Having a good co-host is equally as important as having great intro music and equally as important as having a great marketing plan for your podcast.

Today I’m going give you some tips on what to look for when it comes down to a co-host who knows the technical aspect of you and your program, and of course, let’s talk a little bit more about how you should be choosing someone that matches your chemistry over the mic.

FIND A CO-HOST WHO IS TECH SAVVY

Find a co-host that’s equally passionate about the topic that you are talking about.

If you are big in the bow hunting, you probably should pick someone who is equally as passionate in bow hunting just as you are. Find someone who has that passion.

FIND SOMEONE WHO HAS EQUAL, IF NOT MORE, KNOWLEDGE THAN YOU

Even though you are the one putting the podcast together it would be helpful to have someone who knows a little bit about your website and how to publish a podcast.  After all, you’re probably the one...

Today we’re answering a viewer question from Karrie who left a comment on one of my videos. 

She's looking to start a podcast based around her photography business. She asks, “I’m struggling between coming up with a name that’s memorable and clever without needing to rely on the tagline to let the searching person know exactly what my podcast is all about.”

Now, when it comes down to the creation process, and you’re in that state of getting everything together, the name is going to be either something that is predetermined, or you still have to come up with it. The name shouldn’t be the one thing that is holding you back.

Let’s consider a couple of things when it comes down to naming your podcast.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZED PODCAST NAME

Is your podcast going to be search engine optimized?

Search engine optimization means that the name is something that is going to be searchable inside of Google.

If we take, for example, the Social...

As of the date of this post being published, I celebrated 18 years working at Phoenix, Arizona radio station, 98 KUPD. This is a feat not many get to experience in their radio lifetime.

I have been completely fortunate to continue working for KUPD and I wanted to share how my struggles to do the one thing I've always wanted to do can relate to you and your podcast.

In today's video you will hear a story about a post that I had written on my Facebook profile earlier this week that talked about my 18 years in radio. Here's an excerpt of my history with radio and 98 KUPD and an inspirational message to keep you moving. 

You can see a version of this on my Facebook Live video.

Today, I am answering a viewer question from John Ramirez of LeadGen TV. You can view his question below:

John's Question:

“My question was, in radio space, they have soundboards where you can do audio clips or sound bytes, I guess, I mean, back in the day, I remember watching The Howard Stern show, and when Gary would come in, somebody in the studio would push a button and would go “Baba Booey”, “Baba Booey”, “Baba Booey.”

There was probably hundreds of others, but that’s the one I remember, and I think that I wanna have some of that, I want a machine, I want a piece of equipment, I want an app or a software that will allow me in my video and in my podcast to be able to add those sound bytes to add some flavor, add some brand.”

This is a great question that I get asked quite a bit. 

SOUND BOARDS FOR PODCAST SOUND EFFECTS

When John talks about soundboards, what he’s talking about--in radio terms--is something called...

Today, let’s talk about doing Facebook live feeds with your podcast. This is something that I believe a lot of podcasters think is going to be the make or break for them when it comes down to their podcasting. So let's go over a couple of the nuances of doing a Facebook live feed with your podcast.

SIMULCASTING YOUR PODCAST ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO INTERACT WITH YOUR AUDIENCE

The other day, I was in my feed on Facebook, and I saw a friend of mine doing his podcast on Facebook Live. As I saw the video pop up, I noticed a quadrant of four guests. It was the host, then three of his guests, and they were all talking.

During that entire conversation, they were recording the podcast to release in the iTunes for the following week. But, on the Facebook live feed, they were just talking with each other, not interacting with their audience.

Now, in that particular live feed, they had listeners/viewers joining in.  In fact, I noticed that these viewers/listeners were commenting and...

Today, I wanna answer a question that I get asked quite a bit, whether I am out talking at seminars, or just people commenting on my YouTube, and that is, “Should I, or can I host to my podcast audio files on the back-end of my website?”

If you decide to jump into the podcasting space and already have a website, you may decide that you want to go ahead use your web-space to host your podcast audio. This is a very common thing that a lot of new podcasters think about. They say, “Oh, you know, I already got all the space on my hosting service like GoDaddy, or Bluehost. I’m just gonna go ahead and upload everything under there.”

Now, that seems like a good idea in theory, but later on down the line, it’s going to create a lot more of headaches than it is going to make your life easier down the line.

LIMITED SPACE ON YOUR WEBHOST 

If you're using your website to upload your podcast files, just know that the files that you’re uploading are...

Today I want to talk to you about podcast sponsorships. It's also called monetization. There are many different ways you can describe “sponsorship”. In some circles it can be called “monetization” while others just call it “advertising” or “spot” sales.  

WHY ARE PODCAST SPONSORS IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO CONSIDER?

Before I answer this question, you may have your own questions regarding sponsorships, like:

“Do I need to have thousands upon thousands of downloads to start getting sponsors?”

The answer to this is “no!”

In this particular instance, we're going to be looking at large and small data numbers.

I'm also going to share with you recent research results from Nielsen ratings that give you a better understanding of how people listen to podcasts and why advertising is important.  

NIELSEN PODCASTING SURVEY RESULTS - DECEMBER 2017

As of December 8, 2017--when this this report was released--Nielsen...

Likely you've had cohosts--maybe you've had expert interviews--come onto your podcast and you've had to schedule them out in some certain way. Typically you are reaching out to them through e-mail and asking them, “Hey, would you like to come on my podcast?"

What happens is that your guest probably agrees to showing up on your podcast, then it comes down to the point where you're having to schedule out the time. 

This usually results in a number of e-mail exchanges back and forth.  

A tool that podcasters have been using for a few years is something called ScheduleOnce  (there's another one called Calend.ly too).  These tools are are, basically, scheduling software for your your calendar workflow.

In other words, this is an automated virtual assistant that knows your schedule openings and follows up with your calendar openings with automated emails.

Most successful podcasters have been using this tool to make the scheduling process a lot simpler--especially...

Today I want to talk to you about creating your own podcast coverart and getting into a creative space.

This video and blog post is for someone who is not a Photoshop pro. I want to share with you the tips and tricks that I am using to create podcast photo/cover art for my own podcasts and even my client podcasts.

What Are The Podcast Art Dimensions For iTunes?

First thing you need to know is that podcast cover art image dimensions will be 3000px by 3000px.

This is a very large square and the colossal size is a requirement by Apple Podcasts.

Next, upload your podcast cover art into whatever hosting service you are subscribing to for your podcast. This could be Libsyn, Blubrry, Podbean, Spreaker, etc. This image will feed over into iTunes once you have uploaded it to your hosting.

Use Canva To Create Free Podcast Art

Canva is probably the easiest way to create podcast art if you have zero clue about Photoshop. Think of it like photo/graphic design for dummies.  It's so...

Let's talk about promoting your podcast and getting your content in front of the eyes and the ears of those who matter.

So if you've started a podcast, you now understand the podcasting game takes a little bit of financial capital. Not that it's huge, but It's not a huge commitment but you're now realizing that you're jumping into the deep end with both feet first.  You're going to have to spend some money to successfully create great content.

If you have spent more than you anticipated, the good news is that you are invested.  You're invested in creating something for the world to consume and hopefully inspire.

You're invested so much that sharing your opinions, thoughts, or maybe ideas can build a community around that philosophy.  But it takes work, right?  You've guessed it, podcasting is not easy.

If you're feeling discouraged about all of this podcast stuff, don't worry you're not alone. There are plenty of podcasters out there who are going through the...