the
indie
May 2022
PODCAST
Podcasting Pitfalls May PODLights:
Pod Mortem
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So Wizard Page 11 Podcast
Multiverse Of Badness Page 13 Back in My Day Page 15
Table
OF CONTENTS
TIME MANAGEMENT Page 4
AVOIDING Page 5 BURNOUT
PODLights Pages 9-16 PITFALL: SEEING D O L L A R S I G N S Page 18 Resist the Urge to Overspend: Page 6 Don't Underspend: Page 7 Don't Be Afraid Ask For Help: Page 8 When to Pull the Plug: Page 19 5 Mistakes Every Podcast Makes: Page 20 Top Overlooked Pieces Of Equipment: Page 22 Biggest Mistakes I've Made Podcasting: Page 24
Making time to Podcast By Kyle Naylor
A major pitfall in podcasting is not knowing how to manage your time appropriately. Set a time to record and record at that time, set a time limit for your show and try to get as close to that limit as you can (without going too far over) but don't rush and miss the time all together. Podcasting is a conversation whether it's with a co-host or with your audience. You don't want to take up so much of their time they lose interest, but you also don't want to make them feel rushed and unwelcomed. Find a sweet spot and stick to it. For most shows that's around 25-45 minutes. But it's all up to you and more importantly your audience. As a podcaster I can tell you it is a hard thing to manage time. Between research and meeting with co-hosts (which in my case are some of my closest friends) it's easy to let time get away from you. Not to mention if you hit a great topic and just want to share every detail of everything you learned. It can be hard. Our very first podcast involved my co-host and I sitting at a table drinking with very little direction (not a good plan). Some of our recording sessions would last 4-5 hours (Oof). We then would edit that down to 1-1/2 to 2 hours. All that time wasted recording & editing, and then our friends and family would tell us they can't listen because it was way too long. That was an eye opener that our time management was out of wack.
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Burning out is no laughing matter, we're not talking about smoking too much of the devil's lettuce. We're talking about working so much you forget what the sun feels like with the gentle breeze of a spring afternoon. It's something almost everyone has experienced in school or at work. But, it can happen while podcasting as well, and it can cripple a show.
Trying to edit, making sure you're posting on social media, and recording a show takes a lot of work. Each task in and of themselves is an entire job. The best way to avoid burnout is to share the burden. If you have a co-host, or maybe just some very loyal friends, see if they can help with some of the tasks that make up podcasting. Even with that it might still feel overwhelming. Just remember why you are doing it. Clearly you have a love of entertaining/creating. Because as podcasters we know, it's not about the money. This is a passion for the majority and no one wants to lose their passion. So a few ways to try and avoid burnout: 1) Take breaks. Sometimes the best thing to do is to step away for a week, just remember to comeback before the fire goes out. 2) Try and build up a backlog. Get a few shows recorded that you can hang onto incase you ever need to take some extended time off. This can also help if you would just like to record 1-2 times a month but still have a weekly/bi-weekly show. Record, edit, and enjoy the rest of your time. 3) Never forget to have fun. Podcasting is about expressing yourself and even if your topic is something dark, there's a reason you picked it. Enjoy what your doing and never make podcasting a chore.
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By Jarred Huertas Audio/video equipment is expensive! 9 times out of 10 indie podcasters are recording and releasing their shows on their own with no sort of financial assistance and for little to no income. This is coupled with the ever persistent thought amongst the community of “If you want to grow or succeed you need to put out a quality product!” Most new podcasters and even some veterans hear that and focus on one word QUALITY. Now a quality product usually means 2 things: A well designed show that is well thought out and well executed (and doing that is free) and the other is a show that sounds and/or looks good. Good cover art, crisp sound, built in ads, marketing on big platforms, and vivid and sharp video. Once you begin looking into ways to look and sound better it’s tempting to go with the train of thinking “If I spend a lot of money my show will be good quality.” Sadly good equipment is only part of it.
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Yes, buying expensive equipment will help you in the long run. There is a reason the Shure SM7B is $400, it’s an amazing piece of equipment that captures sound amazingly and blocks unwanted sound better than most microphones on the market but is that the right microphone for you? If you have a co-host you’re now dishing out $800 on just microphones…did you know that the output on the SM7B comes through pretty low meaning you’d have to record with a very high gain leading to more noise? Or you can purchase a Cloudlifter to clean up and boost the signal allowing you to record cleaner audio without cranking up the gain, but with a 2 microphone setup that’s another $250. You’ve now spent over $1000 on just microphones, that isn’t including: What’s going to hold those microphones? What cables are you using to connect them? What headphones are you using to monitor? They are going to have to plug into something and if it’s quality you want might as well tack on another $600 for the Rodecaster. When it comes to podcasting there will always be another expense and buying the most expensive thing on the market because you heard it’s the best isn’t always the way, especially when you won't be recouping that investment for a while. Instead look at quality alternatives, for Microphones if you want a Shure but can’t shell out $400 for the SM7B check out the Shure MV7. Want quality headphones get the Audio Technica ATH-M20X's instead of the M50X's and save almost $100. There is always another more affordable option with equipment that will do the job well and once you are turning a profit and know that this is a long term investment you can upgrade as you are able. So resist the urge to overspend on the latest and greatest; just because it says it’s the best, won’t make it the best for you.
Now that you have your desire to splurge on mountains of incredibly expensive equipment in check let’s talk about the inverse. As we’ve said most new podcasters or small indie podcasters don’t have a lot of money to start out and aren’t making money (or much money). If your brain doesn’t immediately go to the thought “I need to buy the best of the best so I only buy once” then you will most likely fall into another camp, which is probably the majority, who say “I don’t have a ton of money to spend on good equipment and I just want to get started. Oh this is an affordable bundle on Amazon I’m going to get that!” If that sounds familiar don’t feel attacked; many veteran podcasters have been in your shoes and said that exact thing.
DON'T Underspend By Jarred Huertas
Now I know it sounds like a lose/lose…I can’t overspend, I shouldn’t underspend what’s left?! The answer is appropriate spending. Buying the cheapest equipment on the market will lead to you spending more money in the long run to replace that equipment. Instead of spending Saving money when you aren’t going to see a $20 on a noisy external spring boom return on investment is smart, but cheaping arm that can barely support your mic, out on audio/visual equipment is not an spend $70 on the MOUNT-IT Boom Arm option you have if you want things to work that’s modeled after the Blue and more importantly work well. Amazon Compass with a lot of the same bundles of podcasting kits with everything features but for $20 less. Instead of you need to get started with brands you’ve getting that $9 unidirectional never heard of seem like a great way to get microphone get the Shure SM48 for started, but the old adage “You get what you $40 and have a better product. pay for” is never more true than in the field of electronics. Cheap microphones will record Underspending can easily add up to your voice, but they can lead to hours of the same price as overspending if you extra editing to make it sound usable. Cheap aren’t careful. So do your research ask XLR cables will still work, but the laptop the questions “What do I need?” and you’re using for your notes will cause a slight “What is going to be the BEST USE of static and a random clicking noise making it my money?” If you find products that sound like you were near a helicopter for answer both of those questions you your entire show. That no name receiver will will not only be happy but you will be bring in the signal and record to an SD card, putting out higher quality. but the reason it was $15 is because it was made to last you $15 worth of time.
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DONT BE AFRAID ASK FOR HELP
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One awesome thing about podcasting is that you don't have to feel like a single voice screaming into the void. It can be daunting, and a little intimidating to reach out and ask someone or another podcaster questions about: how do I upload a show, what's the best hosting site, what equipment will make my show sound the most professional, and all the questions we all have when we decide to start a podcast. Facebook and reddit groups or simply reaching out to other podcasts, on social media, can be the most rewarding way to get some answers. Every podcaster has been there and most are willing to help out a kindred voice. If you have a strong support group of friends and family ask them to listen and share your show. The one thing I can assert as true is that if you don't ask for help you will not get any.
Apps Like GoodPods, and Podchaser are social media sites for podcasters. And can be useful tools for tough questions
Our Our show show is is called called Pod Pod Mortem: Mortem: A A Horror Horror Podcast. Podcast. It It is is hosted hosted by by Reneé Reneé Hunter Hunter Vasquez, Vasquez, John John Paul Paul Vasquez, Vasquez, and and Travis Travis Hunter. Hunter. Pod Pod Mortem Mortem is is a a horror horror podcast podcast dedicated dedicated to to bringing bringing you you scene-by-scene scene-by-scene horror horror film film reviews reviews with with healthy healthy doses doses of of trivia, trivia, commentary commentary and and yuks. yuks. We We bring bring varying varying points points of of view view on on contemporary, contemporary, classic classic and and cult cult horror horror films films every every Monday! Monday!
With With our our show, show, we we try try to to provide provide insight insight into into horror horror films films and and present present points points of of view view that that our our listeners listeners may may not not have have heard heard before. before. Above Above all, all, we we hope hope to to bring bring laughter laughter and and a a sense sense of of community community to to our our listeners. listeners. It It is is a a family family endeavor. endeavor. Travis Travis and and Reneé Reneé are are brother brother and and sister sister and and John John Paul Paul and and Reneé Reneé are are husband husband and and wife. wife. The The three three of of us us have have all all been been huge huge fans fans of of horror horror for for our our entire entire lives, lives, but but we we each each bring bring a a different different perspective perspective to to the the show! show! Logo Art by: Brian Demarest
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1. Why did you start podcasting?
Q&A
We started podcasting because we wanted to do something constructive and creative with our love of horror films. Sitting around and watching movies (some that we love, some that we love to tear apart) was a hobby of ours that we thought might be entertaining to others.
2. Have you ever considered stopping, and if so why? We started the podcast at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 when a lot of things were uncertain. Pod Mortem became a touchstone to us when we didn’t have regular jobs or school to mark our days. We never considered stopping because it became such an important part of our routine. Coupled with the surprising amount of support that we received, we had all the motivation we needed to keep going.
3. What’s the best podcast advice you ever received? The single best piece of podcasting advice that we ever received was “Just do it!” We talked about starting Pod Mortem for a long time before we actually did. We were nitpicking every aspect of our content and the structure of the episodes. We wanted everything to be perfect before we started, but when we decided to just go for it, it was much easier to learn and grow as we went than to try and make everything perfect. That was only holding us back.
4. What is the worst podcast advice you ever received? In all honesty, we don’t believe we’ve gotten any bad advice or any we’d consider to be “the worst.” The community that has sprouted up around us and the friendships we’ve formed with other podcasters have only proven beneficial to our growth as a show and our comfort behind the microphone.
5. What was your worst episode like and what did you learn from it? We aren’t sure if there is any one “worst” episode. Like any show, we have definitely gotten stronger and found our footing as we’ve gone along. Listening back to old episodes only show us how far we have come. We have learned how to better structure our scripts and shows in a way that makes more sense and flows better for us. We have also gotten a lot more comfortable!
6. With hindsight what is one thing you bought for your show that was a complete waste of money? We are an indie podcast in every sense of the word, so every penny we have has to stretch! We’ve never bought anything that we didn’t absolutely need and use! Page 10
SO WIZARD PODCAST Four nerds with a weekly podcast and a YouTube channel about Movies! This is So Wizard Podcast! We have been podcasting weekly since August 2014 with zero breaks or weeks off, we added video content in 2019 as well! Show goal: We just want to put out high quality content and continue to grow and have fun talking nerdy TV shows and movies!
Joey is the host of the show and runs all our social media! He once turned down sex in high school to watch Super Mario Bros Super Show!
Aubrey, aka The Queen of All Nerds, is our cohost, and she shows up every week despite an insane schedule of work, school and being a single mom. She also hates horror movies. Markellus, aka “The Expert” is our cohost and edits the show every damn week. He’s also the only one with good taste in movies.....with the exception of ones staring Vin Diesel! Adam not only runs our website but creates and edits all our video content on YouTube! He also writes his own comic book, “Social Studies” and apparently never sleeps.
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SO WIZARD PODCAST 1: Why did you start podcasting? Aubrey: Joey asked me to cover when Markellus bailed on recording Episode 1 Joey: I guested on a friends podcast and thought “we can do this.” There really isn’t some exciting magic story, we just said “Let’s make a podcast” and learned as we went. Markellus: I was a fan of other podcasts and was invited to join, it seemed like a good excuse to talk about cool stuff with my friends.
2: Have you ever considered stopping, and if so why? Aubrey: All the time. I have imposter syndrome and I feel like I suck at it and let everyone down. Joey: NEVER! As of right now, no. I always feel like I don’t do enough for the show and can give more, sometimes running myself ragged, so maybe if one more social media platform launches then I’m out. (Which is totally a lie, this train has no brakes) Markellus: I consider stopping every week, it’s fun to use my creativity but I have no “passion for podcasting”. I could quit tomorrow and be totally fine.
3: What’s the best podcast advice you ever received? Aubrey: Hold yourself to a routine or else you will drop off. Joey: When the spotlight shines, be ready for it, grab it and put it on yourself. A lot of stuff that helped grow our show was us being in the right place at the right time and the podcast being ready when those ears came listening. Markellus: Prerecord the social media speech.
4: What is the worst podcast advice you ever received? Joey: “Consistency doesn’t matter, you don’t have to stick to a schedule.” Maybe your schedule doesn’t have to be insane like ours but there should be a schedule. If you don’t care when your show comes out, why would a listener? Markellus: Make a brand new episode every single week.
5: What was your worst episode like and what did you learn from it? Joey: There have been a few times I just ain’t got it mentally to be “on” when recording and I can hear it in the finished product, even if no one else notices. I learned (or need to learn) that it’s ok to take a break and grab a guest host or adjust recording to get a rest in. Markellus: Bad Wifi caused multiple half second pauses when cohosts were talking. I learned to pay for higher internet speed.
6: With hindsight what is one thing you bought for your show that was a complete waste of money?
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Aubrey: A selfie light I still haven’t used once. Markellus: A mixer with digital input and output instead instead of my traditional stereo input and output. Joey: A new microphone that sounded like doodie so I went right back to my original.
Each week, comic geeks Zach and Mike review superpowered folk from the multiverse of Marvel, DC, and anywhere else!They strive to find the wildest characters and storylines inthe history of media (usually comic books) so you don't have to.
Show Goal : To make comic book fandom accessible to anyone willing to interact with our tomfoolery.
Hosts: Zach and Mike
About the Host's Zach - Welsh comedian.. voice of god.. bassist for the Pale Bastard band Mike - Older than you.. 4 kids that are all more mature than him.. has Guinea Pigs he's allergic to
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Multiverse Of Badness 1: Why did you start podcasting? We wanted to dissect silly comic book stuff with one another, and we live nearly 4000 miles apart. Doing so in a podcast format keeps us at least somewhat focused. 2: Have you ever considered stopping, and if so why? We have both stopped at times in the past because we both ran other podcasts by ourselves that relied on guests. Guests are amazing, but booking different guests every week is exhausting and leads to inconsistent scheduling. 3: What’s the best podcast advice you ever received? Podcast what you love and listeners will follow. And if they don't, at least you're still doing what you love. 4: What is the worst podcast advice you ever received? "You need a top notch microphone and a dedicated recording space. And no one will listen to Zoom quality audio." That's BS; you acquire listeners with content, not "perfect audio." There's a reason people still listen to old Black Sabbath songs. Plus, you can sweeten your sound a lot of things in post. 5: What was your worst episode like and what did you learn from it? We shelved our Darkclaw episode because it just wasn't fun to listen to, and we are happy we didn't release it. Lesson - if you don't feel good about an episode don't release it. 6: With hindsight what is one thing you bought for your show that was a complete waste of money? Originally Goofus (Mike) paid for podcast hosting, and paid for third party "interview" software.. he was convinced that was "the way". Gallant (Zach) used a free hosting solution and Zoom (but recorded locally when possible). And ya know what - the difference wasn't worth the price. Unless your audience are audiophiles, save your cheddar. Page 14
A weekly podcast for anyone whose childhood was shaped by the 80’s, 90’s, and early 00s. We take a look back at good 'ol days of TV, games & movies, and dive into some of our new favourites as well!
al When it really comes down to it, something fun and entertaining. We want Show Go
anyone who's listening to enjoy our chats and feel like we're your friends too. The nerd/geek world has grown exponentially in the last decade and we hope to be a sliver of good times and make some good friends along the way.
Meet the Hosts David Pietrangelo: Growing up in the Toronto area as a sports and video game kid, Dave saw himself as the "nerdy jock." The passion for gaming grew as time went on and really kicked off with the SNES and early PC games. Three decades into his gaming life, Dave has turned that and his love for nerdy culture into three podcasts. Aside from Back In My Day he also covers all things Nintendo 64 with his newly launched Remember 64, and the soon-to-be released Creature Cast, the official podcast of the Console Creatures gaming website.
Michael R. Power: Michael Power is the co-host of the back in my day podcast. He lives in Hamilton Ontario with his wife and daughter and his comic book collection. He is a self proclaimed “dad gamer” who enjoys spending what little free time he has playing video games, reading comics, watching movies and talking about all three on The Back in My Day podcast with his best friends Ian and Dave.
Ian Walter: Ian Walter is a movie review writer and cohost of Back In My Day... a podcast where not-so-stereotypical millennials come together with nerds of all shapes and sizes to celebrate what we love from our childhood, along with the content from today that brings us back! To the future? Living in Whitby, Ontario with my fiancée & dog Tequila, while crushing all things Star Wars, Marvel & Sci-Fi/Fantasy.
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1: Why did you start podcasting? There were a number of what you could call "OG" podcasts out there from The Totally Rad Show to the Slashfilm Cast that we loved. One day we thought, you know what we talk about all this nerdy stuff already, why not record it?! It'll be a great excuse to spend some time together and hopefully find more people that like us and our chats!
2: Have you ever considered stopping, and if so why? Never! It's too much fun and there's just too much to talk about. It began as a way to reminisce about the good'ol days and it's evolved into so much more.
3: What’s the best podcast advice you ever received? Do it because you love it, not because you want to become popular or famous.
4: What is the worst podcast advice you ever received? Spend money on marketing or promotions because it'll be so popular after that.
5: What was your worst episode like and what did you learn from it? While we enjoy making the show fairly free-flowing and not too regimented, some structure helps. There isn't just one particular episode that stands out, but here and there things may sound a little too off the cuff and less professional. It's a tricky balance because you want to sound personable and relatable, but also have some direction.
6: With hindsight what is one thing you bought for your show that was a complete waste of money? Really, only trials for some recording software. Our first 12-15 months of the show we were recording in person and didn't have to worry too much about equipment. We gave a few a try and it was fine, but we realized there's ways to do it on a lower budget and we can expand into new programs or software at a later date.
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Award-Winning Podcast App
We started Goodpods for those moments when you're staring at your phone -- about to hop in the car or go for a run -wondering what podcast to listen to next, wishing that someone would magically appear with a good recommendation. And who better to get those recommendations from than friends who know you best or experts you admire? This already exists with books. And music. We just wanted it for podcasts too!
Download the GoodPods App
The Place Indie Pods go to grow their following
PITFALL: SEEING DOLLAR SIGNS Podcasting has been around since the early 2000’s and in the beginning they were a way for people with a passion about particular subjects to put their thoughts, opinions or expertise out there for anyone in the world to enjoy. When podcasting started, making a podcast was done for no other reason than you loved making that podcast. Over the next almost 20 years shows like The Joe Rogan Experience have opened the public’s eyes to not only what podcasts are but the fact that they can also be profitable! Because of this fact most (not all but most) podcasters that start today have the intention whether conscious or not: to make money, get famous, leave their boring 9 to 5, and make a living making the podcast that they love. This has only been exacerbated by hearing things like Spotify paid Joe Rogan $200 million for the rights to distribute his show. If there wasn’t already a mass migration of people into the podcasting world that really lit a fire under most people and they began scrambling into the field with dollar signs in their eyes, blinded by the honest truth…Podcasting isn’t going to make you rich. For those still enamored by the number $200 million here’s a number that applies to most podcasters 80%. That is the percentage of podcasts that fail in their first year! Why do 80% of podcasts fail? It’s because most people that begin a podcast are: 1) Blinded by dollar signs and flashing lights, hearing the potential profit or the chance for potentially millions of people to listen and fall in love with your voice is inherently alluring 2) Unaware of the work. These are 2 of the biggest pitfalls in podcasting…Period! We love podcasting, this is our job (It only took 3 years), and we’ve made a career out of it; so believe us when we say this is a lot of work and we don’t expect to be millionaires from it. If you are podcasting, especially if you are new, do it for the love of creating and entertaining if you work hard enough money will come. If you work super hard, success may even come. But don’t set yourself up for a harsh awakening when after 6 months full of hours: editing, recording, researching, promoting and the investment of hundreds or even thousands you aren’t a millionaire. Do it for the Love not the Dollar Signs.
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By Jarred Huertas
WHEN TO PULL THE PLUG By Jarred Huertas
A Pitfall of podcasting that many podcasters don’t think about is not pulling the plug on a show. Don’t get me wrong you shouldn’t stop a show just because your numbers are low. What I am speaking about runs much deeper than that. The reason podcasters create is LOVE; the love of a topic, the love of the process, and the love of your audience. The issue arises when that stops…What do you do when you aren’t enjoying yourself any longer, when recording and editing is something you dread and it negatively affects you? What happens when you lose the love in the subject you were discussing? Or run out of things to talk about? These are legitimate things that can happen to a podcaster over the course of years, and there is nothing wrong with that. People change, interests change, passions change and evolve. There is nothing wrong with changing but there is definitely an issue in staying in a show that is no longer your passion. If your current show is mentally, emotionally or physically draining you and you are not receiving any pleasure from making it any longer do not be afraid to say this is no longer for me. What do you do after you pull the plug? Firstly, you need to ask yourself a question: Do I still want to podcast? If the answer is no problem solved, if the answer is yes then the end of one show doesn’t mean the end of the fun. View starting a new show about a new topic you love, or in a new format with the same excitement you had at the start of the original but now you have the added benefit of EXPERIENCE!
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5 MISTAKES EVERY PODCAST MAKES
Every podcaster is going to make mistakes. You might forget to press record, spill a cup of coffee all over a keyboard, or maybe even take too long a swig or too hard a pull off of something mind altering right before the red light flicks on. It's all a part of the fun of recording a show. With a few tips and 5 mistakes to look out for, maybe you can avoid some of these pitfalls. Page 20
#1
Not focusing on your sound quality and levels
It is important to remember especially if you have guest or co-host that each person’s voice is going to be picked up differently. The Last thing you want are your listeners cranking the volume up for 1 person and then scrambling to shut it down when the next comes booming in.
#2
Underestimating the Amount of Energy that Goes into a Successful Podcast
Podcasting is a lot harder then it sounds and for some casters this is what makes or breaks it. Go into it with the idea that this is a small buisness and if you want to succeed you need to be prepared to work like it’s a job. Just one that’s super fun and rewarding.
#3
NOT HAVING A PLAN
Sometimes winging it works out. Often it doesn't. When going into each episode it's best to at least have a blue print for what you want to go over. This will save you hours later so you’re not trying to stitch together the perfect thought in the edit.
#4
Intros that are way too long
#5
Not building a community
An intro song is awesome and can set up a listeners expectations. You really only need a few seconds though, no matter how good the beat is. Banter can be fun, but, don't loose focus on the show, and know your audience. If the feed back is saying no pre-show intro banter drop it.
Having an awesome listenership is great! But, having a community where you can interact with your audience is better. You can get feedback, ideas and maybe find guests. A community will help you share the show and grow more than casual listners. You have to get your hands in the dirt to build the best possible podcat.
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People starting a podcast or small indie podcasts have a lot to focus on. They are constantly trying to find the best microphones, mixers, hosting platforms, all while trying to create quality content for their shows. This focus is great but because of this there are a few pieces of equipment that often get overlooked and here are a few.
Microphone Stands Though a lot of mics come with stands some do not and if your focus is mostly on the mic you might forget something to hold it.
Preamp Some high end condenser mics have great/clean sound that is outputted at a low level so to avoid increasing gain and noise a preamp like a Cloudlifter or Fathead can help up the output without the noise.
Top Overlooked Peices Of Equipment Page 22
Shockmount This is one of the most overlooked pieces of equipment in my experience. When recording, vibration is your enemy and if your mic stand is on or attached to a table (that isn't super sturdy) any bump or tap will get picked up. This is where Shockmounts come in; sometimes they are included with mics or stands but if not make sure to have one to save yourself the headaches.
Sound Dampening After a few recording sessions and long edits you will begin to pick up on every background noise known to man. The one that most podcasters find the most infuriating is reverb. The echo that you barely hear while speaking but is glaring during editing. There are many types of sound dampening equipment from Microphone Shields for Solo Hosts to sound dampening panels (that come in all different shapes and colors), even rugs and curtains will inevitably help. Investing in sound dampening will make your life so much easier. Page 23
Biggest Mistakes I've Made Podcasting “We recorded for about two years on and off, but thought uploading would be tricky… Looked into it and it wasn’t complex…” - David Price from What We Just Watched “Improper room acoustics!” - Tony Moore from Winning at Work “Something I've been kicking myself in the a** about is taking down my podcast from its original hosting site for 2 years before podcasting and putting all the content back up again. Losing all the previous download stats and engagement hurts now that it seems to be way harder to get back up to my original numbers.” - Janice Ho from The Soul’s Work Podcast “Under estimating how much time and patience a good edit takes. My first few episodes were awful, with the volume being either too low or high and changing mid way through the pod. On other episodes my mouth was too close to the microphone which resulted in popping and cracking on the audio.” - Matthew Usherwood The Distance Hiker Podcast “I started out in radio, so I decided that I needed to duplicate a radio studio, with lots of equipment and doing everything "as live". Life got much easier when I started recording my voice only and then putting everything else in during post-production.” - Claude Call from How Good It Is “Having a ChromeBook so not able to use a majority of editing programs and having to do it in one shot.” - Danny Jones from The Babbling Bearded Biker “In the first few episodes, I overdid it with noise reduction and compression. Tried too hard to "clean up" EVERYTHING, and it made us sound a little off. Since then, I've made an effort to focus editing and mastering on highlighting the qualities of our voices and it has helped our sound a lot.” - Stephen Horrocks from Diabreadic “The biggest mistake I made is to not worry about always following the outline, the best conversations can happen on a side quest. Also, Having fun makes a better podcast than editing every ‘Huh’, & ’Ummm’.” - Bradley Butin from The Fandemic “When my sister and I started, Drive with Us Podcast about 3 years ago, we had no idea what we were doing. Our biggest mistake was not niching down in a topic that was unique and able to stand out and realizing our sound wasn't the greatest. (So we rebranded for season 2 and now have a very unique show talking about crazy driving stories).” - Taranjit Kaur Athwal from Drive with Us
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“Originally nailing down on a niche too much. After a while we rebranded, which we’re really happy about, but it was a pain to make sure every pod app picked up the changes (among other things). Still battling with a couple apps almost a year later.” - Greg Jones from Craft Beer Republic “Becoming discouraged when growth doesn’t happen as fast as you think it will.” - Alex Getter from Two Dudes, Brews & Reviews “We started with a 2 hour format, 6 panelists, 1 mic and lots of booze. I was a complete idiot.” - Mike Bickett from Geeks Under The Influence Network “Allowing big guests to ignore audio quality.” - Alastair McDermott from The Recognized Authority “Batching out episodes! After I recorded one I felt like I was always behind in my production process and felt stressed to hit deadlines.” - Brendan Griffiths from In the Eleven with Brendan Griffiths “Not learning as much as we thought about the technical equipment and not deciding together on a release date for episodes each week. Thankfully, we're starting to get it together.” - Candice Bearden Lawhorn from Completely off the Rails “I'm not sure what my biggest mistake is, but a mistake I made and regretted was bringing on a popular guest on a subject, rather than bringing on a knowledgeable one and letting the content speak for itself. I let myself get sucked into the "I need downloads" mindset, rather than just put out quality content. At least it was early on!” - Andy TheTaxman from Grappling with Canada “I would say my biggest mistake so far was starting with the wrong microphone setup. I’m sure more mistakes will be made but this has been the biggest so far.” - Lonnie Frields Jr. from The Frields Daily Show “The biggest mistake I made was not starting and being afraid to take the first step!” - Shay Jovi from The Shayna Show “Biggest mistake was paying one of those fake promoter people. They pumped up my numbers artificially and now it's much more difficult to gauge if the show is growing because of all the fake downloads and reviews. Have found that organic growth of engaged listeners makes for a much more satisfying experience.” -Will Rodriguez from The Skeptic Metaphysicians
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The Dark Rum Podcast discusses everything dark, twisted and evil. From local legends, creepy conspiracies, and sick serial killers to creepypasta, lore and urban legends. Take a weekly trip with them into the darker side of the world where the nightmares are real and the worst monsters are human.
HOSTED BY: Kyle & Matt lifelong friends locked in a basement by a twisted villian, who have a love of the unexplained
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Have you every wondered who would win in a fight if Marvel and DC crossed over? Do you think that Sailor Moon could wreck Goku? Are you in the camp that believes that there’s no possible way Batman can be human?! Join Jarred and Turtle, two life long nerds, as they get together and geek out over all things comic, anime and nerd!
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HOSTED BY: Jarred & Kyle Have you ever been on Facebook and seen a story that seems too crazy to be true? Every week Jarred and Kyle jump into the weirdest and funniest news articles from all over the internet. We find out if there’s actually more to a story than just a headline, we click on those links you’re too nervous to click on, we waste our time so you don’t waste yours. So listen to us Charted waste your time…Because it's funny!
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