182 | The Ultimate Holiday Podcasting Guide: Gear, Consistency, and Audience Connection

[00:00:00] Still dreaming of that $500 mic under the tree? Forget it. Missing episodes like Santa skipping your house? Well, we gotta fix that. And if you're not asking your listeners what they want, well, you're the Grinch of Podcasting. Let's unwrap some holiday podcasting wisdom right now.

[00:00:26] Sound matters. Be heard. Welcome to the podcast where you get exclusive behind the scenes tips to make your own show sound truly spectacular. This is Podtastic Audio.

[00:00:40] Hey, what's happening? How are you doing today? Thank you so much for being here. I am Chris and yeah, this is Podtastic Audio.

[00:00:52] This show was designed and created to help you, yes, you and your little podcast too, make an amazing show for your audience. And one amazing tool to help you make that happen is Riverside.fm. Today's episode is brought to you by Riverside and this holiday season, make your podcast shine brighter than the star on top of that tree. With Riverside.fm, you'll get studio quality content.

[00:01:50] And stunning 4K video.

[00:01:50] Head over to Riverside.fm. Head over to Riverside.fm and use my promo code PODtastic for an extra 15% off. Check that out. Give your podcast the gift of greatness with this holiday season.

[00:02:05] We have officially made it to Christmas 2024. Merry Christmas to you. Happy holidays. And I hope that you were not on the naughty list this year. You actually were a very good person. Hopefully your podcast was amazing also.

[00:02:25] You know, coming to the end of the year, we always kind of think about our show and we kind of reflect on different things.

[00:02:30] And I do know that a lot of podcasters, maybe you are one of them, that use this time of year to take a break, to be with your family and be with your friends and be with your loved ones this time of year.

[00:02:43] Rather than, you know, figuring how to make episodes and book episodes and book guests and all that stuff.

[00:02:49] A lot of people will use this time to not record anything, which is fine. You can do whatever you want.

[00:02:55] But being that it is Christmas, a lot of people focus on the different gear.

[00:03:00] Maybe you got a new microphone as a gift or maybe you got some cool console as a gift for Christmas.

[00:03:05] Christmas, things like that. So you're always kind of looking at ways to evolve your show and make it better.

[00:03:10] But trust me, it's not always the tech that makes your show better.

[00:03:15] It's not always the gear that makes your show better.

[00:03:18] But I do realize that a lot of us podcasters use this time of year to think about like, hey, what can we do to improve our show?

[00:03:26] How is our show, you know, over the last year we just did?

[00:03:30] How was it and how can we take it looking forward into maybe next year and beyond if you go that far?

[00:03:38] Where are ways that we can like improve and make things amazing?

[00:03:43] So being that it is Christmas, today we're unwrapping some wisdom from the pros.

[00:03:50] Common rookie podcasting mistakes and how you can avoid them.

[00:03:55] Think of this episode as your ultimate holiday gift to yourself as a podcaster.

[00:04:02] I mean, who hasn't gone a little overboard searching for that perfect microphone?

[00:04:07] Or maybe they panicked about missing an upload date.

[00:04:10] Let's fix all of that today.

[00:04:13] Okay, so first things first.

[00:04:15] And the very first thing we're going to talk about today is the gear or equipment for your podcast.

[00:04:21] Now, here's the deal.

[00:04:22] See, too many podcasters get stuck thinking about the podcast gear and equipment.

[00:04:28] I know that I did.

[00:04:30] When I first got started, I jumped in with simple basic USB microphones plugged into my old dinosaur computer.

[00:04:39] Well, it was cool back then when I bought it 15 years ago.

[00:04:43] But I was wondering, can I make this even happen?

[00:04:47] Can I make my audio get recorded into these cheap little microphones, put into the computer, edit the audio, make it sound amazing?

[00:04:56] But eventually, what I did was I upgraded from that to something a little bit bigger.

[00:05:02] It wasn't like I jumped from USB microphones directly into a Rodecaster Pro 2.

[00:05:08] I didn't make that jump.

[00:05:09] What I went from was simple USB to ATR 2100 microphones with a basic, simple audio interface.

[00:05:19] Very simple stuff.

[00:05:21] That was a jump that I made.

[00:05:23] And then eventually, I moved on to the Rodecaster Pro 2.

[00:05:26] The only reason why I did that was because I wanted to make things as easy as possible.

[00:05:32] Yes, we could be still recording with those old crappy $20 microphones.

[00:05:36] Yes, I still could be using my old computer.

[00:05:39] But I evolved with the computer.

[00:05:41] I evolved with gear.

[00:05:42] And for me, it's all about what is going to make this thing super easy to create.

[00:05:47] So when it comes to podcasting gear, I know it can sound like very overwhelming.

[00:05:52] So if you start off with something very simple, like the ATR 2100 microphones like we had,

[00:05:57] or the Samsung Q2U microphones, we have those two.

[00:06:01] They're both really good microphones.

[00:06:03] They're very affordable microphones.

[00:06:04] I'm talking maybe $50 or less for the microphone.

[00:06:08] They can plug into a console or a computer directly.

[00:06:11] They both sound great.

[00:06:13] And for the most part, when it comes to making sure your podcast sounds great,

[00:06:17] there's lots of software tools out there.

[00:06:19] There's lots of ways you can enhance pretty much any microphone you want to sound amazing.

[00:06:25] So focus on learning how to use what you have.

[00:06:30] Get comfortable with your mic techniques, your recording environment, and some simple basic editing.

[00:06:37] I'm using Audacity right now.

[00:06:39] It has got to be the number one podcast recording and editing tool on the planet.

[00:06:45] It's super easy.

[00:06:47] It's very powerful.

[00:06:49] And it's free.

[00:06:50] That's probably the most important part.

[00:06:51] It's totally free.

[00:06:52] There's lots of other ones out there.

[00:06:54] I think this one sounds great, especially for an audio podcaster.

[00:06:58] It's actually perfect.

[00:07:00] But when it comes to recording your podcast, especially if you spent a bunch of money,

[00:07:04] so you don't need to record in a noisy kitchen just because you bought a $500 microphone.

[00:07:12] You know, good audio is 90% environment and maybe 10% gear.

[00:07:17] So a basic microphone in a well-treated room that's not got a lot of noise,

[00:07:24] a lot of people running around in this room here will sound great.

[00:07:28] You know, I have known many of podcasters that were always chasing the next piece of equipment,

[00:07:35] the next microphone, thinking that if I only bought this $200, $500 microphone,

[00:07:42] it's going to catapult my show to amazing.

[00:07:45] It's going to make my show number one on the charts because I spent, you know,

[00:07:50] $1,000 or $2,000 on equipment and gear.

[00:07:53] That is a thing that's going to make it amazing.

[00:07:55] But the truth is, actually, the content is what's going to keep listeners coming back,

[00:08:03] no matter how great it sounds.

[00:08:04] And I know I've said this before, you're going to make great audio,

[00:08:07] and audio is going to keep your listeners coming back for more.

[00:08:10] But if they have nothing to really come to in the first place,

[00:08:14] like your content isn't that great,

[00:08:16] or perhaps maybe you bring on a guest that's incredibly boring.

[00:08:20] No one's listening to this guest because they've got nothing to say,

[00:08:23] and they have no story, and their value is nothing,

[00:08:29] then no matter how great they sound or you sound,

[00:08:32] no one's coming back for that.

[00:08:34] So content is always king.

[00:08:37] Make sure that you have great content,

[00:08:40] and make sure you have great audio to go with it.

[00:08:43] But the audio should not be the first priority.

[00:08:46] The content, what you're saying, the value, what you're saying,

[00:08:51] needs to come first.

[00:08:53] Okay, moving on to the next thing we can focus on this holiday season

[00:08:57] to improve your show is that consistency is key.

[00:09:02] Now, the next big mistake is inconsistency.

[00:09:06] I've seen this happen with a lot of shows,

[00:09:09] especially shows that launched during the COVID days of 2020.

[00:09:15] I mean, everybody.

[00:09:16] I mean, everybody had a podcast.

[00:09:18] And a lot of those shows, if not all of those shows,

[00:09:21] are pretty much gone.

[00:09:24] And what happened was,

[00:09:25] I noticed that, you know,

[00:09:27] a few years after the pandemic,

[00:09:28] of course, you can't always book guests all the time

[00:09:31] because people are usually doing other things.

[00:09:33] Maybe your co-host you have went back to work.

[00:09:37] They're not home anymore.

[00:09:38] So they're back at their regular job.

[00:09:39] So they can't like record when you want to record.

[00:09:42] You decided to do a live show at a certain time,

[00:09:45] but you couldn't get anybody to show up for the live show

[00:09:48] because everybody's doing other things.

[00:09:50] So what happens is you start to like be inconsistent.

[00:09:53] And you'll say,

[00:09:54] well, maybe I'll do an episode every other week

[00:09:56] or maybe every other month

[00:09:57] or maybe when I feel like it.

[00:10:00] So you do an episode three times a year.

[00:10:03] Listeners need to know when to expect you

[00:10:06] or they'll lose interest faster

[00:10:08] than leftover holiday cookies.

[00:10:10] Okay, so why be consistent in the first place?

[00:10:14] Podcasting is like a relationship with your audience.

[00:10:18] They need to know they can trust you

[00:10:20] and trust you'll show up when you say you will show up.

[00:10:23] If you say I'm doing an episode every single Monday

[00:10:26] or every other whatever it is,

[00:10:28] the audience needs to know

[00:10:31] that you are going to stick to your word

[00:10:33] because if they don't trust you,

[00:10:34] if you lose trust with the audience,

[00:10:36] it's game over.

[00:10:37] It's all downhill from there.

[00:10:39] And I know it's Christmas right now today.

[00:10:43] And yet I hear I am with a podcast.

[00:10:45] How did I pull it off?

[00:10:47] Am I sitting here recording on Christmas morning?

[00:10:49] No, I am not.

[00:10:51] This episode was part of a batch recording

[00:10:54] that I did early in the month.

[00:10:56] And that is one way you can actually release content

[00:10:59] and be consistent with your content

[00:11:01] if you do batch recordings.

[00:11:04] You know, holidays or work deadlines

[00:11:07] or life in general can just get in the way.

[00:11:09] So record a few episodes ahead of time

[00:11:13] and schedule them out for when you know

[00:11:15] you are not going to be available

[00:11:17] to actually sit down and record a podcast.

[00:11:20] As you're hearing this episode right now during Christmas,

[00:11:24] do you think I recorded this on Christmas day?

[00:11:27] No, this is part of a batch recording

[00:11:30] that happened earlier in the month,

[00:11:31] which allowed me to do other great,

[00:11:35] amazing Christmas things this month of December.

[00:11:38] It gives me a break so that I can focus on other things,

[00:11:42] not just a podcast thing.

[00:11:44] So batch recording is a great way to free up some time

[00:11:47] and be consistent

[00:11:49] because consistency is key to all of this.

[00:11:52] And another thing you can do if you decide like,

[00:11:55] you know what, I'm not going to do batch recording

[00:11:57] because I maybe do like a news show

[00:12:00] or something that's kind of relevant to the week,

[00:12:02] then figure out what day and time of the week

[00:12:05] you're going to record.

[00:12:07] Make that a priority.

[00:12:08] Make an appointment.

[00:12:10] Set an appointment for that day and that time.

[00:12:11] So that day and that time is a time

[00:12:14] that you are recording the podcast

[00:12:16] and you never, ever, like ever go off that time.

[00:12:19] That is how you can become consistent.

[00:12:22] I know on the Chris and Christine show,

[00:12:24] when we first launched the show,

[00:12:25] it seemed like every,

[00:12:27] was it Saturday night or Sunday night,

[00:12:29] we would do the podcast recording,

[00:12:31] Christine and I,

[00:12:32] and then I would wrap it up

[00:12:33] and send it out Monday morning or Sunday,

[00:12:35] the very next day,

[00:12:36] usually the day of.

[00:12:38] So I would record the episode,

[00:12:40] quickly edit the episode

[00:12:41] and then send it out like right away.

[00:12:44] Or I usually did not set it out

[00:12:46] to go out as like a batch recording.

[00:12:48] It was usually just like immediately

[00:12:49] I would send it out.

[00:12:50] In fact, I didn't realize you actually could do that

[00:12:53] until much, much later.

[00:12:54] But yes,

[00:12:55] I think every podcast media host

[00:12:57] allows you to preset episodes

[00:13:01] to go out on certain days.

[00:13:03] So you can probably,

[00:13:05] I think if you wanted to,

[00:13:07] actually preset and batch record everything,

[00:13:09] but preset everything to go out

[00:13:10] every single like Monday

[00:13:12] for the entire year,

[00:13:14] like all 52,

[00:13:15] if you really wanted to,

[00:13:16] you can do that.

[00:13:17] But hey, it's your podcast.

[00:13:18] You can do it however you want.

[00:13:20] But one little tip here is that

[00:13:22] if you're going to batch record

[00:13:23] or figure things out,

[00:13:25] maybe this week,

[00:13:26] look at your calendar

[00:13:27] and plan out for your next episode,

[00:13:30] even if you record it sometime

[00:13:32] in early January.

[00:13:35] But just giving yourself 30 minutes

[00:13:37] to plan out the episode

[00:13:38] is one step forward

[00:13:40] to creating amazing content

[00:13:42] and being consistent.

[00:13:44] Okay.

[00:13:45] And finally,

[00:13:46] let's talk about feedback.

[00:13:49] You know,

[00:13:50] your podcast isn't just for you.

[00:13:53] It's for your audience.

[00:13:55] So why not ask them

[00:13:56] what they want?

[00:13:58] You know,

[00:13:59] just the other day,

[00:14:00] I was on social media

[00:14:01] and somebody was saying something

[00:14:03] about how many downloads

[00:14:04] they're getting

[00:14:05] or how many downloads

[00:14:06] they want to get.

[00:14:07] They're like throwing

[00:14:08] these numbers out there

[00:14:09] or they're super excited

[00:14:10] about hitting

[00:14:10] some grand number

[00:14:12] and they're telling

[00:14:13] like everybody

[00:14:13] on social media,

[00:14:14] I can't wait to hit

[00:14:15] this big number,

[00:14:16] massive number.

[00:14:17] I'm like,

[00:14:18] well,

[00:14:18] what happens

[00:14:19] when you hit that number?

[00:14:20] And more importantly,

[00:14:22] do you think

[00:14:23] your listeners

[00:14:25] to your show

[00:14:26] care

[00:14:27] how many downloads

[00:14:28] you get?

[00:14:29] If you love a show

[00:14:31] and you are really

[00:14:32] into the show,

[00:14:33] you don't care

[00:14:34] how many downloads

[00:14:35] that episode gets.

[00:14:36] Why would you even care?

[00:14:38] All you care about

[00:14:39] is that that show

[00:14:40] delivers amazing content.

[00:14:42] It sounds great.

[00:14:43] It's a show

[00:14:44] you really love.

[00:14:45] You don't care

[00:14:46] how many listeners

[00:14:47] they get.

[00:14:48] Oh,

[00:14:48] I really need to know

[00:14:49] they got 100,000 downloads

[00:14:51] on this one episode.

[00:14:52] It doesn't matter to you

[00:14:54] because you,

[00:14:55] the listener,

[00:14:56] enjoy hearing the content.

[00:14:57] So,

[00:14:58] just remember,

[00:14:59] the podcast

[00:15:00] isn't directly for you,

[00:15:01] the podcaster.

[00:15:03] It's for the audience

[00:15:04] that hears that podcast.

[00:15:06] So,

[00:15:06] give them

[00:15:07] what they want.

[00:15:08] So,

[00:15:09] how do you find out

[00:15:10] what they want?

[00:15:11] Well,

[00:15:12] get yourself

[00:15:13] some listener feedback.

[00:15:15] Now,

[00:15:16] the reason

[00:15:16] why this even matters

[00:15:17] in the first place

[00:15:18] is because

[00:15:19] your listeners,

[00:15:21] the ones that listen

[00:15:21] to your show,

[00:15:23] are your best resource

[00:15:25] for improving

[00:15:26] your own podcast.

[00:15:28] They're the ones

[00:15:29] that are going to tell you

[00:15:30] what's working

[00:15:30] and what's not working.

[00:15:32] And I don't mean

[00:15:33] asking mom

[00:15:34] because mom's going to say

[00:15:35] everything is great.

[00:15:37] Oh,

[00:15:37] look at you.

[00:15:38] You look so great

[00:15:38] with your microphone,

[00:15:39] you know,

[00:15:40] and your audio

[00:15:41] and your podcast.

[00:15:41] It sounds great.

[00:15:42] It looks great.

[00:15:43] I love it.

[00:15:43] It was amazing.

[00:15:44] But,

[00:15:45] your actual real listeners

[00:15:47] to your show.

[00:15:48] Now,

[00:15:48] I know sometimes

[00:15:49] that when you ask

[00:15:50] your listeners,

[00:15:51] they may say,

[00:15:52] oh,

[00:15:52] everything's great.

[00:15:53] It's fun.

[00:15:54] I love it.

[00:15:55] I enjoy it.

[00:15:55] They might not give you

[00:15:56] a lot of things.

[00:15:57] So,

[00:15:57] if you can ask them

[00:15:59] like what do you not like

[00:16:00] about the show

[00:16:01] and then maybe

[00:16:02] they can give you

[00:16:02] a couple little tips

[00:16:03] here and there.

[00:16:04] But,

[00:16:05] feedback always matters

[00:16:06] because this way

[00:16:07] you can actually

[00:16:08] figure out

[00:16:09] what works,

[00:16:10] what doesn't work,

[00:16:11] and then maybe

[00:16:12] you can fine-tune

[00:16:13] your podcast

[00:16:13] one way or another

[00:16:15] to help serve

[00:16:17] the audience.

[00:16:18] Now,

[00:16:19] some simple ways

[00:16:19] to really do this

[00:16:20] is that if you're

[00:16:21] on social media,

[00:16:22] I do know for a fact

[00:16:23] that Twitter X

[00:16:24] lets you put polls

[00:16:26] into the posts.

[00:16:28] I've been doing this

[00:16:28] for a very,

[00:16:29] very long time

[00:16:30] and you can ask them

[00:16:32] like,

[00:16:32] hey,

[00:16:32] what do you like

[00:16:33] about the episode

[00:16:33] or the podcast

[00:16:34] where you don't like

[00:16:35] things like that?

[00:16:36] And I believe

[00:16:37] you also can do

[00:16:38] surveys on threads.

[00:16:41] Makes it very simple.

[00:16:42] The ones on threads

[00:16:44] expire in 24 hours

[00:16:45] but the ones on

[00:16:46] X Twitter

[00:16:47] allows you to

[00:16:48] kind of make adjustments

[00:16:49] on how long

[00:16:50] you want the survey

[00:16:51] to go for.

[00:16:52] Just things to consider

[00:16:53] and play around with.

[00:16:54] Now,

[00:16:54] I'm also on Blue Sky

[00:16:56] but on Blue Sky

[00:16:57] I don't see

[00:16:58] survey feature

[00:16:59] built into it

[00:17:00] quite yet.

[00:17:01] Maybe they will

[00:17:02] put one in

[00:17:03] in the future

[00:17:03] but it's not on there

[00:17:05] but you can simply

[00:17:05] just ask

[00:17:06] like,

[00:17:06] hey,

[00:17:07] what do you like

[00:17:08] about my show

[00:17:09] or what do you want

[00:17:10] me to improve

[00:17:10] with my show?

[00:17:11] Just ask your audience

[00:17:13] and keep it simple

[00:17:14] because the simpler

[00:17:16] you make the little poll

[00:17:17] or the survey

[00:17:18] or the questionnaire

[00:17:19] and very simple

[00:17:20] you make it

[00:17:20] the easier

[00:17:21] and the more fun

[00:17:22] you make it

[00:17:23] for the listener

[00:17:24] or the audience

[00:17:25] to actually participate

[00:17:26] they're more willing

[00:17:27] to actually participate

[00:17:28] and if you have to

[00:17:30] you always can do

[00:17:31] some kind of giveaway

[00:17:32] like a prize

[00:17:33] or some kind

[00:17:34] of something

[00:17:34] for every person

[00:17:36] that actually gives you

[00:17:37] like honest feedback

[00:17:39] and actually

[00:17:40] an honest review

[00:17:41] and give you

[00:17:42] some information

[00:17:43] that you can use

[00:17:44] to fine tune

[00:17:45] your podcast

[00:17:46] you can throw

[00:17:47] a little carrot

[00:17:47] out there

[00:17:48] it never hurts

[00:17:49] it is Christmas time

[00:17:50] it is time for giving

[00:17:51] I get it

[00:17:52] so this week

[00:17:54] create yourself

[00:17:55] one little post

[00:17:56] or maybe an email

[00:17:57] asking your audience

[00:17:59] for their input

[00:18:00] then use

[00:18:02] their ideas

[00:18:03] to plan out

[00:18:04] your very next episode

[00:18:06] it helps you

[00:18:07] create amazing content

[00:18:08] because

[00:18:09] this content

[00:18:10] came from your audience

[00:18:11] and it's for

[00:18:13] your audience

[00:18:13] so it's a win-win

[00:18:15] okay

[00:18:15] so let's recap

[00:18:17] don't overthink

[00:18:19] your gear

[00:18:19] be consistent

[00:18:21] and embrace

[00:18:23] the feedback

[00:18:24] of your audience

[00:18:25] you know

[00:18:26] these simple shifts

[00:18:27] will make

[00:18:28] a huge difference

[00:18:29] in your podcasting

[00:18:30] journey

[00:18:31] so

[00:18:32] here's a little

[00:18:33] homework for you

[00:18:34] reflect

[00:18:35] on your podcasting

[00:18:36] habits

[00:18:37] what's one thing

[00:18:38] that you can tweak

[00:18:40] today

[00:18:41] maybe

[00:18:42] it's

[00:18:42] putting away

[00:18:43] that gear catalog

[00:18:44] and focusing

[00:18:45] more on

[00:18:46] the actual content

[00:18:47] skip getting

[00:18:48] the new upgrade

[00:18:49] and actually

[00:18:50] set some time

[00:18:51] aside

[00:18:52] to batch

[00:18:53] record

[00:18:53] some episodes

[00:18:54] hey

[00:18:55] thank you

[00:18:56] once again

[00:18:56] for listening

[00:18:57] all the way

[00:18:58] to the very end

[00:18:58] of this episode

[00:18:59] I do make

[00:19:00] these episodes

[00:19:00] for you

[00:19:01] it is my

[00:19:02] Christmas gift

[00:19:03] from me

[00:19:04] to you

[00:19:04] is this

[00:19:05] podcast

[00:19:06] unwrap it

[00:19:07] carefully

[00:19:07] it's fragile

[00:19:08] it's side

[00:19:09] but once again

[00:19:10] Merry Christmas

[00:19:11] and happy holidays

[00:19:12] to you

[00:19:13] and I hope you

[00:19:13] have a wonderful

[00:19:14] wonderful holiday

[00:19:16] season

[00:19:16] and I will see you

[00:19:18] on the very next

[00:19:19] episode

[00:19:19] and until then

[00:19:20] happy podcasting

[00:19:22] and I will see you