1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,720 Hello, everybody. 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:03,840 My name is Ed Ryan. 3 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:07,840 I am the editorial director of the podcast Business Journal. 4 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:12,320 When I was at PodFest just a month ago down in Orlando, I had an opportunity to meet 5 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:13,320 Bruce Wozniak. 6 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:19,520 Now, Bruce has three podcasts that he takes care of plus his regular job and he was at 7 00:00:19,520 --> 00:00:24,280 PodFest doing a presentation and meeting people and hanging out with people and networking 8 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:25,280 with people. 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:29,320 And so we thought it would be a great idea to talk to Bruce about his experience in the 10 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:34,420 podcasting space and we put him in the PBJ Spotlight where we talk about how to promote 11 00:00:34,420 --> 00:00:39,860 your show, how to prepare great show notes, how to prepare for a show, how many shows 12 00:00:39,860 --> 00:00:42,320 you should have in the can before you launch. 13 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,640 And so right now, let's get in the PBJ Spotlight with Bruce Wozniak. 14 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,800 Bruce, thanks so much for coming on. 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:53,800 And the first question I always like to ask podcasters is, how and why did you become 16 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:54,800 a podcaster? 17 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:55,800 How and why? 18 00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:02,280 Well, how was by attending a e-marketing group that was put on by someone that we affectionately 19 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,880 know as the Podfather. 20 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:12,360 And the reason that I did it was I had known about podcasting and thought that it would 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:14,980 be a good marketing tool for my business. 22 00:01:14,980 --> 00:01:17,120 So I don't want to say the plan that's aligned. 23 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:24,680 I just think that the time had come that I was ready and launched it in February of 2014. 24 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:25,880 What were you doing before that? 25 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:32,120 Well, I still have the same business that I had then, which is now here this incorporated, 26 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,880 which has always been a company that does promotional work. 27 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:41,600 I call it communications, public relations, media relations, marketing, the web, social 28 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:48,000 media for clients that range anywhere from performers to authors, small businesses. 29 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,200 I even had an Olympic athlete client. 30 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:55,480 But I thought that starting a podcast would be a good way to start reaching people who 31 00:01:55,480 --> 00:02:02,100 I otherwise probably wouldn't get in front of, meaning that some artists who performs 32 00:02:02,100 --> 00:02:07,480 maybe say in the St. Louis area might hear the podcast and say, I wonder if this bruise 33 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,960 guy could manage and promote me from across the miles. 34 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:13,320 And now here we are in 2019. 35 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:20,760 And of course, podcasting being what it is, it became so much more to me than just that. 36 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:25,200 So the first podcast, I believe it was the first one right now here is now here this 37 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,480 turned into your first one. 38 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:29,120 And has that helped your business? 39 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:30,720 Yeah, it's interesting. 40 00:02:30,720 --> 00:02:35,280 I'm only going to correct you because there's a neat lesson here for podcasters that has 41 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:36,800 always surprised me. 42 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:41,160 When I went to start the podcast, I thought, well, my company is called Now Hear This. 43 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:46,240 So I guess I'll just call the podcast Now Hear This and did something as simple as go 44 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:48,800 on iTunes and punched in Now Hear This. 45 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,600 And I said, oh, someone's already using that title. 46 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:54,600 I'm going to call mine Now Hear This Entertainment. 47 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,920 And I bring that up, Ed, because it surprises me that it's so fundamental. 48 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:03,240 Yet I think people who are starting into podcasting just think I need to come up with a good name 49 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:04,720 for my podcast. 50 00:03:04,720 --> 00:03:09,120 And because they come up with something that they like, they don't think to take that extra 51 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,920 simple step, which is I got to make sure no one else is already using that. 52 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:15,120 I called my Now Hear This Entertainment. 53 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:20,840 And yes, it has very, very much helped me in terms of everything from getting a client 54 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:27,600 to getting a speaking engagement to getting hired by someone else to do a podcast. 55 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,000 That has done so much for me. 56 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,640 And really, the depth of contacts that I have built up because of all those guests that 57 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:39,340 I've interviewed doing it every week for more than five years, I don't know that you could 58 00:03:39,340 --> 00:03:41,280 put any kind of value on that. 59 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:42,800 Everybody always wants to talk about monetization. 60 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,400 Well, how are you monetizing the podcast? 61 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:51,400 And I feel there's a huge value on those relationships that I've been able to build and those contacts 62 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:57,480 that I've gotten through interviewing guests week after week for five years on Now Hear 63 00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,480 This Entertainment. 64 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:05,880 So talk to the new podcasters, somebody that's thinking of launching one or is just launching 65 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:07,380 one. 66 00:04:07,380 --> 00:04:11,720 You take your idea from your business and you'll launch a podcast. 67 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:14,480 My guess is not too many people know about it. 68 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:15,880 You have to push it out. 69 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:19,100 You have to get listeners. 70 00:04:19,100 --> 00:04:21,240 How did you do all that? 71 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:27,160 And give advice on people that are just starting out so they can pick up on the different steps 72 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,640 they need to take in order for the podcast to be successful. 73 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:33,200 Well, it is going to take time. 74 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:35,960 And don't get caught up in looking at stats. 75 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:37,800 You'll get discouraged right away. 76 00:04:37,800 --> 00:04:42,320 If you can really, really niche it down to something really specific, you're going to 77 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:45,640 have a lot better luck getting more listeners faster. 78 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:50,480 But at the same time, don't get discouraged if you have five episodes out and you feel 79 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:56,940 like, okay, feel like nobody is listening because it's way too soon and there's a lot 80 00:04:56,940 --> 00:04:59,420 of work that has to be done. 81 00:04:59,420 --> 00:05:04,420 I do a presentation called 20 Plus Ways to Promote Your Podcast and I always start that 82 00:05:04,420 --> 00:05:11,160 off by saying, don't do the build it and they will come approach, which is, well, I launched 83 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:12,160 my podcast. 84 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:15,040 I guess people will find it now that it's on iTunes. 85 00:05:15,040 --> 00:05:17,680 There's more than 600,000 podcasts on iTunes. 86 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,280 So just because it's there doesn't mean someone's going to find it. 87 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:23,000 So you do have to put in the time. 88 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,620 I also say in that presentation, if not you, then who? 89 00:05:27,620 --> 00:05:33,300 So you do have to become your own biggest advocate for your show and take any one or 90 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:39,360 more of those 20 plus steps that I talk about so that you can get the word out there. 91 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:44,820 You really have to get out on the streets figuratively and literally to let people know 92 00:05:44,820 --> 00:05:46,240 about it. 93 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:53,080 In your opinion, is podcasting a career or a job or is it a marketing tool? 94 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:54,080 Yes. 95 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,440 Is it a career? 96 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:57,440 Is it a job? 97 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:58,800 Is it a marketing tool? 98 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:00,080 It can be a career. 99 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:01,840 It can be a job. 100 00:06:01,840 --> 00:06:08,520 But I think that some people are so stargazed at the idea of starting a podcast that one 101 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:13,880 of the first questions they ask other than how do I monetize this is, boy, I really like 102 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:14,880 this. 103 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,080 Can I make a career out of doing this? 104 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:22,080 Not so fast, young man, is what I say because it does take some time. 105 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:27,060 And who said the expression about it takes 10 years to become an overnight success? 106 00:06:27,060 --> 00:06:31,120 You're not going to start into podcasting and a month later all of a sudden that is 107 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:32,680 your new full-time job. 108 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:36,160 Yes, it could very much be and it should be a marketing tool. 109 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:44,160 I'm surprised at with as popular as podcasting has become that more and more major corporations 110 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:49,280 have not taken to podcasting yet because you have so much control over what your message 111 00:06:49,280 --> 00:06:50,280 is. 112 00:06:50,280 --> 00:06:53,720 So I joked but yes, it could be all of those things, Ed. 113 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:54,960 It could be a career. 114 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:55,960 It could be a job. 115 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,120 It could be a marketing tool. 116 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,400 It's also just being realistic. 117 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:04,600 Now you start with now the Hear This Entertainment. 118 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:09,120 How does that lead to your second podcast and tell us all about that? 119 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:16,400 So I was doing Now Hear This Entertainment and through the Florida Podcasters Association, 120 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,540 I was able to get connected with Tascam and hopefully the listeners know that Tascam is 121 00:07:21,540 --> 00:07:29,480 a global company more than 40 years in business that does all kinds of audio recording solutions. 122 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,840 I beta tested their mini studio creator, the US 42. 123 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:34,940 It's an audio interface. 124 00:07:34,940 --> 00:07:38,360 They wanted to really market it towards podcasters. 125 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,060 So I quote unquote test drove it, gave them some feedback. 126 00:07:42,060 --> 00:07:43,640 They liked what I had to say. 127 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:47,040 They wrote an article and published it on the homepage of their website and found that 128 00:07:47,040 --> 00:07:51,200 it was getting a lot of traffic and contacted me back and they said, Bruce, how would you 129 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:58,000 like to come to California to the NAMM show, which is more than 100,000 people over four 130 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,400 days at the Anaheim Convention Center. 131 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,400 It's the National Association of Music Merchants. 132 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:08,620 We're going to have a huge, huge, you can't even call it booth there, but they wanted 133 00:08:08,620 --> 00:08:14,640 me to do my Now Hear This Entertainment podcast live on location from the NAMM show at the 134 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:15,940 Tascam booth. 135 00:08:15,940 --> 00:08:17,460 So I did that over four days. 136 00:08:17,460 --> 00:08:24,220 This was in January of 2017 and I did 23 interviews in four days. 137 00:08:24,220 --> 00:08:29,320 They had such a good experience with that that a month later they came down to Orlando 138 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,680 for Podfest Multimedia Expo. 139 00:08:31,680 --> 00:08:37,960 We sat and met again after they were done as an exhibitor, as a sponsor at Podfest and 140 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:42,940 we talked about them wanting to get more immersed in the podcasting community and I asked them 141 00:08:42,940 --> 00:08:45,120 if they had a podcast and they did not. 142 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:49,280 I said, well, I think you should have one and they agreed and I said, I think you should 143 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:50,280 hire me to do it. 144 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:54,200 They said, I couldn't agree with you more. 145 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:59,220 Just like that, the deal was struck in a handshake fashion and we worked over the next few months 146 00:08:59,220 --> 00:09:05,720 to formalize it in writing and that birthed the show Tascam Talkback, which is a podcast 147 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:07,860 for podcasters and streamers. 148 00:09:07,860 --> 00:09:13,240 The idea being, let's put this out every other week to help out the podcast community 149 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:19,040 and not directly sell and sit and talk about Tascam products in every episode, but the 150 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,320 inference being, hey, Tascam is helping me out with a lot of good information. 151 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,680 I should probably take a look at their products. 152 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:35,560 In addition to iTunes and all the other places you can get podcasts, is it on their website? 153 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,920 The website is undergoing some construction right now. 154 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,720 I really recommend that listeners look for Tascam Talkback on the traditional podcast 155 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:52,240 platforms instead, such as iTunes or I should say Apple Podcasts, such as Stitcher, TuneIn, 156 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,440 those types of platforms. 157 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,280 How long have you been doing that now? 158 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:58,480 You said it's every other week, correct? 159 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,280 Yeah, Tascam Talkback has been going for a year and a half. 160 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:03,280 Great. 161 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,320 Give us an example of two or three topics that you've talked about over the last few 162 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:07,320 issues. 163 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:12,960 It's a lot of fun doing that show because it's things that podcasters, I think, want 164 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:19,680 to know and dare I say are sometimes afraid to ask because everybody thinks, well, I should 165 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:25,400 know what my show notes page should include for my website. 166 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:30,620 We did an entire episode about show notes, what that should look like on your website. 167 00:10:30,620 --> 00:10:38,400 We did one on how do podcasters come up with ideas to put out shows on a regular basis. 168 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,480 These are things that podcasters are doing on a regular basis. 169 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:47,960 It's just more a case of let's actually spend 20 full minutes talking about this one particular 170 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:55,620 subject instead of it's maybe a two-minute part of a 45-minute discussion because there 171 00:10:55,620 --> 00:11:02,040 are people that say, well, wait, I have more questions about this specific topic. 172 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:05,000 The most recent one was about stats. 173 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,440 What stats should you pay attention to? 174 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:09,920 Which stats are most important? 175 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:11,040 Where do you look for the stats? 176 00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:12,560 Which do you believe, that type of thing? 177 00:11:12,560 --> 00:11:13,560 Do you get a lot of feedback? 178 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:19,240 Do you get a lot of interaction about this podcast that you're doing with Tascam? 179 00:11:19,240 --> 00:11:20,240 What are the downloads like? 180 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:21,560 I do get feedback. 181 00:11:21,560 --> 00:11:25,840 It's something that I think the podcasting community has responded to well. 182 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:29,680 I've enjoyed watching the downloads increase over time. 183 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:35,280 Obviously, when we initially put it out the door, just like with any other podcast, as 184 00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:38,440 I said before, you have to give it time. 185 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,920 Tascam was good enough to say, look, we need to let this thing grow some legs for a while 186 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:47,680 before even we ourselves really flex some muscle and get behind it. 187 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:49,840 The downloads, I don't have the numbers in front of me. 188 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:54,680 They wouldn't blow you away, but at the same time, when you do watch a show start out and 189 00:11:54,680 --> 00:11:59,260 you see it crawling out of the gate and then all of a sudden you see the numbers continue 190 00:11:59,260 --> 00:12:02,360 to increase, it really does make you feel better. 191 00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:07,520 Here's a tip I want to give Ed because I hear people say, nobody listens to my show. 192 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:08,880 I say, how do you know that? 193 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:13,800 They say, because I haven't gotten a single email from a single listener over and then 194 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,960 they tell you how long period of time they've been doing their show for. 195 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,080 Now, mind you, yes, I see emails coming in on behalf of Tascam TalkBack and that makes 196 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:24,360 you go, great, someone's listening. 197 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,400 But we always joke that podcasters are all about their stats. 198 00:12:28,400 --> 00:12:32,800 Well, if you log in and you see stats, that means people are listening. 199 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:37,640 So please don't base the success or lack thereof on emails. 200 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:43,320 I often ask myself, of the podcast that I listen to, have I ever emailed the host of 201 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,960 the show for any reason? 202 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,040 Don't get discouraged. 203 00:12:49,040 --> 00:12:56,160 Now the big question I wanted to ask you before we move on to your third podcast is, what 204 00:12:56,160 --> 00:13:00,560 are your thoughts on the podcasting industry as a whole today? 205 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:05,640 What do you see going on, especially from day one when you first started to maybe PodFest 206 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,080 that was just a month ago? 207 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:12,160 From when I started more than five years ago, I feel like it has changed tremendously. 208 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:20,240 I feel like when I say it's become very corporate, I think there's this huge division in podcasting, 209 00:13:20,240 --> 00:13:25,920 meaning there's this big sector over here which is very corporate, which is a lot of 210 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:30,840 money, which is a lot of dollars, which is exactly what you would picture when I say 211 00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:36,520 corporate and then way over here, there's all of the indie podcasters, a lot of whom 212 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,760 are having success, but I think there's a great divide there. 213 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:42,840 I think that's okay. 214 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:51,160 I also see that the popularity has just exploded from more than five years ago when I started. 215 00:13:51,160 --> 00:13:55,720 I do think that just like anything else, the cream is going to rise to the top. 216 00:13:55,720 --> 00:14:01,860 So, just because podcasting has become popular and it is so accessible and for all intents 217 00:14:01,860 --> 00:14:07,320 and purposes, anyone can start a podcast, it doesn't necessarily mean that just because 218 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:10,840 you start one, you're going to stick with it and you're going to be successful. 219 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:17,040 We did an episode of Task Cam Talkback about pod fading and people who do a podcast and 220 00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:20,800 they're regular with their delivery and then all of a sudden they miss a show and now it's 221 00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:22,960 easier to miss a second one. 222 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,920 Eventually, they disappear for a month or two and so on. 223 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:32,360 So, in the big podcasting picture, I think people get all excited about it, they do it 224 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,800 and then it's a matter of, okay, now the real work starts. 225 00:14:35,800 --> 00:14:38,380 You got it launched but now what? 226 00:14:38,380 --> 00:14:43,560 I tell people, think of your first dozen episodes so that you already know what they're going 227 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:49,840 to be because otherwise, you're going to be among the 600,000 plus that are on iTunes 228 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:55,920 but you're going to be in the big percentage that are no longer still generating new episodes. 229 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,400 What are your thoughts on what Spotify is doing? 230 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:03,440 The gimlet anchor thing seems like old news even though it's just a month or two old and 231 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,840 then podcast this week. 232 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:10,800 What are your thoughts on these companies being bought up like that by Spotify and where 233 00:15:10,800 --> 00:15:11,800 Spotify is heading? 234 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:15,880 Well, it's part of, as I said, the corporate side of podcasting. 235 00:15:15,880 --> 00:15:21,480 I'm waving my arm around over here to create this chasm, as I said, between the Indies 236 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,360 and the corporate stuff. 237 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,720 In the big picture, I have to look at it and say, it's good for podcasting that there's 238 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:34,680 this much attention being given to the medium, that there's this much distribution for it 239 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:40,600 that we can sit there and say, I'm to the point where I'm starting to edit myself and 240 00:15:40,600 --> 00:15:45,560 when I'm doing now here this entertainment, I'm doing this intro that's becoming unnecessarily 241 00:15:45,560 --> 00:15:51,080 long because one of the things that I was taught early in podcasting is you have to 242 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:53,200 let people know where they can find it. 243 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:59,560 I sit there and I tell people to go to nhte.net to listen to it and I think it's because of 244 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:04,000 Spotify that I wanted to let people know, hey, this is on Spotify now. 245 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:09,480 They have moved up so quickly to the number two position in terms of the second most used 246 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:13,400 platform for listening to podcasts that I wanted people to know. 247 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:18,840 Now here this entertainment is also on iTunes or Apple podcasts and then I'll say, and it's 248 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:25,960 on Spotify, SoundCloud, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, the Overcast app 249 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:31,400 for iOS and so I find myself to the point where I say, I need to just start saying wherever 250 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:36,360 you get your podcast from but as I said, I think that's a credit to Spotify. 251 00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:43,000 They have really emerged so quickly and really shown we're going to be a major player in 252 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:49,240 podcasting that a lot of us are reacting to what they're doing and to their credit, they 253 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:54,400 have a huge, huge audience that we can all get in front of. 254 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:59,280 Now let's move on to your third podcast, Catholic Sports Radio that you just recently launched. 255 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:06,280 Tell us why three, why this one and why this one means so much to you. 256 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:11,480 This is something that I had the idea for two years ago I think is when I first registered 257 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:13,840 the domain name and I was all excited. 258 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:21,200 I went to GoDaddy and I purchased catholicsportsradio.net and I thought, okay, here I go and then a year 259 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:25,460 went by and I didn't do anything and I renewed the domain name and then you get the email 260 00:17:25,460 --> 00:17:30,920 again from GoDaddy, catholicsportsradio.net is ready to be renewed. 261 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,520 Please click the button to keep it for another year and so I thought, okay, I need to finally 262 00:17:35,520 --> 00:17:41,880 do this and Ed, I'm really careful when I say this because in the podcasting community 263 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:46,480 as I mentioned earlier, the more niched down you are, the better. 264 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:53,480 You're not competing for so, so, so many ears that so many others are and I say this knowing 265 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:58,760 that religion and spirituality is the biggest category out there. 266 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:06,280 However, to get it down to something as specific as not just Christian but Catholic and then 267 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,840 to say, now wait a minute, now I'm talking about sports. 268 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:15,200 So these are guests that I'm interviewing who are Catholic and they're doing something 269 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:22,600 in the sports world whether they're a current or a former coach, athlete, official, meaning 270 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:25,520 a referee or an umpire, an administrator. 271 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:30,560 I want to get to team chaplains, I want to get to team doctors who are Catholic and I 272 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,640 just think this is so unique and I was born Catholic. 273 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:39,000 I've been a practicing devout Catholic my whole life and I have this long background 274 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:43,240 in sports where I've worked in the National Hockey League for 10 years. 275 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:48,640 I worked in the Olympic movement for 10 years and then marrying that with my broadcasting 276 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:53,400 and podcasting background, I thought this is a perfect fit and it's something that I'm 277 00:18:53,400 --> 00:19:00,880 really passionate about and I'm also finding that the guests are refreshed by the topic 278 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:07,000 because so many of them want to get, or I'm sorry, so many of them are always getting 279 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:14,160 asked about the typical wins and losses, statistics, typical sports interviews that for this to 280 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:19,000 be, no I want you to talk about your faith life and I want you to talk about how you 281 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:24,480 intersect your faith life and your sports life, they go, wow, thanks, that's different. 282 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:29,160 So I'm really enjoying it, I think the guests are enjoying it and it's fun starting to 283 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,480 watch some momentum build for Catholic Sports Radio now. 284 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,160 How hard is it to find guests and were you worried at the beginning that it would be 285 00:19:36,160 --> 00:19:38,800 a problem? 286 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:40,360 Boy was I worried. 287 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:42,200 How difficult is it to find guests? 288 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,480 Well I practiced what I preach, no pun intended. 289 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:51,680 I sat down and said okay, let me make a list of guests that I know would be a fit. 290 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:55,800 Now there's a big difference, you can sit and make a list of guests that you know would 291 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:59,440 be a fit for your podcast but it doesn't mean you're going to be able to reach them and 292 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,000 then do it, it doesn't mean they're going to say yes. 293 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:08,480 But I got as far as 50, 51, 52 people and I said okay, this will hold me over for a 294 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:13,460 while, it's going to take some prayer because I'm going to need guests well beyond that 295 00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:17,520 so this doesn't end up being a one year show and then it's gone. 296 00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:22,760 But it's really been a blessing that what has happened already is as I'm interviewing 297 00:20:22,760 --> 00:20:26,840 guests, as I'm meeting these folks, they're saying by the way you should interview so 298 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:30,760 and so and it's someone that I don't have on the list or they'll say by the way do you 299 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:33,040 know that this person here is Catholic? 300 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:34,360 No I didn't know that. 301 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:36,360 Yeah let me get you connected with them. 302 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:38,040 So that's been really terrific. 303 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:44,800 So it's given me a lot more confidence, enthusiasm that I can sustain this over a long period 304 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:45,800 of time. 305 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:51,000 So Bruce you have three podcasts and you have a full time business. 306 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:56,260 How much time are you spending editing and working on the shows that you know you can't 307 00:20:56,260 --> 00:21:02,640 really quantify in terms of money but time, it does take a lot of time especially if you're 308 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,880 perfectionist like I think you are where you want it to all sound perfect. 309 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:11,560 Yeah I would say the answer to how much time am I spending, the answer is too much time 310 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,400 and that is not by the way an invitation for people to contact me and say well let me edit 311 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:16,440 your podcast for you. 312 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:17,760 I am a perfectionist. 313 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:23,380 I used to do Now Hear This Entertainment at a recording studio and then when I came together 314 00:21:23,380 --> 00:21:29,080 with Tascam they said well we want you to be able to talk from a first hand standpoint 315 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:33,580 about our products so we're going to make sure that you have everything that you need 316 00:21:33,580 --> 00:21:35,800 to record and edit on your own. 317 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,720 So I even have a client that comes to me that she records her podcast with me. 318 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:41,240 I do all the editing. 319 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:43,320 So I do spend a lot of time with it. 320 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:44,600 I am a perfectionist. 321 00:21:44,600 --> 00:21:49,960 I have kind of told myself maybe that's to a fault and maybe I need to, I don't want 322 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:55,360 to say stop over editing my podcast but you also have to keep in mind Ed, Now Hear This 323 00:21:55,360 --> 00:22:01,440 Entertainment, those episodes come out 45, 50, 55 minutes long sometimes even as much 324 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:02,720 as an hour. 325 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:09,000 So a show that long is going to take a lot of time to edit including dropping in bumpers 326 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,360 and things like that. 327 00:22:10,360 --> 00:22:14,160 Something like Catholic Sports Radio that's half the running time is obviously going to 328 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,640 be half as much work but at the same time it's a labor of love. 329 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:24,360 I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wasn't trying to monetize this. 330 00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:29,440 Obviously right now with Catholic Sports Radio I'm trying to be a good and faithful servant 331 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:34,800 and just use my time and talent as we say in church but at the same time I do have a 332 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:40,440 responsibility to look at it and say is this something that at some point I can monetize? 333 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,100 I do feel confident that it is. 334 00:22:43,100 --> 00:22:49,140 Right now I just want to build it up before I can start down that road because again practice 335 00:22:49,140 --> 00:22:50,140 what you preach. 336 00:22:50,140 --> 00:22:55,640 We always tell new podcasters don't get into it and have your first question be how do 337 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,760 I monetize this? 338 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,560 So tell us about your setup, what kind of equipment do you have? 339 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:01,560 Is it all at home? 340 00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:05,360 What are you using to edit on what program you're using to edit? 341 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,360 Tell us all about it. 342 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:07,360 Take us through all of that. 343 00:23:07,360 --> 00:23:08,360 All right. 344 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:14,320 So yes it is at home although I do have a lot of gear that I can take out with me on 345 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:15,320 the road. 346 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:21,140 I do a lot of on location interviews and of course I use Task Cam for everything. 347 00:23:21,140 --> 00:23:26,980 So the Task Cam audio interface that I referred to before, the US-42 which is the mini studio 348 00:23:26,980 --> 00:23:27,980 creator. 349 00:23:27,980 --> 00:23:33,900 Initially I was taking that out on the road with a couple of microphones in my laptop 350 00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:41,460 but to simplify it even further I now just use the Task Cam DR-44WL which is a handheld 351 00:23:41,460 --> 00:23:42,760 recorder. 352 00:23:42,760 --> 00:23:49,600 Although it has built-in microphones I choose to XLR to external microphones into it. 353 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:51,680 I just feel I have better control that way. 354 00:23:51,680 --> 00:23:55,140 I bring my headphones and it's really that simple. 355 00:23:55,140 --> 00:24:01,840 When I'm at home I have the audio interface again the mini studio the US-42 from Task 356 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:02,840 Cam. 357 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:03,840 I use that. 358 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:10,400 I use one of their microphones and then believe it or not someone laughed recently because 359 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:13,400 they said wow I didn't know anybody that was using that for podcasting. 360 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:20,880 That's for music but I use Sonar to edit and record all the podcasts, Cakewalk. 361 00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:25,880 And it is designed for music but Task Cam trained me on this. 362 00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:30,520 It was a product that they had that they no longer market but it was called the Track 363 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:36,740 Factory which was kind of an all-in-one where you get a small little computer. 364 00:24:36,740 --> 00:24:43,640 It's about the size of my hand and then all I had to get was a monitor but it had the 365 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,620 US-2x2 audio interface, headphones, microphone. 366 00:24:47,620 --> 00:24:51,240 So it's not a lot to get set up and running. 367 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,700 I've gone through a few different iterations of Task Cam headphones. 368 00:24:55,700 --> 00:25:00,360 They have their latest ones that they just came out with which I'm wearing right now 369 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:05,200 and these are very comfortable which we all know is extremely important. 370 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,200 They're the TH-07s and that's really it. 371 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:15,520 It's a nice looking setup but it doesn't have to be really extensive and elaborate. 372 00:25:15,520 --> 00:25:20,520 I'm proud of the sound that I get and I'm real happy with all the Task Cam gear and 373 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:22,320 my whole setup here at home. 374 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:25,880 Earlier on you mentioned 20 plus ways to start your podcast. 375 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,480 Share two or three with our folks. 376 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,840 So 20 plus ways to promote your podcast. 377 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:36,280 I always make sure that I'm really far into that list before I talk about social media 378 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:41,520 because everybody just thinks, oh I know he's going to say Facebook, Twitter, Instagram 379 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:46,920 which are all important but there are so many other things that you can do. 380 00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:52,560 So for instance, Media Relations is one of the services that my company offers so that's 381 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,080 something that I do. 382 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,640 Right now for Catholic Sports Radio I'm getting a lot of attention for it because I wrote 383 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:04,480 and sent out a press release about the podcast and I think people go, press releases? 384 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,800 Does anybody do press releases anymore? 385 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:07,800 Absolutely. 386 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:12,440 So you send this press release out about your podcast and all of a sudden you have in my 387 00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:17,640 case the Catholic News Service writing a feature story they called and interviewed me and now 388 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:20,480 all of their member papers are picking this up. 389 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:25,960 So that's a great way to promote your podcast and again then you go to your social media 390 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:31,600 and you say, look at this article that was published about my podcast and so it gives 391 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:36,920 you something to talk about on your social media instead of just when a new episode comes 392 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:37,920 out. 393 00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:44,640 Another one that I like to talk about is to have a promotional item that is specific to 394 00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:45,640 your podcast. 395 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,400 Here's what I mean by that. 396 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,320 Whenever I go to networking events everybody always wants to hand you a koozie and I think 397 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:56,760 what does that koozie tell me about your business? 398 00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:01,400 When I see that koozie how does that make me think of what your product or service is? 399 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:06,200 So for now here at this entertainment I have a small little plastic case on the top of 400 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:14,320 it is the Now Here This Entertainment Podcast logo and right below it it says www.nhte.net 401 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,240 and people go, what is this? 402 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,040 They pop it open and there's earbuds inside. 403 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:25,960 You need earbuds to listen to a podcast and it's a podcast about music so it's very appropriate. 404 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:31,960 If you are somebody whose business was you're in the trades and so your promotional item 405 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:37,520 was a small little screwdriver that's a magnet that people could put on the side of the refrigerator 406 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,640 so all of a sudden they have to adjust the garbage disposal or something goes wrong they 407 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,200 need to grab a screwdriver. 408 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:48,240 They see that and now it's a repair that they say I can't handle this myself. 409 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:49,240 We need to call somebody. 410 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:54,360 Oh yeah, the guy who gave me this screwdriver his website is right on the screwdriver or 411 00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:56,680 his phone number is on the screwdriver. 412 00:27:56,680 --> 00:28:00,680 So think of something that will help promote your podcast that people will think of when 413 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:05,000 they look at it and not just a koozie because it's always good to have something to pass 414 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,000 out. 415 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:12,200 One of the other ones that I say Ed is to have a business card just for your show. 416 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:16,760 If you work at Bank of America Monday through Friday 9 to 5 and you give me that business 417 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:21,760 card when I sit down on Saturday afternoon and I say I'm going to go through some of 418 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:25,280 these business cards have been accumulating recently at some of these events I've been 419 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:29,760 going to I'm going to look at that card and say why do I have the business card of someone 420 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:36,880 from Bank of America at best I might remember oh I think this person said they have a podcast. 421 00:28:36,880 --> 00:28:42,320 I'm not going to remember what it was and so to have a card just for your podcast will 422 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:43,760 show people you're serious. 423 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:47,720 It'll tell them where they can go and listen to it print it on print on both sides of it 424 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:52,160 so you can give a little description of what they can expect when they go to that show. 425 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,160 And again it's something that's not social media. 426 00:28:56,160 --> 00:29:00,160 You have to be deliberate about promoting your podcast. 427 00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:03,480 Talk about the best way to prepare show notes. 428 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:11,200 Well this is just one man's opinion of course but because I edit my own podcast I do it 429 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:12,440 all at the same time. 430 00:29:12,440 --> 00:29:16,000 So as I'm editing I'm also typing up my show notes. 431 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:23,000 So I am I make it real easy on myself in terms of the description of the episode because 432 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:29,880 when I write the intro for how I'm going to bring in the guest on the Now Hear This Entertainment 433 00:29:29,880 --> 00:29:34,320 episode that I'm recording I already have written on there joining me today on the Now 434 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:40,320 Hear This Entertainment guest line from Atlanta Georgia my guest is a singer songwriter guitar 435 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:44,220 player who finished second on The Voice two years ago. 436 00:29:44,220 --> 00:29:49,680 He has a new EP coming out and has been on tour opening up and so I have this whole thing 437 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:50,920 written out. 438 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:57,080 So that can also become the episode description and so when I go to do my show notes I don't 439 00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:00,560 have to say well what am I going to write as the description for this episode. 440 00:30:00,560 --> 00:30:04,600 I already wrote it the day I interviewed the guest. 441 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:10,200 Now when it comes to the quotes from the guest again as I'm editing I'm also kind of keeping 442 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,680 an ear out for oh that was really good that was helpful. 443 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:15,600 Now here's another good trick. 444 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:18,020 So there's two here. 445 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:24,000 One of the things that I do is every Monday on the Instagram account for Now Hear This 446 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:29,440 Entertainment I publish a quote and it's a quote that's pulled from a show notes page 447 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:33,800 so I'm not having to do the work all over again but it's something that was impactful 448 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:39,220 that was said during that episode and so I can say on Instagram this is a quote from 449 00:30:39,220 --> 00:30:44,920 episode 123 when the guest was Wendy Wagner who sings on tour with Joe Walsh. 450 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:51,200 If you never heard it before go to nhte.net and listen to episode 123. 451 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:55,740 So on those days when you say I don't have anything to post on social media there's something 452 00:30:55,740 --> 00:30:58,800 that you can pull out so that you don't have to go quiet. 453 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:04,640 You don't have to go dark that day on social media and you send people back to old episodes. 454 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:10,720 Now the other trick is as I'm typing up my show notes I'm listening for myself to do 455 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:16,320 this little game that I have with myself which is this helps you become a better interviewer. 456 00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:20,640 If you're really dialed into what your guest is saying number one you're not only going 457 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:25,080 to think of good follow-up questions but number two they're going to say something that's 458 00:31:25,080 --> 00:31:29,280 going to trigger a prior conversation that you had on another episode. 459 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:33,360 So someone will say something and I'll say gee you know Ed I'm really glad you brought 460 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:38,800 that up because that was a lot like episode 175 with Katie Bell who is a singer in Atlanta, 461 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:44,280 Georgia and also a model who told me that her modeling helps her get more singing gigs. 462 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:48,200 Listeners if you never heard that one go back and listen to episode 175. 463 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,600 So then when I'm typing up my show notes I have a section of my show notes page that 464 00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:59,120 says related and or mentioned episodes and so I put a link to those that I talked about. 465 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:03,840 So it's also a way to kind of someone might have come to that episode just to hear me 466 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:08,280 interview that one guest and now all of a sudden I'm sending them around to other episodes 467 00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:12,440 well now they forgot that they ever came in the first place just for that one and they're 468 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:17,120 saying I like this show these are good interviews these are good guests and so you're bringing 469 00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:22,400 them in now as a listener of your show instead of a listener of just that one episode and 470 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:28,480 like I say it helps you provide a more comprehensive show notes page and obviously you want to 471 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:31,720 put a link on the show notes page to the guests website. 472 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:37,280 Bruce great information I'm sure we could go on and on all day long how can people reach 473 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:42,840 out to you talk to you listen to your shows throw everything out there so people know 474 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:43,920 where to find you. 475 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:47,980 Well we already talked about Taskam TalkBack so for now here this entertainment just go 476 00:32:47,980 --> 00:32:54,160 to nhtt.net which obviously stands for now here this entertainment and when you go to 477 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:59,700 nhtt.net you'll see all the episodes there you'll see links to the other platforms that 478 00:32:59,700 --> 00:33:04,880 you can go hear it and obviously you can just click on the contact button to send me an 479 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:11,280 email and then for my newest one you can go to catholicsportsradio.net and the website 480 00:33:11,280 --> 00:33:15,560 same thing the episodes are there there's links to social media there's links to other 481 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:21,120 platforms and I always love hearing from people whether it's email or social media so I'd 482 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:26,360 love to see some people who have found me through this conversation with you contacting 483 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,480 me through social media or through traditional email. 484 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:31,420 Bruce thanks so much for your time. 485 00:33:31,420 --> 00:33:32,420 My pleasure thank you. 486 00:33:32,420 --> 00:33:35,960 Thank you so much for your time the video will end here.