Category: News

Delicious lessons that podcasters can learn from Girl Scouts

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Greetings PM family,

It is that magical time of year. You know… that time of year between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. It could be considered somewhat of a down time between major holidays, but it is all about perspective.

This past Saturday, I (Jared) took my 7-year-old daughter and her friend to a local playground. When we were walking up to the playground ready to have fun and check out all that this particular location had to offer, we were approached by 4 little girls in uniform. The girls represented Girl Scout Troop 10536 and they were on a mission. Their mission was to sell boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.

The Girl Scout Cookie sales experience can be a learning one for a few reasons.

First of all, the excitement that the cookies are back after such a long hiatus has most people excited. The scarcity has temporarily ended!

Also, seeing little girls hustle to raise money for their troop and other worthy causes is admirable. Who doesn’t want to support that in some shape or form? It is not uncommon to see people that may not have a desire to buy Girl Scout Cookies give in and purchase a box simply because they don’t want to say no, and possibly discourage the girls that are working so hard.

What can Podcasters learn from Girl Scout Cookies? We put together a few ideas from the overall Girl Scout Cookie experience that podcasters can relate to.

1) Anticipation

Girl Scout Cookie season is a great example of how to build anticipation. When we’re “in season”, people talk about Girl Scout Cookies with their friends, family, and neighbors. How can your podcast (or upcoming podcast launch) create anticipation like we see with Girl Scout Cookies?

It may be as simple as using specific episode artwork (check out this awesome post from Lauren Selfridge), or teasing the episodes through social media posts. Civilla Morgan will do a Facebook Live the day before a new episode. It gives her a chance not only to talk about the episode but also to talk about other things that are going on. Luke Scorziell will create polls on Twitter about the topic of the episode. Kito Delgado prefers to tease an episode using Instagram Story. Check out more ideas.

At Podcast Movement, we have the built-in seasonality that allows us to ramp up every summer, as podcasters get excited to come together as a community to learn and enjoy fellowship with each other. What do you do to build excitement for your podcast?

2) Community

The Girl Scouts in our local area are smart. They team up and stand outside of popular places such as the grocery store, and talk to everyone that walks in and out. The cookie sales are the individual’s responsibility, but the teamwork helps to create the “rising tide lifts all the boats” scenario for each girl to sell more boxes.

Did you know that Danny Pena from Gamertag Radio and his co-hosts would go to their local video game stores during popular video game releases, and talk to patrons in the store about the GTR podcast? Their teamwork helped get the word out about the show using the “tell everyone in gaming” strategy, and it compounded over the years to playe a massive part of the success that they enjoy today.

When is the last time that you and some supporters went to a place where your target listeners were hanging out so that you could talk to them in person about your podcast through natural conversation?

The visibility of a community tends to create a social dynamic that makes it much easier for your target listeners to agree to check out your show. What are some ways to grow your own community? Consider checking out this podcast episode.

3) Accessibility

The Girl Scouts make it pretty easy to get cookies. They come to you, but if you aren’t ready, willing or capable of getting cookies at that time, you still have options to get them later. You can order them through the website of the girl that you know, or find cookies through the Girl Scout Cookie Finder app!

Podcasters have the option to have their podcasts available on different platforms for discoverability. This continues to grow each year. Many new podcasters launch their show on Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes) and Stitcher Radio. That said, is your show on Spotify? Is your show available on Amazon Alexa? Can your podcast be easily found on Android devices? What about Google Play or iHeart Radio?

One new option that we’re enjoying is Podbile, and what we like most about Podible is they are creator first! In fact, they have a contest for podcasters going on now that you should check out to help improve your accessibility.

4) Hustle is Rewarded

We mentioned this earlier, but it is worth taking note. Many people will buy cookies from Girl Scouts whether they actually like the cookies or not, simply because they want to reward the girls that are working hard and hustling. Hustle is admired and respected. It is easy to sit back and do nothing, but it takes a lot more effort to get up and make something happen.

As podcasters, this reminds us that it is ultimately up to you to not only record the best content possible, but to also tell the world about it. In most cases, no one else will do this for you, but you can rarely hit big download numbers and gain listeners without asking people to check out your show.

Top podcasters are organized. These podcasters plan ahead for the best content that they can deliver. They never leave their episodes to chance once they are published. They go the extra mile to tell as many of their target listeners about it that they can through word of mouth, social media, paid ads (if budget allows), guesting on other podcasts, cross promotion with other podcasters, and the list goes on.

What can you do to continue to go the extra mile for your show? Do you need a better audio setup? Perhaps the answer is being more consistent with your release schedule. Perhaps it is getting more feedback from friends and listeners to continue to improve the content of the episodes. Maybe you need to engage more with an existing community of podcasters to get more ideas and inspiration. Perhaps you could benefit from making the investment to come to Philadelphia this summer to learn and connect with the best podcasters and companies in the industry.

The Podcast Movement community (like the Girl Scouts) is available and diligent. We like to help each other do better. We cannot do the work for you, but we can share ideas and encourage one another when someone is stuck. At the end of the day, like Girl Scout Cookies, we think that opportunity is pretty sweet and worth sharing!

Bring your kids to Podcast Movement in Philly

We are excited to announce that this year, with the encouragement and requests from you all, we will finally be offering conference-day childcare services for anyone whose children are coming to the conference. We will have more information to share with you about this particular feature in the coming weeks/months, but if you’ve been on the fence about bringing your kids with you to the big event, we’ve got you covered!

Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips

  • New surveys from NPR and Edison Research confirm continued and rapid increases in ownership of voice-activated smart speakers, and reinforce the increasing impact these devices are having on consumer behavior across a variety of technologies and platforms. One-in-six Americans now has a Smart Speaker (16%), up 128% since January 2017 according to a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,010 persons ages 18 and older fielded after Christmas 2017. What does this mean for the podcast community?
  • In a conversation with Podcast Movement 2018’s closing keynote speaker: Fresh Air host Terry Gross discusses the art of the Q&A, the guest that most surprised her, and how she salvages a tanking interview.
  • Harry Leslie Smith is almost 95 years old. He is also the host of Harry’s Last Stand, which is a podcast that is attempting to sound the alarm bell about the rise of global fascism and the collapse of the welfare state. We hope that we are podcasting when we are 95.

Podcast Movement registration costs go up on January 31… get your fix before that happens! The Super Early Bird Discount Registration Sale is going on now!

Register for a low price, and don’t miss any of the fun.

Reminders

The 28 Day Challenge is coming soon. Please remember to encourage your friends who are interested in podcasting to register for this free challenge. You can learn more about the challenge and the associated prizes here.

The Podcast Movement meetup in Orlando is taking place on Saturday, evening February 10 from 7pm to 10pm. If you are in the area… we want you to hang out and fellowship with us! We heard a rumor that celebrity Patty Elizee will be there!

Check out this hilarious video from Mike Rowe (host of the Way I Heard it podcast). He shares a story about a brutally honest girl scout’s attempt to sell cookies. This is worth your time!

As always, thank you for being a part of this great community. Thank you for supporting Podcast Movement!

Grateful,

Team PM18

New PM18 Session Track Announcement!

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Greetings PM family,

This week’s newsletter kicks off with a big PM18 announcement. We are thrilled to introduce a new track to our session offerings starting this year in Philadelphia. One of our goals when we held the first PM in 2014 was to be an event for the community, and we think this new track reflects that not only in the content it will cover, but in the way the idea came about!

The suggestion for this new category came from one of the most respected members of the podcast community, Podcast Hall of Famer Elsie Escobar. We asked Elsie if she would be willing to share some of the backstory and heart behind her encouraging us to add this track.

Every year, the conversation about the podcasting industry expands.

Mainstream media continues to pay attention.

Public media recognizes its power to re-ignite a stagnant industry through podcasting.

Money is being poured into emerging companies that are looking to shake things up in the space.

Existing media companies are adding serious support to podcasts.

Premium newsletters, blogs, Medium articles, and more continue to cover the podcasting space, but something is still missing.

The root of podcasting is in its continued impact on society, culture and new media and its ability to give a voice to those that are often left voiceless.

As podcasting matures, the industry is ready, and has been prepared to bring forward more impactful conversations beyond discussing:

  • How to make a podcast?
  • What gear do you need?
  • How do you get more listeners?
  • What are the viable business models?

But more importantly, the Podcasting Industry can handle expanding the conversation beyond advertising and new ways to measure downloads.

That is not to say that the above subjects are not relevant. They are and will continue to be, but it’s time to strengthen the conversation.

Podcasters have a history of being culture shifters, change makers, fringe dwellers, and risk takers. There is a wealth of podcasts out there that have had a massive impact on society, culture, inclusion, diversity and creating communities of belonging.

This year, Podcast Movement leads the industry by offering the opportunity to podcasters whose work is heavily embedded in social and cultural topics, serving underrepresented populations and to those addressing social justice issues through podcasting by adding another session track: Society, Culture & Advocacy!

For those of you that know first hand the power of podcasting through the content of your show, how it’s created access for those that often aren’t being heard, the power of communities of inclusion and belonging, share your wisdom with the Podcasting Industry.

Your expertise is necessary! Apply to speak today.

To hear more from Elsie, check her out on She Podcasts and Libsyn’s The Feed.

Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips

  • Are you a podcaster looking for guests, or looking to be a guest on other shows? If so, please review and comment on this post in our FB group!
  • The ABC television network has a new comedy series about podcasting that is loosely based on the story of Alex Blumberg’s creation of Gimlet Media (as shared in Season 1 of the podcast Startup). The trailer for Alex, Inc is funny, so definitely check it out if you need a laugh.
  • Pandora launched its Apple Music competitor last spring. Now it sounds like building the “podcast genome project”, and helping podcasters monetize their shows more easily is next on their radar!
  • For community members Seth Resler’s podcast, he uses a number of production elements — called “sweepers” in the radio industry — to separate segments. If you’ve ever wondered how you make these types of production elements, here are his examples.
  • Tell Buzzfeed about the podcasts that you absolutely love and want others to listen to (aka. have a listener or buddy recommend your show), and it might be featured in their 2018 BuzzFeed podcast list.

Podcast Movement is for the community, and if you’re getting this, you’re included. Secure your place at PM with the Super Early Bird Discount Registration Sale, going on now.

Register for a low price, and don’t miss any of the fun.

We encourage you to consider submitting a presentation for PM18 in Philadelphia if you haven’t already! Also, remember to invite a friend that is interested in starting a podcast to join the free 28 Day Challenge starting on Feb 1.

Until next week,

Team PM18

Six Lessons for Podcasters

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Podcast Movement’s hope is that this piece will not be interpreted as comparing a podcast to the civil rights struggle that Dr. King fought for. Our desire is to honor Dr. King’s legacy in the best way we know how: by inspiring and encouraging today’s thought leaders to share their message around the world.

Greetings PM family,

Monday, January 15 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the US. This coming week we celebrate his life and achievements, and also try to take the lessons he taught and relate them to our daily lives today. This made us wonder what this profound and courageous leader would say to the podcast community if he were still living in 2018. While we can unfortunately only speculate, his life and legacy do give us perspective on what he valued that is still relevant today. We put together a short list of advice that we believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr would share with today’s podcast community.

Liberty

It is no secret that Dr. King valued freedom, so much so that he was willing to successfully fight for it in the form of using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience. Podcasting provides freedom to share your voice. It has the potential to foster a media landscape that lifts up the hidden stories and absent narratives of our diverse society. It gives the power of voice to all communities, and provides an open and accessible platform for innovation that can serve democracy’s future generations.

We are confident that Dr. King would love this form of new media. As a medium where the average individuals voice and views can be widely shared, we imagine that Dr. King would encourage all to use podcasting as a way to stand up for their convictions, and allow their messages to be heard by the masses. Podcasting is not just for a select few, it’s an outlet for anyone with a passion to freely express themselves.

Public Speaking

Dr. King wrote over 5 books, and delivered up to 450 speeches each year. His most famous speech was “I Have a Dream”. It is clear that Dr. King valued public speaking, and leveraged it to help launch the civil rights movement. Podcast Movement offers the opportunity every year for podcasters to share their knowledge and expertise through our open speaker submission process.

We are proud to announce that we are now accepting applications to speak at Podcast Movement 2018. If you’re interested in speaking at this year’s conference, we encourage you to put your best foot forward, and submit your ideas for a possible breakout session or panel at this year’s Podcast Movement.

Last year we had over 500 submissions, and only 50 were selected. This year will be no different. Since it is impossible for every submission to take the stage this year in Philadelphia, we want to remind you to take your time to put together your best submission. If you want to learn more about this process, and submit your presentation to PM18…you can do it here.

Embrace Challenges

Dr. King once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” —from Strength to Love, 1963. Podcasting is not always easy. It isn’t easy to launch a show. It isn’t easy to edit. It isn’t easy to grow an audience. Dr. King would encourage podcasters to persevere through these challenges and continue to share what we are compelled to share.

Podcast Movement is kicking off the 28 Day Launch Your Podcast Challenge on February 1st. If you have been on the fence about starting a podcast (or have a friend who is wanting to launch)… we encourage you to join this free challenge. This opportunity not only provides bite-size baby steps each day toward launching your podcast, but also features a community element that allows every participant to share their journey and get feedback.

And did we mention that there will be fiver winners who will get free tickets to Podcast Movement, and the grand prize winner receives an all expenses paid trip to Philadelphia?

We invite you to learn more, and join the challenge: PodcastMovement.com/challenge

Serve Your Audience

“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” —“The Drum Major Instinct,” Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, GA, February 4, 1968.

This quote resonates with us as podcasters for a number of reasons, but the biggest reason is because it puts the servant mindset first. If you aren’t sure how you can best serve your audience, we encourage you to ask them. You can do this by sending a message through your e-mail list, creating a survey, or simply asking some of your listeners what their interests and challenges are, and finding unique ways through the podcast to address them.

Continued Learning

In “The Purpose of Education” from Morehouse College student newspaper, The Maroon Tiger (1947), Dr. King said, “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” We know that he valued continued learning, and believe that he would encourage podcasters to continue building their knowledge and experience with podcasting.

One excellent way to do this is to commit to being involved in the podcast communities, one example being our Podcast Community Facebook Group. The group members share insights that are valuable and timely, plus it is a wide open forum to ask questions to your peers. Another way is to come together in-person with your fellow podcasting brothers and sisters at Podcast Movement in Philadelphia this July! Seriously, this event is a must attend every year, and most people will tell you their favorite part of the event is that it is the only time of the year that so many fellow podcasters gather in one place.

Be the Best that You can Be

“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” —from a speech before a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia, October 26, 1967.

Whether you are new to podcasting, or have been a podcaster for over 15 years, we can always continue to improve! It is a new year, and that means a new opportunity to put your best foot forward. Podcast Movement, and the PM Community, are here to help you!

What advice do you think Dr. King would share with podcasters? Please feel to share your thoughts with the Facebook group.

Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips

  • There have been rumblings for the past few months on what Google might do in the podcast space. Well two things have come out this week that make us think there is SOMETHING going on. Community member Dan Shure got this interesting email, followed by this announcement this week.
  • Did you know that the weekly newsletter is not only sent out each week, but also done as a Facebook Live and podcast? Join us live every Wednesday at 12pm ET, or catch the replay whenever you can!

If you’ve not yet registered for Podcast Movement, we’ve got your back…check out the Super Early Bird Discount Registration Sale going on now!

Register for a low price, and don’t miss any of the fun.

Congratulations to everyone who is still keeping their new year’s resolutions. For those of you have fallen off the wagon, we hope that you will pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep working toward your goals!

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Team PM18

Would you rather listen to this week’s, or future, newsletters? We’ve got a podcast!

We love 2018!

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Greetings PM Family…Happy New Year!

We realize that the new year is already a few days in and it is easy to make resolutions, only to bail on them when the resistance kicks in. Our desire is for your podcast efforts to thrive this year! We thought it would be helpful to share some updates that will hopefully encourage you to stay focused and hitting that record button!

The Podcast Movement Community shared some of their podcast goals for 2018, and we’ve got help for three community members’ goals:

Finally Launch Your Podcast (Kelly Goldhorn)


If your goal is to launch your podcast, it is time for you and Kelly Goldhorn to get started….and we think we’ve got the solution. We’re excited to announce the first annual 28 Day Launch Your Podcast Challenge, and invite you and your friends to take part! There are some great prizes in store for those who finish.

The 28 Day Launch Your Podcast Challenge came out of the number of aspiring podcasters who we talk with daily, but who never actually ever publish an episode. This challenge will spread the launch process up into 28 daily, bitesize steps. From zero to launch, with the support and feedback from the community, and fellow challenge participants.

What will the challenge cover? Over the 28 days, some of the topics and steps we’ll walk you through include:

    • Hardware & Software options
    • Concept & Creative directions
    • Podcast Service Providers
    • Accountability
    • Music & Artwork for your Podcast
    • Editing & Production
    • Getting Your Podcast Live
    • Regular Feedback from the Community & Fellow Participants
      & more!

And did we mention the prizes? We’ll be picking 5 Winners from those who complete the challenge, with the grand prize being an all expenses paid trip to Podcast Movement 2018!

Are you interested in joining the challenge? Do you know someone that you think could benefit from participating in the challenge? Go to www.PodcastMovement.com/challenge to learn more, and sign up. The challenge begins February 1!

Get Your First Podcast Advertiser (Brandie Crank – Bad Girl, Better Woman)

Brandie Crank is one of many fellow PM community members hoping to land a sponsor for their show this year, and we set out early in 2017 to put together an initiative to help.

We teamed up with conference partner FreshBooks, as they presented the “Pitch Your Podcast” booth, created uniquely for attendees of Podcast Movement 2017 in Anaheim, to give new and emerging podcasters an opportunity to earn a sponsorship. Freshbooks selected this year’s winners—and their podcasts— You can learn more about it here! And keep an eye out for your chance to participate in 2018.

Congratulations to LuAnn Nigara of Well Designed Business Podcast, Kwame Christian of Negotiate Anything Podcast, and Pablo Fuentes of Small Business War Stories.

Speak On Stage at Podcast Movement (Jeffrey Bradbury – TechEducator Podcast)

Every year the question we get most is, “How can I speak at Podcast Movement?” We’re happy to have an answer for you, and Jeff as well. Starting next Wednesday, we’ll begin taking panel and session submissions for Podcast Movement 2018. Get your awesome ideas ready, as the competition is always stiff. We had over 500 submissions last year for just around 50 spots…so make sure to submit your best!

More next week…

Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips

  • PM community member Aaron Dowd shares a few easy adjustments you can make to ensure you’re getting the best sound quality possible from your microphone every time you record.
  • PMx Emcee Mark Deal, and the local podcast meetup in Atlanta, are hosting a special podcasting seminar this Saturday, January 6 at the new Sewell Mill Library Cultural Center.

If you’ve not yet registered for Podcast Movement, we’ve got some exciting things cooking…including the Super Early Bird Discount Registration Sale going on now!

Register for a low price, and don’t miss any of the fun.

Again – Happy New Year to you & your family! We are looking forward to seeing you at Podcast Movement later this year in Philadelphia, or at one of our upcoming community meetups

Keen in ‘18,
Team PM

Would you rather listen to this week’s, or future, newsletters? We’ve got a podcast!

2017 in Podcasting: Reflections on what worked, and we countdown to…

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Season’s Greetings, and happy “last week of the year” week!

We trust that you & your family are enjoying the holidays! As the end of this year draws near, it is always wise to examine and interpret our podcasting experiences to gain new understanding. We asked the PM community what worked for their podcast in 2017, and received some great answers that we can learn from as we go into 2018. We could only fit a few of the replies in this newsletter, but encourage you to check out the post

Starting it! Devani Anjali – I Create Daily

Being a non-business related podcast it was having a clear vision of what we wanted it to be and the messages we wanted to deliver. Michael Payne – We Leave You This

Saying yes to myself and going in 100 percent. Roseangel Perez – Cafecito Break Podcast

Encouragement…from my listeners and from my Podcast Producer. Civilla Morgan – Childless Not By Choice

Consistency, passion for my subject and being a contributing member of my community outside the podcast. Plus listening/learning from successful podcasters. Stacey Simms – Diabetes Connections

Having the opportunity to launch the show live on stage. Elaine Appleton Grant – One More Shot Podcast

Getting off my butt and pushing through. Joseph Foley – No Sitting on the Sideline Dad Podcast

Having more fun with my guests. I’ve learned that my audience isn’t as impressed by how awesome or high profile the guest is (and I’ve had some great influencers) but how we jive on the episode; the banter, the questions, the answers, their stories. Chris Jones – The Art & Business of Writing Podcast

Improvement of sound quality Cole Johnson – Cole Sportz

Simply putting in the effort. Doing a fiction show that is new each month, rather than an ongoing thing, is not a good recipe for typical success. But it keeps me writing short fiction, and that’s all I ever wanted from it. Christopher Gronlund – Men in Gorilla Suits

Featuring on so many other podcasts. From Snap Judgment to The Moth’s 500th ep, EoFire, and so many others… Shannon Cason – Homemade Stories

Listening to other podcasts and beginning to find our groove. We have three hosts, so it has been a learning process. I also agree with the more effort in Planning! That is key!!! Sharon Torrence Jones – Lady Tech Charmers

Building relationships with my listeners Jonathan Oakes – Trivial Warfare

Attending Podcast Movement. No question that PM17 had the BIGGEST impact on my role as an editor this year!!! Jennifer Longworth – Podcast Producer for Savings Angel

Let your voice be heard! Visit the Facebook Group, and let us know what worked for you in 2017, and also what you have in the works for 2018!

New Year’s Resolutions (aka Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips)

  • If you can’t wait until Podcast Movement 2018 to hear Terry Gross speak (she is our closing keynote speaker this year), she had a great interview with Current, where she speaks candidly on her career, and how it might be different if she were getting started today.
  • We’ve all been hearing that “the smart speakers are coming.” Well it appears as if this holiday season, we’ve moved to “they’re here.” Amazon Alexa and Google Home topped the App Store charts on Christmas day, and this might be only the beginning
  • For anyone waiting for podcasting to become “official,” it might have just happened. Stony Brook University is now offering a podcasting certification. Their Audio Podcast Fellows will have some big name instructors, but some are questioning if this is needed, or even the right approach for those looking to get started.
  • The team at Orbital Jigsaw is running a short survey to find out more about the podcasting community and would love your feedback. They will post the results of the surveys in the Facebook group once they’ve obtained enough responses.

And a final reminder from a longtime PM speaker and supporter:

If you took the holiday off, time to pull out the mics! Millions have new devices in circulation today, all looking to be filled with content! The year’s #1 Podcast subscription growth period is from the 20th to the end of January…with peak time running through the 7th. Get busy! Todd Cochrane – CEO – ‎RawVoice / Blubrry

And one last reminder to take advantage of our holiday sale, and join us this summer at Podcast Movement 2018!

OUR HOLIDAY SALE ENDS TODAY!

Register for the lowest possible price ($300+ off standard cost), and get an exclusive (free) PM Holiday Shirt. Don’t miss it!

We hope that you & your family enjoy the remaining days of 2017! We will back next week to look at some goals to consider for your podcast in 2018.

Happy New Year (early),
Team PM18

There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays

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Perry Como first sang the holiday classic “There’s no place like home for the holidays” in 1959. This song continues to stand the test of time and is covered by the Carpenters, as well as other artists, over the years. The core idea of being home to enjoy this season with family continues to resonate, no matter where you live.

Did you know that our PM family is represented all over the world? Podcast Movement attendees in 2017 call over 20 countries “home”, including:

Australia, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, Sweden, Uruguay and the United Arab Emirates

We thought it would be fun to spread some holiday cheer this week by highlighting a few of our global podcast members who call somewhere other than the United States “home”!

Edie Berg (Israel) – Host of The Strong Women’s Club
Long story short… we love Edie Berg! You won’t find fluff, abstract or cliché’s when you listen to her podcast. Edie talks to real women who have worked hard, had bumps and lumps along the way, and are sharing their stories so that we can learn from them. Edie is also a CrossFit enthusiast so if you are looking for tickets to the gun show…

Christina Canters (Australia) – Host of Stand Out Get Noticed
Christina is easily one of the most creative podcasters that we have ever met. She is also a sensational communicator! Check out her new speaker reel!

Nikolas Dane (Uruguay) – Director at Appleboy Productions
Nikolas is a podcast pioneer in Uruguay. He founded Appleboy productions which is currently producing 3 podcasts that are top shows in his country! Podcasting is still in its infancy in Uruguay. Nikolas applied for a government grant to help cover travel costs to be able to attend Podcast Movement this year. Needless to say, we are excited about his efforts & are cheering on his podcast success in South America!

Tarek El Bolbol (Dubai) – CEO of Booklava
Tarek is originally from Lebanon. He is the CEO & Co-founder of Booklava. Booklava is a holistic platform for Arabic audio books and short titles, offering bestselling content for a convenient and enjoyable listening experience on-the-go.

Karin Hogh (Denmark) – Founder of PodConsults.
Karin is a veteran podcast consultant in Denmark! She is also an author and runs a sound studio. Karin should be at the top of your list if you want to make a new friend in 2018.

Hani Mourra (Canada) – Creator of SimplePodcastPress
Hani is a seasoned speaker at Podcast Movement. He is also the mastermind behind various popular software tools and applications. We love Simple Podcast Press and strongly encourage you to check it out.

If you don’t see your country represented (or even if you do), we hope you’ll join us this summer in Philadelphia!

(not so ugly) Christmas Sweaters (aka Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips)

  • Analytics in the podcasting medium are changing, and it impacts everyone in the space. Apple finally released their long-awaited-for analytics last week, and the team at Jacobs Media share their first impressions.
  • PM alumni speaker Steven Goldstein takes an interesting look at the podcast categories that contain the most podcasts, plus discusses the four categories that are responsible for over 2/3rds of Apple Podcasts’ top 200!

Regardless of where home is for you, we’d love for you to join us as we all get together next summer at Podcast Movement 2018!

OUR HOLIDAY SALE ONLY LASTS ONE MORE WEEK!

Register for the lowest possible price, PLUS getan exclusive (free) PM Holiday Shirt, between now and December 26. Don’t miss it!

Remember to be unusually kind and compassionate to those around you during the Holidays…because you never know who will end up being your Secret Santa!

Team Podcast Movement wishes you & your household a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

Making the yuletide gay,
Team PM

All we want for Christmas is…

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Joy to the podcast world, we hope your holidays are going great!

In the spirit of the season, we decided to pull a Mariah Carey with this week’s newsletter, and find out everything that the PM community wants for their podcast this holiday season. We asked the community Facebook group what their “wants” were, and compiled some of our favorites:

“A few good guests!” -Esta Fiesta, Poised n Polished

“..a million more downloads..” -Tim Lewis, Begin Self Publishing

“Sponsorships” -Kathy Reagan Young, FUMS: Giving Multiple Sclerosis The Finger

“A few honest, hungry listeners to give it a chance” -Matt Ham, Whole Life Matters

“Zoom H6” -Teer Hardy, Brewing Theology with Teer

“To be featured in New & Noteworthy!” -Patrice Washington, Redefining Wealth

“Money” -Alaska Jayne, Murder Under The Midnight Sun: True Crime Stories From Alaska & Beyond podcast

“iTunes reviews lol” -Alina Brown, Wellness Geek

“A few more hours in the day so that I could try out that sleep thing everyone’s talking about!” -Tyler Allen, Minds of Madness

“Network Neutrality” -Gordon Firemark, Entertainment Law Update

Haven’t answered yet? Please feel free to share your answer with the group as well… and we promise no coal for your stocking!

Tis the season to be jolly

The holiday season is about a lot of things, and one of the most important is holiday cheer! If you’re looking for some extra, and there’s no egg nog handy, check out this hilarious video. You’ve got to watch until the end!

Elf on the Shelf (aka Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips)

  • One of our favorite things about podcasting is that you can literally podcast about anything, for any reason. We see that in action this week, as Duolingo has launched a Spanish Podcast for English speakers who are learning Spanish.
  • Nielsen continues to help us learn more about our podcasts’ listeners. The most recent study they released explores brand lift across different measures, and it’s more good news for us!
  • Caching has been a common practice online for years, and has not been foreign to podcasting either. But there are a number of effects that it has on our industry specifically, and Triton just put out a whitepaper that takes a deep dive into the subject.
  • We’ve seen a lot of traditional radio broadcasters making their way into the podcasting space…and for good reason! Not the least of which was written about this week by the team at Jacob’s Media: evergreen content!
  • It’s the end of the year, and in podcasting that always brings us a slew of “best of” lists. This week we found one a bit out-of-the-ordinary…we think you’ll like Podmass’ podcast superlatives of 2017.

What’s that, you want to know what WE want for Christmas?
ALL WE WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU (to come to Podcast Movement 2018)!

Register for the lowest possible price, PLUS get an exclusive (free) PM Holiday Shirt, between now and December 26. Don’t miss it!

Mix and a-mingle in the jingling feet,
That’s the Podcast Movement Team rock

Santa came early for podcasters this year!

Posted on by square205

Happy Holidays to you and your family! The Podcast Movement team is excited about this time of year for all kinds of reasons. Some of those reasons we expected, while others caught us by surprise. The lead of this week’s newsletter is one of those (good) surprises.

Much like many of you, we’re always looking to innovate and improve what we do. And when we found out that some of the members of the PM community were having issues with a certain offering, we went to work to address it. So consider this a “case study” of that process, and we hope it is one that helps you.

If you’re not interested, you can jump straight to some of the great articles and links that we’ve curated for you this week!

The Naughty List

We always try to deliver the best experiences possible for the community, whether it is in person at our live events, or through one of our online offerings.

So when we received feedback from some of community members that we were on their naughty list, our ears perked up.

There were a number of attendees who purchased last year’s Podcast Movement Virtual Ticket (on-demand video recordings of every session) who were having some pretty serious issues. Some folks had difficulty logging in, some were not able to find the content, and others had simply given up after logging on and having too many technical difficulties.

Since the last thing we want is a lump of coal in our stockings, we decided to go to work!

Milk & Cookies

The good news is that we’d recently attended Fincon 2017 (a great conference for those in the financial media space), where we met the team at Teachable.

The reason we’re sharing this is because after learning about Teachable, it dawned on us that it could be a great tool for podcasters who are planning to expand their podcast beyond being a standalone offering. If you’re looking to share content in the form of a membership site or online course, it’s one of the easiest and smoothest solutions we’ve come across.

So circling back to the focus, we decided to add our existing Virtual Tickets from previous PM events to the Teachable platform, in addition to their current home. We did a variation of what’s referred to as a “split test”. We were hosting the identical virtual tickets on the two platforms, inviting PM16 and PM17 virtual ticket holders to try them both, and then asking them what they like best.

The milk and cookies had been left on the mantle, but would they be eaten by the time we woke up?

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Curious about the results? We’ll let some of the responses you sent us speak for themselves:

OMG, thank you for doing this!! Podcast Movement Rocks – Dawn Fraser / Barbershop Stories

Wow, Dan! Thanks for going the extra mile, making sure everyone got the recordings. See you at PM18!!! – Rodrigo Caetano / Strategic What?! Podcast

Moving to Teachable is the best thing you’ve done! Thank you! – Kunal Sampat / Clinical Trial Podcast

Teachable appears to be a step in the right direction for Podcast Movement. Is it a tool that you should consider using as a podcaster? Check out an example of how Lee Cockerell (former VP of Disney World) and Jody Maberry from the Creating Disney Magic podcast are using Teachable for one of their classes on Time Management.

If you want a sneak peek at the PM17 Virtual Ticket, we’ve made the closing keynote from Aaron Mahnke of Lore free to preview, to see what it’s all about!

Stocking Stuffers (aka Podcast Articles, Happenings and Tips)

  • It’s been over a year now since RadioPublic launched as a listening app, with the goal of creating a platform to help listeners discover, engage with, and reward podcast hosts. Yesterday they announced a new group of strategic investments, and let us in on some cool new initiatives that could be great for podcasters.
  • Blubrry announced the launch of Podcast Mirror, a new service that “mirrors” your RSS feed. It’s a free service, and might make sense for you and your podcast!
  • Many of you attended the session on Audio Search at PM17, lead by Anne Wootton of Audiosear.ch/Pop Up Archive. Last month they announced they had ceased operations, however this week we learned that it was because they were acquired by Apple. Interesting!

Not yet registered for Podcast Movement 2018?

Our Holiday Sale is going on now, and we’ve got a heck of a deal!

Register for the lowest possible price, PLUS get an exclusive (free) PM Holiday Shirt, between now and December 26. Don’t miss it!

Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,
The Podcast Movement Team

PM community spotlight, featuring the man in the hotel hallway in his underwear!

Posted on by square205

We hope that everyone in the US had an enjoyable and safe holiday weekend, and maybe even got some good deals on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday! If you got a great podcast-related deal, Tweet at us to let us know.

We’re trying out all kinds of different things with this newsletter, and this week we’re really excited to introduce (or re-introduce) you to one of the members of the Podcast Movement community.

Community Spotlight – Matt Marr

Matt Marr is the host of the Dear Mattie Show. His podcast is a modern day Dear Abby with your gay best friend, which is an entertaining advice podcast where he and a guest co-host answer listener questions about family, depression, job, stress, relationships and more.

He is originally from Oklahoma where he received his master’s degree in clinical psychology. He is a psychologist by day, but was encouraged to also pursue commercial acting when he moved to Los Angeles. In fact, this is where we first learned about Matt.

Matt might be best recognized from a commercial where he was in a hotel hallway, in his underwear, with Captian Obvious from Hotels.com. He also appeared in a commercial with Justin Timberlake for Target, plus numerous other nationwide commercials for KFC, McDonalds and Intel.

He started podcasting because he loves entertaining, but he wanted more control over at least one of his many projects. Podcasting seemed like the best way to go. Since then, Matt has published over 150 episodes of his own show, and made guest appearances on over 50 others.

Matt wanted to continue to grow his podcasting efforts, which compelled him to get on the Google machine and start searching for resources to help him with some questions about his podcast. His search helped him to learn about Podcast Movement 2014 in Dallas, Texas. While he wasn’t able to attend that particular event due to a conflict with the summer camp that he was starting, he kept Podcast Movement on his radar.

He eventually was able to join us in Chicago at PM16, where he was asked to emcee PMx! Matt said he loved the experience so much that he decided to participate as a speaker the following year in Anaheim, where he signed up to take part in the first ever PMx Competition.

Matt’s talk about Public Narrative was incredible. He explained how to share stories in the most effective way possible using a technique that makes stories more exciting and engaging. Matt’s speech resonated with the audience and judges, so much so that he was announced as the first winner of the PMx Competition, and was awarded the championship belt the following evening!

He was excited to be part of the awards ceremony, and had noticed that also in the audience was Dr. Drew. When Matt took the stage, he was thrilled to win the award, and also took the opportunity to compliment Dr. Drew on how handsome he looked from the stage. It was a funny comment, but little did he know that this would end up creating an unexpected opportunity. Matt was tapped on the shoulder after his acceptance speech by Dr. Drew’s producer, and invited to be a guest on the Adam Carolla and Dr. Drew show!

Matt’s advice for anyone that is planning to attend Podcast Movement 2018 in Philadelphia is to:

Spend an hour or two before you go learning about the speakers, sessions, download the app and set up your schedule. When you get there… be prepared to let it all go. Expect to speak with podcasters from all over the world that want to know the answers to the same questions that you have. Be open and stay in the moment to meet great people. You can always watch the sessions later with the virtual ticket, but the conversations will prove to be invaluable.

Connect with Matt here: https://www.facebook.com/talktomattmarr

Other podcast articles & happenings

  • How one podcaster was able to quit his day job job after co-creating a critically acclaimed mysterious, paranormal docudrama.
  • Finally, if you’re looking for a good podcast laugh, check out Dr. Ryan Gray’s post in the Podcast Movement Facebook group, and don’t be scared to contribute one of your own!

Missed the Thanksgiving Registration sale?
Don’t worry, we’ve still got you covered!

REGISTER FOR PODCAST MOVEMENT by the end of the year to still get a great price with our Holiday Registration Special, and you’ll still also get one of our exclusive PM18 Holiday Shirts!

Have a great rest of your week!
The Podcast Movement team

Thanks for being a part of the PM family!

Posted on by square205

Before we get to this week’s newsletter, we wanted to take a quick moment to wish all of our US based community members a Happy Thanksgiving (and for those who live anywhere else, happy “week of US based community members posting food pictures and stories)!

We’ve got a Thanksgiving registration special for those of you not yet registered for Podcast Movement, complete with free T-Shirt! You can read about it at the end of the newsletter.

Where we’ve been

Since we first launched PM in 2014, we’ve tried our best to give back to others in the community, aside from just the conference. PM was a proud supporter of DC Podfest again this past month, as a sponsor for the attendee bags! Congrats to PM family member Jennifer Crawford and the team for putting together another high quality event!

In the Facebook Group

The PM Community Facebook group continues to foster conversations surrounding podcast tips, industry trends as well as solving unique challenges that every podcaster runs into along the way.

“Yep.. I did a “Diabetes Thanksgiving Survival Guide” a round table of adults with type 1 to give advice (and have a lot of laughs) about what happens around the table. My show is (obviously) about T1D” – Stacy Simms

“We recorded our last week and we’re putting it out at midnight. We’re a comedy based Relationship podcast so for the first half we told the legend of Pocahontas via the Disney movie, then I play the drunk uncle who ruined thanksgiving with all the facts and the true story for the second half.” – Josh Kuykendall

“Thanksgiving is much like degrees Fahrenheit, or podcasts in Google Play Music, or thinking 3/12 means a day in March. It’s something that the rest of the world doesn’t have.” – James Cridland

Other podcast articles & happenings

  • Our friends at Podbean and Samson let us know they’re doing another free gear giveaway. No purchase necessary, but you can win a kit that includes a microphone, mic stand, USB mixer, headphones and more. Hurry up, your last chance to enter is December 15!

The PM18 “Thanksgiving/Black Friday Sale” is happening now, and ends on Monday!

REGISTER FOR PODCAST MOVEMENT by November 27 to not only get the lowest possible price, but to get one of our exclusive PM18 Holiday Shirts!

Happy Thanksgiving (or if you don’t celebrate, then Happy Wednesday)!
The Podcast Movement team

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