Podcasting Tips | JSB Talks Digital Episode #30

JSB Talks Digital

JSB Talks Digital is a weekly digital marketing and social media podcast hosted by author, strategist, consultant, speaker and trainer Joanne Sweeney-Burke. Each Friday Joanne shares her digital marketing and social media insights from her work as CEO of Digital Training Institute. In this episode she brings you her podcasting tips.

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In this episode I focus on podcasting

I began podcasting in June 2016 after contemplating it for over a year. So why the procrastination? Well, I felt I didn’t have the tech knowledge, didn’t have time and wouldn’t be able to commit to a regular show. But the burning desire to get back behind the mic after a 15-year sabbatical (I use to be a broadcast journalist) was too much to ignore.

I also attended Chris Ducker and Pat Flynn‘s podcasting panel discussion at Social Media Marketing World in San Diego in March 2016. It was the very last session of the 3-day mega conference and I knew I had the skills, the content and the creativity to launch my own podcast, I just needed to make it happen. I needed to take action!

So to mark episode #30 of my weekly 20-minute show, I am dedicating it to the craft of podcasting.

In this episode I will share with you how I produce my weekly show, what inspired me to take the leap and also some excellent podcasting tips from the experts.

I’m back where it all started

I love my weekly trip to Flirt FM at NUI, Galway, the place where I first crafted my trade as a broadcast journalist. It’s like my hour of solitude from the notifications, calls and inbox pings. So tune into this special podcast about podcasting and let’s share podcasting tips and tricks! Tell me about your podcast too and I’ll subscribe!

Interview | The Podcast Host

In this week’s show I interview Colin Gray, founder of The Podcast Host. Based in Dundee in Scotland, Colin and his team provide novice and experienced podcasters the skills to launch, grow, promote and monetise your podcast. They also offer training courses, production and mentorship.

Useful links from the show

Facebook’s Guide to 360-degree video in association with The Associated Press

The Infinite Dial podcast statistics

JSB’s Column | My podcasting routine

Here’s what it takes to deliver a weekly 20-minute show.

Consistency: I decided to release my podcast each and every Friday and seven months on, I’m sure my community would be able to tell you what day JSB Talks Digital is released on. I made a commitment and I have delivered on it. To allow for holidays and busy times at work, I might have two podcasts ‘in the bag’ – already recorded and produced.

Theme: I chose digital marketing as the topic for my podcast given that’s my day job and my big passion! I get through so much digital marketing and social media work each week that the podcast is almost like a cathartic outlet to practice what I preach and share my knowledge. It also serves as a great way for me to keep my knowledge relevant and current.

Branding: Branding is so important online. Djameela Daniels, my Digital Design and Marketing Executive at Digital Training Institute oversees all branding at the business and she created a logo for my podcast which I love. We ensure we keep all design relating to the podcast consistent with the Digital Training Institute brand.

Jingles: I got customised jingles created for the show to ensure that we had our very own sound. Galway-native Eoin Finnegan is my jingle creator and as well as the show intro he also created segment jingles. At Christmas Eoghan pimped my jingles with some jingle bells and festive spells which worked brilliantly! Let’s just say we have fun with the podcast.

Recording: I record all my podcasts in the studios of Flirt FM on campus at NUI, Galway where my office is located. I work with Eoghan Murphy (see his bio below) and he engineers the show for me. So I simply have to produce the content, step into studio and record! He also edits the show. Initially I was going to have a monthly podcast, but I thought that was a bit lame, so I decided to go weekly. In order to stay ahead of myself I try and always have two shows ‘in the bag’ to allow for unforeseen circumstances and holidays!

Schedule: I decided to have a 20-minute show, not too long and not too short. I also drafted a show format that I have kept to since the launch of the podcast. As a former broadcast journalist and radio show host, I produce JSB Talks Digital just as I would a traditional radio show. The podcast has seven key sections.

• Intro and what’s coming up in the show
• Social media news
• Interview
• Shout-outs
• JSB’s column
• Social media tool of the week
• Outro

I may change this up on special episodes or as my podcast evolves.

Interview: Each week I interview a digital or social media marketer, business owner, academic or influencer – somebody who can share their experiences with my community. You don’t have to be a unicorn or a global influencer to be on the show. You simply have to have a story to share that we can all learn from. Drop me an email to [e-mail] if you want to be on the podcast!

Streaming: I stream my podcast on iTunes (iOS), Stitcher (Android), Soundcloud and I also embed it on my blog. I then share the podcast on my social networks, Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, LinkedIn, Pinterest, personal Twitter account and the company profile, Google+ and I also create a Snapchat story.

Every 10-15 or so episodes I will host a special Facebook Live show lasting about 45 minutes. I have guests in studio and one on the phone, and we let people see my world of podcasting using Facebook’s Livecast service. I particularly love these shows as I get the adrenalin rush from being live. When I was a journalist all my broadcasts and shows were live which gives you an edge. So I really wanted to bring this into JSB Talks Digital and leveraging Facebook Live was the perfect opportunity.

Promotion: Once the show is live I promote it on my social networks from my blog (Facebook Page, Facebook Profile, Twitter (business and personal) LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+) and I also send it to my 3,000+ email subscribers in an e-zine each Friday morning. I will schedule future posts about the podcast also so that it gets repeat social shares. I also have my podcast subscribed on Blubrry, the world’s largest podcast directory.

Stats: It’s important to me that I know how many people are listening to my podcast. It’s not always possible to get the subscriber or download stats from iTunes or Stitcher.

However, I have calculated the following stats from my blog and Soundcloud.

Blog: 22,328 views from 29 podcast blog posts

Soundcloud: 1,655 plays from 29 podcasts.

Livecasts: 2,412 views of two Facebook Live shows

So the total engagement with my podcast in the first six months is 28,807. That’s not too shabby!

I’ve also just subscribed to Blubrry’s premium package where I will get statistics and more demographic information about my listeners. So I’m looking forward to gathering that data.

Shoutouts | JSB’s favourite podcasts

Social Media Examiner is the world’s biggest and must trusted social media website resource. They also have a weekly 45-minute Social Media Marketing podcast which shares success stories and expert interviews from leading social media marketing pros. Discover how successful businesses employ social media, learn new strategies and tactics, and gain actionable tips to improve your social media marketing.

Chris Ducker is a personal branding entrepreneur and is a seasoned podcaster with almost 200 shows under his broadcasting belt. Youpreneur FM brings you Chris’ take on what it means to be a personal brand entrepreneur in the 21st century. Everything from building a personal brand to delegating like a king, right the way through to creating and launching online products and services, to marketing yourself as the go-to person in your industry and beyond is covered. If you’re a speaker, author, coach, consultant, expert, blogger, podcaster, freelancer or solopreneur, Youpreneur FM will become your favourite podcast!

Pat Flynn from The Smart Passive Income Blog reveals all of his online business and blogging strategies, income sources and killer marketing tips and tricks so you can be ahead of the curve with your online business or blog. Discover how you can create multiple passive income streams that work for you so that you can have the time and freedom to do what you love, whether it’s traveling the world, or just living comfortably at home.

Alan Swan’s The Outerview

Alan was my very first interviewee on JSB Talks Digital. His podcast, The Outerview, is a collection of resources, opinions & podcasts on the art of media interviewing. He explores what it takes to conduct the perfect interview from dissecting classic interviews to discussing techniques with some of the worlds leading interviewers.

Social Media Tool of the Week

My favourite podcasting tool is the Blubrry Powerpress podcasting WordPress plugin. I use this tool to embed my podcast audio recordings into my blog posts.

PowerPress is the number one podcasting plugin for WordPress. Developed by podcasters for podcasters; its features include simple and advanced modes, multiple audio/video player options, subscribe to podcast tools, podcast SEO features, and more. It fully supports iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn and Blubrry podcasting directories, as well as all podcast applications and clients.

So if you’re podcasting and sharing it on your WordPress blog then I’d highly recommend the Blubrry Powerpress podcasting plugin.

Podcasting Tips | A Beginners Guide

I asked my trusted JSB Talks Digital podcast engineer Eoghan Murphy to give me his top podcasting tips for beginners. As a seasoned journalist and podcaster, Eoghan is perfectly placed to share his tips for beginners.

It almost seems odd in 2016 to think that just a handful of years ago the concept of podcasting was all but unheard of. The idea of exclusively audio based shows wasn’t often thought of outside of the radio broadcasting industry.

However, the arrival of the internet changed this by making downloadable shows in this fashion. Easily accessible podcasts began to spring up on a number of websites, and the popularity of the social web catapulted the idea further by firing these shows directly into peoples’ day to day newsfeeds.

Nowadays podcasts cover an incredible amount of different topics, hobbies and business models the world over. Getting started and finding your footing in this frantic world can be a lot easier than it may seem. Following these simple tips, you could be hosting your own online show in no time.

The Rules

Podcasting takes the concept of chat shows and places the microphone in front of the average person, away from the prying eyes of deeply rooted rules sets and requirements written in stone by the broadcasting authorities. Put quite simply, podcasters often play by their own rules.

Shows come in all varieties spanning from interview based shows featuring special guest appearances from respected people in their specific fields, to comedy panel shows in which the week’s news is the topic of discussion, or even the topic of parody.

While some shows are produced using scripts and boundaries, others are made with a much looser mind set using only the conversations organic direction as their start and stop points. The rules are created by the podcast team themselves. Before setting up your first recording session, take some time to figure out how you would like your show to sound. Choose a format that suits you and try to stick to it as best you can.

This can save a lot of time and energy when it comes to editing your show post recording. Decide whether you would like your show to be a small, easily consumable 30 minutes or a weighty topic-driven two hours. Take into consideration the audience you wish to reach out to.

Would they have the time to listen to a long recording, or would they be better off digesting small portions of information while on the go?

It’s also worth thinking about what style of conversation you’d like to feature. Explicit language, for example, can exclude certain listeners for a number of reasons including restricting the show from being played in the workplace, but it can also drive a point home during a heated topic.

Weigh out the pros and cons to best fit your show and create your own rule set to adhere to your potential listenership. Remember that this is your starting point; you can evolve as you find your feet.

Sample set-list for a long, video game based podcast.

Podcast about your passion

Once you’ve got your rules locked into place, it’s almost time to take to the mic. At this stage you’ve already got an idea of what your show will be about, but might be having second thoughts about the depth of your knowledge on the topic. That’s ok! In fact it’s completely normal.

Each podcast covers a certain field, each one designed to entice a different clientele. Considering the internet provides a platform in which a podcast can be published by virtually anybody, there is no end to the amount of different shows currently available online.

If you like sports, there are tons of sports shows doing the rounds covering everything from baseball to gaelic football. If cooking is your thing then you’ll easily find countless cooking shows. For gamers there are hundreds, if not thousands, of video game based shows and if you’d rather hear about the universe around you there is no shortage of astronomy podcasts either.

With this amount of shows published on a regular basis, it can seem very intimidating for a first time podcaster. No matter what kind of show you’d like to produce, it’s completely possible to do so and more importantly you don’t have to be an expert in the field to do it.

In fact, to think that each person producing a show on their topic of choice is an expert would be somewhat irrational.

Having a keen grip on the conversation topic and doing research is imperative to making a good show, but you don’t have to be a bottomless pit of information in order to sustain it; a fiery passion for the topics at hand is often enough to create entertaining, thought provoking and educational material.

Recording your podcast

Next in line is the big one – You’ve done your research, you got your notes in front of you for reference and you’re ready to hit record. First though, you need the correct programme to record with.

Podcasting is often done from home on a shoestring budget, and with that in mind Audacity is a good programme to begin your audio career with.

It’s free to download and easy to use, creating a great platform for first time recorders to cut their teeth on. Although editing on it can often be a slow process, it does have enough tools to make a show sound vibrant and clean.

Simple integrated tools such as faders can be used in post editing to make the show sound professional as it transitions from segment to segment.

Audacity has little to no problems with most USB based mics and headsets, making it a perfect pick-up-and-play style application.

Relax during your podcast

From here on in it’s just you and the microphone. Try to relax and have a good time while recording. Don’t worry too much about mistakes as they can easily be edited out via Audacity before the show is published online.

Take it in your own time and be yourself in order to make your personality shine through and give your audience a host they can relate to and rely on.

Podcasts can be an incredible experience. They can act as both a learning tool for those recording and those listening. Although podcasting can be used for professional business, they can also be hugely enjoyable to record and produce, making them easily for anyone to experiment with.

Beginning is easy and exhilarating. Just remember that there is always more to learn in the fast-paced world of podcasting.

Eoghan Murphy

Eoghan Murphy is the co-creator, host and lead writer of www.Hit-Start-Now.com, a popular gaming website. With a background in journalism and radio, he is also a presenter/producer fronting such shows as Flirt FM’s Galway Gamer while working behind the scenes on chat show Riot in Wonderland. Outside of the live circuit, he produces Digital Training Institute’s weekly podcast JSB Talks Digital. When not engaged in audio based work, Eoghan can be found writing articles for many publications and websites including SIN- Student Independent Newspaper and Irish Metal Archives.

I love feedback

I’d love to know what you think about this episode. So please get in touch by commenting below or tweet me @tweetsbyJSB or send me a snap to jsbsnaps.

Listen: JSB Talks Digital Podcast Episode #30

I would like to thank Eoghan Murphy aka The Galway Gamer for producing my podcast series and to Flirt FM on the campus of NUI, Galway where I am based for the use of their studio.