Fri, February 03, 2023

The HIGH ROI of Email Newsletters for Podcasters

Email marketing has the highest return on investment when compared to all the available marketing channels. This is according to Campaign Monitor. Here are my 3 reasons why you should definitely consider email marketing as an effective method to grow your podcast audience. 1) Strengthen the Relationship Between You and Your Listeners 2) Convert Subscribers to Listeners 3) Share Additional Content with Your Subscribers Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/qube/fuel License code: A7OWC26WEHPAVQKP

Fri, January 27, 2023

Revised Best Times To Send Your Emails in 2023

The best time to send your emails in 2023? It’s an important question! Your subscribers have busy lives and the last thing you want is to send them a newsletter while they’re preoccupied with work, or dreaming about their weekend plans. They analyzed over 2.5 million email marketing campaigns sent with MailerLite in 2022, and here’s what we found:  Which day of the week is everyone sending their campaigns?  Email marketers favor Thursday (closely followed by Wednesday) for sending out their campaigns Which day of the week generates the most opens? Thursday is the weekday with the highest open rate in the first 2 hours of sending, closely followed by Monday What time of the day generates the most opens? Most email opens occur between 11AM-12PM, with another peak between 6-7PM and an interesting late-night bump at 2AM (in the sender’s time zone). And more takeaways in this episode. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants

Wed, September 14, 2022

Grow Your Business Podcast Session Announcement

Has your business considered podcasting? Or is your current business podcast not growing your brand? Circle270Media Sessions and CD 92.9 FM present Grow Your Business Podcast! You and your team will hear tips and insights about creating and marketing your business podcast, from professionals who are podcasters and work with podcasters. + Why are podcast websites so important? + What makes your podcast unique on social media? + What does monetizing your podcast really mean? + Why should your choice of podcast equipment be the LAST thing you need to consider? + What do experienced podcasters wish they would have known earlier? Learn how to focus on the WHY you're podcasting, not on the HOW to podcast. The session is Wednesday, September 28th from 4pm-6pm in The Big Room at CD 92.9 FM in The Brewery District. Following the session, The Big Room will be the place to network and ask more questions during our infamous Beerstorming Session. Thanks to MyPodcastGuy.com, Robles Designs, TJE Communications, Don The Idea Guy, and CD92.9 FM. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, September 07, 2022

My Tips for Better Podcast Marketing

As you know, I call this podcast Note To Future Me because I needed a theme around why I do my business podcast. And recording future notes to myself seemed a reasonable and very practical way of reminding my future self of podcasting tips I should take note of, and implement. Well, of course, these Notes To Future Me are just my way of talking to you, my listener, about what I see working, or not working, for podcasters. Whether they are my podcast clients, or I see and hear comments made by other podcasters in podcast groups. In the end, we all learn from the successes and the misses. Since the beginning of the year, I have been making quick notes to myself, observations as they are, about the successes and the misses I have experienced with my clients, as well as what I see commented on by other podcasters. And I now have enough to where I think they should be placed on a Note To Future Me episode - for you and for me. Here we go… My favorites? If I HAD to choose, I would say #20, #30 and #33. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/qube/fuel License code: A7OWC26WEHPAVQKP

Wed, August 31, 2022

YouTube Podcasts and YouTube SEO

Google is finally cleaning up its product portfolio and merging services that just make sense to merge. YouTube is embracing its position as the most-used podcast platform, though unintentional by YouTube, by launching a dedicated podcast page. The podcast page doesn't do much right now. It shows "Popular Episodes" and "Popular Podcast Playlists" for random shows. Clicking through still only gives you the normal YouTube interface. This is all part of a slow rollout plan, which looks like a major push into podcasts from Google's media brand. As the lines between podcasting and YouTube blur, any step the company takes toward consolidating listening could pose a challenge for competitors Spotify and Apple Podcasts. But an opportunity for podcasters. So what does this mean for podcasters today? We think it means podcasters need to be ready to know how YouTube works for search, and be prepared for this platform to be a great tool to brand and market your business podcasts. YouTube is the largest search engine out there, so we might as well make it work in our favor! We have done some research for you and our clients, and we are breaking it down into 8 tips for YouTube SEO. 1. Keyword research 2. Optimize your podcast episode titles for discoverability 3. Use common search phrases for discovery and naming 4. Write smart video descriptions 5. Use both tags and hashtags 6. Use SRT files or closed captioning for YouTube SEO 7. Strong content is key to YouTube SEO for podcasts 8. Engage and encourage Interaction with your YouTube audience Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcas

Wed, August 24, 2022

Why Podcasting Is The Future For Your Business

Podcasting Is The Future For Your Business Podcasts can be used for many different areas of business. In our experiences with our business podcast clients, here are four ways that podcasts can benefit your own business. Traffic Generation Not only can podcasts be shared internally, but they can also be used to target your audience of consumers. Think about what your ideal target market wants to hear from you in 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. It’s as if you’re talking to them one-to-one and they’re absorbing all you have to say. That is an incredibly powerful tool to have in your arsenal. The added bonus is that, if they like your content, they’ll talk about you, your brand, and your business to others, increasing your traffic. Convenience Once your listener subscribes to your podcast, your episodes will automatically be added to their library, meaning they don’t have to search for each new episode using keywords. Your brand and your words will already be waiting for them. Brand Building Giving your market and audience different ways to consume your content and showing that you are an expert in your field gives your brand power. Additional Revenue Streams If you become successful in publishing and engaging different audience types, the industry can be quite lucrative. In the U.S. alone, podcast ad revenue is expected to reach  $4 billion this year by 2024. The more consistent you are in your efforts, the more you will grow. Omnipresence and consistency are key. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation

Wed, August 10, 2022

To Charge or Not To Charge Your Podcast Guests

It is now being reported from FTC disclosure rules that podcasts guests are paying hosts up to $50K for an interview. The disclosures around that exchange aren’t always clear or even existent. The broader podcast industry hasn’t discussed standards around disclosures, and some podcasters don’t know this is happening. The concern many podcasters are expressing is that it taints the medium. That "we are going astray from the core podcasting values that built this space." Or are we now maturing as a medium? Do we now have a better grasp that the content that podcasters create has value? Though it would be argued that it's not the content being sold, the listeners are. But doesn't content and listeners go hand-in-hand? If you don't have great content, you don't have listeners. We need to start giving our listeners and podcasters more credit. Listeners have all the power to make a podcast worth something to the podcaster, whatever that may be. It may be monetizing the content, or just creating and nurturing a community of followers. And give the podcasters credit as well. They know to have a following, they need to deliver content that keeps listeners engaged and respected. Why this matters:  No one likes to be misled.  But . As  this article  on The Big Lead pointed out, it’s not necessarily a bad thing if people want to pay for more exposure. There are a lot of ways to  make money from podcasting . Whatever you do, keep the FTC’s guidelines in mind. Regardless of the medium you work in, the FTC says deception occurs when consumers are misled about the nature or source of advertising or promotional messaging. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with <a href="http://www.channel511.co

Wed, July 20, 2022

Tips To Get More Listeners

Here as some tips for you to implement to get your podcast listened to by more people. Invest in the best quality audio You’ve heard this one before but it bears repeating. Don’t underestimate the importance of quality audio production. Services like Circle270Media Podcast Consultants can support you with making sure you have the best sounding podcast your budget can afford. If it’s difficult for your audience to listen to your podcast… they’ll stop listening to your podcast.  Release consistently Pick a day and time and stick with it. Research shows early week is great for business or personal growth podcasts, for example. And the latter part of the week for more light, entertainment, and lifestyle podcasts. But that doesn’t mean you have to release at that time based on your podcast content. Be sure to release your episodes on the day and time your audience expects to download it. And a schedule that fits YOUR schedule. Become a part of your listeners' routine.  Purchase the url for your podcast  You may not use it right away. But when you’re ready it will be yours. Currently, Apple Podcasts has no restrictions regarding two or more shows having the same name. So owning the url is critically important.  Upload your podcast to your website or create a specific website for your podcast If your existing website is different from the name of your show, be sure to buy the domain for your podcast. Then redirect it to your website. Use the podcast url when asking people to visit the website on your podcast. For example, If the url of your business website is allthingspopcorn.com but the name of your podcast is Movies And Snacks. Ask your listeners to go to moviesandsnacks.com and have that url redirected to allthingspopcorn.com.  Transcribe each podcast episode Services such as Sonix, Headliner, and Descript are affordable and make transcribing your podcast episodes quick and easy. Use these transcripts to write your show notes, and social media posts. As well as find content for your audiograms. Then write detailed show summary notes and upload them to your hosting platform, your website and YouTube.  Detailed show notes can be created from a transcription of your episode and should include a number of things. The description of your episode, a few key takeaways, some time-stamped highlights, your guest bio and headshot, and resource hyperlinks of items mentioned or promoted on the episode. It’s all about the SEO for your content. Promote with Audiograms and use the caption feature Companies like Headliner and Wavve make creating audio clips simple. Use the cover art of the episode along with up to 59-second audio clip to post to your social media. The 59-second mark is important if you want your audiogram to play in its entirety when people scroll their feeds.  <s

Wed, July 13, 2022

Where To Promote Your Podcast

Your podcast has an audience - it’s just a matter of finding it. And the easiest way to do so is to promote your podcast. But where do you start? Let's get you started with this episode. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/qube/fuel License code: A7OWC26WEHPAVQKP

Wed, July 06, 2022

The Truths About Podcast Monetization

Some interesting results from a study done by Improve Podcasts, conducted as an online survey in Q1 2021 and received responses from 1,076 people who self-identified as podcasters, the majority of whom were located in the U.S. Why I want to spotlight this study is this - many of the podcasting statistics were surprising. But also shed a lot of light on the current state of podcasting, and points toward new future trends. Here are the TOP 12 Actionable Highlights, Trends, and Podcasting Statistics. Improve Podcasts Study of Podcasters Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/qube/fuel License code: A7OWC26WEHPAVQKP

Wed, May 18, 2022

Getting Noticed in the Podcast Clutter

How do you cut through the clutter uh of over a million podcasts, compete with the big players, and drive leads to your business? In just 9 minutes you'll find out. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants

Wed, May 04, 2022

Taking A Break From Podcasting Deep Dive

Take a break - it's ok. I talk more about my break, and why you should not feel guilty about your occasional breaks. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. Copyright 2023 Circle270Media Podcast Consultants Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/qube/fuel License code: A7OWC26WEHPAVQKP

Wed, February 02, 2022

How To Become A Happier Podcaster

This is not one of those episodes on how to grow your podcast audience and make lots of money from your podcast. You’ll find that “advice” (and I put that in air quotes) on that elsewhere. Here are some ideas on how to develop a healthy and rewarding relationship with your podcast.  A few episodes ago I put together some ideas on how to avoid podfading.  This episode is for you if… don’t want to get frustrated after a few months you record and publish a podcast and it often feels like a burden you’ve given up recording and publishing your podcast and need some motivation to start it up again. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, January 26, 2022

What Are Five Essential Things That Make A Good Podcast?

As a podcaster, producer, and podcast consultant, my clients ask me questions and I offer direction to help them be better creators. Over the past years working with my clients, this direction usually falls into five essentials that make a good podcast. Is “it” your voice? Is it entertaining? Is it informative? Is it edited? Is it good? Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, January 19, 2022

More Thoughts On How To Avoid Podfading

Podfading, or where podcasts have stopped releasing new episodes, is more common than you realize. January is one of the most popular months to start a podcast. But what happens to those podcasts in February or March? This is when podfading starts. Here are more thoughts on how to avoid podfading, whether you’re just about to begin podcasting or already have been for a while. Know the reason why you're podcasting to avoid podfading If you just want to build a following or have profit as an end goal, you are going to be quickly disappointed if that doesn’t happen as soon as you would like. If at all. Your podcast topic needs to energize you One of the easiest ways to avoid podfading is to be genuinely interested in what your podcast topic is about. Who wants to discuss something they don’t really care for? Who wants to listen to a podcaster who really doesn’t care about the topic they’re podcasting about? Get the help you need You are going to find there are many tasks to be done before that episode is ready for release. It needs editing (I talk about this in the previous episode about podfading), it needs show notes, it needs to be uploaded…the tasks start to add up! And that doesn’t even start the conversation about promoting your back catalog of episodes. If you just want to record your episode and hand off the rest to someone else, that’s perfectly normal. And it makes sense to protect your time. Your focus needs to be on creating content for your listeners. You’re allowed to take a break It’s okay to take some time away from creating your podcast! Before taking a break, make sure you let your listeners know. You don’t want them wondering where you are or worse, unfollowing the podcast because they think you’re done. Rediscover your purpose Ask yourself, do you know what you talked about on your podcast 3 episodes ago, without looking? If you’re finding yourself in a relentless rhythm of recording and releasing, you’ve probably forgotten about the reason that you’re podcasting. Determine what your “why” is and evaluate if it has changed. Revisit your podcast’s mission statement. It’s okay to transition from one “why” to another.  Find inspiration Getting inspired again may not be as difficult as you think! Maybe there’s someone who you look up to in your content niche. Get them on as a guest! Hearing their thoughts may foster some new inspiration in your podcast. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. <

Wed, January 12, 2022

How To Avoid Podfading

Podfading, or where podcasts have stopped releasing new episodes, is more common than you realize. With the reasons wide-ranging, they usually fall into one of the following categories. Lack of any planning Topics that are focusing on the wrong areas Expectations that are unrealistic Over-complicating the process How To Avoid Podfading It's all about building on a solid plan and creating a sustainable content creation method You need to know  why you want to podcast, who you want to reach with your podcast, and  why you want to reach them with a podcast. In this episode, I want to cover some key points that I think are enough to save almost any podcaster from podfading. Create a List of Potential Future Episodes When you've identified your overall topic, and the people you want to reach, breaking this down into episodes is important for a number of reasons. Seeing a list of potential episodes lets you focus on the direction of the show.  Block Out Time & Stay Sustainable Knowing how much time you can dedicate to working on your podcast is crucial. This includes from initial thought on the episode topic to publishing the episode. Rather than worry what is the best publishing frequency to grow your podcast, choose a release frequency that's sustainable for you. That might be weekly, bi-weekly, or you might even want to consider podcasting in seasons. Make a choice, and work out how much time you'll need each week to manage it. Block out that time. It’s a non-negotiable. Make Your Setup Easy & Accessible Working with Circle270Media gives my clients the luxury of a permanent setup or studio environment for recording. There's a decent chance you don't. This is where simplicity can trump having lots of your own sophisticated and complex equipment. When recording an episode means spending lots of time setting gear up, then taking it down afterward, you're at risk of losing your motivation. The more gear in your recording chain, the more risk there is of not switching it on properly too. Doing a great interview and not actually recording it will most certainly put doubts in your mind.  Don't Get Bogged Down By Editing Editing will make your podcast flow better, and make it sound more polished and professional. Editing should be used sparingly, not as a crutch. This means being more mindful of the structure and focus of your episodes before and during the recording session. Treat your recording sessions as if you’re live. This will tighten up your presentation skills. Recording longer episodes on the basis that you can clean them up in editing will add hours of unnecessary work to your

Wed, January 05, 2022

A Better "Podcast Guest Pitch" Process

There are hundreds of little details to think about when pitching yourself as a podcast guest. But for now, focus on these basic elements: Listen to a few episodes of a podcast before pitching. If a podcast isn't a good match for what you do, don't pitch it. If a podcast doesn't have guests, don't pitch it. Check for a "guest submission" process before pitching. If there is one, follow it. Focus your guest pitch on a specific solution for the audience. What can you do for this audience? Be detailed in your pitch. Mention specific episodes and elements of the podcast. Talk about what like about the podcast. Be patient. Give the host enough time to follow up with you.   Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, December 01, 2021

How To Monetize Your Podcast with Local Businesses

A new study (Q4 2021) from Borrel Associates shows small to medium-sized local businesses are aware of podcast advertising but need to be educated on how to purchase podcasts ads. Podcasters are in a prime position to do this, more so than radio account executives. I hope my insights from 35+ years in radio show you the opportunities you have right now. Nearly four in ten local advertisers (38%) say they advertised on local radio in the past 12 months, more than double the portion that bought streaming audio ads (15%) and thirteen times the number that purchased podcast advertising (3%). These new findings from Borrell Associates’ latest survey of local advertisers illuminate a serious awareness issue digital audio advertising has among small and medium-sized businesses. The survey of 178 local businesses conducted from October-November 2021 is the basis for “How Local Marketers View Streaming Audio,” a new report from Borrell. It found respondents were much more familiar with how to buy ads that run on local radio stations compared with streaming audio and podcasts. More than half of the panelists surveyed had low levels of understanding of how to advertise in podcasts. The fact that only 15% have dabbled in streaming audio advertising isn’t because they don’t believe in its effectiveness. Four in ten (38%) of digital audio users say it has been very or extremely effective. That’s in the ballpark with the 43% of those using local radio station spots who said the same about broadcast radio. One glaring reason why advertisers have lower awareness levels for how to buy digital audio is that a majority of panelists (62%) say they haven’t been pitched on digital audio/podcast advertising. Of the 28% that got the pitch but passed, Borrell says 40% said it was too expensive. Not knowing enough about it was another prevalent reason why many panelists have not yet ventured into digital audio advertising. “They aren't buying it because they don't know about it. No one's talking to them so that probably feeds into why they think it's too expensive,” said Borrell Associates VP of Research Corey Elliott in a video summary of the findings. “It’s hard to get behind something when you don't know about it and hard to buy something when it hasn't been pitched.” Suggesting there is a significant untapped opportunity, more than half of small and medium-sized businesses surveyed by Borrell who have not tried digital audio or podcast advertising have at least slight interest in this type of advertising. And among those with any interest in streaming audio or podcast advertising, the main info businesses are seeking before buying include reach, targeting, geographic scope, and reporting metrics. Digital Seen As Better For Targ

Wed, November 17, 2021

Basics To Build Momentum And Interest In Your Podcast

So you’re struggling to build momentum and continued interest around your podcast. The most difficult thing for many people is that it takes time to grow an audience. Podcasters want "instant gratification," and get frustrated and lose interest when their show isn't an immediate success. Let’s review 7 basic ways to build momentum and continued interest around your podcast after your initial launch. 7 Simple Basics To Build Momentum Around Your Podcast 1) Understand your niche. You did your research, and you know this is the lane you want to be in. Use these 5 Steps to continue to define and understand your podcast niche. Identify your interests and passions.  Identify problems you can solve. Research your competition. Determine if this niche can continue to build an audience. Evolve and test your niche idea. 2) What is the message behind your podcast? What makes your show different from the other shows? What is your unique take on the subject? And why should people listen to you in particular? If you can't think of a reason why people should or will want to listen to your show, there's not much point in you publishing it. The message and purpose behind your show is so important. You want people to buy into your show, not your episodes. As in sales, it’s easier to retain listeners than to gain new ones. Your message and purpose are what captures them. This is going to lead to long-term success. 3) Knowing your target audience and how and when they will listen to your podcast will help you decide on the length. Make sure the podcast length fits into their listening day. Start with a small commitment, then when you have the following increase the time if and only if it adds value for the listeners. Make sure your content is on point. Being clear about the message of your show should help with this. If your message is clear people will be attracted to what you have to say. 4. Find out which social media platform your audience is most engaged on. If you have a travel show, maybe it's Instagram. If you have an education podcast about language, maybe it's a Facebook group. This is going to be unique to you and your show. So find out by doing simple research and pinpointing where the largest community is for your niche. 5) Be consistent on ONE social media platform. Understand that you aren't a marketing guru or a social media agency. You don't have all the time in the world or all the content in the world to engage on all major social media platforms to ensure growth through engagement. Your attention will be divided. You'll feel overwhelmed, overworked and the worst part, you WILL most likely not get the results you are expecting.  Figure out the algorithm of that one social media platform. Do your research on what works, and what doesn't. And then start using the platform using best practices. This takes concentration and time. <

Thu, November 04, 2021

Go Beyond Being a "Podcaster" with Matty Staudt

What does it mean to go beyond being a "podcaster?" My guest on this episode is Matty Staudt . He's been making podcasts for entertainment and business for over 14 years. Since cracking the mic at 16, audio has been his life at such companies as CBS, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and currently Amaze Media Labs . According to Eric Nuzum, podcasters are audio makers , but they’re not in the audio business. Following his podcasting masterclass at Radiodays Europe in September, the veteran creator, strategist, and Magnificent Noise co-founder was asked to deliver five ideas around podcasting.  "Idea Number 1: Don’t be a podcaster." Nuzum encourages podcasters and radio producers alike to think of themselves as "audio makers." Worrying about platforms will only limit your perceived versatility. To let go of that label now is to save yourself existential anxiety in 10 years when something new comes along. "Idea Number 4: You are not in the audio business." Those that make podcasts are in the community building business, Nuzum says: "You are establishing a hub for a community of people who love a subject or a topic and want to…interact about it." Fostering that hub isn’t optional if you plan to grow. "You are not in the audio business; you are in the community building business." Matty and I talk about how brands look at podcasting, and their mindset on how podcasting builds community. And how podcasting is central to community building and engagement for businesses and brands. It's about looking at podcasting as a means to an end - your business or brand goal. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open Th

Thu, October 28, 2021

Podcast Marketing Tips - Collaborate

What can you do to promote your podcast? We have done some research with our clients, and fellow podcasters, and put together 13 different buckets of ideas on how to do it. The best tip - Don’t get overwhelmed by marketing tips. Every tip you read has worked for that particular person. Do what’s comfortable, do what you will do consistently. Let's dig into how to collaborate. 1) “Brand partnerships” with an organization or brand product that has a similar audience. Cross-promote by mentioning them in your podcast, and ask them to spotlight you in their newsletter. 2) Don’t try to recreate the wheel or build an audience from scratch. Podcasters already have audiences, so tap into them by having them on your show. Encourage them to share the episode with their audience! This is an immediate way to get in front of thousands of new people, without spending a dollar in ads! 3) Network with other Podcasts. Partnering with other Podcasts is valuable. Don’t look at everyone as competition. You have an opportunity to capture their audience and vice versa. With an estimated 2 million podcasts (2021), stats are showing only 300k to 600k podcasts publish on a regular basis. There is enough space for everyone! 4) Show your fandom. Amplify the shows you love and that favor will be returned. 5) Start a traditional street team. Arm your super fans with stickers and flyers, digital postcards, podcast business cards, and audiograms, to help spread the word. 6) Partner with established businesses and have them link to your podcast. This is a win-win as you get access to their clientele while you provide them with valuable content to share with their audience. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podca

Wed, October 20, 2021

Key Strategies To Build A Strong Podcast Brand

Developing a podcast brand may be the last thing you think about when putting together your podcast.  And this may be why most podcasters fail. The term “brand” refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people (your listeners) identify a particular company, product, or individual. Brands are intangible, which means you can't actually touch or see them. They help shape people's (your listeners) perceptions of companies, their products, or individuals. Here's an easy way of wrapping your head around branding.  What do people say your podcast is when you're not in the room? Can a person (you) be a brand? Anyone can quickly and easily be a brand. You don't need to be famous. Branding is important because not only is it what makes a memorable impression on your listeners, but it allows your listeners to know what to expect from your podcast. A strong brand will help your audience identify with your message and keep them coming back for more content. It also helps establish your topic as a credible source. The best podcasts have a distinct voice that is personable and authentic.  Which leads to a loyal following who will continue to listen even if they don’t have anything new to say. The key strategies to build a strong brand are: -Define it -Match your podcast name to it -Develop it -Develop the look -Get it out there -Get it out there consistently Define your podcast brand To create your podcast brand effectively, you need to have a clear idea of the type of the brand you are wanting to create. You need to understand what your ‘brand’ is. Here are some questions that can help you. What is your podcast’s mission? What is your podcast’s vision? Who are you targeting as the key listeners to your show? Why should they listen? What can they expect when tuning into your show? Match your podcast name to the brand After defining your podcast brand, decide on a name for your show. But not just any name! You need to decide on a name that strengthens your brand, and leaves no doubt about your brand in the mind of your targeted listeners. Your podcast name needs to match your brand. Your podcast name should be: unique catchy easy to remember consistent with the message on your podcast Put the time in to find the right name. Use Google searches. Brainstorm with your podcast partners, family and friends (you’d be amazed what will come out of a “ beerstorming or beanstorming session ”). Keep the list, let it set for a day or two, and come back to it with fresh eyes and a clear mind. Let the process work, and you’ll have the perfect podcast name that is your brand identity! Develop that podcast brand Develop your own signa

Thu, October 14, 2021

The Power of LinkedIn for Podcasters

We as podcasters, on the whole, underutilize LinkedIn as a marketing and connection tool. A majority of our time is spent on the other big three - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. So what are we missing? Why are we NOT living on LinkedIn like we do these other social media platforms? Could it be we just don't know about some best practices and new features? So what better way to learn how to use this business professional media platform than to talk to one of the preeminent LinkedIn experts. Debra Mathias is the owner of Connect To Clients , based in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina area. Since 2011 she's been assisting entrepreneurs, small business and Fortune 500 companies to use her proven method of Networking with LinkedIn She is a LinkedIn Business Coach. Career Transition Expert. LinkedIn Sales Strategist, Relationship Builder, LinkedInLocal Host, and a Connection Specialist using Networking with LinkedIn and Career Transitioning with LinkedIn. So what are some best LinkedIn practices we need to know about? Deb's top 3 include: 1. Check your dashboard daily for leads. 2. Post creative content 1 or 2 times per week. We can expound on creative content and what it takes to get people to "view your content", tagging, hashtags etc. 3. Like, comment, and share your network's content. It gets you in front of their audience and vice versa. How about new LinkedIn features? Deb's top 3 include: 1. Cover Story. Create a video to replace your photo on LinkedIn. 2. Provided Services on your profile: Add up to 5 services that your business does. 3. Creator Mode. This is for influencers or anyone wanting to get their name and content out there. It will flip your activity, Featured and About Sections so that people see your content first. It will also show how many followers you have instead of connections. Keep up with what's new on LinkedIn by following Deb. And connect with her as well. When you connect, tell her you heard her on the Note To Future Me podcast, and mention your favorite ice cream flavor (she'll understand!). Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  <a href="https://note-to-future-me.captivate.fm/openthemic" rel="noopener norefe

Wed, October 06, 2021

Laura Oldham from Starburst Media and Your Podcast Website

This Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp incident on October 4, 2021 was more than a mild inconvenience. Or as Facebook internally called it "a snow day." As a podcaster, we hope you now see the urgency in creating a standalone website entirely separate from social media. If this downtime were to happen to Spotify or Apple, far too many podcasters would end up losing listeners. And even worse, revenue. My guest is Laura Oldham, founder of Starburst Media . I have known Laura since 2017, as she was the first guest on the TriVillage Chamber Partnership podcast Business Inspires . We've worked together over the years on a few projects. I wanted to get her insight on how important a website is for podcasters. Her focus with Starburst Media is mainly on building websites in WordPress, Shopify and Squarespace and giving her clients the tools to make their own changes so they don’t necessarily need to depend upon Starburst Media (or another firm) to keep their websites up to date. If you haven't built a podcast website, now is the time. And by podcast website, we mean a standalone website not through your hosting platform. This Facebook incident on October 4, 2021 won't be the last time social media will go down. And if you completely rely on social media to promote your podcast, to promote your business, you're building your "castle on sand," as the saying goes. As she states... If there's ever been a time, it was made clear why you shouldn't have one company controlling such a big chunk of your communications. Where people in countries weren't able to communicate with family members. And businesses weren't able to do basic commerce that rely upon Facebook. Laura covers some do's and don'ts when creating a website. Her main advice is just don't overthink it. ...enough that someone can find you and get a feel for what it is that you're trying to share with them, sell them, whatever it is. But even the most basic Wix website or Squarespace website can be really easy to throw together as long as you just don't overthink what should go on the website. Is WordPress the best route to go? If you blog and podcast, yes. WordPress was made for this. If you are looking at adding very little blog content to your website over time, Squarespace and Wix are good, easy options. When the time comes to build, or update, your website, you may want to consider outside help like Starburst Media offers. Laura offers

Thu, September 30, 2021

5 Simple Ways to Ask Your Listeners for Support of Your Podcast

Before you launch your podcast, so much of your time and energy will be spent getting the sound and feel just right. Choosing the right format. Researching the best publishing frequency and day of the week. You're doing all the podcast things you’re supposed to do in order to make a really great podcast. Soon the time will come to press publish, and you need a plan to promote the podcast. Here are 5 simple ways to ask your listeners to support your podcast. 1) Ask them to sign up for your newsletter. That being said, your newsletter needs to be subscriber-worthy. What are you doing with your newsletter beyond promoting your current episode?  How are you engaging the reader?  Is signing up worth their time?  How easy do you make it to sign up? If you already have a newsletter with subscribers, congratulations.  You now can implement one of the most effective marketing tools a podcaster can have.   Building an email list from scratch?  Here are some ideas to consider… Choose A Trustworthy and easy-to-use Email Marketing Platform.  Give People Incentives to Sign Up.  Create Pop-Ups For Your Website.  Leverage Your Social Media Accounts.  Additionally, Emphasize how easy it is to sign up for your newsletter Keep stating your call to action over time  Put the link everywhere It will build over time: You’ll see some fans subscribe immediately, but you’ll continue seeing substantial growth even 3-6 months after you launch. The key is consistently including your call to action and experimenting with what gets listeners excited to sign up.  2) Ask them to write reviews or comments about your podcast. This could take the form of  Leaving a review of your podcast on iTunes,  Leaving comments on your podcast Facebook page,  Encouraging comments on your podcast website blog post that features your podcast episodes, Setting up a Google My Business page for your podcast, or Ask for feedback on a Google Voice phone number. 3) Ask your listeners to share your podcast on social media by specifically tagging their friends. Not only does this share the podcast, tagging friends can encourage the listener to comment to the tagged friend WHY they should listen to the episode.  Feedback for you, and social media loves shares. 4) Ask listeners how the podcast (or a specific episode) has helped them. There are basically 6 things you need to do in a podcast. laugh cry  think  groan  educate entertain  or a combination of any of these If you're not doing one of those 7 things, you're boring. And there won’t be any incentive for your listener to WANT to talk about your podcast. 5) Ask them to follow you on social media Same rules apply about the why’s of following you as I

Thu, September 16, 2021

Circle270Media Celebrates 5 Years (and What I've Learned Along The Way)

September 2021 marks 5 years for Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. And what a 5 years it's been. I wanted to put together a quick "look back" for me, and for anyone else looking for advice, incentive, or insight, on how to march forward from working for someone else to working for yourself. What have I learned? Trust your gut instincts on when to start. Surround yourself with trusted people to hold you accountable. Be open to any and all opportunities. Protect your time. But, put in the time, with focus. Always have "plan B." What should have I done earlier? Engaged with a business manager and/or mentor. How's your journey? Contact me at podcasts@circle270media.com or go to  My Podcast Guy. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Thu, September 09, 2021

Launch a Podcast to Successfully Differentiate Your Law Firm

Success stories are always fun to talk about. My client, Yavitch & Palmer, Attorneys at Law, produces a weekly podcast, Lawyer Talk: Off The Record.  In September 2021, Steve Palmer, the host, will be recording and publishing the podcast’s 200th episode. What keeps this podcast going?  Well, I can tell you, it has seen it’s ups and downs since the first episode published in February 2018.   Some ups include moving the recording “round table” from Steve’s office to opening the 511 Studios in the lower level of his building in downtown Columbus. Which now has expanded into video production and video streaming.  If you get a chance, go to channel511.com and take a quick tour of the place. And there have been downs.  COVID set back Steve’s practice, and caused a reduction in staff and attorneys who were co-hosts on the podcast. But through it all, the podcast has remained a staple for the law firm, in its marketing and networking opportunities. What did we learn?  What are we continuing to do to keep the podcast fresh, and to keep increasing listeners?   Here are three areas we never deviated from... 1) Seek out stories that stand out and stack up It’s easy to take the same route as other attorneys and law firms in terms of marketing, but creating a podcast helps differentiate Yavitch & Palmer from the competition. We continually find a creative approach to showcase thoughts from Steve and his attorney guests’, on hot topics in the legal industry. We don’t shy away from trending pop culture stories that could tie back to the practice area. The goal is to create content that builds a following. 2) Focus on relaxed table talk We know what makes Lawyer Talk: Off The Record one of the best law firm podcasts. We have niche topics that allow co-hosts and guest attorneys to take a different approach to a subject and share their perspective. One key is to ensure attorneys are relaxed and conversational so that discussion flows like a table talk. That’s why we record the podcast at a round table. We know more structured, scripted podcasts prevent listeners from relating to the hosts and guests. 3) Define success Once we made the strategic decision to add podcasting to the law firm’s marketing mix, we set defined goals. These include driving more website traffic, increasing the visibility of a certain practice area, and nurturing relationships with guests, like potential clients and referral sources.  A big part of gaining a degree of authority is positioning yourself as an expert on a topic while being completely honest about it. Because of the format of Lawyer Talk: Off The Record, Steve Palmer, his law firm attorneys, and his guests know being a part of this podcast allows them to “show off” their knowledge in an informal, relatable setting.  Which makes an easy podcast to listen to, even with a roundtable full of lawyers! We also know we have a “secret ingredient” no oth

Wed, September 01, 2021

5-Step Podcast Guest Pitch Process

A 5-Step "Podcast Guest Pitch" Process There are hundreds of little details to think about when pitching yourself as a podcast guest. But for now, focus on these basic elements: 1) Listen to a few episodes of a podcast before pitching. If a podcast isn't a good match for what you do, don't pitch it. If a podcast doesn't have guests, don't pitch it. 2) Check for a "guest submission" process before pitching. If there is one, follow it to the letter. David Hooper from The Big Podcast - 3 Rules for Podcast Guests (and Those Who Book Them) and his recent round and round with a potential podcast guest and her personal booking person 3) Focus your guest pitch on a specific solution for their audience. What can you do for this audience? 4) Be detailed in your pitch. Mention specific episodes and elements of the podcast. Sincerely talk about what you like about the podcast. 5) Be patient. Give the host enough time to follow up with you. Their timetable is not your timetable.  And recognize they may be in a different time zone than you. If you’re looking for more tailored help, then be sure to connect with our dedicated team of podcast professionals. We’ll help your business create a podcast from planning and launching to editing, presentation skills, promotion, and monetization.  Interested in speaking with one of our professionals? Click here! We’ve put together a questionnaire to quickly fill out.  This will help us help you prior to our first information meeting, which you can schedule when you complete the questionnaire.  The link is in the podcast show notes. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Produc

Thu, August 26, 2021

Worst Advice Given To You As A Podcaster

I occasionally like to go through podcast Facebook groups and save posts that have interesting questions. And then go back over time, say two, three, four weeks later, to see all the comments. And this post from a few months ago was asking the question, what was the worst advice given to you as a podcaster? The answers were really insightful and contradictory. I think a lot of it comes back down to the focus of your what do you want to accomplish. And as I read through these comments, you'll see the contradictions. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, August 18, 2021

Increase Your Audience Size with a Better Social Media Strategy

One of your top priorities for your podcast is to increase your audience size. So at first glance, you may think that running Facebook Ads or organic posts would be a good marketing option to help increase your listening numbers and followers. After all, Facebook ads allow you to finely target your audience. And you can do it in a very cost-effective way. The point with this episode is not so much to argue that Facebook is inherently a poor platform to advertise or organically post podcast information. But rather to point out that there is a better way. What you need to consider is where you send traffic once someone clicks on your ad or link from your post. For the most part, podcasters promote their podcasts and episodes on Facebook by directly linking to the Apple Podcasts or Android episode pages. This could be because of a couple of reasons. One, podcasters have been indoctrinated from the start that Apple Podcasts is the largest and most listened to podcast directory. And for Android users, Spotify is most friendly and universal. Then it stands to reason that when you promote your podcast, send the listener there. This should make it very easy for your potential listener to listen to your podcast. Apple Podcasts and Spotify are, after all, where you want people to go to follow your show. And this seems to be the best way to meet your potential listener halfway. To capture people on mobile devices. Target an iOS audience to the direct link of the Apple Podcasts episode. And for Android users, by sending them to the Spotify episode link. Secondly, this could be coming from the fact that most podcasters do not have a standalone website. That is, a podcast website outside of your hosting platform. A website you own and maintain. Or, at the very least, the podcaster’s website is not user friendly, and does not represent the branding of the podcast. Is it “free” with your audio hosting platform, or a free version of Wix, or similar free web hosting platforms. To that end, I have seen comments in Facebook podcasting groups arguing that sending your listeners to Apple Podcasts or Spotify is better than sending people to a podcast show notes page on your website. In fact, many of these posts argue that you don’t need podcast show notes pages at all. So save the time and effort. There are a few reasons I fundamentally disagree with sending new listeners to your Apple Podcasts and Spotify podcast links. Apple Podcasts and Spotify don’t need more traffic from your Facebook organic or paid podcast marketing. You are paying, with your time or money, for traffic that you’re sending to Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Really? Instead, your podcast website could be benefitting from greater search engine authority, rank and traffic. That increases your find-ability for all Google searches. Buying Facebook ads will cost you too much in the long run. ​​Your ads may result

Wed, August 11, 2021

Podcast Marketing Ideas That Will Impact Your Success

Let’s cover 3 different podcast marketing ideas that will work for you. Whether you’re just launching your podcast or simply want to increase your podcast followers and subscribers. 3 Podcast Marketing Ideas When you produce a podcast, focusing on specific marketing channels can significantly impact your podcast’s success. Here are 3 online marketing strategies that can increase your listeners and the success of your podcast. Branding The foundation of your marketing efforts will hinge on a well-established brand for your podcast. A brand is a promise to your listeners. A promise of what content you are producing for your listeners. Plus, listeners need to have a positive impression of your podcast.  Effective branding begins with an attractive logo, thumbnail artwork, color palette, and accompanying branding elements that serve as the image of your podcast. All of these elements will be incorporated throughout all of your digital marketing efforts. For example, your website, podcast business cards, and online promotions should all have cohesive branding. This will help build your podcast brand recognition and awareness. You may already have your logo and branding figured out. Or is it time for a refresh? You can turn to Circle270Media to help you create the perfect brand image for your podcast. Website Listeners from all of your marketing channels will be directed to your podcast website. And I mean a podcast website outside of your podcasting hosting platform.  With this in mind, you want a clean design and an easy-to-use interface. This will increase engagement and get more followers to your podcast.  Make it easy for your podcast website visitors to find all the necessary information about your podcast. It can influence their decision to follow your podcast, or other calls-to-action you have in place. Some items to include would be.. About your podcast. Include a photo of yourself and your co-hosts to make it more personal. Testimonials from listeners. Contact information, such as email address and social media. Links to your podcast on podcast directories. Pages specific to each episode. This is for SEO purposes, and for page sharing opportunities. You can design a website on your own from a pre-built template using website builders such as Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress. If this is too much for your time and abilities, Circle270Media works with a number of website builders that know podcasting. Email Marketing Smart podcasters rely on email marketing to grow their podcast. For example, o<a href="https://www.oberlo.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics" rel="noopener noreferrer" tar

Wed, August 04, 2021

Search In Podcast Apps with Mark Steadman

For years, the prevailing wisdom has been that your podcast name and episode titles are the biggest factors in helping listeners find your podcast. But, a good, detailed but not over-long description can help capture some of those relevant search terms? Well, maybe, kind-of, not always, but sometimes, but rarely, probably not. The truth is that’s pretty much never been the case for Apple Podcasts. It only cares about your titles and your author tags. But what about the increasing number of podcast directories? Where do we need to focus our efforts if we want episodes to surface for relevant search terms? And how can we avoid wasting our time filling out information that is truly optional or has no importance? I spoke with Mark Steadman, who is a podcast producer, consultant, and coach. He runs Origin , a podcast studio helping thoughtful, creative people of purpose use their voice to make a positive impact. He recently teamed up with James Cridland, the editor of Podnews , to perform some experiments on a couple of their podcast feeds they knew wouldn’t cause waves of confusion were they to stuff them full of nonsense words in the name of science. The idea was to pick a different nonsense word for each relevant podcast-related tag in their RSS feeds, and to see which podcast apps picked up which words. What stirred his interest in doing this podcast app search experiment was after listening to an episode of The Feed, the Libsyn podcast, and he heard them talking about the things that appear in search. Rob started talking about the various things that Apple Podcasts indexed. I realized I hadn't really thought about it. There were a couple of things that I sort of vaguely think I knew. With anything that's self taught, there's always going to be gaps in your knowledge. In his experiment, they use the top 14 podcast apps, including Google Podcast. Being a Google product, one might it would be the wild card on the list, quite frankly. From what he saw, it wasn't. Were those podcast apps really developed as discoverable, findable types of play? They do what they do really well. They play podcasts, but were they really built to do that? Maybe we're asking a bit too much of them? I had a lovely chat with J.J. at GoodPods, because I think there is, with GoodPods specifically, a real opportunity there. I think it is much more a discovery engine than it is a player. I think I would really like to see search play a better role in that. What we're addressing is find-ability. Let's just kick that "discoverability" word off of our lexicon. Overall, here are the key points from this experiment... Apple Podcasts only searches your podcast name, episode titles, and author tags (this ma

Wed, July 28, 2021

Get More Reviews For Your Podcast

Apple doesn't publicly disclose a lot of information about how their podcast rankings work. And if you think about it, that makes sense. If they did, many podcasters (and marketers who sell to podcasters) would try to “game” the system, which would devalue the entire thing. Here’s what we instill in our podcast clients from the very start. Forget about Ratings and Rankings. Podcast reviews are what we want to focus on. Podcast reviews help establish social proof for your show. They offer feedback on what your listeners like (or dislike) about your podcast.   Here are the most powerful ways we at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants suggest to our clients to get more ratings and reviews: 1. Make an amazing podcast There’s no point in asking for or even getting reviews if your podcast is horrible. Make your podcast so good your audience will want to write a review without being asked. 2. Read reviews in your podcast Turn your audience into celebrities by sharing their reviews—even if only excerpts—on your podcast. Thank those people by name and especially point out if their review was from outside your own country.  3. Have fun Inspire some creativity, suggest a question they should answer, or do something entertaining based on the review! 4. Make it easy Instead of giving complicated, single-platform instructions in your podcast, point your audience to a webpage with simple instructions and a link that launches the podcast app directly to your podcast.  This can be done through Please Review My Podcast tutorial. Outside of iTunes, we suggest creating and promoting a Google My Business page for the podcast. 5. Offer an incentive Hearing their name in your podcast may be enough incentive, but you could also offer to link to their website, give a shoutout to their project, or host a giveaway. 6. Use your negative reviews It might hurt to receive a negative review, but learning from and sharing it on your podcast often inspires your fans to rise up to support you. 7. Be strategic with calls to action Deliver a good podcast first, and don't overwhelm your audience by asking them to do too many things. Consider putting your request for reviews in a rotation of calls to action, or make it part of an automated email sequence. If you’re looking for more tailored help, then be sure to connect with our dedicated team of podcast professionals. We’ll help your business create a podcast from planning and launching to editing, presentation skills, promotion, and monetization.  Interested in speaking with one of our professionals? Click here ! We’ve put together a questionnaire to quickly fill out.  This will help us h

Thu, July 22, 2021

Make Money From Your Podcast Without Downloads

If selling podcast sponsorships is not your thing, the power to make money from your podcast is in your control with these options. Affiliate Advertising This is where you direct your listeners to a company that you love using, by offering a link or special discount code. You earn a percentage of the sale for every sale the company gets from those who have used your link. Run these just like you would a normal ad campaign. Create audio that includes the affiliate link, do a host live read, and put links in your show notes. And you do have to do this. You have to disclose on your website that they are affiliate links. There are numerous, reputable affiliate networks that can help facilitate this process. They make it nice and easy to get started. Rakuten , CJ Affiliate and Share A Sale are some great examples.  Premium Content This is a type of digital content that may be accessed for a fee, and is usually of higher quality or more desirable than free content. Creating premium content is a great way to make money by offering content – any kind of content – that your listeners can’t get unless they pay for it. Apple Podcasts Subscriptions and channels are a new way to monetize. When listeners purchase a subscription to a show, they automatically follow the show and the page is updated with a Subscriber Edition label so they know they have access to the premium experience. You, as the content creator, can set the price for subscription.  You’ll have to share a percentage of your subscription price with Apple.  That percentage decreases over time. Patreon may be a better option. Content creators have more control of their subscriber contact information, compared to Apple. Patreon has a really simple way of helping content creators, by allowing different payment tiers access to different content. PDFs, transcripts, ebooks, photos, or even video. But, as with all premium content, you have to ask yourself: “Is it premium enough? Would I pay for this?”  Another way to offer premium content is to limit the amount of shows that you offer for free. Then, if your followers want anything past that, they have to pay a monthly fee. A number of podcast hosting platforms offer premium access to content. CaptivateFM allows a private podcast feed and, if you want to monetize, a way to collect and manage payment

Wed, July 14, 2021

Podcasting is Effective For Brand Building

Podcasting may be the next step in brand building your personal brand beyond your blog.  Some days, it can seem impossible to reach your target market with just content, social media marketing, and advertising. You have a message that needs to get out there. And audio can help you do this faster.  Establishing yourself as a leading authority in your industry is an important goal. To do this more efficiently, we strongly recommend you should consider hosting your own podcast or at least being a part of one. First things first. Your podcast needs to stand out from the rest and become uniquely your own.  This is going to require an investment of time on your part.  But the payoff is great. This podcast will be launching you into a new arena that can propel your business forward. Why start a brand building podcast? To build a trusted brand it’s important to continue to expand your marketing efforts into new digital arenas. This helps you meet your audience where they are active and engaging.  Today’s information age is focused on relationship building. What a better way to do this than through your own dedicated podcast. Your exposure has the potential to grow far more than just leveraging social media and your blog. Your listeners are on the go and are getting their information quickly from the mobile devices. Meeting them where they are is a quick and easy way to build an audience online. A great way to start is by repurposing your blog posts.  Create something that either educates, informs, or entertains your audience. Doing so consistently will encourage them to follow your podcast for more.  Your podcast must present a fresh message that speaks to your audience in an interesting way. Originality is the key. All the while putting your own voice into what you produce. Here is how we help our clients start. Create a separate schedule just for podcasts You already have a regular content and social media plan. This should be no different for your podcast as well.  Choose a specific day and time slot that works well for you. Stick with that schedule. Implement your calendar tools to send out notifications to your followers so that they easily add your shows to their busy schedules. This offers them the opportunity to listen as they get the notification.  Or by encouraging them to follow your podcast on their preferred podcast player. Expand on your branded online profile Once you know what your show is going to be about, expand on your established online brand.  What you choose should be consistent with what you have currently created. Yet let it reflect a podcast style. Use a general but flexible template to save time We advise not to write a full-

Wed, June 30, 2021

Turn Your Blog Posts into Podcasts (Why You Should)

How to Turn Your Blog Posts into Audio Podcasts (And Why You Should)   You might be thinking that starting a podcast isn’t right for your business. But that’s not the case. You can turn your own blog content into podcast episodes that your audience can listen to while they drive to work, while they’re walking, while they’re working out — pretty much any time, anywhere.  Why should you turn blog posts into audio podcasts? Everybody has their own preferred way to consume content; some people like to read, some like to watch videos and others like to listen. Turning your blog post into audio podcasts has a number of benefits for your business marketing objectives overall. You can widen your reach and connect with target audience members that you wouldn’t have encountered before. Just by repurposing your written content into audio content. When users follow a podcast, they’re likely to listen to each podcast episode and stay through to the end. Written content more often is skimmed . In fact, 43 percent of people admit to skimming blog posts, according to OptinMonster.  Podcasts episodes may just be the perfect way to get your message absorbed by consumers. Now that you know the “why”, here’s how to turn your blog posts into audio podcasts. Determine your best blog posts You need to determine which blog posts will best lend themselves to engaging podcast episodes. Not every single blog post on your website will make a great podcast episode.  When repurposing content in general, it’s good practice to repurpose the content that performed the best. You already know it works.  Now with an audio podcast, some of your blog posts that didn’t perform as well might make awesome podcast episodes. Your first steps will be to do some digging through your blog content and figure out what posts you’ll turn into podcast episodes.  You can also use a free tool like Google Analytics. To find your most popular pages, go to your website’s Google Analytics. Navigate to Behavior > Site Content > All Pages, you'll be able to see page view data for every page on your site. Record it You can simply read some of your best blog posts using your own voice, you as the owner of your business. You do need to consider quality. No one will want to listen to your podcast if the audio is poor, or if it’s poorly edited. Audio quality has been scientifically proven to have a significant effect on how listeners evaluate a speaker. Check out this study by USC and the Australian National University: “ The quality of audio influences whether you believe what you hear ”. It shows that a

Wed, June 23, 2021

Five Strategies For Podcast Success

We’ve put these five strategies together to take your business podcast to the next level.  Podcasts are as important to content marketing and branding as a blog was a few years ago! So, if you thought podcasts were just a fun way to create content for your prospective customers….think again! It’s now become a vital way to do so. Podcasting for Businesses Podcasting is a great way to raise awareness for you, your business, and the products and services you sell. For whatever size business stage you are currently. But, it’s not without a steep learning curve. You may need help along the way. At Circle270Media Podcast Consultants, we don't let our podcast clients remain. Our goal is to develop unique data-driven marketing strategies for each business we serve. Our ultimate goal is to help our clients grow and continue to do all the amazing work they do. Our team of podcasting professionals can help you get off the ground quickly and effortlessly. Our approach is to let you focus on your content.  Do you still want to try podcasting on your own? We understand.  Keep listening to learn 5 Tips to Successful Podcasting! Have you already started your very own podcast? Are you thinking of launching one soon? Either way, here are the rest of these podcast tips to learn 5 strategies for success. And, at the end of the podcast, we’re going to help you find professional podcast help if you need it! Define a Successful Podcast What does success look like to you? Success means many different things to many different people. For some business owners and their podcasts, it’s all about the downloads! For others, it's earning a full-time living from their shows. Many business podcasters see success as developing leads from their content for the products and services they offer. And yet for others, it’s simply a case of having a creative outlet and a platform to create awareness and tell their stories. So, what does success look like to you ?  Do you have a “Why” You can be the most prepared podcaster, but when you run a podcast, things don’t always go to plan.  Knowing your “why” will keep you focused, even when things go wrong. Equipment malfunctions, guests not showing up, etc., the list goes on. It’s really not a matter of if , it’s a matter of when . So, what’s your “why”? It’s a marathon. Not a sprint. Most aspiring podcasters don’t want to hear that it can take years to build an audience when you’re working without a team of professionals. As a business owner, you know you wear many hats. And in order to make a successful podcast, you need to be prepared to turn up consistently and regularl

Fri, June 18, 2021

Circle270Media's Brett Johnson on The Podcast On Podcasting

"Today, Brett Johnson helps us understand that making mistakes on your podcast is totally fine. You just have to learn from it and use the right tools and equipment to elevate your show." This episode was originally published on June 17, 2021. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, June 16, 2021

Time Spent With Podcasts Doubling

While eMarketer forecasts time spent with radio to stay steady over the next several years, its projection for digital audio shows an increase of 20 minutes per day from 2019 to 2023, according to the research company's May 2021 report “US Time Spent with Media 2021.” The report also sees average time spent daily with podcasts more than doubling from 2019 to 2023. Digital audio – which includes all internet-based audio streaming services within an app or website, including the online streams of AM/FM stations, along with podcasts and pure play services such as Apple Music, Spotify and Pandora – surpassed terrestrial radio in average time spent daily for the first time in 2020, gaining eight minutes from 2019 to one hour and 30 minutes, compared to radio's 1:28. eMarketer's analysis explains this increase as resulting from “consumers' audio listening habits disrupted by the loss of commuting early in the pandemic.” The forecast for 2021 shows the average adult spending one hour and 36 minutes consuming digital audio content daily, up 6.6% year-over-year vs. an 8.8% rise in 2020. While in 2020 digital accounted for just over half of total time spent with audio, that number is predicted to move to 52.6% for 2021 and near 55% by 2023. A key driver in time spent with digital audio are podcasts, which eMarketer's report says “have seen an unexpected spike in popularity as long-form audio engagement became easier to undertake at any given time of day during the pandemic.” Podcasts accounted for 18.2% of that time spent during 2020, up from 14.8% in 2019. That share is expected to pass the 20% mark in 2021 and eventually the 25% level in 2023. Among podcast listeners, podcasts’ share of digital audio usage is at 36.5% this year and predicted to pass 40% by 2023. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marke

Wed, May 19, 2021

The Benefits of Starting Multiple Podcasts

Starting multiple podcasts can be a great way for you to expand your podcast horizon. It gives you the freedom to explore new topics with new listeners. Audio has limitless possibilities. There are no gatekeepers to tell you what you can and can't put out there. This absolutely  can  be done. For the purposes of this episode, when I talk about multiple episodes, I am referring to starting a podcast, creating content for it through its natural end, and then beginning another. And that is exactly what my guest has done over 4 times since 2005. In this episode, I talk with Pam Perry from Pam Perry PR , PR and Branding Solutions for Seasoned Speakers. She has gone through many iterations of different podcasts, which in itself is a great story. And we talk about each of those business podcasts that she created for herself, as well as with business partners. And how creating all of those podcasts has now brought her to her current podcast, Get Out There And Get Known. What she learned from all those podcasts has now culminated what she's creating right now. Plus, she has some fantastic advice for business owners considering podcasting as a marketing tool. Here's some of her advice... on protecting your content...own your RSS feed! to ensure success, plan your episodes! Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Fri, April 30, 2021

How To Get Traction For Your Guest Focused Podcast

The biggest benefit of starting a guest focused podcast is that it can give you access to influencers and people who you personally look up to. You should always be bringing on guests your listeners will benefit from.  From there, make sure they have a story to tell or something to teach that your audience will benefit from are someone that you personally have an interest in talking to So keep in mind, there is a ton of competition in the guest focused podcast genre.  And the most highly sought after guests are probably targeting podcasts with the biggest reach.   These would be podcasts with downloads that are highly concentrated within the top 1% of shows. So how do you get traction for your own podcast to attract guests? Let’s go over some tips for connecting with quality guests for your podcast that will help fulfill the potential of your concept. Well-known guests are the easiest solution to attracting listeners. They have fans who consume everything they create. The good news. There are famous people who are willing to appear on just about any podcast—no matter how small—while promoting a launch, like a new book, new film, new project, new business venture, even a new podcast. They make it a goal to be hyper prolific. Build a system around identifying famous people who do this. For authors, browse Amazon’s “coming soon” book list and make a list of authors. Search podcast guests on big shows to see if they recently launched. Use YouTube to find famous people who appear on smaller podcasts. Search “their name + podcasts” and see who shows up on smaller podcasts with small numbers of listeners. Reach out to them to entice them to come onto your show Highlight how their subject matter expertise overlaps your audience’s interests. Always offer them as many podcast assets as possible.  Links to the show, customized artwork, three to four audio highlights, and a link to the transcription, just to name a few.  Get creative.  Now use their appearance to hook other huge guests. Your first big-time guest acts as social proof that your show is worthwhile. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s

Thu, April 15, 2021

Podcast Search Engine Optimization

There was a recent story published by Timber.fm’s Amanda Cupido about podcasting. Near the end of that piece, she interviews Gabe Bender, who is Google Podcast’s product lead. Bender hints to some big changes coming to Google Podcasts involving search and discovery.  He didn’t specifically say what is coming up, let’s take a look between the lines of what he said. Google will make features that are basically the same to what they have with YouTube. This means podcasts are going to become extremely searchable when a Google Search user (your potential listener) types in their search terms. Like Google video search results or YouTube search results.  And, while you're using Google Podcasts to listen to your podcast, Google will be recommending more podcasts to you as you’re listening.  It will be very much like the ‘next up’ areas you see on YouTube. Because Google will start to show podcast results in search, this will impact all listeners that use Google for search. Not just listeners that use Google Podcasts to listen to their favorite podcasts. I don’t doubt Google will start to incorporate autotranscriptions they are already doing behind the scenes, to include podcasts in search results.  This autotranscription option is already available in the Chrome browser, when you change your accessibility options  A popup screen shows the real time transcription of any audio played in your Chrome browser.  So Google will be taking search even deeper, based on what’s said IN your podcast, not just what’s written in your podcast descriptions, summaries and webpages. The SEO concept of “page rank” will likely be applied to podcasts. That means the more external sources that reference your podcast, like web page backlinks, videos and video interviews, other podcasts mentions and podcast interviews, blog mentions, blog interviews, guest blogging—the higher your podcast will appear in search results for the topic that is referenced. This is SEO 101 for Google. There will be personalization, like YouTube.  First, search results and the ‘next up’ area in Google Podcasts will take into account anything Google knows about what you listen to.   Second, Google Podcasts will surround you with other people that listen to similar things so that it can suggest podcasts, or specific podcast episodes, to you that other people in your cluster listen to.  Think community. Podcast search engine optimization. If all this happens as Bender seems to suggest it will, a new kind of expertise will become important. Podcast search engine optimization. Just as SEO consultants today help companies get their web pages to appear organically higher in Google results, that’s where we at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants will be continuing to help podcasters appear organically higher in Google’s podcast search results.  The methods will be similar: get on other podcasts shows and web pages to mention your sh

Thu, April 08, 2021

Make A Business Podcast That Stands Out

How Do You Make a Business Podcast That Stands Out? Podcasting continues to be a growing medium. Every day, new shows are launched. And as of this recording, there are now well over 2,000,000 podcasts available in Apple Podcasts.  The motivations and ambitions of those who get into podcasting vary from person to person. But for those who put the time and work in, the rewards can be huge. Business and industry podcasting is where you'll find many who are reaping the benefits of their content. This ranges from individuals working on side ventures outside of their day job, the side hustles, to multinational companies. As more businesses move towards podcasting, people are looking at ways to stand out. To do something a bit more differently. So, if you want to make a show for your own company or brand, what sorts of things should you do to avoid becoming just another one of the pack? Let’s go over some ideas and suggestions that will help you make a business podcast that stands out, and attract your current and potential clients or customers to listen.  Let’s take a look at the most common business podcast format   Intro music The host introduces show Interview  Host summarizes and closes show, adds call(s) to action Outro music There's absolutely nothing wrong with this format. In fact, this is the perfect structure for a majority of podcasters. Listeners are very used to it, it's practical. And it doesn't require a big investment of time or money with additional production elements. But if you really want to stand out, it's going to be very hard to do that following this format. It's very common. What's the alternative? Let’s go over an idea.   Are you the authority, or your guest?   There are many benefits of running an interview show. The big downside is that you're never the true authority on your own show – your guests are.  An interview-style podcast, at its core, is a networking tool for you and your business. You don’t need to stop having guests in order to stand out. But make sure it's a conscious decision rather than something you've been led to believe is a necessity. Understand what this style podcast is going to accomplish for you and your guest. How about... Reworking the Conversations If you will be having guests on your show, consider throwing out the common intro, interview, outro cadence approach. Let’s say you do want to make a business podcast, and you’re going to start with a season of 15 episodes. And, you’ll be lining up 15 guests. The “conventional” way of doing this is that each episode will be an interview with 1 of these 15 guests. The conversation takes the usual approach. You ask them how they got started in what they do, what problems they overcame, how they became successful, and w

Thu, April 01, 2021

Make Sure Your Listeners Understand What You’re Saying

Chances are, more of your podcast listeners than you even realize care a great deal about proper grammar. Your podcast represents you, and how you speak. You want your podcast listeners to understand what you’re saying, to think you’re bright and competent. But your weak word choice might be raising eyebrows and red flags. With the incorrect word choice, people might not actually know what you’re trying to say. Here are 6 words you think you’re using correctly in your podcast but you may not be...  Less/Fewer Literally/Figuratively Imply/Infer Now's a good time to take another listen to your latest podcast episode and see how you are using your words. Do you have room to improve? Did you get your point across using the words you chose in that episode? Did you notice that you had to clarify your point more than one time? As with anything you create, taking the time to speak grammatically correct as possible saves you time, and saves your listener time in understanding what points you are trying to convey. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, March 24, 2021

8 Steps To Grow Your Podcast Audience

We are always looking for opportunities to increase our listenership for our podcasts, aren't we? And I think we tend to forget to encourage our current listener base to be our advocates, to get other listeners, to get more listeners to your podcast. We've come up with eight small steps to help you support your podcast without spending a dime. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Thu, March 18, 2021

Marketing Your Podcast Tips

Beyond optimizing your podcast episode title and description, consider creating a show summary on a blog or website and embedding the audio file within the page.  Google appreciates the added context and will rank websites and blogs that incorporate multimedia higher than those that don’t.  Transcribe episodes for the blog or to create additional content to promote the episode on social media or your website. Post the blog or episode summary page via social media. Additionally, these transcriptions will become more and more important as The Podcast Index continues to grow, and hosting platforms implement the option Podcasting 2.0 Transcript Tag. In short, depending on your podcast hosting platform, you can now import, add, edit and publish transcriptions, making it easier than ever to transcribe your podcast for accessibility, repurposing and SEO benefit. Upload SRT (transcript) files from external services like Sonix or HappyScribe . When posting each episode on social media, leverage hashtags, especially for Twitter , Instagram and LinkedIn . Beyond industry-specific language, consider podcast-specific terms like #podcast, #podcasting, #podcastguest.  Keep a running list on hashtags that you are using for social media posts for easy reference.  Specifically on LI, consider the hashtag suggestions that pop up when you create your post. For visual platforms like Instagram and Pinterest , utilize behind-the-scenes images or video as teasers for upcoming (and archived) episodes.  For YouTube , leverage playlists to combine relevant episodes. If your podcast is business-related consider posting teasers and episodes to LinkedIn, as well as support with LinkedIn articles.  Articles and your website blog articles will not conflict with SEO search. Don’t forget marketing fundamentals when promoting your podcast.  Incorporate a link to your latest podcast or episode page in your email signature file.  Promote episodes in your newsletter. Create and incorporate a newsletter cadence that best helps exposure for each episode. This means get that newsletter sent within 72 hours of the podcast publishing date.  Promote your podcast website versus a specific podcast player like Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.   Provide pre-made promos to guests and partners to maximize reach.  A more advanced strategy is to identify and engage super-listeners (evangelists). Bonus marketing ideas include exploring cross-promotional opportunities with other podcasters/sho

Wed, March 10, 2021

Small Change = Big Impact. Changes Coming To Apple Podcasts.

A small change with a big impact: no more “subscribe” as podcasting moves to “follow.” Apple Podcasts will no longer be using the word “subscribe” in a few weeks. The new wording will be in iOS 14.5, which should be released later this March. Listeners will be encouraged to “follow” their favorite podcasts instead. Apple, as usual with any changes they make in Apple Podcasts, will communicate with creators, and listeners, when this version of iOS is released. It may seem like a small change, but it could dramatically affect the podcast industry. Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don’t currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing’ to a podcast will cost money.  Other larger podcast apps have already changed: Spotify and Audible use “follow”, Stitcher uses “+ follow”, and Amazon Music uses “♡ follow”. Meanwhile, Google Podcasts and Castbox use “+ Subscribe”, and Overcast and Castro uses “Subscribe”. For fifteen years, the term, the action to 'subscribe’ has been confusing potential listeners. I still have people ask me about that to this day. But that was the action we needed to encourage for listeners to understand how to “follow” our podcasts in Apple Podcasts. Hopefully, every podcast app to copy Spotify, Stitcher, Apple and Amazon by using 'follow.’ And it’s time for every podcaster to follow their lead.  I would suggest as time goes on to edit any written reference using the term “subscribe” in blogs, show notes, etc. And moving forward, as of March 2021, use only the term “follow” with any reference to any podcast app. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, February 24, 2021

How To Be A Better Podcast Interviewer - For Your Guest And Listeners

Respect Your Guest’s Knowledge And Time So, let’s hit some basics first, to set the groundwork for being a great podcast interviewer. There are basically two reasons to have guests on your podcast for you - to network, to meet new people for your listeners - with three objectives for your listeners - you need to educate, or entertain, or energize - or all three Don’t Forget You Are Hosting A Show To capture the attention of your audience and keep them engaged, present your podcast with energy.  Insert some power, emphasis and excitement into your voice. Get the right balance, and they’ll hear a confident podcast host who is in control.  All the while you are calm, relaxed and conversational. And that takes practice. Practice Makes Better and Better - There’s Never Perfect Practice will help you and the balance between sounding natural and performing while you're hosting a show. Nobody likes the sound of their own voice. But as a host, listening back - or as broadcasters call it, listening to a sound check of your work - will help you improve much faster.   And this also means getting feedback from non-family members.  Those that will give you TRUE feedback as a non-partisan listener.  You only get better with honest feedback.  Honesty will get you there quicker. As a podcast show host, how do you become a great interviewer? Note To Future Me - Master Your Podcast Interviewing Skills I recently interviewed Mark Nuce on my Note To Future Me podcast. He’s a radio broadcast veteran of 30+ years. He is the news and public affairs director at North American Broadcasting, Incorporated in Columbus Ohio. What a better resource could there be than a veteran newscaster and news interviewer. The four key areas that we talked about to master podcast interviewing include: 1) homework and research 2) planning 3) flexibility 4) listening Those 4 areas are key to becoming a great podcast interviewer. Respect Your Guest’s Knowledge And Time Respecting the Guest’s Knowledge Research, research, research. “Know” about your targeted guest BEFORE making contact. We have never had so much information at our fingertips to access anyone’s information as we do today. Check out their website.  There you may find links to personal and company blogs Your guest might have a blog on their personal website, write on their business’s blog, or contribute to other blogs as well. Check out all of their social media channels.  Twitter’s<

Wed, January 27, 2021

Introducing Level Up And Thrive Podcast

If 2020 was nothing else, it was a whole lot more, it was a year of growth in podcasting. The podcast industry’s efforts to reach a wider spectrum of listeners are paying off. An analysis of the podcast audience by Nielsen Podcast Buying Power Service finds the medium’s listeners are now more diverse than the population overall, despite a growing reach that is bringing in a greater number of listeners of all age groups. Nielsen reports 41% of monthly podcast listeners aged 18 and older are non-white. That includes 19% who identify as Hispanic and 13% that are Black. That compares to the overall U.S. population that is 34% non-white. Several podcast publishers have made special efforts to appeal to non-White audiences.  iHeartMedia is launching a podcast network targeting the Latinx community, as they say, will be a top priority in 2021 after the launch of The Black Effect Podcast Network in 2020. It earlier set a goal of investing half of its new shows from diverse creators in 2020 and beyond, including women, African-Americans and Hispanics. The Nielsen data shows no ethnic group has grown at a faster pace than Hispanics, with the number of podcast listeners among that demo growing six-times since 2010. Podcasting’s reach among Hispanics has increased from 1.1 million to 6.8 million among those who said they had listened to a podcast in the past 30 days. Businesses take note. The data reveals that Black and Hispanic podcast listeners were more likely to report visiting a retail location that they heard advertised in a podcast than were Whites. And both Black and Hispanic podcast listeners were more prone to have called a telephone number they heard mentioned in a podcast ad. All this leads up to the main reason for this podcast episode.  We are proud to announce that Circle270Media Podcast Consultants are partnering with a new podcast called Level Up And Thrive. This podcast will be hosted by Yasmine Robles, owner of Robles Designs ("Creators of drool-worthy websites for small business hell-bent on taking over the world"). As she explains in this episode of TriVillage Chamber Partnership’s Business Inspires podcast, the focus will be on the LatinX business community in and around Central Ohio. We are targeting February 2021 as the launch month.  We will keep you updated on our websites, Note To Future Me, and Circle270Media.com. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sal

Wed, January 06, 2021

Creating A Podcast Network

As we all know, podcast networks are helpful for both listeners and content creators alike. I got to talk to Press Play Podcast Network 's owner Chase Smith back in 2013, actually, specifically the end of May of 2019 . He was nice enough to carve out a little bit of his holiday time to talk to me in this episode about the growth that they've seen in this podcast network. I think it's just an extremely interesting journey of creating this podcast network. The the ups and downs, the team development that's gone into it as well. His, as well as some unique qualities of this network, that both he and I don't see it in any other network. It was really nice to be able to connect with him, get him on tape to do this interview, and get an insider view of the pros and cons of a podcast network. But also see what the benefits are for a podcast or to be part of a podcast network. Or if you've ever had thoughts about creating a network on your own. Chase has some really good insights about that. The Press Play Podcast Network exists to empower hosts and create high quality, professionally sounding, engaging content for its listeners. At P3, we pride ourselves in helping bring your vision to reality by providing you with the proper tools and support to make your show a success. Whether you are a podcast veteran or diving into the medium for the first time, we will walk along side you and help get your show on the air. As Chase mentions, if you want to contact him, the best way would be to submit your question, or podcast idea, to them via their website . Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lea

Wed, December 16, 2020

How To Save a Podcast That Is In Podfade

COVID-19 has taken its toll on many things. And podcasting is one of them. Many podcasts, due to economics or time, have podfaded, while hundreds of thousands of new podcasts have launched. Carol Ventresca joins me on this episode. She and I co-hosted an award-winning podcast that benefitted a small non-profit in Central Ohio. Because of COVID-19, the non-profit decided that the podcast would have to be put on pause indefinitely. She was the executive director of the non-profit, while I was on the board of directors. We saw an opportunity to continue to deliver quality information and entertainment to those listeners (adults 50+). After a few months of negotiating with the non-profit to move ownership of the podcast feed, followed by brainstorming and planning the content of the new podcast, Looking Forward Our Way was launched in August 2020. This episode covers our journey from transition to future plans for the podcast, the launch of a podcast in podfade. We cover... 1) The beginnings that involved the podfaded podcast… -how and why we began the podcast for a non-profit -the goals of that podcast for the non-profit 2) Setting up the transition into the launch of the new podcast. -why non-profit let the podcast podfade -why we saw this as an opportunity to continue to work together and launch a new podcast 3) Planning details for the launch of the retired podcast -our agreement as co-hosts for the launch of the new podcast -process of deciding a new name -division of work and shared responsibilities -opportunity to launch numerous additional marketing options to support the new podcast that were not available with the podfaded podcast New hosting platform - CaptivateFM Website Wordpress based Newsletter Social media Expanded topics How we are tracking our topics  Guest interviews New recording facilities Outsourcing our work and co-hosting talents And finally we offer some advice for launching a new podcast from a podfade situation. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter. It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery Di

Wed, December 02, 2020

What Can You Do With Your Podcast Archive?

High-quality podcast archive episodes will pay download rewards long after their initial release The real question is which podcast archive episodes should you choose to feature? Given your show’s back catalog, you need to identify the episodes most deserving of the spotlight. That is, the episodes that are more likely to give you the best bang for your promotional efforts. First, start with insights from your podcast hosting platform dashboard. Pay special attention to an episode’s first 60 days. The great thing about your podcast archive episodes is that you already have real-world audience data about each episode's strength and effectiveness. A quick look at your podcast hosting platform analytics dashboard gives you detail from most, if not all, distribution channels.  Plus, you can dig even deeper by analyzing Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher numbers by logging into your account. Next, answer these questions... Are these episodes are still fresh and relevant? Which episodes did the best job of holding listeners’ attention with the longer listening duration percentages?  Do these episodes have a strong relevant topical hook since you initially released the episode? Which of these episodes are a good representation of your show’s current format? Do any of these make a strong first episode for new listeners? Or would a first time listener become lost in needed back-story or setup episodes? Don't Delete Anything You may feel the knee-jerk reaction of wanting to delete episodes from your podcast archive as you go through this process. Especially ones that didn't do well in downloads, shares, or may not fit your podcast tone or format. My suggestion to my clients, don't do it.  People Who Surf The Web Are Always In "Research" Mode When potential new listeners are discovering your podcast episodes that might be outdated, you have to consider listener research habits. When a listener is looking for specific information and find your podcast because it contains that information that would be useful to their search, it's very possible they are going to dive deeper. That deep dive can result in them listening to another podcast episode if you're including the right calls-to-action. So you have your list of top high-quality podcast archive episodes. What next? Update Podcast Archive Descriptions  After answering the previous five questions, all you may have to do is update the podcast description. Revisit your keyword-optimization for each individual episode. Optimize the titles, keywords, and descriptions of each episode for their topics of relevance. Over time, keywords can change. Changing or modifying your keywords and keyword phrasing can make it easier to be found by potential listeners. And how can you find better keywords and keyword phrasing

Wed, November 18, 2020

Follow These Eight Tips For A Successful Podcast Launch

Podcasts are a great way for a business to spread its message in an engaging way. Creating a podcast is open to anyone. However, the podcast launch and consistently producing content is not necessarily easy. You need to create a show that’s not only interesting and informative, but also attracts a loyal audience that will keep coming back. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on what you read), there’s a lot of advice out there for podcasting newbies looking to for a successful podcast launch. From planning out your content to marketing your brand, here are eight tips we start with as we on-board our podcast clients to Circle270Media. 1. For A Successful Podcast Launch, Do Your Research Currently, there are more than 1.5 million podcasts, with over 5000 added per day (this according to mypodcastreviews.com ). They are all vying for listener attention. Our advice - don’t leave marketing to chance. Create a marketing strategy. People can’t listen if they can’t find you.  2. Determine A Structure For Your Show Organize your podcast into a show with parts and predictability. Why? So that your guests and audience know what to expect. Listeners will come to expect a certain rhythm and flow to your show over time.   3. Create A Content Calendar Prior to your podcast launch, plan your content and decide how many episodes you want to publish in a month. Establish a content calendar. Have a clear idea of what you need to accomplish. Follow an outline so you won’t get off topic. You might have to have a rough script initially, until you get more comfortable with your podcast style and rhythm. Or minimally, script your intro and outro so you feel comfortable beginning and ending each episode. Remember, the plan should to build on the brand you are creating or have created. Everything you do is aligned with that in mind.  4. Make Your Show About Your Listeners Know your goal and purpose for doing a podcast. It will be a lot of work, and that's why so many podcasters turn to podcast consultants or podcast managers like Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. Your podcast is a marketing and sales tool that can softly lead prospects to work with you and your company. Find ways to make the show about the listener.  Provide your listeners with a value that keeps them engaged and wanting to know more about you.  5. Prepare Your Show Guests  I usually send my guests a list of the questions that will be asked, but I always provide an outline for the show's flow. This gives them an idea of how to prepare without being too prepared. 6. Ask For Listener Reviews One of the techniques that I have seen work very well with growing your podcast is asking your listeners for reviews. This should start to happen from the first episode of your p

Mon, November 09, 2020

Be A Better Connector and Grow Your Podcast

This idea has been rattling in my head for the past 24 hours or so. It's from a comment that I heard. It hit a nerve. I wanted to figure out why it was bothering me. So that's where I came up with the idea for this episode entitled Be a Better Connector and Grow Your Podcast. And what I mean by that is one of the techniques to grow your podcast is to network. If your podcast is guest oriented, focusing on having guests within your industry, or that you just love to interview people, whatever the case might be, you are in essence networking. And you can take that guest podcast situation to the next level, to the next level, to the next level. And when you get to the point where your guests become your network, your network becomes your connectors and you become a connector within that network. This is what I mean. You can introduce one guest to another guest. You have no skin in the game other than you see the benefit of those two people connecting. You want to make sure that those two know each other because they can do business, they can be on each other's podcast, they can help each other in some way. You're a connector without gaining any benefit from it. That is about the highest level of networking you can achieve. And you will be remembered for it. That's a fantastic goal to reach when you have that level of networking skill. You know so many great people. And you're driven to connect with them because you want to see them grow. They're going to do the same for you down the road. Now, as a connector, though, comes great responsibility. And this is where the comment that I heard started to bother me. It came from a big name in the podcasting space. She recently made an observation, very well grounded, that most, if not all, female podcasters do not receive free podcast gear, software, hardware, whatever it might be, to test and review. Those items typically goes to male podcasters. And she's right for the most part. I don't see reviews done by female podcasters. They never receive the hardware. It's a point well taken. She makes this comment in her business podcast. But where she goes with it, she drops the ball completely in my eyes. She talks about how she has access to all these female podcasters who would do a great job of reviewing. In fact, has access to over 16,000 female podcasters in her podcast Facebook group. Then she makes a comment about how she wants podcast consultants, podcast producers, and tech companies that make hardware and software for podcasting to contact her to ask for the contacts. That's not what a connector does. She is at that level that she can make connections and do it without any benefit to herself. She's obligated, to a certain degree, to do that. She's been in the podcast space long enough. She's been an advocate for female podcasters for so long, she doesn't have the right to basically just sit b

Wed, October 21, 2020

Reasons Why You Should Include Podcasting In Your 2021 Content Marketing Strategy

Podcasting has numerous benefits, however, producing an ongoing podcast is a hard nut to crack. It takes more effort than simply clicking ‘Record’ on your smartphone and then uploading it online. Podcasting involves a tremendous amount of research, planning, managing social media networks and engaging your target audience.  For companies, podcasting can be a compelling opportunity to interact with your clientele, become noticeable among your competitors, and help you and your business turn into an industry frontrunner and professional.  Did you know, MailChimp became a popular brand name overnight by simply running a 20-second ad at the start of every episode of the famous podcast, Serial? This is just one illustration of a business taking advantage of podcasting, and it inspired several other companies to start producing their own podcasts. Here’s why you should consider podcasting as a content marketing channel in 2021. 1. Practicing the art of subtle branding Over-branding can actually kill your brand. Storytelling is a vital instrument for consumer engagement. Through appropriate, enlightening, and valuable stories conveyed by evocative means, companies can connect with customers and develop a devoted audience. Podcasts can help you master the art of subtle branding! One way to interact with your audience is a corporate blog. However, maintaining an attention-grabbing blog involves several SEO challenges. Podcasts can help you implement a more subtle approach. This way, you can become an intrinsic element of the content itself. For example; eBay joined hands with Gimlet Creative to come up with its own podcast series titled ‘Open for Business’ that uses storytelling for advertising purposes. 2. Podcasts are convenient to consume and mobile-friendly Unlike blogs and videos, the beauty of podcasts lies in the fact that audio content can be more conveniently accessed on the go. It doesn't force listeners to abandon whatever they are doing just to concentrate on your content.  3. Podcasts can create great production value in a short turnaround time One of the reasons you should give podcasting a try is the quick turnaround time.  So, how do we work with our clients to come up with a quick podcast process?  We put the planning in front of the recording. Once our clients are in the recording studio, they know exactly what needs to be recorded because the planning for that episode took place weeks prior. 4. Creating a reflection of your business’ true brand personality Along with offering value for customers, podcasts reflect a company’s individuality and fundamental values. Rather than using written content for conveying what a brand stands for, it’s more compelling to do so by through expressing it vocally. For instance, Trader Joe’s, a popular neighborhood grocery store wit

Wed, October 07, 2020

Podcasts Can Lead To Better Connections With Your Audience

Podcasts are what your customers have been gravitating towards and asking for over the past few years. Yet ironically, podcast marketing is still one of the most underutilized forms of marketing. Podcasts are a great medium to be authentic and to connect with your audience. Think about this: Wouldn’t you be more loyal to a brand if it could show you that it has experts who care about you? And you feel are relatable to your own life? You can count on podcasts to continue to gain traction in the marketing community, as been shown in research done by Edison Research, The Infinite Dial , year after year. As a podcast consultant, I cover numerous things that come into play while creating a successful podcast with my clients. But the key is to deliver quality content to your targeted listeners. As I work with my clients over time, one this is for sure, an engaging, consistent podcast has the potential to capture a massive loyal following. If you and your business have not explored podcasts as a tactic for marketing, today has never been a better time to do so. Podcasts continue to grow in popularity.  And while they are still relatively new (compared to blogging and vlogging), it will be easy for your voice to be heard.  Why? Let's look at the numbers . To date, roughly, there are more than 500 million blogs out of 1.7 billion websites in the world. Their authors account for over 2 million blog posts daily. This according to hostingtribunal dot com. To date, roughly, in Apple Podcasts, the count is now over 1 million active podcasts.   Podcasting is quickly becoming the go-to, reliable method to relate to your audience in a meaningful way.  Want to find out more about how this can work in sync with your current marketing plan, contact me today. We'll set up a time to discuss your current marketing strategy, and what you want to accomplish with your new podcast. Recorded in conjunction with Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter . It's chock full of podcast news you may h

Wed, September 23, 2020

Attract High-Quality Podcast Guests

Landing high-quality guests is key to expanding your audience. If you're a podcaster who hopes to land high-quality guests, keep these five things in mind to help you from looking like an amateur (and potentially turning potential guests away). Asking your guest to share the episode. Thought leaders don't want to keep sharing the same old interview questions and answers.  Instead of telling people they have to share your content, create content they'll want to share. Create something that is easily sharable and offer your guest's audience the podcast takeaway material from a different angle.  For example, if your guests makes a comment about a question or two that you asked that they have never been asked before, provide your guest something from those questions that inspires them to want to share their episode with their followers. Expecting your guest to do extra work. Your guest is giving you free content. So don't make them devote a lot of time and energy into being on your show. Do your research before the interview. A high profile guest will have a media or press page on their website. This will be full of things like their bio and high-resolution images. Look for those first before asking your guest to email you that information. Do your homework on your guest--don't ask your guest to repeat everything about themselves that you could easily find online. Let your creativity kick-in, and be that podcast interviewer that other podcasters strive to be. Forgetting to share details. When you're interviewing a prominent guest, there's a good chance you may have to work with that person's publicist or an assistant. Put all your information into one simple email or document. That makes it simple for the information to be forwarded and referenced closer to the interview date and time. Share the details of your interview up front, all in one email. Tell your guest as much information as possible.  Respect the time they are going to give you, and create a comfortable interview situation from the start. Include how long the interview will last, how you plan to do the interview (phone, Skype, etc.), the type of format you use (for example, you always end with a guest book recommendation), etc. Sending multiple emails . Bombarding a guest with dozens of messages will likely cause your emails to go unanswered. Busy thought leaders don't have time to have an ongoing conversation via email. In fact, each email you send to a busy guest's inbox may decrease their desire to be on your show. Ask all of your important questions in one email if possible. Create a template of questions that must be asked. If you look like you don't have your act together, your guest may cancel the interview altogether. Expecting your

Wed, September 09, 2020

DSW Transcription and Deborah Waltenburg

You know how you can search for an article by headline, subheader, or even a particular sentence anywhere in the text just by typing it into Google? That kind of SEO transparency is a big reason why written content still dominates the web. There are benefits to including a transcript and having “show notes” for your podcast on your podcast website. But doing it the wrong way is a waste of time. Here are some of the tips below for doing it the right way. Format the post like an article, not a transcript. A transcript format ignores many of the common SEO recommendations like linking to relevant other websites when appropriate, formatting the article according to H1, H2, and H3 tags, and including images with appropriate titles/alt text. Format your transcripts more like an article, which is better for readers and search engines.  Emphasize the value of the transcript and the “show notes” in your podcast. When people discover your podcast, it’s important to get them to your website for all your content. One way to do this is to point out that all the key takeaways, resources, links, and even the transcript itself for that particular podcast episode is available on your blog.  Don’t forget to inter-link posts on your website and link out to other websites! One of the most important parts about including a transcript on your blog of each podcast episode is that there is ample opportunity to link to other resources on your site or around the web. This is an important aspect of Google and SEO. It will improve the authority of your website, and also connect your listeners with the resources they want as they visit your website. Find a Reputable transcription service to partner with Meet Deborah Waltenburg, owner of DSW Transcription. Circle270Media has worked with Deborah for years, and we wanted to take this opportunity to interview her and shine a spotlight on her work. She works with a vast range of topics, including finance, accounting, investment research, venture capital, sales and marketing, entertainment, sports, education, etc. Just take a look at her LinkedIn profile to find out more! Her transcription work with medical and legal clients does vary a bit from those that are full-time medical and legal transcriptionists. She mentioned to me after the recording that when she is doing such work, it's typically for some type of qualitative research, or for someone's PhD work. She has the greatest respect to those highly ski

Wed, August 26, 2020

Internal Company Podcasts

What’s an internal company podcast?  It’s a podcast that is often, but not always, privately distributed, and it’s produced by a company for its employees.  Why An Internal Company Podcast? Employer of choice/retention — Showing your staff that you care, that you are communicating effectively, and giving them information that they need to succeed is a fantastic retention strategy. Onboarding — give all new employees, or people in new roles, the information and advice they need to start their new roles successfully.  Learning and development — help people in different roles and at different stages of their careers build new skills, learn new strategies, and discover new ideas Internal communications — make sure all your employees know what’s going on inside your company Culture building — share your values, tell stories to your team in your own voice, celebrate the wins that define and build your culture. American Airlines created their podcast Tell Me Why because they surveyed their 122,000 employees who said they wanted more information about the company they work for. The power of audio Why choose to make an internal podcast compared to other mediums? ...friendly and less formal way to have these types of conversations ...audio is not a screen-based medium, so people can listen on their commutes, working out, etc ...ability to have deeper explorations of a topic because of the longer episode length ...audio holds people’s attention for longer periods of time ...it’s not email or video. A lot of employees are burned out on email, especially internal messaging Who should produce an internal podcast? ...if you have big, nuanc

Wed, August 12, 2020

Tips to Create Better Business Podcasts

Publishing a business podcast is an efficient way to establish your thought leadership by sharing your knowledge with your listeners in a way that provides value. Podcasting is a valuable business marketing tool that can increase your online and brand authority, drive traffic to your website, and ultimately, increase sales. Consumers are savvy. They’re not receptive to traditional advertising hard sell. They’re seeking relevant, helpful information to guide them through their decision making process. A podcast for your business is a way to help them on their journey. You can build trust and establish personal relationships that enhance your business’ brand trust. If you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of a business podcast, let’s get the conversation started!  Define Your Target Audience - Your Consumers The first step is to determine who you are trying to reach, your target market. Chances are, if you already have a traditional or digital marketing strategy in place, you’ve already taken this step.  Next, ask questions and answer them in the way your customers would. Each of these questions will add another layer to be able to speak to your target audience. By understanding who your target audience is and their needs, you can begin the process of creating content that is relevant to them.  Identify Podcast Content Think about your business, your customers, and your target audience.  Focus on topics that will be of value to them. It might be... information, product reviews, facts about your industry, insights about your business, introducing new products, promoting your corporate philosophy or culture, or even answering frequently asked questions. Provide information that your customers are seeking, in an informative, educational, or entertaining way. Offer them a peek behind the brand by humanizing your business. Tips For Creating Better Business Podcasts While maintaining a pre-decided, constant publishing frequency of the podcast, you need to produce quality podcasts – ones that listeners will enjoy and benefit from. Professional sounding, quality podcasts capture the attention of listeners.   So let’s cover some tips on how to do this... Create a Content Calendar Creating quality podcasts is a process. You need to be consistent. Set up an editorial calendar to organize your publishing and content schedule. A calendar keeps you on track.  It's About Quality, Not Quantity Keep your podcasts focused. Consistent quality podcast content will get you noticed by the search engines and your listeners. Give Your Listener Something to Do After Listening The podcast is a great chance to convince the l

Fri, July 31, 2020

Podcast Challenges

Challenges Over the last 30 days of my 31 day challenge to produce and publish a podcast every day, I really started thinking about the term “challenge.” And it’s various meanings … 1 : an objection to something as not being true, genuine, correct, or proper or to a person (as a juror) as not being correct, qualified, or approved.  2 : a call or dare for someone to compete in a contest or sport.  3 : a difficult task or problem. What are some of your challenges with podcasting? I took a look at some podcasting Facebook groups to get a look at what their challenges are for the next 30 days... Wind things down, go on a bit of a hiatus and maybe start doing work for others. To slow down to 1 episode a month and really log some serious hours fishing. Launch! To record more podcasts. We have some big guests coming on and very excited about it. Increase following At the end of the month I hit my 15 year podcasting anniversary. 2000 DL Gain more listeners and get me interviews lined up Increase FB Group to 300 Members! Start an E-mail list giving away free value. Grow listens from 100 to 300 Figure out the tech to do interview podcast from my home studio To start my Season 2. I’ve been on hiatus Buy the rode podcaster, collaborate with more podcasters, find ways to feedback and engagement with our listeners Starting my 3rd season this month and my goals are to improve my audio editing skills. Interview a guest we’ve been dying to have! Content planning and outlines for the next 10 episodes Master Audacity New gear Get a new website and hosting setup so I can split my feed into the two shows it’s become To hit 50 reviews To be a guest on more podcasts What are your challenges in the next 30 days - are you challenging yourself, or is the challenge to start or to grow your business podcast.  Let’s talk more about it.  I am available Thursday and Fridays.  I have a link in the episode notes that you can use to book a free consultation session. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants<

Fri, July 31, 2020

Options for Recording Remote Interviews

Podcasters have a great variety of software to record podcasts and interviews remotely.  The options we have available are probably the best that podcasters have ever seen and experienced.  This is day 30 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. I have put together a list of possible options that usually offer free initial trial periods, or free versions, and premium offerings as well.  Circle270Media Podcast Consultants has not tested all of the alternatives below. We see posts and comments in online communities that are good and critical with each of these.  Though, still be aware, that using these tools aren’t necessarily going to give you high quality audio. You may still have to do some post-production sound quality editing. These are still better options than the usual go-to web conferencing tools, like Zoom, for podcasting purposes. Be sure you ask around and test for yourself. Most of them have demo videos to watch. With each having their own specific uniqueness, kick the tires to see which recording platform will work best for your podcast. SquadCast – SquadCast allows podcasters to schedule the interview. You can record everyone’s audio in separate .WAV files without drift.  Clearcast - ClearCast.io was founded out of a frustration that Art of Manliness Podcast host Brett McKay had with his remote interviews via Skype. Oftentimes, he’d experience lag, static, or cut off audio from his guest’s end of the conversation. Chrome and Firefox browsers only at this time. Riverside.fm - Record your podcast's audio AND video locally. Separate audio and video tracks for each guest. Livestream it to YouTube/Facebook/Twitter. Let your listeners call in via video. Zencastr – Zencastr works in your browser. All you have to do is send a link to your guests and hit record. Their audio will be recorded on their end before it gets compressed and garbled. It is then automatically streamed to your Dropbox account.  Cleanfeed.net – Cleanfeed is an online service that uses the Opus audio codec and the Chrome browser to allow for ISDN quality with one or multiple co-hosts and interviews. Cleanfeed can record your sessions and deliver two separate tracks on a single .WAV file. RODEcaster Pro – The RODEcaster Pro is worth the investment if you have the option. It

Thu, July 30, 2020

Podcast Reviews are Social Proof

Consumers are influenced by other people more than they realize (or are willing to admit). According to the Wall Street Journal , social norms influence consumption behavior and even private interests, including one’s taste in music and even podcasts.  This is what makes the concept of social proof a powerful one.  This is Day 29 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge What is social proof? Sourcing Wikipedia... Social proof , a term coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book, Influence , is also known as informational social influence . It describes a psychological and social phenomenon wherein people copy the actions of others in an attempt to undertake behavior in a given situation. Simply put, social proof influences people's decisions on how they should behave.  Online reviews have significant effects on our behaviors. They've emerged as one of the most potent forms of social proof.   Do reviews really guide purchase decisions? People take positive reviews and high ratings as social proof of a product or service, or for this podcast episode topic, a podcast that is worth subscribing to. They reason, “This has great reviews, so I’m subscribing to it.” Apart from providing social proof for podcast listeners looking to find a new podcast to subscribe to, reviews also provide social proof in other ways. These online testimonials shape how people perceive the podcast. But just how important are in-app ratings and reviews? Do they really help your podcast’s visibility? Or are these CTAs just ego-driven tactics that help you climb up the Apple Podcasts rankings?  We hate to burst your bubble, but reviews won’t change your rankings in the least. It’s not part of Apple Podcasts ranking algorithm. At Circle270Media Podcast Consultants, we believe ratings and reviews are always worth asking for… even if they don’t factor into an app’s discovery algorithm. Why? Because ratings and reviews are, yes, social proof . Harnessing the potential of reviews as social proof is about activating happy podcast listeners. Keeping that in mind, here are some equally important tips on maximizing social proof in positive reviews: Encourage written reviews, not just star ratings Reviews requ

Tue, July 28, 2020

Reasons Why Your Business Should Start A Podcast

You handle the marketing for your company. You’re thinking about starting a company podcast but you haven’t got round to doing it yet.   Why?  Don’t know quite where to start the conversation in the next marketing meeting? This is day 28 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. Here are three great reasons why this form of audio content is just what your business’s content strategy needs. Podcasts make marketing sense. Fewer people are reading. More people spend more time mobile devices, which means you need to adapt your content strategy to cater to these changes.  And when done right, this easily shareable content will allow your business’s message to reach your targeted audience. Podcasts can be listened to anywhere and anytime.   How people consume content is changing. People are watching less TV and switching to online platforms. And most people don’t have time to read articles. All this means it’s getting harder and harder to reach potential customers.  Podcasts are quick and easy to consume. But what further sets them apart is that they don’t require undivided attention. Here’s a quote from Chris Drucker from his blog. He writes about the speed appeal of podcasts:  ‘ The average blog posts is approximately 700-words, which can be read in about 5-minutes. However, the average podcast is 35-minutes which translates into 4,550 words, the equivalent of 6.5 blog posts. ’ Podcasts slip easily into our daily lives. This will be appealing to your targeted audience. Your customers need content they can listen to while doing other tasks. Time is a precious commodity and podcasts provide businesses with a way to effectively reach consumers while doing other activities. This means that your opportunity to reach your consumer is limitless.  You Can Sway Your Consumers Decisions Podcasts allow your business to develop a personality and a voice. This is a powerful tool when seeking to influence your target consumers' decisions.  A podcast confirms your brand’s identity and becomes a valid source of information. Once you’ve built this relationship of trust with your customers, you’ll be able to influence them during decision-making processes. Podcasts have a long and indefinite shelf life.  When good content is created, you are creating company advertising with no time limit. It also means that old customers will return to your brand for information, and new ones will seek you out. Podcasts aren’t a one-time creation. Once you’ve published them, they are available in your podcast library of episodes, indefinitely. They will have a similar shelf life to evergreen content—so long as you’re choosing topics with an in

Mon, July 27, 2020

Planning Your Podcast Script

A big question that comes up with our new clients is whether you should or shouldn’t plan your podcast script.  We look at it a couple of different ways. Scripted podcasts can make speech feel stiff and rehearsed.  Scripted podcasts can be the key to being confident, concise and keeping the content flowing. I always answer that question this way. At the bare minimum, plan out your podcast episode. It’s impossible to create great content without some sort of planning.  Even podcasts which sound ad-libbed are scripted and rehearsed to some level.  But, don’t think that you need to write out a rigid script which you follow word for word. That may be the worst thing you can do, especially if you don’t have the experience to read from a script like you are presenting a conversation-like recording.  You can create a script map, or call it an agenda, which gives you pointers and leads you through your topics. And keeps you on track.  The power of planning is that it ensures your podcast episode hooks listeners and keeps you focused. Create A Clear Summary At the start, you need to look at what the main ideas and themes you want to cover during your podcast episode.  Start by getting the central ideas down on paper. Use them to branch out into smaller subcategories. A great way of doing this is by mind mapping. A mind map is a tool for the brain that captures the thinking that goes on inside your head. Mind mapping helps you think, collect knowledge, remember and create ideas. Most likely it will make you a better thinker. A good starting point on how to mind map is found at https://simplemind.eu/how-to-mind-map/basics/ Mind mapping lets you work quickly and organically, without planning as you go. This allows you to come back later to structure your content.   The Trello app can be a great tool to help you collect all your thoughts in one place, and collect outside graphs, photos, and links. Write How You Talk, Not Speak Once you have your ideas clear, get down to the writing.  The most important factor is to write using your stream of consciousness and edit afterwards.  Keep in mind whether you’re writing for yourself or someone else, like your co-host. Write clearly and concisely.   This will come to you easier as you create each episode. You will begin to learn your co-host(s) speaking patterns and presentation manners.   Make It Your Style While you’re reworking your script, remember that you have a very short window in which to grab listeners attention. Your intro should pack a punch and immediately deliver your podcast’s personality and style. There is a great Medium article from <a href="https://med

Sun, July 26, 2020

Why You Need Great Podcast Show Notes

Podcast show notes are one of those tasks that you KNOW is essential, but you can never bring yourself to doing it, or doing it properly. This may be, and probably is, because you’ve never been told how important they are to using the power of Google. This is day 26 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge Podcast show notes are nothing more than a blog post with an audio file attached.  And they're also so much more than that.  Show notes serve three main purposes The first two serve existing listeners: 1 - To offer a summary of the episode’s content – to persuade someone to listen, to remind a previous listener what was covered, and to offer easy reminders about what the episode is about to share with their friends, your potential new listeners. 2 - To offer links to resources, people or products that were mentioned.  The last serves you, and those who have yet to listen: 3 - To attract new listeners through search traffic. That last one is the one most podcasters neglect, and is the most important part of creating great show notes.  Many podcasters write up show notes that are nothing more than a very quick introduction paragraph, and then a list of the resources that were mentioned.  That just serves your listener, covering #1 and #2.  But, if that's all you do, you're missing an opportunity to grow your audience. A good set of show notes can attract potential new listeners when they appear in search results. How do you do that? Write a blog post that covers the same topic as the podcast That blog post is a written version of the show. Not necessarily a direct transcript, but something created to be read. A transcript can be used to help write the blog, to help find specific details or “pull quotes” you need to include in the blog.  It contains the same valuable information as the podcast, and encourages readers: “If you liked this, then listen to the podcast episode for even more.” Some people just can't find the time to do full blog-post style show notes every week.  An alternative is to keep them short and forget about the search engine benefits. Just do a 50 word intro paragraph and then some resource links and related descriptions.  Keep in mind, the long blog-post style format offers a lot more value in terms of content marketing.  The show notes, acting like blog articles, will start to gain traffic. They’re much more likely to be found and indexed in search results. As I like to say, you’re giving each episode as much “Google juice” as you can. Can transcripts make great show notes? If you're short on time, it’s worth considering transcriptions. You can pay around $1 per minute to have a full transcription done of any show. Some transcription services to consider are <a href="https://www

Sat, July 25, 2020

Writing An Effective Podcast Description

Your podcast description is also known as your podcast summary, or show summary. Podcast listeners have over a million potential podcast shows to listen to. So how can you help yourself be found? Have a good podcast description. This is day 25 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge You write the podcast description inside your media hosting account, and it appears in all the directories your podcast is listed in. For example, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Unfortunately, many will write their podcast description as an afterthought, and purely because they've stumbled across a big empty text box. The good news, though, is that you can edit your show summary at any time.  Podcast descriptions are very important when listeners are weighing up whether or not to hit play, and ultimately subscribe. Is the podcast description Important for Search? Not really. And it's likely that stuffing your podcast summary full of keywords will be a waste of time, and get you taken off iTunes/Apple Podcasts. So to perform well in search, choose a good name for your podcast, and always publish episodes with descriptive titles. Who's your target audience? You should write about who your podcast is for, why they should listen, and what they can expect. Speak directly to them in your podcast description. Let them know that this is the podcast for them. Whatever they're going to get from your podcast, tell them about it up front. Tell the potential listener who you are. You don't need to be famous or well known to run a successful podcast. Write a bit about yourself. Tell them what they can expect. Will it be interviews? Will you be talking with a co-host? Or flying solo? Do you release new episodes on the same day every week, or do you podcast in seasons? Some info here will help set expectations with your potential listeners. Then the question comes around about the length of the description.  This is a bit like the question “how long should my podcast episodes be?” – there's no single ideal length. As long as it needs to be to get the message across. Shoot for 500 words and see how this looks and feels to you. Let a friend or your spouse read the description and see if they can then tell you what your podcast is about. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my f

Fri, July 24, 2020

Build A Podcast Website For Growth

You want people to share your content. So make it as easy as possible for them. The most logical starting point for this is your podcast's website. This is day 24 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge.  Many inexperienced podcasters share links to their new episodes from iTunes, Spotify or Soundcloud. But these aren't platforms you control.  Why direct traffic to someone else's site? You're missing out on a lot of opportunities for podcast listener engagement and growth. Your podcast hosting provider will usually set you up with a basic website when you create an account with them.  These will lack the customization options you’re looking for.  The quicker you get your podcast its own website, the more control you will feel as your podcast grows. Once you're ready to really put a plan together for a website, put the following things in place to make it easier for people to find, listen to, and share your podcast. Website Menu Pages you need to include   About Page This is traditionally the most viewed page on any website, so use it to your advantage. Focus on your listener with this page. List the benefits they'll get from listening to your podcast. Linking to a few of the best episodes you've done so far is an effective use of this page. Subscribe People listen to podcasts in different ways and in different podcast players. Link to the key podcast directories where your podcast can be found and subscribed to. Make it clear that your show can be found “anywhere podcasts are found.”  Podcast Episodes Having a full list of episodes is a great way for people who've just found you to look through your back catalog. Depending on which podcast hosting platform you use, it may be possible to set this up via your podcast player or an audio player plugin if your website is using Wordpress. How To Contact You Put all your contact details here. Make it easy for listeners to get in touch with you. It is amazing the number of my favorite podcasts, and their websites don’t have easily found contact information.   You can put a contact form, e-mail address, as well as any social media links. When you encourage listeners to get in touch with you, send them to this page. This makes it easier to listen to this call-to-action in your podcast, and easier for the listener to find. Podcast Episode Posts This is most crucial for setting yourself up when you start to have a larger and larger back catalog of episodes. Each podcast episode should have its own ‘blog' post on your site.  When you publish a new episode, it's a link to this post you'll use to share with the world. Here is what you need to include: <s

Thu, July 23, 2020

USB Versus XLR Microphones

If you’re a new podcaster, and you aren’t utilizing a recording or production studio, you’re probably looking for a microphone that’s affordable and easy to use. It can be intimidating.  And usually throwing the question into a podcast Facebook group will leave you even more bewildered with all the “I love this one” options. If you’re an experienced podcaster, you’re probably looking up to level up your sound quality. You’re ready to spend a few dollars on a better product to boost the production value of your show. You may be looking to buy other podcast equipment that will sonically enhance your show.  This is day 23 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. No matter where you are in your podcasting career, here is some help. I have a 30 plus year career in broadcasting prior to coming into the podcasting industry full time. So I’ve seen and heard a few microphones over the years. I’ve put together a list of USB microphones and XLR microphones to consider for podcasting.  It’s important to understand the difference between these two categories.  First things first—let's define what XLR means. It's a pretty simple abbreviation for X Connector, L ocking Connector, R ubber Boot. ... In short, XLR is the go-to standard for high-quality audio inputs. This is because they send a balanced signal that isolates noise. Most professional audio equipment is designed for XLR microphones which gives you a ton of flexibility to upgrade pieces of your audio stack over time.  Most importantly, they also produce better sound quality than USB microphones.  Keep in mind, you can’t use an XLR microphone on its own. You also need a mixer, field recorder, or an audio interface. That is an expense a new podcaster has to budget in.  A USB Microphone is an easy way of making quality recordings on your computer or tablet in a snap. USB Mics are highly portable and work on PC, Mac, iPad. ... It is literally a microphone which contains all the wiring necessary to simply connect to a USB port and start recording. USB microphones have the same capsules and condenser elements as XLR mics. There is no additional gear required, so they’re easier to set up and affordable for new podcasters.  Keep in mind, USB microphones make it harder to record multiple tracks. Recording software often struggles to distinguish between different mics.  Plus, there aren’t many good USB mic options. Most are designed toward beginners.  XLR Microphone Choices   Under $150: Rode PodMic Podcasting Microphone The PodMic is a broadcast-quality dynamic microphone optimized for podcasting. It has a rich, balanced sound, with an internal pop filter to minimize plosives and internal shock mounting to reduce vibration. It has a cardioid pickup signal to reduce room or studio noise pickup.

Wed, July 22, 2020

Be Aware of Common Myths About Podcasting

Podcasts are becoming more and more popular week after week. Their range of content covers a variety of genres.  As more people become interested in podcasting, the myths and misconceptions about the industry easily come to light. Especially from a Google search on podcasting while researching how to podcast.  And these myths continue to plague those who are creating podcast content as well. This is day 22 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. Some of the common podcasting myths you need to scroll right past in your research and podcast preparation are: Myth: It is a version of radio Podcasts and radio are very different, though both are based in audio. Radio is a traditional broadcast medium of mass communication, with a pre-set, fixed schedule. Podcasts on the other hand, generally have no set schedule. Podcasts are in the form of digital audio files that listeners can download or stream. This makes them closer to OTT platforms (think Netflix or Hulu) with content when and where you want to consume it. Radio content is generally live. Once it’s broadcast, you can’t listen to it again. Podcast content has a much longer life, as there is no time constraint on when people can listen to podcast episodes. Myth: Podcasts compete with radio Many podcast listeners, podcasters, and those who work in the radio industry, believe podcasts are in competition with radio. The only competition is for the share of ear time, where both are vying for the economics of our time as audio consumers.  But podcasts are their own category and appeal to a specific audience. These listeners subscribe to these podcasts because of genuine interest in the content. Radio and podcasts can work together to bring quality audio content, and continue the audio listening growth that podcasting has spurred on in the last decade. Myth: Podcasts are for geeks or nerds There are many podcast listeners who use podcasts as a way of learning. And during podcasting’s early days, most of the podcast content generated was around computers, software, and apps, today there is something for everyone. Podcasts cover a wide variety of genres that include education, news, humor, audio drama and much more. Myth: Voice acting is the most important thing in a podcast Voice acting is not the most important thing in a podcast, contrary to popular opinion. A genuine voice, and clear, thought out presentation will beat out a polished, over-the-top, un-relatable voice every time. A single podcast is made up of efforts put forth by sound engineers and audio designers, podcast producers, content curators, marketing managers, distributors and voice actors. Each role has its own place in the industry, with their own levels of importance. I

Tue, July 21, 2020

How To Keep Your Podcast Topic Fresh

Fresh content is key in running a successful podcast. Your listeners want to hear more of you.  Plus, new content helps attract new listeners who don’t yet know how great you are! Podcast block is real, and can plague even the most chatty podcasters. This is day 21 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge When you’re stuck and can’t think of what to include in your next podcast, try one of these ideas. Set Up Google Alerts What is a Google Alert? Essentially it’s an email you will receive whenever something you’re interested in is being talked about online. Once you’ve set up an alert, Google will monitor the web for new content related to that topic. Then they’ll create a digest of all the latest links mentioning it and email it to you so you can read more about that topic. Here’s how to set one up: First, head over to here: https://www.google.com/alerts In the box at the top of the page, you’ll then enter the topic you want to follow After you have chosen your topic, click the “Show Options” button for additional settings like how often you’ll get notifications, the types of websites you’ll see, your language, the region of the world you want alerts from, and how many results you’ll receive. From there, just add an email address to send the alerts to. Then, click “Create Alert” and the alerts will begin coming to your email automatically. Ask Your Audience What do your listeners want to hear from you? Ask them! Use the platforms and methods where you engage the most with your listeners — your website, email, LinkedIn, IG, FB, Twitter.  Ask your listeners what’s on their mind. To ensure you’ll get helpful responses, keep your call for questions focused. Use easy tools like Google Surveys, SurveyMonkey, Doodle.   You can use EasyPolls to quickly embed polls on your website. Or for a free stand-alone poll you can link to, Poll Junkie (Web) is one of the better poll apps for creating free polls without an account  From there, you’re sure to get at least one — but probably several — excellent topics that will not only keep you talking, but will be meeting the needs of your audience. Rework Old Content Sometimes your best place to look for content ideas is your back catalog.  Look back over old episodes you’ve recorded or old blog posts you’ve written. Have you learned anything new since you originally created the podcast or blog post? Or expand on the topic in a new episode. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at <a href="https://my.captivate.

Mon, July 20, 2020

Tips To Increase Your Podcast Listener Engagement

You’re still not seeing the podcast listener engagement you were hoping for.  This is day 20 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. I have four of the best tactics to help you see your podcast listener engagement increase. All it requires from you is a little time and planning. You should start to see the listener participation and engagement increase over time! Post your social media updates when your audience is active Understanding your audience is the key to growing your listener base. But more importantly it will also help increase engagement.  Knowing when your listeners are most active on social media will help you strategically target them with your posts, with the goal of gaining their interest and involvement. Take the time to understand your audience’s daily routines. It will allow you to strategically plan your posts and therefore gain maximum engagement. Add a CTA, or call-to-action The idea is that you invite listeners to comment or participate with your social media post. The goal is to inspire people to spend more time viewing your post and therefore also your account.  It doesn’t take much from your end, all you need to do is add a simple phrase like: ‘have you seen what we’ve been up to this week?’ or ‘what do you think of our latest episode?’ or a great takeaway quote from the episode.  Ask them to leave a comment. Ask them to share with someone they know who would benefit from the podcast. Be involved within the community The more vocally present you are within your field of interest the more you will be seen by other users. It’s crucial that you’re as active as possible on social media.  Comment on other users' posts and articles. Follow related accounts across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Join FB groups that are in line with your podcast niche and topics. Carve out a dedicated portion of each day to social media, say 20-30 minutes per day.   Build a newsletter Newsletters are the perfect way to shout about your podcast’s activity and summarize in a succinct way what you’re up to.  By tracking your newsletter’s open rate and click-throughs you can start to understand the topics which resonate with your audience. This allows you to plan your content more easily.  Motivate people to sign up to your newsletter by offering an incentive – exclusive content or offers are both great ways to encourage users to sign up! Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Conte

Sun, July 19, 2020

Be Sure You Are Ready To Start A Podcast

We love helping businesses start their podcast for the right reasons. What are the right reasons? They depend on the business marketing goals and how this new marketing tool is cohesive with their other marketing objectives.  This is day 19 of my 31 day podcast challenge. Your business may be going into podcasting for all the wrong reasons Because a potential podcaster often doesn’t consider the work involved with making one episode. It can cause problems for the whole marketing team You might see the term podfade as you are researching podcasting. This is where a podcast starts producing fewer and fewer consistent episodes. There is a significant amount of podfading among new podcasters because they went into podcasting for all the wrong reasons.  They’ll look at successful podcasters in particular business categories and try to mimic that business’ podcast because of its success. They assume that it’s super easy and doesn’t require much to get started. And podcast hosting companies make it easier every day to enter into the industry. Some businesses and entrepreneurs launch their podcasts and immediately find super success with them. But it rarely happens because of podcasting directly. These businesses often come into podcasting after building communities through other methods, like blogging or social media. They only see the results and none of the work When an entrepreneur enters into the podcast industry for fame and fortune only, they only see the results, but none of the work behind the results. Building and growing a podcast typically takes more effort than what the finished product shows you. Podcasting requires creativity and persistence. This is just some of what Circle270Media Podcast Consultants do for our clients. Research and find a podcast hosting platform Acquire an URL for the podcast Get a website for the show Research the pros and cons of a format for the show Are you going to create an interview or solo show? If it's an interview podcast then how are you going to acquire guests? Do you want a co host? If you go solo, how far in advance can you plan out content Determine how long the show should the show be Think how many episodes should you publish in a certain amount of time Schedule time to create episodes Figure out how to upload them Link the RSS feed to the podcast aggregators/podcatchers Create show notes Transcribe the podcast episode Start social media campaigns Set up email subscribe options Outside of what my consultancy does, you will need to.. Purchase the equipment to record and edit Lea

Sat, July 18, 2020

Free Resources For Your Podcast And Website Artwork

If you happen to be short on funds there are many free design resources that can help you out to create the perfect podcast episode artwork. For your website, your podcast feed, and social media posts. This is day 18 of my 31 day podcast challenge I am talking about free fonts, templates, stock photography, icons and even videos – essential assets you may need to complete your podcast projects, all free. And freebies don't mean you have to compromise quality. Free stock images Landing Stock Discover your perfect landing page image A growing collection of beautiful, free images for your landing page Photo Creator Want a photo for your site that no one else has? Photo Creator from Icons8 allows Choose from thousands of models, objects, and backgrounds to perfectly tell any story. Combine objects, people, backgrounds and even images of your own using a browser-based drag-and-drop interface that's very quick and easy to use.  Free icons Icons Courtesy of Icons8, Icons gives you a whole library of free icons in PNG and SVG.  Animaticons Animated GIFs have excellent browser support because they work like images. They are small in file size and play automatically. Just download the images and you're ready to go! Free fonts Google Fonts Google is offering an intuitive and robust collection of open source designer web fonts. By using their extensive catalog, you can share and integrate typography into any design project seamlessly. All created to the high standards you'd expect from a web giant like Google. Dafont Dafont is an enormous archive of freely downloadable fonts. Browse by alphabetical listing, by style, by author or by popularity. Free stock videos Videezy Free HD stock footage and 4K videos courtesy of Videezy. Its collection is provided by its members – most are free to download and use,  Life of Vids Free videos that you can use to create infinite loops, and they're all available to down

Fri, July 17, 2020

Become A Better Podcast Host Interviewer

Interviewing guests involves more than just asking the right questions. Your audience wants to hear captivating content. This is day 17 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge Here are some strategies you can implement immediately: Research Your Guests Thoroughly If your podcast exists to educate and inform your listeners about a particular subject, it’s only respectful of your audience to learn not only about the topic but also the guest in order to create an effective episode.   Do your homework. Search online and gather background information about your interviewees. Be sure to follow them on their social media channels. Visit their website. Listen to previous talks featuring their work. Read their blog posts. Researching your guests will help you guide the conversation in multiple directions. Engage With Open-Ended Questioning Ask open-ended questions. This can be harder than you realize, and take some discipline as an interviewer.  Open-ended questions require a response with more depth. They also are helpful in learning about a person or a situation. Here are some example questions… What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned about…? What’s your key piece of advice on …? What keeps you interested in…?   Listen Carefully Listening sounds obvious, but it’s a common mistake. Sometimes, we get so focused on asking questions from our prepared list that we miss important points made by our guests. Then, the natural flow seems awkward, and we even ask questions that have already been answered. To help, reduce nearby distractions. Focus on your guests, not the next question. Here are some handy tips to help you listen more carefully... Don’t interrupt your guest when they are speaking. If a followup question comes to mind, write it down to ask after your guest has finished. Don’t give verbal agreements to every statement that they make. Nodding your head is more than enough to let your interviewee know you are listening.   Ask for Stories Storytelling drastically changes the way our brains work. And listeners love a good story.   If you want to persuade and entertain your audience, ask your guests questions to include stories about their experiences. Those memorable moments will capture your listener’s attention and build a relationship with the audience. Remember to give listeners insight they never expected. To hone your skills, listen to other interview podcasts, and listen to them from the interviewer perspective. I interviewed radio news reporter and anchor Mark Nuce in a previous episode about the skills needed to become a better interviewer. I have a link to the episode in the podcast episode notes. Recorded in Studio C at <a href="https://my.captivate.fm/www.channel511.com" rel="noopener nore

Thu, July 16, 2020

RSS Feed and Your Podcast

You’ve probably heard the term RSS Feed, but do you know what a podcast RSS feed means and how important it can be to your podcast and its success?  This day 16 of my 31 day podcast challenge. Most people don’t, or don’t understand it fully. Even most podcasters. That’s why I want to break down exactly what the term means, why it’s so crucial to getting your podcast heard and how to use it to its maximum potential for your podcast!    What is an RSS Feed? Before explaining the ins and outs of exactly what an RSS Feed is, let’s look at what the acronym stands for. RSS stands for “really simple syndication,” or, depending on who you ask, “rich site summary.”  At its heart, RSS is just simple text files with basic updated information—news pieces, articles, and podcasts. That stripped-down content is usually plugged into what is called a “feed reader” or an interface that quickly converts the RSS text files into a stream of the latest updates from around the web. An RSS Feed is mandatory for manually distributing or syndicating your podcast. It is literally the URL for your podcast!  What does a podcast feed mean? Once you set up your Feed, your content will be ready to be submitted to podcast applications or news readers to subscribe to your content.  It is crucial that you create a podcast only RSS Feed , rather than one which has other content. The “podcatching” apps will not recognize the RSS tags correctly and will reject the entire RSS feed.  Once you have your podcast specific Feed you need to submit it to any and every podcast app and directory, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher. Why is an RSS feed so important? Simply put: It contains all of your podcast’s information : title, image, description, mp3 file URL, and category. All the information necessary for your podcast to be distributed outside of your hosting platform.  RSS allows you to syndicate content to different platforms so that you can reach audiences without the need for them to visit your website directly. What are the benefits? For listeners: it means they don’t need to sign up for emails or push notifications for podcasts which interest them. They can stay-up-to-date and find all their favorite podcasts in one podcasting app. For podcasters: it makes it easy to reach new listeners without having to invest great amounts of time in creating e-mail databases or newsletters. Also you can improve your engagement by linking back to your website via the RSS Reader.  However, the real bonus for you is that you only need to upload your content to one place a

Wed, July 15, 2020

Sound and Look Professional On Video Conferencing Videos

The COVID-19 lockdown forced lots of people to get comfortable with video conferencing in a hurry. In fact so fast, most of us weren’t prepared with the right equipment or setup from our new “home offices.” Podcasters may have had a leg up on this situation, but it has become even more important to understand what is needed for recording better podcasts. This is day 15 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. Here are some tips for looking and sounding more professional when you are on camera from home. Reduce Echo Your home is not designed as a recording studio. That can mean audio recording, live teleconferencing calls or video recordings can sound echoey. The trick is to eliminate hard surfaces that may reflect sound. Sofas, pillows, clothes and blankets can all help reduce echo. Even a towel on a desk can mean less sound bouncing around.  Buy A Decent Microphone I always suggest to not rely on internal microphones on your phone, camera or laptop. If you are using a laptop then a simple usb mic will make a huge difference. There are a number of very affordable usb mics. Just decide how portable you want your setup to be, like a Samson Go Mic. It is tiny, clips onto your laptop screen, and the audio quality is good. If you are willing to spend a little more you can get a Audio-Technica ATR2100 Cardioid Dynamic USB/XLR Microphone. That usually comes with a foldable desktop stand. With that microphone, I also suggest purchasing a Microphone XLR to USB Cable. To get a bit techie, it has Premium 3 Pins XLR Female to USB A Cable, with Extra to USB Type C Cable for Extension. Do this because the connection plug on the back of ATR2100 can become loose. Connecting into the mic’s XLR pins, and then into your computer will always be a safe connection for you.  Naturally with microphones, the more you spend the higher quality you are likely to achieve. Lights  Lighting plays a very important role in making your videos look good. You can use natural daylight, but avoid shooting towards windows. A small LED ring light can be useful to add a bit more light to your shot. If you want a more professional setup, or your room needs the lighting, then two or three LED standing lights may be needed. Remember to light your background, not just your foreground. Don’t forget your background  The things that will make your background look better are depth, detail, balance and lighting.  Considering depth first. Avoid filming yourself right up against a wall. It can look claustrophobic. Get your camera setup so you have some space behind you.  Secondly, detail. This is about avoiding blank walls. A neatly stacked bookshelf or nicely staged props will look better than a plain wall. Keep in mind, messy backgrounds will be distracting.  Thirdly, balance. Consider the composition of what is on camera. If you have something tall on one side, have somethin

Tue, July 14, 2020

Why Podcasts Are Good For Your Business

As a small business, it can be extremely difficult to find your unique voice in your niche business category and marketplace. And then successfully reach your targeted audience.  Consumers’ lives are saturated by advertising on a daily basis. So how can you create brand personality and make your business heard? One answer is podcasts. Podcasts are increasingly being integrated into brands’ content marketing strategies. Do you know why? It is advertising which offers businesses the opportunity to create an intimate rapport with their current customer base, and potential customer base. If you need further convincing as to why podcasts are here to stay for B2C and B2B advertising, here are more reasons as to why your business needs podcasting to establish a more solid relationship of trust. Let them hear your business’s most intimate voice Podcasts allow you to create a voice and personality for your brand. This in turns allows you to build an intimate relationship with your customer.  It’s tailor-made content that is thoughtful, informative and will make you stand out amongst your competitors. By speaking directly to your customer it allows consumers to feel more empathetic towards your brand, and lets them see another side of your business. Grow your audience with interviews Securing an influential guest who has a large or loyal following can be a great way of broadening your audience. Guests who are not directly related to your subject matter or might offer a unique point of view give you the opportunity to entice new listeners.  More importantly, if the guests are willing to share the content via their social media channels it can give a real boost to your numbers and strengthen brand validity. Interviews also offer the opportunity to invite your clients to the podcast. They, in turn, can talk about their business, and how your business has helped them grow, in their own words. A verbal testimonial, as it were. Reach your customers without them even thinking about it What makes podcasts truly unique as a content medium is the fact they don’t require undivided attention like lots of other media, such as video.  Podcasts are easily consumable content – you can speak to your audience while they are going about their daily lives: driving, cooking or commuting. Podcasts allow listeners to multi-task while they listen to your podcast podcast. When used wisely podcasts are a powerful tool in a small business’s content marketing strategy . They allow companies to directly speak to their consumers in a personalized way. Podcasts a clever way to create a trusted relationship between brand and customer. Business to business, or business to consumer, podcasts are now an important part of your bus

Mon, July 13, 2020

Tips For Growing Your Podcast Listener Base

You’ve come up with a fantastic podcast idea and you need some tips to get heard. Or maybe you’ve already gained a good core of listeners, but you feel the time has come to expand the podcast’s reach. This is Day 13 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge. Your efforts into growing your podcast audience is something you should do on a regular basis. Dedicate just as much time and passion as you do when crafting and recording each podcast episode of yours. But how do you do it? Here are some handy tips to increase your podcast listeners. Focus on the launch A good launch is crucial if you want to gain engaged listeners  Launching goes beyond reaching as many people as possible: it’s about reaching as many people as possible to find your topic relevant. That’s why relying on a previously built audience can help a lot.  Think about running an official countdown on your digital channels in order to attract some of the right people before you actually launch.  Make your podcast launch day a digital event, be it a Facebook live, LinkedIn live, an Instagram story – get creative! If you’ve already launched, that doesn’t mean you can’t create some event in order to get more engagement from your audience. This will turn into more shares, and eventually new podcast listeners from your listeners’ circles. Email Email is fundamental because it’s where closer connections happen. If people allow access to their email, they’re also open to your podcast. It’s ideal that you start building your email list before your podcast launches: that way you can let your contacts know you’re live. The best way to keep on collecting contacts throughout the podcast is to build an opt-in landing page. It’s a web page that explains to your current and potential podcast listeners why they should receive your news in their inbox, followed by the chance to sign up for them. Mailchimp, Mailerlite or Revue are great tools for no-fuss list building. It is vital that people give their consent, because you’ll know they are actually interested, and for purely legal reasons – you can’t spam people. Give a brief and enticing summary of each episode and a preview of the upcoming one. While it’s quicker to go with an email template, try your best to customize your email to the receiving end. Make sure you include the opportunity to share the email with friends to get new, engaged listeners for your podcast. Whether or not you have an opt-in list, do email people you know personally if you know they’re interested in your podcast topic. Email pioneers and influencers asking them for advice and to share some episodes with their network. Reach

Sun, July 12, 2020

Reasons Stopping You From Starting A Podcast

Despite podcasting being widely regarded as an excellent marketing solution to reach new clients and broaden your business exposure, it is not unusual to see professionals postponing their first step in the medium until the entire operation falls through. One excuse after the other. Day 12 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge, I am going to focus on a potential set of fears preventing businesspeople from exposing themselves through a podcast. Here are some main reasons that are stopping you from starting your podcast. I will become a laughing stock When used as a business tool, a podcast reaches an audience made up of potential customers. None of them have time to lose. Everyone is focused on making the most of the content you are offering rather than finding the next laughing stock. It is weird that many entrepreneurs who are the definition of self-confidence when doing business turn out to be completely terrified of exposing their voice to a wide audience who may comment and, eventually, make fun of it. It has to be perfect Perfectionism is among the main enemies of podcasting. Think about this: podcasting is time-saving. Rather than writing or creating videos, which may respectively call for long drafts or complicated post-production, podcasting can be made in real time. Start recording, speak, stop recording. Job done, time saved. Trying to reach absolute perfection will trick you into a never ending spiral: the more you try to be perfect, the further away you will be from releasing your podcast and seeing it take off. Maybe it’s just a waste of time You were enthusiastic about the idea but now something is making you feel like “this may be of no use, a waste of time for my business and the listener.” Will it really gather new customers? Will someone really want to listen to it? What about other podcasts that may sound like mine? These are just some of the questions you will ask yourself…based on deeper, unrelated insecurities which are likely to make you call it all off. I don’t have the time Let’s be honest, we all have time for the things we want to make time for, no matter how busy we are. Finding the space to podcast requires good time management but you also need to be honest about why you want to do it. Are you really passionate about the idea or does it just sound like a cool thing to do?  If your reason isn’t strong enough you’ll never find the time to get started. Or if you do you’ll find it very difficult to keep going because it takes a lot of time to consistently deliver content and grow an audience. We have this frank discussion with our potential podcast clients from the start. If you really are too busy, set a date in the future you can work towards. Then try and use that time to plan out episodes. I don’t have a "radio voice"

Sat, July 11, 2020

How To Repurpose Your Podcast Content

Creating great content can take a ton of effort and time. But what if your best content could work for you, again and again, without you having to create something new? Well, you can by repurposing your content For Day 11 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge, I am going to spotlight some creative ways to repurpose that podcast content. What Is Repurposing Content?  Repurposing your podcast content is taking an episode that you’ve already written and re-packaging it so that it does double duty. This allows you to: Reach more potential listeners with your content marketing Get more organic search engine traffic Stop stressing over what to post in social media If you’re currently not repurposing your content, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity. The Goal of Repurposing Your Podcast Content If you ask most people what their initial thoughts might be on repurposing content, they might answer  To drive more organic traffic to our site.  While this is technically true, more traffic shouldn’t be the ultimate goal. What you really want is more people coming to your website to do something… Sign up for your newsletter, encourage listeners to submit ideas for upcoming podcasts, bonus material not in the podcast, or become a member for member-only content. Traffic is simply a means to that end. Here are some ways to repurpose your podcast content. Use Snippets for Social Media Posts A genius way to repurpose your content is by taking a tiny snippet or a small excerpt of your podcast and turning that into a social media post. The idea here is to build your brand by adding value to your social media profiles. But be sure to include an image wherever possible to make your posts stand out. Or there are apps that will convert the audio segment into a “video”. Blogs It seems like nowadays, everyone and their mother has a blog. So the real question is: Why don’t you ? Use older podcast material to create blogs. Use transcripts of the podcast, revise and edit them into a blog for your website, as well as other blogging websites such as Medium or LinkedIn. Blogs are good, too, because you can add links back to relevant podcasts you have already published.  eBook Even though the word “eBook” has the word “Book” in it, don’t be intimidated. Most ebooks are glorified blog posts, with around 2,000–3,000 words . So with that in mind, you can always turn older podcast episode transcripts into an ebook. They sound super professional, make a great lead magnet, and won’t eat up too much of your time. Physical Book<

Fri, July 10, 2020

4 Great Reasons to Be Interviewed on Podcasts

When you get interviewed on a podcast, you can trust that you will be heard by a highly targeted and engaged audience. If someone is willing to listen to a 30-60 minute interview with you, you can bet that they are interested in your topic. For day 10 of my 31 Day Podcast Challenge, let’s cover 4 great reasons why you should want to be interviewed on podcasts. Build relationships with influencers in your industry - networking! The one thing all podcast hosts have in common is influence. They have audiences of people who choose to listen to them. For that reason alone, building a relationship with these people is generally a good idea. Being interviewed on someone’s podcast is a great way to kick start a relationship with them, which can lead to a number of opportunities including referrals to other podcasts, repeat interviews on their podcast, in-person speaking engagements, guest blogging, and even partnerships or joint ventures.  They don’t take a lot of time to do Not counting the amount of time it takes to find a podcast and schedule an interview, it doesn’t actually take a lot of time to record a podcast interview. Most podcast interviews are between 30 and 45 minutes long, and that is plenty of time to tell your story and share some of your best advice. Compare that to the amount of time it would take you to write an article for another website (probably a few hours right?). 30-45 minutes of your time in exchange for exposure to hundreds, maybe even thousands of listeners is a pretty good use of your time. Increase Your Trust factor Audio content is very personal. When someone hears your voice, they can almost immediately decide if they like you. And as they listen to you share your story and advice, they get to know you and trust you.  Increase visitors to your website Most podcast hosts create a blog post, usually from their show notes page, for each podcast episode they publish. On that page, they will typically include a link to your website so their listeners can learn more about you or get in touch with you if they want to. It’s also pretty standard for a podcast host to mention your website, or ask you how their listeners can reach you, during the interview. Both scenarios help bring more visitors to your website. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free dail

Thu, July 09, 2020

Apps To Convert Your Podcasts Into Video Format

There are numerous ways to convert your podcasts into video format to share and embed a podcast on social media. And what a great way to share your episode, or at least a portion of your podcast episode that is visually pleasing with audio waves moving and/or transcribed text. I have a list of apps that will convert your audio podcasts into motion graphic videos known as “audiograms” that you can share on YouTube and Facebook. Audioburst Audioburst offers a set of free tools for podcasters to promote their episodes through social media and SEO — and included in those tools are an audiogram creator. Audioburst listens for your new episodes and imports them onto their system. Then they break down your podcast into shortform “audiobursts” to capture the best parts of your show. You can then publish those bursts to you social media or embed them on your website. Audioburst also transcribes your entire episode for free. The maximum length you can make a video audiogram is 5 minutes, however they are working on making that longer and also integrating their transcriptions into the audiograms. Wofox WoFox offers a full suite of motion graphic applications — from infographic and gif makers to video and animation editors. WoFox's Free Plan includes all their templates and assets, unlimited designs/motions/photos, 360px resolution video, and videos up to 30 seconds. Their free license is limited to personal videos only. They also have a business plan and a team plan if you are looking to go big. Auphonic Auphonic offers a diverse set of post production services for podcasts including audio leveling, loudness normalization, audio restoration, cross talk removal, speech recognition and transcription, audio file encoding, content deployment, and audiogram video generation. A big perk of Auphonic, unlike some of the others on this list, is that it can create an audiogram for your ENTIRE podcast. Short audiograms (not longer than 5 minutes) will be encoded as Full HD / 1080p videos, and long audiograms (longer than 5 minutes) as HD / 720p videos.  You can upload multiple Chapter Images so that the background image changes throughout the full length podcast. Auphonic's free plan offers up to 2 hours of monthly processed audio, and includes all of their features. They have paid plans, and pay as you go as well. Headliner App Their Free plan allows up to 10 videos without watermarks per month — which is an incredible value for free. You can actually create more than 10 videos per month on the Free Plan if you'd like, but the additional videos would include watermarks. The Pro Plan is $12.95/month and includes unlimited videos without watermarks, custom watermarks, free stock videos and images (including some Getty), ability to create reusable templates, custom intro/outro videos, ability to import your own font

Wed, July 08, 2020

Common Podcast Questions We Answer

I’ve been involved in podcasting for businesses and organizations since 2016. I’ve talked to a lot of people about the medium. Over the years, here are the common podcast questions we answer. Is creating a podcast hard? The answer is no, podcasting isn’t very hard — but it is work, so be prepared to put in the time and effort to make a good one and create great content. There are over 2 million podcasts in Apple Podcasts (mid-2021), so you do have some competition. The technical side of podcasting has a very low barrier to entry (which may be why the number of podcasts increased dramatically during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic). The equipment and software are affordable and easy to use. One of the major challenges for podcasters used to be the technical know-how to make the recorded audio sound professional, with theme music, audio transitions, and more. That’s changing as there are now plenty of services that will handle sound engineering and sound design for a reasonable monthly fee, including us here at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. There is a lot of thought and planning that goes into any podcast for a business or organization, and that’s where the major effort and time comes in.  A well-planned podcast will engage the listeners.  Just remember, you should give podcasting for business the same time and attention you would give to any major content marketing effort, like your company blog, vlogs and social media planning. Otherwise, it will be hard to get the maximum return on your investment.    Can podcasting help my business or organization? The answer is yes, it can — especially if content marketing is already a major component of your overall marketing efforts.  Podcasts reach people at times and places that other forms of media just can’t, like when people are driving, or exercising, or working in the yard. Podcasts engage the listener in what we like to call “lean-in moments.” Where you have the listener “leaning into” content, blocking out everything else around them. Those are great times they could be listening to your podcast, learning more about you, and hearing your story.  How long should the podcast be, and often should I publish the podcast? There are no requirements for the length or frequency of a podcast. As long as you focus on delivering content your audience wants and needs, you can make a five-minute daily briefing, a weekly half-hour update, an hour-long monthly update, or anything in between and beyond. No clocks, just content. Podcasting is a rapidly growing medium, so to efficiently reach your customers, members, or stakeholders, podcasting for business or organizations, podcasting is now a staple to marketing mixes, just like blogs and video.   Should My Business/My Organization have a podcast?  The answer is, maybe — the variables include who is your audience, how does c

Tue, July 07, 2020

Guide to Promoting Your Podcast Part 2

Before we delve into the second part of my Guide to Promoting Your Podcast, if you haven’t listened to Part 1, click here to go back and listen to the episode . In the first part, I touched upon some essential podcasting questions, which include tips and tricks about creating your own website and implementing the perfect marketing and social media strategy for your podcast. In Part 2, I am focusing more specifically on DISTRIBUTION. How can you distribute your podcast to the right people? Distributing Your Podcast via Podcatchers  It goes without saying how fundamental good syndication is to a podcast’s success. The importance of good distribution is equally as important as creating excellent content. That is why it is imperative that podcasters distribute their content on various podcast aggregators. Also called podcatchers, these are simply apps that play podcasts. The most well-known podcatcher is Apple Podcasts, the default podcast app that comes with iOS. Beyond the iOS podcatcher, there are dozens of other apps that collect and play podcasts. Some of the most popular podcatchers include Spotify, Podchaser, Overcast, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Deezer, and Podcast Addict.  Along with distributing your content on as many podcatchers as possible, you should simultaneously be also working on creating a strong listener base. In fact, a loyal following of listeners, even before you launch your podcast, can greatly help you increase the popularity of your show by amplifying the reach of your podcast. How? Well an audience can download and listen to podcast episodes, but they can also:  Share latest episodes with their friends and/or family Share your podcast on their own social media channels or via email and/or;  Rate and review your podcast on a variety of different podcatchers   But how do you create an audience? Well, one thing you can consider is creating an email list. Sharing your Podcast to your Email Subscribers  Email marketing has the best return on investment out of all the digital marketing channels The number of active email users is forecasted to reach 4.3 billion in 2023. 293.6 billion emails were sent and received each day. Average expected ROI is $42 for every $1 you spend on email marketing. ... The average open rate for a welcome email is 82%. <a href="https://www.oberlo.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics#:~:text=Summary%3A%20Email%20Marketing%20Statistics,-Here's%20a%20summary&text=The%20number%20of%20active%20email,you%20spend%20on%20email%20marketing

Mon, July 06, 2020

Guide To Promoting Your Podcast Part 1

Growing your podcast audience is something you should do regularly, dedicating just as much time and passion as you do when crafting and recording each of your podcast episodes. But how do you do that exactly? If you plan on building an audience and getting recognized for your work, then you should definitely consider investing in a website . Developing a Website for your Podcast Why should you create a website for your podcast?  First of all, it gives you the power to create your story. A website is created and designed by you, as is the copy that you can write about your podcast episode. A website gives you the freedom to do many things all at once. For example, an episode webpage can include:  an embedded player that features your podcast or episodes, allowing you to direct listeners to your own page while still having your hosting, play counts, and other analytics provided by your hosting platform, a transcript of the episode filled with SEO rich keywords that will help drive organic traffic to your website and/or links to other distribution platforms like Apple Podcasts if your listeners prefer accessing episodes on a different medium.  It also allows you to not only tell the story of who you are, but in certain specific situations, why they should be listening to your podcast. For example, if you have a podcast all about marketing, listeners would probably like to know what makes you an expert.  allows listeners to contact you via email or signup form for a newsletter, or cta piece. It is also ultimately better for promotion through your social media channels because it’s better to link to your website than an episode on Apple Podcasts. Let’s quickly recap what are some of the elements that you can include on your website: Podcast embedded player Links the places where you can be found Bio  Personal proof, consisting of expertise and authority Episode notes Transcription Ratings and reviews   Thank you to your sponsors (plus links)    Developing a Marketing Strategy Before even dipping your toes into the social media world, it is smart to plan out a strategy that can be used to grow and promote your podcast. Yes, marketing can be fun but it also should have a very measurable impact on your overall goals and objectives.  It is important to think about where your potential listeners spend time online and offline. Social Media Your first step is to figure out which sites would be most beneficial for you to use. There is a lot that needs to be done before you click the “tweet” or “publish” button. The idea is to create a solid pla

Sun, July 05, 2020

Podcast Year End Review

I want to take a look at what I provide my clients for a year end review. I call it the Podcast Year End Review. The year end review doesn't necessarily mean that you're doing this in January. It's just the year end or maybe a season end review of whenever your podcast naturally ends. And it is a great year end review to take a look at three different areas - Progress/Gratitude Process Review Goal Setting If you'd like this list, send me an email. I can send you this list of questions that we go over with my clients as their Year End Review. Hopefully this will help you get to where you need to be in your next year, your next season. Thanks for listening and we'll talk to you on day number six. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com. It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media I want to thank ArchesAudio dot com for the music you're hearing the very beginning. I have no affiliation with that company. They provide audio to podcasters for free as long as you give them some accreditation in verbally in your podcast as well on the show podcast notes. So head on over there, ArchesAudio dot com. Really a good resource for music. I'm pretty impressed with it. You just need some editing skills because it's a full length piece of music. But pretty easy to do the intro and outro, just edit and make it smaller. ArchesAudio dot com. 

Sat, July 04, 2020

Power Of Free Speech and Podcasting

Being the Fourth of July holiday, I thought I'd hit upon how podcasting is really the purest form of free speech in modern media. I did a podcast just recently about some thoughts about that, and I'll put a quick link in the podcast show notes about that. I think we're very fortunate to live in this time that we have podcasts that really no one can shut down, ultimately, depending on how you're hosting your audio. We're pretty lucky at this point in time. If you have a voice, you have a microphone, have recording software, you have a website, and you can put that audio up there and tell people about it. Unbelievable times we live in. It's fantastic.  But everything in modern society today, though, is automated, if you think about it. It seems to be unoriginal. Offered by a select few sources, a few conglomerates are really running TV entertainment. Hollywood entertainment. We're given the illusion of choice, but in reality there really isn't much difference in what we choose.  As a society, we traded some individuality and atmosphere for convenience and low prices. I think the same could be said about entertainment overall, too. Everything seems to be a reboot, or a remaster. The video game industry is battling to see who can make the next Fortnight clone. And Hollywood's doing unwanted sequels to movie after movie.  But then there are podcasts. In our current media landscape, podcasts...I guess you could call them a rebel in a leather jacket. There are no rules when it comes to podcasting. They're mostly unfiltered, non-commercial. If you think about the purest form of free speech in modern media, anyone can start a podcast. Which means you can listen to plenty of unique conversations, colorful, to exciting individuals, who feature conversations we tend to only have with our friends. You're listening in on some new conversations that would never be heard on TV. If you can think of a topic, there's probably a podcast for it. Podcasts give people freedom. It's a place for everyone to escape and express their individuality. With podcasts, we're no longer feeling lonely or weird in liking something that isn't popular. It's why the popularity of podcasting continues to grow each year. I think it's something that we need to treasure. We need to protect and continue to help it grow. And that being produce great content, get in the space and make it masterful, make it episode after episode after episode of informing your audience. Make it so that your podcast becomes so habit forming, if you take off a week, it's almost like taking a pinky off your hand. It just hurts.  We can do so much with this platform. And we are doing so much with this platform. I think we're just beginning to understand the power of what we can do with podcasti

Fri, July 03, 2020

Things To Consider Before You Start A Podcast

Ten questions to ask yourself before you start podcasting so you can get a feel for it. Are you ready? Is this what do you want to do? So figure out what will you talk about? And the content you'll like consuming will typically work best in your podcasts. So what's going to give you the energy to create, to create, to create, to create? And actually as well, you know, take a look at it, can you pivot from that content as well too. I don't think the well always dries because if you have the right topic, it can continually regenerate itself. But take a look at how flexible that content will be.  What type of host are you? You know, are you are you the expert basically? Are you looking at being a solo interviewer? Do you love chatting with guests. Or journalist? You know, many reporters pursue podcasts because they're losing their jobs and they still want to be a journalist and use podcasts for that.  What equipment do you need? We were gonna create a podcast about that as well, too, in July. But you know the basics are that you are going to have to have a microphone recording and editing platform. And, you know, a recording studio or a quiet place where you want to record and then you taking a look at a podcast hosting platform. Do you want to co-host? Do you want guests? That kind of goes back to the expert interview style.  How often will you be publishing your podcast? How often can you generate? Sometimes that depends on how long your episode is. How long do you want that content to be? And the longer the content, the more likely that you will publish fewer times because it just takes so long to produce a longer piece of content. Longer being an hour, hour and a half. I'm focusing on doing, during my challenge, maybe less than seven minutes. Then you can do episodes frequently, quite frankly, because it does take some time to do a quality program, quality content, do some editing, putting it together and just carving out that space and time to do that. How do I publish my podcast? Basically, the easiest way is just working with a podcast hosting platform. There are other ways of getting around it and utilizing website hosting. But first, safety and peace of mind, a hosting platform probably is the best way to go.  How do you grow your audience? Think about how do you want to do that. There are many, many ways, and many, many people who will tell you the best practices of how to grow your audience. There are guests that you cross promote with other podcast hosts, the press itself, have a launch party. And of course it comes down to you. You have to promote yourself.  How can you monetize it? Do you want to monetize your podcast? Some podcasters don't monetize. They're using their podcast to promote themselves, promote their business. And they're not making a dime from their podcast. Others, they're using that podcast to possibly promote a new book, promote them being a great intervie

Thu, July 02, 2020

Podcast Transcriptions

I want to talk a little bit about how I have always been advocating for transcriptions. Great show notes. Why it's important and namely up to this point, it's been for SEO purposes. Search engine optimization for Google to find what you're talking about. Easier and answer any queries that are made on Google that if it matches your podcast, you have a better shot of of showing up. Now a new search engine for podcasts called PodScribe. And real interesting and talk a little bit about take off with their page PodScribe. They've been in the podcasting space and working with transcriptions for years. They started as a podcast player, Podible, focusing on personalized recommendations. They tackled the discovery problem by analyzing podcast transcriptions to uncover how podcast are related to each other. They got traction attracting tens of thousands of users to the app. They even produced their own shows, of which one has one or two has since been picked up by Barstool, sits atop the charts. However, they realized the many difficulties of growing a podcast playing app in today's age. Having worked for many years prior as software engineers in the ad tech industry. They decide to shift focus. They now work with brands and agencies to help them advertise on podcasts more intelligently. They still rely on the foundation of the app and transcription and recommendation engine to match advertisers with the best possible show for their brand. They're excited to put all together and help move the podcast advertising industry forward. So what the deal is with PodScribe as you go to their Web site and you want to search podcasts and you want to find it, let's say you are Johnson and Johnson and you want to find a podcast that specifically talks about parenting maternity because you want to advertise your diapers, Pampers. Or any other baby product that Johnson and Johnson manufacturers. So an easy way to do that as well. Let's search podcasts to see which ones are dealing with those topics or have parents in mind or mothers are. You know, maybe maybe the focus is small kids. Well, sometimes you can't find that out by the title of a podcast. It's all in the details, in the content. Well, if you don't have your podcast transcribed or really good podcast show notes. A search engine is really not going to find you. Now, PodScribe is not going to find you either. Very simply, you go to pod scribe hit search podcasts and they're going to ask you to log in. You can search my key term, in fact, right on their home page. I believe they do some search through Joe Rogan podcast and showing you, you know, the leg buildup that the last two or three episodes and showing you a transcription of his podcast and what topics he's talking about. So, you know, taking a look at. Let's see. Yeah. The last episode I'm seeing here, Jon Stewart. It transcribes it. And if there is any mention specifically of, let's say, again, that topic o

Wed, July 01, 2020

31 Day Challenge

Welcome to my self-imposed 31 day challenge. A challenge to create and publish 31 podcast episodes in the month of July. I will be covering topics from podcast microphone choices, the value of transcriptions, podcast websites...all things podcasting and podcast related. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com. It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, June 03, 2020

Podcasting And Your First Amendment Right

Typically, I use this podcast to talk to you about the business of podcasting, using podcasts for your marketing needs for your business. But it's kind of hard to do that right now. Amongst everything that's going on with the death of George Floyd that was recorded and shared across the Internet while he was in police custody. There is a lot of anger, frustration and fear right now boiling across our American cities and it just doesn't feel right, right now, to be talking about the business of podcasting. Additionally, I'm not looking for a platform to jump on the bandwagon to say, "Yes, I'm another white person, and this needs to stop." Well, yes, it does, of course. And hopefully I've been doing all that I can before and after this to make sure it doesn't continue. I just don't want to be another voice on social media saying it shouldn't happen and then seemingly go away. My point with this podcast episode today is that we need to be very, very careful and very appreciative that we have podcasting to help fulfill our freedom of speech. And actually our freedom of assembly, if you think about it, with guests that you bring on your podcast. You have the freedom to go into a studio, or in your home, and record an episode utilizing your right to free speech. We have to be very careful that it doesn't get infringed upon right now. Whether you like what he posts or not, whether those posts are inflammatory or not, President Trump has gone against term of service of Twitter and Facebook. And they do have the right, as a business, to take off what he has said, tweeted and posted on their social media sites. We don't have that problem with podcasting. We have the freedom to record and to post anything that we wish to say. Now, that is limited as well, though, if you're using a podcast hosting platform. They, of course, and you, of course, have agreed to their terms of service with what you say. But there are opportunities to be able to say what you want to say by hosting that audio on your own dot com. That being said, I'm not saying that you can use it to post inflammatory remarks or racist remarks, not meaning that at all. What I'm saying is there is not a company out there that is telling you what you have to say, or can't say, in your podcast, when you utilize the tools that are out there. We have to be very careful to make sure that we protect those rights. I am not in total agreement of taking down what a representative, or a president, has said. Because the more we allow them to talk, the more we do understand them. And it becomes more and more evident of where they stand on things and what they're trying to do, what they're trying to implement. If we stop them from talking, we will know less about them. We have to be careful not to let government interfere with that. And we have seen a lot of government ta

Thu, May 21, 2020

The Joe Rogan Experience Exclusively on Spotify

Say "Goodbye" to the The Joe Rogan Experience on your preferred podcast player - unless you listen to your podcasts on Spotify. Beginning 9/1/2020, The Joe Rogan Experience will be debut on Spotify, then to be heard exclusively on that platform later in 2020. Plus, all his video content moves from YouTube to Spotify. We say, "Congratulations, Joe, you've come a long way from NewsRadio! " Here are three things to take away from this move. 1) You are going to hear and see this from the podcasting industry "old guard." "Once a show goes exclusive on a single platform it is no longer really a podcast." "Anytime a show goes exclusive it hurts the open nature of podcasting."  "One thing for sure since Joe Rogan’s podcast will no longer be available via open RSS it can no longer be referred to as a podcast so it will no longer be the world’s biggest Podcast.” Consider the sources. These quotes are from people who represent or own podcasting hosting platforms. They make money from hosting and moving your content - just like Spotify. Here's something to keep in mind as this continues to unfold. JRE moving to Spotify can be compared to Howard Stern moving to Sirius Satellite Radio (now SiriusXM) in 2004, when he fled terrestrial radio to get out from under FCC regulation. In this deal, JRE is moving his video content from YouTube's censorship. 2) JRE's listening numbers will decrease - you bet they will, in the short run. Spotify knows this. JRE knows this. What will happen, as did with Howard Stern, JRE will now have true core listeners paying for content, episode after episode. These listeners will truly represent his core audience size. The audience he can activate for his sponsors. 3) Is this good for the podcasting industry? - Yes! It's great PR. It shows the amount of money that is moving into this industry to compensate talent. It opens opportunities for podcasters. JRE moving from an open source RSS leaves a void that will be filled with new talent. It's a great experiment unfolding right before our eyes. Whatever the end result is, this is a mark in time for this industry. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Au

Wed, May 13, 2020

Podcast Brand Kit - Make Your Own Podcast Cover Art

We all come up against obstacles when creating a podcast. Content, hosting platforms, audio sound, and podcast branding artwork are just a few. I talk with Lee Hills , a freelance graphic artist and animator, about his ongoing "digital project a day." What happens when your head is spinning with ideas? Maybe the best idea is to just create, or post, or publish, and get them out into the world. That's what Lee is doing. Creating a viable product as quickly as possible, and let the internet decide where it should and can go from there. This project includes a Podcast Brand Kit . His goal with this kit, as with all of his kits, is to make the "complicated simple." He has also launched a podcast supporting his daily digital project called Launch Lessons .  As a long time freelancer on Fiverr, I thought this would be a great opportunity to also talk about how this creative platform has evolved, and cover the pros and cons of using Fiverr. Also, a big thanks to Don The Idea Guy . Without his Action League Mastermind group, Lee and I would never have met. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter . Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, April 29, 2020

Together Podcast

Marty and Trina Daniels co-host this daily, live podcast. As you may know, from previous Note To Future Me podcasts, Marty is the owner of Podovox Professional Podcast Services . This podcast is not about Podovox, but about...well, here's what they state on their Facebook page ... "We start off each day with our live podcast. After over three decades of marriage, two young sons, we have been together through a lot of incredible times as well as devastating ones too. Get your coffee and join us live each weekday at 7:30/6:30 a.m. Central for conversation. If you cannot join us live, you can listen anytime on your favorite place to get podcasts." I talk with Marty about how the podcast finally came to being, and how he and Trina are squeezing this daily podcast project into their already busy lives. A daily podcast is a huge undertaking. And couple that with being live, we have a lot to talk about in this episode. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter . Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Thu, April 16, 2020

The Confident Woman Podcast

As their podcast website states... "Rachel and Erin show up as their true authentic, transparent, and vulnerable selves and talk about everything including confidence, body image, relationships, business, finances, fitness, freedom, travel and fun, all rolled into one!" That's what you'll hear in this interview. From a chance meeting at a business MeetUp, to now dreaming big with future plans for their podcast and events. This interview offers up a tremendous amount of information for anyone who is seriously considering podcasting as a "voice" for what matters most to you. The Confident Woman Podcast is NOT a podcast about their businesses. But it is about how they navigate being confident in what they do with their business, their personal life, and their Facebook group. "If you’re looking to become your best and most confident self, this podcast is for you!" Facebook Instagram Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, April 01, 2020

Ways To Increase Your Podcast Downloads

To continue to looking at your podcast's influence, one measure is to monitor and implement strategies to increase your downloads (or streaming activity, depending on the podcast player app). With me is Podovox Professional Podcast Services owner Marty Daniels. Here are some easy ways to increase exposure, and encourage more listeners to your podcast. Make a Landing Page or Add a Page to your Website: Creating a landing page, which is simply a single web page or adding a page to your website can drive traffic to your podcast. Make sure to include links platforms your podcast is on, like Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Spotify, etc…  Leverage Social Media: Take small audio clips and use video editing software like Headliner to attach the audio to a graphic, created by using a tool like Canva or Stencil, and make a small video to be shared on Instagram stories, Facebook Newsfeed, etc. Use your email list: Even if your list is small. Inform your subscribers that a new episode of your podcast just dropped. The email doesn’t have to be long and should include links and photos of the most recent podcast episode. Research Keywords: It is important to leverage keyword research when coming up with your podcast descriptions and titles. Google phrasing. -  Podcast Episode Show Notes - Use all of the landscape you have in your podcast episode show notes - According to Apple, each episode of your podcast can have up to 4,000 characters of associated show notes. You can include a plain text version, an HTML version, or both. Add a Pop Up to Your Website:  invite people to subscribe to your podcast.  Video Record Yourself or Interview to Distribute on YouTube: Just strip the audio from your camera post processed video recording. By distributing to YouTube, you’re openin

Tue, March 17, 2020

Your Podcast Communication Strategy During Emergencies

Creating a podcast, and therefore having a way for you to keep yourself out in front of people when everybody is withdrawing, could be a very powerful opportunity for your business. You can be a calming voice during recession, depression, a natural disaster, or as we are experiencing now, an international health emergency. A podcast is an absolutely easy and effective way to control your message to the media. The message that goes out from your organization, to your employees, to your customers, to your potential customers, to your particular industry, and to the media. Beyond businesses? How about city managers, city planners, human resource departments of organizations, universities, medical facilities, senior care facilities, insurance organizations, large chain restaurants, just to name a few. If not public podcasts, internal podcasts. Speak to your employees so that they know how to mobilize and how to react and respond. And how your organization is reacting and responding. Let's take this one step further. You've got to have a plan for communications during any situation. We hope this COVID-19 health emergency is going to be short term. Compared to a recession, it will be short. And this should get you to thinking, what is your game plan during a recession? Hopefully this current COVID-19 international health emergency doesn't trigger one. But what is your game plan for internal and external communication during an inevitable recession? With a podcast, your podcast listeners (your customers!) get to hear your insights on what you're doing. Help them trust your process. "We're here for you." "Here's our game plan. Here's what we're doing." "Again, it's a fluid situation, but this is what we're doing today." Voices heard on these podcasts can be located anywhere, because of various online meeting tools or online studio access points. This is not something that you have to be in the same room with one another. Your key people can be anywhere in the world, and with today's technology and software, bring them into the "same room" to deliver your messages. Build a podcast that your listeners rely on, week after week after week. In normal times, it's about your company, about your product, your service, your business culture, how your customers interact with your business. In troubled times, your audience will continue to listen for information, and to continue for some sense of normalcy in their lives. With me is Podovox Professional Podcast Services owner Marty Daniels. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circ

Wed, February 05, 2020

Illumination Bureau Podcast

The Illumination Bureau podcast is a podcast produced by Creative Portfolio, and co-hosted by Catherine Lang-Cline and her business partner Kristen Harris. What makes this podcast special is that Catherine and Kristen bring two different perspectives to the podcast conversation. Ultimately, they have two different audiences listening to their podcast, their business clients and their talent clients. They weave their podcast content into addressing both targeted listeners. Portfolio Creative provides access to creative talent to fill their business clients' short or long-term contract needs. Catherine works with business clients and Kristen works with the creative talent. Each brings a different perspective to each podcast's topic, which is a great balance for each episode. Find out how it all started, and where the podcast is going in the ever-changing workforce planning and creative talent arena. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com. It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Thu, January 23, 2020

Exit The Warrior, Lessons From Neil Peart

I discovered Neil Peart and Rush when I was in high school, back in the beginning of the 80s. He had everything that I always dreamt of becoming. He was just a master of what he did; he played this mammoth drum kit and was the master of the odd time signatures and just had chops for days. At the time, no other progressive drummers were raising the bar to the level he did. I'd never seen or heard another drummer like him. What did he do? Neil played his instrument like he was playing a symphony or conducting a classical piece. He was so nuanced and creative. No drummer was playing like that. There are nuances in every fill, every groove. Drummers around the world studied that. Peart's refinement on the drums earned him the nickname "The Professor." Neil Peart's drum solo on Rush's R40 tour took the drummer an entire career to construct. As he wrote in an article in Classic Rock: "As I developed that solo through months of rehearsals and even into the tour, I was a little perplexed that I never received any feedback, from band-mates or crew members. Sometimes people seem to take the attitude, “Aw, he already knows he’s good. He doesn’t need to hear it again. But we do, don’t we?" When I read this article, it really struck me. It me ask myself, do I confirm, compliment, and give feedback to my podcast clients? I believe I do, but maybe not enough. As we all take the mic, and begin the podcast journey, we all need feedback. Certainly at the beginning, with all the trial and errors, but we shouldn’t miss the opportunity with more seasoned podcasters, to tell them how well they are doing.  That may be just as important a time as in the beginning, as Peart just talked about. Keep encouraging, keep giving feedback. That’s what I do, and will continue to do with my podcast clients. Recorded in Studio C at Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com. It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcr

Wed, January 22, 2020

Circle270Media's Brett Johnson on The Successful Encore Career

"Brett moved from a long career in radio broadcasting and sales to open his own company,  Circle270Media Podcast Consultants , as an expert in podcasting helping many organizations throughout Central Ohio utilize this great new media method and technology!" This episode was originally published on January 20, 2020. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Thu, October 10, 2019

Google and Your Podcast Website

Google has started indexing podcasts. At their recent conference they announced that podcasts and podcast websites are appearing in regular search results.  Don't confuse Google podcasts with Google Play. Google is transitioning away from Play.  They explain how they index podcasts in their developer Docs.  Basically it says the podcast must have a dedicated home page, with a link pointing to your RSS feed.  What does this mean? Your podcast needs a website.  Google is actually transcribing the audio in the same way that they automatically do on YouTube, with the idea being that you would be able to search for something the podcast host said in the episode and it will show up in search results.  So I think we can expect that all of the search optimization tricks people are doing on YouTube, like putting keywords in their titles, making sure that they actually say the keywords out loud, especially at the beginning of their video, all of that's going to apply to podcasts now as well. Moving forward, you are going to really need to think through your podcast episode titles, as well as the first paragraph of text in your show notes, and what you say at the introduction of the show. Google is going indexing that. So far Google has not been a big player in the podcast space. But that will change having podcasts show up in regular Google search results both on mobile and on the desktop. This could be a game changer. This could mean that podcasts get a lot more distribution.  I talk with long-time friend and colleague Chuck Francis. He is the owner of Take And Bake Marketing , as well as the owner of USAAccess, a web-hosting, video production and graphic design firm. My websites are hosted with USAAccess, full disclosure, but I

Wed, September 04, 2019

How To Launch A Branded Podcast

I continue my conversational series with Marty Daniels, owner of Podovox. This time around, we take a look How To Launch A Branded Podcast. Marty and I are asked this often from businesses. We look at six different things that we ask our clients before jumping in to creating branded podcasts.  The six things we look at are:  1) define your audience,  2) define your goals, 3) focus on what makes your brand awesome,  4) define your podcast voice,  5) know how to engage your listeners,   6) the investment. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants . With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients.  Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast.  If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.  A full transcription of this podcast is available on both -  Circle270Media - www.circle270media.com Note To Future Me - www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media Why write a note to myself, when I can pod-journal my thoughts about podcasting?!

Wed, August 21, 2019

Affording College with Aaron Greene

Aaron Greene is the founder and CEO of College Liftoff . Alex, his wife, is the marketing director. They have a podcast called Affording College with Aaron Greene. The podcast is utilizing their expertise in college planning. And what is interesting about the podcast and their industry, which is very, very young, is how they explain to their listeners that they have a problem that they need to address when they start preparing their students to go to college, financially. Basically, right now we're looking at $1.3 trillion debt in college loans. And with their podcast, they're looking to address this situation to help families get away from walking out of the four year, the six year, or the eight year college ride with as little a debt as possible. Utilizing available scholarships, picking the best college that they should be picking for their student, all mixed in with trying to figure out how much information should they give away during each podcast. It's tricky. But I think a lot of businesses do encounter this when they start to create a podcast that shows off their expertise in their field. How much information do you give away? And I think they do a great job of explaining their process and their mindset of what they do with the podcast. Hope you enjoy and thanks for taking notes with me. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270med

Mon, August 05, 2019

Broadcasters Meet Podcasters?

Podcast Movement 2019, or PM19, includes a conference track entitled Broadcasters Meet Podcasters. One session in this track is called Branded Podcasts: Revenue Opportunities for Radio. Joining me is Marty Daniels, owner of Podovox Professional Podcast Services . We have the inside information about this session, and offer our insights to radio advertisers who are going to be presented this marketing idea. The good and the bad. For the third consecutive year, Jacobs Media is partnering with the organizers of Podcast Movement conference. This track is designed to help the radio and podcast industries to discuss how the two sectors can work together. In what’s been dubbed a conference-within-a-conference, the three days of sessions in Orlando in August 2019 focuses not only on successful podcasting strategies but also where podcasting is heading. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, July 24, 2019

We Love Schools Podcast

Allerton Hill Consulting does no advertising. So why a podcast, when a podcast in itself could be considered advertising? Carole Dorn-Bell is my guest on this episode. She is a partner at Allerton Hill Consulting and a host of the podcast We Love Schools , along with consultancy partner Joel Gagne. Carole does a great job explaining why they thought of using a podcast, and how they are implementing the podcast into their networking and support strategy. All the while not specifically supporting Allerton Hill Consulting. It's a great example for any business owner who is looking at podcasting but is afraid that it could come off, as she calls it, "too schmaltzy," too much of an advertisement. It doesn't have to be. The We Love Schools podcast is really good example of that. https://www.weloveschoolspodcast.com/2019/07/fresh-local-foods-that-students-actually-eat/ https://www.weloveschoolspodcast.com/2019/06/the-big-blue-bus-of-washington-court-house/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, July 10, 2019

Successful Encore Career Podcast

So why does a non-profit need a podcast? And how does a non-profit "afford" to create one with already limited staff, budget and time? I speak with Dr. Carol Ventresca, ED at Employment For Seniors about just that. With its first episode published in January of 2017, The Successful Encore Career Podcast has been a shining example of what non-profits can produce and utilize in their content creation. Employment For Seniors has provided career assistance and resources to nearly 30,000 clients, free of charge, over the past 40 years. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, June 26, 2019

Women Of Influence Podcast

With me in this episode is Emily Bench. She's the host of the podcast Women Of Influence. She is also a reporter with Columbus Business First, a traditional media outlet focusing on local business news in Columbus, Ohio market. This is an interesting story about a traditional media outlet giving her 100% support for this podcast. Her idea of what her podcast is about, as well as the support Columbus Business First is giving her, is well worth the listen. Hope you enjoy it. Emily's contact info Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Thu, June 13, 2019

Minds On B2B Podcast

Danny Harris, VP of Client Success at Minds On , a digital marketing agency, is also the host of the podcast Minds On B2B. Danny is a professional B2B marketer, with hundreds of clients, who he sees having the same challenges. So the podcast was born out of the need to share resources and tools to support and expand his network, while showcasing Minds On expertise and successes. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, May 29, 2019

Press Play Podcasts and Chase Smith

If you’re like me, you’re always on the hunt for a new podcast to add to your rotation. The trouble is that sometimes wading through the options can become overwhelming. Luckily, there is a way to make the search a little less stressful–podcast networks! Podcast networks are helpful for both listeners and content creators alike. If you are a listener, then podcast networks make finding a new show easy by curating quality content and putting it all in one place for you to find. If you are a content creator, then being part of a podcast network can help increase your revenue and broaden your listener base. And as the podcasting business continues to grow, more and more podcast networks are launching. Podcasters now are encountering a similar dilemma that bloggers faced a decade ago: as your show gains respectability and audience, how do you decide when’s the right time to join a podcast network? And what are the questions you should be asking for any suitors that come your way? Podcast networks are looking for podcasts that are up in the tens of thousands of downloads, multiple times over. This is common among the largest podcast networks. Many won’t consider accepting a show unless it has a minimum of 50,000 downloads per episode. Given that most advertisers are chasing scale and buy ads based on CPM, some networks feel it’s not worth their while to take on smaller shows. My guest found this approach frustrating; there were many podcasts out there, including his, that had managed to achieve a high degree of quality without meeting the 50,000 download threshold. It seemed like there may be an opportunity for a network to target these mid-tier shows. Chase Smith - coordinates a podcast network called https://pressplaypodcasts.com/ Press Play Podcasts - a network of 5 podcasts. "The Press Play Podcast Network exists to empower hosts and create high quality, professionally sounding, engaging content for its listeners. At P3, we pride ourselves in helping bring your vision to reality by providing you with the proper tools and support to make your show a success. Whether you are a podcast veteran or diving into the medium for the first time, we will walk alongside you and help get your show on the air." Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have miss

Wed, May 08, 2019

Driving the Cbus Podcast

In this episode, I speak with Heartland Bank's President, Chairman and CEO Scott McComb about the podcast he hosts, Driving The Cbus. Why did he start the podcast, and where is it going? Find out in this episode. https://www.heartland.bank/drivingcbus Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media Why write a note to myself, when I can pod-journal my thoughts about podcasting?!

Wed, April 24, 2019

Kamiwaza Podcast

In this episode I interview Drew Dillon, co-owner Project Lift, and Aaron Jannetti, co-owner Endeavor Defense & Fitness about their joint effort Kamiwaza Podcast. So how to do two people who own two different businesses come together and produce a podcast that benefits both businesses? Listen to find out! https://www.project-lift.org/ https://www.endeavordcf.com/ https://www.instagram.com/kamiwazapodcast/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, April 10, 2019

Networking Rx Podcast

In this episode, I interview Frank Agin, Founder and President of AmSpirit Business Connections, and host of the podcast Networking Rx. Frank is putting in an extraordinary amount of time networking with his podcast. And his podcast has the unique flavor that it is designed to help him expand his AmSpirit Business franchise base. Not only does he produce a podcast that provides insight on networking, but it builds his branding for AmSpirit. He’s just a few months in, but he already knows this podcast will do what he set out for it to do. https://www.amspirit.com/blog/category/podcast Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, March 27, 2019

cbuzz Podcast

In this episode, I interview Courtney West, Marketing Manager, Communications and Marketing at the Columbus (OH) Chamber and the host of cbuzz Mikaela Hunt, President and Chief Storyteller, Mikaela Media. The cbuzz podcast has some unique factors. First, it's gone through a change of hosts which, as we've spotlighted in a couple of my previous podcasts, can be overcome. But in both cases with cbuzz, the host is not a Columbus Chamber employee. They're using outside talent. The podcast was dormant for a few months, but it's now in a reboot status with Mikaela Hunt, a 17-year TV news veteran. She's brought new life to the podcast, coupled with their partnership with Capital University and their communications department. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media Why write a note to myself, when I can pod-journal my thoughts about podcasting?!

Wed, March 13, 2019

Radio, Podcasting And Sponsorships

I usually interview businesses and organizations who have implemented podcasting into their marketing strategy on this podcast. But in this episode, I'm taking a sidestep. I got to interview Dino Tripodis, host of the podcast Whiskey Business and former long time morning show co-host on WSNY Sunny 95 in Columbus, Ohio. Also in the studio with me was Steve Palmer, main host of the podcast Lawyer Talk: Off The Record, and owner and partner at the law firm of Yavitch & Palmer in Columbus, Ohio, as well as the owner of 511 Studios. Okay, now you're thinking what do we three have in common. Radio and podcasting, Dino, of course, with his years on-air and his podcast. Steve is now entering year number two with the podcast and has been a radio advertiser and a part of a morning radio call-in show on WRKZ 99.7 The Blitz for over 10 years. And I'm a 35 year plus radio broadcast veteran with experience from on-air to sales. I have been itching to cover this topic for a long time. And I have two great guests to talk about how radio is either missing the boat about podcasting, or has seen the light. We three have different viewpoints coming from three different perspectives and it really made a great recording session. Thanks for coming along for the bend in focus. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, February 27, 2019

Business Inspires Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Stephanie Evans and Michelle Wilson. Michelle was the first and former host of TriVillage Chamber Partnership's Business Inspires in her role as the Executive Director. With Michelle leaving that position, Stephanie is now the executive director, and new host. At the time of this recording, Stephanie was just beginning the transition, and had recorded a few episodes on her own. Podcast hosts will change over time. How should your company prepare for it? The key word there is prepare, and keep the podcast's mission at the forefront. Michelle and Stephanie will cover that in great detail in this episode. Full disclosure. Business Inspires is a client of C270M Podcast Consultants. And the focus of this podcast is all about the chamber and their podcast. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/giving/on-our-sleeves https://www.bestbuddies.org/ohio Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, February 13, 2019

Athletic Mind Institute Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Todd Kays, host of Athletic Mind Institute Podcast, a podcast he produces for his sports and performance psychology practice, The Athletic Mind Institute. Dr. Kays is a leader in the field of Sport and Performance Psychology. The co-author of Sport Psychology for Dummies (2010), Dr. Kays’ training and guidance have helped thousands of athletes eliminate the most common mental errors and breakdowns in sport. For five years, he was the sport psychologist for the Columbus Crew, the major league soccer team in Columbus, Ohio and has worked with numerous soccer players and coaches throughout the country. Dr. Kays has consulted with athletes and coaches from all different levels of sport, including National Football League, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, United States Tennis Association, Professional Golf Association, and Ladies Professional Golf Association. He consults with teams at The Ohio State University. I know one great takeaway you will get from the podcast is how Dr. Kays' passion for his students' and all "performers" well-being drives him to record episode after episode. http://drtoddkays.com/ http://www.drtoddkaysgolf.com/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media

Wed, January 30, 2019

Grow Like A Pro Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Jason Fleagle and Adam Bankhurst, co-hosts of Grow Like A Pro Podcast from Jenesis Marketing Group. The Grow Like A Pro podcast is all about learning how to achieve your goals and dreams as a business owner. learn growth tips and hear success stories from entrepreneurs from all walks of life as they teach you how to grow like a pro. I know one great takeaway you will get from the podcast is how the two share duties as co-hosts. Ideally, co-hosts should divide the work in half. And these two talk about how they do just that! The non-profits Jason and Adam mention: https://community.extra-life.org/columbus https://www.autismpower.org/home/ https://www.inteamnow.com/ https://www.jenesismarketinggroup.com/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. If your business is using podcasting as a marketing or branding tool, I would love to showcase your podcast. Go to www.notetofutureme.com and scroll down to my booking calendar. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com Me - Brett Johnson LinkedIn - bretthjohnson FB - circle270media Twitter - circle270media Why write a note to myself, when I can pod-journal my thoughts about podcasting?!

Wed, January 16, 2019

unsuitable on Rea Radio Podcast

My guest is the host of Rea & Associates CPA's podcast unsuitable on Rea Radio, Dave Cain. A CPA firm may be one of the last business categories you would imagine producing a podcast. But as Dave will tell you, it's all about the content, consistency and supporting podcast staff. http://www.reacpa.com/tax_insights/podcast/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, January 02, 2019

BBB SparkCast Podcast

Jessica Kapcar, BBB of Central Ohio's Communication Director, and new host of the BBB SparkCast, is my guest on this episode. Jessica and I talk about the beginning discussions of why a podcast for the BBB, to now a new host. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. A full transcription of this podcast is available on both - www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, November 28, 2018

Holiday Break - Back Again January 2, 2019

Exciting new episodes and format coming in 2019! Taking December off to prepare. Note To Future Me returns 1/2/19! Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, November 21, 2018

Podcasting with Purpose for You and Your Business

Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, November 14, 2018

Millennials Choosing Podcasting Not Blogging

Why Millennials Are Choosing Podcasting Over Blogging To Build Their Personal Brands According to a recent Forbes online article, Has 'Millennial Travel' Gone Too Far?," Millennials are on the move far more than generations before them and their mobile devices are their lifelines. Millennials want to stay connected. Millennials want to make their mark. To do these, more and more millennials are developing a personal, as well as a professional brand, that they can expand into a growing community. Early on, millennials was encouraged to create blogs and websites with portfolios. Podcasts were rarely mentioned. But millennials have found that podcasts can be an important part of their branding toolkits – important enough that they appear to be abandoning blogs for them. This transition could be trace back as millennials realized that they themselves were not reading many blogs. According to a recent online article from Jeff Bullas, over 41% of millennials have no patience for text content that is too long. So if you want to say something, say it quick and say it well. If they were not reading blog posts that much, their own audiences were probably not either. Why do podcasts appeal to millennial podcasters and millennial listeners? Podcasts are great media for those with short attention spans. And today’s attention economy. With their ever present earbuds in place, listeners can work out, drive to and from work and walk their dogs. In these environments, video doesn’t work. And blog posts don't work. Podcasts allows content to be delivered in a genuine, natural tone, so the podcaster can establish who they are as a person. Podcasts are also a great medium to break down typically dense or “boring” topics like real estate, finance or insurance into digestible chunks. And there are some successful examples of podcasting by millennials who have chosen this medium over blogs to promote their personal brand. Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin began a podcast, “Stuff Mom Never Told You,” in 2014. Katie Roach began her “Drunk Sex” podcast, hoping to open up conversations about sex. Podcasting allows these millennials to build a better rapport with their fans, with proven results in higher loyalty, higher engagement and more authority online. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these streng

Wed, November 07, 2018

Master Your Podcast Interviewing Skills

With me on this episode is Mark Nuce, a broadcast veteran of 30+ years. He is the news and public affairs director at North American Broadcasting, Incorporated in Columbus Ohio. We're going to talk about how to develop your podcast interviewing skills that will: 1) Make you a better podcast host. 2) Develop more insightful conversations with your guests. 3) Make your podcast stand out and get more shares and reviews and probably bring a ton of value to your listeners as well. The four key areas to master podcast interviewing we are going to cover include: 1) homework and research 2) planning 3) listening 4) flexibility Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, October 31, 2018

November National Podcast Post Month

11 Years of National Podcast Post Month kicks off on November 1, 2018! In 2007, 50 podcasters participated in the first ever National Podcast Post Month aka NaPodPoMo. Created by Jennifer Navarrete as an answer for an audio version to other 30 day challenges happening in the month of November. NaPodPoMo is a month long event where you are challenged to podcast every day for 30 days from November 1st-30th. Use any platform you desire. From full production studio to iPhone app and just about anything in between. The goal of National Podcast Post Month is to use the challenge of podcasting daily as a form of podcasting bootcamp. This month, if you accept this challenge, may be your first efforts into podcasting. For more experienced podcasters, consider this challenge a chance to try out a new platform or start another show. According to Jennifer, there are no hard and fast rules as to how you do this. If on November 30th you have recorded 30 shows, then you win. What do you get for winning? You get virtual high five and a sense of accomplishment enough. And a shout out from me in my podcast. Let me know if you are taking the challenge, and let me know if I can help out. My challenge - write reviews for 30 podcasts on iTunes. http://jennifernavarrete.com/nbpm-1-napodpomo-nablopomo/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com www.notetofutureme.com

Wed, October 24, 2018

How To Get Podcast Guests To Cross Promote

You're a podcaster that interviews guests. You're doing so because of the content, or the chance to interview people you've always wanted to interview. The podcast gives you that opportunity. You ask guests to your podcast because they bring value to you, to your audience, and you're hoping that your guest will promote the episode and help you build your audience as well. What can you do to get that guest engaged to help? So they will help promote you and your podcast? I present a pretty basic, and easy, solution. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Wed, October 17, 2018

5 Tips For Podcasting Success

Tips for podcasting success are a dime a dozen. Each podcaster has their own success tips, and are specific to their podcast. But there are some very good tips that cover all categories of podcasts. And to bring in another aspect of the ones I have chosen, I chat with Marty Daniels, long-time friend and media veteran in his own right, owner of Podovox Professional Podcast Services. Our 5 tips we cover include: 1) Clarify and write down your "why" 2) Just get in there and do it 3) Energy management over time 4) Don't worry about the stats 5) If you think you need help, you do need help. http://podovox.com/ Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios, located in the Brewery District in downtown Columbus, OH! Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. The podcast consultants at Circle270Media have over 30+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting. We strategically bring these worlds together with Podcasting. You can email Brett at podcasts@circle270media.com to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com

Wed, October 10, 2018

6 Reasons To Add Podcasting To Your Content Marketing Strategy

You own a business, you have some competition. Maybe your service or product is superior to others  in your market. Maybe not. And you don't want to enter into any pricing war with your competition. Instead, concentrate on making sure your target market knows that your company is the right one for them. Until they believe, they will never buy from you. How can you set yourself apart from the competition? Publishing content online is a great first step. It has to be high-quality material that truly helps your target market. Your published pieces need to earn trust, build goodwill, and position you as an authority in your industry. The key to successful content marketing? Those potential customers in your target market are struggling with something. That something is keeping them up at night. They want specific results, and you need to remember they're willing to pay for it. Because we live in the information age, they're more than likely searching for information online  - smartphones, smart speakers, or their laptops and computers.  They're searching for answers - content that can help them find a solution. This is exactly why every business today needs a content marketing strategy. A sound plan ensures your target market will find you when they start looking for answers. Content that is well-researched and carefully written helps your target audience. The only cost to them is their time. Additionally, it's crucial that all content includes a specific call to action, or CTA.  Your target audience expects a next step. Give it to them. It will help you to start build relationships and to acquire customers. There are as many different types of content as there are people searching for it. Blog posts, magazine articles, videos, webinars, white papers and e-books are some of the most common. And because there are so many options, the sheer possibilities can leave many entrepreneurs and businesses feeling overwhelmed. And to that end, they sit on the sidelines and do nothing. So here's what this is all about. My recommendation: If you're not already engaging your target market with podcasts, here are 6 reasons why, and how to prepare to publish your first piece of audio content.  1. It's convenient to consume. 2. It increases your reach and grows your audience. 3. It builds trust with your audience. 4. It helps you stand out from your competitors. 5. It helps you grow your customer base. 6. It gives you a forum to interview experts in your industry. Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios, located in the Brewery District in downtown Columbus, OH! Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. The podcast consultants at Circle270Media have over 30+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting. We strategically bring these worlds together with Podcasting. You can email Brett at podcasts@circle270media.com to talk

Wed, October 03, 2018

How To Stop Sounding Like A Sales Rookie

Today’s business owners are savvier and competitors are more numerous. This means when finding sponsors for your Podcast, there’s little room for mistakes. Marc Wayshak, in a recent Entrepreneur article, points out nine “rookie” mistakes. Here are four to highlight from his list. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289556 Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com

Wed, September 26, 2018

How To Get Started With Audio Content Marketing Right Now

Audio content marketing is here to stay. In this episode let's focus on podcasting as a core audio content marketing strategy, and then look at supplementary content options that support each other. Podcasting Webinars Audiograms Voice Search How are you planning to add audio content to your content strategy starting now? Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com

Thu, September 20, 2018

Podcast Launch Lessons From Radio

As Podcasters, we can learn from Radio.  The good and the bad.  Why compare a Radio station new format launch to a Podcaster Episode 0 launch?  Because we as Podcasters do a better job at it, and we need to recognize that we do. Whatever we do, as long as we do something. And not do what Radio does. Here's a video example of a recent format launch in Huntsville, Tennessee... https://www.facebook.com/ALT929Huntsville/videos/1260040690804354/ ​​​​​​​ Yeah, if that was a Podcast launch, well, you know what the download numbers would look like.  Prepare, be prepared and launch your Podcast! Recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Subscribe to my free weekly Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . It's chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, as well as insights on how to grow your podcast. Anything that catches my eye that I think you, the Podcaster, should know about. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts @circle270media.com to set up time to talk more about your new or established business podcast. www.circle270media.com

Thu, September 13, 2018

Aircheck Your Podcast

Without naming names, I have heard so many podcasts that need a third-party, un-objective pair of ears to critique their podcast. Here are some examples of what I heard on a recent episode of ******* Podcast. Circle270Media Podcast Consultants offers podcast content critique for all of our clients. Our podcast partners benefit from this feedback, and have felt that this service has made them, and their podcast, a better marketing tool for their business. Have some questions on how this works? Contact me, Brett Johnson, at podcasts@circle270media.com . Be sure to sign up for my free email Open The Mic newsletter at www.circle270media.com ! This episode was recorded in Studio C at the 511 Studios, in the heart of the historic Brewery District in downtown Columbus, OH!

Thu, September 06, 2018

Brainstorming Your Podcast's Success

No matter how your describe your podcast, from a hobby to full-time income, one of the most important planning items you can use to ensure a more successful podcast (however you define this) is to hold podcast brainstorming sessions with all of your key podcast people. Here are 7 easy guidelines to follow to brainstorm your podcast's success. Be sure to sign up for my free email newsletter at www.circle270media.com !

Wed, August 29, 2018

Content Experience Becomes Word of Mouth

Content is everything for a podcast. And for a B2B podcaster, creating content, or story, is the best way to help your listeners tell stories about your business. Shareable content and call to action, two major goals accomplished with great content becoming word of mouth. Be sure to sign up for my free email newsletter at www.circle270media.com !

Mon, August 27, 2018

Pet Peeves As a Podcast Listener

Podcasters take a different view, or listen as it were, to podcasts. Or do we? Is out listener experience much different than that of a non-podcast producer? Here are some pet peeves I ran across listed by podcasters. If these are pet peeves for podcasters, they could very well be for your podcast listeners as well. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com !

Thu, August 16, 2018

Will IGTV Be Good For Podcasters?

IGTV is relatively brand new. What are your thoughts on how you can and/or will use the platform for your podcast? Usually high rewards for early adopters. Time will tell. Let me know what you are doing at podcasts@circle270media.com and I will mention you in a future podcast. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com !

Tue, August 14, 2018

Apple Podcasts Broken

As of this podcast recording Apple Podcasts is “broken” it seems, with no roadmap or intel from Apple to update us. What does this do to your podcast premiere plans? Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . News, sales 101, social media and production tips and a lot more.

Thu, August 09, 2018

Recording Better Interviews

Interview podcasts are not for everyone but you never know when you might have the chance to interview that person you’ve always wanted to get to know better and bring to your audience. Here are some simple things to keep in mind. Sign up for my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Podcast news, sales 101 for podcasters and much more.

Tue, August 07, 2018

Is Breaker Breaking Monetization Barriers

Thanks to my friend Matt Holsinger, Founder of RevSquad.com for asking me on LinkedIn about this news about Breaker! Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Short easy to read in your email box at noon each weekday.

Fri, August 03, 2018

Podcasts Vlogs Blogs

A big thanks to Mike Rudd of Hutchison Media and Marketing Fun with Mike for asking me to be a guest speaker at the August Marketing Mastery Club. The club meets monthly, and this month he covered for the group blogs, vlogs, and podcasting. One important takeaway I felt is worth noting is the similarities all three mediums have with each other. I think Amy Landino covered it well in her vlog Mike presented. 1) If you are going to put all this work into your blog/vlog/podcast, ask for their attention - to subscribe, for feedback, to share! 2) Consistency in everything. Not just how often, or when you publish. Your brand, cover art, content, your promise to the subscriber, your promise to your audience. 3) The content you create is for someone else. Make sure your listener/viewer/reader wants to share the content you create. https://www.marketingfunwithmike.com/ https://hutchisonmedia.com/ https://youtu.be/DbO-7yqn5BI Be sure to sign up for my free daily email newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Sales 101, Podcaster's Production and Social Media Toolbox, podcast news, and podcasts to binge over the weekend.

Tue, July 31, 2018

Podcasts More Popular than Blogs in Google Trends

Data from Search Engine Journal releases in July 2018 is showing that blogging and blogs are on a downward trend and podcasts are gaining popularity. Coupled with Google now recognizing audio as a first class citizen in search beginning in July with the launch of the Google Podcast app that is integrated with Google AI, don’t abandon blogs, but get podcasting! Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com !

Wed, July 18, 2018

The Smart Audio Report

Oh, the great information coming from this report for podcasters. IF you title your podcast better and include key words and terms in your show notes and blogs. Voice activated technology owners are asking their device to answer a general question third on the list only beaten by “play music” and “what’s the weather?” Google recognizing audio as a first class search citizen, coupled with the Google Podcasts app with a majority of the world on Android, this is a great time to be podcasting. Need help? email me at podcasts@circle270media.com www.circle270media.com

Wed, July 18, 2018

Circle270Media's Brett Johnson on Business Inspires

"Brett Johnson of Circle270Media sat down with Michelle for our most recent Business Inspires podcast! Circle270Media is the reason our podcast exists, so we were excited to get Brett on the other side of the soundboard to talk with us as a guest. Brett discusses the power of audio, the future of radio, and why the medium can bring out such powerful stories." This episode from Business Inspires originally was published on July 17, 2018. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Tue, July 17, 2018

Circle270Media Podcast Consultants on Business Inspires Podcast

Thanks to Michelle Wilson, Executive Director at TriVillage Chamber Partnership for having me as a guest on the podcast Business Inspires published on July 17, 2018. We cover a lot of topics about podcasting, radio, marketing and my thoughts on the future of this exciting medium. The full transcript and podcast is available on my blog at http://bit.ly/c270mBI Be sure to subscribe to my daily email newsletter, Open The Mic. It's free, and covers podcast news, sales tips, social media tips and my suggestions for podcasts to binge on over the weekend. http://www.circle270media.com http://www.chamberpartnership.org

Tue, July 10, 2018

Programmatic Dynamic Ad Insertion

Dynamic ad insertion can be a great way to make a few dollars as well as begin to train your listeners to become accustomed to ads in your podcast. But if you don’t start to format your podcast to make it sound good, there goes your listeners. Here’s how to keep from alienating your audience. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . www.circle270media.com

Tue, July 03, 2018

13th Annual Podcast Awards

An incredibly fun and unique way to promote your podcast is to be nominated and/or win an award! Through July 2018 show registration remains open at www.podcastawards.com . Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . www.circle270media.com

Thu, June 28, 2018

5 Steps To Get Approval For Your Company Podcast

Everyone wants innovation in their company. Here are 5 steps to help you get the approval of your podcast project for your company. http://circle270media.com/5-steps-to-get-approval-for-your-company-podcast-project/ Contact me if you need more help in getting your podcast idea off the ground. Email me at podcasts@circle270media.com .

Tue, June 26, 2018

How To Increase Your Podcast Listeners Today

With Google Podcasts now at Android phone users disposal, your podcast listenership can increase starting today. If you do these simple things to engage Android phone users. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Sales advice, production and social media toolbox, podcast news and podcasts to binge on over the weekend. In you your inbox daily.

Sun, June 17, 2018

2018 Digfest presented by TVCP at Grandview Yard

I am at the 2018 Digfest in Grandview OH to enjoy a great evening of local spirits and brews. We will be interviewing some vendors and posting to our podcast partner Business Inspires in the very near future. A big thanks to Michelle Wilson and the TriVillage Chamber Partnership for allowing Circle270Media to be a media sponsor of this event again this year!

Thu, June 14, 2018

Podcast Advertising Revenues Climb in 2017

US podcast advertising captured $314 million in revenue in 2017. A rise of 86% year over year. The research predicts podcast revenue will surge to $659 million by 2020, a triple-digit 110 percent hike from 2017. http://www.iab.com/podcaststudy2018 https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/event-reports/ford_has_a_newer_idea_podcasting/121260 https://www.warc.com/content/paywall/article/warc-data/global_ad_trends_april_2018_radio_and_digital_audio_advertising/121663 Be sure to sign up for my free daily newsletter at http://www.circle270media.com .

Tue, June 12, 2018

Move Beyond Your Blog With A Podcast

Are you ready to move beyond your blog? Here’s how to start. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Thu, June 07, 2018

SMB Marketing and Podcast Interviews - A Future Case Study

What happens when a smb decides to dedicate their marketing and PR efforts in searching and accepting podcast interviews, at a number of 4 to 5 interviews per week over a 9 month period? The results will be available later this year. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Open The Mic Newsletter drops every weekday at noon.

Tue, June 05, 2018

Advice On Naming Your Podcast

When naming your podcast, get feedback from your potential audience as well as your podcaster peers. Your peers aren’t your subscribers or potential subscribers. I have a great example here in the podcast. Sign up for my free daily newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Open The Mic Newsletter. Advice in your email inbox every weekday at noon!

Thu, May 31, 2018

Itali-unknown Podcast - A Study Abroad Audio Journal

A travel podcast produced by a Kent State University student as she studies abroad in Italy. Itali-unknown Podcast only on Spreaker. https://www.spreaker.com/show/2969639 Find out more about podcasting with my daily email newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Thu, May 24, 2018

Southwest Airlines & iHeartRadio and How Podcasters Benefit

How can your podcast monetize this new free in-flight wi-fi streaming opportunity? This episode should get your creativity kickstarted. For more ideas contact me at podcasts@circle270media.com

Tue, May 22, 2018

Southwest Airlines and iHeartRadio Team Up For Free Streaming

Southwest Airlines is teaming up with iHeartRadio with free wi-fi through Southwest’s entertainment portal. Sign up for my free daily Open The Mic newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Wed, May 16, 2018

Is There Life After 55 For Podcasts

Baby Boomers love radio. Why doesn’t radio love them. Here’s your opportunity as a podcaster to steal an audience. Go to www.circle270media.com and sign up for my free Open The Mic Newsletter.

Tue, May 15, 2018

Commitment Equals Podcast Success

It took commitment and resolve for True Crime Garage to be one of the most listened to true crime podcasts. Go to www.circle270media.com and sign up for my daily Open The Mic Newsletter. Free to your inbox.

Thu, May 10, 2018

3 Steps To Ensure Your Podcast’s Success

Here are 3 mistakes I’ve encountered with my new podcast clients that if were addressed prior to launch would have saved some sleepless nights. Sign up for my free daily Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Tips like this post and more!

Tue, May 08, 2018

7 Easy Ways to Grow Your Podcast Audience

It takes a lot of investment to get your podcast off the ground. Coming up with content, recording, editing, and then publishing. Not to mention buying all the equipment, paying for hosting, and trying to promote it.  It also doesn't help that most podcasters don't know how to self-promote. Not to worry, though. I think this list is gonna help you out. Here are 7 ways that my podcast clients have used to successfully help promote themselves.  Be sure to sign up for my daily Open The Mic Newsletter. Each day a different topic important to your podcast growth, including sales, social media and production tools, and podcast news. www.circle270media.com

Thu, May 03, 2018

Interview Request Tips

If you are looking to be a guest on a podcast, here are a few tips to ensure what you have to offer is of value to their podcast listeners. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Tue, May 01, 2018

Why You Should Network With Local Podcasters

Connecting with local podcasters via social media is not enough. Buy them a cup of coffee and pick their brains about getting started, staying motivated and continuing to grow your podcast. Hear my interviews with local podcasters in the Columbus OH market on Spreaker. Search Columbus Podcast Festival Podcast. Sign up for my Open The Mic Newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Fri, April 27, 2018

Netflix Strategy For Podcasters

Episodes vs simultaneously delivering all your episodes. Both strategies work but the pros and cons must be weighed out carefully Sign up for my free weekly newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Tue, April 24, 2018

7 Job Search Podcasts For Job Seekers

Podcasts with a focus on job searching can be extremely beneficial for the job seeker, and successful for employers, recruiting agencies, and recruitment and communications agencies working with employers. Here are 7 podcasts that are great examples of podcasting working for both sides of the employment coin. http://circle270media.com/6-job-search-podcasts-for-job-seekers/ Do you know of a great search podcast for job seekers? Email me at circle270media+jobseekers@gmail.com. I will update my blog on my website and give you a special shoutout on a future podcast.

Sat, April 21, 2018

In Just Four Years, Podcasting’s Share Of Ear Has Doubled

If you are a podcast consumer, you spend 33% of your audio time listening to podcasts. 2018 Share of Ear data from Edison Research April 2018. www.circle270media.com/share-of-ear

Thu, April 19, 2018

Podcasting Live On Stage

Don’t overlook podcasting live at events, festivals or in small venues. Get exposure and sell your podcast merch! Sign up for my free weekly newsletter on my website. www.circle270media.com .

Tue, April 17, 2018

How To Stop Procrastinating The Start Of Your Podcast

Start by thinking about, even envisioning, yourself starting the podcast, and then find a time period that you will commit focus. Subscribe to my email newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Each week I cover podcast news and tips you need to know.

Tue, April 17, 2018

Podcast Safe Music

Adding music to podcast content has always been a sticky question. Will iTunes “take you down” for including music that’s not podcast safe? All the resources I mentioned in the podcast can be found here http://circle270media.com/podcast-safe-music/ Have you found a great resource not mentioned? Shoot me an email at circle270media+podmusic@gmail.com and I will add your suggestions to this ever-growing list. And I will give you a mention in my Open The Mic Newsletter. Sign up for that at www.circle270media.com .

Thu, April 12, 2018

More Tips To Help Your Podcast Guest Share

Make it easy for your podcast guest to share your episode on social media. And don’t forger to mail a thank you note! Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter on www.circle270media.com .

Wed, April 11, 2018

How To Get Podcast Guests To Share

Get your guest to share and talk about their interview on your podcast with this easy email formula. Sign up for my weekly email newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Wed, April 11, 2018

Network With Other Local Podcasters

Don’t miss any opportunity to network with other local podcasters outside of your local meetups. Meetups are great but can offer many distractions to helping you learn from fellow local podcasters. Sign up for my weekly email newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Stay updated on the podcast news you may have missed.

Mon, April 09, 2018

Columbus Podcast Festival

Tickets are available now at www.columbuspodcastfestival.com . Subscribe to my weekly email newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Each week I will be spotlighting podcasters who will be at the festival!

Fri, April 06, 2018

Podcast Marketing On Spotify

Spotify now has the Spotify Ad Studio, where you can create and manage audio campaigns on Spotify to market your podcast. I talk about how, when and why you should consider doing this. https://adstudio.spotify.com Sign up for my free weekly newsletter at www.circle270media.com .

Wed, April 04, 2018

2.5 Reasons To Transcribe Your Podcast

I give you 2.5 reasons you need to jump on transcribing your podcast.

Tue, April 03, 2018

A New Quarter, A New Month, A New Week

What did Q1 2018 do for you via your podcast? What did you do for your podcast over the last few months? Time to review your strategy. Be sure to sign up for my free weekly email newsletter on my website. www.circle270media.com .

Fri, March 30, 2018

Why Aren't You Podcasting?

If you're not, it's not too late to reap the benefits. Here are just a few ideas of why you (your business) should. Need a consultant to help guide you to where you want to go with podcasting? Find me at http://circle270media.com/contact/ , and book some time with me.

Thu, March 29, 2018

Is Your Podcast Ready For Sponsors?

If you don't have advertising now, these are the steps you need to execute immediately to prep your podcast for sponsors. Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter, Open The Mic. Head to www.circle270media.com with your email handy.

Wed, March 28, 2018

Support YOUR Favorite Podcast

Do you support your favorite podcasts? If not, how can you ask your listeners to do the same? Check out www.pleasereviewmypodcast.com . Ask and give reviews! Be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter. Go to www.circle270media.com and get your weekly copy.

Fri, March 23, 2018

“Don’t Delete That Audio!”

Don’t make the mistake of deleting any raw episode because you don’t like what you recorded at that moment. Examples of why not in this episode. Signup for my free email newsletter at www.circle270media.com . Podcast news and information you may have missed.

Wed, March 21, 2018

Smart Speakers, Boomers And Your Podcast

According to Google Insights, 51% of those 55+ said a top reason for using their voice activated speaker is “it empowers me to instantly get answers and information.” How does this work for your Boomer targeted podcast? Be sure to sign up for my free weekly email newsletter on my website, www.circle270media.com . Get podcast news and information you may have missed!

Tue, March 20, 2018

Showoff Your Expertise In A Podcast

Audiences want to hear from experts, not speakers. Podcasting is perfect for showcasing your expertise. Be sure to sign up for my free weekly newsletter on my website, Open The Mic. Go to www.circle270media.com .

Fri, March 16, 2018

Infinite Dial 2018 - Beyond The Stats

I dive deeper into the Infinite Dial 2018 research released 3/8/18. Email me at podcasts@circle270media.com to continue with this note!

Thu, March 15, 2018

Infinite Dial 2018 overview

http://www.edisonresearch.com/infinite-dial-2018/ Email me - podcasts@circle270media.com

Tue, March 13, 2018

What Style Of Podcast Is Best For Me?

Fri, March 09, 2018

Interviews Over The Phone Rule!

Thu, March 08, 2018

Postroll Is Dead

Wed, March 07, 2018

Momcast With NO Promised Links In Notes

Tue, March 06, 2018

Shiny Object Delusions

Fri, March 02, 2018

Company Launching Podcast on SoundCloud

Thu, March 01, 2018

What Hobby Costs You Nothing?

Tue, February 27, 2018

Podcasting and Smart Speakers

Sat, February 24, 2018

To Transcribe or Not To Transcribe

Thu, February 22, 2018

40% To Launch

Wed, February 21, 2018

Circle270Media's Brett Johnson on BBB Sparkcast

"Learn the basics to creating your own podcast from Brett Johnson, owner of Circle270Media Podcast Consultants and the local sales manager with North American Broadcasting Company. Brett discusses affordable platforms, content strategy, and equipment to help you get started." This episode was originally heard on the BBB Sparkcast on February 20, 2018. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12-months. Whether you’re B2C or B2B, we can create a content marketing strategy that will work for you. Connect with me if you would like to talk more about this. My calendar is available on my Circle270Media Podcast Consultants business website at circle270media.com Subscribe to my free daily  Open The Mic and Speak Newsletter . It’s chock full of podcast news you may have missed, as well as social media, sales, and audio production tips, and insights on how to grow your business podcast. Recorded in conjunction with  Channel 511 , in the Brewery District, downtown Columbus, OH. Brett Johnson is the owner and lead consultant at Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. With over 35+ years of experience in Marketing, Content Creation, Audio Production/Recording, and Broadcasting, the podcast consultants at Circle270Media strategically bring these strengths together for their business Podcast clients. Email us at podcasts@circle270media.com to set up a time to talk more about your new or established business podcast.

Tue, February 20, 2018

You Are A Badass at Podcasting

Sat, February 17, 2018

Mic “Fright”

Fri, February 16, 2018

#music4miles

Thu, February 15, 2018

Note Page 1 - Why?