295 Why Am I Losing Subscribers? What Defines Success For A New Podcast? Should I Use My Real Name? And Much More!
Summary: Why Am I Losing Subscribers? Tom recently called in to say he created a podcast four months ago. Today, approximately 50 people are downloading each episode. This is down from 400 downloads per episode in October. Tom’s question was what would cause this decline to happen. I review various aspects of Tom’s show such as the name of his show, the artwork, the audio quality, and more to see where the problem might be, and gave him additional thoughts on what he can do to increase the number of people who listen to his show on a regular basis. What is Success for a New Podcast? Rick called in to say that he recently launched a new podcast. He was wondering what my thoughts were regarding how many downloads it takes for a brand new podcast to be successful. I share my thoughts on how to truly define success for a podcast in this episode. Real Names vs. Pen Names and Privacy/Security (00:29:42) Dana recently called in to ask my thoughts on how I feel about using pen names. She is a mom with three kids, and routinely does a podcast where she shares about her kids. Her family has safety concerns when it comes to her sharing too much information. I give my thoughts about how my core values of "Authenticity" and "Transparency" drive the way that I feel about this subject. I Dana some ideas of how she can be authentic without compromising the safety of her children. Personal Plug of The Week My Personal Plug of the Week goes out to Gaius Chamberlain, from the Great Black Heroes Podcast with Gaius Chamberlain. Just before I recorded this week's episode, I, received this email from Gaius: Hi Cliff, I just want to take a moment to thank you. I have been a student and customer (I bought an equipment package as well as some digital training products), and I have been very appreciative for the insight you have provided. I use your affiliate codes when I purchase products or sign up for services because I appreciate what you do. Now, however, I want to directly thank you. I have dragged my feet with launching a podcast for three years and I FINALLY went ahead and put it out there. I set a goal to have 10 episodes ready for Black History Month and I did it. The site is called Great Black Heroes and the podcasts are at: http://www.greatblackheroes.com/podcasts/ I know that you receive a lot of thanks but I hope you know that you really have a positive impact that doesn't always get acknowledged, so thank you. This will be the first of many podcasts and I owe a lot of it to you! Gaius Chamberlain Do We Need Preamps? Albert, a member of the Podcast Mastermind called in to ask whether or not we as podcasters should concern ourselves with the use of preamps if we’re using a Heil PR-40 and a mixer set up. In this episode, I give my answer to Albert’s question. Using an iMac as an External Monitor In this episode I shared how I recently took my monitor usage to the "next level." I pulled this off by using my second 27” iMac as an external monitor for my main, 27” iMac, and now with those two, in addition to my 23” Hewlett Packard monitor, I now have what looks like a NASA Mission Control Center. My Personal Win of The Week Just yesterday I met with my CPA and filed my business and personal tax returns. In this episode I was very authentic and transparent as I shared what I achieved financially in 2012. More specifically: My "PERSONAL INCOME" for 2012 was $122,000 -- that is more money than I ever made in my previous career in insurance. In addition to that, my business paid the following benefits: Business Equipment (read fun tech gear) = $9,000 Continuing Education (books & such) = $800 Meals for Business Meetings (Lunch Meetings With Stephanie) = $2,800 Rent Income From Business = $4,200 Travel Expenses (mostly business "vacations") = $10,700 These listed benefits adds up to $27,500.
