Flattening the Podcast Learning Curve EP 595

Because of My Podcast - My Band Sold Out Our Kickstarter

Matt from the band EleventySeven tells how his band had "taken a break" for the better part of four years. They decided to get the band back together, but how are we going to get the word out about the band reforming, and reconnecting with their audience? By starting a podcast! They connected with their audience and reached their Kickstarter goal in just a few days

Check out the band's music and podcast at http://www.eleventysevenisalive.com/

How To Flatten Your Podcast Learning Curve

14:07

As someone with 20+ years in the education field, one of the things I do when I learn a new subject was to take a ton of notes on ANY question that came across my mind as I consumed content as a student. This week, I got into a subject that I had not dabbled in the early 1990's. To go from playing techmo bowl on the first nintendo to playing Madden 2018 on an Xbox One is a bit of a culture shock. This is a good thing. I'm WAAAY out of my comfort zone with a huge learning curve in front of me. So here are some tips on overcoming and managing learning curves.

Define Your Goal

It's not enough to join the School of Podcasting, your goal is to launch your podcast. I'm going to through in here that you need to Define Your Why. For example, if you're doing a solo show with no guests. There is no need to read up on creating a mix minus. Some might even say you don't even need to read up on a mixer.

When you are first starting out, keep things simple.

The problem is you don't know what you don't know. This leads me to point number two.

2. Talk to someone who is doing what you are doing.

As you don't know what you don't know, you need to find someone who can help you define the area you need to investigate and those you don't. There is one statement that I have seen from my chair and I believe to be very true. You will pay for your podcast in one of two currencies. You will pay with time searching for your answers, or you will pay with money paying someone to help you get to where you want to go.

3. Make Sure You're Using Good Resource Material

There is a ton of GREAT material for FREE on YouTube. There is also a TON of outdated material that can steer you in the wrong direction. So when you do a search on YouTube currently there is a filter option in the upper right-hand corner that allows you to sort by upload date to have the latest videos at the top. There are tons of Facebook Groups, and other resources (meetup.com) where you can find a community of people who can answer some questions. However, be sure to check out who is answering your question. Every week I see tons of articles on the subject of podcasting written by people who apparently have no podcast. Check out this video

Also when you do find a good resource, use it. I've worked in different tech support departments, and I know we are in a hurry to get going but ask anyone and they will tell you that most companies put a tremendous amount of effort into the "on-boarding" process (getting your customer setup). This typically includes some sort of welcome email, and in many cases a video. You need to read more than the email title, and if you are given resources, use them.

4. Break Your Goals into Tasks

As the old saying goes, "How do you eat an elephant?" The answer is one bit at a time. So once you understand where you want to go, you break your goal into smaller tasks. So you can take the goal of identifying your podcast and break it into the tasks of creating a list of five potential names, check domain availability, and perform a Google search to see if the name is in use.

5. Don't Try to Learn it All In One Sitting

While you may be excited, when you try to do too much in too little a time, you can burn yourself out

6. Give Yourself a Timeline, but Don't Bite Off Your Face

Timelines can help you see the plan, and give you an idea of when your goal will be met. However, I've seen people make really bad decisions because they are way behind based on their self-made deadline.

7. Set a Time to Work On Your Goal in a Focused Fashion

Set a specific time when you will work on your goal. When you are working on your podcast, turn off distractions (Facebook, Notifications on the Phone, YouTube).

8. Track Your Progress

There is something that happens in the brain when you write something down. By writing down your goals, and your steps, you can then go back and check these off as you accomplish them

Help The Smith Girls

35:50

I only met Scott Smith once on the Podcasters Roundtable. I was deeply saddened that Scott shot and killed his wife, then turned the gun on himself leaving his two daughters. If you'd like to help these two children (every little helps) see https://www.gofundme.com/helpthesmithgirls

Spotify Now Available in Libsyn Dashboard to All Libsyn Customers

38:00

You can now get your show listed in Spotify if you are a Libsyn customer. Previously they were only approving a small percentage of the shows that were submitted. They say that once you add Spotify to your destinations, you should be able to see the show in the Spotify app in two weeks (I wouldn't be surprised if this doesn't get pushed back to four weeks as they are going to get a ton of podcast submissions. See https://support.libsyn.com/kb/spotify/

Libsyn has also launched their new stats interface which is completely mobile friendly

Be Part of the Ask Me Anything Episode 600

40:33

Episode 600 will be in January 2018. I'm looking for you to send in questions for me about anything but podcasting. I need them by January 1, 2018. See my contact page