Prologue
The Magic Trick
Several years ago, a friend of mine mentioned Ramit Sethi to me. At the time, he was best known for his online writing and book, I Will Teach You to Be Rich.
My friend told me, "He has a script for getting a raise. I used it and it worked."
This is known as a "magic trick" – something that gives a reader (or listener) a quick win.
Fast-forward to today ... When you go to Ramit's podcast, you see the headline "Real Problems. Real Results." And you'll see a link to his "plan" to help you with your finances.
Again, a magic trick.
Your podcast will benefit from one of these. What's a "quick win" that would help your listeners?
I'll be sharing more "magic trick" examples you can model in the audio edition of this newsletter. And if you want more examples of how Ramit is doing this (and how powerful it is), check out his series on Netflix, How to Get Rich.
Netflix, a major book deal, 17,000+ reviews ... This is the level of attention you can get for yourself when you solve a problem for listeners and get them out of pain.
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Podcasting Q&A
Sound Better Than You Feel
Drake Owens from Santa Monica asks ... "Do you have any advice for podcasting with a cold?"
I do ... Be aware of cold medicine.
Obviously, when you've got a cold, this type of medicine can make you feel a lot better. Personally, I like the Theraflu-style citrus/honey option that you drink hot.
But from my experience, even the "Daytime" variety can also slow down your thinking and reaction time, which can make getting through and episode, especially one with an interview, feel a bit weird.
I remember being in the studio a few years ago ... I felt pretty good for having a cold and I was able to do the interview just fine, but my thinking (and reaction time) was definitely slower than usual. It wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed in the edit, but if you find yourself in this situation, you may want to give your guest a heads-up.
You may not feel better doing an interview with a cold, but here are some non-medicine tips from NPR that can make you sound better:
HYDRATE: Drink lots of water, and avoid coffee and alcohol. Acidic foods can make dehydration worse.
GARGLE WITH SALINE: Add a teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide per cup of saline if you’re losing your voice. Don’t swallow it!
DRINK TEA: Look for blends with slippery elm bark, which soothes the throat. Maybe add some manuka honey.
FOCUS YOUR RESONANCE: Aim your voice at the front of your face, not the back of your throat, to sound less sick.
GET THE PHLEGM OUT: Clear the mucus from your nose with a neti pot or saline spray to defeat post-nasal drip.
What do you do when you've got an important interview you don't want to cancel, but you're not feeling well? Let me know via Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads!
Podcasting News
Spotify for Podcasters — Fan Study
From peak listening hours to the most prominent discovery methods, Spotify's Fan Study insights can help you refine your creative process, connect with fans, and grow your podcast.
Some things I think are interesting:
- In general, evenings are the preferred time to consume video podcasts
- Education and Wellness-related genres peak in the morning
- Entertainment and Family content is more popular later in the day
- Listeners want to engage with you — and they love when it gets personal
- Interacting via Q&As keeps your listeners coming back for more
And maybe the most important thing if you're looking to grow your audience ...
"Friends, family, and favorite podcasters are the recommendation trifecta."
I'll be sharing more detailed thoughts on these findings in the audio edition of this newsletter.
And I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me know via Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads!
Podcasting Tools
Joplin - Open Source Note-Taking App
There's something very powerful about open source software. I love that anybody can add to it to make it better. But being free to access is very liberating ...
How many great podcasts have been produced using Audacity? And how many people have gotten into podcasting because of Audacity?
If you're looking for a way to keep track of ideas and organize all the great podcasts you come up with, check out Joplin, an open source note-taking app that allows you to capture your thoughts and securely access them from any device.
What's your favorite open source podcasting tool? Let me know via Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads!
Podcast Production
How Craving Attention Makes You Less Creative
This is an important video for podcasters.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt delves into the perils of seeking attention on social media. He says being addicted to getting attention is a real issue and compares it to any other form of addiction, stating that, once you have the itch, you will never be satisfied.
And who benefits from this? The companies that sell your attention.
Not only do you not benefit, when it comes to creativity in your work, you are actually harmed.
How to you handle social media? Let me know using social media ... Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads!
Podcast Humor
Most Podcasters = Beef-Fed Cows
It's very common to look around, see what other people in your industry are doing, and copy them. For example, you hear a podcaster with a nice-sounding podcast and, because you want to sound good on your podcast, you buy the same equipment he uses.
This is fine – it's helpful to copy things that work in your industry rather then "reinvent the wheel" all the time. But this becomes a problem if everybody is copying the same things and you don't realize this is happening.
Podcast guest pitches are a great example of this. For one, there are companies that you can hire to pitch you and, from my experience, most are using similar templates for each of their clients. And because so many people are on the receiving end of these templates, even more people are copying them.
Then people like you and me get a ton of these template-based pitches. And the problem is made even worse, because many of the guests are very similar regardless of the template used.
Examples:
- "growth hackers" – what does that even mean?
- an entrepreneur who has "exited" his business ...
- book authors
I'm going to break down one of these guest pitches in the audio edition of this newsletter and give you a plan to stand out when pitching yourself (or just trying to get attention for your podcast).
Got any "bad pitch" stories? Let me know via Mastodon, Bluesky, or Threads!
Classifieds
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Riverside - Remote Recording Studio
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The Wrap Up
When you're ready, here's how I can help you even more ...
If you like the newsletter, you'll love Big Podcast AMP (Audio Monetization Program).
This personal coaching program has been designed to help you do three things:
- Grow your podcast audience.
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