The Jag Show: Podcast Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

If you're one of those people who only does your podcast on YouTube, last week you were in big trouble. Last week, YouTube had an outage, which is prone to happen in all these big tech companies. And if you only have your podcast on YouTube, not on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else, you can get it on audio or video. Your listeners couldn't consume your content and they went somewhere else. Take it as a really important lesson. Do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Similarly, today, Amazon Web Services AWS, they also had an outage which affected apps like, , Snapchat and others. I have a 15 and 20-year-old niece. Their primary method of communication isn't text. It's snap. Good thing they were in class today, otherwise they would've been in trouble. Here's the thing, we are very, very vulnerable as a country to cyber attacks. I'm sure there are bad actors all over the world licking their chops right now. Can't be a coincidence that YouTube had an outage. Amazon had an outage all within the span of a week. You never know what is going to go down when. So be sure to have your podcast in as many places as possible so that if something goes down, your content can be consumed somewhere else. Because if your listeners and viewers can't find your content,. They'll go elsewhere. Hopefully they'll come back. ​ Find jag on social media @JAGPodcastProductions or online at JAGPodcastProductions.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today I want to talk to you about who is on your team. I’ll use two examples from the NFL this past Sunday. They happen to be my two favorite teams. I started the afternoon with my adopted Detroit Lions. They were playing at Cincinnati and running back David Montgomery was having a homecoming. His family is there. He's from there and notably his sister is paralyzed after a car accident last year. So lots of pictures surfaced online of David meeting with his sister in a wheelchair before the game. Well, during the game, Dan Campbell wanted to give David Montgomery his moment. So he called a trick play and David Montgomery, the running back, threw a touchdown pass in addition to running one in later in the game. He knew that it was a special game for his star and he made him shine. I don't think David Montgomery is not going to run through a wall for Dan Campbell after a game like that. Then in the nightcap, my number one team, the team that I grew up rooting for, the Patriots, went into Buffalo as big underdogs. Nobody expected much out of them. Well, head coach Mike Vrabel from the Patriots knew that it was a homecoming of sorts for wide receiver, Stefon Diggs, he'd been traded from Buffalo and he really had something to prove. was getting older, he's getting past surgery. So what did they do? They threw him the ball, a lot, and Diggs had his best game as a Patriot. He was emotional before the game. He was emotional after the game. The Patriots pulled a huge upset win. And it all came down to knowing, for both Diggs and Montgomery, about them and what makes them tick. What does this have to do with podcasting? Well, for your podcast, if you're part of an ensemble, know what strengths your co-hosts have. Is someone really good at sports? Is someone really knowledgeable about food, current events, news? When something is going on in the podcast, you can tie back to your main topic, lean on those folks, make them feel like they are part of the team. And in doing so, you will have a much more loyal team member. It'll feel like much more of a group effort. And your show will be that much better. Know what makes each of your co-hosts tick, what they're good at and what motivates them, and it will make a better overall product. Okay, onto other podcasting news this week. WNYC, the public media outfit in New York, is making all of their locally produced programming available for all national public radio affiliates. Now this is huge, regardless of how you lean politically, with the recent funding cuts to public radio and TV and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Folks need content. They don't have as much money to produce original content, so keeping them on the air is paramount. And if you aren't really feeling the tote bag and don't have a lot of money to donate to your public radio affiliate, listen to their podcasts. More and more public radio and TV affiliate revenue is coming from podcasting. Listen to their shows, give them the download numbers, they'll sell it, they will make money that way. So you don't have to participate in a telethon. Just listen to your local public radio podcast. The team at BuzzSprout, a popular podcast hosting service is releasing a name generator, or a name checker, we should call it. You don't have to be a paid BuzzSprout subscriber. You can simply go on their website and try it out. It will tell you that if the name you want for your podcast is taken anywhere else and will help you find the best ranking and best fitting title for your show. That is again linked in the show notes. And finally, also linked in the show notes, if you missed Podcast Movement, you know I rave about it every year, all sessions from podcast movement, everything from production to monetization to industry tracks, everything done at Podcast Movement is now available for free on demand. Even if you didn't buy a ticket to the show, it's on YouTube and you can watch it at the link in the show...

On September 30th., International Podcast Day, the Podcast Super Friends, welcomed Kendall Breitman, Community Lead at Riverside, with big news on a major product rollout: Riverside's launch of its new chat-based editing tool — the "AI Co-Creator," affectionately nicknamed “Coco” by the internal team. Co-Creator introduces a major shift in how podcasters can handle post-production. Instead of manually editing timelines or transcripts, users can simply type what they want — like “make this episode more engaging” or “cut the part about watermelons” — and Riverside’s AI will handle the edits. The tool supports everything from layout changes, B-roll additions, branding overlays, to audio cleanup like EQ adjustments and filler word removal, all with user-guided flexibility. Kendall walks us through the evolution of the tool — how it started as a way to generate show notes and blog posts directly from transcripts, and now powers full post-production editing, video layout automation, and audio enhancements like Magic Audio and Smart Mute. Co-Creator’s AI capabilities also include adding royalty-free music, removing background noise, and even dynamically changing video composition based on prompts. While you still have full control to fine-tune manually, the tool helps users speed up their editing dramatically. We also discuss the importance of community feedback. Kendall emphasizes Riverside's commitment to implementing user suggestions quickly, with the Facebook group "Conversation Creators by Riverside" acting as a hub for ideas and feedback. In fact, several features — including the Editor Add-On that lets producers access client accounts — were born directly from community input. The conversation touches on pricing barriers for small-scale producers, the benefits of using iPhones as high-quality second cameras, and the addition of Safari support — making the platform even more accessible. We also explore Riverside’s live streaming capabilities, which let creators stream to multiple platforms including YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and custom RTMP destinations — with multi-channel live chat support. Kendall suggests this is a great next step for creators looking to deepen audience engagement, especially as platforms reward live content in their algorithms. Wrapping up, Kendall highlights Riverside’s free resources, like the Community Hub (riverside.com/community) and their live workshop series, which showcase workflows from everyday creators. She also teases future updates and encourages everyone to keep checking back — because the features keep rolling out fast. More: https://riverside.com/community Riverside Users Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/264571558188791 Superfriends' websites: Johnny Peterson - ⁠⁠⁠⁠Johnny Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.johnnypodcasts.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Catherine O’Brien -⁠⁠⁠⁠ Branch Out Programs ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.branchoutprograms.com ⁠⁠⁠ Jon Gay: Jag Podcast Productions ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.jagpodcastproductions.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ David Yas: Pod 617 -⁠⁠⁠⁠ The Boston Podcast Network⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.pod617.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Matt Cundill - ⁠⁠⁠⁠The Sound Off Media Company⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundoff.network⁠⁠⁠⁠ 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Guests 01:02 Big Announcement: Chat-Based Editing 03:27 Evolution of Riverside's Editing Tools 04:45 Community Feedback and Feature Development 07:51 Introducing the AI Co-Creator: Coco 09:33 CoCreator's Journey and Marketing Assets 10:52 Editing with Coco: Enhancements and Control 12:00 Advanced Editing Features and AI Capabilities 14:03 Audio Enhancements and Magic Audio Features 16:42 Filler Word Removal and Audio Quality 18:54 Maintaining Creative Control with AI Tools 22:32 Exploring Media Board Functionality 23:44 Video Editing Techniques and AI Integration 25:02 Enhancing Video Quality with Creative Edits 26:57 Browser Compatibility and User Experience 27:12 Safari and Cross-Browser Functionality 29:01 Using Mobile Devices for Recording 30:10...

What is your podcast crutch? We all have them. So I was sitting at a Detroit Tigers game with a friend the other day. Sadly, we were at a Detroit Tigers game. And we were talking about the WJPZ at 50 podcast that I had done. And he was teasing me that the "whispered wow" is what he called the hallmark of any JAG podcast. When somebody says something compelling or interesting, I tend to sit back and say, "Woooow." And I thought about it. He was probably right. And then he joked that other people have stolen it from me. I don't think it's original to me. That said, I was recording a podcast the very next day and I caught myself saying, "Wow," when somebody said something interesting. Now, there's nothing wrong with occasionally using a crutch or occasionally having a trademark of your podcast. And my friend wasn't criticizing me, but it got me thinking. We all have verbal crutches. I know one podcaster that as she gets ready for her next question, she says, "aaaaand," until she thinks of what she wants to look for. Some people say, um, uh, you know, like- those words that we all use in regular conversation. And this is not something that you are going to know off the top of your head what it is. My challenge to you, once you're 10, 15 episodes deep in your podcast, go back and listen to yourself. Now, I know this is something that's difficult for a lot of people because physiologically, your voice does not sound the same on a recording as it does inside the bones conducting inside your skull. Nobody likes how they sound recorded. But go back and listen to yourself and see if you can find certain crutch words you use and be aware of them. That way you can sort of...try to avoid using them, or at least overusing them in the future. It's okay to have crutch words, but as with everything in podcasting, all things in balance. Okay, one pet peeve for this week before we wrap up. The lavalier mic. These guys here. If you're a podcast or especially on YouTube, I see this all the time on YouTube. Do not use a clip on tiny lavalier mic as your interview mic. I can't tell you how many times he somebody on YouTube go back and forth, hey, quick, quick, let's do this. These mics are designed to clip on to a lapel and be "this far" from somebody's mouth, not right up here. It's going to sound distorted. It's not going to sound good. Then that goes for these old school lapel mics, lav mics and these new school mics that clip on. And Rode makes these, this is a knockoff version of a those. They're designed to clip on and be a certain distance from your mouth. You risk having the audio distort and clip and be too loud if you don't use mics as they're designed. If you're going to interview somebody, have a handheld mic and do it the old school way. Use mics the way in which they're designed. If you need me, I'll be telling the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn and their music is too loud. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGPodcastProductions or online at JAGPodcastProductions.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This year’s Podcast Movement convention marked a clear turning point in the evolution of the podcasting industry. I’ve been attending this event since 2018, and it has always been a valuable space for independent creators like us. But now, the shift toward corporate interests is more evident than ever. With the merger of Podcast Movement and Sounds Profitable, and the major announcement that the 2026 event will move from its usual summer schedule to New York City in September, it’s clear the focus is shifting toward advertisers and industry execs. While this move might serve the broader industry well, it raises valid concerns for independent creators who may be priced out or feel sidelined. In a candid conversation with Tom Webster and James Cridland, I asked for clarity on where indie podcasters stand. Tom acknowledged that not everyone will fit into the new model, but there will still be space carved out for us. So while we’re keeping an eye on how this transition plays out, we’re also considering events like Podfest, which may better cater to creators. One of the most actionable takeaways came from producer Jay Yow, who stressed the importance of wearing headphones while recording. It’s not just a technical recommendation—it’s essential for clean audio. Poor sound can sabotage a good show, especially on remote platforms like Riverside or Squadcast. His argument? If Taylor Swift can wear headphones on camera, so can we. We also revisited the ongoing debate between video and audio podcasting. While video is great for discovery—especially on YouTube—audio remains the foundation. As Johnny Podcasts puts it: audio is your shoes, video is your socks. You can skip socks, but you can’t skip shoes. Resources should go to audio first, especially since many YouTube “viewers” are actually just listening in the background. The biggest research insight came from Hal Rood and Tim Bronsil's "The Podcast Study," who revealed that most listeners focus on just three main podcasts, spending 75% of their time with their favorite. To stand out, we need to avoid wasting those critical first 30 seconds of our show. Open strong, skip the fluff, and immediately give listeners a reason to stick around. It’s what separates a casual listener from a loyal one. Rob Walch of Libsyn reminded us again that shortcuts like “buying downloads” are scams. Real growth takes time, and authenticity matters more than inflated numbers. Despite claims of 4.6 million podcasts, only around 354,000 are active. The space is wide open if we’re consistent and committed. Finally, we dove into SEO and PSO strategies. SEO helps our episodes show up in search results, while PSO focuses on discoverability within platforms like Apple and Spotify. To win at both, we need smart titling, backlinking, frequent publishing, and full show notes on our websites. All in all, the industry is changing fast—but with the right tools and mindset, there’s still room for independent voices like ours to thrive. Find jag on social media @JAGPodcastProductions or online at JAGPodcastProductions.com

Today, I'm breaking down 5 popular mics that you may have seen in your search for the perfect podcast mic. We start with the well-advertised, terribly performing Blue Yeti. I explain why you're better off to skip it, and buy a dynamic microphone for cheaper. Next, the nearly interchangeable Samson Q2U and Audio Technica ATR-2100X. The ATR has a USB-C option, but has been in very short supply lately. The Q2U is only USB-A, but you can buy an adapter/dongle and use a USB-C port on a newer computer. Both are around $60-$70. Middle of the road, you can upgrade to the Shure MV7 - for around $300. High quality mic for a little bit more than entry level. If budget isn't a concern, or you're spending a marketing budget, splurge on the Shure SM7B. You'll see it in most high-end podcast productions. And it's been used by everyone from Michael Jackson to Eminem....to me. Microphone questions, reach out any time. Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

In this episode, we explore the significant impact listener surveys can have on a podcast's success, especially during the holiday season. Listener surveys allow us to connect directly with our audience and understand their preferences, making it easier to create content that resonates. In the radio world, we called this “Hugging your P1s”—a term for our most loyal listeners. Providing incentives, like gift cards, can increase participation, especially during this time of year when engagement may naturally decline. Listener surveys also serve as valuable content. By dedicating an episode to discussing survey questions and linking a Google form in the show notes, we can keep our audience engaged and gather data simultaneously. Credit for many of these survey strategies goes to Melissa Joy Dobbins of the Sound Bites podcast. Here are the ten questions we recommend asking: How long have you been listening?How did you discover the show?Where do you follow or subscribe?How do you consume the show?What topics or guests should we cover more?What topics should we cover less?Have you shared an episode?Would you leave a review?Would you support the show financially?Demographic insights:By using these questions, we gain actionable insights to refine our content, marketing, and engagement strategies for 2025 Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

In this episode of The Jag Show, we dive into the lessons learned from the highly anticipated Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight and how these insights can be applied to podcasting and content creation. Join us as we explore the essential elements of creating buzz, the unpredictability of viral moments, and the critical importance of technology in delivering a seamless experience. Create Buzz and FOMO: Embrace Viral Moments: Ensure Reliable Technology: Build Up vs. Payoff:Whether you're a seasoned podcaster or just starting out, these insights will help you create compelling content that keeps your audience engaged and coming back for more. If you have questions about content creation, especially in the podcast realm, reach out to us at jagindetroit.com. Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

SPOTIFY WILL NOW PAY FOR YOUR CONTENT The world of podcasting is constantly evolving – and Spotify is now trying to keep up with YouTube.And that means PAYING its creators! This week, Spotify announced they are rebranding their Spotify for Podcasters interface, now calling it Spotify for CREATORS. This comes on the heels of allowing all podcasters to upload video files of their podcast to the platform – regardless of whether you use Spotify as your host. Now, one of the reasons YouTube has made such strides in podcasting, in addition to video of course, is how easy it is to monetize the platform. It’s way more turnkey than Apple or Spotify – with their subscription and advertising options. Well Spotify figured this out too. According to PodNews and Sounds Profitable, the new Spotify for Creators program is open to creators who’ve published 12 episodes, had 2,000 unique Spotify users interact with your show in the last month, and have 10,000 streamed hours in the past month. Now, those bars are much higher to clear than YouTube’s benchmarks of 1,000 all time subscribers and 4,000 streamed hours in the last year, but it’s a step in the right direction for Spotify. Now, aside from the tougher requirements, here’s the million dollar question. How do you want to track your analytics? In the old days of podcasting, your host tracked downloads or streams via your audio host, and who grabbed your content from your RSS feed. To track metrics on VIDEO podcasts – be it Spotify OR YouTube, those views will NOT come from your RSS feed. So now you’re in a position where you have to take your downloads, then add your views from YouTube and/or Spotify. And of course, downloads, streams, and views are NOT apples to apples comparisons. So you have to decide – is having your podcast on video important enough to you, to not have the same consistency in evaluating and reporting your numbers? Maybe the video presence and monetization opportunities say yes. Or maybe you have stakeholders that need consistent measurement and KPI’s, such as a corporate podcast, and audio is just fine. These decisions are yours to make as a creator, as the world of podcasting continues to evolve. And as always, if you have any questions about the industry, or your specific podcast, find me at JAGinDetroit.com. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Could podcasts help decide the election? Here we are in the final days before the most consequential Presidential Election of our lives.Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are criss-crossing the battleground states – and the podcast studios! Sure, we’ve got wall-to-wall TV and radio ads as always. My wife and I have YouTube TV as our cable provider -the ads are also there, and on traditional YouTube, where we spend a fair amount of time as well. But as Trump and Harris make their closing arguments to Americans, they’ve found a new arena this cycle– podcasts. And with podcasts having pretty well-defined audiences, even the largest ones, both candidates are staying in their respective lanes. No matter how you slice it, 45% of the country’s going to vote for Harris, and 45% is going to vote for Trump. Now while both would love to reach that 10% in the middle, they are also trying to drive turnout among their predicted supporters. Harris has been on one of the top podcasts consumed by females, Call Her Daddy, to talk about reproductive rights. She’s also been on All The Smoke, with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Club Shay Shay with former NFL player turned analyst Shannon Sharpe, and Unlocking Us with Brene Brown. For Trump’s part, he’s gone on the world’s biggest podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, as well as Barstool Sports’ Bussin With The Boys, and the comedy Podcast Flagrant. Now, I’m not saying that podcasts are GOING to decide the election, but their influence and reach are certainly being considered by both campaigns. Yes, our media landscape is split among ideological lines, and podcasts are no exception. But media as a whole is now so fragmented. Gone are the days were network news shows were the end-all be-all of media reach. You’ve got to meet your audience – and your potential voters – where they are. And they’re listening to – and watching podcasts. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

What you say as a podcaster matters. You know what also matters? Who you work for. Evan Lazar is an employee of my New England Patriots, who much to the delight of most football fans, have crashed back down to earth, hard, and are one of the worst teams in the league. (Hey, no complaints here – we got 6 rings when I was young enough to follow sports more religiously). Anyway, Evan is a co-host of the Patriots Catch 22 podcast, produced by the team. And by and large, the show can be critical of the team when warranted. But following a bad loss in San Francisco last week, Evan said there was a “mutiny” in the Pats’ locker room. THIS did not sit well with his employer in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The episode has since been taken down from YouTube, and Lazar has walked back the comments, essentially saying he got riled up in the moment, according to Boston media. Are podcasts journalists?Well, depends on who you work for.Lazar is an employee of the team, and while they give him a long leash, they ultimately have veto power over the content. What if he worked for the radio station that has the contract to carry the team’s games?Well, that’s a little murkier.But unless he’s either employed by a news organization, or completely independent, he doesn’t have the freedom to say whatever he wants. There are two lessons here.1) if you’re recording a podcast, always be mindful of WHO you are producing that content for, especially if it’s your employer. And 2) While the beauty of podcasting is that it’s meant to be a free-flowing natural conversation, be wary of getting carried away and saying something that might come back to bite you. Also of note here:The usually media-savvy New England Patriots have removed the podcast from YouTube. However, as of 9:15am on Friday, they have NOT removed it from Apple or Spotify. This supports the argument that YouTube is now the biggest platform for podcasting. If your show isn’t on YouTube, it NEEDS to be – even if it’s an audio only show. If you need help, feel free to reach out to me. Finally, I recorded this episode in the new Descript Rooms feature on Descript, a web-based studio that will eventually replace Squadcast. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

On September 11th, 2001, I was a senior in college. My memories of that day are still so vivid. It's wild to me that we now have a generation of adults entering the world that are too young to remember this day. I feel it's incumbent upon us to share our stories - so 9/11 isn't "just another date in a history book." Bonus: Here's a group of us recalling the day at WJPZ, our student run radio station:https://wjpzat50.simplecast.com/episodes/wjpzon911 Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

I came out of Podcast Movement 2024 with two key takeaways: better audio analytics, and the importance of YouTube. Today, I explain that downloads, while still industry standard, do not paint the whole picture of who's listening to your show, when, and for how long? The real key data can be found on your dashboards within Apple, Spotify, and YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, the biggest change in podcast survey data between 2023 and 2024, per Tom Webster of Sounds Profitable, is the percentage of consumers who are discovering podcasts on YouTube. Having at least your audio on YouTube is crucial at this point. Should you have your video there as well? Ideally yes in the world of SEO and algorithms, but Tom explained why it may not be a good idea for everyone. Finally, what about growing your podcast? I share some tips I learned on how to do that. Spoiler: you have to do more than blast each episode onto all your social media channels. Also, the Sounds Profitable Podcast Landscape webinar is this Wednesday, featuring a treasure trove of conumption data. You can sign up here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/1417244414089/WN_FmmkfieESZ69XqSSpXptlQ#/registration Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Podcast Superfriends Episode Dedicated to "The Money Chase" https://www.soundoff.network/show/the-podcast-super-friends/the-money-chase/ Lately, I've been seeing a number of large podcasts chasing additional revenue - everything from The Daily to Pod Save America to The Tucker Carlson show. And they've all made critical errors, each in different approaches. I explain. Yes, there are ways to monetize your show, even if you aren't pulling millions of downloads and selling off your numbers. Today, I give a quick overview - everything from sponsors, to premium content, to subscription models and more. Please don't make the same mistakes corporate radio did as it continues its slow death spiral. For a deeper dive on how to make money off of your podcast, check out our episode of the Podcast Superfriends at the link above. Finally, will you be at Podcast Movement in DC next week? If so, let me know. I'd love to say hello. Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Has Podcasting overtaken AM and FM Talk Radio? Well, yes and no. This is from Edison Research’s Share of Ear Survey. In 2017, 66% of all spoken word audio was consumed over AM and FM radio. Only 13% of ears went to podcasts. Well fast forward to the second quarter of 2024. Talk Radio is at 43%, and Podcasts are catching up at 36%. But if we dig a little deeper, among ages 13-64, Podcasting has ALREADY surpassed AM/FM Talk Radio – 41% to 39%. So the only reason the radio still wins is the 65+ demo, who pick the radio 5-1 over podcasting. So while talk radio listeners are yelling “get off my lawn!” podcasting will catch up – if not this year, probably by 2025. This change will be accelerated by increased podcast discoverability. According to PodNews, Matthew Passy and the folks at Custom Podcast Solutions will be debuting an NFC-enabled Bluetooth Beacon. You can wear it on your wrist, and instead of telling someone to search, or scan a QR code, you can have them tap their phone to open your podcast. This is supposedly going to be on display at the Podcast Movement this August in DC., so I’ll be sure to report back. Some Spotify-related news to close with this week First, Spotify is ditching polls and adding comments to podcast episodes. And unlike Apple, you can approve comments, block trolls, and manage the comments on their new Spotify for Podcasters app, not to be confused with the Spotify App itself. And finally, Spotify is now bragging that they have 250,000 Video podcasts on their platform. I’m still leery of this – I don’t want to use Spotify for Podcasters to access this tool, because I don’t want Spotify to own my show. For me, I’m going to stick to producing an audio podcast via my RSS host, Simplecast, for Apple, Spotify, and more. And I’ll put the video directly on YouTube, which has a much bigger audience than Spotify. And because these episodes are short, I’ll keep posting the video directly on my social media channels via JAG in Detroit.Because each social media app’s algorithm likes videos that keep people in their app. I’m more interested in getting my content to as many people in as many places as possible. Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Over the long holiday weekend, my wife and I puppy-sat for Henry, a 4-month old golden doodle. And this got me thinking. Puppies and Podcasts have a FEW things in common. When you start a podcast, you probably have the exuberance of a puppy. Henry has a habit of BOUNCING when he walks – he’s very excited, and it’s very cute. But at some point, you need to learn HOW to walk. And you can learn that by observing other podcasters. Our cousin, Henry’s owner, said on walks, he’d just plop down on the sidewalk. But when we walked our 10 year old coonhound Jules, Henry would follow her around, like, well, a puppy dog. The added bonus, 3+ miles of walking per day makes for a very tired, and thus very well behaved, pup. You may have a plan for your podcast, but in the early goings, you may have to change course.The plan was for Henry to sleep in a crate in our bedroom. But his first night with us, this well behaved pup screamed and cried and barked from 11pm to 1am. Now, I’m sure some neighborhood fireworks didn’t help, but around 1:15am, we called an audible.Henry would sleep in our bed all week.Sorry to his Mom and Dad if you’re listening – I’m sure he learned some bad habits here at Camp Jules. Bottom line, you may think you know what you’re podcast is going to be – but if it’s not working, it’s OK to change – even after you’ve launched. Then there were the puppy teeth – who knew they were so sharp? Yes, they hurt when he nipped at my ankles – and yes, those first few podcast mistakes may leave a mark. But outside something drastic, or outside the realm of common sense, you aren’t going to destroy anything in your first few episodes. No matter how hard Henry went at those deer antlers or stuffies, he didn’t cause any real damage. It’s OK as a new podcaster to be “teething.” At the end of the day, your new podcast needs a lot of attention – you are still figuring out your new world. But the more time and care you put into it, the better your results. You might need constant reminders about mic technique and avoiding tangents – the podcast equivalent of “don’t eat that and don’t pee on that.” Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Today I’m going to tell you three podcasting mistakes to avoid with your show. First one, pretty straightforward. Avoid the word “podcast” in your show title. Two reasons.One, if someone is consuming your show, they already KNOW it’s a podcast. Two: SEO. According to James Cridland and PodNews, there are 700,000 podcasts that include the word “podcast” in their title – 16% of all shows currently listed. How the heck is your show going to stand out in search, if it’s using the same words as a sixth of all PODCASTS? Next mistake – assuming listeners skip ads. Sure, we’ve all skipped ads from time to time when listening to a pod. But a new study from Sounds Profitable shows 68% of listeners, more than two thirds, have listened to at least SOME ads in podcasts.Now maybe they’re multitasking and can’t reach the skip button, or maybe the ads are well executed. But either way, in a world where it’s harder and harder to grab someone’s attention, don’t write off podcast ads. Also, they don’t have to actually BE ads. They can be promos, announcements about your show, calls to action.The possibilities are endless. OK, final mistake to avoid.And bear with me because there’s some nuance here. Spotify recently opened up video to ALL podcasts, not just the ones hosted ON Spotify. So if you’re more invested in video views than audio downloads, great. But if your show is audio first, and you use audio downloads and streams as your most important metric, DON’T put your video on Spotify. Back to James Cridland and PodNews – who say if someone consumes your video content on Spotify, it won’t count as an audio download with your host. And you’ll lose those numbers. So if audio downloads are most important to you, leave your show on Spotify as audio only, just like you have been, and just like I’m doing. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

It’s one of the hardest questions when you start a podcast. Should I do video, or just audio? Well, I think I’ve found a way to split the difference. I was helping a new client launch a podcast this week, and we were talking, as is often the case, about audio versus video. In a perfect world, we’d all have a video team of several people who can put together something that would make Steven Spielberg proud. But the cost of that – in terms of money AND time – don’t make it possible for most of us. Also, the hardest part of starting a podcast is AFDI – Actually (hmm) Doing It. The barrier to entry in podcasting is low, and we want to keep it that way. We don’t want someone MORE scared of getting into the space. Trust me, as an ex radio guy – it’s a lot easier to SOUND good than to LOOK good. However - online video, particularly short-form video, has exploded in the last couple of years. And Reels are helping with podcast discoverability. And with our goldfish attention spans – you probably need a more compelling visual than a moving waveform and static image of your podcast artwork. So here’s how to get the best of both worlds. RECORD video of your podcast interview. You can do this with any remote recording software, like Squadcast, Riverside….even Zoom.Or, if you’re in person, use your smartphone. You’re still doing an audio podcast, but you now have all the video footage. Grab some 30 second clips of your guest saying something great – and use a service like Descript or Headliner to make eye catching captions, and throw it up on Tik Tok, YouTube Shorts, Facebook and Instagram Reels, you name it. Then link back to, or promote the actual podcast. Knowing you’re only going to take very short clips can take some of the pressure off of video – you don’t need to make eye contact with the camera at all times, the lighting doesn’t have to be perfect, and your hair doesn’t either. It’s much easier to have TOO MUCH content, than NOT ENOUGH. So, provided your guest consents to being filmed, grab the video to use, repurpose, and promote your show later. As always, no matter what you budget, video or audio only, if you need help with a podcast, you can find me at jagindetroit.com. Lata! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

Spotify for Podcasters, or Anchor, as it used to be known, is a free platform for hosting your podcast. But as we all know, nothing is TRULY free. I've long said that Anchor, or now Spotify for Podcasters, is a great tool if you're dipping your toe into podcasting. They won't charge you a monthly hosting fee, and you can kind of get the hang of your craft. Because the hardest part about doing a podcast - is actually starting one. Well some previously announced changes for the platform are about to take effect. The first one probably won't affect you - the "Music and Talk" pilot that allowed you to do a podcast that included full licensed songs on the platform. I played with this in an experiment called "The JAG Throwback Show" - mostly to scratch the itch that comes with being a former radio DJ. But you couldn't talk over the intros of songs (what's the point of doing a radio show if you can't hit a post?) and only Spotify PREMIUM subscribers would hear the whole song. Users on the free tier would only hear the begining and end. So fun idea, but no big loss. Here's a link to that show: https://open.spotify.com/show/2j6cYPd7dmiPDuMdT2PLHr?si=56b8fc13bd824c0b On the podcast side, Spotify is eliminating their internal production tools, and beginning a partnership with Riverside, the podcast recording platform. Riverside has some great tools, and you can read and watch the announcement from Spotify here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/resources/learn/create/updates-to-spotify-for-podcasters So again, if you want to do a podcast as a hobby and have a very limited - or no - budget, great. But if your aim is to really put time and effort into a show and grow it, this isn't the place for you. You are putting all you eggs in the Spotify basket. You're hosting with them, you're editing with them, and you're getting all of your analytics from them. This means you are at their mercy if there's a service outage, or if they decide to make any changes. And when it comes to the analytics side, Spotify has decided to no longer participate in IAB download metrics - an industry standard that the majority of hosts use to track the number of people listening to your show. I'll spare you all the tech stuff, but Bryan Barletta of Sounds Profitable wrote a scathing open letter to Spotify - mentioning that they are no longer a podcasting peer - they are their own game. You can read that here: https://soundsprofitable.com/article/of-mice-and-megaphone Bottom line: If you live entirely in Spotify's ecosystem, they control everything. It's like having your entire retirement portfolio invested in stock of your employer. That's great when things are going well. But what happens when they take a turn? Here's my recommendation. Host on a platform like Simplecast, Buzzsprout, or Libsyn. Their plans start at around $15 per month, which if you're investing in your show, isn't much money. Your metrics will be legit, you'll still be on Spotify independently, and you won't be beholdent to them. And if you're recording remotely, use either Riverside (I've got a referral code in the show notes), or Squadcast. Both are excellent quality, and have a number of bells and whistles. It's just figuring out which of the two is more intutiive for you. Squadcast was recently acquired by Descript, which is where most of their editing and tools have migrated to. And they've got an announcement of new tools coming next week. https://lu.ma/descript-season-6 And as always, if you have any questions at all about your podcast or how to start won, find me online at JAGinDetroit.com. Lata! Here's my referral code if you want to try Riverside: https://bit.ly/jagriverside Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com

https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-podcast-consumer-2024-by-edison-research/ The Edison Research Podcast Consumer 2024 report, providing a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of podcasting. As we head into the holiday weekend, it's the perfect time to reflect on these insights and what they mean for podcasters and listeners alike. Podcast listenership is at an all-time high, with two-thirds of the U.S. population aged 12 and up having listened to a podcast, and over a third tuning in weekly. The average time spent listening to podcasts has surged by 450% since 2014, Podcasts now constitute 11% of all audio sources and 20% of ad-supported audio sources, showing a substantial increase from previous years. We also explore the diversity of podcast listeners. Podcasting spans all generations, with significant engagement across various age groups. For example, 59% of those aged 12-34, 55% of those aged 35-54, and even 27% of those aged 55 and older listen to podcasts monthly. Gen Z, in particular, shows a strong affinity for podcasts, often spending more time with this medium than older generations, drawn by the depth of topics and unique perspectives offered. The demographic breakdown of listeners is becoming increasingly diverse. The percentage of Black Americans and Latinx Americans listening to podcasts monthly stands at 48% and 43%, respectively. Additionally, the gender gap is closing, with 45% of U.S. women now monthly podcast listeners, indicating a more balanced audience. Interestingly, female listeners tend to consume more episodes weekly compared to their male counterparts. Podcasts are not just popular; they are also effective for advertisers. An impressive 46% of weekly podcast listeners report purchasing a product or service based on a podcast ad. This statistic highlights the medium's power to drive consumer behavior and its value for advertisers. The top podcasts in the U.S. continue to draw massive audiences. Leading the list is "The Joe Rogan Experience," followed by "Crime Junkie," "The Daily" from the New York Times, "New Heights" with Jason and Travis Kelce, and "Dateline NBC." Other popular shows include "This American Life," "Call Her Daddy," "SmartLess," "Morbid," and "Stuff You Should Know." As the industry continues to grow, it presents numerous opportunities for businesses. Podcasts can serve as a powerful tool for internal communication or as a platform to engage with a broader audience. If you haven't yet started a podcast for your business, now is the time to consider it. Have a great holiday weekend, and remember to share this episode with friends and family to help grow your podcast network! Find jag on social media @JAGinDetroit or online at JAGinDetroit.com