to be trained by several professionals across multiple days and get to network with hundreds (and someday thousands) of other podcasters.

Is it worth it? TOTALLY!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * I'm closing in on launching something brand new and unique for podcasters. I teased the idea with some people at Podcast Movement and they were excited about the idea. Make sure you're on my email list to receive the launch announcement before anyone else!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Hear great podcasters share their biggest personal, business, and other lessons they have learned from podcasts and podcasting. Recorded live at Podcast Movement 2015.

Joel Boggess: podcasting is the new networking “Podcasting is the new networking.”—Joel BoggessClick To Tweet When you have a podcast, it's often easier to connect with people and start building relationships. This could even mean having a bigger reason to connect with others.

Check out Joel's show, ReLaunch Show, and listen to my guest appearance on ReLaunch Show where I shared my story of failure and relaunch (a story I have never publicly shared before).

Jaime Jay: it's okay to feel uncomfortable “It’s okay to feel uncomfortable in podcasting.”—Jamie JayClick To Tweet Feeling uncomfortable signals some authenticity, which is key to connecting with people. In Jamie's case, he liked shows more that connected with him in an authentic way. When he started his own show, he tried to carry that same authenticity.

Check out Jamie's shows, Stop Riding the Pine and Podcast Professors.

Bak: articulate when you speak Podcasting can help you learn to articulate and speak clearly.—BakClick To Tweet Like many of us, Bak can sometimes struggle with the mind running faster than the mouth. Podcasting has helped Bak to pace his conversations and communicate more clearly.

Learning to speak well also significantly reduces the need for editing your podcast.

Check out Bak's show, The FeedBak.

Russ Johns: start and keep moving “There’s a message out there; it’s in your head and you just need to share it.”—Russ JohnsClick To Tweet Many of us get hung up on trying to figure out everything before we start. It's also easy to focus too much on the technology. But the most important thing is to actually start and keep going!

Russ knows this well, because he's currently in the middle of launching a new show, Future Media Association.

Stuart Mackey: the podcasting community is not competition “The podcasting community is not a competition.”—Stuart MackeyClick To Tweet You might think that other podcasts in your same niche are competition, but they are not! Look at them as community and collaboration opportunities instead of seeing them as rivals.

Get Stuart's podcast, The Pocket Podcaster. Also listen to my previous episode about making community, not competition; and my episode about podcasting in the same niche as others.

Daniel J. Lewis (me!): create great content When I started The Audacity to Podcast, I knew that I wanted my focus to be on creating great content for podcasters. When you create great content, a lot of other pieces (marketing, monetization, community, and more) are much easier.

Special thanks to Buzzsprout This episode was recorded live at Podcast Movement 2015 thanks to Buzzsprout's studio. Check out Buzzsprout as another option for podcasting hosting and feed creation. They even have a free plan for a limited number of episodes in your feed!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * I'm launching something new for podcasters. Make sure you're on my email list to hear the announcement first!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcast Movement, New Media Expo, Social Media Marketing World, and many other conferences are wonderful for networking, learning, and presenting. Here are 21 tips for getting the most from any kind of podcasting or social-media conference or event you may attend.

These tips are focused more on the attendee. But I have previously shared tips for using conferences to grow your audience.

This episode is brought to you by Social Subscribe & Follow Icons. It's the best WordPress plugin for bloggers and podcasters to make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your content and follow you on social networks.

Lodge at or near the event It is, unfortunately, usually more expensive to stay at the official hotel, but it may be worth it to you.

You can easily drop stuff off in your room, get something you forgot, rest when you need it, and it's more accessible to you for early morning or late-night networking events in the hotel.

Come early, stay late At the least, stay for the whole conference, and I don't think you'll ever regret it. I recommend arriving several hours (or a day) before it starts, and not leaving until the day after it ends.

This gives you more time to settle in, relax, network, or enjoy some other local entertainment.

Watch your health Conferences are notorious breeding grounds for viruses and bacteria. I order of priority, these are the best tips I know for staying healthy.
Stay current on vitamins, especially vitamin C.
Drink plenty of water.
Don't touch your face.
Bring handkerchiefs or tissues for when you do need to touch your face. If those aren't available, use the the back of your wrist.
Wash your hands as often as possible.
Use hand lotion and lip balm.
Use hand-sanitizer discreetly when you can't wash your hands.
Get plenty of rest.
Make healthy food and drink decisions.
Plan ahead Most conferences release the session schedule ahead of time. Pick your preferred sessions before you get to the events.

Also ensure you have plenty of flexible time you can use for networking.

Don't try to do too much It's easy to pack too much into a single event. You want to meet a hundred people, have lunch with a dozen, attend twenty sessions, and record five interviews—all at a one-day conference. Nope. That won't happen.

Plan for what's most important and unrepeatable. For example, you can probably do a podcast interview anytime, not just on the show floor.

Pack lightly Optimize your wardrobe so you have a fresh change of anything touching your skin, but go light for everything else. Maybe you can wear the same pants for more than one day. Or consider wearing T-shirts instead of collared shirts. Remember that you may also receive some free T-shirts at the event.

Also remember to pack light with your gear. You may want to bring your DSLR for snapshots, but maybe your smartphone camera will work well enough. Likewise, instead of bringing a handheld mic and recorder, your smartphone's built-in mic may be good enough for event audio (remember to stay close to the mic!).

Bring podcast/business cards Have cards for yourself or your podcast. I have used and recommend GotPrint (no affiliate link) for high quality, inexpensive printing. Please contact me if you need a designer.

Don't be a card-ninja, throwing business cards like ninja stars to everyone you meet. Be kind and courteous with your cards. This isn't a shallow numbers game; it's about depth.

I usually wait to give my card until someone asks for it, there's something I want them to remember, or I know I want to stay connected with them. This all happens near the end of a conversation, not the beginning.

Write on podcast/business cards you receive My best practice for remember and following up with people is to take notes on their business cards. Note what you talked about, something that stood out about them, or the followup action you need to take.

Not only is the good for you, but it also shows great respect and interest to the person you met.

Take notes on takeaways, not outlines For sessions you attend, it's easy to slip into merely copying each speaker's outline. For many, these outlines are not the most actionable information. Instead, focus on your takeaways: something you need to do, something amazing you want to remember, or specific resources for further investigation.
Use a Bluetooth keyboard, not a laptop I know there are many psychological reasons to use paper rather and a digital system for taking notes. But if you choose a digital system, then make it as small and lightweight as possible.

Bringing a laptop means lugging around a power adapter, depending on power outlets, and needing a flat space or else burning your lap. Having all your computing power in front of your during a session can also be a distraction as you receive notifications about emails or social interactions.

If you need a large screen, consider a tablet (like an iPad) and a Bluetooth keyboard. This is lightweight, allows for fast typing, and the battery will usually last all day.

Here's the best-kept secret. Bluetooth keyboards also work with smartphones! Thus, you could bring only the keyboard and your regular phone, and easily type notes into your favorite note-taking program on your phone (I recommend Evernote)! I do this when I review movies.

Tweet your notes Consider sharing your takeaways with others by posting them on Twitter. With If This Then That (IFTTT), you can easily collect all of your tweets (plus favorite tweets) into a single note to serve as your conference notes.

This helps others follow the conversation, and can often encourage more personal connections with people during networking times.

Use and follow the official hashtag This is a big pet peeve of mine. If there's an official hashtag, use it and only it! For example, New Media Expo's hashtag is #NMX. I've seen variations like #NMX15, #NMX2015, and #NewMediaExpo. Even though “#NMX” appears in two of those, #NMX and #NMX15 are completely different hashtags to most social networks, and searches for “#NMX” will not include “#NMX15.”

Remember to include the official hashtag on all social posts: Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Instagram, Vine, and whatever else you use.

To make following the official hashtag fun and easy on Twitter, use Tchat (my preference), TweetChat, or similar. These will allow you to see a constant stream of tagged tweets, plus easily post with the hashtag automatically included! These sites work fairly well in mobile browsers, too.

Never eat alone or hang out in cliques There are so many amazing people at events that you have no excuse for being alone. If you're more of an introvert, having a meal with someone is often more comfortable for connecting with people.

It's also easy to hang out with only the people you know and to form your own little cliques. Try to branch out and hangout with new friends or people outside your usual circles.

Attend networking events Networking events and usually intended for something profound: networking! Even if you don't stay for the whole event (I often leave early when the music is too loud, which seems to happen more than it should), at least make an appearance and talk to a few people. You may find a quiet corner, or even meet people who would be willing to go somewhere quieter to continue a great conversation.

There may be alcohol at events, and your consumption is up to you. But I do highly recommend that you stay aware of your limit and avoid getting drunk. Even if you don't get intoxicated, you can still overdo it and embarrassing yourself over how much your slur in trying to communicate with someone.

Host a meetup If you have an audience, try to meet up with them! Even if they won't be attending the conference, put the word out that you'll be in the area and give them an opportunity to meet you in person. This can be a formal party or dinner, or a casual time for dessert.
Get the virtual ticket No matter your interest, it's almost inevitable that good conferences will have simultaneous sessions you would like to see. You could try splitting your time between the two, but I highly recommend the virtual ticket.

This gives you the freedom to miss a session for whatever reason—continuing talking in the hallways, rest in your room, talk to the exhibitors, attend a different session, and more.

The virtual ticket also means you can more easily review the session you may have already attended but need to hear again.

Opt-in for extras Many speakers will give you the opportunity to opt-in to their mailing list for notes or additional resources. If you appreciated their information, do take this opportunity! Sometimes, this may even mean getting the session recording before it's available on the official virtual ticket.

Yes, you will probably be added to their regular mailing list, which may include other offers. But if you appreciated what someone gave you for free in their session (speakers are often unpaid), they probably have even more value in their premium offerings.

Start or join conversations Regardless of how you classify your personality, it can be tricky to join conversations. But if you're at any kind of social-media event, people are usually more social! Unless you see someone having a conversation away from the rest of the group, it's probably okay to slip in. You don't have to say anything, but good networkers should notice you and pivot themselves to welcome you into the conversation.

It may be even hard to start a conversation with a stranger, so here are some suggested conversation starters that are deeper than usual small talk.

What brings you here?
What's your experience with _____?
What has been your favorite session thus far?
What's your biggest takeaway from something you heard?
How are you hoping to benefit from this event?
Be fully present You may be tempted to work while you're at the conference, but this is a sure way to waste some of your investment to be there!

Let your coworkers know you'll be unavailable, or maybe even set an autoresponder for email inquiries and change your voicemail greeting.

Focusing any less than 100% at a conference wastes your time and that of the people you talk to.

Bring backup batteries Don't be a slave to the power outlets! Bring spare batteries or backup batteries for your important devices (probably your smartphone or tablet). Anker makes some great and affordable USB charging devices. Remember to have the right charging cable with you!
Follow up The event may have worn you out, inspired you, overwhelmed you, introduced you to wonderful people, or equipped you with more resources. This will all be a waste if you don't follow up. Following up could be with people or ideas.
Schedule time to pursue the new idea or resource.
Set reminders to follow up.
Scan business cards into an easily searchable and taggable system (like Evernote).
Make a template email you can send and slightly customize for each followup.

Event organizers love feedback! Follow up with them and give positive and constructive feedback for the overall event plus for every session you attended. Feedback usually drives future decisions.

Often, session feedback will also be shared with the presenters, which helps them to improve or know how well their content connected.

What are your best conference tips? Please comment with your favorite tips for getting the most from podcasting conferences or other social-media events!

Thank you for the podcast reviews! * BeedleRose, from USA, said, “Daniel is very open, honest and practical. His podcast is a must-listen for podcasters or for those looking into getting into podcasting. … the podcast content is largely Daniel giving great tips and advice and sharing his years of experience as a pro podcaster and web consultant.” Read the full review.

Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher!

Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews!

Announcements * Get my updated WordPress plugin, Social Subscribe & Follow Icons, with promo code “JulyUpdate” to save 20% through July 31, 2015. It now supports 31 apps, platforms, and networks, with more to come! * Register for Podcast Movement with code “noodle” to save 10%. If you'd like to join me for a meetup, text “PM2015” to 33444. * At Podcast Movement, I'll record an episode of The Audacity to Podcast and I would like your participation! Come noon on Sunday to share the biggest thing you learned from podcasting—personal, professional, technological, or whatever!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Whether you're rebranding your show, or you're trying to improve your podcasting SEO, here's everything you need to change your podcast title.

Inspired by Dwaine from Survivor Talk with D&D.

This episode is brought to you by Social Subscribe & Follow Icons. It's the best WordPress plugin for bloggers and podcasters to make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your content and follow you on social networks.

Clarification: name vs. title To clear up some confusion, I differentiate between a podcast's “name” and “title.”

The podcast name is the actual name of the podcast, regardless of descriptive keywords or taglines. For example (from my own podcast network), “the Ramen Noodle,” “Welcome to Level Seven,” or “The Productive Woman.”

The podcast title is how that podcast is labeled in podcast apps and directories. This may include descriptive keywords, a tagline, or clarifying text (like the word “podcast”).

2 reasons to change the podcast title or name 1. Optimize for clarity and findability—Expand your show title to be more descriptive, which can also help with your podcast SEO and findability. For example, “the Ramen Noodle” to “the Ramen Noodle clean comedy podcast”; or, “Two Chairs No Waiting” to “Two Chairs No Waiting Andy Griffith Show Fan Podcast.” This usually won't affect the core branding of your podcast (cover art, domain, URLs, etc.). Remember that the title is the most important piece of text on the Internet, so treat it with respect, not spam. 2. Change your branding—When you really need to change the name of your show, for whatever reason. For example, “Who-Dey Weekly” to “Inside the Jungle”; or, “Podcasting Tech Coach” to “Podcast Help Desk.” This may affect the core branding of your podcast (cover art, domain, URLs, etc.).

Change the podcast title in your podcast RSS feed Your podcast RSS feed powers what your subscribers and potential subscribers see. Your feed usually affects podcast directory listings, too.

First, you need to know what is powering or enhancing your podcast RSS feed. Is it PowerPress, Libsyn, FeedBurner, or something else?

To change the title in:

PowerPress,
- PowerPress (basic mode) > Settings > Feed title
- PowerPress (advanced mode) > Settings > Feeds > Feed title
- PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Feed Settings > Feed title
- PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Feed Settings > Feed Title
Libsyn,
- Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Show Title
- Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Advanced Options > Show Title Override
WordPress Settings > General > Site Title
FeedBurner (if you're using it to ~~mess up~~ “optimize” your feed) > Optimize > Title/Description Burner > New Title

To change the podcast cover art in:

PowerPress,
- PowerPress (basic mode) > Settings > Artwork
- PowerPress (advanced mode) > Settings > Artwork
- PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Artwork
- PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Artwork
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Artwork
FeedBurner (if you're using it to ~~mess up~~ “optimize” your feed) > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast image location

For any other feed-creation tool, look for what modifies the channel-level . It may simply be the title of the account. Experiment and see what changes what in your feed. Changing your Libsyn slug or FeedBurner URL is really not important and make things more complicated than it's worth. I talk a lot more about changing your podcast information in your feed in a previous episode. Use these tools to validate your podcast feed (thanks for the resource, Jim Collison). Change the podcast title on your website If the title change needs to be reflected on your website, there are several places you may need to consider. <ol> <li>Change your logo. Depending on your WordPress theme, this may be done under “Appearance,” inside theme-specific settings (like “Appendipity”), or in your CSS file.</li> <li>Change the website title. Go into WordPress Settings > General > Site Title. Also, check your SEO settings.</li> <li>Change the title everywhere else on your site. You could manually edit each page, menu, post, widget, and other content types, or try a smart “find and replace” operation. I know BackupBuddy has a great and reliable find and replace tool. Also consider the free Find and Replace All plugin. Backup your database before doing this!</li> </ol> Change the podcast title in your domain Domains get a bit more complicated. You may need the help of a professional (like me, or your web hosting provider). The most important thing is to setup a full path-forwarding 301 redirect on your old domain. For example, you want not only OLDdomain.com redirecting to NEWdomain.com, but you also want OLDdomain.com/page-on-the-site/ redirecting to NEWdomain.com/page-on-the-site/ (or the appropriate equivalent). A proper 301 redirect is especially important if your feed URL is on your domain. Sometimes, this is as easy as setting up a CNAME DNS record or redirect with your domain registrar. You also need to ensure you have the new domain setup in your WordPress settings, especially for links. Again, a “find and replace” tool can work well, but ensure that you backup before trying anything. Change the podcast title in podcast apps and directories Most podcast apps (such as iTunes) will get the title of your podcast from your RSS feed. Thus, you need only to change your feed and then wait for the app to update. Some apps (such as Spreaker/iHeartRadio) offer the ability to edit your show's title inside of your account on their system. Other apps (such as Stitcher) may require you to contact their support team to request a title change. You may be interested in changing the podcast URL you have on an app or directory. This would usually require intervention from the support team, or it really doesn't matter. iTunes, for example, gives you a URL with your title included, but you can change that title in the URL or remove it completely and the URL still works, as long as the “id#######” portion remains. Change the podcast title in social networks If you have social-media accounts for your podcast, you should change the title there, too. Facebook and Google+ make this fairly easy, within some limitations. Changing your username or URL may be a little harder or impossible. On Twitter, you can change your Twitter ID, but this may confuse your followers. On YouTube, you can't change your channel URL after it's already set. Tips for changing your podcast title 1. Have a really good reason. Treat changing your name as seriously as moving homes, and expanding your title as redecorating. In either case, you should have some justifiable reasons for going through the work and potentially confusing or inconveniencing your audience. 2. Prepare your audience. Tell your audience the change is coming, especially if it's something that could confuse them. 3. It doesn't have to be retroactive. It's okay if you want to change old episodes to match, but you don't have to. It could be especially confusing if the spoken title doesn't match the written title. 4. Don't worry about hidden branding. Feed URLs, media file names, URL slugs, and other details are small and usually unimportant to your audience. Don't get obsessive-compulsive about changing these little things that don't matter much. These may never be seen by your audience. Trying to change them could break stuff. Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Audacity 2.1.1 has been released and includes some of the best new features I've seen for Audacity! Watch for a video overview from me on YouTube or my video show on iTunes. * Get my updated WordPress plugin, Social Subscribe & Follow Icons, with promo code “JulyUpdate” to save 20% through July 31, 2015. It now supports 31 apps, platforms, and networks, with more to come! * Register for Podcast Movement with code “noodle” to save 10%. If you'd like to join me for a meetup, text “PM2015” to 33444. * At Podcast Movement, I'll record an episode of The Audacity to Podcast and I would like your participation! Come noon on Sunday to share the biggest thing you learned from podcasting—personal, professional, technological, or whatever! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="7 New & Noteworthy WordPress Plugins for Podcasters (2015) – TAP227" subtitle="July 14, 2015" duration="2772" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap227.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685638/7-new---noteworthy-wordpress-plugins-for-podcasters--2015----tap227/">View Details</a> WordPress plugins can make your podcast website even better. Here are the best plugins from 2015 I think podcasters should consider. This episode is brought to you by Social Subscribe & Follow Icons. It's the best WordPress plugin for bloggers and podcasters to make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your content and follow you on social networks. Quick list 1. Libsyn Podcast Plugin (free, upcoming) 2. Smart Podcast Player (premium) 3. Simple Podcast Press (premium) 4. Social Subscribe & Follow Icons 1.2 (premium) 5. Social Warfare (premium) 6. No Longer in Directory (free) 7. WP Featherlight (free) <ol> <li>Libsyn Podcast Plugin (free, upcoming)</li> </ol> The most annoying part of using Libsyn with WordPress would be either a lack of control, or a cumbersome workflow. Libsyn's new and free “Libsyn Podcast Plugin” simplifies this. You create your post in WordPress, upload your media to Libsyn from the WordPress post editor, and then Libsyn uses the meta information in your post for the Libsyn podcast RSS feed. This WordPress plugin is best for podcasters who are already using Libsyn's RSS feed and aren't already using PowerPress. In fact, Libsyn Podcast Plugin and Blubrry PowerPress are not compatible—but they're so redundant that you wouldn't need both, anyway. There's not currently an easy migration tool for moving from PowerPress (or another podcasting plugin for WordPress) to Libsyn, but the Libsyn support team will be able to guide you through some steps for your situation. Libsyn Podcast Plugin replaces Libsyn's own OnPublish feature for WordPress. OnPublish for other networks will still work, but it's unnecessary for WordPress because Libsyn Podcast Plugin publishes from WordPress to Libsyn. OnPublish is designed to publish from Libsyn to other destinations. When you publish with Libsyn's plugin, a Libsyn player will be automatically embedded in your post. Libsyn's WordPress plugin also includes a basic playlist player widget. At this time, the plugin is still in limited beta testing. I would only recommend this if you're not already using PowerPress or you use the Libsyn RSS feed. Here are Elsie Escobar and Krystal O'Connor demonstrating Libsyn Podcast Plugin. Which RSS feed is best to use? Read these couple blog posts for more information. <ul> <li>Why you may WANT to host your own podcast RSS feed</li> <li>Why you may NOT want to host your own podcast RSS feed</li> </ul> This requires a Libsyn hosting account. Use promo code “noodle” when you sign up to get the rest of this month and all of next for free! <ol> <li>Smart Podcast Player (premium)</li> </ol> While you're thinking about something outside of the PowerPress ecosystem, consider Pat Flynn's Smart Podcast Player. I think this is the most beautiful podcast player available. The individual episode player is intuitive, and the playlist player and clean and thorough. However, Smart Podcast Player does not currently integrate with PowerPress. You would have to manually edit all of your past episodes to fully switch to this player. But it works great if you generate your RSS feed from outside your website (like Libsyn's). <ol> <li>Simple Podcast Press (premium)</li> </ol> Coming back to more integrated WordPress plugins for podcasters, Hani Mourra's Simple Podcast Press combines a good-looking player, loads of features, and easy PowerPress integration. Simple Podcast Press is packed with great features! <ul> <li>iTunes, Stitcher, download, and custom buttons to appear below each episode player</li> <li>Email opt-in below each player or in a custom location</li> <li>Collapsible transcripts</li> <li>Short episode URLs (potentially replacing Pretty Link Pro)</li> <li>“Latest episode” widget</li> <li>Timecode-jumping bookmarks</li> <li>Podcast reviews inside WordPress (potentially replacing or augmenting My Podcast Reviews)</li> </ul> If you create your podcast feed from somewhere other than your own website, Simple Podcast Press can easily import all of your episodes from iTunes or an RSS feed. PowerPress users don't have to redo old posts, because Simple Podcast Press easily integrates with PowerPress and can change all past and future players with just a couple clicks. Use my promo code “noodle” to save 25% on any Simple Podcast Press license. <ol> <li>Social Subscribe & Follow Icons 1.2 (premium)</li> </ol> This is the WordPress plugin I created for bloggers and podcasters. Version 1.2 is finally coming out and it supports re-ordering your networks—the most-requested feature. Social Subscribe & Follow Icons gives you scalable icons for popular podcast apps and social networks. You can place these in widgets, pages, and posts. “Feature” a network and it turns it into a button with custom text. I use Subscribe & Follow on all of my podcast websites, Podcast Places™, and even my personal blog. It's highly versatile and looks great at any resolution. The price goes up when 1.2 launches on July 18, but use promo code “JulyUpdate” July 18–31, 2015 to save 20%! <ol> <li>Social Warfare (premium)</li> </ol> This is my new favorite plugin! Social Warfare is the best social-sharing plugin I've seen! (This serves a completely separate need from my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin.) I've previously used and generally been unhappy with several other social-sharing plugins: ShareThis, AddThis, Social Sharing Toolkit, Digg Digg, Shareaholic, and more. Social Warfare provides the right features to make social-sharing more powerful on your site! Currently, Social Warfare supports Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. That's not an impressive list by itself, but Social Warfare does amazing things with that short list—stuff that no other single plugin does. <ul> <li>Customize the image, title, and description for Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ (usually a 16:9 ratio image).</li> <li>Customize the tweet message—I've wanted this for years!</li> <li>Create easy and attractive “click to tweet” embeds for quotations from your post</li> <li>Customize the description and image for Pinterest (usually a 2:3 ratio image)—no other social-sharing plugin does this yet (other than a Pinterest-only plugin)!</li> </ul> Switching from Shareaholic to Social Warfare also reduced my webpage sizes by 200 KB and decreased my load speed by as much as 1.5 seconds! It's clean, it's fast, it works great on mobile, and Social Warfare integrates easily with pages, posts, and custom post types. <ol> <li>No Longer in Directory (free)</li> </ol> This is the kind of plugin you would almost never think of needing, but it's extremely helpful! Free WordPress plugins are great, but they are sometimes abandoned by their creators. That's where No Longer in Directory helps. This will check all of your installed plugins and let you know what plugins you have that are—as the name implies—no longer in the WordPress plugin directory. It's an easy and fast way to see which of your plugins have not been updated in a long time. This helps you know which WordPress plugins may need to be replaced or could be causing compatibility issues. <ol> <li>WP Featherlight (free)</li> </ol> This WordPress plugin is so new that it's only not even to version 1.0, yet! WP Featherlight turns images into attractive “lightboxes” when you click on them. Thanks to the No Longer in Directory plugin, I discovered the jQuery plugin I was previously using for lightbox effects hadn't been updated in years. At the same time, I saw WP Featherlight praised for its speed, simplicity, and lightweight efficiency. Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Get the new Social Subscribe & Follow Icons! Use promo code “JulyUpdate” after the price goes up to save 20% in July, 2015. * Register for Podcast Movement with code “noodle” to save 10%. If you'd like to join me for a meetup, text “PM2015” to 33444. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="11 WordPress Troubleshooting Tips – TAP226" subtitle="July 7, 2015" duration="3021" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap226.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685639/11-wordpress-troubleshooting-tips---tap226/">View Details</a> Your WordPress website is crashing, slowing down, or your PowerPress podcast RSS feed is broken. Try these 11 tips to diagnose and repair the most common problems for bloggers and podcasters. My primary websites recently suffered a week of regular crashes. I manage my own VPS on Vultr, so it was up to me to diagnose and repair the problem. Even if you're on shared hosting (like BlueHost or SiteGround), a managed VPS, or even managed WordPress hosting (like Liquid Web, WP Engine, or Flywheel), the following steps are a good way to find and fix the problem. In the audio podcast, I explain more about my own recent WordPress troubleshooting. <ol> <li>Backup This is the single most important thing to help prevent problems. Backups give you a restore point to test before things went wrong, and backups protect you against permanently messing up something when you backup before you attempt a fix.</li> </ol> I think BackupBuddy is the best backup plugin for WordPress. It can backup your database and files automatically, and easily push those backups offsite—like Dropbox, Amazon S3, FTP, and more. Alternatively, you can manually backup your database through phpMyAdmin (“export” or “dump”) or your hosting control panel. Learn more about having a great backup strategy. <ol> <li>Consider hiring help I mention this because you could be setting yourself up for a lot of time and frustration to fix a problem yourself. Yes, it can sometimes be expensive, but so is your time.</li> </ol> Fixing a website may require a little knowledge of HTML, PHP, CSS, Javascript, MySQL, and more. This help may come from your web host, or it may be another expert. Yes, I can help you fix most website and podcast problems. <ol> <li>Trace the problem logically and linearly A lot of problems can be easily solved by tracing the problem to its source. You must be able to think logically and linearly in order to do this.</li> </ol> For example, if you have a WordPress website but you use Libsyn to create your RSS feed, then a problem with your podcast feed won't be on your website. Inversely, if you create your RSS feed with PowerPress and you use Libsyn only to host your media, then the problem with your podcast feed won't be in Libsyn. Start with the symptom and work backwards, troubleshooting along the way. For example, merely using FeedBurner won't guarantee problems (right now). In fact, FeedBurner may not be causing any problem with a podcast feed. The problem could actually be with what's creating the original feed. For WordPress problems, Query Monitor is a great, albeit advanced, plugin for tracing problems. Query Monitor may reveal PHP errors in a specific plugin, slow MySQL queries, and other concerns that can usually be traced to a specific cause. <ol> <li>Test with “incognito” and other browsers Your may hear about a problem that you don't see yourself. This is usually because of some factor present for someone else but not for you.</li> </ol> For example, most caching plugins won't serve you a cached website when you're logged in. Also, some browsers or browser sizes display things a little differently from what you may see. Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and many other browsers (desktop and mobile) allow an “incognito” or “private” mode. This usually opens a new browser window with no history, no cookies, and no extensions. It's an easy way to see things from the perspective of someone new visiting your site. Additionally, you may need to test in a different browser or device to see what's happening. Browser issues are usually only related to display (HTML and CSS) or interactivity (Javascript). A link that results in a 404 or “cannot be found” error page is not a browser problem. (That's usually a permalink or caching problem.) <ol> <li>Revert changes Look for any correlation between changes you made and the problem that you're facing. Did something happen when you added a new plugin or changed an option?</li> </ol> Backups make reverting really easy (remember to backup before you revert!). This is another reason I like BackupBuddy so much—it makes it easy to revert to a previous backup. Another way to revert is to just attempt to undo whatever you did that you now suspect caused the problem. Try reverting to an older version of a plugin (downloadable from the “Developers” tab on WordPress.org-hosted plugins), disabling something you just installed or enabled, or try redoing your process with a clean slate (like a new page or post). <ol> <li>Deactivate WordPress plugins WordPress plugins add wonderful features and functionality to a site, but badly coded or old plugins can cause other problems.</li> </ol> Try deactivating all of your plugins. If the symptom disappears, then the cause is in one of your plugins. Reactivate and retest one plugin at a time. Or, you may already suspect a plugin. Try deactivating only that one to see whether the problem goes away. When you have discovered the culprit, you can either troubleshoot its options, or contact the developer for help. I did this when I installed the wonderful Social Warfare social-sharing plugin. I did find a little bug in their code, which they quickly fixed, but that wasn't causing my own crashes. If you can't even access the WordPress backend to deactivate a plugin, there's another workaround. Login to your web server's file management (via control panel, FTP, or SSH), navigate to your site's WordPress folder, then navigate into /wp-content/plugins/. In this folder are all of your plugins. To force deactivate a plugin, rename its folder. For example, I would rename “powerpress” to “xpowerpress” so it's easy to find. To force deactivate all your plugins, rename the entire plugins folder. <ol> <li>Try a default WordPress theme Some WordPress themes include plugin-like functionality that could be breaking things. Try switching to a “default” theme, like TwentyFifteen or similar preinstalled theme.</li> </ol> If you need a better WordPress theme, I recommend the following providers. <ol> <li>Appendipity</li> <li>StudioPress</li> <li>Elegant Themes</li> <li> Themify </li> <li> Optimize performance A plain WordPress installation may work fine until you start receiving multiple simultaneous visitors, even if your host advertises “unlimited traffic.” </li> </ol> Think of it like a room in a house. You can theoretically have an unlimited number of people in that room—but not all at once! Simultaneous website visitors, just like running multiple programs simultaneously on your PC, will require more RAM and CPU. The best way to optimize performance is with a caching plugin, like WP Super Cache (my recommendation) or W3 Total Cache. Your web host should be able to recommend the best plugin and settings for their servers. Listen to my episode about speeding up your website for more tips to optimize performance. <ol> <li>Ask your web host Your web host may or may not be able to help you solve the problem, but they can certainly help point you in the right direction.</li> </ol> The web host can check whether its someone else on your server that is causing the problem (often call a “noisy neighbor”), what resources are being hogged, if some hardware is failing, if the server is under attack, and even which website (on a multi-domain hosting account) is having the problems. (A problem with “index.php” will always be vague.) If you have a managed WordPress hosting provider, such as WP Engine or Flywheel, they may be able to give you more specific help or even completely fix the problem for you—even if it's a problem in your WordPress site! This kind of hosting usually costs much more, but comes with many worthwhile benefits beyond their fantastic customer support. <ol> <li>Tighten security There are rare times that all of the problems you face may not be your fault at all, but the consequence of being a random or intentional target of an attack.</li> </ol> Your site could have been hacked, infected with malware, or subjected to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. The best way to fix this is with tighter security. iThemes Security Pro can easily lock your site down with many customizations. A third-party premium service, such as CloudFlare or StudioPress Accelerator, can layer between your website and visitors to block you from attacks (and also speed up your website). <ol> <li>Hire help If you have gotten this far and are overwhelmed or worn out and the problem is still not fixed, then you should consider letting someone else solve it for you.</li> </ol> Please don't undervalue the services of people who know what they're doing! The problem could take you a week to fix yourself, but take a professional only 15 minutes. That's because that professional's 15 minutes of labor is built on years of experience. Their expertise is worth far more than their time. Thus, if it costs a few hundred dollars but only takes them 5 minutes, you probably got more value than you paid for! Not only can professionals fix something faster, but they can also save you the frustration of trying to understand things you'll never have to remember. Don't think about how much a professional's 5 minutes are worth, think about how much many hours of your life are worth. What has been your most obscure solution? I've fixed problems by finding a bad line of code, disabling a hidden option, implementing rate-limiting, and upgrading themes. Comment with your story of fixing some crazy problem. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Jonathan J. Reinhart, from Wargaming Recon, said, “No one person besides Daniel & and his show has given me greater help in making my podcast, WargamingRecon.com, the success it is. … Thank you Daniel for giving me the guts and teaching me the tools to be the best podcaster I can be.” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements – Register for Podcast Movement 2015 with promo code “noodle” to save 10%. I hope to see you there! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to Prepare Yourself for Video Podcasting or Live-Streaming – TAP225" subtitle="June 30, 2015" duration="2982" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap225.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685640/how-to-prepare-yourself-for-video-podcasting-or-live-streaming---tap225/">View Details</a> Get yourself ready for video podcasting or live-streaming with these 11 tips! This episode is sponsored by Harry's. Click here to purchase a Harry's shaving starter kit and save $5 with coupon code “noodle” at checkout. I have previously talked about the 20 “preflight” things you should do before you start each episode. This content focuses specifically on preparing your body and your voice. <ol> <li>Prepare yourself for audio In the last episode, I shared 13 tips to prepare yourself for audio podcasting:</li> </ol> <blockquote> <ol> <li>Drink plenty of water</li> <li>Be careful what and when you eat</li> <li>Avoid soda, cream, and alcohol</li> <li>Get your blood flowing</li> <li>Use the restroom</li> <li>Get more water for drinking while recording</li> <li>Clear your sinuses</li> <li>Apply lip balm</li> <li>Warm up your voice</li> <li>Have something for fidgeting</li> <li>Clear your mind</li> <li>Breathe</li> <li>Have good posture</li> </ol> </blockquote> Because audio is the most important part of video, all of these tips still apply for video podcasting. <ol> <li>Get plenty of quality light Lighting is the second most-important piece to video podcasting or live-streaming video. Good lighting can make even a cheap camera produce great video.</li> </ol> But this isn't about the technical setup of video. For you, the quality of lighting can make the difference between looking like a ghost, having over-exposed “hot spots” on your face, or not being visible at all. Light for the people in your video. It's usually okay if the background is too dark or too bright (though good lighting back there helps, too). If you have only one light source (even if just diffused sunlight), try to angle it to be slightly to your right or left. This creates shadows that give depth. <ol> <li>Over-adjust the temperature Most podcast studios will sound better if you turn off the heater, air conditioner, and fans. This means you could become a little uncomfortable and that will show in the camera (see the next point). To reduce this, over-adjust your room's temperature: if it's summer, make it cooler than usual; if it's winter, make it warmer than usual. This will give you more time in a zone of comfort.</li> </ol> If you're not comfortable, it will show. <ol> <li>Remove sweat or face oil Stress, lighting, and just the design of our bodies can produce extra skin oil or perspiration. This usually looks horrible in video—wet hair, sweaty palms, moist armpits, or a glossy face.</li> </ol> I always have a handkerchief in my studio for wiping my face. If it wasn't for my beautiful wife, I would have never realized how oily my face gets. Whether you wipe, dab, blot, or powder, do whatever is necessary for you to remove the extra oil and moisture because these can cause odd glares and make you look sick. <ol> <li>Consider makeup Video cameras and lighting often highlight our skin blemishes—acne, warts, cuts, scars, razor burn, sunburn, and more. I don't suggest that you make yourself up to look pristine. However, these blemishes can sometimes be distracting to viewers.</li> </ol> Like with podcast-editing, consider using makeup just to cover up the distractions—stuff that would be gone in a couple weeks. Ladies are usually quite used to wearing makeup on a daily basis and are conscious of how they look. But guys tend to care less. There's nothing wrong with having unchangeable “blemishes,” like warts, scars, and such. But do consider at least diminishing the appearance of the temporary blemishes, like acne and burns. A little makeup can also hide the skin oil, and thus make you look more human in the camera. Always be careful with tone-matching, because great lighting often makes subtle tone variations more noticeable and splotchy. <ol> <li>Check your hair You hair doesn't have to be perfect, but do make sure it won't be falling in your face, look unkempt, or appear too messy.</li> </ol> Be especially mindful if you have light-colored hair and you're in front of a dark background. Messy hair can actually cause editing problems if you use a green screen for special effects. <ol> <li>Shave This is primarily for the guys. I know we may not like shaving every day, but you'll need to learn your own body and see yourself on video to know what difference shaving decisions make, especially hair on your neck or chest.</li> </ol> This episode is sponsored by Harry's. I tried Harry's myself and was amazed at the comfort and quality of shave. Then, I was even more amazed at the price—lower than what I was paying at my local retailer for cheap name-brand blades! I've compared Harry's to my other razor, and I'm switching! Click here to get your own Harry's starter kit, and use coupon code “noodle” at checkout to save $5 on your first purchase! <ol> <li> Choose your clothing wisely Cameras aren't designed as well as our eyes are. Cameras are susceptible to several things that can cause strange artifacts or distractions in the recordings based simply on the clothing we wear. </li> <li> Be cautious of fit and style—Your clothing choice could make you look fat, or skinny. Certain clothing may be a bit too formal, too risque, or too casual for your audience or message. </li> <li>Avoid thin stripes and detailed patterns—Small details like this can either be lost by the camera, or cause strange blinks when you move around.</li> <li>Avoid logos—Don't let it look like you're being sponsored or are affiliated with another company if you aren't.</li> <li>Avoid brights, especially reds—The vibrance of some colors can't be captured well and may end up looking sickly. Other colors, like bright reds, can actually cause mental and visual stress.</li> <li> Avoid blending in with the background—Green on green screen and black on a dark background are the worst offenders. These can give you a ghostly floating head. </li> <li> Take breaks and fix yourself as necessary If you're recording a long video, you may need to take breaks to fix or adjust any of these previous points. It's okay to do that, just ensure you do it frequently enough that the freshened results aren't obvious in the video. </li> <li> Make eye contact with the right people Video podcasting allows you to communicate with your voice and face directly to viewers. This almost always means you are talking directly to them—more specifically, directly to one person. Just like in face-to-face conversations, you should try to maintain “eye contact.” </li> </ol> If you're a solo video podcaster, look directly into the camera lens as much as possible. If you have a guest or cohost next to you, and you're both talking to the audience, then try to spend more time than feels comfortable looking at the camera instead of at the other person. Look at Rhett & Link's Good Mythical Morning for an example. If the video podcast is designed to be more like watching multiple people having a conversation, then you and your hosts should be making eye contact with each other while the camera captures from an angle. Look at Michael Hyatt's This Is Your Life for an example. Here's the key: make eye contact with the person you're primarily talking to: if your audience, look into the camera lens; if your guest or cohost, look into their eyes. <ol> <li>Be conscious of the camera Don't forget that you're on camera! This is especially easy to do when you're live-streaming or video-podcasting with someone else and you're not looking directly into the camera. Over time, you may slouch, look in distracting places, or start doing awkward things with your body.</li> </ol> If you can't see a video monitor from the camera, be extra careful to stay in frame and in focus. In my episode about preparing yourself for audio, I mentioned having something for fidgeting, but that may not work well in your video. How do you prepare yourself for video podcasting or live-streaming? Have you found things that work well for you, or special considerations you have to take? Please comment! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Isorabins said, “I'm in the midst of launching a podcast and this is one of the best resources I've found to help get me up to speed on getting started.” * Mark, producer for BizChix, said about Podcasting Video Tips (my video show), “… It will help me to add some better automation to my podcast. Looking forward to watching back episodes to expand from audio into video podcasting. …” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to prepare yourself for audio podcasting – TAP224" subtitle="June 22, 2015" duration="2761" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap224.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685641/how-to-prepare-yourself-for-audio-podcasting---tap224/">View Details</a> Get your body and voice ready for audio podcasting with these 13 preparation tips. These also work great for video! Remember that the most important part of podcasting is your voice. So you'll notice that most of these tips focus on caring for your voice. I have previously talked about the 20 “preflight” things you should do before you start each episode. This content focuses specifically on preparing your body and your voice. <ol> <li>Drink plenty of water Water is lubricant for everything in our bodies. Everything functions better when we are well hydrated.</li> </ol> A dry mouth can cause lip smacks and other annoying mouth noises. Drink water throughout the day of your recording. A full glass shortly before you record will also help freshen you up. <ol> <li>Be careful what and when you eat Learn about your own stomach and digestive system. Some foods can cause stomach noises. Others can cause excessive gas that seek escape through burps or farts. Try to suppress these bodily functions and you'll make yourself uncomfortable.</li> </ol> Some foods can actually help your voice, such as some teas, a green apple, or lemons. Related to this, avoid chewing or sucking things during your audio podcast. Cough drops and the like may be necessary, but avoid letting these make noises (such as hitting your teeth or sucking sounds). <ol> <li>Avoid soda, cream, and alcohol I have often looked forward to drinking a soda shortly before recording my clean-comedy podcast. The caffeine and sugar give me a temporary energy boost. Plus, I simply enjoy sodas. These things combine to generally put me in a better mood for my comedy podcast.</li> </ol> But soda, cream, and alcohol can do bad things for your voice. Alcohol can also slow blood flow to your brain, essentially reducing your intelligence. These little treats can certainly help some podcasts (imagine something like Mommy's Cocktail Hour without the cocktails!). But for more serious shows, you may need all of your mental faculties and the full power of your voice. <ol> <li>Get your blood flowing Instead of looking to food or drink to boost your energy and alertness, try doing something help to get your blood flowing and mind engaged. Try push-ups, a couple trips up and down the stairs, jumping jacks, or even sincere laughter.</li> </ol> Don't work yourself into a sweat or completely out of breath. You just need enough to get the blood to your brain and warm up your nerves. <ol> <li>Use the restroom There's almost nothing more embarrassing than to take a restroom break in the middle of your content! Yes, we're big boys and girls and can control our bladders and bowels. But such suppression can be distracting and discomforting.</li> </ol> I shared an embarrassing moment that happened to me at BlogWorld in my clean-comedy podcast. <ol> <li>Get more water for drinking while recording Regardless of whether you think you'll have a chance to drink, have water ready and try to drink it while recording. This will keep your mouth, throat, and vocal cords lubricated, which will keep your voice smooth and energy higher.</li> </ol> I recommend that you get a cup or bottle with a straw—something that will be completely silent when you drink. Don't leave ice in it, as cold water isn't the best for your body and the ice can also make more noise. Have something soft for setting your drink on, so you don't make noise when you put your drink down. If you have a guest or a cohost, it's easy to drink a little while the other person is talking. If you're podcasting solo, you could either pause the recording, or leave enough silence or a marker so you know where to edit. There's no need to tell your audience you're pausing for a drink. <ol> <li>Clear your sinuses Regardless of whether you have allergies, we talk better with clear sinuses. You can breathe better, get more oxygen, and you'll also avoid sniffles and nose whistles in your recording.</li> </ol> Try blowing your nose, a nasal rinse, or other methods for clearing your sinuses. Spicy or hot things can help, too, but they may negatively affect your voice. <ol> <li>Apply lip balm Drinking water keeps your mouth dry and avoids many mouth noises, but water, alone, may not help your lips. Dry lips stick together better and cause lip-smacking noises and can even hinder our speech.</li> </ol> Figure out the best lip balm for you and apply it before your audio podcasting. Beware certain ingredients in lip balm that actually cause dry lips. <ol> <li>Warm up your voice Just like how it's not good to drive a car immediately into 60 MPH in freezing temperatures, it's also not good to start talking for a long time without a little warm up.</li> </ol> Your vocal warmup could be as simple as having conversation before you record. Or, you could try actual vocal warmup exercises. Yes, you'll sound silly, but you'll get a better voice from it. <ol> <li>Have something for fidgeting It's not a learning disorder or mental illness for us to fidget. Many people fidget, and not just when they're uncomfortable.</li> </ol> Find something silent, such as a small plush toy, that you or your guest/cohost are free to fidget with during the recording. This will keep bad fidgeting sounds out of the recording and may even help some people focus more! <ol> <li>Clear your mind Leave your problems, overflowing inbox, offtopic ideas, and other burdens outside of your podcasting studio. This is time to focus on the message you will share and the people with whom you will interact.</li> </ol> Turn off notifications, close or hide tabs and programs, and ensure you are 100% present for this activity. (Hint: try this in other areas of life and see how it improves your relationships!) <ol> <li> Breathe “Duh,” right? Yes, we know we should breathe, but we often don't. We're nervous or overly excited and we don't breathe well when we're speaking. Not only does this make us run out of breath while speaking, but it also reduces the amount of oxygen to our brain—making us dumber. </li> <li> Have good posture Posture affects your voice and mood. Slouch and you'll be lethargic, sit or stand up straight and you'll project and speak more confidently. </li> </ol> Sitting or standing up straight keeps everything in your body properly aligned (and standing is better than sitting!). You'll be able to engage with more energy when you have good posture. What about you? Have you found particular techniques that help you—your body and voice—to podcast? Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Clay Lamb said, “… I found your insights of the future were extremely eye opening. …” Read the full review. * whylimewhynot said, “… My friend and I are about to start recording our podcast and with his tips, we already feel like pros, and not just lost little guppies trying to swim with the big fish. He makes learning so accessible for the novice, yet I'm sure even seasoned veterans get a lot out of what he does and the content he presents. … Thank you … for making podcasting not as intimidating so we can get to the fun part faster …!” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Start your website with HostGator for 55% off June 22–24. Click here to get your discount. If you miss that sale, you can always use my promo code “noodle” to save 30%. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="5 lessons from 5 years of professional podcasting – TAP223" subtitle="June 16, 2015" duration="3421" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap223.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685642/5-lessons-from-5-years-of-professional-podcasting---tap223/">View Details</a> The Audacity to Podcast is now five years old. These are the biggest five lessons I learned from taking podcasting seriously and professionally for the last five years. I published The Audacity to Podcast's first episode on June 17, 2010. Listen to “How podcasting led from a hobby to a dream” to learn more about how that podcast launch started my full-time entrepreneurship. In the five years since launching Audacity, I've learned some important lessons about business and growth. Thus, please indulge some introspection as I share what you can learn from my experience. <ol> <li>Set goals and make plans When I launched The Audacity to Podcast, I knew where I wanted to go with the podcast—I had a list of about 35 topics to cover in episodes! But I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go with my business.</li> </ol> Goals without plans are merely dreams that will never be realized. Thus, brainstorm for the future of your podcast. If your podcast is part of a business plan, then you definitely need plans for your goals. The Audacity to Podcast was the missing piece to help me launch my business. Back then, my business web design. But I always had difficulty envisioning my future. I kind of drifted in my entrepreneurship for my first couple years. Now, I have a clearer vision for what I want to do in my business (and my move to Phoenix is part of the plan). It comes down to this: I make solutions for people to share their passions and find success through podcasting. I do this through products and services to help others launch and improve their own podcasts. My video-training on how to make your podcast findable and grow your audience is just the beginning. I have big things planned that will not only help you start or improve your podcast, but also to help you accomplish greater things with your podcast. <ol> <li>Monetize early It's okay if you don't want to monetize your podcast. But if you do, then start as early as possible! This not only gets your audience used to it, but this can give momentum for your profit.</li> </ol> Here are my top recommendations for monetizing your podcast early. <ul> <li>Make a product. This doesn't have to be fancy or big. Keep it simple and small enough that your audience won't feel like they're taking a risk to buy it. It could be a $1 bonus episode, a $5 ebook, or a $10 video guide, or anything else relevant to your audience. Here are some tips on products you could make for your podcast.</li> <li>Use affiliate links for everything possible. You probably know this already; try to monetize any product links. This can be easy with Amazon.com's affiliate program, especially if you use a plugin to make creating Amazon affiliate links better.</li> <li>Join easy, high-paying affiliate programs. Web-hosting affiliates are easy to get and recommend, especially if you use the hosting company. But even though these pay well, they may not matter to your audience. Consider something more relevant, such as Audible's affiliate program ($15 per free-trial signup).</li> <li>Participate in relevant joint-ventures. JVs (joint ventures) can be great opportunities to grow your own business or make decent income helping someone else grow theirs. Considering partnering on a webinar, product creation, or special launch. Again, ensure these JVs make sense for your audience and that you truly believe in the product or service.</li> <li>Accept crowd-funding. Platforms like Patreon and Joyride allow regular content-creators to easily raise money and offer bonuses to supporters.</li> </ul> When looking at my business, my biggest regret is that I didn't have products to sell earlier in my entrepreneurship. <ol> <li>Respect other perspectives This may be hard, but recognize that there is usually wisdom in the opinions and perspectives of others. When I named my head company “D.Joseph Design,” my friends told me that people would probably call me Joseph. I dismissed that thought, thinking, “No, my name is right there on my business card and in my email signature.” Nope. About 10% of the people I would talk to called me Joseph.</li> </ol> Or how about my cunning with the title “The Audacity to Podcast”? This show was always intended to be about podcasting first, but would frequently feature Audacity. To this day, the word “Audacity” still has instant connotations to many people and at least half of the people I introduce to my podcast think it's about the Audacity software. I should have listened and respected those opinions more. When you hear an opinion from only one person, I recommend that you consider it, but don't chase every piece of advice. When you hear the same opinion from more than one person, it's likely that more people have the same thought and you should consider how you can improve. <ol> <li>Pursue uniqueness, but don't fear similarity I certainly wasn't the first podcast about podcasting and I'm not the most popular. I thought the market was mostly saturated when I launched in 2010—with only two other active podcasts about podcasting! (Those were Podcast Answer Man and School of Podcasting.) But I didn't let that deter me because I was confident I had something to say that no one else was saying. Plus, I believed I had a perspective and style unique from the others.</li> </ol> It's that uniqueness that has kept me going and it's why you listen. I go deep into single topics. Be unique by being yourself. Copycats come and go, or they never go anywhere. But also don't be afraid to do something similar to others. This “fear” has crippled me in many ways. I'm now great friends with my biggest “competitors”: Cliff Ravenscraft, Dave Jackson, John Lee Dumas, and others. I value those friendships so much, that I have hurt my own business by not want to do anything too similar to them. What was I thinking? I do not see these friends as rivals. But if I have what I think is a good idea that someone else is already doing, I should still pursue it for my audience and with my unique perspective. Will you see my equivalent offerings to Podcasting A to Z, Podcasters' Paradise, School of Podcasting, or any other premium podcasting course or community? Maybe. But I would pursue these only if I know they would work for me, not just because I see them working for someone else. <ol> <li>Focus on relationships I don't consider myself to be a relationship-focused guy. It's easy for me to be alone. But I now also realize that the greatest things in my life have come as a result of relationships: my relationship with God, my wife, old friends, new friends, and more.</li> </ol> From a business perspective, I see my audience and profits grow most when I work within relationships. From a personal perspective, I get more from conferences—such as Podcast Movement—by talking to the people. Sometimes, that's from the stage, but it's always from the conversations in the hallways, over meals, or escaping to that one corner where the party music isn't deafening. I love meeting up with old friends, turning existing acquaintances into friendships, and meeting new people. Don't get so focused on podcasting that you forget the relationships around you. If you're a Christian, than your #1 priority should be your relationships with God. I don't say that to be preachy, but I think the whole world would be a better place if Christians truly acted like God calls us to act. If you have a family, they are your next priority: spouse, kids, and then other family. This relationships may not seem to support your podcast or your business, but I hope you're in business to support these vital relationships. Certainly, the support we get from these relationships drives us in our creativity. (When stuff isn't well at home, it's hard to be productive anywhere else.) When you have business relationships, look for ways you can work together for mutual success. How is The Audacity to Podcast changing? I've been experimenting with some ideas and am developing others. For now, I'll share these with my email subscribers and eventually ask for your feedback in a survey. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Internet Marketing Minutia said, “… You want Daniel in your corner when you need someone to diffuse a complicated bomb. In this case, that bomb is technology and how it relates to podcasting. … The Audacity to Podcast podcast has seriously expanded to contain guidance, reviews and commentary beyond its double entendre laden crest.” Read the full review. * Animockery, “… This show is plush with tips and practices that I will attempt to apply to our efforts. …” Read the full review. * Jessica Moorhousr, from Canada, said, “… Great quality, helpful tips and easy to listen to. Highly recommend this show to anyone thinking of starting their own podcast.” Read the full review. * Henry Jasper, from Voices That Carry, said, “… Thanks for helping me get the tools I need to have a great podcast! …” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Thank you for the nearly 200 people who watched my free webinar, “3 Ways to Make Your Podcast Findable and Stand Out.” The webinar replays are no longer available, but you can still get all the information and much more in my complete SEO for Podcasters video training. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="The Future of Podcasting (keynote from Podcast Midwest 2015) – TAP222" subtitle="June 9, 2015" duration="1734" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap222.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685643/the-future-of-podcasting--keynote-from-podcast-midwest-2015----tap222/">View Details</a> The future of podcasting is more than “more”: more podcasts, more podcasters, more money, more Android/iPhone, etc. I presented this as the opening keynote for Podcast Midwest 2015 in Chicago. Big thanks to Dan Franks and Jared Easley for inviting me to speak. I was originally going to copresent “How to Improve Your Podcasting Workflow” with Erik Fisher. But we shifted things around and Erik present that solo, and will reshare the content soon on his show, Beyond the To-Do List. <h2>View the slides</h2> In 2004, Dave Winer and Adam Curry created podcasting. Since then, Apple has tracked more than 1 billion podcast subscriptions—and that was only up to 2013. Now, podcasting has received attention from mainstream media like Saturday Night Live and The Middle, podcasting gives average people global platforms for sharing their voices, 46 million Americans listen to podcasts in a month, and podcasting brings a world of education and entertainment to the devices 3/4 of Americans carry everywhere. And this is just the beginning. If podcasting was a person, it wouldn't even be old enough for high school, but it's already getting married. This is the future of podcasting. <ol> <li>New and traditional media will marry In the future of podcasting, new and traditional media will marryClick To Tweet “New” has always needed “old.” Writing needed word of mouth; radio needed the written and spoken word; TV needed radio, writing, and word of mouth; the Internet needed TV, radio, written and spoken word; and now, podcasting needs all of the media that has come before it.</li> </ol> But “old” also needs “new.” Podcasting brings fresh ideas, unique perspectives, and a new approach. With each marriage of new media to traditional media, all of the former partners are involved. They helped shape new media into what it is. How to prepare for this future? Like any good relationship, start with a conversation. In fact, there's a day dedicated specifically to that! Start the conversation about podcasting on International Podcast Day, September 30. <ol> <li>Standards will emerge In the future of podcasting, standards will emergeClick To Tweet When two people marry, rules have to be set. Does the toilet paper go over, or under? Who does the laundry and where does it go? Does the toilet seat go up, or down?</li> </ol> For the marriage of new and traditional media to work, standards must be set. <ul> <li>Production: media formats, loudness, server requirements, accessibility, and more. Some of these standards are already emerging (like loudness), and look at what companies like iHeartRadio and Spotify are requiring.</li> <li>Measurement: knowing the size of your audience from downloads, impressions, subscriptions, actions, and more. The Interactive Advertising Bureau is currently discussing a universal standard.</li> <li>Monetization: how much we charge sponsors, what models we use, and more. Again, the Interactive Advertising Bureau is already discussing a universal standard.</li> </ul> How to prepare for this future? Like any good relationship, you have to stop fighting and start conforming. The conforming will be mutual, as traditional media learn more about new media standards. But we must also conform to these standards by adapting how we produce, measure, and monetize our content. <ol> <li>Technology will disappear In the future of podcasting, the technology will disappearClick To Tweet No, this doesn't mean that we'll no longer use technology or we won't have software and devices. I think that technology will become invisible to the podcaster and the podcast-consumer.</li> </ol> For example, RSS drives podcasting, but we may see a day where we don't have to worry about RSS feeds anymore—even if they still exist. Apps and devices will not matter anymore because the subscription process will be far more seamless (Apple is already pushing this by making the Podcasts app preinstalled on iOS). How to prepare for this future? Let go. Let go of our insistence that people use a particular app or device. Let go of some of the technology. <ol> <li>Some control will be forfeited In the future of podcasting, some control will be forfeitedClick To Tweet As the technology disappears, I believe we'll forfeit some of our control. This could be control over the technology, the distribution, the production, and maybe even the message.</li> </ol> But forfeiting control is not a bad thing! This usually makes things easier for the audience and easier for the podcaster. When things get easier, it allows for more focus on what really matters. Consider a company CEO. He no longer has control over the small details. He's not dusting, running the servers, answering the phones, shipping the packages, constructing new spaces, or many other smaller pieces. He is focused on the important details: the purpose and goals of the company. How to prepare for this future? You have to delegate. This can be to volunteers who will do things for free, or to professionals who are worth what they charge. But when you delegate, you get more freedom for what matters! <ol> <li>Something new will be born In the future of podcasting, something new will be bornClick To Tweet As often happens in a marriage, there's a baby—the next generation!</li> </ol> Everytime new and traditional media have been married, something new has been more. When the Internet married with TV and Radio, podcasting was born. Now, when the marriage of podcasting and traditional media is consummated, something new will be born. We may have no idea what this new thing will be! 200 years ago, who could have imagined that we could hear or see people in real time from the other side of the world? 50 years ago, who could have imagined that we would have nearly all the knowledge in the world literally at our fingertips or in our pockets? 20 years ago, who could have imagined that an average man, woman, boy, or girl could reach a global audience from their closet or basement? Something new is coming. It could be only a few years away or it could be decades away. But podcasting and traditional media will create it. How to prepare for this future? Procreate—that is, professionally create. Keep making great content! If you're a hobby podcaster, pursue that hobby so well that people will think you're a professional. If you're a entrepreneur with your podcast, take those risks, find and fill those needs, and seek to make the world a better place. Along the way, you could be the one to invent something new. Don't define yourself by the medium. We are more than podcasters; we are creators. We shape the future! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Sociaksidekick said, “… I think we can always learn more and improve in this genre and why not listen to the best.” Read the full review. * Mark – BizChix Producer said, “Daniel is passionate about podcasting and doing it with style and grace. He consistently delivers amazing content …” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Last week to get my course on how to make your podcast more findable and stand out for it's launch price of $99! Sale expires at 11:59 pm (EDT/GMT-4) on Saturday, June 13. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="15 years of Audacity: interview with creator Roger Dannenberg – TAP221" subtitle="May 26, 2015" duration="2270" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap221.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685644/15-years-of-audacity--interview-with-creator-roger-dannenberg---tap221/">View Details</a> May 28, 2015 is Audacity's 15th birthday! Celebrate with me as I speak with Audacity founder and creator, Professor Roger Dannenberg. About Prof. Roger Dannenberg Roger Dannenberg is a professor of Computer Science, Art, and Music at Carnegie Mellon University. He holds several patents, has published numerous articles and chapters in respected technical and music journals, and is a musician himself. Prof. Dannenberg is also the senior cofounder and developer for Audacity. The story of Audacity It surprised me to learn that Audacity was originally created as an audio-visualization software, not as an audio editor. But it very quickly became a great tool for editing all kinds of audio. In the years since Audacity 0.8's launch, Audacity has had a grand total of over 88 million downloads. Version 2.1.0, alone, has had nearly 1 million downloads at this time. Audacity is used by voiceover artists, scientists, students, kids, multimedia producers, podcasters, audiobook narrators, musicians, and much more. Listen to the interview to hear the full story of Audacity's creation, inspiration, and development. Huge thanks to the whole Audacity team for their tremendous contributions: documenting, developing, testing, translating, and much more! If you appreciate this powerful tool and everyone's generous contributions, please donate to support Audacity's continued development. What's your favorite Audacity feature? And what new feature, serious or silly, would you want from Audacity if you could have anything? Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Paul David Peterson said, “Today my podcast went live on iTunes, and there’s no way I could have done it without Daniel’s podcast (and all he shares with the podcasting community). …” Read the full review. * bytespider, from the UK, said, “I've been listening to TAP ever since deciding to start my own podcast; BedtimeFM's Story Time, and it has helped my in so many ways. Not least of all improving my microphone technique and producing well produced content. I still have a lot to learn, and with the help of TAP I'm improving each day.” * grishrak said, “… this podcast is less about tech and how to with mixer x and more about giving us incite [sic] and tips on how to podcast and what to avoid once we hit record. That alone has saved me many hours of editing in post … as well as helps me know directly where to go if I keep running into an issue.” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * “How to Improve Your WordPress Podcast Website” at Podcast Movement. Use promo code “NOODLE” to save 10%. * Upcoming podcasting conferences: New Media Europe September 12–13, 2015, in Manchester, United Kingdom; Podcast Movement July 31–August 2, 2015, in Fort Worth, Texas (use promo code “NOODLE” to save 10%). * SEO for Podcasters price going up in June. Buy it now for only $99! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="8 tools for collaborating with podcast guests and cohosts – TAP220" subtitle="May 19, 2015" duration="2098" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap220.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685645/8-tools-for-collaborating-with-podcast-guests-and-cohosts---tap220/">View Details</a> Collaboration is important when podcasting with guests or cohosts. These free and premium tools will help your plan your episodes and show notes better! <ol> <li>Google Docs This is the “king” of real-time, document collaboration. It seems that everyone knows about Google Docs!</li> </ol> With Google Docs, you can create documents or spreadsheets to share with your podcast cohosts or guests. This makes it really easy to coauthor notes and give feedback on ideas. Google Docs is part of Google Drive, which also allows you to share files and folders, similar to Dropbox. Honorable mention: Zoho <ol> <li>Workflowy If you like lists, then you'll love this tool! Workflowy gives you a single, bullet-point list with infinite depth. You can share any level of points.</li> </ol> Workflowy is my favorite for taking simultaneous notes, such as for a TV-show-fan podcast. Each episode gets its own bullet point, then themes or segments are subpoints, each cohost gets their own named subpoint under each theme, and then they make additional subpoints there. ~~3. HackPad~~ ~~Mix Google Documents and Workflowy together and you'll get HackPad. A modern, feature-rich collaboration platform.~~ ~~HackPad focuses a lot on team-collaboration features, making it really easy to see who edited what. You can also easily embed multimedia from simple links.~~ <ol> <li>Slack Slack is my new favorite tool. It's designed around communication, but can be used for much more.</li> </ol> Think of Slack as a group instant-messaging program. You can have open or private channels (like chat rooms) for specific conversations, or communicate one-on-one. I use Slack now for all communication with my Noodle.mx Network team. It's fast and easily accessible from multiple platforms. There are many app integrations that also make great for collaboration. You can draft notes together, share Google Documents, upload images and files, and more. <ol> <li>Evernote Need an app for collecting or remembering things? Then you've probably heard of Evernote.</li> </ol> Evernote lets you create individual notes to hold almost anything—photos, text, files, links, and more. The collaboration comes in by sharing a whole notebook, where you can create, collect, and edit notes together and have a “work chat” channel built in. <ol> <li>Delicious If your show primarily discusses links, then Delicious might be the tool for you! Users can tag and share links with each other and add their own comments.</li> </ol> Honorable mentions: Diigo, Pinboard <ol> <li> Sync.in If you want something quick and simple, consider Sync.in. Like other services, it offers real-time collaboration on basic notes. But it doesn't require an account. (However, free public note creation is currently disabled as of May, 2015.) </li> <li> MindMeister Most of these methods are either linear- or collection-based. Mind-mapping is another way of thinking. Start with a core idea and start branching out. </li> </ol> This is a great way to brainstorm as it allows you to easily follow multiple paths of thought. Honorable mention: Mind42 Pick what's easy and meets your needs All of these tools have their places and could be fun and powerful for collaborating. But a podcasting collaboration tool is no good if no one uses it. So I suggest that you go with what's easiest for your entire team to use. Any tool that makes collaboration happen is better than no collaboration at all. What are your favorite tools for collaborating with your guests or cohosts? Thank you for the podcast reviews! * David Silverman, cocreator of Clammr, said, “I'm trying to learn everything I can about podcasting and I can definitely say, that it doesn't get any better as a source of up-to-date info than The Audacity to Podcast. …” Read the full review. * Mmmmmagic3461 said, “… I love it! It is one of my favorites, very practical, and friendly too. …” Read the full review. * audiobrian said, “Daniel has many helpful tips.” Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Coming up next: interview with Audacity cofounder Roger Dannenberg as we celebrate Audacity's 15th birthday! * “How to Improve Your Podcasting Workflow” copresentation with Erik Fisher at Podcast Midwest. Use promo code “NOODLE” to save $20. * SEO for Podcasters price going up in June. Buy it now for only $99! * Upcoming podcasting conferences: New Media Europe September 12–13, 2015, in Manchester, United Kingdom; Podcast Movement July 31–August 2, 2015, in Fort Worth, Texas (use promo code “NOODLE” to save 10%). Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Are you podcasting as an amateur, professional, hobbyist, or entrepreneur? – TAP219" subtitle="May 4, 2015" duration="1416" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap219.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685646/are-you-podcasting-as-an-amateur--professional--hobbyist--or-entrepreneur----tap219/">View Details</a> It seems that podcasts split themselves into two sides: “amateur” and “professional.” But are these really the right labels? How should this affect how you podcast? These words have many connotations, and they may not be the right labels for what we do. I'll dig into these and suggest what I think are more appropriate terms. “Amateur” I think the label “amateur” is often misapplied. At an Apple event on September 1, 2010, the late Steve Jobs famously lumped podcasts under the label of “amateur hour.” For some podcasts, we have to be honest and admit that it is an entirely accurate label. The dictionary definitions for “amateur” (Dictionary.com, Merriam–Webster) do account for activities engaged in for pleasure rather than any form of profit. But the definitions also include words like, “inexperienced,” “unskilled,” and “lacking in competence.” I have encountered many amateur podcasts. The hosts were poor communicators, had no skills with their tools, and the whole experience felt degrading. These podcasts clearly lacked any quality in the four cornerstones of a great podcast: content, presentation, production, and promotion. Sometimes, the podcasts might actually have good audio quality, but the rest of the production was still unbearable. The harsh reality is that truly amateur podcasts like that will probably never earn a large following or reach any kind of success. These are the kinds of podcasts that give the industry a bad reputation to some people. Advice: don't be an “amateur” podcaster Does this mean you have to turn your podcast into a business? No. Do you have to spend a lot of money to fix things? Probably not. Can you continue podcasting just for the fun and relaxation of it? Yes! But don't embrace the label “amateur” or use it as an excuse. I'll suggest something better below. “Professional” On the opposite side of “amateur” is “professional.” These are the people who have large audiences, gain lots of attention, and sometimes earn lots of money. The dictionary definitions for “professional” (Dictionary.com, Merriam–Webster) primarily focus on things pursued as a profession. But a small part of the definition also covers things done in an expert way. When I talk about sounding or looking professional, I don't mean that you have to pursue podcasting as part of a business. But I think that you should sound as though you're an expert on your topic. You might be surprised how professional people can sound about anything: baseball cards, old cars, Beanie Babies, movies, and more. You can also look and sound professional in how you handle the whole production of your show, which goes beyond what podcasting gear you use. Advice: seek to be “professional” in everything You may think calling yourself a “professional” is a bit too serious, and that's okay. But you're an expert in something; embrace that! Also, host and produce your show in a way that seem professional, even if you're just talking about hobbies. Podcasting doesn't have to be about making money or pursuing a profession. It can simply be about the things you and others love. But I do recommend that you seek to present yourself (or your guest) as an expert on the matter and always pursue professionalism in what you do. “Hobbyist” I think “hobbyist” is a more appropriate label than “amateur.” Whether you podcast about traditional hobbies, or you talk as a hobby about serious things, you could be a hobbyist podcaster. Again, let's consider the dictionary definitions for “hobby” (Dictionary.com, Merriam–Webster): something you pursue for relaxation and not as your main occupation. There's nothing in the definitions that limit a hobby to being done poorly. In fact, think of the hobbyists you know and you'll often see more skill and attention to detail in their relaxation activity than in their own job! You podcast about this topic because you love it. You may have no plans to make any money. After all, you find this relaxing and may even consider the costs as investments in your pleasure. If you're reaching those simple goals, then you're successful! But you're also so good at this hobby, that people see you as an authority or expert. That happens when you pursue your hobby in a serious way and it shows. You can be professional about a hobby. These kinds of podcasts often generate the strongest communities because everyone usually has the same goals—to just enjoy the topic. Don't call yourself an amateur; call yourself a hobbyist and pursue that expertly! This is a label more about your perspective than your results. “Entrepreneur” What about the podcasters who use podcasting as part of their business or do seek to monetize their craft? I think these would best be called Entrepreneurs. If you're not sick of dictionary definitions yet, consider those for “entrepreneur” (Dictionary.com, Merriam–Webster): taking initiative and risks to profit in a business. Not every entrepreneur is professional about their “business.” Using podcasting to grow a business certainly takes initiative and risks! But it also doesn't mean that it's a full-time endeavor. Just like you can pursue a hobby professionally, you can also pursue business amateurly. You can also turn a hobby into a business. Just like with “hobbyist,” I think that the “entrepreneur” label is about the perspective you have on your actions, not the results you get. How should you define yourself? Like everything in podcasting, I think it's really up to you to label yourself and set your own goals. Be a hobbyist and embrace it! Or be an entrepreneur and embrace that! But the one thing I think is most important is to earn respect by how you pursue your activities, and I recommend that be with class, not with inexperience or lack or skill. In the podcasting space, where you literally have a voice, press forward with professionalism but always remember your purpose. Thus, what are you? An amateur? A professional/expert? A hobbyist? An entrepreneur? Comment below! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * EvryNuDay said, “The content has been super helpful since starting my own podcast.” Read the full review. * Jimwj said, “As a soon to be published podcaster I really appreciate the incredible value … This podcast saved me from hours of blood, sweat & tears.” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Thoughts from Podcast Awards, NMX, and NAB Show 2015 – TAP218" subtitle="April 28, 2015" duration="2690" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap218.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685647/thoughts-from-podcast-awards--nmx--and-nab-show-2015---tap218/">View Details</a> There were many great topics, podcasting gear, video equipment, and conversations at New Media Expo (NMX) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show. Here are my biggest thoughts and takeaways. Podcast Awards 2015 Let's be objective and separate the Podcast Awards from the awards ceremony. I fully support the Podcast Awards and even believe in the power of the daily voting. Year after year, this method proves to make winners out of podcasters who may not have the largest audience, but they have the most engaged audience. The most notable winner in 2015 was Rob Cesternino's Rob Has a Podcast beating Serial for the People's Choice award! Rob has nowhere near the audience size that Serial does, but Rob's audience is far more engaged because of Rob's authentic personality and approachability. I do believe the nomination and voting process should be improved, and we'll probably see that before the awards in 2016. Now, I'll be honest about the awards ceremony. I expressed concern when the ceremony hosts were originally announced, but I was assured that they would keep it classy. To mass disappointment, the hosts were not classy. I've heard different reasons why, including the true fact that the teleprompter wasn't working and the hosts had to improvise. However, what resulted was an outright embarrassment that reflects badly on the hosts, the podcasters, New Media Expo, and even the leading sponsor. I'm just glad I warned my audience ahead of time that the live-streamed ceremony would probably not be family friendly. The other aspects of the ceremony were great: design, production, and stage flow (aside from the hosts). Let's just pretend misspelling “education” was a little joke for us! This ceremony also felt less like a community event. Perhaps that's a consequence of rising status. The only sponsors who were recognized were the top sponsors: PodcastOne and whatever ads they awkwardly inserted. None of the podcast sponsors were even thanked during the ceremony. Despite all these downsides, there is one certain thing: next year will be different. Also consider the new Academy of Podcasters awards that will be held at Podcast Movement. Use promo code “NOODLE” to save 10% on your admission to Podcast Movement. New Media Expo (NMX) 2015 This is the first year that NMX was colocated with NAB Show. It had its oddities, due largely to this being the first year and the amount of time there was to plan. But I think that most of the social-media people came for NMX, not for NAB Show. I think that this new colocation (which will repeat in 2016) is probably the best thing that could happen for NMX, but I'm not sure it's the best thing for the attendees. Downsides at NMX 2015 First, the downsides. NMX was in a hotel next to the NAB Show in the Las Vegas Convention Center. The space was nice, but very spread out. This made it hard, at times, to network with fellow attendees. The “opening” keynote was on the second night in one room and the “closing” keynote was the night before the last day and in a different room. Because of the colocation, there were many times that a crowd of people would pass through, but none of them were interested in NMX. I'm a believer in staying at the event hotel, but NMX was held in the Westgate, which cost nearly $200 per night. The parties were held at SLS Hotel, which was about a block away. (Las Vegas blocks are very big.) Because of the high hotel cost, many people—including me—chose to stay at other NAB-official hotels for a fraction of the cost. Being this spread out meant fewer networking opportunities. There were several people I eagerly wanted to meet, but couldn't find. Most of the parties were, yet again, far too loud. The unnecessary music was blaring so loud that everyone had to yell to do any actual networking at the networking events. (Networking party tip: Keep the music quiet or off and host the party in a large, carpeted room or outside.) We were also forbidden from bringing in our own water and forced to pay $8 for a bottle of water! The sponsor only covered a single kind of alcoholic beverage, so we couldn't use our drink tickets for just water or soda. Positives at NMX 2015 I wasn't able to attend many sessions this year, but I heard that they were great! My own session, “SEO for Podcasters” (an extremely concise, stripped-down version of my SEO for Podcasters video course), was packed! The opening-night party was fabulous. We were outside around the pool at SLS Hotel. Being outdoors with that much space, it was easy to get away from the loud music and be able to actually network without yelling. Pat Flynn, from Smart Passive Income, had the opening keynote. I don't know if anyone could top his Back to the Future introduction! The other keynotes, by Joel Comm and by Norm Pattiz and Rob Cesternino, were also good—even with their controversies. These keynotes were far better than the previous disasters (remember the live TV show that didn't use real tweets, or the person who literally threw money at the audience?). This date for NMX worked a lot better than previous years. It wasn't so close to Christmas to make taking extra time off from work difficult, and the weather was much easier for travel. Having NMX colocated with the NAB Show was great for the exhibitors. I heard some NMX attendees mention walking the NAB Show floor and seeing cool stuff. That's an opportunity many might not have otherwise had! It was also great to see a company like Telestream (makers of Wirecast and Screenflow) have a second booth in the NMX area. The NMX exhibitors also seemed to be far more relevant this year. Some cool new things from NMX were Blubrry's new SubscribeonAndroid.com; Clammr, which helps you to share highlights from audio podcasts; and the fun #OverheardatNMX. Before this NMX, I was questioning this conference's place among my other favorites: Social Media Marketing World (SMMW) and Podcast Movement (PM). Now, I think that being with the NAB Show helps NMX grow up a little more. It means exposing our messages and methods to a wider audience of traditional media professionals. Now, “new media” has an equal place next to “traditional media,” which can only help us get more attention and respect. I also think that NMX is now differentiates itself enough from SMMW and PM that it still has a place for professional and hobbyist content-creators. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show 2015 I have attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) before with TechPodcasts Network. It is a massive expo with a wide range of products. I would often find very few things relevant to podcasters at CES. But at NAB, there's a lot more for podcasters—either within our reach or to inspire us. Downsides at NAB Show 2015 NAB Show was a bit overwhelming. I tried to find companies I could interview or build relationships with, so I spent a lot of time on the NAB Show floor, which meant missing a lot of NMX time. NAB Show tailors more toward multimedia-content-creators, such as podcasters and “web TV” creators. I think there's little relevance there to social-media marketing or blogging. Positives at NAB Show 2015 There were many companies I got to talk to that I might not have otherwise had the opportunity. I attended a Sennheiser press conference and was given their new MicClip Digital lavalier microphone for iOS devices (review coming soon). I gave some product input that was well received by the team from Zoom (makes of the H5, H6, and other great recorders). I planted ideas with some audio-processing companies—TC Electronic, Neugen Audio, and iZotope—to make affordable solutions for podcasters. And I recorded many other video interviews or starting building relationships with companies that make great products podcasters can use. Make sure you watch Podcasting Video Tips on iTunes and YouTube for my videos from NAB Show! Special thanks to Neil Kristianson for being my cameraman, Melvin Rivera for loaning me the Sennheiser MD46 and Zoom H5, and John Bukenas for editing my videos. Conclusions Congratulations to the Podcast Awards winners! But I wish the ceremony would have been more classy. NMX is still a great conference to attend and 2016 will be even better. NAB Show is now accessible for podcasters and it can be a lot of fun. What did you think of the Podcast Awards, New Media Expo, or NAB Show in 2015? Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Laurens Bonnema, from the Netherlands, said, “One Of My Long-Time Favorite Shows … Listening to this show taught me how to take my podcasting fu to the next level. And I’ve been recording podcasts since the Daily Source Code launched. …” Read the full review. * aes2you, host of New York City Football Club Fan Podcast, said, “Daniel J Lewis and his podcast has been the single motivational factor for me to start my own podcast and my employers.” Read the full review. * jabulaniapeh, from Nigeria, said, “Trying to launch my podcast and looking for ideas around until I ‘mistakenly' stumbled over your website. I am going to stick here for a while.” Read the full review. * Applicationneur, from Canada and host of #zoolife, said, “Just started our #zoolife podcast and this has been beyond helpful!” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Upcoming topics: hobbyist versus professional podcasting, diversity in podcasting, when you should quit, and more! * Send me your questions to ask one of the Audacity founders! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. <div class="section-with-carousel"> <div class="carousel-wrapper"> <div class="swiper"> <div class="swiper-wrapper"> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B0002U3S0M/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0002U3S0M/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28752.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0002U3S0M/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Sennheiser MD 46 cardioid interview microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/17844.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom H5 4-Track Portable Recorder for Audio for Video, Music, and Podcasting, Stereo Microphones, 2 XLR/TRS Inputs, USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="carousel-controls"> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-left" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10.78 19.03a.75.75 0 01-1.06 0l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 010-1.06l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 111.06 1.06L5.81 11.5h14.44a.75.75 0 010 1.5H5.81l4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 010 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-right" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.22 19.03a.75.75 0 001.06 0l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 000-1.06l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 10-1.06 1.06l4.97 4.97H3.75a.75.75 0 000 1.5h14.44l-4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 000 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="swiper-pagination"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Favorite podcasting tools (2015) from New Media Expo – TAP217" subtitle="April 20, 2015" duration="2554" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap217.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685648/favorite-podcasting-tools--2015--from-new-media-expo---tap217/">View Details</a> Recorded from New Media Expo 2015, hear podcasters' favorite podcasting tools and share your own! Fred Castaneda: Zoom H4n (and other Zoom recorders) Podcasts: Skills in Screencasts and Podcasts, Podcast Reporter, and Struggling Entrepreneur Favorite podcasting tools: Zoom H4n Also check out the Zoom H1, Zoom Q3, Zoom Q8, Zoom H5, and Zoom H6; plus Fred's new Podcasting for Screencasters webinar. Matt Cox: Audacity Podcast: Brunch with the Brits Favorite podcasting tool: Audacity Rebecca Forstadt Olkowski: Audacity's effects Podcast: 2 Boomer Broads Favorite podcasting tool: Audacity‘s compression and normalization Lawrence Sanek: Levelator Podcast: Home Seller Home Buyer Favorite podcasting tool: The Levelator Jared Easley: Podcast Movement Podcast: Starve The Doubts Favorite podcasting tools: Podcast Movement—use promo code “noodle” to save on your registration—plus “guest cohosting” as a tool for hosting better interviews. Also check out Jared's book, Podcasting Good to Great: How to Grow Your Audience Through Collaboration. Ryan Gray: Hazel Podcast: Medical School HQ Favorite podcasting tools: Hazel, Roland R-05, and TextExpander. Carole Sanek: iPhone and Awesome Voice Recorder Podcast: The Crazy Marketing Ladies Show Favorite podcasting tool: Apple iPhone 6 Plus and AVR (Awesome Voice Recorder). Nick Seuberling: Google+ Hangouts on Air Podcast: Inside the Jungle Favorite podcasting tool: Google+ Hangouts On Air John Dennis: Auphonic Podcast: Smart Time Online Favorite podcasting tool: Auphonic Also check out John's WordPress plugin ProCast Player. Jennifer Briney: Screenflow Podcast: Congressional Dish and the Congressional Dish App. Favorite podcasting tool: Screenflow Cecilie Korst: Blubrry Media Hosting Podcast: The Trailer Talks Favorite podcasting tool: Blubrry Media Hosting Also check out Blubrry's new Subscribe on Android tool for podcasters! Corey Fineran: Behringer MDX4600 Podcast: Ivy Envy Favorite podcasting tool: Behringer MDX4600 Daniel J. Lewis: Sennheiser ClipMic Digital Podcast: The Audacity to Podcast, of course! Favorite (new) podcasting tool: Sennheiser ClipMic Digital Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Subscribe to my Podcasting Video Tips video show on iTunes and YouTube for my upcoming videos from New Media Expo and NAB Show. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. <div class="section-with-carousel"> <div class="carousel-wrapper"> <div class="swiper"> <div class="swiper-wrapper"> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B002UCBRP8/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002UCBRP8/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28780.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002UCBRP8/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom Q3 Handy Video Recorder</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00MNSWEUQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00MNSWEUQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/15300.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00MNSWEUQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Podcasting Good to Great: How to Grow Your Audience Through Collaboration</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B003QKBVYK/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B003QKBVYK/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28753.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B003QKBVYK/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom ZH1 H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/17844.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KCXMBES/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom H5 4-Track Portable Recorder for Audio for Video, Music, and Podcasting, Stereo Microphones, 2 XLR/TRS Inputs, USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00DFU9BRK/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00DFU9BRK/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/20734.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00DFU9BRK/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom H6 6-Track Portable Recorder, Stereo Microphones, 4 XLR/TRS Inputs, Records to SD Card, USB Audio Interface, Battery Powered, for Stereo/Multitrack Audio for Video, Podcasting, and Music</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00S9W1XVQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00S9W1XVQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28781.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00S9W1XVQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom Q8 Handy Video Recorder</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B001QWBM62/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001QWBM62/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28779.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001QWBM62/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Zoom H4n Handy Portable Digital Recorder</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="carousel-controls"> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-left" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10.78 19.03a.75.75 0 01-1.06 0l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 010-1.06l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 111.06 1.06L5.81 11.5h14.44a.75.75 0 010 1.5H5.81l4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 010 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-right" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.22 19.03a.75.75 0 001.06 0l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 000-1.06l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 10-1.06 1.06l4.97 4.97H3.75a.75.75 0 000 1.5h14.44l-4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 000 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="swiper-pagination"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="What’s new in Audacity 2.1.0 – TAP216" subtitle="March 30, 2015" duration="1999" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap216.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685649/what-s-new-in-audacity-2-1-0---tap216/">View Details</a> Celebrate Audacity's 15th birthday early with version 2.1.0! This introduces real-time effects previews, better monitoring meters, a new and improved noise-reduction effect, support for Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and more! Definitely listen to the audio of this episode, as I talk through each of the improvements and play some sound samples. Real-time effects previews Yes, you can now preview LADSPA, VST, and Audio Unit effects in real-time! Just start your audio playing and go to the effects menu. The real-time-compatible effects will be clickable. Better monitor meter toolbars Audacity 2.1.0 enhanced the monitors and split them into two separate toolbars. I like the new design and functionality better. The new design also offers gradient style instead of just the previous RMS style. Audacity 2.0.6 Audacity 2.1.0 Noise reduction improvements UPDATE: Please see Paul Licameli's comments below for better cross-comparisons. The previous Noise Removal effect has been replaced with a better Noise Reduction effect. Here are the raw files I used in my own testing. (Raw audio has been only loudness normalized to -19 LUFS mono.) Raw (Please see Paul Licameli's comments below for better cross-comparisons): https://noodlemix.b-cdn.net/theaudacitytopodcast/audacity-noise-test-raw.wav Download WAV file Audacity 2.0.6 (Please see Paul Licameli's comments below for better cross-comparisons): https://noodlemix.b-cdn.net/theaudacitytopodcast/audacity-noise-test-2.0.6-24-10-0.wav Download WAV file Audacity 2.1.0 (Please see Paul Licameli's comments below for better cross-comparisons): https://noodlemix.b-cdn.net/theaudacitytopodcast/audacity-noise-test-2.1.0-24-10-0.wav Download WAV file Full list of changes in Audacity 2.1.0 Read the full release notes. <blockquote> Improvements Effects * LADSPA, VST and Audio Unit (OS X) effects now support real-time preview, save/load of user presets and saving effect settings across sessions. Note: Real-time preview does not yet support latency compensation. * VST effects now support import/export of FXB preset banks. * Shell VST effects that host multiple plugins are now supported. * All Effect Menu items (built-in or plugin) can now be used in a Chain. * Items in the Effect, Generate or Analyze Menus can be sorted or grouped by name, publisher or class of effect. * Noise Removal is improved and renamed to “Noise Reduction”. * Change Speed has new time controls for current and new length. You can now enter the speed change as a multiplier e.g. “2” is twice as fast. * New “Crossfade Tracks” effect can be used for crossfading two tracks. This replaces Cross Fade In and Cross Fade Out. * Nyquist Prompt and most shipped Nyquist effects now have Preview button. Interface * Redesigned Meter Toolbars: The default shows separate Record and Playback Meters, half-height so they can be wider while docked, in gradient style. * A frequency selection can now be made (and spectral edit effects applied to those frequencies) when in a spectrogram view. You can also create or adjust frequency selections in a new “Spectral Selection Toolbar” (available at View > Toolbars). * Transcription Toolbar (Play-at-speed) can now loop play and cut-preview. * Timer Record now saves recordings automatically into an existing project. * New Armenian translation. Operating system and sound device support * (Windows) Audacity 2.1.0 requires Windows XP SP3 (32-bit) or XP SP2 (64-bit), Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 or 8.1. * (Windows) Audacity is now compiled using Visual Studio 2013. * (Windows) Recording with WASAPI host now includes experimental support for physical inputs (up to 24-bit depth) as well as loopback recording. * (OS X) 10.10 (Yosemite) is now supported including Apple Audio Units. + Please report any issues with WASAPI recording/playback or Yosemite to our feedback address. <ul> <li>(Linux Ubuntu) Under Unity, keyboard shortcuts are not visible in the Audacity menus. Keyboard shortcuts are visible if you install the classic GNOME Flashback interface or under Unity if you open Audacity with the UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=0 environment variable. Audacity compiled from source will ship with src/audacity.desktop.in set to UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=0 but it will remain up to distributions to use this desktop file.</li> </ul> Bug Fixes Interface * Typing “j” or “k” in a label track activated the “move cursor” shortcut. * Spectrogram log (f) view displayed incorrectly until vertically zoomed. * Fixed crash after zooming out on vertical scale beyond +/-1.0. * Selections made with Selection Toolbar were not restored after Undo. * Undo could fail silently if a selection included/touched a clip boundary. Imports and Exports * If there were invalid FFmpeg libs in system PATH this prevented Audacity recognising the installed FFmpeg or the FFmpeg specified in audacity.cfg. Mac OS X * Fix uninitialized buffer – this should correct playback buzz or crackle where the upper of multiple tracks started with or contained white space. * Device names were corrupted when using system language other than English. * Fixed crashes using (external program). * Waves v9 Audio Units should now work correctly. GNU/Linux * Fix “Audacity already running” error when using the command-line or context menu to open multiple or further files. * Fix segfault exporting an FFmpeg format to an unwritable folder. * Fix silent failure exporting FFmpeg, MP2 or OGG to an unwritable folder. * Fix ENTER activated an effect when OK button was greyed out. </blockquote> Read the full release notes. Should you update to Audacity 2.1.0? YES! Full support for OS X Yosemite, real-time effects, and a better noise reduction effect will improve your podcast-editing. Please comment with your thoughts on the new noise reduction effect. Announcements * Tell me what you would like me to ask one of the Audacity cofounders for an upcoming interview to celebrate Audacity's 15th birthday! * Social Media Marketing World was incredible and maybe my new favorite conference. * Upcoming Podcast Midwest conference in Chicago on May 23, 2015. * Join me at New Media Expo, April 13–16, 2015. Use promo code “DLEWIS20” to save $100. Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to make your podcast mobile-friendly – TAP215" subtitle="March 23, 2015" duration="3304" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap215.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685650/how-to-make-your-podcast-mobile-friendly---tap215/">View Details</a> People are listening to, watching, and subscribing to podcasts more on mobile devices than anything else. Here are nine things to make your podcast mobile-friendly. <ol> <li>Use a mobile theme or responsive website design Having your site simply work on mobile devices isn't good enough. Your website needs to be optimized for small, touchscreen devices.</li> </ol> The easiest way to do this is to use a WordPress plugin like WP Touch or a similar plugin. This will detect what kind of device is being used and completely change the website's look to work well with that device size. The better way is to use a theme with “responsive web design.” This makes your website design respond to the size of the browser by changing sizes, hiding elements, and adjusting layouts. I recommend WordPress themes from StudioPress, Appendipity (requires the Genesis Framework from StudioPress), and now Elegant Themes. Not only do such optimizations improve the experience for mobile users, but Google now takes mobile-friendliness into consideration for your search-engine ranking for searches from mobile devices. Thus, your Podcast SEO does depend on your website design! <ol> <li>Embed modern media players Mobile web browser will usually appropriately handle a direct link to a media file by playing the media in the browser. But this isn't an optimal experience for mobile users.</li> </ol> Instead, you need a modern media player that uses Javascript, HTML5, and has a list of fallbacks for the greatest compatibility on all devices. I recommend PowerPress‘s built-in MediaElement.js player, Simple Podcast Press, or Pat Flynn's Smart Podcast Player. Such players will make it easy for mobile users to consume your media by displaying the players in your web page and having finger-friendly buttons. <ol> <li> Keep the files small Mobile devices have three restrictions you should remember when encoding your files. </li> <li> Storage—Most mobile devices offer 8 to 128 GB of built-in storage. But this can quickly fill up with apps, music, photos, and videos. </li> <li>Bandwidth—Most cellular service providers don't offer unlimited bandwidth anymore. Thus, it may not be possible for subscribers to download large episodes when they're not on wifi. Sometimes, there's even an imposed file-size limit regardless of the allowed bandwidth.</li> <li>Internet speed—LTE connection speeds are great, but they're not always accessible, especially outside the USA.</li> </ol> Because of these restrictions, it's best to keep your files as small as possible, but also without sacrificing too much quality. If you want to offer high-definition (HD) video, consider offering a standard-definition (SD) option as well. Yes, this can split your ranking in iTunes to have multiple quality listings (a problem I hope Apple fixes someday), but it also gives you more opportunities to dominate the iTunes search results. Audio encoding is easy. <ul> <li>Nearly all spoken-word content: MP3, 64 kbps CBR (constant bitrate), 44.1 KHz, mono—about 1/2 MB per minute or 5 MB for ten minutes</li> <li>Music reviews and audio-dramas: MP3, 128 kbps CBR, 44.1 KHz, stereo—about 1 MB per minute or 10 MB for ten minutes</li> </ul> Video encoding isn't so easy because it has more dimensions than audio but it's based on a basic rate per second. Because of this, 24 FPS (frames per second) could produce a better picture than 30 FPS at the same encoding rate. It's especially not cheap to host. Here, you need to make the decision based on your visual resolution. <ul> <li>SD: MP4 (h.264), 640 × 360, .6 MBps VBR (variable bitrate) target, 24 or 30 FPS, 64 kbps mono or 128 kbps stereo audio (44.1 or 48 KHz)—about 36 MB per minute or 360 MB for ten minutes</li> <li>720p HD: MP4 (h.264), 1,280 × 720, 2.4 MBps VBR target, 24 or 30 FPS, 256 kbps stereo audio (44.1 or 48 KHz)—about 150 MB per minute or 1.5 GB for ten minutes</li> <li> 1080p HD: MP4 (h.264), 1,920 × 1,080, 5+ MBps VBR target, 24 or 30 FPS, 256 kbps stereo audio (44.1 or 48 KHz)—about 300 MB per minute or 3 GB for ten minutes </li> <li> Include podcast app links on your site When a mobile user visits your website, you need to make it as easy as possible for them to subscribe, especially since they're already on a mobile devices. </li> </ul> For iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad), this is as simple as including an iTunes link. It doesn't even have to be specially made to launch iTunes. iOS 8 will recognize the link and open it in the Podcasts app. Even a couple apps on Android will recognize iTunes links! Android is a much harder platform for podcasters because there's no official podcast app. Thus, I recommend including a Stitcher link plus a link to your podcast RSS feed. Having the RSS feed linked on your website also helps your podcast be more visible to the Microsoft Podcasts app on Windows Phone 8.1 and later. PowerPress 6.0 and later now allow you to create a few subscription buttons. My own premium plugin, Social Subscribe & Follow Icons, contains many more options, and a future version will make this even more awesome with automatic platform detection! <ol> <li>Get a standalone app for your podcast There's currently nothing more mobile-friendly for your podcast than having a mobile app! This makes your podcast more findable and accessible. Most people with smartphones already know how to install and launch apps—more than those who know how to subscribe to podcasts.</li> </ol> Currently, the two best places to get a standalone mobile app for your podcast are Libsyn and Spreaker. I like Libsyn's app offer the best (watch this walkthrough video, because they'll make an iOS, Android, and Windows Phone app for your podcast! Speaker also offers custom apps, but theirs will end up being more expensive than Libsyn's, and you don't get a Windows Phone app. <ol> <li>Speak memorable links When subscribers consume podcasts on mobile devices, they're often not in a place to write down long URLs or even visit them right away. This is why I recommend that any link you must give in your podcast be something easy to say and remember. The simplest thing to do is send your audience to your show notes with a worded URL, like this episode's /mobilefriendly (but /215 still works, too).</li> </ol> I still recommend Pretty Link Pro as the best tool for making these links, but Better Links Pro is also a good solution. <ol> <li>Include show notes in your RSS feed More podcast apps are starting to display the show notes along with the podcast episode. The Podcasts app for iOS even lets you manually hyperlink text for URLs, phone numbers, and email addresses; but it also automatically hyperlinks any of those that are in plain text.</li> </ol> If you use Libsyn to create your RSS feed, simply hyperlink the text you want in each episode's Description. PowerPress can already adapt your rich-text-formatted show notes to display URLs in plain text, but version 6.1 will support hyperlinking text, too. However you do it, this makes it easy for your audience to tap on the relevant links and feedback information directly from their podcast app. <ol> <li> Write front-loaded titles Because mobile devices have small screens, episode titles are usually truncated. It's okay to have long titles, but the most important part should be in the beginning so it's readable before the title is truncated or scrolled. This also helps with SEO. </li> <li> Standardize your volume levels Podcast consumption, especially with mobile devices, happens in a variety of environments—quiet, noisy, distracting, and more. One of the best ways to make your audio more consumable (even if you're publishing in video) is to reach standard volume levels. </li> </ol> We can now measure this is “LUFS” (loudness units to full scale). The ideal targets are -16 LUFS for stereo and -19 LUFS for mono (this is because most players give a 3 dB boost to mono audio). Auphonic (online and the desktop Leveler app) and Adobe Audition's “Match Volume” tool are the most accessible ways to reach these levels. I will have a loudness-reaching video tutorial (or several tutorials) coming soon! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * VeganDamo, from Australia, said, “… Daniel is the king of “Top 10″ style content, & while this can seem annoying to some, the way he fleshes out his topic is great. While I still haven't started my own podcast, Daniel is still inspiring me to eventually start one. …” Read the full review. * BassCaster Bros. said, “We love it! It has helped us make our podcast better and continues to in every podcast. Daniel does a great job!” * Leebruins said, “I’ve just recently started listening from episode 1, and can’t wait to get caught up! The tips and tricks Daniel covers in his podcast will be very helpful in starting my own. Thanks again!” Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="What to do when your podcast isn’t going well – TAP214" subtitle="March 16, 2015" duration="1795" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap214.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685651/what-to-do-when-your-podcast-isn-t-going-well---tap214/">View Details</a> Whether a single podcast episode or a whole podcast series, there will be moments when something isn't going well. Here's how you can rescue your podcast. These ideas will apply to your whole podcast (as a series) as well as the individual episodes. From now on, when I refer to your “podcast,” it could be just a single episode, or your overall show. Step 1: Pause If you feel like the podcast isn't going well, pressing on may not fix anything and could even make the problem worse. Take a little break. Step 2: Review your goals Don't jump straight into trying to solve the problem. Remind yourself of why you're podcasting in the first place. Are you podcasting to teach people something new? Do you want to inspire people? Do you want to make people laugh? Do you want to just have a good time with other like-minded people? Step 3: Find the problem Knowing why you're podcasting will help you to better find what the real problem is. If you want to help others, then see what's making your podcast irrelevant. If you want to entertain, then see what's bringing down the mood. Don't stop with just surface-level issues. Dig down to the deeper reasons your podcast is having trouble and not meeting your goals. Step 4: Don't give up Uncovering the root problems could be discouraging. But this is what it will take to become truly great (however you want to define “greatness”). Just because you have problems or you're not reaching your goals are not big enough reasons to quickly quit. Realize that this is just a little setback and you can overcome it! Step 5: Figure out a solution Resolving the problem could be easy or complicated. If you're in the middle of an episode that's not going well, you may need just a short-term fix. Maybe you just need to re-organize your notes, communicate with your cohost, or even do something physical that gets your blood flowing. If you're facing this issue with your podcast as a whole, then you can still find some short-term fixes, but you need to focus on long-term solutions. This could mean planning further ahead, changing formats, adjusting your schedule, refocusing on your goals, setting new goals, or even retiring something. Step 6: Resume or restart When you fall off a bike, you'll never become a better rider if you stay on the ground. After you have done what you can to understand and resolve the issue, you have two choices: keep going, or start all over. This is really up to you and how you feel about what you have already completed. If you're in the middle of an episode, you may have enough momentum to pick up and keep going. Or, you may decide to re-record the whole episode. I have re-recorded several episodes of The Audacity to Podcast before (including my previous episode), and I was always glad that I did. The second take always flowed and communicated better, in my opinion. If you're facing this with your podcast as a whole, it's a lot easier to improve with the next episode and resume your momentum. Starting over is often a bad practice. (Never start over just in attempts to get featured in iTunes' “New & Noteworthy” again.) My wife and I recently watched It's About Time in which the main character has the ability to go back and relive any part of his life, but can make different decisions. It's a fun idea, but the character learns that each day shapes us into who we are and can make us better—even the bad days. This can be a good reminder to podcasters, too. We don't have to try hiding or redoing every “bad” episode in order to do things perfectly. But each episode is a step in our progress to become better podcasters. What do you do when your podcast isn't going well? I'd love to hear your stories of victory over a failure (of any size). Please comment to share how you have overcome a setback with your podcast. Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Learn how to improve your podcast content and make your show more findable with SEO for Podcasters! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Should you monetize your podcast?" subtitle="March 10, 2015" duration="2440" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap213.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685652/should-you-monetize-your-podcast-/">View Details</a> Podcasting attracts all kinds of individuals: purists, hobbyists, marketers, traditional broadcasters, wannabe entrepreneurs, and more. Some get into podcasting specifically to make money, some hope just to cover expenses, and some have no plans to monetize and may even believe the art should remain free of cost and advertising. Thus, we raise the question, should we even try monetizing a podcast? What could you do with podcast income? Making money is rarely about just making money; it's usually about earning in order to do something. Podcast income could be anything from a few bucks to a wealthy paycheck. If you're ever asking, “How would I spend this money,” here are some ways that you can put that money to use. <ul> <li>Upgrade your equipment for more quality or features.</li> <li>Upgrade your software for better workflow.</li> <li>Add premium functionality to your website.</li> <li>Upgrade your hosting.</li> <li>Pay for people, education, or services that make your podcasting easier.</li> <li>Host giveaways.</li> <li>Support another podcaster.</li> <li>Sponsor a cause.</li> <li>Enjoy some extra cash.</li> <li>Try paid advertising to grow your audience.</li> </ul> Your audience will be more likely to support your monetization when they know there's a purpose behind it. Why you should NOT monetize your podcast Aside from skeptics who believe podcasting should be completely free, here are some good reasons you may not want to monetize. <ol> <li>Money can complicate relationships. If you have a cohost, how is the money divided? Many relationships have fallen apart over money.</li> <li>Money can distract from the message. It's often too easy to get focused on making “just a little more” money all the time. This can decrease the quality of your message and interaction.</li> <li>Monetizing usually creates interruptions. Almost any form of monetization will create a little interruption in your podcast content, website, or some other aspect of your podcast experience. Listeners may learn to skip or ignore these interruptions.</li> <li>Earning income (of any level) could complicate taxes. I'm not a tax profession and you should seek professional advice. The safe assumption is that any extra income should be reported in your tax returns. This could be easy with small amounts and complicated with large sums.</li> <li>Making a profit can cause distrust. Some people promote things simply because there's a high-paying affiliate program, and your audience might suspect you as being such. You may be questioned on your ethics for promoting one resource over another, especially if you're using affiliate links.</li> <li>Monetizing means you must follow a higher standard. FCC and other regulations are cracking down on disclosures when money is involved. When you start making money from your podcast, you often have to disclose that more on your website and how you promote things benefit you.</li> <li>No one owes you anything. Allowing the possibility of making money may cause you to feel entitled to earn something. Entitlement is always a dangerous feeling that helps no one.</li> <li>You podcast as a hobby. Most people wouldn't expect their relaxation activities to pay for themselves, anyway.</li> <li>You may not need the money. Maybe you podcast as a passion project and have few or no expenses. There's no rule that you must earn money podcasting; you're fine to continue however you wish.</li> </ol> Why you SHOULD monetize your podcast Monetizing means more than just getting podcast sponsors. You could make money podcasting by creating products or services, promoting affiliates, selling premium content, accepting donations or crowdfunding, promoting your business, or anything else. Here are some reasons to pursue profit in podcasting. <ol> <li>Podcasting costs. Whether you do this for hobby or business, you probably had one-time expenses or have ongoing costs. If you can't afford these regular expenses (average $20–$30 per month), then it may be better to monetize than to quit.</li> <li>It costs to improve. Whether it be equipment, education, or extra help, improving almost any aspect of your podcast will cost in time or money—but usually money. You may need a better microphone, a mixer, lighting, faster computer, better software, website plugins, and more.</li> <li>Generating revenue makes your podcast more sustainable. Having your podcasting expenses covered helps alleviate some stress. This allows you to focus more on creating consistent, quality content.</li> <li>Your quality content is valuable. In the Bible, it says, “The laborer deserves his wages” (1 Timothy 5:18 and other places). No reasonable person should expect an expert to work for free. When you create something of high quality, your time is worth something.</li> <li>Your podcast may be part of your business. If podcasting is any part of how your business survives, then you essentially must make it profitable. Just remember that the return on investment (ROI) is not always directly measurable. Thus, you podcast doesn't always have to directly sell something, but its consistent quality could be advertisement enough.</li> <li>Your audience may be eager to give back. People often develop a feeling of reciprocity when they get great stuff for free. Don't be surprised if people are actually eager to support you financially. Look at the huge success many shows are having on crowdfunding platforms, such as Patreon!</li> </ol> The decision to monetize is yours Don't make this decision based on just the number of reasons for one or the other. Like many aspects of podcasting, there is no definitive answer that can apply to every podcaster. You should do what's right for you, your show, and your audience. Just remember that nearly all change will be met with opposition. Announcements * Vote in the Podcast Awards every day through March 24. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * This is Rammy from the United Kingdom said, “Without The Audacity to Podcast, I would probably never have started my own podcast. …” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="3 approaches to podcasting that could make or break your success – TAP212" subtitle="March 2, 2015" duration="1897" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap212.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685653/3-approaches-to-podcasting-that-could-make-or-break-your-success---tap212/">View Details</a> Whether you're already podcasting or about to start podcasting, how you approach your show could contribute to success or failure. Here are three approaches you can take, and how to work best with each of them. <ol> <li>Invent something new Creating something entirely new (at least to your knowledge) can be very difficult. But this can also be the most-rewarding approach. It's the trailblazers who often get the most attention (until someone comes along and dramatically improves on the idea—more on that later).</li> </ol> Inventing something new takes a lot of planning, hard work, focus, and persistence. When you set out to create something entirely new, you may later discover that others had your same idea—but that shouldn't stop you, and it doesn't mean that you're not inventing anymore. In such a case, you can then shift toward innovating and setting yourself apart. Listen to these couple episodes about podcasting when others are already in that niche: <ul> <li>Should you cover the same niche as someone else? </li> </ul> – 4 ways to create community—not competition—with other podcasters <ol> <li>Imitate someone else Copying someone else's formula for success seems like the easiest thing to do, but it actually isn't. You are not the person you're trying to copy, and you will never be. Thus, what works for them may not work for you.</li> </ol> With each big success in podcasting, there will always be a clowder of copycats. (Educational sidenote: a group of cats is called a “clowder”! That's just asking to be turned into a tongue-twister with “clam chowder”!) This has happened since podcasting's inception: tech, video-gaming, comedy, fan content, interviews, storytelling, and more. Charles Caleb Colton said, “Imitation is the sincerest of flattery,” and that's still true, in most cases. To imitate someone does show that you respect them and believe in their success. But I think over-imitation can also be an insult that may communicate that you are trying to compete with someone else or trying to steal their success. For example, Samsung and Apple are currently in legal battles where Samsung has—quite clearly, in my opinion—sought to outright copy many things that Apple is doing with smartphones and tablets. In the podcasting space, a lot of people have been and will continue trying to copy This Week in Tech, Entrepreneur on Fire, Serial, and more to come. It seems that when a success can be broken into a formula, that others assume that formula is all they need for success, so they copy it. I never recommend that you fully imitate someone else. But you can imitate portions of their ideas ideas (within legal reason) to be small portions of your own big ideas. Just because there are other interview-based—or whatever style—podcasts doesn't mean you can't start your own with that same style! <ol> <li>Innovate the space When you can't invent something entirely new, and you don't want to imitate someone else, innovation may produce more success for you.</li> </ol> This is when you look at what's already being done in your niche and you find a way to improve it or fill gaps that others are missing. Think of Apple again. They didn't invent the smartphone, the tablet, or the smartwatch. Apple entered already-existing spaces with something usually designed much better. Innovation is often born from frustration with what already exists (“This is horrible. I want to make it better.”). But innovation can also be the result of inspiration (“This is good, but I think it can be much better.”) After reading the Steve Jobs biography, I realized that I work best as an innovator. Consider my accomplishments as examples: <ul> <li>I launched The Audacity to Podcast because I saw a void left by others in the podcasting space.</li> <li>I created Social Subscribe & Follow Icons because I couldn't find any other WordPress plugin that did everything I wanted and was friendly to podcasters.</li> <li>I created My Podcast Reviews because I wanted an online, platform-agnostic app to do something better and more automatic that the single-platform solution that previous existed.</li> <li>I created SEO for Podcasters because I saw a lot of SEO content, but very little accurate information that was specific to podcasters—especially with how SEO should improve our content, not just our meta tags.</li> </ul> What about you? What does the world need? How are you approaching podcasting? Are you trying to invent by creating something new, imitate by copying someone else, or innovate by building on and improving an already existing idea? Personally, I think the world needs more inventors and innovators, but fewer imitators. If you feel like an imitator, take just a couple different steps and you could become an innovator and stand on your own. I'd love to see your stories! Where were you in this when you started podcasting? Where do you feel you are now? How have things changed and how are you going to change things? Announcements * Coming up next: Should you try to make money podcasting? * Vote in the Podcast Awards starting on March 3! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * AMGlandon left a negative review, but I truly appreciate the honesty (and I have a feeling it was after hearing some of my embarrassing old episodes). * swpax said, “This has been my go-to for getting started with podcasting, particularly regarding using Audacity, but for all other podcasting considerations as well.” * Alohakrisi, from Switzerland, said, “Daniel provides practical focused advice that is technical enough to be useful but does not geek out so much to be boring.” Read the full review. * Wes McKithern, from The Veterans Cafe Podcast, said, “…the more episodes of The Audacity to Podcast I listen to, the more my own podcast continues to improve. …” Read the full review. * Cheri, from Creation Science 4 Kids, said, “… You won't ever feel belittled or unintelligent because you don't know something. …” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. <div class="section-with-carousel"> <div class="carousel-wrapper"> <div class="swiper"> <div class="swiper-wrapper"> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/1451648537/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/1451648537/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/11944.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/1451648537/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="carousel-controls"> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-left" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10.78 19.03a.75.75 0 01-1.06 0l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 010-1.06l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 111.06 1.06L5.81 11.5h14.44a.75.75 0 010 1.5H5.81l4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 010 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-right" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.22 19.03a.75.75 0 001.06 0l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 000-1.06l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 10-1.06 1.06l4.97 4.97H3.75a.75.75 0 000 1.5h14.44l-4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 000 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="swiper-pagination"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Should you podcast in seasons? – TAP211" subtitle="February 23, 2015" duration="3891" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap211.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685654/should-you-podcast-in-seasons----tap211/">View Details</a> Most TV shows are seasonal for good reasons. But does a seasonal schedule or approach have a place in podcasting? Here are the pros and cons. What are “podcast seasons”? Seasonal content can have three varieties. <ol> <li>Seasonal publication schedule—Releasing episodes sequentially for an amount of time, going on hiatus, and then returning with another release of sequential episodes. Most TV shows follow this format as well as some podcasts (like Serial and This Is Your Life)</li> <li>Seasonal presentation approach—Focusing on a particular topic, or taking a repeated approach to different topics for a “miniseries.” This is kind of like the story arc of many TV shows. The Boagworld web-design podcast is a good example of this.</li> <li>Seasonal production schedule—Batching the recording and production work and releasing over time, but not necessarily having any publishing hiatus. Entrepreneur on Fire basically follows this format, but on a weekly basis.</li> </ol> Your podcast could use just one or more than one of these methods to take a seasonal approach. For example, many modern TV dramas use all three (publishing schedule, seasonal story arc, and the necessary production schedule). But the first two will be most noticeable to your audience. “Podcast seasons” or “seasonal podcast” usually refer to the publishing schedule. But I'd like to help you consider all three varieties. Benefits of podcast seasons Benefits to the podcaster Seasonal podcasting is probably the most beneficial to the person doing the work. <ol> <li>Gives you breaks from the stress of constant content-creation [production, publication]</li> <li>Frees your time in a hiatus to work on making the upcoming season better [production, publication, maybe presentation]</li> <li>Structures content for multiple miniseries or themes [presentation]</li> <li>Opens opportunities to focus on more than one thing [production]</li> <li>Easier crowdfunding or sponsorship negotiation for an entire season</li> </ol> Benefits to the audience 1. Usually works around lower content-consumption times, like summers and holidays, which can be different in different hemispheres [publication] 2. Builds anticipation for the show's return (publication, presentation] 3. Covers topics more thoroughly [presentation] 4. Encourages consuming [or reconsuming) the content archive during the hiatus (publication] 5. Makes it easy to catch up on podcasts [publication] Disadvantages of podcast seasons Disadvantages to the podcaster 1. Easy to lose your motivation during the breaks [production, publication] 2. Might give too much time to procrastinate [production, publication] 3. May tire you of talking about the same topics [presentation] 4. Difficult to monetize (donations, sponsorship, sales, etc.) during hiatus Disadvantages to the audience 1. Too easy for subscribers to lose patience and unsubscribe [publication] 2. Fails to satisfy an audience when they still want the content [publication] 3. More difficult to build an audience [publication] 4. Less short-term variety for subscribers and could inspire unsubscriptions [presentation] Thoughts from other podcasters <blockquote> From the point of view of a listener I don’t think I like the idea of my favorite podcasts being seasonal. One of the things that I like most about podcasts, and one of the reasons that I have become a loyal listener of podcasts, is that I feel like they are always “there for me.” Even during the times that my favorite TV shows or other programming are off or on hiatus. Perhaps even especially because of that. I feel like I can always count on my podcasts and podcast creators to be there whenever I feel like listening to them. From a podcast creator point of view however, some of the points you list are valid and I have to say I’ve never thought about them before. It sure would be nice to take a few weeks or longer off to research new topics or upgrade my website or explore new relationships etc. I also never thought about having a hiatus build excitement for my show’s return but can see how that might help. I guess I would say that my feelings on the issue are mixed. I know podcasters can’t work 365 days a year so I would never begrudge anyone a break. At the same time I’m happy that my favorite shows produce more consistently than other forms of media such as television. I will say this though, I was happy to read at the end of your email that the Audacity to Podcast will not become seasonal. So maybe that’s as telling of my feelings on the subject as anything else I’ve written here. —Mike from In the News I think story based podcasting can be seasonal, I think live morning show type of podcasts should be there on a consistent schedule all the time and become part of someone's routine. It all comes down to the content. If your morning show stops for a few weeks, another show will fill the vacuum. People are used to breaks between, movies, TV series, books and other “episodic” content. People work all summer and need to listen to informational and motivational shows on a consistent schedule. Once you establish that routine in them, they may fill betrayed slightly, and find someone else to fill that void. They may like them better than you if they aren't let down a couple of times a year. —Jeff Holbrook from Daggers of the Mind Content delivery intervals makes no difference to me. I prefer to receive push notifications via eMail or Soundcloud app. I don't use the Bloat-ware iTunes for podcast subscriptions. For some content creators, I think the batch production method that Michael Hyatt switched to makes a lot of sense. —Byron Friday from Byrons Bike I think its a win/win for everyone and right up there with television podcasting, fiction podcasting needs seasons as well, I'm finding. —Crusaders Media I think the TV season model is a fantastic one for podcasters (and listeners), and my upcoming podcast will be following that model with 12 episode seasons. I … feel that taking the pressure off on constant content creation is one of the biggest pros. Doing it this way will allow me to batch-process pre-production (lining up guests, etc.), production, and post-production thus saving precious time and avoiding the feeling of having to juggle all the plates at once. A potential con would be not being able to respond to certain trends and feedback along the way (say, acknowledging a faster-than-expected audience growth or putting in advertisers), but I think this can be minimized if I save episode finalization for the week of release and add a post-script (as seamlessly as possible). I can't count how many podcasts I've lost track of around the holidays or other life events (annual or otherwise). They keep going and I'm left behind. I could catch up, but the steady stream of content makes it feel like an impossible task. At least if there were “chapters,” so to speak, as in a seasonal situation, I could just focus on finishing one season at a time and get a sense of closure from each one. I think non-seasonal is good for a current-eventsy podcast, like a political commentary that works just as well for terrestrial radio. But since we're not doing terrestrial radio, why play that game? Why not be like the old radio dramas? Or TV seasons as you mention? —Tom Lemke I produce in seasons [show on YouTube] because It's the only way I can do it. I can film about 6 episodes on a Sunday morning (when the house is empty) and it then takes a month or so to edit together. That makes a season. Personally I'd rather release a constant stream of episodes, but it's just not possible. I have toyed with the idea of doing fortnightly episodes, but that doesn't seem any better than seasons of weekly episodes. Matt I have a podcast that I started, intentionally planning on a seasonal format. For me, the reasoning was that I'm going with an academic frame (Creative Studio Academy): schools/colleges have semesters (seasons). I'll be closing the second semester in a few weeks. Between the 1st and 2nd semester, I took 3-4 weeks off. I did notice the numbers drop, even when I started back up, so I think that was too long. I'm only going to take one week off between semesters 2 and 3. I've also started to use the idea of semesters (seasons) to concentrate on a particular topic. My over topic for the podcast is online content creation. The first semester was just a bunch of miscellaneous episodes. The second semester primarily focused on blogging, with a little of about websites (what pages to have, design/layout, etc.). The third semester will primarily focus on podcasting. Part of my podcast deals with testing things and see how they work (the “studio” part of Creative Studio Academy). So, I'm trying different things beyond the “normal” ways. I don't have a big following, but that is largely due to lack of effort in that area – this is something I plan on working on more soon. Seasonal podcasting in general – I think that seasonal podcasting can work well with TV show podcasts – podcasting along with the show airing. Having a few podcast episodes between seasons (or mid-season breaks – Once Upon a Time is killing me!) can be beneficial to keep in touch with the audience and bring new revealed information, bonus interviews, or additional perspective (“we just re-watched —–, and we noticed this…”). If other genres were to do a seasonal format, I think it would be best to only have a week in between seasons (or maybe no break, just a change in topic, etc.). Generally speaking, I think that listeners can understand if a podcast needs to take a week off every once in a while, and as long as they are aware of it, they can deal with a week off. A break that is longer, especially if they don't know how long, can hurt the growth of the podcast. —Josh Rivers from Creative Studio Academy Relating to the seasonal podcasting. We do it for Arc Reactions Podcast …. First reason is so that Dylan and I can get caught up on our buffer. for the first 2 years we were releasing every 2 weeks and we started with an 8 episode buffer. By the end of Season 1 we had 6 in the buffer and were able to bring that back up to 8 by Season 2. After Season 2, we have 4 in the buffer. Now, at the end of season 2, we made a decision to reduce Arc Reactions Podcast to a monthly release schedule so that we could work on other projects. Almost immediately we picked up the podcast Bat Books For Beginners on TheBatmanUniverse.net and here it is February, and we have been working fruirously to get our buffers built up for both shows. I want 4 for each (8 total) like we have done for just Arc Reactions when it was on a 2 week release schedule. Second reason for the hiatus is that Dylan and I get busy during the holidays. Our season ends the middle of November and we pick back up at the beginning of January. I travel to family during the holidays and it is difficult to keep up with covering the material and finding recording times that work for both of us. Third reason is that I believe the audience also gets busy around the holidays and this allows them to stay current with the show when it returns in January, or not have as many episodes to catch back up on. The last reason was that it allows us to tackle bigger projects with the haitus if we are not behind and needing to catch up on regular sized content. What we do with Arc Reactions Podcast is review comic book story arcs (usually 6-12 issues), but there are very large arcs that we have tackled in multiple parts or used the hiatus to work on. The first episode of this year, Planet Hulk, was 24 issues long. That is very difficult to do in a two week timetable. Our process is to read the issues twice, summarize the story, develop talking points, and then record. That is doable on a two week timetable for those shorter arcs. —John from Arc Reactions Podcast … we have a seasonal podcast, we only operate it during the bee season. Being Beekeepers, this makes sense to us. We focus on building equipment over the New Zealand winter. June and July each year. What we are finding is that most of our listeners are in the US, so the seasons are all the wrong way around. But that could explain why our American listeners go up in the American winter? I see the importance of having a break and after a long bee season here, we need a winter break. What I might do is release evergreen content over our break, probably interviews to keep our listeners coming back for new content. —Gary Fawcett from kiwimana beekeeping I can think of an advantage to the seasonal format: it makes crowd-funding easier. Kickstarter doesn't allow ongoing projects, but breaking a podcast into seasons turns it into a series of discrete projects that can (potentially) be funded through a series of Kickstarter campaigns. —Garrett M. Petersen from Economics Detective Radio My thoughts are that if your podcast is for entertainment value only, then you can get away with it. kind of like a play or an improv type of podcast. Since most podcasts are informational and are on the same line with news, then I think that seasonal would not work. … —Jayson Bates I'm not sure what I think about seasons for podcasts. But the assumptions of the TV industry that viewership goes down during the holidays makes me question their reasoning around that theory, so I guess I think seasons may work for some content, but not most content. Does viewership go down around the holidays, or does the fact that almost no new content is released during the holidays cause viewership declines? I mean Christmas Day is typically the best box office day of the year for the movies, and if it isn't, that is because the 4th of July is a better performer. Summer box office is also better than winter box office generally. So the question raises its head again, is that because there is so little fresh content for TV? Back in the early days of television when the—at most 3—over the air channels covered the local MLB team during the summer it made sense to reduce production costs by not producing new content during the summer because there was no competition. But today, a lot of networks launch shows that become hits in the summer. NBC will soon be bringing the summer show The Night Shift back for a second season and it launched in the summer. Breaking Bad was a summer show that became a hit for AMC. There is such a dearth of new content in the summer you are almost forced to not watch television. So is this the ultimate chicken and egg scenario in terms of viewership? Having said that if you launched seasons the way John Lee Dumas would launch seasons with a new feed for each season to maximize new and noteworthy exposure or at least attempt to do so, I could actually see a pragmatic benefit to the process. —Jeremy For a long time, I rejected the idea of seasons out of hand because the conventional wisdom was that the audience would drop. However, now that I am taking my podcast on the road and combining multiple interviews into each episode (I am essentially moving from an over-the-phone WTF-style format to a This American Life-format), weekly or even bi-weekly episodes simply aren't possible. In short, I'm opting to increase the quality and decrease the quantity of my podcast episodes. One big factor: I do not do a podcast that is driven by current events. As a result, my podcasts have a long shelf life. This is a major factor in my decision. The other factor was the success of Serial. I view it as a watershed moment for podcasting, and it has lead me to believe that now is the time to invest in a higher-quality product. —Seth Resler Not only TV uses seasonal trends. <ul> <li>Fashion is seasonal.</li> <li>Craft beer drinkers are trained to look for seasonal releases ( I write about craft beer part time) and so does wine and now I expect cider will do the same.</li> <li>Restaurants work with seasonal offerings.</li> </ul> For my full time work as a conflict management consultant, I see seasonal trends on behavior and offer that advice and reminder to be aware to my clients. This type of “Consumer Rhythms” work well for all and provides a bit of welcomed excitement. I started Leading Chaos Podcast specifically on September 11 to commemorate the day and plan on offering a special podcast annually for this day. Since then, I have played with interviews and provided both content and two ongoing series. Currently, I am reading my nonfiction book on the topic of conflict management and I hear that listeners like the “Part 1, 2, 3, …” model. This way they can go back to episodes as needed without feeling overwhelmed by the content. And it works really well for me, too, in formatting and design. I considered for a moment today that I should podcast on the current weather and how to manage the chaos of snow, but we work with a global audience and for some, it is now summer. If one goes for a seasonal thread in the world of podcasting and online media, it is imperative to stay in a global mindset and keep it relevant to all. —Ria Windcaller from Leading Chaos Podcast </blockquote> Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Learn about the different approaches to content in the next episode! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="12 ways to use an iPad or Android tablet with podcasting – TAP210" subtitle="February 17, 2015" duration="3321" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap210.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685655/12-ways-to-use-an-ipad-or-android-tablet-with-podcasting---tap210/">View Details</a> Podcasting with an iPad or Android tablet is possible, but have you consider adding a tablet to your current podcasting workflow? Here's how to use a tablet with your podcast! <ol> <li>Soundboard Use your tablet to play your soundtrack (bumpers, intro, outro, voicemail, etc.) into your podcast. This is, by far, the most popular use for an Android tablet or iPad with podcasting.</li> </ol> <blockquote> I use an iPad and Sound Byte for bringing in my music intro and outro and that is all. It helps me create a podcast without having to edit in the music every time and I can just run the finished file through MP3 tag and Audacity to equalize, convert to mono and compress and I’m good to go. Barry Kessler from The Southern California Real Estate Answer Man I use Bossjock as a soundboard that feeds my mixer. Podcast episodes typically include prerecorded segments from regular contributors and listeners. The recordings are placed in Dropbox by the authors. From within Bossjock, I pull the recordings from Dropbox into the app, individually adjust their levels (if needed), and color code them by type. I also have standard segment intros, outros, and bumpers in Bossjock. To position the tablet in a convenient location, it's mounted in a K&M iPad holder attached to the arm of a mic stand. Then, as we record an episode, I use the Bossjock soundboard to quickly launch the right recording at the proper time, which can be heard by the co-hosts and guest on Skype. I like this setup because of the efficiency with which I get each week's recordings into the sound board, and the ease with which I play them as we record the episode. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks I use an iPad and BossJock. BossJock makes it super simple to organize sound effects and audio listener feedback for our show. Dwaine Stroud from Survivor Talk with D&D and Shootin’ the Breeze with D&D I use Sound Byte on an iPad Air to play intro and outro music into my live show. Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting / Ask the Podcast Coach I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab. I work as a radio broadcast engineer and we use an automation system that has an application called the “Wall of Carts” which can fire sound elements by tapping a touch screen monitor. … We use Google+ Hangouts on Air and treat the show just like a live radio show which saves me time in the editing and post production of the podcast. What I like about the app is the ability to title the buttons and loop music beds. I do not like the ads which sometimes pop up and get in my way. They do not offer a paid version which I would happily pay for to remove the adds. I also think they should allow you to change the color of the buttons which would be helpful when you are doing a live show and need to find a critical sound file quickly. Tom Stewart from A Swift Kick In The Ass podcast I use an Apple iPad and Soundbyte for my intro and my outro music, and I also use it to play clips and sound bytes from the people/issues I’m covering that particular day (my podcast is about news/politics). It’s super helpful in that regard What I like about it is that it is reasonably intuitive and easy to learn, and is also easy to use. It has a lot of useful features like volume control for individual tracks, fade in/fade out, etc. Also has a pause feature which can be helpful when you’re playing lengthy clips. Mike Dakkak from In the News with Mike Dakkak </blockquote> Recommended apps * Bossjock Studio (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) * Soundboard for iPad (iPad) * Sound Byte (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) * Soundpad (Android) <ol> <li>Recording Record your audio or video podcast directly into your tablet!</li> </ol> <blockquote> I use a Surface Pro 3 and Audacity for recording the podcast. The Surface Pro 3 is light and has the best resolution and screen size compared to other tablets I have used in the past. During the cast I use a Bluetooth Keyboard and mouse to take notes of the show. any other time I am managing the website and emails with the touch screen. LeRoy Otterson from Geeks Amok Podcast </blockquote> Recommended apps * Bossjock Studio * Røde Rec LE or Røde Rec * Filmic Pro for video (iOS) * Auphonic * Opinion * Ringr (iOS, Android) <ol> <li>Curating content I often prefer to consume content (especially video and articles) on my iPad, which can be a great way to collect ideas for a show.</li> </ol> <blockquote> We have Android tablets and use Feedly to find great content from multiple RSS feeds and then tag them into Pocket for our podcast. [paraphrased from audio feedback] Rafael Ruiz from Crusaders Radio – Produced by Dark Mind Radio </blockquote> Recommended apps * Feedly (iOS, Android) * Pocket (iOS, Android) * Mr. Reader (iPad) * Reeder (iOS) <ol> <li>Preparing notes Work on your podcast outline or develop content ideas from anywhere. You can also include real-time collaborators with many apps.</li> </ol> <blockquote> I'm using a Kindle Fire tablet. I've contemplated getting a surface or iPad but given that I use the Kindle for limited application related to my podcast, I can't justify the expense at this juncture I typically use Evernote to draft my show notes on. While recording I will actually read directly from the Kindle. I record my podcast into my Roland digital recorder utilizing either a lavaliere mic or my “Blue” mic. I'm not comfortable recording into anything other than my Roland at this point …. Rod Thomas from It's Not As You Perceive and The Messianic Torah Observer </blockquote> Recommended apps * Evernote (iOS, Android) * Google Documents (iOS, Android) * Workflowy (iOS, Android) * WordPress (iOS, Android) * Drafts (iOS) * HackPad <ol> <li>Presenting After you've prepared your notes, you can use the tablet to help you give the content within your podcast.</li> </ol> Recommended apps * Everything from “Preparing” * Teleprompter apps <ol> <li>Guest/cohost call-in Instead of buying an expensive additional computer to handle your calls, consider using your tablet.</li> </ol> Recommendations * Skype (iPhone, iPad, Android) – Google+ Hangouts (iOS, Android) * TRRS to RCA cable (or adapters and cables) * Ringr (iOS, Android) <ol> <li>Live-streaming Yes, you can even use a tablet to handle your live-streaming audio or video.</li> </ol> Recommended apps * Spreaker (iOS, Android) * Mixlr (iOS, Android) * Google+ Hangouts (iOS, Android) * Wirecast (Windows, OS X) <ol> <li>Live engagement When you're live-streaming, it's great to engage with your live audience. A tablet can be a great way to do that!</li> </ol> Recommended apps * ChatWING * Mobile-friendly embedded chat rooms: Chatango, ChatWee, * TweetChat * Tchat <ol> <li>Editing Need to edit your podcast on the go, or after you recorded into your tablet? This can be tricky, but apps are getting better.</li> </ol> Recommended apps * Audacity, Audition, or other desktop audio-editors (for Microsoft Surface tablets) – Røde Rec LE or Røde Rec * MultiTrack DAW * Opinion (iOS) * GarageBand (iOS) * iMovie (iOS) <ol> <li>Remote control Use your tablet to control something else. It could be a specific app, a piece of hardware, replace your mouse or keyboard, control your home HVAC, or remotely control your entire computer.</li> </ol> Recommended apps * Soundboard Remote (iPad) * Sound Byte Control (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) * Actions for iPad * Splashtop (iPhone, iPad, Android) <ol> <li>Silent research Typing on a mechanical keyboard can be distracting while podcasting. Instead, consider the touchscreen keyboard of your tablet</li> </ol> Recommended apps * Wikipedia * Built-in browser <ol> <li>Expensive mixing Some high-end mixers are starting to to function like computers and offer a tablet control experience.</li> </ol> Announcements * Improve your podcast through SEO for Podcasters, now available! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. <div class="section-with-carousel"> <div class="carousel-wrapper"> <div class="swiper"> <div class="swiper-wrapper"> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B0007V6JCK/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0007V6JCK/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28782.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0007V6JCK/?tag=jewisharchive-20">None</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00KHR4T8U/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KHR4T8U/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28783.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00KHR4T8U/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Microsoft Surface Pro 3 MQ2-00001 12-Inch Full HD 128 GB Storage Multi-Touch Tablet (Silver)</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="carousel-controls"> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-left" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10.78 19.03a.75.75 0 01-1.06 0l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 010-1.06l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 111.06 1.06L5.81 11.5h14.44a.75.75 0 010 1.5H5.81l4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 010 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-right" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.22 19.03a.75.75 0 001.06 0l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 000-1.06l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 10-1.06 1.06l4.97 4.97H3.75a.75.75 0 000 1.5h14.44l-4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 000 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="swiper-pagination"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="5 ways to make your podcast audience love you – TAP209" subtitle="February 10, 2015" duration="2013" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap209.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685656/5-ways-to-make-your-podcast-audience-love-you---tap209/">View Details</a> Does your audience love your podcast? Do they love you? Here's how to earn the love of your podcast listeners to grow your podcast. <ol> <li>Be yourself Some people will like you, some will hate you. That's okay! The most important thing is to be yourself.</li> </ol> <blockquote> I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not. —Kurt Cobain </blockquote> We must all accept that, sometimes, there are things about ourselves that truly should be changed. So while being true to yourself, don't forget to improve yourself, too! <ol> <li>Be personable People like relating with friendly, sociable people. Being personable can have many applications. Primarily, it's about how you connect with others.</li> </ol> Become a storyteller. This doesn't mean every episode needs a “Once upon a time …” kind of story. Storytelling is about great communication in relating information tied to an event. Three people can tell the same story three different ways and end up with three different results. For example, the story is that you got a flat tire. <ul> <li>Tell the story with comedy, and make people laugh.</li> <li>Tell the story with anger toward the mistake, and make people either angry, or want to leave.</li> <li>Tell the story with deep emotions, and make people cry.</li> <li>Tell just the facts with no feeling whatsoever, and make no one care.</li> </ul> Positivity is a powerful and contagious feeling. People generally like being around positive people. While crankiness and other negative emotions can build a following, it won't make people love you. Don't be afraid to ask for help. People will often like you more if they can do something for you. Crazy and opposite-sounding, right? <ol> <li> Know whom you're talking to When you know your audience, you'll be able to better communicate and relate with them. If you have a geeky podcast, will your audience understand all of the terms you use? It's okay to explain them, but do it in a way that doesn't insult your audience's intelligence. </li> <li> Bad: “SEO, in case you don't know, stands for ‘search-engine optimization.'” </li> <li>Good: “Search-engine optimization, or ‘SEO.'”</li> </ol> Talk to your audience as an individual, because that's what they are! You're not addressing a large room of people. Yes, you may have hundreds or thousands of listeners or viewers, but each of them are consuming the content—usually—by themselves. You're often talking directly into their ears through headphones. Make them feel special by addressing them as a single person. For example, “Thank you for helping,” instead of “I'm thankful for everyone's helping”; or, “I'm glad you're listening,” instead of “Hi, podcast listeners!” <ol> <li>Include your audience Most people love to hear themselves mentioned by others, especially by someone they respect. Thank people, by name, when they donate, send feedback, write a review, or do anything for you.</li> </ol> Try to include your audience's feedback as much as possible. You can be inspired by their ideas, mention their suggestions, or use their written or recorded feedback in your show. <ol> <li>Make your audience smile Smiles are contagious. A smile could come from the confidence of understanding or applying new information, from humor, from comfort, and from many other things.</li> </ol> Many studies have confirmed that smiling and laughing are, literally, good for you! They trigger the release of endorphins, which boost positive emotions and help people bond with others. Talk with a smile and look for ways to be a positive force to your audience's emotions. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * The LAVA Flow said, “This is the BEST podcast about podcasting out there. It helped me get my podcast off the ground to great success. Thanks, Daniel!” * David Auge said, “Great information. Very helpful for podcasters-to-be to get started.” * Jeff (Streetztalk) said, “… I’ve found a bunch of gems in his archived posts and current ones. The plugins suggested, equipment and mentality to be better helped me focus on the finer points of my podcast to make it better. … If you’re a podcaster who needs to get better or you just started, This podcast should be your bible!” Read the full review. * thezdotcom said, “Need to learn about podcasting and using audacity? You're in the right place! Daniel does a great job-You should listen!” Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * What do you think about podcast seasons? I'll cover that in an upcoming episode. * Send your feedback for ways to use a tablet with podcasting! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Ethics in Podcasting? – TAP208" subtitle="February 3, 2015" duration="3904" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap208.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685657/ethics-in-podcasting----tap208/">View Details</a> How ethical are your podcast promotion, profit, promises, and pride? This is a free-flowing episode where I share my genuine thoughts on these issues, after being an “innocent accomplice” to unethical Twitter-bombing. 4 areas of podcasting ethics Promotion This is the big one. How ethically are you promoting your own podcast? Twitter bombing is getting a lot of attention lately. This is when someone uses one or multiple Twitter accounts to blast the same message every few minutes to hundreds of times per hour. This artificially inflates podcast download stats because most of the “downloads” are from bots who humans who don't actually listen. Check out these great articles and podcast episodes about Twitter bombing. <ul> <li>“TWITTER BOMBING WORKED! (to stroke my ego” by Bryan Orr)</li> <li>“Twitter Bombing: What Is It – Is It Harmful – Does it Work” with Dave Jackson and Bryan Orr (host of Wow Small Business podcast)</li> <li>Rob Walch and Elsie Escobar talked about Twitter-bombing in The Feed</li> </ul> Profit Are you promoting things only because you'll profit from them? Do you disclose when you're using affiliate links? Promises When you make a promise, keep it! This can be difficult when other people have unreasonable expectations on you or how you do things. You don't have to stress over these if you didn't promise them. Pride Don't make yourself out to be bigger than you actually are. Dave Jackson has some accurate thoughts on this. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * podcasthero said, “The Audacity to Podcast has to be the most detail oriented shows about podcasting. …” Read the full review. * Alex Mansour from Brazil said, “The best podcast ever!!!” Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="The 4 cornerstones of a great podcast – TAP207" subtitle="January 26, 2015" duration="2849" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap207.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685658/the-4-cornerstones-of-a-great-podcast---tap207/">View Details</a> Content, presentation, production, and promotion. These are the four cornerstones for a great podcast. A lack of quality in these could hurt the growth of your podcast. But improve these cornerstones and you will grow your podcast. Click here for tools to help you improve your podcast cornerstones <ol> <li>Content You're a podcaster, which means you're a content-creator. Whether you create or curate your content, it needs to be something people actually want to consume.</li> </ol> Unless you're a celebrity, most people won't care about your personal life or your and your friend's random perspectives on random topics. (Your personality enhances your presentation of content, but your personality usually should not be the content itself.) Even if your content is almost handed to you (for example, recent news, TV show episodes, movie releases, interview responses, or audience questions), you must choose the right stuff to include in order to have a high-quality episode. An art museum curator doesn't make the art himself; he selects what he thinks is the best art to give his gallery the best collection. For your podcast, this may mean skipping a news story, not including a particular feedback piece, editing something out, or maybe not even starting a podcast about a particular TV show because the source content is horrible. Consider two examples of what a podcaster might say. “I’m going to tell you how awesome I am” versus “I’m going to give you ten ways to be awesome.” Just from that short tease, which content sounds higher quality to you? As I see it, everyone on the Internet wants to be either helped or entertained. Is your podcast meeting those two basic needs? <ul> <li>Helpful—You are educating, equipping, encouraging, or inspiring people. They have a need and you're meeting it.</li> <li>Entertaining—You are making people laugh, engaging their minds, feeding their passions, or giving them a good time.</li> </ul> Helpful content can be entertaining, and entertaining content can be helpful. Remember that this isn't about meeting just your own needs, but the needs and desires of others. To make even better content, don't just think about what your audience wants to hear, give them content they'll appreciate or enjoy so much that they'll want to share it with others. That's the core of viral content that sees massive growth—we call it word of mouth. Click here for tools to help you improve your content <ol> <li>Presentation You could have the best content in the world, but your podcast will still struggle if you can't present that content well.</li> </ol> How clearly can you communicate? Can you explain complex ideas in simple ways? How good are you at captivating your audience with stories? Do you share information personally and passionately, or boringly? Are you giving your audience the content you promised, or wasting their time with other stuff? The two best ways to improve your presentation are preparation and practice. Think of a concert pianist. She spends hundreds—maybe even thousands—of hours preparing the performance piece, learning the dynamics, understanding the emotions, optimizing the fingering, and more. Then spends maybe even more time practicing the piece she already knows. If she skipped either of these and just “winged it” on stage, the music would lack feeling and might even include a lot of mistakes. Preparing your presentation doesn't mean you have to script it. A simple outline, even if just a list of topics you want to discuss, will help your presentation significantly. It helps you know what you want to share, share everything you intend to, and leads to an easier-to-follow presentation. Practicing doesn't mean you have to rehearse your podcast. Practice communicating in every setting possible and review your ideas in your mind. If you want to stop saying, “uh,” then practice this in your everyday communication. If you want to tell better stories in your podcast, tell better stories to the people around you. I have even started “scripting” some of my comedy, so that it gives me something to practice and improve my story-telling. Great presentation quality can sometimes make up for weak content. Just look at the television evangelists and pushy salespeople. What they lack in content quality, they make up for in how well they articulate their messages, manipulate your emotions, and inspire you to take action. Take a critical look at how you present your content, find those things that may be detracting from the content, and figure out how to remove them. Click here for tools to help you improve your presentation <ol> <li>Production Your content may be great and your presentation engaging, but poor production can quickly undermine your other hard work.</li> </ol> Both audio and video podcasts should focus first on the sound quality. You may see podcasters claiming massive audiences on some telephone-based platforms, but those platforms produce horrible sound quality. If those shows get that large of an audience with such poor quality, imagine how much larger they could be with better quality and being on multiple platforms! The biggest factor to your audio quality is the microphone you use. Investing in quality audio equipment (appropriate to your format—like lavaliers or shotgun mics for video) isn’t expensive. You can get great studio or lavalier starter microphones for around $50. If you produce video, your second production-quality focus should be your lighting. Great, temperature-balanced lighting can make even a cheap video camera's output look professional. Using your lighting well can also hide or even enhance a cluttered background. Don't stop the high-quality production with just your episodes! Also ensure you have a great-looking website, cover art, and social-network branding. Podcast cover art is often a potential subscriber's first impression of your show in many podcast directories. Great website design can enhance your content, calls to action, and make watching or listening to your episodes easier. Click here for tools to help you improve your production <ol> <li>Promotion It is possible to have a great podcast, but with no audience. When you have the other cornerstones in place, then you can look at your promotion.</li> </ol> Some content is really easy to promote, because people are already looking for it. This might be content that answers questions, reviews products, and provides entertainment-fan perspectives. Often, then need work on podcast SEO (search-engine optimization) in order to be more findable. This is still proactive effort to optimize your content. But for all content, you still have to work to grow an audience. Growth is easy when you already have leverage, such as celebrity status, a loyal following, or a mailing list. Each of these are things you can create when you're just starting out, and then the momentum will build. The best ways to grow your audience involve engaging your potential audience where they already are, and equipping your existing audience to become your ambassadors. Click here for tools to help you improve your promotion Build on this foundation Each of these four cornerstones of a great podcast build on each other. Good content needs good presentation, which needs good production to be consumed, which needs good promotion to be found. It also works the other way around. Your promotion promotes your production, which enhances your presentation, which communicates your content. With more momentum means less stress over each cornerstone, but it never negates the importance. Download a list of recommended tools to improve your podcast! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Patrick from the Big Seance Podcast said, “Incredibly thorough and professional! A podcast that continues to provide an amazing education for podcasters ….” Read the full review. * Tom Indellicate said, “… You’ve really given me the confidence to produce and launch my own podcast!” Read the full review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! My appearances * MHF Tech show #60 with Adi Khajuria * (Upcoming) New Media Show #75 with Todd Cochrane and Rob Greenlee * (Upcoming) Presenting “How to Make You Podcast Stand Out” at Social Media Marketing World * (Upcoming) Presenting “SEO Basics for Podcasters” at New Media Expo (use promo code “dlewis20” to save 20%) Announcements Get SEO for Podcasters today and be invited to an exclusive SEO Q&A webinar in February. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How podcasters are making money with podcasting – TAP206" subtitle="January 19, 2015" duration="5296" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap206.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685659/how-podcasters-are-making-money-with-podcasting---tap206/">View Details</a> Learn the monetization strategies that other podcasters are using as I'm joined by Brian from ProfitCast in this special crossover episode. Sponsorships This is the way most podcasters are interested in using to monetize their podcast. Yes, it is the easiest, because you can simply promote it, promote impressions, and get paid. The most important number to sponsors isn't actually the size of your audience, but it's how engaged your audience is and how likely they are to take action on the sponsors. Most podcast sponsorships will pay based on how many thousand impressions you get (CPM), how many actions are taken (CPA), or a flat rate. John Lee Dumas's income for Entrepreneur on Fire looks great, but you have to have a very popular show with lots of downloads per episodes. But only a relatively small portion of John's income comes from podcast sponsorships. The most important thing to do with any style of sponsorship is making it relevant to your audience. This is how Audible.com and Audiobooks.com have great success in this space, because they have audiobooks that appeal to almost anyone. I've had sponsors for The Audacity to Podcast before. Now, I regret it because it would have been better to promote my own products and services than someone else's. This perspective is shared by Cliff Ravenscraft and Gary Leland. Potential sponsors do want to see large numbers, but the likelihood of your audience taking action is even more important to them. Before you try working toward getting sponsors, make sure your podcast has great content, presentation, and production. Look at the success of Serial. That team was highly skilled in creating, presenting, and producing great content. Serial took almost a year to produce, so they had great momentum and leverage before the show even started. You'll see similar stories with other great podcasters. They invested heavily into making a great “product” in their podcast. But having great content isn't the only part, you also need great marketing or else no one will know about your show. Steps before you approach a sponsor 1. Have a great podcast: content, presentation, and production. 2. Know your actual numbers! I recommend Blubrry Stats or LibSyn. 3. Know your audience. How engaged are they? What products and services would be a good fit? Affiliates Who isn’t using affiliates? Pat Flynn is a great example. He chooses products that he knows and can truly recommend, and he knows his listeners will appreciate them, too. Just look at his BlueHost income! He gets that because he made a video that communicates great information targeted for his audience, and it happens to promote his affiliate link. Michael Hyatt is also having great success with this. Affiliate income builds over time. The more content you put out, the more you could build your reputation and build a large archive of relevant affiliate links. December, 2014 was my own best month for Amazon.com affiliate income—$1,200! That big spike (double my previous record) resulted primarily from Christmas shopping plus the podcasting deals I was emailing. If you live in Colorado, you can't join the Amazon.com affiliate program. You need to look at your local regulations to see whether you can join a different affiliate program. Communicate why you made that choice and your audience will probably be understand and continue to support you as they can. Even if a company doesn't offer an affiliate program, you could negotiate a coupon code with them and then you get a portion of all orders placed with that coupon code. This is how my LibSyn affiliate programs works, how Cliff Ravenscraft's previous sponsorship for Family from the Heart worked. This is also extremely trackable for that retailer. A promo code is great because it can often give great incentive to people to use that code. When you try to apply for more exclusive affiliate programs (or try to have one created for you), make sure you explain to the retailer why it would be a good fit. This is great practice for approaching a sponsor someday! Offering affiliate links can often be an easy way for your audience to reciprocate after receiving your free content. When you have separate content ventures, make sure you're tracking them separately within your affiliate accounts. Product resale Instead of trying to earn the 4%–8% from Amazon.com, consider becoming a reseller yourself! This could allow you to make up to 50% on the same items! This is commonly called “drop shipping.” Gary Leland has great success with drop shipping. Cliff Ravenscraft When you can't beat the price, try to beat the value. That value could simply be in packaging everything for someone to buy—they don't have to shop around and pick all the right gear (Cliff Ravenscraft does this well with his gear packages). But when I plan to launch my own podcasting gear store, some of these products and packages will have extra video training included with them. You could make extra value by recording a “how to setup” video, a list of secrets, or anything else that someone couldn't get somewhere else. Just remember that this kind of thing could get complicate. If you want to accept credit card payments, your website will need: <ul> <li>a security certificate (SSL),</li> <li>a payment gateway (Stripe works great for this),</li> <li>ecommerce software (I like Woocommerce or Easy Digital Downloads),</li> <li>a reseller license and tax ID, and</li> <li>an agreement with distributors (contact the manufacturer to find how what wholesale distributors might work with you).</li> </ul> Product/course creation This is the best way to make money! Invest the time and resources to make a product, then you can make up to 100% of the profits! Listen to my last episode to get some ideas for products you can create for your podcast. The most profitable podcasters are making their income because of their products/courses. For examples: <ul> <li>Cliff Ravenscraft—Podcasting A to Z and digital products</li> <li>John Lee Dumas—Podcasters' Paradise, other training programs</li> <li>Michael Hyatt—Best Year Ever, Get Noticed WordPress theme, Platform community</li> <li>Lou Mongello—unofficial Disney products</li> <li>Jason and Jeremy—$7 ebook, Internet Business Mastery coaching program</li> </ul> Don't start with your biggest product and idea. It's better to under-promise and over-deliver. For your first product, make it something small. The few dollars you may make from that will feel amazing and be the first small step toward big momentum. Starting small also helps with your long-term success by exposing people to the value you can create, without forcing them to take a leap of faith. Consider an ebook, PDF guide, or short video tutorial. 80% of your audience will spend very little or nothing, but 20% of your audience may account for 80% of your income. You may have a fantastic product, but you won't have any success if you're not driving them to that product and marketing its value to your audience. Look at how successful podcasters are often giving away great content for free, but that content is so valuable and enticing that attendees are almost desperate to get the premium product or course. Services/Coaching Your expertise may be best on a one-on-one basis through coaching and consulting. Many people will benefit far more from the personalized one-on-one instead of a group setting. Your value will be small when you start, but it will grow with your reputation and experience. If you're not a good teacher, it may be better for you to offer your expertise as a service. For example, you can hire me for several hours and thousands of dollars to teach you everything you may need to know in order to fix your podcast RSS feed. Or, you can hire me to use my expertise to fix it for you and save you the time and effort for only a flat rate fee in most cases. People are more interested in paying for solutions than paying for time. Donations You need to have a passionate and loyal fanbase in order to make any money through “donations” to your podcast. (Technically, “donations” are for nonprofits. But we'll use this in consider when people give you money for your show.) Look at the thousands of dollars that Rob Cesternino through Patreon contributions every month (I think Rob is the most humble successful podcaster). This gives your audience the chance to feel part of your show. Give them the shoutouts and thank them for their support. I'm amazed and humbled by the support I receive for my free Once Upon a Time podcast. Some of our supporters are automatically donating $50 per month (hundreds of dollars per year), just because they love what we do! Tom Merrit is probably the most amazing with this—more than $13,000 per month from his audience! To have a successful campaign, make sure that you're making your supports feel exclusive. Thank them in your episodes, send them fun swag, or do something fun for them. Look at other successful creators on Patreon to learn what's working well. Premium content This was more popular in the early days of podcasting, but many (like Keith and the Girl, NPR, and other popular shows) are still having great success with this. Paying for a subscription could grant your audience: <ul> <li>exclusive episodes,</li> <li>exclusive community,</li> <li>back-catalog of episodes,</li> <li>and more.</li> </ul> This model doesn't work for everyone. (I wouldn't want to sell my old episodes, because each episode is marketing me and my expertise.) Ask yourself this question, “Is my content truly worth paying for?” Don't alienate your free audience! Give your paying audience more. Announcements * Check out Brian's side, “Monetization Strategies Successful Podcasters Use,” on ProfitCast. * SEO for Podcasters is now available! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="5 product ideas for podcasters – TAP205" subtitle="January 12, 2015" duration="1838" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap205.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685660/5-product-ideas-for-podcasters---tap205/">View Details</a> Many podcasters want to make money from podcasting, either to pay for your hobby or for a business. Here are five ideas to get you started on making products that your audience may like. <ol> <li> Extra content When you have great content and a loyal audience, you could consider creating products out of bonus content. </li> <li> Pre/postshow—Record what happens before and after you officially present the podcast. Some fans will enjoy the casual approach even more. YouTube stars Rhett and Link offer a “Good Mythical More” channel which is simply the aftershow for each of their “Good Mythical Morning” episodes. </li> <li>Bonus episodes—Create some great content and promote it frequently. For example, Welcome to Level Seven (our unofficial Agents of SHIELD podcast on Noodle.mx Network) has raised nearly $300 by simply offering a “pay what you want” bonus episode about the B-movie Howard the Duck for their Marvel-loving audience.</li> <li> Unofficial commentary—Passionate fans love the bonus content for movies and TV shows. Regardless of how thorough the studio is with official content, consider making a fan commentary audio track that your audience can play along with the movie or TV show. This commentary could be snarky (like RiffTrax) or enlightening (explaining connections, theories, and observations that the producers wouldn't even mention). </li> <li> Podcast merchandise Your podcast fans may want to “represent” with merchandise that contains your own branding. The creators of Homestar Runner make nearly all of their income from selling such branded merchandise. </li> </ol> This requires that your podcast have great branding. Here are just some of many potential merchandise you could create for your podcast. <ul> <li>Mugs</li> <li>Apparel (hats, shirts, hoodies, shoes, etc)</li> <li>Accessories (jewelry, buttons, wristbands, device cases)</li> <li>Stickers</li> <li>Posters</li> <li>Cards</li> <li>Toys</li> </ul> CafePress is a popular place to get such things made, but there are many other places, too. <ol> <li>Unofficial fan products If you're making fan content about someone else's content, you may be able to make unofficial products that fans will love. But be careful about violating copyrights and trademarks.</li> </ol> T-shirts are often great for this, as they can carry fun messages that fans would love to wear. For the TV show Once Upon a Time, we could put anything about happy endings or fairy tales and even add something like, “I'm a #Oncer,” on the shirt. The fan products could even be something creative you manufacture yourself, like carvings, 3D-printed models, paintings, and more. Lou Mongello, from WDW Radio, has had huge success with creating unofficial products for fans of Disney and Disney Parks. <ol> <li> Training resources You may be surprised how many topics could have accompanying “how to” resources. Here are some random ideas. </li> <li> A video-game podcast could teach how to improve your game strategy. </li> <li>A knitting podcast could have a “how to get started knitting” course.</li> <li>A movie-review podcast could create a course on “how to become an actor” or “how to produce your own short movie.”</li> </ol> This is where you need to get creative and ask your audience. <ol> <li>Solutions Beyond making training resources, you could also create products that provide a solution for people. I created my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin because I saw a need for podcasters to easily place specific icons and buttons to promote their presence in social networks, apps, and directories for podcasters. I also created and continue to add to Podcast Places to be a free solution for podcasters to find out where they should submit their podcast. And My Podcast Reviews was the final realization of a need for podcasters to get their international podcast reviews.</li> </ol> Look for pain points that your audience has, and see if you can create a solution. This could be a physical product or a digital product. Maybe it's a WordPress plugin, a special worksheet, a piece of software, or something completely different. If the idea catches on, it could find a customer base beyond your own audience. Announcements * SEO for Podcasters is launching this week! * Next episode will be with Brian from ProfitCast to talk about how podcasters are making money with their podcasts. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Philippe Conway said, “Informative and Inspirational. … I wish I knew about this podcast back when I started mine in May of 2014. It would have saved me a lot of growing pains. … I am even tempted to create another podcast just so I can put all the new things I've learned from Daniel into motion.” Read the full review. * WhiskeyBoyRadio Matt said, “Great stuff for All Podcasters. I've been podcasting for over 7 years, and I still find great value and lots of great new ideas and things to use to help my podcast continue to get better.” Read the full review. * Kimberly Slusher from DIStracted Life Podcast said, “… I am on Episode 8 of my podcast, and while it is not perfect, with Daniel's help I know I can make the gradual changes each episode to get it to the quality I want it to be. … I just got my first iTunes review this week and it was a 5 star thanks to your help. … ” Read the Full Review. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to set and achieve SMART goals for your podcast – TAP204" subtitle="January 5, 2015" duration="2475" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap204.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685661/how-to-set-and-achieve-smart-goals-for-your-podcast---tap204/">View Details</a> What goals do you have for your podcast? Are they specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based? Learn how to set and achieve your goals with your podcast! The usual podcasting goals Every goal in podcasting really comes down to two things: “I want to help myself” or “I want to help others.” Practically, that breaks out into the following common desires for podcasters. <ol> <li>“I want to have fun.” You're in podcasting for yourself. You enjoy the topic and want to connect with like-minded people.</li> <li>“I want to make money.” You're podcasting to grow a business, bring in extra income, or maybe just cover your expenses for this hobby.</li> <li>“I want to be famous.” You want a big following and to know you have respect and authority in your field. This could lead to book deals, speaking opportunities, interviews, and more.</li> <li>“I want to help people.” You want to improve people or the things they know and do. You may be giving them hope or teaching them something new.</li> <li>“I want to entertain people.” You enjoy making people laugh or you want them to have some kind of fun by consuming your content.</li> </ol> There is nothing wrong with any of these desires. But it's time to be smarter about turning these desires into “SMART” goals. How to set SMART goals George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham wrote about SMART goals in the November 1981 issue of Management Review, “There's a S. M. A. R. T. way to write management goals and objectives.” Since then, “SMART” has come to stand for several different things. I like using it to mean specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. Besides the acronym, employing this kind of thinking in goal-setting is truly smart! Specific Don't be vague about your goals. Figure out exactly what you want. Instead of saying, “I want to grow my audience,” or even, “I want to double my audience,” figure out a specific number, such as saying, “I want to grow my audience to 10,000 people.” You could also say, “I want to make $1,000 per month from my podcast,” or “I want to be the #1 podcast in iTunes for this topic.” Being specific is the foundation to knowing how to achieve your goals. If they aren't specific, you may not be chasing the right thing when trying to achieve your podcasting goals. Measurable How will you measure your success in achieving your goals? If you want 10,000 people consuming your podcast, how are you going to count that? For podcast stats, I recommend Blubrry or LibSyn. They are highly respected in the industry and have refined their algorithms to great accuracy. If you want a large audience, ignore the myth of “monthly downloads.” The monthly downloads number is completely meaningless. The only time it's helpful is to showcase the potential impressions a sponsor could get if they sponsor every episode of your show. The number is meaningless because it can be easily influenced and doesn't tell you anything about the actual number of people you reach. (Want to double your downloads per month? Release twice as many episodes! See? You can double that number, but not even increase your audience.) If you have a monetary goal, then how will you know when you've reached it? Are you tracking your income for this specific endeavor? Figure out how you'll measure your specific success and thus know when you achieve it. Attainable This is the time to be honest. Is it really reasonable and realistic for you to reach your goal? You may say, “I want to be the #1 podcast in all of iTunes.” But is that actually achievable with your niche content? You may want to leave your job and make your income solely from your podcast, but is that practical if your podcast is for pre-teen kids? This doesn't mean that you should only stick with easy goals. Go ahead and imagine the impossible! But your actual goals must be something that is actually attainable for you. In my 200th-episode anniversary, I talked with John Lee Dumas about his massive success from podcasting. Could I have his same kind of success? Yes! But is it actually attainable with the field I am in and the way I have chosen to run my business? Probably not. Relevant What goals make sense in combination with what you're doing? Do your goals and personality fit each other, your content, and your audience? You will probably not be a respected business advisor if your content is only about video games. Your goals need to either relate with what you're doing, or else you may need to change what you're doing in order to connect with your goals. Time-bound Give yourself a deadline for your goals. This will help you break it down into actionable steps over time. Sure, you could probably make your income from your podcast, but is it your goal to do that immediately, six months from now, or three years from now? It took me a year to make The Audacity to Podcast stable enough to launch my business. It took almost two years for the business income to replace my prior income. In 2014, I finally doubled my gross income, but my net income (take-home pay) was still lower than my previous employment (2014 was an expensive year because of developing and launching My Podcast Reviews). You may not reach your deadline, but that may not be a failure if you were 75% there! That's a huge success compared to where you probably started. One of my goals in 2015 is to make $100,000 in gross income. If I end the year and make “only” $75,000, it's much more of a success than a failure! How to achieve your goals With your SMART goals set, it's time to create an actionable progression of steps to reach those goals. A goal without a plan is just a dream that will never be realized. <ol> <li>Break big goals into smaller goals Audacious goals are great, but they can often seem so big that we don't work on them as urgently as we must.</li> </ol> For example, if you want to have 10,000 downloads per episode in one year, and you currently have 500, that means you need to grow your audience by almost 800 every month. That goal may still be too big, so break it down even smaller and you'll need to bring 27 new subscribers to your podcast per day. Instead of a flat rate across every day, you may want to consider a momentum approach. Start with a small daily goal and increase it each day. For example, if you start on the first day with the goal of getting two subscribers, then you add four on the second day, six on the third, eight on the fourth, and so on, you'll surpass your goal. (Doubling each day is an even more exponential curve.) How about my goal of $100,000 in a year? That means I need to generate about $8,333 of income every month. Breaking it down further means that I need to generate just under $400 on every business day. <ol> <li>Focus on your goals every day I really think your goals won't be as achievable until your break them down into a daily goal. Then, you can figure out what it will take to find 27 new subscribers, to make $400, to write a certain number of words for your book, and so on.</li> </ol> This is what I often forget in my business. I now have a sticky note (as much as I hate paper) on my monitor that simply says, “$400 today.” This reminds me to work on those things that will get me to $400 on that day. True, I may not succeed on that one day, but the work on that day could help me earn $800 on the next day. <ol> <li>Schedule regular time to work toward your goals Just reminding yourself of your goals every day won't help you achieve them. You must set aside dedicated time to make them a reality.</li> </ol> If you set aside even 15 minutes every day to work toward your goals, that's almost two hours per week and about 90 hours per year! I recommend two tools to help you with this scheduling: a calendar and a timer. The calendar is to schedule your work during a specific time of the day. Don't miss those appointments! The timer is to help you focus. Set it for the amount of time you have to work toward your goals and focus on nothing but that work until the timer runs out. If you feel like doing anything other than what you should be doing, your timer reminds you that you can put it on hold for just a little longer. The is also known as the Pomodoro technique. <ol> <li>Remove distractions I really struggle with distractions. On the days when I feel like I accomplished nothing, I can see how I spent most of my time chasing one distraction after another instead of sticking with my plan for the day.</li> </ol> Distractions may be important (phone calls, answering email, and such) or they could be pointless (playing games, aimlessly browsing the web, bouncing from video to video on YouTube, and such). Remove the distraction, remove yourself from the distracting environment, or differ the distraction to a better time. <ol> <li>Get help and support There are different schools of thought on whether you should be public with your goals. But the thing that is absolutely sure is that most goals can't be accomplished alone. You may need help, or you may just need the accountability and support to keep you going.</li> </ol> Whether this costs shouldn't matter. Take this help seriously as an investment in your success. <ol> <li>Review your progress and adjust Take frequent opportunities to check in with your progress. If your goals are measurable and time-bound, then it should be easy to compare your current position with where you need to be. I recommend doing this weekly or monthly.</li> </ol> If you're making the progress you need to, try to figure out where you can adjust your plan. If you're surpassing your necessary progress, figure out what's contributing to that momentum and try to increase that. Thank you for the podcast reviews! * @RSDenton said, “I really like the fact the Daniel dives deep into the ins and outs of what you need [to] think about when doing a podcast. All the episodes are well structured, easy to follow and very actionable. That's why I'm a subscriber.” Read the full review on My Podcast Reviews. * Laura McClellan, from The Productive Woman, said, “I love how well organized each episode is, with plenty of specific, practical, actionable tips and recommendations. Every question I have about how to podcast has an answer somewhere in the episodes Daniel has produced.” Read the full review on My Podcast Reviews. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * Learn how to grow your podcast and be more findable in iTunes with SEO for Podcasters Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="New live-streaming options for podcasters – TAP203" subtitle="December 15, 2014" duration="2705" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap203.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685662/new-live-streaming-options-for-podcasters---tap203/">View Details</a> Here are the new live-streaming technologies I now recommend to podcasters who want to broadcast live. Also, listen to my previous miniseries of episodes about live-streaming. 5 core requirements for live-streaming technologies 1. Modern-friendly—Must not require Flash, must work on mobile devices 2. Easy to use for visitors—Support easy logins, no confusion for playback (or auto-play option) 3. Embeddable and responsive—A single piece of code to place on your own /live site and work with responsive web design 4. Uninterrupted by ads—If there are ads, they must not interrupt the content (like Ustream has been known to do), getting a revenue share from ads would be a bonus 5. Inexpensive or free—Under $10–$20 per month to reach your whole live audience The most important thing for you is to always have a central platform where you send people. That's why I recommend having your own /live page. Then, it doesn't matter what technology you use because you're always pointing people to the same page. This will remove the need to monitor multiple chat rooms. Live-streaming video: YouTube Live / Google Hangouts on Air I used to use and recommend either Ustream or Livestream for live-streaming video. But Ustream started interrupting content with ads; Livestream started pushing sexually driven ads for alcohol to my rated-G channel, and they switched to separate embeds for each show. Then, Google+ Hangouts on Air was introduced and eventually offered also as YouTube Live. These two technologies are related, but not entirely similar. YouTube Live is a live-streaming service that can be a broadcast destination from desktop software such as Wirecast, Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder, and others. YouTube Live can also be streamed from Google's own Hangouts on Air, giving you camera-switching, lower thirds, screen-sharing, and more without an additional app. Google+ Hangouts on Air (HOA) is really the readily accessible front face to YouTube Live. When you host an HOA, you are using YouTube Live as the backend technology. YouTube Live and Hangouts on Air events can be scheduled in advance and will appear in your YouTube channel's list of live events. The beauty of YouTube live is its flexibility and workflow. All you need for an embed on WordPress is the YouTube URL or standard YouTube embed code (available when you schedule your event, and when you go live with an HOA). This now works everywhere. Using YouTube Live / HOA is also an easy way to create video content for your YouTube Channel. These talking-head videos will have higher reach and retention than “fake videos” (podcast audio over just an image), but lower reach and retention than produced videos (where you're actually showing things). You can make a YouTube Live / HOA event public and findable, “unlisted” but viewable by those with the link (or on your page with the embed), or “private” to those with invitations only. Thus, you don't have to be public in order to live-stream to your YouTube channel or use Hangouts on Air. The big drawback to YouTube Live / HOA is that each event has its own URL and, thus, it's own embed code. But that's where the free IX Show Latest YouTube plugin for WordPress comes in! This plugin (which I now actively maintain) offers a single WordPress shortcode to embed the latest video or multiple videos from one or more YouTube channels. It can display live events, upcoming events (called “pending”), or a message when there is no scheduled event. I don't recommend pointing people to a HOA page on Google+ for your live events. If you set this up as a default Hangout on Air, it becomes less usable for your audience as they often can't watch and comment at the same time, and it (currently) doesn't work on mobile devices. This is what I use on my Noodle.mx Network live page and I love it! Thus, YouTube Live is my new recommendation for amatuer and professional live video streaming. Live-streaming audio: Mixlr or Spreaker Maybe you want all the interaction and accountability of live-streaming, but you don't have the technology or bravery for video. That's when an audio-only live stream can be a great choice. It also makes a good option for those with lower bandwidth. (On my Noodle.mx Network live page, I offer video and audio-only options for visitors.) Here are the three audio-only live-streaming services to consider. <ol> <li>Mixlr—This is my top recommendation for cost and quality. The free plan lets you broadcast for up to an hour at a time. Mixlr offers more pricing options for higher demands.</li> <li>Spreaker—Spreaker's live player now seems a bit better designed than Mixlr's and offers more options and ways for listeners to consume. Spreaker's pricing options are significantly higher than Mixlr's. But with Spreaker's ability to create an RSS feed, you could potentially use Spreaker to record and publish your podcast episodes straight to your subscribers.</li> <li>Potential: new BlogTalkRadio—Seriously? Yes! BlogTalkRadio is taking big steps toward improving their platform, starting with audio quality. Broadcasters in the beta program can now stream at 128 kbps instead of the previous limitation to phone-call quality. You can embed a player on your own site and accept live calls. However, BlogTalkRadio is currently too expensive (starting at $39 per month!) to receive my full recommendation.</li> </ol> Live chat rooms: Chatroll, Chatwing, Chatango, or Flyzoo The best part of going live is engaging with your audience and allowing them to have conversations with each other. An embedded chat room provides a great place to build this community. I believe a chat room should support a variety of login methods, allowing people to chat without an account or use a social login (such as Twitter, Facebook, or Google). Here are my four recommendations for embeddable chat rooms. <ol> <li>Chatroll—Clean, simple, and offers the core features. This is primarily a premium service (the free plan is limited to 10 users).</li> <li>Chatwing—This is packed with features and customization. It's free for unlimited users, and you can ~~add extra features or disable their branding for $1 per month per feature per chat room~~ upgrade to unlock all premium features for $11.20 per month per chat room (switched in early 2015).</li> <li>Chatango—This has long been a live-streamer's favorite. The latest version doesn't require Flash and provides nice display options (chat panel, a ticker, pop-up chat, etc.). It's completely free, but doesn't support third-party logins.</li> <li>Flyzoo—This new provider in the space has beautiful designs and a growing feature list. This currently starts at $3.90 per month per website.</li> </ol> Other options abound There are plenty of other options for styles of live-streaming. But these are my new recommendations for technologies you can use on your own platform without having to send your audience to someone else's site or make them sign up for more accounts. Please comment to share any other services you think are worth considering. Announcements * How do you use an iPad or other tablet for podcasting? Send your feedback for my upcoming episode! * Preorder my upcoming “SEO for Podcasters” video course Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="7 Free Ways to Speed Up Your Website without Switching Web-Hosting – TAP202" subtitle="December 8, 2014" duration="2068" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap202.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685663/7-free-ways-to-speed-up-your-website-without-switching-web-hosting---tap202/">View Details</a> Make your WordPress website load faster with simple, free ways. You may not even have to upgrade your web-hosting! Download my list of free tools to speed up your website <ol> <li> Use a caching plugin Web hosts will nearly always recommend a good caching plugin as the first step toward making your site load faster and use fewer resources. This works by essentially storing a static version of a web page so that the server doesn't have to rebuild every element for every new visitor. </li> <li> Remove features or plugins You may have an embedded thing or a plugin you love, but it could be slowing down your website. Remove anything you're not actively using, and look for features that you don't need anymore. </li> <li> Find better plugins There are tens of thousands of WordPress plugins, but they're not all coded very well. Some will even slow down your website and cause other problems. Find better-supported and more-frequently updated plugins to do what you want. I recommend a few in my free download. </li> <li> Remove images It may seem great to have a lot of images on your site, but these could be slowing down your website. Consider removing what you don't really need, or consider ways to use CSS instead. </li> <li> Optimize images For the images you must keep, ensure that you're not wasting space and bandwidth with large files. Specifically, consider these three things that affect image size. </li> <li> Format—Use PNG for images with transparency or made up of mostly solid colors. Use JPEG for images with a wide variety of colors and texture. </li> <li>Size—You don't need to upload the 10 megapixel image your digital camera took. Use only the image size you need for the place you're using the image.</li> <li>Compression—JPEG format can be heavily compressed, but ensure that your compression doesn't reduce the visual quality of the image too much.</li> </ol> These could be handled with a plugin or desktop app. I share a few in this episode's free resource download. <ol> <li>Display stuff only where needed You may not need social-sharing buttons on your front page, or maybe you don't need a contact form to display in the sidebar everywhere. Consider using tools or plugins to place reusable stuff only where you actually need them.</li> </ol> Try to make your homepage the fastest-loading page on your site. <ol> <li>Offload when possible Processes like social-sharing, search indexing, related post connecting, and more can be offloaded to third-party servers for free or a small cost.</li> </ol> Get my recommendations for free tools to make your website load faster. Download free tools for a faster website Thank you for the podcast reviews! * Skimbatty from Canada said, “Common sense in podcasting. Daniel has a down to earth approach to producing a podcast. Very knowledgeable and easy to listen to. I particularly appreciate his emphasis on producing a podcast without spending a lot of money.” Read the full review on My Podcast Reviews. Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Announcements * SEO for Podcasters is available! * I'll be taking a two-week break from podcasting. Thus, there will be no episodes on December 22 and 29. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to celebrate podcast milestones – TAP201" subtitle="December 1, 2014" duration="1568" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap201.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685664/how-to-celebrate-podcast-milestones---tap201/">View Details</a> Podcasting can have many milestones—episode numbers, anniversaries, and more. Here are some suggestions for celebrating your podcast milestones. Plan ahead If you want a good podcast milestone, you need to start your planning several weeks in advance. There are several reasons to do this. <ul> <li>You want to invite a special guest, and they book weeks in advance</li> <li>You need time to collect responses to include</li> <li>You want to excite your audience ahead of time and keep reminding them</li> <li>You want to do something big that will take more time to prepare</li> </ul> Planning is never a bad idea. The better you plan your milestones, the better the celebrations will be. Giving versus gazing Most milestone celebrations come in one of two forms: giving value, or “navel-gazing.” You would be giving value when you make the celebration about your community. This could directly involve other people, or you could have a great idea for highly valuable content to help or entertain on your podcast milestone. You would be “navel-gazing” when you make the celebration about yourself. This would be when you reflect on your own history, a “best of” selection of your episodes, or anything else that focuses more on yourself than on others. There are appropriate times for both giving value and “navel gazing,” and that decision is entirely yours. Here are my suggestions. Episode-number milestones: give value It's big to reach your first double digits on your podcast. It's even bigger to reach triple-digital milestones, like 100, 200, and so on. These are significant numbers and your community will be happy to celebrate with you. Remember that the accomplishments of episode numbers are also relative. It's big for a weekly podcast to hit episode 50, because that correlates to almost a year of podcasting. But a daily podcast will hit episode 50 within on two months; it won't seem as exciting because not as much time has past relative to the potential lifespan of the podcast. Episode-number podcast milestones are great opportunities to give value back to your audience. Here are some ideas to inspire your creativity. <ul> <li>Include tips from your audience. Make the number of tips be the episode number. For example, in The Audacity to Podcast's 100th episode, I shared 100 podcasting tips from my community. (This may not scale well for your higher numbers.)</li> <li>Invite a special guest. Pick someone who will mean something to your community in order to give value. This is what I did for my 200th episode.</li> <li>Live-stream. If you don't already live-stream your podcast-recording, consider doing it for this celebration. Video (with YouTube Live) would be the most engaging. This doesn't have to be a professional production because the focus is on celebrating with the community.</li> <li>Host an in-person party. If you have enough loyal fans, it may be easy to pick a date and location for celebrating in person. You may be surprised how many people will travel to celebrate with you. You don't have to podcast from this event, but why not? If nothing else, make sure you take plenty of pictures and get video and audio recordings of the event. You can use these to encourage more community participation or promote another live event. (Sidenote: you don't have to wait for a milestone to host a meet-up!)</li> <li>Have an “open house” episode. Invite your community to participate in the episode with you with live call-ins. I did this for the 100th episode of our clean-comedy podcast and everyone had a lot of fun.</li> <li>Try a different format. If you normally host an interview show, try a solo show, or vice versa. If yours is normally an audio podcast, try a video episode. (I don't normally recommend mixing video into an audio channel, but your community will be accepting with enough warning.) If your content is normally a presentation or conversation, try a scripted drama or even a musical (but these can take a lot of work, as Dave Jackson knows from his 400th episode).</li> <li>Answer questions. If you spend most of your podcast presenting information, this could be a good time to address the questions that have been accumulating. Ray Edwards did this in his 100th episode.</li> </ul> Comment below with additional ideas for how to celebrate and give value! Podcast anniversaries: “navel-gaze” You have most likely skipped an episode here or there and ended up with fewer than 50 episodes in a year. Or maybe you have a straight run with an episode every week of the year. In any case, it's likely that your podcast anniversaries will not fall on episode-number milestones. Thus, these anniversaries or less-significant-episode-number milestones (like 25 or 150) can be good times to get a little introspective. I still think your ultimate goal should still be to either help or entertain, and you can easily do that even if may seem like “navel-gazing” or focusing on yourself. Here some more ideas for “celebratory navel-gazing.” <ul> <li>Tell the story behind your podcast.</li> <li>Share what you've learned thus far.</li> <li>Talk about the mistakes you made along the way. I did this for my 150th episode.</li> <li>Look back and highlight some of the best content. After all, it's likely that much of your audience either forgot or didn't hear or watch some of the earlier episodes.</li> <li>Explain a shift in vision.</li> <li>Reveal plans for the future.</li> </ul> Comment below with additional ideas for how to celebrate with some introspection and still give value! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * MonsieurSS said, “Excellent podcast on podcasting! Keep up the great work Daniel! Thank you.” * Matt McWilliams said, “The Audacity to podcast is awesome. Daniel is doing a great job. Keep up the awesome!” * MunchMac (Jim Munchbach in Houston) said, “Daniel is incredibly helpful and accessible. Thanks for all you do, Daniel!” Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Achieving massive success through podcasting (with John Lee Dumas)" subtitle="November 24, 2014" duration="3779" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap200.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685665/achieving-massive-success-through-podcasting--with-john-lee-dumas-/">View Details</a> To celebrate the 200th episode of my podcast about podcasting, I talk with John Lee Dumas about his massive podcasting success and pull tips and tricks we can use to grow our own podcasts. John Lee Dumas is now making over $200,000 per month because of his podcast, and he gets almost 1,000,000 downloads per month from Entrepreneur on Fire. He didn't achieve this success overnight. In fact, it took a lot of hard work, time, and money to reach that success. Listen to the episode to hear John's answers to each of these questions. Get Black Friday / Cyber Monday podcasting deals Launching Entrepreneur on Fire * How big was your platform before you launched the podcast? * How much cash did you have when you resigned from your former job? * What did it cost you in time and money to launch? * What were your worst doubts as you were starting? (Jeffrey K. Holbrook, from http://daggersofthemind.com) * You have said that you didn't see any income from your podcast for about 6 months. With a daily podcast, this is the equivalent of 3 and a half years worth of weekly episodes. To what do you attribute your great success? (Andrew McGivern) * How many downloads per episode did you have when you approached your first sponsor? How much did you charge them? The present * What is your monthly cost of living? * How much does it cost you to keep things running? * Do you pay contributors to Podcasters’ Paradise? * SKIP-What is your current CPM per sponsor? * What do you do with all the money? * What are the pros and cons of your—mostly—cookie-cutter approach to every interview? (Allan Misner) * How do you keep the energy levels so high and keep going at it seems 100%? (Gary Fawcett) * SKIP-What is one interviewee characteristic that inspires you to bring your A+++ game? (Dee Cote') * What do you say to the critics of asking the same questions? * What doubts do you still struggle with, even with all of your success? (Jeffrey K. Holbrook, from http://daggersofthemind.com) * How have you handled an interview that you felt didn’t go well, and how did you communicate it to the guest? (Bryan Entzminger) * If you could interview any person in history who is no longer with us, who would that be and why? (Dee Cote') * What's one interview pet peeve that makes you work harder (or tries your patience) during the interview? (Dee Cote') The future * How much longer do you think Entrepreneur on Fire can continue? Are you afraid of running out of interviews? (John Bukenas) * You’ll hit episode 1,000 soon. How do you plan to celebrate? (Dee Cote') * What is one professional skill and one personal skill you still feel like you need to enhance? (Dee Cote') * SKIP-What are your plans for the future? Applying it to the rest of us * What path of steady building toward an income platform would you suggest? (Jeffrey K. Holbrook, from http://daggersofthemind.com) * If you woke up tomorrow and Entrepreneur on Fire had disappeared along with all its assets (email list, contacts, etc.) and you had to start over with something else, how would you build an audience for a new podcast outside of the entrepreneurial niche? (Paul Clifford) * Here’s your chance to brag. What sets you apart from everyone else? What has enabled you to succeed where others haven’t? Were you inspired? Yes, John's audience and income are huge. I hope you've seen that this is because he has thrown himself fully into actions toward his goals. He worked hard, invested a lot of resources, and it's paying him back. Remember that “success” is up to each of us to define for ourselves. Thus, how has this conversation inspired you to redefine your success, plan your goals, or take action? Please comment in the show notes and share your story! You can hear my appearance on Entrepreneur on Fire in episode 549 (that's where I first publicly announced My Podcast Reviews). Holiday podcasting deal alerts “Black Friday,” “Cyber Monday,” Christmas, and this whole holiday season are great times to find amazing deals of podcasting gear, software, and other tools. I have a special email list where I'm sharing these deals as quickly as I can find them (for example, the Logitech C920 keeps going on sale for 50% off!). Click here to join and receive podcasting deal alerts. Get podcasting deals emailed to you Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Honest Audello review and the trends of podcasting tools" subtitle="November 18, 2014" duration="3390" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap199.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685666/honest-audello-review-and-the-trends-of-podcasting-tools/">View Details</a> Audello is a new podcasting service designed to help you build your email list, grow your audience, and build your business. It's launch was accompanied with a lot of hype. Audello has been called revolutionary as well as “snake-oil sellers.” I'm going to cut through all the hype and reveal some of the truths about Audello—good and bad. Are we “old podcasting geezers”? Before I give you my honest Audello review, I realize that there's a deeper issue to evaluate. Many of the professional podcasters have deep biases, and you also see opposing thinking in your own industry. For example, I see the following. <ul> <li>Todd Cochrane (Rawvoice / Blubrry) is extremely biased toward WordPress and owning your feed URL.</li> <li>Rob Walch (LibSyn) is extremely biased against WordPress and Twitter.</li> <li>Cliff Ravenscraft (Podcast Answer Man) is holding onto and continuing to recommend FeedBurner and the Heil PR40.</li> <li>John Lee Dumas (Entrepreneur on Fire) recommends equipment instead of a mixer.</li> <li>Dave Jackson (School of Podcasting) is deeply opinionated about everything.</li> <li>Mike Dell (Podcast Help Desk) distrusts anything priced ending with a “7.”</li> </ul> I could go on, but you get the idea. We each have beliefs (or presuppositions) that fuel how we look at things (our worldview). The belief could be that podcasting should be cheap, easy, professional, extensible, accessible, or elite. These could all be opposing ideas. Thus, when something new comes along and challenges some “standard” in our minds, it's easy to be overly critical of it. Audello is one of many such disrupters. The trends of podcasting tools I think we need to be more willing to embrace new technologies and methods for doing things. Podcasting will become increasing easier as new disrupters enter the space. For a while, most of us “old podcasting geezers” were saying to avoid USB microphones and get a mixer and professional microphone. We were thinking about quality and extensibility. Now, the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB and similar microphones are available that provide quality, accessibility (in price and compatibility), and forward-extensibility. Computers are more capable today than before. Sometimes, recording into a computer provides far better flexibility than into a digital recorder. Or look at the Behringer UFX1204 mixer, which can record multiple independent channels directly onto a USB drive. Podcasting shouldn't require deep knowledge and be limited to the elite. I fully believe this method of reaching a global audience should be available to anyone with the audacity to podcast™ (see why that's the name of my show?). Audello, Soundcloud, Spreaker, Simplecast, BuzzSprout, SquareSpace, and many other companies are creating products to pursue the vision I hear Paul Colligan repeating in The Podcast Report: “When we make podcasting about the tech, we lose the very audience that needs it the most.” Audello is not a scam Audello is one service borne from the idea that podcasting should be easy and work great for building your business or branding. Yes, Audello is out to make money—just like nearly all other companies on this planet—but to do so by providing a solution to a common pain. This is the same thing I am doing with My Podcast Reviews, and I've read a couple people calling it far worse than a “scam.” You'll see in my review that I won't recommend Audello to most people, because I have a certain worldview of ownership, extensibility, and flexibility. But I applaud the Audello team for finding a way to make the process easier for some, and potentially now accessible for others. Why the hype over Audello? Audello is designed by an Internet marketer, Josh Bartlett, who has created several other web technologies targeted at Internet marketers. Audello seems to also be targeted at the online marketers who want to grow their business fast and make lots of money. Audello made outlandish claims in their initial video marketing. They essentially communicated that merely launching a podcast would enable you to achieve the same massive success that people like John Lee Dumas, Pat Flynn, and others have had. Cliff Ravenscraft addressed this kind of hype in “Beware of the Grow Big Quick & Get Rich Quick Podcast Messaging” (Podcast Answer Man #378, embedded below), starting just after 18 minutes into the audio or video. Cliff didn't directly name Audello, but it's easy to connect the dots, especially since Audello changed their marketing around that time to remove most of the exaggerated claims. Audello is aggressively trying to build a massive team of marketers by offering a generous affiliate program. Promote Audello and you could earn more than $100 per conversion. This, like other generous affiliate programs, leads to a flood of promotional videos, websites, bonuses, and social messages. Each of these promotions are intended to convince you that Audello is the most amazing thing for podcasting in order for that affiliate to earn a large commission. (There's nothing wrong with that approach, but you just need to recognize the motivation behind the promotion explosion.) Sure, if you want to buy Audello, you can buy through my affiliate link here. I won't mind the $100+ commission! Audello's design The Audello interface is well-designed and provides plenty of video help along the way. They offer desktop and mobile apps (but with some reported compatibility and stability problems). The players are attractive and allow a few color themes. Some of these players remind me a lot of Pat Flynn's own “Smart Podcast Player.” Media storage Audello does not provide media hosting or bandwidth, thus they seek to build on top of existing platforms, such as LibSyn and Soundcloud. At that point, it leaves me wondering what realistic, basic benefit Audello provides other than a more attractive interface. You can already do most of what Audello provides with just LibSyn or creating your own podcast site with WordPress (scheduling, industry-respected stats, playlists, feed creation, and more). Setting up media storage revealed some odd things. Audello can connect with LibSyn, Soundcloud, and Amazon S3. Their tutorial says that audio files need to be hosted “around the world.” This is commonly accomplished with a cloud distribution network (CDN). LibSyn does host your media on their CDN, but I don't think Soundcloud does. Amazon S3, however, is not a CDN—that's a common misconception. CloudFront is Amazon's CDN storage provider, but S3 serves media from only a single location (yes, with redundancies, but that's still not cloud-distribution). Audello's feed and importing In “Audello is a Scam, Bust, Sham, and any other negative word I can think of – DO NOT BUY THIS,” Dave Jackson ran the resulting Audello feed through FEED Validator and saw the message that the feed is invalid. But this doesn't mean Audello is producing broken feeds. The issue is actually that FEED Validator doesn't understand all of the current podcast RSS specs from Apple. Audello adds the <code><itunes:order></code> tag, which FEED Validator completely doesn't understand, thus is claims that the feed is invalid. This podcast tag has been available for more than a year, even though Apple only just recently emailed podcasters about it (the middle of November, 2014). I looked at sample feeds from Audello and can verify that they are usually valid podcast RSS feeds. However, in my own example, where my test import feed includes special characters (just an en dash), Audello didn't properly translate it to the UTF8 character set, and thus produced a genuinely invalid RSS feed. This also negatively affected the titles of all of my imported episodes. This is merely a bug, and not horrible decision on their part. I would have expected my feed import to migrate all of my podcast information, but it didn't. Audello misused my iTunes show subtitle for the description instead of using my iTunes description, it doesn't even support episode subtitles, it missed the publisher name, and Audello incorrectly labeled my podcast as Explicit when my feed has it labeled as clean. The lack of poor migration would also be due to inadequate programming, which will probably be fixed someday (maybe I'm the first one to discover these errors). Something in my own podcast feed somehow makes Audello not even see my episode titles to display in the playlist. The result is a bunch of episodes simply labeled by their track numbers, “195,” “196,” “197,” and so on. Audello also has a keyword field for each episode, but I have to question its purpose as keyword-relevance to search-engine optimization (SEO) has been deprecated in Google and iTunes. Commercial license If the purchase price (going back and forth between $297 and $197 at the time of this review) isn't high enough, Audello tries to up-sell you to a commercial license during checkout. This supposedly “limited-time” license removes all Audello branding from pages, player, and the interface. This wasn't already provided? The commercial license also allows you to use Audello for clients, which is really what I think makes the most sense. The up-sell page has a strange and potentially misleading bug that has two checkmarks to add the commercial license. Unchecking the first and more prominent of these doesn't actually remove the commercial license from your cart. This is probably an unintentional bug. Audello's unique features Most of what Audello does can be done for lower prices or free, and often more powerfully with other tools. However, Audello does provide a few unique features for a podcasting platform. Audio bars Audello's audio bars will be familiar to Soundcloud and Spreaker users. This makes a bar that sticks at the top or bottom of your browser viewport (the area where the webpage displays) and displays your selected audio file to play. I couldn't get the audio bar to work with my imported feed. Thus, I also couldn't test whether the episodes continue to play across page loads (as they do on Soundcloud and Spreaker). Split-testing Internet marketers will love anything with split-testing (also called “A/B testing”). The concept is to randomly serve different versions of something (graphic, page, color, text, multimedia, or anything else) and see which one performs better, based on a single criterion or many criteria. For example, a split-test on your site could reveal that a yellow button inspires more purchases than a red button, or that a certain version of your text brings more sign-ups than another version. Audello includes audio split-testing, which is unique in the podcasting industry. This allows you to serve multiple versions of your audio and then keep whichever performs better. The available criteria are web plays, completed web plays, episode downloads, opt-ins, and clicks on buy button. The criterion that makes the least sense to me is “episode downloads.” If Audello is randomly changing the RSS feed, the only way for downloads to possibly be affected would be if you change the episode title—people won't decide to download a file based on the MP3's actual contents. Changing the title also wouldn't immediately show in the iTunes store. I think this same issue could apply to web plays. But completed web plays, opt-ins, and clicks on buy button are good criteria for a split-test. For example, you could see whether including small talk at the beginning of your podcast, or the end, has any affect on how many people play the full episode. Audello's not-so-unique features When you're in full control of your own platform, such as with a self-hosted WordPress website, you can do almost whatever you want on your site. This may require extra time and knowledge. Audello's advantage is packaging several of these features into a single platform. Audello Voice Audello can give your visitors the option to record their own audio feedback at no additional charge. The setup may seem overwhelming, as it requires some advanced Amazon S3 setup. This is very similar to what you can get for free or paid from SpeakPipe and then implement wherever and however you want. Playlists Yes, Audello makes attractive playlists (that look very similar to Pat Flynn's “Smart Podcast Player”). But other podcasters have this same power with far great customizability in PowerPress 6.0 on WordPress 3.9 or higher. Initial scare on Audello's terms of service Although Audello wasn't directly named, I believe Rawvoice attorney Barry Kantz may have been referring to Audello in “Podcasters Beware of Signing Your Rights Away.” It appears that Audello's original terms of service seemed to lay claim to all content you publish through their system. However, Mr. Kantz's post, or perhaps other concerns, might have inspired Audello to appropriately clarify their terms of service to state, “This does NOT extend to your own podcast content or episodes. You retain ownership of your podcast and its episodes. We also do not host them. (Audello integrates with your existing hosting provider. You may wish to check their terms and conditions.)” (November 17, 2014.) With any podcasting app or service you use, you should check their terms. Under that, in general, companies aren't out to steal your content and abuse your innocence. The legalese of most terms of service is to protect everyone involved. For example, Stitcher is often the victim of attacks because their terms of service gives them permission to use your content almost however they want. But their intent is to help promote you and their service. Without such terms, they would not be permitted to feature your podcast on their website, in promos, in examples, or potentially even to distribute to existing and future platforms (like automobiles or TV set-top boxes). Can you leave Audello? The Audello interface doesn't currently offer a 301 redirect for easily leaving. But their support team has confirmed that they can place a 301 redirect on any Audello RSS feed, in case you want to leave their platform. Audello's standalone apps Audello provides Windows, OS X, and iOS apps to integrate with your Audello account. These apps are currently quite basic and function only for recording and uploading. The Desktop apps can also record Skype calls, which would be really important to most podcasters. But this is currently a problem with Skype 7.x on OS X that prevent Audello from recording the call. This affects all other Skype recorders, and everyone is working toward a solution. Who should and shouldn't be using Audello I can't recommend Audello for everyone. In fact, I will continue recommend against it for most podcasters, as I still fully believe the best thing for your podcast is to completely control your platform with your own WordPress site, PowerPress, and LibSyn or Blubrry media hosting. But I will consider recommending Audello for those who can't use WordPress, can't afford the time to setup similar functionality themselves, or can't afford the expense of having someone else (like me) set it up for them. Ultimately, I believe it's more important to see people sharing their messages and sounding or looking great, than the exact tools they use to get their. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="13 Ways to Use an Email List for Your Podcast – TAP198" subtitle="November 11, 2014" duration="3085" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap198.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685667/13-ways-to-use-an-email-list-for-your-podcast---tap198/">View Details</a> Email lists aren't just for marketing. They provide a direct and highly actionable connection with your audience. I now recommend that all podcasters have an email list, and here's how you can use it! Here are 13 ways you can use an email list with podcasting. Infrequent updates Perhaps the biggest reason to have an email list for your podcast is for the urgent or special things—stuff that rarely comes up but is really important. <ol> <li> Communicate urgent information If your website goes down or your podcast feed breaks, how will you communicate with your audience? Social-network posts have a very short life, and most likely won't be seen by much of your audience. </li> <li> Announce special things Is something big coming that you want everyone to know about? Use your email list to announce special things like a new podcast, an event, Podcast Awards, and more. Choose the kinds of things that don't happen often, but are important enough to get your alert your entire audience. </li> </ol> Automated information It's easy to make your emails an automated process. This takes a little time to setup (more time for more advanced automation), but can be a great way to stay connected without frequent work. <ol> <li>Automatically deliver new posts AWeber and MailChimp provide great tools to automate the delivery of blog posts and podcast episodes through your RSS feed. This can be as simple as a three-step process: enter your RSS feed, pick your template, and set your schedule.</li> </ol> While this is easy, it may not provide as much value to your subscribers. When I experimented with RSS emails, I started losing subscribers. Many of them were gracious enough to leave a parting comment, essentially saying, “I'm already subscribed to the podcast, so I don't need each episode emailed to me.” If you want this kind of automated delivery, either set that expectation on signup, or present that as an option and segment your list. <ol> <li>Preview upcoming content Send teasers or previews before the release. This can create anticipation and inspire early discussion.</li> </ol> If you have your content scheduled in advanced, you can also set these emails on a schedule. Your subscribers will receive the messages on the specific days, no matter when they subscribed. <ol> <li>“Drip” a miniseries (AKA autoresponders) An autoresponder is a message or sequence of messages that automatically send after some kind of action is performed. For example, a welcome message when someone joins a list, a download link or free information when someone opts into a subgroup, or a series of scheduled emails that deliver to someone regardless of when they join.</li> </ol> Autoresponders actually have nothing to do with automatic responses. (You may remember the early days of public email and the Internet; we could send a simple email to a bot address and receive a reply with information.) I use an autoresponder sequence for “How to get more podcast reviews” from My Podcast Reviews. Brian from ProfitCast uses an autoresponder sequence for “7 habits of highly profitable podcasters.” (Hear me on ProfitCast #20!) Erik Fisher uses a single autoresponder message for readers of his productivity books to give them the download links for the free audiobook versions. AWeber calls these “autoresponders,” and MailChimp calls them “automation workflows.” Extra content The largest value you can give to your subscribers is when they're getting exclusive content. I love doing this with my mailing list, and I look forward to sending each email. In fact, I often feel like emailing several times per week, just because I have so much on my mind! <ol> <li> Go behind the scenes Tell a story about what it took to release a recent episode, share bloopers or unedited pieces, or give more information behind your latest content. </li> <li> Share extra content Share tips and tricks or any kind of bonus information. With my email list, I've gone quite in-depth with podcast SEO techniques, but you can keep things short and simple. </li> </ol> You could even automate this by prescheduling a bunch of emails. For example, you might not have a hard time coming up with 50 short tips for your niche. That's nearly a year of email content! Your bonus content could be a repurposed blog post or podcast episode, it could be an exclusive video, it could be your early thoughts on an upcoming topic, or anything else the complements the content you're already creating. <ol> <li>Get personal Podcasting is already quite personal, and email could be even more. If you setup your list to take subscribers' first names, then you can address your emails directly to the subscribers. I like to start my emails with, “Hi, John!” instead of just saying, “Hi!”</li> </ol> You can use these “merge tags” in other places in your email, such as, “Thank you, John, for subscribing!” or, “I don't know about you, John, but I really ….” Your email list is also a bit more private than a podcast or blog. I was recently very transparent with my subscribers when I told them about a recent depressing day, but also pulled some encouragement from that. Even though I didn't ask for it, I received several kind and encouraging replies! I've also shared personal things like how I'm working through struggles (such as a negative review, a technical problem, or a frustration with some podcasting tool). Interactions Your email list can be a great way to get more interactive with your audience. Make sure you either point readers to a public place where they can easily comment, or ensure that your send-from address is one you actually check (avoid “noreply@PleaseNeverEmailMe.com”). <ol> <li>Ask for feedback Are you trying to get more ideas for content? Struggling to figure out something? Or want more perspectives? Ask your subscribers!</li> </ol> I've seen some incredible responses when I have asked my subscribers questions like, “What do you want me to ask John Lee Dumas?” “What do you do when you don't feel like podcasting?” and requests for tips to share or sound samples for experimenting. You could also make a delayed autoresponder (maybe a month or more after subscription) that simply asks, “What would you like me to cover in the podcast?” “What are you getting from the podcast?” or “Why do you listen?” <ol> <li>Answer questions When you receive feedback, this can be a great opportunity to answer the questions with your emails. Mignon Fogarty (better known as “Grammar Girl”) does this very well with her weekly newsletter; it always starts with a quick answer to someone's grammar question (I've been in it, before!).</li> </ol> Marketing Oh, yeah. You can also use your email list to make money! Who knew? Seriously, though, the marketers are right when they say, “the money is in the list.” When you have an email list that provides lots of value with any or all of the above techniques, your audience will know, like, and trust you enough to take action on things that could earn you money. <ol> <li>Launch products I used an email list to launch My Podcast Reviews, and I'm also using my email list to launch my upcoming “podcast SEO” course, plus new products I'm producing.</li> </ol> If you plan to launch a product, then I highly recommend that you read Jeff Walker's book Launch: An Internet Millionaire's Secret Formula To Sell Almost Anything Online, Build A Business You Love, And Live The Life Of Your Dreams. Yes, that's quite a marketing-focused title, but the book truly is worth reading! Read my review of Launch on my personal blog. <ol> <li>Create sales If you already have at least one product to sell, your email list is a perfect way to create sales for that product. Maybe you give a special offer, like a promo, bonus, or a coupon code. You could also announce a timed sale, like something for the Thanksgiving shopping weekend, or for any other reason.</li> </ol> If you have several products, you could simply highlight one that seems timely for some reason. For example, I used to work at a nonprofit organization that had several products that tied in with current events. When something was in the news, we highlighted the product—sometimes with a sale, and sometimes just reminding people of its relevancy. These emails would always generate a sales spike on that item. When you launch a product shouldn't be the only time you tell your email list about it. Remember that not everyone will have been subscribed when you sent the first email. Also, they may have even opened that original email! (AWeber and MailChimp provide some great tools you can use to target emails to specific segments—like only those who didn't open a particular email, or even those who clicked a link but didn't buy. These kinds of integrations are more advanced, but also very powerful.) <ol> <li>Promote affiliates or joint ventures Even if you don't have anything of your own to sell, you could use your list to promote specific affiliates or joint ventures. Before you do this, make sure you check the terms with the company you seek to promote.</li> </ol> For example, when quality podcasting products or services go on sale, I try to let my list know. I've done this with StudioPress themes, SpeakPipe, premium WordPress plugins, and more stuff. My interest in promoting these affiliates was always to alert my readers to great deals for products I genuinely recommend. Another example is our TV-show-fan podcast for Once Upon a Time, Resurrection, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, and Under the Dome. When each season becomes available on disc, we email the subscribers and include affiliate links. This is highly relevant, and it gives us the opportunity to earn some money. Depending on how large and—more importantly—how engaged your readers are, you could make a lot of money recommending someone else's product or server to your list. Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, please write your own review on Apple Podcasts, Podchaser or Stitcher! Use My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically checked daily and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. TweetShareShare5Pin1419 Shares </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="8 household items to help you podcast better – TAP197" subtitle="November 3, 2014" duration="2041" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap197.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685668/8-household-items-to-help-you-podcast-better---tap197/">View Details</a> Photo Credit: noii's via Compfight cc Before you spend money on expensive podcasting gear, you may already have things in your home or office that can improve the quality of your podcast. Add you own suggestions and stories in the comments! <ol> <li> Carpet and furniture Look at what's around and under you in your “studio.” Carpet and furniture can help your podcasting. </li> <li> Comfort—If you'll be sitting or standing and talking for long amounts of time, make sure you're comfortable. </li> <li>Organization—Furniture can help you organize your cables and equipment better.</li> <li>Noise-reduction—More soft things and furniture in your room will reduce the reverb.</li> <li> Props—For video, furniture can make great props, so consider showing some things instead of trying to hide them. </li> <li> Sheets and blankets Playing with sheets is no longer just for child-superheroes! </li> <li> Backdrops—Hang a sheet from the ceiling, pin it to the wall, flatten it or let the it look like a curtain. These can be clear and professional looking backdrops. </li> <li>Noise-reduction—Hung sheets and blankets can reduce room reverb. This is especially good when you're somewhere that you can't change the furniture or walls.</li> <li> Light-diffusing—Hang a white sheet (or shower curtain) in front of a window to soften the direct sunlight coming in. </li> <li> Lamps and other lights You may not need professional lighting to look professional! </li> <li> Window and sunlight—Use the natural, pure light of the sun for your videos. Experiment with different positions to see what looks the best in your videos. </li> <li>Lighting—With some consistent lightbulbs, you can use any available lamp to control your room lighting. I have previously balanced an open window's sunlight with daylight-colored CFLs in regular house lamps. For example, look at my Electro-Voice RE320 video.</li> <li> Special lighting effects—When you have different-temperature bulbs (such as fluorescent, daylight, and incandescent), you can get some cool lighting effects by white-balancing to one light source and then adding the second. Incandescent bulbs and “soft white” CFLs will usually be a warmer, yellow color. Daylight and daylight bulbs will be more blue. Regular fluorescent will be more green. Watch Ray Ortega's great video about mixing light temperatures. </li> <li> Background effects (like Christmas lights)—Use lamps, Christmas lights, or anything that glows for attractive background effects and look great when you have a shallow depth of focus (where you're in sharp focus and your background is blurred). </li> <li> Props—Lights, on or off, can look great as problems. Have a weird-looking lampshape? Something with high-tech-looking blue LEDs? See how it looks for your video. </li> <li> Pantyhose “When I started podcasting, I was so poor, …” “How poor were you?” “… I had to ask my coworkers if I could have used pantyhose for my podcasting.” </li> <li> Mic pop filter—The classic DIY podcasting gear! Everyone should make one, at least once. Make a self-standing loop out of a metal hanger and stretch the pantyhose over it. You'll get a cheap and decent pop filter that could last for years! </li> <li>Light-coloring (with caution)—With colored pantyhose, you may be able to stretch it in front of a light to color or diffuse the light. Be careful that you don't create a fire hazard.</li> <li> Camera effects—Stretch pantyhose over a camera lens for soft focus and starlight effects. </li> <li> Random “junk” One man's junk could be your own podcasting treasure! </li> <li> Props—It may not look good by itself, but will it look interesting in your video? </li> <li> Recycled furniture—Use old lumber or other broken furniture to make into something new for your podcast. </li> <li> Car or closet The best sounding recording studio may be your car or a closet with clothes. </li> <li> Noise reduction—Because these places have few flat surfaces and plenty of soft things, you may be able to record with no reverb at all. </li> <li> Smartphone Smart mobile devices can easily replace computers. Think about your Android or iOS phone, a tablet, or even an iPod Touch. </li> <li> Video camera—Video podcasting, remote recording (especially with optical image stabilization in iPhone 6 Plus), or Hangouts broadcasting. </li> <li>Audio recorder—Use the mic on your device, run your equipment into your mobile device, or get a specialized microphone.</li> <li>Sound cart—Play sound effects into your podcast from the convenience of your mobile device.</li> <li>Live-streaming—Offload the live-streaming processing to a mobile device. This works best for audio-only, but can sometimes work for video, too.</li> <li> Phone/VoIP interface—Bring guests or remote cohosts into your podcast through a dedicated mobile device and save money buying an extra PC. </li> <li> Printer Paper? Yes, that's right! </li> <li> Posters and infographics—Make your studio more artist and personalized with interesting color prints. You could also print out fan creations. </li> <li>Props—Cue cards, paper art, and others things can look great as props.</li> <li>Cheatsheets—Keyboard shortcuts, workflow, or my podcast preflight checklist.</li> </ol> What are your household ideas for podcasting? Do you use a random household item for podcasting? Have you found a way to save money and use something you already have? Share in the comments below! Announcements * Send your questions for me to ask John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire in my upcoming 200th episode! Thank you for the podcast reviews! Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="The 5 PowerPress podcast feeds and when to use them – TAP196" subtitle="October 28, 2014" duration="3007" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap196.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685669/the-5-powerpress-podcast-feeds-and-when-to-use-them---tap196/">View Details</a> The Blubrry PowerPress podcasting plugin gives five methods for creating your podcast RSS feed from WordPress. Here's what each one means and when you should use them. I'm joined by Angelo Mandato, the developer behind PowerPress, to discuss the feed options for your podcast. <ol> <li>PowerPress default feed This is the default feed available as soon as you install PowerPress,. It's usually <code>myawesomepodcast.com/feed/podcast/</code>. This is and always will be a podcast-only RSS feed. It will only contain posts with podcasts added through the “Podcast Episode” widget in the post editor. The default feed will pull every “podcast episode” from every category of your regular posts.</li> </ol> This PowerPress default feed is the best podcast feed to use from your WordPress site. It gives you full control over your feed, including changing the show title, saving space in your feed with feed episode maximizer, adjusting the number of items in your feed, SEO features in PowerPress 6, and everything else about your feed. Note: There's a bug in PowerPress 5.0.9 that the feed episode maximizer won't actually maximize your default feed, but it will maximize channel feeds. Blubrry is aware of this problem and working toward a solution. In the meantime, you can get the exact same features of the default feed plus a working feed episode maximizer by enabling podcast channels and using the default channel. When to use PowerPress's default feed Use the default feed (or the default channel feed) from PowerPress when you have only one podcast in only one format. I use the PowerPress default feed (<code>/feed/podcast/</code>) for Beyond the To-Do List, the Ramen Noodle, Welcome to Level Seven and most of the other Noodle.mx Network podcasts, from each show's respective domain. The default feed can also be a great all-inclusive feed if you host multiple podcasts on a single website by using category podcasting. <ol> <li>PowerPress category podcasting WordPress allows posts and custom post types to be segmented into categories. PowerPress's category podcasting feature will allow each category to create its own podcast feed. Changing an episode between feeds, or including the same episode in multiple feeds is a simple matter of placing it in the appropriate category or categories.</li> </ol> If you add a tracking redirect to a category feed, it will only be used on that RSS feed and when the individual category archive is viewed on your website. Thus, if you have multiple categories displaying on your front page as a single feed, they won't use their own tracking redirects. Additionally, if you have any custom player or other information (such as PowerPress 6+ features) associated with a particular category, these might be missing or only one used if an episode is placed in multiple podcast categories. When to use PowerPress's category podcasting feed Category podcasting is often inappropriately prescribed for individual shows. Even if you put your episodes in some kind of “Podcast” or similarly named category, you don't need category podcasting. Category podcasting is good and easy for running multiple shows from a single website. I use category podcasting with ONCE and WONDERLAND podcasts, which are hosted on the same domain. This made it easy to do a crossover episode for both shows and publish to both feeds by simply adding the blog post to both the “ONCE podcast” and “WONDERLAND podcast” categories on our site. I didn’t worry about separate tracking codes for each show as I used the same Blubrry tracking ID for both. You can also use category podcasting for creating archive feeds to work around the iTunes Store display limit. This only applies if you have more than 300 episodes and you want all of your episodes searchable in iTunes. Even though an RSS feed can be any size (as long as you don't use FeedBurner) and contain any number of episodes, the iTunes Store will only display and index the most recent 300 episodes. Imagine you have 400 timeless episodes in your feed. You won't be able to search for the first 100 episodes and you won't see them in your podcast listing in the iTunes Store. But when someone subscribes, they have access to your entire feed and can get all 400 episodes. This is why some podcasters, like John Lee Dumas of Entrepreneur on Fire, have multiple archive feeds in iTunes. They'll have feeds dedicated to keeping their archive visible and searchable in iTunes. Category podcasting can help with this by making it easy for you to create a new category for your first 100–300 episodes, then another category for the next batch, and so on. It's fast and easy to add past episodes to these categories, so managing your archive feeds is easy. <ol> <li>PowerPress podcast channels The default podcast feed is technically already a channel feed. But activating the podcast channels allows you to make even more channels and get all the same benefits. (Plus, the default channel feed lets you use Feed Episode Maximizer while a bug exists in PowerPress 5.0.9.)</li> </ol> When you activate podcast channels, you'll see your default <code>/feed/podcast/</code> already there. You can further tweak its settings as you wish. The other four podcast feeds from PowerPress add podcasting to posts with a standard “podcast episode” widget. But additional podcast channels change the way you add podcast episodes to posts. If you have multiple channels activated, then you'll see multiple “Podcast Episode” widgets in the post editor. Each widget adds the podcast to that specific channel. If you want the same episode in multiple channels, then you have to add it to each “Podcast Episode” widget. Unlike category podcasting, unique tracking redirects are fully maintained for each custom channel, no matter where that post appears in your WordPress site. Multiple podcast channels can share the same WordPress post (for show notes), or you can make a separate post for each format (depending on your needs). When to use PowerPress's podcast channels For up to PowerPress 5.0.9, if you have a lot of episodes in your feed and need to use Feed Episode Maximizer, you should activate the default podcast channel, but your URL won't change. Podcast channels are ideal for different media formats. For example, you publish both audio and video versions of the same content. Channels are also good if you publish video in different resolutions, like 720p, 1080p, and standard definition. Each media format would be its own channel, so a single post in WordPress could have audio, SD video, 720p video, and 1080p video media formats feeding four separate feeds. Podcast channels also work great for content formats. For example, you have a 5-minute quick-tip episode with just the highlights, and then an hour-long episode that covers the same information in more detail. You would have a quick-tip feed and a full-discussion feed. Each post gets both content formats attached and powers two RSS feeds from one post. Multiple content formats may also work well if you release the same episode in multiple languages but with the same show notes. (PowerPress 6.0 will make these kinds of uses more powerful with custom episode titles.) You may have an English channel, a Spanish channel, and a German channel to host the different audio files and power different language feeds from the same post. You can also use podcast channels as a slightly more complicated but also more powerful way of hosting multiple podcasts on a single website. Custom channels can use the feed episode maximizer feature, but category podcast feeds can't. Thus, you can have multiple shows and optimize their feeds by using podcast channels instead of category podcasting. <ol> <li>PowerPress taxonomy podcasting Taxonomy podcasting starts to get complicated, so take a step back. “Taxonomy” is how your content is organized. This could be categories with or without hierarchy, it can be tags, or it can be any other special taxonomy you create (usually with themes or a plugin like Types). For example, I could make a “Knowledge Level” taxonomy for The Audacity to Podcast episodes with options for “Beginner,” “Intermediate,” and “Advanced.” These would look like either tags or categories, but they're separate from the rest of WordPress's normal tags and categories.</li> </ol> Taxonomy podcasting and category podcasting are very similar. After all, a category is a kind of taxonomy. But taxonomy podcasting allows you to turn any taxonomy into its own podcast feed, even regular WordPress tags! When to use PowerPress’s taxonomy podcasting Like category podcasting, taxonomy podcasting is best for hosting multiple shows on the same site. You can turn regular WordPress tags into podcast feeds, or create your own taxonomy with a plugin like Types. For example, you may have a podcast network running from a single website. You could split up business and entertainment podcasts with different category hierarchies, but you could also make your own taxonomy for hierarchical categories for each of your shows. Taxonomy can apply to standard WordPress posts or custom post types. <ol> <li>PowerPress custom-post-type podcasting WordPress can become a more powerful content-management system (CMS) by using custom post types. You’re already familiar with the built-in post types: pages and regular posts. Ecommerce plugins, such as Woocommerce and Easy Digital Downloads, make a custom post type (CPT) called “products,” and each product is a post of that type.</li> </ol> Typically, custom post types would be made with a theme or a plugin. I use the Types plugin on Podcast Places to create CPTs for podcast apps/directories, blogs and podcasts about podcasting, and more unique resources coming to that site. Some themes, like Michael Hyatt’s Get Noticed theme, offer CPTs for special kinds of posts. In Get Noticed, they’re called “mini-posts.” Any custom post type can appear inside the stand posts feed, or it could be its own feed. It could appear merged with archive pages, or be its own separate archive page. PowerPress can turn these custom post types into podcast feeds in the same style as podcast channels (so you also get the feed episode maximizer feature). Custom post types pair well with custom taxonomies. Like creating miniseries, or custom-categorizing your episodes. You can also stick with the regular WordPress tags and categories for CPTs. When to use PowerPress’s custom-post-type podcasting The only way you’ll have custom post types on your site is if you’re using a theme or plugin to add them. Typically, you would use CPTs if you want different kinds of posts to use or display specific kinds of information. Here are some examples of when you would want to use CPT podcasting. If you have a specific “Podcast episode” custom post type to separate your podcast from your blog, then CPT podcasting would be great for you. If you run a church website, you may have a “sermons” CPT, which would be ideal for CPT podcasting. You could also use CPT podcasting to make a podcast feed from the products you add to your online store. Announcements * Send your questions for me to ask John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire in my upcoming 200th episode! Thank you for the podcast reviews! * The foot guy said, “… loads of information in an easy-to-understand format.” Read the full review. * Al Holtz said, “If you are a new podcaster or are thinking of starting a podcast, subscribe.” Read the full review. * Jeffrey K. Holbrook, from Daggars of the Mind, said, “This show is exactly what I needed to get the knowledge and guts to plan and execute my own show.” Read the full review. Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to brainstorm future podcast topics – TAP195" subtitle="October 21, 2014" duration="2435" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap195.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685670/how-to-brainstorm-future-podcast-topics---tap195/">View Details</a> Your podcast needs a plan if you hope to reach any success. I often suggest making a list of topics for podcasting, and here are 4 ways to plan your upcoming podcast topics—whether you're already podcasting or just launching your podcast. For the sake of having a specific example, let's imagine you are passionate about baking and decorating cakes. You know you want to podcast about cakes, but you do not know what your topics will be. <ol> <li> Brainstorm for your own ideas Spend some focused time to record every possible idea you can imagine. Here are some questions to get you started. </li> <li> What would you want to know about the subject? </li> <li>What things do you think no one else is saying?</li> <li>What can you cover better than or differently from someone else?</li> <li>What are the smaller pieces of the subject?</li> <li>Whom can you interview or invite to guest-cohost about the subject?</li> <li>What are your likes about the subject?</li> <li>What are your dislikes about the subject?</li> <li>What can make the subject better?</li> <li>What have your referenced in short but not covered in detail?</li> </ol> Tools for brainstorming The particular tool you use doesn't matter as much as how easy and accessible that tool is for you. Make sure the tool doesn't distract you from the task. Mind-mapping Tools: Mind42, MindMeister, pencil and paper Mind-mapping is great for brainstorming, because it doesn't require any linear thinking (which usually doesn't happen in brainstorming sessions anyway). Start with your core subject in the middle and start branching out with your ideas. When if one of those branches gives you another idea, make a new branch. You don't have to complete anything on this mind-map, and nothing has to make sense yet. It's better to record every idea than to spend this time sorting, filtering, and planning. Linear documents Tools: Google Drive documents, Workflowy, Evernote, pencil and paper You may prefer something more organized and easier to build than moving things around. Consider a linear format like a document. How you format this document doesn't matter much, but I generally recommend bullet points and subbullet points. Workflowy is especially great for those kinds of lists. Collection bins Tool: Evernote You may also be at the point of just collecting ideas. I think the best tool for collecting any kind of idea is Evernote. You can create a notebook or use a specific tag for dumping all of your ideas into the same places. It could be a photo, a URL, a video, some text, an audio recording, or almost anything else. <ol> <li>Find questions you can answer No matter the subject, someone is asking questions about it online. Find these questions to give you ideas of what other people want to know.</li> </ol> The titles for your content could be the actual questions others are asking. This is great for search-engine optimization (SEO). This can also help you actively promote and grow your podcast by creating targeted, relevant, and helpful or entertaining content that you may be able to share with the original person who asked the question. Here are the top places I recommend for finding questions to answer. <ul> <li>Your own inboxes</li> <li>Twitter search</li> <li>Reddit</li> <li>Quora</li> <li>YouTube comments</li> <li>Google+ Communities</li> <li>Facebook Pages and Groups</li> <li>Forums</li> <li> Other social networks </li> <li> Ask for questions If you know anyone else who shares your interest, ask them questions to uncover topics for you. </li> <li> “What do you want to know about ___?” </li> <li>“What do you love about ___?”</li> <li>“What do you hate about ___?”</li> </ul> Even if you don't have any audience yet, you can ask these questions in appropriate niche communities. If you don't know of any communities, then simply mention the subject to a friend and ask them, “If you were interested in ___, what do you think you'd want to know about it?” <ol> <li> Look for inspiration in other places Read or watch other information and specifically look for ideas that can relate with your subject. We tend to find what we're looking for when we keep that thing in our focus. </li> <li> News items </li> <li>Books</li> <li>Movies and TV shows</li> <li>Presentations</li> <li>Messages from influencers and achievers</li> </ol> Announcements – Send your questions for me to ask John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire in my upcoming 200th episode! Thank you for the podcast reviews! – J V Crum III, from Conscious Millionaire, on my video show, Podcasting Video Tips. – JB Blue Dog – garneto from Spain – FunniesMan from The Comics Alternative Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="10 production mistakes podcasters make – TAP194" subtitle="October 13, 2014" duration="2795" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap194.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685671/10-production-mistakes-podcasters-make---tap194/">View Details</a> We all make podcasting mistakes. Here are 10 things many podcasters do wrong with their podcast production. <ol> <li> Having bad volumes Whether audio or video, every podcast has multiple pieces of audio where volume should be either consistent or contrasting. </li> <li> Volume between hosts should be consistent. A compressor is a great way to smooth this out. </li> <li>Volume between voice and background should contrast well enough that the background never makes the foreground hard to hear. If you want people to hear the background better, stop talking and turn up its volume. Foreground and background shouldn't be competing.</li> <li>Volume between segments, like your intro music, segues, and studio versus interview audio should be consistent. Don't blast your audience's ears with your music and then force them to turn up the volume for your voice.</li> <li>Overall volume of the episode should be consistent so that the beginning isn't quieter than the end, or that people don't have to adjust the volume while they listen or watch.</li> <li> Volume across episodes should reach a standard of -16 LUFS and maximum true beak of -1 dB. As more podcasters adopt this proposed standard, listeners/viewers won't have to reach for the volume controls when switching from one podcast to another. </li> <li> Publishing poor audio quality The audio quality is the most important production quality for audio and video podcasts. You could get poor audio quality from several things. </li> <li> Bad equipment—a cheap microphone, faulty preamp, etc. </li> <li>Bad environment—it's too noisy because of something nearby, or you can't control the background sound.</li> <li>Ignorance of the tools—misuse of a compressor/limiter/gate can ruin your audio, so can software and other hardware tools.</li> <li> Other problems—keep audio cables away from power cables, try to convert the audio signal to digital before it reaches your computer, etc. </li> <li> Writing few or no show notes Try to have at least 300 words in your show notes. I like to write my show notes like a blog post. This helps me be findable by search engines and be more accessible to people who need help but don't have time to listen to a full episode. Some content, like comedy, can get away with simpler notes. But most podcasters could use more thorough show notes. </li> <li> Editing and processing too much or too little Editing is deleting, moving, and mixer audio. This could be adding intros, outros, or segues; blending voices; or removing sections to improve the presentation. You can over-edit by making awkward cuts or removing too much silence. You can also under-edit by not removing the distraction. </li> </ol> Processing is enhancing or de-emphasizing frequencies, amplifications, and other dynamics of audio. This could be compression, noise removal, equalization, volume normalization, and other effects. You can over-process and literally cause headaches (like bass boosting or some multiband compression), and you can under-process and make the audio difficult to hear in different environments. <ol> <li>Talking over each other You may be able to understand a conversation in person when multiple people are talking, but this doesn't work for the end consumer who hears everything in the same audio position and at about the same volume level. Talking over each other can create an editing nightmare if you need to save any of the content.</li> </ol> As much as possible, see the face of the person you're talking to, so you can pick up on subtle cues that they have something to say or that they're finished talking. <ol> <li>Recording onto the same track Recording everything into the same track isn't always a bad thing, but it can greatly reduce your flexibility. For example, if your remote guest or cohost is coughing while you're talking, you can't clean that up in a mixed track. But if you're on separate tracks, you can remove the other person's noise while you're talking, or vice versa.</li> </ol> This is also great for your soundtrack—sound clips, intro and outro music, and such. This gives you the freedom to end your podcast in your own way without rushing to finish before the music, or stalling as the music plays. With either need, simply splitting your recording between left and right channels can be an easy way to get multi-track recording. Just remember to make the tracks mono before you publish! <ol> <li>“Buzzard-circling” You have probably seen vultures and other scavengers circling a dead animal. They'll fly around and around and around before they'll land. Don't talk like that in your podcast!</li> </ol> Watch out for unnecessary “introductions” where you're wasting time filling the air with words while you figure out what you want to say. For example, one might respond to a question with, “I think that's a great question and I appreciate your asking it. It's a really important question to consider because there could be many answers. I've researched this a lot and have come to the conclusion that the answer is yes.” All that time, you could have paused and just said, “Yes,” and then expounded as necessary. <ol> <li>Including unwanted noises Your voice is the most important thing of your podcast, so don't let background or other unwanted noises distract from it! These things can make listening difficult, or make you sound entirely amateur.</li> </ol> Here are some examples of unwanted and background noises. <ul> <li>Headphone feedback—Your headphones are too loud or leak too much audio. This will be especially noticeable if you have to shift the alignment of tracks. Learn how to pick a good pair of podcasting headphones.</li> <li>Mouth noises—Lip-smacks, breaths, and other weird noises can gross out some people and be a major distraction.</li> <li>Background noise—Move away from any noise that could make it into your recording.</li> <li> Device sounds—Mute your computer, set your phones to “do not disturb” or turn them off, and try to eliminate the chance of any unwanted and distracting audio. </li> <li> Not allowing for editing Stuff does go wrong sometimes. You can make your editing a lot easier if you let yourself correct the mistake and move on. If you stumble over an important word, just pause and try the sentence again. That will be much easier for editing than trying to splice just that correct piece in with everything else. </li> </ul> You can try any of the following to help you mark the places you know will need editing. <ul> <li>Place a marker with your recording device or application.</li> <li>Record 5 or 10 seconds of silence.</li> <li>Make three loud claps and look for that in your audio track.</li> <li> Write down the time of the mistake and edit from your list going from end to beginning. </li> <li> Using poor mic technique You or your guest may not know what all the microphone records. Poor mic technique is a quick giveaway to someone who may not know what they're doing. Ensure that you educate unfamiliar guests on some basics to avoid. </li> <li> Bumping the mic—General rule: never touch the mic or anything connected to it while recording (unless you have appropriate shock treatment). </li> <li>Plosives—Talk at an angle from the microphone instead of directly into it to avoid the amateur pops from letters like T's, P's, and S's.</li> <li>Too far from the microphone—You'll have to jack up the gain and pick up more room noise, reverb, and reduce the clarity of the voice.</li> <li>Too close to the microphone—You'll increase the mouth noises, plosives, and potentially cause destructive clipping in your audio.</li> </ul> What podcast production mistakes have you made or seen others make? How would you fix them? Please comment below! Announcements * Angelo Mandato, developer of the BluBrry PowerPress plugin, will join me to discuss the different podcast feeds from PowerPress. We'll explain the default feed, channel feed, category feed, taxonomy feed, and custom post type feed. * Send your questions for my special 200th episode in which I'll interview John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire. Thank you for the iTunes reviews! – Masked_Matinee – Rushtodanger said, “I'm the only daily weather podcaster I've ever heard of, Daniel has given me the courage to go on and follow my passion albeit a lonely path.” – AmanLawyer said, “Daniel’s episode on how long it takes to produce a podcast is one of the best I’ve ever listed to about podcasting. Very helpful! Thank you!” Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="9 podcasting news highlights from September, 2014 – TAP193" subtitle="October 6, 2014" duration="2379" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap193.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685672/9-podcasting-news-highlights-from-september--2014---tap193/">View Details</a> Photo by Daniel J. Lewis September was a big month for podcasting (and also seen as the 10-year anniversary). Here are the nine podcasting news items you should not have missed! WordPress updated to 4.0 Most podcasters prefer to use WordPress to manage their website platform, and for many great reasons. On September 4, WordPress 4.0 was released. Don't expect a “major” update because of the jump from 3.x to 4.x. Instead, this is another incremental “0.1” update from 3.9 to 4.0. Among many bug-fixes and security updates, here are the most notable four updates in WordPress 4.0. <ol> <li>Scrolling page/post editor—The post content toolbar (for formatting, links, and more) now scrolls with you as you scroll down your content. This makes editing longer pages and posts much easier than before! No more double-scrolling nightmares!</li> <li>Multimedia embed preview—WordPress could already automatically embed certain media (like a YouTube video) simply by pasting the video URL into its own plain-text paragraph. WordPress 4.0 will now preview the embed in your editor, so you can see how the embed fits in with your content.</li> <li>Better plugin installation workflow—Picking the right plugins is much easier with WordPress 4.0. You can now see more information when you search and view the details of a plugin. No more visiting WordPress.org to get the details!</li> <li>Easier media library management—WordPress 4.0 replaced the list view of media with a more attractive grid view and better media details editing.</li> </ol> Podcast Awards purchased by New Media Expo (NMX) Todd Cochrane has single-handedly managed the International Podcast Awards for nine years—and he has done a great job! Now, he's passing it on to New Media Expo (NMX). This is a great move for the Podcast Awards, as it means they will get a lot more attention from traditional media personalities already attending National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). iOS 8 and iPhone 6 launched with Podcasts app preinstalled Apple's larger iPhones—the 6 and 6 Plus—launched and iOS 8 became available for all iOS devices released within the last few years. The biggest change this brings to podcasting is that Apple now includes the Podcasts app for iOS as a default, preinstalled, and unremovable app. It will show up on all new iOS 8 devices, as well as be added to any device updated to iOS 8. This will make podcasts more prominent and accessible to 500+ million iOS users. If nothing else, this will help users become more familiar and at least curious with podcasts. Edison Research showed “podcasting is bigger than you think” Consumer listening habits have shown that, from a sample group, podcast consumption may represent only about 1.7% of all audio consumption. But Edison Research studied this a lot more and discovered that it's actually 5% of people who regularly consume podcasts. And of that 5%, podcast consumption is about to overtake AM/FM radio. Edison Research also found that podcast-consumers often listen to even more information content on a daily basis than non-podcast-consumers. Watch this 5-minute webinar that explains this in more detail. Apple raised the podcast cover art specifications for iTunes Coinciding with the launch of iOS 8 and iPhone 6, Apple has raised the cover art specifications for podcasts in iTunes. In short (listen to more about podcast cover art), cover art must now be a minimum of 1,400 × 1,400 and a maximum of 2,048 × 2,048. JPEG and PNG are still accepted, but either can only be in the RGB color space (which makes sense, because I've seen problems with CMYK and other color spaces). My Podcast Reviews affiliate program launched You can now make recurring income from the just-launched My Podcast Reviews affiliate program. This allows you to generate your own affiliate URL (or use the provided banners) and refer people to a free or premium subscription plan. You can earn up to 20% of your referrals' regular subscription fees. I can't mention My Podcast Reviews without also teasing that Stitcher integration is launching this week! National/International Podcast Day September 30 is now the annual International Podcast Day! The first day was a huge success with many podcasters and listeners doing awesome things to celebrate podcasting. This first event was called “National Podcast Day,” but the organizers (I'm one of them) decided that it will now be known as International Podcast Day. Future events will include the global audience much more. Audacity 2.0.6 Nicely timed for International Podcast Day, Audacity released version 2.0.6. This contains several small tweaks and bug fixes. If you like customizing your own keyboard shortcuts, 2.0.6 will be a godsend for you, as that interface is now easier and searchable. Dave Jackson named NMX's director of podcasting Big congratulations to Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting for being hired as the new director of podcasting for New Media Expo! I think Dave is the perfect guy for this role. He knows the podcasting space really well (he's among the original podcasters), has great authority in the space, and he'll do a great job of ensuring a balanced and thorough mix of content for podcasters at NMX. Announcements * Send your questions for me to ask John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire in my upcoming 200th episode! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="What Can You Accomplish with a Podcast? – TAP192" subtitle="September 29, 2014" duration="1298" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap192.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685673/what-can-you-accomplish-with-a-podcast----tap192/">View Details</a> Podcasting is an amazing tool by which anyone can use their voice to change the world! In celebration of National Podcast Day, I'll share four amazing things you can accomplish with a podcast. <ol> <li>Find your success (for a business or hobby) In 1878, Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (AKA “The Duchess”) published her book Molly Bawn and said, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Today, I like to say, “Success is in the mind of the pursuer.” In other words, you define your own success.</li> </ol> Success could mean becoming famous, or earning your living from your own business, or finding others like you, or getting a certain-sized audience, or simply having fun. Your success is yours to invent, and don't try to pursue someone else's success! I define my personal success as running a business I enjoy that supports my life I love. I want to be known in my industry, keynote events, and generate enough consistent income that I can pay off my mortgage and be more generous to others. I'm already accomplishing these and other things, so I see myself as succeeding, even though I'm not making the massive money as others in my fields. How do you define your success? <ol> <li>Build relationships Podcasting is a very personal medium. Whether you publish in audio or video, you are primarily communicating with your voice. Your audience listens to your voice while they're working, driving, relaxing, mowing, playing, and more—sometimes even where other voices aren't allowed (“commode content-consumers”?).</li> </ol> This makes your connection with your audience not only personal, but even intimate at a low level. Treated well, you can nurture these connections into actual relationships—business partnerships, friendships, support, and even marriage (in rare circumstances). These relationships aren't just between you and your audience, but they can also be among your audience members. This turns your audience into a community of its own growing relationships. I've seen these relationships accomplish incredible things—and I'm not just talking about business or making money. I have seen creative collaborations on art, friendships, accountability, and much more. What kind of relationships do you want to build? <ol> <li>Change lives Relationships give you incredible opportunities to influence. But even without knowing every audience member, you can still be a respected influencer to change lives.</li> </ol> Think of the podcasts you have watched or listened to that changed your life in some way. Did you find a better way to manage your time? Did you work yourself out of a metaphorical pit? Were you inspired to hold onto hope? Have you been motivated and empowered to accomplish a goal? I can easily answer “YES!” to each of these questions. Listening to podcasts changed my life in so many ways that I have no idea what my life would be if I never found my first couple podcasts. Do you want to change the world for good? Then start by having a positive impact, one person at a time. I highly recommend that you listen to Cliff Ravenscraft's keynote from Podcast Movement 2014. How have podcasts changed your life? How can you use your podcast to change others? <ol> <li>Have fun! Let's not forget that podcasting can be loads of fun! As podcasters, we get to talk about the stuff we love (our passions), discover others who share our same interests, and do some really cool things.</li> </ol> Listen to my past episode about how to have fun with your podcast for new ideas. If you don't enjoy what you podcast about, then _stop_! Find a new passion and your audience will probably follow you. How do you have fun with your podcast? Do you really enjoy what you talk about? Announcements * National Podcast Day is September 30. Visit the website to see how you can participate, what you may have missed this year, and what you can do to make it even better next time! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to make great podcast cover art – TAP191" subtitle="September 23, 2014" duration="4066" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap191.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685674/how-to-make-great-podcast-cover-art---tap191/">View Details</a> Podcast cover art is often a potential subscriber's first impression of your podcast. Here are the technical specs and ten elements of great podcast artwork. UPDATED 9-24-2014: The following has been revised in accordance with Apple's latest specifications. Please note that the minimum is now 1,400 × 1,400 (no longer just a recommendation). But contrary to popular belief, PNG is still a recommended option, as long as it (or JPEG) are in the RGB color space. Click here to download the Podcast Cover Art Toolbox The current podcast cover art specs from iTunes Check back with this post as I'll keep these specs updated on the latest standards from iTunes. Core requirements * Minimum ~~600 × 600~~ 1,400 × 1,400 pixels (maximum 3,000 × 3,000) * RGB color space (not grayscale, CMYK, 8-bit indexed, or transparent) * Hosted on a server that supports HTTP HEAD requests * JPEG or PNG file format (JPEG is more highly recommended) Here are some things to avoid in your cover art. <blockquote> <ul> <li>Explicit or self-censored explicit language in podcast titles, subtitles, or descriptions</li> <li>References to illegal drugs, profanity, or violence in the title, description, or cover art</li> <li>Images or language that could be construed as racist, misogynist, or homophobic</li> <li>Images depicting sex, violence, gore, illegal drugs, or hate themes</li> <li>Third-party trademarks without authorization or usage rights</li> <li>The words “iTunes Store,” “iTunes,” or “Apple Inc.”</li> <li>iTunes Store logo, Apple logo, or the term “Exclusive” without prior authorization from Apple</li> </ul> </blockquote> Requirements to be featured Apple has extra requirements for anything they'll consider featuring. <blockquote> <ul> <li>Attractive, original cover art that does not include Apple-branded content. Include a 1400 × 1400-pixel JPEG or PNG file in the RGB color space for your cover art to be eligible for promotion.</li> <li>A robust and accurate description for the podcast and all related episodes</li> <li>A clear and complete author listing</li> <li>Proper tags regarding language, category, and explicit language or content</li> <li>New episodes being posted regularly</li> </ul> The cover art, and all other podcast elements must be original and cannot contain any of the following: <ul> <li>Pixelation, artifacts, high-contrast background art, blurry or hard crops (unless stylistic), or other style issues</li> <li>References to illegal drugs, profanity, or violence in the title, description, or cover art</li> <li>Images or language that could be construed as racist, misogynist, or homophobic</li> <li>Images depicting sex, violence, gore, illegal drugs, or hate themes</li> <li>Third-party trademarks without authorization or usage rights</li> <li>The words “iTunes Store,” “iTunes,” or “Apple Inc.”</li> <li>iTunes Store logo, Apple logo, or the term “Exclusive” without prior authorization from Apple</li> <li>Any visual representation of iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or any other Apple hardware</li> </ul> Note that even with the above elements, promotion is not guaranteed. </blockquote> <itunes:image> technical requirements <blockquote> The <code><itunes:image></code> tag points to the artwork for your podcast, via the URL specified in the <code>href</code> attribute. ~~Cover art must be a JPEG or PNG file in the RGB color space at a minimum size of 600 × 600 pixels. For best results, and to be considered for promotion in the iTunes Store or the Podcasts app for iOS, cover art must be at least 1400 × 1400 pixels. Note that these requirements are different from the standard RSS image tag specification.~~ UPDATE: Cover art must be in the JPEG or PNG file formats and in the RGB color space with a minimum size of 1400 x 1400 pixels and a maximum size of 3000 x 3000 pixels. Note that these requirements are different from the standard RSS image tag specification. Potential subscribers will see your cover art in varying sizes depending on the device they’re using. Make sure your design is effective at both its original size and at thumbnail size. If the <code><itunes:image></code> tag is not present, iTunes will use the content of the RSS image tag, but your podcast will not be considered for a potential feature placement in the Podcasts app and the iTunes Store. We recommend including a title, brand, or source name as part of your cover art. For examples of cover art, see the Top Podcasts section in the Podcasts app or the iTunes Store. If you update the cover art for your podcast, be sure to avoid technical issues by doing the following: <ul> <li>change the cover art file name and URL at the same time</li> <li>verify the web server hosting your cover art allows HTTP head requests</li> </ul> The <code><itunes:image></code> tag is also supported at the <code><item></code> (episode) level. For best results, we also recommend embedding the same cover art within the metadata for that episode’s media file prior to uploading to your host server. You may need to edit your media file via Garageband or other content-creation tool to do so. </blockquote> 10 elements of great podcast cover art You don't have to be a designer to create decent podcast cover art. Hiring a designer will bring more skills, experience, and resources to your project. But if you want to design your podcast cover art yourself, here are the ten most important elements to include. Download the podcast artwork toolbox to help. <ol> <li>Unified branding If you already have any kind of branding in place (imagery, colors, fonts, etc.), reuse these in your podcast artwork. This will unify the different outlets of your brand.</li> </ol> This doesn't mean you must use your company's logo for the cover art. You could include the logo as a branding banner (like I do with Noodle.mx Network), or just use repeatable elements, such as color or fonts. <ol> <li>Highest-resolution or vector foundation Resolutions and standards can change often. The standard used to be 300 × 300 pixels, then it was 600 × 600, then 1,200 × 1,200 (for a very short time), and then 1,400 × 1,400 for a couple years. 1,400 × 1,400 was probably based on a CD case insert, which was 4.75 × 4.715 inches, or 1,425 × 1,414 at 300 pixels per inch (PPI).</li> </ol> Now, higher-resolution devices are coming out and for podcast album art to look great, the image should be larger. In Fall, 2014, Apple set a maximum recommendation at 3,000 × 3,000. Keeping up with these sizes can be difficult or costly. There are two ways to future-proof yourself. <ol> <li>For photo/image-based artwork, acquire the largest version possible and design within its dimensions.</li> <li> For color- or illustration-based artwork, design in a vector editor (like Adobe Illustrator) to make artwork that can scale to any size without losing quality. </li> <li> Recognizable concept at small sizes Many of us have 17″-or-larger screens on our computers and we may create the podcast cover art in full screen. This can lead to design problems as we're looking at the image when it's huge, but most people—especially your potential subscribers—will see it much smaller. </li> </ol> When you design, zoom out so the podcast artwork is about the size of a postage stamp. How well can you read it at this size? Can you still recognize the design elements? Can you still get a general idea of what the podcast is about? Remember this small size guideline, as it should affect everything else you do. <ol> <li>Big, legible text You need to stand out with your cover art, so make the text as big as possible. This could mean having one word per line.</li> </ol> Just like you can never have too many lights on a Christmas tree, you can never have text that is too big in your podcast cover art, as long as it fits without being cropped. Again, view the cover art at about the size of a postage stamp. If you can't read the title then, you have some more tweaking to do. Part of making the text legible is using the right fonts, colors, and especially character spacing. Serif fonts (with “feet”), like Times New Roman, Garamond, or Bodoni, often have thin lines and small details that get lost or blurred at small sizes. Script fonts can be too ornate to be legible, unless they're really big (and never put a script font in all-caps!). Sans serif fonts (“without feet”), like Arial, Myriad Pro, or Futura, work really well with thick or uniform-thickness lines, clear characters, and strong contrasts from the background. With any font, spacing the letters out a little more (called “character spacing”) can make it more legible at smaller sizes. <ol> <li>Few words Your cover art is not the place for you to explain what the podcast is about, or maybe not even to list who hosts it. Keep this as simple as possible and only include what can be legible at a small size, like 125 × 125 pixels—or remember that postage-stamp size.</li> </ol> The easiest word to remove from your cover art can be the word “podcast,” as it's really unnecessary in your title. My Once Upon a Time podcast is simply titled “ONCE” in its cover art. This Week in Tech doesn't need the “podcast” word, too. The times this may be more difficult is when you have a “the” based name. For example, “The Ray Edwards Show” wouldn't work as “The Ray Edwards” or even just “Ray Edwards.” Think of “podcast” as the label for your distribution method (which it actually is, technically) and not part of your title unless necessary. <ol> <li>Bold contrast Make sure design elements contrast each other. If you put text over an image, ensure the image is blurred or low-contrast enough that you can easily read the text. Avoid clashing colors or subtle differences (like not-very-light gray text on a not-very-dark background).</li> </ol> If you truly have enough space to include more text, like a tagline, some keywords, or the host name(s), then contrast them from your title by either color, size, or separating them physically. <ol> <li>Relevant imagery Your podcast cover art needs to communicate your content visually. This involves a more psychological process, but here's an easy trick to it.</li> </ol> Think of everything your podcast is about and summarize it into one to three, specific terms. For example, “dog training,” “children,” and “outdoors.” Now, find imagery, such as on Dollar Photo Club, that communicate these keywords. You could be extremely lucky and find (or custom-make) an image that shows a child training a dog outdoors. The more complicated your concepts are, the harder it will be to find an image that communicates simply. So you may need to pick just one or two of your keywords to portray in the cover art. For ideas, search a stock-photography website, like Dollar Photo Club, or even try Google Images for brainstorming. But do not use an image without a license! Show other people the image you're thinking of using, tell them it's for a podcast, and ask them what they think the podcast is about based just on the image. You know you have a winner if they're anywhere close to your keywords. If they don't quite get it, say the name of your podcast (any nothing else) to see if they make the connection then. For example, a photo of a sitting dog on a leash may convey “dog training,” “owning pets,” or “dog showing.” A photo of just a dog leash may communicate “pet training,” “exercise,” or “losing weight” (it's possible a leash could look like a belt). Try to use only one or two pieces of imagery in your podcast artwork—and a logo counts as one. <ol> <li>A template for episode images Episode specific images can be a great way to brand your podcast and enhance the uniqueness of each episode. But you don't have to make individual images for each episode.</li> </ol> An easy way to do this is to make your cover art in a way that it could function as a template. This could mean you place a photo each time, or maybe you remove something and place the episode title, or you move and scale items a enough that you have a wide open space for something new. <ol> <li>No clichés Warning: pet peeves and big opinions ahead.</li> </ol> Don't use any clichés in your podcast cover art. For podcasting, this is usually a pair of headphones, a microphone, or the RSS icon. Don't do it! I would only recommend these elements if they actually fit the theme of your podcast, not just fit the distribution method of your podcast. For example, you usually don't see pictures of books on book covers unless the book is actually about books in some way (writing books, a novel about a book, publishing, etc.). Similarly, you almost never see cameras, lights, and microphones on movie posters unless the movie is actually about movie-making, someone who made movies or was often behind the camera, or other meta concepts. (Also think about this with your title. This is “The Audacity to Podcast,” but if you want to call it a podcast, you would actually have to say, “the The Audacity to Podcast podcast.” So think outside the box and title your show in a way that doesn't include your medium—even try to do it without “show”!) There are other clichés to avoid within each industry. For example, a handshake photo is far overused is business marketing. So try your best to avoid that cliché (unless your podcast is actually about handshaking!). I've designed podcast artwork for other clients who listed specific cliché images to avoid—like a dove for the Holy Spirit or blood and needles for diabetes. But don't be afraid to use something someone may call cliché if it communicates your theme perfectly. <ol> <li>Consideration for circle-crops No, I'm not talking about alien “crop circles.” Some social networks (like Google+) and podcast apps are starting to crop avatars and artwork to circles. First, I think this is generally a horrible decision by those developers, unless you can upload a specific image for that app/network (as you can on Google+). But when a podcast app crops your image to a circle, you most likely can't control it because the podcast album art is being loaded from your RSS feed.</li> </ol> You don't have to design your cover art to fit into a circle, but at least consider it. You could account for this by having your largest word, icon, or focal point of an image in the exact center of the artwork. But fitting your entire cover art into a circle is difficult and often looks awkward on other networks. Get the toolbox to create your own podcast artwork 4 places to put your podcast cover art Now you have your podcast artwork, so where do you put it? Show-level RSS2 <image> tag This is the oldest part of the podcasting specification. This would be a full <code><image></code> tag in your RSS feed to contain a URL to your artwork, as well as the title and website URL. This goes within the <code><channel></code> tag, but before any <code><item></code> tags. According to the RSS2 specifications, this image can be, at most, 144 × 400. Yes, it can be a tall rectangle, but most people will simply use a 144 × 144 version of their cover art. Here's how the RSS would actually look. <code><image> <title>PODCAST TITLE</title> <url>URL TO IMAGE</url> <link>WEBSITE URL</link> </image></code> Show-level <itunes:image> tag Since iTunes has supported podcasting, they have offered an additional RSS tag for podcast cover art. This is where you absolutely must have your larger version of your podcast artwork. Like the <code><image></code> tag, the <code><itunes:image></code> tag goes within <code><channel></code>, but this show-level image goes before any <code><item></code> tags. The RSS looks like the following. <code><itunes:image href="URL TO PODCAST COVER ART" /></code> This should be a minimum of 1,400 × 1,400 pixels up to a maximum of 3,000 × 3,000 pixels and I recommend no larger than 512 KB. Episode-level <itunes:image> tag The Podcasts app for iOS (now preinstalled and unremovable on all iOS 8 and later devices!) and other apps can display a different image for each episode. This image is pulled from your RSS feed (desktop iTunes currently pulls from the ID3 tags). You use the same <code><itunes:image></code> tag, but this time within the <code><item></code> tag, for each episode. <code><itunes:image href="URL TO PODCAST COVER ART" /></code> Blubrry PowerPress, LibSyn, and many other podcast-feed generators support this per-episode image, but you may have to enable that feature. Like the show-level iTunes image, this should be a minimum of 1,400 × 1,400 pixels up to a maximum of 3,000 × 3,000 pixels and I recommend no larger than 512 KB. Episode-level ID3 tag As a show-level or episode-level fallback, you can embed an image within the ID3 tags for MP3 and M4A audio files. This image is best to be 600 × 600 pixels and no larger than 200 KB (some Android and TV set-top devices will have problems with ID3 tags that contain too much data). Download the Podcast Cover Art Toolbox to take action Announcements * Send me your questions to ask John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire in my 200th episode! Thank you for the iTunes reviews! * Jeff Webb from diy2thrive said, “If you are going to start a podcast or have already started one- listen to every episode of this podcast before taking one more step!” Read the full review here. * 5775421678543 from Canada * Adiman423 from the UK * Singitloud * IamIearningmore * JV Crum III said, “Daniel provides you the “know how” and insights on how you can create a great podcast!” * Jerry Williamson Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. Tweet23Share60SharePin992 Shares </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to deal with negative feedback toward your podcast – TAP190" subtitle="September 15, 2014" duration="2989" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap190.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685675/how-to-deal-with-negative-feedback-toward-your-podcast---tap190/">View Details</a> The more popular you get, the more likely you'll receive some negative feedback: a scathing 1-star iTunes review, a nasty email, or mean comments. Here are ten ways to deal with this negative feedback toward your blog or podcast. I'm presenting this with a lot of “we” pronouns instead of “you,” because much of this is my own experience and a reminder to myself. <ol> <li>Don't get depressed from negative feedback Our first reaction to negative feedback will probably be to get depressed. We may feel like failures, like we should stop podcasting, or like doing something destructive. But don't do give in to the depression!</li> </ol> Yes, words can hurt—they can hurt a lot more than sticks, stones, and broken bones. But we must get past this first reaction and recognize some realities. <ul> <li>The world isn't out to get us.</li> <li>This is one negative comment among probably many positives.</li> <li> The more popular we get, the more negatively we'll attract. So when we receive some, it means we're growing! </li> <li> Don't feed the trolls There can be many reasons for someone to write something unkind. They could be having a bad day, they could have a wrong perspective, or they could just be a plain troll and trouble-maker. We call this last kind of person a troll. </li> </ul> Trolls feed on causing problems. They find a sick pleasure in breaking the rules and annoying others. They act childish, disrespectful, and contentious. We can't change their mind. So don't waste your time and energy on these trolls. <ol> <li> PAUSE Before moving on, take some time to PAUSE. Firstly, this means not taking immediate action—don't reply, get passive aggressive, or begging for patronization. Secondly, I learned PAUSE as an acrostic in Christian relationship counseling (from Peacemaker Ministries): </li> <li> Prepare (pray, get the facts, seek godly counsel, develop options) </li> <li>Affirm relationships (show genuine concern and respect for others)</li> <li>Understand interests (identify others' concerns, desires, needs, limitations, or fears)</li> <li>Search for creative solutions (prayerful brainstorming)</li> <li>Evaluate options objectively and reasonably (evaluate, don't argue)</li> </ol> PAUSE before you move on and do anything else after receiving negative feedback. <ol> <li>Look for what you can learn and improve from criticism There seems to always be some piece of helpful truth, even in the most hateful feedback. When we can dig this out, we can find great suggestions for improving what we do to better connect with our audience.</li> </ol> This may require filtering through a lot of “bad fluff”—the nastiness, the hate, the accusations, etc. If nothing else, the lesson may be that you're being hated for being genuinely you and not someone else. (That doesn't mean you shouldn't try to grow.) <ol> <li>Keep and revisit a “praise” folder of positive feedback Whenever I receive a kind email, I tag it “praise” and upload it to Evernote. You can use whatever tool you want (even simply an email folder, or printing it on paper). If you're a premium member of My Podcast Reviews, you can quickly filter all of your reviews to your top 4- and 5-star reviews. The important thing is for us to have reminders of what we're doing right.</li> </ol> The best kind of feedback contains ten parts praise to every one part criticism. You may see this same ratio in your feedback: ten positive, grateful, uplifting responses for every one negative feedback. Keeping a praise folder can also help us recognize what's worth fixing and what's not. If ten people say, “I love your sense of humor,” and one person says, “You're not funny. Stop being stupid and be serious,” then we can know that the one negative person is not our target audience anyway. <ol> <li>Remember your focus Why are we podcasting, anyway? Are we trying to change the world for the better with education, entertainment, or other encouragement? Are we so passionate about this topic that we just want to talk about it and hope to find others who share our passions?</li> </ol> Or do we just want our egos stroked with positive reviews? A negative review shouldn't stop us from pursuing our goals. <ol> <li>Go uplift someone else Our initial reaction to negativity could be to retaliate or take it out on someone else. DON'T! If someone leaves a negative review, go write positive reviews for five other podcasts. If someone sends negative feedback, go thank someone you respect.</li> </ol> This has powerful affects on our own perspective. It's helping us take negative experiences and turn them into moments of positive generosity. <ol> <li>Respond respectfully Near the last thing that we should do in the process of handling negative feedback would be to respond. We should only do this when we're back in the right mindset. This allows us to be understanding of the person's feelings, respectful of the time and courage they took to send us something, and even thankful for how they have helped us in some way.</li> </ol> Write a phrase now, while you may be feeling positive, that you can paste (or use text-expansion) when you have nothing else to say. For example: <blockquote> Thank you, ___, for your feedback. I understand this matters to you and I really appreciate the time you took to write this out. It may have been a little intimidating to say these things, but I really appreciate that you sent them directly to me. I'm always looking for ways to improve, so your feedback has given me some stuff to consider. </blockquote> But whatever you do, don't write a review for your own podcast as a responsive to other podcast reviews. Those usually get removed, anyway. <ol> <li>Remove the negative feedback if truly necessary In extreme cases, you may need to just remove the feedback from your website or even iTunes. This would be in cases where there are bitter personal attacks, violations of rules (such as forbidding profanity), or completely irrelevant information (such as leaving a “comment” on a particular episode as a podcast review, or criticizing the TV show you podcast about instead of saying anything about your podcast).</li> </ol> On your own website, you're fully justified to allow or forbid any content you want. Even if you have a public forum, the site is still your private property and it can follow your own rules, within legal limits and the terms of your web host. On iTunes, you can report individual reviews for several reasons: <ul> <li>This review contains offensive content</li> <li>This review is not a review or is off-topic</li> <li>I disagree with this review</li> <li>My concern isn't listed here</li> </ul> When something truly deserves removal, your fans and friends will be happy to help report the review, too, and get it removed. I've done this only a couple times for my own shows and a couple times to help others. <ol> <li>Or just ignore the negative feedback Lastly, you could just ignore the negative feedback others are giving.</li> </ol> If people don't like how we do things, we probably won't win them back with a couple changes. They're already gone, so work to make the experience better for everyone who hasn't left. Sometimes, you may perceive the nature of the negative feedback to be, “You're bad because you're not like ____. You should be more like ____.” No, you shouldn't! You should be you and no one else. Can we and should we improve ourselves? Definitely! But we should always strive to remain ourselves and not become someone else. In podcasting, we can do things however we want. There are no rules (aside from technical requirements), only recommendations. We must have the guts, the boldness, the courage, the audacity to podcast™! What I've learned from my own negative reviews September 30 is National Podcast Day. Since I'm publishing this in the month of September, I'm giving you some behind-the-scenes views of how I podcast, and this is a great opportunity to be a little more transparent and even vulnerable with you! I am my own My Podcast Reviews customer, and used the new sorting and filtering feature to find all of my 1–3-star reviews. Here they are and what I've taken from them. <blockquote> Review by Aussie-Jack from Australia on July 1, 2010 Tends to waffel on a bit, but generally not bad. Second to the PodcastAnswerMan ( Cliff has been doing it for awhile, now ). If Daniel has the long-term passion, he will only get better. Go Daniel! -Congratulations View and share this review Wade through to the info by Podcast Hokudai/Cast from Japan on August 3, 2011 Why I started listening to TAP. I wanted to improve my knowledge of the hardware and software involved in podcasting and videocasting. This podcast has that information. Sometimes presented clearly, sometimes not. If you can wade through the talk, the information is valuable, useful, and timely. If you're a beginner podcaster, TAP can help you get started. He presents things clearly and repeats himself so that you don't have to rewind to catch his instructions. Good for beginners and people easily distracted. Why I get irritated listening to TAP. Sometimes it takes the host a long time to get to the point. If you like tangents and ‘funny' asides, TAP is for you. If you want to be constantly reminded that he has another podcast and a network, TAP is for you. I've stopped counting the number of times he mentions his other podcasts in one show. If you want your information front and center, you're barking up the wrong tree. Why I stopped subscribing to TAP The 8/2/2011 show, show 44. I fast-forwarded through 11 minutes (Eleven!) of self-advertising, asides, chitchat with himself, reminders of his other podcasts, and reminders to listen to show XX for more information, he finally said, “Let's get to it.” And then went off on another tangent. Click, whirl. Unsubscribe. TAP might be just the podcast you're looking for: chatty, informative, easy-going. I'm sure he has many listeners. I listened while I drove to work and an hour podcast is too long, especially when it can be reduced to 30 minutes or less with no loss of information. But if you like a friendly (I like his voice, by the way), talkative AND informative host, check out TAP. View and share this review </blockquote> What a great lesson! Now, I get into my main content right away (sometimes with its own introduction) and I think my shows are a lot better because of that. <blockquote> 1 minute of information wrapped in 30 minutes of self promotion! by gehyra from Australia on August 27, 2012 This podcast has almost no content: it's a merciless listener-grab and affiliate marketing attempt… packed with worthless buzzwords like “How To…” and “Top 5…”, but it doesn't deliver. He seems like a nice guy, and I'm surprised he would try to treat people as naive-cash-cows and listener-statistics… And the sound has a constant whine/hiss behind it! Unforgivable for a podcast that's about podcasting! View and share this review </blockquote> I believe “gehyra's” first episode may have been #94, which was all about making money with the Audible affiliate program. I've heard far more gratefulness and success reports from that episode than criticism for promoting my own affiliate relationship. That hiss behind the recording is why I rarely live-stream video while I'm recording—my computer is too old and gets too loud when it tries to keep up with the CPU demand for live video streaming. <blockquote> Pretty good, but… by DennisMcC-K from USA on September 14, 2012 Daniel covers a lot of good information, but several aspects bother me enough to unsubscribe. But feel free to judge for yourself. 1. One of the first tips I remember is to be prepared and research anything you're not sure about because nobody wants to hear you trying to remember some detail, but I've lost count of how many times he has mentioned something that's “…either this or that, I'm not sure…” 2. The “Top ##” lists are really annoying when he goes over the entire list so far before each new item. Repetition can reinforce memory, but what about the last few that don't get repeated as much? 3. I found this while looking for tips on using Audacity, but much of his content leans more toward podcasting which is not for me. 4. Call me a Grammar Nazi (is there a more PC term that avoids the N-word?), but his grammatical mistakes, while certainly fewer than some other podcasters I've heard, are just enough to bug me. View and share this review </blockquote> More great points! I make sure I can confidently give information, or else I pause and get the answer when I'm unsure. I no longer do the “Twelve Days of Christmas” approach to outlines. On #3, that was a misunderstanding of my marketing, which I knew would be a consequence of naming the show with “audacity” in the title. I wish I could know the grammar errors I had made back then so I could improve them. <blockquote> I feel like I've just listened to an hour long informercial by Mrs Benjamin, MN from USA on February 15, 2013 Daniel, I recognize your need to cross promote, and I realize that your income comes from podcasting. I feel overloaded with commercial information, and had quite a difficult time separating out the real content from the commercial content. It's just too much. Sorting out the things I would consider using, and the things I have tried in the past that didn't work, from the commercials just wasn't worth the hour I wasted this afternoon listening to your podcast today. Please accept my apology, Louise B View and share this review </blockquote> I have Louise's email address and had tried multiple times to reach out so I could understand how my content seemed like an infomercial, but never received a response. I always try to save self-promotion stuff for at the end of my content, or when it's contextually relevant. I probably did spam some information in too many contextually relevant places, so now I try to ensure these kinds of things are asides, but don't distract from the main content. <blockquote> Not a fan by jessalon from USA on July 24, 2013 Daniel the way you breathe into the mic is incredibly distracting and you sound awkward. I couldn't get past the first episode. View and share this review </blockquote> “First episode”—I've improved a lot since then, and I continue to tweak settings in attempts to reduce the breathing effects. I have no idea why my breaths sometimes “bounce” in sound, but I am more aware of them and try to edit them out. These reviews may not be as bad as some you have received. But believe me that each of these stung when I first received them. The review from “gehyra” hurt enough that it inspired me to send an email to my subscribers about how to handle negative reviews. Announcements * Celebrate National Podcast Day on September 30! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to use a text-expander for faster podcasting – TAP189" subtitle="September 8, 2014" duration="2888" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap189.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685676/how-to-use-a-text-expander-for-faster-podcasting---tap189/">View Details</a> A text-expander lets you type a few characters and then expands out to full text. Here are ten ways to use TextExpander for OS X or PhraseExpress for Windows to podcast faster. Top text-expansion apps and tools 1. TextExpander for OS X 2. PhraseExpress for Windows 3. TextExpander for iOS (will probably have great integration with iOS 8) or Settings > General > Keyboard > Shortcuts 4. PhraseExpress for Android 5. Text Expander for Chrome 6. Drafts for iPhone or Drafts for iPad Click here to get my favorite TextExpander snippets <ol> <li> Addresses You may not have a problem remembering some addresses and typing them may be second nature. But text-expansion can save keystrokes and enter the address much faster. </li> <li> Email addresses: d@djd > Daniel@DJosephDesign.com </li> <li>Feedback information</li> <li>Mailing address</li> <li> Web addresses: tap.url > https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/ </li> <li> “Canned” messages Whenever you need to say the same thing more than once, it would make for a great text-expansion snippet. These can include more customization, like using a person's name throughout the message. </li> <li> Tweets </li> <li>Form letters (including an email subject line)</li> <li>Email replies</li> <li>Common responses</li> <li>Email signatures</li> <li> Personal bio or podcast “about” </li> <li> Special characters Some special characters are just a Shift-key away, but others are more complicated. Some are completely impossible to type on certain platforms. </li> <li> En (–) and em (—) dashes </li> <li>Legal symbols (©, ®, and ™)</li> <li>Multiply/dimension (×)—usually impossible to type anywhere</li> <li> Backtick (`) or tilde (~)—especially useful on mobile devices </li> <li> Dynamic information Text-expansion can commonly take existing, dynamic information and enter it for you. </li> <li> Current date in any format </li> <li>Current time in any format</li> <li>Date/time math (adding or subtracting an amount of time from current)</li> <li> Clipboard contents </li> <li> URL-processing Besides plainly pasting URLs or even allowing you to partially populate a URL, text-expansion can sometimes do cool things with your URLs, depending on the tool. </li> <li> Shortened links—such as converting something to a bit.ly or j.mp short URL </li> <li>Affiliate URL conversion—like taking an existing Amazon affiliate URL and inserting it with your affiliate code</li> <li> Google Analytics campaign tracking—add all of the “utm_…” parameters to a URL, and include or exclude optional parameters </li> <li> HTML ot CSS HTML doesn't have to be for advanced users! Text-expansion can save you from having to look up or remember HTML. </li> <li> HTML tag wrap—easily wrap your clipboard text with an HTML tag for bold, italics, a hyperlink, div, or more </li> <li>SEO-friendly hyperlinks—a smart, HTML link to your site with all of the right stuff set for a good SEO backlink</li> <li>Browser-prefixed CSS—imagine only have to type “border-radius” once and automatically filling in all of the other prefixes!</li> <li> Banner code </li> <li> Form-filling Most desktop text-expansion tools let you include keystrokes, like a tab. This can make it quick to fill in a form. But your results may very, because not all forms are tabbed alike. </li> <li> Address </li> <li>Podcast information</li> <li> Not passwords—most text-expansion tools can't or won't fill-in secure password fields </li> <li> Preformatted text and images Text-expansion isn't limited to plain text! You can often use rich-text formatting and more! </li> <li> Show notes template </li> <li>Signature image</li> <li>Podcast cover art</li> <li>Pre-hyperlinked text</li> <li> Lists </li> <li> Advanced tasks and operations Again, this doesn't have to be limited to advanced users. Sometimes, you just need to find someone else who did what you need and use their snippet! </li> <li> Terminal/SSH commands—I can never remember the proper syntax for certain SSH commands on my servers, but I don't have to with text-expansion! </li> <li>Shell, AppleScript, and other programming scripts—some text-expanders can incorporate programming languages, which make your possibilities almost limitless</li> <li>Open webpage in another browser</li> <li>Open multiple webpages at a time—I use this for changing the same plugin on all eleven of my Noodle.mx Network websites</li> <li> Character-encode URLs—change stuff like spaces to <code>%20</code> and other encodings for proper URLs </li> <li> Any other text Go crazy! Anything you can type can be abbreviated with a text-expander and then quickly inserted whenever or wherever you need it. </li> <li> Abbreviations—instead of typing, “BTW,” you could make it change to “By the way,” and then look like you're less lazy than the rest of us. </li> <li>Slow to type names or places</li> <li>Repeated phrases—I actually have “WTHDL” expand to “What the Huey, Dewey, and Louie”</li> <li>Common misspellings</li> <li>WordPress shortcodes</li> </ol> Click here to get my favorite TextExpander snippets Quick tips for any text-expander Regardless of what tool you use, here are some things to make it easier for you. <ul> <li>Look for anything you have to type more than a couple times. Turn it into an expansion snippet the next time you type it.</li> <li>Make patterns to keep similar snippets together and memorable. For example, all abbreviations for The Audacity to Podcast start with “tap” and then something unique and understandable, like “tapurl” or “tapitunes.”</li> <li>Avoid capitalization or special characters. Anything that requires a key-combination, or isn't easily available on your touch keyboard will just slow you down. I'm converting all of my abbreviations like “tap.url” to “tapurl” because the period isn't accessible on iOS.</li> <li>Like new habit designed to help you, give it at least a month of legitimately trying to use it, even if it initially slows you down.</li> <li>Download my favorite TextExpander snippets that you can adapt and use for your podcast!</li> </ul> Announcements * Episode 200 is coming up and will feature a hard-questions interview with John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire. Send the direct questions you would like me to ask! * The National Podcast Day website just launched. Help the world learn about podcasts and celebrate on September 30! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How much time does it take to podcast? – TAP188" subtitle="September 2, 2014" duration="3093" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap188.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685677/how-much-time-does-it-take-to-podcast----tap188/">View Details</a> Happy Labor Day! In celebration of this USA holiday, I'll share how much you should expect podcasting to take, how to speed up your workflow, and how I work with my podcasts. Audio podcasting is a 4:1 work ratio Audio podcasting is easier than video on multiple levels. <ul> <li>Audio equipment costs less.</li> <li>It's easy to get high quality for a low price.</li> <li>Audio is easier and cheaper to edit.</li> <li>Audio costs less to host and distribute.</li> <li>Audio is more consumable.</li> <li>Audio-editing is more seamless.</li> </ul> Despite being easier, audio podcasting does still take time. The average goal is about a 4:1 ratio—four minutes of work for every one minute of content. The means a well-presented one-hour episode could take five hours in total (four hours of preparation or post-production, one hour of presenting). Video podcasting is an 8+:1 work ratio Video is a much bigger beast than audio in podcasting. <ul> <li>Video equipment costs more (you need good audio and video gear).</li> <li>It's harder to get high quality for a low price.</li> <li>Effective video editing often requires more expensive software.</li> <li>Video costs more to host and distribute (especially if you publish in HD).</li> <li>Video is less consumable.</li> <li>Video-editing takes a lot of work and extra footage to look seamless.</li> <li>Video has more layers that could require editing (lower thirds, transitions, B-roll footage, etc.).</li> </ul> Because of this, it can take a lot longer to edit a video. At least an 8:1 ratio—eight minutes of work for every one minute of content. So a well-produced fifteen-minute video, without getting fancy, could take an additional two hours to prepare and produce. How to complicate your podcasting work The more perfectionist you are, the more work the content will take. For example, scripting your podcast could double your time, due to editing your script, trying to perform it exactly, and then editing out any mistakes. <ol> <li>Try to be perfect.</li> <li>Don't plan ahead.</li> <li>Edit out every mistake.</li> <li>Edit in sound clips.</li> <li>Do everything yourself.</li> </ol> How to simplify your podcasting work 1. Plan and prepare. Know what you're going to say and how you'll transition between points. Have everything you'll need ready. Get my checklist of 20 things you should do before every episode. 2. Look for patterns you can create and then automate them. Make templates, follow regular outlines, or use tools to handle the mundane tasks for you. 3. Use equipment to simplify your workflow. Use a mixer to live-mix your sounds. Add a compressor/limiter/gate to handle audio processing. Keep everything setup in your space. Use multiple cameras instead of re-recording. Use quality microphones to reduce the need for post-processing. 4. Don't try to be perfect. Edit out only the major distractions, let the rest of your presentation be authentic. If that's not good enough, then improve your presentation. 5. Delegate some things. Get some help! This can be paid or volunteer. It can also mean getting content ideas from your community instead of inventing them yourself. How I work Because September 30 is National Podcast Day, I'll spend some time in each episode to give you a behind-the-scenes look at how I podcast. Each podcast I host has a different workflow and different time requirements. The Audacity to Podcast 1. Every day, I collect and sometimes develop ideas in Evernote. 2. 11:00 Monday mornings, I stop whatever I'm doing and switch to working on The Audacity to Podcast. 3. I decide on my topic and then outline what I want to share. 4. I send or schedule messages for my social networks (with Buffer) to announce the topic and encourage an audience to listen live. 5. In WordPress, I start a draft post from a Simple Content Template and start writing my notes. 6. While I write, I add necessary hyperlinks and formatting (quickly with Markdown), plus collect any information I need from research. 7. I arrange my notes and outline in the most logical flow. 8. I re-read my notes and add additional thoughts or resources. 9. At 2:00 pm, I present and record live. 10. While I present, I hit the Record button on my Zoom H4n to place a marker on spots I want to be edited. 11. By about 3:00, I finish recording and copy the audio files to my computer. 12. I use Adobe Audition to convert the two stereo recordings (voice + soundtrack from my Zoom H4n) into two mono recordings while maintaining my H4n's markers. 13. I place the recordings in a new episode folder on Dropbox to share with my audio-editor, John Bukenas. 14. By about 3:15, I work on finalizing my show notes with relevant tags, search-engine optimization (SEO), links, and images (especially a featured image). 15. Around 4:00, I either move on to engaging in podcasting social-media communities, or I write or finish my email to my exclusive email list for podcasters. I use MailChimp for my email list and schedule the message to send the following day at 11:00 am. 16. Around 5:30 or 6:00, John finishes editing the episode. I give it a quick glance to ensure the opening, closing, and problem areas were handled appropriately. 17. I export an MP3 from Adobe Audition then use ID3 Editor to add the ID3 tags. 18. I upload the MP3 to LibSyn, link it in my show notes on WordPress and click publish. 19. Lastly, I share the post to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Sometimes, I'll also share it with specific individuals or podcasting communities. The next few podcast examples will be more simplified, now that you know the details. ONCE – Once Upon a Time podcast Assuming it's during the TV season, this is how the week's workflow goes. <ol> <li>Sunday morning and afternoon, I schedule several social message with Buffer to tease for the upcoming One Upon a Time episode, our live chat, and the live “initial reactions” podcast episode.</li> <li>At 7:45 pm, I sit at the TV with my iPad and Bluetooth keyboard and start chatting with others watching at the same time in our chat room.</li> <li>The show starts at 8:00, and I start noting major discussion points into WorkFlowy on my iPad.</li> <li>The show finishes at 9:00, and I sent out another message to encourage live viewers of our podcast.</li> <li>At 9:15, we go live and share our initial, incomplete thoughts on what we just saw.</li> <li>While we're recording, I have a virtual assistant (Jhack) writing show notes on what we say, and directly entering them into a WordPress draft post.</li> <li>We finish by about 9:45 and I pass the recordings to John Bukenas for his quick editing.</li> <li>By about 10:30, the show notes are complete (or I may have to add some links or photo), and I have the completed, tagged, and uploaded episode.</li> <li>I publish the podcast episode and share it on social networks.</li> <li>Monday morning, I download the episode from iTunes and use M4VGear to convert the video into a format I can use for screenshots and sound clips.</li> <li>In the following days, volunteers collect interesting forum posts, sort the feedback, and place in our WorkFlowy document for the next podcast episode.</li> <li>Wednesday, at 1:00 pm, I rewatch the episode while I list and arrange the scenes in the most logical discussion order, I take notes on what I want to discuss, I sort the feedback, and I capture and edit sound clips.</li> <li>I'm finish with ONCE preparations by about 4:00.</li> <li>At 7:00, my cohost and I rewatch the episode (my third or fourth time) and take additional notes.</li> <li>At 8:00, we connect with our cohost(s) and go live while one of my assistants takes the show notes.</li> <li>At about 10:00, we finish recording and I share the files with John. My cohosts record their sides, too, so they share the recordings with John, too.</li> <li>John edits the everything either late at night or early the next day.</li> <li>Before noon on Thursday, I look over the show notes and the podcast editing before I export, tag, upload, and publish.</li> <li>Then I share the episode on social networks.</li> </ol> the Ramen Noodle – clean comedy podcast This is the simplest show to prepare for, but I can always see that less preparation means less actually funny content in the episode. <ol> <li>Throughout the week, I collect or note funny things, stories, stuff I find, and feedback.</li> <li>On Wednesday, after I prepare for ONCE, I prepare for the Ramen Noodle and usually have about 30 to 60 minutes to do this. I draft these things in WordPress on my template.</li> <li>At 5:00, my cohost, Jeremy, comes over for dinner, which helps break the ice and get us in the mood for comedy.</li> <li>We go live at 6:00 and finish by 7:00.</li> <li>I try to immediately share the files with John so I can move on to rewatching Once Upon a Time.</li> <li>The next morning, I look over John's edits, finish my show notes, and publish the episode.</li> <li>I share the episode to my social accounts and then move on to publishing ONCE.</li> </ol> Announcements * Download my FREE checklist on “20 things you should do before every podcast episode.” * After you get my checklist, you'll be on my email list where I'm currently sharing exclusive tips about SEO for podcasters. * Stay on the list to continue receiving podcasting tips and first access to my upcoming resources. Thank you for the iTunes reviews! * Lisa Cummings from 100k Career Q&A podcast. Your written iTunes reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast. If you appreciate the podcasting information I share, would you please write your own review on iTunes or Stitcher? Check out My Podcast Reviews to get your own podcast reviews automatically emailed to you and learn how to grow your audience with reviews! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Top 5 highlights from Podcast Movement 2014 – TAP187" subtitle="August 25, 2014" duration="2948" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap187.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685678/top-5-highlights-from-podcast-movement-2014---tap187/">View Details</a> Podcast Movement 2014 was an amazing podcasting conference! Here are the top highlights for podcasters. <ol> <li>Presenting I'm not going to lie, presenting my own session was a big highlight for me. I love public speaking—I've been doing it since I was 13 years old!</li> </ol> My session was, “10 Ways to Podcast from Average to Amazing.” This was essentially the month-long curriculum for Podcast Master Class squashed down to 35 minutes. I was so honored to see the session packed with standing room only! This has inspired me to change some of what I do in Podcast Master Class, and possibly rework the entire thing to serve podcasters better. Join my email list to get the inside scoop on that when it's ready! <ol> <li>Vendors You might not normally think of vendors as being a great thing at a conference. But at this Podcast Movement, the vendors were unavoidable as they were in the hallways outside of the session rooms. This was a great location, and it encouraged attendees to visit the vendors often.</li> </ol> These were the most interesting vendors I saw at Podcast Movement. <ul> <li>Ringr—</li> <li>PodcastOnTV—</li> <li> ProCast SST by Miktek— </li> <li> Keynotes There are a lot of expectations on keynote sessions, and it can sometimes be hard to reach those. Here are some short but honest thoughts on each keynote. </li> <li> Chris Brogan, from Owner's Mind, presented a lot of stuff about podcasting as a business or part of your business. It was inspirational to podcasters with such a mindset. But Chris also did a lot of self-promotion of his courses, and used some crass metaphors. </li> <li>Srinivas Rao, from Unmistakable Creative, presented more of a story of passion behind the work. I thought Srini's webinar with PodMov before the conference actually had more, helpful information. But it was cool to see his rise from failure to success.</li> <li>Jamie Tardy, from The Eventual Millionaire, tried to address the future of podcasting, but she presented some misinterpreted information that many people also misunderstood. For example, she showed a chart the indicated Android's current and predicted saturation compared to iOS. Her point was that Android represents huge potential for podcast consumers, but most people misunderstood the point for being that Android users consume more podcasts, which is far from the truth. iOS still dominates the podcast-consumption stats by several factors.</li> <li>Evo Terra, creator of Podiobooks.com, has been in podcasting since the beginning and challenged us to turn podcasting into a constructive disruption. This gave us a lot to consider what we can do to make the space better.</li> <li> Cliff Ravenscraft, from Podcast Answer Man, closed the conference with a purely inspirational talk about the power of podcasting to change lives. </li> <li> Breakout sessions Thanks to the virtual ticket, I attended very few breakout sessions (see #1 for why). But here are I think the top three sessions that generated the most buzz and presented the most interesting information. </li> <li> “The Top 7 Ways to Grow Your Podcast Listeners and Turn Into Leads” with Tim Paige </li> <li>“How I Drink Beer For A Living And Faked It Till I Made It” with Justin Crossley</li> <li>“Using YouTube to Help Grow Your Podcast” with Rob Cesternino</li> <li> “Audio Post-Processing for Podcasts” with Ray Ortega </li> <li> Networking The most exciting part of Podcast Movement was the networking—talking with other podcasters (or about-to-be podcasters). I met and had great conversations with many amazing people with amazing ideas! </li> </ul> The conversations were so inspirational that I didn't want to go to bed or leave the event! Additional mixed thoughts This Podcast Movement was a first-year event, so I would call it a huge success! Big props to Podcast Movement organizers for providing the virtual ticket to all registered attendees! Each session was recorded in audio and video! The party at House of Blues was way too loud—but this isn't solely the fault of the live music. The acoustics of the room were horrible for networking, and I ended up leaving to talk with people over dessert back at the hotel. But huge thanks for providing buses between the party and the hotel. The hotel, conference space, and dining options were all in the same building, which saved us from walking outside in the hot, humid weather. I have two regrets about Podcast Movement: that I didn't sponsor it with My Podcast Reviews, and that I didn't schedule my own local meetup. Next time I'm traveling for a conference, I will host a meetup! You should attend Podcast Movement 2015! This was an amazing event and I'm confident that you would not regret attending next year! The next Podcast Movement is scheduled for July 31–August 2, 2015 at the Omni Downtown in Fort Worth, Texas. I would guess that, while this Podcast Movement had a strong business/entrepreneurship theme, next year will be more diverse. Announcements New Media Expo will be April 13–16, 2015 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Westgate Hotel (formerly LVH) in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is in combination with the National Association of Broadcasters. So it will be another amazing event! I'll be there and will also cover some of the show flow to highlight products and services for podcasters. Thank you for the iTunes reviews! – MarieInNYC – Rutters Ramblings – SteveW928 Your written reviews encourage me and they help other people find the podcast, too! Check out My Podcast Reviews to grow your podcast with reviews and get your international podcast reviews automatically emailed to you. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="10 ways to use YouTube with podcasting and growing an audience – TAP186" subtitle="August 11, 2014" duration="2594" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap186.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685679/10-ways-to-use-youtube-with-podcasting-and-growing-an-audience---tap186/">View Details</a> YouTube is not a podcasting platform, but podcasters can still use YouTube with podcasting. As another point of distribution, YouTube can help with search-engine optimization (SEO), growing your podcast audience, and complementing your platform. <ol> <li>Publish your audio podcast on YouTube This is kind of the poor man's cop-out for using YouTube with podcasting. It would involve taking the audio from your podcast and simply slapping your cover art, or a couple slides on the screen just to make it a “video.”</li> </ol> You can tell I'm highly critical of this method, and I think it does more harm than good. Within Noodle.mx Network, we've tried this and the plain view numbers (more than 21,000!) seem wildly successful for a 36-minute audio “video.” But the audience retention was horrible! 90% of the audience left within the first two minutes. Five minutes in, only 5% of the audience was left. That means that nearly 19,000 potential raving fans turned away and may never come back. Watch for a future post on TheAudacitytoPodcast.com with detailed information about this and comparisons with other methods. <ol> <li>Publish “talking head” video from your recording session A step up from audio “videos” is to actually upload or stream real video to YouTube. When this is nothing but showing you talking (like in your “studio” or from a webcam), we call this “talking head” video. This is much better than “hacking” the system with fake video. But the retention will still be low because people may not be interested in seeing just your face all day.</li> </ol> Please contact me if you publish talking-head video and are willing to be part of my ongoing research! <ol> <li>Upload HD video episodes to YouTube Video podcasting is expensive, especially podcast media hosting! A five-minute video in HD could take several hundred megabytes of storage. For this reason, I recommend that podcast videos be only 640 × 360.</li> </ol> But if you'd like to show off your high-definition video, then upload the full 720p or 1080p video to YouTube. These HD videos won't be publicly downloadable for free podcast hosting. But this does make sharing your video podcast much easier and more social. These HD videos will embed on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more! <ol> <li>Embed YouTube videos on your site Take your HD YouTube videos a step further by embedding them on your site. You may even want to replace the PowerPress video player with YouTube's.</li> </ol> YouTube views won't contribute to your regular podcast stats, but it could improve the experience for your audience by providing an HD version. <ol> <li>Use Google+ Hangouts (on Air) for interviews and roundtables Google+ Hangouts and Hangouts on Air (the live-streamed version of Hangouts) let you invite multiple guests into your recording session. You can let Hangouts automatically switch the camera to whoever is talking, and choose whether to display thumbnails of other participants.</li> </ol> This is much more engaging than just seeing your head when your guest is talking. It's also a lot easier than managing the video switching yourself with fancy hardware (like a Tricaster), expensive software (like Wirecast), or a decked-out studio with monitors (like Todd Cochrane's). <ol> <li>Create video promos on YouTube for your regular podcast content You can use YouTube as a springboard to point people to your regular show by creating promos or teasers. Look at how Elsie Escober has done this for LibSyn's podcast The Feed.</li> </ol> This can be a great opportunity for search-engine optimization, because you can make multiple videos for the same episode. Each video can have a different title, and you could provide short, valuable information in the video while pointing people to your main show for the full information. Make sure you do link to your content! (See #9 below.) <ol> <li>Live-stream with YouTube Live YouTube Live is now my choice for live-streaming video. It's free, you can control whether ads show, it works on mobile devices, and it even records directly to YouTube and is immediately available afterward.</li> </ol> You can stream to YouTube Live with fancy software, like WireCast, Adobe Media Live Encoder, and more. But you can also go the simple route and use Hangouts on Air, giving you all the great power and simplicity of a Google+ Hangout. I recommend that you create your own /live page on your website, where you embed the YouTube Live player and your chat room of choice. Since YouTube Live creates a different URL (and thus embed code) for each event, I recommend the IX Show Latest YouTube plugin for WordPress for showing your upcoming, live, or most recent YouTube video automatically—without having to update your code every time! <ol> <li>Create supplemental YouTube videos to complement your podcast Podcast episodes can be long, and that's okay. But YouTube videos work best when they're short—five minutes seems to be the sweet spot.</li> </ol> And the best kind of video for YouTube is actual video content. The kind of stuff you have to show for people to understand. <ul> <li>Reviews</li> <li>How-tos</li> <li>Demonstrations</li> </ul> For examples of these, look at what I do with Podcasting Video Tips on YouTube, or watch the great videos that Ray Ortega makes, which complement The Podcaster's Studio. Any kind of highly engaging video will do very well on YouTube. Show stuff! Or get out somewhere interesting and record in an attractive environment (like what DigitalRev does with their photography videos). <ol> <li> Link to your site and affiliates with YouTube descriptions, annotations, and comments Every video on YouTube gives you multiple opportunities to send people back to the platform you own. You can now place these hyperlinks in three places. </li> <li> Description—Link back to your site for the show notes, include a link (possibly an affiliate link) for whatever resource you're discussing. </li> <li>Annotations—These are the on-screen hyperlinks. They can be a speech bubble, and note, or a frame. This works great to put around any link you display on the screen (or mention in the video), and have a visual “subscribe” button that links to your subscription. You can now point these potentially anywhere by verifying your domain and making your own 301 redirects with a plugin like Pretty Link Pro or Better Links Pro.</li> <li>Comments—The thing I love about Google+'s now being integrated with YouTube is that I can finally include URLs in comments! So when I need to point a commenter to another resource, I can include the link and make it easy for them to go there.</li> </ol> Any of these links could be affiliate links, links to other videos, links to resources, or links back to your own site. The video annotations don't show up yet on mobile apps, but that will probably come soon. <ol> <li>Monetize your content with ads Lastly, using YouTube with podcasting can help you make more money by enabling ads on the videos. You'll get a tiny commission anytime someone sees an ad, but you earn even more when they click on the ad. These ads come in multiple formats.</li> </ol> <blockquote> <ol> <li>Display ads (banners) run across all areas of the site except the Homepage. They are available as a 300×250 ad that appears to the right of the feature video and above the video suggestions list.</li> <li>Overlay in-video ads are transparent overlay ads that appear on the lower portion of your video.</li> <li>TrueView in-stream ads are skippable video ads that are inserted before, during or after the main video.</li> <li>TrueView in-display ads appear alongside other YouTube videos, or on websites that match your target audience.</li> <li>Non-skippable in-stream ads are video ads that can be inserted before or during the main video and must be watched before the viewer can continue watching the content selected. These ads can also be placed after the conclusion of a video, in the post-roll slot.</li> </ol> </blockquote> Quick tips for using YouTube with podcasting 1. Create a YouTube channel for each show/niche. Don't mix content into your personal channel. Make a Google+ page for each show, and then a YouTube channel for each page. This allows you to have managers who can upload content, tweak settings, add annotations, or manage your videos for or with you. 2. Include links and promo text in your descriptions. Include a standard script about your show with links to it in the description for every video. This will be searchable and provides more opportunities to people to click through to your platform. 3. Add your own video thumbnail. Don't let YouTube choose a thumbnail for you, unless you're in a hurry and it already looks great. I suggest big text with a relevant image. 4. Include subscription annotations in every video. Make every video have a visual “subscribe” button for several seconds at the end. You can be as creative as you want, but always remember to link it. Announcements * Get your international podcast reviews automatically emailed to you with My Podcast Reviews! YouTube video of this podcast episode Here's what I live-streamed to YouTube via Google+ Hangouts on Air. Unfortunately, I had my mixer set to not send my music out to YouTube, and I forgot to switch to Studio Mode for my audio. Thus, the audio isn't as good. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="25 free podcasting tools as good as their paid alternatives – TAP185" subtitle="August 4, 2014" duration="3385" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap185.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685680/25-free-podcasting-tools-as-good-as-their-paid-alternatives---tap185/">View Details</a> Popular, free podcasting tools you can use to create, host, and grow your podcast without buying the premium alternatives. Audio, video, website, and more tools to help you be a successful podcaster without having to be rich. Requested by Leo from Chopsticks Podcasts. Free podcasting tools still cost Although the following options are completely free, you must keep some things in mind. <ol> <li>“Free” costs someone else's time and money. Remember that someone else worked hard to make the resource that you can use for free. They may also have actual bills related to offering something for free. Please consider supporting the people who make free stuff.</li> <li>“Free” may cost more of your time for an inferior workflow. Audacity, for example, works great as an audio-editor. But one of my biggest reasons for switching to Adobe Audition was the amount of time the improved workflow would save me.</li> <li>“Free” may require more knowledge for making things work your way. Free may not be as pretty and easy as premium tools. You may have to understand more technical things, or figure out how stuff works before you can effectively use a free tool. (Listen to Ray Ortega's recent interview with the Auphonic creator about audio loudness standards.)</li> <li>“Free” often has little to no support. Part of how companies can offer free products and services is by not spending more time continuing to develop it or support people who have problems.</li> <li>“Free” sometimes has limitations. Anything that uses “free” and “unlimited” together will not last. Anything free will have restrictions, such as for personal use only, reduced features, or limited in other measurable ways.</li> <li>“Free” often includes ads. The developers have to make their money somewhere, and advertising or affiliate links are one way to do that. They can also inspire users to upgrade in order to remove the ads.</li> </ol> While free stuff is great, please don't always take advantage of the free, or else it won't be free anymore. Free, basic website: WordPress.com WordPress.com is the hosted version of WordPress. You can get free or premium accounts where they handle the software updates. You can't install your own plugins and you start out with a subdomain instead of your own domain. But if you just need to start out with a basic blog, WordPress.com is simple and free. Free WordPress website hosting: Amazon EC2 Self-hosted WordPress is the best way to go, but hosting companies like BlueHost can be around $100 per year. Amazon EC2 offers a very small hosting plan that is free for the first year. This requires more knowledge of setting up databases, web software, and other configurations without the help of a visual control panel. It's about $9.75 per month after your first year. Free podcast media hosting: archive.org LibSyn and Blubrry are premium media hosts and they're worth every penny. But if you don't have any pennies, then upload your media files to archive.org. It meets the basic technical requirements from Apple, and you have some limited administration tools. But it won't give you accurate stats or very fast downloads on larger files. Yes, you could also use Dropbox or Google Drive, but both of these have very difficult workflows for getting your download URL, and both have small limitations on how the files can be downloaded. Free podcast media stats: Blubrry You need an accurate picture of your audience. Plain “hits” or stats from your web host aren't accurate. So add Blubrry's free stats to your media URLs and you'll see exactly how many people are downloading your episodes. Free audio editing: Audacity or GarageBand Audio-editing software is one of the last places you should spend money to improve your quality, but it could also be the first place to improve your workflow. Regardless, free software will give you just as good of a production as premium software. You just need to learn a bit more. Audacity (Windows, OS X, Linux) is the standard for free audio-editing. It's available across platforms and it's extremely powerful. Many successful podcast have used or continue to use Audacity and you would never know. If you have a Mac, then you probably already have GarageBand (OS X). Some people mistakenly think you can not edit audio podcasts in recent versions of GarageBand, but that's not true. You just can't make “enhanced AAC” podcasts (which you shouldn't, anyway), and there's no more “podcast”-labeled track. GarageBand still edits audio just fine and can even export your MP3 with Fraunhofer. Free video editing: Jahshaka, iMovie, or Movie Maker Editing video starts to get a little harder to do for free, but still possible. Jahshaka (Windows, Linux, OS X) is kind of like the “Audacity” of the video-editing world. It has an odd workflow, but it's still extremely capable. If you have a Mac, then you probably already have iMovie (OS X). If you have a Windows computer, then you probably already have or can easily get Movie Maker (Windows). Either “built-in” video-editor is more than enough for the average video podcaster. Free music: Music Alley Do not use copyrighted music! Ignore whatever you've heard about “fair use” and the fact that you're not making money. These rarely apply to podcasters. So you're still most likely breaking the law if you use someone else's creative work without their permission. The best place for free music is Music Alley. You'll find a huge catalog of great songs in all genres by independent artists. (The Audacity to Podcast's theme song—”Vegas Shuffle” by Charlie Crowe—came from Music Alley!) The basic rule is that you must include attribution whenever you use something from Music Alley. But you can also contact the artist directly and get permission to use their song without attribution (but paying them to do so would be lovely). Free sound effects: Freesound.org Similar to Music Alley, Freesound is a free library of all kinds of sound effects. They require attribution for each use, but you may be able to negotiate with the creators. Free voicemail and VoIP calling: Google Voice Instead of paying money for a voicemail number or Skype Out in order to call a phone from your computer, just sign up for Google Voice to get both! You can set the number to always go to voicemail with your own greeting. You can also call from the number within Gmail. Free stock photography: Compfight There are a lot of lists of free stock photography websites out there. My favorite is Compfight. They search the entire Flickr library and find all images licensed with Creative Commons and even for commercial use. Compfight even gives you the exact HTML text add the required credits on the photos. I use Compfight first and for most of my images for blog posts and podcast show notes. For example, episodes 177, 175, and 158 use photos from Compfight. Don't forget that you probably already have a decent camera, even if it's just your smartphone. So you may want to stage your own photo. For example, episodes 174, 165, 164, and 150 use photos that I staged and shot myself. Free image editing: Canva, Pixlr, PicMonkey, or the GIMP Canva, Pixlr, and PicMonkey are both browser-based image-editors. You can also download and install the GIMP. Any of these will give you more power to crop, rotate, enhance, or add text to your images so your posts look better. Free video lighting: sunlight and a window You may not have as little as $170 to invest in a decent lighting kit like mine, but that's no excuse to have poorly lit videos! Stand by a window on a sunny day. If direct sunlight is getting in the way, hang a white bed sheet, shower curtain, or table cloth in front of the window to diffuse the light. Sunlight is the most pure form of light and you'll always look great. Try to angle a little so the sunlight spills across your face to light both sides, while still giving you some soft shared. Free sound dampening: blankets and furniture We don't usually have sound-proof studios. We have our basements, spare bedrooms, the closet, or even the kitchen. Many of these rooms can create a lot of echo or reverb and make the audio sound bad. Put furniture in your recording room. The softer and less-flat it is, the better. Even consider hanging blankets on the walls. Anything that makes your room less flat and softer will reduce reverberation. Free email lists: Mailchimp or MailPoet Yes, you probably should start a mailing list for your podcast, even if it's simply an automated email with the show notes and link to your latest episode. MailPoet is a WordPress plugin that lets you manage your email list design and content without leaving WordPress. You can upgrade to a premium version for more stats and tools, but the free edition works fine. MailChimp will give you a lot more power and control with your list. They say the limits are 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails. But it's possible to have more than that. You just can't email them all at one time. You also can't send any more than 12,000 total emails in a single month. I have almost twenty mailing lists in MailChimp. One of them has more than 2,700 subscribers, but I never email the full list, so I never run into the subscriber limit. Free live-streaming: YouTube Live Live-streaming isn't necessary for podcasting. But I do recommend YouTube Live as a free podcasting tool for anyone doing live events. The video is recorded directly onto YouTube, and you can earn money from the ads yourself, or don't display ads. If you want to regularly use YouTube Live for streaming events, get the free IX Show Latest YouTube plugin for WordPress (I'm a contributing coder), which will automatically display your upcoming, live, or most recent video on your site. Free video-streaming effects: CamTwist Studio or ManyCam If you want to get fancy with your live-streaming video, you don't have to buy fancy software like Wirecast. Get CamTwist Studio (OS X) or ManyCam (Windows, OS X) to switch cameras, use special effects, or adjust your on-screen display. Live-streaming to YouTube Live via Google+ Hangouts also presents some of these controls. Free sound cart manager: JinglePalette or Soundboard To reduce your post-production time and enhance your recording experience, you may want to play music, voicemails, and other sound clips live into your recording (even if you're not live-streaming). Get JinglePalette (Windows) or ~~BZ Soundboard~~ Soundboard (OS X) to load up your sound clips onto buttons and play them whenever you need that audio. Podcasting tools without free alternatives Free podcasting tools can't do everything for you. For some stuff, you'll have to invest some money. – Audio and video equipment – Domain – Any fancy/professional creative work (design, audio, video, etc.) What are some of your favorite, free podcasting tools? What podcasting tools cost that you think were well worth it? Find more premium and free podcasting tools at alternativeTo.net Search alternativeTo for the premium tool you know and find other alternatives. You can filter by platform (like a Windows alternative to OS X applications), license (like a free alternative to expensive software), and more. Announcements * Social Media Success Summit—online conference for marketers and business owners * Podcast Movement and UK Podcasters—the conferences by podcasters, for podcasts, and all about podcasting Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="What to do when you don’t feel like blogging or podcasting – TAP184" subtitle="July 28, 2014" duration="2254" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap184.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685681/what-to-do-when-you-don-t-feel-like-blogging-or-podcasting---tap184/">View Details</a> © Getty Images We've all had days where we just didn't feel ready to write or speak. Here are ten tips for how to blog or podcast when you don't feel like it. <ol> <li>Refocus Most of the reason we feel like skipping is because we are focusing on something else. It could be technical problems, relationship issues, unmet expectations, or any other number of legitimate and maybe even important distractions.</li> </ol> Without focus, you'll never get any good quality out. Here are some quick tips to help you refocus. <ul> <li>Step away for a moment</li> <li>Meditate</li> <li>Take a walk</li> <li>Deal with the distraction</li> <li>Dump your thoughts into writing</li> <li>Make a task list for addressing the distraction later</li> <li>Relax</li> <li> Try a short, complete distraction </li> <li> Go back to your list of ideas You do have a list of ideas, right? If you don't have one, make one now! </li> </ul> Look at your list and pick something you can address at this time. Some ideas may require a lot more preparation than you can afford, so you could either split it up or try a different idea. <ol> <li>Don't try to do as much It's okay to have a shorter-than-normal episode if that's all you can put out at this time. As long as it's still quality content, the length doesn't matter.</li> </ol> It's a greater “podcasting sin” to force your episode to be too long when you only have enough content for a short episode. <ol> <li> Cover recent news There's almost always something going on in every industry. Find a new story to report and give your perspective. </li> <li> Answer questions Check forums, communities, and other online groups for questions that you can answer with your podcast. These can sometimes be your greatest content because usually more than one person has that same question, and you can create a timeless resource to share. </li> <li> Curate and comment on others' content Look at others in your niche. Represent what they say, don't duplicate it. You could consider sharing a list of what others have been saying and add your own opinions. </li> <li> Ask for ideas and use feedback If you have time, ask your followers or post online somewhere to ask for ideas. Good questions to ask would be “What do you want to know about _____?” “What are your top frustrations with _____?” “What's your favorite [tool/app/game/resource/person] for _____?” </li> </ol> You can easily get a new list of ideas from asking this one question. <ol> <li>Give This will sound weird. Sometimes, we don't want to blog or podcast because we don't feel like giving. We're essentially being selfish.</li> </ol> The best way to overcome selfishness is to give more! So if you're having trouble giving with your podcast, try finding another place where you can give. <ol> <li>Revisit or rerun old content Timeless content is hard to make in a constantly changing world. Perhaps you have old content that you could revisit, update, and share again. For example, I plan to revisit stats, bare minimums, and live-streaming. This usually works best if the content is more than a year old and you actually have new information.</li> </ol> Alternatively, you may have timeless content buried in your archive. Consider rerunning this content, but at least update the episode number and tack on an opening and closing that reminds your audience that this is a rerun or “best of” episode. Reruns are a little “cheap,” but they can work in tough times. <ol> <li>Skip As a last result, maybe you should go ahead and skip. Sometimes, no content is better than bad content.</li> </ol> Consistency is important, but your audience will be understanding if you have good reasons for skipping. Announcements * Podcast Movement and UK Podcasters conferences are coming up! Get your ticket now and be there with all the other great podcasters! * The next Podcast Master Class is scheduled for September. Register now to learn how to take your podcast from average to amazing. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Should you podcast under your real name, or a pseudonym? – TAP183" subtitle="July 22, 2014" duration="2291" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap183.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685682/should-you-podcast-under-your-real-name--or-a-pseudonym----tap183/">View Details</a> Photo Credit: wolfgangfoto via Compfight cc Some podcasters will consider using a fake name for themselves to protect their identity while podcasting. This also applies to blogging and making YouTube videos. Learn more about when a pseudonym is a good idea and when it would be the wrong decision for your blog, podcast, YouTube channel, or any online branding. When to use a pseudonym Call it a “fake name,” “pen name,” “stage name,” “alternate personality,” “secret identity,” or whatever you want. Pseudonyms can be another regular name, like “Cali Lewis” (her actual name is Luria Petrucci); it could be your Internet avatar like, “Jax”; or a made-up title, like “the Ramen Noodle.” <ol> <li>Use a pseudonym when you must protect your identity The most obvious reason to consider using a pseudonym is when your identity and security are at risk. Maybe you don't want your Internet life to be connect with your private life. Maybe it would have negative affects on your job. Or maybe you're concerned about your personal safety (more commonly a concern among women than men).</li> </ol> A pseudonym is a good way to protect yourself because it makes it just a little harder for someone to find the real you. Just make sure you use this pseudonym everywhere online, including domain registrations and accounts. <ol> <li>Consider a pseudonym when your name is hard to spell or pronounce How easy is it for someone to spell your name if they have only heard it? If there's a big chance they'll get it wrong, or maybe use an alternative spelling, you may want to consider some level of a pseudonym. This is why Cali Lewis, of GeekBrief.tv and GeekBeat.tv, changed her name from Luria Petrucci—”Cali Lewis” is much easier to hear and spell. It's shorter, too.</li> </ol> This could be as simple as only ever using your last initial, or maybe changing your name completely. <ol> <li> Consider a pseudonym when your real name is “taken” online If you have ever tried to get your real name online and could not, I feel your pain! I have wanted “DanielJLewis” on many places for a long time. When I can't get “DanielJLewis,” I usually use my trademark “theRamenNoodle” (like on Twitter or Instagram). </li> <li> Consider a pseudonym when it truly makes sense There are some cases where it just makes sense to assume a different identity online. This may actually make it easier. For example, Braxwolf Stormchaser hosts a video-game podcast called Beyond Bossfights. “Braxwolf Stormchaser” isn't his real name, but it's his gamer tag. So it's much easier for his audience if he gives them a single name, as it's already his name in the games. Then, people don't have to remember who “Braxwolf” really is. </li> </ol> Depending on your approach to social media, you may also want to remove a personal name completely and your blog or podcast be your identity. But this gets confusing and extremely unauthentic. Imagine if you only knew me online as “The Audacity to Podcast” when I used personal pronouns online. Another case would be when you have more than one host with the same first name. Using a pseudonym can help clarify who is whom. Disadvantages to pseudonyms Using a fake identity online does have some problems. <ol> <li>If it is “cute,” you may not be taken seriously. I hear this in some wanna-be “professional” podcasters and I think it ruins their reputation (and it seems other listeners agree). Imagine if Michael Hyatt used a cute pseudonym instead of his real name, or if I was always “the Ramen Noodle” in The Audacity to Podcast.</li> <li>You may regret your decision later. Oh, how I regret not getting my real name earlier! Years ago, I didn't think about how my online presence would grow. If you think there's ever even the smallest chance you will build a personal brand later, get your real name now, even if you do not use it.</li> <li>You may have complications with blending identities. If you use a pseudonym online, what do you call yourself when you go to in-person events like conferences and meetups? What if you launch a business related to your podcast? You have to essentially live a constant “lie” if you use anything other than your real name.</li> </ol> When to use your real name I'm a big fan of using real names, even if it's just your real first name. These points could also apply as reasons to use a real-sounding pseudonym instead of something “cute.” <ol> <li>Use your real name when you want to build your personal brand This is big! You cannot build a personal brand well if you are not an actual person. I'm starting to work more on building my personal brand, “Daniel J. Lewis,” more than any single podcast, network, or even media platform. You'll see more of my sites say, “Created by Daniel J. Lewis. © [years] D.Joseph Design LLC.” I want my personal brand associated with everything I create, even though it's my company that owns the rights.</li> </ol> Your real name makes you more honest and thus more trustworthy. So if you want to build authority and credibility, use your real name. Someone recently discovered one of my Podcasting Video Tips episodes on YouTube and recognized me by name and voice from our Once Upon a Time podcast. This also happened with an interviewee at CES. If I didn't use my personal brand across both areas, these people may not have been as excited to hear from me or even have respected me as much. <ol> <li>Use your real name plus an initial when your name is common or “taken” online Again, I feel your pain if you have a common and probably taken name, like mine is. I also don't like the way “daniellewis” looks online—”Danielle Wis” (I don't mean any offense to any Danielle Wises out there!). I decided to use my middle initial, “J.” Not only does this look better to me, but it also helps distinguish me from “Daniel Day Lewis” (though I still get that joke all the time).</li> </ol> If your name doesn't mash together well, it's too long, or it's already taken online, consider using a real initial with your real name. (Did you know that the “S” in “Ulysses S Grant” doesn't actually stand for anything? That's the one case where you would use a period on this initial, because it's not an abbreviation.) <ol> <li>Use just your real first name when you want to be authentic, but still private If privacy is still important to you, then use just your first name. In our Once Upon a Time podcast, two of my cohosts use only their first names because of privacy and security concerns. This is still more personal and authentic than using their avatar names, like “Jacquelyn” instead of “RumplesGirl.”</li> </ol> Disadvantages to real names Using your real name isn't without its cons. <ol> <li>Everything you do online will be connected to you—forever. This can potentially hurt when applying for a job, but it can also greatly help you. Just be careful with what you associate your real identity.</li> <li>Your real name may be too long, already taken online, hard to spell, ambiguous, or similar to a celebrity. This is tough and I share your frustration! Be creative, but also don't limit yourself to what you may someday change (that's why I'll never be “PodcasterDaniel”).</li> <li>Your real name may compromise your privacy and security. Yes, the biggest concern online is with your privacy and security. This is a very legitimate concern. You can offset this with other privacy practices (like getting a PO Box, using a Google Voice phone number, and never sharing location-revealing information).</li> </ol> What do you think about real names versus pseudonyms? Please comment and share your reasons for one side or the other, and what you think when you hear other podcasters do it either way. Also check out the great thoughts in Podcasters and Podcasting Technology Resources] communities on Google+, and my personal Google+ profile. Announcements * Another Podcast Master Class starts on September 1! Sign up now to learn how to take your podcast from average to amazing!™ * My Podcast Reviews is about to receive a major update and affiliate program! All current paying members will benefit, and you can sign up for the email list to receive the news. * Podcast Places is about to launch its second phase to include more resources. If you would like to contribute and help promote your podcast, sign up for the email list to receive updates. * Check out my new Podcasting Video Tips episode about an affordable, bright lighting kit. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?" subtitle="July 14, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap170.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685683/are-you-really-a--podcaster--and-should-you-really-be-podcasting-/">View Details</a> Is “podcast” really the right label for the content we produce? Can just any audio or video content on the Internet be a podcast? And is podcasting really the thing you should be doing for your hobby or business? This topic was suggested in part by Jason Bryant from the Short Time wresting podcast. Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> What is a “podcast”? “Podcast” is a technical label for a specific method of distribution. By definition, a podcast is episodic audio, video, PDF, or epub content distributed through an RSS-formatted XML feed and downloadable via the “ tag. YouTube content isn't a podcast You can distribute the exact same content from your podcast onto YouTube, but nothing on YouTube is actually a podcast. YouTube doesn't publish downloadable links for videos and doesn't offer properly formatted RSS feeds for channels. Multimedia on a website isn't a podcast Audio or video on a website, even if in a series of blog posts, is not—technically—a podcast if the multimedia files are not distributed in the RSS feed via an enclosure tab. This is one of the things that FeedBurner helps you do. It can take a regular RSS feed with plain download links to media and turn it into a podcast feed with the right tags and other information. (But only use FeedBurner when your CMS doesn't already give you the power and freedom to create and own your own RSS feed.) “Podcast” doesn't mean professional or amateur There's nothing about “podcast” that requires amateur or professional. A podcast could be infrequent from a little kid in his play room, or it could be a daily show that is also broadcast over radio. The lines are blurring Where this gets more complicated is when big companies like Stitcher or Clear Channel (creators of iHeartRadio) make apps and services that distribute shows. Many of these shows may be powered by a podcast RSS feed, but some of them aren't. iHeartRadio and Stitcher aren't technically podcatchers because you can't manually add an RSS feed to them. But these apps, and others like them, do give you another way of consuming podcasts and other shows that are very similar to podcasts. Don't mix terminologies Just like “podcast” is a label for a specific kind of distribution, so are “radio,” “television,” and “newspaper.” In particular, I hear some people call podcasting, “Internet/online radio.” This only confuses the matter because it's inappropriately mixing terminology. As soon as content is distributed to through the Internet, it's no longer a radio show because it's not on the radio. Many will call podcasts “Internet/online radio” because it's easy for people to understand. (I'll suggest a better title in a moment.) I think we should explain this better. You can say, “It's like a radio or TV show, but downloadable through the Internet.” Think about some of the other specific labels we sometimes misuse. <ul> <li>Videotaping—When was the last time you saw a video camera that records to tape?</li> <li>Video and DVD—Disney was guilty of this for a while. Calling VHS “video” and separating DVD. The truth is that they're both video, just in different media formats.</li> <li>DVD—This is a new problem. When we want to own a movie we saw in the theater, it's easy to ask, “When is it coming out on DVD?” But we may really want the Blu-Ray or to purchase it digitally through iTunes, Amazon, or another service.</li> <li>The Web—”The Internet” and “The World Wide Web” are actually not synonymous. The Internet is how you get your email, social network updates, Netflix, system updates, view websites, and more. But the World Wide Web is specifically the part of the Internet that is home to websites. (That's why websites used to all use “www,” but that's no longer necessary or recommended.)</li> </ul> Yes, words change meanings. Like “book” no longer means only a printed or handwritten work of fiction or nonfiction. But “radio” is short for “radio waves.” You may download your podcast through some kind of radio waves (wi-fi or cellular), but that doesn't make the content radio as soon as you unplug from the wire. Conclusion: What is the best label for the content we create? I think it's also not always a good idea to tightly embrace the term “podcast”; we can misuse that, too. For example, don't call the content you upload to YouTube your podcast, because it's not a technically podcast on YouTube. This is also why I recommend against using the word “podcast” in your titles. It's like movies using “movie” or books using “book.” Imagine if JK Rowling called it, “The Harry Potter Book”; or if Marvel called it, “The Avengers Movie”; or if Taylor Swift called her album, “Red Music Compact Disc.” Yes, there are exceptions, like “The Lego Movie” and “The Bible” (which actually means “The Book”). In general, I think we should brand our content without the media, which gives far more flexibility to take that title across media. For example, “the Ramen Noodle clean-comedy” works on YouTube, a podcast, a blog, and more. When we're talking about the audio or video content you product, I think the best label is “show.” It's extremely flexible, accurate, and people will understand it. This doesn't mean “podcast” is a bad word that we should stop using! We need to educate people on this new content-distribution method, just like people had to do when broadcast radio and television were becoming popular. Podcast is a new method of distribution that deserves its own label. Despite the many attempts to popularize other labels, like “netcast,” “podcast” is here to stay and we should do our part to help everyone place it as an additional way of consuming content, along with books, television, radio, newspapers, blogs, websites, social networks, and more. When I tell people, “I host a talk show on the Internet,” they can relate and get a good idea of what I do. I can further educate them by saying, “You can subscribe for free to automatically download the latest episodes on your computer, mobile device, and even some new cars. It's called podcasting.” Are you really a “podcaster”? Ask Jeff Goins if he's a blogger and he'll say, “No, I'm a writer.” Ask JK Rowling if she's a book author and she'll probably say, “No, I'm a storyteller.” Don't limit yourself I think we limit ourselves when we call ourselves “podcasters.” That, by definition, means that we only distribute episodic content syndicated through RSS as downloadable media via the “ tag. Try that as a pick-up line! Conclusion: You are more than your media distribution “Podcast” has its place in our language, but we need to look beyond a particular format or media distribution method and use a more appropriate title for ourselves. “Talk-show host,” “broadcaster,” “journalist,” “reporter,” “speaker,” “subject expert” and more would be more appropriate and less restrictive. Should you really be podcasting? You have a message to share, but does that mean a podcast is the best way to do it? Why not podcast? Spencer Haws made quite a commotion in the podcasting space when he published a blog post, “Why You Should NOT Start a Podcast.” It was essentially the complaints from laziness and unmet high expectations. Cliff Ravenscraft spent about two hours to specifically and kindly challenge Spencer's points, after that, Spencer had a change of mind and published, “Maybe You SHOULD Start a Podcast Afterall….” There are, indeed, some reasons to probably not podcast. (A single one of these being true doesn't mean you shouldn't podcast.) <ul> <li>You're not a good communicator</li> <li>Your voice is hard for listening</li> <li>You want to podcast just for the money</li> <li>You have no idea what to talk about</li> <li>You aren't allowed to have a public platform</li> <li>You're afraid of what people think</li> <li>You don't have enough discipline to be consistent</li> <li>You don't have much technical knowledge and finances</li> </ul> Don't let just one or two of these things stop you. Just like people who advise against two first-borns or two last-borns getting married. It doesn't mean it's a completely bad idea, it just means you'll have some struggles to overcome. But if most of the above reasons are true for you, then maybe podcasting isn't the best way for you to build a platform at this time. Why podcast? I often speak at conferences on “Why you should podcast and how to start the RIGHT way,” and here are the five points I usually share. <ol> <li>Reach a new audience—It happens over and over that a blogger starts a podcast and people find him or her because of the podcast. Pat Flynn, from Smart Passive Income, even said, “More people have discovered my brand through my podcast than any other source” [emphasis added].</li> <li>Reach your existing audience in a new way—People can listen to your audio podcast while they drive, work, eat, exercise, mow the yard, relax, in or out of wireless data, and more. You can't read or watch during all of those same activities. This makes your content more accessible.</li> <li>Establish yourself as an expert—Because audio and video podcasting focuses on your verbal communication, it's hard to edit yourself to hide poor presentation skills. This also means that people will hear a more authentic voice from you, which makes a far longer-lasting impression than written words. In a podcast, people can hear how well you know your content, how passionate you are, and how good you are at explaining things.</li> <li>Market your products or services—A podcast can be a great way to grow your business. When your business is relevant to your podcast, your audience will be far more inclined to work with you or buy your recommendations.</li> <li>Build stronger relationships—Podcasting, especially audio, is extremely personal. I take podcasts with me where no one else can go and continue a conversation, like mowing the yard, shopping, or even using the restroom. This already makes a stronger connection because of the frequency and almost intimacy of the communication. Podcasting is also commonly built around passion. When two people share mutual passions, their relationship strengthens and can grow to something mutually beneficial.</li> </ol> Conclusion: Should you podcast? If you're listening to The Audacity to podcast or reading these show notes, then you've already taken the first step toward podcasting (and maybe several). So chances are high that you should be podcasting. Maybe you just need help overcoming your fears. Very few people regret podcasting when they've actually invested the time and energy to create great content and communicate it well (and consistently). If you've been struggling to start or stay podcasting, I'd love to help! Announcements * I've scheduled weekly time to write more blog posts and produce more videos, both about podcasting. So make sure that you are subscribed to my email list, and my separate video podcast about podcasting, “Podcasting Video Tips,” on YouTube or iTunes. Thank you for the iTunes reviews! – Chris “Slam” Anderson from Slam Session: A geek's guide to God, the galaxy, and government – The Liferocity Podcast When you rate and especially write a review for The Audacity to Podcast, it greatly encourages me and it helps other people find the podcast. Thank you! If you haven't yet, please consider writing a review for The Audacity to Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, and Podcasting Video Tips on iTunes. Mention your name and podcast in the review for a link like these. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?" subtitle="July 7, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685684/does-your-podcast-need-interaction-or-an-email-list-/">View Details</a> Interaction often sets podcasting apart from traditional media. Podcast listeners have learned that hosts are generally responsive and feedback is often included. But do you need to interact in order to have a successful podcast? Marketers are always talking about the importance of building your email list. Many will even cite their list (usually a very big one) as being the source for millions of dollars in sales. Do you really need an email list for you podcast? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Do you need to interact with your audience? I used to use the acronym “POD” to describe what your podcast needs: passion, organization, and dialog. But is it really that important to interact with the people watching or viewing your content? This topic was suggested by Ben Avery from Welcome to Level Seven, the unofficial Marvel's Agents of SHIELD podcast. 3 kinds of interaction There are many ways to receive feedback from your audience, and several ways to ask for feedback. Every method of feedback seems to come down to three styles of online interaction <ol> <li>Public: social-network interactions If you have any public presence, you open yourself to responses. This could be on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, or other online communities. Responding to these are usually quick interactions, but responding can demonstrate accessibility and personality.</li> </ol> Some platforms are one-way, like podcast reviews, where you're unable to respond directly to the commenter. <ol> <li> Private: direct feedback If you offer any direct contact methods, like email or voicemail, then you have the option to engage in a private conversation. This usually involves deeper conversations with more details. This can also provide content for your show. </li> <li> Shared: guest appearances When you invite a guest or cohost onto your podcast, or you're the guest or cohost on another show (or blog), the topic turns from a presentation to a conversation. This may not be ideal for every person or every show. </li> </ol> Benefits of interaction When you involve others in your content, it's a potential “win” for both you and the listeners. <ol> <li>Brings extra perspectives</li> <li>Provides new content</li> <li>Makes your community feel valued</li> <li>Positions you as personal and approachable</li> <li>Converts commenters into raving fans.</li> </ol> Disadvantages of interaction Let's be honest. Sometimes, interaction is not a good thing for the content. <ol> <li>May distract from your presentation</li> <li>May be redundant</li> <li>May raise irrelevant issues</li> <li>May not be where you want to take the show</li> <li>May be too low quality to use</li> </ol> Conclusion: interact as much as fits I plan to talk more about handling positive, negative, and show feedback in the future. For now, I do recommend that you interact with your audience as much as you can. This may mean simple, “Thanks for the feedback!” messages you use in reples, or including a message every now and then in your podcast. You could even simply mention someone by name or reference that something was from feedback. Look at traditional media: TV shows, news broadcasts, talk shows, and more. Most of them have drastically increased how much they incorporate audience participation in some way, even if it's just chatting with official hashtags. Scripted TV shows usually don't incorporate fan feedback, but the cast and crew are often on social networks interacting with their fans. Find what fits with your show. But always try to be as human as possible and make others feel valued. It's very hard to grow a successful podcast if your audience doesn't feel valued. This doesn't mean you have to be accessible to 100% of your audience, but at least demonstrate that you're listening and interacting. Do you need an email list for your podcast? “Build your list” seems to be universal marketing advice for bloggers, podcasters, and businesses. But is this really something you should consider for a successful podcast? What you can do with an email list I'll cover how to use an email list for podcasting in the future. So here are some quick ideas of how you could use an email list for your podcast. <ol> <li>Notify of new episodes</li> <li>Provide extra content</li> <li>Announce important things</li> <li>Request specific feedback</li> <li>Share other interesting stuff</li> </ol> Benefits of an email list 1. Direct connection with your audience 2. Easy opportunities for feedback (by allowing replies) 3. Build trust for recommending or announcing products and services 4. Profit from quick actions 5. Connect your audience with content they may have missed Disadvantages of an email list 1. Easy to “offend” with frequent or infrequent content 2. Takes time to create more content 3. Potentially low value in automated content 4. May seem gimmicky if you're just starting out Conclusion: start building your email list Yes, I do believe that having an email list is extremely valuable. Even if you use it for nothing else except announcing special events. The earlier you can start on your list, the better. Even if you have no bonus you can offer for sign-ups, offer it as a way to receive updates via email. You could even start with automated RSS emails. If you have separate sites, I recommend having separate lists for each one, at least separate groups. I use and recommend MailChimp for email lists. What do you think about interaction and email lists? Please comment! Announcements * The My Podcast Reviews affiliate program is about to launch! Sign up for the email list to receive the details. * Podcast Places is growing and you can help and promote your podcast at the same time! Sign up for the Podcast Places email updates to get the details soon. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?" subtitle="June 30, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685685/is-itunes-really-the-place-for-podcasts--do-you-need-a-mobile-app-/">View Details</a> Most podcasters will consider iTunes as the podcast directory. But should you stop there? Or should you even bother with iTunes and get a mobile app for your podcast instead? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Is iTunes really the place for podcasts? In 2005, Apple released iTunes 4.9, which included its own podcast directory. Until then, the main podcast apps were iPodder, Juice, and some others (most of which are dead today). Since 2005, iTunes has been as high as 90% of a podcast's downloads. Is iTunes still relevant to the podcasting space today? Clearing confusion: What iTunes actually does iTunes is an app that connects people with your feed. You don't upload anything to iTunes itself. You only give it your RSS feed, which it then publishes to its directory. In order to operate quickly, iTunes caches information for its directory. This is like taking a snapshot of content and updating the snapshot every now and then. This is why you won't see your latest episode immediately in the iTunes store, but subscribers have immediate access to your latest episode (as long as you don't use FeedBurner or another feed service, or have problems with your feed). How popular is iTunes? iTunes is still the largest podcast consumption app. How big? Rob Walch reported %%%% across all LibSyn stats for May, 2014. In my own Noodle.mx Network stats, I see iTunes and the Podcasts app together representing 55.9% of our downloads. After web browsers, my next highest app is Downcast with only 3%. Rob reported that Stitcher is at 2.57% of all downloads, more than any other podcast app combined (except for Apple's app). This makes it the #2 app/directory for your podcast, after iTunes. The iTunes API also powers several other podcast apps, and iTunes podcast links even work on the BeyondPod app. So listing your podcast in iTunes automatically puts your show in other apps and directories. What's the downside to iTunes? There are plenty of people that hate iTunes and Podcasts for iOS for various reasons. One problem that has affected some podcasters is that iTunes comes with its own rules. Apple has technical feed and hosting requirements, as well as content restrictions. For example, you may not use profanity in your show title, episode titles, or descriptions. If you do, your podcast will be kicked out of iTunes. Being such a massive platform for podcasts, we're at Apple's mercy for how podcasts appear in iTunes and the features the platform offers. Is iTunes just about rankings, ratings, and reviews? I've heard a couple podcasters who chose to avoid iTunes because they believed it was just a competition space. While it's true that shows can receiving ratings and reviews, and that these affect your ranking. It's mostly irrelevant to your audience who has already decided to subscribe. Yes, being on a platform that allows reviews opens you up to potential criticism. This will be hard to hear: if you can't take some criticism online, then you probably shouldn't be creating content online. Imagine an author who removes their book from all bookstores, including Amazon.com, because they didn't like that others could write reviews! If you need help tracking your podcast reviews, check out My Podcast Reviews! Conclusion: Yes, your podcast should be in iTunes! Regardless of your opinion of Apple and iTunes, you should list in the #1 platform. This makes it much easier for your potential audience to subscribe by simply clicking or tapping a couple links. That's much easier than asking them to copy and RSS feed into a podcast app. Does your podcast need its own mobile app? Mobile apps seem all the rage these days, especially with prominent podcasters (like Marc Maron, Pat Flynn, and more) having their own apps for their podcast. But should you get one for your own podcast? What can your own app do? Having your own app for your podcast can have several benefits. <ol> <li>Reduce the complexity for new podcast-consumers. More people are familiar with installing apps than subscribing to podcasts.</li> <li>Grow your audience by being findable on app-only directories, like Google's Play Store for Android.</li> <li>Notify users instantly when a new episode is available, when you broadcast live, or when anything important happens. (These are called “push notification.”)</li> <li>Make it easier for users to engage by simply tapping a button to email, text, call your voicemail number, or send an audio/video message.</li> <li>Make it easier for users to share your content by implementing your own sharing buttons for social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or whatever you want) as well as email or even SMS texting.</li> <li>Connect podcast subscribers with the other stuff your offer (other content formats, services, products, and more).</li> <li>Simplify the subscription process if you host multiple podcasts by offering a single app for all of your shows.</li> <li>Brand the experience completely to your show or network.</li> <li>Add additional, website-like features to the app, such as a chat room, social stream, live broadcast, forums, comments, and more.</li> <li>Use device features, like GPS, camera, microphone, and more.</li> <li>Gather personal information (with the user's permission) to learn more about your audience.</li> <li>Make money by selling the app.</li> <li>Make money by incorporating your own ads in the app.</li> </ol> Yes, you can do many of these with a mobile-optimized website. But getting users to consume regular content by visiting a website on their mobile device is even more difficult for them. You also miss features like push notifications, offline use, and more. Why you might not want an app Before you jump into getting your own app, consider some things. <ol> <li>Apps make you more visible, but ensure your content is worth finding and titled well for searches.</li> <li>Apps can cost a lot to develop, especially if you want to cover multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry).</li> <li>Apps require maintenance with technology updates, and also need customer support to ensure your users are happy.</li> <li>You may not have a large enough audience that anyone would want an app.</li> </ol> Where can you go to get your own app? There are several options for getting your own app made. <ol> <li>Hire a custom developer or team through sites like ~~Elance or Odesk~~ Upwork.</li> <li>Pay extra for LibSyn's app options, if you already host with them.</li> <li>Pay Spreaker $99/year for a super-basic app.</li> <li>Buy a template to customize yourself (requires some basic programming understanding) from places like CodeCanyon.</li> </ol> I'll update this page with more resources for getting your own app as they stand out. Conclusion: You should think carefully about your own app Certainly, having your own app has many benefits. I do think it would be great if every podcast had its own app. But you must carefully consider whether the potential benefits justify the cost. Is growing your audience or making things easier worth $100 per year? In case you're wondering, I do very much want my own app for Noodle.mx Network. But I just can't afford it yet. Running a network means everything is instantly more expensive. Learn more about mobile apps for podcasts Announcements * My Podcast Reviews is launching an affiliate program soon. Sign up for the email list to receive information when its available. * My newest podcasting resource is being soft-launched: Podcast Places will show you everywhere you and your podcast should be. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Does SEO really matter in podcasting?" subtitle="June 23, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685686/does-seo-really-matter-in-podcasting-/">View Details</a> Everyone talks about your search-engine optimization (SEO) with every platform on the web. But does SEO really matter if you host a podcast instead of blogging? This topic was suggested by Joshua C. Liston: “Does keyword-loading your show title/author field etc (SEO) really work long term?” Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Buy my SEO for Podcasters course! What is search-engine optimization (SEO)? Simply put, SEO is about organizing written content so it will show up in searches. Don't think of SEO as only a Google thing. There are several search engines you can consider leveraging for your podcast. <ul> <li>Google</li> <li>YouTube</li> <li>Bing/Yahoo!</li> <li>iTunes</li> <li>Amazon.com</li> </ul> The core strategy of SEO is writing quality content that uses relevant keywords your potential audience would enter to find the stuff they want. Search-engine algorithms are frequently tweaked and updated. These focus on improving search results by recognizing high-quality content, diminishing shady practices, and better indexing relevant and related content. Generally, search engines are becoming more human-like in how they prioritize content. Here's the quick tip on killer SEO: write what humans will want, not what machines will want. How can SEO help your podcast? Optimizing your content for search engines is about making it easy for people to find. Showing up in relevant searches is a big way to grow your podcast audience. Each piece of content you produce can help or harm your “ranking” to searches. Let's take a basic example: a tennis podcast. Not only would you want potential subscribers to find you by searching for <code>tennis podcast</code>, but you also want them to find you from your specific content. This could be “how to improve your game,” “tennis news,” “tennis gear reviews,” and more. If you have content that shows up in these and other relevant searches, then you'll increase your reputation, which can pay off in far more ways than simply having more podcast subscribers. Learn everything about SEO for Podcasters! Good SEO practices in podcasting We could spend hours talking about the best SEO strategies, and I have an upcoming webinar and training resource all about SEO for podcasters. Here are some great ways to implement or improve your SEO for podcasting. <ol> <li>Write great titles Titles are the most important text in SEO. Google, YouTube, iTunes, and every search engine will prioritize the title more than other text. Humans also use titles to decide whether the content interests them. Titles are also commonly used in social-network shares.</li> </ol> Consider three similar titles. <ul> <li>“John Smith shares 10 tips for being awesome”—The most prominent information is “John Smith” because it is front-loaded (see #2). This is great if you have well-known guests.</li> <li>“10 ways to be awesome, with John Smith”—This still includes the name, but now the focus is on the highly-sharable “10 ways …” part.</li> <li>“How can you be more awesome?”—Dropping both the name and the shareable title, this focuses on what people may actually enter into search engines.</li> </ul> You can get more advanced with SEO plugins that allow you to change your “ tag so search engines and many social tools will see a different title than what you display on the blog post. For example, I simply strip the episode abbreviation (” – TAP179″) from my SEO titles. <ol> <li>Front-load content “Front-loading” is where you put the most important, most interesting, most concise information first in titles, excerpts, and content. Look at any news article for great examples of this. Usually, you get the major parts of the story just from the first sentence. The more you read, the more details you get.</li> </ol> Look at your titles, written content, and recorded content and find where the most important stuff is. Move this stuff forward as much as possible. Podcast consumes will be quick to fall off if the content isn't interesting. Do you really want them to leave having only heard about your current weather? <ol> <li>Use images Regardless of whether you podcast in audio or video, your show notes on your website should have at least one relevant image. (You have a website with great show notes, right?) Not only does this make your content more shareable on networks like Pinterest, Facebook, and even Twitter (if you use Twitter Cards).</li> </ol> For SEO, images give you two valuable opportunities to use more keywords or strengthen your usage. <ol> <li>File name—Change the names of your images to match your content. For example, <code>how-to-be-awesome.jpg</code> is better than <code>image20452a.jpg</code>. For WordPress, Media File Renamer and Media Rename are two free plugins that can rename your images after you upload them.</li> <li><code>alt</code> tag—HTML code for inserting images offers an additional tag to make your images accessible to the visually impaired. If your images don't have <code>alt</code> tags, then a screen reader will say, “image” for every image you use. To make your site more friendly for humans, you should describe the image in the <code>alt</code> tag. For example, “John Smith, the most-awesome person ever.” WordPress and most other content-management systems allow you to set the <code>alt</code> text when you embed or edit your image.</li> </ol> If you apply both of these techniques, your HTML would look like, <code><img src="images/how-to-be-awesome.jpg" alt="John Smith, the most-awesome person ever" /></code>. <ol> <li>Make great content Remember that search engines are becoming increasingly human-like. So whatever content you write should be high quality and not contain a lot of pointless “fluff.”</li> </ol> Popular searches do not yet search inside audio and video content, but there are some available (even Google had one for a while). Prepare for that day by making great content now and writing high-quality show notes for the text engines and humans. <ol> <li>Optimize your site and media for speed Website search engines are starting to prioritize web pages that load quickly. This makes sense because humans prefer web pages that load quickly. (Check your site speed with GTmetrix or Pingdom.)</li> </ol> Caching plugins like W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache can help you speed up your sites. But you can also do simple things yourself, like removing unnecessary plugins, reducing the number of sidebar widgets, and shrinking your images or not using so many. Your media speed won't matter as much because of the nature of podcast consumption. But it's still important to not push out more than your average audience can handle with their bandwidth. You may think you sound better at 384 kbps, but that's just wasting storage space, bandwidth, and the time it takes to download or stream the larger file. HD can also be a culprit if your video content doesn't have to be in full 720p or 1080p. (I release my video episodes at 640 × 360, but publish the full HD on YouTube.) Learn more about SEO techniques in podcasting Bad SEO practices in podcasting SEO can be a shady business. There are many self-proclaimed experts who will advocate risky practices or ways to “hack” the system in order to appear higher in search results. Be careful with any of these because they're often the first victims of search-engine updates. They also don't matter much to humans. Here are some of the SEO practices to avoid. <ol> <li>Keyword-stuffing Don't try so hard to use your target keywords that your titles end up being unfriendly and spammy. For example, my popular episode “The best podcast hosting options” includes some great keywords and it now ranks very well for relevant searches. But I could have tried too hard and named it, “Best hosting servers for podcasts, bloggers, YouTubers, vloggers, video podcasters, audio podcasting, to grow your audience and make money by monetizing your podcast.”</li> </ol> Yes, I went over the top on that example to make the point. Some stuff in that example are redundant, some is completely irrelevant. Also don't stuff your show notes or descriptions/excerpts. <blockquote> Podcast hosting options can be confusing. But the best podcast hosting will work for audio podcasting, video podcasting, and even YouTuber vloggers. Learn these best podcast hosting options so you'll have the best hosting for your podcast. </blockquote> <ol> <li>Abusing the fields iTunes currently displays your title, artist, and description for your podcast. Some podcasters will apply shady practices of replacing their artist name with their subtitle or stuffing their title with guest names. These fields are not designed for that. While it may look cute on one platform and in one context, it becomes impractical and annoying in other contexts.</li> </ol> It's fine to put a keyword with your name, like “Daniel J. Lewis, podcasting coach.” But don't get crazy! <ol> <li> Scarce or no show notes Write more than a sentence of show notes. Include any lists, links, media, or resources you mention in your podcast. I recommend more than a mere bullet-point list of raw items. Learn how to write better show notes. </li> <li> Spam/cross-posting for “backlinks” “Backlinks” are links to previous content from other sources. Search engines see these as validating the authority of a particular post, but these engines are also getting good at detecting fake backlinks. The best way to get quality backlinks is to write great content and encourage and empower others to share it. </li> </ol> Conclusion: remember SEO, but focus on great content Yes, search-engine optimization (SEO) is important for bringing in new listeners. It's not “If you build it, they will come.” SEO is about, “If you build what other people want and are looking for in a way that makes you findable, they will come.” Your best SEO technique will be to focus on making high quality content that is easy for humans to consume—even if by reading instead of watching or listening. Think about what makes things easier for you (headlines, images, titles, concise paragraphs, etc.) and that can be a good starting point. Click here for my complete SEO for Podcasters course! Announcements * My Podcast Reviews Is now tracking more than 100 podcasts with a total of over 8,000 reviews! Sign up and get your own international podcast reviews automatically emailed to you! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178" subtitle="June 16, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685687/do-you-really-need-to-edit-your-podcasts--what-about-authenticity----tap178/">View Details</a> Editing is a savior to some, and hell to others. But do you really need to edit your podcasts? Or should you be editing when you don't? For the sake of example, this podcast episode has no additional editing, and will have my comments on what I would have edited at the end. Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> What is editing? Editing doesn't always mean removing stuff. Sometimes, it means improving your content by moving sections, updating information, or adding new stuff. Editing is anything you do that changes the recording from its raw version. Why edit podcasts? There are many reasons to consider editing your podcast before you publish. <ul> <li>Insert intro, outro, segues, backgrounds, and other sound clips or visual aids</li> <li>Fix problem areas, such as static, overly loud, or overly quiet places</li> <li>Relieve some pressure by knowing that you can pause and repeat what didn't come out right</li> <li>Tighten flow by removing gaps between thoughts or conversation passes (such as waiting for the other person to respond)</li> <li>Remove mistakes, such as coughs, mic bumps, and other unwanted noises</li> <li>Refine communication, such as removing verbal crutches, clean up dialog, cut irrelevant parts</li> <li>Adding information, such as commercials, segments, corrections, or other extras you missed before</li> </ul> Generally, we do (or have someone else do) all this editing to give a better, smooth, more understandable, and more professional presentation. Depending on your editing skills with your software of choice, you may believe that you can turn any bad podcast into a great episode—with enough time. Why not edit podcasts? Many podcasters hate editing for a variety of reasons. <ul> <li>It takes too much time (usually 3 minutes of editing for every 1 minute of audio, double for video)</li> <li>They don't have the skills</li> <li>It costs too much to have someone else do it</li> <li>They want to get the episode out quickly</li> <li>They don't care about how they sound</li> <li>They want to sound “authentic”</li> </ul> Generally, time and expense are the biggest reasons to not edit. If you try to be perfect, you'll never podcast. (I struggled with that during the first two years of my podcasting!) Does editing remove authenticity? Some podcasters will be so confident in themselves that they will refuse to edit anything. You may even hear something another podcaster would normally edit out left in and even focused on with, “I'm not going to edit that out.” Authenticity is a two-sided issue. On one side, editing will seem like a lack of authenticity. It's like you don't want people to hear the truth and so you cover it up with editing. On the other side, editing can improve authenticity by allowing the viewer or listener to focus on your content, presentation, and personality. It all depends on what level of editing you attempt. How much should you edit? The answer to this question is entirely up to you. For some, the answer is, “more than you do now”; for others, it's, “less than you do now.” The beauty of podcasting is that you can do it however you want. But all choices have consequences. So over-editing your show may kill your drive, and under-editing your show may make your audience want to kill you! Like many things, I generally recommend a middle-ground that combines the best of both sides. My 3 golden rules of podcast-editing are simple. Golden rule #1: Improve your presentation first Most people prefer to edit because they're not good presenters. Just like with noise removal, it's always best to fix the problems before you press record. If you want to edit every “um,” “uh,” “ya know,” and other verbal crutch from your podcast, try it once and count how many you removed. Then work to remove them from your regular language. The easiest way to overcome verbal crutches is to replace them with silence. If you feel unsure of something, pause instead of saying, “um.” Depending on your software, you may be able to truncate these silences easily with a simple tool and sound smarter. Golden rule #2: Remove distractions Listen closely to everyone around you and you'll notice we all have things we could edit, but they're not distracting (until you have now focused on them!). I recommend keeping a pad of paper to jot down timestamps for when something catastrophic or overly distracting happens that you know you'll want to edit later. Alternatively, use an external record that can place markers, or learn how to use your recording software to place markers as you go (Audacity calls this the Label Track). Keep these notes or markers simple. Just knowing the time is enough for you to jump to that spot and recognize what need to be edited. If you're working off timestamps you wrote down, work from the end to the beginning so you don't shift any of your points in ways that they no longer align with your notes. What you consider a distraction is up to you, but be objective and consider your audience. A few pauses or some verbal crutches may not be very distracting, but a loud sniffle or dog bark in your room would be distracting. If you have a guest in your podcast, focus on making them look and sound great! Also make sure your editing doesn't cause distractions. This is easy with video where you can see edit points. That's why multiple camera angles and B-roll footage can be great. In audio, a sharply cut or or sound clip can also be just as distracting. Golden rule #3: Keep authenticity Don't edit yourself so much that you no longer sound like you. If you say “um” in every sentence and edit all of them out, then people will be surprised if they meet you in person and hear you use “um” so much. Is a dark bark in the background part of your authenticity? No, it was a mistake. Is your little stumble over a word and quick repeat part of your authenticity? Maybe. Is your random change of mental direction part of your authenticity? Probably. But in everything you consider editing, think back to how you can improve your personal communication first. Conclusion: Is editing necessary? It depends There's no clear answer on this one. Some people are really good at presenting that they don't need any editing. Other people understand editing well enough that they can present with mistakes, but they are easy to edit (like Michael Hyatt). Other people may be starting out and may struggle with presenting well and can use some editing to help them make a good first impression. And sometimes we all have little mistakes that could be removed without distraction. What if you need editing but don't have the time? First, go back to Golden Rule #1 and improve your presentation. If you still need help, then consider finding a volunteer or hiring someone. Think about how much else you could accomplish if you didn't have to spend the time you do to edit. Editing expenses range from $10 per labor hour to $50 and sometimes more. If you'd like to hire my editor (he handles many of my videos, the Ramen Noodle, and ONCE podcast), contact John Bukenas (john.bukenas@gmail.com). What do you think about podcast editing and authenticity? Comment on the show notes and share your perspective. Announcement * My Podcast Reviews is now available and growing fast! It takes just a few minutes to get your first email with all of your podcast reviews. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177" subtitle="June 10, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685688/do-you-really-need-audio-visual-branding-or-promos-for-your-podcast----tap177/">View Details</a> Photo Credit: “Caveman Chuck” Coker via Compfight cc You've probably considered your branding and promos as tools to grow your podcast audience, or to look and sound better. But are these worth the costs, or might there be better ways to reach these podcasting goals? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Do you need audio/visual branding? We're surrounded by branding. We even use some branding trademarks as regular English verbs (like “Google,” “Xerox”) and nouns (like “PowerPoint,” “Chapstick,” “Kleenex”). Branding is hugely important to companies; should you care about branding for your hobbyist or professional podcast? What is branding? If you have any public presence, you have a brand—you! What are you known for? What do people associate with you? How would other people describe your personality? A brand will combine these things in a way that connects with your audience factually and emotionally. Your brand differentiates you from the other options. Create a strong brand that connects well, and people will remember it. What is audio branding? Aside from your own content and presentation style, audio branding usually refers to the following elements. <ol> <li> Intro/opening </li> <li> Bumpers </li> <li> Outro/closing </li> <li> Promos </li> </ol> Each of these can be as simple or as complicated as you want. The Audacity to Podcast has simple audio branding right now—Different parts of the same song used for opening and closing, and no extras. Other podcasts may have more highly produced audio branding with a custom intro, a variety of bumpers for selected segments, a custom outro, and maybe even a custom promo. Each of these may voiceovers, production effects, sound effects, custom music, and more. Here's a test for audio branding. Ignore the words and listen to anything else. If you associate what you hear with that particular podcast, then it has its own, unique audio branding. What is visual branding? Video-podcasting will share many of the same branding elements as audio-podcasting, just with a visual form. For example, the intro or outro may have a montage or animation, and the bumpers may include on-screen text and transitions. When you step up from audio to video, you allow more branding options. <ol> <li>Lower thirds</li> <li>On-screen display style</li> <li>Set design</li> </ol> Visual branding also covers the world outside of your podcast media. <ol> <li>Website design</li> <li>Podcast cover art</li> <li>Banners</li> <li>Physical promotional materials</li> </ol> The strongest branding will tie in across all platforms, but can still leverage each platform's uniqueness. For example, The Audacity to Podcast website uses the exact same colors and fonts as the podcast cover art; and my Podcasting Video Tips show (on iTunes and YouTube) uses the same visual branding plus carries over the same audio branding from my audio podcast. Benefits of intentional branding You have branding, even if you don't mean to have it. But intentionally designing your audio and visual branding will give you several benefits in podcasting. <ol> <li>Associates you with your content</li> <li>Sets the tone for your approach to the content</li> <li>Differentiates your show from others, even before you get into the content</li> <li>Makes your show memorable, maybe even to “meme” status</li> <li>Communicates a higher level of professionalism, even for hobbyist content</li> </ol> When branding is missing or unintentional, it will seem unpolished, amateur, and leave nothing memorable. It's worse than plain vanilla ice cream—it's just the ice! (Even vanilla ice cream follows certain branding formulas, like color, texture, and flavor. Think of how weird purple ice cream would be!) Disadvantages of branding Let's be realistic. Coming up with great audio or visual branding can be hard! <ol> <li>Takes time to refine</li> <li>Becomes inflexible if you want to change too often</li> <li>Gives a bad impression if done poorly</li> </ol> How to handle branding better Whatever kind of branding you have, remember these tips to communicate your brand effectively. <ol> <li>Make your branding fit your personality—If you are soft-spoken and monotone, your branding should scream with high action and bright colors.</li> <li>Don't let branding get in the way of your content—Your audio intro or outro shouldn't be two minutes long (I've heard podcasts like that!), your video branding should be even shorter.</li> <li>Never forget your branding—Imagine if Coca-Cola let out a shipment of cans that were missing the logo! If you have good branding, use it!</li> <li>Keep your branding simple until you can afford more—You don't have to have highly produced branding. The more complicated you make it, the easier it becomes to mess up. You may not be able to afford the time or money for the ultimate branding yet.</li> <li>Stay consistent across platforms—Everywhere you are representing your brand, you should carry the same branding: social networks, website design, videos, audio podcasts, emails, business cards, podcast cover art, etc.</li> <li>Be yourself, or get someone else—If you are the voice of the branding, be personal and don't talk about yourself in the third person. Otherwise, get someone else to talk about you.</li> </ol> Do you need to hire a professional? We call them “professionals” because they're really good at what they do—usually far better than we are. If you don't have the necessary production experience, you will probably save a lot of time and end up with a far better result if you hire a professional to create your branding for you. I do design work, and I highly recommend Music Radio Creative for audio branding production. You can also do it yourself if you keep it simple! For audio branding, find a royalty-free, unpopular piece of music and cut it up into pieces you can use in different ways. Sites like PremiumBeat.com, JewelBeat, and other will offer multiple versions of a single track. Buy all of these for your song and use them for different things. For podcast cover art, think clean, big, and simple. For website design, buy a great theme like anything from StudioPress. When you're ready to make your branding amazing, that's when you should hire a professional if you can't do it yourself. Conclusion: branding highly recommended for success Do you need branding? Yes! It will be very difficult to reach any kind of “success” (however you define it) without any kind of branding. Should you produce and distribute podcast promos? Part of your branding will be in how your promote your podcast. What is a promo? A promo can really be anything that promotes your show. <ol> <li>Video teasers</li> <li>Banners</li> <li>Audio or video promos</li> <li>Physical products</li> <li>And much more</li> </ol> A promo for your show would be directed at people who don't already follow you. A teaser for a particular piece of content may be for both your existing audience and your potential audience. How to create a promo I previously had Mike and Izabela Rusell from Music Radio Creative share “10 elements of powerful podcast promos.” Listen to that discussion for more information, but here's a quick overview of the ten parts of a good podcast promo. <ol> <li>Call to action</li> <li>Short length</li> <li>Clips of your podcast</li> <li>Use professional voice talent</li> <li>Think about music choice</li> <li>Consider your promo as a donut</li> <li>Keep it clean</li> <li>The name of your podcast</li> <li>Silence</li> <li>Be shareable</li> </ol> The most important thing to remember for any promo is that it should communicate what you talk about and why people should listen. A long promo may do more harm than good. Is a promo really the right way to go? This contains a lot of a opinion. I think promos are trying too hard to apply an impersonal, traditional media approach to new media. I have never decided to subscribe to someone else's podcast because of their own promo. Maybe I'm an anomaly (I also resist irresistible offers). Most of the promos I hear are very poorly executed. Either the audio quality is horrible, it tells me nothing about the show content, it's over-produced, it's too long, it's too corny, or it tries too hard to sound like a movie trailer. Personal endorsement is far more powerful than someone else's commercial. As a podcaster, I'm far less likely to play someone else's promo in my podcasts than I am to give them some kind of endorsement. It's almost a self-defeating cycle. Sometimes, the podcasts that produce promos are the ones whose promos make them sound bad. A promo may also be a very lazy approach to promoting your podcast, when you would have far greater success engaging with people and those engagements could lead to a personal endorsement. What about using your own promos? Instead of making a promo for others to use, consider making promos for you to use! It could be for a product or service you offer (listen to Michael Hyatt's promos for Platform University, Michael Stelzer's promos for Social Media Marketing World, and so on), or it could be for another podcast you host (listen to Dave Jackson's promos for the Podcast Review Show). These promos serve a completely different purpose and seem to accomplish it well. The promo may allow you to replace a regular announcement with a refined message (like Michael Hyatt's), or the promo can be a segue to talk about what you're promoting (like Michael Stelzer's). Conclusion: get a professional promo, or skip it Do you need a promo for your podcast? I don't think so. I've seen (and host) successful podcasts that have grown very well without ever producing a promo. I also see podcasts get greater results from a personal approach instead of a canned promo. But if you want a promo, get it professionally produced or else it may be a waste. Announcements * My Podcast Reviews has launched! Sign up now to get international podcast reviews automatically emailed to you for one or all of your podcasts (and even your competitors')! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176" subtitle="June 2, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685689/should-you-launch-your-podcast-with-episode-0--does-itunes-new-and-noteworthy-really-matter----tap176/">View Details</a> “Episode 0” is a common strategy to help you launch your podcast in iTunes and help you get into “New & Noteworthy.” But do either of these actually matter for starting your podcast? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Should you launch your podcast with “Episode 0”? When you're starting your podcast, you must have at least one episode in your RSS feed. Nearly all podcast apps/directories require this. If you don't have at least one episode, your feed may even return a 404 “page not found” error. A common technique for launching (without prerecording a few episodes) is to start with an “Episode 0.” What is an “Episode 0”? Most podcasters who use an “Episode 0” treat it as an introduction to their entire show. It usually answers questions like the following. <ul> <li>Who are you?</li> <li>How are you qualified to talk about this?</li> <li>Why are you podcasting?</li> <li>What will this podcast be about?</li> <li>What can I expect about this podcast's format and schedule?</li> <li>Why should I subscribe? (What's in it for me?)</li> </ul> Each of these questions are important for you to answer, because your audience will ask them. But is an “Episode 0” the best way to do this? Some podcasters will use an audio or video promo as an “Episode 0.” I think that fine and good to put in a short promo as your first episode, but this isn't actually an “Episode 0.” (The next episode in this series will be about whether promos and audio branding are necessary and worth the expenses.) Why an “Episode 0” may be helpful Because “Episode 0” is usually a full introduction episode, it can become a resource for referencing in later episodes. It's something you can send people to for more information on you and your show's purpose. At any point, you could say, “To learn more about why I do this podcast, visit myawesomepodcast.com/introduction.” How do you think an “Episode 0” is helpful? Please comment and share your experience! Why an “Episode 0” may be worthless There are several reasons you may want to skip the “Episode 0”: <ol> <li> New people don't care about you One of the hardest and most important things to accept and remember in podcasting is that nobody cares about you—at least not yet; people care about your content first. Remember that people want to be helped and entertained. It seems that most “Episode 0” content is all about the podcast host, about the podcast itself (maybe some “navel-gazing”?), and is neither helpful nor entertaining. </li> <li> You need a great first-impression The first episode in your feed will usually be the most-downloaded. So do you really want “all about me” content to be everyone's first and most popular impression? </li> </ol> (In my case, my top episode is actually #5 about Chris's Dynamic Compressor with more than 12,000 downloads, #3 about the bare minimums (which I should update) with more than 9,000 downloads, and then #1 about the POD of podcasting with close to 8,000 downloads.) <ol> <li>You need more than one introduction An “Episode 0” may also be unnecessary and create an incorrect assumption in your mind. If you release an introductory episode, it's easy to assume that everyone has heard it and knows who you are and what your podcast is about. I recommend that you treat every episode as someone's first time consuming your content, so introduce yourself and the show every time. Because you do this every time, you need to figure out how to do it concisely. The more you refine this, the better your marketing will get.</li> </ol> You may remember that, for a long time, my introduction to The Audacity to Podcast was, “a ‘how-to' podcast about podcasting and using Audacity.” I later added “award-winning” to it. I would close with “Now that I've given you some of the guts and taught you some of the tools”—which has been part of my branding from the beginning—”it's time for you to go podcast with passion, organization, and dialog.” I've since refined that to remove the “cute” POD and be more practical. Now, my intro is, “Thank you for joining me for The Audacity to Podcast. I'm Daniel J. Lewis and this is the award-winning ‘how-to' podcast about podcasting. It's where I give you the guts and teach you the tools to launch or improve your own podcast for sharing your passions and finding success.” (I never read this. It's such a part of my branding that I can say it without thinking.) It's accurate and tells new listeners and reminds existing listeners what my content is all about. <ol> <li>You don't need an introduction episode Introductions as main content are very rare. You'll never see an introductory episode for TV shows, introductory movie for series, or introductory book for a series of novels. Each of these will often contain introductory content, but it is within the regular content and not content all by itself.</li> </ol> This doesn't mean you always have to jump straight into your regular format. It's okay to have your first episode help introduce your show, but you can make it so much better. Think of how you can make your first episode helpful to your audience, and weave an introduction into that. Here are some random examples of valuable content that includes introductory content. <ul> <li>For a show about video games, “The top 10 video games you should have played in the past 10 years”</li> <li>For an entrepreneur-interviews show, “10 steps to being a successful entrepreneur” (one of the steps can be “Listen to this podcast” and why!)</li> <li>For a podcast about a TV show, “What we hope to get from _____ TV series” or “Why you should be watching ____” (Check out what Ben and Daniel did at Welcome to Level Seven – the unofficial podcast for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD.)</li> <li>For a news shows, “The best news stories you never heard”</li> </ul> Remember that you don't have to record your first episode first. Actually, it may be better to record a couple or few regular episodes (before going live) and then going back to record your first episode. Then you can tease some of what's coming. Conclusion: skip “Episode 0” and start with great content It's up to you for what to do about an “Episode 0” you already released. If you decide it's not worthwhile, then you could either completely remove it, or replace it with something more valuable. If you're starting your podcast, think outside the “Episode 0” and figure out a way to launch with great content to make a great first-impression! Does “New & Noteworthy” really matter? Several podcasters have been talking about the “New & Noteworthy” section in iTunes. It may not be as important and unreachable as you may think, or maybe more than you thought. What is “New & Noteworthy”? When you submit a podcast to iTunes Store, it is personally reviewed by someone on the Apple podcasts team. Sometimes, they'll decide to feature it in a special section of iTunes called “New & Noteworthy” (N&N). Every category and subcategory of the iTunes podcast catalog has its own N&N listing, and the store front page has an overall list, too. But N&N isn't always new stuff. I've even had a couple of my old podcasts be featured again in N&N, and so have others. Thus, some people think it should be called “New or Noteworthy.” English grammar can sometimes get in the way of properly understanding the title of this section. It's not that every item in the list is both new and noteworthy. But this is a list of new podcasts and of noteworthy podcasts. Why is “New & Noteworthy” such a big deal? Podcasters want so much to be in iTunes' “New & Noteworthy” section because they want to grow their audience. It is irrefutably true that being in N&N will attract a lot of new people to your podcast. My Once Upon a Time podcast was listed in N&N when the second half of the TV-show's third season return. Because Noodle.mx Network is a successful podcast network, I am Content Partner with Apple, which gives me access to stats. (Yes, it's true that there are stats from Apple! Just not everyone can get them—yet.) Here are my findings from 2014. <ul> <li>March (season returned on March 9): 4,974 browsed to our iTunes listing, 484 subscribed</li> <li>April: 3,298 browsed, 256 subscribed</li> <li>May (season ended on May 12): 2,929 browsed, 289 subscribed</li> </ul> You can see that being featured again gave us a boost of twice the new subscriptions over the following months. When I launched The Audacity to Podcast, it quickly jumped to the #5 slot in N&N and I was getting thousands of downloads and my subscriptions jumped into the hundreds right away. The other truth of N&N is that the spike will die down when you're no longer featured. The above numbers indicate a large number of people browsing to our listing and maybe even sampling an episode, but fewer than 10% of those browsers chose to subscribe. This is why each of your episodes should introduce you and your show's purpose! So if you launch and want to get featured, you should ensure your first few episodes are some of your best content so you'll entice your browsers to stick around for more. But if you don't get featured, then you have a good opportunity to improve over time. How to get in “New & Noteworthy” on iTunes Simple: submit your podcast to iTunes. That's all it takes to be somewhere on the complete list of new and noteworthy podcasts. But most people have their eyes on the top thirty-two places that appear on the front page of the iTunes podcast catalog or within a category or subcategory of the podcast catalog. This is more about ranking and launching well. Here are the basic steps: <ol> <li>Have an audience eager for your content.</li> <li>Launch with at least one episode quality episode.</li> <li>Encourage your audience to subscribe, rate, and especially write reviews for your show in iTunes.</li> </ol> Those three steps are the most important, but here are some additional tips. <ul> <li>Have great-looking podcast cover art.</li> <li>Have a thorough description.</li> <li>Use good keywords in your show and episode titles and descriptions.</li> <li>Launch with three or more episodes.</li> <li>Consistently produce content for month after you launch.</li> </ul> Can you be “noteworthy” again? This is pure speculation! Yes, I think you can be noteworthy again when you truly deserve it. That sounds harsh, but here are two cases when your podcast as a whole (not an individual episode) may be noteworthy again. <ol> <li>Your show returned from a planned hiatus (and you'll be consistent again!)</li> <li>You rebranded your show</li> </ol> Those two are the only scenarios I can see for deserving to be noteworthy again. If either of these are the case, you could try emailing podcasts@apple.com with your show feed, iTunes URL for your show, and legitimate explanation for why your show should be considered noteworthy again. Conclusion: N&N matters, but focus on launching well Yes, the “New & Noteworthy” section in iTunes matters for your podcast and can help you find an audience you may have never reached. But look at this as a reward for launching with a great podcast instead of being part of your launch strategy or the requirement for a successful podcast. Announcements * Register for UK Podcasters or Podcast Movement, both the podcasting places to be in August 16–17, 2014. * My Podcast Reviews is launching this week! * I have a new, secret podcasting resource coming this week or next, and it will be free! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175" subtitle="May 26, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685690/are-episode-numbers-really-necessary----tap175/">View Details</a> Photo Credit: Håkan Dahlström via Compfight cc Do episode numbers really matter to you or your audience? Is there a better way to title your episodes or make your show-notes URLs? This topic was inspired by Mario Zamarron's question in the Podcasters community on Google+ and also inspired by Dino Dugan's passion opinion in the Podcast Community group on Facebook. Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Where did we get episode numbering? Since the inception of podcasting, the podcasting “forefathers” like Adam Curry, Dawn and Drew, Leo Laporte, and others have often used episode numbers. Episodic number actually isn't that common in traditional media, even less so now. Movie series used to have numbers (like the original Star Trek movies), but the recent trend is subtitles, which is actually far more common—Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, the Bourne series, Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, most of the Marvel movies, and so on. Even in television, where each episode is numbered, the individual episodes are rarely referenced by their numbers in public. My guess is that podcasters mostly use episode numbers without giving it much thought, mostly because that's what they see other podcasters do. Benefits of podcast episode numbers Episodic numbering is not meaningless and it provides several perks. <ul> <li>Progress measurement—It's great to look at your history and quickly see how many episodes you have released just by your current episode number. But that number could also be skewed based on alternative numbering (see below).</li> <li>Reputation—It feels great to get past episode 7, then to feel grown up with double-digits at 10, pass a milestone at 50, and celebrate when you break 100. If you've been podcasting for a while, your high episode numbers boost your reputation. Just look at Daily Giz Wiz near 1,500 episodes, or Geek News Central near 1,000.</li> <li>Potentially easy shortcut show-notes URLs—If you have smart show-notes URLs, it's much easier to tell people, “visit myawesomepodcast.com/5” for your show notes instead of telling them to find you show notes.</li> </ul> Sidenote: I never recommend replacing the WordPress slug for posts so visitors land on <code>/#</code>. Let that URL be the full title for SEO. I'm only referring to a shortcut URL (also known as a redirect). Disadvantages of podcast episode numbers It's not all pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows when you number your episodes. <ul> <li>Alternative numbering—How do you handle seasons, bonus content, or spinoffs?</li> <li>Multiple podcasts on one website—If you use a <code>/#</code> URL scheme, you'll have to extend that for each podcast.</li> <li>Prerecorded episodes—Do you know for certain when your episodes will publish?</li> <li>Changing the order—What if you want to squeeze in a different episode among your scheduled content?</li> <li>Distinguishing from blog content—If you actively blog on your site, podcast episodes need to stand out without being repulsive.</li> <li>Updating old information—What if your original information is now out of date, but you don't want to remove your original podcast episode?</li> </ul> More detail on episode numbers and show notes URLs The biggest benefit to using episode numbers is that you can have easy show notes URLs, especially if you use Pretty Link Pro (which gives you a Pretty Link creation widget right in the post editor page—makes the process much faster!). When I'm recording this episode, I can tell you, “visit the show notes for episode 175 at theaudacitytopodcast dot com slash one seventy-five.” This also means that I can easily refer you to previous episodes by giving you their episode number. This is easy for episodes I have memorized. Like I know my PowerPress setup tutorial was #72, I talked about getting into podcast directories in #69, I gave an overview of editing podcasts with Audacity in #60. But there are other episodes to which I don't remember the number—ironically, the episode about making easy show notes URLs (#21) is one such number I can never remember! A show notes URL with just a number may be easy to remember, but it's not memorable. Practically, this means that while you may remember episode 175 right now, you may not remember it in the future—and maybe neither would I! Since I have topic-focused episodes, it's easy for me to refer to a specific episode for that specific information. For example, I can send you to <code>theaudacitytopodcast.com/8</code> for my discussion on stats—but I desperately want to update that episode! So if you listen to #8, visiting its show notes URL (<code>theaudacitytopodcast.com/8</code>) would give you old information. If I revisit that topic in a new episode, would I redirect <code>/8</code> to the new episode, add a notice, or leave it? What if, instead, I said, “Learn more about stats at /stats,” and I make that URL point to my latest information about stats, with links to previous discussions? Sidenote: I never say, “forward-slash,” because the “forward” is unnecessary and redundant. There's a slash and a backslash and most people are familiar with slashes outside of computers, like “n/a,” or “and/or,” and such. If someone doesn't know which key is the regular slash, they won't know the difference between forward-slash and backslash anyway. Alternative numbering complications If you like the numbers format, even if you don't use them for your URLs, you may run into other issues. Seasons If you're on the fifth episode of your third season, should it be numbered 305, 3×05, or 95 (if this is your 95th episode)? TV-show-producers commonly use the “305” style, where the first number indicates the season and the second to numbers indicate the episode number of that season. But the public will sometimes use 3×05 or s5e05. If you choose “305,” then your audience may think you're on your 305th episode—but this is, of course, because they've been conditioned on what “305” means. If you want to do seasons, I recommend naming the episode “3×05,” but your shortcut show-notes URL can be <code>/305</code>. Bonus content You have your regular episodes, but you want to provide something extra, like an announcement or something else. I've seen half-numbers, like “80.5,” and others. This kind of content is usually time-sensative, so I think it would be fine to not include a number. In fact, you may want to remove the episode from your feed after the deadline has past. Spinoffs If you have spinoff content or formats, this can also complicate your episode number. When we first started Are You Just Watching?, we had our regular episodes that discussed DVD-released movies, and initial-reactions episodes that discussed in-theater movies that we could only see once. I still regret the original decision to number these separately. We would have episode 25 while we're on initial reactions 8. It got confusing. You might also consider this for feedback episodes. But I recommend that if you use episode numbers, to keep them arbitrary and carry them across any style of content. If you have something bonus or time-sensitive, don't number it. 007 vs. 7: leading zeroes or not? Leading zeroes are not human-friendly (especially if you have a license to kill!), so I don't recommend them for anywhere humans are supposed to see, like shortcut URLs, titles, or body text. The only times I use leading URLs are in my file names (tap001.mp3) and episode abbreviations in titles “TAP001.” I do also use them in Pretty Link Pro, but I have some fancy server-side code that will accept <code>/1</code>, <code>/01</code>, and <code>/001</code> just the same. Still use an episode number, even if it's meaninglessly arbitrary, in your Track Number field in the ID3 tags. When would you not want episode numbers? The best rule I can give you is to not use episode numbers when they either don't make sense, or they are distracting. I like how John Lee Dumas does it. I was in Entrepreneur on Fire #549, but he gave me the URL <code>eofire.com/danieljlewis</code> for sharing. It makes sense and it's memorable. Here are some tips, but not “rules.” <ul> <li>Use numbers in the title and URL if your episodes cover several topics.</li> <li>Use a word or words in your URL if you review a particular movie, interview a single guest, or address an individual topic.</li> <li>Consider dropping the number from your title if you blog heavily on your site and your show notes could read like a blog post.</li> </ul> Conclusion: it depends Should you or shouldn't you use numbers? That's really up to you and what makes the most sense for your content, your presentation, and your audience. What you should not do is use numbers just because “everyone else” does. The most important part is that your show notes are easy to get to, so that may mean using numbers or words in the URLs. It's up to you! Sidenote: Remember to keep your landing URL the same, long slug your content-management system (CMS, like WordPress) suggests. If you make additional shortcut URLs, set them as 301 redirects, so no search engines ever index the wrong URL. I'm changing some of my numbering After all of these considerations, I have decided to make The Audacity to Podcast's episodes more timeless by referring to a word-based show-notes URL instead of a number-based one. For example, the show notes for this episode are at <code>theaudacitytopodcast.com/episodenumbers</code>. But the Ramen Noodle and ONCE podcast will continue to use episode numbers. This will mean extra steps for me as I continue to make <code>/#</code> URLs and Pretty Link Pro will only make a single URL in the post editor. So I'll have to take extra steps for the extra URLs. Should you have an episode 0? Coming up next, I'll challenge the podcasting assumption of having an episode 0 to introduce yourself and your podcast. Send your feedback! Announcements * Learn how to take your podcast from average to amazing with Podcast Master Class. The next course is in September, 2014 * Check out my article in Podertainment magazine about episode titles (with some mention of episode numbers) Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174" subtitle="May 19, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685691/does-audio-video-quality-actually-matter--is-a-dynamic-mic-really-the-best----tap174/">View Details</a> The quality of your podcast production may be a criterion people use for choosing their podcasts, but how much does it really matter? Dynamic microphones are also praised as the best microphones (with the Heil PR40 being the “golden standard”). But is this really the kind of microphone you should consider? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Does audio/video quality actually matter? There are over 300,000 podcasts in iTunes now (not all active). You'll find a variety of audio and video quality levels. You don't have to sound amazing to be in iTunes, but some other podcast directories—like Stitcher—do have quality requirements. How important—really—is your production quality for having a successful podcast? What affects production quality? There are potentially three production-quality areas of focus for podcasts: <ol> <li>Audio quality (audio or video)</li> <li>Lighting quality (video)</li> <li>Video quality (video)</li> </ol> For each of these areas of production quality, the podcasting gear you use has the greatest impact—not the software or editing skills. There are many kinds of gear people use to record audio or video podcasts. <ul> <li>Studio equipment</li> <li>Smartphone or tablet</li> <li>Webcam</li> <li>Built-in computer microphone</li> <li>Telephone conferencing</li> </ul> Each equipment option has its own advantages and disadvantages. In general, you'll find that more convenience has lower quality and lower cost, and higher quality has less convenience and higher cost—but there are some powerful alternatives that break this generality! When it comes to video, the most expensive camera will be worthless if you're not well-lit. You can enhance just about anything with software, but how well you can enhance it depends on how well it was recorded. “Garbage in, garbage out” still applies. You can spray-paint garbage and surround it with scented candles and beautiful landscaping, but it's still garbage—just “enhanced garbage.” Does the audience care about quality? The most important thing to your audience will always be your content. There are some successful podcasts that have terrible production quality. But the audience keeps coming back for the content or the personality presenting the content. Where your audience will care about your quality is when its lack becomes distracting. For example, a quiet or muffled microphone may sound okay in a quiet office with noise-canceling headphones, but it may be completely unlistenable at fast speeds or in a noisy environment (like driving or mowing). Consider all the ways people consume podcasts and ensure you provide a great experience. Think about how the entertainment industry performs. It's common to see high-quality productions fail for lack of a great story (content) and story-telling technique (presentation). But it's also common to see productions with great content and presentation struggle to gain an audience because of poor production. When you're competing for an audience (depending on your perspective on competition), you don't want anything working against you. Your quality could be a major reason someone will chose another podcast over yours. How to improve your quality Remember this production-quality waterfall: <ol> <li>Audio quality</li> <li>Lighting quality</li> <li>Video quality</li> </ol> Practically, this means your microphone(s) will be the best thing to upgrade first. Audio only If you're producing an audio-only podcast, follow the chain of devices from your microphone to improve the quality. The microphone's connected to the preamp, the preamp's connected to the mixer, the mixer's connected to the compressor/limiter/gate (effects), the effects are connected to the EQ (equalization), the EQ's connected to the output, and the output's connected to the recorder. If you don't have all of those pieces in your audio chain, adding or upgrading them may improve your quality. Video It doesn't matter how high-definition your camera is, if you're not visible or poorly lit, no one can appreciate the camera's quality—or maybe even see you! If you need a cheap lighting kit with a lot of light output, look at the Fancierstudio 3800-watt kit (2 softboxes, 1 hairlight) or the ePhoto 4500W kit (3 softboxes). These kits are cheap in every way, but they put out a lot of light for under $200! (I recently bought the Fancierstudio 3800-watt kit and will have a initial video review soon. For a camera, your webcam will be probably the worst quality (though the HD webcams, like the Logitech C920 can be quite good!). You may already have a great camera in your smartphone. If you want the best video quality, look at a dedicated camera like a Canon DSLR (what I use) or an Canon HD camcorder. Conclusion: production quality is important! Your best investment will always be to continuously improve your content quality and presentation skills. But if your production quality is bad, you'll have to work really hard to attract and keep your audience. Is a dynamic mic (especially the Heil PR40) really the best? Let's dig into a controversial subject in audio quality! You'll hear most podcasters say to only get a dynamic microphone. A lot of podcasters will also praise the Heil PR40 as the “golden standard” podcasting microphone. You may be surprised at some of the truth! What's the difference between condenser and dynamic microphones? There are a few styles of microphones with über-technical differences in how they capture sound. For our sake, let's look at the practical side. Condenser microphones capture a very wide range of frequencies (high and low tones). They also often capture a wider area of sound: often omnidirectional (all the way around the microphone), or can easily capture distant sounds. Dynamic microphones usually capture a slightly smaller range of frequencies than condenser mics. They often have a more narrow area of sound: usually end-fire and cardiod (meaning primarily the area from the end of the microphone), as well as a greater falloff for distant sounds. Other kinds of microphones Besides studio microphones on a stand or boom, you could also find lavaliere (or lapel) mics, shotgun mics, surface mics, headset mics, and more. Each microphone has its place depending on your needs. For example, shotgun mics are best to position out of the camera frame, away from the audio source. Which microphone has the best quality? This is actually a misleading question because different voices, environments, and goals require different microphones. What may be the “best” microphone in one situation could be the worst in another situation. For example, you may sound the best with a condenser microphone in your closet, but if you record video, the microphone may cover too much of your face and the closet may be horrible for video. I'll leave the full quality debate to more experienced audio engineers. But here are some general guidelines. <ul> <li>Studio condenser microphones: best for sound-proof studios or for intentionally including environmental sounds—Blue Mouse</li> <li>Studio dynamic microphones: best for “studios” without sound-proofing with small background noise (like a computer)—Audio Technica ATR2100-USB / Audio Technica AT2005USB (whichever is cheaper), Electro Voice RE320, Electro Voice RE20, Røde Procaster, Heil PR40</li> <li>Lavaliere/lapel microphones: best for out-of-the-way recording in video in a quiet environment, great for wireless recording—Røde Lavalier, Giant Squid Audio lavalier, Sennheiser EW 112P G3-A (ME2 mic)</li> <li>Shotgun microphones: best for out-of-frame recording in video, but the speaker must either remain in the target, or else someone will need to follow them with the microphone—Røde NTG-1 or Røde NTG-2</li> <li>(Professional) headset mics (not USB headsets!): best for a more active and moving speaker, but visible in video, great for wireless recording—Countryman E6, Audio Technica Microset, Rode HS1-P</li> <li>Dynamic handheld/interview microphones: best for hand-holding (like performers) or interviewing in a noisy environment—Electro-Voice RE50N/D-B, Røde Reporter</li> </ul> The particular microphone model for your needs depends heavily on your budget and your own voice. But let's challenge one of them! Is the Heil PR40 really the “golden standard”? If you listen to any other podcasts about podcasting, you'll most likely hear the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB and Heil PR40 praised as the microphones to get. The ATR2100-USB for starting out, and the PR40 for when you have “arrived.” The ATR2100-USB / AT2005USB (essentially the same microphone) rightly deserve the recommendations, though the Samson Q2U is a great competitor with the same features! But how about the Heil PR40? Now that I've experienced many other dynamic microphones, I think the Heil PR40 is overhyped, primarily because of its massive endorsement from two people: Leo Laporte and Cliff Ravenscraft. I highly respect both men for what they've done in podcasting and I applaud their success (Cliff is a true close friend and lives not far from me!); I'm not here to say their advice is bologna. But I have discovered a problem with so many podcasters going through the same blanket school of thought. When I listen to podcasters who use the PR40, I hear the same range of audio “enhanced” and everyone's voices are sounding too much alike—and too much like a radio DJ. Many voices will also have problems with sibilance (the “S” sounds) being too harsh. Before you rush out to buy a Heil PR40 just because someone else recommended it, I think you should try your own voice on it, if possible. Or save a little and get a more standard microphone like the Electro Voice RE320 (watch my video review of the RE320). Conclusion: a dynamic mic is usually the best There is no absolute rule on audio because every voice and environment is different. But in general, a dynamic microphone will be better for most audio podcasters recording from their home or office without a sound-proof studio. But for video podcasting, you should really consider a completely different style of microphone, such as a shotgun, lavaliere, headset, or even a condenser in some cases. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. <div class="section-with-carousel"> <div class="carousel-wrapper"> <div class="swiper"> <div class="swiper-wrapper"> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B005NJIWYY/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B005NJIWYY/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28770.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B005NJIWYY/?tag=jewisharchive-20">ePhoto 3 Photography Studio Continuous Lighting Kits 4500W Digital Photography Studio 3 Softbox Lighting Kit Light Set + Carrying Case H9060S3</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00B8VLQWQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00B8VLQWQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28787.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00B8VLQWQ/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Countryman E6OW5T2SL Springy E6 Omnidirectional Earset with 2-mm Cable for Shure/Carvin/JTS/Trantec Transmitters (Tan)</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B006JH8T3S/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B006JH8T3S/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/17847.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B006JH8T3S/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920, Widescreen Video Calling and Recording, 1080p Camera, Desktop or Laptop Webcam (Discontinued by manufacturer)</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B001R747SG/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001R747SG/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28738.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001R747SG/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Samson Technologies Q2U USB/XLR Dynamic Microphone Recording and Podcasting Pack (Includes Mic Clip, Desktop Stand, Windscreen and Cables), silver</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00407VYZO/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00407VYZO/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28762.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00407VYZO/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Rode HS1P Headset Microphone, Pink</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B007BN28IG/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B007BN28IG/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28784.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B007BN28IG/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Rode NTG-1 Condenser Shotgun Microphone + Rode WS6 Deluxe Wind Shield + Bluetooth Headphones</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00B0Y59XS/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00B0Y59XS/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28768.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00B0Y59XS/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Rode Reporter Omnidirectional Dynamic Interview Microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B001IPUJJI/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001IPUJJI/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/7817.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B001IPUJJI/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Rode Procaster Broadcast Dynamic Vocal Microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/10965.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B007JX8O0Y/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Audio-Technica AT2005USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone,Black</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00HWMG44U/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00HWMG44U/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28785.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00HWMG44U/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Giant Squid Omnidirectional Mono Microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B002OSQ9TC/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002OSQ9TC/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28789.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002OSQ9TC/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Heil Sound PR40 Dynamic Microphone (Carrying case included)</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B004QJOZS4/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B004QJOZS4/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/5190.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B004QJOZS4/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B0010FBF30/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0010FBF30/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28786.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B0010FBF30/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Electro-Voice RE50N/D-B High Output Dynamic Interview Microphone</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B00507HC9K/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00507HC9K/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28763.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B00507HC9K/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Fancierstudio 3800 Watt Softbox Video Lighting Kit Light Kit with Carrying Case by Fancierstudio 9060SB4</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> <div class="swiper-slide" onclick="window.location.href='https://amazon.com/dp/B002KOK1SU/?tag=jewisharchive-20'"> <figure> <a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002KOK1SU/?tag=jewisharchive-20"><img class="podcast-image" src="static/product/28788.jpg" height=100 /></a> <figcaption><a href="https://amazon.com/dp/B002KOK1SU/?tag=jewisharchive-20">Audio Technica Microset Omni Condenser Headworn Microphone in Beige</a></figcaption> </figure> </div> </div> <div class="carousel-controls"> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-left" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M10.78 19.03a.75.75 0 01-1.06 0l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 010-1.06l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 111.06 1.06L5.81 11.5h14.44a.75.75 0 010 1.5H5.81l4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 010 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> <button class="carousel-control carousel-control-right" type="button"> <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="40" height="40"> <path fill-rule="evenodd" d="M13.22 19.03a.75.75 0 001.06 0l6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 000-1.06l-6.25-6.25a.75.75 0 10-1.06 1.06l4.97 4.97H3.75a.75.75 0 000 1.5h14.44l-4.97 4.97a.75.75 0 000 1.06z"></path> </svg> </button> </div> <div class="swiper-pagination"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173" subtitle="May 12, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685692/do-you-really-need-passion--is-consistency-that-important----tap173/">View Details</a> Passion and consistency are two qualities that most podcasters herald as requirements for podcasting. But do you really need these qualities to succeed with your podcast? Let's challenge this podcasting assumption and find out! Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Do you have to be passionate? What is passion? Dictionary.com defines “passion” as some of the following. <blockquote> <ol> <li> any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate. </li> <li> strong amorous feeling or desire; love; ardor. </li> <li> a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything: “a passion for music.” </li> <li> the object of such a fondness or desire: “Accuracy became a passion with him.” </li> <li> an outburst of strong emotion or feeling: “He suddenly broke into a passion of bitter words.” </li> </ol> </blockquote> In podcasting, your passion is that subject you could talk about for hours, even if no one was listening. When you speak, you are full of energy and enthusiasm. Preparing for your passion sometimes means hard and stressful work. But it's the burst of energy you get in the middle of and after your activity or subject that reveals your true passions. I'm passionate about podcasting. When I lead a Podcast Master Class session, I'm ready to conquer a city! I'm also passionate about public speaking and my audience will always tell you that I enjoy the command of the stage and my enthusiasm is contagious. Passion doesn't always mean talking fast, making people laugh, or jumping around. Just consider how a funeral leader can be passionate—encouraging, a foundation of hope, a desire to help, and even a joy from what they do. What are you passionate about? Why is passion important? You've probably heard all of the podcasts about podcasting talk about passion, as if we have a “crush” on it. People are highly attracted to passion. It's like sugar and salt for personalities and presentations; passion both sweetens and enhances relationships and communication. When a marriage lacks any form of passion, we call it dead. When a speaker lacks passion, we call him monotone or boring. When entertainment fails to connect with your deep interests, you go somewhere else. I see that everyone's needs come down to two things: they want to be either helped or entertained. The most successful people usually do both. Tech companies give us amazing tools that enhance our lives (help), and these often bring fun, style, or status (entertainment). Passion can make your helpful information also entertaining, engaging, and more memorable. What does a lack of passion look like? I've attended many conferences and seen a variety of presenters. One recent presentation was so horrible that I and many others left before the presenter was finished. He lacked any passion (as well as presentation skills). Imagine how unsuccessful salespeople would be without passion. They just gave you the raw facts with no energy. Like a marriage without passion, a podcast without passion may look dead, but it can still possible to survive. You may build an audience, but your messages may not be as viral if your audience isn't excited about it on some level. Why would you podcast without passion? There are plenty of reasons to continue podcasting (or do anything in life) even after the passion is gone. <ul> <li>To keep a commitment</li> <li>To fulfill expectations or responsibilities</li> <li>To build character in yourself</li> <li>To get out of the rut and enjoy the other side</li> <li>To avoid failure, giving up, or quitting</li> <li>To find a new approach and new passion again</li> <li>To pay the bills</li> </ul> That last reason is possible for many people if podcasting is your job. You may not be passionate about the subject, but maybe just the act of podcasting and getting paid for it is enough to keep you going. How we lose passion Short and simple, we lose passion because we shift our focus. Even when you burn out from working too hard, too long, or getting too overwhelmed, you have shifted your focus away from the future and onto the stresses. Shifting your focus doesn't mean there's even another object in focus. You could be completely out of focus from everything and in a downward spiral feeling like you have no purpose, past success, present satisfaction, or hope for the future. How to get the passion back Every situation is unique. But getting your passion back can take some time. Here are some suggestions. <ul> <li>Take a break—go on an announced hiatus</li> <li>Reduce your responsibilities—delegate some tasks or retire some extraneous projects</li> <li>Simplify—if you're spending too much time preparing or editing your podcast, find ways to simplify your workflow by either adjusting your standard or investing in helpful solutions</li> <li>Re-adjust your schedule—maybe you're not podcasting at the right time for you, or maybe you need to switch to a seasonal schedule</li> </ul> Conclusion: do you need passion to succeed? Passion looks different on everyone. But I do think that passion is mandatory for any kind of success—even when the passion is in the technique and not the actual subject. Have you struggled with passion? Please comment with your story and especially how you worked through it! Do you have to podcast consistently? We often hear and say, “You must be consistent to build an audience.” But I also think there are some unreasonable assumptions. Even the TV show Once Upon a Time learned a hard lesson about consistency in their second season. Their weird and unpredictable schedule cost viewers who were expecting to tune in at a specific time and see their TV show. Benefits of consistency Consistency builds and breaks habits. It also gives you a better history of work over time. Even if your publishing schedule is once a month, you can count on having twelve episodes every year. Consistency keeps you in the front of mind and helps prevent you from being forgotten. But I don't believe people will flock to unsubscribe if you don't release an episode after a couple weeks. (I'm still holding out for another “Ask a Ninja” podcast episode!) Growing your audience is a lot easier when you're publishing content on a regular basis. Consistency also helps your current audience. Many people will learn your schedule (if it's consistent) and look forward to a new episode on particular days. They'll often be disappointed or concerned if they don't see that new episode when they expected it. Google and iTunes will learn your publishing schedule and start prioritizing publishers who produce content consistently. What affects consistency? Passion and consistency are closely tied together. Apathy is at the core in our struggle to build healthy habits or break bad ones. If you don't care, you'll have a hard time being consistent. Life certainly gets in the way for many of us, because we can't control everything in our lives. But I think we often have far more control than we realize. Ray Edwards recently said, “99% of all the results I’m experiencing in my life are 100% appropriate.” Essentially, the results we see are directly connected to the causes we create or allow, and we're responsible for nearly all of them. Do you have to publish weekly? Most consistent podcasts are weekly or even daily. But for you, consistency may mean biweekly, twice a week, or maybe even once a month. Consistency isn't a contract you can never change. Many podcasts are switching to seasonal consistency. This works very well for television shows and is usually built around highly researched media-consumption habits. Primarily, consumption goes down during summer and the winter holiday season. You may have better success maintaining consistency and passion by following a seasonal schedule. It could be five months on, one off; three months on, three off; 50 straight weeks, two off; and so on. When you're “in-season,” you can be consistent with whatever schedule you set. But even when you're “off-season,” I recommend releasing some content, even if it is a short episode only once a month. (Why it sounds better to contrast “in-season” with “off-season” is beyond me, but I didn't like the alternatives.) You have probably wondered, “When is the best day to publish my podcast episodes?” My answer is simple: the same day as last time. Your publishing frequency is often tied with the length of your content: more frequent generally works better with shorter content. But RawVoice has consistently seen that more frequently published podcasts grow much faster. My general recommendation is to podcast weekly, blog weekly, and get a short video on YouTube weekly (even if just promoting your podcast or blog content). Tips for becoming more consistent Trying some of the following ideas if you're struggling with podcasting consistently (some of these may look familiar). <ul> <li>Reduce your responsibilities—delegate some tasks or retire some extraneous projects</li> <li>Simplify—if you're spending too much time preparing or editing your podcast, find ways to simplify your workflow by either adjusting your standard or investing in helpful solutions</li> <li>Re-adjust your schedule—maybe you're not podcasting at the right time for you, or maybe you need to switch to a seasonal schedule</li> <li>Set a new pattern—if a particular release schedule isn't working for you, try a different one. If you struggle with semiweekly, try weekly. If you struggle with biweekly, try weekly (yes, try publishing more often!)</li> <li>Split your tasks—instead of trying to prepare, produce, and publish on the same day, spread them out and use WordPress's (or other content-management system's) schedule feature to schedule your episodes to publish consistently even when you can work on them consistently</li> </ul> Learn more about finding and making time to podcast. Conclusion: does consistency really matter to growing your podcast? I do believe absolutely that consistency will help every podcast grow more. You'll grow a larger audience, get better at presenting, and also form good habits from being consistent in one area of your life. Whatever schedule works for you, your content, and your audience, stick with it consistently! But it's also okay to take a short hiatus when necessary. Announcements * Important: your podcast could be (or may have been) removed from iTunes for trademark-infringement! * My Podcast Reviews is getting very close to launch! Sign up for updates and get my new ebook “7 Ways to Get More iTunes Reviews for Your Podcast” for free! * Would you be interested in group consulting session where you pay a smaller rate to have your single issue helped and learn from the issues of others in the same group? Comment to express your interest and I may start to offer this. Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172" subtitle="May 5, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685693/does-audience-size-really-matter--should-you-really-monetize----tap172/">View Details</a> It seems every podcaster wants a big audience and wants sponsorships. But do you really need either of these to be successful? Can you make money with a small audience? Should you really try to get sponsors with a big audience? From the perspective of what you need to host a podcast, the clear answer to either question is “no.” But let's look at this from a success perspective and what helps your podcast or you reach higher goals. Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Does your podcast audience size really matter? “How to grow your podcast audience” is a hugely popular topic (and one I have not yet fully covered—hint hint!). Even Leo Laporte, with his few hundred thousand downloads per episode, wants a bigger audience. This topic was suggested by Ben Avery from Welcome to Level Seven, an official podcast for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. What can you do with a bigger audience? More than just a bigger number in your stats, a larger audience can have many practical benefits. <ol> <li>Receive more engagement With a larger audience comes more feedback with more diversity. You'll still get to see the same people regularly engaging with your content, so you can learn more about them and remember their names.</li> </ol> If the audience is big enough and you receive a lot of feedback, it may be time to start a forum so your audience can interact with each other. <ol> <li>Gain more customers If you are podcasting as part of a business (of any level), then more listeners and viewers mean more people who will begin to trust you, your expertise, and respect the products and services you offer.</li> </ol> It's simple math that if you can convert a certain percentage of your audience into customers, then a bigger audience means more customers. It doesn't have to be this way, but it is one way to increase business. <ol> <li>Leverage for bigger actions The more ambassadors you have for your podcast, the more exponentially it will grow. If each person can only tell two other people about your podcast, and you only have ten listeners, you may get back only 20 more listeners. That sounds like a small number, but the percentage is huge!</li> </ol> With an audience of a 1,000 each telling two more people about your podcast, you could gain up to 2,000 more listeners or viewers! Consider other “campaigns” that you may run, such as supporting a cause, reaching a celebrity, getting noticed, winning an award, and much more. The bigger an audience you have, the more voices there are to help in each of these cases. (This is how I won the Podcast Award in 2012—it wasn't my audience alone, but the whole Noodle.mx Network community supporting what we do.) <ol> <li> Be more informed and accountable for presenting thorough and accurate information There is a greater collection of information with more people. When you ask three people a question, you get responses based on the knowledge and experience of just those three people. But if you ask 100 or 1,000 people, you'll get far more information and greatly increase the chances of discovering something new. </li> <li> Earn more income You don't have to have a big audience to make money (even lots of money) from your podcast. With an audience as small as 100 engaged people, you could sell a $5,000 product or course. All it takes to make that $5,000 is to convert just 1% of that audience. Try to get $5,000 in sponsorship or donations for a podcast with “only” 100 fans! </li> </ol> But the math still doesn't lie. Even if you convert only 1% of your audience, a bigger audience means that 1% represents a larger number. When your audience is big enough, typically above 5,000 downloads per episode, then sponsors would consider you and a CPM campaign may actually be worth your time. CPM pays a certain rate based on how many thousand downloads you receive per episode. So a $10 CPM on 5,000 downloads per episode would pay $50 per episode. With an audience of 1,000, $10 per episode may not be worth the interruption of hosting a sponsorship in your podcast. A sponsor also may not see 1,000 listeners as worth their investment of time and money. But an audience of 20,000 would pay $200 per episode with a $10 CPM, so that may become worth it to you. Focus on names, not numbers Yes, a large audience opens a lot of potential. But you are not a failure with a “small” audience! Even if your podcast gets only 20 downloads per episode, that is 20 people faithfully returning to hear you! Imagine getting that audience into a room every week (or however frequently you publish). What's beautiful with a small audience is that you can know each person by name and remember some personal stuff about them. These relationships are invaluable! When your audience grows above 100, it starts to get hard or impossible to know something about every one of your audience members. Conclusion: Do you need a big audience to be successful? Everything depends on how you define “success.” I think that influence and recognition are at the core of our desire for a bigger audience. Yes, a bigger audience almost automatically means more influence and recognition. But you can build greater influence and recognition by reaching a small audience in better ways, with better content, or more engagement. How do you define success for your podcast? How would your perspective change if you set the same goal, but take out growing your audience from the plan? Should you really monetize your podcast? As you can see, podcast income is tied very closely to the size of your audience, but also to your basic influence with whatever audience you have. But should you really be trying to make money from your podcast? You may want your podcast to replace your full-time job, you may want to cover your hobby expenses, or you may not want any money at all. Is it wrong to profit from your content? Whether you publish blog posts, audio episodes, or video content, you are making art! Do you think artists deserve to make money for their labor? This question is deeply rooted in your worldview on economics. I like how the Bible says several times, “The worker is worthy of his wages” (paraphrased, Luke 10:7, Matthew 10:10, 1 Corinthians 9:14, 1 Timothy 5:18), and I try to fully embrace this even while I try to be frugal. Your podcast takes time, energy, and money to run. You can podcast for almost free, but chances are that you have at least invested in a microphone and maybe hosting. Your audience may not like when you start monetizing, but they often get over that soon, especially when the monetization method(s) you choose make sense for your content and audience. Even if they don't, it shows that they don't respect your time and talents enough to let you earn something from them—at least cover your expenses. So there's really nothing wrong with trying to profit from your podcast, as long as you do it tastefully and in a way that fits your show. What monetization model is right for your show? There are essentially five ways to make money from podcasting: <ol> <li>Premium stuff—selling exclusive access, bonus content, or ad-free versions</li> <li>Donations—letting your audience support the content they love by sending money or buying stuff for you</li> <li>Ads and affiliates—including a nonpersonal relationship in your podcast or website, like promoting your BlueHost affiliate link, or mentioning products on Amazon with affiliate links</li> <li>Sponsorships—a personal relationship between your podcast and a company for you to promote their products and services</li> <li>Self-promotion—sell your own products or services</li> </ol> In this list, #1 and #5 have the greatest profit potential. But any of these five could be a good or bad fit for your content. I don't promote donations with The Audacity to Podcast because that doesn't fit with my self-promotion and affiliates. I would actually rather you hire me to help your launch or improve your podcast than simply receive a donation (though I welcome any money anyone wants to give as a gift!). But my entertainment-focused podcast about the Once Upon a Time TV show has its expenses covered from donations because people enjoy our content so much. (Some people have given more than $1,000 over time for a free podcast about a free TV show!) Will monetizing hurt your podcast? Regardless of what monetization model you choose, your implementation could potentially damage your reputation. Let's take banner ads for example. A couple or few on your site may not be bad. But if you have large banners or they disrupt the flow of content too much, visitors will get annoyed and turn away. Ads can also slow your site loading speed, which can further hurt your reputation to people and search engines. Even if your monetization fits your podcast perfectly, placing it in the wrong spot or handling it poorly can annoy your audience instead of encouraging them to take action. Remember that the only reason companies advertise is to get more customers, so your promotion needs to be a careful balance of motivating people to try the sponsor while still being personal. What are the legal ramifications of monetizing? If you make any kind of money from your podcast, you need to treat it just a little more like a business. This doesn't mean you have to incorporate, file extra taxes, or even that you can write-off podcasting expenses as business expenses. It all depends on how you structure yourself. (My podcasts are all officially parts of D.Joseph Design LLC and serve different purposes within the business structure. This allows me to deduct podcasting expenses because I can prove that podcasting is a major part of my business and not just a hobby.) You should consult a tax professional on your specific situation. But the general rule in the US is that all income must be reported and is subject to income tax. If you make any money from your podcast, this can also have bigger implications if you get into any kind of legal trouble. A hobbyist who isn't trying to profit may receive smaller penalties for a violation than someone who is clearly trying to profit by including ads, sponsorships, and affiliates. But I'm not a lawyer, so consult one for the best legal advice in your specific situation. I recommend Gordon Firemark. Conclusion: Should you monetize? Clearly, if you host your podcast as part of your business (or you want it to be), you should be monetizing it somehow! If your podcast is a hobby, you never have to monetize it. But also don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't profit from your investment! Announcements * After a brief experiment, I have stopped sending automatic RSS campaigns to my email list. I'll share more lessons from this in a future episode. * My article in the upcoming May issue of Podertainment magazine is about the importance and techniques for great show notes. * My Podcast Reviews hasn't launched yet, but over 100 people have signed up to receive my free ebook “7 Ways to Get More iTunes Reviews for Your Podcast.” I shared some insights and pricing preview on Jason Hartman's Speaking of Wealth Show (episode pending). Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171" subtitle="April 28, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685694/do-you-really-need-podcast-stats-or-media-hosting----tap171/">View Details</a> Stats help you measure your audience and performance. Media hosting moves your podcast files away from your website server. But are either of these services really necessary for podcasting? In short, the answer to both is “no,” you don't need either of these things. But what is best for your podcast? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Do you really need stats? You don't have to use stats in order to podcast. If you use stats, you may have already experienced the stress of checking your stats far too frequently. But let's examine this further to see if you should use stats. What are the kinds of stats? There are three ways to measure stats. <ol> <li>Website stats—these track how many people visit your website, how they got there, how they interact with the site, and what kind of technology they're using. These are commonly tracked with Google Analytics and similar.</li> <li>Media stats—these track your media file usage and are usually attached to everywhere your media is linked (RSS, iTunes, website, etc.). These are commonly tracked with Blubrry, LibSyn, or PodTrac. Many media hosts (Soundcloud, Spreaker, etc.) have their own stats, too.</li> <li>Feed stats—these are typically misleading and far from accurate because they account only for RSS usage on a particular day. The 100 subscribers you had yesterday could be completely different from the 100 subscribers you get today. These are commonly tracked with FeedBurner or FeedBlitz.</li> </ol> There are other stats that matter to some: social network followers, YouTube subscribers, email list size, etc. But these have almost no correlation with actual podcast downloads, so they don't count as “podcast stats.” Why use stats? The main reason to use stats is to know more about your audience and measure performance of your podcast. Do you know how many people visit your website on a mobile device? How many people are listening to your podcast through Stitcher? You could try to survey your audience and get a small response, or you can track this through stats. Stats can gather and report this information to you. Your media stats can also show you how well one episode was downloaded compared to another and how episodes are being consumed. Don't get addicted to checking your stats! If you check them regularly, look for patterns and spikes more than actual numbers. Who should use stats? If you want a sponsor for your podcast or ads on your site, you must have good stats! Almost no sponsor will consider you if you can't tell them how many impressions their sponsorship would get. If you want some “social proof” for inviting special guests onto your podcast, you should have great stats. This would enable you to say, “I have _____ people listening to each episode.” But if you're neither concerned about monetizing your podcast or getting special guests, then stats may not be important to you. Then again, stats reveal the health of your podcast; they're like the gas gauge in your vehicle. So if you want to know how your podcast is doing, stats are how to measure that. How to get stats For your website, I recommend Google Analytics. Use the “Google Analyticator” plugin for WordPress to add tracking to your website. For media stats, either host your media with LibSyn or add Blubrry stats to wherever you host your media. Use promo code “noodle” with either service to get a free month of their premium options. Conclusion: Do you need stats? No, you don't need stats for your podcast. But I highly recommend using stats on your website and media (not your RSS feed) so you won't be blind to your podcast performance. Do you really need media hosting? Media hosting is a big issue to podcasters! It can also be a bit controversial. Learn more about podcast media hosting and all of your podcast hosting options. What is media hosting? Your website lives in one place, such as an account with BlueHost or a server with WiredTree or HostDime. These hosting companies focus on hosting websites and web applications. Media hosting is a specialized service for hosting just your podcast media files. The best media hosts are LibSyn and Blubrry (use promo code “noodle” for a free month from either). Why use podcast media hosting? Every time you publish a podcast episode, it is in its highest demand within the two or three days, and continuing for the first seven to fourteen days. Stats provided by Blubrry Let's say your average audio podcast episodes are 25 megabytess (MB). If you get just 100 downloads in the first day, that's about 2.5 gigabytes (GB) your hosting has to put out in a short time. If you host a video podcast, your files would be much larger. Even a short video could be 100 MB in size. This would mean pushing out 10 GB for just 100 downloads in the first day. A shared web-hosting provider like BlueHost or HostGator will often offer “unlimited bandwidth,” but they don't have the backend to support the kind of bandwidth requirements and flood of simultaneous download requests podcasts often require. Just think about how much your own computer slows down when you start trying to copy 10 large files to different locations. So “unlimited” is still limited just like “all-you-can-eat” buffets don't let you take food home with you. Podcast media hosting—such as Blubrry or LibSyn—is setup to handle this kind of demand and often involves a cloud distribution network (CDN). A CDN makes people in the west coast download from a server in close to them while people in the east coast download from a different server close to them. Using a podcast media host moves these high demands away from your website server and means that demand for your podcast episodes won't affect how quickly your website loads. Some web hosting companies also have specific limitations on multimedia files. So you could be violating terms or hitting limits by hosting your media with them. An additional benefit is that the top podcast media hosting companies (Blubrry, LibSyn, and others) usually provide podcast media stats, too! Who should and shouldn't use media hosting? All of the podcasting professionals highly recommend getting media hosting for your podcast. But it's not actually required. If you have a tiny audience, you may be able to get away with hosting your media with your web server—I did for several years! Or if you have a virtual private server (VPS) or dedicated server from a place like WiredTree or HostDime, you have definite limits on your bandwidth and CPU usage. You can have more freedom to host your media on these sites, but you should monitor your bandwidth as it can be easy to start pushing out terabytes (TB) every month. (When I stopped hosting my media with my web host, I was pushing out 3.5 TB per month—and that was years ago!) So if your podcast is popular or you think it has a legitimate chance to get popular (be realistic!), you definitely should get media hosting and it will prevent a lot of headaches and outages. How to use media hosting Depending on which media host you use, your workflow could be drastically different. If you want to manage and upload everything through WordPress, then I recommend Blubrry media hosting. If you want a bit more flexibility and a backup RSS feed, then use LibSyn. If you're really tight on money, you could consider PodBean, Podomatic, or even Archive.org. But these services don't provide as thorough of stats as Blubrry and LibSyn do, and they're download speeds and integration may not be that great. Do not use these hosts' RSS feeds! Do not try to “hack” something to use for podcast hosting. Dropbox, Google Drive, and other services may seem tempting for podcast hosting, but they either have extreme bandwidth limits, a complicated workflow, or they don't support the technical requirements for iTunes (byte-range requests, which allow users to stream from anywhere in the episode with a mobile device). Hear more opinions about podcast media hosting We hosted a Podcasters Roundtable about media hosting. Check it out or watch below for more thoughts! Conclusion: do you need separate media hosting? For almost every podcaster, this answer is yes. You can go unnoticed with a hacked together system for only so long before it starts causing problems. I understand the stress of the potential expenses of web hosting and media hosting. If you're serious about podcasting, see these as investments. If you can't afford the valuable investment, then you could either use LibSyn to also host your basic site and RSS feed, or use one of the low-performance free options. Announcements * Last chance to register for the May Podcast Podcast Class * Sign up for news and announcements from My Podcast Reviews Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170" subtitle="April 21, 2014" duration="1924" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685695/do-you-really-need-a-website-and-wordpress-for-podcasting----tap170/">View Details</a> I usually recommend self-hosted WordPress for podcasting from your own website, and so do many other professionals. But is this really the best option for running your podcast and creating your podcast RSS feed? Challenging the Podcasting Assumptions This is a special miniseries to challenge the ideas podcasters have accepted as truth for years. Some will stand up against the challenge while others crumble, and some will reveal new options you may have never considered. <ul> <li>Are you really a “podcaster” and should you really be podcasting?</li> <li>Does your podcast NEED interaction or an email list?</li> <li>Is iTunes really THE place for podcasts? Do you NEED a mobile app?</li> <li>Does SEO really matter in podcasting?</li> <li>Do you REALLY need to edit your podcasts? What about authenticity? – TAP178</li> <li>Do you REALLY need audio/visual branding or promos for your podcast? – TAP177</li> <li>Should you launch your podcast with Episode 0? Does iTunes New and Noteworthy REALLY matter? – TAP176</li> <li>Are episode numbers REALLY necessary? – TAP175</li> <li>Does audio/video quality ACTUALLY matter? Is a dynamic mic REALLY the best? – TAP174</li> <li>Do you REALLY need passion? Is consistency THAT important? – TAP173</li> <li>Does audience size REALLY matter? Should you REALLY monetize? – TAP172</li> <li>Do you REALLY need podcast stats or media hosting? – TAP171</li> <li>Do you REALLY need a website and WordPress for podcasting? – TAP170</li> </ul> Do you need a website? You don't actually have to have a website to run a podcast! All you need, by technical definition, is an RSS feed with links to media files hosted somewhere. You can make this without a website. It's entirely possible to hand-code or use software to create an RSS feed, upload it somewhere and update it each time you have a new episode. But a website makes this process so much easier. Most importantly, having a website makes an online home for your podcast. This home can link to your podcast in iTunes and other podcast directories, have your social-network accounts, include more information about you and your podcast than directories can display, and provide a platform for so much more. Why is WordPress so popular? There are many reasons to use WordPress for your own podcasting website. <ol> <li>WordPress is free</li> <li>WordPress is easy to use</li> <li>WordPress gives you freedom and control over your platform</li> <li>WordPress can be extended with plugins for nearly any functionality you could want</li> <li>WordPress is easy to make beautiful with great free and premium themes (I recommend StudioPress)</li> <li>WordPress offers great search-engine optimization (SEO)</li> <li>WordPress is very popular and thus is easy to get support from the massive user and developer community</li> <li>WordPress provides a powerful foundation for any kind of website</li> </ol> What else is there besides WordPress? You could use almost any self-hosted content-management system (CMS) to generate your podcast's RSS feed. Besides WordPress, popular choices are Drupal, ExpressionEngine, and Joomla. If you don't want to host your CMS with your own web-hosting account (such as BlueHost, WPEngine, or WiredTree), you could use a third-party hosted solution. Some of the most popular are SquareSpace, Blogger, WordPress.com, Tumblr, LibSyn, SoundCloud, PodOMatic, PodBean, and Blubrry. What if your CMS doesn't support podcasting? You may have a large site already locked into a particular CMS and it would be too expensive to switch now. That's okay! If you use SquareSpace, Drupal, another self-hosted CMS, or any third-party platform, you can turn your regular RSS feed into a podcast feed with FeedBurner. This is the one scenario where I continue to recommend FeedBurner. If your site doesn't even generate RSS feeds (like a static site or Weebly), then you can add another service hosted elsewhere (like LibSyn or Blubrry) to create your podcast RSS feed for submitting to iTunes and linking from your static website. What is the “best” CMS for podcasting? “Best” is such a relative term that there is no absolute answer to this. <ul> <li>If you want to podcast easily, reliably, and don't care about customizing your site, LibSyn may be best for you. (Use promo code “noodle” for a free month.)</li> <li>If you already have a large site and can't switch content management systems, create a new blog category and run the feed through FeedBurner with the SmartCast feature.</li> <li>If you use a third-party platform like Blogger, Tumblr, or WordPress.com, then run your RSS feed through FeedBurner with the SmartCast feature. This will allow you to easily change the source if you switch platforms in the future.</li> <li>If you want fairly easy, full control over your site and you're not afraid of putting your hands into your site, then self-hosted WordPress is probably your best solution.</li> </ul> Conclusions: NO, but … You don't have to have a website, just like you don't have to have a home. But both things make life a lot easier! While this isn't a requirement, I will call it a need that you should have. WordPress is generally the most flexible choice for powering your podcast feed and website, but you don't have to use it for your podcast. In fact, there are many highly successful podcasters using LibSyn or something completely different. What podcasting assumptions would you like to challenge? This miniseries may go for as long as I have topics to address, and I already have decent list. What assumptions would you like to see challenged? What advice have you heard that you think should now be questioned? (My own advice is open to challenge!) I appreciate Richard Farrar recently with “A Quasi-technical Analysis of the Top Podcasts about Podcasting.” Announcements * WordPress 3.9 is now available and includes nice features for playlists, easier image insertions and editing, and more. * My secret “RPM” service will launch in May, but you'll get to hear its announcement in my April 23 appearance in Entrepreneur on Fire! * Podertainment Magzine's second issue is now available! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="How to host multiple podcasts on a single website – TAP169" subtitle="April 14, 2014" duration="2489" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap169.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685696/how-to-host-multiple-podcasts-on-a-single-website---tap169/">View Details</a> How to setup WordPress and PowerPress to let your one website host several podcasts. Learn about custom channels, category podcasting, and third-party providers. This topic was requested by Jonathan Downham from The Critical Care Practitioner Podcast. Consider before you start another podcast Starting another podcast can be fun, but also stressful. I previously shared 16 things you should consider before launching another podcast, which you should review before continuing. Here are the main points, for quick reference. <ol> <li>Should your improve your current podcast(s) instead?</li> <li>Do your have time for another podcast?</li> <li>Will your other podcast(s) suffer?</li> <li>Does your new podcast fit, expand, or break your “brand”?</li> <li>Where will your new podcast live?<ol> <li>Separate categories on one WordPress site</li> <li>Separate WordPress sites</li> <li>WordPress Multisite</li> </ol> </li> <li>Crosspromote between your podcasts</li> <li>Don't feel like you have to make a network</li> <li>Focus on content for one podcast at a time</li> <li>Reuse tools and techniques that you already have</li> <li>Have separate email accounts for each podcast</li> <li>Leverage your whole community for big things</li> <li>Setup separate affiliate IDs</li> <li>Consider separate social-media accounts</li> <li>Get things right from the start with this launch</li> <li>Avoid crossover content, unless concise</li> <li>Use Blubrry's free or premium stats for separate tracking</li> </ol> Revisit episode 113 to learn more about these considerations. But let's assume that you know another podcast would be good and you've chosen to host it on the same website as your current podcast. To host multiple formats Your regular show may be audio, but you decide to also release the video. This would mean multiple formats: audio and video. Or if you already publish video and you want to offer standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) versions, then you would have multiple formats. Or you may be interested in offering supplementary content, like I do with The Audacity to Podcast's Podcasting Video Tips—where the content is usually different from my normal audio show. If your content is available in different languages but you have a single WordPress post in one language (or you do something complicated for multiple language from a single post), then you would need separate media formats for each language. Each of these separate formats would be best served with PowerPress's “custom podcast channels” feature. This allows a single post in WordPress to have multiple “Podcast Episode” entries with separate media and information for each. How to setup PowerPress's custom podcast channels 1. Go to PowerPress > Settings. 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and checkmark “Custom Podcast Channels.” 3. Click Save Changes. 4. Now go to PowerPress > Podcast Channels. (If you don't see this in the menu yet, you may need to refresh your browser.) 5. Your current podcast feed is the Default feed (usually /feed/podcast). You may click on it to adjust any settings specific to this feed. 6. Add a new channel by entering the feed name and its slug. (The “slug” is what the URL will be. Instead of /feed/podcast, your channel could be /feed/video.) 7. Customize this channel's settings just as you would for any other podcast feed, including title, cover art, iTunes information, and more. 8. Click Save Changes. 9. Create a new post or edit an existing one. 10. You'll now have a second “Podcast Episode” widget in the post editor. Anything you put in it will publish to only your new custom channel. Remember that channel feeds will always be podcast-only. The feed will only include episodes that are attached through the channel's own “Podcast Episode” widget in the post editor. To host multiple shows Instead of releasing the same or complementary content in multiple formats, you may want to release entirely different content as a separate show. For example, you host a podcast about video gaming and want to start a new podcast about your favorite TV show. Generally, I recommend having separate websites for completely different content. But when the content is related (like a spinoff series), or you're building a single-domain network, then category podcasting is your solution. Unlike custom podcast channels, PowerPress's category podcasting uses the same “Podcast Episode” widget in the post editor. To separate the feeds, you have to place an episode within a particular hierarchy via categories. This is the only time you need to use PowerPress's category podcasting feature. If you just want a podcast-only RSS feed, PowerPress already provides that with /feed/podcast, which works by default without activating custom podcast channels. How to setup PowerPress's category podcasting 1. Create a new category for your existing show, if you don't already have one. Name it according to the show. 2. Create a new category for your new show, if you don't already have one. Name it according to the show. 3. Go to PowerPress > Settings. 4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and checkmark “Category Podcasting.” 5. Click Save Changes. 6. Now go to PowerPress > Category Podcasting. (If you don't see this in the menu yet, you may need to refresh your browser.) 7. You most likely have no podcasting categories setup yet, so pick the category you want to enable in the left-side drop-down. 8. Click “Add Podcast Settings to Category Feed.” 9. Customize this category's settings just as you would for any other podcast feed, including title, cover art, iTunes information, and more. 10. Click Save Changes. 11. Create a new post or edit an existing one. 12. You can create your post and attach the podcast episode like you normally do. Just select the right category (or categories, for crossposts) for this show. You'll need to update your original show's feed URL to use the new category feed. This may mean placing a 301 redirect or pointing FeedBurner to the new source. You can get the separate category feed URLs from the Category Podcasting page. The new feed URLs will look like /category/name-of-the-podcast-category/feed. It may be even longer than that if the feed is deeper in the hierarchy. If you forget to redirect your original feed, subscribers to your main podcast (such as /feed/podcast) will start receive all the episodes from all of your podcasts. Like using custom podcast channels, creating your separate RSS feeds with WordPress and PowerPress allow you to have a single podcast media hosting account—whether through LibSyn, Blubrry, or anyone else. If you're not using WordPress and PowerPress The only other way I can confidently recommend creating your podcast feed is with LibSyn. A single LibSyn account can have multiple shows, but each show on LibSyn can only have a single RSS feed (called the “LibSyn Classic Feed”). When you have multiple show feeds from LibSyn, you can link to these or even embed them anywhere on almost any kind of website. How to setup LibSyn for multiple shows 1. Create a LibSyn account if you don't already have one, and use promo code “noodle” to get your first month free. 2. Add a new show on LibSyn by going to your account menu in the upper-right corner and clicking “Register new show.” 3. Enter this new show's slug, billing information, and which hosting plan you want. (You have to pay for separate hosting when powering separate show feeds with LibSyn.) 4. Switch between shows in your LibSyn account by going to the “Change Shows” tab and clicking “Select Show” on the show of your choice. 5. Setup this show's RSS feed as you normally would through LibSyn, with its own title, cover art, iTunes information, and more. 6. To create an episode for a particular show, switch to that show before creating your post. Remember that each show on LibSyn will have its own FTP folder with dropbox, quickcast, assets, and public subfolders. So if you skip posting through the website and use the quickcast folder, make sure you you drill down into the right quickcast subfolder for your show. Announcements * The registration deadline for the next Podcast Master Class is coming to a close! Reserve your space to take your podcast from average to amazing!™ * My new, secret podcasting project (codenamed “RPM”) is launching in a couple weeks. I know you'll love it! Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="5 steps to pick what you should podcast about – TAP168" subtitle="April 7, 2014" duration="2262" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap168.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685697/5-steps-to-pick-what-you-should-podcast-about---tap168/">View Details</a> © iStockPhoto Choosing the right topic for your podcast can seem difficult. Here are five questions to ask yourself with picking the right ideas for your future podcasting. For this discussion, let's make up four characters who are each struggling with what their podcast should be. <ul> <li>Alex is a businessman and fiction-writer</li> <li>Betsy is a stay-at-home mom with two kids</li> <li>Charles is an employee at a dead-end job</li> <li> Donna is high-school student </li> <li> Why do you want to podcast? Always start with “why?” It's what your potential audience will be asking: “Why should I subscribe?” or “Why should I trust you?” </li> </ul> Your “why” is your deepest, specific motivation. “I want to make more money” is not a good enough why. A good “why” can follow the pattern, “I want to [desire] so that I can [action] in order to [SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goal].” <ul> <li>Alex wants to promote his business so he can sell more products and services in order to increase his income by 25% this year and have more time for writing.</li> <li>Betsy wants to meet others so that she can have someone to talk to in order to make he days less stressful.</li> <li>Charles wants to quit his job so that he can find a better employer in order to afford more things and enjoy what he does.</li> <li> Donna wants to help people understand political issues so that she can inspire them to take action in order to make the world a better place. </li> <li> What would be helpful or entertaining? There are many labels for the desires of mankind. I'm only a part-time philosopher, and I see that most people want to either be helped or entertained. </li> </ul> Helping someone could mean building a relationship, giving them answers, or inspiring them. Entertaining someone could mean making them laugh, fueling their imaginations, or feeding their interests. <ul> <li>Alex could talk about his business industry, give writing and self-publishing tips, review novels and short stories in his genre, or tell more stories with the characters from his novels.</li> <li>Betsy could talk about saving money shopping for groceries, or she could share funny and touching stories from being a mother.</li> <li>Charles could share ideas for avoiding burnout, discover tips for finding a new job, or he could talk all about his hobby that is his one joy in life.</li> <li> Donna could interview politicians and citizens, share political news, or review government policies and issues. </li> <li> What are you passionate about? Your passion for your topic is what will keep you podcasting even when no one is watching or listening. (This is the truth for most people when they first start.) You keep going to your job because it pays the bills, but you go to your hobbies because you enjoy them. </li> </ul> While you may be greatly skilled in something, you may not enjoy it enough to talk much about it. Picking an area of passion makes it easy to express with enthusiasm, find inspiration when you're feeling down, and fulfillment after completing milestones. <ul> <li>Alex is most passionate about his book and the world of its genre.</li> <li>Betsy loves to brag about how she got the “you saved” amount so high on her receipts and she loves to tell stories.</li> <li>Charles enjoys video games, action movies, and collecting memorabilia for these interests; and he utterly hates his job.</li> <li> Donna could talk about politics all day and she eagerly looks forward to when she's old enough to vote. </li> <li> What is relevant? It's time to connect your passions with your “why.” You may find yourself adjusting them as you go through this process, and that's good! </li> </ul> Look for what is relevant to your “why,” relevant to your audience (or potential audience), and relevant to what you want to promote (if anything). <ul> <li>Alex can assume his potential readers would probably also read other fiction in the same genre as his book. But he's met others trying to write a book while working a full-time job.</li> <li>Betsy knows other moms also want to save money and need some adult conversation sometimes.</li> <li>Charles knows other gamers like to have icons from their favorite titles. But he's also trying to read through a book about changing careers and getting over his procrastination.</li> <li> Donna sees all politics as relevant to everyone, even though they don't realize it. </li> <li> Are you skilled in this topic? Having the audacity to podcast™ is more about your boldness than your actual skill. You should still have great content, the ability to present that content well, and the knowledge to produce it effectively. But you don't have to start as an expert in your field. You may be learning along with your audience, sharing your journey with them. </li> </ul> To lead, you only have to be one step ahead of your followers. This may mean you know just a little more or care just a little more than those you're trying to reach. <ul> <li>Alex has read many books in his genre and watched many shows and movies—some were great, some were horrible. His book is about to be self-published.</li> <li>Betsy has figured out how to make shopping easier and her kids are good so far!</li> <li>Charles is consistently in the top three in each gaming match, but he doesn't have a clue of how to get a better job.</li> <li>Donna can't even vote yet, but she cares about political issues a lot more than everyone around her, so she studies a lot more.</li> </ul> Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast. Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome) Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates. </div> <div class="episode"> <podcast-player title="What is RSS? And why you MUST own yours – TAP167" subtitle="March 31, 2014" duration="2209" enclosure="https://op3.dev/e/https://media.blubrry.com/theaudacitytopodcast/traffic.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap167.mp3"></podcast-player> <a href="podcast/99155/the-next-picture-show/episode/14685698/what-is-rss--and-why-you-must-own-yours---tap167/">View Details</a> RSS makes podcasting possible. I'll explain what RSS is and why not owning your RSS feed could mean losing all of your subscribers. What is RSS? In plain English, RSS is a specially formatted webpage that allows news-readers and podcast applications to subscribe for syndicated content. Without RSS, you may be used to visiting your favorite news sites, browsing to your favorite sections, and looking over the latest items to see what's new before deciding what to read or watch. RSS simplifies this by offering a summary of site updates. When you subscribe to an RSS feed, your software will check that one address for updated content, and display the summary or sometimes even the full content of the post (depending on the publisher's choice). More technical definition of RSS “RSS” stands for “Rich Site Summary,” but it is also known as “really simple syndication,” “RDF Site Summary,” and “Real-time Simple Syndication.” RSS is a collection of XML (“extensible markup language”) standard formatting. An RSS feed is mandatory for hosting a podcast. “Podcast” is a actually a label for a particular kind of distribution, not a style of show. Just like “radio show,” “TV,” “DVD,” and “magazine” describe the media and distribution. “Podcast” is, by technical definite, downloadable episodic multimedia (audio, video, PDF, and ePub) syndicated through RSS via the <enclosure> tag. XML allows the creation of any kind of machine- or human-readable data. For example, I could have an <code><awesomeness></code> tag, which I define as a numbered rating from 1 to 5. Or my XML could look like the following. <code><thing> <whaticallit>Bacon</whaticallit> <awesomeness>5</awesomeness> <why>Because it's BACON!</why> <sayswho>The Internet</sayswho> </thing></code> RSS will be formatted the same way, but will follow clearly defined standards. For example, here are some excerpts from my own RSS feed. ``` <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2enclosuresfull.xsl"?> <rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:rawvoice="http://www.rawvoice.com/rawvoiceRssModule/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>The Audacity to Podcast – how to launch and improve your podcast for success https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/ Giving you the guts and teaching you the tools to podcast with passion, organization, and dialog. Sat, 29 Mar 2014 18:02:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 http://feeds.noodle.mx/theaudacitytopodcast-mp3 Award-winning podcast for you to learn about podcasting, Audacity, and WordPress from Daniel J. Lewis. Awarded #1 technology podcast in 2012 by people's choice. Podcasting is a exciting and personal way to share your message with others, but how do you do it? What equipment, software, and skills do you need? Daniel gives you answers to these and more podcasting questions. Many episodes focus entirely on Audacity. Send your questions and feedback to Feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com or call (903) 231-2221. Daniel J. Lewis | Noodle.mx Network clean Daniel J. Lewis | Noodle.mx Network feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (Daniel J. Lewis | Noodle.mx Network) © 2010–2014 D.Joseph Design Giving you the guts and teaching you the tools to podcast with passion, organization, and dialog. Daniel J. Lewis,podcasting,audacity,podcast,wordpress,microphone,mixer,audio,editing,technology,how to https://theaudacitytopodcast.comhttp://media.libsyn.com/noodlemx/tap-cover_art_2-144x144.jpgThe Audacity to Podcast TV-G Cincinnati, OH Weekly 10 super-simple tricks for speeding up your podcasting workflow – TAP166 http://feeds.noodle.mx/~r/theaudacitytopodcast-mp3/~3/QagtYoqATiM/ Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:16:18 +0000 https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/?p=5881 https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/10-super-simple-tricks-for-speeding-up-your-podcasting-workflow-tap166/#comments Daniel J. Lewis <![CDATA[Podcast]]> <![CDATA[Adobe Audition]]> <![CDATA[Adobe Premiere Pro]]> <![CDATA[audacity]]> <![CDATA[editing]]> <![CDATA[WordPress]]> <![CDATA[workflow]]> <![CDATA[writing]]> Imagine publishing podcast episodes faster! These simple hacks will improve your podcasting workflow in the little details. Each of these may take only a few minutes to setup and may not seem to save much time. But even saving 30 seconds per day adds up to more than two hours per year. https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/10-super-simple-tricks-for-speeding-up-your-podcasting-workflow-tap166/feed/ 9 Adobe Audition,Adobe Premiere Pro,audacity,editing,WordPress,workflow,writing Imagine publishing podcast episodes faster! These simple hacks will improve your podcasting workflow in the little details. Each of these may take only a few minutes to setup and may not seem to save much time. Imagine publishing podcast episodes faster! These simple hacks will improve your podcasting workflow in the little details. Each of these may take only a few minutes to setup and may not seem to save much time. But even saving 30 seconds per day adds up to more than two hours per year.

Change file associations to your regular editors
Use an FTP client for uploading to your media host
Have templates
Make macros and “droplets”
Work in mono
Use TextEpander or PhraseExpress
Paste without formatting
Write show notes directly in WordPress
Create bookmarks, favorites, and shortcuts
Learn keyboard shortcuts

Hire me to help you launch or improve your podcast! https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/consulting

Follow me on http://twitter.com/theRamenNoodle

Links and shownotes at https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/166

FEEDBACK Call (903) 231-2221 Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com Send a voice message from http://TheAudacitytoPodcast

MAILING ADDRESS The Audacity to Podcast PO Box 739 Burlington, KY 41005 Daniel J. Lewis | Noodle.mx Network clean 46:52 https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/10-super-simple-tricks-for-speeding-up-your-podcasting-workflow-tap166/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-super-simple-tricks-for-speeding-up-your-podcasting-workflow-tap166 ```

How to make an RSS feed There are essentially three ways to make your own RSS feeds.

Automatically from a content-management system (such as WordPress, Drupal, or LibSyn)
Manually with a standalone application like Feeder
By hand with any text- or code-editor

If you want to live a long and happy life, I recommend letting your RSS feed be created automatically for you with intelligent software. You still have to enter the information for the feed—title, description, keywords, and each individual post—but you do it through an easy-to-learn system like WordPress.

If you have a WordPress website, then you already have more RSS feeds than you would ever need! Just add /feed to the end of your domain and you'll get your default site-wide RSS feed. (If you don't have permalinks set, use/?feed=rss instead.) Every time you publish a new post, WordPress automatically updates your RSS feed so that newsreaders and podcast apps can see the latest updates.

Content-management systems (CMS) often create several RSS feeds, such as for each category, media format, tag, or search result.

Learn more about the iTunes podcasting specifications and how to change your podcast information in iTunes.

Why you MUST own your RSS feed There are many ways to make RSS feeds from different services, and other services to enhance your RSS feeds. But you must be careful! Your RSS feed is how your subscribers get your content. If you give them someone else's URL that you can't control, then you don't truly own your audience.

Soundcloud is a big offender in this way. While they're a great platform with cool options, the beta podcast feature often produces invalid code. But what's even worse is that if you ever want to leave Soundcloud and you published your podcast with their RSS feed, you can't keep your current subscribers. This problem happens with many other platforms, like Podbean, Tumblr, Blogspot, and more.

There are only three ways to keep your audience from being held hostage by these providers.

Use FeedBurner or another third-party feed service. Run your feed through them and then publish your other feed. But take caution here, too! You may fall into the same problem, which leads to the next option.
Implement a permanent 301 redirect. Setup a redirect so any request for your old RSS feed gets automatically forwarded to the new RSS feed. These redirects should never be removed.
Add the <itunes:new-feed-url> tag. This is more technical but potentially more possible with some hosts. But it only works for iTunes and other apps that use the iTunes API.

Third-party, hosted platforms usually don't offer any such freedoms. So if you want to leave, you'll lose your audience, lose your iTunes reviews (unless you beg Apple), or you'll have to ask your audience to unsubscribe and resubscribe (don't do that!).

The best way to own your RSS feed is if you control the URL you publish in podcast directories. This could be some technical backend stuff going on, or that the RSS feed is hosted on your own domain with WordPress or something similar.

The only third-parties you can trust with your RSS feed are LibSyn and Blubrry. They both allow you to implement a permanent 301 redirect and the <itunes:new-feed-url> in your feed from their service. (Use promo code “noodle” with either company for a free month!)

FeedBurner's future is in question, but at least even they allow you to either place a permanent 301 redirect or use your own domain. If you must use a third-party, like Soundcloud or Podbean, for your podcast, then run the feed through FeedBurner and submit that URL to iTunes. Otherwise, say goodbye to your subscribers.

Why you need a podcast-only feed If your website contains blog posts and podcast episodes, then you may be hurting your podcast growth by using your site-wide RSS feed. Use a podcast-only feed for iTunes and other podcast directories so that blog posts don't take up the limited space in your RSS feed.

I've previously shared more details about how to create a podcast-only RSS feed and why you need one. In short, you can use PowerPress's automatic feed by adding /feed/podcast to your domain, or use LibSyn to power your RSS feed.

What to do with your RSS feeds If you have setup your sites well, then you should have a site-wide RSS feed (blog posts and podcast episodes) and a podcast-only feed.

Submit the podcast-only feed to podcast directories, like iTunes, Stitcher, BlackBerry, Microsoft, and other mobile apps.
Link to the site-wide RSS feed prominently on your site.

I suggest my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for making RSS and even podcast-only-RSS icons anywhere n your WordPress website.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: wwarby via Compfight cc

Imagine publishing podcast episodes faster! These simple hacks will improve your podcasting workflow in the little details. Each of these may take only a few minutes to setup and may not seem to save much time. But even saving 30 seconds per day adds up to more than two hours per year.

Change file associations What program opens when you double-click your files? That is set by the file association. For example, double-clicking an MP3 often opens it in iTunes. But is that really what program you want to handle that file?

For example, I changed the following defaults on my system.

.mp3 opens in ID3 Editor
.wav and .aif open in Adobe Audition
.php, .css, and .xml open in Sublime Text
.mp4 opens in VLC
.mov (my camera's video format) opens in Adobe Premiere Pro

Change your file associations with these steps:

For OS X, right-click a file and click Get Info. Change “Open with:” to your preferred program. Click “Change All…”
For Windows 7/8, open Control Panel > Control Panel Home > Default Programs > Set Associations (or type “Default Programs” into the Start search). Select the file type you want to change and click “Change program.” Or, you can right-click the file type you want to change and click Properties. Go to General tab > Type Of File > Change > Choose a program.
For some Linux distributions, follow these steps.
Use an FTP client for uploading podcast media Depending on the media host you use, it may be much faster to upload through an FTP client instead of through their website. LibSyn works this way and is even better.

Popular free FTP clients are CyberDuck and FileZilla.

If you upload to LibSyn, I recommend uploading a fully tagged MP3 file to the “quickcast” folder. This will read the title, description, and other meta information from the ID3 tags; set the file as a post (not as “for download only,” which you shouldn't use); and publish the file immediately. You won't even have to login to the LibSyn website!

Use templates I've talked before about using Simple Content Templates (formerly Simple Post Templates) for creating templates in WordPress. Also consider templates for your other processes.
Preparation template in your favorite note-taker (for example, Evernote, Workflowy, Google Drive)
Production template with intro, outro, bumpers, and even track effects in editors (for example, Audacity, Adobe Audition, Premiere Pro)—the simplicity of doing this with Adobe Audition is part of why I left Audacity
Design templates for images with fonts, colors, and layout
Email templates for interview requests, feedback responses, and business opportunities
Effect presets for tracks, clips, and recordings
Make macros and “droplets” Many programs will let you record a set of actions to save as a macro. These are called Chains in Audacity, Favorites in Adobe Audition, Actions in Adobe Photoshop, and other names in other programs.

You can also create a miniature program, commonly called a droplet, on which you can drag and drop one or many files for quick processing. For example, converting stereo to mono, encoding WAV as MP3, converting PNG to JPEG, sequentially renaming, uploading to FTP, applying a template, and more.

Work in mono I've already talked about the many benefits of podcasting in mono instead of stereo. In your workflow, this can often cut your processing time in half. An effect only has to process a single track in mono instead of two tracks (left and right) in stereo.
Use text-expansion: TextExpander or PhraseExpress Text-expansion is a huge time-saver for me in the little ways. Here are some example uses.
Make typing hard-to-spell words or titles easier—John Lee Dumas uses “eee” to write “Entrepreneur on Fire” since spelling “entrepreneur” causes even the best to stumble
Simplify complicated text—I type “tap.url” to get “https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/” with the option to add to the end of the URL
Make easy hyperlinks—I type “paypal.pay” to get a full payment URL with a custom description and payment amount
Insert a complete template—For consulting requests and followups, RSS help, CES booking requests, and more, I have different “email.____” shortcuts that insert a full message with the recipient's name and custom inclusions

Text expansion's power goes far beyond just replacing text with other plain text. You can make dynamic fields that populate the output, shortcuts that process your clipboard, and much more.

Get TextExpander for Mac, or PhraseExpress for Windows.

Paste without formatting When you copy and paste text, font sizes, colors, and other formatting are usually captured and pasted with it. This can make text-editing very annoying. Many applications offer a “paste as plain text” or “paste without formatting” option. This is commonly Ctrl-Shift-V on Windows and Linux, and Cmd-Shift-V on OS X.

The text you paste will inherit the formatting of your target (such as a heading or color) instead of carrying over the previous formatting.

Write show notes directly in WordPress Instead of going through a lot of hassle to paste without formatting from a separate app into WordPress, why not write your show notes directly into WordPress?

You won't struggle with formatting transitions and invalid characters. And it also means you can seamlessly insert your hyperlinks, formatting, and multimedia while you write your text.

Create bookmarks, favorites, and shortcuts If you regularly use the same tool, website, or folder, make simple shortcuts to each of these in relevant places.
In your web browser, use the Bookmarks toolbar to place your most commonly visited pages (like WordPress's “new post” page) and bookmarklets (like social-sharing or bookmarking services).
In your file browser, add shortcuts to your common folders in the sidebar or favorites for easy access from the file browser or save/open dialog boxes.
In project folders, make shortcuts/aliases to other commonly accessed folders.
In programs, add your favorite effects to a favorites menu or palette, if supported.
Learn or customize keyboard shortcuts I probably use several hundred keyboard shortcuts in a single day. This is way more than simple cut/copy/paste. Cmd/Ctrl-I will italicize text in WordPress and most apps, Cmd/Ctrl-K will usually hyperlink text (it's Alt-Shift-A in WordPress), Cmd/Ctrl-S will save.

But there may also be shortcuts for your other common operations. If there aren't, you can probably assign them in your app. For example, I setup Cmd-Shift-L to run the Normalize effect in Audacity, or Cmd-Shift-M to convert stereo to mono in Audition.

Maybe you don't like your app's keyboard shortcuts because you're used to a different app. For example, most apps use Cmd/Ctrl-E for exporting, but Audition and Premiere Pro both use Cmd/Ctrl-M.

Critically review your workflow steps Don't stop with my list! Watch for any repetitive tasks and find ways to do them a little quicker. When you combine all of these things together, you may find yourself saving 5–15 minutes per day, which adds up to 21–65 hours per year!

What little tasks have your been able to hack to save time? What are some of your favorite text-expansion snippets? Share in the comments!

Announcements * Regular registration is now open for Podcast Movement conference * I’ll be the keynote speaker at Mad Anthony Writers Conference * Get a free month of Blubrry podcast hosting or Blubrry podcast stats with promo code “noodle”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

How do you podcast from nothing to a finished, publicized episode? Here are six main steps with key implementations to make a podcasting workflow like the professionals!

This topic was requested by Gene Desepoli.

Plan The greatest podcasts start, build on, and end with plans. As an old proverb says, “Failure to plan is planning to fail.”

Set goals What do you want to accomplish with your podcast? What do you want your audience to get from each episode?

Collect ideas Capture every thought you have for your content, no matter how rough the idea is. Use an easily accessible tool like Evernote or a small notebook to log these thoughts the moment they come. Don't withhold any idea!

Even if you already have your content planned or handed to you, continue to collect insights, illustrations, feedback, and more.

Pick the topic(s) to cover If you have freely collected ideas, all you have to do is pick idea to develop for your next episode.

Schedule for preparation Something will always need or steal your time. Set aside specific time for you to create your podcast. You could split the separate workflow steps into separate sessions, or do them all in the same time.

Prepare Get ready to record! But to make for a smooth presentation, some preparation is in order.

Research As the communicator for your idea, you should strive to be the authority. Look up facts, check third-party research, review your source material, and whatever it takes for you to know everything you need.

Review feedback If your show receives feedback, review this to see if your upcoming episode will properly address or incorporate the feedback.

Outline the content Whether you script or ad lib, starting the content with an outline will always help. It could be as simple as a bullet-point list of items you want to cover, or it could be a thorough outline with master points, sub points, and asides.

Starting with an outline also helps you give a more understandable presentation.

Draft show notes I like to have my show notes prepared before I record. It is a way I refine my ideas. Having these show notes in draft before you record will improve your presentation. This also reduces the amount of time it takes to publish an episode after you finish recording.

Gather resources Do you need videos, pictures, sound clips, guest or cohost information, or anything else? You'll often discover these needs during your outline and draft process.

Test and practice You don't have to test and practice your entire presentation, but there may be particular points or transitions you want to communicate well. Test these on other people and practice them yourself—even if just mentally.

“Preflight” before recording Check out my 20-step podcasting preflight checklist for the things you should do before recording.

Present Ready? Then it's time to record! Have everything you need in front of you so you won't get distracted trying to find things.

Record the episode “Duh,” yes. Put aside whatever reservations you have and take this leap with the record button!

Focus on the goal(s) As you speak, remember what you want to accomplish with your show, this episode, and what you want your audience to get from it. Remove or differ the stuff that doesn't work toward these goals. For example, talking about a recent storm may be irrelevant to your audience coming to learn how to be awesome. If your personal story is actually related, make sure your audience knows that before you start.

Speak clearly Slow down and don't be afraid to pause. Although faster talking is often associated with higher intelligence, talking too quickly can also result in more stumbles and reliance on verbal crutches.

Communicate passionately If you're excited about your topic, let it show! Emotions are contagious, so ensure you're conveying positively and your audience will be inspired to get excited, too.

Relate authentically Don't try to be someone you're not. But also don't try to make this all about you. Let your personality come through. If something is funny to you, it's okay to chuckle. Share your personal opinions! Do you really have the audacity (guts) to podcast™? Then be real about it!

Call to action Give your audience something to do, but don't overwhelm them. Your primary call to action should relate to your goals. Reinforce it throughout your episode, where appropriate.

Produce Editing is often everyone's biggest hate in podcasting. This doesn't mean you have to meticulously edit every detail, but there are simple things you can do to enhance your production.

Edit the recording Even if you're not attempting a “perfect” production (which I don't recommend, anyway), take note on the major places you may need to edit. Remove any intro and outro silences.

Add additional pieces Add your guest's audio if recorded separately, audio or video branding, sound clips, promos, lower thirds, B-roll footage, intros and outros, and anything else your episode needs to be complete.

Enhance as necessary Check for consistent volume levels and adjust as necessary. Remove any distracting noise. Adjust the equalization (EQ) only in tiny amounts, if at all. Correct video colors. Add transitions.

Remember that you only need to “sweeten” the production a little. You shouldn't try to make yourself sound like someone you are not.

Finalize show notes Revist your show notes and add any extra material that came up in your recording. Check your spelling and grammar.

Hyperlink relevant text instead of pasting the URLs or using “click here.” Format your text with headings, bullet points, bold, italics, and embedded media.

Optimize for search engines (SEO) How effectively and clearly have you communicated for humans? That's the most important aspect of search-engine optimization (SEO). But you can also ensure that you use your relevant keywords a few times.

For example, our new podcast about the Resurrection TV show needs to have the word “Resurrection” in the show notes, or else it may not seem relevant to humans or search engines.

Don't forget to add keywords, a description, and special title to your SEO fields if you have them.

Export the final With all the pieces in place, export your final media file! I suggest MP3 at 64 kbps (mono) for audio, MP4 at 640 × 360 for video podcasts, full 1080p HD (when possible) for YouTube.

Add tags to MP3s Add all the necessary information to your ID3 tags for MP3 audio (or AAC, if you still do that). Remember to include the track number, URL to this episode's show notes, and your cover art.

Upload to host Wherever you host your media, it's time to put your episode there! Learn more about podcasting hosting, or jump straight into LibSyn or Blubrry with promo code “noodle” for a free month.

Publish Put aside your fears and put that episode out there!

Schedule or publish now! When everything is ready, don't forget to publish! Alternatively, you may schedule your episode to publish at a specific date or time. I recommend as much consistency as possible.

Check website After your episode has published, double-check your website. I recommend using a “private” or “incognito” browser so you see your site exactly as a first-time visitor would.

Check for things like working links, appropriately embedded multimedia, and ensure that your cache has refreshed.

Ping feed service (if applicable) If you use FeedBurner or another third-party feed service, you may need to ping or resync in order for your latest post to be immediately available.

Check RSS feeds Double check your RSS feed to ensure the latest episode is there and that nothing has broken.

Verify updates in apps and directories Subscribe to your own podcast in every app you can get and ensure your newest episode is available. Remember that some directories (like iTunes) may have a delay before they reflect your updates, but subscribers will receive the episodes anyway. Some apps may also have a schedule for when they check for new episodes.

Promote Tell the world! This isn't Field of Dreams where “If you build it, they will come.” Be proactive to grow your audience and even let your current audience know that there's something new.

Submit to news sites I've seen great success in submitting my episodes to sites like Reddit and StumbleUpon.

Share on social networks Go where your audience is, but don't be a spamming self-promoter. Consider Facebook pages, groups, and your profile; Twitter accounts; Google+ pages, communities, and your profile; Pinterest boards; Linked in pages, groups, and your profile; and forums or other social networks where your audience hangs out. But don't spam!

Send to email subscribers If you have an email list, they may not only expect to hear when you have new episodes available, but it may also bump you to the front of their minds so they will consume your episode sooner.

Monitor performance With great caution, I recommend that you check your stats, but only briefly! Don't obsess. In fact, you may be best to wait a couple days or a week before you even think about measuring your audience to see how you're growing.

What is your podcasting workflow? Share your own tips, tricks, and approach in the comments!

Announcements * Podcast Master Class starts again in May, 2014 * Subscribe to Podertainment magazine and get ready for the next issue

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Before you press record, make sure you've checked these 20 things to ensure a quality podcast.

Download this as a checklist

Turn on all equipment As basic as this is, it's important to do early in your process. Some equipment takes time to either warm up or cool down from being turned on. CFLs, for example, take about fifteen minutes to come to full brightness and correct color temperature. Your computer may have to finish launching all startup programs and then settle down the CPU.
Lights
Cameras
Mixer
Audio processor
Microphones
Recorders
Computers
Other devices
Verify equipment settings You don't have to double-check every setting, but do glance over the most-adjusted settings.
Battery levels
Available storage space
Volume levels
Mix-minus configuration
Muted and unmuted tracks
Connected cables
Inputs and outputs on all devices
Camera focus
Place recorder(s) in standby If your recording app or device has a standby mode just before it starts recording, activate this early. Then, you'll see this frequently as your progress through your checklist and can always be sure it's ready.
Load necessary programs Have every program you need or think you may need open and ready. This will prevent awkward or edit points where you have to wait for something to launch.
Soundboard
Skype or other calling software
Recorder
Live-streaming software
Chat room
Show notes
Web browser
Turn off home noise-makers It's always best to prevent noise before you record instead of removing it afterward. Turn off or silence these things and you'll get a cleaner recording.
Heater
Air conditioner
Fans
Dishwasher
Humidifier
Music or TV
Noisy furniture
Your mouse or scrollwheel (consider using the touchpad)
Other appliances
Take care of pets Pets can be unpredictable distractions and mess up a good recording. Make wise decisions about your pets and you'll have less stuff to fix in your recordings.
Take away noisy toys
Remove noisy collar
Pen away from studio or ensure control in studio
Occupy your children with something Let's be honest. Children are a blessing, but sometimes those bundles of joy can make some tasks more difficult. Be a good parent with your kids and come up with fun, creative solutions so they'll be onboard with helping you.
Put away noisy toys
Encourage quiet activities (especially consider fun things that are only for when you record)
Record during naps or after bed time
Close doors and windows You can't control the sound outside your home. But it's likely that most outdoor noises won't make it into your recording through closed doors or windows.

Yes, sometimes you may just need to wait until your neighbor stops mowing because that's too loud.

If you record video, you may also need to close blinds.

Prepare your space A clutter-free workspace will actually help you focus more, but how your arrange the items around you may also assist in your production quality.
Clear your desk
Check video background
Position props or equipment
Arrange windows on your monitor(s) or tablet
Turn off GSM phones or place in “airplane mode” Some phones will create rhythmic interference noises, or just cause general sound problems. Turn these off or put them in “airplane mode” to reduce that chance of interruptions.
Switch mobile devices to “do not disturb” (DND) If your phone must stay on, or you have other mobile devices, DND mode will ensure that they don't beep or vibrate during your session.
Silence computer sounds Check for any sound your computer may make and turn it off.
Notifications
Interactions
Warnings
Shut down unnecessary programs Your computer's resources are a valuable commodity. Make sure that only the programs you need running are loaded. Especially check for updaters, synchronizers, backups, virus scans, and RAM- or CPU-intensive apps.
Care for your body Your voice is your “money-maker” in podcasting, so keep it healthy, but don't forget the rest of your body!
Use the restroom (and encourage others in your house to do the same)
Drink a full glass of room-temperature water
Pour another glass of room-temperature water
Clear your throat and sinuses
Put on lip balm (but choose the kind that doesn't dry your lips)
Adjust your clothing
Fix your hair
Retouch makeup
Wipe your face
Try some mouth exercises
Review your notes No matter how simple or complex your notes, another review will help keep you focused, give you new ideas, and aid your transitions.
How will you open?
Do you know what you want to share?
How will you close?
Prepare resources Podcasting often feels like being a film producer and director. Ensure all your resources are at your command.
Queue audio or video clips
Skip ads in multimedia
Load web pages you'll need
Open feedback messages
Embed or update your live player
Test everything Even if you'd done this hundreds of times, still test everything before you record. This will ensure you don't lose an episode or have a mysterious problem creep into your podcast.
Start recording This should be the last step before you start speaking, so you'll always know it's the signal to go. You don't have to start all recorders at the exact same moment, but at least have a synchronization point—like a clap—for aligning everything.
Video camera
External audio recorder
Live-streaming software
Software recorders
Cohosts' devices
Break the ice With the recorder running, have some small talk with your guest, your chat room, or even yourself. This can help calm the nerves. Sometimes, you may even discover a gold nugget in this preshow content.
Present! If you use a timer, start it the moment you start your podcast so it tracks your talk time, not just recording time.

With everything in place, you're ready to record!

Download a FREE printable checklist

What else do you have to check? Please comment in the show notes.

Episode 165 will discuss the bigger picture of your podcasting workflow.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Whether you're a new or experienced podcaster, you may face the decision of whether to be in audio or video podcasting. Here are the pros and cons of each format, and things you should consider.

I'm omitting “enhanced AAC” because it's a quickly dying format with limited compatibility and few practical needs that can't be met with effective show notes.

This topic was inspired by Steve Hart's feedback.

Hi Daniel.

Do you know of any research that helps establish if people prefer video podcasts over audio only podcasts?

My feeling is that people are more likely to listen than watch, particularly if the video only features ‘talking heads'.

Would be interested to see any stats or research into this area.

Cheers,

Steve Hart

The Steve Hart Radio Show

Audio benefits 1. Widely consumable The most powerful thing about audio podcasting is how easy audio is to consume in various environments. You can listen to podcasts while cooking, driving, playing games, mowing the yard, and even working. It's easy to listen to one thing while doing another.

High quality for low cost The Audio Technica ATR2100-USB (Amazon.com | B&H) is only $50 and produces acceptable quality for any audio podcast. You can plug it straight into your computer (or many mobile devices) to record without expensive equipment.
Easy production If you can cut, copy, paste, and delete text on your computer, then you can edit audio! It's easy to remove sections you don't want, and clean up dialog without leaving any noticeable signs of editing.
Popular choice Only six out of the top one hundred podcasts in iTunes (as of March 3, 2014) were video. Even Leo Laporte's This Week in Tech has only the audio edition in the top 100, but not the video edition.

This, alone, doesn't mean it's the best option, just that more top podcasters chose audio, or their audio formats are more popular.

Supported by all podcast apps and directories You can play MP3 audio files on almost any device or media app. Even old flip phones can playback MP3!

There are several apps that support audio and video podcasts, but many popular apps (such as Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio) support only audio.

Audio disadvantages 1. Difficult to share It's hard to make audio go viral. Some media hosts, such as SoundCloud and Audioboo, have partnered with Twitter or Facebook to automatically embed media players for direct links to media files. Aside from these couple exceptions, audio is far less common for sharing or embedding.

Low accessibility for hearing-impaired Audio can't be consumed by the hearing-impaired. You can help this by having your episodes transcribed, or by writing great show notes (my recommendation).
Visual subjects don't communicate well Try to review paintings in audio, describe a beautiful scene, or train on software or hardware. While these are all possible to do, if you can communicate well, they take a lot more work and time than simply showing something. This is why nearly all of my one-on-one consulting sessions involve video (webcam or screenshare).
Doesn't engage well on YouTube Many people want to be on YouTube because it's a massive social network and even a search engine of its own. It's possible for you to publish your audio to YouTube with just your cover art or a slide presentation. This kind of “hacking the system” it's far less effective and will probably turn away potential a potential audience.

Video benefits 1. Prominent media players When you go to a website with an embedded video, you know what to do with that video. It's often more compelling to click play on the video than to read through the written content.

This is a problem that can be helped in audio podcasting, but it needs more support.

Easy to communicate visual subjects Instead of spending time describing something in order to discuss it, video allows you to simply “show and tell.”

I do recommend being more specific than simply saying, “here” and “this,” but you don't have to be so descriptive to say, “In the upper-right corner, just to the left of the logo, are two red and white RCA inputs and outputs.”

On-screen aids to help accessibility Video also makes the easy things even easier to communicate. Instead of saying, “Email feedback at My Awesome Podcast dot com,” you can just say, “Email me,” and display the email address on the screen.

This works for many details, and even allows for commentary, corrections, footnotes, and more. Consider how I added a footnote to my video “How to add or change your podcast cover art.”

Engaging and shareable We're humans and we relate with other humans. Showing your face in video allows your audience to get to know you even better than just hearing your voice. They can see your expressions, read emotions, and learn to recognize your appearance. This can result in more engagement.

(Side tip. Unless you're doing drama or interviews, always have the subject look directly into the camera (or near it) instead of off-camera.)

Free “hosting” and leverage on YouTube YouTube is social network of its own. I think the quality and usability of comments has increased since Google+ was integrated. Being on YouTube can help you reach a whole new audience.

When you upload your videos to YouTube, they can live there forever without any foreseeable hosting expenses.

You even have the opportunity to monetize your videos more easily on YouTube than finding a sponsor for your show.

Search-engine optimization (SEO) with YouTube Many people will even search YouTube for things before they search Google.

Being on YouTube also gives you more opportunities to appear on the first page (and higher position) in Google search results.

Great longtail Because publishing video lets you get onto other platforms and be more shareable, you'll find a larger “longtail” for video content than audio. “Longtail” is how much your media is consumed over time. The timelessness of your content greatly affects this.

I see many of my YouTube videos continue to receive more weekly views than their equivalent audio podcast episodes.

Video disadvantages 1. Expensive for high quality Getting good video means you need a great microphone (which should not get in the way of your face), good lighting, and decent camera—in that order. Even with cheap options for each of these needs, you'll still spend several times more for video than audio.

Complicated production Editing video is a lot more complicated than audio. You need to learn about color correction, composition, video codecs, resolutions, frame rates, and more.

In video, it's not good to try removing every verbal crutch because this leaves noticeable edit points in your production. You can sometimes cover these up with B-roll footage (other relevant video or images, such as a second shot of the product you're reviewing), but this means more stuff you have to find or record. Watch how I use my own B-roll footage to cover up my edit points in my review of the Electro Voice RE20 microphone.

Hard to consume Try watching a video while driving, mowing the hard, or using deadly cooking utensils. Actually, don't. I want you to stay alive with all your body parts.

Watching video requires a lot more attention than audio. This is a good reason to keep Internet videos short, so that it's easy for your audience to watch the whole thing without the commitment they'd have to give a movie or TV show.

Small support by podcast apps and directories Many new and popular podcast apps don't support video podcasts. Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn are just a few. But it does seem like a growing trend.

In-car entertainment is also likely to support only audio for driver safety.

Why did you choose your format? What made you choose audio or video? If you publish both, what kinds of growth do you see for either format.

Announcements * Podertainment magazine is now available! * Virtual Business and Faith-Building Conference * I'll be the keynote speaker at Mad Anthony Writers Conference * Get a free month of Blubrry podcast hosting or Blubrry podcast stats with promo code “noodle”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

You've finally started making money podcasting! Now you must decide how to handle that income. Here are ten tips for what to do with podcast profits.

Document it When you receive any kind of money, you need a record of the details. This will be important for tracking your income and expenses, filing taxes, and budgeting.

Approach your documentation with “who, what, when, where, how, and why.”

Who gave the money—What affiliate, sponsor, or ad generated the income? Who donated?
What podcast generated the income—If you have multiple shows, it's important to track the performance of each one. Have different forms, check boxes, or email accounts to help. Also use affiliate tracker options to separate show incomes.
When you received it
Where it went and how it was paid—Did it come through PayPal, cash, check, or something else? Did you spend it on something?
How much you received
Why it was given—Was it donated for a specific reason? Was it income from a specific ad?
Include it in your taxes Check with a tax professional! I am not a tax professional. But I do know that all income is subject to income tax in the United States of America. Generally, this will go under line 21 of Form 1040 for most USA taxpayers. This may be different if your podcast is or is part of a business.
Cover your regular expenses The best use of podcast profit is to pay for your habit. Unless you're trying to podcast for free, you probably have some fairly regular expenses.
Web hosting
Media hosting
Domains
Licenses
Share with your cohosts If you have cohosts, I highly recommend that you decide how income will be handled before you have any. There are a few basic ways you can share this with your cohosts for compensation before or after expenses.
Percentage split—Do you split it equally, or does someone get more than someone else?
Flat rate compensation—Will each person be paid a specific amount?
Attendance earnings—Will you pay cohosts for episodes they couldn't attend?

Remind your cohosts to also include the income on their taxes. If you pay them more than $600 in a year (as of 2013), you must provide them with a Form 1099.

Upgrade your equipment It seems we always have our eyes on better podcasting gear! Don't buy stuff just because you have the money, but plan carefully.

Generally, your purchases should help you achieve one of the following results

Better quality
New abilities
Easier workflow
Buy helpful software Podcasters are quick to consider hardware upgrades, and I agree that those are more important. Sometimes, you software may be just as important to upgrade or purchase.
Editor—Would switching audio or video editors make your editing workflow faster?
Helper apps—Consider an ID3 editor, media converter, asset manager, show notes app, and more.
Add new podcast “features” What new “features” can you give your podcast if you could spend a little money?
Better theme—look at the StudioPress themes for WordPress
Premium Plugins—I love premium plugins because of how much easier they make my website. Consider plugins like Pretty Link Pro, Gravity Forms, SearchWP, Easy Azon, Social Subscribe & Follow Icons, and more.
Licensed music—a better theme song, like from JewelBeat, Music Bakery, or PremiumBeat.com
Stock photos—iStock, Fotolia, and more
Premium services—Consulting, show notes help, editing, faster hosting, and more.
Get more resources Sometimes, the money can help you produce better content for your show.
Training materials—Books, videos, or other resources that help you think or do something better.
Conferences—Network with others in your field, get inspired, and find new partners. I think conferences are totally worth it! (Go to the ultimate podcasting conference by podcasters and for podcasters!)
Content inspiration—Here's your opportunity to buy more stuff to review! It could be movies, TV show downloads from iTunes (so you can stop illegally downloading them—we've probably all done it before), books, magazines, music, games, and more.
Host giveaways Consider giving back to your community. Give gifts to those who have volunteered their time to help you . You could also host a fun contest or giveaway for your community. Just check the applicable laws for giveaways.
Enjoy it There's nothing wrong with simply enjoying the money, no matter how you received it. Buy yourself some ice cream, pick up a new video game, go see a movie, or put it in your bank account.

You may be allowed to deduct these expenses If you run your podcast part of or as a business, check with a tax professional to see how you may be able to deduct your expenses from your taxes. Stuff like equipment, subscriptions, training, travel, conferences, and software are easy to deduct; but content inspiration (books, movies, etc.) may be harder to justify.

Announcements 1. Attend the Podcast Movement conference. 2. Subscribe to Podertainment magazine. 3. Visit Noodle.mx Network in iTunes and subscribe to our all-inclusive feed. 4. Watch for our new podcast about ABC's TV show Resurrection.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: INPIVIC via Compfight cc

Your podcast website should house more than just your episode archive. Here are eleven pages to make your website better for you, your audience, and even sponsors! I recommend tools (some free, some premium) for making these pages.

Homepage If your website homepage is just the default listing of your latest posts, then you're missing a huge opportunity and it's really not much of a homepage!

A great homepage will have several pieces.

Information about the show
Strong visual branding
Prominent subscription links
Call to action
Short archive

Tools * Great WordPress theme with widgetized homepage—check out those from StudioPress! * Social Subscribe & Follow Icons—create attractive subscribe/follow links or buttons * Post list or feature widgets

About page The most popular page on most websites is the about page. This is especially important you don't communicate anything about your show on the front page.

This doesn't have to be your whole history, but it should be a compelling description of your show, and maybe short biographies of each host.

You could use your iTunes description and add a little more.

Tools * Podcast cover art * Head shots * Representative photos

Getting started page If your show and site is teaches something, new “students” may be overwhelmed with all of your content. They may not be sure where to jump in. This is where a “getting started” page helps.

My own, lackluster, “getting started” page is my most popular secondary page (homepage is #1, and several posts are popular, too).

Create a page that can get someone started on what you want them to learn. This page can have short descriptions, links to tutorials, and many links to past episodes.

Tools * Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts

Contact/feedback page Make it easy for your audience (or potential sponsors!) to contact you.
Email address
Phone number
Mailing address
Contact form
Audio feedback

Tools * CryptX—protecting your email address so you don't have to type the horrid “feedback [ a with circle around it ] thedomainyouareon [ dot ] com” * Google Voice—if you don't have a podcast phone number and you don't want your own to be public * PO box—if you need to give a mailing address but want to protect your home address * Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form! * SpeakPipe—audio feedback recorded through your website

Podcast page Regardless of whether your site is solely for your podcast, or the podcast is part of something bigger, a “podcast” or “podcast episodes” page is vital.

This page could be just your podcast category archive (I recommend setting this category slug to “podcast-episodes” to reserve “podcast” for other uses). But it would be even more effective if it has information about your podcast, the cover art, subscription links, and a list of recent episodes (podcast-only list).

Tools * Great WordPress theme—check out those from StudioPress! * WordPress category pages—automatically created, just link with “/category/CATEGORY-NAME/” * Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts * Social Subscribe & Follow Icons—create attractive subscribe/follow links or buttons

Blog page If you ever publish blog content that isn't in a podcast episode, you should also have a blog page. This may not need to be as complicated as your “podcast” page, but it should have at least the list of blog-only content.

Tools * Great WordPress theme—check out those from StudioPress! * WordPress category pages—automatically created, just link with “/category/CATEGORY-NAME/” * Advanced Post List plugin—list posts by category, keyword, and more. This is really helpful for automatically updating a filtered list of posts

Resources page Even if you don't sell anything, a “resources” page can be an opportunity to list stuff you use or mention a lot. Try to get affiliate links for everything you mention.

The language of the page and label will vary, depending on your content and audience. It could be “resources,” “gear,” “links,” “tools,” “recommendations,” and such.

Tools * Affiliate membership—at least Amazon.com and Commission Junction * Pretty Link or Pretty Link Pro—for creating easier affiliate URLs, tracking their usage, or automatically hyperlinking keywords (pro feature) * Easy Azon or Amazon Link plugin—make adding Amazon affiliate links, images, or widgets much easier!

Sponsor/donate page If you want donations or sponsorships, you need to be serious about it enough to have a page to promote it!

For sponsorships, include some basics about your show, why they should sponsor, something about your audience, and link to a podcast media kit. Also include your contact information—maybe even a specific contact form.

For donations, include buttons or forms to donate and give options of individual or ongoing donations.

Tools * PayPal—easy way to accept payments online * Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form! You'll need the “Developer” license to use the PayPal add-ons.

Press page Here's your opportunity to show off where you've been mentioned and interviews you've given.

This is also the best place to put a “press kit” for your show. Look at WordPress's “logos” page, for example.

High-resolution photos of you, your cohosts, and recording sessions
Podcast cover art
Branding imagery with your logo—think of what would make a cool wallpaper, or how your site design would look without any content and only the logo and image
Standalone logos in PNG and EPS formats each for versions that work on dark or light backgrounds (4 versions total), plus any additional versions of your logo (for example, with and without icon, or tall and wide)
Contact information

Tools * As Heard On plugin—for easily listing podcasts you have joined as a guest * Gravity Forms—the best plugin for making any kind of form! * Great head shots * Adobe Illustrator or other program for making great vector (EPS) logos * Adobe Photoshop or other program for designing PNG or JPEG images

Privacy policy page If you accept any contact from your audience (comments, forums, email, etc.), you should have a privacy policy that states what you will and won't do with the information.

Tools * FreePrivacyPolicy.com and PrivacyPolicyOnline.com—easily make your own privacy policies, but clean up any hidden links and be prepared for extra spam from these sites that don't keep your email address private. (Ironic, huh?)

Sitemap Sitemaps aren't just an XML file for search engines. They can also be simple web page that lay out all of your static content in hierarchical form.

Tools * Page-list or WP Sitemap Page

Podcast Movement conference for podcasters New Media Expo is a great conference that I will continue to support. But it's also a mix of blogging, podcasting, “web TV,” and other social-media stuff. Podcast Movement is a conference by podcasters, for podcasters, all about podcasting. It will be in Addison, TX (near Dallas), August 16–17.

Register my March 14, 2014 to save on your admission!

I will be speaking at the conference, so I hope to see you there!

Podertainment magazine for podcasters There's finally a magazine by podcasters and for podcasters, too! Podertainment just launch and is currently available on iOS (Android coming soon). I'm a regular columnist with articles about how to improve your podcast.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: Eric Kilby via Compfight cc

Back to basics! This isn't a detailed process for how to edit episodes, setup your website, or get into iTunes. These are the core 10 principles for starting a podcast, even if it's not your first time!

Make plans Before you buy any equipment, before you start a website, and before you do anything else with your podcast, plan what kind of podcast you'll host and what you want to share.

I recommend that you create a list of topics that will become future episodes. It's okay for your list to be vague, such as “1. Facebook. 2. Twitter. 3. YouTube.” When you get into planning your individual episodes, you can develop these ideas into content to share.

Also figure out how you want to present your information. Will you be in-depth? Will you try to pull out undiscovered truth? Will you take a comedic approach?

What will your schedule be? What are your goals and how will you work toward them? Whom do you want involved? What do you want your audience to take away or do? How will you use your time (it takes four or more minutes for each one minute of good content)?

Plans aren't scripts that you must follow to every detail. It's okay to change things, squeeze in something else, and ad lib here and there. But the main thing is to have a core direction you can always get back to when you veer off course.

You can use Evernote, Workflowy, Google Drive, a text editor, or even paper and pencil for making your plan. The tools don't really matter, but how you use them and what you create with them is the art.

Remember the wise words from an admiral in The Hunt for Red October, “Russians don't take a dump without a plan.” So even if you think your show will be crappy, still make a plan!

Collect quality content You probably want your podcast to be great and the content you share will be the largest factor. Find or create the content you want to share.

For finding content, read and watch a lot for ideas of things to include. If you're creating your own content, red and watch a lot for inspiration.

When your content is relevant to your show's niche, entertaining, engaging, or educational, your audience will want to share it with others.

Get the right tools and equipment It doesn't cost thousands of dollars to start podcasting well. It seems all podcasters have a crush on the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB, but for good reasons! For only around $50 (plus $6 for a windscreen), the ATR2100-USB returns great quality, connects directly to any PC, and you don't have to throw it away if you upgrade to a mixer in the future.

If you're just starting out, don't get the expensive stuff unless you fully commit yourself to your podcast. But if you just want to get started and aren't sure how long you'll do it, then keep your costs low for launching.

Generally, you won't need a mixer until you want to do more complex things, like live-mixing, live-streaming, have multiple cohosts, or use advanced audio equipment.

I usually don't recommend launching with video, but when I do, I suggest you focus on quality audio first, then lighting, and then the camera.

Record and present the content well With a plan, good content, and the right equipment, it's time to press record!

Whatever content you are sharing, present it clearly and confidently. Focus on what you want your audience to receive from your content or what you want them to do. If you're a comedy podcast, you want your audience to laugh; if you're a business podcast, you probably want your audience to succeed; if you're a review podcast, you probably want your audience to discover something new; and so on.

When you know what you want your audience to receive or do, your presentation will continuously point them to that.

How well can you tell a story? How memorable can you make a lesson? How practically can you inspire? You don't have to be a professional speaker to be a great podcaster, but good communication skill is a must!

Give authenticity Treat your podcast like it's just you and me, and you are telling me something you're excited about. You probably would not put on a “radio DJ voice,” and you also probably wouldn't be dry.

Don't try to be someone you're not. Be real, be excited, be you. Realize that, unless you're a celebrity, people will care first about your content—it's what usually attracts them. After you win them with your presentation of good content, then they'll start to care about your personality.

So it's okay to let some real life into your podcast. Tell your relevant stories, connect with your audience, speak to your listeners or viewers as a friend instead of an audience, and let your emotion through.

Edit and produce After you stop the recording, it's time to turn it into an episode! For audio, I recommend Audacity, Hindenburg, or Adobe Audition. For video, I recommend iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Screenflow, or Adobe Premiere Pro.

Try not to be a perfectionist when editing your episode. If you have too many ums and other verbal crutches, learn how to avoid them and edit out when they're too distracting. If there's too much background noise, shut it off before you record or seek to reduce (not completely remove) it with software.

Keep your editing process simple, especially in the beginning. The fancier you try to get, the more time or money it will cost. If it's too much work to release an episode, you'll either not be consistent, or you'll give up quickly. (I was a perfectionist when I started and it took me two years to release only nine episodes.)

For audio podcasts, I recommend that you export a WAV file from your editor and use iTunes to create a mono MP3 at 64 kbps. For video podcasts, I recommend that you export as MP4, 640 × 360, 24 frames per second (FPS) for downloadable files, and 1080p (if possible) for YouTube. Most video programs have good presets for these.

Launch or upgrade your website If you don't already have a website, I highly recommend getting hosting from BlueHost and installing your own copy of WordPress (free). Then add the free PowerPress plugin to make an RSS feed.

If WordPress and your own hosting is too much, then consider LibSyn for a trustworthy all-in-one solution (website, media hosting, RSS feed) and use promo code “noodle” for a free month.

If you really must start out with free stuff, then use Tumblr or Blogger to host your website, Archive.org to host your files, and run your RSS feed through FeedBurner.

Try to at least have your own domain, so you can tell people, “visit myawesomepodcast.com” instead of “visit myawesomepodcast.wordpress.com.” Create email forwarders for a Gmail account as your podcast email address.

Publish Write show notes, attach your podcast file, and click publish! This is as easy as writing an email and attaching a photo.

When you have your first episode online, then it's time to get your podcast in places where podcasts are listed. Take your podcast-only RSS feed (this is usually /feed/podcast from PowerPress) and submit it to the top podcast directories: iTunes, Stitcher, Zune, BlackBerry, TuneIn, and any mobile podcast apps you see.

Make sure you have some great podcast cover art and good titles for your show and your episodes.

Promote Now that you have something to offer, it's time to grow your audience. This will be an ongoing process with many choices. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Invite guests on your show who will share the episode with their followers.
Be a guest on someone else's show to be discovered by their audience.
Connect with people on social networks and share when you publish new episodes.
Ask your audience to share the show with their friends and followers.

A common theme in the most successful promotion is word of mouth. A proverb in the Bible says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2 ESV). It's always best to let others be the ones promoting you instead of your promoting yourself. The best way to get there is to give!

Measure growth Use Google Analytics to track your website traffic. Use LibSyn or Blubrry to track your podcast downloads.

Don't obsess over your numbers! Realize that the median podcast gets 160 downloads per episode. If you're anywhere near that or above, then you're doing well!

When looking at your podcast stats, ignore the “monthly downloads” and consider only your per-episode downloads after at least a month.

The main things you should look for a spikes that may reveal better content (or at least better titles), and you should see gradual growth.

Repeat for every episode These 10 steps aren't just for starting your show, but for keeping it going. Every episode should begin with a plan; every episode should use the right tools; and you should promote every episode you release. Turn these steps into habits, and you'll have a great podcast with ongoing growth.

What about making money? There are many ways to make money with your podcast, but it's not a core step to launching a successful podcast, so I didn't cover it here.

What about you? How did you start your podcast? Do you regret missing any of these steps? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: pshutterbug via Compfight cc

It's great to be the first person in a niche. But don't be discouraged if you're not. Consider the following seven points to help you embrace your differences, despite the existing “competition,” or find a better niche for your blog or podcast.

I didn't see saturated markets When I launched The Audacity to Podcast, there were only two other regular podcasts about podcasting. I could see that neither of them were covering particular topics or alternatives. So I started my own podcast to cover that gap.

My approached gradually changed and strengthened into what it is today, and I think I fill that niche and perspective (how-tos and in-depth discussions to help you improve) well.

So consider the following before you either enter or disregard the same niche as someone else.

Your experience is unique No one has lived your life: learned all that you have, tried everything you have, or met all the people you know. Each of these heavily influence your perspective.

A music composer, theater major, video gamer, and Christian pastor (walk into a bar?) would probably all review a movie differently from each other. (I just screened The Lego Movie and absolutely loved it because I grew up with “Legos,” but someone else may hate the movie because they didn't have similar childhood experiences.)

Your experience will affect how you approach relationships, how people relate with you, your values and goals, and especially your perspective.

Bring out your unique experiences when you share content. Go ahead and share relevant life stories—no one else can share that same story!

Your perspective may be complementary I like to describe a competitive space as a sculpture. Each artist can come to it from different angles to carve out a three-dimensional piece of art. Other artists may be good at choosing the material or painting the colors. When you consume these different perspectives, you get a more complete picture of the subject. (But also don't forget that each artist should be creating their own art.)

Look for your unique perspective that complements the industry as a whole. Sometimes, this may even mean an opposing perspective. Just look at how many tech reviewers there are who hate Microsoft and love Apple, or vice versa!

I see this all the time with the Once Upon a Time podcasts. There are a lot of fan podcasts about this one TV show, but each podcast always seems to notice something that the others don't. And each collection of hosts have their own perspectives: focusing on stories that affect a favorite character, historical/literary connections, character development, plot twists, “easter eggs,” and more.

The top podcasts about podcasting fill their own perspectives well. Each of these complement each other for you, the potential or current podcaster.

Podcast Answer Man—Cliff Ravenscraft has a large audience asking a lot of questions. He is great at providing these answers and inspiring success.
School of Podcasting—Dave Jackson is experimental and opinionated! He discusses recent news items affecting podcasters, shares unheard-of tools, and curates great “because of my podcast …” stories.
The Podcasters' Studio—Ray Ortega produces podcasts as his regular day job. He finds creative solutions to common problems, has great information on video production, and he highlights gems of little things that can make big differences.
The Audacity to Podcast—Daniel J. Lewis (me!) goes in-depth with topic discussions, detailed how-to information, and resources to help you launch or improve your podcast.
The Feed—Elise Escobar works for LibSyn and is in touch with thousands of professional and “amateur” podcasters facing a variety of successes and struggles. She, and frequent cohost Rob Walch, bring you tips, industry news, and information to keep you podcasting.
Music Radio Creative—Mike and Izabela Russell broaden their perspective to include podcasters, traditional radio hosts, and DJs. They bring many audi0-branding and production tips with an international flare.
Podcast Talent Coach—Erik K. Johnson focuses on priceless tips, inspired by his radio background, on finding great ideas, making engaging content, and asking quality questions.
Podcasters' Roundtable—A collaboration hosted by Ray Ortega and joined by Dave Jackson and Daniel J. Lewis, discussing controversial issues affecting podcasters. They have frequent guests from all levels and fields of podcasting.

Before you enter a seemingly covered space, find your unique approach to fill the gaps that others are leaving.

You have your own personality I ‘m sure that probably all of the podcasting consultants receive messages like, “I can't stand [other consultant], but I like you.” Often, this has more to do with personality than anything else.

People relate with personalities (which are heavily influenced from experience). A strong personality means more chances of turning off people, and a week personality will be forgotten.

While you may want to filter some language, depending on your content and audience, but don't filter your personality and try to be someone else! Let people like or hate you for who you really are.

Even if you have the same perspective as someone else, your personality may relate with people they don't.

Look at the automobile industry. Each manufacturer will often try to attach certain personalities with certain models. You will probably never see a sports car marketed to mothers with young children, a minivan for the rough-and-tough lumberjack man, a luxury vehicle for teens, or a dirty pickup truck for company CEOs. The personalities don't fit, but all of these automobiles have the same core purpose—to get you and optional stuff from one place to another, and usually on four wheels.

Your final “product” may appeal to those your “competition” can't Imagine what the world would be like if Pepsi decided, “Coca-Cola already has a cola on the market; we'll never succeed.”

Or what if Apple had said, “Everyone is making flip phones and PDAs, there's no need for this smartphone.”

Your podcast, for many reasons, may appeal to an audience that finds no attraction in any of the other offerings. Look at how many colas there are, or how many smartphones you can get from one wireless carrier. Some items may have a small appeal, but that could be an extremely passionate group of people who may be more active than anyone else.

This is how the Podcast Awards work, and how I even won once. A little podcast with a passionate, engaged audience can beat a big podcast with a passive audience.

But if your potential topic already seems well covered, consider the following.

You may be better in a deeper niche “Technology” is a massive topic and you would have a very hard time fitting in with all the industry giants. So go deeper! Pick a particular kind of technology, or a particular audience.

For example, John Wilkerson talks about technology for homeschool families, David McCabe and Jim Collison talk about home server technology, and Cynthia Sanchez talks about nothing but Pinterest.

You may like video games, but maybe you should become the expert in a single video game or a single style of gaming.

If you like music, pick a single genre to discuss instead of reviewing everything.

When you “niche down” (as either Ray Ortega or Pat Flynn first said), you increase your leverage to become the go-to person in that topic. This could mean speaking opportunities, interviews, sponsorships, and more.

You may be better in a different niche The possible topic depth, alone, may present you with more than enough options. But if it doesn't, then it may be time to change directions.

You're smart and you have more ideas! If your current idea seems to be taken too much for you to find a place, find another passion and restart the thinking process.

Yes, this means you may have to let go of a good idea. But if you can have one good idea, you can have another idea that may be even better.

You may not discover your strengths until you get in Whatever you do, it will probably take a few episodes before you find your true zone, and that could change again over time. So don't be afraid to jump in because you don't feel unique. Give it your true best and look for your strengths.

When I look back at The Audacity to Podcasts's history, I can see that the first month of episodes didn't have much focus, then the following 20 episodes had a little more “how-to” direction and in-depth information, but I think it wasn't until after almost a year later that I realized my strengths (that I had already been doing) and could put it in the words “A ‘how-to' podcast about podcasting and using Audacity.”

After a couple more years, I now see myself with a new perspective, so my marketing and approach will change a little in the coming months, but you may have already recognized it.

What about you? Are you in a “saturated” niche? How do you set yourself apart?

Brief overview of media hosting and LibSyn's change There are many different models of media hosting: “rolling storage,” “monthly reset storage,” “limited storage,” and “unlimited storage.” I recently explained each of these hosting models and compared the top podcast media hosts.

LibSyn is my top recommendation (use promo code “noodle” for a free month) and they recently announced that they're changing from “rolling storage” to what I call “monthly reset storage.” This means your upload allotment will reset on the first day of each month, instead of the confusing 30-day method for each file you upload.

Read my full article for more information and to see how each media host lines up.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: Mr. T in DC via Compfight cc

Don't get discouraged when something goes terribly wrong and you're ashamed to release something you've recorded. Try the following tips for handling these potentially embarrassing mistakes in podcasting.

My recent failure I attended the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES2014) to cover it with The TechPodcasts Network. This was my second time and I had a lot better perspective on what I should cover, how to look for things, and what to expect.

I had a lot of fun, especially since I wasn't sick as CES2014. In 2013, I recorded only three floor interviews, but I lost two of them and the remaining one wasn't interesting enough to be my only video. In 2014, I recorded nearly twenty videos and I thought I got some great content and found unique products.

But upon returning home and starting to edit the videos, I discovered that the mic gain wasn't set properly and all but one of my videos had terrible audio. This was my crisis. Should I release these videos when I'm ashamed of their audio quality?

Yes, I will release the videos anyway. You can watch them here on The Audacity to Podcast's website, on my YouTube channel, or in my iTunes video feed.

Since I know I'm not the only one who can mess up so painfully, here are some tips to help you overcome the “podcast failure blues.”

Redo, if possible When it is at all possible, my top suggestion is to redo your episode. Yes, this means more time. But it may actually take less time to fully re-record than to fix all the problems.

This can be really embarrassing to ask a your cohost or especially a special guest for a do-over. Generally, they'll be understanding, especially when the do-over is so they will look better. If you have to ask for this, be humble, apologetic, and extremely flexible. If your special guest suggests a time, you move heaven and earth to make that happen so you'll inconvenience them the least.

Sometimes, a redo means losing a magical moment that could only be so genuine on the first take. If that's the case, you could consider releasing that as a bonus somewhere, or attached to the end of your episode.

There have been several episodes of The Audacity to Podcast that I felt horrible about my presentation of the content. When I redid these episodes, the results were much better and I was glad that I took the extra time.

Don't start with an apology If you have to publish a “failure,” don't treat it as a failure. One of the worst opening lines is “I'm sorry.” This will distract your audience by drawing even more attention to the mistakes.

Sometimes, your audience won't even notice the “failure” or won't consider it to be that bad if you never point out that it exists. This isn't dishonesty; it's pushing the most important thing forward.

Movie mistakes happen all the time (like the storm trooper who banged his head in one of the original Star Wars movies, or the minivan that wasn't masked out in Gettysburg, and much more). But you never hear the director apologize. You may have not even noticed the problems if no one ever pointed them out.

Remember that your audience will be generally forgiving if this is a rare occasion.

Fix it the best you can You have to press on with what you got, but it's still embarrassing. This is where you may want to invest the time to fix it the best you can. If the audio is horrible (like my CES2014 videos), try to fix it, enhance it, or at least make the problems less prominent. If the video seems unusable, consider covering it up with secondary or supporting footage (B-roll), even if you have to make it up new (screenshots, slides, video of the item, etc.).

Fixing problems can take a lot of time and they'll never make “garbage” beautiful again. But they can at least make “garbage” stink a little less.

You may have to partially redo your recording in order to fix a problem. Here are a few examples.

If your audio was bad but your guest's was good, re-record just your parts, the best that you can.
Change your video to a documentary style with voiceovers or primarily your thoughts in studio.
Release the content in a completely different way. Such as audio if your video was bad, or written if the audio is unusable.

Be careful not to fix things too much so that it seems artificial or you introduce new problems (like the “underwater” sound when you remove too much noise).

Skip, if it's too bad If it's completely impossible to redo or fix and it's far too embarrassing to release, you could consider skipping it altogether. This is the nuclear option that you may not be as necessary as you think.

Before you decide to completely scrap what you have, look at the big picture, give it a day, or get someone else's opinion.

Ensure it doesn't happen again No matter how you handle the podcast failure, learn as much as you can from them so you can prevent the problem in the future. This may mean changing the way you do things or adding new steps to ensure quality for next time.

My CES2014 failure could have been avoided if I had done a test video and checked it before recording. Even if you're confident in your setup and workflow, a short test can always be re-assuring, especially if it's right before a big opportunity.

You may even need to invest in better or extra equipment in order to prevent the problem next time.

Learn from some of my mistakes and how I changed to prevent them from coming back.

When I had my first recording-into-my-PC failure (because I did something stupid and overstressed my PC), I immediately bought my external recorder to reduce the chances of failure.
When I kept repeating the mistake of not pressing my record button, I moved my recorder to a more visible location.
When my camera's focus went crazy in one of my videos, I stopped relying on automatic controls and switched to manual. I also often do a short test and check it on my PC before starting production.
I'll soon buy “cough buttons” for my cohosts so they can mute themselves if they need it.

Also remember that every “failure” could be a step toward success. If it helped you learn something, was it really a failure? (Check out my interview on Bruce Naylor's Business Computer Weekly when he asked me about my past failures.)

Have you had an embarrassing podcast moment? How did you work through it and press on? Please comment on the shownotes to share your story!

Podcasters' Roundtable: Should your podcast have an app? With the popularity of mobile devices and mobile apps, there are plenty of podcast apps out there. But should your podcast have it's own, standalone app? Check out our Podcasters' Roundtable with Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Rob Walsh, Chase Nunes, Kevin Scullion, and me as we debate this idea and discuss benefits and disadvantages.

We also recorded a roundtable live at New Media Expo on, ironically, “Are conferences worth it?”

Last chance for the February Podcast Master Class! If you want to take your podcast from average to amazing, now is your last chance to register for Podcast Master Class in February! This will be a hard-knocks class to make your existing podcast much better. We'll talk about business, profit, promotion, production, and much more. This is also your chance for a 100-point evaluation of your podcast to discover what's hurting you and your high-priority actions to improve.

Listen to this podcast episode for an exclusive promo code to save on your Podcast Master Class registration!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: Leonid Mamchenkov via Compfight cc

Sickness hits almost everyone at some point. Consider these five questions before you press record. (Remember that I can't give medical advice, so these are things for you to consider and decide for yourself or ask a doctor.)

Would it hurt your recovery? Rest is one of the best ways to treat almost any sickness. Podcasting may not require a lot of energy, but it's more than resting. Maybe your voice needs to relax, or maybe it takes too much energy to sit at a computer for a few hours.

Consider carefully whether you may be slowing your recovery by trying to podcast.

Are your symptoms distracting? Many common illnesses come with some of similar symptoms: coughing, sneezing, running nose, sore throat, and lose of voice. Letting these into your podcast could either be very distracting and annoying for your audience, or they may make a lot of editing work for you.

If you decide to podcast, don't start with an apology! I've observed that most podcasters who apologize for their sick voice have barely a noticeable difference. How we hear ourselves (via bone conduction) can be affected by congestion. So we may not actually sound as different as we think.

Can you talk for the length of your podcast without coughing or clearing your throat?

As gross as this sounds, consider letting your nose run a little and only wipe it instead of sniffling or blowing your nose during the recording.

If you produce a video show, then your symptoms may be a lot harder to hide.

Are you contagious? If you podcast with others or with others' equipment, you should make sure you're not contagious before you start podcasting. Even if no one else records with you, you may be placing contagions on your equipment that you'll pick up again later.

The general advice I've seen is that you're not contagious after a week from when your common sickness started.

Would your content suffer? You may be eager to podcast, but do you really have enough strength to give it your best? Can you think and speak clearly? Are you coherent enough to present your information understandably?

Do you really want to publish something you know isn't your best because you were sick?

Can your content and audience wait? Even when all seems well and you feel your could give this your best and be proud of it, you may still need the break.

Your audience will be understanding if you let them know that you're too sick to do a show. If you have great content and you've built a loyal audience, then both can wait an extra few days or a week.

Did you answer yes to any of the above? If your answer is yes to any of the previous five questions, then maybe you should take a break and not podcast while you're sick.

Quick health tips for sick podcasters Again, I can't give medical advice, but these are some tips you may want to research and potentially use when you're a sick podcaster.

Get lots of rest!
Drink lots of room-temperature water!
Wash your hands.
Don't touch your face.
Avoid sick people (if possible).
Have a generic “No episode this week” announcement you can post like a normal podcast episode. Remove this when you're back on schedule.
Suck on some lemons and gargle warm salt water if you need your voice. (This was my salvation during CES 2013.)
Avoid sugar. Sweeten things with honey if you must.
Don't overwork yourself. If you feel you can't work anymore, then stop!
Avoid coughing, hacking, and harshly clearing your throat. You can usually control these with your will and avoiding them will keep your throat and voice in better condition.

Only 2 seats left for Podcast Master Class Learn to take your podcast from average to amazing™ in the upcoming Podcast Master Class. This is an advanced class of hard knocks for the podcaster who is ready to take things seriously. Listen to my episode for a promo code.

Congratulations to Podcast Awards winners! The 9th annual Podcast Awards had some great podcasters and the awards ceremony was hosted by David H. Lawrence XVII. None of the Noodle.mx Network shows won an award, but we're very thankful for your support in getting us into the finalists.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Recorded live from New Media Expo 2014, today's episode talks about a lot of feedbacks from the Podcasters themselves about their podcast success in 2013, as well as their goals for this year. It was definitely great hearing people say, “I'm podcasting now!”

George Jackson from The Sci-fi Super Friends Podcast 2013 success: Learned and build a whole new skill set for himself. Podcasting definitely helped him build his resume.

2014 goal: More guests for 2014

Vernon Ross from The Social Strategy Podcast 2013 success: Being able to interview Andrew Warner. That interview did a lot for his business, changed the way he look at Podcasting. Dream interviews make a whole lot difference.

2014 goal: Create more digital products. Teach people more about Podcasting.

Shawn Smith from Now Is the Time 2013 success: Doing a nightly podcast and learning how to do Podcasting out of the country. Being able to learn and do Podcasting on the road.

2014 goal: To launch professional Podcasting; teaching people about podcasting on the road via TheMobilePro.net. A giant mixer is a big downside to mobile podcasting, but using Art USB Dual Pre helped him make podcasting easy. It also made mobile podcasting possible and easily.

Matt Johnson from Runner Academy 2013 success: Crushed it by really growing the show; the amount of guests really grow, even gaining a nomination, but also having an impact on people's lives; making news on what you put out there is so rewarding. Johnson also mentioned that interacting with listeners was great and so rewarding; getting feedbacks with everyone who listens to the show really helped pushed him through.

2014 goal: To see the Everyday Runners Podcast be as successful at Runners Academy — a podcast dedicated to interview everyday people achieve their running goals. Just to get out there and crush it!

Dustin Hartzler from Your Website Engineer 2013 success: Hartzler shared that his biggest success in 2013 was applying for his dream job and becoming an automatic full time happiness engineer for WordPress.com. Another success for 2013 was teaching and helping people to WordPress.com users, too!

2014 goal: Growing the audience and making it the best free resource for WordPress. Giving as much away free stuff as he can is his big goal for this year; Continue to grow, adding his personal flare to his podcast.

Ryan Gray from Medical School HQ 2013 success: As a podcast dedicated to Premed students, helping them go through their hardship, 2013 served as the first full year for Medical School HQ, which brought a ton of success for the show. Gray shared that in 2013, they got into more Premed conferences now, as well as doing the show not just for college Premed students, but high school students, too.

2014 goal: Continue to grow the podcast, hopefully get a ton of new partnership with Premed magazines, letting audience know that going through Premed is not as hard as they thought it could be.

Michael Aivaliotis from The Walking Dead Girl 2013 success: Doing a podcast with his teenage daughter, the success that 2013 brought is starting the podcast itself, but more importantly changing his relationship with his daughter. Nowadays, the go to conferences together. The podcast also let them into a whole new world. Podcast really do help him build a new and better family relationship together.

2014 goal: Bring more guests on the show from The Walking Dead. Get Andrew Lincoln to be interviewed on the show.

Paul Schakuri from Entrepreneur Adrenaline 2013 success: Wanting to reach a larger audience, Schakuri started listening to various podcasts, which inspired him to start his own show six months ago. The biggest success though this year is getting going and starting it. Get something up and running; get the best equipment, having people listening to the show and share what he is most passionate about.

2014 goal: To get people know more who he is and what he is. Networking with others, really reaching out to people, showing them who you are. To be the go-to guy for what people needs regarding entrepreneur.

Fred Castaneda from Struggling Entrepreneur 2013 success: Started giving back to the community in 2013. Last February 2013, he started giving one episode each week.

2014 goal: Started 2014 with a new podcast called BoomersForStartUps.com, which is about helping baby boomers. Talking about a niche audience, giving baby boomers everything they know about entrepreneurship.

Wayne Henderson from Under the Dome Radio and TV Talk's Revenge Podcast 2013 success: With the launching of Under the Dome radio, as well as using a strategic plan about the podcast, the show made it to the New and Noteworthy in iTunes, even getting it all the way up to number 7 in the Television and Film Podcast. Floored by the audience's response, they also got to interview some of the actors that run the show. Check more of Henderson at MediaVoiceOvers.com

2014 goal: To continue the success with Under the Dome Radio; see how far they can go with UnderTheDomeRadio, as well as the Packers Fan Podcast; secure some interviews with the Green Bay Packers and all NFL athletes.

Darrell Darnell from Golden Spiral Media 2013 success: Have 50 people come in Oklahoma and watched the Fringe finale with them. Helped a listener be a Podcaster herself; mentored her and help her become a professional Podcaster.

2014 goal: Extend services to other people. To land more clients, help more people become a podcaster, and grow their selection of podcasts.

Corey Fineran from Ivy Envy 2013 success: Incorporated podcasting with his real job. Teaching work skills in Podcasting, and was fortunate enough and honored to be a finalist in the Sports Category in this year's New Media Expo.

2014 goal: Recently started blogging and eventually would like to start a podcast of his own.

Charles McFall from Success Freaks 2013 success: Had Leah Laporte on the show, and being able to do their own conference. This year, they hosted a conference with 6 speakers in 7 hours. This year, the show was also fortunate enough to get dozens of interviews, helping to get the podcast bigger and better.

2014 goal: Met with Penn Jillette from Penn & Teller, hopefully get them on the show. Get into public speaking. Learn more information about him and his other podcasts by visiting to CharlesMcFall.com.

What about you? What is your biggest podcasting success in 2013 and your goals for 2014? Share us yours using the comment section below!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasting continues to grow and 2013 is no exception. Here is a 2013 podcasting year in review.

Sponsored by: Dropcam.com watch life High-Def streaming of your home or anywhere.

Ongoing podcasting growth 2013 showed many areas of podcasting that continue to grow. These aren't unique to 2013, but they all show that the podcasting industry and distribution method is reaching more people and bringing more success.

Celebrities and traditional media getting into podcasting
The “nobodies” finding huge success in podcasting (think of John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire, but there are many more similar stories—check out our Podcasters' Roundtable with John)
Podcast hosting companies coming and going
Podcasting service providers starting up and filling needs for content creators
Mobile apps for podcast consumption or production
Simpler workflows with service providers, apps, or other processes
Increasing podcast consumption, confirmed by Pew Research in “Over a quarter of internet users download or listen to podcasts“
Podcasting courses like those from Cliff Ravenscraft, David Jackson, or my own Podcast Master Class
Discovery algorithms are continuously being revised, and new apps like Swell try to help podcast-listeners find other podcasts they'll like
Podcast networks continue to rise and fall, but overall are growing

Aside from these ongoing things, are are the top 10 game-changing events that affected podcasting in 2013.

Google Reader retired, FeedBurner offered permanent redirects Google Reader was a popular RSS reader, but Google retired Reader completely because not enough people were using the site. Most Google Reader users seemed to use it as a synchronization platform with other apps, like Feedly.

With Reader's retirement, this showed that Google may be getting out of the RSS business, but it also opened the door for other companies, like Feedly, to produce their own feed synchronization service that is now superior.

Google also silently enabled FeedBurner to have a permanent 301 redirect for deleted feeds. This means it's now a whole lot easier to leave FeedBurner (no more 15-day craziness).

I had predicted that Google would announce FeedBurner's retirement this year, but I ended up being wrong.

Stitcher started contributing to download stats I recommend getting podcast stats from either Blubrry or LibSyn (use promo code “noodle” for a free month). But the old problem was that you could see all your download stats except for Stitcher. In 2013, Stitcher added a simple feature that will ping your media host when someone plays an episode. This means your Stitcher listens now show up as downloads in your media stats!

This is big because Stitcher is now a major player in the podcast space. They're now pioneers among the streaming audio content providers.

But the stats problem continues to exist with other providers who re-encode your content, such as Spreaker and iHeartRadio.

Podcast Awards at NMX and featured by iTunes Having the Podcast Awards and New Media Expo together are validating each other. With NMX hosting the awards, it shows that NMX is the conference for new-media content-creators, especially podcasters.

Also, it brings new prestige and validity to the Podcast Awards. No longer is it just Todd Cochrane live-streaming the list of winners from his studio. Now, it's an actual ceremony with applause, speeches, laughter and tears, and you get to see the winners. It's just like other awards ceremonies.

(I know some people disagree with the Podcast Awards. But we should all realize that any time the peoples' choice is used, it becomes a popularity contest.)

I also believe 2013 was the first time Apple featured the award-winners in the podcasts section of iTunes.

YouTube and Google Hangouts on Air live-streaming Neither YouTube or Google Hangouts on Air are podcasting. “Podcasting” is a specific description of one particular kind of technical distribution. Essentially, it's “downloadable media (audio, video, PDF, ePub) syndicated through an RSS feed (rich site summary) via the enclosure tag.”

Since “podcasting” is really just a distribution method, we can see ourselves as producing shows that we distribute across “new media”—YouTube, live-streaming, podcast, etc.

YouTube and Google Hangouts on Air are new tools that can help you produce a show much easier. Hangouts on Air has significantly increased its quality in 2013. But the big thing is that Google took lessons from Hangouts on Air and launched YouTube live-streaming, a great competitor to Livestream, Ustream, and similar.

It does require a little more work to qualify for YouTube live, but it may be worth it to you!

Skype almost killed some podcasts The podcasting community started to panic earlier this year because Microsoft announced the retirement of a Skype Desktop API that allowed many call recorders to work so easily. I never addressed this because I had a hunch that wasn't the last word.

Sure enough, Microsoft retracted their decision and have promised more support for Desktop API, so call recording would continue to work.

Microsoft may ultimately shut down the call-recording API in favor of their own, probably premium, service.

Free OS upgrades and renting software Two major companies made opposite but radical pricing and business-model changes in 2013:
Adobe discontinued the ability to “purchase” their creative software in favor of a subscription model (called “software as service”) with Creative Cloud, and
Apple released the latest upgrade to OS X (version 10.9 “Mavericks”) as a free upgrade.

The “software as service” model has been around for a while, and we've seen it in service contracts, and many WordPress plugins (like some of my favorites, BackupBuddy and Gravity Forms). But for a major company like Adobe to completely switch is huge and has benefits and disadvantages for everyone. But I'm essentially satisfied as it allows me to afford the entire Creative Suite, and others have the ability to rent powerful software for just a month at a time.

Apple shocked the world with their free price tag for OS X “Mavericks.” It probably hit Microsoft hard, since they continue to charge hundreds of dollars for Windows upgrades, depending on which flavor you want.

I think these two decisions will be inspirations for other companies to follow. We'll probably see more subscription-based pricing, as well as more free upgrades for major releases.

Audio podcasts came to radio apps TuneIn and iHeartRadio are two popular “radio” apps that focused on bringing terrestrial radio (like AM and FM stations) to mobile devices for consumption from anywhere. iHeartRadio is even made by Clear Channel, the largest radio-station-owning company in the USA.

These popular radio apps started including audio podcasts in 2013. This means you could see your “amateur” content right next to million-dollar radio shows.

I think these companies are also realizing that we “amateurs” aren't so bad and provide some great content. By adding podcasts to these “radio” apps, they're positioning themselves as potentially the only audio-entertainment apps you need—music, news, sports, talk all in one app.

It's also significant that these apps are including only audio podcasts. Video has a great place on websites and especially on YouTube. But for mobile niche content, audio is really the king.

Podcasting gained more attention, again Podcasting has been consistently growing since it started, but USA Today said in August, “Remember podcasting? It's back – and booming.” We had a fun Podcasters' Roundtable about this and our answer was essentially, “it never left!”

Jeff Bullas also did a case study on Pat Flynn's Smart Passive Income, and Jeff called questioned if podcasting is “the hot new media trend.”

Chris Brogan (late 2012) founded PodCamps (the “unconference” originally designed for podcasters, alogn with Chris Penn and Whitney Hoffman). In late 2012, Chris Brogran got back into podcasting and predicted 2013 would be a major year for it.

At Social Media Marketing World, Michael Stelzner (from Social Media Examiner) called podcasting the next big thing of 2013.

Podcasting never left, but I think companies are realizing that it's a great distribution channel, and that the “amateur hour” (as Steve Jobs called it) is well produced, killer content that may even be competing with the big-company content.

Apple announced 1 billion podcast subscriptions In July, Apple said they tracked 1 billion (1,000,000,000) podcast subscriptions in iTunes and the Podcasts app for iOS. For Apple to publish any number means they're proud of it and they recognize it as something special.

Certainly, this showed us that Apple is taking podcasting more seriously and leaving behind Steve Jobs' “amateur hour” label.

I've confirmed with Apple that they are invested in podcasts and have a team of people managing the podcast directory and supporting podcasters. Just look at how many emails and responses we receive from podcasts@Apple.com.

Podcasting patent claim The biggest podcasting news item from 2013 is, unfortunately, the worst news. Personal Audio was granted a patent that seemed to describe podcasting, and they very quickly started suing the most profitable podcasters and sending legal letters to other successful podcasters. If you receive such a letter from Personal Audio, check with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Ultimately, I think the EFF now has a great case and collection of prior art, and we'll see this patent troll defeated.

But it has still shaken the podcasting industry and is worthy of the respect in addressing this seriously.

I think we'll be okay.

Summary I think 2013 will be seen as a major turning point for podcasting and we'll only see more growth and success from here on out.

What do you think the podcasting highlights were in 2013? What do you think of each of these news items? Comment below!

Announcements * Send me your feedback for my upcoming episode from New Media Expo. I want to know one thing you accomplished in 2013 from podcasting, and one goal you have for your podcast in 2014. * Space is still available for Podcast Master Class to advance your podcast from average to amazing.™ * I hope to see you in Las Vegas for New Media Expo!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn timeless ideas to help you launch your podcast today, with some bonus tips on why you should launch before the year is over.

Sponsored by: Dropcam.com watch life High-Def streaming of your home or anywhere.

You will kill your procrastination I struggle a lot with putting things off until later. There are many ways you can conquer this, but it seems they all involve the same core thing: take some action now.

The longer you wait to start podcasting, the less likely you'll be to actually do it. Even if you're not ready to publish your first episode and get into iTunes right this minute, there are several actions you could take right now.

Register your domain
Get your hosting
Order an ATR2100-USB microphone
Record your first episode
It's very easy and inexpensive to start Years ago, it was common for us to say that it cost “only $250” to get into podcasting. Now, you can do it for under $50 and get just as much quality. It's simple!
If you don't already have equipment, buy the ATR2100-USB microphone and a windscreen.
Start your podcast website, media hosting, and RSS feed for only $5 per month with LibSyn and use promo code “noodle” to get it free for the first month!
Record, edit, and upload your episode.
Publish your LibSyn RSS feed into iTunes and other podcast directories.

You can get much more powerful, flexible, and more robust hosting for your website, but LibSyn is open enough that you won't be locked in if you decide to leave.

You can improve as you go Perfectionism will kill any podcast. Accept that your show will never be perfect and that your path of learning will never end.

As with anything, patience is a virtue, but you may miss many opportunities by waiting for everything to be perfect.

If you're waiting for enough saved money to buy an Electro Voice RE320, just buy the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB for about one-sixth of the cost.

If you're struggling with communicating clearly, starting your podcast will give you great practice and opportunities to grow!

You can start building your audience today Even if it takes you a week or more to actually launch your podcast, you can start building your audience today with anticipation, a welcome video, an email list, teasers in social networks, scheduling guests, polling for content, and more.

When I launched The Audacity to Podcast, I was searching Twitter for who needed podcasting and Audacity help. I would help them and then let them know about my podcast I was about to launch. I believe this helped my show be featured in iTunes and grew my launch audience even more.

You could be the first podcaster in your niche You can play with sayings, “the early bird gets the worm,” and “the second mouse gets the cheese,” all you want. But you must recognize that you're not the only person interested in your niche.

Being first has advantages and disadvantages. But being second, third, or much later will mean a hard road to build your audience when someone else already has gained your audience for their show.

If you're the first in your field, then growing your audience may be a lot more automatic.

Bonus time-sensitive tips These above tips are timeless and will work no matter what time of year you try launching your podcast. I am publishing this episode just before Christmas and the new year, so there are some extra benefits if you can launch your podcast now.

A. You may qualify for award nominations The annual podcast awards are a lot of fun, and simply being nominated is a huge honor that can help you grow your audience. An often ignored eligibility rule is that the podcast must have had a published episode before the current awards year. So if you think your content will be popular enough that you have a chance at the nominations (be realistic here), then launch your podcast before the current year is over!

B. New mobile-device owners means more potential subscribers With Christmas so close, many people will receive podcast-capable mobile devices like iPhones, iPods, tablets, and more. This means a new wave of potential podcast-consumers.

If you launch your podcast now and especially can get featured, you have the opportunity of being the first podcast these new consumers will get.

C. You can use your vacation time to do the launch work As with anything worthwhile, podcasting will take more work to setup and launch than it will to maintain. If you're taking vacation time for the holidays, this is a great time to spend a few hours on your launch. You may even get your domain, website, and first episodes online in a single focused day!

D. You may receive a podcasting gift Don't go shaking your presents! It's possible that you're about to receive a gift that will help you podcast. It would be better to have everything prepared and missing only that piece instead of waiting until you have all the pieces and then putting them together.

What's holding you back from podcasting? Or if you already stated, what did it take for you to launch and what obstacles did you have to overcome? Please share your stories in the comments below!

What has your podcast accomplished in 2013? I will be hosting The Audacity to Podcast #156 live at New Media Expo. I would love to hear from you what your podcast did for you in 2013, and one of your plans for 2014. Send in your feedback or meet me at the Podcast Pavilion at New Media Expo in 2014! (Schedule pending.)

Announcements * Podcasters Roundtable #22 with John Lee Dumas * New Media Expo * Podcast Master Class * The Audacity to Podcast will return on December 30, after a one-week Christmas break

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

On-Stage Foam Ball-Type Microphone Windscreen, Black

View Details

Being serious and professional about your podcast will help you get sponsors (and make money!), grow your audience, and strengthen your authority—even if you're a hobbyist podcaster! Learn how to podcast like you mean it!

Sponsored by: Dropcam.com watch life High-Def streaming of your home or anywhere.

Plan I think the biggest thing that separates any professional from the amateur is planning. This is illustrated in every area of life and business—if you don't have a plan, you usually won't succeed.

There are three levels of planning that should go into your podcast.

Plan the kind of show you want it to be. Where do you want podcasting to take you? What do you want to cover in your podcast? How do you want it to be known?
Plan each episode. I recommend that you don't script your episodes, but have an outline of what you want to cover and know your transitions.
Plan to meet your goals. Make an actionable plan for whatever dreams you have. For example, if you want a sponsor, plan whom you will approach, what you'll say, what your rates will be, and how you'll prepare your podcast for sponsorship.
Be consistent Consistency is key in building an audience and becoming successful. Think of a concert pianist. They don't just perform once, but they practice and perform regularly.

If you struggle with finding time to podcast, write it into your schedule and don't change it. The “when I get time” approach will rarely succeed because you'll rarely get the time. You have to make the time!

Make contracts A contract doesn't have to be full of legal jargon. It can be an agreement written in plain English that answers questions or issues that may arise.

Here are some questions you should answer with different contracts.

What do you expect of your cohosts?
How do you handle personal information from your audience?
What promises do you make or not make?
How will money and expenses be handled?
Who owns what and what are they allowed to do with it?
What will you do when something bad happens (disagreement, termination, emergencies, bad performance, etc.)?
What will you give a sponsor and expect in return?

If you need multiple instances of each (such as different contracts for different sponsors), I recommend making a template so that all you have to change is the first paragraph.

For example, here's the Overview and Definitions section of my current Noodle.mx Network Advertising Contract (the bold items are what I would change).

December 1, 2014

Noodle.mx Network (“the Network”) and Daniel J. Lewis (“the Host”) agree to include promotion for Podcasters' Society (“the Sponsor”) on The Audacity to Podcast (“the Show”) and TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (“the Website”) for 4 episodes in January, 2014 (“the Sponsored Episodes”) at $5,000,000 per episode for a total of $20,000,000 (“the Rate”).

This works as both a summary and defines the new proper nouns that would be used throughout the contract. After this, all I have to change is those bold sections and I have a new contract!

I'm not a lawyer, so I do recommend that you have a lawyer look over or even write your contracts for you.

Treat your podcast like a job or business Whether you're employed by someone else or yourself—or even looking for work—you probably approach your job seriously. If you didn't, you wouldn't get paid!

Bring that same level of commitment and focus to your podcast if you want it to succeed.

Consider common expectations for employees.

Be on time.
Have the skills to do your job well.
Know how to use the tools.
Work nicely with others.
Meet deadlines.
Serve others.
Improve your craft.
Invest in your show Amateurs try to do everything as cheaply as possible (or even free); professionals recognize expenses as investments to help them succeed.

This may initially be the most difficult way to improve your podcast because money may not seem available. I'm still far from “rolling in the cash,” but when I've spent money, I've seen great returns!

Investing could mean better web hosting, a nicer website design, premium apps or plugins to do things faster or better, upgrading your equipment to improve your quality, or hiring professionals and attending conferences to gain more knowledge.

Speaking of gaining more knowledge, here are several things you could attend to network or learn more.

New Media Expo (use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20%)
PodCamps
Online webinars
Podcasting A-to-Z (use promo code “NOODLE” to save!)
~~Podcast Master Class~~ Podcasters' Society
Local meetups
Speak with authority Any kind of broadcasting is all about communication. Not only should you communicate clearly, but you should do so with authority if you want respect.

Even when you're uncertain, speak confidently of what you do know. You can still be confident with phrases like, “I think,” or “from my experience.”

I've seen many podcasters come and go in competitive spaces. Those who stay and succeed speak clearly and with authority. Those who haven't stayed have all lacked the authority.

But do be careful with authority because overdoing it will sound like conceit (listen to some of my early episodes and I think you'll hear that in my communication).

Delegate what you don't do best No one is truly successful by themselves. Study the most successful people in any field and you'll find great inspiration. These people usually have dreams and a plan to reach them, but they also know how to not do the things they're not good at doing.

Look at what you dread in podcasting and delegate that to a volunteer, virtual assistant, or employee. They may love it!

Delegating can be hard because you are releasing control over something. If you want to be serious about what you do, it often requires that you release control on one thing so you can have a better “grip” on something else.

Think how much better your podcast could be if you spent an extra hour in planning or promotion instead of postproduction (editing).

Change your vocabulary I'll be controversial here. Think hard about what the terms you use mean to other people. Are you really just a blogger, or are you a writer? Do you talk about movies with your friend, or are you a film critic? Are you a podcaster in your basement, or are you an Internet broadcaster?

This is more than just fancy titles (like “Smile Specialist”), but should shift your thinking into more seriousness. “Blogger” is short for “web log” and got its start with people keeping online journals. This is still the impression from major business who see blog posts separate from articles.

When you tell someone about what you do, never assume they know the terminology or need things completely dumbed down. Give them an accurate but professional description. For example:

I host a weekly audio show about how others can get into Internet broadcasting for their business or personal goals.

You probably noticed that I didn't use any form of the word “podcast” in that description. That's because “podcasting” is a technical description of just one kind of media distribution.

Where this really distinguishes you is if you host video on YouTube, which is not a podcast, but it is a video show on the Internet. Are you a “YouTuber,” “video podcaster,” “Internet TV show host,” or something else? (Hint, it would be none of these to be accurate and serious.)

Never stop improving Have you ever achieved perfection? No? Neither have I!

Taking something seriously will involve ongoing work. Husbands, how does your marriage go when you think, “I got her; now I can stop wooing her”? Concert pianists don't stop with one piece, but they continue perfecting it and adding more pieces to their repertoire. Chefs don't learn to cook just one great meal. Artists don't stop with just one great painting.

Whatever your field, look for ways to improve your content, presentation, and production.

That's why I created ~~Podcast Master Class~~ Podcasters' Society. It's only for the podcaster who wants to take things seriously and isn't willing to stop with the basics.

Announcements * See me speak at New Media Expo and use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% * Promote your podcast to tens of thousands by joining our crowdfund campaign for the TechPodcasts CES coverage.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Whether you're on the edge of podfading, or you just want some more excitement in your podcast, injecting some fun can help reignite the passion. Here's how to podcast and have fun doing it, too!

Don't be rigid with your outline If you plan your podcast episodes with structure, then it can be easy to force that structure at the cost of quality, personal conversation. I've made this mistake before in our Once Upon a Time podcast; I was too focused on moving us along in a specific order, that I was stifling quality discussions just so we could follow my plan.

I've learned that some of our best conversations happen when we let ourselves deviate—a little—from the outline. This is like the surprise flavor in a dish. But always remember to pull the conversation back in line and continue on.

Let yourself laugh We've heard the Bible, philosophers, and even scientists all agree that laughter is good for us. When you run a serious podcast, it can be easy to focus so much on the professionalism that you forget the humanity. People can relate with humor; it's often like a great breath of fresh air in a stuffy presentation.

So don't be afraid to laugh or let some humor into your podcast, even if you think you're covering a serious topic.

Certainly, laughter may not be appropriate for all content, and it's also possible to laugh too much at yourself. But if something is genuinely funny, let it be natural.

Even if your audience doesn't get your humor, they can at least appreciate that you are another human being who can laugh.

Interact with your audience I've been tempted to retire podcasts many times before, but I often come back to the priceless relationships I've built. I have so much fun interacting with mutual fans of a TV show, other podcasters, or people with funny stories. When I can, I try to respond to tweets (not just replying to tweets that mention me), get in community discussions, and incorporate my audience's feedback.

This helps you get out of your podcast “basement” and back into real life with human interactions. This is always where you'll see the greatest reward in podcasting.

Have a guest or cohost Solo podcasting can be difficult at times, and it can certainly start to feel boring for you or your audience. Consider mixing it up with a guest or even adding a regular cohost.

Others will have different experience and perspectives. This brings a whole new dynamic to podcasting and turns it into a conversation more than a presentation. It's much more fun to talk to a person than to a microphone.

Even if you already have a regular cohost, consider a third guest, or a swap just to mix things up and have some more fun.

Simplify or delegate Part of making something fun is to remove what's not fun. You may need to simplify your process to reduce your labor, or else find a volunteer or virtual assistant to help with some tasks.

I recently hired two virtual assistants to help with writing show notes and handling some of my audio production. They love helping and I love not having to do those tasks. It makes the whole podcasting process less painful and thus more enjoyable.

Keep a “praise” folder Whenever you get a great review, or some really positive feedback, add it to a “praise” folder. This works as a great pick-up when you're feeling down, and it will remind you of your positive highlights.
Do something crazy Every now and then, do something that may seem a little crazy, but don't do too much. Maybe you take a step back and get personal, maybe you invite others to contribute content for your show, or maybe you take a crazy twist to your normal content.

A crazy idea will help break you out of your normal box and you may discover things you can continue to use in your regular episodes.

Come see me speak at New Media Expo and save 20% with promo code “DANIEL20.”

~~Podcast Master Class~~ Podcasters' Society: podcast from average to amazing! UPDATE: The original Podcast Master Class has been reformatted and is now Podcasters' Society.

~~I'm thrilled to announce the launch of my new 4-week course to help current podcasters make their podcasts better. The first Podcast Master Class will be during the month of February.~~

~~This is not the place to learn how to podcast, but how to podcast better. We'll cover how to make money, growing your audience, enhancing your website, and more. I'll also give you a 100-point evaluation of your current podcast and we'll discuss how you can improve.~~

~~This is, literally, a $3,737 value (based on what it would cost for you to get everything in one-on-one sessions) that you can have for $1,799.~~

~~But listen to my episode to hear an exclusive coupon code good through December (but the most valuable through December 9).~~

~~Find out more at PodcastMasterClass.com.~~

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Headphones can help you record and edit your podcast better. Picking the right headphones is a highly subjective process, but here are nine things you should consider before buying headphones for your podcast.

Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone

Price: $95.07

Price Disclaimer

Accuracy (frequency response) How your headphones reproduce sound is the most important issue. You need to ensure that what you recorded is exactly what you hear. (WYHIWYG—what you hear is what you got?)

Most consumer headphones are designed with music- and other entertainment-listening in mind. These headphones will enhance certain frequencies. While this will sound great for entertainment, you need a more accurate reproduction of your audio.

This is called flat frequency response. Professional headphones labeled as “studio” or “monitor” headphones will try to maintain this flat frequency response, but some will still “color” your sound a little.

Comfort You may wear your headphones only while you record your podcast, or maybe only while editing, or maybe both and then throughout the day for other uses.

Make sure the headphones you get are comfortable on your ears and on your head (for over-the-head headphones).

Sound leak When sound leaks outside your headphones, this can present problems for recording, or simple annoyances for nearby people.

If you record solo, then sounds leak would only be a concern when you play sounds while you're recording. Otherwise, the minor leak from any professional headphones will be so quiet that it wouldn't risk a feedback loop.

The leak will be a major concern if you record with cohosts either in-studio or remotely, especially if you produce a double-ender. You may end up with small leak from the other person's voice into your audio track. If the real audio isn't aligned perfectly, this will sound like a subtle echo or something more mystic.

A noise gate can help a lot with this, or just turn down your headphone volume.

Sound isolation The opposite of sound leaking out of your headphones is how well the headphones block noise from coming into your ears.

The ideal situation is to close your door and prevent outside sounds while you're recording and editing. But this may not be practical (especially if you have a noisy computer). This is where good sound isolation is helpful so you can know whether the noise you hear (such as fan noise) is actually in your recording or if it's in the room.

For podcasting, I recommend avoiding active noise cancellation. This is where the headphones will capture sound outside of themselves, invert the sound, and thus cancel the sound out. This will do weird things with your cohosts' audio.

Bone conduction An unfortunate consequence with headphones that have great leak protection and isolation is that they will also prevent you from hearing your own voice. The result is that your own voice comes back to your hears through only bone conduction, and it can literally give you headaches.

Hearing yourself like this will sound very bassy, or like “the voice of God.” You can work around this by raising your headphone volume, but then you'll find all other volume (cohosts or sounds) is way too loud.

If you want to wear the same headphones for recording and editing, then you'll have to compromise on the leak and isolation. The better the leak and isolation, the more bone conduction; or the worse the leak and isolation, the less bone conduction.

It's a balance you'll have to decide. The only way you'll really know is to try it yourself with a microphone connected directly to the headphones.

Price Of course, price is a consideration! We're not filthy rich!

I recommend a budget of $75–$100 per pair, which is typical for great studio headphones. All of the pairs I tried were in this price range.

Cord style Whether the headphone cable is straight or coiled is a small detail you may not notice until you use your headphones.

Coiled is nice for keeping the slack cord out of the way and giving you some flexible room. But it can also be annoying if you have constant tension on the cord and it floats in front of your face.

Straight is nice for giving you slack and staying out of the way, but sometimes the slack will get annoying or wrap around things.

Portability Ear buds will, of course, be the most portable. But some of the professional headphones will still fold into compact sizes.

If you plan to podcast remotely, then consider a pair of headphones that are easy to transport and don't take a lot of space.

Visibility (for video) If you host a video podcast, then a giant pair of headphones will be distracting and seem unprofessional. If you truly need to wear headphones while you record, the smaller the better. You may even want to stick with ear buds so they would be almost invisible.

Even with ear buds, all the previous considerations will still apply.

Some thoughts on the popular headphones I visited my local Guitar Center and tried many pairs of studio monitor headphones. Here are some of my findings.

Sennheiser HD-280 PRO
Shure SRH440
Audio-Technica ATH-M45
Sony MDR7506
Audio-Technica ATH-M30
AKG K 240

What I found is that the AKG pair was the most comfortable, but among the most open with the most leakage. The HD 280 Pro had the least leak in and out, but made audio sound a little more airy and distant. The ATH-M30 added a little bass, as did the M45. Both had sound leak, too. I think the Shure pair sounded too tinny.

I quickly realized that the more closed the headphones are, the more bone conduction I heard on my own voice, which makes me sound too bassy while recording. The HD 280 Pro was the worst at this.

I had my wife with me and played a podcast episode through each pair of headphones and she said the MDR-7506 seemed the most accurate of my actual voice. But I since realized that while my mixer's channel EQ isn't set, the mixer-wide EQ is slightly adjusted and I recorded into a Heil PR40 (known for bass enhancements), so this may not have been a fair test.

With what tests I could do in the store, and also my experience with the MDR-7506 at my studio, I do think the MDR-7506 is the best overall pair that was about in the middle for everything except sound production. It wasn't as comfortable as the k240, not as uncomfortable as the Shure. The noise leak was not as much as the k240 and ATH-M30/M45, but not as little as the HD 280 Pro.

The price for the MDR-7506 was also in the middle. $78 from Amazon, whereas the others were $99 (except for the M30, which was around $60).

I also like the compactness of the MDR-7506. They fold up to a tiny size, compared to the HD 280 Pro. And the k240 didn't even fold!

On a side note. The higher I raise my headphone volume, the less bone conduction I get. But this also creates more stress on my ears and increases noise leak.

Announcements * See me speak at New Media Expo and use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% * Join the crowdfund campaign to get TechPodcasts Network at CES. * Upcoming sale and super-special launch!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Sennheiser HD280PRO Headphones (old model)

Shure SRH440 Professional Studio Headphones, Enhanced Frequency Response and Extended Range for Home and Studio Recording, with Detachable Coiled Cable, Carrying Bag and 1/4" Adapter (SRH440)

AKG Pro Audio K240 STUDIO Over-Ear, Semi-Open, Professional Studio Headphones

Audio-Technica ATH-M45 Studio Monitor Headphones (Black)

Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone

View Details

Since I first learned how to podcast, I've made my own share of mistakes (we were all newbies at one point). In celebration of my 150th episode, I share my top mistakes, and how you can avoid making the same mistakes, or fix them if you're too late. Get ready, because this is a long episode!

I used bad stats in the beginning When I first got into podcasting, PodPress was the main player in the WordPress plugin space. It provided its own stats, which I later learned were highly unreliable.

It took a long time before I started using Blubrry's stats and seeing accurate information on my downloads. But I'm now missing vital stats from the beginning.

How I fixed it When I finally moved to PowerPress, I immediately implemented the free Blubrry stats and decided to just forget the original number of downloads.

I tried to be perfect When I started my clean-comedy podcast, I scripted every short episode and I tried to perform the script verbatim. Any mess up would mean rereading that portion of the script, and it would add extra time to editing later.

Perfection will kill many podcasters because they will never achieve it and success, unless they have a lot of money to invest.

How I fixed it I decided to allow some imperfections, to focus more on my preparation, and to not edit unless I had a catastrophic problem.

I didn't schedule my time My first two years of my clean-comedy podcast resulted in only nine episodes. The biggest problem I had was procrastination and never making my podcast a regular, scheduled part of my life. Consequently (and combined with my strive for perfection), it took me way too long to produce any episodes.

How I fixed it I started scheduling my podcast in late 2009 and announced that it would be live-streamed, too. With this combination, I made myself accountable to my audience. The handful of people who showed up were enough to keep me going consistently.

I didn't make podcast-only feeds Like many podcasters, I didn't think I would be blogging when I started podcasting, so I only ever had one podcast feed—even for The Audacity to Podcast!

How I fixed it I implemented the tag to point iTunes and its clones to my podcast-only feed, and then adjusted my website to publish both. For those still subscribed to my site feeds, they continue receiving episodes, but not the full podcast archive that my podcast feed has.

I didn't fulfill early expectations Despite my precise marketing when I launched The Audacity to Podcast, most early listeners thought the “audacity” in the title meant my podcast was only about Audacity (the free audio-editor). Even at the 8th annual Podcast Awards, Leo Laporte joked, “It would be an Audacity podcast to win the award.”

I always planned for The Audacity to Podcast to be more about podcasting than Audacity, but to tie things back to Audacity when applicable, since no one else was talking much about Audacity's specifics.

How I fixed it When I found my niche and unique approach, “a ‘how to' podcast about podcasting and using Audacity,” I pushed that forward. I also focused on producing such great content that people wouldn't mind that I wasn't talking about Audacity but that they would see more of the alternative meaning to the word.

I didn't check my feeds after new episodes As recent as the week before my 150th episode, I didn't check a podcast feed to ensure it was working after publishing a new episode. As it turns out, I have a problem in the feed that prevented a special announcement video about the Podcast Awards from going out to thousands of subscribers when the voting started.

How I fixed it I'm subscribed to my own podcasts, but I now have a quick link to my separate RSS feeds so I can double-check them whenever I publish new episodes.

I didn't start my mailing list sooner Although I don't send email to my subscribers very often, I wish that I had started building that list sooner. Not only my primary lists for each podcast, but also my special list for the Podcast Awards. If I had set that up when I first started getting into the awards, I would have more leverage today with getting more people nominating and voting.

How I fixed it I now have my primary and special email lists setup. I even spent some extra time to schedule all fifteen emails that would go out to my Podcast Awards subscribers during the voting period.

I also frequently recommend that people subscribe to my email list.

(I'll have an episode soon about how podcasters can use email lists.)

I thought too highly of myself Some of my early episodes of The Audacity to Podcast are quite embarrassing—not because of the content, but because of my attitude. In my first episode about stats (episode 8), I was clearly arrogant and communicated that I was the “only” one who knew and told the truth about the issue.

How I fixed it I now try to remember to make my content what my listeners need to hear more than what I want to tell them. My podcasts are not all about me, but about the passions and information we share. So the decisions we make are for the sake of our listeners.

I wasn't willing to invest money What is it about podcasting that sets it apart from all other hobbies so that everyone wants to do it for free?

I had the skills to make cheap stuff sound better. But I also wasted a lot of time on these processes or searching for free ways to do things when a simple investment would have saved a lot more time.

How I fixed it I bought the hardware and software I needed to improve my quality and speed up my workflow. It's easier now that podcasting is part of my business. But even when it was a hobby, I treated it like any other hobby and saved to buy the new “toy” that I wanted.

I had weird episode numbering In our Christian movie reviews podcast, we would make full discussions be our official episodes with their own sequential numbering. At the same time, we would have shorter episodes about movies we had just seen in the theater and we would number these “initial reactions” separately.

These two episode types with different number made URLs and episode counts confusing.

How I fixed it We now have a simple, sequential episode number that applies to either full discussions or initial reactions. But we didn't skip episode numbers in order to correct the problem. That would've required editing each episode whenever we referred to the shownotes or episode numbers.

I didn't blog enough Someone once said, “bad bloggers podcast and bad podcasters blog.” But the truth is that amazingly successful people blog and podcast together.

There's a lot of short content I could have shared with a simple blog post and I would have put my expertise out there quickly. But because I either saved it for the podcast or never included it, that information is lacking.

How I fixed it I'm now trying to blog or have guest writers each week, but it's still a struggle to juggle with all my other tasks as an entrepreneur.

I split episodes into parts Podcast episodes don't really have a time limit like television and radio shows do. These previous decisions came from either laziness or another bad idea.

The result is that many subscribers will hear only one half of the content—either because of their podcast player or the way they decide to consume episodes.

How I fixed it I won't split episodes anymore. Even when a conversation is long, I either edit it down, or I plan for it to be separate shows (as in my legal series with Gordon Firemark).

I used podcast categories When I first launched Noodle.mx Network in 2010, I brought together my two separate sites (the Ramen Noodle and Are You Just Watching?) in combination with my third podcast (The Audacity to Podcast) into the same WordPress site with different categories.

This can be fine when the separate shows are connected and should be on the same website (like my Once Upon a Time podcast and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland podcast). But when the shows have little or nothing to do with each other, combining everything on one website hurt my search-engine optimization (SEO) and my marketing to grow each unique audience.

As an aside, PowerPress's “category podcasting” feature is often overused. PowerPress already provides a podcast-only feed (/feed/podcast/ instead of /categoryname/feed/) and putting all your podcast information into a category feed means your main feed won't be podcast ready. Category podcasting is just an extra and unnecessary step if you only run a single podcast from your site. It's main purpose is for running multiple podcasts from a single site.

How I fixed it Since I'm comfortable with PHP and advanced WordPress work, I relaunched Noodle.mx Network as a WordPress Multisite. This means each site has its own domain, design, marketing, and SEO. It also means that everything is managed from a single WordPress installation, so my username and password work on all the sites, and I only have to update plugins once to update all the sites.

This also makes special cross-promotion easier with plugins like Diamond Multisite Widgets, which powers the automatic listing of all my podcasts in the network.

I didn't think of SEO, or I thought too much SEO can be confusing, but it's really simple. Use the keywords you think people would search for and would expect to find your content.

As a “clean-comedy podcast,” I didn't start using those keywords until around when I acquired the domain CleanComedyPodcast.com. I should have used that keywords more in the beginning instead of only my vague title “the Ramen Noodle.”

On the flip side, some of the early episodes of The Audacity to Podcast are clear that I was grasping for SEO with my episode titles.

How I fixed it I'm now a lot more aware and smart about my search-engine optimization. I think first about a quality title that accurately describes my content while still sounding interesting. I make these titles reshareable.

But I'm also not obsessed with making every single post include my target keywords.

I didn't buy my name It's cute to be “theRamenNoodle” and it makes people laugh. But my branding is now much bigger. “Noodle.mx” and “D.Joseph Design” may not always stay around, either. So I wish that I owned my personal platform with my own name, Daniel J. Lewis, from the beginning.

How I fixed it I now always introduce myself by “Daniel J. Lewis” and I'm always happy to hear other podcasters call me that. I keep pleading with Twitter to release @DanielJLewis to me (it's been dormant for four years!). I also settled on a .net for my personal blog, DanielJLewis.net. It's better to have some form of my name than no identity.

In the meantime, I'm embracing the branding that I do have, but still eager to standardize on something more flexible.

I didn't try to get media attention Some podcasters have talked about being newsworthy—I know that I and the rest of my podcast network are newsworthy! But I've missed many opportunities to get the media's attention with our newsworthy items.

How I fixed it The next time something big comes up, I'll get help to get the media's attention!

What are your podcasting mistakes and what did you learn from them? Please comment on the show notes!

Announcements * Vote for your favorite podcasts in the Podcast Awards * See me speak at New Media Expo and use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% * Join the crowdfund campaign to get TechPodcasts Network at CES. * Upcoming sale and super-special launch!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: StockMonkeys.com via Compfight cc

Successful podcasting isn't just about what you share in your episodes, but also what makes the entire experience easy, professional, and effective. Check out my ten suggestions for the email addresses and webpages your podcast needs.

Setting up To make any of the following suggestions work, you need three things.

Friendly permalinks activated in WordPress > Settings > Permalinks
Pretty Link Lite, Pretty Link Pro, or similar friendly-URL-creation plugin
Email forwarders with your domain or hosting plan

Each of the following URLs don't have to be the final slug for your page, but you should at least have redirections in place so they work.

The email addresses also don't have to be full accounts, but they can be forwarders you can send from and receive to with Gmail.

Your own domain! Owning your own domain is the most important address you should have. Even if you use a third-party service like WordPress.com or LibSyn to host your website, you must have your own domain. Don't just make your domain forward to yourpodcast.wordpress.com, but make it stay on yourpodcast.com.
/contact and /feedback If you want to accept feedback from your audience, you should share this in your podcast. But also make it easy with a single contact page. This can have all of your contact information.
Email address (encrypted with CryptX plugin for WordPress)
Feedback form (with Gravity Forms or Contact Form 7)
Voicemail number
SpeakPipe link or button (if not globally on your site)
Mailing address (if you have a business address or PO Box)
/about Don't make iTunes the only place where potential subscribers know what your podcast is about. You should have an “About” page that can be about the podcasts and the hosts.
/# One of my biggest podcasting pet peeves (if you don't already know) is when podcasters tell their audience to find something. Don't make your audience have to look for your shownotes, just make an easy URL, such as /1, /50, or /150. I don't recommend leading zeros, though you can make this work with some fancy .htaccess or with some RegEx commands in the Redirection plugin for WordPress.
feedback@ If you want email from your audience, make an easy to say, spell, and write email address. The most popular choice is “feedback@yourpodcast.com.” I've seen other podcasts use their own name, or complicated terms like “suggestionbox” or “podcast.”

Do not use an @gmail.com address or anything other than your own domain. You can use Gmail, but use it the right way [tap091].

media@ If you want your podcast to be taken seriously and help you get press access to events and resources, make a “media@yourpodcast.com” address. Some companies won't even allow a press account without a “media” email address.
yourname@ For the more personal correspondence, and to make your podcast seem professional, I also recommend an email address with your name and podcast domain.
/amazon Amazon.com is a great and easy way to generate affiliate income. Amazon provides many affiliate tools, including the ability to make your own store. Don't do that! It's okay to have a “store” page with recommended resources, but that makes it hard for shoppers to choose other items.

Many of your audience will be happy to visit your /amazon link before they shop on Amazon.com so that a portion of their purchase will support you.

/itunes Remember my pet peeve about asking people to find something? iTunes links are the biggest offender. Make an easy iTunes link for your podcast (my video describes how to do it with LinkShare, but Apple now uses the PHG affiliate, which works almost the same).
/feed Although you may never speak your /feed URL, it's important to have that standard provided from your site, and have it be a podcast-ready feed. “Podcast-ready” means it will work in iTunes, but it may not be your podcast-only feed.

Announcements * Vote for your favorite podcasts in the Podcast Awards * See me speak at New Media Expo and use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% * Check out the latest Podcasters' Roundtable episodes! * Join the crowdfund campaign to get TechPodcasts Network at CES.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn more about what podcasters should and shouldn't be doing based on the review and grading process for the Podcast Awards.

What are podcasters doing right and wrong? Part of the Podcast Awards process for selecting the finalists involve grading each podcast on a variety of criteria. These percentages are based on the more than 4,400 nominated podcasts.

The good stuff * Only 7% have nonbranded sites like libsyn.com, wordpress.com, or similar generic pages * 83% have a findable iTunes link * 95% have their own .com * 92% are using WordPress * 71% publish only audio * 15% publish only video * 32% are blogging as well as podcasting * 29% are creating audio, video, and blog posts * Shows releasing video, audio, and blog content grow 42% faster than shows that do just audio or just video * 26% are mobile-friendly * 68% have a Twitter link * 77% have a Facebook link * 56% have a Google+ page * 23% have a Stitcher logo/link * Only 31% are still using FeedBurner, down from 71% * 51% publish episodes weekly + Shows publishing less frequency than once per week grow 69% slower than weekly shows. * 44% publish more than once per week

The bad stuff * 44% do not have way to play or download the episode on the home page * 22% of video podcasters do not have video embeds for their audience * 21% have an RSS icon on their default landing page that was podcast-ready * 23% have a podcast RSS feed buried on a subpage of their website * 7% have a visible contact email on their site * 12% have a newsletter sign-up page * 15% have a call-in number or widget

The ugly stuff * 37% make you dig to find their podcast! * 80% of video podcasters do not have an RSS feed or iTunes listing! They were using YouTube * 23% have invalid podcast RSS feeds (SoundCloud and third-party RSS providers were the biggest culprits) * 56% do not have an findable RSS feed on their site * 82% have less than one paragraph of show notes for their past five podcast episodes!

Interesting podcast statistics Blubrry tracks more than 17,000 podcasts. Of all of this data, they discovered the following information.

Audiences were 79% from the USA, 10% from Canada, 9% from the UK
iTunes accounts for 67% across all devices
Browsers were the biggest share, but the number wasn't shared
Set-top boxes account for only 8%
Only 1% were using third-party apps (such as those made for the specific podcast or network)
Tracked 100 different clients (devices)
126 countries with at least 10 downloads

Why wasn't your podcast a finalist? The voting slate is chosen from more than just the number of nominations. All of the above information is taken into consideration to grade each podcast.

Was it eligible? * Sites that have won People's Choice or Best Produced in the years 2011–2012 are not eligible to win People's Choice and Best Produced * Sites that have won People's Choice or Best Produced in 2012 are not elgible to win in any category * Podcasting actively on or before January 1, 2013. This will be verified by reviewing the podcasters website * Have created a minimum of ten episodes before October 1, 2013 * A visible Podcast RSS feed on the podcasters site with enclosures

How does it grade? Each eligible podcast is graded according to a confidential scale. The general weight of each category is as follows.

40% from number of nominations
20% from relevance of content
15% from website design quality
15% from sound quality
10% from podcast delivery and show format quality

When the numbers get tight, then it really comes down to the fine details of what podcasts make it onto the voting slate. Our Once Upon a Time podcast did not make it into the Entertainment category, but we did make it into Best Produced.

Podcast Awards information This is the ninth annual International Podcast Awards! They still need donations and sponsorships. It's a great opportunity to promote your podcast to thousands for only $250.

There were 4,400 shows nominated for the awards.

If you were a past award-finalist, you can order a Nominee Trophy for $200, or a bigger trophy for Best Produced and People's Choice for $365.

The awards ceremony will be held Sunday night, January 5, at New Media Expo. I'll be there and I hope to see you, too! If you'd like to attend the full conference, use my promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20%. There may be a special low-cost ticket if you just want to attend the awards ceremony.

If you're a finalist, make sure you registered your podcast so you'll receive email announcements.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcast hosting can be a valuable asset, especially when you have a limited upload plan (as with most media hosts). When you fill up your monthly media upload limit, you still have a few options.

Re-encode If your media host gives you an allotment of storage space (not podcast length, as Soundcloud and Spreaker do), then you can save some space by re-encoding your files at a different setting. You may not lose any noticeable quality, either!

Many podcasters will release their episodes with 128 kbps stereo audio. But most podcasts would be fine with 64 kbps mono audio. Encoding your file in mono will require only half the space, so this alone may be enough to fit your new episode in with the space you have.

You you host a video podcast, you could apply the same audio encoding to save some space, or you could reduce the framerate to 25 frames per second (FPS) instead of 30 (or the technical equivalents). With this small reduction, you can also reduce your mbps quality a little and still have a great picture.

You can also re-encode old episodes Even if re-encoding your new episode doesn't make things fit, you could re-encode some of your other recent episodes and replace them on your media host. This will usually give you the saved space back.

LibSyn allows you to replace an existing media file with another, and it won't mess up your stats. If the new file is smaller than the previous one, you get that savings back in new space for uploading. But this will reset the “archive timer” on the episode, so it will be another 30 days before its space is available.

Blubrry hosting is similar, but you need to delete the old episode that you want to replace. Again, you won't lose your stats (as long as the file name is the same), but it will reset the “archive timer.” Soon, Blubrry will allow you to replace files instead of deleting and re-publishing.

Force “archive” Some media hosts, such as LibSyn, will allow you to force “archive” episodes and buy back the space. Currently, this costs 10¢ per MB from LibSyn. But it can be an effective way of getting back some space you urgently need, when your other options aren't the best.

This will not change your media URL, break your stats, or remove the podcast from LibSyn's fast servers. It's mostly a label that will mean you can no longer just replace this file, and that it's old enough that you consider it among your archive.

Soundcloud will remove your old episodes when new episodes need the space. This means your old episodes cannot continue being downloaded.

Upgrade your storage It may be a better value for you to upgrade your media hosting plan. This could be a short-term upgrade (LibSyn allows you to change plans on a monthly basis), or a long-term change to your billing.

I recommend a single-month upgrade if this is a rare occurrence. But if you have this problem frequently, then you need a bigger account.

Host your episode elsewhere In very rare circumstances, when you don't think your episode will get more than a couple hundred downloads, you could consider hosting it somewhere else. This could be temporary or permanent, depending on your situation.

If your media host also provides your primary podcast statistics (like LibSyn), then you will completely miss these statistics for this episode. But if you use Blubrry stats, which attach to any media URL, then it doesn't matter where you host the media.

You could even consider moving old episodes to a different host. This would let you delete the episodes from your current media host and free up that space. But this may break download URLs if anyone linked directly to your file instead of to your shownotes.

This other “media host” could be your website server (if the files won't be in high demand), Amazon S3 or Rackspace Cloudfiles, or even archive.org.

Wait Your final option could be the hardest, but is certainly the least expensive. Just wait.

Since many media hosts, such as LibSyn or Blubrry, give you a monthly upload allotment, it may only be a few hours or a couple days before you get enough space back that you can upload your new episode.

This may not always be practical, especially when you have a consistent publishing schedule upon which your audience may rely.

I've done all of these before When I first switched to encoding audio episodes at 64 kbps mono, I could re-encode some olds and get half the space back. This is no longer an option for me as I know that my encoding choice is now optimal and I have nothing more I can squeeze.

Sometimes, when I need just a few more MB, I will pay LibSyn the 10¢/MB fee to force “archive” an old episode.

Right now, I recognize that I need to upgrade my media hosting because Once Upon a Time is back in season, so that means many more episodes every week, and we launched a new Once Upon a Time in Wonderland podcast, which will require more space on a weekly basis.

For my low-priority stuff, like my clean-comedy podcast, I will often host the media on my website server (a virtual private server (VPS), so I know my limits).

And when I'm close enough to a particular file automatically archiving, I may just wait up to one day in order to earn my space back.

What do you do? How have you handled running out of media hosting space, or even bandwidth? What's the closest you've ever come to your limit?

Please comment and tell me about your experience!

Announcements 1. Register for New Media Expo to see Dave Jackson, Ray Ortega, and me present “How to grow your podcast audience from 100s to 1000s.” Use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% off your ticket. 2. Please nominate The Audacity to Podcast and our other shows in the Podcast Awards.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Whether you're launching your first podcast, or thinking of reformatting the one you have, you should think a lot about how you will present your content.

I see three different formats for presenting content.

Script—you write and read the script verbatim into your podcast.
Ad-lib—you speak freely without restriction or direction.
Outline—you have a basic list of content you want to share

This topic was inspired by Alan's question.

Hi Daniel, I love your podcast . I am new to listening to podcasts and I am intending to start my own soon.

I have a question about episode 144 which I have just listened to today. It's the one about finding the time to podcast.

How much scripting do you do, if any, for pre-show prep? It sounds to me that you do none as its so natural sounding.

I love the way you describe how to break it down into parts. ( the P's) This makes it all seem so do-able to me.

many thanks and you get my vote for the annual podcast awards.

Alan ….. in London U.K.

Script When you're concerned about perfection, the highest accuracy, or you're not yet comfortable speaking into a microphone, you may be considering, “Should I script my podcast?” This may be the right way to go for some podcasters.

Scripted audio and video is all around us.

Movies and non-reality TV shows are scripted and performed by (usually) skilled actors.
News broadcasts on radio and TV are scripted and either read from a teleprompter or script.
Political speakers usually read from a teleprompter, too.
Commercials are almost always scripted.
Some popular podcasts—like Grammar Girl and others from Quick and Dirty Tips—are scripted.
Even late-night comedy shows are partially scripted.

Scripting ensures that you'll get the message exactly right, often to precise timing, which is crucial in all of these media. But this precision and accuracy comes at the cost of time and presentation quality.

The downside to scripts is that they must be read. It takes professional coaching or years of practice to get good at reading a script naturally.

Scripted podcast content doesn't work in long form. I think around ten minutes is the longest you should let a scripted podcast be.

Because most of us aren't professional voiceover artists, reading a script will often produce loads of editing as you struggling to perform perfectly.

When I first started the Ramen Noodle – clean-comedy podcast, I scripted my episodes and performed them verbatim. This took many hours to produce a single episode, and it's why I only had nine episodes in two years.

Ad-lib On the total opposite to scripting would be ad-libbing. This is when you speak freely and have no restrictions or directions for your content.

This can be very comfortable for some people to present, but others will be very uncomfortable with publishing something unpolished.

Ad-libbing allows your personality to fully show through (as long as you're presenting something you truly care about).

Conversations are a form of ad-libbing as each participant speaks as the thoughts come to them.

Free-flowing thought can be hard for a listener or viewer to follow, and they may often be annoyed by the rabbit trails and excessive emptiness a podcaster speaks to make a simple point.

I know I can struggle with a little too much ad-libbing. This means I'm wasting your time to tell you something in five minutes that could take me one.

Outline (my recommendation) A hybrid between a rigid script and ad lib would be an outline. This is when you have your points you want to cover, and the extra information handy, and then you present from those points.

This doesn't mean every episode is “10 ways to …” or “How to … in 5 steps.” You may have some of that (and it makes for great episode/post titles!), but you don't need to share your outline. You can present great content from a 5-, 10-, or 50-point outline without your audience ever knowing your list, but still receiving the information.

This is my top recommendation because it gives your content flow, while still allowing freedom to ad-lib as you elaborate your points.

Even multihost podcasts can follow outlines. In our Once Upon a Time or Once Upon a Time in Wonderland podcasts, we have taken notes on what we want to discuss, and we work our way through those notes.

Using an outline in conversations keeps the discussion moving and ensures you present a structured message to your audience.

A hybrid for your show notes If you want the most effective podcast show notes, then I recommend combining all of the above.

Outline your content with headings, subheadings, and lists.
Script or transcribe the things that must be accurate (quotations, technical descriptions, etc.).
Ad-lib by writing some concise sentences that summarize what you spoke, without being a transcript or commentary.

These hybrid show notes become very useful:

to you, as you present the content and have an outline and certain wordings you must get right;
to your audience, as they have the option of consuming (or reviewing) your content without rewatching or relistening to your podcast episode;
and to search engines, as this more thorough content can be laced with search-engine-optimized (SEO) keywords, human text, and quality content.

What about you? How do you prepare your content presentation? Do you script, ad-lib, or outline? What has been your experience?

Announcements 1. Register for New Media Expo to see Dave Jackson, Ray Ortega, and me present “How to grow your podcast audience from 100s to 1000s.” Use promo code “DANIEL20” to save 20% off your ticket. 2. Please nominate The Audacity to Podcast and our other shows in the Podcast Awards. 3. Check out Podcasters' Roundtable #18, “When Not to Start a Podcast” with guest Lisa B. Marshall.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Should you edit your podcast after you've recorded it, or mix everything together while you record? I'll give you some pros and cons to consider.

Editing—the time-spender As you know, post-production editing (which I'll call “editing” from now on) takes a lot of time. It's quite likely that it may take you several hours to edit a 30-minute audio recording; this could be even longer if you produce a video podcast.

There are essentially three reasons for editing.

Enhance quality—noise removal, equalization (EQ), compression, color-correction, etc.
Fix mistakes—deleting, moving, etc.
Mix in extras—intro and outro, background audio, sound clips, B-roll footage, lower-thirds, segues, etc.

Each of these improve the overall presentation of your podcast and are often necessary. But doing all of these things after recording adds a lot of time between presentation and publication.

Pros 1. Cheap (or even free) 2. Easy to find help 3. Total control over every detail

Cons 1. Takes a lot of time 2. Takes a lot of knowledge/learning

Live-mixing—the money-spender If you record “live to drive”—or “live mixing,” as I like to call it—then your workflow can be drastically simplified. But this simplification can come at a higher cost.

There are four main areas you would want to consider spending money in order to save time.

Core quality—microphones and video cameras
Abilities—mixers, extra devices, external recorders, and other accessories
Enhancements—processors, lighting, studio setup, etc.
Production—audio- and video-editors, plugins, etc.

Investing into each of these areas can save you from spending time fixing things.

Pros 1. Fast production 2. High quality from the start 3. Smooth flow (with practice) 4. Setup and forget

Cons 1. Can be expensive 2. Takes more time to setup in the first place 3. Potentially lose some flexibility

Can you afford the time, or the money? Consider a few common problems and how they could be solved with either time or money.

Audio or video quality You could record with cheap equipment and then spend time enhancing everything to sound or look better. Or you could invest in high-quality equipment and get a great recording right from the source.

Also remember “garbage in, garbage out.” You can enhance garbage audio or video to be a little better, but it will never be anywhere close to high quality.

Abilities What can you do in your podcast?

You could use a cheap USB headset and scramble when you want to add a regular cohost (patching cables together, using software tools, or recording a double-ender). Or you could invest in a mixer and simply plug in an extra microphone whenever you need it.

You could use a single video camera to fake a multi-camera shot by pausing and reposition or zooming and losing quality. Or you could invest in a second camera and a video-switcher and never have to break your flow.

You could record into a computer and risk losing a recording or relying on a noisy computer. Or you could invest in an external audio recorder for simple (and even mobile) recording.

Enhancements You could try to record at just the right time of day and weather for good lighting, or spend time trying to enhance the lighting and color in software. Or you could invest in some lighting to get a much nicer picture from the start.

You could record in just any room and have to spend time removing background noise or reverb. Or you could invest in some simple sound dampening

You could point your camera anywhere and either deal with a disgusting backdrop or spend time in fancy software making a virtual backdrop. Or you could setup an attractive studio or invest in a green-screen.

You could use an audio-editor to enhance your audio with EQ and compression. Or you could invest in a compressor/limiter/gate to prevent microphone crossing, record at consistent volume levels, and eliminate audio clipping.

Production You could struggle with free or cheap software to edit the way you want, and spend lots of time trying to make it do what you want it to do. Or you could invest in better software that does more for you or makes it simpler.

You could hack together different WordPress plugins (after spending time finding them) to get most of what you want, at a potential security or performance risk on your website. Or you could invest in a WordPress plugin that does it much better and easier.

Cheap, quick, and quality—pick two We need to be reasonable. We can't make a high-quality podcast quickly and for little money. I have chosen to make things as quick and high-quality as I can, but this comes as a higher investment.

When I first started podcasting, I chose to cheap and quality, but it would take me hours and hours to release a single episode.

Sometimes—I'll admit it—I reach for cheap and quick/easy, but then the quality suffers.

Where are you with your podcast? What have you chosen to invest in or shortcut?

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

9 steps to help you make time for running a successful podcast.

(Requested by Alaina Frederick.)

Recognize the time requirements Podcasting takes time and doing it well takes more time. For quality audio content, assume at least a 4:1 ratio—4 hours of preparation and editing for every one hour of content. Video is closer to an 8:1 ratio.

So if you want to release an hour-long, weekly audio podcast, then you'll need to set aside five hours every week.

Remember that the less time you spend in preparation for your podcast, the lower the quality will be.

Separate your tasks … Podcasting essentially has four tasks, each starting with the letter P:
Preparation—collect your ideas, develop your outline, gather links and resources to use, maybe even write your shownotes
Presentation—record your episode
Post-production—edit your recording, complete your shownotes, publish your episode
Promotion—tell others about your latest episode by tweeting, sharing on Facebook, posting in other social networks, or notifying your email list

You may find it easier to make time for each task, one at a time. For example, Spend an hour of preparation an Monday and another on Tuesday, record on Wednesday, edit on Thursday, then publish and promote on Friday.

Subdivide these tasks to make them even easier to do throughout the week. Pick your topic as early as possible, then always carry something that allows you to take notes as you have random inspiration. There are hundreds of mobile apps, websites, and physical tools for doing this. I recommend whatever is most convenient, simple, and accessible.

… or batch your tasks You may also find great success in batching your work. John Lee Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire records all of his daily episodes on a single day and Cliff Ravenscraft from GSPN.tv records most of his weekly podcast episodes on a single day as well.
Schedule your time I've heard many successful people say something like, “If it's not on the calendar, it won't happen.” That works for us mere mortals, too!

Be intentional about your time and commit to it by scheduling it. Every Monday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. is blocked out in my schedule for The Audacity to Podcast. I can work on other things before that. But I know that when 11:00 a.m. hits, I have an appointment I must keep with my podcast.

As an aside, this is also why I like to live-stream my podcasts—it reminds me that others are relying on me to present my content at a specific time each week (currently Mondays at 2pm ET).

Use a timer for focus We all have the same 168 hours in a week. If you try searching for time, you will never find it. You have to intentionally make the time for the things you want to do.

I've found that a simple timer can do wonders for my productivity. Use a kitchen timer, your mobile device, or E.ggtimer.com to set a timer for 25 minutes (or your choice) and work on only your podcast during that time. No Twitter, Facebook, email, YouTube, phone calls, text messages, playing with things, or anything but your task.

When your time is up, you can take a break to address those distractions. Or if you found yourself in “the zone” of focus, simply reset your time for another 25 minutes.

Hear me talk about this tip in my guest appearance on Erik Fisher's Beyond the To-Do List podcast.

Simplify and don't attempt too much I've found that the podcasters who struggle the most with their time make one (or both) of two mistakes: they don't intentionally set aside the time, or they don't understand how much time it will take to do what they want.

The higher you raise the bar of “perfection,” the longer it will take you to publish anything.

If you try to remove every “um” or “uh” from your audio episodes, you'll add hours to your workflow.

If you try to make your video podcasts fancy with transitions, animations, effects, lower thirds, and more, you'll find a five-minute video taking days to publish.

Simplify your standards and workflow. If it takes you a couple hours to find just the right stock photo, maybe you should grab your own camera and take your own photo (or vice versa). I've done this many times with my Canon T4i digital SLR (Amazon.com | B&H). My episode about podcast backups has a beautiful photo of some DVDs. I searched for 30 minutes to find a great but inexpensive image before I decided to take 5 minutes to shoot my own.

You don't have to be perfect! Even professional radio hosts have things go wrong or stumble over words. Just because you have the power to edit doesn't mean you should. Allow yourself to be natural. If something needs to be fixed, fix just the major areas, or learn how to prevent them in the first place.

Remove something else from your schedule The easiest way to make time for one thing is to not do another. If your podcast is a priority, then you'll need to decide what lower priorities can be sacrificed for your podcast.

Relationships aren't on this list! Always keep your relationships as the highest priority, but also agree one a specific schedule you can have to pursue your podcasting goals.

Get reminders or accountability Setup regular notifications to remind you of what you need to do or the schedule you're trying to keep. You could take this a step further by asking others to hold you accountable with your time.

In some way, your audience is already depending on you and may even schedule their time around your episodes. Perhaps you look forward to listening to The Audacity to Podcast every Tuesday morning during your commute—I try to always honor that by having my episode online, if possible, before you even leave work on Monday.

Get help If the workload is still too much, or you have too many other responsibilities and you can't drop the podcast, then it may be time to get someone else to help.

You can look for a volunteer for your passionate community, hire a virtual assistant, bring on an intern form a local school, contract a consultant, or even pay a family member.

Here are some example tasks that you could easily designate to someone else.

Writing shownotes
Finding photos
Editing audio or video
Shooting extra footage
Curating content
Filtering email
Moderating public messages
Scheduling guests or your guest appearances
Promoting in social networks

We have several volunteers performing each of these tasks for our Once Upon a Time podcast, and it has been a huge stress-relief!

How are you “redeeming the time”? I like what the Bible says in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 15–18.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time [another translation says, “redeeming the time”], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit … [Ephesians 4:15–18, ESV; emphasis mine]

Even if you don't try to live by the Bible, as I do, this passage can remind you that our days are busy, so we have to make the best use of our time. And wasting time is downright foolish.

So how do you make time for your podcast? What has helped you focus and stay consistent?

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

You never realize how important quality backups are until you desperately need them. Here are several ways you can (and should) backup your podcasts, website, and even personal computer.

Recording backups Regardless of how you record your podcast, there's always a chance for something to go wrong. You could possibly lose your recording if something bad happens. These tools can help prevent that or provide you with a secondary recording if your primary fails.

Live-stream—many live-streaming services record your sessions, so you can use this as a backup if things go really bad.
Double-ender—have your guests/cohosts record their own audio. This will ensure that disconnects and bandwidth issues won't affect your recording (like I had when Cynthia Sanchez talked about Pinterest for podcasting [tap0136]). If you're willing to piece these together, it can make a higher quality file.
Software recorder—even if you're recording into an external recorder, recording with software will make a nice backup.
External recorder [tap099]—move the recording away from a computer to an external device. This is more versatile and more stable.

Revision backups You may want to keep older versions of your projects in case you need to revert, or something gets corrupted.

Duplicate and compress—when there's no other method, simply duplicate your project to keep snapshot archives.
Apple Time Capsule—local backups for OS X computers. You can move back in time to grab older versions or restore things deleted a while back. But oldest backups will be deleted when storage is running out.
Dropbox—both online backup and revision backups.

Computer backups Computers crash, hard drives fail, and people make mistakes. This is why regular backups of your computer can be priceless.

External hard drive—versatile for copying files or using sync/backup programs on any kind of computer.
Apple Time Capsule—popular “local” backup on your network. This makes it easy to completely restore a crashed Mac.
BackBlaze—simple, unlimited backup for your computer and only costs between $3.96 and $5 per month! You can restore your files from anywhere, and your files are safe from local catastrophes.

WordPress/website backup Many bad things could happen to your website: hacks, suspensions, updates break things, and user errors. Having daily backups of your website (and snapshots before you make major changes) can help you keep your website online and avoid a crisis.

Web-host backups—many web-hosting companies (like BlueHost and HostGator) will regularly backup your website files, database, and settings for you.
Many free backup plugins for WordPress—some will backup to Dropbox, email the file, archive somewhere else, or allow you to take on-demand snapshots.
BackupBuddy—the easiest WordPress backup I've seen. You have many options and can schedule regular backups. Keep these on your server or archive them to Amazon S3, Dropbox, or other locations. BackupBuddy is also great for moving your website.

Long-term archive backups After you publish your episode, you should keep all of your episode media and original files together and archive them in long-term storage.

Compress your projects into zip files before you copy or upload. This will save space and make organization a lot easier.

DVD-R—versatile and portable. DVD-Rs will usually cost 4.5–6¢ per gigabyte (GB). But this is slow and cumbersome. You'll usually have wasted space on each disc, too.
External hard drive—extremely versatile, somewhat portable, and only 3.5–4.5¢ per GB. But if you have a local catastrophe, you'll lose your backups.
Amazon Glacier (no longer recommended)—online and only 1¢ per GB per month. But very slow for uploads and downloads. It costs 12¢ per GB for downloads after 1 GB, and there's a really complicated retrieval fee. For Glacier, I recommend the free ~~Simple Amazon Glacier Uploader~~ CrossFTP (the free version works fine).
~~MediaFire~~—A cheaper Dropbox competitor, but also works great for long-term storage. Currently $24.99 per year or $2.49 per month for 1 TB of storage, 20 GB limit per file, and no extra fees. This makes MediaFire as low as one fifth the monthly cost of Glacier, but it's much faster and won't have unexpected fees.
Recommended for 2017: Amazon Drive or BackBlaze B2 Cloud Storage.

iTunes affiliate program change I've previously recommended LinkShare for generating affiliate links for your podcast in iTunes, and for making links open directly in iTunes. Apple has switched affiliate programs and you have until October 1, 2013, to switch your affiliate links to Apple's new affiliate system.

TAP featured by Stitcher Big thanks to Stitcher for featuring The Audacity to Podcast in their top-ten list for “So You Think You Can Podcast?”

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo by Daniel J. Lewis

Five updates to podcasting tools that you should know about, and how to take advantage of them.

PowerPress 5.0
LibSyn Four
WordPress 3.6
Audacity 2.0.4
Social Subscribe & Follow Icons 1.1

PowerPress 5.0 This latest update to the best podcasting plugin for WordPress brings features for beginners and advanced podcasters.

Easier setup for beginners Simplified Mode makes the setup process easy by breaking it down into steps: Fill out podcast settings, create a blog post with an episode, submit the feed to iTunes.

This simple interface presents you with the most important options.

Program title
iTunes Program Subtitle
iTunes Program Summary
iTunes Category
iTunes Explicit
iTunes Email
iTunes Image
Display Media & Links
1. Below page content
2. Above page content
3. Disable
4. Display media/links in WordPress excerpts
Template compatibility mode

New features for advanced podcasters Most of PowerPress 5.0's Advanced Mode will seem familiar to current podcasters. But there are several great additions.

Change podcast title without activating custom channels!
Enable Feed Episode Maximizer without activating custom channels!
New artwork tab for all podcast cover art versions.
Support for episode images
Taxonomy Podcasting
Post Type Podcasting
MediaElement.js player

What is “taxonomy”? “Taxonomy” is how WordPress organizes content. This is a higher level than post types (such as pages, posts, and custom). Taxonomy can include menus, post formats, tags, keywords, and more.

Taxonomy and Post-Type podcasting a huge features for large websites and other clever purposes. A custom post type would allow you to run one or multiple podcasts from your site without the need of putting those episodes in your blog feed.

This also makes it easy for listing the latest episodes from a particular post type or taxonomy.

LibSyn Four For media hosting, I highly recommend LibSyn (get a free month with promo code “noodle”), and they're updating their system!

You may have already seen LibSyn's new website design. That's coming to the customer interface, too. The design looks great and everything is now a lot easier to find and understand, thanks to the visual changes.

LibSyn Four will even work well on mobile devices when it launches.

WordPress 3.6 WordPress recently updated to version 3.6. I haven't noticed any compatibility issues with 3.6, but it does present some cool new features.

Easier revisions management
Easier menu editor
Native HTML5 audio- and video-players
Improved integrations with Spotify, Rdio, and SoundCloud

Audacity 2.0.4

Audacity 2.0.4 replaces all previous versions, with these improvements:

New Effect > Reverb (based on Freeverb), that replaces GVerb.

New View > Go to Selection Start and Go to Selection End commands.

New Tracks > Align End to End command to append selected tracks.

WAV files import/export now supports “Album Title”, “Track Number” and “Genre” LIST INFO tags and ID3 tags.

(Windows) New support for Windows WDM/KS host which can provide very low latencies if you reduce “Audio to Buffer” in Recording Preferences.

(Windows Vista and later) You can now record computer playback by choosing the new Windows WASAPI host in Device Toolbar , then a “loopback” input.

Bugs have been fixed, involving Keyboard Preferences, Equalization curves, and Effect > Change Pitch, and several more.

See the 2.0.4 Release Notes for more items and details.

The biggest feature in Audacity 2.0.4 is the new ability to easily record your computer's playback!

Social Subscribe & Follow Icons 1.1 Lastly, I just pushed out an update to my Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress. Version 1.1 brings the following updates.

Switched to standards-friendly display system, which fixes double characters in RSS readers (like “!iTunes” and “FFacebook”).
Dropped support for Internet Explorer 8.
Improved backend accessibility.
Added new networks: TuneIn, iHeartRadio, Blip, StumbleUpon, Instagram, Dribbble, GoodReads, Etsy, and GitHub.
Reordered icons into podcast, video, social network, photo, specialty.
Changed LinkedIn icon to match the other icons better.
Sortable icons are coming soon! You may notice that you can drag and drop networks, but this doesn't save yet.

Social Subscribe & Follow Icons is a great way to turn any standard website into an awesome blog or podcast website that encourages your visitors to connect with you.

Bonus: new Noodle.mx Network podcast themes Things may not look very different on the Noodle.mx Network podcast sites (except for Beyond the To-Do List and Under the Dome Radio). But each site is now running the latest Genesis Framework and I took this opportunity to optimize my workflow with Sass and Compass. This allowed me to quickly push out redesigns for each site.

The main update you'll notice is that every Noodle.mx Network podcast site is now mobile-friendly, even our bbPress forums for the Once Upon a Time podcast!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn tips for producing your own podcast promos! Mike and Izabela Russell, from Music Radio Creative, are experts in audio branding and production. They join me in this episode to help you better grow your podcast the audio and even video promos.

Call to action Every promo should have once call to action in it. Preferably at the end as listeners tend to remember the last thing said. What do you want the listener to do?

Give them a direct URL (preferably your own domain) to your podcast, don’t just say “find us on iTunes.” Give them a real link to type.

Only one call to action is effective per promo.

Promo length Keep it only as long as it needs to be. The optimum is 30 or fewer seconds, but have some variations in length—10, 30, or 45 seconds.

10 seconds is less disruptive to a podcast (e.g. Dave Jackson will play a promo without announcing it and then carry on talking as if nothing happened).

Always remember that “skip forward 30 seconds button” on most podcast players and value your listener’s time.

Don’t announce “I’ll be back after the break.” It’s a podcast; where are you going?

It’s not radio so there’s no need for your promo to be exactly 30 seconds long. This was a requirement in radio as often different ads would go out on different transmitters and they all had to sync up.

Audio clips of your podcast What are your very best bits? It’s often handy to include real clips from past podcasts to give the listener a taste of what’s in store for them.

Find your most popular podcast and timestamp the highlights. This will help a producer put something amazing together for you.

These snippets don't have to contain the full context, but should convey the personality of your podcast.

Use professional voice talent Don’t announce your own podcast and name. It sounds cheap.

Use a professional voice over artist or (even better) get it sung as people will remember the melody. Somebody singing your podcast name really is priceless advertising.

Professional voices at the start and end of a promo (or even your whole podcast) help you to sound like a pro.

Think about music choice Match the music choice to your target audience.

Do you already have catchy podcast intro music? Use it! It will enhance your own audio branding consistency.

If you have a royalty-free track you love, try to get the 15- or 30-second version and look for different mix outs (many royalty free music sites have this option).

Consider your promo as a donut Do you want to update your promo? Ask for a “donut.” That’s your music with professional voices at the start and the end, and a blank space for content in the middle.

The hole in the donut is just the music for you to talk over or mix in highlights of your podcast.

Donuts give you ultimate flexibility to update your podcast promo when you see fit.

Use donuts to mention special guests or announcements about your podcast.

Keep it clean If you want the widest audience possible, don’t use foul language in your podcast promo unless it’s truly for your target audience.

Bear in mind that many podcasters won’t play explicit promos (especially if their own podcast is tagged as clean).

The name of your podcast Your podcast name is a vital part of your promo. It’s best to repeat it so that the listener remembers.

If a listener likes your content, they’ll often seek you out by searching for your podcast name.

Silence Do you want to highlight a point in your promo or grab the listener’s attention? Use silence.

If you interrupt the flow of a promo you’ve got the attention of your listener.

Be shareable Add the promo to your website and make it easy for someone to download it if they’d like to consider playing it on their podcast. Share the highest-possible quality (such as uncompressed WAV) so it won't sound bad when other podcasters recompress it.

Place your promo on SoundCloud, Spreaker, or AudioBoo and share it to Facebook and Twitter.

Consider getting a video version of your promo produced for YouTube.

Also reach out to Internet radio stations.

Online attention spans are short. A snappy promo can get the message to a potential listener for your podcast fast.

BONUS: copyright Be aware of copyright on music and clips.

Use only royalty free music or ensure the production work is licensed.

Here are some great sites where you can purchase professional, royalty-free music.

JewelBeat
MusicBakery
PremiumBeat

Big thanks to Mike and Izabela Russell for sharing these great tips! Learn more about their services from Music Radio Creative, and check out Mike's YouTube channel for great Adobe Audition tutorials.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

At the end of 2012, I shared 7 reasons why I was switching from Audacity to Adobe Audition. I don't regret that decision, but there are 7 more things that I miss now that I'm using Audition.

Multitrack Truncate Silence Truncate Silence will find portions of audio that are quieter than a set level, and shorten those areas. This is an easy way to reduce awkward pauses. Audacity can do this across multiple tracks without causing insane overlaps.

Audition can only run its similar feature across a single track. So if you have multiple tracks for multiple voices, you'll end up with everyone talking at the same time.

Home and End jumps Audacity makes it easy to jump to the beginning or end of a selection or of the audio. Just make a selection and press Home for the beginning, or End or the end.

Pressing End in Audition takes you to the end of the audio workspace, which is often far away from the end of the audio.

Combined wave and multitrack editors Audacity has a single editor; it is both multitrack and a wave editor. You don't have to switch back and forth depending on the edits you want to do. It's all in one place.

Audition has a wave editor for modifying the actual audio, and a multitrack editor for mixing tracks and applying nondestructive effects and edits. Audition's multitrack editor is far more powerful, but you still can't actually edit your audio in the same editor.

Project-free editing Want to make a quick audio edit? This is no problem in Audacity because you can launch, import your audio, edit, and export all without ever saving or creating a project file.

But Adobe Audition requires any multitrack project to be saved before you can even stick two tracks together.

Mute and Solo switching I prefer Audacity's Mute/Solo switching over Audition's.

Imagine you have two audio tracks you're trying to compare. In Audacity, you can mute Track 1 and you'll hear Track 2. Then solo Track 1 (without unmuting it) and you'll hear just Track 1.

To do the same thing in Audition, you have to switch which tracks are muted. Mute Track 1 and you'll hear Track 2. But to switch back to just Track 1, you have to unmute it and then either solo it, or mute Track 2.

Playback speed If you can listen to chipmunk Audio, Audacity has an easy playback speed adjustment that doesn't affect your actual audio [tap110], but it plays your audio back faster. This is a great time-saving trick in Audacity.

But Audition doesn't have any such feature. You would have to change the actual audio's speed, and then slow it down again, in order to get this effect.

“Ripple” paste Pasting an audio clip into the middle of another is easy in Audacity. When you paste to an insertion point, Audacity shifts the remaining audio. If you have Sync-Lock Tracks enabled, it will even shift the other audio tracks, too.

But if you try this same procedure in Adobe Audition, it replaces any audio you're overlapping on that track in the multitrack editor. (Within the wave editor, the paste inserts and shifts. But this is only for a single track and you have to switch editors.)

Check out Podcasters' Roundtable! Standard Theme is dead. Long live StudioPress! 8bit, makers of Standard Theme, have closed their business and will stop supporting their great WordPress theme.

StudioPress is now the only collection of themes that I whole-heartedly recommend for bloggers, podcasters, and anyone with a WordPress website.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

7 reasons you should use WordPress on your own web hosting instead of choosing another platform.

Self-hosted vs. WordPress.com WordPress.com is a hosted service that gives you a limited version of a WordPress website for free. You can have your own domain for a small annual fee.

Self-hosted WordPress is running your own copy of WordPress on a hosting account you pay for somewhere (such as BlueHost, HostGator, or HostDime). Learn more about podcast hosting in my previous episode.

Easy to use WordPress users proclaim “ease of use” as the top reason they love WordPress. Many choose WordPress over another content-management system (CMS) because of its friendly interface and simple workflow.

Yet WordPress also has a lot of power that's easy to use.

You can run an extremely successful site with WordPress, using many plugins, using a great theme, and never have to know any HTML, CSS, PHP, or Javascript.

If you can attach a file to an email message, then you can publish a podcast with WordPress.

Freedom and control WordPress is a standalone system that you can take wherever you want. You can run a WordPress website on your computer, on shared hosting, or on expensive VPS or dedicated servers.

It's also very easy to transfer your website between website hosting companies. So if you don't like one host, you can easily switch to another and your workflow won't have to change.

Because self-hosted WordPress runs on your own hosting account, you have full freedom to make it do whatever you want. You can add or remove plugins, change the design, change the content, add widgets, embed videos, upload pictures, and much more.

Plugins for nearly everything There are more than 25,000 free plugins in the WordPress plugin directory! The chances are that whatever you want your website to do, there's a plugin for that!

Social-sharing buttons, image galleries, post templates, online stores, donations, contact forms, and so much more can be easily added with plugins.

Yes, choosing a good plugin can be difficult. Here are some general guidelines.

It should say that it's compatible with your WordPress version. Some plugins won't say this, but they're often still compatible.
It should have an update within the last several months. Plugins should be in a constant state of growth. They won't always need updates, but updates show the plugin is maturing and the developer is responding to the needs of its users.
It should have a lot of downloads. “Popular” isn't always right, but in WordPress plugins, a popular plugin probably does its job really well.
It should have good ratings and reviews. Plugins can now be given a star-rating and a written review. Check these to see how others are liking the plugin, but remember that some users may give bad ratings because they had wrong expectations.
It should not do much more than you need it to. Avoid the “massive” plugins that try to do everything. These can bog down your website with features you aren't using.
Premium plugins are usually worth the price. The official directory for WordPress plugins contains only free plugins. Many paid plugins perform similar tasks, but a whole lot better or easier. For example, Contact Form 7 works all right for a contact form, but it's horrible for much more. But Gravity Forms is amazing for any kind of form (even on-demand forms).
Great theme designs I'm a web designer and I may betray my own craft by telling you this secret. You don't have to be or hire a web designer to have a great-looking website! WordPress makes it easy to find and install great themes to make your site beautiful on any device.

I highly recommend the WordPress themes from StudioPress.

Search-engine optimization (SEO) You need to make it easy for people to find you and your website online, so that where search-engine optimization (SEO) comes in. This isn't some magical trickery, but it's about how you write and present your content.

WordPress is already good for SEO by letting Google know when you publish new content (calling a “ping”). But you can also easily get much more control over your SEO with free plugins (like Yoast SEO or All-in-One SEO) or a great WordPress theme (like those from StudioPress).

Some plugins, like Scribe, will even tell you what you should be doing in order to improve your SEO.

Support and community There is safety in numbers, and WordPress has a huge following. It is really easy to find answers to almost whatever issue you face. It is also easy to find someone who can quickly fix or enhance your WordPress website.

For example, I was able to easily find others who wanted to disable Disqus on certain WordPress post types. But in my case, no one else had the solution, so I discovered it for them!

Foundation for any kind of website I won't assume that all you want to do is podcast. Maybe you want to blog, sell items through your website, start a forum, invite guest blogs, or run a business website that never produces content. For almost whatever website you want to create, WordPress gives you a strong foundation on which to build and upgrade.

What convinced you to use WordPress? If you aren't using WordPress, why did you decide against it?

Upcoming: podcast promos Since before I launched The Audacity to Podcast, I wanted to teach you about podcast promos. But I never had the resources in place. That's why I am excited to have Mike Russell from Music Radio Creative join me in a future episode to discuss podcast promos! Send your questions for Mike.

Is podcasting “back”? Check out the latest Podcasters' Roundtable with Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, Todd Cochrane, Rob Greenlee, and me discussing the recent “resurgence” in podcasting.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Profanity is a controversial subject in podcasting. If you're the type to use foul or explicit language, consider several important things before you include this in your podcast.

What is “explicit”? Language is heavily influenced by culture. But there are general guidelines of what each culture considers profane—sexual terms, gross bodily things, profaning something sacred, and curses.

“Explicit,” by definition, does not necessarily mean profanity. But an “explicit” tag will give that impression. This can cause issues when you try to communicate maturity-appropriateness for some conversations.

For example, a podcast about marital intimacy would be good to explain things in full, unconcealed detail. This is technically “explicit” and many would say it is inappropriate for unmarried (or not-engaged) people. But this same podcast may be free of profanities.

Be conscious of what is considered profane in your language and the primary culture consuming your podcast.

Consider your topic Some topics fit better with profanities than others. In comedy, vulgarities can almost be expected, unless it is marketed as clean comedy.

But more neutral topics, such as tech news or how-tos, don't give an expectation of vulgarity. Such neutral topics are most likely not enhanced with profanities.

You may have an entertainment-review podcast (movies, books, TV shows, music, etc.). If you use clips from the media, it's likely you'll run into a little profanity, depending on your clip source. It would be inappropriate to claim to be clean, but have the profanities (however mild) in your clips. Either don't claim to be clean, or remove the profanities.

Most topics simply don't need the profanity and it really doesn't add anything helpful to the discussion.

Consider your audience Remember that podcasts can be consumed by people of all ages, and you should always keep that in mind. But think about what your audience is like and whether your inclusion of profanity would make you more or less appealing to them.

It may be true that you audience doesn't have a problem with obscenities, but it may be unnecessary for you to include them. For example, a business podcast will be consumed by businesspeople—many of whom have no problem tossing around some obscenities. But in their professional lives, they keep a higher standard, or they want to keep things un-offensive for the rest of their business teammates.

Remember that “clean” appeals to nearly everyone, but “explicit” appeals to fewer and offends others. “Clean” will always be acceptable.

Consider who else may be listening “Second-hand podcast listeners” are a growing group of people. This could be family members, friends, or coworkers who will find profane content offensive and inappropriate. You could be inadvertently affecting the reputations of your listeners if you surprise someone with profanities.

But also remember that many will listen to podcasts with their children nearby. While both you and the parent may have no personal problems with the offensive language, perhaps neither of you think it's appropriate for the children to use or even hear it.

Consider your sponsors Many sponsors will not want to associate themselves with offensive content. If you can't go a minute without profanities, then potential sponsors may pass you up in order to reach someone who is unoffensive and thus has a wider audience.

Wouldn't it seem odd for ABC Family to sponsor an explicit podcast? How would that affect your opinion of the sponsor?

It is a choice, not a personality I have heard people justify their profanity, saying that they were being their authentic selves. That can sometimes be partially true, but I personally know several podcasters who can “cuss like a sailor” in the everyday, but they are entirely able to control their tongues in their podcast.

Alternatively, I know podcasters who host explicit podcasts because they want the shock value, but they've been guests on other podcasts and had no problem keeping it clean.

So you are entirely capable of controlling your tongue, but it's a matter of your choice to do so, when you have considered what is best for your reputation and that of the “brand” you represent

iTunes tags: explicit, clean, unmarked How you should tag your podcast depends on your content and how you want to be perceived. Clearly, a podcast with excessive profanity, vulgarities, and obscene discussions should be marked as “explicit.”

A marital intimacy podcast, as mentioned above, may have a harder time deciding. They aren't disrespectful or obscene, but they do discuss mature topics with “explicit” detail (probably appreciated by its target audience). In this case, I would recommend neither the explicit tag nor the clean tag, but warnings in the audio and description.

Originally, the “clean” tag was described as content that had its profanities cleaned. FeedBurner's outdated SmartCast feature still explains it this way. Both iTunes and the common impression is that “clean” simply means that there's no foul language or obscene topics. This tag is good for podcasts that want to clearly indicate their cleanliness.

An unmarked podcast could be completely clean, or it could contain some mild profanities. But such profanities are neither emphasized nor excessively used. A subscriber would expect no obscene content, but may be okay with some PG-rated language if it is not too much.

Learn how to update your advisory tags and other iTunes information.

What do you think about profanities in podcasts? I know that this topic can be controversial with a wide range of opinions. But what are your thoughts? How do you handle podcasts around your children (if you have any)? Even if you don't mind profanities, what do you think podcasters should do?

Check out these other great conversations happening around this topic.

LinkedIn group
Podcasts subreddit
Podcasters community on Google+
Podcasting Technology Resources community on Google+

Day in Tech History reaching 1,500 episodes Check out Jeffrey Powers' podcast Day in Tech History, which will publish its 1,500th episode on September 15, 2013.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Apple announced on Monday, July 22, 2013, that it had tracked 1,000,000,000 podcast subscriptions.

We don't know the specifics of how that number was measured and what it includes. The Podcasts app for iOS is probably counted as well.

But regardless of that methods, this information should be encouraging to podcasters—especially since Apple is featuring it.

How big is a 1 billion subscriptions?

Apple says that those billion subscriptions are spread across 250,000 unique podcasts in more than 100 languages, and that more than 8 million episodes have been published in the iTunes Store to date. [Lex Friedman, MacWorld]

At 250,000 unique podcasts, this means an average of 4,000 subscriptions per podcast. This isn't the actual statistic, since many podcasters quit after 1–7 episodes. And many podcasts have hundreds of thousands of subscriptions while others may not even break 100.

But this does represent a massive potential audience. Since this billion represents active and former subscriptions, let's assume that the average listener has subscribed to 80 different podcasts over time. (But this doesn't mean they remain subscribed.) With this premise, we could assume there are 1.25 million podcast listeners.

Also consider that iTunes is just one podcast directory. In my own stats for Noodle.mx Network, iTunes and the iOS Podcasts app represent 51.6% of my downloads in July, 2013.

“Clients” usage for Noodle.mx Network from July, 2013. Stats provided by Blubrry.

If we apply this same market sample to the iTunes announcement, then that means there could be more than 2 billion podcast subscriptions across all apps and platforms.

Why is Apple featuring this? Apple doesn't usually announce numbers unless they're somehow proud of what the numbers represent. I think that this announcement shows Apple has grown more fond of podcasting since Steve Jobs lumped it into “amateur hour” (iPod announcements, September 1, 2010).

This is Apple's opportunity to highlight some of the most popular podcasts (the typical selection), as well as bring more attention to the “New and Noteworthy” selection.

Apple doesn't directly profit from podcasts, but it does bring more people to iTunes and the Apple ecosystem, which does result in more profit. The simplicity of podcast subscriptions was a major factor in my own decision to switch from an Android smartphone to iPhone.

Apple is also largely responsible for bringing podcasts to the public eye with their inclusion in iTunes 4.9 in June, 2005. Since then, iTunes has remained the most popular podcast directory, and is even aggregated into several other mobile podcast apps.

I have no doubt that Apple is proud of the podcast industry as a whole. Podcasts are helping to sell Apple products and to purchase from iTunes.

What does this mean for us “mere mortals”? That Apple has highlight this milestone is already helping the podcasting industry grow and receive more attention. I think Apple is re-affirming its support of the industry, and we can expect to see that grow in the future. Perhaps the podcasts app may finally come preinstalled on mobile devices with the release of iOS 7.

For us with smaller audiences, this gives us a glimpse of the potential audience and hope that it will only grow.

This should also be a reminder to ensure your podcast is in iTunes and you've optimized the listing with a great title, description, episode titles, and beautiful podcast cover art.

YouTube live-streaming Google has opening YouTube live-streaming to all channels in good standing that have more than 100 subscriptions. This brings huge competition to Ustream, Livestream, and similar services.

This also solidifies the direction of the industry from “always-on” live-streaming with a single embed for everything to different embed codes and broadcasts for different events.

I personally dislike this industry direction, but I do love the functionality of YouTube for live-streaming. This means my live-streams can be published directly to YouTube immediately after my session.

The YouTube player is also more compatible on mobile devices, even if you use Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder. I've noticed Ustream and Livestream players would not play the live steam on the browser page on iPhones, but YouTube does.

I was quite disappointed with the audio sync problem in today's test:

I'll continue testing YouTube's live-streaming option, and I would love to know what you think!

Electro Voice RE20 and RE320 reviews coming soon I recorded this episode with the Electro Voice RE20 (Amazon.com | B&H) again. What do you think of the audio quality compared with my past episodes?

I'll soon have a review on both the RE20 and Electro Voice RE320 (Amazon.com | B&H) and compare them with the Heil PR40 (Amazon.com | B&H). Watch my YouTube channel or video podcast edition.

Recent video: how to embed YouTube and podcast episodes Learn two ways to embed both a YouTube video and a podcast episode in your WordPress site with PowerPress.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Cynthia Sanchez shares tips for using Pinterest to promote your podcast, create better content, and get more followers.

Cynthia hosts the Oh So Pinteresting podcast and she's an expert at Pinterest. She consults with business and anyone who wants to be successful on Pinterest.

What is Pinterest? Pinterest is essentially a visual bookmarking site. But beyond text and URLs, Pinterest adds images. You can organize your “pins” into different categories (called “boards”) and add descriptions to your visual bookmarks.

Pinterest has been rapidly adopted by the “unlikely” group—midwestern women who aren't on the cutting edge of technology or social media.

There are over 70 million users using Pinterest!

How you use Pinterest to promote your podcast Pinterest is based on interests, so it's very likely that you can find people or boards that share similar interests as your podcast.

Podcasters usually have some kind of shownotes that go with their episodes. Adding a relevant image to your post help it be shareable on Pinterest.

Image tips for Pinterest * You may be tempted to use your podcast cover art for every pin, but it doesn't communicate the content of your episodes. * Use a different image for each episode you post to Pinterest. * Your unique images don't need to be complicated, but should be relevant and somehow connected with the content you share. * Include a “Pin It” button on your images to make it easier for Pinterest users to pin your content to their own boards. * Images for Pinterest should be tall (portrait) rather than wide (landscape). Pinterest pins all have the same width, but they can have different lengths. This is why infographics work so well on Pinterest. + Pond5 (no credits) + Pixabay (free) + MorgueFile (free) + iStockPhoto (credits) * Adding text over your image can be helpful if the connection with your content isn't quite obvious. * If you're allowed, brand or watermark your images. You don't have to be a Photoshop expert to watermark your images. Try free online image-editors like PicMonkey, Pixlr, or Pixabay. Check out this list of WordPress plugins that can watermark images automatically. * Get the Pinterest “Pin It” Button WordPress plugin to specify a default image for Pinterest and make it easier for website visitors to pin your content.

Kinds of stuff to pin View Pinterest as an extension of your community. But also remember that you shouldn't pin only your own content (this is actually against Pinterest's terms).

Create boards that appeal to the lifestyle of the person you're trying to reach. For example, I can make boards about WordPress, podcasting equipment, Audacity, podcast hosting, and podcasting techniques—all relevant to the content I create, but content that I may find elsewhere that I can share with my audience. But something like a “recipes” board wouldn't make sense for my podcast audience.

You can even post Pinterest-only content that doesn't link to anything. Upload your image to Pinterest and write your content. This can be great for short, visual content. But because these miss out on your chance for traffic, consider linking the post to relevant content you've posted on your site.

Hashtags? You can use hashtags on Pinterest, but they're not as intelligent as on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+. Hashtags on Pinterest link to simple searches with that word, but not necessarily just posts with that hashtag. Consider making a unique word or combination of words. For example, #podcastingtips.

Think about Pinterest as a search engine, not a social network. Yes, it is social, but Pinterest is trying to evolve into a visual search engine. So think about the keywords relevant to your content, and try to use those keywords in your pins and even board names.

Playable audio or video on Pinterest YouTube and Vimeo videos will be playable directly in Pinterest. SoundCloud is the only way to share audio on Pinterest.

Your own boards or group boards? Pin to both your own boards and group boards. You can also invite others to pin to your own board, but make sure you trust them! Anyone added to a board can add anyone else.

How you can use Pinterest to help your podcasting Use Pinterest as a resource for ideas and inspiration.

Find out what kind of stuff people are pinning that you may be able to address in your podcast. Especially look at related tweets.

Affiliate links? You can't use most affiliate links or link shorteners on Pinterest. But you can pin to a page that has affiliate links. So instead of a direct link to the affiliate, write something short on your website and link to that.

How to build a following on Pinterest First, if you already have a platform (like a blog or podcast) or presence on another social network, tell your followers about your Pinterest now what kind of stuff you'll be pinning.

Pin multiple times per day, but don't batch everything together. Each pin should be something different, not the same thing over and over.

Pin stuff that you find interesting and you think your followers would like, too.

Spread out your pins across your boards instead of focusing on just a single board.

Repin other content you find on Pinterest.

Concerns over using Pinterest with your business When you pin your own content, you're giving the Pinterest community permission to repin and reshare your content.

Watch for clues that site owners are giving permission to share their content to Pinterest. If there's a potential conflict of interest, then you could skip that item and find something else.

Make sure your pins go back to their original source, not a screenshot of the website but a link to your own site.

Connect with Cynthia Sanchez To learn more about Pinterest, get the Oh So Pinteresting podcast, or hire Cynthia to help you succeed on Pinterest, visit the Oh So Pinteresting website.

You can also follow me on Pinterest.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasts are watched or listened to in a variety of ways and places that you may not expect. Forgetting these things could make you podcast difficult to consume and thus annoy your audience.

It's not about the device or app This isn't a look at whether your audience gets your podcast on an Android phone or iOS device. It also doesn't depend on what app they use. These ideas transcend the ever-changing scenario of the latest tools.

8 consumption methods you need to consider 1. In noisy environments Because a podcast can be consumed everywhere, this often means somewhere with a lot of noise.

While driving or riding in a vehicle
While working out at the gym
While working in the office
While mowing the yard
Or anywhere else in public with a lot of people around

Because of the amount of noise, you need to ensure that your podcast is loud enough that the listener can hear you. Evening out your volume levels (with compression) helps a lot with this.

You should also watch for tone and dictation so your voice isn't drowned out by other noise.

Especially consider how you sound when you have to be turned louder. Such as in a car with an FM-transmitter. This can make your sibilances (S's) piercing and introduce unnecessary noise if you're too quiet.

Through noise-suppressing headphones Watch out for over-processing your audio. You may think you sound great with the bass-boosting radio voice when you listen through speakers, but that processing can literally cause headaches for listeners with certain kinds of headphones or earbuds.
With one earbud For many reasons, people will watch or listen to podcasts with only one earbud. It could be for safety, comfort, availability, or even a physical handicap.

Your voice should always be balanced in the center. The only exception for this is sometimes dramas, but even then, the voice is best usually in the center.

So if your voice is always centered, and you're not releasing dramas or music reviews, then you should consider publishing your podcast in mono instead of stereo.

At faster speeds Many podcast apps will allow consumption at 1.5× or 2× speeds. I personally listen to almost everything at 2× because I can consume more content in the same amount of time.

Listen to your own audio at faster speeds and you may quickly notice annoying patterns or things that make your audible unbearable.

Excessive laughing
Talking over each other
Bad audio quality
Poor mic technique
Verbal crutches (“um,” “uh,” “you know,” etc.)
Heavy accents (those this may be unchangeable and you shouldn't stress over this)

Try to find these distracting patterns and eliminate them with better technique.

On your website More than 50% of my podcast downloads come through my website—desktop and mobile devices. Make sure that your podcast can be listened to, downloaded, and easily found on your website.

You may not be able to afford a web designer (like me) to custom-design a mobile-friendly website for you. But you can still make a mobile-friendly site with a great WordPress theme like many from StudioPress, and use PowerPress for your podcast player (falls back to HTML5 on devices without Flash—in English, that means it'll play on almost anything).

With interruptions Podcasts are on-demand media and may be consumed throughout the day with many interruptions. An employee may listen on their commute to work, do their job, and then resume listening on their commute back home.

Keep this in mind as you present your content. You don't have to remind listeners what or who they're listening to, but you should frequently reset the context. For example, instead of saying, “the movie,” use the title of the movie again.

In the movie, the main character is angry about not being allowed to date his girlfriend, so the movie shows us his path to darkness.

Can you tell what movie I'm talking about if I didn't include a headline? How about in the following example?

In The Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker is angry about not being allowed to date Padme. So The Revenge of the Sith shows us Anakin's path to darkness.

Now you know exactly what movie and what characters I was talking about.

This doesn't mean you always have to be so specific. But also remember that the context can fade after a couple minutes and you may have to say the title again.

This also applies to web addresses, apps, characters, and more.

Over mobile data networks Smartphones and Internet-connected devices are taking over and these often come with mobile bandwidth limits. Either release your podcasts in a simpler format that takes less space (like 64 kbps mono MP3 instead of 128 kbps stereo), or offer a lower-quality edition (like standard-definition 640 × 360 video in addition to 1080p video).
While falling asleep This is the odd one that surprised me in my research. A lot of people listen to podcasts in bed to help them fall asleep. This is a good reason to avoid sudden loud noises in your podcast. So watch out for loud intros, outros, or sound effects and make sure your volume is more consistent.

Where and how do you listen to podcasts? I'm very grateful for all the feedback I received from different podcasting communities. Check out what they said and add your own opinion there or here in the comments!

Podcasters community on Google+
Podcasting Technology Resources community on Google+
Personal post on Google+
Podcast Community on Facebook
Personal post on Facebook
Personal tweet

Add your votes to Richard Farrar's two-question poll about how you listen to podcasts.

Save on StudioPress themes I think the best “podcaster's theme” for WordPress is a mobile-friendly theme from StudioPress. With WordPress 3.6 coming out soon, StudioPress themes are being updated to their Genesis 2.0 framework and receiving huge upgrades.

Through this Friday, July 26, 5:00 p.m. PDT, you can get access to all current and future StudioPress themes for $299.95 (saving $912.75 if you were to buy every theme individually).

43 StudioPress child themes
12 bonus themes
Plus every child theme design StudioPress makes in the future

After this sale expires, the price will go back to $349.95, followed by an increase to $399.95 later this year.

Buy a beautiful StudioPress theme for your website today!

Coming next: Pinterest for podcasters If you're heard of Pinterest, then I hope you've heard from Oh So Pinteresting, hosted by Cynthia Sanchez. Cynthia is the go-to person for all things Pinterest, and I'll be honored to have her as a guest for The Audacity to Podcast episode 136.

How podcasters can use Pinterest to promote their podcast
How Pinterest can be a resource and inspiration for podcasters
Ideas for how podcasters can contribute quality content and build a following on Pinterest (not necessarily just to promote their podcast)

Send your questions for Cynthia by Wednesday July 24, 2013.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Sigma 30mm F1.4 Art DC HSM Lens for Canon

View Details

Speed up your blogging and podcasting workflow with these five great WordPress plugins. They'll reduce your steps, optimize your site, and save lots of time.

Resize Images Before Upload
Grab & Save
Shortcode Exec PHP
Simple Post Template
Pretty Link Pro
Resize Images Before Upload Digital cameras, smartphones, and images you get from the Internet (I hope legally) can easily be too big for practical use online. WordPress has a built-in tool to resize images to small (thumbnail), medium, and large images (some WordThemes or plugins will add more sizes). But WordPress still keeps the full-size file as you upload it.

When your images are big, they can hog space on your server, bloat backups, and cause problems if you ever want to embed or link to a larger version of your image.

Resize Images Before Upload does just what it is titled. Using HTML5 browsers, this will resize an image inside your desktop browser before the image even goes into the WordPress media library.

No more need for image-editors, apps, or third-party websites to resize the image for you. Now you can drag nearly any image size into WordPress and it will automatically resize it according to the “large” dimensions under Settings > Media.

~~Or paste and adjust the following code into your WordPress's wp-config.php file.~~

define( 'RIBU\_RESIZE\_WIDTH', 1000 ); //1000 px wide define( 'RIBU\_RESIZE\_HEIGHT', 900 ); //900 px high

UPDATE: The plugin developers have added the resize width and height options to Settings > Media with version 1.8, so you no longer have to update your wp-config.php file!

Also consider adding WP Smush.it to further optimize your new images as well as images you already uploaded.

Grab & Save When you find an image on the web that you're allowed to use, you have two choices for using that image in your post.
Insert the image from URL. This will link to the image as hosted somewhere else. These links can easily break and you will only use the image at the size you're linking to.
Download and re-upload the image. This will make WordPress process the image so you get the different sizes and the image will be hosted by your website. But this involves a lot more steps.

Grab & Save will accept an image URL, allow you to rename the file (wonderful for SEO), and then it downloads and processes the image right into WordPress's media library, saving you several steps!

Shortcode Exec PHP This may sound like an intimidating plugin name, but it's actually simple.

Instead of pasting the same closing text, or bit of code with every single post, you can create a shortcode (formatted like “[ shortcode_name ]” without the spaces or quotation marks).

Shortcode Exec PHP creates these abbreviations for any length if HTML or PHP.

I use a shortcode for the end of all my podcast shownotes—everything that you see in every single post.

Simple Post Template If your shownotes always follow the same pattern (such as sponsorship, news, main topic, feedback, closing) and you copy and paste text from old posts in order to replicate this pattern, then you need a template!

Simple Post Template allows you to create separate and selectable templates for your content. The templates can include title, excerpt, and content in HTML or auto-generate text into your content with PHP.

This is a new plugin for me and I'm thrilled to find it. I was previously copying text from old posts, but no more!

Pretty Link Pro Whenever you hear me speak a simple URL with my domain, even my shownotes URLs, it's using Pretty Link Pro.

You can get Pretty Link Lite for free, but the Pro version contains two massively useful, time-saving tools (among many others).

Create pretty links for pages and posts without leaving the editor.
Automatically hyperlink keywords, like BlueHost.

Upcoming Pinterest for podcasters with Cynthia Sanchez If you're heard of Pinterest, then I hope you've heard from Oh So Pinteresting, hosted by Cynthia Sanchez. Cynthia is the go-to person for all things Pinterest, and I'll be honored to have her as a guest for The Audacity to Podcast episode 136.

How podcasters can use Pinterest to promote their podcast
How Pinterest can be a resource and inspiration for podcasters
Ideas for how podcasters can contribute quality content and build a following on Pinterest (not necessarily just to promote their podcast)

Send your questions for Cynthia by July 22, 2013.

(By the way, the following is inserted from Shortcode Exec PHP.)

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: br1dotcom via Compfight cc

No matter how you podcast, it needs to be hosted somewhere. Good podcast hosting includes web hosting and media hosting that can grow with your podcast. I'll suggest your best options to consider.

UPDATE: Please see this page for my updated best podcast hosting recommendations.

Web hosting for your website The most important hosting you need is for your website. This is typically called “web hosting.” You need to have your own website for your podcast and own the domain so that no matter what service you use, your audience can always get your content from the same place.

Bad: WordPress.com, Blogger, etc. Third-party services often provide a free or nearly free “turn-key” solution. This allows you to quickly create an account and have a website within minutes. But you lose a lot of power, features, and control with these services. These aren't ideal podcast hosting options.

Pros

Easy setup
Limited flexibility
Free
Domain options available (small annual fee)

Cons

Lack of total control
Can't install your own plugins
Difficult for podcasting
Difficult to leave
Requires FeedBurner to add podcasting
No premium podcast options

Better: LibSyn website Not all third-party hosts are bad. LibSyn not only offers great media hosting with stats, but they also provide a very capable and easy to use website service at no extra charge.

Pros

Easy setup
Limited flexibility
A lot of control
Low cost
Domain options available
Podcasting setup built-in (wouldn't require Feedburner)
Easy to leave
Includes media hosting with unlimited downloads
Includes media stats on $7/month plans or higher
Includes mobile apps on $20/month plans or higher
Premium podcast options avaiable

Cons

No plugin system
Requires more HTML knowledge to change the website

Best: BlueHost or HostGator The best solution for any website is to be “self-hosted.” This means that you are getting the hosting yourself and have full control within your account. I highly recommend BlueHost or HostGator for this inexpensive level of hosting called shared hosting.

Pros

Full flexibility
Total control
Low cost
Built to have your own domain
Easy to add podcasting to WordPress (with the PowerPress plugin)
Easy to leave

Cons

More complicated to setup
Separate media hosting recommended (see below)
Separate stats recommended

Sometimes, you can use this kind of account for complete podcast hosting, but I don't recommend it because every download can slow down your website. Shared hosts have the right to shut down your site if you're abusing the “unlimited” storage and bandwidth.

When to upgrade to VPS or dedicated You may start thinking about upgrading your web hosting from shared (what you typically get for under $10 per month). With standard web hosting companies, you'll have two options:

Virtual private server (VPS)—this is like running your own server with a dedicated allotment of resources. There will be only a few other accounts on the same server (as opposed to thousands of other accounts with shared hosting), but a crash on one account doesn't affect the others.
Dedicated hosting—this is running your own server. You'll have full access to every bit of resources it has, and you can use it almost however you want.

I've used and highly recommend HostDime and WiredTree for either VPS or dedicated hosting. Their service is good and their prices will beat the popular competition.

A VPS or dedicated server can work well for complete podcast hosting, because you know your exact limits and can monitor performance. Though it's still not ideal to put very popular podcasts on your website server.

Before you upgrade, make sure you've done everything you can to minimize the demand your own site is making on the web server's resources (with whatever account you have).

Update everything.
Remove unused or unnecessary plugins, themes, databases, and programs.
Simplify your website.
Use a caching plugin (like W3 Total Cache).
Use a cloud distribution network (CDN).
Use CloudFlare.
Remove websites.

If none of those work, then you may have a website setup that's more complicated than your current account can handle. Such as a complicated WordPress Multisite.

Another way to measure when you need to upgrade is how many visitors and pageviews you serve every day, and how many people visit your website simultaneously. You'll need to look at website statistics (such as Google Analytics) for this information.

Consider upgrading from shared hosting to VPS if you have any (or all) of the following.

500 or more unique daily visitors
2,000 or more daily page views
20 or more simultaneous visitors
Your web host says you're using too much memory (RAM) or CPU

Consider upgrading from VPS hosting to a dedicated server if you have any (or all) of the following.

A very complex website
1,000 or more unique daily visitors
10,000 or more daily page views
100 or more simultaenous visitors
Your web host says you're using too much CPU, or you can't upgrade your VPS memory any more

If you're in the situation that you absolutely must upgrade, check out HostDime, WPEngine, or WiredTree, and they'll transfer your site for free!

Podcast hosting for your audio and video files Websites are usually under 1 MB, and the images on the site are easily cached by browsers. So the bandwidth demands on a web server are very low, and this is what most web hosting companies have in mind when they advertise “unlimited storage” and “unlimited bandwidth.”

They're not thinking about podcasts. And you should think about dedicated podcast hosting for your media files.

When you publish a podcast episode, let's say a 25 MB MP3, that “large” file (in website terms) will have high demand in the first three days. Each time the file is downloaded, it creates some extra strain on your website server. Most web hosts aren't setup to handle this kind of traffic. Many hosts will even outright forbid it, or will suspend your account for abusing their resources.

A media host moves this demand away from your website and to its own servers by hosting just your media files (such as MP3s, M4Vs, or MP4s). They can handle the sudden burst of traffic that your new episodes will generate, and it won't affect your website.

Potentially bad: your web host Web hosts will advertise “unlimited” storage and hosting but they don't really mean it because they don't expect customers to actually use it (even BlueHost and HostGator). You may be able to sneak by unnoticed, but you need a plan for when you get popular or your hosting provider tells you to stop.

Acceptable: archive.org You can host almost anything on archive.org for free, but the service is slow and you can't replace your media once it's out there.

Better: Amazon S3 Amazon S3 will be very attractive to web-savvy podcasters because Amazon can host files for extremely low costs. But Amazon's costs will increase exponentially as you get more subscribers and host more episodes.

If you're suddenly featured somewhere popular, then you could easily receive a bill from Amazon for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Best: LibSyn or Blubrry Podcasters have specific needs and LibSyn and Blubrry media hosting both know those needs. Both companies now provide a monthly storage reset. So you're give an amount of space each month and you can use it or lose it. Blubrry media hosting takes this a step further and offers a 25% “cushion” for if you need to go over to fit in one last episode before your reset.

A 50 MB plan may sound tiny, but if you only publish an episode twice a month and each episode is 20 MB, then you'll never run out of your monthly storage.

Along with podcast hosting, LibSyn and Blubrry both provide podcast stats on your downloads, and they provide truly unlimited bandwidth. It won't matter if your podcast has 50 downloads or 5,000 downloads, you'll still pay the same monthly amount based on how much you want to upload in a month.

Use promo code “noodle” to get your first month of podcast hosting FREE with LibSyn or Blubrry.

Did my voice sound different? I recorded this audio episode with an Electro Voice RE20 microphone (Amazon.com | B&H) instead of my usual Heil PR40 (Amazon.com | B&H). Compare the audio and tell me what you like better!

RE20:

PR40:

Electro Voice is loaning me the RE20 and the RE320 (Amazon.com | B&H) to review. So subscribe to my YouTube channel or get my video podcats from iTunes for the upcoming video review and comparison of these Electro Voice mics and the Heil PR40, Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB (Amazon.com | B&H), and Nady SP-1 for podcasting.

See me speak at in Louisville, KY on August 2–3 I will be presenting two sessions at this fast-growing The Business of Writing International Summit for writers in Louisville, KY, August 2–3. I'll present two sessions:

Why You Should Podcast and How to Do It RIGHT
How to Get Feedback from Your Readers

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasting is supposed to be full of passion. But what happens if you feel burned out and want to quit, or you can feel that coming?

10 tips to prevent podcasting burnout Special thanks to Robert from It's Just Us Cast for inspiring this topic from his question.

Find what's causing the stress Before you give up, try to figure out what's causing your impending burnout. When I start to feel burnout, I typically ask one of the following questions.
Am I trying to do too much?
Did I adequately prepare, or did I procrastinate?
Am I taking my podcast too seriously?
Am I not taking my podcast seriously enough?
Is there a particular part I consistently dread?

Once you have answers to questions like these, you can start attacking the problem. The solution may cost (such as buying hardware or software to make something easier), but it's up to you to decide whether saving your podcast is worth the expense.

Re-evaluate your goals and expectations I've previously podcasted about having unstoppable vision for your podcast [#93]. Review that for some ideas on setting proper goals.

Regardless of whether you set goals for your podcast, you probably have expectations. Do you have any of these expectations?

To make lots of money
To get a huge audience
To become famous
That podcasting would be easier
That it would take less time

Check yourself for these hidden expectations and address them. It's not wrong to have great hopes, but your expectations need to be reasonable (married people know this—after a few years).

Don't try to beat your competition One of the biggest stresses will be trying to outlive, outpodcast, outprofit, and outdo another podcast or podcasters. Realistically, “competition” is unavoidable, but you can respond to competition positively and grow a community from it [#108].

Trying to beat your rivals will drive you crazy. You'll never feel complete success because someone else will manage to do something better or something you didn't think of yourself. I've been there and I've talked with others who have, too.

Allow yourself to take breaks It's easiest to build a podcast audience when you can podcast consistently, at least weekly. While it's great to provide regular episode, it may also be hurting your content and production value.

Consider changing your schedule or taking a temporary hiatus [#107].

Get inspired by others Podcasting can be a loner hobby. We're usually podcasting by ourselves or the same people every time. Maybe your cohosts are losing interest and that's affecting you, too. Or maybe you just feel all alone.

Get out and talk with other human beings! Attend or even host a local meetup with people who like the same stuff you do, or even just other podcasters who can inspire you.

I'm often inspired when I talk with other business owners. I'm inspired when I help others launch or improve their podcast. I'm inspired when I just talk podcasting with other podcasters (a reason I totally love being part of Podcasters' Roundtable).

When you find others who either do similar things to you, or have the same interests as you, it will help reignite your passion.

Try a new approach You have the audacity to podcast™, the guts to do something differently! So there's no reason you have to always do things the same way. Try something new by changing something in your podcast [#76].

Just like rearranging or painting a room can give it a whole new feel, switching things around in your podcast can be the shuffle you need to get moving again.

Make it fun again Unless you podcast for your job, it's unlikely that anyone is forcing you to podcast. This is your thing; you can do it how you want. So don't be afraid to have some fun with it!

It's easy for me to take my podcasting too seriously and want to cut out anything irrelevant or the unnecessary humorous moments. Laughter was called “good medicine” in the Bible (Proverbs 17:11), and many say, “Laughter is good for the soul.” It's true!

Laughter can be like a breath of fresh air. It's always important for this to be appropriate. So find ways that you can make your podcast, your preparation, or your community interaction fun.

Simplify your workflow I've often said that podcasting for free has a cost—time and knowledge. Maybe your workflow for producing high-quality episodes has bloated.

Re-evaluate the steps you're taking to produce your podcast and consider what takes a lot of time but can be removed. This may mean throwing some money at your podcast for better equipment, a faster computer, or easier-to-use software. These are worthy investments.

For example:

Is live-streaming really necessary?
Do your shownotes have to be so thorough?
Do your videos have to have all of the transitions or on-screen graphics?
Do you have to run several audio processes, or would one do?
Would different tools make the job easier or faster?
Delegate some tasks Your podcast is your baby. Sometimes, you have to let someone else rock the baby to sleep.

Consider hiring a virtual assistent or even reaching out to your community for volunteers. It's very possible that you have fans who are entirely willing, able, and even eager to do some of the things you don't want to do. It may take some time and work to help them do it according to your standards, but it can be well worth it!

The shownotes for our Once Upon a Time podcast were becoming on huge burden on me and my cohosts (when they would share the responsibility). But when I put the word out, I heard from several eager writers willing to listen and write shownotes while we record, so we have shownotes nearly ready to go when we press stop.

I highly recommend that you listen to a couple podcast episodes from Michael Hyatt: The Fine Art of Delegation and How to Delegate Even If You Don’t Have a Staff.

Be willing to end Lastly, there comes a time when you've done everything you can and you need to decide to simply end this podcast so you can move onto something better.

Don't be afraid to resign. You may have run out of content, are no longer interested, lost your cohost, or whatever. It's always best to gracefully end a podcast than try to keep it going like an undead zombie if none of my other tips work.

It's also very possible that ending one podcast can help your others (or others yet to come) by encouraging your current listeners to stay connected with you through your other content.

Stitcher stats Stitcher announced an early-July, 2013, update to the iOS app that will now make stitcher listens show up in your regular media download stats! This is great new for podcasters!

Podcasting patent Special thanks to Greg Gronholm for providing an expert explanation and call to action for what podcasters and podcast-listeners can do to help save podcasting!

Check out LibSyn's new official podcast LibSyn knows podcasting and provides superb media hosting and stats for podcasters (use promo code “noodle” for a free month!). Now, Elsie Escobar is hosting LibSyn's official podcast that will cover podcasting tips for marketing, growing your audience, making money, and more.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Apple recently previewed the upcoming version of its mobile operating system, iOS 7. This version is a radical redesign from previous versions, but comes with some things that affect podcasters.

iOS currently powers iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and iPad Mini.

Podcasts app is not preinstalled Just as with iBooks and other Apple apps on iOS 6, iOS 7 currently doesn't include the Podcasts app.

This seems to indicate that users may still subscribe to audio podcasts with desktop iTunes, sync them with their device, and listen to them through the Music app. Video podcasts would be the same, except available under the Videos app.

For a better experience, you should encourage your iOS users to download the free Podcasts app, or else purchase another podcast app for iOS. The best apps are Instacast, PocketCasts, Stitcher (free), and Downcast.

iTunes Radio probably won't include podcasts Apple announced iTunes Radio, a service that directly competes with Pandora by generating music “stations” based on your likes. This may be intelligent enough to see what music you're regularly listening to on your iOS device or iTunes, and then suggest stations.

Despite podcasts often being referred to as “Internet radio show,” Apple seems unlikely to include podcasts in iTunes Radio. There were no podcasts visible in the demonstration or in the current prerelease of iOS 7. And “Radio” has previously appeared in desktop iTunes, but was never connected with podcasts.

Bing search results in Siri Apple introduced Siri, a voice-interactive personal assistent, on iOS 5. Siri will receive a major update in iOS 7 with a change voice and many other improvements.

Where this affects you most is that Siri will now display website search results without launching a browser (and presumably without unlocking the device). These results aren't powered by Google, but by Microsoft's Bing search engine. So in all your search-engine optimization (SEO), make sure you're submitting your site to Bing and following best practices to reach that search engine.

Check out these resources for more information about optimizing your site for Bing.

Bing Webmaster Tools Guide
What is an XML Sitemap? How to Create a Sitemap in WordPress?

AirDrop sharing An iOS 7 feature exclusive to most recent iOS hardware (iPhone 5, iPad 4, iPad Mini, 5th generation iPod Touch, and later versions of all) is AirDrop—the ability to directly share anything from any program with a share button. This could mean the potential for sharing podcast episodes, or maybe even podcast subscriptions, with other iOS 7 users in your same room.

Watch the full WWDC keynote featuring iOS 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRmjUzcpLO0

Rant about iOS 7 and predictions for iPhone 5s I talked more generally about iOS 7 in my podcast episode for TPN Weekly #101. But I'm quite surprised at how much iOS 7 is stealing from Android—the control center, lock screen, multitasking, and more. These are all features I've seen and used in Android long before now.

We all expect Apple to release new versions of their mobile devices in Fall, 2013. These devices will be touted as, “The most amazing ___ we've ever made.” DUH!

Besides the expected performance improvements—faster CPU, better camera, maybe more RAM, maybe 128 GB versions—I'm expecting some other features that will make the latest hardware more appealing than previous versions. For example, iPhone 4s was a performance boost to iPhone 4, but Siri launched exclusively on iPhone 4s.

So I expect iPhone 5s to also have an exclusive feature. I think that will be offline voice transcriptions, so most requests to Siri and voice-to-text transcriptions in documents will be powered completely by the phone and have very little delay waiting for data transfers.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

WARNING: strong opinions ahead! Proceed with caution and please add your own thoughts, additions, or disagreements in the comments.

In my opinion, these are the top six clichés podcasters often forget, but that we should try hard to avoid with some creativity.

Ignoring international and time-shifted audiences Remember that a podcast can be consumed almost anywhere. You may have an international audience who won't understand or won't care about your country's holidays (or certain regional sayings). Assume Christmas and New Year's Day are the only holidays almost everyone knows about.

Also remember that a podcast may be listened to immediately after your release, or years later. That's what we mean by “time-shifted.” So avoid relative measures of time, such as “this Tuesday” or “later this year.” Try to use absolutes when referring to time, such as “Tuesday, June 18,” or “late 2013.” It may not be necessary to say the year every time you give the date as long as you've set that context somewhere else in the podcast episode.

Having “podcast” or “weekly” in your show title Yes, you are most likely producing a “podcast”—episodic audio or video content distributed over the Internet via RSS with enclosure tags. But is that the only way your show is distributed? When your show is available via website download, live-streaming, time-shifted streaming, and more, it no longer fits the technical definition of a podcast.

So why limit yourself by using “podcast” in your official title? You may think I made that mistake with my“ONCE podcast,” but that show's official name is actually “ONCE,” with “Once Upon a Time podcast” attached as a tagline.

Keep this same thing in mind with other media-restrictive titles, such as “magazine,” “blog,” “book,” and “radio” (more on that later).

Similarly, be careful with time-restrictive words in your title, such as “daily,” “weekly,” or “monthly.” If you publish your podcast weekly, then it's unnecessary to include that in your title. But if your show is about weekly events, then it may fit better.

You'll also hit a wall when you skip an episode or change your publishing schedule. Many podcasters (including myself) will change their schedule during summer or other busy times. This means their weekly podcast is no longer weekly, so should the title change? (No, but you see the problem this creates for expectations?)

Using an RSS icon, mic, headphones in your cover art Podcasters like to be meta. After all, I host a podcast about podcasting for podcasters. Imagine if someone started a podcast about podcasts about podcasting (please don't)!

But adding a microphone or RSS icon to your cover art is a bit too far. This is like music albums having prominent music notes, or book covers showing a book on the book cover, or a movie showing a DVD or Blu-Ray disc on the poster-style cover; it's all too meta.

If your podcast is about microphones or RSS feeds (like mine), then that imagery works.

Blubrry says it well.

Consider a branding image that is unique; one that will stand out in directories. And if the old-style microphone logo pops into mind, you might want to think again.

Please remember that I professionally design high-quality, custom podcast cover art. I would love to work with you!

Listing in the podcasting category This is such a pet peeve of mine, that both Ray Ortega and Dave Jackson have mentioned reshared my pet peeve in their podcast.

Look at the iTunes New and Noteworthy section of the podcasting category. How many of those podcasts are actually about the art, technique, knowledge, or skill of podcasting? (Also notice how many of them use a cliché mic, headphones, or RSS icon in their cover art.)

Saying, “best,” “the,” “only,” or “#1” Podcasting is very different from other media. It's very hard to analyze cross-show statistics because most podcasters keep this information private. Be very careful how you position yourself and how arrogant you may sound.

“Best” is highly subjective You may think it's the best and some of your listeners may write reviews that say it's the best, but your “competition” will have the same to show (they may even have more people that say they're the best).

“The” (emphasized) is a bit arrogant If I say I'm “the podcast for ___,” then I'm claiming to be the definitive authority. Do notice the difference in emphasis, simply saying, “the podcast for ___” tells your listeners what you're about. But emphasizing the “the” says that you're the hottest, coolest, best, only, conceited, bloated, etc. This may not be how podcasters can intend this, but it can communicate that idea.

“Only” can be misleading On Are You Just Watching?, we used to say, “the only podcast that shares critical thinking for the entertained Christian.” But that was totally true! How? It's a simple formula: “the only [unique tagline].” Likewise, I could say that I host “the only podcast that gives you seasoning packets of clean-comedy to flavor your day.”

“#1” can be misunderstood When you claim to be the #1 in anything, you better have the facts to back it up. I can rightly claim that The Audacity to Podcast was voted #1 technology podcast in 2012. But I can't actually claim to be the #1 technology podcast in 2012 (and you've never heard me claim this).

I heard the hosts of DVMPE's Once Upon a Time podcast read a scathing email in which someone brutally attacked them for regularly claiming to be “the #1 podcast for Once Upon a Time.” They joked about being their podcast network's #1 Once Upon a Time podcast, which helps make this point.

When you claim “#1,” it should either be qualified with its specific truth, or else have broad confirmation. For example, is it the #1 on Google, iTunes, YouTube, Bing, have the most listeners, have the most reviews, have the highest rating, etc.? Only then can you probably claim to be “#1,” but do you really need to gloat about it?

Dan Miller's 48 Days podcast illustrates this well. His cover art says, “#1 career podcast in iTunes,” which is quite specific, but his description further qualifies it, “This show consistently sits in the top 50 under the Business category in iTunes and is often at #1 under Careers.”

Acting like radio It's very true that podcasting is like radio, but it isn't radio. In radio, there are frequent (many would say obnoxiously obsessive and long) commercial breaks. When the host returns after a few minutes, it makes sense to say, “we're back” and remind listeners to whom and what they're listening. But a podcast doesn't need this.

Radio shows often have certain formats and styles because of the nature of live radio—station IDs, live call ins, daily schedule, commercial breaks, time and content restraints, the need to catch and keep attention, etc. But a podcast doesn't have to have any of these things.

Almost no one will accidentally “channel-surf” into the middle of your podcast episode. Your audience can pause and resume you at any time. And if they forgot or somehow don't know what they're listening to, they can usually glance at their media player.

Connected to this, podcasts are not radio shows. Just like I said in #5, “radio” is also a media-restrictive term. Yes, you can (and probably should) use “radio” terminology to help explain what you do. Here's a typical conversation I have with people:

Them: “What do you do?”

Me: “I'm an Internet broadcaster. Do you know what a podcast is?”

Them: (often) “No.”

Me: “A podcast is like a radio or TV show. I share opinions, answer questions, teach things, host interviews, and more talking. But to enjoy a radio or TV show, you have to tune it at just the right time on just the right station. A podcast is something you can subscribe to, often for free, so you automatically receive every episode on your smartphone, in your email, or even in your car. You can listen to or watch it at your convenience, and you can find shows that are about only what you care about.”

“Internet radio show” is similar to “neon black” or “Superbowl homerun”—it's an improper mix of terminology.

Upcoming Podcasters' Roundtable about media hosting We're planning to host another Podcasters' Roundtable on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. We have a great panel to talk about media hosting—when you do and don't need it, the expenses, and more. Please join us on Google+ or get episode 14 later from PodcastersRoundtable.com.

Make your blog or podcast website awesome! Check out my premium plugin Social Subscribe & Follow Icons for WordPress. It works great for bloggers and podcasters.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: peteoshea via Compfight cc

If you're focusing on only podcasting, you could be missing huge potential to grow your audience! My guest Ms. Ileane from BasicBlogTips.com will inspire you to add blogging to your podcast strategy.

4 reasons podcasters should blog 1. Discoverability A blog gives more opportunity for being found by search engines. Text can be indexed by Google and other search engines, but audio isn't popularly indexed yet.

iTunes is also a search engine, but it's very hard to be discovered unless you're in the top.

Blog posts can also contain more keywords than a podcast episode's title.

Easy consumption Website visitors can scan written content and understand your message far faster than listening to a podcast episode.
Massive blog-reading audience Podcast listenership is growing, but far more blogs are being read than podcasts are being heard or watched. Writing blog posts allows you to reach a broader audience.
More opportunities to make money from your podcast Writing blog posts between your podcast episodes give you more impressions for promoting affiliate links through quality reviews, sharing what you use, or mentioning relevant deals and sales.

You can later refer back to these product-related posts on your site and continue promoting quality information with profitable benefits.

Should your content go in the blog or the podcast? As much as you can, try to share your message in every media possible. Some material will be a better fit for a certain format (such as video, blog post, or audio).

If you publish podcast episodes on a consistent schedule, but you have time-sensitive news, this is optimal content for writing a blog post.

Do transcriptions help podcasting? Transcriptions can provide a way for others to read your podcast content instead of listening. This makes it easier for search engines to find your content.

If your episode shownotes are simple summaries with bullet points, you're missing the opportunity to providehigh-quality content. A transcription can help you get there, but it may not be your best option.

Sometimes, you may want to point more information in your blog post than you can share in your podcast episode.

If you have long podcast episodes, then transcriptions are probably not a good idea because that's a lot of content for a blog post.

If your podcast contents irrelevant content, then your transcriptions should omit these. You can leave in your personality, but you don't want to burden your readers with “fluff” before they find the content. Remember that your written words will help your post rank better in search engines. Do you really want to rank for the “fluff” or for the actual content of your post?

How to get started blogging if you already podcast Curate content You are probably already searching for and consuming content (if you're not, you should be!). This content can inspire you to write your own perspective, reshare the information with your audience, and alert you to topics for writing.

Scoop.it or Google+ are great places to find content.

Incorporate feedback Make it easy for your audience to send you feedback, and then consider responding to the feedback in individual blog posts. Even if you usually respond directly via email, you can repurpose your email reply as a blog post.

Ms. Ileane really likes using SpeakPipe for vetting feedback.

Direct feedback options are often more welcoming to commenters because they won't feel their message will be publicly visible.

Just make sure you have the sender's permission to share their feedback. You can either ask this in your correspondence, or have it as an option on your feedback form or stated terms.

Invite guest authors When you're not interested or available to write your own blog posts, you could pull in some trusted members of your audience who share your same passions. Ms. Ileane has huge success with this on Basic Blog Tips.

Don't worry about the length You don't have to write long blog posts. 200 words is easy and an ideal length.

Relax if you're not a writer If you can talk, you can write. It doesn't have to be perfect. Have a friend proofread your posts.

Don't try to be perfect or else you'll never start.

Connect with Ms. Ileane Ms. Ileane is an avid blogger, and I know you'll love what she writes.

Sign up for Ms. Ileane's email list
Follow @Ileane on Twitter
Read Ms. Ileane's personal blog
Watch Ms. Ileane on YouTube
Subscribe to Ms. Ileane's podcast
Get basic blog tips and basic podcasting tips

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn about a podcast-only RSS feed, three options for creating one, and how to fix if you already podcast without it.

What is a podcast-only feed? This is an RSS feed that contains only podcast episodes. No blog posts, pictures, or anything other than downloadable media linked in the enclosure tag of an RSS feed.

Do you need podcast-only feed? In short, yes.

Everything you publish on a WordPress website—blog posts and podcast episodes—will go into the RSS feed. WordPress defaults to 10 items in your RSS feed (Settings > Reading > Syndication feeds show the most recent …).

If you podcast and blog once each per week for ten weeks, you'll have twenty items: ten blog posts and ten podcast episodes. With a site-wide/all-inclusive feed limited to ten items, your feed would look like this.

Blog post
Podcast episode
Blog post
Podcast episode
Blog post
Podcast episode
Blog post
Podcast episode
Blog post
Podcast episode

When a podcast app checks your RSS feed, it will ignore anything that isn't a podcast episode (define by the enclosure tag in the RSS feed). So the app would only see five of your latest episodes because your five blog posts bumped out the other episodes from the feed.

A podcast-only feed would not be affected by the blog posts, so your feed would look like this.

Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode
Podcast episode

Even if you currently don't have plans to blog on your podcast website, you should still setup a podcast-only feed in the beginning. It won't hurt you, but it will save a lot of frustration if you ever do decide to blog.

What to do with the podcast-only feed Submit your podcast-only feed to—as you probably guessed—any podcast app or directory. When someone subscribes with iTunes, they will never view your RSS feed in a reader, so they will never need your blog posts. The same applies to nearly every other podcast directory or app.

You don't need a blog-only feed You may think that because you need a podcast-only feed, you should also have a blog-only feed. Nope!

If someone subscribes to your site-wide feed (blog and podcast) in an RSS reader like Feedly or the late Google Reader, they will be able to read your blog posts, read your podcast shownotes, and even listen to your podcast from their app. To remove the podcast from this feed will prevent your loyal readers from conveniently consuming your podcast episodes.

3 ways to create a podcast-only feed Whether you're starting out or trying to correct your feed (I'll explain how to do that in a moment), these are the three ways to make your feed, in order of my recommendation.

PowerPress feed PowerPress automatically provides a podcast-only feed. It will usually look like “theaudacitytopodcast.com/feed/podcast/” (assuming you have your permalinks set to something other than the defaults). Find it under PowerPress > Settings > Feeds > Podcast Feeds.

This is my top recommendation for a podcast-only feed because you can do great things with this feed. Activate PowerPress's Custom Channels to change the title or enable the “Feed Episode Maximizer.”

By default, this will grab any podcast episode you've entered into the “Podcast episode” widget in a WordPress post. If you run multiple formats, like audio and video (as I do), then I recommend creating a separate channel for the alternate format. With multiple channels, /feed/podcast/ would only be your default channel.

If you enable the custom channels (to use Feed Episode Maximizer or change the podcast title), you don't have to enter any extra information as it will pull from your default PowerPress settings. Or if you use FeedBurner's SmartCast, then it will override most of the podcasting information you enter.

Category feeds I don't recommend using a podcast-only category feed unless you're running multiple podcasts through a single site. Category feeds don't currently offer the Feed Episode Maximizer.

To setup this option, create the category for your podcast. I recommend simply calling it “Podcast.” If you have more than one podcast, then create more descriptive category titles.

This RSS feed would look something like “theaudacitytopodcast.com/category/podcast/feed/,” where “podcast” is the slug from your category name.

If you have only one podcast on your site, then you can set your podcasting settings in the default PowerPress settings (PowerPress > Settings) and it will apply to your category feeds as long as “Enhance All Feeds” is selected (PowerPress > Settings > Feeds > Enhance Feeds). You do not need to enable Category Podcasting if you are enhancing all feeds.

For running multiple podcasts on a single site, setup each category and enable the Category Podcasting feature in PowerPress. Then add podcasting to each category and enter its appropriate feed information (title, description, cover art, etc.).

Now place only podcast episodes in this podcast category. Any blog posts you place in this category will still go out to your RSS feed, but this feed won't include anything outside your podcast category.

Yahoo! Pipes You still have an option if you can't use #1 or #2, or you're using a third-party service that doesn't give you much control. This solution uses more third-party tools and will, unfortunately, slow down how quickly your feed updates and introduce the possibility of more errors.

You'll need to use both Yahoo! Pipes and FeedBurner. Yeah, it's that ugly.

You can clone my own Yahoo! Pipe, or follow these instructions to create your own.

Create a new Yahoo! Pipe.
Drag in “Fetch Feed” from Sources.
Enter your source RSS feed (not your FeedBurner feed).
Drag in “Filter” from Operators.
Click and drag the bottom handle of “Fetch Feed” to the top handle of “Filter.”
Click and drag the bottom handle of “Filter” to the top handle of “Output.”
Set the “Filter” module as follows.
1. Permit items that match any of the following
2. First rule: item.enclosure > is > [leave blank]
3. Click the + button for a second rule: item.description > Matches regex > http://.+mp3
4. Repeat #3 for other formats in your feed (like “mp4” or “mov”)
5. Save and run the pipe.
6. Right-click on “Get as RSS” to copy the RSS feed URL.
7. Burn a new feed with FeedBurner using this feed URL. Enter your podcast information in the SmartCast feature because Pipes strips almost everything from your feed except the items.

You may also need to add other details to your feed with FeedBurner's options. Like I said, it's ugly, but FeedBurner's feed will now be your podcast-only RSS feed.

Yahoo! refreshes the pipes about every twenty minutes, and FeedBurner refreshes about every thirty minutes. So it could take up to an hour for a new podcast to appear in your feed.

How to switch to a podcast-only feed Did you launch your podcast with a site-wide feed and now realize your mistake and want to fix it? You're not alone. I did that, too.

You can't fix every podcast client out there, but you can fix iTunes, which is the most popular directory and many mobile apps pull data from iTunes and will even respond similarly to this change.

We need to add the tag to your RSS feed to tell just iTunes (and it's nice cousins) to use a different feed.

This tag allows you to change the URL where the podcast feed is located. It is added at the<channel> level. The feed format is:

<itunes:new-feed-url>http://newlocation.com/example.rss</itunes:new-feed-url>

After adding the tag to your old feed, you should maintain the old feed for 48 hours before retiring it. At that point, iTunes will have updated the directory with the new feed URL. For more information, please see the “Changing Your Feed URL” section above.

In the PowerPress settings for whatever feed iTunes currently uses, go to the iTunes (Settings) tab.
Click on Set iTunes New Feed URL.
Click OK on the warning.
Enter your new podcast-only RSS feed URL for “New Feed URL.”
Click Save Changes.

Add the podcast-only feed on your site for courtesy Not everyone subscribes to podcasts with iTunes or Apple devices, so post your podcast-only RSS feed on your site so these people can easily subscribe.

My new Social Subscribe & Follow Icons plugin for WordPress has a special podcast-only RSS option that will work perfectly for you!

Podcast RSS

Hear my two-part interview on School of Podcasting! Dave Jackson kindly invited me onto his School of Podcasting to talk about the Podcast Awards, running a podcast network, and other fun podcasting conversation. Check out both parts!

357: Creating an Award Winning Podcast
358: Building a Podcast Network

EFF needs your help to protect podcasting! The Electronic Frontier Foundation needs financial support and input to help protect podcasting against the patent troll Personal Audio. Please visit eff.org/save-podcasting to help!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasters always want to know how to get more listeners or viewers. But you should also consider what you may be doing that is preventing you from growing your audience.

You have weak content “Weak content” can take many forms. It could be that you chose a highly saturated topic (like technology and gadgets). It could be that you aren't bringing any unique content to the field (like a TV show fan podcast mostly rehashing the episode's events). Or your content may not be something that others care to hear (like your personal life—sorry).

You've heard the phrase too often, “content is king,” but it's true. Choose content that is valuable to others.

Assume the content that fit in these titles, which seems more interesting to you? “Summer is coming up” or “10 ways to be awesome this summer”?

You present your content poorly It's possible to have amazing, dynamite content that others will want to share, but presentation is just as important (some would even say it's more important). Learn how to present your message in a logical, understandable way.

This can mean improving your production quality, or it could mean improving how you speak.

Communicate clearly. Know what you want your audience to take away and present that as well as you can.

Your website is ineffective More than half of my podcast audience comes through my website: Internet searches, links from others, internal links to my previous content, social media, and more.

Your website needs to present your content front and center, but also have a strong call to action. Get your visitors to turn into subscribers.

On way to do that is with my new Social Subscribe & Follow Links plugin for WordPress. This allows me to create awesome buttons like this:

Subscribe to my YouTube channel
You're expecting everyone to find you “If you build it, they will come” is among the worst marketing advice ever from Hollywood. It's true that you need to optimize your content for searching. Stuff like writing great shownotes, using compelling titles, and coming up with a descriptive name.

But to grow your audience, you have to go find and invite your audience. This is hard work, but it pays off.

Whenever you try to market your podcast, always remember to contribute first, promote second.

Contribute to the conversation. Contribute with a solution.

Only after you've contributed should you consider promoting yourself, but only if it is relevant to the issue at hand.

Bad: “You can fix that podcast problem with ___. BTW, listen to my podcast about puppies.”

Good: “You can train your puppy with ___. BTW, I host a podcast about puppies with tips like this and more.”

You aren't building relationships As the old adage goes, “It's not what you know, it's who you know.” This is true in podcasting. But you don't need to only know famous people. Know your audience!

Podcasting is far more personal than radio, TV, blogs, books, or almost any other medium. You're speaking directly into someone's ears or holding the attention of their eyes. Try to include feedback from your audience.

The most important word to everyone is their own name. So use names when you can, without seeming like a social club or a name-dropper. When you use a name, make it to lift up that person, not yourself.

Building relationships creates a community. And communities take care of each other and work together to invite others.

You can even build relationships with your “competition”!

Audience plateau? It is possible for a podcast to plateau and reach its maximum potential audience, but I think that so few podcasters have reached that, that it's not anything the rest of us should worry about.

Success story from Carl Valeri

Thank you for the outstanding work you have done in designing my podcast cover art, rebranding my website, and for answering all my podcasting questions. You truly have played a key role in my podcasting success. I hope you will share my story with your listeners to encourage and to make people realize that you never know what doors may open in life due to podcasting.

This year I started working for a company with a large brand name. In my first week with the company I was approached by the Vice President of Communications who said she had seen what I had been doing with social media and podcasting. Her statement at first made me nervous because I thought I was in trouble for something I said. To my great surprise she wanted me to play a role in producing podcasts and videos promoting their brand.

As you can imagine I was shocked and excited at the same time. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

A few months later I was asked to play a key role in conducting interviews during an event where my employer was the first company in this United States to donate in such a unique manner to a non profit organization. This led to much exposure for me among the various company vice presidents attending the event. Because of my conducting these interviews I was asked to play an even larger role in promoting their brand through podcasts, internet, and television.

When I started podcasting I did not know it would lead to this amazing career and financial opportunity. What I did know when I started my podcast was I had a passion for my topic and I was driven to help others achieve their goals.

Please let your listeners know if they are thinking of starting a podcast or have been podcasting for years it is important to persevere and to podcast with passion! You never know what doors podcasting may open in your life. As you can see my show has opened doors to incredible opportunities in my life. I have faith podcasting will also open doors of opportunity and bring many blessings in your listeners lives.

Keep podcasting with passion!

Carl Valeri

Aviation Careers Podcast

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Everything about how your show is listed in the iTunes podcast directory (and many other podcast directories) is pulled directly from your RSS feed. Here's what you need to know to change the information.

For more information on all of these tags, look at the iTunes podcast specifications from Apple.

Show-level information All of the following information is in order of precedence. The first option will overwrite the following options.

Title Your podcast title, which could be more helpful with a tiny description (such as “the Ramen Noodle – clean-comedy podcast”).
FeedBurner > Optimize > Title/Description Burner > New Title
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Feed Settings > Feed title
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Feed Settings > Feed Title
WordPress Settings > General > Site Title
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Show Title, or Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Advanced Options > Show Title Override
Description What people should know about your podcast before they subscribe. Make your description interesting and accurate. I like to include feedback information, too.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast summary
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Summary
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Summary
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Program Summary
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Summary
Number of included episodes The total number of episodes listed depends on a lot of things. First, make sure you gave iTunes and podcast directories a podcast-only feed so blog posts don't bump out podcast episodes. (If you didn't, then see #5 below.) Then you need to raise your feed item limit in your RSS feed.
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Feed Settings > Show the most recent
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Feed Settings > Show the most recent
PowerPress > Settings > Feeds > Show the most recent
WordPress Settings > Reading > Syndication feeds show the most recent
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Advanced Options > Episode/Post Limit
Cover art Make sure you're using a beautiful 1,400 × 1,400 image for your podcast. This should go in your RSS2 tag, ID3 tags for each episode, and especially your iTunes image tag:
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast image location
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Image
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Image
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Image
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Artwork
Feed URL 301 redirects can work great for moving everyone to a new RSS feed. But if you submitted an all-inclusive RSS feed (blog posts and podcast episodes) and want to split to a podcast-only feed, then use the iTunes New Feed URL feature.
FeedBurner > Delete Feed… (with permanent redirection)
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes New Feed URL
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes New Feed URL
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes New Feed URL
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Advanced Options > Redirect Feed to this Web Address
Categories FeedBurner allows you to list in up to five categories, PowerPress allows three. But iTunes will only display and feature you in whatever is your first category.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Category and Use additional categories
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Category and More
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Category and More
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Category and More
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > iTunes Categories
Tags (not shown) Your podcast-level tags no longer affect your findability in iTunes. FeedBurner will allow one-word tags, PowerPress allows multi-word tags. Don't use more than 12.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast search keywords
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Keywords
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Keywords
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Program Keywords
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Keywords
Author This would be your name or network. In some rare cases, like for The Audacity to Podcast, you may be listed under two different authors because one is your network affiliation. In my case, this is the TechPodcasts Network.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast author
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Talent Name
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Talent Name
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Talent Name
WordPress Post > Author
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Author
Website This is a clickable link back to your website or a podcast landing page on your site.
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Feed Settings > Feed Landing Page URL
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Feed Settings > Feed Landing Page URL
PowerPress > Settings > Feeds > Feed Landing Page URL
Single sites: WordPress Settings > General > Site Address
Multisite: Network Admin > Sites > Settings (for the selected site)
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Website Address
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Copyright message
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > Feed Settings > Copyright
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > Feed Settings > Copyright
PowerPress > Settings > Feeds > Copyright
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Copyright Notice
Clean/explicit Mark whether your whole podcast is clean (no foul language), explicit (lots of foul language), or don't include (G to PG rating).
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Contains explicit content
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Explicit
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Explicit
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Explicit
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Content Rating

Note about clean/explicit tag. In Feedburner “Yes (Cleaned)” gives the “Clean Lyrics” badge in iTunes, but in PowerPress, this is labeled as “Clean – No explicit content.”

FeedBurner leads you to think that “Cleaned” means you used to have explicit content but removed it. But iTunes' specs make it clear that “explicit” is for explicit content (and may be blocked in some countries), “clean” is for clean content, and “no” is for no advisory tag.

Email address (not shown) This email address won't show in iTunes, but it will be accessible in your RSS feed. More importantly, this is how the iTunes team will contact you if there are problems or announcements.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast author email address
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Email
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Email
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Email
WordPress Settings > General > E-mail Address
Libsyn > Settings > Edit Show Settings > Public Contact Email, and Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Owner Email
Podcast subtitle (shown in podcast subscriptions) This text won't display in the podcast catalog, but it will display to your subscribers in their subscriptions area.
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast subtitle
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Subtitle
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Program Subtitle
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Program Subtitle
Libsyn > Destinations > Edit or View Existing > Libsyn Classic Feed > Subtitle

Episode-level information PowerPress gives you the ability to override per-episode information if you enable select options in PowerPress > Settings > Basic Settings. Use these at your own risk, but I've found that they've worked well for me.

Episode titles At the moment, the only way to set your individual episode title is your post title in WordPress.
WordPress Post > Title
Episode subtitles Since so little of this displays, try to come up with a subtitle of only a few words. If your podcast episodes are titled similar to “Episode 3,” this could be a good spot for something more descriptive, like “10 ways to be awesome.”
WordPress Post > iTunes Subtitle Field (if enabled)
WordPress Post > Excerpt (if used)
WordPress Post > Blog post (first 250 characters)
Episode descriptions This would be the further information that displays with each episode. Unless you override it, iTunes will pull your entire blog post. I like to include my excerpt, outline (sometimes), shownotes link, and feedback information.

For example, here's the episode description for this episode:

Everything about how your show is listed in the iTunes podcast directory (and many other podcast directories) is pulled directly from your RSS feed. Here's what you need to know to change the information.

Get Social Subscribe & Follow Icons for your WordPress website! http://subscribeandfollow.com

Register for my Learn Audacity webinar on May 18! http://LearnAudacity.com

Follow me on http://twitter.com/theRamenNoodle

Links and shownotes at https://theaudacitytopodcast.com/126

FEEDBACK

Call (903) 231-2221

Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com

Send a voice message from http://TheAudacitytoPodcast

MAILING ADDRESS

The Audacity to Podcast

PO Box 739

Burlington, KY 41005

FeedBurner > Optimize > Summary Burner
WordPress Post > iTunes Summary Field (if enabled)
WordPress Post > Excerpt (if used)
WordPress Post > Blog post
Episode clean/explicit If a particular episode should be marked differently from the rest of your feed, you can indicate that just that episode is clean or explicit.
WordPress Post > iTunes Explicit Field (if enabled)
FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Contains explicit content
PowerPress > Podcast Channels > iTunes Settings > iTunes Explicit
PowerPress > Category Podcasting > iTunes Settings > iTunes Explicit
PowerPress > Settings > iTunes > iTunes Explicit

My new premium plugin for bloggers and podcasters! Check this out:

Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
RSS
Podcast RSS
YouTube
Twitter
Facebook
Android

That (and the similar buttons and icons on my site, is made with my new Social Subscribe & Follow Icons widget for WordPress. The premium plugin provides these icons and links in a widget, on a post or page with a shortcode, and anywhere else with some PHP code.

Here's another example of how you can easily use the plugin to do powerful things:

Follow me on Twitter

Download Social Subscribe & Follow Icons today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: Nanagyei via Compfight cc

I'm retiring my 5-episode pattern for Audacity focus, but I'll give you several tips to help when you decide to make big changes to your podcast.

This topic was inspired by my own decisions for The Audacity to Podcast as well as a Twitter conversation with Reuben Hochstelter from French Press Podcast.

When should you change formats? 1. When your current format isn't working 2. When you've been squeezing too much into each episode 3. When your content would work better in a different format 4. When you need new life in your podcast 5. When you've run out of content or passion

Question your motives 1. Don't change just because a couple people don't like something—if they've already left, they won't come back after you've made the change 2. Don't change from a small bad experience 3. Don't change to be like someone else

Stay true to your “brand” What is your podcast's theme and tone? This is it's brand. If you want to change formats, make sure it fits in line with why you're doing the podcast, the direction you want the podcast to go, and is mostly consistent with your historical content.

Put as much thought into your change as your launch Planning your podcast before you launch is the most important thing you can do. If you missed this, then you need to put even more attention into planning your changes. This may be the chance to have the podcast you really wanted in the beginning.

Take caution when completely rebranding My opinion is that podcasts should never completely rebrand and carryover their episode numbering, website, and RSS feed. If you want a complete rebrand, then maybe you should start a separate, new podcast and retire your current one.

Mixing two different generations of a podcast will confuse your new and many of your current listeners.

Test changes When you know what changes you want to make, you can test them out either privately or publicly. You may want to switch from audio to video, but you might not have realized the extra time it would take to produce.

Or maybe you want new segments, so try a couple and see how your audience responds.

Make sure you've been patient Don't give up on a new idea after one try. Some ideas just need to sink in a little bit before you can really know whether it's a good idea or a bad one.

Make little changes over time I'm not a fan of complete rebranding. Sometimes, big rebranding can also confuse your listeners. Take little steps and it will be easier for you.

Be ready for mixed feedback You'll probably receive three kinds of feedback from your audience when you change stuff:

Fanboys who will love and support anything you do, no matter how ridiculous
Constructive feedback praising the change or offering other suggestions
Negative feedback hating the change, possibly just because it's different.

What has been your experience making changes to your podcast? Please tell me your story in the comments below!

Announcements My premium WordPress plugin to help bloggers and podcasters get more subscribers is almost complete! Continue to watch the website and sign up for the free newsletter to receive details and the launch announcement.

iTunes review * Marilyn ss * Pookdagashizzlenizzle

Thank you for your iTunes reviews! They are encouraging and it'll help other people find me better. I would be deeply grateful if you would write a 5-star review for The Audacity to Podcast in iTunes, and also for the lonely video edition.

Learn Audacity in an upcoming webinar My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for this 2-hour webinar (including Q&A). Reserve your space today!

Hire me to help you podcast with success! I'm available for one-on-one consulting to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The simplest reason to get a mixer is to mix things and have more control. But mixers can make many tasks much easier for podcast production.

@SavageTechman asked me to cover why a podcaster should get a mixer. Here are my ten reasons and I would love to hear why you use a mixer for podcasting!

Skype mix-minus Many programs can do a great job of recording Skype calls on your computer. Namely, I recommend Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype (OS X), or Pamela (Windows). But either of these put more reliance on your PC and each have their own limitations.

Running a Skype “mix-minus” sets up your mixer so that it sends everything to Skype except for the Skype audio. This prevents the Skype guest from hearing themselves.

Multiple in-studio cohosts If you have more than one microphone, then a mixer will be your best way mix the mics into a single recording. Depending on your PC and software, you can sometimes get by with a few Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB mics, but you'll have to hack things together and use extra software.

A mixer simplifies the process. Just plug in more mics, turn up their volume, and you're ready!

Mixing sounds Playing sounds—music, sound clips, voicemails, and such—into your recording will save you a lot of post-production time. Instead of editing your sounds into your recording, you can simply play them in with a mixer and they're recorded!
More control Have a quiet cohost and need to raise their volume? No problem! Want to fade out your music while you're talking? No problem! Want to quickly mute while you or your cohost coughs or adjusts a mic? No problem!

A mixer gives you more control over the audio in your recording. You can mix, mute, solo, adjust volumes, and much more. And it's all done live, while you're recording, and can be quite seamless.

Connecting professional gear USB mics and headsets are popular ways for podcasters to start, but they're usually cheap equipment that produce poor audio. If you want to step up your quality, you'll most likely get a microphone with an XLR plug. This is no problem for connecting to a mixer!

Having a mixer also allows you to connect with almost any other audio device: RCA, 1/4″, stereo, mono, XLR, balanced, unbalanced, inputs, and outputs.

Investing in a quality mixer also means you can continue to upgrade your other equipment but keep the same mixer for many years.

Higher-quality mic preamps All microphones require a preamplifier. It powers the mic and amplifies the signal to a usable level. You can get XLR-to-USB adapters or use other XLR inputs. But if the preamps are cheap, you'll record a constant hiss into your recording.

Professional mixers above the $100 price floor usually have moderate-quality preamps that will raise the volume of your mic without introducing hiss. Cheap mixers are cheap because they use cheap preamps.

Real-time audio enhancement and effects Most mixers give you at least basic equalization control for highs and lows. But many professional mixers offer 3 or 4 bands for equalization, and real-time special effects processing.

You may not use the special effects often, but the EQ is a great way to give a subtle enhancement to your voice or other audio. Again, this is added straight into your recording and saves time editing later.

Connecting a wireless phone for easy live calls

With a simple $7 (or less) iPod AV cable, you can connect almost any modern wireless phone to your mixer for easy phone calls. No software and no fancy hacks! The output from the phone is usually on the red and white lines while the input is usually the yellow line.

Multichannel recording Depending on your mixer and recording setup, you may have the easy option to record you and your cohosts into separate audio tracks to make editing and post-processing much easier. This could be a simple left and right split, or as elaborate as a USB 2.0 or Firewire mixer that outputs more than stereo.

I've used a Behringer X1204USB (Amazon.com | B&H) and X1832USB (Amazon.com | B&H) to record in four channels when outputting to my Zoom H4n (Amazon.com | B&H).

More output possibilities without relying on software Not only do mixers have a lot of inputs, but they also offer a lot of outputs! You can use one output for Skype mix-minus, another for a wireless phone mix-minus, another for recording, another for headphones, another for live-streaming, and many more options.

iTunes review Thank you for your iTunes reviews! They are encouraging and it'll help other people find me better. I would be deeply grateful if you would write a 5-star review for The Audacity to Podcast in iTunes, and also for the lonely video edition.

Learn Audacity in an upcoming webinar My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for this 2-hour webinar (including Q&A). Reserve your space today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Macally Audio and Video Cable for iPod classic 4G, 5G, 5.5G (White)

View Details

Community forums are a lot of fun, and I would guess that you are an active member of at least two.

You've probably thought about starting a forum for your podcast. This can often be an amazing thing for your podcast. Consider the following before you launch a forum for your podcast.

5 benefits of a forum 1. A forum turns your listeners into a community. 2. A forum enables your community to engage with each other. 3. A forum will attract new people and boost SEO. 4. A forum provides another avenue for feedback from your audience. 5. A forum empowers your community to help each other and frees your focus.

When you have a topic that inspires a lot of interaction Some topics and niches are naturally more interactive than others. I've seen and experienced this especially with TV-show related podcasts.

This can apply to almost any topic where people will have passionate and varying opinions, theories, and observations.

When you get more feedback than you can handle Are you being overloaded with feedback from your audience? Sometimes, this will be with questions and feedback that only you can answer. But other times, the feedback will be general opinions, requests for validity, and stuff that you may not be interested or available to handle.

When you have a forum, you can point your audience to share their thoughts, theories, opinions, observations, and questions there. They'll receive more conversation and more contributions than you may have been able to give by yourself.

When you have enough time to moderate Running forums are no picnic. Get ready for technical problems, spammers, requests for features and sections, and peacemaking.

If you choose the right forum software and configure it well, you can eliminate many technical problems. Make sure you know what you want your forum to do and don't feel like you have to adhere to the latest request.

Also have clearly stated, easily accessible rules that will guide the interaction.

When you have people you can trust to moderate Have you gotten to know some of your audience members enough that you can trust them to properly represent your podcast's brand? These people can be priceless team members to assist in moderating your forum.

Find someone just as passionate about the topic as you, and someone who is already active in the forums. Give them authority to handle the smaller issues.

When your post comments are starting new conversations Comments on your blog posts and shownotes are a lot of fun. But they should generally be focused on the theme of that post or podcast episode. If you're receiving too many comments to keep track of, or especially if the comments are regularly on different topics, this is a great time to start a forum. You can point people there to start their new conversations and invite others to join.

When a neutral-ground forum isn't enough A forum is a lot of work, but can also relieve a lot of burden. Before you start your own forum, consider whether there's a better place for your audience to go where they may already be.

For me, I regularly participate in several podcasting-focused communities (TAP118) and encourage my listeners to go there. This also has the benefit of exposing me to a broader audience and not just my own followers.

Top forum software * vBulletin is the premium, $249 standalone forum software. It's the best of the best and is used and trusted by many large companies and communities. * phpBB is a free standalone forum software. It has been around for a long time and is very powerful and extensible. But it's commonly targeted by spammers and its theme and plugin structure is horrendous. * Simple Machines Forum (SMF) is also a free standalone forum software. It's easier than phpBB but almost just as extensible. * bbPress is a free forum plugin for WordPress. It's the easiest to manage and it integrates well with your current WordPress theme and plugins.

If you consider different software, I highly recommend you pick something that works with the Tapatalk mobile forum app.

Check out my latest video episode! iTunes review Thank you, DansModernLife, for your iTunes review! It was encouraging and it'll help other people find me better.

If anyone else hasn't left a review, I would be deeply grateful if you would write a 5-star review for The Audacity to Podcast in iTunes, and also for the lonely video edition.

Learn WordPress and Audacity in upcoming webinars My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for this 2-hour webinar (including Q&A). Reserve your space today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

As the original podcaster about podcasting, Dave Jackson has seen a lot of change in the industry. We talk about his experience, where podcasts are going, how to make money podcasting, and share some podcasting tips.

Dave started podcasting in 2005 by turning a newsletter for musicians into a podcast. Because there wasn't much about podcasting techniques, he decided to fill the whole by launching The School of Podcasting in April, 2005.

What was it like to be the first in a niche? Dave said that there is a strong community by being not only the first in a niche, but also among the first podcasters.

Everyone back in the early days were tight and helping each other as they discovered tools and techniques.

How to keep finding content in a niche after 350+ episodes? Follow other blogs and podcasts in the niche. Subscribe in an app, like Feedly, that will allow you to browse all of your RSS subscriptions.

Also setup a Google alerts or Twitter searches for when people mention topics or exact phrases related to your topic

Your listeners will also start contributing content by asking questions, sharing feedback, and suggesting ideas.

Sometimes, you'll get responsive ideas based on someone else's content.

Take notes as you get ideas and plan ahead as much as possible!

What does having big-name advertisers and podcasters do for the industry? Highly successful people demonstrate what can be accomplished with podcasting. The extra money from advertisers can also benefit the overall community by building podcasts as a more legitimate outlet for advertisers.

Then again, extra money can also bring more money-seekers who pollute the industry with poor content while they're just looking for an extra buck.

Startups can see this as a great opportunity to advertise to their exact target audience by sponsoring a podcast that may only cost a couple hundred dollars per episode.

Ever felt like quitting a podcast? Just when you think that nobody's listening, you'll often receive a great email, review, or something that reminds you how much people appreciate your content.

But sometimes, you will truly run out of content or passion. This is a sure sign that you should gracefully end the podcast.

Sometimes, you can even toss out an invitation to your audience and get a load of new content, ideas, or even guest or cohost possibilities.

What things should starting podcasters do early? Make a spreadsheet of all of your episodes, what you talked about, and when you posted it. The default search isn't powerful enough to find your content.

Make easy shownotes and podcast links to easily refer people back to previous episodes.

Avoid a condenser microphone. Dave started with a Audio-Technica AT2035, then moved to an Audio-Technica AT2020, but now uses either an Electro-Voice RE320 ($299 from Amazon.com or B&H) or the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB.

Avoid trying to podcast for free. Do you try to start other hobbies with no money?

Making money podcasting Inspired by Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income, Dave openly shares his monthly income reports on his blog. This demonstrates the success of his monetization efforts and how much time and energy he's putting into each project.

If you enjoy podcasting, consider offering your production services to others who don't have the time to produce their own episodes. This “white-labeling” can help you get better, allow you to help others succeed, and is a highly valuable resource for others.

Make sure you setup separate tracking codes or campaigns for each podcast (or entrepreneurial endeavor) that you launch (not for individual episodes). This will allow you to quickly see each podcast's income.

The most successful place to put your affiliate links are in your podcast shownotes and when you email your subscribers (if you have an email list).

Consider affiliate programs like Amazon.com or Audible.

Where is podcasting going? Podcasting is going up! It's going into cars, more popular mobile apps, and big companies are getting into this media, too.

Set-top boxes will help, but mostly video podcasts. However, the apps are still not quite as friendly for independent podcasters.

Everything is going portable on mobile devices. But the major adoption is slow.

Great podcasting tools (geek out!) One of our favorite pieces of equipment is the Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB mic. It can plug straight into a PC, go to XLR for a mixer, or both at the same time! It is also an output device when plugged into USB.

The DBX 286A preamp is great, but works for only one person. So Dave is considering the Behringer MDX4600 ($149 on Amazon.com and B&H) or similar so he can run multiple microphones the the compressor/limiter/gate.

The Heil PR40 is the premiere podcasting mic, but you can podcast without it!

WordPress SEO is great for enhancing the search engine ranking of your pages. You can also consider the premium plugin Scribe that will grade your content.

Adobe Audition is what we're both using to produce our podcasts. You can buy it outright or subscribe to the online program and get Adobe Audition for $20 per month.

Sony ACID Music Studio ($50 from B&H, $45 from Amazon.com) works well for podcast-editing. Sony Soundforge Audio Studio ($47 from Amazon.com, $49 from B&H) is also great for extensive editing.

More about Dave Jackson * Dave listens to over 70 podcasts (including all of the podcasts about podcasting) * Dave's last few podcasts he has listened to + Small Business Big Marketing + Mixergy + Entreproducer + Inspiring Words of Encouragement * Follow Dave on Twitter * Check out School of Podcasting * Read Dave's personal blog * Dave also plans to host more podcasting webinars in 2013 * Hear Nick Seuberling on Dave's latest podcast episode

Dave's final tip for podcasting is START! Try to be as good as possible, but

iTunes review Thank you, yoyoboys from Australia, for your iTunes review! It was encouraging and it'll help other people find me better.

If anyone else hasn't left a review, I would be deeply grateful if you would write a 5-star review for The Audacity to Podcast in iTunes, and also for the lonely video edition.

Learn WordPress and Audacity in upcoming webinars The core software to successful blogging or podcasting is WordPress. But if you don't know how to use it, you'll struggle with building your online platform. Tickets are now on sale for my next “Learn WordPress” webinar on Saturday, April 27 at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for either of these 2-hour webinars (including Q&A), or $175 for both. Reserve your space today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

It's fun to talk about the big equipment podcasters use: microphones, mixers, software, cameras, and so on. But having a supply of these small accessories will keep you sane when you try to podcast.

Miniature camera tripod I love my several mini tripods. I use one on my Logitech C920 webcam and another on my Zoom H4n. These are small, lightweight, but extremely versatile for around or under $10.
Desktop mic stand You may not always be able to bring a large mic stand or overhead boom arm. Having a small, desktop stand is a great backup for podcasting away from your home studio.

Check out the selection from Amazon.com.

Cables
XLR cables
1/4″ stereo or mono extension
1/4″ stereo or mono male-to-male
3.5 mm extension
3.5 mm male-to-male
USB cables
Charging cables
CAT-6 network cables

Hands down, the best place to get cables is Monoprice. They are amazing quality at very low costs.

Adapters
1/4″ to 3.5 mm stereo or mono
Mono RCA to 1/4″
3.5 mm to 1/4″ stereo or mono

Monoprice is the best place to get audio and video adapters.

Splitters
Stereo 3.5 mm to stereo RCA splitter
3.5 mm iPod A/V to A/V RCA splitter
Headphone

You guessed it, Monoprice is the best place for splitters, too.

Microphone windscreens I really like my Shure A58WS-BLK Foam Windscreens. These work great on any ball-type microphone. The windscreen is great at preventing popping P's and T's (plosives) in the microphone, especially with the extra thickness at the end.
Rechargeable batteries For devices that use batteries, I'm now a fan of Eneloop rechargeable batteries. These batteries hold their charge very well, don't lose much charge over time, and they will last through many charges (rated for 1,500 cycles). Even if you only get 1,000 cycles per battery, that's like paying a fourth of a penny per battery.

I used Eneloop rechargeable batteries in my cordless mouse, Zoom H4n, and external camera flash.

Extra earphones Can-style headphones are the best for audio podcasting because they will block out surrounding noise, protect your microphone from sound leakage, and let you hear the details your audio really well.

But it's not always practical to bring your big headphones. Always have a decent pair of earbuds around. This can work fine in a hurry or on the road.

USB audio adapter Whether you need to connect analog audio equipment directly to your computer, or you need an extra audio device (for advanced mix-minus setups), a USB audio adapter will always be handy.

You can get a decent adapter for under $10 and it's tiny and portable.

Twist ties and cable labels “Save the twist ties, save the world!” Keep durable twist ties for packing and transporting any kind of cable. Always take extras with you because you'll lose some when you have to repack things.

I keep twist ties from the Christmas-torture toy packaging, equipment I buy, and more. Separate your ties into basic sizes: small (1–2 inches), medium (3–6 inches), and large (7 inches or larger).

Labeling your cables can be as cheap as a roll of masking tape. Note where things plug in and what they're connected to. For example, “Primary PC,” “iPad,” “Daniel's mic,” “H4n left.”

BONUS (but not cheap): gaffers tape Gaffers tape isn't cheap, but it's much better to use that duct tape or electrical tape. Use gaffers tape to secure cable to the ground so they're not a tripping hazard.

What cheap accessories do you find are indispensable? Tell me in the comments below!

Learn WordPress and Audacity in upcoming webinars The core software to successful blogging or podcasting is WordPress. But if you don't know how to use it, you'll struggle with building your online platform. Tickets are now on sale for my next “Learn WordPress” webinar on Saturday, April 27 at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for either of these 2-hour webinars (including Q&A), or $175 for both. Reserve your space today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

eneloop AA 1800 cycle, Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries, 8 Pack (discontinued by manufacturer)

View Details

Audacity can't edit videos, but it can edit the audio from videos. It's easy to import audio into an audio-editor for grabbing sound clips. I found this to be better than my previous analog recording workflow.

This is especially useful for podcasters who review movies, discuss TV shows, or need an audio excerpt from a video.

Separate video edition (completely different recording session) coming soon!

Prepare your video file Audacity works best with MP4 videos, but other QuickTime formats work on OS X, too.

Videos with digital-rights management (DRM) can't be opened by Audacity. So if you have one of these and you have legal plans to use the audio clip for the sake of commentary, review, or criticism, then find a tool to remove the DRM and convert your video to MP4.

Learn what podcasters need to know about copyright laws from my previous episode with Gordon Firemark.

Install FFmpeg By default, Audacity can't open video files. Simply install the free FFmpeg plugin to allow Audacity to import and export many more audio and video formats.
Open your DRM-free video in Audacity With Audacity setup and your video free of DRM, simply drag it into an Audacity window to have Audacity convert the audio for use.

You may want to save this audio if you ever want to edit it again, or you can discard it.

For convenience, you can normalize your audio and convert it to mono (if your podcast will be in mono). This will make it easier to see and hear the audio as you edit, but it's note important to the quality of the audio.

Find and select the audio you want by timecode Watch your video to find the clip you want and look at the time. If you know you want the audio from 12 minutes in, go to 00:12:00 in your audio and select as much as you want.

When you have audio selected, you can press play (Spacebar) to hear just your selection. Include about half to a whole second of extra audio (but no extra words) at the beginning and end.

Extract the sound clip With your excerpt selected, there are three ways you can extract it for your use.

A. Duplicate selections and Export Multiple This is the easiest method for batch processing because you're working with all clips in a single project.

With your audio selected, press Ctrl-D (Windows/Linux) or Cmd-D (OS X) to duplicate the selected audio to a new track.
Either Solo your new track and edit/enhance as necessary (coming up), or continue finding and selecting more excerpts and repeat step 1.
Select all your tracks and Normalize (see main #7 below).
From the Track Control Panel, optionally name each track as you want its file name to be.
Go to File menu > Export Multiple…
Select your file-naming preference and Export.
Re-import your new WAV files into separate projects for further editing, process them externally, or leave them as is for use.

B. Export selection This is the quickest way to make and name your clips as you go.

With your audio selected, go to File menu > Export Selection….
Enter the file name you wish for this audio.
Find and select more excerpts and repeat steps 1–2.
Re-import your new WAV files into separate projects for further editing, process them externally, or leave them as is for use.

C. Copy and paste to new file This is best for editing each clip independently and getting a close-up view of your audio.

With your audio selected, copy it (Ctrl/Cmd-C).
Create a new project (Ctrl/Cmd-N).
Paste your audio (Ctrl/Cmd-V).
Edit and process as necessary.
Edit as needed Leave about half to a whole second at the beginning and end of your audio clip.

You may want to edit the inside of your audio for conciseness, relevance, or clarity. For example:

you may need only one side of a multiperson conversation,
you may want to remove the pauses between phrases that don't transition well from video to audio, or
you may want to cut out things to make the clip more understandable.
Normalize After you've edited your audio clip, then normalize it. I recommend to -1dB or even -0.1dB. Audio from professionally made movies and TV shows are usually already processed to how they need to be. And since most videos have ambiant noise, many audio enhancements (like compression and limiting) can enhance the wrong parts and make your audio harder to hear.

Normalization increases the whole volume of the track until the loudest point is a certain amplitude (volume). Because these peaks may be rare, it may be all right if that target amplitude is higher than you would normally prefer (such as a character yells).

Add fades in and out (recommended) After you've normalized the audio, then I suggest some subtle fades in and out. These shouldn't be very long, but they can make the inclusion of the audio clip much smoother.

Simple select as much audio that you want to fade at the beginning or end of your clip, then go to the Effects menu and choose Fade In or Fade Out, respectively. The more audio you select for your fade, the slower the fade will be.

I recommend 1/4–1/2 a second for a fade, but sometimes a full second for fade-in can be good.

Fades are especially great for music clips.

Export as WAV When you're finished, export your clips as uncompressed WAV files. These work great for either “direct-to-drive” recorder or post-production. I always recommend working with uncompressed audio until you make the final MP3.

New email address for Zune/Windows Phone podcasts Rob Greenlee is still managing podcasts for Microsoft, but there's a new email address for adding or updating your podcasts in the Zune/Windows Phone directory.

Just email your RSS feed to podcasts@microsoft.com. If you're updating podcast information (like your cover art, description, title, or feed URL), mention that in your email.

Learn WordPress and Audacity in upcoming webinars The core software to successful blogging or podcasting is WordPress. But if you don't know how to use it, you'll struggle with building your online platform. Tickets are now on sale for my next “Learn WordPress” webinar on Saturday, April 27 at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets are $100 for either of these 2-hour webinars (including Q&A), or $175 for both. Reserve your space today!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

See and hear the difference between popular microphones for audio and video podcasting:

Heil PR40 ($300)
Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB ($35)
Nady SP-1 ($15)
Giant Squid Audio Lab lavalier ($46 shipped)

I also mentioned the wonderfully versatile Shure A58WS-BLK Foam Windscreen, which works great on many ball-shaped microphones.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Shure A58WS-BLK Foam Windscreen for All Shure Ball Type Microphones, Black

View Details

Podcasters like to hang out with other podcasters and get help, learn about the tools, and share their experience. I think these are the best forums for talking about podcasting.

My opinions are based on the frequency and quality of discussion. Please comment to share your favorites from this list or a place you think other podcasters should check out!

6 recommended communities to discuss podcasting Google+ Community: Podcasters

When Google+ added the Communities feature, discussion and participation exploded in many niches. Jeffrey Powers created the Podcasters community and it has quickly grown to the largest on Google+ (more than 1,400 at this time). This community also has the moderating support from several big names in the podcasting space, such as Ray Ortega and even Cliff Ravenscraft! I'm also a moderator.

Honorable mention: Podcasting Technology Resources. This group is much smaller but is the official Google+ extension of the LinkedIn Group (next point). It's nearly 500 members are very active and quick to participate in conversations.

Most of the other podcasting communities are ghost towns or filled with episode spam.

LinkedIn Group: Podcasting Technology Resource Group

LinkedIn attracts a professional crowd and you'll see that in the quality of discussions in Podcasting Technology Resource Group, created by Martin Brossman. You'll find several business podcasters in this group looking for help to succeed or sharing knowledge from their success.

Most of the other podcasting groups are ghost towns or filled with episode spam.

Facebook Group: Podcast Community

Megan Enloe (once known as the “Podcast Junky”) started the Podcast Community Facebook group and it now has the popular endorsement from New Media Expo. This is a very active community but also has strict rules against self-promotion (see my etiquette tips below).

Forum: Blubrry Forum

Blubrry created PowerPress, the best podcasting plugin for WordPress. The Blubrry forum is the best place to go for help with the PowerPress plugin, and there is also plenty of podcasting-related conversation in the forums.

Forum: 48days.net's Podcasting And New Media

I highly recommend Dan Miller's 48 Days to the Work You Love and he has a passionate community of people pursuing meaningful work through a variety of outlets. Cliff Ravenscraft started the Podcasting And New Media group (thus the heavy “Podcast Answer Man” branding in the neutral forum) and there's always great conversation in it.

If you've read Dan Miller's book and podcasting is part of your plan for success, then this is a great community for you!

Quora: Podcasting

Quora is a different kind of community from most others. This is a social-Q&A format where a visitor posts their question and receives multiple answers. You can comment on questions and answers, and suggest edits. Once you post an answer, you can only edit it or comment on it and others. This isn't a discussion forum but a place to find answers.

You can also vote answers up and down or request specific members to answer questions that they may not have noticed.

I'm very active in the podcasting section of Quora, and you'll find many answers and suggestions that you may have never considered.

Honorable mention: ~~Podcasting~~ Podcasts subreddit

Reddit is the new Digg, and it has a loyal following. The has great conversations between average podcasters.

6 tips for community etiquette 1. Search first. It's possible that someone has already asked your question or something similar. So search the community first. But also try Google for your question, before crowding a community with questions. 2. Ask great questions. When you can't easily find the answer, ask great questions that will inspire conversation. Try to avoid yes and no questions (e.g., “Should I use WordPress?”), but use open questions (e.g., “Why should I use WordPress and what are the best plugins?”). Your question may need more explanation and examples, too, which help make it great. For example, instead of just posting, “Why does my podcast sound bad?” tell what your setup is, how you're doing things, what you're expecting, and link to a specific sample of what you want to fix. 3. Don't self-promote. Communities can be a great place to share your podcast and grow your audience, but that shouldn't be your reason for joining and some communities have strong rules against this. Introduce yourself and let people know about your podcast, but then don't post about every new episode. Usual exceptions to this are to post what would truly benefit other community members (for example, “Check out my review of this podcasting app”). If you're bordering on too much self-promotion, consider asking your followers to share your information to the group if they believe in it enough. 4. Participate in conversations. You have your own experience and opinions that are valuable to everyone else! So if you have something to share that hasn't already been said, add to the conversation. Just don't hijack a conversation to discuss something else. 5. Share relevant resources. If you find something that will help other podcasters, share it in the community. Many of them may have already seen it, but the creator will always appreciate your sharing their content and there will always be someone who hadn't seen it or needs to be convinced why they should check it out. Sharing a little nugget from the resource is always better than a mere link and title. 6. Give solutions. When you post about a problem and then figure it out, the Internet's worst-every response is, “Figured it out. Thanks.” Share what you did and it will be helpful to others!

Google Reader is retiring, is FeedBurner next? There is now a constant fear that Google will kill FeedBurner, the third-party RSS service many have used to manage and track their RSS feeds. Google announced that they will retire their popular RSS reader, and this doesn't look good for FeedBurner.

But before you panic, consider the following points.

Google Reader was about consumption and Google sees that many other apps do that better than they do.
FeedBurner is about creation, and there are few alternatives.
Google wants to focus on fewer services. With the AdSense removal from FeedBurner, this means FeedBurner is no longer profitable. Even GoogleReader had ads and could generate a small profit.
Reader was popularly being used as an RSS syncing service between other web and mobile apps (such as Feedly or Mr. Reader) and this wasn't what Google designed it for.
Google announced the “sunset” of several services, but still hasn't mentioned FeedBurner.

All things considered, I still recommend that you own you RSS feed URL, even if this simply means running your own domain through FeedBurner's MyBrand feature.

The sky isn't falling, but I do still recommend that you follow my instructions for leaving FeedBurner to bring your RSS back under your total control and ownership.

Upcoming WordPress and Audacity webinars The core software to successful blogging or podcasting is WordPress. But if you don't know how to use it, you'll struggle with building your online platform. Tickets will go on sale soon for my “Learn WordPress” webinar on Saturday, April 20 at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

My first Audacity webinar was a great success and was highly praised. This is where I teach the basics and some of the more advanced techniques of using Audacity for podcasting and other audio-editing. If you want to edit your own audio for high quality and with efficiency, then join me for my “Learn Audacity” webinar on Saturday, May 18, at noon (EDT/GMT-4).

Tickets will be $100 for either of these 90-minute webinars (plus Q&A), or $175 for both. Reserve your seat soon!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Apple recently emailed podcasters to remind them (again) about the requirements for being featured in iTunes. The language is very specific for easily misunderstood. I'll explain this for you and tell you how you can change your podcast cover art or add some if you don't already have it.

“New” cover art “requirement”

iTunes has been completely redesigned and there are new requirements for podcast cover art. To be eligible for featuring on iTunes Store, a podcast must have 1400 x 1400 pixel cover art in JPG or PNG format using RGB color space. The image URL must end in “.jpg”, “.jpeg” or “.png” and the server hosting the image must allow HTTP HEAD requests. See our technical spec for details.

This really isn't new. Apple has said that featured podcasts needed cover art at 1,400 × 1,400 since May 18, 2012.

The most important takeaway is that Apple won't feature podcasts with smaller cover art. That means you can be in the iTunes podcast directory with small artwork, but you just won't have a chance at being featured.

LibSyn and Blubrry support HTTP HEAD requests. To check whether your podcast cover art's URL supports HTTP HEAD requests, enter the image's URL into web-sniffer.net, and switch request type to “HEAD.” If it works, then the server supports HTTP HEAD requests.

I'll mention how you can change your cover art further down.

Server configuration requirement

Podcast streaming playback on iTunes requires all hosting servers to enable Byte Range Requests. Please confirm your hosting servers have this functionality enabled. If you work with a third-party hosting service, please contact them to confirm this functionality is enabled on their servers.

This is also not new. Apple announced this requirement shortly before they launched the Podcasts app for iOS. Now we know that the app can stream podcasts over data or wifi from any playback location in the episode. This is possible with byte-range requests.

These types of requests allow an app to request a specific portion of a file, such as bytes 300–600, instead of having to start at the beginning to download to that point.

Popular media hosting services LibSyn, Blubrry, and even Archive.org have supported these requests since the beginning. If you host your media somewhere else, enter the download URL into web-sniffer.net, switch request type to “HEAD,” and look for “Accept-Ranges: bytes.”

Why you need big cover art

1,400 × 1,400 always seemed like an odd size to me, until Apple updated the Podcasts app for iOS to somewhere around version 1.1. In this and later versions running on a Retina iPad, cover art displays at 1,400 × 1,400 pixels when you have the podcast playing and the iPad vertically oriented.

Oddly, Apple still doesn't recommend 1,536 × 1,536, which is the retina iPad's largest display size for a square. In fact, cover art will display at exactly this slightly larger size when a podcast displays on the retina iPad's lock screen in vertical orientation.

The larger artwork size also ensures that your image will display beautifully on Apple TV connected to a 1080p display (even though this would only display at 1,080 × 1,080 pixels at its largest).

How to resize your artwork You can ignore Apple's recommendations, but this means your cover art will never look good at high resolutions and your podcast will never be eligible to be featured by Apple.

You have three options for resizing your podcast cover art.

Enlarge the image If you want to follow the “letter of the law,” then you can simply put your JPEG or PNG image into an image-editor and blow it up. This will give you a larger image, but it won't enhance the quality because you're just blowing up pixels.

Some image-editors are better than others at enlarging and enhancing details. But remember that this isn't Hollywood and your image still won't look as good as if you follow the next two options.

Scale or redo from the master file Depending on how your image is designed, you may be able to go back to the master file and enlarge it while maintaining the detail. A vector format works best for this: AI, EPS, shapes, dynamic gradients, and editable text.

You may also be able to upgrade a stock image or photo you purchased to a higher resolution, and simply replace it in your enlarged master file.

Redesign your cover art Maybe this is a good time to consider completely redesigning your podcast cover art. You or the designer you hire (like me!) can design to follow or exceed the new specs. RawVoice (parent company to Blubrry) has reported stats indicating up to a 25% jump in subscriptions when podcast cover art changes.

If you'd like to hire me to design podcast cover art for you, I design at 1,400 × 1,400, but I can increase that to whatever size you want for an extra fee.

How to add or change the cover art Watch this video tutorial or subscribe to the video edition of The Audacity to Podcast to see the following steps demonstrated.

You need your podcast cover art in three places:

144 × 144 in the RSS2 image tag in the RSS feed.
1,400 × 1,400 in the iTunes image tag in the RSS feed.
600 × 600 – 1,400 × 1,400 in the MP3's ID3 tags.
RSS2 image This 144 × 144 image may not seem important, but it's what many non-iTunes podcast directories read.

The technical location for this is under :

http://path.to/image.jpg

The podcast title

http://podcastwebsite.com

Practically, you can easily add this depending on what service you use to make your podcast feed.

In PowerPress (recommended), “RSS2 Image” is under the Feed Settings tab for your default feed, channel feeds, and category feeds. You can upload your image through this interface or insert the direct link to your image.
For FeedBurner's SmartCast (only recommended if you're not using PowerPress), first upload your image somewhere, then insert the direct link to the image under Optimize > Feed Image Burner. Also complete the other information on the page.
For LibSyn-powered RSS feeds, click on the gear icon (show settings), upload a 1,400 × 1,400 image to Artwork.
iTunes image This is where your 1,400 × 1,400 (or larger) image must be. Some other podcast directories read this, too, but it's most important for iTunes.

The technical location for this is under :

Practically, you can easily add this depending on what service you use to make your podcast feed.

In PowerPress (recommended), “iTunes Image” is under the iTunes Settings tab for your default feed, channel feeds, and category feeds. You can upload your image through this interface or insert the direct link to your image.
For FeedBurner's SmartCast (only recommended if you're not using PowerPress), first upload your image somewhere, then insert the direct link to the image under Optimize > SmartCast.
For LibSyn-powered RSS feeds, click on the gear icon (show settings), upload a 1,400 × 1,400 image to Artwork (you may have already done this for the RSS2 image).
ID3 tags This is the image that will display in most apps when an individual MP3 is playing (but oddly not the new Podcasts app for iOS). This is also what affects which image shows for desktop iTunes when you're already subscribed to a podcast.

You can easily add this image with iTunes. But I recommend free MP3tag (Windows) or $15 ID3 Editor (Windows, OS X) for adding the image to your ID3 tags with the maximum compatibility.

Review my episode about adding ID3 tags to MP3s to learn more.

You don't have to update your old MP3s with the new cover art unless you really want to.

How long does it take? As with any update to your podcast feed, iTunes will usually take 8–48 hours to update your listing in the iTunes directory, and other podcast directories may be the same. Or you may need to contact those other companies to have them refresh your podcast's cover art.

But MP3s with your new cover art will display the new image right away on apps that show those images.

Need help? If you get lost in this process, we can schedule some one-on-one consulting or I can fix your podcast feed for you. Or I can redesign your new podcast cover art. Just email me and we can work it out.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: Instant Vantage via Compfight cc

Learn recommendations for audio equipment, software, plugins, and other podcasting gear that are worth spending money to get. These will improve your podcast!

Domain: $15/year This may sound crazy for my top suggestion but this will be crucial to your entire brand and podcast future.

Get a domain for your podcast and you can use that domain for professional-sounding email addresses (instead of Gmail or Hotmail).

Even if you don't have your own hosting yet, you can point this forward your domain to somewhere else, or work with pseudo-hosts (such as LibSyn or WordPress.com) to make your domain work on their system.

Microphone: $40–$300 Whether you're recording an audio or video podcast, your sound quality is second in importance only to the quality of your content.

For audio, I recommend the Audio-Technica ATR2100USB ($50) or the Heil PR40 ($300).

For video with lavalier (lapel) mics, I recommend the Giant Squid Audio lavalier ($40 for mono, $75 for stereo), the Rode Lavalier Microphone ($249), the Sennheiser G3 wireless kit. For a shotgun mic, I recommend the Rode NTG2 ($269).

Pop filter: $15+ The quickest way to sound unprofessional in a podcast is popping your plosives into the mic. A simple pop filter can fix this, as well as pointing the mic at your mouth from an angle and not talking directly into it.

Web hosting: $60–$100/year HostGator—Single and multidomain hosting starting at $5/month. HostGator runs frequent sales and coupons.

BlueHost—Probably the most-popular shared web hosting company and for good reasons! BlueHost offers a single plan that starts at $6.95/month.

Media hosting $5+/month If you have a small audience (under 100 downloads per episode), you may be allowed to host your media on your website host. But remember that “unlimited” doesn't really mean unlimited and your host may shut you down for abusing the resources.

I highly recommend a dedicated media host that provides truly unlimited bandwidth for video or audio files for your podcast.

LibSyn media hosting starts at $5/month for 50 MB rolling storage and basic stats. Use promo code “noodle” to get your first month free!

Blubrry media hosting starts at $12/month for 100 MB rolling storage and premium stats.

Video camera: $500+ I love the Canon Digital Rebel T3i ($550) or Digital Rebel T4i ($650) for short-form HD video production and high-quality photography. I use the T4i, but it's not much of an upgrade over the T3i if you'd like to save some money. Digital SLRs are usually limited to 20–25 minutes of video recording at a time (regardless of storage).

The Canon Vixia HF G10 ($1,039) is a beautiful camcorder designed for HD video and has no recording limit. You really can't go wrong the Canon's Vixia line of HD camcorders and you may find one that fits better in your budget.

Mic stand: $120 I love my Heil PL-2T overhead mic boom because it can keep my mic and stand from getting in the way. It's very smooth and has a special slot for the XLR cable. It works with any mic.

Headphones: $50+ Get a comfortable, quality pair of headphones and you'll be glad you did. Make sure they have very little noise leakage (back into your mic) and that they're comfortable enough to wear for hours.

Mixer: $150+ You don't have to have a mixer to podcast. But a mixer can allow you to do so much more with greater ease! Bring in Skype calls, play sounds into your recording, output to a digital recorder, or have multiple in-studio guests—all made easy with a mixer.

I recommend the Behringer X1204USB ($180) or the Mackie ProFX8 ($230).

External digital recorder: $200+ Recording into an external digital recorder has some great benefits, but it isn't necessary. But these recorders are great for audio, video, and remote recording and provide reliability and some extra features.

Zoom H2n ($179.99), Zoom H4n ($220–$270), or Roland R-05 ($200).

Webcam: $78 For live-streaming video, I think the Logitech C920 ($78) is the best HD webcam you can get! It works on Windows and OS X. If you're on OS X, also get Webcam Settings in order to have further control over the camera.

Premium WordPress theme: $80+ StudioPress (powered by the Genesis Framework)—Most themes are $79.95 for unlimited sites and no renewals.

Thesis—$87 for unlimited sites and one year of upgrades, $197 for unlimited sites and unlimited upgrades.

Premium WordPress plugins: $37+ Gravity Forms—$39 for one site, $99 for 3 sites, $199 for unlimited sites. Half-price renewals.

Pretty Link Pro—Free basic edition, $37 for one site, $97 for unlimited sites. No renewals.

BackupBuddy—$75 for two sites, $100 for ten sites, $150 for unlimited sites. Discounted renewals.

Cover Art and other design: $5+ The visual branding of your podcast is often a potential subscriber's first impression. Because of this, you want something that looks professional and communicates your brand.

You can get design services as cheap as $5 from Fiverr.com, or hire me to professionally design something for you.

Other software that makes podcasting easier: $10+ * ID3 Editor ($15) for tagging MP3 files with ID3 information. * More advanced audio/video-editor ($50–$350), which can make editing quicker or easier. * Soundboard program ($10–$50) for playing sounds directly into your recording. * Screenflow ($99, OS X) or Camtasia Studio (Windows) for screen-recording. * Wirecast ($495 or $995) for professional live-streaming video. * Skype recording software. * Webcam Settings (OS X) for controlling your webcam settings (aptly named).

Support/consulting This is at the bottom of the list for a reason. Consulting isn't required, but if you need the help, this will be far worth it to pay for as your top priority.

But many podcasters will benefit and maybe even enjoy the self-teaching process.

I'm available for consulting if you need help with podcasting, branding, design, fixing your podcast, WordPress, and more. Check out my new consulting page if you'd like to hire me to help you.

Want to learn how to use Audacity? Sign up today for a one-hour webinar with me (Daniel J. Lewis) as I teach you how to use Audacity from installation through production. The first LIVE webinar will be at noon (EST/GMT-5) on Saturday, March 9, 2013.

We'll also have an open Q&A about Audacity in addition to the hour-long training.

All registrants will receive a free download of the training short after, even if you miss the live webinar!

Register today!

The early-bird tickets are sold out, but you can still get the early bird price by being on my free email newsletter list.

Send your feedback for upcoming topics * What is your preferred order of content when you listen to a podcast? * What are the best online communities for talking about podcasting?

Thank you for the iTunes review! * Battlevictorious

Your reviews encourage me and help others find the podcast! Please rate and especially write a review in iTunes and subscribe and review the new video edition of the Audacity to Podcast.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

BEHRINGER, 12, 4 x XLR 6 x 1/4" TRS, Black (X1204USB)

Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (discontinued by manufacturer)

Canon EOS Rebel T4i DSLR with 18-55mm EF-S IS II Lens (OLD MODEL)

Rode NTG2 Multi-Powered Condenser Shotgun Microphone,Black

View Details

There are plenty of audio-editing software choices. So why go with a free, open-source app for professional productions?

Top 5 reasons to use #Audacity for #podcasting http://t.co/rak5kyBfvo

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) February 25, 2013

Audacity doesn't get in the way Audacity is often criticized for its unfriendly user interface (UI). But it's blank-slate approach keeps the program from getting in the way of your creativity.

Audacity is designed for one purpose: audio-editing. It does this very well with a clean interface and yet many extra effects, features, and functionality.

Audacity makes multitrack editing easy Other audio-editing programs, like Adobe Audition, are powerful, but often unnecessarily complex. To create a multitrack project in Audition, I have to create a new project file, import my tracks, and then I can't run effects or some edits in the multitrack editor because they can only be done in the wave editor.

Audacity merges multitrack editing and wave editing into the same interface. You don't have to switch things around to work with one method or the other. You can even create and edit a multitrack project without saving a file (only recommended for tiny, quick things).

Audacity is cross-platform Regardless of whether you prefer Windows, OS X, or Linux, Audacity is available for you and it works great. The interface is nearly identical across these platforms. So once you know Audacity, you'll know how to use it on any PC you ever use.
Audacity can do everything most audio podcasters need Audio-editing podcasts is simple; it's usually only cut/copy/paste, place sound clips, adjust volumes with fades, and run basic enhancing effects. That's all that most podcasters would need to produce high-quality podcasts. Audacity does all of these and more without the need for extra plugins.

Slight caveat is that I don't recommend making podcast MP3s with Audacity. Instead, export as WAV and use iTunes to convert to MP3.

Audacity is free Yes, the #1 reason to podcast with Audacity is because it's free. This is essential for those who start out podcasting as a hobby and have little or no money to spend on their podcasting.

Since Audacity is free, you can use the money you saved by investing in quality hardware, like a decent microphone (about $50), a mixer (about $120), a better mic stand ($50–$120), or even your own website hosting (about $100 per year with BlueHost).

But there is a cost to “free.” Audacity may take you extra time or knowledge to do some advanced procedure that other software makes easy. When podcasting is a hobby, you have more time to spend than money, and you'll be more interested in the joyful process of learning.

Want to learn how to use Audacity? Sign up today for a one-hour webinar with me (Daniel J. Lewis) as I teach you how to use Audacity from installation through production. The first LIVE webinar will be at noon (EST/GMT-5) on Saturday, March 9, 2013.

We'll also have an open Q&A about Audacity in addition to the hour-long training.

All registrants will receive a free download of the training short after, even if you miss the live webinar!

Register today!

The early-bird tickets are sold out, but you can still get the early bird price by being on my free email newsletter list.

Send your feedback for upcoming topics * What podcasting stuff is worth spending money on? * What is your preferred order of content when you listen to a podcast? * What are the best online communities for talking about podcasting?

Thank you for the iTunes review! * Jengivitis

Your reviews encourage me and help others find the podcast! Please rate and especially write a review in iTunes and subscribe and review the new video edition of the Audacity to Podcast.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Having a regular cohost in your podcast can make your podcast more conversational, personal, and more thorough with alternative perspectives. These tips will help you to podcast with others.

Choose the right cohost Look for someone as passionate as you about your topic. Otherwise, you'll feel like they're dragging the topic down.

You and your cohost need to have a good connection and ability to carry a conversation. Neither of you should be “hogging the mic,” but should be passing the conversation back and forth.

Communicate expectations Expectations are to be expected. If you don't communicate these with your cohost, then you're setting up yourselves for failure.

Make sure your cohost knows what you expect of them. For example:

When do they need to show up?
What should they be contributing?
What is their role in decisions?
Who handles what responsibilities?

Along with content and recording expectations, have a signed agreement on ownership, rights, responsibilities, and how money will be handled.

Prepare together Always let your cohost know what's going on with the podcast and involve them in the planning. This ensures that it's a joint effort so they're not just responding to your statements the whole time.

Use Google Drive (formerly Google Docs), WorkFlowy, or any kind of tool that will allow you to collaborate (preferably in real time) on a document. The details of how you prepare your podcast together will vary based on your circumstances.

Failure to plan means planning to fail. So plan together and you'll succeed together!

Break the ice before recording Have a meal together. Tell jokes or funny stories and laugh together. Do whatever you can to “break the ice” and personally relate with each other before you record. This will make your recording much smoother, and help you both be on the same mental page.
Follow an outline If you adequately prepared together (step 3), then you should have some kind of outline. Make sure you're both aware of this outline and are following it. This can prevent unnecessary jumps and also allow for teases of later content.
Listen and interact It's easy to get distracted while podcasting (especially if you're live-streaming). But try to focus on what your cohost is saying. Don't just acknowledge their contribution; respond to what they say and add to it.

Simply acknowledging their side and moving on will sound like you weren't listening at all or don't value their perspective.

Do not respond to everything they say with, “yeah,” “uh-huh,” and “hmm.” Instead, you can nod your head to acknowledge what they're saying and encourage the conversation without distracting (or annoying) your listeners.

Face each other Face-to-face communication is always the best! Simple things like accidentally talking over each other is so easy to avoid if you can see each other while you're talking.

Face-to-face also helps the podcast sound more personal and conversational, because that's exactly what you're doing—having a personal conversation with a real human in front of you!

Use Skype, Google+ Hangouts, GoToMeeting, or be in the studio together.

Use signals or cues In addition to face-to-face communication, have some defined hand signals or use instant messaging to communicate important things while you're podcasting.
Hold up spread fingers to indicate how many minutes until something.
Point to one of multiple cohosts to clearly state who will speak next.
Hold both palms open and facing up, extended toward your cohost, offering them the opportunity to speak or ask whether they have anything more.
Point an index finger up and twirl to communicate that you need to wrap up.
Hold an index finger up in to communicate “wait,” when you need to get through something without interruptions, like ads or sponsorships.
Allow disagreements without fights Don't be afraid to disagree with each other. Disagreements mean you both have different perspectives, which makes for a more valuable, thorough conversation.

Let these disagreements arise, but don't turn them into fights, and also don't just dismiss them. Let each other clearly state their positions and acknowledge that you could be wrong.

It's always okay to explain why you disagree (and probably more valuable), but you should rarely try to convince your cohost to switch to your side, unless something is clearly being misunderstood or facts misrepresented.

Share the rewards When your podcast receives positive feedback, share it with your cohost to encourage them!

If you monetize your podcast through donations, affiliates, or sponsorships, consider sharing this with your cohost if possible.

What are your thoughts and tips? If you have some experience working with cohosts on your podcast or someone else's, I would love to hear your stories or tips! Please comment below the show notes!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: stevendepolo via Compfight cc

There comes a time in every podcaster's life when he or she wants to start another podcast. These questions and tips will help you determine whether it's right for you, and how to start well.

This content was inspired in part by questions from James Festini from Life…There's an App for That, who ask about my WordPress Multisite setup for Noodle.mx Network; and Nick Seuberling from Start Talking and Recording Today.

5 questions to ask yourself first In addition to all the normal questions to ask yourself when starting a podcast, consider these additional things.

Should I improve my current podcast(s) instead? Podcasters can catch the “podcasting” bug; it's easy to think about starting many different podcasts. But you may find much better success by focusing on the podcast you already have and building its audience or improving its content quality.

With each strong following you have behind a single podcast, additional podcasts will have a more successful launch.

Do I have time for another podcast? Consider how much time you currently take to manage one podcast. Be realistic! Do you really have double that time to manage another podcast?

If it takes you three hours per episode now, you'll soon have six hours for two episodes. This may mean making room in your schedule or else changing the frequency of your podcast schedule.

Will my other podcast(s) suffer? Starting many podcasts at a time will spread yourself thinner. So unless you give equal time and attention to your new podcast, your other podcast will suffer.

Does my new podcast fit, expand, or break my “brand”? Personal branding may not be on your mind, but you should figure it out for yourself. What kind of content do you want associated with yourself? Does that new podcast fit inside of that (such as an additional TV show podcast to your current focus on TV shows)? Or do you find yourself expanding your brand (such as adding entertainment to education)? Or do you find yourself breaking your branding entirely (such as explicit content to your current clean catalog)?

Where will my new podcast live? This is a technical question that you need to figure out. (I'm available for hire to help you with this!)

When you already have one podcast on one website, you have three options for launching a new podcast:

Separate categories on one WordPress site Just add a new category, activate PowerPress's category podcasting feature, and post your episodes in the right place on the same site. But this prevents strong branding for your new content. Often, this can create a war between website features and functionality, resulting in confusion to your visitors.
Separate WordPress sites With most web hosting companies (like BlueHost or HostGator), it's easy to add a new domain and install a separate copy of WordPress. This enables you to completely separate your content, uniquely brand each site, and you won't confuse visitors or run into functionality wars.

But separate WordPress sites can be a pain to manage. When WordPress or a plugin updates, you have to login to each site to update it.

You also have to track separate login information and manage separate databases.

WordPress Multisite WordPress has a “network” mode commonly called Multisite. It allows you to run a single installation of WordPress that powers countless sites. Each site can function as its own, with unique settings, plugins, themes, and so on. But they are updated simultaneously and have a single login to all of them.

This is a lot more technical to setup. But it is truly a thing of beauty and it's what powers all of my WordPress sites:

Beyond the To Do List
Are You Just Watching?
the Ramen Noodle
ONCE podcast
The Audacity to Podcast
~~My personal blog~~ [split into separate site now]
~~My wife's personal blog~~ [split into separate site now]
~~My upcoming new business site~~ [split into separate site now]
~~PodCamp Cincinnati~~ [split into separate site now]
Christian Meets World
All of my other network podcast sites
Noodle.mx Network

Some plugins have issues with WordPress Multisite and may not function entirely. So far, I know that BackupBuddy, LiveFyre, and Disqus are the main culprits I've run into.

If you're interested in setting up a network of WordPress sites, I can help you with that!

11 tips for launching another podcast 1. Crosspromote between your podcasts When you already have an audience, get them interested about your podcast even before you launch it! Tell them it's coming and they'll know what to anticipate.

Once running, crosspromote your other shows, but not too much. You may think the content is irrelevant, but your listeners may not, and they'll understand because it's your other content.

Don't feel like you have to make a network Running a podcast network is a lot of work. If you only have two or three podcasts, calling yourself a “network” may not make sense.

Instead, you could consider joining someone else's network.

Focus on content for one podcast at a time Don't multitask your podcast production! Spend time focused on a single podcast while you're preparing or producing.
Reuse tools and techniques that you already have If something works for one podcast, apply it to your others! Maybe it's your style of opening, the plugins on your website, or even the WordPress theme you use.

All of my podcasts use Pretty Link Pro, Gravity Forms, Relevanssi Premium, Sharebar, StudioPress theme, and many other WordPress plugins.

Have separate email accounts for each podcast For a while, I used a single email account for all of my podcasts—feedback@noodle.mx. This had two problems: people might not have understood “noodle.mx” and it meant all email mixed up in a single place.

Now, I have separate feedback email accounts for each podcast. I've set this up in Gmail so the separate emails are labeled and filtered. A quick look at my inbox shows my emails for “TAP,” “ONCE,” “tRN,” and so on.

Leverage your whole community for big things As you grow, one podcast may overtake the popularity of another. But remember that you may not have an entirely crossover audience. You may have three podcasts each with 100 listeners, but that could total a community of 300.

This larger community can help you achieve big things. I don't think I could have won the podcast award for #1 technology podcast in 2012 if it wasn't for my loyal community of other listeners.

So when you have something really important, share it to all of your listeners and they may be interested, or they may help help simply because they like you.

Setup separate affiliate IDs My biggest mistake with multiple podcasts was using a single affiliate ID across all podcasts. Now I have separate tracking IDs or domains with nearly all of my affiliate links, so I can see how much affiliate income each podcast generates.
Consider separate social-media accounts Because each podcast will have its own content and audience, you may want to target your social-media presence to each community. This could mean extra Facebook pages, Google+ profiles, YouTube channels (or playlists), or even separate Twitter accounts.

Use these channels appropriately and they can help you build a larger community.

Get things right from the start with this launch Launching a new podcast means another opportunity to get things right the first time with it. Here was my original list from episode 68.
Control your RSS feed
Launch with at least three episodes
Have podcast cover art when you launch
Keep episode numbering simple
Offer standard formats
Split podcast and blog RSS feeds
Have and use your own domain
Make a branded email address
Use a media host, or not
Encode your files well
Write at least basic shownotes
Reserve social accounts with your brand
Start strong and on-topic
Recommended: skip USB mics and buy a mixer and mic
Avoid crossover content, unless concise Crosspromoting and sharing big items across your podcasts is great, but keep it concise.

You may not need to tell the same story about your goldfish in every episode.

Use Blubrry's free or premium stats for separate tracking Regardless of where you host your podcast media (I recommend LibSyn with the promo code “noodle” to get a free month), you can add one or more Blubrry tracking “keywords” to it. I use two for my podcasts: a network-wide keyword, and a show-specific keyword.

Having separate “keywords” for each podcast allows you to track its own stats and growth over time, instead of filtering through a giant mix of all your podcasts.

I highly recommend Blubrry's premium stats and prefer them over LibSyn's.

What are your thoughts and tips? If you have some experience launching additional podcasts and want to share the story or tips, please comment below!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo Credit: julianrod via Compfight cc

Hear how other podcasters will change their podcasting in 2013 to help reach new goals.

What I will be doing different in 2013 is to add a feature to my podcast – where I bring in an actual client and address his/her solution during the show.

Carlos Quintero from Media on Q

We did 12 episodes of Financial Tech in 2012 and pod faded in March. Recently, we relaunched the show with a brand new format. 10 minutes of Market Commentary by a CFP from our Credit Union. 10 minutes…that's it. Weekly.

Going to launch a special version of Home Tech called HTI (Home Tech Interview) where I interview interesting people for our audience. The standard format for Home Tech is currently Round Table every week. All tech. This podcast extra will be a bit different.

Going to work on relaunching Enterprise Tech (all about enterprise software, ex. Oracle, Microsoft, etc) later this spring. Maybe May or June.

That is as far out as I can get at the moment.

Jim Collison from The Average Guy podcast network

I will podcast differently by becoming more focused on my topics and less on distractions. Also a more consistent schedule.

Mike Dell (@geekofthenorth)

More consistent schedule and calendar of guests.

@PeeDeeFoodie

More good guests. I think good guests, and sometimes guests with a name, are good ways to build audience for my niche.

Dave Dufour from Theatre Geeks Podcast

I will focus more on being right on topic always.

SavageTechman from Digital Mancave Podcast and The Quotables

Live audio streaming some new shows with a couple of new co-hosts on a very regular basis and more closely targeting my ideal audience. Working hard to develop a more engaged audience by working on content and utilizing social media more effectively.

Mark Kelleher from Mark in Russia

I'm planning on using Google+ in my podcasting as a way to build engaging communities. We're on some of the other networks but Google+ is an untapped resource. I'm also going to utilize Google+ Hangouts.

Nick Seuberling from Start Talking and Recording Today

By summer, I expect us to be broadcasting a vid-stream/vid-cast.

Don Garvey

Fred Casteneda

Cut back from 13 podcasts to 6.
Make 2013 a year of giving back by releasing premium content for free (limited time).
Help other podcasters, like Richard Cleveland's new Podcast U.

How my other podcasts will be different * Handing over Are You Just Watching? to my cohost Eve. * Get more great guests, including celebrities. * Not worry about episode length. * Incorporate feedback more “inline.” * Delegate more tasks.

RESCHEDULED: Audacity training workshop I'm going to offer my first online training workshop for anyone to learn how to use Audacity. The workshop will be at noon (EST/GMT-5) on Saturday, March 9.

This will be an information-packed hour with time for questions after. All registrants will receive a downloadable copy after the workshop.

Through February 15, you can reserve your seat for $100. Email Feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com with the subject “Audacity workshop” to reserve your spot before they're all taken!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo by Daniel J. Lewis

Hear the latest about Audacity's update, an important security update for PowerPress, the “podcasting patent” from Personal Audio, SpeakPipe's new paid plans, New Media Expo, and more in this “eleventy-first” podcast episode.

Audacity updates to 2.0.3 This latest update to Audacity brings mostly some bug fixes, but a couple handy new effects:

Studio Fade Out (uses a filtered “S” curve).

Adjustable Fade (accessible effect for creating partial fades and adjustable fade shapes).

Bass and Treble (replaces Bass Boost).

Read the full release notes for Audacity 2.0.3 to see what's new, and download the latest version yourself!

Updating? It's okay to install or update Audacity 2.0.3 over previous versions. But on OS X (and possibly Linux), backup your “plug-ins” folder first or else you will lose any plugins you added. After you finish the copy, put your chosen plugins back in the “plug-ins” folder.

Urgent security issue with 1-Pixel Out and PowerPress

Due to concerns of possible security exploits, the 1 Pixel Out Audio Player has been removed from PowerPress as of version 4.0.6. PowerPress users are strongly encouraged to update their copy of PowerPress immediately.

Learn more about PowerPress 4.0.6 from Blubrry's blog post.

Personal Audio is suing podcasters Personal Audio was award a patent that describes podcasting. This could be terrible news for podcasters and companies that assist podcasting! Check out the following links to learn more.

Description from Personal Audio
Actual patent from United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
Related “podcasting” patent by VoloMedia from USPTO
The Podcast Patent Lawsuit Against Content Creators from Cliff Ravescraft
SHIELD Act to stop patent trolls (HR 6245)
Defend Innovation

SpeakPipe is coming out of beta with free and paid plans The audio feedback system for websites, SpeakPipe, is coming out of beta on March 1 and switching to free and paid plans.

I support this decision and I think they're still offering a lot for free! But I'll probably becoming a paying customer.

If you don't like a monthly contract, consider the nonexpiring prepaid plans.

New Media Expo thoughts New Media Expo (NMX) and the Podcast Awards were fantastic! The sessions were hit and miss with some major surprises.

You can still buy a virtual ticket to have access to all the sessions from New Media Expo, including the great keynotes from Leo Laporte and Ford!

Also check out Dave Jackson's (passionately honest) thoughts on New Media Expo.

Audacity training workshop I'm going to offer my first online training workshop for anyone to learn how to use Audacity. The workshop will probably be noon (EST/GMT-5) on Saturday, March 2.

This will be an information-packed hour with time for questions after. All registrants will receive a downloadable copy after the workshop.

Through February ~~9~~ 15, you can reserve your seat for $100. Email Feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com with the subject “Audacity training workshop” to reserve your spot before they're all taken!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn how to edit audio projects much faster with simple tricks in Audacity.

Stopwatch photo credit: smaedli via Compfight cc

Zoom shortcuts
Zoom in: Cmd-1 (OS X) or Ctrl-1 (Windows)
Zoom out: Cmd-3 (OS X) or Ctrl-3 (Windows)
Zoom to normal: Cmd-2 (OS X) or Ctrl-2 (Windows)
Fit the entire timeline in the window: Cmd-F (OS X) or Ctrl-F (Windows)
Fit all tracks vertically in the window: Shift-Cmd-F (OS X) or Shift-Ctrl-F (Windows)
Zoom with mouse wheel: hold down Cmd (OS X) or Ctrl (Windows) and use the scroll wheel
Scroll shortcuts Hold down Shift and use the scroll wheel to scroll horizontally across your timeline.
Selection jump Quickly jump to a specific time in your project:
Ensure the Selection Toolbar is activated. If it isn't, enable it through View menu > Toolbars > Selection Toolbar.
Enter a time under “Selection Start.”
Double-press Spacebar.
The view will jump to your selected location.
Backwards editing While recording, keep a log of times where you need to edit (if necessary). Then edit these from end to beginning.

By editing backwards, your logged times will always be correct. But if you edit forwards, then your proceeding times will be off-sync and make editing exponentially harder.

Playback speed If you can listen to audio at chipmunk speed and pitch, then you can edit your audio faster by dragging the playback speed from the Transcription Toolbar.

This will sound crazy, but it could help you edit twice as quickly!

Labels To make navigating your project easier, use a Label track to add notes at certain points. These help you mark and quickly find any portion you want to remember.
Go to the Tracks menu > Add New > Label Track.
Click in the new label track where you want your label to be, or select a region of audio you want labeled and press Ctrl-B (Windows/Linux) or Cmd-B (OS X).
Type your label and press Enter.

Here are a couple notes about Labels.

Labels can overlap and move with your multi-track selection, or with Sync-Lock Tracks enabled.
Move a label by clicking and dragging the small circle.
Expand a label's region by clicking and dragging one of the triangle handles.
Delete a label by clicking on it and removing the text and pressing Backspace one final time.
You can also add a label during playback or recording by pressing Cmd-[Period] (OS X) or Ctrl-M (Windows/Linux).

Learn more about Label tracks from the Audacity manual.

Chains Learn how to setup and use Chains in Audacity to automate tasks and remember effect settings.
Keyboard shortcuts Learn keyboard shortcuts for anything you keep doing. You can usually find these under the appropriate menu, on this cheat sheet, or adjust the keyboard shortcuts yourself.
Go to the Audacity menu (OS X) or Edit menu (Windows) > Preferences.
Go to Keyboard to learn, set, or change keyboard shortcuts.
Go to Mouse to learn, set, or change keyboard shortcuts associated with mouse tools. (The OS X version incorrectly says “Ctrl” when it means “Cmd.”)

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

2013 will be a big year of change for The Audacity to Podcast! I hope my sharing of my plans will inspire your podcasting.

How will you podcast differently in 2013? Many people like to make New Year's resolutions. I like to consider these goals, and they should be reasonable.

But beyond special goals or resolutions, how are you planning to podcast differently in the coming year? Will you be changing your branding, enhancing your marketing, redesigning your website, jumping into video, starting a new podcast, or anything else different from how you podcasted in 2012?

I would love to include your thoughts in an upcoming episode of The Audacity to Podcast!

Mobile-friendly website Mobile devices now account for a large percentage of web traffic. Because of this, I've been working to “responsivize” all of the Noodle.mx Network podcast websites. The Audacity to Podcast will be first and launching in the first week of January, 2013.

CES 2013 coverage The 2013 Consumer Electronic Show is in Las Vegas January 8–11 and I'll be there with the TechPodcasts Network to cover it. I'll record video interviews, participate in live CES coverage at tpn.tv, and share what I think will be most interesting to podcasters and other media producers.

More videos I recently purchased a Canon T4i digital SLR camera ($859 on B&H, $999 on Amazon.com). It records gorgeous HD video! This wasn't just a toy, but a business tool and it's time to put it to use.

My new videos will cover:

quick podcasting answers,
screencast tutorials,
podcasting gear reviews,
audio and video equipment how-tos,
and more!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel or ~~watch for~~ subscribe to the new “

” edition of The Audacity to Podcast in iTunes.

WordPress plugins I'm currently developing WordPress plugins to simplify some of the things I do on my podcast websites, and I'll eventually release these as either a free, “freemium,” or premium plugins to WordPress. Hint: one of them does some beautiful things with PowerPress.

Digital products Having my DSLR camera and better video-editing software, I plan to product some training products and an ebook or two. These will come in at various price points, but I'll give early testers a discount.

Training and consulting To help you learn how to podcast, launch your podcast website, or optimize your current podcast and workflow, I'll refine my one-on-one and group training offerings.

Tip jar I will always keep the regular episodes of The Audacity to Podcast free. But many listeners have also asked for a simple way to leave monetary tips

Tweaked shownotes titles As you may have noticed, I've already tweaked my episode titles for how they show up in iTunes and on the website. Instead of starting episode titles with the abbreviation and episode number (“TAP109: What's coming in 2013”), I'm moving the “code” to the end (“What's coming in 2013 – TAP109”).

This won't affect my SEO because I always write a different title that Google and search-engine users will see.

Podcasting news and deals Podcasters often need upgraded equipment, software, or want to know about the industry and tools that are coming out. In 2013, I'll blog about more of these here on the website to help you get the stuff you need and save.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

“Peace on earth” is great, but podcast rivalry or antagonism can be painful and counterproductive. Instead, use these tips to build community among others podcasting in your niche.

Change your thinking about “competition” What we typically call “competition” in podcasting is usually a product of our minds, and is usually more like antagonism—active hostility or opposition between groups.

Antagonism is driven by a feeling of scarcity, that consumers only have enough time for one podcast in a particular niche, and we want to beat out all the others for that person's interest.

Instead, look at “competition” from a perspective of abundance, that consumers have time for plenty of podcasts on their interests, and will usually subscribe to more than one.

I like to think of the niche or subject as a three-dimensional object. Each of us approach it from a different angle and different step in the process. Some may prime, some paint, but each on their side. In podcasting, we bring our unique perspectives and experience to help complete the understanding of the subject.

This is the biggest but most important step, which is why it's first.

Daniel,

I do not think of other podcasts in my genre to be competition but rather extensions or complementary to my podcast. I specifically avoid a lot of the mainstream topics or products or devices that other podcasts/blogs are covering to distinguish myself from them which prevents “competition.” Since I cover technology there are tons of news, products, services, and discoveries which are not being picked up or featured on the larger and more well-known blogs/podcasts. Some of my best friends are podcaste's in the same genre and mentioning each other's podcasts only helps us.

As a matter of fact, I will send links or information about things to other podcasters that I know if it fits their podcast just to help out. I know I like getting tips from listeners and friends for content for my show. It's how podcasting should be, friendly and cooperative. Since our shows can be consumed at the listener's/viewer's convienence, there is no competition for listeners, but it is your content that determines if you get into someone's playlist. Hence the podcaster's mantra, “Content is King!”

Norbert Davis

NorbTek

It depends. If you believe they did it to drive your podcast out, then I have a problem with it. Otherwise, competition is good. Keeps you on your toes.

Jeffery Powers

Day in Tech History

I take the approach that the more competition there is the better. Competition increases the pie (listeners) we are all working with. Interestingly I have approached at least 10 competitors in the past six months either to appear on my cast or to cross promote. Two have taken me up on the call, the rest . . . well radio silence.

Thomas Cagley

SPaMCAST

I go with the view that my podcast is tiny and I really can not “compete” with the larger podcasts of my genre. I do a video game based show, and I accept the fact that most of my listeners will put IGN, 1UP, GiantBomb, or one of the other big shows before mine. I use to record long shows that were 1 to 1.5 hours long. After doing a poll with my listeners, I found out that a little more than half that took the survey said they would prefer shorter shows from me. So I changed from a biweekly to a weekly format and shortened the show to 30 to 40 minutes long. I got good feedback from my listeners after doing the change. I'm constantly keeping in my mind that I know I'm not big, so I don't want to overwhelm my listeners with too much content. That's how I look at it. I know I'm one of the smaller shows right now, and I accept it. My show isn't even a year old yet so I'm actually pretty happy with where I am right now.

Sayed Stafa

Out of Continues

I don't believe in such a thing as podcasting. I look at it as a DVR vs. Scheduled programming. Scheduled programming you must be there to view it at the time, so the competition would be fearce. Thanks to VCRs and DVRs, you can have both. You can watch it now, or watch it later. And since you can usually record more then one show at a time, you can get both programs you love.

The same is true for podcasting. I download the shows I like for future consumption. Some I have to seriously catch up on, others I listen to religiously. As far as other Trek podcasts, I'm a very small fish in their large pond. So as such I try to build relationships with them. I announce the heck out of them so that they will return the love to me. It's worked quite well. They get my audience's eyes on them and they direct their listeners to take a look at me.

Competition in podcasting? No, don't believe in such a thing.

Hope that helps,

Lou Costanzo

Lou Trek Show

Net based broadcasting is at the core a personality medium. If you look at the multiplicity of tech news shows – each one has a choice of approach that finds an audience even though the same news items are being addressed. The more “competition” there is, the stronger the probability that the personal following will resonate for a given podcaster and generate a loyal audience. If you know you have a lot of choices you will seek the show length, content and presentation that you like.

The classic economics class illustration is the lone ice cream stand and the beach will starve for customers, but “ice cream row” or a food court will prosper because people will know they will find something there.

The need is for ~more~ shows, particularly on video, to keep consumer attention focused on that spot between User Generated Content (UGC) on YouTube and full commercial productions, as a vibrant, interesting and valuable media conduit.

Andy McCaskey

SDRNews

Complement or supplement the conversation Knowing that we're approaching he same subject from different perspectives and experience, consider how you can complement or supplement what others are already saying.

Complement, supplement both mean to make additions to something. To complement is to provide something felt to be lacking or needed; it is often applied to putting together two things, each of which supplies what is lacking in the other, to make a complete whole: Two statements from different points of view may complement each other. To supplement is merely to add to: Some additional remarks may supplement his address. [via Dictionary.com]

I listen to my “competition,” not so I can figure out how to beat them, but so I and add to the overall subject.

What can you use in your own podcast and give credit to the source?
What can you refer your audience to so your podcast can be comprehensive?
What can you say that hasn't been said?
What can you build on to go into more depth?
Collaborate on something Don't be a loner in podcasting! Reach out to the other podcasters and try to work together.
Cross-promote each other.
Be guests on each other's shows.
Produce a roundtable.
Form a network.

In the podcasts about podcasting space, we're already doing this with Podcasters' Roundtable, and I'm starting a Once Upon a Time roundtable with other podcasters.

Be the “better podcaster” There's a great Bible verse that says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” (Romans 12:18, ESV).

Our “competition” won't always play nicely. Even then, we should be the “better podcaster”: continue to encourage community and encourage our listeners to get the broader perspective by consuming the other podcasts, too.

Stay humble by realizing that others have knowledge and experience you don't have.

Hi Daniel,

This may sound strange to some. But the short answer is…I encourage it and I help promote the new shows. I podcast about the hobby of amateur radio. The content I produce is to help educate and inspire my listeners…it is all about the greater good of the hobby. My practical amateur radio podcast hit the 4 year mark a few weeks ago. I've seen many podcasts come and go in this time. I've encouraged and I've helped to promote all podcasts about the hobby. I maintain a list of all the amateur radio podcasts I know about on my website.

[Daniel's note: I also listed all of the other Once Upon a Time podcasts on our site.]

The true list of active amateur radio podcasts (producing content on at least a monthly basis) is a short list. Just about all I know think of their podcasts as just an extension of the hobby. That has certainly been how I felt over the years. I would include my podcast in a list of about 3-4 podcasts which are actively produced/released once a month or more. While some are certainly more shiny and have much deeper pockets (I would put Leo Laporte/Bob Heil's Ham Nation in this category). The rest of the three of us are just doing all we can do to help promote our hobby.

Of course I don't expect all podcasters to have the approach I do towards podcasting.

Jerry G. Taylor – KD0BIK

The Practical Amateur Radio Podcast

Hear more from Podcasters' Roundtable This episode was inspired by the Christmas season and our Podcasters' Roundtable #6: “Competition in Your Niche.”

Upcoming: how will you podcast differently in 2013? Many people like to make New Year's resolutions. I like to consider these goals, and they should be reasonable.

But beyond special goals or resolutions, how are you planning to podcast differently in the coming year? Will you be changing your branding, enhancing your marketing, redesigning your website, jumping into video, starting a new podcast, or anything else different from how you podcasted in 2012?

I would love to include your thoughts in an upcoming episode of The Audacity to Podcast!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Sometimes, you need a break from podcasting, whether planned or unexpected. Here are some tips for handling this with the least negative affect on your viewers or listeners.

Planned holidays Podcasts generally attract an American audience, but that's not exclusive. When a major holiday is approaching, consider announcing that you'll take a week off.

Subscribers will often take trips and won't be able to download your episode, let alone listen while they're vacationing.
When subscribers return, they are often behind in their podcast consumption and may skip old episodes.
Some podcast programs will only download the latest episode, so subscribers may not receive anything but your latest episode when they return.
Even if your audience doesn't take a break, too. They may need the time to catch up on your podcast or someone else's.

Also don't assume that your audience knows the holiday you're talking about. Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving are very American holidays. Other counties may have similar holidays, but probably not on the same dates. So explain the holiday so your international listeners will understand.

Unforeseen break Life sometimes prevents us from podcasting. (Side note: life is always more important than your podcast.) If you usually publish on a consistent schedule (at least a particular day of the week), then you have four choices.

Podcast a previously-recorded, timeless fallback Record an episode that you can have on hand to publish at any time. This kind of episode is best to be “timeless” and not tie to any specific event. But it will sound like fresh content to your audience.

Podcast an announcement Release a short announcement to let your subscribers know that there won't be an episode that week (or however long the break is). Once you come back from your break, you can delete this old episode.

This could be a standard and reusable message. For example, “We're unable to release an episode this week. Please check back next week.”
Record something specific for that week. For example, “My cat vomited on my podcast gear, so we can't release an episode until we get this replaced. We hope this will be only a week or two.”

The most important thing is to let your audience know that there won't be an episode until whenever you return.

Rehash old content If you have a lot of episodes, it's likely that your audience has forgotten the old content or not heard it at all. You could repost an entire old episode (we hope it's timeless), or post a “best of” selection of excerpts.

Do nothing and leave your subscribers wondering Doesn't it bother you when you invite someone and they say they'll be there, but they never show up? It's even worse when they don't tell you that they won't be there.

Your podcast audience won't be quite so attached. But leaving them wondering where your episode is can cause unnecessary confusion and inconvenience (I've heard subscribers tell me they tried all kinds of things to “fix” their iTunes, but it wouldn't download the episode that I didn't release).

Temporary hiatus Many podcasts will take (usually) planned hiatuses.

A TV-show podcast may not have episodes to talk about.
Your podcast may be a miniseries and takes breaks between each season.
The podcast could even be tied to a particular season due to whether or current events. For example, a gardening podcast or a podcast leading up to an annual event (though off-season content would still be great).

When you plan to have these breaks, make sure your audience knows ahead of time. You may even want to post something on your website to say, “Returning on [date].”

Podfading Sometimes, life really gets in the way and we can get in the habit of not podcasting. This is considered “podfading.” It's different from a limited release because podfading is never planned. It's like a pet you never feed that eventually dies from starvation.

You will not lose your entire audience if you podfade, but you may lose a portion if you don't let your audience know what's going on.

Even if you've decided to stop podcasting, give your listeners the courtesy of telling them with a short episode. Don't leave them hanging and wondering.

Over-frequent publishing On the opposite side of this is when you post episode too frequently. Publishing episodes more often has great benefits to growing your audience by creating more great content.

But there's also a downside if you don't do it well or your audience doesn't expect a lot of episodes.

The default setting in many podcast programs (including iTunes) is to download only the latest episode from a single podcast. If you post your episodes too close to each other, then your subscribers may get only the latest one and not other recent episode before that. So your audience may not hear the full message unless you tell them to go back and get the previous episode. This inconveniences your audience.

The most common reason for doing this is to keep episodes shorter. But this hurts listenability because your message is split, and your shownotes will be, too. I've made this mistake and it was a pain to point people to two places to hear the full conversation.

If the content is good, your audience will probably be fine with a longer episode.

But there are good cases for splitting content:

when you have want to give your audience the opportunity to comment or respond before your next episode,
when your content is best segmented for better relevance (like my previous “podcasting and the law” series), or
when you have a lot of content to spread across a lot of time.

Upcoming: relevant, out-of-the-box podcast ideas I would like a future podcast episode to share out-of-the-box thinking for the kinds of podcasts that could go along with your passions and expertise, but may not be so obvious. For example:

a divorce lawyer podcasts about how to protect your marriage from divorce, or
a web designer (me) podcasts about how to podcast and have a great website.

Send your suggestions (even if they're fictional!), podcasts you know of, or your own experience!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Audacity is free and Adobe Audition is $349. Are there really benefits to Audition that are worth the big price tag? I share why Audition may be best for my podcasting workflow, but why you probably shouldn't switch.

My reasons for switching to Audition 1. Included in Adobe Creative Cloud

Because of my professional web design services, I'm subscribed to Adobe Creative Cloud, which gives me access to every Adobe creative app: Photoshop, Premiere Pro, InDesign, Illustrator, Lightroom, After Effects, and more.

Audition is also included with Creative Cloud, so it's software that I already own and doesn't cost any extra to use. So why not try this professional audio-editing software?

Better multitrack editing

I have been overall pleased with Audition's multitrack editing. I can add effects to tracks or sections without changing my actual audio (called destructive editing), so I can also make changes much later.

Some of the multitrack workflow does get annoying, like exporting. There's a particularly nasty bug that forces me to manually switch my export bit depth to 16-bit lest Audition ignore the rest of my encoding settings.

Recording markers from Zoom H4n

The Zoom H4n external recorder has a fantastic feature that will place a marker in my audio. I just press the REC while recording to place it.

This makes spot editing much easier! I don't have to write down timestamps and edit backwards. It's also a lot more subtle when I mark something to edit in a conversation with cohosts.

Quicker crossfades

In Audacity, crossfades are involved!

Edit the audio, or import the separate clips.
Move the two clips to separate tracks
Overlap the clips by the amount of crossfade you want to occur.
Select the overlap's length of the end of the first clip.
Go to Effects > Crossfade out.
Select the overlap's length of the beginning of the second clip.
Go to Effects > Crossfade in.
Hope you never have to change this.

(Crossfades in Audacity produce a better volume curve than a normal fade. So the transition will be smoother.)

In Audition's multitrack mode, this is much easier.

Edit the audio or import the separate clips.
Move the two clips onto the same track and overlap them the length of the desired crossfade.
Move these around anytime you want to change the crossfade.
Simplified workflow You know that since episode 10, I have recommended making MP3s with iTunes instead of Audacity (Audacity uses LAME which is great for VBR music MP3s, but terrible for CBR podcast episodes). Here's the process.
Export from Audacity to WAV.
Import into iTunes.
Setup iTunes to make mono 64 kbps CBR MP3s or 128 kbps stereo CBR (one-time step).
Convert to MP3.
Copy the MP3 from iTunes.
Delete the leftover WAVs in iTunes and your source directory.
Delete the leftover MP3 still in the iTunes library.

Since I work in mono audio, I would always add a step before all of these to convert my WAVs into a mono WAV, since iTunes would do that faster than Audacity.

Since Adobe Audition uses the Fraunhofer MP3 encoder (same as iTunes), I can make my MP3s directly from Audition.

Audition also quickly converts my source WAV files to mono and saves them for me. So I've dropped several steps from my conversion workflow.

Smaller project sizes

Unless I run a destructive effect or process my audio inside of Audition, it simply links to my external WAV files. Audacity does this, too. Butadding any kind of processing in Audacity would require embedding the raw audio at an even larger size than uncompressed WAV.

Since Audition applies most effects as a nondestructive feature to tracks or clips, it doesn't have to process the audio until I play (live processing) or export.

Since Audition processes live instead of changing my raw audio, my project folders average 1/3 their size of when I use Audacity.

Integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro Since I'm now getting into video production with my Canon T4i DSLR, I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro and even After Effects more often. Audition integrates quite well with these apps, including some of the exact effects and presets can be carried between them.

Why you shouldn't switch 1. Expensive ($349) Adobe Audition is available at multiple price points (as of December 3, 2012):

$349 to buy outright;
subscribe for $19.99 per month with an annual contract ($239.88 per year);
subscribe for $29.99 per month with no contract; or
included Creative Cloud membership at $29.99, $49.99, or $79.99 per month, depending on your contract and eligibility.

Whatever option you select, it costs a lot! But Audacity is free and many other great audio-editing programs are under $100.

Unless Audition provides some steller feature set that saves you hours (or brain cells), then the price is probably too high for most podcasters.

Won't improve audio quality Audition is high-quality software, but it won't make your audio any better. There are numerous compressors built in (some I think are overused to produce over-processed, headache-inducing sound), but the quality of these depends on your knowledge of the tool, not the tool itself.

Hear the Audacity version of this episode for comparison This edition may sound different, but it's due to my settings with different tools, not due to the quality or price tag of the software.

May not save any time Your workflow is most likely different from mine. Most podcasters only need basic cut/copy and paste features, with some basic adjustments. In this case, Audition is like renting a bus to transport one person.
If you have extra money, invest it elsewhere There are so many other things worth the money if you're tempted to spend $350. You could be a better mic (or several!), a mixer or bigger mixer, premium WordPress plugins, better headphones, silent mic stands, shockmounts, cables, pop filters, webcams, or any number of other things.

Audio-editing software is probably the last place you should ever spend money in your podcast. But even if you do want something fancier or easier to use than Audacity, there are plenty of great options under $100.

Upcoming: podcasting stuff worth the money In a future episode, I'll share what things I think are worth spending money on for your podcast. Please tell me your favorites!

Podcasting tip: get the best audio quality with what you have The best gear doesn’t mean the best podcast. Focus on episode content and audio quality with what you have. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and Podcasting Passion

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo credit: Liv Niland

Software, equipment, people, and accomplishments that we couldn't podcast without, or that podcasting helped us accomplish.

Erik Fisher from Beyond the To Do List:

@theRamenNoodle I’m thankful for all the people who are learning in the journey of productivity and creativity with my show.

— Erik Fisher (@ErikJFisher) November 19, 2012

Dan Lavoie:

@theRamenNoodle I'm thankful for the podcasting community that is coaching me in getting into it as a hobby.

— Hero For Hire (@GoldenSaucerGuy) November 19, 2012

Professor Alan from Book Guys Show:

@theRamenNoodle I'm thankful for being able to talk regularly with fellow book lovers and authors.

— Alan Middleton (@ProfessorAlan) November 19, 2012

Mike Dell from Geek of the North:

@theRamenNoodle I'm thankful I get to work with such a great company in Podcasting (@blubrry) and all the friends I've made #podcasting

— Mike Dell (@mgdell) November 19, 2012

Jeremiah Miller from Chunks o' Wisdom: I'm thankful for the Audacity to Podcast, and all of your help!

Anne-Sophie from Your Life Your Success:

@theRamenNoodle community

— Anne-Sophie (@theannesophie) November 26, 2012

Angela from Podcast Goddess:

Internet in general and what it has enabled
Podcasters who share their passions to change the world
Audible for supporting podcasters
People who believe podcasting is its own medium
Listeners

Matthew Lowell from The Awaken Revolution:

Akismet WordPress plugin for blocking spam
Disqus commenting system plugin (plus Akismet) for moderating website comments

SgtFred: Sorry, I meant to say: “I am THANKFUL for Lon Naylor (i.e., “Mr. Camtasia”) and his giving to the video, elearning and tutorial community.

Richard from Naked Ape Productions: Wirecast for professional live-streaming video.

Bill Hutchison from YWAM Podcast:

I'm thankful for the global reach that podcasting has and that with it there are no geographical boundaries. My personal podcast where I share my testimony has been downloaded in over 40 different countries, including many in the middle east, which would not be possible without the global reach of podcasting.

DJ City from The Japan Experience Podcast: we can broadcast our voices across the Internet and reach others with our interests.

Joshua Steubing:

As a listener, the thing I am most thankful for in podcasting is the vast diversity of podcasts to fill my day with. I can, pretty much, find a podcast (or two) covering any given topic I may want to learn more about and it's awesome to have that kind of instant gratification when I used to have to wait for my favorite radio shows to come on the airwaves at their scheduled times.

As a podcaster, I am most thankful for the community of podcast producers. I would never have thought to even try and produce my own podcasts but shows like TAP and Cliff Ravenscraft's Podcast Answer Man, have taught me so much and equipped me to be confident that I can be a successful podcast producer as well. In fact, I am launching my own podcast network in January with 4 unique shows initially that already have 3-4 shows recorded each!

Thanks for all you do and, specifically, for the great work with TAP!

What I'm thankful for 1. Podcast listeners who have supported my business by hiring me or referring others to me 2. Canon T4i digital SLR camera for still photos and HD video 3. My new iPhone 5, which doubles as my new iPod 4. The camaraderie among other podcasters instead of competition

Big announcement I will try switching from Audacity to Audition for a couple weeks. This won't be a permanent switch, but it will be a test.

Unfortunately, this is already proving very difficult.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo credit: Eduardo Zárate

Not receiving emails or voicemails from your podcast listeners or blog readers? Then learn 5 things you can do to change that!

Previously, I shared 8 ways that you can enable your community to send you feedback. Now, let's consider how you get get your audience to send you feedback through your channels.

Enable your audience to send feedback Make sure that your audience has a simple way to send feedback. Even better than that, ensure that they have several ways to contact you:
Written email
Phone voicemails
Website comments
Contact/feedback form
Audio messages
Social networks
Forum posts
Website chat

If you don't provide an easy and obvious way for your audience to share their opinions, then you won't receive very many.

Ask for responses “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find” are words from the Bible that apply in so many situations. Don't simply give your feedback information, but ask people to share their opinions, experience, and perspectives.

Sometimes, this is a direct question, “What do you think of this?” Sometimes, it's an imperative, “Please share your experience with this.” Sometimes, it's more conversational, “I would love to hear what you did.” However you word it, make sure your audience knows that you're asking to hear from them.

These moments of asking for responses are also the perfect time to remind your audience how they can respond.

Encourage interaction Beyond asking for a response, present your information in a way that encourages interaction. Great content wrapped in a great presentation encourages great conversation.

This can spark all kinds of creativity. If you come across extremely opinionated, you'll get some extremely opinionated opposing feedback.

Don't consider the topic a closed matter once you've addressed it. Consider that there's more to say and your audience knows what that is, so leave the topic open so they can contribute.

Depending on your topic, you may want to point your audience to particular channels for this interaction. When I address a topic in The Audacity to Podcast™, I encourage interaction in the comments so the conversation is all there and others can participate. When we talk about Once Upon a Time in our podcast, I encourage listeners to share their thoughts and theories with the rest of the community in the forum.

Include your community If you receive great feedback, use it! If the feedback springboards your content, then include the message so that person feels involved and the community sees that you're including them in the dialog.

Even if there's not enough time to include the feedback, or the person wasn't clear enough, at least acknowledge them and credit the conversation to them.

Respond to feedback Feedback isn't always appropriate to reshare. Any of the following may be the kind of feedback that doesn't require publicly broadcasting.
It's a criticism or critique that you can address without publicly acknowledging it.
It's not the subject you wanted to address.
It's overly self-praising to you.
It's a response to previous material that you're no longer covering.
It's a question you already answered.
It's just something you don't feel like including.

Each of these cases are up to your discretion. But even if you don't include the feedback (previous point), give the person the honor of acknowledgement. Even a simple, “Thank you,” can go a long way.

Try to respond to every bit of feedback that you possibly can. Try to leave no comment on your site unresponded to, and answer every email.

When you respond, it shows people that you're listening and appreciate their feedback, so they'll be more inclined to send more.

Actions of a desperate podcaster Whatever you do, don't get desperate! Desperate podcasters create weak content. Here are some pitfalls to avoid when you're desperate.

Contests—these are like bribing your audience to send you feedback.
Pleading—think how annoyingly cute a begging puppy is. You're not a cute puppy!
Fake responses—getting your family or friends to give a message just for the sake of having feedback is clever, but often not necessary.
Dependence—if you feel like you can't blog or podcast without hearing from your audience, then you may be struggling with your passion.

Podcasting tip Dan from Miskatonic University Podcast suggested carrying around a small notebook and pen for ideas for show topics, interview questions, notes, and sketching website layouts.

Whether you have pen and paper, a smartphone, a tablet, or an audio-recording device, use it to record your ideas! Like the biggest fish that always gets away, your best ideas will be lost unless you record them.

What are you thankful for in podcasting? It's been a long time since I shared what we podcasters are thankful for. Please share your items, people, software, experience, or anything else that you're thankful for in podcasting! I'll share these in the next episode, which will be on November 26, 2012 (skipping Thanksgiving week in the USA).

Podcasters' Roundtable: podcasting pet peeves Learn how Ray Ortega (from The Podcasters Studio) uses Google+ to host these Podcasters' Roundtable sessions in his discussion with Dave Jackson.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasters and bloggers love feedback from their audience, but are you providing enough or the right ways for your listeners/readers to share their opinions?

Learn eight options you can add for your community to share their perspective with you.

Written email Have your feedback email address on your site! If you're concerned about spam, you can use Gmail the right way, which will give great spam protection.

Don't write your email address like, “feedback [ at ] theaudacity to podcast [ dot ] com.” That's unfriendly to your visitors! Instead, use the free CryptX plugin for WordPress to encrypt your email address but keep it friendly for humans.

Phone voicemails Picking up a phone and dialing a number is the easiest way for people to send feedback. For podcasts, it's also great to hear an additional voice.

Check out these services for making a voicemail number:

Google Voice (free)
Kall8
K7
BroadVoice (what Cliff Ravenscraft from Podcast Answer Man uses)
Website comments Write great shownotes and allow instant comments on your site, and it's a great way to receive “replies” on specific content from your audience.

This is easier for you and your commenters with a WordPress plugin:

Disqus
LiveFyre
Contact/feedback form Sometimes, it's too inconvenient for someone to open their email program to write an email. Sometimes, hosts are, unfortunately, paranoid of putting their email address on a website. In either case, a contact form is a great solution for your audience to email you through your site.

This form is easy to add to WordPress with a plugin:

Jetpack (free)
Contact Form 7 (free)
Gravity forms ($39 for one site, $99 for three, $199 developer license)
Audio messages Encourage your fans to record themselves to send as feedback! They can use their own podcasting equipment or a voice recorder app on their smartphones to email the audio to you.

Or use the currently free SpeakPipe voice message service to add a tab or link to your site where visitors can click to record a message right from their computers.

Social networks Be on the top social networks—like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube—only if you can do it well.

Wherever you are, encourage conversation among your community. You may need a document or app like Evernote, Springpad, or Workflowy to track these messages for inclusion in future content.

Forum posts When you get some much interaction on your website and through email that it gets hard to manage, it may be time to start a forum. Here are the best forum packages:
phpBB (free, standalone)
bbPress (free, WordPress plugin)
Simple Machines Forum (free, standalone)
vBulletin ($249, standalone)
Website chat You may even want a way for website visitors to instantly chat with you like an IM through your website. For this, check out:
Zopim (WordPress plugin used by Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting)
Woopra (website stats package that includes instant chat, limited free)

Poll: What are your top 2 ways you receive feedback? [poll id=”13″]

Podcasting tip Your voice is as valid as everyone else’s. Don’t let inner negative voices keep you from starting. Erik Fisher from Beyond the To Do List

Nick from SPNT.tv certainly didn't let inner negative voices stop him from launching Start Talking and Recording Today, a podcast about podcasting.

What are you thankful for in podcasting? For my upcoming Thanksgiving episode, I would like to include your top one or two things you're thankful for in podcasting. This could be a favorite app, hardware, or other tool; something that podcasting has helped you achieve; or someone you've met.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Hear several lessons you should learn for improving your podcast and standing out from the rest!

Over 5,000 podcasts were nominated for the 8th annual Podcast Awards. Only 220 made it in for final voting. These tips are based on the findings shared by Todd Cochrane in the slate announcement.

Lessons you should learn from other podcasts 1. Make your website uniquely branded, not generic. 90% of the podcasts did this well. 2. Ensure your audio quality is great! If you use BlogTalkRadio, don't publish that audio but record yourself and publish that. There were very few low-quality-audio podcasts. 3. Make your podcast obvious on your homepage, don't make people dig to find it. 27% failed this. 4. Make your podcast playable and downloadable on your site (PowerPress makes this easy). 34% of the podcasts couldn't be played from the site. * Of the podcasts using Blubrry's stats system, iTunes is accounts for 53% of the subscription, browser-based playing is second place by a large margin. * iPad is the #1 mobile device used for listening to podcasts via a browser 5. If you publish video, make the video embeddable for your fans. 73% of the podcasts didn't do this. 6. Create an RSS feed for your video podcast. YouTube, Blip.tv, other video websites aren't enough! 70% didn't do this! 7. Ensure your RSS feed is valid and working. Only 9% had invalid feeds. 8. Have a visible RSS link (I recommend an RSS icon) for your feed(s). * 33% offered a blog-only feed * 49% offered a podcast-only feed * 23% had the podcast feed buried * 28% didn't have any finable RSS or iTunes link! 9. Have a backup plan for FeedBurner, or leave FeedBurner completely. 71% of the shows are still publishing their FeedBurner addresses. 10. Cut down your RSS feed size! 26% had an RSS feed larger than 250 KB. 11. Make your iTunes icon/link visible on your home/landing page. * 61% had a visible iTunes icon on landing pages * 57% had this icon somewhere within their site 12. Make your feedback email and phone number easily accessible. * 12% had a visible email address * 8% had a newsletter sign-up * 21% had a feedback number or audio feedback widget. 13. Get your own domain! 90% had their own domains. 14. Write thorough shownotes. 73% had less than a single paragraph for shownotes for latest five episodes 15. Blog on your website between podcast episodes. Only 16% of the podcasts have frequent blog posts, too. 16. Spread your message across media. 23% of the podcasts were creating audio, video, and blog posts. 17. Make your website mobile-friendly! Todd said that 31% are mobile-ready, but I have to question whether that's simply compatible or optimized for mobile. 18. Be on social networks and link to them from your website. * 60% had a Twitter link * 72% had a Facebook link * 15% had a Google+ link 19. Podcast weekly at the least for the best audience growth. * 25% podcast weekly * 23% podcast more than one episode per week and are seeing 8 times the growth 20. Don't neglect your podcast during summer. Many podcasts had little or no summer dip (June–August). 21. Be in iTunes and other podcast directories! Just posting YouTube or website media isn't good enough. * Most podcasts average 93 different devices or clients for downloading podcasts. Make sure you have as many of these, especially mobile apps, covered with your podcast(s).

Watch Todd Cochrane's full video My suggestions for podcasts to vote for In addition to the Ramen Noodle, ONCE podcast, and The Audacity to Podcast, please consider these other podcasts that I will be voting for in the Podcast Awards.

People's choice: Smart Passive Income
Best Produced: Geekazine—fellow TechPodcasts member
Best Video Podcast: The iPad Show—fellow TechPodcasts member
Business: Smart Passive Income
Education: Day in Tech History—fellow TechPodcasts member
Food and Drink: Mommy's cocktail hour
Gaming: Minecraft Me
Health / Fitness: Recovered
Religion Inspiration: A Survival Guide 4 Christian Men
Sports: Who-Dey Weekly
Travel: MouseChat or Amateur Traveler

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Hear from the inside and hindsight of how I planned and organized the massive 100th episode, and hear tips for working with any other complicated podcast with lots of feedback, notes, and ideas.

Please forgive all the personal pronouns as I share my own experience and shortcomings that can help you.

What I did well It took some hard work to host episode 100, and I think some things worked really well.

I planned ahead I knew that I wanted my 100th episode to be of great value, not just “happy milestone to me, I'm so great!” I reflected on how podcasting helped me on The Audacity to Podcast's second anniversary.

So I decided back before episode 84 what the 100th episode would be and how it would flow.

I requested feedback early and often Things go better with planning. So the more planning you do, the early you can notify your audience of what they can do. And the early they knew what to do, the more time they have to do it.

Furthermore, the more often you remind your audience, the more likely they'll remember to do the thing you want them to do.

I created Chains and customized keyboard shortcuts in Audacity All of the nearly 100 voicemails I used required the same, non-unique, repetitive tasks:

Mixer stereo to mono.
Normalize to -1 dB (to reduce clipping for the next step).
Run Chris's Dynamic Compressor with settings that work for most voicemails.
Renormalize to -1 dB.

I created an Audacity Chain to run all of these steps on every file I opened. I also assigned some new keyboard shortcuts to “Apply Chains” and “Normalize” to further save time. My master guide was my draft shownotes in WordPress Document, list, and collaboration tools like Google Drive (formerly Docs) or Workflowy (both free) can work great for preparing your outline and notes. But writing your notes directly into WordPress can help you get your formatting, links, and media all together where you'll need to to be for a quick publish.

I numbered my files and named them simply Instead of naming each file after its tip, I simply numbered them and added the person's name. Then I referred to my master guide for arranging and knowing what each tip was.

I summarized everyone's feedback with their name and verified links Written and audio feedback can be hard to remember without reading or hearing the whole thing. Write simple summaries of the feedback just to remind you.

I tried to keep the 100 tips to be tweet length.

What I should have done differently If you watched me record episode 100 live, then you saw some glitches, hiccups, and confusions. Here are two major things that could have save a lot of frustration.

I should have sorted feedback earlier, as I received it So many of my problems could have been saved if I hadn't procrastinated and had instead organized feedback as it came in. This would have allowed me to space out multiples, more accurately filter out duplicates, and plan ahead if I had gaps.

I should have rehearsed Despite my complete notes, I still had some things mislabeled or in the wrong places. I could have prevented this if I had rehearsed ahead of time.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Unique, profound, and unconsidered tips from other podcasters to help you make your podcasts so much better!

START! You can plan and think, but make sure you just START! Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting
Stop obsessing over your stats and focus on building relationships with the community you already have. Cliff Ravenscraft from Podcast Answer Man
Approach every interaction with gratefulness, even if it's an anonymous, negative review. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Test before you record a Skype call. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
When picking music for your intro or outro music, consider your listener's environment and how it will sound where they are listening. Brad Bruce
Don't be afraid to copy a topic for your podcast. But put your own, unique twist on it. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Shave before you podcast so your stubble doesn't scratch your pop filter (unless you're a lady). Host Chiaki from Metal Moment Podcast and Japanese Metal Head Show
Invent alternatives for your “verbal crutches” and practice using them. Ron Eastwood
Always use a pop filter. DJ City from Japan Experience Podcast
Carry around a small notebook and pen for ideas for show topics, interview questions, notes, and sketching website layouts. Dan from Miskatonic University Podcast
Stick to the schedule you pick (daily, weekly, monthly). Dave Jackson from Grow Your Church show
Use a hardware recorder because a computer can easily corrupt or lose your recording. Timothy Lim from Corner Geeks
If you're new and lack confidence, do what actors do: rehearse, rehearse, and build your confidence. Byron Friday
Get a second computer monitor for holding your notes. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Put your pets somewhere that they won't disturb your podcasting. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Don't be afraid to take a break! Use the break to refocus and plan the future of your podcast. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Test your shownotes by entering them on your website and previewing before you publish. Louise from Anonymous Knitter
Think twice before starting another podcast because of the time it takes to produce good content. Dave Jackson from Healing Our Marriage
Check out the Audio-Technica AT2005-USB microphone: USB and XLR for under $100. Carey Green from Christian Home and Family podcast
The best gear doesn't mean the best podcast. Focus on episode content and audio quality with what you have. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Don't be afraid of re-recording if you're not satisfied with your first results. Craig from Making Business and Sales Work
Visit the restoom before you podcast. Ron Eastwood
For beginner podcasters who want to practice with recording and audio editing before they get started, volunteer at librivox.org. You get to help read public domain audiobooks that are distributed for free over the Internet, and you can help practice and build your confidence. “Parrot”
If you want something from your listeners, ask for it often! Feedback, ratings and reviews, and even donations. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Join a podcast network. This will help you mentor and be mentored. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Don't have guest cohosts call from a wireless phone on a moving train. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Check out MP3 Skype Recorder (Windows) to easily record your Skype calls for free! Carey Green from Christian Home and Family podcast
Have a listener voicemail number and remind your listeners of it often. Wayne Henderson from Media VoiceOvers
Don't run an audio compressor before you run Truncate Silence. Damian Harris from Australian Power Transmission Podcast
Make sure a matching domain is available for your podcast title and that it's easy to say and spell. Dave Jackson from Feeding My Faith
Don't drink fizzy drinks before you podcast. Kevin Mulryne from Yes Music Podcast
Don't use copyrighted music as your theme song unless you have written permission. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Don't be afraid of background noise when it can add a great ambiance to your podcast. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Listen to your own podcast! This can be a quality-check or to find ways to improve. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Make an agreement with your cohosts about your podcast responsibilities, finances, expectations, and more. Dave Jackson from Weekly Web Tools
If you have to podcast with a cold, a touch of hot pepper or some horseradish can clear you up for some time. Ron Eastwood
Write short, compelling episode titles that convey some of what the episode is about. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Get your listeners to send in opening bumpers, like “Hi, this is John Smith and you're listening to [ podcast name ].” Steve Stewart from MoneyPlan SOS
Turn off the fans and get ready to sweat! Matthew Lowell from The Awaken Revolution podcast
Don't let any programs to auto-download updates. You know they'll start when you're recording. Boot up in advance in case any programs do try to auto-update. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
When you are producing an interview based podcast, make sure to always set your interviewees expectations on the following 3 items: The content to be discussed, the time they need to set aside for the interview, and the general makeup of the audience they are speaking to. John Dumas from Entrepreneur on Fire
Make a checklist and read it before every podcast episode. For example, don't talk over each other, slow down and articulate, etc. Matthew Lowell from The Awaken Revolution podcast
Don't sweat the small stuff! Fix the big issues you can spot when you're starting out. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Consider a “soundboard” app for your computer, or especially on a tablet or even mobile phone. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
To create the illusion of a multi-shot video podcast, simply zoom and crop the single footage you have and you can switch to that in production. Ron Eastwood
Be unique as quickly as possible in your podcast opening. Don't make your opening any longer than 30 seconds. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Be honest with your audience, give them something personal to connect with. Craig from Making Business and Sales Work
Record to an uncompressed file format. Convert to a compressed format (like MP3, MP4, etc) only at the end. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Use a USB mic or USB connection if you have to use your computer. This will give you better sound than an analog connection. DJ City from Japan Experience Podcast
Avoid free hosting! You'll eventually want to move, and it can be a pain. Dave Jackson from Logical Weight-Loss Podcast
Promote what's coming in your episode from the beginning, and tease what's coming in future episodes so listeners come back for more. Mike Russell from Music Radio Creative
Stick to a regular schedule if you've set one. Listeners will start to rely on this. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Make your shownotes contain every link, image, quotation, product, or video that you mention in your podcast. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Team up with other podcasters in your field and crosspromote. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
State your name and name of your podcast at the beginning of your episodes. Ileane from Ms. Ileane Speaks podcast
Share your shownotes with your interviewee by sending them a PDF, which can be read by anyone in the world. Carl Valeri from Aviation Careers Podcast
Help other podcasters when they need help. This also hones your own skills. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Don't over-edit and remove all of the silences. It's hard for people to follow. DJ City from Japan Experience Podcast
Write down timestamps for where you need to edit. The edit backwards from the end to the beginning. Sabrina from The Spline podcast
Notify your listeners far in advance for time-sensitive items approaching (like the Podcast Awards). Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Podcasting under a blanket, especially if at a hotel, can reduce or remove the background noise. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Dont drink milk or beer shortly recording a podcast. Wayne Henderson from FRiNGEcasting Podcast
Treat your listeners with respect. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
When you record on Skype, use a hard-wired connection to your modem or router instead of wireless. Carey Green from Christian Home and Family podcast
Use music and jingles to brand your podcast and give it a unique feel. Mike Russell from Music Radio Creative
Get close to your mic and turn down the gain. Craig from Making Business and Sales Work
Don't be shy about attending relevant local events as a member of the press because of your podcast. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Prepare notes beforehand. Even a rough outline can help. Ron Eastwood
Check out the Doggcatcher app for an Android podcast client. Grant Swaim
Prepare shownotes well in advance and forward to cohosts, but never talk about show content until you're podcasting—Mark from the Recovered Podcast
Truncate Silence is great, but don't remove too much silence. Lampros from the Penguin Producer
Make a professional sounding email address like “feedback@MyAwesomePodcast.com” instead of a Gmail or worse address, even if it just forwards to your personal email account. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Have a manual RSS feed on your site that can be copied to any podcatcher (podcast client). Jeremy Sarber from ~~Discovering Grace Podcast~~ and ~~Tech Help for Churches~~
Use lip balm to moisturize your lips before podcasting, and you'll reduce the lip smacking noises. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Acknowledge your mess-ups, but don't dwell on them, then move on. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Podcast your Passion! You'll be amazed at how easy it easy to produce episodes if you simply podcast something you're passionate about. From sports teams, to video games. Podcast something that excites you! Nick from Who-Dey Weekly
Turn off your wireless phones around analog audio equipment. Kevin Mulryne from Yes Music Podcast
Write your shownotes well before your episode, and do your recording from them. Louise from Anonymous Knitter
Monitor hardware recorder output to ensure there aren't weird noises being picked up. Timothy Lim from Corner Geeks
Have a backup recording, even if not the highest quality, especially when you have important interviews. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Stay hydrated! At least 8 ounces of water in the hour before you podcast, and keep water handy while you podcast. Ron Eastwood
Don't be afraid to experiment, but also don't make too many changes at the same time. John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool
Tweet about your podcast episodes several times in a week, but write a different message and post it at different times and on different days. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Make a sign to say “Recording in progress, please leave packages at the door” and hang it on your front door. Segovia Smith from Audio Speed Learning
Visualize your audience so you can make your podcast more conversational. Wade Wingler from Fathers Over Forty
Your voice is as valid as everyone else’s. Don’t let inner negative voices keep you from starting. Erik Fisher from Beyond the To Do List
Offer a way to subscribe to your podcast by email, like with FeedBurner. Byron Friday
If your cohost likes to fidget, give them a stuffed animal so they won't touch the microphone. Brian Caruthers from PB&J Network
Create templates to speed up your workflow: shownotes, opening and closing audio, and anything repetitive. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Focus! Don't let things distract you or your audience from the content you want to share and they want to hear. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast
Reach out to other podcasters. Craig from Making Business and Sales Work
Position your video camera or second monitor so your picture-in-picture (PIP) screencasts will look like you're looking at same screen as your viewers. Steve Stewart from MoneyPlan SOS
Prepare more information for your podcast than you'll actually need, in case you need filler. Louise from Anonymous Knitter
Have your guest on Skype or the phone record their end, if they can. This double-ender will give you higher quality. Max Flight from Airplane Geeks Podcast and ~~Podcasting Passion~~
Be cautious talking about your family in your podcast. Dave Jackson from Building a Better Dave
Do NOT get discouraged by feedback. Whether its a lack of feedback, or its bad feedback. Just because people aren't emailing you, doesn't mean they don't enjoy your show. Nick from Who-Dey Weekly
Have special guests sign talent releases. Matthew Lowell from The Awaken Revolution podcast
Don’t use BlogTalkRadio if you want more people to listen. Wayne Henderson from Media VoiceOvers
Be yourself! Don't try to be someone different because you're behind a microphone. Ben Avery from The Strangers and Aliens podcast
Work on your shownotes regularly before your episode. It will make big outlines simple. Daniel J. Lewis from The Audacity to Podcast

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

External audio recorders provide many benefits and greater reliability over recording into PCs. Although recording directly into a computer can often be fine for podcasting, here are five reasons you may want to podcast with an external recorder.

The best external recorders * Zoom H4n: $248.45 on Amazon.com, $259.00 on B&H, $242.99 on Musician's Friend * Zoom H2n: $113.37 on Amazon.com, $155.52 (-$30 rebate) on B&H, $161.99 on Musician's Friend * Zoom H1: $66.70 on Amazon.com, $87.99 on B&H, $89.99 on Musician's Friend * Roland R-05: $199 on Amazon.com, $199 on B&H, $199 on Musician's Friend * Tascam DR-05: $94.91 on Amazon.com, $99.99 on B&H, $99.99 on Musician's Friend * Tascam DR-07mkII: $149 on Amazon.com, $149.99 on B&H, $149.99 on Musician's Friend * Tascam DR-40: $186.60 on Amazon.com, $174.99 on B&H, $199.99 on Musician's Friend * Your Android smartphone, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or similar portable device

Simplicity Depending on the external recorder you choose, you may be able to eliminate several steps from your workflow or several pieces of equipment.

A portable recorder can:

record straight to MP3;
mix a inputs;
connect directly with XLR mics (Zoom recorders);
apply compression, limiting, and gating; and
hear what you're recording through headphones.

It's entirely possible to record and publish a podcast with just an external recorder and a device to upload and post on your website.

Mic replacement Some recorders, like the Zoom H4n, offer ASIO support. This enables the device to function as a USB microphone when connected to a computer.

These recorders usually have condensor mics, which aren't the best for podcasting. But they're still functional and produce good quality.

Extra functionality Some external recorders will give you options and features that you couldn't use before.
Four-channel recording (Zoom H4n)
XLR inputs without a mixer (Zoom models)
Visual audio-level monitor
Easy pause and resume (some models)
Noise reduction by not requiring a computer
Portability Podcasting doesn't always have to be from your basement or closet! Imagine how much more content you could produce if you could do it from anywhere!
Record somewhere with ambience to enhance the feel (from a sporting event, at a coffee shop, out in nature, etc.).
Record impromptu interviews with people at events.
Turn your own public presentations into podcast episodes by recording them.
Continue recording podcasts while you travel without lugging your entire studio.
Stability and reliability There's usually nothing wrong with recording straight into a computer, but it always presents a high possibility of several things going wrong:
Line noise, especially through analog connections
Resource demands that can corrupt your recording
A crash while recording that loses all of your progress
Complexity for Skype calls or similar remote cohosts

Portable recorders are far more stable and reliable. Just make sure you have a consistent power source and good SD cards, and you'll be fine for hundreds, maybe even thousands of episodes!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Get podcasting answers on how to turn off selection snapping in Audacity, whether podcasting less than weekly hurts, how to end a limited-episode podcast and not be removed from iTunes, and how to reduce MP3 file sizes.

Selection snapping in Audacity

Ugh Daniel can you help me? I'm practing with Audacity and when I record a clip it doesnt allow me to cut and any point I can just from one number marker to another. For example when I try to highlight from between the 2.0 position it wont it automatically goes to the 2.0 marker and when I try to stop the selection half way past the 3.0 marker it wont, it goes to the 3.0 marker and at 3.0 I dont want that cut out. Can you please help me?

Bud

This is either really handy or really annoying! But it's a simple fix.

Selection Toolbar in Audacity

Make sure you see the Selection Toolbar (pictured above), usually at the bottom of Audacity. If you don't see it, go to the View menu > Toolbars > Selection Toolbar.
Uncheckmark “Snap To” to prevent the 1-second snapping. Checkmark it to have your selections snap to to exact seconds.

Is less than weekly okay?

Back in March, started a podcast focusing on PC gaming in the DOS and pre-Windows XP era. Like most people, I have a very busy schedule and from the start I decided that I would release a new show every two weeks. I've stuck to this and now have 9 episodes on my feed. My question is: Do you think I'm hurting my show by not releasing an episode every single week? It seems that weekly is the “magic number” that most shows seem to follow. I was curious what your thoughts were on shows that release with less frequency.

Thanks!

Joe

Host of the Upper Memory Block Podcast

The DOS and pre-Windows XP gaming podcast

I think that episode length and frequency are tied to each other.

Weekly is the optimal release schedule, but it's not required. But here are a few things to keep in mind with a biweekly or less-often schedule:

It takes longer to get more episodes out, so you have fewer episodes in a year.
Biweekly can be a harder schedule to maintain because it's not frequent enough to be habit-forming.
Your website will go two weeks without updates, but you could counter this with blog posts.
iTunes now learns your publishing schedule and updates your listing based on that, so if you change something about your feed or publish a bonus episode, iTunes may take longer to update.

Ending a podcast without being removed

Daniel,

Thanks for your great site and resources! I'll try to keep this question short.

I want to create a podcast to promote a Christian Bible lesson series, but I don't ever want to update it. My client would like episodes from the series to be available for download on iTunes for free to help with permotion, but he won't be making new ones every week. Is this a problem and will they kick us off iTunes or is this a good idea? Thanks so much for your help!

-Sam Hakes

There's a new iTunes podcasting tag for this. The tag will tell iTunes to stop checking for updates but also not remove your podcast.

To do this, add “yes” to the channel level of your podcast feed. Currently, this can't be done with PowerPress or FeedBurner (don't ever expect FeedBurner to support new things).

How to get smaller MP3 file sizes

Hi! I am new to podcasting, and am using Audacity…I noticed my one-hour podcasts are pushing 60mb! I know there's a way to save them at a lower quality (it says its exporting at 128kbps) but I cannot for the life of me figure out where to change these settings. Can you help?

Tina

Yeah, that's big. You can easily cut that in half by making mono MP3s instead of stereo.

But also instead of using Audacity to make the MP3s, I suggest exporting as WAV and then using iTunes to create the MP3. This will create a nicer file.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

UPDATE: FeedBurner stats are working again as of Monday evening, September 24, 2012. Bloggers and podcasters are panicing that Google could be shutting down FeedBurner. I don't believe that will happen, but these steps will explain how you can move anyway. You may want to change your feed so it uses your domain, but still filters through FeedBurner. Or you may want to completely abandon FeedBurner. The following information will help you in either case. These podcast shownotes are long and in-depth, so buckle up!

Quick overview of my recommended process 1. Change your public feed URL wherever it is. 2. Plan ahead and notify your subscribers for at least a month. 3. Use PowerPress's iTunes and Feed settings and turn off FeedBurner's SmartCast feature. 4. Export your FeedBurner feed's email subscribers and import them into a service like MailChimp. 5. Activate the “new-feed-url” tag in PowerPress. 6. Wait a couple weeks and delete your FeedBurner feed and use their 30-day redirection. 7. Wait 15 days and re-open the same FeedBurner feed and delete it again for two more weeks of redirection. Then re-open it again. 8. Leave the original FeedBurner feed operational and using your new feed as its source.

If this is all too complicated, I'm available to do this all for you for $200 per feed with quantity discounts. Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com if you're interested. I'll have an official request form available soon.

Is FeedBurner shutting down? As of September 24, 2012, Google has not announced that FeedBurner will shut down. But the following events will give you pause.

The FeedBurner API was deprecated as of May 26, 2011 and will shut down on October 20, 2012. These APIs were used for tools like FeedFlare, subscriber chicklets, Feed Awareness plugins, and such. This will affect subscription-number widgets where people show off their RSS subscribers (built into themes like Standard Theme).
The Feedburner Twitter account was “retired” on July 26, 2012. Google simply wasn't using it. But they did refresh it with a new post to alert followers to recent issues (see below).
Also on July 26, 2012, Google announced that the AdSense for Feeds blog would be closed. Again, this makes sense because they weren't posting much content and even acknowledged that.
Google failed to renew the Japanese feedburner.jp domain and lost it, resulting in many last subscribers for Japanese sites.
On September 19 (earlier for some), FeedBurner stopped reporting subscriber counts and stats and then dropped to 0. This is a known issue that Google has acknowledged and said they're working on. It's also not the first time this has happened.

FeedBurner alternatives like FeedBlitz jump all over things like this, trying to get people to switch to their service. FeedBlitz looks good, but may still be unnecessary going forward.

What if FeedBurner does shut down? Again, I don't think FeedBurner will shut down. But if they do, they'll probably offer options similar to the “delete feed” feature I describe below. The worst case is that your feed will disappear and you'll lose any subscribers who were subscribed to it.

Change your public feed URLs Whatever your new RSS address will be, it needs to be the public URL everywhere your old FeedBurner URL was. This would be on your site, in podcast directories (I'll explain iTunes below), and anywhere else you link to it. Make sure you stop publicizing your old URL whereverit is, even if you have to edit old posts!

Plan ahead and notify your subscribers Some of these methods will work seamlessly, but others could break subscriptions for some of your subscribers. Because of this potential doom, start telling your subscribers that you'll be changing RSS feeds and that if they're using anything other than iTunes, they may want to resubscribe to your new feed. Make sure you do this several times for weeks in advance. If a subscriber is using a system that doesn't seamlessly update their subscription to your new feed URL, then they'll at least know to watch for it and what they should do to continue receiving updates.

How to migrate your podcast settings If you host a podcast, then the first thing you want to do is get your podcast setting right. I already recommend using PowerPress to configure your RSS feed instead of FeedBurner's SmartCast. And this will be crucial for moving away from FeedBurner.

Login to FeedBurner and open your podcast feed (only one at a time).
Go to Optimize > SmartCast.
Open a new tab/window and login to your WordPress site.
Go to PowerPress settings > iTunes.
Copy all the information from the Feedburner fields to the PowerPress fields.
Copy any other FeedBurner information into PowerPress settings > Feeds.
Save your PowerPress settings.
Deactivate FeedBurner's SmartCast feature.

Now, all your podcast information—like category, keywords, cover art, etc.—will come from your WordPress site instead of FeedBurner's. Congratulations! You now have more control over your podcast settings and access to advanced features that have been around for years but FeedBurner never supported!

How to migrate your email subscribers One of FeedBurner's still handy and automated features is Email Subscriptions, which sends new content at a preselected time every day there's something new. These are the easiest subscribers to migrate because you have their exact information—their email addresses.

Log in to FeedBurner and open your feed (only one at a time).
Go to Publicize > Email Subscriptions.
Click “View Subscriber Details” at the bottom of the page.
Click “Export CSV.”
Open a free MailChimp account or use another email newsletter service.
Login to your email service and follow their instructions for importing your CSV from FeedBurner.
Follow your email service's instructions for setting up a manual or automatic RSS-powered email newsletter.

How to migrate your RSS subscribers Moving away from FeedBurner is risky because you could lose some RSS subscribers. The only way to prevent that entirely is if your public feed has always an only been a URL that you control. This could be on your domain as a WordPress feed (like theaudacitytopodcast.com/feed/) or FeedBurner's free MyBrand feature (which would result in something like feeds.noodle.mx/). But let's assume you're not setup either of those ways.

What are 301 redirects? Just like when you change addresses and notify the Post Office to forward your mail, we need to do the same thing on the Internet. When somethings moves from one URL to another, there are different ways to redirect visitors who have the old URL:

A 307 redirect is temporary. Requests for that URL (such as a download, a click on a link, or typing the URL in a browser) will be seamlessly redirected to a temporary URL. Nothing changes on the visitor's system or software.
A 301 redirect is permanent. Requests for that URL (such as a download, a click on a link, or typing the URL in a browser) will be seamlessly redirected to a new, permanent URL. Many systems and software will see the redirect and appropriately update the address that they look for.

Most podcast and blog subscription apps and sites will recognize a 301 redirect and stop checking your old feed URL and switch to checking your new feed URL. But a 301 redirect is only good while it exists on the original URL. If you tell your local Post Office to forward your mail for just a day, anything after that one day will still go to your old address. Tell your Post Office to forward for a year, and that gives plenty of time for changing your address everywhere people have it. If you have a 301 redirect for just a couple weeks, then anyone who tries to visit the old URL after those couple weeks will hit a dead end. Learn more about 301 redirects for podcasts from PodcastFAQ.com.

Redirect iTunes and subscribers iTunes is a smart podcast client. If you implement a 301 redirect, iTunes will figure out what you intend and will update for future use. But there's another feature you'll want to start right away before you try a 301 redirect. Assuming you now have power and full control over your podcast RSS settings (by using PowerPress instead of SmartCast), follow these steps.

Log in to your WordPress site.
Go to PowerPress settings > iTunes.
Click “Set iTunes New Feed URL.”
Enter your new podcast feed URL in the empty field.
Click “Save Changes.”

This will tell iTunes subscribers and the iTunes store to switch to your new RSS feed. Your subscribers won't notice it and nothing will break. This must be done on the source feed that FeedBurner uses. Even if you use FeedBurner's SmartCast feature, the “new-feed-url” tag will pass through from PowerPress to your subscribers.

Delete your FeedBurner feed to implement a 301 redirect The only way to set a 301 redirect on your FeedBurner feed is to delete your feed from FeedBurner. This is drastic, but here's what FeedBurner says will happen:

As a courtesy, FeedBurner offers publishers who delete a FeedBurner feed 30 days of complimentary traffic redirection. During the first 15 days of this 30 day period, subscriber requests for: [YOUR FEEDBURNER FEED] will be redirected to your original source feed: [YOUR SOURCE FEED] During days 16-30, this feed consists of a single content item that reads “This feed is no longer active. A new feed is located at [YOUR SOURCE FEED].” After day 30, your feed will be permanently deleted and return an HTTP 404 (feed not found) message. You can use this period to notify your subscribers of the change so they can update their feed readers with your original address.

This 301 redirect is great, but I think 15 days is much too short and it should at least 90 days.

Wait a couple weeks after implementing “new-feed-url.”
Log in to FeedBurner and open your feed (only one at a time).
Click “Edit Feed Details…” and ensure your “Original Feed” is your new RSS address, then click “Save Feed Details” if you changed anything.
Click “Delete Feed…” near the top.
Checkmark “Use 30 day redirection.”
Click “Delete Feed.”
You're not finished yet! Read on for important options.

The feed will now implement a 301 redirect for 15 days. During this time, most podcast and RSS clients will automatically update and start checking your new feed URL. You now have two options.

Let the FeedBurner message show for days 16–30 and then let the feed die.
Recommended: restart the FeedBurner feed after 15 or 30 days.

Restarting your FeedBurner feed will allow you to delete it again and thus implement another 15 days of a 301 redirect, or your can monitor the subscription numbers to see how many subscribers were not redirected.

Wait either 15 days or the full 30 days (to let the “feed moved” message post for two weeks).
Permanently delete the feed.
Restart it with the same FeedBurner URL.
Repeat the previous steps 1–5 above to delete the feed and implement another 15-day redirect,
Repeat this for 30–90 days of solid 301 redirects (split up into 15-day segments).
Re-open the feed one last time and leave it alive to watch for subscription numbers, client software, and make sure that any stragglers still get your content.

What you need to know about subscriber stats RSS subscriber stats are not accurate! It's helpful to see a general trend for subscription numbers, but the nature of RSS stats means it doesn't reflect your true number of listeners.

RSS stats won't account for website visitors who click play on the page.
RSS stats count only how many clients check the feed on one day.
RSS stats don't account for the overlap between days. You may see 100 subscribers each day, but that be 100–200 total subscribers who update on separate days.

Media stats and website stats are far more accurate and reliable. But I do still see a place for RSS subscriber stats, but I don't think they're as important. Learn more about podcast, website, and RSS stats.

Other settings FeedBurner does present extra control over your feed to override information like the title or image. But anything like this that FeedBurner does can also be done within WordPress. The most-requested feature is the ability to change the podcast title. This is easy with PowerPress.

Activate Custom Podcast Channels.
Go to PowerPress Podcast Channels.
Edit your default channel.
Adjust the podcast title to your preference.
Leave other fields blank to be set by PowerPress's overall settings.

I will switch to MyBrand and protect my feeds So what do I plan to do with all of my podcast and RSS feeds inside of FeedBurner? I'll follow these same steps, but with the goal of changing RSS feeds to FeedBurner's MyBrand feature. This allows me to set “feeds.noodle.mx/[FEED_NAME]” just like I would with “feeds.feedburner.com/[FEED_NAME].” I'll set this MyBrand feature to point to new feeds inside of FeedBurner so I can monitor the transferred subscribers. Ultimately, this means my subscribers will be using “feeds.noodle.mx/[FEED_NAME],” which will allow me to seamlessly redirect it to anything else if FeedBurner ever does shut down.

If your head exploded or may explode, I can help! I presented all of this information in such detail to give you the tools you need to take control of your RSS feed. But I totally understand if this is all over your head! If you want to move away from FeedBurner but don't want to go through this mess, please contact me and I can do this all for you at $200 per feed (quantity discounts available). Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com, or use my coming request form. 100 podcasting tips

Beyond the To Do List joins Noodle.mx Network! I'm thrilled to announce that Erik Fisher's fantastic new podcast about personal productivity has joined Noodle.mx Network!

Send your podcasting tips for 100th episode! To celebrate the upcoming 100th episode (currently scheduled for October 15), send me your podcasting tips!

Send written or recorded tips.
Make them shorter than 30 seconds.
Mention your name and website.
Make each tip able to stand on its own, even if you have to send multiple recordings.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Follow these 7 steps to fix your podcast when you make big or little mistakes—even if you already published the episode!

We all make mistakes We're all human and we make mistakes for a variety of reasons:

Misunderstanding
False information
Inappropriateness
Technical malfunction
Brain farts

Sometimes, our mistakes may be so minor that they can go without correction. Not all mistakes are bad! Some may even be best to leave in for personality or authenticity.

But other times, a mistake can cost dearly:

Your listeners may be unable to get your content
You may be spreading false information
Your reputation could be damaged

Before you do anything Whenever we make a mistake, it's crucial to make it right as quickly as possible. Sometimes, this may require drastic measures.

Consider the impact of your mistake and take appropriate action to correct it. These steps will help you.

If you finished editing your podcast episode but haven't made it public yet, only steps 2–5 are necessary.

You may need to temporarily unpublish Depending on your mistake, you may want to completely unpublish your podcast episode to prevent anyone else from downloading bad content.

In WordPress, you do this by editing your post and changing its status from “Published” to “Draft” or “Private.”

But keep in mind that any existing web links will break. You don't want your post to be unpublished for long, but if it will take a while to fix, then you might not want the bad content to continue spreading to the public.

Re-edit your master files Go back to your master, editable files. Hopefully you saved an uncompressed copy. If you edit the MP3 or video file you published, then you'll end up recompressing already compressed audio or video, which will reduce the quality.

Find your mistake and fix it. Fixing the mistake in your media could done in one of several ways:

Remove the mistake completely. Sometimes, the mistake can be removed without damaging the context.
Replace the mistake with what it was supposed to be. Sometimes this can be done seamlessly where it will seem like you never made a mistake.
Prepend a “notice” of your mistake and state the correction. This is best when you can't easily correct your mistake within the episode.
Change or keep the file name, depending on needs Depending on your circumstances, you may want to save your replacement media file with the same file name, or something different.
Same file name ifyou are replacing a minor mistake. Your download stats from your original file and the replacement file will combine.
Different file name if you are replacing a major mistake and want to force redownloads (see step 6). Saving with “-fixed” in the file name will cause download stats to be separate from your original file's stats.
Re-upload to your host If you already uploaded your podcast to your host, you can usually simply re-upload and replace the file that was already there.

If you use LibSyn or Blubrry to host your media, you can simply re-upload your recent file and they will seamlessly replace it if the file is still “active” (media files remain active for four weeks). But if you're dealing with an older episode, you may have to pay an extra fee to replace the archived file.

Get your first month of Blubrry or LibSyn hosting free with promo code “noodle”!

Refresh posts, links, and feeds Whether you're still in draft or you've already published the episode, refresh any links to your media.
Make sure that the media URL is the same (should be if you steps 3 and 4 work on your system). If it isn't the same, then update the links with the new media URL.
If the episode is already attached to a post in WordPress with PowerPress, the checkmark “Modify existing podcast episode.” Update the URL if necessary. Then click the Verify button (you may need to watch for the auto-detected numbers to change). Some media formats may require that you manually update the length and file size information, but PowerPress will auto-detect for MP3.
You may need to refresh your website cache, if you use a caching system.
If you use FeedBurner, go to the Troubleshootize tab and click Resync.
Repost if you want all subscribers to redownload the correction Sometimes, your accidental “bad content” could be so bad that you need all of your subscribers to redownload the episode. This is rare, but here are a two examples:
The “bad content” was corrupted in some way (inaudible, out-of-sync, missing crucial video or audio, etc.)
The “bad content” was accidentally an old episode.

Reserve this major step for major problems. Remember that forcing your subscribers to redownload an episode is an inconvenience and confusion-causer, even if it's automatic.

Simply updating your links won't force the redownload. Follow these steps:

Create a new blog post. Do not use any tools to duplicate your old post. Creating a new post creates a new unique ID (GUID in the RSS feed) that is how iTunes and other podcast apps will recognize this as something “new” to download.
Copy all of your information from your old post to the new one. This may mean a lot of field-by-field copying and pasting.
Completely delete your old post. Don't just send it to the trash, delete it from there, too!
Update your new post's permalink. With the original post now completely gone, you should be able to re-use the original permalink (for example, “tap095-how-to-use-chains-in-audacity”). Make sure a “2” doesn't get added, or else setup a redirect from your old post to the new one.
Add something to your post title to indicate it's a correction. I suggest “[FIXED]” or “[REPOST].” For example, “TAP095: How to use Chains in Audacity [FIXED].” Make sure this doesn't show up in the post's permalink.
Publish the new post. Because WordPress gave this new post a new unique ID (the GUID), all podcast clients will treat this post as a completely new episode and download it.

Following this method, your subscribers who already downloaded the original episode will get the new one and clearly see that it's fixed. Current or new subscribers who haven't download the original episode yet will only get this fixed episode.

After a couple weeks, you can come back and remove “[FIXED]” from the post title, because the fix may not need to be acknowledged after a while.

Release a correction or mention it next time Some listeners or subscribers may never download your fixed episode. If the correction is important enough, you may need to mention it in your next episode, or remind listeners to redownload the fixed episode if they haven't already.

In extreme circumstances, you may want to release a completely separate, correctional episode. I did this for my clean-comedy podcast when my error was big enough that I needed everyone to know I had messed up and was correcting it.

In these extreme circumstances, you may want to reach out in more than one way. In may case, I reached out with a miniature audio episode and the above video. (Each of these are separate posts in WordPress, so audio-only platforms will ignore the video, and other platforms will get both.)

Podcast awards The 8th annual Podcast Awards are coming up! Get ready to nominate your favorite podcasts and get your audience to nominate you! Your podcast could even be a sponsor to give you even more promotion.

Beyond the To Do List joins Noodle.mx Network! I'm thrilled to announce that Erik Fisher's fantastic new podcast about personal productivity has joined Noodle.mx Network!

Send your podcasting tips for 100th episode! To celebrate the upcoming 100th episode (currently scheduled for October 15), send me your podcasting tips!

Send written or recorded tips.
Make them shorter than 30 seconds.
Mention your name and website.
Make each tip able to stand on its own, even if you have to send multiple recordings.

Please retweet this!

How to correct a podcast mistake http://t.co/EudGHFzn #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) September 18, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

TweetShare4SharePin3741 Shares

View Details

Learn how to simplify repetitive tasks editing audio by making custom Chains in Audacity. A Chain in Audacity is a script that performs a series of tasks on tracks or files. You can save a lot of time performing repetitive tasks with Chains. Chains also work great for remembering effect settings that can't be saved (like for Chris's Dynamic Compressor).

Watch the video! How to add own chains 1. Go to File menu > Edit Chains. 2. Click “Add,” enter a name, and click “OK” 3. Insert commands by clicking “Insert” below the commands list. 4. Double-click a command to show its name in the top window. 5. If you want to edit the command's/effect's settings, click “Edit Parameters” and set everything as you normally would with the effect. 6. Click “OK.” 7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 as necessary to include your desired commands or effects. 8. Chang the order of the commands with the “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons. 9. When you're finished, click “OK.”

How to apply chains 1. Select the audio you want to modify. This can be a small selection, an entire track, or a selection across multiple tracks. 2. Go to the File menu > Apply Chain. 3. Click the Chain you want to apply to your selected audio. 4. Click “Apply to Current Project.”

How to create a keyboard shortcut If jumping through menus is too much, make a keyboard shortcut that will be more convenient.

Go into the Audacity Preferences (On Windows, Edit menu > Preferences; on OS X, Audacity menu > Preferences).
Click “Keyboard” in the list on the left.
With the “All” category selected, scroll down to “Apply Chain” (about a single screen down).
Click in the blank space below the list.
Enter your desired keyboard shortcut and click Set. Audacity will warn you if there's a conflict with another command.
Click “OK” when you're finished.

Some notes about Chains * Chains do not currently support export as AIFF, Other uncompressed files or any formats supported by FFmpeg. * You cannot set export format options or export sample rate in the Chain. If you need to specify export options other than the current default, import or generate some audio, File > Export, select the audio type, click “Options…” then choose and save the option and cancel the export. * (Linux) When configuring effect parameters in “Edit Chains”, the “Preview” button is not intended to be functional. Pressing it may cause a crash. * Chains only use built-in commands or Nyquist Effect plug-ins (as of Audacity 2.0.1).

Send your podcasting tips for 100th episode! To celebrate the upcoming 100th episode (currently scheduled for October 15), send me your podcasting tips!

Send written or recorded tips.
Make them shorter than 30 seconds.
Mention your name and website.
Make each tip able to stand on its own, even if you have to send multiple recordings.

Please retweet this! https://twitter.com/theRamenNoodle/status/245537442147483648

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Monetizing your blog or podcast is a wish for many content-creators. But now it's a lot easier with an Audible affiliate program that can earn $15 per person!

Join the Audible affiliate program today!

An affiliate program where everyone WINS! I've previously shared several ways podcasters can make money with their podcasts, including a simple iTunes subscription link. But I do truly love the Audible affiliate program because I think it is a win-win-win!

Your listeners win because they get something free that they will enjoy.

Audible winsbecause they get a new customer, and most people end up being thrilled with Audible's selection.

You win because you earn money from even a free trial, and you get to refer your audience to relevant content.

How the Audible affiliate program works 1. Sign up as an Audible affiliate It's easy to setup your account and get a selection of banners, generate links, and track immediate results.

Promote a FREE trial Audible will give you your own, easy affiliate link, like AudibleTrial.com/noodle (that's mine). But I recommend that you use Pretty Link or Pretty Link Pro to make an easy, trackable link for your Audible referrals. For example, mine is TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/audibletrial. You could use “/audible,” “/audiobook” or anything easy to remember, say, spell, and type.

Making your own link for this or any other affiliate will make it easier for your listeners. Think of links I frequently share in the podcast:

TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/audible
TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/94
TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/itunes
TheAudacitytoPodcast.com/facebook

Because these all use the same domain as my website, it's easier for you to remember, because you'll start to assume any link of mine is “theaudacitytopodcast.com/… .” So all you'd have to remember is the “/word” part.

Sincerely recommend an audiobook that your audience would like. Maybe it's something you've recently read and were inspired by (like the Steve Jobs biography), maybe it's something relevant to your content (like an audiobook of fair tales), or maybe it's something new and motivational (like a productivity book).

Promote the trial in your podcast with your speakable URL.
Place a link in your shownotes.
Consider adding banners to your site.
Listeners signup and get a FREE audiobook There really is no “gotchya!” to this! It's a 30-day free trial during which time your listeners can find and download almost any audiobook of their choice for free.

Even if they cancel their trial within the thirty days, they get to keep the audiobook and you still get paid.

You earn $15 per FREE trial Immediately after someone joins Audible through your affiliate link, you'll see the $15 instantly in your affiliate account.

There's no waiting period or delay until their trial passes (like many web-host affiliates have)!

You'll get paid via check or direct deposit once a month as long as your earnings are $30 or more (which is only two trials).

Start making money with the Audible affiliate program. Join today!

Podcasters' Roundtable I'm so thrilled to be a part of Podcasters' Roundtable! Join Ray Ortega, Dave Jackson, me, and other podcasters as we discuss podcasting topics that affect you!

Send your podcasting tips for 100th episode! To celebrate the upcoming 100th episode (currently scheduled for October 15), send me your podcasting tips!

Send written or recorded tips.
Make them shorter than 30 seconds.
Mention your name and website.
Make each tip able to stand on its own, even if you have to send multiple recordings.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored endorsement, but I do get compensated for every blogger or podcaster I refer to Audible's affiliate program. This post contains other affiliate links that benefit D.Joseph Design and Noodle.mx Network.

View Details

When your podcast has goals, you have the right focus, you know where you want to be, and take steps to get there, nothing will stop your vision!

Have a reason/goal (or many) Why are you blogging or podcasting? Most reasons and goals fall into four basic roots:
for your pleasure/hobby or to entertain others,
to make money,
to educate or encourage, or
to build branding or promote something else you do.

But your reason for producing content needs to be more specific to you!

I believe your content should also have a goal. Do you want to get a new job? Do you want to change your lifestyle? Do you want to become the expert in a field? Do you want to connect with others in your niche or start a new community?

Without reasons and goals, our content will drift around in and out of relevance and quality.

Don't focus on audience numbers Creating great content should never be about the number of followers! It's helpful to know and track your numbers to see what is well received or gets the most attention. But focusing on your numbers will make you a people-pleaser.

Think of churches that focus on just filling their pews and taking up huge offerings to pay for their debts. These churches are missing the point!

Imagine you're in the small audience and the presenter is spending more of their time trying to bring new people in. How would you feel? Wouldn't you feel neglected, like you didn't matter as much or that you were just a number?

Focus on the audience you already have more than trying to gain a new audience.

Know the kind of blog or podcast you want yours to be Setting numbers aside, what do you want your content to be like in a year, two years, or even five years? Do you want your content to be timeless and still relevant in five years? Do you want your new content to be better? Do you want your podcast to achieve something bigger?

Don't think about doubling your audience. Think about how much better you want to reach the audience you've already earned. Pursue greater content, and building your audience will be easy.

Do something daily toward where you want to be When you have an idea of where you want your blog or podcast to be in the future, find ways that you can work toward that! For example,
if you want to produce more episodes, publish regularly and consistently;
if you want more community interaction, focus on relationships, ask great questions, and respond to feedback;
if you want nicer equipment to enhance your quality or do something you couldn't do before (like live-streaming or high-quality video), skip coffee or soda regularly and save that money; or
if you want to get better at any aspect of what you do, invest the time to learn and grow in your knowledge and technique.
Revisit and refocus your goals often Write down your goals and post them somewhere visible. Reread these and sometimes you'll find new ways to focus, or you'll realize you strayed from your goals and need to get back on track, or you may even realize you now have better vision and want to redefine your goals.

When I came up with The Audacity to Podcast's tagline, “a how-to podcast about podcasting and using Audacity,” I defined my niche and gave myself something to regularly refocus. This is a “how-to” podcast, so I try to give a lot of practical and thorough “how-to” information. Look at how many episodes are titled “how to …,” “# ways to,” or “# steps to.”

Whenever I struggle over my content (and I do many times!), I come back to this and consider how I can make my information practical, thorough, easy to follow, compelling, and even timeless.

Stuff you should check out * Cliff Ravenscraft from Podcast Answer Man has several great episodes on vision and motivation, mostly inspired by Earl Nightengale’s The Strangest Secret. * Podcasters' Roundtable to hear podcasters talk about podcasting—and give us some controversial stuff to fight over! * Send in your podcasting tips for the 100th episode!

Please retweet this!

5 steps to an UNSTOPPABLE vision for your blog or podcast http://t.co/8zXRzDBr #podcasting #blogging

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) August 20, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

When you know how to use Twitter to promote your podcast or blog, you can open a new world of community, fresh ideas, and interactivity.

But does your podcast need its own Twitter account, or should you tweet podcast stuff from your personal or professional account?

Learn when you should or shouldn't have a Twitter account for your blogging or podcasting brand.

DON'T have a separate Twitter account when: * you'll use it as a personal account * you'll post all the same stuff across accounts anyway * you have infrequent or no relevant content * you already built an audience with your own account

DO have a separate Twitter account when: * your blog/podcast has multiple contributors * you create a lot of content * the industry produces a lot of news * you want to build a niche following * you need separate branding

Tips for managing multiple Twitter accounts * Make a “branding-neutral” account for yourself * Define the new account's branding and stick to it * Rarely tweet the same stuff * Crosspromote your content and Twitter account(s) occasionally * Use multi-account Twitter tools + Buffer + TweetDeck + TweetBot + HootSuite + CoTweet + a modern web browser + and more

Podcasting poll: do you have a separate Twitter account for your blog or podcast? [poll id=”10″]

Please retweet this from your relevant account!

Should your podcast or blog have its own Twitter account? http://t.co/7josHJJx #podcasting #blogging

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) August 13, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Gmail is a fantastic email client, and I highly recommend it for podcasters. I'll show you how to use Gmail without giving a gmail.com address.

Why not myawesomepodcast@gmail.com? Many podcasters are shooting their professionalism and branding in the foot by giving an @gmail.com email address. This is like B&H telling all of their customers to buy from their Amazon.com store instead of directly from them.

If you already have a Gmail account, checking your podcast email account (or multiple accounts) can be annoying, time-consuming, and also introduce a delay in your receiving important feedback. You can get around this issue by forwarding the new Gmail account's messages to your old account, but that still has the branding problem.

Instead, I highly recommend having a unique, understandable, and branded email address for your podcast, like feedback@myawesomepodcast.com. This is easy to setup once you follow some basic instructions.

Own your own domain (optional hosting) No matter where you host your website, you should have your own domain for your podcast. Make your unambiguous, easy to remember, and short. You should use this domain everywhere, so make sure its easy to say, spell, and type.

If you don't already have a domain, I can register domains for $15 per year.

Create an email forwarder With some domain registrars and all good web hosts (like BlueHost, HostGator, or Site5), you can create email forwarders that look like regular email addresses but only serve to forward any email to a different address. This would simply be called an email forwarded. There's no mailbox with this account, simply a pointer.

Choose a name for the email account that makes sense and is easy to say, spell and type. I like “feedback,” because it's common, understandable, and unambiguous.

I've heard other names that I don't think work well.

“podcast”—This seems redundant to me to say “podcast@myawesomepodcast.com.”
“suggestionbox”—This is much harder to say and spell, and sounds limited to only suggestions.
“me” or “us”—It's short, sweet, and personal; but what if you switch from being solo to cohost, or vice versa? This also doesn't sound as professional.

Set this email address to forward to your Gmail account.

Immediately, you can now receive email to this account. But the email will come from your personal Gmail account, so continue with these steps to be able to send from your new account.

Podcast network address or separate addresses? I used to give the email address “feedback@noodle.mx” in all of my podcasts. This certainly worked fine, but it was neither helping nor really hurting my branding. But it did mean that I had to read every email just to know which podcast it was for. This made it inconvenient for me, and probably caused too much thinking on my listeners part: “Why am I emailing noodle.mx when I want to email The Audacity to Podcast?”

Now, I have separate email addresses for each podcast. This maintains consistent branding within those podcasts, and means I can setup a filter in Gmail to automatically sort my incoming email into folders for each podcast (see below).

Add a “Send mail as” in Gmail
Login to your Gmail account (whichever one(s) you want to receive your Gmail).
Go to your Accounts and Imports: click on the gear icon and choose “Settings,” then go to the “Accounts and Imports” tab.
Look under “Send mail as” and click “Add another email address you own.”
Enter your name as you want it to appear when you send email: I recommend either your own name, your podcast name, or combining both.
Enter the email forwarder address you created.
Read about “Treat as an alias” and decide which option is right for you.
- Probably deselect if multiple people have access to the email address.
- Probably select if you're the only one with access to the email address.
Now comes a technical decision about sending through a server. ~~For now, let's just use the first option.~~
- ~~Send through Gmail if you don't mind your personal Gmail account being in the technical stuff of your email in the form of “sent on behalf of youremailadddress@gmail.com.”~~ This option is no longer available, so you must use your own SMTP server.
- Send through _____ SMTP servers if you want this account to appear completely detached from your personal account. See #5 below for more details about this.
Send the verification email, which you should receive to the same Gmail inbox. Either click its verification link or enter the confirmation code.
Create filters to automatically label/sort email Now you're ready to send and receive email with your new podcast email address! Let's make a filter in Gmail to do some stuff automatically for you.
Go to your Filters: click the gear icon and choose “Settings,” then go to the “Filters” tab.
Click “Create a new filter.”
Enter your new email address under the “To” field.
Click “Create filter with this search »” and Gmail will show you the results of the search.
Select what you want Gmail to do when you receive email to your podcast address.
- I recommend “Apply the label” and create a new label or use an existing one for your podcast.
- Choose to star it if you want it to stand out among other messages when it arrives.
- Select your appropriate importance setting. (I make all podcast email unimportant—not because you're not important, just because I get so much they easily crowd out my business emails, which are what helps me buy food.)
Optionally select to apply this filter to any emails you've already received.
Click “Create Filter.”

After this, all email coming into that email address will be label and appropriately sorted based on your selections.

Hide your personal Gmail address with your own SMTP server ~~If you chose to send email through Gmail's servers, then your personal Gmail address will be exposed in the technical headers of every email you send. It will look like “sent on behalf of youremailadddress@gmail.com.” If you don't want this, then you'll need to follow some more technical steps to use your own outgoing email server (called an SMTP server).~~

Gmail now requires that any outgoing email with a different address use a third-party SMTP server. You can use your web hosting information, or get an SMTP server for literally pennies per month from Amazon AWS (I pay under 10¢ per month for this).

Go back to your domain registrar or web hosting control panel and create a regular email address. It really doesn't matter what it's called, and you'll only have to create one. I recommend “smtp@myawesomepodcast.com.”
You'll need several important things:
1. Mail server username
2. The password you set (please don't write your passwords in a document! Use LastPass instead!)
3. SMTP/outgoing mail server (SSL if you want a secure connection, which I recommend)
4. SMTP/outgoing mail port
5. Any special notes like “server requires authentication”
6. Incoming mail server (used for later)
Go back to Gmail's Accounts and Imports settings.
Click “edit info” for the email account you need to modify.
Click Next until you get to “Send mail through your SMTP server?”
Switch to send from your own SMTP servers.
Enter the information from when you setup the email account in the order of these fields (especially choose the port before you select SSL or TLS).
Click “Save Changes,” which will verify your information and close the window if there aren't problems.

Some web hosting companies or domain registrars will not allow you to send through your SMTP server unless you're also regularly checking it for receiving email. Just assume this is the case and follow these steps.

Go back to Gmail's Accounts and Imports settings.
Under “Check mail from other accounts (using POP3),” click “Add a POP3 mail account you own.”
Enter the information and select any other options you want. They don't really matter because you won't care about this email address.
Save your settings.

Gmail will then check this email account, which verifies that you're using it to the hosting company or domain registrar.

Check out Podcasters' Roundtable! Ray Ortega from The Podcasters Studio has started a fun new project including Dave Jackson from School of Podcasting, me, and frequent guests to talk about podcasting.

Check out Podcasters' Roundtable and send us controversial topic suggestions for things you want to see us debate!

Please retweet this!

How to use #Gmail the RIGHT WAY for #podcast feedback email http://t.co/DiTuBkHr #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) August 6, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo credit: Gleb Kachaev via Flickr Creative Commons

Recording into Audacity can be fun and easy. But organizing the projects, especially if you have many episodes, can seem overwhelming. Here are several to help you keep things organized.

Whenever I say, “project,” this can also apply to a podcast episode.

This topic was inspired by John Wilkerson from The Wired Homeschool.

Organize your thoughts A great podcast starts with great planning, even for “off-the-cuff” comedy.

Document ideas immediately Inspiration can hit when you're falling asleep, driving on your commute, or even sitting in church. If you don't record at least the essence of this idea, you'll lose it.

Use a note-taking app like Evernote or SpringPad I'm a fan of productivity tools that actually help me be productive. A lot of people swear by Evernote, but I felt it was far too limited. Instead, I use SpringPad to capture pictures, audio files, notes, web links, and more for all of my projects.

Collaborate with others via Google Docs I think Google Docs has the best real-time document collaboration! Use this for planning your podcast with cohosts and taking notes live while recording.

Write your shownotes before you record Writing your shownotes for publication before you record provides a great outline for recording and helps you stay on topic. This also significantly reduces the time between recording and publishing.

Organize your files Organizing your audio or video project is crucial. This also makes archiving and later retrieval much easier.

Create a folder for each project/episode Start each project by making a folder just for it. If you have episodic content, create subfolders for each episode.

Name these folders sequentially and descriptively, for example (from my Christian movie reviews podcast):

30-The Amazing Spider-Man
31-Brave
32-The Dark Knight Rises

Collect all audio, videos, and pictures Inside of each folder, include everything unique to this project/episode, for example:

video clips,
interviews,
sound effects,
music,
voicemails,
screenshots,
photos,
original recordings,
final media files, and
planning notes (if not online).

This folder does not need to include duplicates of:

regular theme music,
logo files,
blank templates,
segment transitions,
or anything else you consistently use across projects.

Keep an unedited, unprocessed recording However you record your audio or video, keep that raw recording as a backup. I've had several podcast episodes where I edited, processed, published, and then discovered a significant error that I could only fix by going back to my original recording.

If the uncompressed WAV files are too big, consider converting them to mono if you'll never need the stereo.

Save your final media files Even if you completely trust your media host (like LibSyn, Blubrry, or someone else), keep your own copy of the final file. This makes it easy for you to share, relisten, reference, or re-upload the file in the future. This is especially important for video projects where the encoding can take a long time.

You can delete transitional files, like a finalized WAV that you use for encoding to MP3 (such as Audacity to iTunes to MP3).

Organize your editor Audio and video editing programs are different. But if you learn how to organize your projects within the programs, you'll save yourself a lot of time and make things easier.

I still use Audacity to edit my audio podcasts, so I'll use this as my primary example.

Name your tracks As soon as you get more than one audio or video track, it's possible to be confused by what's what. Name your tracks in logical, flexible ways to help you. Here are some examples.

Voice—just you or the mixed recording of your and your cohosts.
Sounds—for intro/outro music, sound effects, or anything other than voices.
[First name], [First name], [First name]—if you record multiple people in separate tracks, name their tracks by their names so you can instantly see whose audio or video you're editing.
Guest/voicemail—call-ins or voicemail recordings will likely be a different quality than your own. Keeping these on a separate track makes processing easier and more specific.
Background—music, video, pictures, or anything you consider “background” in your project.

In Audacity, click on the Track Control Panel's drop-down menu and click “Name…” to rename the track.

Develop a consistent track order In addition to naming your tracks, your vertical stacking will also help organize and simplify. I order my tracks in “priority”: voices on the top track(s), sounds and background underneath.

In Audacity, simply click on the Track Control Panel and drag the track vertically to re-order it.

Sync-Lock Tracks (or similar) for editing multitrack In a multitrack project, removing time (whether audio or silence) from one track will affect the alignment with everything else. Learn your editing program's method for preventing this by enabling a track synchronization lock, or making your selection across multiple tracks.

There are three ways you could do this in Audacity:

Enable Sync-Lock Track to make any timing-related changes in one track affect all other tracks.
Drag your selection vertically across all tracks you want to affect.
Split-delete (Cmd-Opt-K on OS X, Ctrl-Alt-K on Windows) audio to prevent it from affecting the current track or any other tracks.

Use labels Some editing programs allow you to create a “label track” that can hold annotations at points along your timeline. This can help you find locations in larger projects.

Some audio recorders, such as the Zoom H4n (what I use), allow you to create a mark at a certain time in your recording. More advanced apps can read these marks like chapters or bookmarks. Unfortunately, Audacity doesn't support this.

Please retweet this!

How to organize your thoughts, files, and editing software for audio/video podcasts http://t.co/ftzcnpJc #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) July 30, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Is FeedBurner still relevant and useful to bloggers and podcasters? I share 8 things FeedBurner can do, and 8 things it can't or shouldn't do, and let you decide based on your needs.

FeedBurner is for those who don't know everything There are better ways to do everything that FeedBurner can do. But these better ways require more knowledge and sometimes money. If you can't invest either of these in the beginning, then FeedBurner may be right for you.

If you use any hosted blogging platform (like Blogger, WordPress.com, BlogTalkRadio, or SquareSpace), then you should definitely use FeedBurner.

For everyone else, it comes down to how much knowledge you have to take total control of your feed.

8 things FeedBurner can do 1. Keep your feed portable/protected 2. Estimate subscription stats 3. Enable email subscriptions 4. Keep your feed online during a website crash 5. Change/override information in your feed 6. Add Google AdSense 7. Make a web-app-friendly feed 8. Integrate with Google Analytics

8 things FeedBurner can't/shouldn't do 1. Create a podcast feed with “SmartCast” 2. Measure accurate download stats 3. Implement 301-redirects or “new-feed-url” 4. Correct some mistakes 5. Fix feed problems 6. Optimize your RSS feed 7. Keep your feed immediately updated 8. Maintain branding

If you want total control, don't use FeedBurner FeedBurner fills a gap, but you can fill that gap better with more knowledge or hiring someone (like me) to set it up optimally for you.

Podcasting poll: Do you use FeedBurner? [poll id=”9″]

More helpful posts about FeedBurner's relevance * FeedBurner vs. PowerPress, from Dave Jackson of School of Podcasting. * Upcoming episode from Ray Ortega of The Podcasters Studio.

Please retweet this!

Is FeedBurner still necessary for #blogging and #podcasting? http://t.co/NwEw8txg

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) July 23, 2012

Join the podcast live on Mondays Please join me when I record The Audacity to Podcast live every Monday at 2 p.m. (EDT/GMT -4:00).

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Photo courtesy of Martin Cathrae via Flickr Creative Commons

In my own response to “5 things that WON'T enhance your podcast,” learn how a few investments can improve your audio or video podcast. Each of these do cost time or money, but are well worth it!

Also read the conversation about last week's episode in the Podcasting Technology and Resource group on LinkedIn.

Add video or audio with big “IFs” If you're hosting an audio podcast that has to explain a lot of things, consider releasing videos.

If you're hosting a video podcast that is mostly a talking head, consider releasing an audio edition, too. This may help you appeal to the larger audio audience who prefers audio for its easier consumption.

Better mic, mixer, camera, or other equipment Software very rarely enhances your podcast to your audience, but upgrading your equipment will!

Consider a better mic, or an additional one. Maybe a larger mixer for including more cohosts. Or maybe a nicer camera so your live-stream or published video can be higher quality.

More time Time doesn't cost money, but it is still a great investment. Consider how much better your podcast would be if you spent more time:
preparing your topic,
writing shownotes,
blogging in your field,
interacting with your audience,
editing distracting parts of your podcast (but sometimes, mistakes are good to leave in, like when my iPad “exploded” in my clean-comedy podcast),
finding more content,
and more.
New knowledge Learning new or better things may cost time, money, or both. But it's another way for you to invest in your hobby or business. There are a lot of things we could all learn to improve:
better mic technique,
speaking/presentation skills,
productivity tools,
shortcuts and know-how on software you already have,
and more.
Improved website Your podcast isn't only about the audio or video download! Your website is the home to your podcast, so it should be organized and welcoming to current and potential listeners.

I've previously shared 5 steps to an effective (podcast) website, and there are more things you can do or hire someone to do for you:

make your website mobile-friendly (or at least compatible),
encourage more subscriptions with effective calls to action (I mentioned CorrectionalNurse.net as a recent example),
make money with affiliate links,
better shownotes,
optimize your site to load faster,
redesign for facelift and memorable attractiveness,
make it easier for visitors to find or share information,
and more.

Please retweet this!

5 things that WILL enhance your podcast http://t.co/YvuBWnWV #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) July 16, 2012

Join the podcast live on Mondays Please join me when I record The Audacity to Podcast live every Monday at 2 p.m. (EDT/GMT -4:00).

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

If you're looking for ways to improve your podcast, skip these. They may improve your podcasting workflow, but they won't make your podcast better.

Thanks to Darla from Scientific Quilter for inspiring and suggesting this topic!

UPDATE: there's a great conversation about these points in the Podcasting Technology and Resource group on LinkedIn.

Enhanced (AAC) podcast Despite the name, enhanced podcasts really aren't that great. These are specially formatted audio files the support changing cover art, chapter markings, and embedded links.

This sounds great, but it really doesn't provide a reasonable enhancement to the listening experience. Audio podcasts are consumable while driving, working, shopping, exercising, and more. The benefits of an enhanced podcast are lost in these environments.

Also don't assume that just because someone uses iTunes, they want or can even use an enhanced podcast.

The production time and software requirements significantly increase with enhanced podcasts, but the payback is very little.

If you absolutely must show something, point your listeners to your well-written shownotes or start a video podcast.

Better audio-editing software Audacity is completely free, but it may cost a little extra time to do what you want. You could spend up to $350 to upgrade your audio-editing software, but it won't improve the quality of your podcast; software only makes things easier (or sometimes just different) for you.

I have thousands of dollars of podcasting equipment and a licensed copy of Adobe Audition (with my Creative Cloud membership), but I still use Audacity.

More twitter followers Twitter is still such a social-media rage, but the number of followers you have makes almost no difference to your podcast, or even increasing the size of your audience. If you want to use Twitter to enhance your podcast, you have to be proactive and reach out. Simply having more followers makes no difference.
A faster computer (or a Mac) Similar to upgrading your software, upgrading your computer (or switching to a Mac) will not improve your podcast. You may like how you can do things on a different PC, but your audio or video files will probably be the same.

Does an expert photographer take better pictures with a newer camera? No. Because art does not depend on the tools, it depends on the technique.

Sponsorship Many podcasters will think, “If I could just get a sponsorship, then my podcast will have arrived!”

Extra money from your podcast can be nice, especially if you've worked your guts out to build a big enough podcast audience or empire that a sponsorship can be your new primary income.

But simply being doesn't give you new content, bring more listeners, or improve your audience quality. But a case can be made that sponsorship diminishes a podcast with interruptions, website banner ads, long commercials, and such.

What have you tried? Have you discovered things that do enhance your podcast? Or maybe things you tried but didn't? I would love to hear your feedback in the comments!

How to fix a “hacked” Twitter account

Hello someone is posting really bad rumors about you…

Don't click that link if you receive this Twitter DM. Instead, you or the person who sent it to you needs to know how to fix a hacked Twitter account from my personal blog at DanielJLewis.net.

Please retweet this

5 things that WON'T enhance or fix your podcast http://t.co/YM0G5ZLP #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) July 9, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Why Audacity 2.0.1 is the most-helpful update and you should get it. And how Apple's Podcasts app for iOS works and will benefit podcasters.

Audacity 2.0.1 is the “most-useful update” When the Audacity Team pushed the last Audacity 1.3 beta into a final 2.0, it was mostly bug fixes (and some introductions) and a version change. But not many features were enhanced or added in the major update.

Audacity 2.0.1 comes along and fixes several bugs, but also introduces some extremely useful features.

Download the latest Audacity now

Keyboard shortcuts for effects and plugins. If you have some favorite plugins, you can stop searching for them from your Effects menu and give them a keyboard shortcut through the Keyboard Preferences.

Plugins can be added to Chains. If you always use the same settings in the same plugins to process your audio (like I do), you can now add those effects and their saved settings inside a chain! This is especially helpful since Chris's Dynamic Compressor doesn't save settings, but you can create a Chain to remember them!

New “Paulstretch” effect. Have you heard when people super-slow down a pop song and turn it into something beautiful (even a Justin Bieber song)?

They usually used the standalone Paulstretch program. Now you can apply the same effect right within Audacity to slow down audio with no pitch change. This does a much better job than Audacity's built-in speed changers.

Read more about what's new in Audacity 2.0.1 from the changelog.

Apple's new Podcasts app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad With a recent iOS (Apple's mobile operating system for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad) 6 developer beta, many people had noticed that the podcasts section was removed from the Music app. This led to speculation that Apple would launch a standalone Podcasts app, just like they had for iBooks and Newstand.

The rumors were true and Apple launched the Podcasts app on Tuesday, June 26. I think it's a great idea, but poorly executed.

Get the free Podcasts app

Here is Apple's email to podcasters announcing the new app.

Dear Podcast Provider,

Podcasts on iTunes Store are now available through Podcasts app, the easiest way to discover, subscribe to and play your favorite podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Features:

Enjoy all of your audio and video podcasts in a single app

Explore hundreds of thousands of podcasts including shows in over 40 languages

Try the innovative new Top Stations feature to find new podcast series in a variety of topics, including arts, business, comedy, music, news, sports, and more

Browse by Audio or Video podcasts, or see what's most popular in Top Charts

Tap subscribe for your favorites and automatically receive new episodes for free as they become available

Stream episodes or download to listen while offline

Sync your episode playback for seamless transition between devices

You can download Podcasts app at itunes.com/podcastsapp.

Regards,

The iTunes Podcast team

Likes * A standalone app brings a lot more attention to podcasts on Apple's mobile devices. * Already bringing a lot more attention to podcasts. * Could make the podcast subscription and consumption process a lot easier. * iOS users can finally subscribe to a podcast on their mobile device (they could only download individual episodes before). * The Podcasts app can stream podcast episodes so they'll play over wi-fi or a data connection without having to download the whole file first. * Subscribed podcasts will automatically download new episodes over wi-fi or a data connection. * Podcast cover art is more prominent (though still not 1,400 x 1,400?). * Claimed synchronization across iOS devices and optionally back to iTunes. * Smart Chapters navigation for enhanced podcasts. * Sleep mode. * Bigger, more conveniently placed playback and skip buttons. * Episodes play sequentially without stopping. * Audio and video podcasts are finally in the same app. * Essentially a new app/filter for the iTunes store.

Dislikes * There's a sad possibility that the Podcasts app will not come preinstalled on future iOS devices (just as iBooks hasn't been up to this point). * iTunes- and device-syncing do not work as claimed and promoted. * Playback speed is buried under the cover art and doesn't stick between episodes. * Podcast cover art still doesn't display at 1,400 x 1,400 pixels—it's 1,000 x 1,000 on the new iPad, or 500 x 500 on older iPads. Even smaller on iPhone/iPod Touch. * Playback position and time indication are buried under the cover art. * Episode sorting defaults to newest episode first and must be changed for every podcast. * Undesired episodes can't be hidden when you've subscribed. * Individual cover art doesn't display, only the show-level cover art. * Lyrics tag is missing. * Podcasts are searchable only by podcast and episode titles, despite Apple's saying that metadata would be searchable. It turns out this behavior is the same on desktop iTunes, too. Andy Traub encourages jamming more information into podcast titles, but I don't think this is the best solution—but it may be the only one for now. * The “top stations” browser is extremely slow, and buggy with many podcasts' cover art.

Also listen to these couple other reviews on the Podcasts app:

Cliff Ravenscraft on Podcast Answer Man; and
Gary Leland, Rob Walch, Dave Jackson, Ray Ortega, and myself on Today in Podcasting.

Learn podcasting from A to Z If you want to learn how to podcast, I highly recommend that you sign up for Podcasting A to Z from Cliff Ravenscraft. Use my code “noodle” to save $100 off your registration. You'll get lots of great training, group consulting calls, and a bunch of digital products (including our coauthored Audacity 101) worth far more than the registration.

Sign up for Podcasting A to Z and use code “noodle” to save $500!

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

As a podcaster, you probably know how exciting it is to receive a voicemail! It confirms that you have human beings listening and wanting a conversation with you. With some basic editing, these voicemail messages can also be enjoyable for the rest of your listeners.

All of these ideas and tips will apply in any audio-editing software, but I focus on Audacity's specifics in the audio podcast, so make sure you listen to hear all the details!

Listen for valuable content Never play a voicemail you haven't already heard and know what the listener has to say. Their voicemail may be special, but you don't have to play it if it doesn't work for your podcast episode.
Is it relevant to your content?
Is it asking for an answer you'll have to find?
Is it addressing content that is far too old?
Does it provide value to your listeners?
Process to sound better Voicemail may come in through a variety of methods:
phone call,
recorded on smartphone app,
sent through a computer with SpeakPipe or similar, or
recorded on cheap or professional podcasting gear.

Because of this, the audio quality will differ every time. Try to make the quality the best you can, but don't try to conform the voicemail to your same studio level of quality. Try any or all of the following methods to enhance the voicemail audio.

Noise removal—Be careful with this because you could make it sound worse than it already is. I rarely run noise removal.
Adjust volume—Some voicemail will simply be too quiet or too loud overall. I always raise the volume of voicemails so they're close to my own volume.
Compress—This will even out the loud and quiet spots of voicemail so the volume is fairly consistent. This usually isn't necessary with phone calls. Again, I always do this so their sound matches mine.
Normalize—Potentially separate from the previous two tips, normalizing will ensure that the voicemail is never above a certain volume level, so they won't be louder than my own voice.
Basic equalization—Depending on the quality of the recording, some basic equalization (EQ) can sound a lot better. Even a simple bass boost. But make sure you're not boosting anything twice by running an effect on the voicemail before you play and then after you've recorded.

Of these steps, I only compress and normalize, unless absolutely necessary to do anything else.

For some great tips on audio-editing from an audio engineer, listen to episode 58 and episode 59 of The Podcasters Studio

Edit for clarity, relevance, and brevity The honest truth is that listeners may be nervous, conversational, irrelevant, or unprotecting of their privacy. Making some basic edits to their audio before you play it in your podcast can make your podcast flow more smoothly, and make the listener sound a lot better.
Remove excessive verbal crutches like “um,” “uh,” “ya know,” and such. But don't get obsessive about this; just remove the ones that stand out and are easy to remove.
Remove private information like school names, phone numbers, or email addresses.
Cut irrelevant fluff like repetitions, unnecessary lead-ins, or unnecessary side notes.
Trim silences at the beginning, end, and any time that gets awkward within.
Do not change their intent! If editing their message changes the meaning of their feedback, this could be a form of slander.
Shorten if too long, or piece together multiple messages. Google Voice cuts off at three minutes. I like to keep voicemails short, but if something really requires the extra time, piece them together so they sound like a single message.

Make sure you let voicemail-senders know that they may be edited for clarity, relevance, or brevity.

Export as uncompressed WAV Always save the unedited voicemail, and make a high-quality export. This is especially important if you will recompress your audio into MP3, like recording directly to a drive or importing the edited voicemail into your podcast project.

Important tips for handling listener feedback * Make it easy for listeners to send feedback. * Ensure listeners know their feedback is recorded and may be rebroadcast. * Always be respectful to your listeners unless they know to expect otherwise. * Remember that someone took their valuable time to think of something to say and send it to you. Be grateful! * Consider a personalized email or voicemail followup to every feedback.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

I share my story of podcasting and how it enabled me to follow my dreams.

Concise history * Started listening to podcasts as soon as Apple launched iTunes 4.9. * This Week in Tech and The Jesus Geek were first two subscriptions. * Heard a workable model from You Suck at Web Design. * Received “kick” from Cliff Ravenscraft and Cali Lewis to “just do it.” * Published first episode of the Ramen Noodle on October 10, 2007 * Released only eight full episodes of the Ramen Noodle before taking it seriously in November 2009. * Launched The Audacity to Podcast and Noodle.mx Network in June, 2010. * In summer of 2010, decided to be full-time freelancing in one year. * The Audacity to Podcast was featured for weeks in iTunes. Audience exploded and provided a first step toward my new dreams. * Left my full-time job in June, 2011, to be full-time freelance web designer. * Was invited to speak at BlogWorld and New Media Expo in New York City in spring of 2012.

Takeaways for you * Don't try to be perfect * Allow yourself to stumble * Stick with it! * Realize your podcast could be a step toward your dreams * It takes time * Don't give up * Get better as you go * Occasionally look back and see how far you've come

Please retweet this

How #podcasting led from a hobby to a dream theaudacitytopodcast.com/tap084-how-pod…

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theRamenNoodle) June 18, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn how “business cards” for your blog or podcast can help you promote and grow your audience.

Have a reason for your blog/podcast cards Don't design and print cards just for the sake of having cards. Know why you want them and how you plan to use them. This will direct your design decisions as well.

Here are my reasons for making podcast cards

To remind people to check out your blog or podcast. Giving someone a card is much more effective then hoping they remember my website.
For targeted “marketing.” See where your conversation goes before you decide which card(s) to give someone. Then they receive the card most relevant to them.
To share connection information. Your card can tell viewers how to get your content as well as contact you about your content. This is crucial if you give your card to a potential sponsor.
To add professionalism to your reputation. Podcasts have already been called “amateur hour” by Steve Jobs, and podcasting may still seem amateur to some people. Having a well-designed card gives you an extra bump in credibility.
To encourage community promotion. Don't be the only one handing out your cards, send them to your fans so they can be your remote marketing team.
Include the right information Don't cram too much information on your cards, but also don't make them so simple that they're worthless. Consider including the following information.
Blog/podcast name
Short description
Website address (have a nice domain)
Contact/feedback information
Host name(s)
Network affiliation
Host face(s) (see below)
Leave white space for notes

Watch who writes things on business cards and they're people who actually listen and are impressed in at least some way. (Side tip, write on other people's cards!) Leave space on your cards so you can write helpful information, relevant episode/post, or so your new friend can write something about you.

Put your face on the cards

I'll be honest. This seems tacky to me. But I'm changing my opinion after BlogWorld and New Media Expo in New York (2012). The cards with someone's face made the people far more memorable, especially when there was a personal conversation.

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to remember someone's face than their name? A card with both your name and face bridges this gap.

There's also a psychological issue that people are less likely to throw away someone's face. Makes sense!

Don't spam with your cards Treat your cards like money and don't just throw it out to everyone. Wait to see if someone's conversation with you “earns” your card(s). Even consider waiting until the other person asks for a card or the last moments of your conversation before you give one.
Get your cards professionally printed Business cards need to be strong and attractive. Although VistaPrint is a popular company (and I'll admit that they have a great affiliate program), I recommend against using them.

Instead, check out GotPrint.com [not an affiliate link]. 1,000 business cards with glossy color front and black & white matte back (writable) costs about $16 plus shipping for your own design. VistaPrint starts at about $53 for the same service!

Consider a “conference card”

I went to BlogWorld and New Media Expo with 1,000 copies of each of my four cards (The Audacity to Podcast, the Ramen Noodle, ONCE podcast, and my freelance design business card). This means I had 4,000 cards with me in New York!

But I knew that I would only give one or two (out of four) cards to those for whom the cards would be relevant. This means I brought twice as many cards as I needed (let alone my over-estimation for how many people I would meet).

For my next conference, I'll probably design a single, concise “conference card” that will list everything I do. This way, I'll only carry one card instead of the four I took to New York.

Watch my personal blog for when I display my design for these.

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Apple has mostly ignored podcasting for a while. But in the last couple months, we've seen several updates to the podcasting specifications. They even emailed content producers to announce the changes!

PowerPress 4.0 has also been released to support many of these new features.

iTunes updates podcasting spec Metadata Ping Service Upgraded Remember when iTunes dropped pingPodcast and told me “Ping feature has been subsumed by Advanced in the self-calibrating RSS reader”?

Read more about iTunes's podcasting changes in March.

ePub Support Podcasts used to be just audio, video, and PDF. Now iTunes supports ebooks in the ePub format, which will make distributing written material via podcast to iOS devices easier. Yeah, that's niche.

Read more about iTunes's podcasting changes in March.

New Server Configuration Requirement iTunes now requires your media host to support “byte range requests.” All the popular media hosts (like LibSyn and Blubrry) already have this. Essentially, this allows you to press play on a website and it simulates streaming by playing while the rest is downloading.

Read more about iTunes's podcasting changes in March.

Large Cover Art Not long ago, iTunes quietly changed the podcast cover art recommendation to 1,200 x 1,200. I had suspected this would come with the launch of the new iPad. But iTunes has now officially announced that the spec is updated to 1,400 x 1,400—this makes even less sense than 1,200, especially since it's still smaller than the new iPad's screen (2,048 x 1,536).

Make sure you rename your image file, or the URL changes in some way (like using PowerPress to upload the image) if you want iTunes to recognize that it's updated.

1080p HD Video Support 720p has previously been the HD standard in iTunes, but now you can publish in 1080p, which will look great on the new iPad, the new Apple TV on HD screens, and even PC downloads with a large monitor.

But consider your bandwidth and hosting costs before you jump aboard and start publishing all video in 1080p.

Episode Metadata FINALLY! iTunes indexes individual metadata in their searches. This means that summaries, titles, and keywords for each episode now help your podcast be more findable in iTunes.

You can enable these fields for per-episode editing through PowerPress settings > Basic Settings > Advanced iTunes settings, or let your post metadata automatically populate these fields (default).

New tags and features iTunes has added support for several new RSS tags that translate to great features for podcasters.

Is Closed Captioned—If your video podcast contains closed captioning for hearing-impaired, you can now indicate this with a simple checkmark in your feed or on a per-episode basis via the PowerPress settings.
Order—You can now override the default episode sorting in iTunes. This works great for forcing downloads in chronological order instead of the default “most recent” style. But use with caution.
Complete—If you stop podcasting but want your podcast to remain in iTunes, enabling this tag (which involves editing your wp-config.php file) will tell iTunes to stop updating that podcast feed, but keep you in the directory as a finished podcast series.

Better explanations The new iTunes “Making a Podcast” page and specs contain a lot of really useful instructions, tips, and explanations. Even if you're not very technical, you'll learn some great things by reading the page.

For more thorough explanations of many of these changes, read “iTunes Podcasting Specifications Changed May 2012 – What That Means for Podcasting” from my friends at Blubrry.

PowerPress 4.0 podcasting plugin for WordPress A big reason I love PowerPress and recommend it over Feedburner's SmartCast feature (though I still recommend Feedburner) is that PowerPress is quickly updated to support new podcasting features. PowerPress 4.0 is no exception!

Supports all the new iTunes tags Large cover art and the new iTunes tags are immediately available for your use in PowerPress 4.0!

Feature episode Taking advantage of iTunes's new “order” tag, PowerPress 4.0 lets you feature a single episode above the rest. This featured episode will download before any others. This can be your introduction episode (if you do this, please make it short!), most important episode, or however else you would like to use it.

VideoJS player If you're comfortable editing your own CSS (the web programming language that styles a website), then VideoJS allows you to completely style your video player. Just add a CSS class that makes sense to you, and you can style everything about the player through your own CSS.

Feed Episode Maximizer If you have more than 30 podcast episodes, you should be concerned about your RSS size. It should never get above 512 KB, but I recommend keeping it even smaller. This new feature will help by distributing the complete podcast episode data for only the most recent ten episodes. Then it slims down to just the necessities for older episodes.

To use Feed Episode Maximizer, I recommend powering your podcast feed from the podcast-only feed that PowerPress gives you. Otherwise, you may be truncating older posts for the rest of your regular feed readers.

Read more about PowerPress 4.0 from the official blog.

This feature is currently a little buggy.

Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I’ll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC and use promo code “PodLewis10″ to save 10% off your admission!

Daily podcasting photos blog series For the month of May, I'm blogging a daily photo with tools, tips, or cool things related to podcasting. Subscribe to the blog via RSS or email so you won't miss this fun series!

Please retweet this!

Learn about the new iTunes specs for #podcasting and @Blubrry‘s PowerPress 4.0 theaudacitytopodcast.com/tap082-new-itu…

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theRamenNoodle) May 28, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Simple mic technique can fix your podcast from sounding cheap and amateur to far more professional. Apply these five simple tricks to sound better podcasting!

Demo podcasting microphones * Heil PR40 * Audio Spectrum AS-400 * Nady SP-1 (part of a $28 mic, stand, and XLR cable kit)

Get close to the mic A big mistake early podcasters make is talking too far away from their microphones. This makes the audio more susceptible to room noise, reverb, and harsh tones.

Get closer to your mic and turn down your gain (the sensitivity of the mic).

This even works with internal mics, when you combine with other techniques.

Don't get too close to the mic On the flip side, getting too close to your mic can be bad, too. This will pick up excessive breathing, mouth noises, and pops from letters like P and T (call plosives).

Depending on your mic, the optimal distance is about four fingers' width away.

Talk past the mic Pointing the mic directly at your face causes the most plosives as the puffs of air some letters make will go straight from your mouth.

Pivot the mic around your mouth so you are talking past the mic instead of into the mic.

Don't touch the mic Unless you have a noiseless overheard boom arm LINK and shock mount, never ever touch your microphone, stand, or anything touching the mic or stand while you're recording. The creates loud booms in the recording.
Avoid noise around the mic What you do away from the mic is just as important as in front of the mic. Avoid loud keyboards, squeaking chairs, cracking knuckles, whispered conversations, background noise-makers, and more.

I’m speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I’ll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC and use promo code “PodLewis10″ to save 10% off your admission!

Daily podcasting photos blog series For the month of May, I'm blogging a daily photo with tools, tips, or cool things related to podcasting. Subscribe to the blog via RSS or email so you won't miss this fun series!

Please retweet this!

5 tips to sound great with ANY microphone theaudacitytopodcast.com/tap081-5-tips-… #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theRamenNoodle) May 21, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Nady Direct Drive DJ Turntable, Black (MSC3)

View Details

Want to earn money, get tax benefits, or gain press access with your podcast? Then you need these legal answers with Gordon Firemark. He also shares what to do when you get a lawyer letter.

Your podcast may already be a business If you are making any money from your podcasting (even affiliates or Google adsense), that will look like a business.

Know your local laws, because you may need to register your business with the county and get a specific business license.

Tax benefits from podcasting Scott Eiland from the Baseball Experience Podcast asked about getting tax benefits from podcasting.

Gordon Firemark isn't a tax professional and recommends that you consult a tax professional. But from the legal perspective, the IRS will look at whether you're making legitimate effort to treat your podcasting as a business.

Making a few dollars a year from Adsense may not make you look like a business and able to deduct all your expenses, but this may be treated differently at different levels of taxing.

You don't have to form a business entity in order to podcast as a business. If you file as a business, you may need to raise capital and have liability

Two reasons to form a business entity:

insolation from liability, and
raising capital.

There may be further financial benefits to incorporating your podcast as a business entity, but you should consult a tax professional about this.

There are essentially three ways someone may trying to turn their podcast into a business:

You have a full-time job, podcast in the evening, and have affiliate links Generally, treat this as a hobby and don't deduct your expenses. But your local government may require you to register as a business for tax or zoning (business from your home property).

Most affiliate programs can send payments to you as an individual.

The most important part of this is including the affiliate income in your tax filing.

You have your own business and podcast on the side, as a marketing arm of your business Treat this as an extension of your business, if you are truly using it to benefit your business.

Again, talk to a tax professional about how you should track these deductions.

You podcast as your business, or get paid specifically for podcasting This is a business, and you may want to consider incorporating to protect yourself from liability. An LLC is very popular for this model.

It comes down to two issues:

Is this an actual business, or just a hobby?
Are you making money from it? (If yes, then it's most likely a business.)

Consider a different picture like skiing. Unless you're a professional skier and are paid to ski or teach skiing, it's most likely a hobby.

Are we journalists/press? Yes, no, and maybe! Some states have a “reporter's shield law,” which provides many protections to journalists. But to qualify, you must demonstrate that you're a journalist.

Simply blogging or podcasting doesn't instantly turn you into a journalist. You have to behave like a journalist. You usually have to demonstrate a reputation and sizable trusting audience.

What does the evidence show? Are you acting, looking, and being perceived as a journalist?

I have personally had two experiences being approved as press.

For movie screenings, my reputation of quickly releasing previews to assist the publicity of the movie was enough to consider me as press.
For Once Upon a Time, I had to demonstrate to ABC that I have a very popular site with a large audience and was speaking positively about the show.

Do we need a profit-sharing contract with cohosts? If you have cohosts on your podcast and make money directly from your podcast, you may want to consider a contract for sharing the profit. This isn't required, but it's a good idea.

This may look like either a partnership or as paying independent contractors.

For example, you could say, “I will pay you ___% of what our podcast earns, after expenses.”

Sharing profit isn't even required, but you and your cohosts should have an understanding of how income will work. You could be sharing either the net or gross profit.

What to do if you get a letter from a lawyer The infamous “nastygram.” You have to deal with any claim from a lawyer about infringements.

Be careful not to respond too quickly, unless its a DMCA takedown notice. These are part of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act and have designated deadlines and penalties for infringements.

If it's not a DMCA takedown notice, then take your time and follow Gordon's advice from The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide:

Don't panic
Don't overreact
Notify your insurance provider
Don't respond too quickly
Don't underreact—do respond and deal with it
Be prepared for what may come next—a lawsuit from either them or you

Monetizing your podcast There are some legal considerations for

Sponsorship—getting paid to include ads or endorse a product. This is usually obvious that you're getting paid.
Affiliate relationships—earning commissions by referring sales to another business. Affiliate relationships must be disclosed, even if they're testimonials.
Paid subscriptions—selling access to your content.

Learn more about making money with your podcast.

About Gordon Firemark * + Firemark.com + The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide + Entertainment Law Update podcast + Follow @GFiremark

Podcasting news: Google+ Hangouts On Air now allows live-streaming to YouTube and embedding on your own website. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohlHn6Kt5YM

I'm getting Adobe Audition in my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription and will soon host a review of Audition versus Audacity.

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference. Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Daily podcasting photos blog series For the month of May, I'm blogging a daily photo with tools, tips, or cool things related to podcasting. Subscribe to the blog via RSS or email so you won't miss this fun series!

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Turning a blog or podcast into a business (with @GFiremark) http://t.co/hstUIOm6

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) May 7, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

How to easily make a privacy policy and what it should contain, how to get releases for your cohosts and guests, necessary disclaimers and disclosures, and how to avoid defamation. Legal answers with Gordon Firemark.

Do we need our own privacy policies? Tim Arthur from Tech Monks Podcast asked whether we need privacy policies.

If you gather any information about your visitors, you need to express how that information will be used. This is especially important when it's personally identifiable information: name, email address, phone number, etc.

This can be as simple as “We gather ____ and use for in-house analytical policies.” But this statement must be expounded.

You need a specific page on your site that explains what information you collect and how you'll use it.

Also consider a Terms of Use page to explain what you're allowed to do with the content visitors leave on your site (like comments). This can cover you for if you ever plan to repurpose your content into a sellable product.

We should all be reading privacy policies and terms of use, too.

What your privacy policy should cover * Who, what, when, where, how, and why about the information that you gather. * How you will use the information (including future flexibility). * Whether you'll notify of changes. * What domains your policy covers. * That your policy does not apply to offsite links, like affiliates.

Tools for creating a privacy policy Zak Wallace from Wallys Modcast shared a couple free tools.

FreePrivacyPolicy.com and PrivacyPolicyOnline.com are both free sites for generating a privacy policy. These sites will “spam” you afterward (emailing you a lot, but you're getting something for free), but they do make acceptable policies that you can use.

Free services are a great place to start, but read them and customize as necessary. Then comply with it because it's a contract with your audience.

You can even model your privacy policy after someone else's.

Where should your privacy policy be? Link your privacy policy page (not a post) from the footer of every page.

Read more about privacy policies from Gordon Firemark.

Make sure you abide by your promise to notify viewers if you change your policies, unless you don't promise to notify.

Write in plain English! Say what you mean, and say it simply and concisely.

If you change a policy, make a summary so people won't have to read the entire document.

If you run several websites, but they share the same privacy policy, it would be acceptable to have a central page and link to it from all of your separate sites. Make sure this policy reflects its jurisdiction over your separate domains.

This privacy policy applies to all Noodle.mx Network sites: TheAudacitytoPodcast.com, ONCEpodcast.com, …

Releases for cohosts and guests Andrew McGivern from The Bunker Project asked about how to get releases from cohosts, guests, and especially random participants (like walk-ins, live call-ins, etc.).

Always try to get something in writing from anyone who appears on your show. If writing isn't possible, a recorded confirmation can be acceptable.

For random walk-ins, have a sign that notifies visitors that they are about to be recorded. Don't assume that they'll know what you're doing. A notice is sufficient only if they have the option of walking away and their consent is entirely voluntary.

Keep your language general. If you say “distributed as a podcast” but later sell CDs, you would have to get permission again.

Recorded voicemails or email forms should notify senders that their message may be used as part of your show. This leaves their consent voluntary.

Disclaimers and disclosures Keeper Dan from Miskatonic University Podcast asked about disclaimers/disclosures at the end of podcast.

The Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game is property of Chaosium, Inc.

The written works of H.P. Lovecraft are held in the United States public domain.

All other works mentioned in this podcast are the property of their respective owners.

Original content of this show is copyright of the Miskatonic University Podcast under a Creative Commons, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.

This could also include that the views expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Miskatonic University, or that those of your guests do not reflect your own views.

Also include disclosures when you'll get paid from affiliate links, a review, or have received something for free.

Include any required attributions for music or other copyrighted content that you've used.

cmp.ly makes easy disclosures that can be a great starting point for your site.

Make sure you include statements to protect yourself and your audience. For example, if you have a video podcast and use machinery, give safety cautions.

Risk of defamation * Liable is written defamation * Slander is spoken defamation.

A false statement about a person that injures their reputation and isn't protected under free speech.

Keep in mind common-sense privacy issues, like health concerns.

Comedy: saying something funny about something
Parody: making fun of something

Parody of copyrighted material is allowed under fair use. And as long as a parody is clearly treated and presented as a parody, it is free from defamation risks.

About Gordon Firemark * Firemark.com * The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide * Entertainment Law Update podcast * Follow @GFiremark

Still upcoming in our law series * Podcasting as a business with tax benefits

Podcasting poll: Do you have a privacy policy? [poll id=”7″]

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Upcoming: daily podcasting photos For the month of May, I'll be blogging a daily photo with tools, tips, or cool things related to podcasting. Subscribe to the blog via RSS or email so you won't miss this fun series!

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Why you need your own privacy policies, disclosures, and releases for #blogging or #podcasting theaudacitytopodcast.com/tap079-why-you…

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theRamenNoodle) April 30, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Show you claim something as a trademark? Do you have to register trademarks? How can we protect trademarks in social media? And more trademark questions answered by entertainment lawyer Gordon Firemark.

Sponsor: GoToMeeting with HD Faces makes it easy to collaborate online anytime. Try it Free!

What is a trademark A distinctive brand or title to identity a product, service, or company.

“Descriptive” titles, like “how to podcast,” are difficult to trademark until it's well-known as associated with a particular company or person.

Should we trademark our own stuff? * Not individual episode or blog post titles * Trademark a “series,” like the website or podcast name

How do we claim something as a trademark? Trademark registration gives broader rights and protections to the trademark-owner. But it could cost about $1,000 per trademark.

Indicate a trademark with one of these three symbols:

™ Goods or products
® Registered trademark
SM A service mark (best for podcasters)

How can we protect our trademark? Lanham Act established trademark protection, even if your mark isn't registered, against people competing with you.

If someone just uses the descriptive words of your trademark, it's permissible. But if they are titling something with the same trademark, then you have the right to ask them to change it. Sometimes, they'll be respectful, sometimes not. Always start with a pleasant, respectful request.

Claiming a trademark means you're obligated to protect it, even an unregistered trademark. If you don't protect your trademark, you'll lose it.

What if we haven't indicated our trademarks? The symbols aren't necessary for unregistered trademarks, but it's a recognizable way to notify the world that you're claiming the trademark.

But if you have registered your trademark, you are required to indicate the registration.

Protecting a trademark in social media Most social-media companies have clear policies for protecting registered trademarks. Often, they'll also respect unregistered trademarks if you can demonstrate you're entitled to it.

I've found that other services, like Instagram, have no protections for trademark violations in their service. It's totally first come, first serve.

Register your “trademarks” in any legitimate-looking service you find pop up.

About Gordon Firemark * Firemark.com * The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide * Entertainment Law Update podcast * Follow @GFiremark

Still upcoming in our law series * Privacy policies, disclaimers, and notices * Podcasting as a business with tax benefits

Podcasting poll: have you registered a copyright or trademark? [poll id=”6″]

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Follow my personal blog, if you care about me How's that for a guilt trip? I've started a personal blog at DanielJLewis.net, sharing thoughts and reviews on technology, social media, web design, freelancing, productivity, personal updates, and everything else I want to talk about that doesn't fit in my many other websites.

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Trademarks for Bloggers and Podcasters (with @GFiremark) http://t.co/L6Ip2l4K #podcasting #blogging

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) April 23, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Can you use copyrighted material in your personal podcast? What about “fair use”? And more copyright questions answered by entertainment lawyer Gordon Firemark.

What is a copyright? Exclusive rights for the own of works of authorship to control how it can be used. Any fixed, original work can be copyrighted (audio, video, code, writing, etc.).

Ideas cannot be copyrighted.

Common copyright terms * Infringement—using copyrighted material without prior permission from the copyright-holder. * Derivative—repurposing material or making a new work from the original work. * Attribution—giving credit to the author. * Public domain—a work that is no longer under copyright law (typically anything older than 100 years and published in the USA). * Distribution—any method of sharing something: podcast, email newsletter, blog post, etc.

Can you use copyrighted material? Nanny Jenny from the Nanny Cast asked about “performing” copyrighted works by reading them in her podcast.

Get permission! Any reproduction or performance of a copyrighted work without permission, is infringement.

Anything in public domain (like classic fairytales) is free for anyone to use.

If you're denied permission or you don't get it, then you have to look at how much you can use. Some will say that podcasts are small enough media that it won't deter sales, but this should be used as support for asking permission, not for using without permission.

Using portions of copyrighted material (“fair use”) Whether a sound clip, image, video, quotation, or other excerpt, you may be allowed to include it under the “fair use” clause in copyright law.

It can be complicated to determine what is “fair use.” It depends four things: context (nature of the use), nature of original, effect of the market, amount/substantiality of original.

Using up to a 60-second clip from a two-hour movie is such a small portion that it's fine for commentary.
Referring to copyrighted content is fine in all cases. “Fair use” applies when you are directly reproducing a portion of the copyrighted work.
There aren't any hard guidelines for limits. It's a matter of how what is a “substantial amount” for your situation.

Sometimes, you can create derivatives (or mashups) with copyrighted material, but it's still best to get permission.

Using a theme song from a show as our own theme is copyright infringement, unless you have permission from the copyright-holder.

Using a Once Upon a Time podcast as an example, we discuss that using content for segment bumpers without direct commentary is probably “fair use,” but it's very close to on the line.

What about Creative Commons? Creative Commons provides easy terms to explain the conditions by which you are sharing your content.

Finding content licensed under Creative Commons is easy and clear how you can use the material.

Commercial versus personal Some material will say it's licensed for only personal, but where is the line for commercial?

If you use the material for promoting or producing a product, it's definitely commercial. But often, just having ads or affiliate links will push the podcast or blog from personal to commercial, because they are earning money from their content.

If you have ads, treat yourself as being commercial.

Should we copyright our own content? You should be aware of how to protect your own original work. As soon as your creativity is put in a fixed form (like recorded or written), it is copyrighted. But registering your copyright is inexpensive (around $40) and provides easy protections, even financially.

Trying to protect your work without having it previously registered will cost a lot, unless you win.

Register your copyrights every few months, as you're allowed to register within three months. You can group material together into a folio of works, like blog posts or podcast episodes.

Creative Commons doesn't provide this legal protection that registration does.

Notice of copyrights It's a good idea to include a brief copyright notice in this format:

[Copyright or ©] [year of authorship] [copyright owner]

For example, I could add:

© 2012 D.Joseph Design

And it doesn't hurt to include a brief mention at the end of your podcast.

Remember: get permission! Get permissions in writing! Email does qualify most of the time. But signed paper is best.

About Gordon Firemark * Firemark.com * The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide * Entertainment Law Update podcast * Follow @GFiremark

Still upcoming in our law series * Trademarks * Privacy policies, disclaimers, and notices * Podcasting as a business with tax benefits

Podcasting poll: have you registered a copyright or trademark? [poll id=”6″]

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Follow my personal blog, if you care about me How's that for a guilt trip? I've started a personal blog at DanielJLewis.net, sharing thoughts and reviews on technology, social media, web design, freelancing, productivity, personal updates, and everything else I want to talk about that doesn't fit in my many other websites.

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Copyright laws for bloggers and podcasters, with @GFiremark http://t.co/CFoiFkIB #podcasting #blogging

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) April 16, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

It may feel like your podcast is dying. That doesn't always mean it's time to quit. Sometimes, your podcast just needs a bit of new life! If you have extra money to spend, I also include some bonus tips.

This is more than just finding content for your podcast, but bringing new inspiration and flavor to what is still your passion.

Add a new segment Whether you have no segments or many, consider adding something new. This doesn't have to be permanent, but at least a repeatable new idea.
Industry news
Review something
Highlight a listener
Miniature tip
Regular joke (even if you have serious content)
Best resource(s) of the week
Change your opening or closing If you don't have a standard opening and closing, make one! But even if you have one, is it consistent and memorable?

You can add or change any of these in your opening.

Theme music
Opening “script”
Introduce yourself
Describe the podcast

For your closing, you could add or change these.

Contact information
Shownotes URL
Remind them who you are
Give a call to action
Make a closing quotation, or pull something relevant from your content
Rewrite your goals or description Sometimes, we write our podcast description or goals early, which is great. We follow that but then our show changes and the description isn't as accurate. Rewrite it and you may see it influence how you podcast.

If you don't already have podcasting “goals,” then make some and consider how each episode helps you meet them.

When I started The Audacity to Podcast, it was about podcasting and Audacity. Several months later, I realized my niche was “how-to” information. So I wrote the description, “A ‘how-to' podcast about podcasting and using Audacity.” That simple rewrite gave The Audacity to Podcast new life by reminding me to focus on “how-to” information, which has been very well received.

Invite a guest Find someone else who has something to contribute, or simply shares your passions and invite them as a guest. My cohost Jeremy and I have done this many times with our clean-comedy podcast. We wanted to pre-record a bunch of episodes, and we knew we couldn't come up with that much content ourselves, so we invited several guests.

Guests don't have to be permanent. Find someone who adds a different perspective on your content.

Rearrange your “studio” If you've ever worked with interior design (or moved furniture for your wife, mother, sister, or yourself), you've probably noticed how different a room feels.

Look at your podcast studio. Maybe you've slowly added more equipment than the current setup holds. Rearrange it! I had huge success in moving around my own studio furniture.

Rearrange your outline Look at your content and how you present it. Maybe move things around a bit and stick to it. Give a teaser in your opening, or move something earlier or later in your podcast.
Record at a different time or day (or set a schedule) Changing your recording schedule may help your podcast by allowing your brain to function better. This will result in better clarity and creativity. Switching days may fit in easier with your schedule.

If you don't already have a recording schedule, try setting and sticking to one.

More expensive ideas Each of the previous ideas would be free or extremely inexpensive to incorporate. But here are some more things you can do if you have some money to spend.

Redesign your podcast cover art, or hire me to do it for you.
Upgrade a piece of podcasting gear that will give you new abilities (like a portable recorder).
Buy some software that will make things easier or faster. Here are some of my favorites:
- TextExpander (OS X) or PhraseExpress (Windows)
- ID3 Editor (has many time-saving features over free alternatives)
- PrettyLink Pro (WordPress plugin) for making friendly URLs easier when writing blog posts or podcast shownotes.
- New WordPress theme, like one of the awesome and mobile-friendly themes from StudioPress, or other choices from Standard Theme or Thesis.
- A social-media app for your smartphone or tablet. (I recently purchased TweetBot for iPhone and Tapatalk for iOS or Android)
- A premium soundboard app like Soundboard (OS X) or Sound Byte (Windows and OS X)
Upgrade your furniture
Add software or equipment to live-stream your podcast while recording.

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Follow my personal blog, if you care about me How's that for a guilt trip? I've started a personal blog at DanielJLewis.net, sharing thoughts and reviews on technology, social media, web design, freelancing, productivity, personal updates, and everything else I want to talk about that doesn't fit in my many other websites.

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

7 free and easy ways to give your podcast new life http://t.co/44y6gzz4 #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) April 9, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

The Podcast, Blog & New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide (paperback)

View Details

April Fool's! I'm not saying every podcaster must use the program Audacity, but every podcaster or blogger must have the quality of audacity.

audacity 1. the quality or state of being audacious: as 1. intrepid boldness 2. bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints 2. an audacious act —usually used in plural

[“audacity,” Merriam–Webster]

audacious 1. a : intrepidly daring : adventurous

b : recklessly bold : rash 2. contemptuous of law, religion, or decorum : insolent 3. marked by originality and verve

[“audacious,” Merriam–Webster]

Audacity isn't just a program that some podcasters can use, but it's a force that drives us to podcast.

You're not just the audience anymore You no longer have to be just listeners, viewers, and readers. You can be storytellers, teachers, broadcasters, and artists with your own audience. Everyone can teach something.
Your perspective and experience matter Experience gave you the perspective you have, and no one else lived your life. Even if you think the knowledge is already shared, it hasn't been shared from your unique perspective.
You can make your own rules “Big media” is restricted by many rules: commercials, air time, frequency, content, contracts, and more. But you can throw away those rules and write your own!
You can change the world from your basement Be consistent and don't give up. Image your basement (or wherever your recording “studio” is) as a doorway to reach the entire world and influence lives.
You are not alone Even if you can't find someone locally who shares your interests, someone else is looking for the conversation. Find those people and you'll discover that even the most niche topic can have a thriving community. Will you lead them?

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount! Use promo code “PodLewis10” to save 10% off your admission.

Podcasting poll: Is your podcast in the Zune Marketplace? [poll id=”5″]

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

5 reasons bloggers and podcasters MUST have audacity http://t.co/6SPzdGwU #podcasting #blogging

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) April 2, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Rob Greenlee (formerly) from Zune tells us that the Zune Marketplace isn't dead, and we talk about the future of Zune and podcasting in general.

UPDATE: Zune, as a brand, is now gone. But much of this information is still relevant, and the email address to get into the catalog has been updated to podcasts@microsoft.com.

Is Zune Marketplace dead? Nanny Jenny from NannyCast responded to “Top Podcasting Directories and How to Get in Them.” She reports that Microsoft is killing Zune [possibly via The Verge].

This is an easily misunderstood news item. Microsoft has not made any announcements and the “news” is only conjecture based on observations. However, while “Zune” as a brand may disappear, it's unlikely that Microsoft would completely wipe the podcast directory to start over.

This is where Rob Greenlee from Zune comes in. He's a successful podcaster, podcast producer, and business manager for the Zune Podcasts Marketplace. We talk about Zune's existence in the Microsoft brand and some important feed information for podcasters.

Where is Zune going? Zune was the #2 portable media player for a while.

Zune is more than a portable media device. Zune is now a platform strongly backed by the growing Windows Phone.

Microsoft is evolving Zune.

Zune Marketplace is already integrated with Windows 7, but we can't disclose its future with Windows 8.

Zune.net hosts the full podcast catalog for the Zune software.

Zune software runs on Windows and is like Microsoft's own “iTunes.” It's like a premium Windows Media Player. Download free from Zune.net.

Getting in the Zune podcast directory is easy There are three ways you can submit your podcast to the Zune podcast directory.

Email your RSS feed to podcasts@microsoft.com for someone to add your podcast and reply with confirmation.
~~Submit online at Zune.net.~~
~~Submit through the Zune software.~~

Zune podcast directory actually pulls data from the iTunes tags first. So make sure you properly add ID3 tags!

If you need to change anything about your podcast (like the overall cover art) in the Zune podcast directory, email podcasts@microsoft.com.

~~You can generate your own ‘deep links” for Zune software users. But there doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the “Zune Marketplace” and “Zune Social” links. Perhaps exclusive functionality for Zune users.~~

Rob's perspective on podcasting's future Podcasting will become more accessible for more people in more locations. GM recently announced Stitcher would be integrated into future car systems. Other car audio systems have offered USB plugs or auxiliary audio inputs.

Audio podcasting will always be around, especially for car listening, just like we're used to AM and FM radio.

Video podcasting is moving toward more large screens, like distribution on set-top boxes and console gaming devices.

Rob doesn't think all podcasters have to move into video. It's often quite unnecessary. There are advantages, like deeper engagement with an audience. But video also takes a lot more time to produce.

What podcasting formats are best for audio or video? M4V H.264 baseline platform works on Zune as well as Apple and many other devices and platforms.

M4A is a bad direction to go for audio. If you're producing audio podcasts, stick with MP3.

Rob's podcasting setup * Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer ($200). * Shure SM7B ($349) mics—Rob says you can't go wrong with a Shure microphone. * Sony Creative Sound Forge ($324 on Amazon.com) for editing * Levelator (free)—Rob's favorite tool in his entire podcasting workflow. * Records straight into computer via USB interface from the mixer.

Podcasting tips from Rob Watch your podcasting environment. Don't be around noise.

Record into a digital recorder if you can, otherwise, be aware of the power of your computer system.

Make sure your volume is even between podcast hosts.

Follow Rob Greenlee * Rob is a frequent guest on The Morning Tech Show with Todd Cochrane * Rob produces The Weekly Download for Zune. * On Twitter: Follow @RobGreenlee * Rob's personal website with podcasting and media thoughts * WebTalk World Radio * Email podcasts@microsoft.com with any questions

I'm speaking in the Podcasting 101 track at BlogWorld NYC! Please join me at BlogWorld in New York City on June 5–7. I'll be one of the panelists in the Podcasting 101 track and presenting on the last day of the conference.

Register for BlogWorld NYC for the early discount!

New podcasting poll: Is your podcast in the Zune Marketplace? [poll id=”5″]

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Is Zune still important for podcasters? (with @RobGreenlee) http://t.co/JS2se6ZJ #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) March 26, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

Shure SM7B Vocal Dynamic Microphone for Broadcast, Podcast & Recording, XLR Studio Mic for Music & Speech, Wide-Range Frequency, Warm & Smooth Sound, Rugged Construction, Detachable Windscreen - Black

Mackie 802-VLZ3 8-Ch. Compact Recording/SR Mixer

View Details

Is your blog or podcast ready for Google's new algorithm? Should you update to Audacity 2.0? What the new iPad means for podcasters. Becoming mobile-friendly.

Is your blog or podcast ready for Google's new algorithm? From “How to Prep Your SEO for Google's New Algorithm“:

Break from the old keyword mentality, embrace synonyms
Build up your FAQ page
Don’t sell, educate

Should you update to Audacity 2.0? After excitedly announcing the release of Audacity 2.0, I also upgraded myself. But I've started discovering some problems and repeatable errors.

Dragging more than four WAV files into Audacity 2.0 has consistently crashed it.
Exporting and attempting to overwrite an existing file returns a blank error message in some circumstances, like exporting the selected top track. Other tracks are fine.
Lower stability on a large (70+ minutes) project.

You're welcome to download Audacity 2.0 and comment here to let me know your findings and experience.

What the new iPad means for podcasters Apple started a trend of making high-resolution portable devices. These all have high pixel densities (measured in pixels per inch (PPI)). Since 2010, more devices are upgrading to high-resolution screens.

iPhone 4 and 4s
Galaxy Nexus and several other Android-powered smartphones
third-generation iPad
Several Android-powered tablets
Upcoming Kindle devices?

This high resolution means your podcast cover art will not look as good if it's 300×300 pixels. Even though we've been pushing 600×600, perhaps you should consider larger, like 1,200 x 1,200 or 2,048 x 2,048.

Making the resolution too high will result in larger files, which you won't want. But certainly move up from 300 x 300.

I'm also enjoying using Soundboard Remote to control Soundboard on my Mac.

Becoming mobile-friendly Since I got my own first iPad, I'm able to test more live-streaming solutions to ensure mobile-viewers can enjoy the content on their devices. So far, I've only seen three services work well on mobile:

Ustream.tv
Livestream
Mixlr (audio only)

For chat rooms, I've been experimenting with Cbox, which is only $2 per month. Other alternatives are Chatroll and ShoutMix, at premium prices.

New podcasting poll: do you browse on mobile? [poll id=”4″]

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Podcasting news: New SEO for Google, Audacity 2.0, New iPad, Mobile-Friendly http://t.co/LTGTrSFf

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) March 19, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Learn how to setup Blubrry's PowerPress plugin for WordPress, including feed and iTunes settings, category podcasting, channels, and how to attach podcast episodes.

UPDATE: Although PowerPress is now to version 7 and it contains several changes, the following still mostly applies to the Advanced setup mode.

Install PowerPress * Download PowerPress from WordPress for “manual” installation, or * Go to Plugins > Add New > and search for “PowerPress.”

Setup PowerPress for podcasting 1. Configure each of the tabs under PowerPress > Settings: 1. Basic Settings for how you'll attach episodes to posts. 2. Services & Stats for adding a media redirect for statistics (including using Blubrry's great free or premium stats). 3. Media Appearance for how podcast episodes will appear on your page. I recommend above content and in the excerpts. 4. Feeds to get and adjust your podcast-only feed, including setting the item limit (separate from WordPress's limit) and RSS2 image (144 × 144 edition of your podcast cover art). 5. iTunes for configuring your feed for iTunes. This can be used, and is recommended, instead of Feedburner's SmartCast feature. But if you still use SmartCast, its settings will override PowerPress's. Make sure you include an iTunes image (~~600 × 600~~ 1,400 × 1,400 edition of your podcast cover art). 6. T.V. for setting your content rating. 2. If you release the same podcast content in multiple formats (like audio and video or several video formats), enable Custom Podcast Channels and configure it just like your normal podcast feed. 3. If you publish multiple podcasts (separate shows, not episodes) on the same site under different categories, enable Category Podcasting and configure it just like your normal podcast feed for each category. 4. Go your Audio Player Settings (and video, if you have a video podcast) and switch to the HTML5 player. Upload a new play button if you want.

Upload your media Whether you host at LibSyn, Blubrry, your web host, or somewhere else, upload and copy the link.

Write your shownotes Make sure you write great podcast shownotes!

Attach your podcast episode

If you configured your “Default Media URL” under PowerPress > Settings > Basic Settings > Advanced Episode Entry Settings, then just enter the filename of your episode under the “Podcast Episode” widget of your post editor.

If you don't have a “Default Media URL,” then paste the full URL to your media file.

Click the Verify button.

Repeat this process for any additional channels.

Publish When you have all your shownotes written, media attached, and appropriate categories and tags, hit publish.

Your podcast is now online and in your RSS feed!

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

How to Use @Blubrry PowerPress to Setup Your #WordPress Blog for #Podcasting http://t.co/E42mTPVp

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) March 12, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Will a native-language accent turn away listeners? How to fix a cover art display issue. And whether Stitcher's legalese is evil.

Will having an accent lose listeners? Lode from Canada sent in an audio message to ask:

Is an accent [due to a different native language] in a podcast a problem for listeners?

It usually seems that the English-as-second-language people who are most concerned about their English or accent really don't need to be worried because they sound great. We Americans tend to respect certain accents.

Even in America, we have a variation of accents. I would say any accent is only a problem when it's so thick that the majority of the audience can't understand the words.

What do you think? Vote in this week's podcasting poll:

[poll id=”3″]

Cover art not showing on iPods Mike from the Collaborating podcast, asked:

We've uploaded podcast art, via Blubrry, to iTunes—can see it on the iTunes website. BUT DON'T see it w/in iTunes itself. Only see “little gray guy with circles.” Also don't see it on iPod. What gives?

Here's what Mike sees for his podcast:

There are three places your podcast cover art must be.

RSS2 image—what everything but iTunes will see. Two different ways to set this:
- PowerPress > Settings (overall or your specific category/channel casting) > Feeds > Feed Settings > RSS2 image, or
- FeedBurner > Optimize > Feed Image Burner (overrides the source).
iTunes image—what only iTunes sees for the podcast directory listing in iTunes. Two different ways to set this:
- PowerPress > Settings (overall or your specific category/channel casting) > iTunes > iTunes Feed Settings > iTunes Image, or
- FeedBurner > Optimize > SmartCast > Podcast image location (overrides the source).
ID3 tags—these are set for each MP3 (or other format) file. This image shows once you've downloaded the podcast episode and will display on media players.
- Learn more about adding ID3 tags to podcast episodes.

Questioning Stitcher's terms of use Glen Steinson from Stewardship Weekly said thanks for telling how to get in the top podcast directories.

Norbert Davis from Totally Cool Tech is suspicious of directories' terms of use for producers.

I enjoyed listening to TAP #69 – Top Podcast Directories and How to Get in Them (I'm subscribed through doubleTwist on my Droid X by the way), and found it to be very informative as always. I too am a podcaster and the host of Totally Cool Tech at totallycooltech.com and you mentioned a service that I'm not comfortable submitting my content to due to some legal agreement language that Content Producers must agree to before they can get on the service. The company is Stitcher. In their “Terms of Distribution & Provisional Partnership” there is some language that seems to state that the Provider is giving away a lot of control over their content to Stitcher to where Stitcher can do with it what they want for whatever reason. I used to have my content available through them for a while until I was sent their terms last year. Since reading the terms I opted to not “sign up” with them because of these terms and they removed my show from their service. I have included the section of the terms below that caused me concern and highlighted the actual portions that were the ones that caused me to not sign up with them.

Perhaps iTunes and other services have the same or some similar wording in their “Terms of Service” or equivalent agreements about being able to use my work as they see fit (hopefully not use out of context) for whatever purpose (hopefully not for evil) they wish. I should take my own advice and check the other services myself just to be sure.

So as you are telling your listeners about how or where to sign up for services like Blubrry, iTunes,Stitcher, etc., please also tell them that they need to be careful and read any “Terms of Service” or agreements that the service providers have before hitting the “submit” button just to make sure they are not giving away the farm.

Norbert then attached and emphasized the questionable parts of Sticher's terms for producers.

II. Distribution of Submitted Content on Service

A. Stitcher acknowledges that Producer owns and/or controls the copyright in Submitted Content, subject to the rights that Producer grants to Stitcher hereunder.

B. Producer hereby acknowledges that Producer is entirely responsible for everything contained in the Submitted Content made available by Producer on the Service.

C. All Submitted Content that Producer submits to Stitcher including, without limitation, audio recordings, information, meta data, ideas, images, stories, characters, concepts, formats, themes, master recordings, musical compositions, comments, names, likeness, voice, suggestions or other materials submitted to Stitcher shall be subject to the applicable terms and conditions set forth herein.

D. Solely in consideration of the possibility of distribution on the Service, to the extent that Submitted Content is owned and/or controlled by Producer, by uploading, posting, emailing or otherwise making available in any communications or Content Producer Application for the Service, Producer hereby grants to Stitcher a non-exclusive, royalty-free, and perpetual right to:

Exhibit, display, reproduce, distribute and otherwise use Submitted Content, in whole or in part, via all media now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world in perpetuity (the “Distribution Rights”);

Exhibit excerpts of your Submitted Content via all forms of media throughout the world in perpetuity for promotional and/or advertising purposes (“Promotional Rights”); and,

3. Create and use derivative works there from;

We must all certainly be familiar with what permissions we're giving others over our content. But I don't think Stitcher's terms should cause alarm.

Stitcher essentially needs the legal stuff to get our permission for them to copy and redistribute our content, which is what they have to do to make Sticher work on mobile devices. Their use, including derivatives, more than likely covers them for creating any kind of mashup of podcasts so that they can produce commercials and promotions for their own service.

Rachel Eaton, from Stitcher, replied on exactly these concerns.

Hi Daniel, Thank you for sending this along. We appreciate the chance to explain it.

We do actually have a revision to our terms of service that will be posted soon. The revision does not change the terms, but it does include some definitions and explanations. We have received some questions about some of the legalese and do not want that to be a hindrance for anyone who wants to distribute their content via the Stitcher app. The Stitcher terms are comparable to services like iTunes and youTube and are quite standard for a distribution agreement. The intentions of Stitcher and the terms of service is definitely not ‘for evil'. I have addressed Norbert's questions below.

A-rights that Producer grants to Stitcher hereunder:

We acknowledge that the content provider owns the copyright or the the right to use/distribute the content (subject to their warrants – ie they actually have these rights) in Section II. A

D-by uploading, posting, emailing or otherwise making available in any communications or Content Producer Application for the Service, Producer hereby grants to Stitcher a non-exclusive, royalty-free, and perpetual right to:

This clause exists because when people ‘share’ a show via Stitcher, it creates an episode link. This link lives off of the Stitcher service. Even if you remove your show, those links will continue to exist.

1.and otherwise use Submitted Content,

This covers Stitcher listener's ability to share the shows via Facebook, Twitter, email, the potential to use sound bites or images of your shows' in Stitcher promotional or press materials (ie iTunes artwork, press screenshots of the app. note: where we control this, we do seek providers' permission). This is broad, certainly, but meant to allow for Stitcher product enhancements.

3.Create and use derivative works there from:

The product/technology plan for Stitcher includes segmenting your content (with attribution) to allow listeners to listen to only the portions of your content they are interested. Imagine a playlist of segments only about “raising teens”. User could still listen to whole program, and at times Stitcher would recommend your entire program because its entirety is relevant to the listener. This delivers an end user benefit and results in an increased likelihood that you content will appear to listeners (discoverability and reach).

Ask your podcasting legal questions for upcoming guest I'm very pleased to say that Gordon Firemark will be joining us for a few future episodes. He is an entertainment and new media Lawyer, and the author of the Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producers Legal Survival Guide. He also hosts the Entertainment Law Update podcast.

So send me your legal questions to ask Gordon in upcoming episodes.

Privacy policy
Release forms
Copyrights
Trademarks

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

Native Accents in Podcasts, Missing Cover Art, and Is @StitcherRadio evil? #Podcasting Q&A http://t.co/0uVSNfC3

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theDanielJLewis) March 5, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The late Steve Jobs once declared podcasting or “new media” to be “amateur hour” (iPod announcements, September 1, 2010). This was taken as both an insult and yet had some truth.

Many podcasters don't sound professional But “professionalism” is based on many things:

audio quality,
content quality,
consistency,
presentation,
experience,
and more.

Regardless of what audio equipment you use, how you speak can gain or lose listeners for your podcast. Sounding “dumb” comes down to two typical errors many intelligent people make:

using filler works (like, um, uh, ya know, etc.), and
speaking slowly.

Thankfully, both of these can be easy to fix in Audacity!

Fix yourself before fixing your podcast [poll id=”2″]

Editing can be a pain. Don't rely on fixing every mistake in post-production (“post”). Try hard to improve how you speak so that you won't have to fix anything.

Or recognize what is an acceptable number of mistakes to skip.

Audio-editing isn't about making you perfect, it's about improving the listening experience. Sometimes, our glitches, fumbles, and filler words are part of an authentic experience. But too much of any of these, and you'll turn off your listeners and they'll turn off your podcast.

Listen to yourself to recognize your speaking mistakes, and then try to improve. But even when you're comfortable, there are still things that can help editing yourself, or your guest or cohost.

If problems stand out to you, keep a notepad handy or have a way to mark your recordings so you can log the time of any corrections that you need to make.

Remove filler words/verbal crutches “Um,” “uh,” “like,” “ya know,” and many other verbal crutches slip into our speech all the time. Some of these are so tight in our conversation that removing it would be like pulling our a bone from your arm.

So let's only consider removing the filler words that stand out and are isolated, such as “I went to the … um … store.”

In Audacity or any other sound editor, simply drag your mouse over this section and press delete. You may have to include other tracks in your selection so as to not offset a multitrack project.

Selecting the “um” and crossing into another track

After editing these, you'll start to recognize their shape in your waveform and can spot them more easily.

Truncate silence

Hi Daniel,

First, your episodes have been great and I look forward to a new one every Tuesday. I have learned much from you that I can pass on to faculty I support in lecture capture and coursecasting (“podcasting lectures”)

In some of your past episodes you have mentioned the issue of “ums” and “ahs”. Ray Ortega has also discussed dealing with “ums” and “ahs” in some of his episodes. The recommendation from both of you of practicing “silence” when gathering thoughts for both has been very helpful as I do a podcast series related to other consulting for an elearning company. But I did find editing the silent spots out was a little tedious until I discovered “Truncate Silence” in Audacity, which really shortened post production editing.

I went back to your very first episode and you mentioned you would eventually tell us how to deal with the quiet spots. Were you planning on talking about “truncating silence” as an Audacity tip anytime soon?

I see the new Adobe Audition for Mac (beta) has a “Delete Silence” function but considering the cost of Audition (7 times that of Soundboard 2.0 [discontinued]), I'll stay with Audacity along with your “secret sauce for dynamic compression”.

I also found your suggestion to save as a WAV file and use iTunes to encode to MP3 to be real helpful. I was having problems with some my episodes playing in a browser that were encoded with the LAME MP3 encoder. Once I started encoding in iTunes with the Fraunhoffer encoder, the problems disappeared. You can find my current podcast at http://connections.blackboard.com/resources/f03d010b71/summary

Cheers,

Bob Follow @bouffordr

Audacity has a wonderful tool included in the Effect menu that can help you sound smarter by shortening the silence between words.

Truncate silence works by finding all “silence” (defined as any audio under a threshold) that is longer than the minimum amount and compressing it by a factor.

If you pause a lot while speaking, this can reduce or remove those pauses.

Top track is as recorded, bottom track was truncated with min. and max. set to 200 ms

Keep some things in mind.

Don't apply this on faded audio.
Select all of your vocal tracks to process at the same time to avoid offset audio.
Test before publishing.

Learn more about Truncate Silence from the Audacity manual. Don't overdo perfection These tools are to enhance your audio to make it easier for you and your listeners. Don't let yourself spend hours removing every single verbal crutch.

Also recognize that sometimes, solid silence is powerful.

So it really comes down to controlling your own words rather than relying on the ability to fix them later.

What do you do to sound “smarter” in your podcast? Please share by commenting on the shownotes!

Upcoming: privacy policies You may not realize that you need a privacy policy or what it should contain. Or maybe you already have one and would like to share yours as an example.

An upcoming episode of The Audacity to Podcast™ will discuss privacy policies: why you need them and what they should cover.

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

How to Use Truncate Silence and Sound Smarter with #Audacity theaudacitytopodcast.com/tap070-how-to-… #podcasting

— Daniel J. Lewis (@theRamenNoodle) February 27, 2012

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

The worldwide web is a big place and having your podcast on just your website will prevent you from growing an audience—or getting one in the first place.

This list is no longer complete or the best instructions. Visit my new site, Podcast Places™, to learn all the podcast apps, directories, and more where you and your podcast should be.

Before you submit Remember to have your RSS feed properly setup and validated (warnings are usually okay). I recommend four important things.

Don't use FeedBurner unless you do so with its MyBrand feature.
Create a podcast-only RSS feed,
Optimize your feed with your important podcast information in the RSS fields and iTunes fields.
- Title
- Talent/host name(s)
- Description
- Podcast cover art (1,400 × 1,400 pixels)
- RSS2 image (144 × 144 pixel edition of your podcast cover art)
- Categories
- Keywords (first seven are the most important)
- Clean, explicit, or standard tag
- Copyright
- Language
- High number of feed items (set by your feed generator: WordPress, PowerPress, or Posts Per Category plugin)
Have a few podcast episodes already in your feed (Blubrry requires seven).

Submitting to multiple directories, even if you refuse to use the associated devices or clients, enables you to reach a larger audience where they are. (Add an unnecessary and improper “at” to the end of this sentence, if you're from the midwest USA. Yes, this is a personal pet peeve.) iTunes Store While Apple and iTunes are accused of being a “walled garden,” their podcast directory is still the most popular.

Create an Apple ID.
Install iTunes on Windows or OS X.
Run iTunes and navigate to iTunes Store > Podcasts > Submit Podcast.
Enter your (podcast-only) RSS feed.
Login with your Apple ID.
Wait for approval.

More information from Apple. Zune Marketplace Although the Zune player is officially dead, there are still a lot out there and the Zune Marketplace is still alive for Microsoft's Windows Phone. I also suspect that Zune Marketplace will get more prominence with Windows 8.

Email podcasts@microsoft.com with your (podcast-only) RSS feed.

BlackBerry Podcast BlackBerry isn't dead yet, and it has a mature podcast directory. If your podcast is at all business-related, this directory should be a requirement.

Create an account with RIM Podcast and login.
Click Submit a New Podcast button.
Enter your (podcast-only) RSS feed.
Find someone who has a BlackBerry and have them check.

More information from Research in Motion (RIM).

Listener Rob Robideau wrote a great visual walkthrough to help submit podcasts to BlackBerry.

Miro Guide Miro Player is a popular, free competitor to iTunes.

Create an account with Miro Guide and login.
Hover your mouse over your username in the upper-right corner and click Submit a Show.
Enter your podcast information:
- podcast name and
- (podcast-only) RSS feed.
Click I am the Creator.
Wait for approval.

More information from Miro. DoubleTwist DoubleTwist is a popular, free competitor to iTunes. They even offer podcast streaming for free on mobile devices. It mirrors many of the podcasts from the iTunes directory, but there's now good submission process.

Visit the contact form.
Set the subject to “Request New Podcast.”
Enter your information
- Your name
- Email address
- Podcast title
- (Podcast-only) RSS feed

Stitcher Stitcher streams podcasts and other Internet radio for smartphones. This is a great workaround to some carriers' file size limits on single downloads.

Please use promo code “audacity” if you download Stitcher for yourself.

Sign up as a Stitcher Partner.
Include your podcast information:
- podcast titles and
- (podcast-only) RSS feeds
Wait for approval.

BluBrry Blubrry offers many wonderful services for podcasters, including a vast podcast directory that could even get you inside set-top boxes like Roku and Boxee.

Have at least seven episodes in your feed.
Create an account with Blubbry and login.
Add your podcast and include your podcast information:
- podcast title,
- podcast keyword (for Blubrry tracking),
- category,
- (podcast-only) RSS feed, and
- website address.
Wait for approval.

Want more podcast directories? Podcast411 maintains a directory of podcast directories.

Jay Walsh has also researched and listed the top podcast directories.

Where is your podcast? What podcast directories do you use and recommend? What are your stats like, if you can track them? Please discuss here in the comments!

Upcoming: privacy policies You may not realize that you need a privacy policy or what it should contain. Or maybe you already have one and would like to share yours as an example.

An upcoming episode of The Audacity to Podcast™ will discuss privacy policies: why you need them and what they should cover.

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

https://twitter.com/#!/theRamenNoodle/status/171703409261551616

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

Podcasters don't have to be perfect, and it's easy to fix most of our mistakes. But here are thirteen things that you can't fix later if you don't get it right when you start podcasting. Most of these apply to blogs, too.

Control your RSS feed The RSS feed is the lifeblood of your podcast. Whether you have your own website, use a free service like WordPress.com, or you pay for premium podcast services, you must have full control over your RSS feed.

Feedburner is the best way to keep this control. Yes, it's owned by someone else, but it's the easiest and most effective way to control your feed, no matter what you do.

WallysModcast feels this pain, “Sucks using wordpress.com cause i can not change my rss.” And Ileane agrees on using Feedburner from the start.

Also check out “Feedburner vs. PowerPress” with my friend David Jackson.

Launch with at least three episodes You can launch a podcast in most directories with just a single episode, but having more episodes to start provides several benefits.
Shows prospective listeners that the show is already going strong
Greater likeliness of being featured in iTunes
Acceptance into more podcast directories
Gives listeners more to listen to in order to get the feel for your show
Have podcast cover art when you launch I work with podcast cover art as one of my freelance design services because it's crucial to podcasting. You don't have to hire me to design your cover art, but you shouldn't launch a podcast without some.

Launching without podcast cover art will prevent your being featured in iTunes or many other podcast directories.

Keep episode numbering simple Illeane and Jim Kerwin both shared similar thoughts on episode numbering. Keep your numbering simple and understandable.

Don't harm your podcast's brand by mixing it up with several different episode number systems. When we launched Are You Just Watching?, we would have full episodes and initial-reactions episodes and number these differently. While we might be on “episode 15” of the regular episodes, we were also on episode 8 of initial reactions.

Separate numbering systems for a podcast make it confusing for you and your listeners. Does “ABC010” come before or after “XYZ020”? Also consider how you would number the episodes in the ID3 tags.

Keep it simple!

Offer standard formats iTunes popularized “Enhanced Podcasts,” which were AAC audio files that offered chapter markings and changeable cover art. This sounds neat, but it's merely a novelty that isn't in high demand.

Adding these extra chapter markings and cover art produced a lot of extra work for an audio podcaster, and there aren't many programs for doing this (GarageBand on OS X and PodReel for Windows).

Enhanced podcasts also work only on iTunes and iOS devices. And don't assume that everyone who subscribes in iTunes wants only an enhanced podcast.

Split podcast and blog RSS feeds A good podcast should also have some accompanying blog posts, especially if you don't write good shownotes. But using a single RSS feed for blogs and podcast episodes produces a few problems.
Every blog post will bump a podcast episode from the feed.
If you raise the feed items limit, you may max out your RSS size, and it creates a larger file than necessary for podcast subscribers.
Titling your blog and podcast separately is an extra step for iTunes, but impossible for other feed-readers.

Instead, separate your blog and podcast feed by:

pulling a category-specific RSS feed (/categoryname/feed/, if permalinks are enabled), and add Posts Per Category to adjust how many episodes appear in the podcast-only feed;
using PowerPress and taking their podcast-only feed, which pulls podcasts from any category (also offers similar adjustments of posts limits); or
combining both of these techniques to keep your podcast episodes in their own category, but use PowerPress's podcast-only feed.
Have and use your own domain Regardless of where you host your podcast when you start, get your own domain and at least forward it to your website. This makes it a lot easier when you move to somewhere else.

Domains cost only $12–$15 per year, and are often included with web hosting.

Make a branded email address When you have a domain, also use it for your email address. “feedback@mypodcast.com” sounds so much more professional than “almostmypodcastname@yahoo.com.”

It's easy to make an email forwarder point to whatever email address you use, and it's easy to send from that podcast email address, even without making an extra email account.

Use a media host, or not A media host like LibSyn or Blubrry offer truly unlimited bandwidth for a limited amount of storage. This is great for podcasters because it means you can upload a single episode and not pay anything different whether its downloaded by just your mom, or by the entire world.

If your podcast could get popular, you must have a media host. Otherwise, moving your media from one place to somewhere else can be difficult or expensive.

But if you won't get popular (have realistic expectations), you may be okay with hosting your media with your website (ask them first), or using Archive.org (not recommended because they're so slow).

Encode your files well If you use a media host, your monthly storage is limited. If you start podcasting in 256 kbps stereo, then you'll fill up your monthly storage very quickly.

64 kbps mono is fine for most podcasts, and saves space and download time.

Write at least basic shownotes Google and other search engines like words. Start your podcast with shownotes containing at least a simple bullet-point list of your topics. Then Google and other search engines can start crawling your site and finding those keywords.

What you do with words on your website now will affect how easily people will find you a month, a year, or even further from now.

Reserve social accounts with your brand I've made this mistake many times in which I started using a brand or trademark, but didn't reserve it in the right places:
Facebook page
YouTube channel
Twitter account
Domains
Email address
Other social network IDs

Even if you don't use these social accounts, reserving your trademark on them will prevent others from stealing it, and gives you that option to do something in the future.

Start strong and on-topic I recommend against an introduction episode or “episode zero.” Only your first listeners will hear it, but it will turn away prospective listeners looking for your content.

Most podcasts don't need a full episode as the introduction and should instead include an introduction or reminder in each episode. You hear this in The Audacity to Podcast when I say who I am and what the podcast is about.

But if your podcast is deeper and requires some fundamental knowledge, that is good content for a first episode, and then keep referring back to that episode for more information.

Make sure you get into your niche content right from the start. Despite my precise marketing of The Audacity to Podcast when I started it, people still thought it would be a podcast exclusively about Audacity. So when it took five episodes before I started talking about Audacity, I lost some listeners and earned some negative reviews.

Recommended: skip USB mics and buy a mixer and mic Although not required, I highly recommend that you start with a real XLR mic and a real mixer. These are both upgradeable or easily replaceable, without having to replace everything. An XLR mic and mixer can grow with you more easily than a USB mic will.

Another podcaster's list of regrets Chris Cowan sent a list of his podcasting regrets.

Submitting iWeb's RSS feed to iTunes
Changing podcast names
Using Podcast Maker
Enhanced podcast
Didn't have specific purpose to podcast (people don't want random)
Didn't plan with detailed shownotes
Podcast title that doesn't describe the show

Podcasting news PowerPress 3.0 is out and offers several great features. Most notable is that the HTML5 audio player's button image can be changed.

DoubleTwist (Android app) no longer requires payment for podcast streaming [via AndroidCentral].

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

https://twitter.com/#!/theRamenNoodle/status/169164967101218817

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

As with most things I write and talk about, blogs and podcasts are quite interchangeable in this subject.

Refine your Twitter identity (branding) Pick three words or terms to describe your “brand,” write them into your bio, and tweet within those themes. It's okay to occasionally break from this mold, but these should be your focus. For me, it's comedy, web design, and my podcasts' themes.
Decide whether you need a separate Twitter account Building a Twitter audience is tough. But keep in mind that your current audience may not like your new content. If you have a lot to tweet about your new blog or podcast, consider a separate account for the majority of it.

Never tweet the same thing from both accounts at the same time. Either rewrite the tweet or stagger the timing.

Don't make anything totally automatic “Automatic” tweeting is:
impersonal—usually not targeted toward your audience on Twitter—
inefficient—automatic tweets can easily be at the wrong time or contain not-compelling text—and
irrelevant—”new post” doesn't matter to your audience, but writing a tailored tweet to them will be enticing.

So turn off the automatic crossposting, disable RSS feeds publishing to Twitter, and write your own tweets! 4. Schedule or “buffer” tweets about your content

But automatic can also be good—when it's not totally automatic. The best times to tweet are usually afternoon to evening. So use a Twitter client, like TweetDeck or HootSuite, that offers scheduling.

When you post new content, write a few tweets about it and schedule them to send one each day for about a week. Then schedule some more tweets about it later in the future.

Similar to this, don't spam your followers by tweeting a lot in rapid succession. Use Buffer to throw your tweets into a queue to be posted at customizable times throughout the day.

You can also use If This Then That to setup actions to automatically pull items from your RSS feed and schedule them for later tweeting. But still look over your Buffer and optimize your text.

Search for your audience

Use Twitter Search or an automatic search in your Twitter client to find people who will like your content.

Don't automate this or spam people! Reach out to them in a friendly way, create a connection, and then tell them about your content that they may like.

Add tweet buttons to your site Social-sharing buttons make it easy for people to share your content on social networks (duh). I currently use the ShareBar WordPress plugin (and may change that soon), but there are many other great services, too, or you could add the official Twitter buttons.

~~Also consider adding the Twitter Blackbird Pie WordPress plugin~~ UPDATE: paste a Tweet URL into a post on WordPress 3.4 to embed your own tweet about the post within the post, so others can retweet you.

Which leads int0 …

Be retweetable Make it easy for your followers to retweet you to their followers.
Keep your tweets to fewer than about 120 characters (140 minus “RT @yourtwitterID: “), or shorter if you want to allow commentary.
Write your tweets to be less about “me.” For example, you could change “I just posted the newest episode of my podcast” to “Check out the latest episode of The Awesome Podcast,” or something more informative.
Tweet when your audience is looking at Twitter. This is usually afternoon to evening, but tools like SocialBro can help you determine when your followers retweet you the most.
Write stuff that your followers would want to say, too.
Write compelling titles and tweets There's nothing compelling about “Episode 13.” There may also be nothing compelling about “Episode 13: [Episode Title],” unless you write a great title.

Write a title that sparks curiosity or sounds interesting. “My Secret Audacity Recipe for Great Audio” was a terrible title. Now, I refer to it as, “How to use Chris's Dynamic Compressor to make you audio sound great,” or, “How to use an audio compressor plugin to fix your volume problems.”

Tweet your content, not just your title Your content is more than a title, so don't just tweet the titles. Pull quotations from your content or subpoints that you can tweet.

For example, your podcast episode may be, “10 Ways to Be Awesome.” You could tweet:

“Are you awesome? Here are 10 ways to find out! [link]”
“Wearing cool T-shirts makes you awesome. Here are 9 other ways. [link]”
“Did you know that awesome people get better food? [link]”
“Don't tuck in your T-shirt if you want to be awesome. [link]”
Track your success

Trying new things is pointless if you don't know whether they're working! If you use Google Analytics for website stats, add the following code to the end of your URL before you shorten it.

?utm\_source=SOURCE&utm\_medium=MEDIUM&utm\_content=CONTENT&utm\_campaign=CAMPAIGN

Yes, this is ugly. Here's what it means.

SOURCE is where web visitors came from. You could say “Twitter” or you could be specific with “theramennoodle_twitter” (this and other fields can contain dashes, underscores, and capitalization, but no other special characters or spaces).
MEDIUM is what kind of link it was. I use “tweet” for tweets, “banner” for banners, “qr_code” for QR Codes. As you can see, I don't have to be creative here.
CONTENT is an optional field, but works great for when you want to tweet different messages about the same thing, and you want to compare the success of each. CONTENT could be specific like, “10_ways_to_be_awesome” and “are_you_awesome”; or it could be general like, “a” and “b”; or you could remove “&utm_content=CONTENT” from it completely.
CAMPAIGN is what you'd call this marketing campaign. Keep in mind that this will be reflected across a visitor's entire time on your website, so what kind of content attracted them may be best here. You could write your episode's abbreviation, or the name of the movie that you talk about across multiple posts.

You can track this information under “Traffic Sources” in Google Analytics. To make adding this tracking code easier, you could either use Google's URL Builder or do it more seamlessly with TextExpander for OS X ($17 through February 13) or PhraseExpress for Windows. 11. Be human and relationship-focused Act like a human, not a spamming robot. Focus on building a relationship with a person first.

When I watch Twitter for people having problems with Audacity, I try to help them first, and then I let them know that I have a website and podcast with more help.

Do you like it when Twitterers only tweet the same links over and over, or only promote themselves, or flood Twitter with a dozen links at a time?

Although your goal is to grow your audience or connect people with your content, think about turning people into raving fans who are passionate about your content. That comes at a higher price than mindless subscribers, but their value is far greater.

What do you wish you did differently when you started and can't change now? I'd like your feedback and stories for a future episode to talk about the things podcasts need to get right the first time. These would be things that can't be fixed later. This would be stuff like using a free website that gets shutdown without redirection, or many other things.

Please retweet this post! Use the social buttons or retweet the following.

https://twitter.com/#!/theRamenNoodle/status/166638063576031232

Need personalized podcasting help? I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.

Ask your questions or share your feedback * Comment on the shownotes * Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221 * Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)

Connect with me * Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android. * Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET) * Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more * Follow @theDanielJLewis

Disclosure This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.

View Details

How to take live phone or Skype calls, managing Audacity plugins, effectiveness of podcast cards, live-streaming a Skype conversation, how to get a chatroom, and multiple USB mics/inputs on Windows.

Podcast cards are effective Fred Casteneda from Struggling Entrepreneur podcast responded to tip #7 from “9 Tips for Growing Your Audience by Attending Social-Media Events“: “Bring blog/podcast cards.” He has used podcast-specific “business” cards since 2006 and has great success. Here examples of Fred's cards.

Live-streaming a Skype conversation with chatroom

Hi Daniel,

I listened to your episode on reasons to do live podcasts. I do have this annual, joint-live-podcast coming up and I am in a hurry to get everything prepared. I've been looking around for the best way to do things, but I figured I could just ask you real quick and you would probably have the answers.

I would like to stream a Skype conversation to something embedded in my WordPress site.

I would like to have a chat like on noodle.mx/live where people do not have to make an account to participate

I would like for people in the audience to be able to call in to our Skype conversation.

Suggestions? =) Thank you very much for your help with everything.

Scott/Stud

For simplicity, I recommend using Mixlr to stream your Skype conversation's audio. But you could end up with a mess of cables trying to get both you and your cohost back into Mixlr's input. There are two ways you should do this.

Use two computers: one for Skype and one for Mixlr (or other live-streaming service). Setup a mixer for Skype mix-minus, send your mixer's main output to Mixlr's input.
One one computer with two inputs: Setup a mixer for Skype mix-minus, send your mixer's main output to your computer's second input, and set Mixlr to use that second input device.

Learn more about this and other live-streaming setups. For a small, inexpensive mixer, I recommend a Behringer 302USB Mixer ($49.99) or a Behringer XENYX 502 ($39.99) without USB.

Learn more about live-streaming your podcast.

Taking live calls Wayne Henderson from Media Voiceovers, Stephen Greenwood from SB Nation, and Scott/Stud (above) all asked how to take live calls during their podcasts. Here's the easiest way for a phone number:

Setup a mixer for Skype mix-minus.
Create a Google Voice phone number, or use your current one.
Go into your Google Voice settings > Phones, and set to forward to Google Chat.
Open that Google Gmail account and make sure you're logged into Gtalk.
Receive phone calls to your Google Voice number and use it just like Skype.

Other services you could use would be Talkshoe or BlogTalkRadio just for the incoming call. You could also forward your feedback number to your wireless phone, and connect that to a mixer with a simple iPod AV cable (works on almost any modern phone with a headphones jack). Their voice usually comes through the red and white cables, your voice usually goes through the yellow cable. I'll cover these in more detail, with more options, in a future episode.

Managing Audacity plugins

Hi Daniel,

My question is about all the plugins in Audacity. I read through some of the team notes, and it seems they are a ways off from dividing them up into subsets like Adobe Audition does (for example). I wondered if you have given much thought to that, and how you manage the sheer volume of plugin effects.

There are only a few that I really use. Amplify, Noise Removal, Normalize to start. I would like a few EQ options, as well as some reverb. And Chris’s Dynamic Compressor of course!

I was thinking of creating a folder named “Plugins (not in use)”. Then I could drag all the other plugins into that folder. I would have them available if I ever wanted them, but it would clean up my Audacity interface immensely.

…

I have been experimenting with this and it has not crashed Audacity, so that’s good news. I had downloaded the LAPSDA plug-ins, so my list was over 100 items! I found a listing online by the guy who made most of the LAPSDAs and that helped me to see what ones might be useful for me. I weeded out the others. Now I will have to play around and whittle my list down some more. I would ideally like the list of effects to all be visible on the screen without scrolling.

Ron Eastwood

This is a great tip and works well! Just remember that this will be undone when you update Audacity, as the plugins will be thrown right back into the plugins folder.

Multiple USB mics/inputs on Windows

Hi, I am a podcaster and I use a program called Virtual Audio Cable [$30]. It has a bit of a learning curve but it allows you to make multiple audio cables and tell various sources of sound including outputs to route through those cables, You can then use Audacity to take one of those cables as an input. It is kind of hard to explain. There are some youtube videos about it.

Christopher

Thanks! This is a great Windows alternative to making an aggregate device in OS X.

I'm back to Chris's Dynamic Compressor After the Audacity Compressor Plugin Showdown, I decided to give Levelator a better chance. But it didn't work out well for me because of the low noise level I receive and size of my audio files. Levelator was much slower than Chris's Dynamic Compressor, so I'm back to Chris's great plugin. But your results may vary.

My frustrations with Disqus and Livefyre I would like to try commenting systems like Disqus and LiveFyre, but they don't work with WordPress Network, so I'm not stuck and have hostage comments trapped in those systems.

The Next Picture Show: Recent Episodes

Filmspotting Network

Podcasting news: New SEO for Google, Audacity 2.0, New iPad, Mobile-Friendly http://t.co/LTGTrSFf