Scott Moore's Podcasting Tips: Recent Episodes
Scott Moore
Quick tips for podcasters. Scott Moore shares the tips and tricks he's learned over a decade of professional podcasting.
An influencer, according to dictionary.com, is, “a person or thing that influences another,” or, in terms of marketing, “a person with the ability to influence potential buyers of a product or service by promoting or recommending the items on social media.” The top 20 Instagram influencers include a smattering of pop stars, soccer players, and Kardashians (for the most part). So, you’ll forgive me if I vomit a little in my mouth at the idea of being an influencer. However, if you are a podcaster, it would make sense that you are at least trying to have an influence. You may not be actively selling products on the strength of your celebrity, but you must be trying to influence someone if only to entertain. Otherwise, why record?
So, assuming that we podcasters are, indeed, influencers of some sort, the question begs to be asked, “Whom are you influencing?” And, perhaps more importantly, “To what end?”
I got cussed out today by a big, angry biker. I was on my way to pick my son up from his job at Chik-Fil-A and there was road construction. Three lanes collapsed down to one for a short distance. There were several stop lights in a row because there’s an interstate exchange there. Being familiar with this stretch of road and the lane closures, I was in the left lane and prepared to let other cars over. As I pulled up to a red light with a couple other cars in front of me (already stopped at the light), I left enough room ahead of me for the car on my right to pull in front of me when the light would turn green.
Now, I had my windows rolled up and I was listening to an audiobook when I heard a very loud and angry voice cussing somebody out behind me. So, I glanced in my mirror to see a rather red-faced, bearded, surly biker shouting in my direction. “Huh,” I muttered, as it occurred to me that this angry biker was cussing me out! Apparently, he was quite displeased with my attempt at courtesy (letting someone in front of me). I continued to watch him in my mirror as I contemplated the situation. Eventually, having exhausted his (I can only assume) rather limited vocabulary (given the repetition of a certain four-letter word that he sometimes stretched to six letters and attached to the end of another word), he paused his tirade. The light turned green and I let the car next to me go in front of me and then I moved forward, only to be stopped by another red light about fifty yards ahead.
At the new red light, the irate biker pulled up next to and slightly ahead of me so he could resume his doctrinal defense of his thesis that I should get my bleepity blankin’ bleep out of his way because the good people of the road behind me would like to go, too. At this point, I rolled my window down enough to properly engage him in conversation, should I so choose, but not far enough that my face would be a target he could reach should he choose to raise the threat level of our little chat. I considered, briefly, several possible responses and dismissed them all in rapid succession. When a person is that angry, Ain’t no sense in reasoning with him ‘cause reason done left the building.
In retrospect, I really wish I had snapped a photo of him, but I didn’t think of it until later. A selfie with him really would have been spectacular, but the odds of it going the way I imagine are pretty slim. So, it’s probably best it worked out the way it did. I said, “God bless you, Sir! Have a nice day!” To which he replied with another string of expletives, including several iterations of his favorite word, as he drove away.
What does this have to do with podcasting? Well, it’s a fun story and story-telling is a great way to connect with your listeners when you podcast.
Also, did you notice what I didn’t do? I didn’t respond in kind to this Tasmanian devil. Don’t get me wrong. Part of me wanted to cuss him out (or worse), but it was strangely liberating to watch, in almost detached curiosity, as this person had a king-sized two-year-old hissy-fit on the road. As he cussed me out, everyone in the intersection could hear him. And, he wasn’t telling them anything about me. He was sure telling them a lot about himself, though. Again, what does this have to do with podcasting? Well, if you’re going to put your voice out there (through podcasting, blogging, or just posting on social media), eventually someone is going to hate you — actively hate you. They may even try to cancel you. But, you know what? You don’t have to care. You don’t have to engage them at all. You could even bless them in their crazy rant, or simply ignore them. Like a fire deprived of oxygen, they’ll eventually burn out and go away.
Today’s topic is Making Money Podcasting (Part 3). If you didn’t hear parts 1 and 2, they were several episodes ago (episodes 003 and 004 of the show). In those episodes, we talked about making money through having clients, sponsorship, crowdfunding, memberships, coaching/consulting, and selling your own products and/or services. Today, I have a few more ideas for making money podcasting that I’d like to share with you.
First (and I can’t believe I forgot to mention this before) is affiliate marketing. If you’re not familiar with affiliate marketing, it’s the process of recommending/selling other people’s (or company’s) products, for which you receive a commission. So, if I recommend the Shure SM7B microphone and I post a link to buy it on Amazon (assuming I have signed up for Amazon’s affiliate program and used their specific link associated with my affiliate account), and you click through my link to buy it, then I get a commission from Amazon. I believe it’s still true that if you happen to buy a bunch of other stuff on Amazon at the same time, I get paid for the other stuff as well because you used my affiliate link. So, if you feel like doing all of your Amazon Christmas shopping through one of my affiliate links, I would certainly appreciate it. ;)
You can also use affiliate marketing as a means to sell your own products through other people. Some marketers are recommending selling products through affiliate relationships with influencers that have large (or just different) audiences as a primary sales strategy. So, let’s say I launch my podcasting course, but I don’t have a huge tribe with an email list of 100,000 people to market it to. If I can get a couple of influencers to try out my course and recommend it to their tribes for an affiliate commission, I could sell a lot more and increase my own tribe significantly. This is (potentially) huge! I’ll let you know how it goes.
The next money-making strategy podcasters can employ is syndicating your show on YouTube. This is one I have not tried yet, but it’s in the plans. I haven’t bothered yet because I like audio podcasts and, frankly, my basement studio isn’t pretty and I don’t love the way I look on video (Ah, Vanity, thou art a heartless wench). However, I really don’t have a good excuse because I could still just put my audio on YouTube with a still photo of my logo as a video. As an aside, if you have a podcast, you may want to check YouTube occasionally to see if some scammer has taken your audio and posted it to his YouTube channel with a still photo as if it were his content. This is a real thing. It happens.
Another stream of podcast income is public speaking. You can book yourself on the public speaking circuit on the strength of your podcast. If you have a decent-sized podcast audience and you’ve been posting episodes consistently, you will likely be recognized as an expert in your subject matter and you could get paid to speak in public at conferences or online, etc.
Lastly (I say “lastly” but I may come back to this topic again if I find more good ways to make money podcasting), you can repurpose your podcast content and sell it. For example, if you have written transcripts of your episodes, they can be used as articles for online magazines, blogs, etc. You could package them together and sell an ebook. You could use the audio to create an audio product that you sell. As I’ve said before, the possibilities are endless.
Today, we’re talking about growing your audience by adding value to your tribe. How do you add value to your tribe? As we talked about on the last episode, you connect with them over a shared passion. You show genuine care for them. It’s also not a bad idea to help them solve a problem or two. As Seth Godin says, “as consumers,… we’re desperate to find good stuff that solves our problems.” (Purple Cow)
That’s what I’m trying to do here. If your problem is a podcasting problem, I’m trying to offer simple tips, in short, bite-sized chunks, that will help solve your problem. I don’t want to waste your time like one of those Great White Shark documentaries, rambling on and on, repeating the same information twenty times so I can take up a 60-minute block of time. Have you noticed that? I was watching Shark Week shows recently and I was stunned by how they can stretch 5 minutes worth of information (and 3 minutes of shark video) into an hour of television. I wanted to throw my remote control at the TV. Instead, I turned it off, which is what your listeners will do if you waste their time and you don’t add value to their lives.
In addition to solving problems and connecting with your tribe, as the tribe grows, create ways for your tribe to connect. Remember the Deadheads? Part of their strength was in their connection to each other. It’s so strong still that, even after band leader Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995, several spinoff bands, one being Dead & Company, continue the “long strange trip” of the band and its tribe, the Deadheads. I have a friend who takes his teenage daughter along with him to multiple Dead & Company shows all over the country whenever they go on tour. He often shares stories of the people he meets at the shows, even sharing rides and meals with them at times.
Now, as a podcaster, you probably won’t be playing sold-out concert venues often, but you can create a Facebook group for your tribe. You can hold special VIP Zoom calls for your Podheads that want to meet up with you online. You can also host in-person meet-ups at podcast conferences or other events. For one of the shows I co-host, the Familyman Show, we held a rally at a campground. Todd Wilson, the main host, is into RV’ing. He and his family have travelled around the country in the Familyman Mobile, his RV, speaking at homeschool conferences, churches, etc., for years. So, twice now, he has organized a weekend conference at a campground for any of his tribe that wanted to come. Both were tremendously successful and provided great opportunities for us to get to know our tribe in person! Some of the people even travelled over 10 hours to come to the rally! And, I just want to tell you, I was a little stunned and humbled by how they treated me. I mean, I’m just the sidekick on the show, but these guys were excited to meet me! It was really fun to connect with them in person.
So, once you have built this community, this tribe, if you will, and these folks are your evangelists, your ambassadors, your street team, your podheads, whatever you want to call them (or, better still, whatever name they give themselves!), you’ll want to make it easy for them to share your message. A simple catch phrase or slogan is useful. For the Familyman Show, for example, our tagline is, “Reminding dads of what’s most important.” It’s clear and concise and it’s easy to remember. It’s also easy to share through social media and word of mouth.
Alright, let’s review. If you want to grow your tribe, you need to have remarkable content with a quality presentation. You have to connect with your listeners over a shared passion, and provide ways for them to connect. You show genuine care for them and help solve their problems. While doing that, make it easy for them to share your message with others.
Please share with me and the tribe here your thoughts on how to build a tribe. I would love to hear from you.
Building a Tribe -- the Deadheads
The Grateful Dead proved what all the dot-com gurus of the 2000’s were finally discovering: that a loyal group of followers that evangelize for you is worth more than all the advertising of Madison Avenue. And this, my friend, is the lightning in a bottle, the holy grail of marketing — a group of people that will sell your product for you simply because they love it, and you, that much. So, how do you get such a tribe of evangelists? Good question.
You connect with them.
There really isn’t a simple, three-step plan for building a tribe. You must connect with them over a shared passion. That means, first of all, that you must be passionate about your topic. As a podcaster, if you aren’t truly passionate about your topic, your audience won’t be either. And, while they may stick around, they will never be a tribe like the Deadheads. They say that selling, in its purest form, is simply sharing your passion for something with someone else. And, here’s the thing: You’re not going to be loved by everyone. No product is for everyone. As Seth Godin said in Purple Cow:
If you’re remarkable, it’s likely that some people won’t like you. That’s part of the definition of remarkable. Nobody gets unanimous praise–ever. The best the timid can hope for is to be unnoticed. Criticism comes to those who stand out.
In practical terms, for a podcaster, connection looks like several things. When it’s clear you’re making a connection with a listener, because they sent you an email or commented on your podcast on social media, etc., they’ve reached out to you in some way; you strengthen the connection by interacting with them personally. Reply to the email. Ask them something. DON’T send them a link to buy a t-shirt or e-book. They’ll buy your stuff eventually if they feel truly connected to you. Even if they don’t, that shouldn’t be your goal.
Nobody likes to be “evangelized.” They like to be liked, loved, cared about, cared for. They like to connect and, maybe, if the connection grows, become friends. If they feel like you’re trying to convert them, they will, almost without exception, push back or leave.
It’s the same way in selling a product. If, after listening to this episode, you send me an email telling me how you love the Grateful Dead and you ask about what bands I like, and I reply with a link to buy my podcast course and my latest CD, you may be a little offended (to put it mildly). If I tell you of my love for the music of Sting and the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and how I’d love to be able to write a hit like “Message In A Bottle” and play guitar like Setzer on “Stray Cat Strut,” and, since this is a podcast about podcasting, I may ask if you have a podcast. If I do that, we are connecting. If you never buy anything from me, that’s cool. I’m just glad we got to connect. I once met a singer that I really like. He was doing a meet and greet at a local record store before a concert, so there was a line of fans. When I got to him, he seemed like he was genuinely glad to meet me! That’s how you want to make your listeners feel — like you are eager to meet them!
Feeling is very important, by the way. People care how you make them feel much more than how brilliant you are. I heard once that there are two kinds of brilliant people: the person who is the most important person in the room, and the person who makes you feel like you are the most important person in the room. And, don’t bother with flattery, fake praise. Most people’s BS Meter is finely tuned nowadays. They smell it a mile away and they turn and run the other way.
So, be genuine. Share your passion. And, as you’re connecting with your listeners, make a way to continue the connection. Start an email list of your tribe. Add value to their lives. On our next episode, we’ll talk about how to add value to your tribe.
On today’s show, I want to talk about how to grow your audience. First of all, you may want to stop thinking about them as your audience. At least, don’t call them that. Your tribe, your community, your peeps, something that makes it feel like they are like you, that you’re on the same team together. After all, with a podcast, you’re trying to build a community (unless you don’t care about having listeners or you’re just so naturally engaging that you don’t need anyone’s help — in which case, why are you listening to this?). So, build a community. It occurs to me that that could be a podcast (or a series of episodes) of its own. However, for now, I’ll stick with the topic at hand — How To Grow Your Audience.
You want the secret to growing your audience? Be remarkable. Be interesting. Create something that’s worth sharing. Amy Grant once said, “There’s not much good singing unless you’ve got something good to sing about.” Amen, Amy. Seth Godin wrote a whole book about this idea (Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable), in which he writes, "The key to success is to find a way to stand out - to be the purple cow in a field of monochrome Holsteins."
The same is true for podcasting. If your content isn’t good — strike that, remarkable, it won’t matter how professional you sound. Some guru (probably Seth, but I’m not looking it up now) said, “Good marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.” Yeah, that. You can have the slickest sounding audio, a great radio voice, the best equipment, and killer theme music. If, when you start talking, your listeners start to nod off, you’re in trouble (unless, of course, if your show is on the Calm app;).
So, that’s the most important piece: Remarkable content. The second piece is the presentation. This is where you make sure the sound quality and the delivery are professional. They don’t have to be perfect. They just need to not distract from the content. It’s ok if you don’t have the best microphone and a perfectly treated sound-proof studio and you never say “um,” but if every other word is punctuated by an annoying lip smack because you’re eating peanut butter while you record, or your dog barking in the background is as loud as you are, you may as well name your podcast the “Go Listen To Someone Else Show.”
That’s it — remarkable content, good presentation. That will grow you a community, right? Not quite. I mean, it might, if you’re lucky. I started publishing episodes of this show, but I wanted to have a certain amount of episodes already released before I started promoting it, so I didn’t tell anyone about it. Yet, I still got listeners. They (you?) may be people that liked me from another podcast and searched me in your podcast listening app and discovered this show. Thanks, btw. Maybe you shared it with someone else or several others. Thanks again! It is possible to grow your podcast, slowly, this way. Just put it out and hope people listen and share it. However, there are ways to facilitate that process. But, as I said, that could be an episode (or multiple episodes) of its own, so let’s pick that up next time.
On today’s show, I’m finally going to answer the question I get most often, “Which microphone should I get?” Well, sort of. The answer is, “It depends…” It depends on your budget, your voice, your preference, your studio setup, and that elusive factor of how it feels to you.
In our last episode, I discussed the various types of microphones. For podcasting, I can help you narrow down your search quickly. Unless you are building a professional recording studio with carpeted and sound-treated walls, you probably want to skip the condenser microphones. They generally pick up every sound from lip smacks to the HVAC system. If you do have the budget and desire to build a soundproof studio with carpeted walls and all the sound-absorbing foam, then go for a high-end condenser microphone like the Neumann TLM103.
And, incidentally, if David Spade or Jerry Seinfeld or one of the other gozillionaire celebrities that has ventured into podcasting (YouTubing, etc.) is listening, and you can actually afford the good stuff, please, for the love of all that is holy, at least buy a decent microphone and headphones. You don’t have to get the whole professional studio in its own soundproof building, but I’m so sick of seeing a YouTube video of some celebrity being interviewed over Zoom using his Apple EarPods. That kind of shenanigans is reserved for the pre-2015 podcast pioneers who had to figure out how to create their own RSS feeds and record in their closet on a laptop using the hanging clothes as soundproofing.
So, if you’re not a big-budget celebrity, I suggest a good dynamic microphone. If you’re just starting out and you’re not really sure you want to podcast for the long haul, or if you really don’t have the budget for a better mic, then I might suggest a USB Microphone, such as the Audio Technica ATR-2100 or the AT2005. They run about $75-$100 on Amazon. They both have an XLR output and a USB output for use with a mixer or direct input into a computer. If you simply cannot spend any money, but you already have a pair of iPhone headphones or a gamer headset, you can get away with that at the beginning, but the sound quality will turn some listeners away.
If you have a little more money to spend, but you still want to stick with the USB option, I recommend the Shure MV7. It’s the closest thing to a high-end USB microphone you’ll find. However, they cost upwards of $250, so if you’re looking at the MV7, you may as well go all in and get a separate interface (I like the Focusrite Scarlett line) and a high quality dynamic microphone like the Shure SM7B, the Heil PR40, or the Electro Voice RE20. That setup will push you into the over-$500 range quickly. If you are leaning that direction and still aren’t sure about spending that much, you can save a bunch on the microphone and get the Shure SM58 or SM57. They’re both great mics that are used on stages all over the world. They’re just not as sexy-looking in a podcast studio as the ones I mentioned above. The sound difference is almost negligible.
Personally, I own the Heil PR40, the Audio Technica AT2005, and the Shure SM7B. I am currently using the SM7B.
There are a couple other suggestions worth considering, depending on your circumstances. If you’re going to be doing an interview format with video, you may want to consider lavalier (aka, lapel) mics. On the other hand, if you’re doing audio only, on-location interviews, you may want to just use a handheld recorder that has the mics built into the recorder (though many of these recorders have inputs for external microphone connection).
On today’s show, I want to talk about the different types of microphones. As I mentioned on a previous episode (“Making Money Podcasting, Part 1”), “Which microphone should I get?” is one of the most common questions I get. Now, I’ll save the answer to that question for the next episode (since I like to keep these episodes nice and short). I think it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of the types of microphones before you start shopping for one.
First, it’s helpful to understand that some microphones are designed to pick up sound in all directions. These are known as omnidirectional microphones. There are also directional (or cardioid) microphones, which pick up sound in front of the microphone and reject sound from the sides and rear (unless, of course, your microphone is bi-directional, in which case it picks up sound in two opposite directions). Directional microphones exhibit what is known as “proximity effect” (an increased bass response when the sound source is in very close proximity). So, when I lean in really close to the mic, I get that cool, late-night, radio DJ sound to my voice.
So, with that in mind, here are the main categories or types of microphones you may encounter in audio recording.
- Dynamic microphones are very common, especially among podcasters. They’re usually pretty rugged and pick up sound in a directional pattern. They aren’t as sensitive (generally speaking) as condenser microphones and are very popular in live audio settings. The Shure SM58 is probably the most popular vocal microphone for live settings. You’ll often see its flat-headed brother, the SM57, pointed at guitar amps and snare drums.
- Condenser (or “capacitor”) microphones are more sensitive than dynamic mics, and are generally reserved for quiet studios when you want to capture every nuance of a beautiful acoustic guitar or a soft voice. Condenser microphones require external power, usually the phantom power from a mixer, though they sometimes employ a battery or dedicated power source. If you’re going to use a high-quality condenser microphone (Neumann TLM 103) for podcasting, you will want to be in a well-treated studio environment. The Blue Yeti is a popular condenser mic among beginning podcasters and YouTubers.
- USB Microphones are quickly becoming perhaps the most popular microphones on the market. They aren’t, strictly speaking, a different type of microphone in terms of how they receive sound. They are different in that they connect directly into a USB port on your computer. So, you can record directly into your computer without an external interface. The Audio-Technica ATR2100-USB is a common mic among beginning podcasters because of its inexpensive price, relatively decent sound quality, and the option of connecting to a computer through its USB digital output or to a mixer through its XLR analog output.
- Ribbon microphones were some of the first directional microphones made, but they were notoriously delicate. Apparently, there are some new ribbon mics on the market today that are sturdy and reliable, but I don’t know anyone who uses them for podcasting.
There are other types of microphones, but they mostly fall into one of the categories above, they just have different functions. For example, shotgun mics are generally used for capturing sound at a distance. Parabolic microphones have a parabolic dish that collects and focuses sound waves into a microphone (they’re commonly used for capturing the sound on the field at NFL football games). Lavalier microphones (aka, lapel mics) are the little mics that people clip on their lapels for interviews.
There are microphones in your cell phones, headset mics, earphone mics, etc., etc. Basically, if you want to record a sound, there is a microphone for it.
If you’re starting a podcast, it’s important to give it a good name. It’s not as important as naming a child (I think my wife and I spent about a hundred hours discussing baby names for each of our children), but it would be nice to get a good enough name that you don’t wish you’d chosen a different name when you’re on episode 77. So, here are a few tips for choosing the right name for your show.
First, think about your topic and your audience. Your podcast name needs to fit both. You don’t want a confusing name or a name that turns off your target audience. While there may be other types of names, here are three of the most common.
- Descriptive - One easy and really helpful way to name your show is using a descriptive title. This show is a good example. “Scott Moore’s Podcasting Tips” tells you everything you need to know about the show. You know it’s me sharing my insights for podcasting. Even if you don’t know who I am, you know the show is about podcasting, but not just random information about podcasting. “Podcasting tips” implies that you may learn something about how to podcast by listening to this show. Tips also connotes brevity. It’s not “In Depth Podcasting” or “Everything You Need to Know About Podcasting.” In addition to this type of name being easy to understand, it also makes your show easier find with a search engine.
- Creative names can be good, especially if you’re not counting on search engines to be your main source of new listeners. Psych You Out is a creative name for a podcast devoted to the TV show Psych on USA Network. This is a good example of a creatively named podcast for a couple reasons. It uses the name of the TV show in the podcast title, but it uses a clever phrase to catch your attention. Also, it’s a good example of one of the challenges of choosing a creative name. If you google “psych podcast,” you’ll get quite a few podcasts about psychology as well as the handful that relate to the TV show. Serial is another good example of a creative name for a podcast. It also demonstrates how helpful it is to have a big budget and production staff to do a show with a name that is not at all descriptive (except for the serial nature of the show, meaning it’s a series of episodes told in order).
- Your Name - This one is great if you’re Jerry Seinfeld or some other famous personality. Basically, if you already have name recognition or you are planning on doing the long slog of building name recognition. If it’s the latter, it still helps to do like I did by adding some descriptive terms to your show’s name. Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend is a good example (Just kidding, Conan doesn’t need any friends — except me. Pick me, Conan!).
- Yes, I know I said there were only three, but here’s a bonus one that is actually really big. If you have a brand name of a product or something you’ve been involved with, that can double as a name for your podcast. For instance, Dan Miller has a podcast called 48 Days to the Work You Love. Coincidentally, that is also the name of his flagship product, a book that he has built his entire online brand around. He also had a book titled No More Mondays (updated to No More Dreaded Mondays) that had a podcast by the same name, but it was hosted by two of his biggest fans. By the way, if you have fans that want to start a podcast related to you and your product, you’re doing something right. Well done, Dan.
- Random Topic - Unless you already have an audience of people who like you (a lot), no one is going to listen to your podcast about whatever. Even if you have that audience of people who like you, most people still aren’t going to listen to your ramblings about nothing (unless you’re Jerry Seinfeld).
- Boring - Don’t be boring. Don’t sound bored. You don’t have to be the most animated-sounding person alive, but if you don’t even sound like you’re interested in what you’re talking about, then no one else is going to be interested in listening to you.
- Off-Topic Guests - Don’t have (or be) a guest on the show that doesn’t advance the message of the show.
- No Show Prep - If you just sit down at your computer and hit record, without even a few minutes of preparation, it shows. Now, you don’t have to research like you’re gunning for a Pulitzer, but a basic outline is a necessity (at least a few notes on a napkin).
- Poor Audio Quality - You don’t have to have sparkling, pristine, professional sounding audio quality right out of the gate, but here’s a good rule of thumb. If the audio quality is so bad that it distracts from the message, you’re in trouble. It’s kind of like the job interview with a big ketchup stain on your shirt. You don’t need to be wearing an Armani suit, but your clearance rack special better not have a big stain on it. The interviewer won’t see or hear you, just your stain. Audio quality is the same. If the buzz from your computer fan is louder than your voice, I’m out. I’ll go listen to someone else.
- Inconsistency - In the world of podcasting, you can listen to shows anytime, and new listeners may show up a year after you stopped recording new episodes, but if you want to grow an audience, it’s best to show up consistently (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, whatever). If you disappear for a couple months, your audience might disappear permanently.
- Too Much Laughing - What?! Yes, it’s ok to laugh on your show, but unless you’re doing a Morning Zoo radio show format (and even then it gets old), I didn’t tune in to listen to you and your cohost guffaw at your own jokes. This really burns my biscuit when it’s a stand-up comedian. You’d think they would know not to laugh harder than the audience. It just sounds desperate.
- Too Many Ads - We all want to make some money, right? Advertising on your show is tricky, but just know that if you have too many ads, I’m gone.
- Your Show Is One Big Ad - If the whole point of your show is to sell me your course, I’m not interested. If I like your content, I may eventually buy your course or oils or whatever, but not if you beat me over the head with it.
- No Editing (when it’s needed) - I understand some of the beauty and fun of a podcast is getting to be up close and personal. Podcasting is an intimate medium. It shouldn’t sound like a speech. Even if yours is a solo podcast, it should still feel conversational. You don’t need to edit out every um, ah, and glottal stop, but when half your show is lip smacks, long pauses, ums, and y’knows, it’s going to drive listeners away.
Today’s topic is Making Money Podcasting (Part 2). We opened the last episode asking the question, “How do you make money podcasting?” and I talked about having clients as a great way to make money podcasting. On today’s episode, I’ll share a few more tips for making money as a podcaster.
The big one (and also one of the more challenging to bust into) is sponsorship or advertising. So let’s talk about it first today. Finding sponsors for your podcast isn’t easy, but it might not be as difficult as you’d think. You can contact companies directly to pitch them (sell them ad space on your podcast). Now, if doing advertising sales as part of your podcast career sounds as fun as having a root canal, you’re not alone. You may want to join a podcast network that places ads in your podcast and takes a chunk of the ad revenue for their trouble. You can also go through a podcast ad marketplace (they connect you with companies looking to advertise on podcasts).
If you’re going for sponsors, at some point in the process, you’re likely to hear the term CPM. CPM stands for “cost per mille” (cost per 1,000 listeners). The industry average for podcast advertising is $18 CPM for a 30-second ad. So, if you have 10,000 listeners, you should be able to charge $180 for a 30-second commercial on your show. However, it can certainly be argued that audience engagement is far greater for some shows and, therefore, the CPM should be higher. Basically, you’re worth what you can negotiate to get paid. This is especially important if you already have a strong brand and you’re starting a new podcast. For instance, I know of several podcasters that have approached prospective sponsors before they started a new podcast. They pitched these prospects on sponsoring the show from the beginning on the strength of their established brands. So, if you already have an email list of 20,000 people and/or a highly engaged blog and social media presence, you should be able to negotiate a decent sponsorship for a podcast that is just starting out.
An increasingly popular way for artists, creators, and influencers to make money is through donors or patrons. Patreon, BuyMeACoffee, and Ko-fi are just a few of the popular ways people can support your podcast. Crowdfunding for specific projects is similar (GoFundMe, Kickstarter, etc.).
You can have a paid membership community, where your listeners pay to listen and be a part of your tribe.
Coaching/Consulting is another option. You can train others in your area of expertise and/or podcasting.
You can always sell your own products or services. The possibilities are endless.
Today’s topic is Making Money Podcasting. So, how do you make money podcasting? It’s probably the most common question asked about podcasting (except, perhaps, which microphone should I get? I don’t know why everyone gets so hung up on microphones — Well, yeah, I do, but anyway…). Many people have been lured by the siren call of easy money throughout history. Podcasting isn’t even the latest temptress to come along (can anyone say “NFT”?)
My advice, if you want to make quick, easy money, is to keep looking. If I knew how to make quick, easy money, I wouldn’t be talking to you. Just kidding, I’d probably talk more. My point is podcasting is not easy money. But, you can make money podcasting. In fact, would you believe me if I told you I’ve been making money since my 5th episode? No joke. I’ve been getting paid to podcast since the 5th episode I ever recorded. And, podcasting has been paying my mortgage (and then some) for the last nine years.
How do I do it? Well, before I tell you that… Just kidding. Don’t you hate it when they tease you throughout the episode (or video, etc.). How did I do it? Clients. Clients are the magic beans that have grown this beanstalk. The only reason I didn’t get paid for the first four episodes I recorded is that one of the main reasons I was hired by my first client was that I offered to volunteer for the first month of episodes as a trial run, sort of a probationary period. We got along famously, and we’ve been recording together ever since. And, that relationship led to my second client. After a year podcasting with my first client, he introduced me to a friend who wanted to hire a cohost/producer for his podcast that he wanted to start.
Now, in addition to earning money by producing and cohosting my clients’ shows, I have the added bonus of growing my own audience and name recognition, basically my brand, by piggybacking on their brands. Incidentally, I’ve learned a lot from them and become great friends with them.
The other thing I did — and the importance of this cannot be emphasized enough — the other thing I did to help ensure that I could work as a professional in podcasting is I bought a premium course, the premium course at the time, to learn how to podcast like a professional. I paid $1,000 to learn all the tips and tricks from the premier podcasting coach of the time. In addition to learning what I needed to learn, it showed my client my commitment to excellence and professionalism as his cohost and producer. Incidentally, I’ve purchased several online courses over the years. The podcasting course has given me the best ROI (Return On Investment) so far.
So, that’s my show for today. I’ll share more money-making podcast tips on my next episode.
“There has never, ever been, in the history of mankind, a better moment to be someone who has something to say.” - Seth Godin
Is that you? Do you have something to say? This is your time. It doesn’t matter if you’re new to podcasting. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never given a speech in your life. In fact, if you are an experienced public speaker and/or broadcaster, you may have some challenges that others don’t have in podcasting. Podcasting is not public speaking. If you’re used to standing up delivering a speech to an audience, this is different. Now, there are some commonalities. Public speaking and podcasting are both means of communication, verbal communication. And for that matter, so is broadcasting. If you have been on the radio or on television, you may have some bad habits to break when you podcast. And make no mistake. If you’re brand new to podcasting, it’s not as simple as talking into your computer and uploading a recording to a free podcast site. Not if you want it to be good anyway.
But if you’re a beginning podcaster, you are welcome here. I want to help you learn this medium of podcasting. If you have something to say, you can podcast. The key to beginning is simply to start. Now. Don’t wait until you have all the best equipment or until you have all the perfect artwork, website, and a professionally trained speaking voice.
And, don’t forget the cardinal rule of podcasting: DO NOT ABUSE THE ATTENTION OF YOUR LISTENERS. Attention is gold online. If people give you their attention, it’s just as good as if they gave you a fistful of money - Maybe not to you, but to them it is. They don’t have to give you their attention. You don’t have to give me your attention and I don’t ever want to take it for granted. Thank you for listening. Thank you for inviting me into your life. I know how big of a deal this is. Think about it. I don’t give strangers my undivided attention for a half hour every week. I only do that with people I genuinely care about. The people whose podcasts I listen to may not know me as well as I know them, but I do feel like I know them. It may not be a traditional friendship we have, but it’s something special. The relationship between a podcaster and a listener is special. Don’t ever forget that.
When I started podcasting, I bought a Roland R-05 digital recorder - That was the one piece of equipment I bought initially - and I sat in my car on my lunch break talking on my iPhone over Skype to my cohost. As I spoke into my iPhone I also held a cheap, old Electro-Voice microphone that I had left over from my college rock band days - I had it plugged into my Roland recorder and I held that mic to my face and recorded my side of our conversation while my cohost recorded his side of the conversation and uploaded it later to a Dropbox folder. I then edited the two tracks together using the free program, Audacity. That’s called a double-ender, by the way. That was how I started my career as a podcast producer.
Nearly ten years later, I’ve produced almost 1000 podcast episodes. This, Scott Moore’s Podcasting Tips, is my seventh podcast that I’ve produced. And, by the way, I’ve been getting paid to podcast since the beginning. Not many podcast coaches will tell you that you can make money from the start, but I’m here to tell you you can. We’ll get more into that on a later episode, though. For now, let’s focus on getting started.
Do you have something to say? What is your message? Because we need to hear it. We do. And if you’ve already tried and “failed,” don’t think for a second you should give up. Did you know after an early audition, Elvis was told by one fool to stick to driving a truck, “because you’re never going to make it as a singer.” Even the first Harry Potter book was rejected a dozen times. So, don’t give up.
You can do this.
Welcome to Scott Moore’s Podcasting Tips! I’m Scott. I’ve been podcasting professionally for almost 10 years, so I thought I’d share some tips I’ve learned along the way for anyone interested in podcasting.
What do you actually need to start a podcast?
I’m glad you asked. A lot of people want to start a podcast, but get quickly overwhelmed by the technology and all the many options for how to podcast.
You actually need 3 things:
- Something to say
- A way to record
- A way to share your recording
Let’s assume you have number 1 covered. You have something to say that you believe someone else wants to hear. So, you need a way to record and share your message. This is where the fun starts. First, let’s assume you already own a computer and a smartphone. Otherwise, I’d be surprised that you know what a podcast is. To record and share your message with the world, there are many, many options. I’ll cover a few here.
Free
If you have a smartphone and a computer and you absolutely refuse to spend any money on creating and sharing your podcast, it is possible to go the free route. On your smartphone, you could get the Anchor app and record and publish your episodes through Anchor. Or, you can open the voice notes app (or whatever sound recording app you have) and record your message using that app, then move it over to your computer and publish it through Podbean, Spreaker, or some other platform. You could also use the built-in microphone on your computer and record directly into Audacity (free, open-source recording software). Then, you can do some basic editing in Audacity and publish through one of the free podcast hosting options.
Under $100
In case you didn’t already notice, I’m not a big fan of the free option, mostly because free isn’t really free. You have to put up with ads, in-app purchases, less-than-stellar quality, and someone else owning your show, among other things. So, here we have a better way which is still really inexpensive.
Get a decent, but inexpensive microphone. I recommend the Audio Technica ATR-2100 or the AT-2005. These both have XLR and USB connections, so you can use them straight into your computer (via USB) or through a mixer that takes XLR microphones. Get a Buzzsprout, Libsyn or Blubrry account to use as your media host. Again, you can record/edit with Audacity or GarageBand. I recommend having a website or at least a page on your site dedicated to your podcast with blog posts for each episode you post.
And Beyond…
If you want to skip the learning curve and jump straight to the professional level of podcasting, check out my course.