Creating Compelling Podcasts - Podfest 2016 Reflections

Podfest hapned this weekend in tamp Florida. Wow was it fun. I got to hang out with Hall of Fame podcasters like Danny Pena, and meet some people who are trying to get their podcast off the ground. I love, love, love, the podcast community. It's filled with helpful, loving ,caring people. I got to catch up with Dan and Jared from Podcast Movement, Glenn the Geek, some members of the School of Podcasting. I'd write more names, but I'm still in a coma from the Dramamine.

Cool Things About Podfest

Being a new event (this was year two) they had one track. This meant that all the attendees sat in the same room and the speakers would rotate in and out. We were strongly encouraged to network on breaks and sit in new locations. It was cool. I ran out of business cards, an luckily had a box of "stand by" business cards.

One of the coolest things were did was like Speed Networking. You had a time keeper at the table, and each person had 90 seconds to share their name, their podcast, and their target audience. Then each round you would go to a new table and meet more people. By the end of the session, you had pretty much met everyone in the room. This was one of the coolest things I've ever seen.

They had a schedule flowed nicely together. This lead to speakers often referring to something mentioned previously in the conference.

Great speakers. Simple. All brought value.

Relative sponsors: Audio editing services, marketing, interviewing, trademark, conferences, hosting, all were relevant to the audience.

I saw, felt, and participated in Content Marketing. I met Katie Krimitsos the night before. I saw her presentation on Facebook Goups, and she showed me how much more I could be doing. I will be a customer. 

When Will The School of Podcasting Open?

As God as my witness, ready or not, it will open next weekend 3/5

What am I doing? I'm reshot many of the videos. I've added quite a few videos, and I'm restructuring how I will do business. At this point (subject to change) I want to let a certain amount of people in at one point, and the close the doors so we can all kind of be "on the same page." Then I can help, encourage, and guide you through your process, while still providing value to current members through additional videos and live office hour webinars.

Creating Compelling Podcasts

Adjective: having a powerful and irresistible effect; requiring acute admiration, attention, or respect

How Podcasts are like Potatoes

You have instant potatoes out of a box. These are quick, easy, and cheap. The end result? Bland. You can make mashed potatoes from scratch. They take longer, it takes more effort, and they are more expensive to create. The result? They are delicious and your recipients want more.

It's Not About the Audio Quality

If you record with your laptop microphone, that's bad. I think we all can recognize audio that is distracting (if you make me adjust the volume during your podcast, we have a problem). You can purchase an Audio Technica 2100 for around $60 and have great audio. Be sure to get a pop filter (check out this package with a swing arm). Once you have that, MOVE ON.

I would listen to an 8-track tape of the Beatles because the content is good. My friend Paul Colligan from the Podcast Report records in all sorts of fun locations. Some are better than others. One time it sounded like Paul was recording fro ma submarine. I listened to every minute. Why? Because Paul makes me think.

On the other hand, Metallica put out and album with Lou Reed. Van Halen Put out an album with Gary Cherone.

One of more of the following need to happen:

• Laugh
• Cry
• Think
• Grown
• Entertain
• Educate

If none of the above is happening then don't press record.

Identify Your Audience

If you have a "Secret Santa" at your job and you get someone's name that you don't know you have two choices:

1. Gift Card (quick, easy, fast - bland)
2. Go ask someone who knows the person and get them a gift they want

Which one gets the best response?

This is why you have to know who your audience is, so you can go to where they are and listen to what they are talking about. Start of listening when you find your audience. Ask them what they might want to hear. Be sure to take notes using tools like Evernote or OneNote

The ADDIE Approach

Anaylize - Go research your audience
Design - Decide how you'r going to cover your topic
Develop - Buy the podcasting equipment, figure out what segments you will use.
Implement - Let a member of your target audience listen to the show.
Evaluate - Did they like it? Get feedback

Feedback is just that - feedback. It leads to failure if the feedback causes you to quit. Don't quit. Instead Analyze the feedback, design a new approach, develop a new version of your podcast, and have a target listener evaluate it. This goes on and on, forever.

How Many Downloads Should My Podcast Get?

Here is the equation:

Total Number of Downloads

X

Effective Production

=

Total Number of Downloads

If you have no value (bit focused, horrendous audio quality) then it doesn't matter how much you promote it. If you have great value, but don't tell anyone about it, that won't work either. This is why you need to record a couple of shows so you know how much time it takes to create an episode. THEN you can choose your publishing schedule.

Check out the Slides at www.schoolofpodcasting.com/503