Your Podcast Consultant: Podcast Tips To Avoid Podcasting Mistakes – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Launching a podcast without a domain? Yeah, that’s a big no-no. It’s like trying to adopt a puppy and then saying, “Hey, where’s the leash?”

In this episode, we tackle the absolute must-have of podcasting—your own domain name. You want people to find your adorable little show, right? So, let’s make sure they have a place to go when they ask, “Where’s your podcast?”

We dish out the wisdom on why having your own website is the best way to keep your podcast from going missing. Grab your notepad because we’re about to dive into some seriously practical tips!

Links referenced in this episode:

• Namecheap - Buy a domain
• Coolerwebsites - Another place to buy a domain
• podcastconsultant.com
• schoolofpodcasting.com
• schoolofpodcasting.com/checklist
• schoolofpodcasting.com/start

Takeaways:

• Launching a podcast without a domain is like having a puppy with no leash—totally chaotic.
• Your website is your podcast's home base; don't send people to a third-party link.
• Buying a domain is cheap insurance against losing your brand to someone else—trust me.
• If your friends ask for your podcast and you say you don't have a domain, well, good luck with that.
• Always set up easy-to-remember links for your podcast, or risk sounding like a total noob.
• Domains are only $20 a year, which is less than that fancy coffee you keep buying.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

So, you’ve taken a long break from your podcast—like a “I forgot how to talk to a mic” kind of break—and now you’re wondering how to get back in the game. Well, I’m here to explain on how to restart without losing your marbles or your listeners.

First off, if you ditched your show for a while, don’t sweat it! Just let your audience know you’re back and ready to rock. No need for a dramatic apology; they might not even remember why you vanished. Seriously, just dive back in, figure out what you want to change, and remember—it’s all about having fun while you’re at it! So, grab your mic, dust off the cobwebs, and let’s get this party started again!

Takeaways:

• Taking a break from your podcast might seem like a good idea, but it often leads to losing your audience to better shows.
• When returning to your podcast, remember, no one wants to hear a long apology; just get to the good stuff!
• If your podcast went on hiatus for years, you might need to reevaluate why it didn't work and how to do better this time.
• It's perfectly fine to come back to podcasting just for fun, and you don't have to monetize everything!
• When you're ready to return, just jump right back in—your audience will be thrilled you've come back!
• Don't stress about starting over; focus on how to make your podcast better than before!

Mentioned in this episode:

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

So, you're having trouble getting guests on your podcast? That can be frustrating. But have you taken a good look at your website lately? Because sometimes the issue isn’t your pitch—it’s your presentation. If your site looks like it hasn’t been updated since the MySpace days, it could be sending the wrong message. In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at podcast websites and how a few simple mistakes could be turning off potential guests before they even hear your show. Don’t worry—we’ll walk through how to clean things up so your site gives off the kind of professional vibe that makes people say, “Yes, I’d love to be on your show!”

Takeaways:

• If you're struggling to attract guests, your website might look like it's from 2005.
• First impressions matter, and if your podcast artwork is a mess, good luck attracting guests.
• Your website needs to be user-friendly because if it looks terrible, guests will run away.
• Using outdated hosting platforms can scream 'I'm not serious about my podcast', so step it up!
• Your audio quality matters; if it sounds like you're in a cave, no one will sign up.
• Make it easy for potential guests to follow your show; if they can't find you, they won't come.
• The "Set it and forget it" player hurts your podcast growth.

Links referenced in this episode:

• podmatch.com
• podcasthotseat.com
• buzzsprout.com
• podpage.com
• Video of me choosing shows.
• Join the School of Podcasting

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

The most profitable way to make money with your podcast is by selling your own products and services. Today I share a strategy on how you can do a focus group for your online course without spending any money. 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Membervault

Vimeo

Teachable

Circle.so

Profit From Your Podcast Book

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Selling is 90% mental. I used to teach sales many moons ago. When I work with clients who have products and services to sell, when I listen to their podcast their pitch sounds like this: "Hey, like if you need, I mean you don't have to, but, like, if you kinda want to, you can maybe, like, go to, you know, my website (then said so fast you can't understand it)."

When I ask people why they did that they said they felt "Salesy." This typically is based on a bad stereotype of some sleazy used car salesman from the 1970s who is selling you a bucket of bolts that is going to barely make it off the car lot. To this, I ask, "Is your product or service a bucket of bolts?" Then switch from selling your product or service to informing your potential customer how your products and services can help them."

I had a friend who was bummed she wasn't getting any speaking gigs. She never mentioned it once in her podcast. 

It doesn't have to be a giant pitch. It could be as simple as, "I was speaking at a high school and one of the students came up and asked me a question and I thought, "That would be a great topic for a podcast episode." With just that one sentence, your audience now knows you speak to high school kids. 

If you are looking to make money with your podcast check out my book, "Profit from your podcast." I also have a companion podcast.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

I get this question on a fairly regular basis. And that is, Hey, we said this, should I mark my podcast as explicit? One time I was thoroughly confused because they were mentioning the F word. And I'm not going to say any of these words today, I'm going to keep mine clean, but it was the F word. It's the one that rhymes with fire truck. And they said, Can I use this (the F Word) Because I'm using it as an adjective, not a verb. And the fun part of this, especially when it comes to Apple, is they've never really defined exactly what is explicit. So consequently, you can't go right up to the line because well, the line isn't very well designed. 

Which leads everybody going well, is it okay to talk about this if it's .........? So here's my answer to that. Number one, there is no answer. It's really up to you. I'm going to talk about what the consequences are here in a second. But most of the time, if you have to ask, Is this explicit? The answer is, Yeah, probably.

Would you listen to this episode with a three year old in the car? That's another way of thinking about it. 

So let me tell you what happens when you mark a single episode as explicit. Even though it's just an episode, your entire show will be banned in a bunch of countries. And I want to thank Daniel J. Lewis, he's the guy behind mypodcastreviews.com If you mark a single episode, your show will be pulled from Apple's directory in the following countries:

Bahrain Belarus Brunei Darussalam Burkina Faso Chad Egypt India Jordan Lebanon Nepal Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Tunisia United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Yemen

So kiss that goodbye. 

Now the other thing that can happen is if you leave it labeled clean, and somebody goes to Apple and says I would like to report this episode, there is a chance they will pull your entire show.

The third option is okay, I don't want to mark it explicit because I want to be available everywhere. Then you can bleep out the naughty words. 

Free 15 Minute Strategy Session

Click HERE to Apply for a Free Strategy session

 I'm Dave Jackson from the School of podcasting comm thanks for joining me on my mission to rid the world of boring podcasts and I look forward to being your podcast consultant.

 

Mentioned in this episode:

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

You’ve probably heard the phrase knowledge is power. I always say knowledge is power when you act on it. Today I’m going to explain when knowledge is a curse.

When you do an interview, picture yourself sitting at a table with your guest across from you and your listener sitting to the left of you. This is often where the curse of knowledge comes into play. You bring up that time at the weidapit and how much fun it was with Lisa. Your audience doesn’t know what a weidapit is, and who the heck is Lisa?

This can lead to them feeling like they don't belong and this podcast is not for them. 

Need Help? Check out my free 15-minute coaching call.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

The more honest feedback (from people you aren't related to grew up with) you get from your audience the better your show will be.

It's a little scary to ask people for feedback, but in the end without feedback, you are at risk of wasting your time creating content that doesn't resonate with your audience.

Today I have some tools to make it easy. 

Podcast Voicemail

podcastvoicemail.com is exactly what it sounds like. You get a toll-free number for your audience to call into. The good news is everyone knows how to dial a phone number and it can be as low as 7 cents a minute. The bad news is the audio is not great so if you're looking to use these calls in .your show, it's not a great choice. 

Podpage

Podpage is a great tool where you can create a great-looking website for your podcast and it has a voicemail tool built-in. 

Speakpipe

Speakpipe is the original tool for getting feedback from your audience. It's $15/month and recently went through a very nice upgrade. 

Telbee

Telbee is a bit like Speakpipe on steroids and a little more flexible for $18/month

Video Ask

Video ask is a way to get feedback via video. They have a free version, and then monthly plans start at $30

Voice Form

As I write this in September of 2021 Voice Form is on Sale for a lifetime price of $69. Not only does it make it easy to get feedback, but it also has built-in tools for surveys. I am currently testing this for my free call application.

Apply today for a free consulting call.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

I get this question all the time and the quick answer is when it comes to subscribers - you can't. However, there are other ways to measure success. First, let's talk about the current state of affairs.

You can see engaged listeners (people that listen to a sizeable chunk of your episode) in Apple. You can see followers in Spotify. In Google podcasts you can actually see subscribers. However, if you look at Spotify and Google's numbers they don't seem to jive with the number of downloads. This is why I say for the most part you can't. To this, I ask, "Why do you want to know?"

I WANT TO TRACK GROWTH

If the answer is, "I want to track my growth" then I have a solution. You can use your download numbers. If you want to know who your superfans are, then use a time frame such as 7 days. In hosts like Libsyn (use the promo code sopfree to get a free month at Libsyn.com) and Buzzsprout you can look at how many downloads an episode receives after 7 days (as well as 30, 90, and all-time). This makes it easy to see what episodes performed the best.

NOT EVERYONE LISTENS! (BUT MOST DO)

I know some people shout, "But you can download a file and never listen to it." In June of 2021 Apple had a glitch where it's auto-download option quit working, and according to podnews, this represented about 11% of downloads. This means roughly 90% of people that download a file listen to it. Apple podcasts has a feature that if you haven't listened to any of the last 5 downloads it stops downloading them.

LET'S GO BACK TO YOUR WHY

Keep in mind there are more ways to measure success and that is why we are coming back to your why. In episode 99 I talked about the different ways people benefit from podcasting. I episode 79 I talked about the importance of knowing your why.

Some examples are:

• Being seen as an expert
• Getting to talk to people you normally wouldn't
• Growing influence
• Selling more products
• Getting your message out
• Growing an email list

I look at my stats once a week. I look at the last episode and compare it to the previous episode. My goal is not to drive numbers up for advertisers. My goal for this podcast (my why) is to get you to hire me as your podcasting sherpa. Your trusted guide to get you over the mountain you feel is starting a podcast. If you're more of a self-paced person, you might join the School of Podcasting.

In May of this year, my numbers took an ever so slight dip. However, my consulting numbers went up. When you know your why, you know when (or more importantly when NOT TO) to start to look at your content.

MEASURING SUPER FANS

For now, I would look at how many downloads you get the first seven days after being published if you want to use download numbers.

If you need help growing your audience, reach out to me at podcastconsultant.com and schedule a strategy session. I can listen to an episode, check out your website, and let you know if I find any hidden fruit.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Today we continue our discussion of Imposter Syndrome and feeling "We're not worthy!"

Here are some strategies:

1. You are not defined by your mistakes. The “I must not fail mentality” can be crippling.
2. There is one person who really needs your message
3. Not everyone will like you, and that is OK.
4. Credentials don't always mean what you think they do.
5. Find one person you know and trust and let them know you feel like a fraud
6. Instead of saying, “I don't know anything” say, “I don’t know everything…yet. I’m still learning.”
7. Yes, there is luck and timing, but there is also talent, dedication, and charisma.
8. While your feelings are real, this does not mean they are accurate.
9. Quit focusing on yourself, and instead focus on your audience and how you will deliver value.

But What Are the Magic Words That Make Impostor Syndrome Disappear?

In doing tons of research on this, there aren't any words that you can say to have your feelings "Poof" and they vanish. 

What you're going to have to do is acknowledge the nervousness, and keep going. 

I've been public speaking for decades, and yet I still get sweaty hands before I start. Once I start, I'm fine. 

What turns down the panic and nerves is taking action. I know you're saying "But I'm nervous!"  That is normal. Being nervous is actually good. It shows you care. But letting your fear stop you is a choice. 

We have a joke at the School of Podcasting. We say, "Nobody is going to punch you in the face." You know what? So far, it's true. 

Let's Get Your Podcast Going

Sign up for a podcast strategy session today.

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcasting in Six Weeks

Start Podcasting in Six Week - Starts June 3rd

Have you been struggling trying to start a podcast? Did you drown in all the jargon? Did you feel overwhelmed? The School of Podcasting is offering a course, Podcasting in Six Weeks, that will walk you through the entire process. Learn from 20-year Hall of Fame veteran Dave Jackson as he walks you through the process of planning, launching, and growing your show. The best part is the class is only $1. For more information, go to schoolofpodcasting.com/sixweeks.

Podcasting in Six Weeks

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy