Healing Our Marriage

Increasing Your Podcast's Audience Engagement With Better Calls To Action We love our audience, and we want to connect. We want them to take steps to deepen their level of engagement. We want them to take actions. These often include: Subscribe, Rate & Review in iTunes Follow us on Social Media Join our Email List Buy products Shop At Amazon and that's just a few. Determining Your ONE Call To Action Your call to action will be unique to you. We all have different needs, and different motives. There is no one size fits all, but in the end you need to STOP and THINK, WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS PODCAST. Them figure out the roadmap to get your audience from point A to point B. If you are in podcasting "Just for fun" you probably still want people to tell their friends. That is a call to action. Now if I was to honest here, I would say I want everyone to join the School of Podcasting. I need to look at this realistically. This may be the first time you've been on my website, or heard my show. That seems a bit fo

I've been talking about your podcast from TOP to Bottom over the last couple of weeks. Sometimes its good to go back to the basics and reexamine our shows. The first week we talked about Headlines (the title of your show notes), and I provided a free guide with tools to help you write better Blog Post Titles. Last week we talk about the importance of your introduction and how it is your first impression. This week we are talking about the meat and potatoes of the meal. Your content. Because of my Podcast Jason Marshall Jason from the We Don't have Cookies podcast  tells a story that has lead him to get a job on radio, as well as appearances on television all because of his podcast. Be Part of Our Last episode of the Year Answer the question, "My favorite podcast is.." and explain WHY leave your answers HERE (deadline 11/31) I've mentioned the book [easyazon_link identifier="0849921902" locale="US" tag="sop2-20"]Secrets of Dynamic Communications: Prepare with Focus, Deliver with Clarity, Speak with Power[/easy

Last week we talked about the importance of headlines, and I gave you a free resource to help you make better headlines. Now in Podcasting you headline is your "Show Notes" title. You can get the free resources at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/headlines Your Podcast Introduction People are busy. We hear activity like a badge of honor. How are you ding Bob? BUSY! I'm backed up. I don't get to take lunch. I'M SWAMPED! So with this in mind it is my opinion that your intro should get to the point quickly and answer the following questions: Who am I listening to? What is this? Why do I need to listen to this now? Get to the Punch Line? Put Yourself in the Shoes Of Your Listener When they do a search in Google, or iTunes, etc they see your information and they are asking: Should I listen to this podcast. Should I keep listening to this podcast? Will I come back to listen to this podcast Today I play intros from the following Shows The Podcast Report Podcast Producer 5 Minutes in Church History 317 Podcast Your Intr

This is an abbreviated list of headline samples from the book "Writing Riches" by one of my favorite authors and podcaster's Ray Edwards. If you buy his book, buy some paper and pencil along with it. This topic starts at 6:35 The How To Headline (how to write headlines that will bring you more downloads) The Testimonial headline (I wish I had found Dave Jackson sooner - I could've save a lot of money) The Give Me headline (Give me 10 days, and I'll get your podcast into iTunes) The Reason Why Headline (The to 3 reasons people fail at launching a podcast - and how to over come them) The Probing Question Headline (Do you know the five things that cause people to unsubscribe podcasts?) The Dominant Emotion (Are you tired of putting out an episode and getting ZERO feedback?) The Command headline (Be the influencer that leads change in the world) The If-Then Headline (If you can upload a picture on Faceboook, then you can upload a media file your hosting). The Warning Headline (Is Soundcloud Going Out of Business

Any time my podcast can get in front of more people I'm happy. From what I've heard on the Feed Podcast where a Google Rep was interviewed here is what is what we think is going to happen.  Google will pull an episode and host it on their servers (but they won't be a media host) The reason for this is they have control and reliability (come some people do stupid things like put their files on a website host instead of a media host). They reserve the right to put ads after your show, and you will get nothing an like it. There will be a directory, you will be able to direct people to a location There is no set date besides "as soon as possible" It is just in the USA for starting. There are specific Google tags (just like iTunes Tags), but you can submit a feed and it will use the iTunes tags. There will be stats. They are not splitting your file into bits. They hope to feature your show when people search for it. They want to give you what you want - when you want it. This is probably why they paid $35 million

I'm going to be going over podcasting in the next few episodes. So many people think it starts with a microphone (which is a logical start), but it doesn't. It starts with an idea. It might be an idea that is fueled by a need. That need may be to help people. It may be to make them laugh, cry, think, grown, or inspire them. You want to connect with impact. This is where your podcast starts. It starts with an idea. Taking Your Podcast Inventory This topics starts at 14:21 What do you like? What are you good at? What do other people say you're good at? What do you not like? According to the Book Secrets of Dynamic Communication you are either intending to persuade or enable people. Persuading People Everyone _______ should _____  (i.e. Every coach should podcast). Enabling People Every ____ can ______. (i.e. very coach can podcast). Even sports shows are insinuating that everyone can/should cheer for their team. A comedy show might be getting you to think about something in a different (funny) way. Why Would

Today we have a few tools to peak at. One allows you to record your podcast or go live, the other allows you to add your Blab.im sessions to your Wordpress website, Ray Edwards will teach you how to write better pages, and the last one allows you to book guests. Spreaker Studio For Windows and Mac Spreaker has been around a while, and if you are looking to do live streaming this is a great platform. They also are great if you don't want to go live. Their new Spreaker Studio software enables them to move away from the Web Based version they had before that relied on flash technology (which was not compatible with iPads, iPhones, etc). They have had Spreaker Studio apps for a while (also impressive) and now there are desktop versions to go along. Connect More Than One USB Microphone With EASE. This has been a problem that wasn't easy to solve in the past. Now if you have multiple hosts with two USB microphones you can easily connect up to three USB microphones into ONE computer. It's pretty amazing and easy to

Why I Switched from the Podcasts App to Overcast The last update from Apple broke their own software, and it left it there for at least a week. Never give your customers a chance to find an (alternative because they will). The creator of Overcast recently made it availabel for free (you can donate to help cover the cost $1 a month). Here are the features I love about it. If I share something I can not only share the episode, but send people to the location I am currently at. I can listen at surprisingly fast speeds and still understand the content A 60 second skip button that when I click on it repeatedly takes giant jumps to skip through bad content. It syncs via the internet so you can listen on your iPhone, switch over to your iPad and pick right up where you left off. You can even listen on their website (overcast.fm). I can see how much storage each podcast is taking up. In the end I love it, and according to the app I've saved 2 hours using the Smart Speed feature. VoiceStak is SpeakPipe on Steroids L

Got Feedback? Call 888-563-3228 and get your voice on the show. The top two things I heard from clients consists of: How do I increase interaction How do I grow my audience Increasing Interaction With Your Podcast Audience Show up. Do you best to create a consistent schedule. If you show up, then they will make you part of their routine. This isn't mandatory (Dan Carlin is awesome and put out an episode every few months), but I would consider it best practice. Have someone who has never been to your website try and contact you. I AM AMAZED and people who do not have a page with a CONTACT link. Don't get cute and make it "buy me a cup of coffee" or "Interact" make the button/menu item say CONTACT. Why? Because it is what people are looking for. Let them choose the method of interaction. You can see if you go to my contact page that you can email me, call me (using podcastvoicemail.com ), or use the speakpipe button. You're choice. I've eliminated any reasons that you might have to contact me. One way to inc

Are you trying to start a podcast but you can't seem to come up with something that is entirely new? Today we talk about how there are very few items that are entirely new. The iPod was just an upgrade of the Discman. The Discman was just an upgrade of the Walkman. The Walkman was just an upgrade of the 8-track tape. Typical something original is really  a few items that are old that have been combined with something of yourself to make it appear original.  Because of My Podcast I Was Asked to Appear on TV: Wayne Henderson Wayne Henderson deos a podcast about the Green Bay Packers, and he and his co-host were recently asked to appear on a TV show to talk some smack with some fans of the Seattle Seahawks. International Podcast Day September 30th: Get Planning Your Podcast For Free I have a fwe things going on to celebrate International Podcast Day: My "Planning Your Podcast" course at Udemy is free from now until 10/31/15. Use the coupon code ipd15 I will be hosting an hour of live podcasting sharing "because

I was lucky enough to get to hang out with Jeff Bradburry of the Teachercast network at Podcast MidAtlantic. Jeff is helping teachers utilize technology (like Podcasting) in the classroom. I first met Jeff on a Podcaster's Roundtable and was amazed as he is doing everything LIVE. The one thing that impresses me with Jeff is he truly understands his audience. These (in some cases) are people who have struggled with technology, and are now looking to embrace it and improve the lives of students. Jeff understands that a teacher may call "audio on a podcast (no RSS feed" a "podcast" (when by definition it's not) but instead of splitting hairs, he stays focused on the goal (inspiring learning in the classroom with technology).  Go Have a Baby or Three Jeff was at an event when his wife went into labor. She was three months early, and Jeff had his hold booth setup. As you can see to the right. Jeff's booth is first class (GO BIG OR GO HOME). So you might be just a little nervous about running out the door and leavi

Quick Takeaways from Podcast MidAtlantic Patience is a gentle version of courage - Kathy Kelly Special Mouse Podcast Podcasting Changes Live - Jeff Bradburry and Scott Swanson Watch other Media Types - Jeff Bradburry and Anythony Minaya Tell great stories - everyone Being Creative is fun. Podcasting Changes Lives I'm definitely having Jeff on my show in the future. The great thing that happened this weekend is person after person would share a "because of my podcast" story and I need to have them on the show. Jeff does the teachercast, and he helps educators (as a teacher himself) utilize technology in the classroom. He was great to hang out with, and he mentioned that if you help a student that's great (1 person), if you help a teacher that might impact 20 students, if you help a superintendent, that could impact thousands. Scott from Muppetcast shared a story (I need to have him on the show) where a Jr High boy was getting beat up at school because he loved the Muppets. Scott's show showed him that he's not

What Podcaster's Can Learn from Johnny Manzel I live in Cleveland, Ohio. Out sports teams are not good. We have tremendously talented people like LeBron James and Johnny Manzel, but still we can't win. Last year out football team the Cleveland Browns draft Johnny Manzel with their first round pick. Johnny rubbed his fingers together in a way to say, "I'm going to get paid." It became his signature. It appeared in Johnny's mind that he had achieved his goal. He had maid it to the NFL. The bad news is that is not THE goal of a football player. THE GOAL is to win the Super Bowl. Johnny had a reputation as being a person who was more interested in parties than play books. He always seemed a bit unprepared. This was his first year, but Johnny was now a professional football player. In this league you either carry your weight, or you are traded. As more and more stories of Johnny (more or less) goofing off came to the surface (welcome to being famous), it really appeared that this kid had his priorities out of whac

Periscope and Podcasting Periscope is a live streaming service from Twitter. It's pretty cool. My step-son is at Perdue and last week we got to see his first performance with the band via periscope. I had 36 people watching my cat in a baby's sleeping shirt. During the week I would open it up and just talk about whatever hit me. It's an interesting way to connect with your audience. In general, the video is recorded and can be viewed for 24 hours. You can download the file and upload it to YouTube or whatever service you would like to use. How Do I Get My Mixer Into Periscope? I used an iRig device originally meant for guitar players to plug their guitar into their iOs device but it works for me. You will need a 1/4" to 1/4" patch cable to go from the mixer to the iRig, and then the iRig into the phone. There is an iRig2, but it is overkill. Also when it comes to patch cables, as you will be doing this near your mixer, this is probably a case where a shorter cable is better. Like most podcast equipment questi

As a podcast consultant I should be telling everyone to start a podcast. I do. I believe there is a lot to be learned from starting a podcast. You learn to: Organize your thoughts Prioritize your goals Speak with confidence Work with people from different cultures As much as podcasting is about talking, I think the top podcasters are at the top because they learned how to listen. We Predicated Disgruntled Podcasters in December 2013 There was a time when it seemed every podcast had the term "on fire" tacked on at the end. In December of 2012 myself, Daniel J Lewis, Ray Ortega, Steve Stewart, and John Lee Dumas had a roundtable to discuss what Steve coined "The John Lee Dumas effect." People were starting a podcast, following a formula, and expecting the same six figure result as John. Part of that roundtbale was to point out the hard work, dedication, and insane work ethics that John has (and they being John Lee Dumas comes very naturally to him).  John has always been super transparent about his life, his

Today I share a story about getting outside of your comfort zone, and we talk with the Real Brian about how his podcast has lead to him getting paid to host two more. Donnie Pushed Publish On His Podcast. I got this email in my inbox: Hello Sir, I am writing this to simply introduce myself and say a big Thank You! Not long ago I was inspired to begin a daunting task of creating a podcast. I have listened to numerous ones over a varied topic span ever since the beginnings of the podcast. So I decided to bite the bullet and give this a go. With thoughts of what fun this could be and eager to learn some new skills I ventured forth into the "glamorous" world of podcasting. Your show has been a go-to for every topic I can imagine. I glean over past episodes for the struggles I am currently facing and words of encouragement along the way. Simply put, it has been indispensable in this process. With that said, I do need to mention that I already belong to JLD's Podcaster's Paradise and the information there has been

Glenn the geek has been podcasting since 2008. He does it full time. He grew his audience by reaching out to leaders in his field and partnering with them. He has a background in sales, and found the right sponsors for his shows. He embraces his audience, and knows that if you want people to listen you have to be entertaining. You might be thinking that if he is making a living from his podcast he must've had some huge podcast launching and rocked the top of the iTunes charts, and lived in New and Noteworthy. While that may be true, Glenn wouldn't know. You see, Glenn focuses on his audience. He focuses on making great content that entertains and educates. It wasn't until recently that he even knew to ask for reviews. He did it the old fashioned way. He earned their trust, and never lets his audience down. Consequently, they don't let him down. As a salesmen, he has made more money in the past. However, he is now making a living and having more fun talking about a topic he is addicted to (horses) and loving e

I attended Podcast Movement last week, and I am busting at the seems to tell you about it. To keep this short, here are my top memories and take always from Podcast movement. 1. The Door Key Was Branded Yeah, you know the magnetic door key. It had their logo on it. I often lose hotel keys and have to ask for another one. I didn't this week. What a HUGE first impression. I told Dan and Jared that there was so much icing on the Podcast Movement cake that you could not get a bad piece of cake. 2. The Michelangelo Line from Lou Mongello Lou Mongello is one of my favorite people. Lou is so authentic (you will see a theme here). In his keynote he just kept saying things that made me want to stand up and go "Preach On Lou!" (his talks was on Sunday). He said a line like,  "When people came in to look at a new painting from Michelangelo they didn't go, "Great Painting - What brush did you use?" 3. Ejecting Bad Guests - Jordan Harbinger Jordan is like a Lioness guarding her cubs when it comes to his show. It's HIS sho

Podcasting News: Midroll Purchased by Scripps - Another shot of legitimacy for podcasting? Ask the Double Rainbow Guy The article mentions CPM (the amount you make per 1000 downloads) of $100. This seems unrealistic to what I typically hear ($15 - $30 CPM). Honda's 2016 Accord will have the ability to have Apple Car Play, and Android Auto. Full Story Podcast Rewind: I recently was asked back on the Coachzing Show  talking why podcasting is here to stay. I did a webinar with Steve Stewart on Podcast Workflow for his Audacity Workshop its only available for a limited time I started listening to the Tim Ferriss show, and the one thing that he us just AWESOME at is follow up questions. When he interviewed Rick Rubin he asked how Rick got into the 99 Problems video by Jay Z. At the end of the answer Rick says, "He is one of my favorite people." To this Tim instantly asks, "Why do you say that?". Later when he interviews Glenn Beck he asks about Glenn's dilema of having to hire a large amount of people to build his

Today I will answer the questions that I receive on a regualr basis.    Podcasting News: Popular Science has launched a Podcast caled Futuropolis Salary.com listed "On Air DJ" as one of the the top 12th jobs on the brink. Speaking of that, CBS Radio eliminated more than 200 positions in companywide layoffs this week, including an unconfirmed number in Chicago Ira Glass now owns This American Life. The interesting thing is this artcile mentions that he has 22 employees.  In March 2014, This American Life ended its relationship with PRI, who had served as the show’s distributor since 1997, flexing its muscles in a way that suggested long-running intent towards independence. Speaking of employees on the latest "But wait theres more" episode of Startup, Alex Blumberg states that he has a staff of 19 people to produce three pdocasts and they are making 2 milloin dollars this year (and spending 2 million).   FREQUNETLY ASKED QUESTIONS How much does it cost to start one? $91 Mic, Stand, Pop filter $60 Mixer $20 Libs