This week I am saddened by the lost of my champ Muhammad Ali. When I was growing up there were two things that were constant in my life.
- Richard Nixon was President
- Muhammad Ali was the Greatest Boxer of All Time
Today there are lesson I feel we can learn from Muhmmad Ali as podcasters. When I hear name Muhammad Ali there is so much more to a guy that was good in the ring.
He Know Both Sides of Boxing
There are two ways to win in boxing
- Don't get hit. He ounce dodged 21 punches in 10 seconds.
- Hit the other guy.
As a child Muhammad would have his brother throw rocks at his head. As I was watching old clips of his fights today, one of his strengths was the ability to not get hit. He also had incredibly fast hands. He punched before you even saw it coming.
The Two Ways to Win in Podcasting
- Create content that positively impacts your audience
- Intelligently promote it to that audience
My equation for downloads is: Value in the episode multiplied by the amount of effort put into promotion = Total Downloads.
He Never Stopped Moving
As I mentioned her was very hard to hit. Especially early in his career he never stopped dancing around the ring. If he did, it meant you were about to get hit with a ton of punches.
Podcasters Need to Keep Moving
If we are to keep up with all the other forms of entertainment that are fighting for the attention of our audience, we need to keep moving, and always looking to be better.
He Was New
Muhammad Ali won the gold medal in the 1964 Olympics (known then as Cassius Clay). He then did something most boxers didn't do. He spoke. He not only spoke, he made poems and boasted about how he was going to to beat his opponent. When most boxers didn't have the intelligent to put together a full sentence, here was one that was fighting to get a microphone in his fave.
He Was Noteworthy
He won his fist championship fighting Sunny Liston. Sunny Liston was a huge favorite with of 8 to 1. Nobody thought Ali had a chance. When he beat the champ, that was truly noteworthy, and people did indeed take note. By the way, Ali later admitted that he feared Liston, but acted so crazy to intimidate him (and he did).
Podcasters: If you truly want to be New and Noteworthy, you need to come up with something new (it's not easy) and create content that is noteworthy. Something that will get your audience. If you want to be New and Noteworthy, be, um, New and Truly Noteworthy.
He Was A Man of Integrity
When he was drafted he refused. It went against his religious beliefs. The consequences, they stripped him of his title, banned him from boxing for three years (during the prime of his career). Later it was overturned by a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court.
Integrity as a podcaster:
We need to stand up for what we believe in. Can you imagine if someone said “Do this, or we are removing you from iTunes, and every other directory, we are disabling your RSS feed, and we're taking your microphone? We can't sell out to bad sponsors that don't fit our show, and to strategies that are less than transparent. You have integrity when you start podcasting, once you lose it, it is very hard, if not impossible, to get back.
He Used His Authority For Good
He could've taken his money, and retired. Instead he had one of his biggest fights in Africa? Why because he wanted to boost the economy. When he was banned from boxing her was a speaker at colleges. He embraced diversity.
Giving Back as a Podcaster
We can give back by supporting causes like the Podcast Awards, New Media Europe (which are currently struggling). We can use our microphone to help people, and to spotlight those things that need to be in the spotlight.
He Apologized For Crossing the Line
Ali was famous for calling his opponents names. Leading up to one fight he called Joe Frazier a Gorilla. While Ali did this to rile up his appointment and increase ticket sales (and it worked in both cases) he later would apologize to Joe's son, and eventually to Joe and the two became friends before Joe passed away.
Podcasters can take back words. I know I've said things about Audello, and I once made some remarks about an article online that crossed the line of fact related, and got personal. I have since apologized for my words, removed the comments from their blog, and we have patched things up.
Help These Podcast Resources
Podcastawards.com (and while you're there, vote for the school of podcasting in the education category 🙂
Podcast Rewind:
Podcasters Roundtable Discuss the Importance of New and Noteworthy with Ray Ortega, +Daniel J. Lewis +Dave Jackson, +George Whittam and +Ian Robinson
I appeared on the Super Joe Pardo Dreamer's Podcast
PodcastGuests.com Review
I recently heard and used PodcastsGuests.com and wasn't sure what to expect. Within a week I had over 15 people who had replied. What was I looking for? I wanted people who could answer the question, “Because of my podcast _____.” I've definitely got some people who I will be contacting in the future.
It is a tool to find guests, and also to be found as a potential guest on other shows.
For more resources check out podcastingresources.com
The School of Podcasting is Open!
Save time, save your money (by not buying stuff you don't need). If you think you don't have the budget, look at your other hobbies. I looked at a gold course in Kent, Ohio it was $15 for 9 holes. If you did 18 holes twice a month that would be $60. A local bowling leagues was $15 a week. That is another $60 a month. A local bike shop had a clearance sale and the cheapest bike was $410. The School of Podcasting has step by step tutorials, a private Facebook Group (for networking), Live “Office Hours” where you can come and get free consulting, and priority email support. Sign up Today
Wow! Thanks, as always, Dave! Great info on the “guest network.” FYI…”Because of my podcast I’ve “returned” to something I’ve long enjoyed, expanded my vocational ability, and gotten tight with SOP!”