Prologue
Don't Look Away
There's been a lot of news to run from (or ignore) this week. I encourage you to do the opposite and jump in to the conversation around it.
People are hurting and looking for community. You can provide that via your podcast.
I've gotten several messages from people this week asking, "Should I mention ______________?"
Ultimately, that's a decision up to you. But realize that, whether they say it or not, many of your listeners want you to say something.
Don't look away.
It's scary, I get it. Sometimes we don't know what to say. I certainly don't. And by no means do I think what I'm saying here is the perfect message for what's happening.
But something needs to be said, even if it's just to let people know they're not alone.
You've got the platform. I hope you'll join me.
Podcaster Opportunities
Your Listeners Have Secrets
Post Secret Voicemail (PSVM) allows people to share anonymous messages to the world. It's a great example of the power of making your audience feel heard.
From the creators:
We wanted to humanize interactions instead of just being another profile on a page. We believe you're able to connect more to someone by leaving everything else out and just, listening. By adding total anonymity, it allows us to be more honest and open and say things we might not usually say if people knew who we were.
Maybe a feature/segment to consider for your podcast?
Podcast Marketing
A Three-Year Podcast Promotion Strategy
This is an interesting Google Doc as well as Twitter thread from Shaan Puri of My First Million podcast.
Three years ago, Shaan came up with a vision for his podcast. Earlier this month, he shared the results of where he is now.
Podcasting success is possible, but rarely does it happen overnight. You may find this good motivation to keep going!
RELATED: If you're interesting in the topic of growing your podcast and the behind-the-scenes of how it's done, you'll want to listen to this interview with Joe Saul-Sehy of Stacking Benjamins, one of the top personal finance podcasts on Apple Podcasts.
How to Get Your First 100 Subscribers
Whether you're looking to grow your podcast, build your mailing list, or sell a book, starting from zero can be mentally tough.
The good news is, when you have a plan, it's pretty easy to get your first 100 people. And if you can do 100, you can do 1000.
Several years ago, I remember getting a $1200 royalty/sales check for a book I'd done. This was a monthly payment and my first thought was, "If I do 10 of these, I'll be making $12,000/month."
So I did. Not with 10 books, but by reaching 10x as many people.
It didn't happen overnight, but it didn't take nearly as long as I would have initially thought.
Half of this game is mental. But breaking things down into little pieces makes big goals possible. And the information on this page (charts, a plan) will help you do that.
Podcasting Tools
It's Like "Magic Eraser" for Audio ...
Cleanvoice AI is a cool tool, sort of a combination of Descript and Auphonic, that basically cleans up your raw audio and gives it a little polish.
- It removes filler words.
- It removes stutters.
- It removes "mouth sounds" like clicks and pops.
It's worth a look and you can upload up to 30 minutes of raw audio to try it free.
What do you think? Let me know on Twitter.
Podcasting Deals
This App Will Improve Your Hosting Skills
I was skeptical about this, but it's cool as hell. You record yourself giving a speech (or hosting a podcast) and it uses AI to analyze your speech and give you advice on how to make it more effective.
It includes a 30-day program to become a better speaker. So far, I'm three days in and, if nothing else, it gives you a lot of data on how you speak (pacing, common filler words, etc). See this for an example charts from the report.
Worth a look.
The Wrap Up
Like this Newsletter? Tell a Friend ...
My goal is to better empower podcasters to be more successful in spreading their messages and make more money with their podcasts.
I'd love it if you'll help me spread the word about this newsletter by sending your podcasting friends to bigpodcast.com/newsletter.