The best podcast education money can't buy... what does THAT mean?

It's my not-so-clever way of introducing you to this, my new podcast about podcasting.

Yeah, I know there are a lot of great podcasts about podcasting already going.

Let me assure you, I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here, just trying to let you in on the lessons I've learned on my podcast journey.

And it is a DIFFERENT kind of journey. More on that in a bit...

Before we move on, let me pause to say a tiny bit about the podcast educators who are ALREADY out there...

The best podcast education out there is actually pretty good.

There are some powerful personalities and very knowledgeable coaches out there who are doing truly helpful, consistent work to help us all get a little bit further down the road. Since you're listening to a podcast about podcasting right now, you probably know all the people I'm going to mention. But I need to pay tribute to them for all they've done to help me along... so hold your horses while I wax eloquent here...

These are the guys who have rocked my podcasting journey

• Cliff Ravenscraft - AKA: The Podcast Answer Man

Cliff is the first guy to really make it big as a podcast instructor for podcasters. He's really done it well and I give him high marks. He's a man of integrity and I've enjoyed getting to know him through his podcast. If I ever have he opportunity to thank him in person, you can be sure I will.

If you've never listened to Cliff's show, Podcast Answer Man, you've just dispelled my doubts about extraterrestrial life... because you must be from another planet.

• David Jackson - AKA: The original podcast coach

I've had a handful of email interactions with David over the years and he's a swell guy. He's really the very first guy who saw the need for education about podcasting and has occupied a very important place in the podcasting space for years. He runs www.SchoolofPodcasting.com if you're in need of help.

When was it Dave, 1995 that you started teaching people about technology and the internet? And he started "School of Podcasting" in 2005. As you can see, Dave has been at this podcasting thing a long time and has a thing or two to tell you about it.

If you've never heard David's shows (yep, he's got more than one... your classic overachiever), you're missing out. His relaxed manner and wonderful sense of humor are refreshing. Check out School of Podcasting, and Ask the Podcast Coach.

• Daniel J. Lewis

Daniel J. is the guy behind an awarding winning podcast - The Audacity to Podcast.

By award winning, I mean he won the "#1 technology podcast" in 2012 at the Podcast Awards. His show is full of tips, tricks, insights, thoughtful considerations, etc. I've chatted with Daniel a few times and even interviewed him once, and find him to be a likeable, helpful guy who really knows what he knows.

Give his show a listen.

• Ray Ortega

The first thing I have to say about Ray is that he's amazingly gracious and very helpful. In my beginning days as a podcaster I dunned him over Twitter more than once and he was always quick to respond, kind, and very helpful. He's got the branding thing down with his podcast helper Twitter moniker.

Ray's actually employed by his boss to do podcasting for the company and teaches the rest of us by night... or whenever he does it.

Another overachiever, Ray's got 3 different shows going on.

1) The Podcaster's Studio

2) Podcast Quick Tips (which he hasn't updated for some time, but there's a TON of great info in the archives)

3) Podcaster's Round Table - an amazing podcast built off a Google Hangout. Check it out!

I'm sure there are many others who do a fine job of educating the rest of us unwashed masses about best podcast practices and such and so forth, but these are the guys who have influence me the most.

And here I am... looking all of that amazing "competition" and daring to throw my hat in the ring too. And that's just it. I don't see any of those guys as competition.

I see them as comrades, friends, fellow educators trying to podcastify the world for the greater good.

Why I think I can add to the best podcast education out there

As I said before, I'm both a podcaster AND a podcast producer.

I've experienced the headaches and learning curve of figuring out the podcast thing and have gone on to create a thriving business that comes alongside busy, successful podcasters to give them back their time while still creating amazing sounding audio.

In talking to clients, prospective clients, and running my business every day, I've feel like I approach the podcasting scene from a pretty unique perspective.

• I get to work with a lot of podcasters on a daily basis.
• I regularly hear lots of headaches, problems, and hangups that podcasters face.
• I'm talking with new prospective clients daily and understand the needs they have as newbies to the podcast world.
• I'm just a regular guy who loves the simplicity of podcasting, and wants to keep it that way.

All of that gives me the opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of the struggles of newbie and experienced podcasters.

And having done this podcast stuff for a while now, I really do believe I can help you.

So the Podcastification podcast is born!

My goals for the show are pretty simple. And I'm going to be honest here:

• I want the episodes to be short, generally speaking.

If any episodes hit over 15 minutes, ever, I'll be surprised. The exception might be the occasional interview conversation.

• And yes, I mean occasional on the interviews.

Most of the stuff you hear on this show will be my opinions and hard-learned tips to help you make your show the best podcast it can be. I'm not the ultimate expert, but I do know some stuff.

• I want to have fun.

The music's fun. My attitude is fun. The content should be fun. I believe it's a sin to bore people. I hope you feel the same.

• I want to build relationships with you, the listener.

Really, I do. If you ever want to reach out to me, email is the ticket: Carey AT PodcastFastTrack DOT com

• No sponsors. Ever.

I'm not going 2 waste your time with ads You come here 2 get content so I'm going 2 give you content.

The only way I ever intend to make money from this show (which I do believe is a good thing for podcasters) is through lead-generation. If listening to this show builds trust between you and me and you decide to contact my team to help with your podcast. That's cool. If not, that's cool, too.

The only thing like an advertisement that you'll ever hear on this show are for my services and courses... and here's my promise to you: They'll be very infrequent and mainly in the closing segment of the show. Once you hear the closing music start up, feel free to skip it.

So here we go... Podcastification - the best podcast practices, as often as I can get them recorded

Feel free to leave comments on each episode. I'll do my best to pretty-link the show notes on www.PodcastFastTrack.com / 3 digit episode number so you can easily find the show notes pages.

Feel free to contact me. As I said, I aim to be accessible.

Feel free to tell others about the show.

And feel free to leave a rating and review on iTunes.

And now that you feel so free... go podcastificate your world!

Thanks for listening!

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