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How to Use A Blue Yeti For Your Podcast – If You HAVE to.

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How To Use A Blue Yeti For Your Podcast - If You Have To

The Jag Show Podcast - December 1, 2021

The Blue Yeti:

For years, I've railed against the Blue Yeti microphone.  As a radio mentor once taught me, "the worst thing for a bad product is good marketing."

When I consult a podcast from the jump, I always recommend solo podcasters get the Samson Q2U or ATR 2100x microphones - they're actually about the same cost as the Yeti. But occasionally I consult clients who have already bought the Yeti, and they may not be able to return it, or are on a  tight budget and can't swing a 100 plus dollar mistake.  ThePodcastHost.com has a great review of the Blue Yeti - and it echoes may of the things I've been saying.   Plus, if you click the link in the show notes, you'll hear the fantastic accent of the author, Matthew McClean.   Essentially, if you have a Blue Yeti, it's best for solo podcasts - the settings to record multiple guests aren't ideal.  And most importantly, position the Yeti so you're talking into the SIDE of it, not the TOP.  And if you're not sure, plug in headphones and listen to yourself. Most people hate doing that, but it's important.  https://www.thepodcasthost.com/equipment/blue-yeti-podcasting-review/

Podcasts to Break New Music?

I've spent a lot of time in this podcast bemoaning the downfall of radio - in it's pre-internet heyday, radio DJ's broke new artists.  Even 10 years ago - my program director here at Channel 955, Michael McCoy, broke local artist Mike Posner when he heard "Cooler Than Me" on a mixtape.  Now, most new content seems to come from YouTube, TikTok, etc.  But podcast guru Tom Webster thinks once we figure out music licensing, podcasters will be next to break new artists.  Imagine what someone like Mistress Carrie in Boston could do with her show.  https://mistresscarrie.com/

Webinars:

Also, Webster and his wife Tamsen are doing a webinar next week on making your podcast pitchable.  You just have to subscribe to his newsletter at tomwebster.media.  And here's a link to this week's column. https://tomwebster.media/the-last-best-frontier-for-podcasting

Speaking of webinars, the folks at Podfest are doing one, for $10, on best practices using Facebook ads to grow your podcast.  Now I've seen mixed results on this strategy, but maybe that's my problem - I didn't have a blueprint. The webinar is Tuesday December 14th. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/podlab-workshop-tickets-182204858637

Naming Your Podcast:

Naming your podcast is important.  It needs to be found easily by both Google and actual people.  You want something searchable, but unique. Before you name your show, search to see if there are other shows with the same or similar names out there.  PodNews has a nice article on the 100 most popular podcast names.  It's a good deep dive. https://podnews.net/article/most-popular-podcast-names

Podcast Links- Beware:

OnlyPod.com has a new service that will create a universal link for all things related to your podcast - it will link to various podcast apps, your social media profile, and even donation pages. https://onlypod.com/link

Seems like a good idea - until you click and see it's $49 to buy one.   There are tons of other smart link services out there.  And the best way to market your show - is with its own website.  Even if you use a service like Podpage - here's my referral link. https://www.podpage.com/?via=jon

Next time, I'm doing a special episode of this show - where I'll compare audio between Zoom, Skype, Riverside and Squadcast.  Until then, stay healthy and stay safe.  Lata!

Do Ratings and Reviews Matter?

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Do Ratings and Reviews Matter?

It seems almost every podcast you listen to - the host asks you at the beginning - or end - or both - to rate and review the show.  But do ratings and reviews actually matter?

Before COVID, my wife and I really got into cruising.  Rather than pay extra for excursions through the cruise line, she'd find the local businesses on trip advisor and look at the reviews.  Same is true for restaurants.  Whether we were local or travelling, Yelp became a trusted source.   Heck, even Amazon purchases - how many stars do the products have?

Well, I'm here to tell you that those same reviews do not matter when it comes to your podcast.   First of all, the only major platform that lets you rate and review is Apple.  Spotify and Google do not.  But more importantly, your podcast is not a restaurant. People don't find you by reviews.   The top 3 methods of podcast discovery are, in order, 1) Google Search, 2) Recommendations of Friends and Family, and 3) Social Media.   If you want to drive listenership, downloads, and discovery of your show - ask people to share the show with someone they know.  You can also ask them to follow your show. To subscribe can mean a cost.  To follow is free.  If someone is following your show, they'll get each new episode when you release it.

And further adding to the confusion - ratings of the Apple Podcasts APP itself in the app store have gone from 1.8 to 4.7 stars.  Why? People are hearing "rate and review on Apple podcasts," and rating the app, not your show.

Now, what are ratings and reviews for your podcast good for? Well, there's the attaboy and the ego boost - the social proof that people like what you're putting out.  And if someone discovers your podcast, they may look at the reviews, but please don't make that your primary ask.

Other Podcasting News This Week:

Other podcasting news this week - Medium dot com is getting into audio with the purchase of Knowable, an audio learning platform. https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/16/medium-acquires-knowable-to-bring-audio

If you've added or changed a show within Apple Podcasts, they've brought back the refresh feed button if you're not seeing updated content.

Spotify is allowing anyone to buy ads on their platform - that is, anyone who's got a budget of at least $500.

Facebook is really trying to make their audio space matter - website theinformation dot com reports they are giving influencers tens of thousands of dollars to host sessions there. https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facebook-hands-out-cash-to-creators-to-boost-clubhouse-rival

And finally, CNN has re-released Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown series as a podcast - not sure how I feel about that.  And there's a new podcast called The Big Big East Show - it's just 30 years too late.

I leave you this week with the immortal words of Adam Sandler.  Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

To contact me for help launching or improving your podcast - email me.  jag@jagindetroit.com.

Spoken Word Audio is Growing…Fast.

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Earlier this month, Edison Research and National Public Radio released their annual survey of spoken word audio consumption.  The numbers were eye popping.

Bear with me as I'm going to hit you with a lot of numbers today, but I'll try to keep this moving with some context and key points.

For the purpose of the survey, "spoken word audio" is everything from news to sports to talk to audiobooks.  And yes, that includes podcasts.  The survey's been around since 2014.

Quantitative Data:

In the past month, 75% of US adults listened to spoken word audio.   3 out of every 4 people.   And 45% of US adults, almost half, listen to it every single day.   By the way, that's 22 million more daily listeners than 7 years ago.

Back in 2014, spoken word only accounted for 20% of all audio consumption. Today, it's 28% - that's a huge jump of 40%, and 8% in just the last year.  There have been even bigger jumps among 18-34 year olds, and persons of color - two demographics that are very attractive to advertisers.

Today, spoken word audio listeners consume, on average, 2 hours and 6 minutes every day of spoken word audio.  And among the most frequent consumers - daily listeners - they actually split their time between music and spoken word 50/50.

As far as podcasts, 57% of Americans have now listened to a podcast.   Podcast’s share of time within spoken word audio has increased by 176% over the last seven years, including  16% in just the last year.

Mobile devices are also driving the industry's growth - people are now listening to spoken word audio on mobile at almost TRIPLE the amount as when this survey started.   And once again, don't worry about your ratings and reviews - the top ways people find podcasts are, in order - internet search, recommendations of friends and family, and social media.

Qualitative Data:

OK - we covered a lot of numbers.  Let me leave you with some QUALITATIVE data from this report. Podcast listeners are more engaged because they are actively seeking out the content - it's not just being shown to them in an algorithm.   They want information and different perspectives.  And they want to be able to consume that information while multitasking.  And in a surface level, digital world, a majority of listeners in the survey feel consuming this type of media is an effective use of their time.

Spoken word audio is a rapidly growing medium, and I think it's only going to get bigger in 2022.  If a podcast is part of your plans for next year, let me help - my contact information follows.  Until next time, stay healthy and stay safe.   Lata!

Link to survey: www.npr.org/spokenwordaudio

Link to JAG in Detroit Podcasts: www.jagindetroit.com

It Shouldn’t Hurt To Be A Child

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Audio is an incredible powerful medium to tell a story.

Typically I use this show to give you industry trends and podcast tips.  But I want to share with you a project that I was honored to be part of, and really shows the power of audio and podcasting.

Recently, I teamed up with my colleagues at Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications, to create a podcast for their client, CARE House of Oakland County.  CARE House is a CAC, or Child Advocacy Center, providing resources to victims of child abuse.

I gotta admit, I was a little nervous about this project, especially when we decided I would be the one interviewing survivors of some pretty awful stuff.  I wanted to be sure I could conduct these interviews with the appropriate level of professionalism, and, well, CARE.  Turns out, I learned a lot.

First, I learned how amazing these individuals are.  I was able to talk to several women, their parents, and even an adult male who had been abused.  They had two things in common.  One, they were able to explain the incredible specialized treatment that places like CARE House offer.  Two, they are doing, or planning to do, amazing things in their own lives.   Additionally, I was able to speak to our local county prosecutor here in Oakland County, Michigan and find out was goes into holding perpetrators of child abuse accountable.

Child Abuse happens in all forms, across all demographics, and in all places.  You won't hear my voice on this series - it's a narrative podcast, narrated by a voice well known in Detroit - Karen Newman of the Detroit Red Wings.   It's not an episode of SVU - yes, you'll hear what happened to these kids, but just as importantly, you'll learn how they've been helped by CARE House and what's next for them.  We've released 5 episodes with 1 more to come - and most are about 10 minutes.

Again, I don't typically use this space to promote individual shows I've produced.  But I'm so proud of the work we've done on this project - I really hope you'll check it out.  The name of the podcast is easy to remember.  "It Shouldn't Hurt To Be A Child."  You can find it wherever you listen to podcasts, or check the link in today's show notes.

More:

It Shouldn't Hurt To Be A Child Podcast: https://www.podpage.com/it-shouldnt-hurt-to-be-a-child/

CARE House of Oakland County: https://www.carehouse.org/

Not local? Find a Child Advocacy Center Near You: http://nationalcac.org/

JAG in Detroit Podcasts Website: https://jagindetroit.com/

Apple vs Spotify Redux

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Who's bigger? Spotify or Apple?  Well, both....

Welcome in to episode 100 of this season of the Jag Show Podcast. Spotify says it's now bigger than Apple in terms of users.  That's from their Q3 numbers.  As always, Tom Webster from Edison Research has a great explainer on this. (Full disclosure: Spotify and Apple are both Edison clients). Webster says that more users prefer Spotify, but Apple still leads the pack in total downloads.

https://tomwebster.media/the-crux-of-the-kurfuffle/

Bottom line, use whichever one you like.  I tried going back to Apple after they worked out their bugs, but found I personally liked Spotify's user interface better.  Your mileage may vary.

Another battle in podcasting that's heating up is automated transcriptions.  As Amazon makes a big push into the space, they've begun transcribing some of their bigger shows.  If that gets rolled out to all shows, that could make Amazon a bigger player in the podcasting space.  Here's their press release, via PodNews: https://podnews.net/press-release/amazon-music-transcripts

Podcast production house Pineapple Street Media is looking for paid interns for the first half of 2022.  If you want to get into the space, this could be a great opportunity.  Radio people are you listening? I said PAID internships. https://pineapple.fm/internship

As expected, podcast ad revenue is exploding in 2021, still rising after the initial pandemic boost of 2021. Magellan AI has a deep dive into ad revenue, but the key takeaways are podcast ad spending is up 87% year over year, and 22% since just Q2.  You can download their Q3 full report here: https://www.magellan.ai/resources/reports/q3-podcast-advertising-benchmark-report

How much can you charge advertisers on your show, and when can you start?  Advertisecast has rates starting at 1,000 listeners per episode.  Rates have gone up in 2021.  For a 30 second ad, it's $18 CPM, so $18 for every thousand listeners you have.  For a 60 second ad, it's $25 CPM.   They also have a cool interactive calculator to figure out your spend, or maybe what you can charge. https://www.advertisecast.com/podcast-advertising-rates

Meanwhile, we'll find out Friday what the going rates are for podcast editing.  Steve Stewart and Mark Deal of the Podcast Editor's Club do an annual survey of their members to figure out average rates and more information.  They will show their results on Friday at 5pm Eastern, in the Podcast Editor's Club and on YouTube.  https://www.podcasteditoracademy.com/2021survey

And finally, I still don't understand Facebook's podcast rollout.  I listened to the New Media Show's interview with two Facebook employees, and still don't have much clarification - except that you can connect a show to a page, not a personal profile and not a group.  And it will only show up on mobile, not desktop.     It looks like last week's Jag Show Podcast showed up, with the show notes as a huge glob of text, with the audio under it.   If you have a moment, cruise on over to Jag in Detroit Podcasts on your Facebook mobile app, and let me know what you see.  Until next week, stay healthy and stay safe. Lata!