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’m not sure if this has always been the case, but as I’ve set up a few new podcasts, I have noticed that the default setting under privacy is to have your website visible to the public, but BLOCKED by search engines. Obviously you want to set this so that search engines CAN find your website.

You can check these setting by going to Settings > Privacy in WordPress. If you are looking for a web host where you can install WordPress in about 7 mouse clicks, I suggest Host Gator

No Wave Out Recording on A Laptop

In the past Iv’e talked about the different styles of record and producing a podcast. One is to record the voices first and mix in the music later (which is how this podcast is produced). This gives you exact control over volumes, fade ins, fade outs. The bad news is there is a “compiling” step where you put it all together. For this podcast it takes about 5 minutes.  The other way is to record “live” where you mix in the sound effects, music, as you go. The bad news is if you mess up, or your volume settings are wrong, you either leave it, or in some cases go back and start from the beginning (in some cases you can go back and edit it out).  There is no compiling time, but you do have to make sure your volumes are set before hitting record.

Well I wanted to record podcasts on my lunch at my job using my laptop. Tim Dewey from the Sled Dog Podcast told me a while ago that manufacturers had been pressured into taking away the ability to record what is known as the “wave out mix.” In normal English, the Wave out mix is whatever you hear coming out of your speakers you can record. This is what podproducer.net uses (my favorite “live” recoding software). In a nutshell without the ability to record the wave out mix on a laptop, you can’t use Podproducer. The only option I have now is to send the output out of my headphones into a portable recorder like the Zoom H2, or H4 and use podproducer to play all the music, etc. Then I have to transfer the file from the recorder to the computer, tag it and upload it.  As the intent was to save time, this doesn’t really cut it. I just wanted to let you know that if you plan on using a laptop as your main recording device, you are probably going to have to use Audacity, mixcraft, Sony music studio music studio to assemble your podcast.

Help Dave celebrate his birthday at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/birthday

Defining Podcast Success

My last episode had 515 downloads in two weeks. If I compare myself to Leo Laporte who has THOUSANDS of listeners I will feel awful. However, if I got in a room of 515 people that would be a lot of people. There are podcast pioneers (starting in 2004) that have huge audiences. They were kind of luck in that they got the “Milton Berle” effect (having no competition). However, people like Michael Butler, Keith and the Girl, and Dawn and Drew have talent.

Promotion is Queen

I have a podcast that is in iTunes that I have not promoted AT ALL. I have about 10 downloads per episode. So listing your podcast in iTunes will not get you tons of listeners. You will need to promote your show to grow your audience. Someone asked “How many episodes do I need to get an audience?” it takes more than putting out a podcast.

You need to let people know about your podcast. I use business cards from places like Vista Print, and PSP Print and Over Night Prints

NO EXPO FOR ME

Unfortunately due to personal issues, I will not be attending the Blog World New Media Expo. You can still go (great pricing on hotels is still available) at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/expo

A). Sell more books.
B) Position themselves as an expert
C). Both

You can create a podcast that your readers would want to listen to and then you become the trusted friend who delivers this great information. They can talk to you about the subjects (and thus give you information for future books), and purchase your books as a means of supporting the podcast.

If you are ready to start your podcast go to http://start.podcasting.com

We are giving away “Dog Pack #3″ from www.sounddogs.com to a School of Podcasting Listener who puts the School of Podcasting as a favorite at www.podcastpickle.com (members are already entered).

Voicemail from Daniel Johnson of www.jimmpodcast.com
Email from George at:
http://OneMinuteHowTo.com
http://EclecticMix.com
http://DRiPInvesting.org
http://GLSmyth.com – Blog: http://GLSmyth.WordPress.com

Getting Ready For the Expo

Time to get your business cards, and decide how you will network at the expo.

Don’t Forget About the Bonuses for Being a Member of the School of Podcasting

Sponsor: Coolerwebsites.com www.coolerwebsites.com Quit paying for heb hosting space you’ll never use!

Opening by Steve from www.geekcred.net

Recommended Product www.trykall8.com Never Worry About Losing Your Voicemail Number due to lack of calls.

Johnathan Waltz had his podcast mentioned in a Blog about his powerscripting podcast (http://powerscripting.wordpress.com/ ). Realize that your podcast could be mentioned by anyone and your audience could explode. This is why you need a host for your podcast that offers unlimited bandwidth. That way no matter how popular your podcast is, you NEVER have to worry about bandwidth. I suggest www.uselibsyn.com (the service I use for the SOP).

Vince from the B Movie Podcast (www.bmoviecast.com ) answers the question “I’m sure glad I started podcasting because I enjoy talking about the thing I love which is B-movies and cult movies. I like sharing with and finding like minding people to talk to on the subject. I have met a lot of cool people by listening to similar Podcasts on the subject. I met two guys from the Mondo Movie podcast by interacting acting with there podcast. We went on a vacation to Europe in May and I got to meet them in London at a pub and talk for hours. How cool is that. It doesn’t get much better than that.” -
Vince
www.bmoviecast.com

People may be “mashing” your RSS feed in the future so be sure to keep announcing what your podcast is, where they can find more, and how to contact you. Podshow has channels, and Yahoo has Pipes (http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/ ) These allow multiple RSS feeds to be combined into one.

Switchpod Interview (web hosting company)

Podcast Promotion: Do you have the cart before the horse?

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