Do you have something to say? I bet you do. All you need is the courage to podcast and once I show you how easy it is, you will be ready go. I found a cool piece of gear for people using the Audio Technica 2100 microphone (a shockmount / pop filter). We get you over the recording skype on a PC issue, and a great podcast success story.
Because of My Podcast People Are Buying My ebooks [2:55]
Steve Ferris shares how his podcast The Rad Daddy Podcast has helped him get connect with people who are now purchasing his books for children. He had made some great connections, has been listed in new and notable in iTunes. He is being heard in 122 countries and he has his podcast to thank for it. Check him out at www.raddaddybooks.com
Podcast Gear: Shockmount for Audio Technica ATR2100usb [5:00]
I love the Audio Technica 2100 microphone for podcasting, but it's not as big in diameter as microphone like the Electrovoice RE320. I have ordered the “OKEBA Studio Condenser Mic Microphone Shock Mount With Metal Wind Screen Pop Filter Mask Shield For Recording” (what a mouthful) from Amazon. I'ts a whopping $12. This will help cut down on noise if I move the microphone as well as “popping P's”.
[easyazon-block asin=”B00AKPH4OK” align=”none”]
Last Five in Five from John Overall [8:30]
John Overall from www.wordpressmedia.ca and wppluginsatoz.com listened to these five podcasts last:
No Agenda Show: Great show on politics
Manfried in the Kitchen (still looking for link)
DH Unplugged. – finance
Podcast Review Show  – Podcast Reviews
Weekly Web Tools  – Tips for the DIY webmaster
The Courage To Podcast [10:10]
I had asked you to nominate this podcast for a podcast award. Sunday night I sat down to see if I was nominated and when I look at the technical category the School of Podcasting was not listed. My hear sunk. I was going to look very stupid. I had put my neck out, and I got it cut off. I looked in the Religion and Inspiration category and there was my Feeding My Faith podcast and I WAS Nominated. COOL! I was really surprised as the School of Podcasting audience is much bigger than the Feeding My Faith audience. So it was a mixed bag of emotions.
This made me go back and ask why I podcast? Did I start this to win an award (no). I do this to help people. I had a great phone call this week where the caller said I was helping them achieve their dreams. That was cool. I could heat their smile over the phone.
Starting a podcast can be intimidating and like anything else in life that requires time, commitment, and skill it can be a bit scary. If you think about driving, starting a job, having a child, those are all things that you get nervous (or scared to death) when you start these activities. If you talk to any parent they will tell you that children require a ton of time, but they also say there is nothing that touches the experience of having and raising your child. Podcasting delivers a great experience. I'm not saying its the same as having a child, but it does help you grow as a person.
Yet, we wait because we might be afraid to look stupid. Don't be afraid to look stupid.
When I finally scrolled back up the page I saw where the School of Podcasting HAD been nominated by you in the general category.
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME:
I thank every single person who voted. Now for the next two weeks I need you to take a few minutes every day and vote for the School of Podcasting in the General Category, and Feeding My Faith in the Religion category. If you want to see who I'm voting for, go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/podcastawards. If you want to vote now, go to www.podcastawards.com and I thank you (so much) in advance.
Lessons From the 9th Annual Podcast Awards [26:26]
There are a on of things that Todd Cochran from Blubrry.com came down and delivered the state of Podcasting (blubrry.com provides media hosting and statistics for podcasters).
All of the stats are listed below. Here are some things you can do to help grow your audience:
82% have less than a paragraph – WRITE MORE
- MichaelHyatt.com – 862 words per post
- CopyBlogger.com – 1124 words per post
- SethGodin.com – 193 words per post
- GoinsWriter.com – 667 words per post
- ProBlogger.com – 712 words per post
Income diary says you should shot for two thousand words.
Make Your Podcast Easy to Find
37% make you dig to find their podcast!
I am using the YNAB budgeting software. I heard about it on a podcast, and bought it after listening to THEIR podcast. However, I had to search for it in iTunes (I couldn't find a link on their website). The sad news is after I heard about their customer service and philosophy (on their podcast) I INSTANTLY bought the software. Jason Hartman attributes 10 million in sales to his podcast.
Your RSS Feed is Broken
23% have invalid podcast RSS feeds (SoundCloud is not a good podcast option.)
Don't type your show notes in Microsoft Word, do them directly into WordPress and save them as a draft (so they won't be public until you hit publish).
Stats That Caught My Attention:
83% have a findable iTunes link
Shows releasing video, audio, and blog content grow 42% faster than shows that do just audio or just video
Shows publishing less frequency than once per week grow 69% slower than weekly shows.
95% have their own .com
Only 7% have nonbranded sites like libsyn.com, wordpress.com, or similar generic pages
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
26% are mobile-friendly
68% have a Twitter link
77% have a link to facebook.
56% have a Google+ page
Only 31% are still using FeedBurner, this is down from last year's 71%
23% have a Stitcher logo/link
51% publish episodes weekly
44% publish more than once per week
Things Podcasters Need to Improve
44% do not have way to play or download the episode on the home page (see player.podtrac.com)
21% have an RSS icon on their default landing page that was podcast-ready
7% have a visible email address
23% have a podcast RSS feed buried on a subpage of their website
12% have a newsletter sign-up page
15% have a call-in number or widget
56% do not have an findable RSS feed on their site
Mentioned In This Show
Matthew West
YNAB Software – $6 off.
Platform Book by Michael Hyatt
Free Audio Books from Audible
Found the section on courage to podcast very inspirational Dave – another great show!
Thanks Phil. It was a bit rambly, but I left it in.
Hey Dave – loved this episode man! 🙂
In relation to Soundcloud – I use the SC Pro Unlimited platform to host the audio for one of my Podcasts (my Prog rock bands Hobby show http://999podcast.com) …I also re-syndicate my other shows to SC also for a few extra plays.
All that to say – the SC RSS is painful to get hold of (but I copy paste the .mp3 download links into PowerPress unlike many other SC users). I’m not sure if you have seen the pricing of SC Unlimited Lately – but their new pricing is far cheaper than both Libsyn and Blubrry (Unlimited storage and downloads for $13.00 > $15.00 per month AUS). The SC stats are good enough for a pure hobby show – but they’re not good enough for business or serious shows IMO.
Overall If 999podcast was a more serious show like Braver By The Day I wouldn’t use SC Pro U – but as it’s a Pop Culture and Prog rock hobby show – SC is working out fine …and cheap! 🙂
Josh,
Thanks so much. I recently went back and they really dropped their pricing. I may need to go back and look.
Dave
Dave, I want to second Phil’s comment that this episode was particularly inspirational. I needed this extra boost after coming down from the adrenaline-ride of NMX. Thanks for reinforcing my confidence to get out there and “do.”
Craig, thanks so much. I’m still riding the high from NMX.
Thank you, Dave. I have been doing video training for a long time, but now want to launch a podcast where the sound quality is MUCH more critical. using the ATR2100 and I notice that to get a rich sound I have to be pretty close to the mic, but when I’ve been interviewed on other podcasts, they have asked me to backup because of the pops.
I’m praying this pop filter allows me to get close enough not to sound tinny, and still stop the pops.
I clicked on your link and I’m off to order it.
Thank you for the great work you do!
Kim, Yeah a $400 microphone without a pop filter sounds like poo. You have to have the pop filter.