Tags can be thought of as an “index” to your website. You can even use a widget to display them on your website (if you wish, I don’t). If people were to click on them, they would be shown all the posts that had that word.  Useful? Well, maybe.

However, GOOGLE seems to love tags (based on the image to the left). Google brings eyeballs, which bring ears, which means they can be subscribers to this podcast.

Listener Feedback

We got some feedback from Daniel of Edgy Podcast Reviews on how he enjoy the last few shows, and my openness to share my numbers. If you are looking to get your podcast reviewed head on over to edgypodcastreviews.com

For the record 4 days into circulation show 211 has had 421 downloads. Whoop-dee-doo. I am more interested in influence and how connected I am with the audience instead of how big the audience is (quality vs quantity).

Another Podcast Experiment

I am turning the Weekly Web Tools Podcast (audio) into a Weekly Web Tools podcast that distributes pdf documents instead of mp3 files. Why? Because I can type faster than I talk. Also this makes it easy for readers to click on links to view the different tools. I will be monitoring the downloads to see if this works, along with clicks to see if it grows or reduces the amount of activity from the audience.

I found this out when all the sudden my downloads got cut in half.

THE SOLUTION

If you go into your wordpress and go to settings, then click on Reading. You can limit the number of posts that show up in your feed. Mine was set to 200. I set that to 100, and went into Feedburner and went to troubleshootize, and then did a resync.  It’s fine.

The effects of this is when a new person subscribes to the podcast (Building a Better Dave in this instance) they only see 100 (keep in mind many podcasters never make it past 7 episodes).

Today I talk about a podcast that should have been one of my favorites. It’s called “Money Matters” and it takes a Christian perspective on handling your money (two things I’m really interested in at the moment). However in a 24 minute podcast they had one minute commercials at the

3 minute mark

9 minute mark

17 minute mark

a big plug at the end.

In the end a 24 minute podcast was 17% commercials.

I tolerated this for a few episodes, but I then found out something that made the commercials even more annoying. They ran the same commercials in every show. I realize they have three or four products they are promoting but instead of running the same commercial for product A, why not have a few variations. After all I never get tired of Geico commercials here in the states (an insurance company) as they keep coming up with new commercials for the same product.

Part of the reason I think they use this format is this show is originally aired on radio (so they have to break for spots). However, this is also done on shows such as Dave Ramsey, and the now defunct Jillian Michaels podcast and both shows cut out the advertisements, and breaks for weather. They just give you the “meat and potatoes” of the show (both podcasts promoted people to sign up for their sites).

Now I realize you can argue that “Hey you’re getting it for free,” and that is true. For me, I will now use this as a benchmark. A post should not have more than 17% commercials. For me I typically try to keep it around 5% (a one minute commercial in a 20 minute podcast).

Some would argue the best place to put a commercial is at the beginning. This is true as even people who listen to a msall portion of the podcast will hear the commercial. However, if someone makes it to the end of this podcast I believe that means they are truly interested in podcasting and those are the people that I want to hear me talk about the school of podcasting. This is why I do most of my promotion at the end of my podcasts.

1. Start iTunes
2. Click on Music on the left hand side
3. You can either scroll down to find your episode, or use the search box in the upper right hand corner.

If you podcast is not listed, click the File menu and choose Add File to Library. Navigate to your episode and click Open

1. Click ONCE on your episode (and only this episode do not have more than one item selected).
2. If you are on a Windows machine right click on the episode (which should be highlighted) and choose “Get Info.” If you are on a Mac use the Ctrl Click and choose Get info
3. The Summary tab will be displayed. Click on the Info Tab. The NAME field is the name of this episode. The Artist is your name. Make sure to spell your name identically in each episode. The Year is obvious (optional). The Track should be the episode number (optional). The Album is your Podcast Name (the name of the show – not the name of the episode). The Genre should be Podcast. If it’s not podcast, click there and type it in. The composer you can ignore. Comments is where you can enter a blurb about the show, your website etc. Once you enter your comments, highlight them and copy them.
4. Skip the Video, Sorting, and Options tabs.
5. Click the Lyrics tab. Paste the comments from step 6 into this area (lyrics are easily viewed on an iphone).
6. Click the Artwork tab.
7. Click the ADD button in the bottom right hand corner.
8. Navigate to your 300X300 jpg image. Click on it once, and click the open button. It may look like nothing happened.
9. Click the OK button.
10. Click the Play button (as your episode should still be selected) and you should see your album art show up.

Scenario 1 – The Solo Podcaster Setup

In this scenario you are the host and you are recording just you.

Microphone and Mixer Recommendations:

If you are in a quiet area, I like the Audio Technica 2020 microphone. This is a condenser microphone, and it will pick up everything (which is why you need a quiet area). If you have kids, etc (noise from other rooms) you should consider a dynamic microphone such as the Sure SM58. Both microphones are around $99. If you have an endless budget the Heil Pr40 is the holy grail of Dynamic Microphones (It’s also 350 bucks). This is a great microphone but not quiet as sensitive. I recommend using a mixer as it supplies “phantom power” (which you need if you are using the Audio Technica 2020), and it gives the ability to add bass and treble to your voice. Also in the event you ever DO have an extra person in the studio you can add an additional microphone. The Behringer Xenyx 802 Mixer is small, but flexible enough to give you everything you need for only 60 bucks.

I order my stuff from Same Day Music as they do not charge tax (unless you live in NJ). If Same Day Music doesn’t have it BSW will (they carry everything).

You will need headphones. For me I don’t think you need “super headphones.” You just need something to hear yourself. These Audio Technica Headphones will do the trick for a little over 30 bucks. I plug mine into my computer headphone jacks. Some people prefer to plug the headphones into the mixer.

To plug your mixer into your computer I use a Dual RCA Cable to 1/8″ cable and plug it from the Tape Out of the mixer to the Line In of the computer. You will need a mic cord to plug the microphone into the mixer. If its just you and a desk, you might get away with a 5 foot cord, or if needed a 10 foot cord.

You need microphone stand. You can get a little desktop stand, but many times these are not flexible enough (and you end up hurting your back leaning over all the time. I originally used what’s called a “boom stand” but the base of this stands is very wide and got in my way. I eventually put out the money for a Studio Boom Mic. Which has a spring that allows you to pull out the microphone stand.

Probably one of the most important pieces of equipment is the “pop filter” which stops you from having words like BoB, and Peanut Butter bust your listeners ears. These run you around $25

Microphone – $99
Mic Stand – $20
Mic Cable – $9
Mixer – $60
RCA Cable – $9
Pop Filter – $25
Headphones – $30

Total $252 for “Hardware”

Scenario 2 – Host and CoHost(s) Podcaster Setup

In this scenario you and you cohosts are all in the same room. If you are in a quiet area, I like the Audio Technica 2020 microphone. This is a condenser microphone, and it will pick up everything. If you have kids, etc noise from other rooms you should consider a dynamic microphone such as the Sure SM58. If you are not going to have more than 2 feet separating people you might want to go with the Sure SM58 to stop your microphone from picking up other people. This is a great microphone but not quiet as sensitive. I recommend using a mixer as it supplies “phantom power” (which you need if you are using the Audio Technica 2020), and it gives the ability to add bass and treble to your voice. Also in the event you ever DO have an extra person in the studio you can add an additional microphone. The Behringer Xenyx 802 Mixer is small, but flexible enough if you only have two people to give you everything you need for only 60 bucks. If you have more 3-4 people you will need the Behringer XENYX 1202 Mixer which has four microphone inputs.

So everyone can hear everyone, you will need a headphone amplifier ($30). Also when it comes to purchasing headphones, as you need more than one, I would use BSW as they have deals on multiple headphones (click on the headphones link on the left hand side).

To plug you mixer into your computer I use a Dual RCA Cable to 1/8″ cable and plug it from the Tape Out of the mixer to the Line In of the computer.

You need microphone stands. You can get a little desktop stand, but many times these are not flexible enough. I originally used what’s called a “boom stand” but the base of this stands can be a pain with many people in a small room. I eventually put out the money for a Studio Boom Mic. Which has a spring that allows you to pull out the microphone stand. Search Studio Mic Boom at BSW

Start up Cost of Two Person Podcast

Microphone – $198
Mic Stand – $40
Mic Cable – $18
Mixer – $60
RCA Cable – $9
Pop Filter – $50
Headphone Amplifier – $30
Headphones  – $60

Total $465

Podcasting Software

Many podcasters use Audacity to record their podcast. Its available on both the Mac and PC. It’s Free You can do some basic editing, and there are some podcasters that only use Audacity. I prefer Mixcraft by Acoustica (download a free trial). Another fine (stable) choice for the PC is Sony Acid Lite If you’re doing more of a “live” show where you want to have sound effects and music cued up to play when you press a button you might check out Pod Producer (PC Only)

For editing out “Ums and ya knows” and adjusting audio levels etc. I use Sony Sound Forge ($70). There is “Wav Pad” software for free.

Podcast Hosting

For your website I HIGHLY recommend WordPress (free). This will create your website and your RSS feed. You need a host for your website. For that I highly recommend Host Gator. When you call you actually get a person. That will run you anywhere from $5 – $9 a month. With Host Gator you can install WordPress in a few clicks.

You will also need a place to host your media (audio of video files). I’ve used Libsyn ($12/Month) for years as I love their affordability and statistics (All in one place – so convenient). Another alternative is Amazon S3 (Very inexpensive) where you only pay for what you use. However you will need to use an additional resource like Podtrac (Free) or EZS3 stats ($20 a month) to get statistics on your files.

iTunes Tags

While there are plugins for wordpress that will add these “iTunes only” tags, I prefer to use Feedburner.

Audio Plugin

While I originally used Podpress, I quit when the developer left the project to die. I then switched to Powerpress as it was simple and did everything that I wanted Podpress to do (and not complicate things with a bunch of things you don’t need). They have since added bunch of things (I feel) you don’t need. So if you are doing an audio only podcast, I would use the plugin called “Audio Player” by one pixle out. (Look for it in the WordPress Plugin Directory).

Video Plugin

This is still under investigation

Selling Your Podcast

There are some plugins that will turn your site into a membership site. There are some tools that allow you to sell downloads. There is only one service that does it all: Premiumcast is a great service. Yes there is a monthly fee, but if you’re selling your podcast, it will easily pay for itself.

Portable Recorder (optional)

First of all you don’t need a portable recorder, but there are people who now record a podcast on their way to work, or if they travel to get interviews and such. This is a toss up. I love both the Zoom H2 and the Zoom H4. The Zoom H2 allows you to record from a line input. The H4 allows you to plug to external microphones. Both are great buys. The H2 is around $180 and the H4 is around $269. They just came out with a new H4n which has a few more options and goes for about $350.

Putting All the Pieces Together

Now this may sound like a lot of pieces parts. If you need help putting all this together the School of Podcasting will walk you through the whole process and have you podcasting to the world in no time. Sign up today

Hello, I’m Dave Jackson and I’ve helped HUNDREDS of people start podcasting. The School of Podcasting combines step by step tutorials, resources, with Live Podcast consulting to create the Ultimate Resource to Learn How to Podcast

LIVE Podcast Expert
Go Ahead, Ask a Book a Question

There are some great books about podcasting (I’ve read most of them). But if you get stuck, that book won’t help. At the School of Podcasting your email will be answered quickly and get you back on track. If you need more help you can get your question answered at our weekly LIVE training sessions. These “round-tables” are not just educational but you will be able to network with other podcasters and set up cross promotional opportunities.

Podcasting: What it is, What it Does, What it MEANS

Think of it as an “Internet Radio/TV Show.” We can get into “what it is” later, instead lets talk about what it DOES (after all we know what a car is, what’s more important is what it does). Podcasts delivers audio and video automatically to people all over the WORLD who are hungry for your content. It does it automatically, and it does it for free (or if you decide to make money from your podcast I have resources and tools to help you make money from podcasting). What it means is you can reach a global audience without a radio signal. It means your listeners can listen whenever they want, and if they have a portable player (completely optional) they can listen wherever they want. I remember the first time I spoke into a microphone in the basement, and a few weeks later I got a voicemail FROM GERMANY.

Podcasting is Growing

What You Get:

Step by step tutorials that walk you through the process of planning, producing, and promoting your podcast. Learn the ins and outs of WordPress, of recording, and more. Learn at your own pace. You can take your time, or learn it all in a weekend.

The best resources in an easy to use directory. You can learn about the best WordPress Plugins, the best theme music, podsafe music, the best themes for your website, as well as tools to promote your podcast.Anything that a podcaster can find useful is in our resource section.

Live training session allow you to ask questions and get them answered immediately. You can actually watch me record a podcast. No matter if you want to learn how to podcast for free, or if you have an unlimited budget, I can answer your questions.

You will be included in the “Members Only” email list that allows members to network with each other.

Join Now

I’ve had a few podcasters who have music podcasts ask me about making money with a music podcast. The easiest way to make money with a music podcast is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing in a nutshell is online commission sales. You sign up as an affiliate and apply to a program. Once approved you get a special link that identifies that this visitor came from you. If they purchase you get a piece of the sale.

Here are some sites you might want to look into:

iTunes Affiliate Program

If you want to promote music in the iTunes music store, you need to sign up as a publisher at linkshare.com

CDBaby Affiliate program
If you are playing indie music on your show, check out http://partners.cdbaby.com where every time an album is sold you make $1

Amazon Affiliate Program

You can join the Amazon Associates program and earn a commission on everything they sell (including CDs, and downloads).

When you announce an artist on your podcast simply state, “There are links to the artist at our website.” By directing people to your website (instead of the artist) you have a much better chance of having someone click your affiliate link.

You can find it over at Lord Lifted Me Live and its about 10 minutes.

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If you want to review or comment on each podcast you can, but the segment has to be less than 5 minutes.

Call them in at 888-563-3228 (please use a land line for improved quality), or record them and email them to schoolofpodcasting – at – gmail.com (separated to avoid spam).

Each segment will be introduced “Today’s Last 5 in 5 comes from _____ and if you have a podcast we will mention your show name and website.”

The concept is that most of the podcasts I listen to I learned via word of mouth, and I want to provide a tool to increase word of mouth communication.