Podcast Quick Tips - podcast cover

Podcast Quick Tips

Ray Ortega - Professional podcast producer. Teacher and avid listener.podcastquicktips.com
Single, actionable tips to help you improve and grow your podcast. Plan, record and promote better podcasts one tip at a time.
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Episodes

PQT – ID3 Artwork File Size

ID3 artwork is your podcast’s logo (see mine on the right) that gets inserted into every episode( mp3) file you create (see below for the differences between show level artwork and episode level (i.e. ID3)). When designing your show’s artwork there are special specifications to be aware of. 1. Image size should be square (300 […]

Jan 12, 20145 min

PQT – YouTube Subscribe Button

YouTube took a page out of the podcasting playbook and released a one-click subscription button that you can place on your website (see mine in the sidebar on the right). While YouTube is not podcasting because you cannot host and place your hosted files into an RSS feed, I do recommend that those podcasters who […]

Aug 14, 20135 min

PQT – Audio File Size vs Quality

When you compress/export your final edited version of your podcast into an .mp3 audio file you have a couple decisions to make. How big or small do you want the file to be versus how good do you want it to sound? There are many factors that can lead to a final decision regarding your […]

Jun 11, 20134 min

PQT – Naming Your Podcast with Dave Jackson

Naming your podcast is kind of a big deal. Yet some people might just jump into it without ever asking anyone if the name is any good or more importantly, makes any sense? I know I did, oops. Yes, some podcasters will start a podcast with a name that tells you nothing about the content […]

Apr 23, 20136 min

PQT – Names in Titles

If you have a podcast where you have on guests/interviewees, you should include those names in the title of your episode(s) for better search results in iTunes. I’ve noticed that when I search for someone’s name on iTunes I get results not only for their own podcast, assuming they have set up their feed correctly, […]

Mar 03, 20133 min

PQT – Focus Your Podcast’s Budget

Most podcasts are a hobby endeavor which usually means budgets for gear, websites, software and everything else involved in making a podcast is limited. When deciding where to put your money first, focus on the elements of your podcast that are most likely to affect the overall quality of your show. The best place to […]

Feb 06, 20134 min

PQT – iTunes Affiliate Program

Learn how you can earn money when someone uses your iTunes subscription link to subscribe to your podcast. Every podcaster should have a link to their podcast in the iTunes store on their website. You can see mine in the upper right hand corner widget area of this site. It’s important to make it easy […]

Jan 16, 20135 min

PQT – FeedBurner Status Update

Is FeedBurner shutting down? I cover this topic, the fear going around the Internet and the truth about what is really happening. The key takeaway here is not to worry. Don’t panic and scramble to move your podcast RSS feed(s) away from FeedBurner. If you are currently using it, there has been no official announcements […]

Dec 23, 20128 min

PQT – Gravatar

Creating a free Gravatar account for your podcast, will allow you to automatically insert your branded logo or personal image alongside comments you make on the internet. For example, if you leave a comment below this post and you have a Gravatar account, when you type your email into the email section of the submission, […]

Dec 06, 20125 min

PQT – Speaker Test Your Podcast

Listening to your podcast while you edit with headphones on might lead you to think your audio is just right. That everything sounds perfect. But what about the most important listener…your audience? Make sure the audio you’re publishing sounds as good to your audience as it does to you. Take your podcast for a trial […]

Aug 11, 20125 min

PQT – YouTube SEO: Creating Relevant File Names

Once you’ve edited your video you need to export it, add some metadata and then upload it to YouTube. But before you do that, make sure that the name of your actual video file is something relevant to the information contained in the video itself. This is because YouTube indexes the file name as well […]

Jul 06, 20125 min

PQT – Recording with the Zoom H4n

Looking around my studio, I counted almost ten different ways to record a podcast. Over the next few episode of Podcast Quick Tips, I’m going to be using each of these methods to demonstrate how you can produce a quality sounding podcast many different ways. First up is the Zoom H4n. This digital audio recorder […]

May 11, 201211 min

PQT – Disable Skype’s Auto Gain Control

If you weren’t already aware, Skype is likely controlling your audio levels. As podcasters, we want to make sure we are in control of all our settings all of the time. This is how you can make sure Skype isn’t changing your audio quality. Skype just released (03/06/12) a new version of it’s software for […]

Mar 20, 20127 min

PQT – Edit Facebook Audio Player Information

When you insert a link to a hosted audio file into Facebook’s link section above the status box, Facebook will automatically create an audio player. Below this audio player is a couple areas of information about any particular audio file you link to. They don’t make it obvious that you can actually edit the information […]

Sep 07, 20113 min

PQT – Free Video Converters

There are any number of reasons why you might need to convert a video from one format to another. In the case of video podcasting perhaps you need to make your file compatible to work on Apple devices or you need to take your original file created specifically for iTunes and make it more compatible […]

Jul 27, 20116 min

PQT – Mixlr.com. Audio Only Live Streaming

An introduction to mixlr.com, a new live streaming dedicated to the audio only podcaster. With mixlr’s easy to use app, available for both Windows and Mac, you can easily stream your show live to the web while you record it in your studio. The advantages to live streaming audio only are many in the case […]

Jul 19, 20113 min

PQT – Fix the Number of Default Items in Your WordPress Feed

If you use WordPress to create your podcasting RSS feed then you may have noticed that only ten or less of your most recent episodes are showing up in podcatchers such as iTunes. There’s a simple fix. Simply adjust the default syndication setting (10) in the Reading section of your WordPress settings. Click here to […]

Jul 01, 20115 min

PQT – Creating High Resolution Album Art

When you create your album artwork the graphic that represents your podcast (also referred to as show art or ID3 image), make sure you use a high enough resolution so that it displays well on large screens. I recommend making your show logo 600 x 600 pixels. This is a square image that will display […]

Jun 08, 20114 min

PQT – Statistics and Analytics for Your Podcast and Website

Resources for tracking statistics for your podcast and website. By using some simple resources, you can get a clear picture regarding how many people are listening to your podcast as well visiting your website. File hosts such as Libsyn, Blubrry, and Blip.tv all keep statistics about the number of people downloading your show as well […]

Mar 27, 20116 min

PQT – Powerpress 2.0 and HTML5

With the recent update of the Powerpress plugin for WordPress, your podcast can now be HTML5 and Apple device friendly. HTML5 player for non-flash devices This is an important point because of the iPhone’s dominate spot in the mobile market and the rise of the iPad as the primary tablet device of choice (at the […]

Mar 17, 20115 min

PQT – Microphones for Video

Learn what options you have when choosing a microphone for your video podcast productions. In most cases audio is as important or even more important than the quality of your video. Find out the different types of microphones that you can use together with whatever video camera you have to get the best quality audio […]

Feb 08, 20119 min

PQT – Promote Your Podcast by Notifying the People and Products You Mention

Promote your podcast by contacting the people and or companies you mention in your show. Many times those people will respond by passing on your content to their community. Whether it’s through a simple tweet or facebook post, your content gets exposed to infinite amounts of new listeners when it’s passed on by someone else. […]

Dec 23, 20103 min

PQT – Choosing a Mixer for Podcasting

When you’re deciding on what kind of mixer to get for your podcast there are several things to consider before making your purchase. I run through the most important things I think you should be looking for in a mixer that will be used for producing podcasts. Some of the things I like to have […]

Dec 16, 20109 min

PQT – Submit Your Podcast RSS Feed to iTunes Early

[UPDATE] I no longer recommend this method unless you have some compelling reason to do so. The approval process is usually complete within 24 hours now and you will benefit more by having at least three episodes ready to do publish when you submit your podcast. When creating a podcast, before you even publish it […]

Dec 06, 20104 min

PQT – iTunes Store Approval Times for Podcast RSS Feeds

How long does it take before a podcast RSS feed is accepted into the itunes store once you have submitted it? When you’ve submitted your podcast to itunes and its not showing up in the itunes catalog, many podcasters start to worry that they did something wrong. So what do you do once you have […]

Nov 16, 20104 min

PQT – Blackberry Podcast Store

Submitting your show to new podcatchers is the best way to grow your audience fast. Make sure to submit your podcast to all the podcasting directories you can find and don’t forget the thousands of people who are consuming, searching, and using the Blackberry Podcast store. Go to the Blackberry Podcast Store to create an […]

Oct 06, 20104 min

PQT – A Logo for Your Podcast

Learn why having a logo for your podcast is so important and how to create one for free. Also learn some of the most important elements of show logo design for maximizing the impact it has on your audience. right-click to download Subscribe to Podcast Quick Tips

Sep 27, 201011 min

PQT – Remember Playback Position and Proof Listening

Learn the importance of using the "remember playback position" check box when tagging your podcast files with ID3 tags (i.e. metadata). This is one item I always check when filling in my ID3 information and can easily be done using the itunes software. Also, do you listen to your own show? Do you make sure […]

Jul 08, 20100
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