5PG Lunch & Learn

Podcasting 101

What we will go over● Why should I care?

● Why podcast?

● Hardware tools

● Software tools

● Figuring out your audience

● What type of show do you want to make

● How many people?

● How long should the show be?

● How to be good host

● Mastering the interview

● Podcasting tips

● Editing the show

● Release schedule

● Where you can upload your show

● Marketing the show

● Handling your community

● Analytics

● What people have said

● Questions

Why should I care?

1. Been podcasting since 2008

2. Been the host of four podcasts

3. Active host of two podcasts

a. http://www.gamedevradio.net

b. http://igdasacramento.org/podcast

4. Lots of experience interviewing people

Why podcast?

1. Want to share your knowledge with someone

2. Want to keep your customer engaged with your product

3. You are just so damn funny!

4. You and your friends are super bored!

Hardware tools needed (Cheap)

1. Computer

2. Head set (logitech)

Hardware tools needed (Expensive)

1. Computer

2. Condenser Mic

3. Pop filter

4. Mixer

5. Mic stand

Software tools needed

1. Skype

2. Google Hangout

3. Audacity

4. Garage Band (Optional)

5. Levelator

6. Ecamm Recorder

7. Wordpress

blubrry podcast plugin

itunes plugin

Disqus

Figuring out your audience1. Who will you be targeting?

2. What do they like to listen to?

3. Is it a vocal community?

Different type of shows

Casual conversation

1. Bunch of people talking

2. No real structure

Different type of shows

Segmented show

1. Many different parts

2. usually news/topic/mail

3. Setup like news show

4. Very organized

Different type of shows

Interview

1. Focused on one person

2. Q&A

3. Very engaging

Different type of shows

Topical conversation

1. Show focused on topic

2. Very focused

3. Keeps things going

How many people

Casual talk: 1-4

Segmented show: 1-3

Interview: 1-2

Never do one person show!

How long should the show be?

Casual talk: 40mins to 2hrs

Segmented show: 30-60mins

Interview: 40-50mins

How to be good host

1. Keep the conversation going

2. Always have topic ready

3. No when to stop the conversation

4. Keep things on track

Mastering the interview

1. Have your questions ready

2. Don’t make it feel like an interview

3. Get them to say “Thats a good question”

4. Backlog what they say as they talk

5. Make them laugh!

6. Don’t take over the conversation

Podcasting tips

1. Always re-introduce yourself

2. Don’t say “uh”, “uhm”, “yah”, and “like”

3. Speak clearly into the mic

4. Don’t move back and forth on the mic

5. Don’t eat food or drink during the show

6. Cross talk will destroy a podcast

7. turn off your cellphone

8. Don’t type on the keyboard

9. If possible don’t talk from a phone

10.Be in a silent room

11.Don’t talk through computer speaker

12.Remove any pets that can make noise

13.Turn off air conditioning

Editing the show 1. Remove dead air

2. Remove “yah”, “uhm”, “uh”, and “like”

3. Remove pointless chatter (trim the fat)

4. Rearrange parts to improve flow

5. Create canned intro and outro’s

6. Try not to be a editing Nazi!

7. Save the funny bits for secret ending

Release schedule1. Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

2. Don’t make promises you can’t keep

3. Don’t be scared to cut a show short, always release an episode!

4. Consistency will keep the users coming back

Where you can upload your show

1. iTunes

2. Stitcher

3. Libsyn

4. S3

Marketing the show

1. Twitter (Post at increments of time, three

times a day)

2. Facebook

3. Reddit

4. Google Plus

Handling your community1. Always respond listeners in comments

2. Respond to 3rd party posts of your show

3. Always keep them up to date on ALL social media streams

4. NEVER be rude to them, always be nice even if you don’t agree with them

5. Make time to read user submitted mail

6. If enough people want it make change based on feedback suggested

7. Give special attention to those who evangelize your show

Analytics

1. Use wordpress plugins for analytics

a. Jetpack plugin

b. feed stats plugin

2. Use Libsyn’s analytics

3. Create Google Alerts

4. Hook up google analytics

What people have said

“have found your radio to be inspiring, informative and just down right helpful :)“

“I LOVE the podcast! Each episode is so rich with information; I can't help but to re-listen over and

over to absorb as much knowledge as possible.”

“Exploring design is a GREAT source of inspiration, and I always try to apply what I learn to my

designs”

“Your topics are timely, your conversation is on-topic, and you've really inspired some of the material

in the courses that we designed to teach high schoolers how to design games”

“Even if I'm not always agree with you - the content of quality put this podcast high above the others.

Please keep up the hard work.”

Questions?