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NMX Hanging Out & Discussing Podcasting with Rich Brooks, John Lee Dumas & Chris Christensen

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Rich Brooks giving podcasting tips on a Google Hangout

Our first ‘official’ Google Hangout On Air was streamed live on November 21st , 2013. NMX’s own Coach Deb Cole had a lively and fun interaction with Rich Brooks, John Lee Dumas and Chris Christensen in which the audience received an abundance of podcasting tips from these pro’s. There was a vibrant sharing atmosphere within which host Coach Deb, Rich, John & Chris clearly broke down and explained their creative approaches to the adventure of podcasting.

Podcasting Pro’s

Rich Brooks hosts the Agent Of Change (AOC) in Maine, which is a growing event for digital marketers creating buzz reverberating far from the North East coast. Rich has the legendary status of attending every single NMX / Blog World and has a long standing professional relationship with us all.

John Lee Dumas is the recognizable voice behind Entrepreneur On Fire, where he interviews a different business owner every single day.

Chris Christensen of AmateurTraveler has received a million travel podcasts downloads per year. Impressive!

Coach Deb and her Hangout buddies started out discussing how Rich landed his college course teaching gig, and how this led to other opportunities. Chris also teaches at his local community college, a role he got after successfully pitching the idea to them. The conversation was geared to inspiring listeners to pursue similar teaching positions if qualified.

John Lee expressed excitement to be speaking at NMX in Vegas about acquiring a massive podcasting following. Chris is looking forward to spending time with peers sharing ideas and new information, and he also stressed the importance of tapping into the community to get a feel for what content they seek. Rich’s NMX presentation will revolve around using social media to generate leads and make money for your business – be driving traffic and then converting them to customers.

Monetizing Blogging & Podcasts

Questions came in from the viewing audience asking if the panel felt it OK to make money as a blogger. John explained how the blogger passion carries over through every step of the process including building the audience and then monetizing that through multiple streams – connecting content with the best following to benefit everyone.

Rich added how much he loves running a small business and interacting with his clients in the rural setting of beautiful coastal Maine. He monetizes in different ways, by bringing in leads effectively, and can do this from the small area he chooses to live.

Chris told a story demonstrating that in 2005 bloggers & podcasters were very turned off by the premise of making money from their passion. For him, it is still a labor of love, and his income comes from other internet activities that offshoot from his podcasting.

NMX & The Media Revolution

The podcasting participants then looked into the future, discussing how new car technology will bring easy dashboard access to content, and how that will change the entire landscape of podcasts, and possibly make them the ‘go to’ car trip activity!

The Media Revolution is on – said Coach Deb, and this informative and spirited Google Hangout On Air opens the door for the viewers to see through the eyes of these inspirational content creators and digital marketers.

Rich, John, and Chris are all speaking at NMX in January. If you haven’t reserved your seat yet, make sure to do so now! Use the code LOYAL20 for 20% off y our ticket.

Why You Want To Make Your Listener Forget

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Image Credit: Shaileshnanal

There is a primary reason most people seek entertainment. They want to escape reality. Help your listener make their escape by making them forget they are listening to a recording.

People want to forget about their troubles of the day. To get away, they watch movies, go to concerts, watch television, listen to radio and spend time with your podcast. People get wrapped up in another time, place and story. This makes them forget about their reality, even if it is only for a short time.

Take them to another place with your podcast by using stories. Make your storytelling so strong that their imaginations put your listener in another time and place. That’s what great storytelling is all about. That’s what great relationships are all about. It is engagement.

So, how do you make them forget? How do you engage and entertain to the point where your listener is so engrossed with your content that they forget about everything else? What are the steps to create a great story?

Take a few tips from movies and television. Tell compelling stories just like the movies.

Here are the five things you need to remember in order to create great tales for your podcast.

1. Have great characters

Every story has great characters. You may love them. You may hate them. Either way, you remember them, because they stir emotions within you.

The characters are well-defined. You feel like you know them. During the story, you find yourself either rooting for them or against them.

Podcasts create these characters in various ways. It may be the host that is the character. The host may tell stories about others. The people defined in the e-mail questions answered during the show could be the characters of the stories. You could take phone calls or voicemail questions from people. Their voice alone helps define their character. Live guests with colorful backgrounds are also a source for great characters.

“Billie Jo, single mother of two who works as a waitress in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to make ends meet” is somebody you can begin to envision in your imagination. “She uses her kids to shoplift” completely changes your perception of her.

Great characters get your audience wrapped up in the story, so they forget they are listening to a recording.

 

2. Create some tension

All good stories have a plot. As we learned in composition class, great drama and tension create a solid plot. The protagonist must overcome the dilemma. Your listener begins to wonder what will happen next.

Podcasts that answer listener questions create some tension. The listener typically has a problem they need solved. This typically isn’t an Earth-shattering problem. However, it is a form of tension.

Great guests have usually overcome some obstacle to achieve their success. These obstacles create great tension in the story. Help your guests define that tension.

Tension in the story gets your audience wondering what will happen next. Once your listener gets focused on your story, they begin to forget about their reality. That’s what great stories are all about.

 

3. Use great details

Details make stories come to life. When you use vivid details, your listener can smell the air. They see the colors. They can hear the sounds. Your details put the listener in the moment.

You can tell a story in one of two ways.

The first way would have no details.

I stopped at a diner to grab some dinner.

That line does very little to stir the imagination and transport you to another time and place.

The second way incorporates vivid details.

Dinner would be the first meal I would have that day. I stepped into the roadside diner and shook off the snowy, December cold. The beat of the jukebox and bubbly chatter of the locals began to warm me even before I could take a seat at the barstooled counter to order my biscuits and gravy.

The detailed story begins to stir your imagination. You can feel the cold. You can hear the jukebox and crowd. You can almost smell the diner food. When those senses are activated, you begin to forget you’re listening to a recording.

 

4. Have a resolution

The resolution is the payoff to every great story. It is the climax to the movie plot. It is the “happily ever after.” The resolution puts the bow on the whole package.

Your resolution comes when you follow through with whatever you were hoping to make your audience feel. It could be the answer to the question. It could be the breakthrough success of your guest. You could wrap up the story with the punchline to the funny tale. Your resolution is where you solve the conflict and tension.

 

5. Me, not us

Talk to your audience one-on-one. Make your podcast personal by treating every listener as an individual. The more personal you get, the more engaged your listener will become.

Notice the tone of this writing. I’m talking directly to you. I’m helping you with your podcast. I’m not addressing “you guys.” I’m not talking to “all of you.” Sure, I’m writing for many. But when you read this, I’m writing for you and only you.

If I’m talking to you, you will in turn feel responsible to listen. If I’m talking to “all of you,” it becomes easier to assume somebody else will listen if you want to stay focused on something else. Engage by speaking one-on-one.

When you record your podcast, you need to create that wonderful theater of the mind. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading fiction or talking about gardening, put your audience in the moment. Transport them to another time and place.

Make your podcast entertaining by creating great stories using the five elements. Great stories have great characters. Engage your audience with some tension. Spark the imagination of your audience with vivid details. Wrap the story up with the resolution. Finally, speak to your listener with a one-on-one tone. Stories help your listener forget about their troubles of the day.

Try to incorporate stories in every podcast. Stories will help them escape reality. Make your listener forget they are listening to a recording.

Three Steps To The Art Of The Tease

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Photo Credit: Tiom

When you want your listeners to stick around and listen to what you have to say, you need to give them a compelling reason.Your listener needs to anticipate what is to come later in the show. You need to excite them. You need to tease them.

Anticipation is a key feature to storytelling. Your story should build just like a good plot builds in a movie. You need to make your audience anticipate the content that is on the way.

Your story is similar to a vacation you are planning to take. The fantastic anticipation for the trip is almost as pleasurable as the trip itself. You can’t wait for it to arrive. You want your listener to feel the same way about your story.

When your listener can’t wait for the story to arrive, you have created some great content with a powerful tease. Your listeners will get more enjoyment from your show when they get the tease payoff more often. The pleasure of the “oh wow” factor will be increased. The joy of anticipation will keep your audience coming back for more.

There are three steps to creating an effective tease.

1. Intrigue me.

When you promote content that is coming up later in the show, you must give your audience an intriguing reason to stick around. It isn’t enough to simply say, “A great story about this weekend is coming up.” Few will stick around for the payoff. The tease lacks stickiness. It doesn’t hook the listener.

A creative tease produces anticipation. Instead, use something like, “You’re never gonna believe what I found in the attic this past weekend. My world is about to take a wild turn.” With that statement, your imagination begins to work.

What could it be? A wasp nest? An antique? A structural problem with the house? Imagination is the magic of a creative tease. Stir the imagination of your audience to truly engage them with your content.

When possible, intrigue by incorporating the listeners world. “This weekend, I discovered a way to save $100 a month on my grocery bill by changing one thing in the way we shop. I’ll tell you how you can do it too.” It answers “what’s in it for me” for your listener.

2. Give them 80%.

To create an effective tease, give your listener 80% of the story while leaving out the most important 20%. It is similar to giving the setup for a joke without providing the punchline. Lead your listener right up to the line, but make them wait to step over.

The key to an effective tease is to withhold the most important 20%. Let’s use our previous example of the attic weekend. I could say, “You’re not gonna believe it, but I found a $25,000 antique painting in the attic this weekend. I’ll tell you what’s on it coming up.”

This is a perfect example of withholding the wrong 20%. Who cares who is on it. If it’s worth $25,000, it could be a painting of the sky. It wouldn’t matter to me. I’d only be asking where I could sell it.

Twenty-five thousand dollars is the most exciting piece of information in the entire story. That is the piece that I need to withhold to create some excitement. To properly tease, I need to say, “In the attic this weekend, I found an antique painting of Napoleon. You’re never gonna believe how much it is worth.” You are more likely to stick around to see if I can retire on my winnings when I set it up in this fashion.

3. Make it impossible to search online.

You want your listener to keep listening for the payoff to your set up. If I can simply search on Google for the answer to your tease, there is no reason to keep listening. I can just look it up and be done with it.

You need to get creative to make your tease unsearchable.

Let’s say I have a story about Joe Celebrity getting drunk at High Profile Bar in Las Vegas over the weekend where he got arrested for assault. I could say, “Another movie star got arrested this weekend after he got in a fight with a customer at High Profile Bar in Las Vegas. I’ll tell you who it is coming up.”

Celebrity name is part of the correct 20% I’m withholding. However, I can look this story up on Google in a heartbeat. If I search “Arrest High Profile Bar Las Vegas” the chances are good that I will find the story in the first few search results. The tease isn’t effective. It is too easy to search.

To make the tease more powerful, make it impossible to search. “Another bar fight over the weekend landed another celebrity in jail. The story is coming up.” This tease makes it much more difficult to search. If you entered “celebrity bar fight weekend” in Google, 70 million results show up. It will be much easier to wait for my payoff than to begin searching 70 million Google entries.

The three steps to powerful teases will help you begin to engage your audience on the way to building powerful relationships. Use the three steps to entice people to listen to the episode. Then, use them again during the introduction of the show to get listeners to enjoy the entire recording.

You’ve worked hard to create your content. A lot of effort has been exerted on your part while writing and recording your show. Make your content intriguing by using these three steps to intrigue your audience.

When you use the art of the tease, your listeners will spend more time with your show. The increased frequency of the tease payoffs will help your audience enjoy your content more. When your show is more entertaining, it becomes more engaging. When you truly engage your audience with your content, you can begin building powerful relationships. That’s where trust and influence with your listener begins.

6 Steps to Get Your Listeners To Stick Around

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to do list

(photo by Cossac)

To keep your listener coming back for more, make her comfortable. It is like she is meeting an old friend again. Most people know what they like and like what they know. To get your listeners to stick with your show, build a solid structure. Then, be creative within it.

Think of your favorite talk show. Can you see the structure? Late night talk hosts like Jay Leno and David Letterman follow a structure with an opening monologue, a comedy segment, two guest interviews and a band performance. Radio call-in shows like “The Dave Ramsey Show” and “The Clark Howard Show” will structure their show with an opening and monologue followed by calls from listeners. Successful shows follow a format.

I often hear podcasters say, “We don’t have a format. We just talk about whatever is on our minds.” This is a mistake. Your listener expects quality and consistency. They want to be assured they are getting what they expect. Consistency makes your listener comfortable.

Structure doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and ad lib on your show. A structure simply means you have a well-defined plan. You need to know where you’re going and how you plan to get there. More importantly, your listener needs to know that you know. A consistent structure conveys that message.

Here are six elements you can add to your show to quickly build some structure:

1. Include an Intriguing introduction

New listeners will constantly join your podcast. You cannot assume every listener has heard the first episode or any episode that happened before this one. Tell your new listener what to expect from your show every time you record a new podcast.

Your introduction should be succinct and intriguing. You have about thirty seconds to convince your listener to stick around for the rest of the show. Tell them who you are and what you do in a general sense. Next, tell them what to expect from this specific show. Finally, tell them how to get involved with the podcast.

“Welcome to the Podcasters Podcast. My name is Erik K. Johnson. Over the next 30 minutes, we will answer your questions about transforming your podcast from average information into engaging entertainment and we will turn your relationships into cash.”

With that quick introduction, I told you exactly what to expect. You know the name of my fictitious podcast. You know the name of the host, exactly how long the podcast will run, and the goal for the show. I’ve also put you in the mix by referencing your dreams and how my podcast will help you. In those brief seconds, I’ve told you who, what, when and why.

Your introduction must be intriguing. On his show “48 Days Podcast,” Dan Miller discusses the possibility of finding work you love. He hooks his listeners right from the start.

“Today we are going to talk about work” is not intriguing. That will not create any desire to stick around to hear what you have to say, especially for 30 minutes or an hour. For many, talking about work is like watching paint dry. Dan opens with “Do you love your work? Do you think it’s possible? Well, you’re about to find out.” Dan is intriguing.

“Today we are going to answer four e-mails to help these individuals escape their dreaded 9-to-5 and get into their dream jobs.” That is a statement that will stir some emotion and make people listen through to the end.

A great introduction welcomes new listeners to the group while making regular listeners feel comfortable.

2. Details That Delight

Details captivate the imagination of your listener. Your podcast should contain great stories that engage your audience. Put your listener in the story by adding delightful details.

“It was a muggy, hot lunchtime. We ducked into the cool, dark shade of the thick woods where the sun was barely visible through the dense leaves. My eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the leaf-covered path when I lost my footing near the edge of an embankment. I ended up landing on my hip and rolling head-over-feet down the fairly steep, 10-foot drop where I promptly landed on my butt in the muddy mess below. My legs were completely covered in mud as if I had been rolling in it for hours.”

With the delightful details of that story, you can almost feel yourself in the woods. You can see the muddy mess in your mind. You can smell the thick, wooded area. Details help your listener experience the story rather than just hearing it.

3. Call To Action

Your podcast should encourage your listener to take action. The most common action we desire is listening again. Other possibilities include buying our product, visiting our website, or getting involved with our cause.

To get our listeners to act, we must include a call to action. It seems logical. However, many podcasters believe, “If I build it, they will come.” It simply doesn’t happen that way. Remember to always include a call to action. People won’t buy unless you ask them to buy.

4. Remove The Breaks

Be sure your show flows. Do not break the podcast into parts. When you make one segment sound like it ends, making a break appear, the listener has a chance to exit.

When you say, “Now it’s time for…” you have just made one segment end and another begin. You’ve given the audience the signal that the portion of the show they were just enjoying is now over, and you’re moving on to something different. If they want to get out, now is the time.

Avoid giving them the chance to leave by keeping the show one continuous, smooth piece of work. Simply start the next element without setting it up with a qualifier.

5. Help Your Audience

If your entire product and marketing strategy is focused on you, it will be very difficult to retain listeners. People are interested in themselves. As good as you might be, your listener will still wonder what is in it for them.

As Zig Ziglar says, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Make it clear how your listener benefits by your content. Focus on helping your audience.

Your customer is not interested in your product. She is interested in what your product can do for her. The content of your podcast must relate to your listener at all times. Make sure you position your content from the point of view of your listener. Nobody wants to watch your home movies unless they are in them.

6. A Powerful Conclusion

When you reach the end, thank your audience. Give them a nice conclusion summarizing the show, and let them know where they can get more. You might send them to your website, invite them to join your group on a social media site, or simply remind them when the next podcast will be posted.

Just like speech class, your conclusion should restate your introduction almost word-for-word. It should also contain your call to action.

Put It In Place

Follow these six steps, and you will quickly add some solid structure to your show. Even if you don’t have the desire to grow your audience to huge levels, you will need to replace the natural attrition your podcast will experience. You will always have listeners who stop listening for various reasons, such as no need, replaced by another, no longer entertained, or replaced the computer/phone with the rss feed.

As you attract new listeners to continue to fill the funnel, you must immediately hook and welcome these people to the party. A structure will help you do that. Make your listener comfortable. Most people know what they like and like what they know. Build your structure. Then, be creative within it.

What have you added to your podcast to create structure? How has it helped your audience grow? Share it below, and help others learn.

The Best Way to Get More Podcast Listeners – and How to Do It

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Want to see your podcast traffic grow exponentially? Of course you do. Who doesn’t? It can feel like an uphill battle sometimes, especially if you’re new. When I used to be part of a video game podcast with some friends, we were happy to have any listeners and we talked about growth by the person, not by the hundreds or even the thousands.

But on certain episodes, we did something different, and this one technique always blew other traffic-driving techniques out of the water. We are certainly not the only podcasters to experience this massive surge in traffic. At BlogWorld New York 2012, in fact, the speakers on the Why All Bloggers Should be Podcasting panel covered this topic, and Derek Halpern took a moment to talk about how any podcaster can make it happen.

The panelists for "Why Bloggers Should be Podcasters"

So what’s the secret? Land a special guest for your podcast.

Easier said than done, right? Because we’re not just talking about any guest. If your neighbor is a special guest on your podcast, it’s likely that no one will care – unless your neighbor happens to be a leader in your niche. The best guests are popular among your listeners and will bring in new listeners who want to hear this specific speak (and who will also be interested in the rest of your content).

Landing those high-profile special guests isn’t easy, though. Someone like Chris Brogan, for example, gets hundreds of requests for interviews, appearances, and so forth. Catching the attention of Chris – or whoever is a leader in your niche – isn’t easy. And sometimes it is downright impossible.

The good news? You can make it happen if you’re persistent and follow these great tips from Derek:

  • Lead your request with what’s in it for them.

Most people like to help others, but when you get a huge volume of requests, you need to say yes to things that are going to help you as well. If I get 20 requests and only have time for 10 of them, I’m going to say yes to 1) requests from friends and 2) requests that highlight how my actions will be helpful to me. It’s business, baby. So, when you make a request for someone to be on your interview, talk about how being on your podcast will help them.

  • Reach out to people who love giving interviews.

In every niche, certain people rarely respond to interview requests, while others are extremely vocal. You’re going to be more successful if you do a little research and find out who is vocal so you can approach those people. For example, since I mentioned him already, Chris Brogan recently posted a resolution that he would go on a “summer diet” of sorts, and part of that includes saying no to interview and media requests so he can focus on his own projects and time away from work. So, sending Chris a request right now is probably not the smartest idea.

Some people are very private and almost always say no. For someone like Chris, the likelihood that he will say yes or no cycles. Right now, he’s taking a bit of a break. When he has a book to promote, I bet he’ll be out there giving interviews in full force. So, when looking for guests for your podcast, find people who are known for giving interviews and have something to promote.

  • Be fearless.

My favorite tip from Derek was to simple do it – make the request. You can spend your time worrying and wondering, but at the end of the day, if you never ask, you’ll never get that yes. Fellow panelist Katie Davis also chimed in, saying, “People are nice. People like to talk about themselves.[…]Your imagination plays tricks on you, but what’s the worst that could happen?”

Lastly, I think the panelists made a very good point that you don’t have to go for the superstar in your field. Instead, go for someone who is slightly more popular than you continuously and build your audience of listeners. When you have 1,000 fans, invite a guest that has 2,000 fans. When you have 2,000 fans, invite a guest who has 3,000 fans. Work you way up to landing those extremely popular guests in your niche and you’ll have more success along the way.

Did you know BlogWorld New York 2012 featured an entire podcasting track? If you missed it, you can check out all of our sessions with the virtual ticket!

21 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Starting a Podcast

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Brilliant Bloggers is a weekly series here at BlogWorld where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every week, we’ll feature three of the most brilliant bloggers out there, along with a huge list of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here.

This Week’s Topic: Starting a Podcast

Every week, BlogWorld’s fantastic podcast track leader, Cliff Ravenscraft, presents The Podcast Report right here on the BlogWorld blog. He covers tons of different podcasting topics, but today I wanted to do something a little different and give everyone a comprehensive list of links where you can find information about starting a podcast, even if you’ve never done this before. Lots of bloggers can benefit from having a podcast, but it can be daunting to get started. These brilliant bloggers (most of them podcasters themselves) have some great advice to help you join the podcasting ranks.

(I recommend you start with this podcasting beginner’s guide right here on the BlogWorld blog from Daniel Clark!)

Brilliant Blogger of the Week:

Learn How to Podcast by Cliff Ravenscraft

Cliff is a no-brainer as our brilliant blogger of the week. He might be a podcaster first and foremost, but he’s a force to be reckoned with in all forms of content creation, from podcasting to video creation to blogging. On his “learn how to podcast” page, you’ll find an AMAZING seven-part video series, wrapped up with an 8th Q&A video. This series teaches you absolutely everything you need to know about gettings started as a podcaster, even if you have no experience. His videos cover equipment, setting up and RSS feed, and more. You seriously can’t find a better all-in-one guide to getting started than Cliff’s resource, and his entire Podcast Answer Man site is something you’ll want to check out to learn more about podcasting. You can also follow Cliff on Twitter at @GSPN.

Even More Brilliant Advice:

Ewan Spence has also written some wonderful podcasting tips right here on the BlogWorld blog!

Did I miss your post or a post by someone you know about starting a podcast? Unintentional! Help me out by leaving a comment below with the link.

Next Week’s Topic: Storytelling

I’d love to include a link to your post next week – and if you head to the Brilliant Bloggers Schedule, you can see even more upcoming posts. We all have something to learn from one another, so please don’t be shy! Head to the schedule today to learn how to submit your post so I won’t miss it.

Tips From A First Time Podcaster

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My name is Bryan Curry and I am a first time podcaster. Podcasting and Social Media is not my full time job, it is my hobby and passion. My wife would probably describe it as an obsession. I began podcasting in September of 2009, I had no previous knowledge of how to podcast, how to manage a website or how to utilize social media.

Guest Blogger: Bryan Curry

Since that time I have spent over 600 hours scouring books and the Internet trying to absorb as much information as I could. It is now my goal to take what I have learned (am still learning) and share it with you. Whether your podcast has thousands of listeners and has been going strong for years or whether it is still just an idea percolating in your mind hopefully you will learn something as I share my success and failures that I continue to experience as a first time podcaster.

Get Your Head Right

Believe it or not, beginning your podcast does not start with equipment or software, it starts with you. You have to get your head right, because podcasting is going to require work. Having a successful podcast is not all about spending an hour recording your thoughts each week and then spending the rest of the week reading scores of glowing emails complimenting you on how fantastic you are and counting your money. The majority of the work on your podcast happens when that little red recording light is not blinking at all. It is the building and maintenance of a website, the never-ending promotion, consumption and community participation. You will fail as often as you succeed, so in order to prevent the frustration that ultimately leads to podfade it is important to get your head right before you begin.

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