Table of Contents:

1. in-the-time-of-quarantine.php">Podcasts In the Time of Quarantine
2. Podcasting During A Global Pandemic
3. COVID-19 Podcast Advertising Survey Results
4. Podcast Discovery Stats in 2020 | How Do Listeners Discover New Shows?
5. Podcast Hero: How to Become a Content Powerhouse
6. Condenser Vs Dynamic | A Beginner’s Guide to Microphones for Voice
7. Podcast Intro & Outro Tips: Introducing & Ending Your Episode
8. Better Webcam Video
9. content.com/how-to-make-your-evergreen-podcasts-topical-using-dai-b62b806be519">How to make your evergreen podcasts topical using DAI

Hey friend, are you doing alright? I hope so.

I’m well. Healthy and only a little anxious (I’m keeping my cool).

I tried to cut my own hair today. It didn’t go so well, so now it’s very short. I’ll try again in a few weeks. I’m hoping with some practice I can get my hair looking like Rami Malek’s in Mr. Robot. That was a good looking haircut.


It was another week of watching to see how SARS-CoV-2 affects the world, my country, state, city, and the podcasting industry.

They say the coming week is going to be bad, but my mood over the past month has been alternating between dread and frustration.

I’m doing what I can and following the advice to stay home as much as possible. I hope you’re able to do the same.

Here’s some of the best podcast news for the first week of April, 2020. And don’t worry, it’s not all Coronavirus.

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1

in-the-time-of-quarantine.php">Podcasts in the Time of Quarantine

From Martine Powers on Columbia Journalism Review:

Now that so many people are stuck at home and isolated from friends and family and colleagues, it seems like the priority isn’t simply to use podcasts to give people information or sweeping stories or you’ll-never-believe-it serialized drama.

Suddenly, there are new objectives: What will make people feel connected with the outside world? What will provide comfort and a sense of community? What will help people feel less alone?

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2

Podcasting During A Global Pandemic

From jaraudio.com:

Prior to television and the internet, people always turned to audio for comfort. For a long time, and specifically in the Between the Wars era, it was the only way to ever hear the voice of our leaders. Radio in particular had a soothing effect on the populace at times when the world seemed to be crumbling (of note, the King’s speech as WW2). 

It’s not so different today. In the last few weeks we’ve all turned to our leaders for guidance and reassurance - reassurance that they are taking this threat seriously, and hoping that their words can inspire confidence that victory is possible.

As our colleague Paul so eloquently remarked, “As a citizen in Vancouver, BC, personally I need to need to hear Justin Trudeau’s voice right now and that of my Mayor Kennedy Stewart.  I need to hear the voice of Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Bonnie Henry. And as a consumer I need to hear Tim Cook’s voice from Apple today...”

Later in the article:

For brands, now is the time to say something. Not to wallow about cancelled social calendars, or turn around and develop a campaign to capitalize on the crisis - but to show some leadership. Because what we all do in these next few weeks will echo for decades to come.

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3

COVID-19 Podcast Advertising Survey Results

From Podsights.com:

Last week we put out a call to publishers, brands, and agencies on the Podsights platform to respond to a survey about the current effects on podcast advertising of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal was to share knowledge from the three main groups to understand how individual experiences are compared to the whole.

We are in uncharted territory, and even so, 96.55% of respondents said they were optimistic about the future of podcasting in light of current events.

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4

Podcast Discovery Stats in 2020 | How Do Listeners Discover New Shows?

The folks at thepodcasthost.com took a survey. Of the 780 people who took the survey, 59% were podcasters and 41% have never run a podcast.

What do podcast listeners do first when they want to find a new show to listen to? This is arguably the most interesting section of all, because it's entirely based on listener habits. What's that first port of call for discovering new content?

We asked the question “You want to find a new podcast to listen to. What do you do first?”

Searching in their podcast listening app's directory was the clear winner here with 40% of the vote. There was a follow-up question to this answer too – “If you use your listening app's directory to find a show, how do you search?”

• 58.1% of folks who search their listening app's directory type the topic into their app's search bar, and choose from the results
• 41.9% prefer to browse the categories to find new shows

Away from those who take to searching their listening app, the other results were;

• 18.3% Directly ask someone I know who likes the same stuff
• 15.2% Ask on social media or in an online community
• 13.6% Search on Google
• 13% Browse through a podcast chart or ‘featured' section

Not much to split the above, but it does show the importance of word of mouth marketing.

Lots of other great takeaways in this article, including the thing that most potential listeners use to judge your podcast: The show description.

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5

Podcast Hero: How to Become a Content Powerhouse

From Yvonne Heimann for podcastmovement.com:

Yay, your podcast is on air!

It sounds great and you’re gaining exposure, but now your whole life revolves around content production. That was not the plan.

In this article, you will learn how to streamline your production workflow, be ready to successfully outsource tasks, turn one episode into a multitude of content pieces, and continuously drive traffic to past and future episodes.

And all that in a manner that allows you to have a life — and even take a vacation — without skipping a beat.

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6

Condenser Vs Dynamic | A Beginner’s Guide to Microphones for Voice

From Matthew Boudreau on thepodcasthost.com:

Searching for a new microphone can be a daunting task. The style and quality of microphones differs greatly, and the old standby that you get what you pay for isn’t necessarily true anymore.

With great quality microphones available across the price spectrum, cost is no longer a reliable characteristic in determining a microphone’s quality. So what qualities should podcasters and producers be looking for in a microphone?

One of the best articles I’ve read about the different kinds of microphones commonly used by podcasters, and how they work.

Ah man, now I wanna go mic shopping. One of these days I’m gonna get a really expensive Neumann condenser mic.

Here’s the podcasting gear I recommend, including the affordable mics I like and recommend. Those are Amazon affiliate links, but I’d suggest shopping locally instead.

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7



Podcast Intro & Outro Tips: Introducing & Ending Your Episode

From thepodcasthost.com:

Podcast Intro & Outro tips: At-a-Glance

• Each episode you release will be someone's first impression of your show
• You only have 5 minutes to “hook” a 3rd of all new listeners
• Let them know what's in store right away. Tell them what they're going to get from listening
• Leave them in no doubt that this is the podcast for them
• Use your outro to ensure you turn new listeners into subscribers. You want them to come back for more

Also check out The Podcast Dude episode 45:How to Create a Great Podcast Intro.

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8

Better Webcam Video

From Dan Mall on his personal site:

In running a completely distributed agency, I spend a significant portion of my day on video calls. Like, most days, the majority of my day. So, if my colleagues and I have to spend a lot of time looking at my mug, I might as well try to make that a more pleasant experience for everyone involved.

A great walkthrough of how Dan upgraded his video setup. Thanks to Chris Coyier for posting a blog post about his journey to upgrading his video / webcam setup, that’s how I found this post from Dan.

I’m not ready to drop over $1000 right this second, but I did rearrange my bedroom to create a nicer view for my webcam. I’m happy with how it’s turning out, and I know I’m going to look more professional with the new setup.

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9

content.com/how-to-make-your-evergreen-podcasts-topical-using-dai-b62b806be519">How to Make Your Evergreen Podcasts Topical Using DAI (Dynamic Audio Insertion

From Dan Misener on Pacific Content’s Medium blog:

Many of the podcasts we make at Pacific Content are evergreen by design. We aim to tell stories that will be relevant and valuable today, next month… and next year.

Why? Because it pays off. An investment in high-quality audio means evergreen episodes can continue to pay download dividends well into the future.

But during a global pandemic, it can feel weird to release regularly scheduled episodes that aren’t related to COVID-19. On one hand, we see a large and understandable appetite for coronavirus-related audio. On the other hand, some listeners want a distraction, an escape, a respite.

There’s an inherent tension at play here: evergreen vs. topical. Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard that tension reflected in client questions:

• “Should we do a special COVID-19 episode?”
• “Should we delay the release of our next season?”
• “Will we sound tone-deaf if we release our regularly scheduled episodes?”

Here’s the good news: it’s not an either/or decision.

Your show can be both topical and evergreen. Timely and timeless.

How? Here’s one way.

In this article, Dan suggests using dynamic audio tools like Simplecast’s MAE tool to insert a topical message into evergreen episodes. The idea being that you could remove or update that message easily sometime in the future.

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Closing Thoughts

Thanks for listening to this week’s episode. If you find the show useful, please share it with a friend or someone you know who wants to get into podcasting.

Stay safe out there and I’ll talk to you again next week.

Aaron DowdApril 5, 2020Los Angeles, California