Viral Podcasting

I've said it many times before, podcasting can be a solitary profession. Much of the day, you're at your desk working on future episodes, writing articles and trying to figure out ways to be successful. It's not unusual to have self doubts and question whether your decision to become a podcaster was a wise one. Especially when you're trying to monetize and nothing seems to be happening. On a recent episode of my Financial Survival Network Podcast I shared with my audience that my sister was in the last phase of a chronic illness  and that her impending death had led to a number of family reconciliations. I urged them not to put it off, if you're estranged from a loved one or a friend, take action and get back together. After all, in the end the only people you can really count on is your family. Several days later I received an email that moved me to tears.  John, a long term FSN member, told me that he was so moved by my words that he immediately texted his son, with whom he had had no contact with in past 10 years. His son texted back along with pictures of a grandchild John didn't even know he had. They're talking again, taking the necessary steps to restore and improve their relationship. The next time you're wondering whether what you do matters, think again. You have more impact upon people than you would ever believe possible. You make a big difference, so start acting like it. 

Once you've perfected your interview skills and you've developed a list of companies who you'd love get on board as sponsors, your work has just begun. But use this technique properly and it's virtually guaranteed to work. First, research out everything you can find on the company and it's CEO. All those small details. How did the company start? Where was it founded? What are their sales? Make a list of facts. Then on to the CEO. Where did she grow up? What college did she attend? How did she wind up with the company? Study this info and become a virtual expert on the company and the CEO. Now listen on to learn how to turn that information into gold. It's guaranteed to work. And it will make your podcast a financial success. It's so simple and yet so powerful. 

Michael Harrison, owner of Talkers Magazine and Talkers.com joined us. Michael has been watching out for internet radio since before the advent of the RSS Feed. The moment someone got the bright idea of hooking up a pair of speakers to a computer, Michael knew what was coming. The idea of so-called nonprofessionals doing a radio show was something he welcomed. Now, traditional 20th century media is slowly eroding and making way for a more democratized media marketplace. All you have to do to join is have a modicum of talent and a willingness to work your butt off to get noticed and build an audience. Perhaps anyone can do it, but not everyone is willing to invest the time and frustration into it. It could be years before you realize a monetary profit. But somehow, against all the risks, it's worth it! That's why we do what we do. Michael also believes that 21st century media is part of humanity's evolution. As our media outlets evolve, so  too do we as individuals. In a few short years, the Internet will be the major source of all media distributed world wide. Think how things will look then. 

I came across Tina Conroy at Podfest 2018. Last year she was on the fence about rebranding her podcast and website. Her show was entitled Get Into It. From that title, no one could tell what she was selling, what her podcast was about. I implored her to rebrand. It was a difficult process for her but finally she came up with The Intuitive Woman. This title oozes power. You know exactly what it's about and why you should be listening. And best of all, success almost immediatley followed. She's getting thousands of downloads and has an active Facebook group with hundreds of women following her. It's not always this easy, but it certainly can be. Rebranding and reinvention is a part of life. Embrace it now!

Chris Krimitsos is the founder of Podfest. I've been to a number of podcasting conferences and new media shows, but this one is by far the best! Chris puts his heart and soul into producing it. And the end result is amazing. Podcasting is a solitary profession. Most of us slave away in our home studios producing shows and content and forgetting about the world around us. Podfest gives you an opportunity to connect with kindred souls from around the globe. And this year promises to be the best Podfest yet! With nearly 1000 attendees, Chris is doing his best to keep the show's intimate feel. He's arranged a number of activities to insure that you get to meet and greet your fellow podcasters. And the fact that it's set in beautiful Orlando Florida in February gives you a great excuse to escape the cold weather and join in the fun and learning. Sign up now at Podfest.us.

I belong to a podcaster mastermind group. It's a group of experienced podcasters who are right in the thick of things. We had a guest on last week, Michael Harrison, owner of Talkers.com. He was very pessimistic about the future of terrestrial radio. Over the last 15 years, what used to be local independently owned radio stations have become part of massive radio station empires. This led to a decline in programming, especially local, and the rise of the bean counter. Management no longer listens to the radio shows that their companies must produce to succeed. Their only concern is cutting costs and paying off debt. They're dinosaurs heading for the dustbin of history. Podcasters are poised to make great inroads because they are original, focus on their content and show production and they are flexible. Live radio and podcasts aren't relevant unless they deal with breaking news. Otherwise, following the video model of YouTube and the DVR is where it's at. People want to listen to their shows at their convenience, whether on their drive to work or when they're at the gym working out. This is why the future belongs to podcasters. Check out our site ViralPodcating. 

Rob Walch started out podcasting in 2004. The field was wide open. He quickly learned that it's all about the content. Invest the time to make a great show and the world will beat a path to your doorstep. And it's been working out that way ever since. He's written two books on the subject that have become bestsellers. While there's a lot of people out there plying the trade, Rob believes that the opportunity to excel is greater than ever. It just takes the right mix of getting the technology right and total commitment to excellent content. Successful podcasting is never an accident of fate, it's the result of hard work and effort. 

Successful podcasting requires a number of values and skills. The biggest investment you will make is your time, assuming that you really want to make a go of this. Your time is your most valuable commodity. We all have limited amounts and therefore any time we undertake a project, we are making the ultimate investment. But your time alone is not enough. Spend a few hundred dollars and get decent equipment. A mixer, a quality microphone, a microphone boom arm and shock absorber at a minimum. Invest in your work space. Make sure you have a very comfortable chair, adequate work area and a pleasant environment that will help you give the best you have. These resources won't make you a success, there are other factors involved. Rather, they will help you to become the best you can, which is what successful podcasting is all about. 

Todd Cochrane is one of the pioneers of podcasting. He wrote the first book on podcasting. He had been a blogger and by his own admission, not a good one. He was in the services and was injured. He volunteered to go to Waco, TX and had a lot of down time. He heard about podcasting and picked up a $14 headset. He made a lot of mistakes out of the gate. There was no formula for success back then. It always helps to be early in an industry. The audience skyrocketed and the rest is history. Now, he's taken the solutions he created for his own show and made it into a business. And to think this all happened before Facebook and Twitter. The people who listen make all the difference. And so had Todd. 

A.J. Wilcox joined us for a discussion of social media promotion with an emphasis on LinkedIn! Most people considering using paid advertising to promote their brand do not think of LinkedIn. It's much costlier than Facebook or Google. However, if you have a high dollar, high margin product or service that is geared primarily towards the B2B market, it might be the right fit. LinkedIn gives you the ability to more narrowly target your potential audience better than any other platform out there. You can target CEO's, CFO's, sales managers, etc. And you can also target specific industries. Therefore, knowing your potential customer is essential. You can also test your campaigns to develope a winning message. Once you've mastered the message, you're ready to go big time with LinkedIn. It's certainly not for everyone, but if you've got the right product/service and can afford a higher budget, the results can really boost your brand and your show. 

During Podfest Chris Krimitsos had an inspiration. Why not do a movie about Podcasters and Podcasting. He traveled throughout the US and even went to Guatemala to capture the essence of podcasting. In a way all podcasters are messengers and that's how they came up with the name. It's all about spreading ideas and getting a message out. Financing the movie was a challenge. Within two weeks Chris had run out of money. It's hard to appreciate how quickly costs run up when making a movie. Chris self-financed and used crowd source funding. Chris interviewed over 100 people and 40 wound up being featured in the film. At the end of the day all podcasters want to leave people better off than they found them. Financially successful podcasters either got off to an early start or they're in a super-niche. But other paths to monetization are emerging. It's a perfect competitive marketplace, easy entry and exit.   

    Editing is a sticky issue, especially with beginning podcasters, but even more experienced ones are often guilty. The purpose of editing isn't supposed to make you sound perfect. Over-editing/over-productions makes you sound unnatural and fake. You can edit your way to perfection, but is that really what you want. Don't be overcritical of yourself. It was cause you to be disappointed with your performance, no matter how good it might be.  Edit out obvious blunders, mistakes and miscues. Filter out pops, clicks and hiss. The best way to insure good post-production is to do good work in the first place. Skype can cause issues with your sound quality. Hardwire Skype, take it off of wifi.  If you interview guests, you'll quickly discover that most of them are not technically proficient in audio settings and quality. Never let them use the built-in a microphone with built-in computer speakers. Get them to at least use earbuds or headphones. You'll get better quality all around. Echo can never be eliminated. You sound quality is only as good as your original setup.  Develop your feel for the money lines in interviews. Highlight them at the beginning of the segment. If you run over on your show, mark good spot and figure out what you want included. Remember you can always hire an editor to do it for you, however, make sure they don't overproduce. Always make sure you sound natural and authentic.         

As a podcaster you need to be obsessed with your brand. But you can never take it for granted. Just because you've been successful in the past, doesn't mean that you can say or do anything you please. The United State's business history is littered with companies who have jumped the Branding Shark. Coca cola, General Motors, Ford, IBM and the list goes on and on. Bigger companies may have the ability to reverse their mistake, but for smaller entities - such as podcasters - this move can be fatal. Here's rule that you can safely live by. Unless your podcast is about politics, don't ever talk about it. The only thing you'll succeed in doing is self-immolation. Look at what's going on in the NFL today. Where you stand politically is completely besides the point. You have nothing to gain and 50 percent of your audience to lose. Is the risk worth the reward? I don't think so and neither should you. You have nothing to lose except your business. If you want to start a seperate podcast to highlight your political viewpoint, then go right ahead. Just don't taint your existing show with extraneous matters. If you have a healthy eating podcast and you start talking sports, the net result will be the same - lost listeners. Unless of course you're talking about dining options at sporting events.  You've invested so much time, effort and money into building your brand, why risk throwing it away? 

Anthony Rigogliosi is a podcastninja. A relative newcomer to the podcasting scene, Anthony felt himself attracted to the community after hearing his first podcast several years ago. From a young age, he preferred to get his information via the spoken word. He wasn't much of a reader and graphics wasn't his thing either. Like so many podcasters, once he started listening, he was hooked. He started learning everything he could about the medium and now he produces podcasts for other hosts. It's one stop production, record your show, send it off to Anthony and his staff of ninjas and everything else is taken care of. His advice to the aspiring podcaster, "Don't try to be perfect. It will stand in the way of your future greatness." If you want to become a professional podcaster, purchase my book Viral Podcasting. Just click the link.     

Just moved my studio once again. What a pain it can be. I can hook up the mixer and microphone and all the equipment within 15-20 minutes. But then comes the hard part, making your show sound as good as it was in your old studio. This was a real challenge in my new studio, because it had a lot of echo and it's a very lively room. In addition, the Skype signal was constantly dropping and getting garbled. I even received several complaints from our listeners saying that the show's audio quality had noticably declined. What to do? I didn't want to foam the place, which is the obvious solution. I hate the way it looks and it ruins the pain. I was watching an episode of the hit tv show The Profit. Marcus Lemonis invested in a firm Overtone Acoustics. They manufacture acoustic panels to reduce echo and help the sound profile of your room. I figured, probably won't work but I'll give it a try. I ordered 6 2'x4' panels. They weigh about 7 pounds each and look like cloth panels. They're stuffed with acoustic absorption material. I mounted them and the change was amazing. They're not cheap at around $80 each, but well worth it. To fix the Skype issues, I connected an ethernet cable right from my computer to the WiFi router. Presto, no more Skype issues. Evidently, I had a misbehaved WiFi signal that was causing all the problems. I guess the answer is don't move unless you absolutely have to. I should probably put together a moving check list, should I move again.  Find Overtone Acoustics products right here.  Order my book Viral Podcasting here.