Pod-Crashing Episode 46 The Forecast In a letter to a business requesting information about my podcast, I forecast that by 2022 big companies would have their own podcasting departments. Not for entertainment but for content and connection. A valuable resource to help lift company websites and email blasts. To use the podcast as the tool but done so in a way that doesn’t push people away. That means hiring a professional. Someone with experience. Who doesn’t just talk about it but lives it. That...
Mar 06, 2020•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 45: On The Road Taking your podcast out on the road truly is far from being an original concept. NPR mastered that magic trick decades before well edited blogs evolved into a vocal approach. Look at what CBS was doing with Charles Kuralt. Even Stern got into the action with his birthday bash and on the spot reporting that usually featured a huge guest list. We can’t leave out terrestrial radio who’s always tried to play street games of the everyday world at sporting events, ...
Mar 03, 2020•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 44 Who Is Your Audience Throughout my forty one years of terrestrial radio, knowing who your radio listener is has always been a huge part of the connection puzzle. I always saw it as a game of Let’s Pretend. We are reaching our targeted audience of let’s say 25 to 45 year old women. Research shows this is who and how you should be directing every talk break. Do all you can not to step away from this person. I still remember how we handled it at my last radio station. They a...
Feb 25, 2020•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 43 Love Stories Today while sharing a conversation with published author Allison Ashley we spent a little time discussing the digital process. With the enormous amount of success murder and suspense podcasts have been experiencing, how far are we from everlasting love stories from becoming podcast seasons and episodes? It doesn’t seem like anything knew right? Books on Tape was huge four decades ago whereas today Audible has picked up the reins. Kindle Unlimited has their co...
Feb 14, 2020•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 42 Knowing The Dirt This could be a touchy subject but I think it needs to be talked about. Since mid-summer 2019 I’ve noticed a very interesting trend. The growing number of promoters and producers tossing their energy into the podcast hat. I call them “Listener Locaters” and “Guitar Center Home Studios Are Us” I’m endlessly flooded with emails and phone calls, “Hey man I can bring bigger days to your growing needs.” My response is always the same, “That’s so cool! Find me ...
Feb 07, 2020•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 41: Trusting Evolution Every singer songwriter I sit with, we end up getting locked in talk about how music never stops evolving. None of the artists seem to be bothered by it. It’s as if they expect change. This might be the reason why so many fans of music enjoy listening to a live album. The songs we love are there! It’s just performed a little bit differently. The reason why I bring this up is because so many Podcasters have a difficult time moving through evolution. Gre...
Jan 31, 2020•7 min
Jan 24, 2020•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 39: The Beginning Between 2012 and 2016 I approached the decision makers of Broadcasting Schools and Universities to open their hearts and imaginations to accepting the platform dubbed Podcasting. I was losing the battle on the terrestrial radio side of the performance. Sales people loved it but didn’t know how to sell it and programmers wanted nothing to do with something that looked more like a hobby than a profession. Outside of my daily journals only one person knew of m...
Jan 18, 2020•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 38 Guts Students, business leaders and everyday people constantly ask, “What’s the best way to come up with podcast ideas? Is there a place to research what people wanna listen to? Can you show me where to begin?” I don’t mind being approached. I learned in 2012 that it’s all about building a community. Eight years ago I was asking myself, “What kind of gathering? Are there leaders and rules to follow? Is there any subject I can’t touch?” I’ve driven myself totally insane se...
Jan 11, 2020•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 37 Imaging Not to step on any toes but a lot of non-radio people have probably never heard of imaging. They just know they want something kind of fancy to electrify the podcast. You can hear it when you jump into an episode. Woot there it is! A huge 30 to 60 second show open with sweepers layered within the presentation. Imaging can be a great tool or a reason to drop you like a fool. It’s branding for a listeners ears. It’s speaks out in ways that keeps the talent in the ho...
Dec 25, 2019•8 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 36 Facing Podcast Burnout How much work is actually required to create a somewhat successful podcast? Just being honest. The work isn’t the biggest challenge. Showing up is. If I can get you to faithfully be on that microphone committed to making great content...the workload doesn’t sting quite as much. Podcast burnout flairs up when you pull off the performance then set it aside to edit another day. After it’s completed you push it away again. You’re too tired to post it on...
Dec 13, 2019•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 35: The evolution of the podcast question I love questions. It doesn’t mean I locate answers but it opens the gate to explore. Since I began my journey into the digital universe it’s been quite entertaining to see how the podcast questions keep evolving. In 2012 I was bombarded with, “Why am I doing this? Do I really need to do this?” To co-workers and bosses asking, “Are you gonna get any other work done? What are you doing and why?” The biggest question from myself and all...
Dec 06, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 34: Can We Talk Business There’s so many different reasons why people get into podcasting. The love of the laugh, the openness to talk sports, freedom of speech to we’ve got to make some easy money! Yeah? How’s that working for ya? My friend Ron wrote to me the other day physically excited that his podcast had finally started to collect pennies and cents. We’re talking 3 cents. I loved his attitude! Dude! You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to make anything! Look… wh...
Nov 22, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 33: Staying Independent It’s completely natural to wanna build a big bright and beautiful podcast then market the hell out of it. Wait wait. That last part is the ugly shoe in the picture. To market the podcast? You know, to push your stories and creative spirits onto every possible platform known to mankind. Not just this time but every time. To throw yourself into the center of the kingdom of hashtags and @ symbols. If you have famous people on the episode you visit their ...
Nov 15, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing: Episode 32 Building your community. We hear a lot about that. If you’re a podcaster and it’s not your thing. You’ve still gotta get on board. Posting your episodes on the digital platform without using the other tools is like walking into a restaurant just to use their bathroom. You didn’t buy anything. You used their water, paper products and their customer service space. I’m amazed at how many podcasters aren’t on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Even more shocking are the number...
Nov 09, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 31 Controlled Chaos A single snap shot of our present place on the digital platform and barely anybody can figure it out. There’s a lot of guessing going on and you’ve gotta love it. Heard a quote today, “When I jumped onto this there were no forefathers.” Sharing that message was Michael Stevens who’s helped strengthen YouTube’s footprint into something other than free music and crazy self-created smartphone videos. His show Mind Field gets into the head and heart of why we...
Nov 01, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 30: Are We There Yet We’ve talked about it multiple times. Podcasting’s history. It’s been trudging along since the late 1980’s. Gained some speed during the birth of the iPod generation and has lightly floated around at an uneven pace without any real race. Podcasting’s always been that nearly next to underground thing comedians, politicians, home studio junkies and maybe a few teachers have done. Hey man you can say anything. Play anything. Make it your own thing or copy s...
Oct 12, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 29: Shapes and shades The many shapes and shades of this thing called podcasting. The new age way to blog. No really! That’s how it got started. A ton of words were being tapped into the face of a computer. Everybody was doing it. The postal worker, the sewing machine lady, the ice cream teen. We were communicating! Yeah… maybe a little. There they were! The writer’s thoughts! Nicely crafted paragraphs. But you weren’t picking up their vocal inflections. The reader was force...
Oct 05, 2019•7 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 28: I listen to a lot of podcasts. I study their behavior. Not as in numbers but the way each episode infects or affects my extremely busy day. Being a Broadcaster locked up in a control room can be a lonely place. It’s no different than a banker, movie theater GM, computer programmer and so on. The modern business world has shaped itself into a cluster of several offices with each player trapped inside 8 to 12 hours at a time. Podcasting is companionship. Whatever your tast...
Sep 28, 2019•6 min
Pod-Crashing: Episode 27 The Interview Maybe it’s because I come from a forty year terrestrial radio background or it’s the sound of my father’s voice, “Don’t be a know it all.” Getting guests for your podcast is a wise step in building your community of listeners. But it has to be the right show and episode. I would never bring in a third party on The Choice because the conversation shared is hardcore one on one character building, repairing and forgiving. The soul of the show is transparency. ...
Sep 21, 2019•7 min
Create The Echo Being on a podcast journey requires one simple digital platform acceptance: The moment you post... It no longer belongs to you. Which is usually how you can tell the difference between a terrestrial radio talent and someone that planted their first seed in the open fields of podcasting. Downloading your episodes is a huge feature because potential advertisers need to know those numbers. If they aren’t showing up? It becomes that little box that doesn’t get checked at decision tim...
Sep 14, 2019•6 min
Pod-Crashing Episode 25: The Seven Truths Of Podcasting This past week I was invited to break out of the studio and sit with future Broadcasters. The subject? Podcasting! The importance of investing your personal time and creative space to what’s quickly becoming a good sized puzzle piece in the world of content connection. Each lecture was four hours long. Oh yeah. When you call me to the stage we’re gonna plant the seed and wait for the first leaf to leap out of the soil. During those ticks on...
Sep 07, 2019•9 min
Heard someone say the other day, “The one thing that should always appear at the top of your podcast list is your ego.” I chuckled. Mainly because it’s the one tool in the box that’s gonna get you in and out of trouble. It’s going to be your biggest cheerleader and top notched judger. Somedays the ego’s not there or it shows up too strong. That’s the area of the ego the person wanted future podcasters to pay close attention to. When the ego is multiplied to super amped status. When nearly next t...
Aug 31, 2019•8 min
Probably because I’m a Broadcast instructor I see a lot of startups and huge letdowns. Yeah I’m the guy that proudly stands up front looking at all those rows of hardcore dreamers and says, “If you’re here to chase radio get started in the smallest town in your state. The big boys are already full with three million people are sitting impatiently on the waiting list. Or… You can start podcasting and declare yourself hired. Because you’re the president and CEO of Me Inc.” The problem with opening...
Aug 23, 2019•7 min
Episode 22: When It Finally Sinks In When what finally sinks in? This! Well what is this? Right. Before 2012 I was all out radio. Not against podcasting. I was just radio. I mean a totally sick puppy that spent 12 to 15 hours a day writing and producing commercials while performing physical shows in several different markets. Part of the workday plan was to blog. The goal? Write about everything. Not text. Not IM. Blog! It was my real voice. I could say anything. Which put me in several large ci...
Aug 16, 2019•7 min
Episode 21: The Bridge I was reminded a few weeks back that podcasting has always been the underground of broadcasting. Meaning those doing it in the early days and somewhat today were and are anti-radio. They wanted no part in the big corporate decision making because most of them were ousted from the center of their dream career. I don’t know about others but from day one of my terrestrial radio decades I was always told that hard work dedication and loyalty don’t guarantee the gold watch at 5...
Aug 09, 2019•6 min
Episode 20: Where Should I Put My Podcast Where and how you post your shows no longer comes with a huge dark cloud. Put away your fears and out of control wonders cuz the golden age of swapping thoughts in a box has reached a new level. For years I’ve called podcasting the undiscovered next big fad. The only people doing it were angry individuals seeking to be heard, comedians, actors, radio wanna-be’s and millennials tired of hearing the same six songs on the radio. Since the very beginning it’...
Aug 01, 2019•7 min
Episode 19: Is It Really Podcasting? What is podcasting? When I was first led to its little known source of energy in 2012 it was extremely hard to find someone that listened. They’d heard of it but didn’t own an iPod so they didn’t listen. Today the term podcasting is being thrown all over the place. It’s acting like the new Disco. Hot, fresh, something knew and everybody seems to be doing it. Especially writers, producers and ad agencies that are trying to convince their clients that podcastin...
Jul 26, 2019•7 min
Episode 18: What’s In The Name I’m extremely guilty of trying to come up with catchy names or titles for my podcasts and episodes. Unplugged and Totally Uncut, The Choice, View from the Writing Instrument and Pod-crashing to name a few. Weird way out there labels but nothing as cool as Marc Maron’s WTF, Discraceland, The Joe Rogan Experience or Crime Junkie. While thumbing through iHeart Radio’s podcast directory I had an extremely difficult time locating Ellen DeGeneres’ On The Go. I wasn’t awa...
Jul 23, 2019•7 min
Episode 17: TMI This is gonna sound so 1990’s but in a way with so much change we can kinda still get away with it. How ya diggin the internet and all things connected? In so many ways it’s still making life easier while turning a lot of worlds upside down. Like the way we love, trust, shop and plan for an extremely unpredictable future with AI’s on the horizon. Speaking from the heart, the digital information age has had a hell of a good time pulling in volumes of information on all of us. Who,...
Jul 17, 2019•7 min
