A well crafted podcast intro can make a significant difference to the listeners, and as such, creators should learn some podcast intro dos and don'ts. Todd and Mike made intros the main focus of this episode but they didn't leave out some news going on such as some new podcasters joining Spotify, estimations on how long Rogan will stay there, and research on podcast listening habits. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Live Facebook recording. News: Harry and Meghan sign with Spotify to produce podcasts. Podcast Taxonomy Project White Paper. A worthwhile read to understand where the podcast industry is headed. Adam Curry predicts Joe Rogan will be back to open podcasting within a year. Pew Research says more people are turning to podcasting for news. Countless end of 2020 best podcast lists are coming out. What are the pros and cons of these lists. Best Practice: Podcast Intro Dos and Don'ts When done correctly a podcast intro can not only keep a listener around for that episode, but bring that back consistently. Do a shorter live-voiced intro or just cold start Read more dos here. Don’t make them too long Don’t make them sound too much different than the main show Blubrry News: Blubrry holiday hours: Half days on 24/31 and completely off the 25/1. Also some team members are out the week in-between. The December newsletter went out yesterday, read it here to catch up on our year entirely. New destinations in Podcaster Dashboard at Blubrry, these will be added to PowerPress as well. Question(s) of the Week: Question: What is your favorite podcast listening app? And why? Answer: Mike: I use Overcast for my personal podcast listening. If you have an iPhone, it seems to be the best one for me because it’s just organized well and Marco (the developer) really keeps it up to date.  Also, you have the ability to put in any RSS feed and subscribe without it having to be in the overcast directory. Being that I have to test with just about every one of them out there, I have android and IOS and many podcast apps. My favorite on Android is a tie between Podcast Addict and Pocket Casts. Todd: Personal listening, Apple Podcasts. Other, Overcast. On Saturday’s Podcast Help Desk episode, 'What is RSS and why you should care?'. NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” in the show notes at  PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. ______________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Podcast Insider

Podcast Intro Dos and Don’ts – PCI 222

Podcast artwork is often times the first thing potential listeners will see, before they even hear anything. It's an opportunity you don't want to mess up as a podcaster, so we've got some tips on how to make the best and don't hinder yourself. And it's getting to that time of year, when everyone releases their predictions for the coming year and wrap ups of the past 12 months, Todd and Mike went over some of them in this episode. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Live Facebook recording. News: Edison Research “Super Listeners 2020” survey results. Pacific Content’s predictions for podcasting in 2021. YouTube taking down anything that alleges 2020 USA election voter fraud. Podcasts from Fox News now available on Amazon Music. IAB released Podcast Measurement 2.1 guidelines, open for public comment. Cool Tool! OnlyPod lets you review how your artwork will look in several podcast syndication points. Best Practice:  Podcast Artwork Image Size (pixels): Must be 1400x1400px and no larger than 3000x3000px File Size (mb): No more than 500kb (.5mb) in file size File name: Letters, numbers, underscores or dashes only. No spaces in file names! Content: Make sure that your image looks good at about 1 inch by 1 inch (2.5cm). That is the size most people will see, on a mobile device. If there is fine text, it won’t be readable when sized down that far. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4.6 released because of a PHP update and WordPress update. Tell a better story on your podcast, from our blog. Tiana from The Part-Time Jungle was our Instagram giveaway winner. She won herself an ATR2100x-USB microphone. Part-Time Jungle site Instagram Facebook You can now submit your show to JioSaavn, an India based music and podcast streaming app, via the Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Starting next week, Podcast Help Desk, Mike’s podcast about podcasting, will start 2 short episodes weekly (Wednesday and Saturday). Podcast Help Desk is the unofficial companion podcast to Podcast Insider. A place to dig a bit deeper in the geeky technical subjects for podcasters and to answer listener questions. Check it out at PodcastHelpDesk.com. Question(s) of the Week: Question: I've noticed that my show notes in iTunes podcast player do not have the URLs hyperlinked. Is this normal? Or is there a setting I have to change? Answer: Apple Podcasts will show links, but only if the person that is looking is already subscribed in Apple Podcasts and is looking in their Library. BONUS: Best Practice for show notes in PowerPress/WordPress: First, in the reading menu of WordPress Settings (plain settings in the sidebar) select full text where it says "For each post in a feed, include" select "Full Text", save changes. Second, if you are using Classic Editor, in the post editor, click "Screen Options" and check the box for Summary. If you are using the Block editor, click the little 3 dot icon in the upper right, select Settings, and make sure the Summary box is checked. Then, when you work on a post, type out your formatted show notes in the big text box, the main content area of the post. Put a summary (a few lines describing the episode) in the summary box. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, head to “Leave a voicemail” in episode show notes from PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _______________________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com

Podcast Artwork Tips – PCI 221

Image by Podcast Movement. Choosing a podcast microphone typically involves some testing. With such a wide variety of options to choose from, we tested some for you live and give recommendations and a clear understanding of condenser vs dynamic microphones. Wondery is still up for grabs, Joe Rogan is now Spotify exclusive and QCode just gained a former Apple Podcasts exec. That's not all, tune in to hear more. Thank you to Elisa for sitting down with Todd to talk about her show In the Business of Change. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Apple Podcasts Connect will require 2-factor sign-in starting in February 2021.  In a note sent to podcasters... “Starting February 2021, additional authentication will be required for all users to sign in to iTunes Connect. This extra layer of security for your Apple ID helps ensure that you’re the only person who can access your account. If you haven’t already updated your account, you can enable two-step verification or two-factor authentication now in the Security section of your Apple ID account or in the Apple ID section of Settings on your device.” A Spotify employee has supposedly removed a Joe Rogan Episode. Survey says that young adults replace TV watching with listening to podcasts. QCode hires Steve Wilson, Former Apple Podcasts Executive. Congrats Steve! Less than 2 weeks left to submit your show to the Ambies. Deadline December 15th. Amazon may buy Wondery for $300 million. Don't take our word for it. Best Practice: How to choose the right microphone for you. Three different microphones, three different price points. Electro-Voice RE20 $450 (Todd uses the Shure SM7B $400) Sennheiser e835 $100 Audio-Technica BPHS1 Headset Mic. $200 Dynamic vs. Condenser Dynamic is better for noise rejection Examples: Heil PR40, SM7B, RE20, SM58, ATR2100 and the new MV7 The condenser is more “full” sounding Examples: Snowball, Blue Yeti, Any built-in mic for Portable Recorders, Blue Mickey and the REALLY expensive Neumann U 87 ($3600!) Expensive vs. cheap Is a $400 microphone $300 better than a $100 mic? What is your budget? Does YOUR voice sound good on the mic you choose? Some voices do not sound good on some microphones.  For instance, often times women’s voices do not sound as good on the Heil PR40 as they do on the Heil PR30 or the SM7B.  If you can borrow a mic to test with, test with as many as you can. What is your podcast environment like? Dynamic mics are better if you have background noise or for recording in the field. If you are very sound-proofed room, or the coat closet, a condenser microphone could work for you. USB vs. XLR Bottom line, if you find one that works for you, you can check it off your list of things to do.  Don’t overthink it. Blubrry News: Microphone giveaway! It's the last few hours of our Instagram giveaway for an ATR2100x-USB. To participate, follow us, like the Instagram post and tag 3 friends, it ends tonight Dec. 4 at midnight EST. PowerPress 8.4.5 is out, with some minor bug fixes. Leave us a review! From our blog, Internet Security and Podcasting. Interview: Elisa Birnbaum - In the Business of Change Connect with Elisa here... Facebook Twitter Instagram Question(s) of the Week: Question: What would you recommend to backup your files for your Podcast? Answer: Here is what I [Mike] do, I have offline backup disks on two portable hard drives. One is set up on my Mac as a running backup (Time Machine).  The second one is in another building (my office/studio is separate from my house).

Choosing a Podcast Microphone and Elisa Birnbaum – PCI 220

Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise! If your environment is noisy, we have some tips today on how to set up your recording space. Todd and Mike talk about Rode's new Vlogger Kits, People Magazine's new daily podcast, who the largest advertiser in podcasting was last month and more. Thank you to Jennifer for sitting down with Todd to talk about her show Fading Memories. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Rode is selling $149 “Vlogger Kits.” All-in-one filmmaking kits for your mobile phone. People Magazine is launching a daily podcast. Volvo was the biggest advertiser in podcasting for October. Podcast Movement “home for the holidays” meetup is Dec. 9 - (virtual) Best Practice: Improving your recording environment Try to set up “your space” for recording. Pick a quiet place (duh!). Turn off/down any fan noise you can (computers, A/C units, fans, SUMP PUMPS!). Try to put the computer on the backside of the microphone’s pattern. Soundproof the area (carpet, curtains, foam tiles, audio blankets or panels). Record in a closet (lots of clothes hanging around mute the echoes). Let your significant others know when you are recording and ask them to be quiet or be somewhere else for that time.   Blubrry News: Be sure to take a look at our Instagram on Friday!  You could win something cool.   https://www.instagram.com/blubrry_podcasting/ We are off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. We'll monitor support emails over the weekend. We are looking for Blubrry Podcasters of the Month. Contact MacKenzie if you are interested in being in the running to be selected in 2021 (and you can be on THIS show).   Interview:  Fading Memories with Jennifer Fink   Question(s) of the Week:   Question:  When I create an episode within Blubrry, I format the show notes with links and formatting. When the episode shows up in the Apple Podcasts app, it displays an unformatted version followed by a formatted version. Anyone know what's happening or how to fix it? Answer: There are three tags that various apps use for “show notes.”    and Apple uses content encoded for formatted show notes. They use Description for the short preview that is seen if subscribed when looking at an episode. The iTunes Summary is used if neither of the other tags are in the RSS feed.  (Not really used in most cases.) In Blubrry Publisher: Put the formatted show notes in the “Content” box.  Click on “Advanced Apple Settings" at the bottom of the episode editor and put the short description in the “RSS Description” box. PowerPress: In the Reading menu of WordPress Settings (just plain settings in the sidebar), where it says "For each post in a feed, include" select "Full Text," save changes. If you are using Classic Editor, in the post editor, click "Screen Options" and check the box for Summary. If you are using the Block editor, click the little three-dot icon in the upper right, select Settings, and make sure the Summary box is checked. Then, when you do a post, type out your formatted show notes in the big text box, the main content area of the post. Put a summary (a few lines describing the episode) in the summary box. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a Voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _____________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.

Improving Your Recording Environment Featuring Jennifer Fink – PCI-219

The pros and cons of joining a podcast network are debatable, and that's exactly what we did in this episode. Before we get to that, Todd and Mike discuss Apple's new embeddable player for website and how their charts system actually works. Thanks to Jen for speaking with Todd about her show and how she got started. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Apple’s new embeddable player is available for websites. Apple holiday hours: November 23-27 and again December 21, 2020 - Jan 4 2021, there might be delays in approving new shows. More than the normal 5 business days due to time off. Who may be the next podcast acquisition? Spotify plays wait and see about more podcast acquisitions. NBC signs exclusive ad deal with SiriusXM. What it's like hosting a podcast as a musician. Podcasts, narrated by someone else… seems to take all the creativity out of a podcast. Check out Poise. Apple's Top Charts, they've always been much debated on how they work. And frankly how people want to game the system. We've spoken to Apple how it actually works, and well don't put too much belief into the rating and reviews advice you've been given. Take a look at the tweet that kicked off this conversation. Best Practice: Do you really want to join a network? Pros Cross promotion Being part of something bigger than yourself Advertising and sponsorships Social media Community Sharing the costs Cons Ownership Content control (editorial) Personality conflicts Sharing revenue Read the fine print, can never be too careful     Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4.4 is out with minor bug fixes. Fight the podfade! Podcaster of the Month - we’re looking for people that want to be featured in 2021, contact MacKenzie. You can even be a guest on this show. Interview: Jen Rodd - Inspirational Interviews Connect with Jen here... Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Apple Podcasts Question(s) of the Week: Question:  When I try to upload my file to Blubrry hosting from PowerPress I get this error: “Authentication failed. Please verify that your email and password are correct.” Answer: This is normally caused by a change in password or login email at blubrry.com. To correct this, Go to blubrry.com in one tab in your browser. Then in another tab, on your WordPress site, go to PowerPress > settings and click the link that says “Go to Blubrry account”.  Click “unlink account”.  Then refresh your browser window and click on “Lets Connect” in the same box where “Go to Blubrry Account” was.  Click OK on the box that pops up that says Authorize. Click OK and refresh your browser again and it should say “Connected to blubrry” again. Your upload should work now.    Any time you change the password at blubrry.com you will have to re-do the link between PowerPress and Blubrry. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _____________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Do You Want to Be Part of a Podcast Network? Featuring Jen Rodd – PCI 218

While podcaster creators might be hunkering down to finish more episodes for the holidays, podcast companies have been busy buying - each other. Spotify is buying Megaphone and Wondery is dealing with multiple potential buyers. The podcast industry consolidation isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's worth weighing the pros and cons of new acquisition and pondering what this means for the future. We have a unique outlook on this, as a hosting company, we provide advice on what podcasters should do in case their podcast host gets bought. In the early days of podcasting, we helped migrate many customers in short periods of time, to ensure they had no down time before their previous host went under, disappeared, etc. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording News: • Spotify buying Megaphone for $235 million. • Apple (or Sony) supposedly in talks to buy Wondery, but it would come at a steep price. • Bitcast - Seems like many have tried something similar, with no large payoff or users. Best Practice: What do you do if your podcast hosting company is acquired? Blubrry News: • Podcast to Profit - Our friends at Infostack created a valuable collection of resources on monetizing a podcast. Available until midnight EST tonight. • Private Internal Podcasting webinars tomorrow, Fri. Nov. 13. • PowerPress and WordPress webinar next week, Tues. Nov. 17th at 1pm . Question(s) of the Week: First few episodes missing from RSS feed - Tanya - Gift Girls Faith Question: Why would the first few episodes drop out of the feed? I have 13 but only the last 10 are showing anywhere other than my website. Answer:  In WordPress, the RSS feeds are limited to 10 items in the feed by default. You can change the default for Podcast Feeds by going to the PowerPress Settings > Feeds menu > then select Feed settings and scroll down to where it says “Show the most recent” and set it to 300. Also, check the box that says “Maximize the number of episodes while maintaining an optimal feed size.” and save changes.  This will allow all your episodes to get into the RSS feed (up to 300). NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Podcast Industry Consolidation – PCI 217

Ownership of your podcast is Blubrry's top priority, don't worry we tell you why it's critical as a creator. That's not all we talk about on this episode, we interviewed Misty Phillip, creator of the Spark Christian Podcast Conference, happening all day Friday, November 6 2020. We're excited to be be sponsoring Spark as well as a keynote speaker. Todd will be speaking on the future of podcasting, and other speakers touching on the possibilities for the Christian community to get involved in podcasting. We're giving away a year's worth of podcast hosting to one lucky winner. Lastly, you'll see a few small tweaks this episode, we're looking forward to hearing questions from you to answer in the future. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording News: Google’s impact on podcasting and search, an insightful look at the future. Dan Franks from Podcast Movement was featured in Podcast Business Journal. Podcast Movement 2021 will be in Nashville. Nielsen says 'Host Reads' are better than other forms of podcast advertising. Yes, Blubrry teams are well aware of this fact. YouTube channels pirating podcasts? Check out this one. Apple says delays are likely between Nov. 20-30 and between Dec. 23, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021.  Apple said...“Shows submissions during these windows may not be available within our regular time frame of five business days.” Evolving the audio community. Elsie Escobar recently sparked discussion about how the audio industry still has some work to do with expanding on diversity. Best Practice: Who owns your podcast? There can be many answers to this question but we hone in on 'The Blubrry Way', ensuring that podcasters are aware of all of the ways they can control their intellectual property, branding and more. Blubrry News: PowerPress 4.8.2 has been released. The biggest change is a subscribe link for Podcast Index. Podcast tools that podcasters love, how podcasters have upped their game in 2020. Todd speaking at Spark conference. Interview: Misty Phillip, from Spark Christian Conference Looking to be a guest on the show? Contact us. Question(s) of the Week: NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. Question: I had a couple of bonus episodes from a few months ago that were posted on Patreon only.  As placeholders, I posted blog posts on my website with no actual audio episode attached and instead just a link to the Patreon and all the show notes...but now I want to actually post those as real episodes in the main podcast feed. If I go back to those blog posts and attach an audio episode to them... 1) Will they show up in everyone's podcast app as new episodes? 2) If they do, will they show up with a date of back when I first posted them or will they change to the new current date of when I update them with an actual episode file? Answer: They’ll show up as new episodes, but backdated based on your post date. If you want them to display as the most recent episodes, change the post dates. Connect with Misty here... Attend Spark Contact Misty Facebook Twitter Instagram __ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is:

Who Owns Your Podcast, featuring Misty Phillip from Spark Conference – PCI 216

Voxnest is being acquired by iHeart Radio, bringing together the publishing platform and well-known audio platform. Meanwhile, the She Podcasts team recently launched Super Squad, featuring virtual membership to make up for the canceled conference this fall. The NaPodPoMo challenge starts this weekend, get your podcast episodes prepared now for easy publishing the rest of November. And while you're working on publishing episodes every month, consider the current state of your podcast. Is it time for a refresh or a rebrand? And be sure to check out next week's episode featuring Misty Phillips from the Spark Christian Conference. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording. News: iHeart Radio to acquire Voxnest (Spreaker’s parent company). Read about it here. New microphone! If you're in the market, or even just looking for a new podcast toy, Shure has a new mic, MV7 coming out. The MV7 is a USB/XLR version of the SM7B (sort of) $249. Congratulations to Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak on 13 years of producing the No Agenda Show. #NaPodPoMo starts on Sunday! National Podcast Post Month - 30 episodes in 30 days challenge,  can you do it? Podbooking: The “LinkedIn” of Podcasting opens on November 1st. She Podcasts launches SuperSquad. Amazon adding 100k free podcast shows to Audible. Best Practice: Re-tooling your show.  When is it time for a refresh? Branding (new logos, new colors, redesigned website) Show format Show frequency (more or fewer episodes per month) Expectations… how long it'll take to get all of this done, do things individually or all together, do you need help/assistance. Blubrry News: Pro hosting webinar tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30. 1PM EST. Spark Christian Conference is next week, November 6th. Todd will be speaking and we'll be giving away a year's worth of hosting. PowerPress 8.4.1 was released today. Including new destinations and some cool under the hood improvements. Interview:  Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  How to check how much storage or space you have left towards the end of the month. In PowerPress, when you hit choose file scroll to the bottom and you will see how much space you have left for the month. In the Blubrry podcaster dashboard, go to “manage published files” and scroll to the bottom and you will find the same information there. You can upgrade your plan at any time, in the billing section of the dashboard by clicking “Change Plan”. It will be pro-rated and you will get the additional space right away. If you have more than one show in your blubrry.com account and have an issue with one of them, PLEASE tell us what show you are asking about. Send screenshots that are fullscreen, much easier to troubleshoot when we see exactly what you see. Send lots of information the first time and it makes it easier and faster for us to help you out. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

When Your Podcast Needs A Refresh – PCI 215

Recently we've been quite busy with live demos, webinars and virtual events. Podcasters are no stranger to live recordings, and the industry is buzzing with collaboration and information sharing. The Blubrry team is hosting some webinars and demos this week and next. Welcome Todd back this episode, as he and Mike chat about podcast listening being at an all time high, updates from SiriusSM and Google Play Music and more. And if podcasters themselves are looking to expand into different directories, we now offer Podcast Index and Amazon Music. In podcasting, and as in life, what can go wrong, will go wrong. The important thing is how you react to it, that's our best practice tip this episode. Live Facebook recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News PM20 Virtual going on this week and next week, end Oct. 29. Joe Rogan show on hold for positive COVID test of a producer. Podcast listening at an all-time high. Given how 2020 is going, this is somewhat to be expected. SiriusXM’s purchase of Stitcher is complete. Stitcher's podcasts now are now available on Pandora. Google Play MUSIC is Dead, Dead, Dead. Podinstall, another podcast PWA. See our listing here. Spotify removed four QAnon related podcasts. NPR announced their 3rd annual Student Podcast Challenge. Best Practice: What can go wrong will go wrong, don’t sweat it. Blubrry News: Live exhibitor demos will be happening next week, streamed on Facebook as well. 4pm Tuesday the 27th and 3pm Thursday the 29th. Private Internal Podcast webinars tomorrow,  Friday the 23rd at 10am for Business and 11am for Indie Podcasters.  Find information here. Submit to Podcast Index from Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Submit to Amazon Music from Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Podcast namespace by PodcastIndex.org, soon Blubrry will support the new tags.  Professional hosting webinar on Friday, Oct. 30. 11 AM EST. Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  Where to find our documentation: create.blubrry.com. That site has a TON of information about Blubrry, PowerPress and our services plus a lot of general information about podcasting, including our Podcast Manual. WordPress sites have a Media Library, designed for photos or other files you want to be available on your site in pages or posts. This is not meant for podcast episodes/files. Blubrry hosted podcasts, using PowerPress, have another box lower in the post called “podcast episode”. That is where your podcast media goes, not the WordPress media library. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in Columbus, Ohio and Northern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Live Demos and Webinars Galore – PCI 214

It's worthwhile to have a podcast host that implements new features in a timely manner, for instance new tags that seem minor can have significant importance to podcast RSS feeds. Filling in for Todd this week, MacKenzie and Mike discuss the Podcast Academy awards, just what is going on currently with Podcast Index and elements of RSS, new information from Google Podcasts Manager and more. Looking to improve your SEO? We recently wrote about how to make the best of podcast SEO, in a few easy ways. Thanks to Stacey for being a Blubrry customer and chatting with Todd. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: The Podcast Academy announces The Ambies, the name of their awards. New podcast RSS namespace, adding elements to RSS. Google Podcasts Manager: New feature, Web Search Performance. “How people find your show.” NightBuds! A cool kickstarter project for those that like to listen while they sleep. Spotify will now allow full songs to be included in Spotify-exclusive podcasts. Best Practice: SEO for Podcasters? YES! Learn some tips here. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4 beta is out. Give it a try! Private Internal Podcast webinars are,  Friday Oct. 16th at 10am for Business and 11am for Indie Podcasters. Information and sign up here. Michael Harren of MikeyPod  is Blubrry’s October Podcaster of the Month! Interview:  Stacey Mack  - Grateful Badass Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Caching on your website Not related to browser caching Happens on your web server Can cause your feed not to update Can cause any website changes to not show up right away There are lots of caching systems. Ask your web hosting provider to explain how to clear, purge, delete, empty or otherwise delete the cache after you work on your site or publish a post (most of them will clear automatically). Connect with Stacey here... Website Podcast Facebook Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in Columbus, Ohio and Northern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Minor but Important Additions to Podcast RSS Feeds, featuring Stacey Mack – PCI 213

Last week Blubrry was lucky enough to have two sessions for International Podcast Day, one of which was hosted by MacKenzie Bennett, Powerful Women in Podcasting. She was joined by two guests, Candy O'Terry and Laura Wiese, both heavily involved in different aspects of podcasting. Check out the news update from Mike at the beginning of the episode and then replay of the IPD session. And we recently started out Instagram account, Blubrry_Podcasting. Go ahead and follow us for podcast tips, education on our services, info on events and more. Thanks for joining us in this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. News: Google announces its teams for the 2020-21 Google Podcasts creator program. ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) announced OzPod will not be taking place in 2020. IAB removes Apple Watch numbers from certified stats (including Blubrry) starting October 1st. Joe Rogan says Spotify is NOT muzzling him. Blubrry News: Private Internal Podcasting Webinars: Tomorrow, Friday Oct. 9. Business Podcasters 10AM EDT. Indie Podcasters 11AM EDT. Learn more here and sign up to attend! Take a look at our Podcast Movement 2020 virtual booth. If you are attending, check us out when the show opens on October 19-29th. Todd will be speaking,  join us and sign up to attend here. P.S, use the code Blubrry50 to get $50 off your ticket! Interview: Replay from International Podcast Day 2020 Powerful Women in Podcasting with MacKenzie Bennett, Candy O’Terry and Laura Wiese Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Connect with Laura Wiese... Website Instagram Email Connect with Candy O'Terry... Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from the Blubrry North studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Powerful Women in Podcasting – PCI 212

Today Todd, Mike and Adam talk about the history and future of podcasting. They also cover some news stories and some advice for podcasters to keep up with your fans and listeners. **Warning - The interview part of this episode contains just a few curse words.  Nothing terrible, but may not be safe for work or children **     News: People’s Choice Podcast Award Winners! Congratulations!! Podfriend has released a Progressive Web App Podcast Player using the Podcast Index. - Check out our listing Megyn Kelly escapes the corporate overlords with her own podcast New Echo Dots from Amazon Apple buys Scout FM and kills it - New features in Apple podcasts because of it Best Practice: Follow up with your fans! Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4 in internal testing. We should be ready for beta testers next week.  Email Support@blubrry.com if you would like to test it. International Podcast Day was yesterday. We had 2 sessions. Powerful women in podcasting with MacKenzie and Podcasting History / Podcasting 2.0 With Mike and Todd with Adam Curry. Interview: Adam Curry "The Podfather" - NoAgenda Show Connect with Adam Curry here... Website Podcast Index Social Twitter Email

Podcasting History and Future with Adam Curry – PCI-211

There are a variety of podcast platforms available for shows to be found on and podcasters to submit to, but not all are created equal. They are all have certain features and quirks, Todd and Mike get into some pros and cons of the major directories currently available and relevant. Don't miss some virtual events coming up real soon, including International Podcast Day, we're platinum sponsors! Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Spotify is testing listener polls in their app. Podcast Movement announced another keynote speaker, Mark Cuban. Zoom releasing is new soundboard designed for podcasting. Looks similar to the RODEcaster Pro. They will be available mid November. Spotify employees say they will strike if Joe Rogan’s episodes are not edited or removed. Charlotte Podcast Festival is October 5-30th, they'll have free sessions all month. Best Practice: What podcast apps do you want your podcast listed in?  You can choose what apps you want your podcast to be distributed to. You don’t need to be listed in all the major players. Why would you NOT want to be in a particular app?  Most of your potential listeners do not use that app, for example, a linux podcast may not need to be in Apple Podcasts although it doesn’t hurt anything. Or a podcast specifically about Apple Products, likely wouldn’t do well on Google Podcasts. The directory/app does things you don’t agree with, for example, they put ads in or around your episodes. The app does not attribute the show to you and makes it seem like they own your show. Terms of service, for example, some apps say you can’t say something bad about their company. Or you can’t talk about xx topic. You get an exclusive deal with an app/company to be only on their platform. Blubrry News: International Podcast Day is next week, September 30.  Schedule: Session 1: 11am PDT - Powerful Women in Podcasting: Candy O’Terry and Laura Wiese will be joining MacKenzie. Session 2: 5pm PDT - Todd and Mike will have Adam Curry on to talk about Podcast history and Podcasting 2.0 (podcastindex.org). The Blubrry website has been updated. The homepage and our main service pages were released, look for more changes the rest of the year. Tell us what you think! Our newsletter went out this week but it might have ended up in your spam folder. If it did, please mark it as safe! Interview: No interview this week.   Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  You can have an account at Blubrry without any services. Services are subscriptions. Account: Your login email/password at Blubrry.com. Show listing: A listing for a podcast within your account. Subscription: Either Free Stats, Pro Stats or Hosting plans. More tags for Blubrry Publisher users. Subtitle (not used anywhere but populates the tag. The main text box populates the tag (which has live links and formatting). In the Advanced Apple Podcasts Options, there is now a “RSS Description” box.  That populates the tag for the episode. (Formatting gets stripped out in Apple podcasts). This is useful to totally control what is shown in Apple Podcasts. When contacting tech support,  please do not just send a ticket that says “call me”.  Please give us some information about what the issue is. That way we know who would be the best person to call you, or if it can be handled by email or some other way. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com

Podcast Platforms – PCI 210

It's been a long seven months here in the United States (as it has been elsewhere), and we're only two weeks away from the U.S Presidential Debates - which was recently suggested to be hosted on Joe Rogan's podcast, with Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We ask, is a presidential debate on a podcast a good idea? Don't worry we discuss more than just politics integrated into politics this episode. Such as news from Amazon Music / Audible, some moves to the Apple team, and some upcoming events. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Amazon Music / Audible added podcasts in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Jake Shapiro, CEO of Radio Public and PRX founder moves to Apple Podcasts. Kara Swisher joins the New Your Times with a podcast called Sway. Apple updates with iOS14 and iPadOS14.  Some new things in Apple Podcasts. Presidential Debate on a Podcast? For four hours?! Podfest is doing a Podcast Masterclass on Sept 28 - October 2nd. Best Practice: Audio levels and tools for editing/recording For Podcast insider, we use a lot of tools.  Auphonic for leveling + Blubrry Pro Production Audition, for editing and final file creation Recorded on each end with hardware recorders.  Rodcaster Pro and Dennon digital audio recorder as a backup. Blubrry News: Blubrry at 15!  We had a Facebook Live “party” celebrating 15 years in business. See the replay here. New website coming soon! Watch for it at blubrry.com in the next few weeks. International Podcast Day: Coming up shortly, Sept 30. Potentially still looking for a second guest to join the Powerful Women session with MacKenzie. Newsletter will be going out next week, keep an eye out in your inbox. Interview: No interview this week, we will replay our 15-year anniversary live steam at the end of the show.  Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  Amazon Music / Audible podcasts: YES, we will be building in support for Amazon in our products. If you'd like to submit your show now, head here. Push vs. Pull: RSS (and podcasting) is a PULL. You create your show and create an RSS feed.  All the directories and apps PULL your show when they can. It can take 24-72 hours. This is normal. That is why you want your listeners to subscribe; if they do they get episodes as soon as their app pulls your feed (normally within an hour). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Presidential Debate on a Podcast? – PCI 209

A release schedule can be critical for a podcast, but so are breaks every once in a while. We promise, taking time off won't kill your podcast overnight. There are a few strategies and best practices for taking some time off, whether it be unexpected or the foreseeable future. Mike and Todd discuss podcast days off among event details, webinar info and more. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Podcasting 2.0, preserve podcasting. Joe Rogan moved to Texas and his first new episode featured Adam Curry. The Podcast Academy September Social is on the 17th at 5pm EDT. Not much time left to join the Podcast Academy at $50 yearly. Price is going up real soon to join. NAB Show 2021 rescheduled for October 2021 instead of spring. Former President Bill Clinton is starting a podcast. Indie Pod Con is this upcoming weekend. Todd speaks Saturday at 6:25pm EDT. “Your News Update” in Google podcasts. Best Practice: Take a day off from your podcast, it's ok... maybe? Blubrry News: Mike is doing a live PowerPress webinar next Tuesday at 4pm EDT. International Podcast Day is Sept. 30th. We super excited about our two sessions, Powerful Women in Podcasting and Podcasting History and Podcast 2.0 with Adam Curry. Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Q: “I’m getting an SSL mixed content warning from the browser. My site is HTTPS. What’s wrong?” A: There is likely a photo on your site that is linked with http instead of https. If that photo (or other linked file) is on your site, change the link to https and you should be OK.  If it’s offsite, see if the file works with https from the other source (sometimes it will).  If that doesn’t work, down the file and re-upload it to your site and change the link.  Also, use a plugin like Really Simple SSL to force https on all links that it will work on.  If you are hosting and publishing on blubrry.com directly,  make sure you put YOUR email address in the Podcast Settings in the blubrry.com dashboard.  That way YOU will get the email from Apple and others instead of us. A trick we use in support for looking at RSS feeds. Install the Firefox browser (you don’t have to use it for anything other than looking at feeds if you don’t like the browser). Install the Add-on called RSSPreview  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/rsspreview/ (Very important that you get the one with no space in the name of it. There is another one called RSS Preview that is not the one I’m talking about). Then, when you load your feed in Firefox you get a nice view of it. You will see the title of your show, the description, the image and the posts listed. A cool tool for looking up a show https://castfeedvalidator.com/FindCast.php When you publish an episode, load your feed in Firefox and double check that it is there, and plays (You can click on the enclosure to open the media in the browser). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

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