What Not to Do in Podcasting – PCI 362

Speaker 0 00:00:00 Don't give up. Do your podcast, have fun with it, . Yeah. That's

Speaker 1 00:00:04 All. And you know, and that's the thing is it comes through. This is a, a one of those mediums where, you know, you're right in somebody's head most of the time through earbuds or whatever. And if you're not having fun, they're not gonna have fun. You know, make sure it's not drudgery.

Speaker 3 00:00:21 You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike Dell, Todd Cochrane, and Mackenzie Bennett from the Blueberry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips and tricks to help you start, grow and thrive through podcasting. All with the support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting. Welcome. Let's dive in.

Speaker 0 00:00:42 I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist here at Blueberry. And

Speaker 1 00:00:44 I'm Mike Dell, VP of Customer Relations here at Blueberry. And normally we talk about things that you should do for your podcast. Today we're gonna talk about what not to do with your podcast.

Speaker 0 00:01:02 Yeah. Some of these things don't always seem like something you have to think about for what you shouldn't be doing for your show, but they'll surprise you every once in a while.

Speaker 1 00:01:10 Yeah. Well, we come up with a pretty good list here of, uh, of things that, you know, I guess there's a lot of should dos in here too, but we're going negative for the first of the of September here. So ,

Speaker 0 00:01:24 You know, the, the should and don't the do and don't are, they go hand in hand. So

Speaker 1 00:01:30 Of course,

Speaker 0 00:01:31 Don't do this, do this instead is really how it's gonna go.

Speaker 1 00:01:34 We kinda got it broke up in, uh, in subjects too. So the first little section is content and planning and, uh, I, I've been feeling that today, lack of preparation, ,

Speaker 0 00:01:45 .

Speaker 1 00:01:47 But, uh, we got it together. But, uh, always do some research on your topic and prepare kind of an outline. That's what we did here. And that definitely provides more value to your listeners. If you're not going well, what do I got now? Blah, blah. You know, if you're prepared, that's gonna go a long way in making your show much better than it could be.

Speaker 0 00:02:12 Yeah. And everyone feels better and ready to go when they're remotely prepared. ,

Speaker 1 00:02:18 Yes, for sure. Another thing which I'm also guilty of sometimes is off topic rambling .

Speaker 0 00:02:25 You know, I think this one can come down to sometimes editing as well. The, the more you ramble and stray away from whatever topic that you're trying to give your expertise on, the more you will bore your audience. But also speaking as someone who has edited shows before, that rambling can get very boring very quickly while you're editing. And you're like, wait, do I keep that? Do I keep this, this whole thing is useless. And you're like, why did I do this?

Speaker 1 00:02:54 ? Yeah. But some shows lend itself to that. So, you know, take that with a grain of salt because, you know, like famously Todd with his, uh, geek News Central Show, he spends the first 10 or 15 minutes talking about what's going on in his life, may or may not have anything to do with tech, but that's what his audience has expected over the years. And, you know, frankly, it's his show. He is gonna do what he wants . Right. So think of it that way, you know, you know, if off topic rambling is part of your show, then that's cool.

Speaker 0 00:03:26 Yeah. Controlled rambling.

Speaker 1 00:03:27 Yeah. But don't, you know, go on and on and on and on and on about, you know, like if we sat here and talked about the weather all day, that would be boring.

Speaker 0 00:03:35 Yes. While we could do it, it does not mean that we should.

Speaker 1 00:03:38 Right. Exactly. And then over promotion, that's something I hear a lot in certain shows and not a lot in other shows where they're just promoting their own stuff all the time, or your sponsor's products or that kind of stuff. You know, if, if that's all you're doing is promoting, you know, well, I might as well just go watch commercials on TV or something

Speaker 0 00:03:59 . Yeah. Like, I'm usually pretty lenient and happy to deal with whatever promotion you're doing for your own services. 'cause I understand everyone's out here trying to make a dollar. However you're sponsored ones . Those I will get critical of very quickly. .

Speaker 1 00:04:15 Yeah. I mean, you know, you go on and on and on and on and on, you know, uh, Leo LaPorte, uh, from the Twit Network, uh, o OG podcaster, he, he does the Paul Harvey style of advertising where he'll, and Paul Harvey's probably a bad reference these days 'cause he died long time ago. But , he, he would roll the, uh, ad right into the content, which can be interesting. But the sponsors were paying for a mention or a minute. He goes on for 3, 4, 5 minutes about his sponsor.

Speaker 0 00:04:54 I have a feeling it's because he has actually used the service or product that he's trying to, trying to sell.

Speaker 1 00:05:01 Oh, sure. You know, but, and, and there's something kind of cool about that. Again, like I said, Paul Harvey's probably an old reference, so I have to think Mike Rowe does that too on his show. That's a more modern example.

Speaker 0 00:05:15 Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:05:18 And then of course we got some technical stuff. What would this podcast be without technical stuff?

Speaker 0 00:05:24 ? Yeah. The, the first one we have in the section is poor audio quality, which we have been victim of more than once on the show. So we understand, invest in a good microphone and consider the acoustics of your recording environment. I mean, the two of us had a big conversation about that when we were starting recording today about your outside office and my indoor fan fish tank office. So .

Speaker 1 00:05:50 Yeah. Well I had a thunderstorm going on. Uh, but it, uh, has abated so you, you don't get to hear the ambiance of a thunderstorm. Speaking of weather

Speaker 0 00:05:59 .

Speaker 1 00:06:00 And another thing that, uh, along audio quality is inconsistent levels. A lot of people, they piece their show together in segments or they have, you know, a little this or a little of that in there. That's not just you talking into the microphone or you and your guest talking into the microphone. You want to keep all that stuff at the same level. Okay. Yes, please. That's one. And you can do that in post .

Speaker 0 00:06:25 Listening to you talk about it kind of just reminds me that I listen to a lot of shows that have different segments. 'cause they go into interview someone or, you know, say that this was prerecorded at such and such date and it can be very annoying. Oh, it's done wrong. For sure.

Speaker 1 00:06:41 For sure. And, you know, and the thing about it is, is that we have the technology now to fix that. Um, you can use a thing called Onic, uh, which is free for two hours a month, or you could sign up for our, uh, media mastering and it'll do the same thing. And, you know, a lot of, a lot of audio editors now audition has it built in where you can level it to a standard and it's, you know, it's just good to do that. You know, I don't want to be diving from my, uh, volume knob every time. You know, something switches in your show, you know, keep it, keep it on the level. be the way to, to put it.

Speaker 0 00:07:23 The last one for this section is the overuse of sound effects or music. So they, they can definitely enhance a podcast, but too much can just be plain old, distracting sometimes.

Speaker 1 00:07:34 Oh yeah, for sure. Uh, you know, now there, there are exceptions to this. Again, you know, just like everything, it, it all depends on your show and your audience. Uh, Adam Curry, uh, does a show called No Agenda. And I would guess that, uh, throughout the thing, he might play 50 or 60 or 70 sound effects and little stingers and things. But that's, that's the style of the show. But if your show isn't necessarily lending itself to that sort of thing, you know, just, just be nice to your audience. They don't want to hear all your silly stuff all the time. Yeah. Come back. You know, it is fun. You know, I've got a effects button here. I can do all kinds of crazy stuff, but I don't, there we go. See, I can do that

Speaker 0 00:08:22 As I believe I hear thunder in the background. .

Speaker 1 00:08:24 Yes. That was thunder. That was not a sound effect . So anyway, and the next section is, is kind of along the same lines as the last one. It's engagement. Don't ignore your audience. If your listeners make the effort to interact with you, then acknowledge them. You know, mention them in the show or answer their questions in the show. Um, you know, or if they send you an email, send an email back. Even if you're not gonna mention it in the show. Just definitely if someone wants to engage with you, do it. That is the number one way to grow a podcast, I think is acknowledging your audience.

Speaker 0 00:09:02 I think also just acknowledging that someone is listening, not like a specific person just in conversation with, with a guest on the show. Say like, our listeners probably feel this way, our listeners, you know, are interested in this. Or just acknowledging that, um, you guys have opinions of your own, you know, it's nice to just feel like you're part of it.

Speaker 1 00:09:26 Yeah, for sure. And uh, like I said, one of the, the biggest ways to, uh, develop super fans is to acknowledge them For sure. And, uh, another thing we we're doing pretty good with this one, but, uh, shows that don't have a schedule or inconsistent, you know, that that can just drive people nuts because they try to build you into their life. But if you don't show up when you're supposed to, or when you said you were going to, now again, there's no rules in podcasting, but this is one, you'll, you'll have a much better time keeping an audience if you're on some sort of a schedule and you kind of stick to it.

Speaker 0 00:10:06 You know, this is also really important if someone is trying to do an exclusive show like r s s feed, you know, uh, like a subscription only show. Yep. Yep. Because people are going to expect that not only because they're subscribed, but they are most likely paying for it. And then, you know, if you're also doing the free version or like the ad version of that exclusive show, like they have to work together just to kind of keep the r s s speed piece and for your listeners .

Speaker 1 00:10:36 Yeah. Yeah. That's for sure. And it, it just, like I said, it being consistent, I, I have podcasts that I listen to that I know this one comes out on this day, or I've got a daily one that I listen to that I know by 10 o'clock in the morning I'm gonna have an episode. And, you know, so far he's been really good about staying to that schedule.

Speaker 0 00:10:59 Yeah. People are really, uh, always asking us, how do I grow my show? Be consistent. That's a, that's a big one for growing your audience. Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:11:08 Because if you're there when you say you're gonna be there and there's always new stuff that will cause your current listeners to tell other people, Hey, listen to Joe Blow on Thursday. You know, and they will, here's it right up your alley. Lack of show notes.

Speaker 0 00:11:25 . Yes. The detailed show notes that you include whenever you're posting your episode can really make your show more accessible to any kind of listener or viewer or content consumer out there. As well as like, just helps immensely with your ss e o The biggest thing to grow your audience is word of mouth. That's never really gonna change. But ss e o is number two. Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:11:55 And here, here's a pet peeve of mine, guests and interviews. First off, you do not ever have to have guests to do a podcast, so let's just get that out of the way. 'cause a lot of these, uh, gurus out there say, you gotta have a guest. And Oh, I don't have any guests. What am I gonna podcast about? You know, the whole world is trying to find guests. So just know you do not have to have a guest to do a podcast. But if you're going to have a guest, make sure you introduce them properly. So poor guests introductions, you know, make sure you always introduce your guests adequately and make them feel at home comfortable.

Speaker 0 00:12:34 Yeah, that's actually probably a good reason to ask if they have done something like this before too. . Yeah. They might be an expert on such and such, but not comfortable with this. But, you know, challenging themselves to do it adequately introducing them will just give them a very good start. Like it'll, it'll make them feel like they know what they're doing. Like they deserve to be there.

Speaker 1 00:12:57 Yep. For sure. And uh, another thing that just bugs me with some interviewers is they talk over the guests. Let your guests speak and make their points and don't interrupt them. You know, they are the person you're interviewing, they're not, uh, you know, they're not just background noise. And one of the things that I, you know, that's, we didn't write down here in these notes, but, uh, another thing is, is listen to their answers. Don't just go on to the next thing. 'cause sometimes that'll take you in a direction you didn't expect to go.

Speaker 0 00:13:30 The active listening. Yeah,

Speaker 1 00:13:32 Definitely follow up with the guests. Oh, I guess I did put that in here, didn't I? . But, uh, yeah, those were kind of the last two. But you look at people like Howard Stern, he's a master interviewer. 'cause he asks the questions, he listens to the answers, and he only interjects when he needs to. You know, he's not, he, he's not the star of the show. Uh, when he is interviewing somebody, he's making them the star. And that's kind of what you have to do. And I, I, you know, I don't know what you feel about Stern. I I don't listen to him, but, uh, you know, when I have, I just notice his interview skills are top notch. So maybe, uh, listen to him a little bit just, just to get, get an idea.

Speaker 0 00:14:20 Yeah. Find someone you like and try to emulate the best parts of them that you know, that you enjoy out of their interviewing skills.

Speaker 1 00:14:30 Right. So, let's see, other pitfalls,

Speaker 0 00:14:35 And this was just kinda like the miscellaneous category, but to start it off, , uh, there is too long or too short, don't waste my time.

Speaker 1 00:14:45 Yeah. You know, I, people always ask us in support what, you know, how long should a podcast be? I said, well, if you've got a half hour of information to do, do a half hour. If you only got 15 minutes, don't stretch it out to a half an hour. , or, or an hour. You know, there, there's just things that, uh, only takes so long, you know, that's why we don't have a set length for this show. We, we figure out what we wanna cover, we cover it, and then when we're done covering it, we're done.

Speaker 0 00:15:19 Yeah. And also, the, the too long or too short, you know, some people get a like to have, uh, a regular length every episode, but just to like, what we're doing with the show, just stick with whatever is appropriate. And that definitely works for when you have guests as well, because that can totally change how long something's going on, you know, your, your relationship, however that's going. So that can definitely fall under this.

Speaker 1 00:15:49 Yeah. And, uh, I've, this, this next one, I I've heard it before, you know, there's people that talk like it's just a monotone blah, blah, blah . And you know, you gotta be excited. You know, if you have to, uh, drink a Red bull, go run around the block or something and, uh, get somewhat excited and don't, uh, don't be dull and have a monotone voice. Uh, the n p r voice, I call it, that can put people off. Uh, it's just not, uh, you know, it's not enjoyable when the person you're listening to doesn't sound like they're having fun.

Speaker 0 00:16:27 I have stopped listening to shows before because I don't like their, uh, cadence. And it can go on the opposite way too of being so riled up. That is probably something that I will jump off of before the monotonous tone compared to other people. But the sentiment is the same. Keep people interested in listening. Yeah,

Speaker 1 00:16:49 For sure. Too much of the same. Hmm. We do that here. ,

Speaker 0 00:16:56 The, whenever I was thinking about this wine, it was probably more of these shows that are just kind of conversational of what's going on in someone's life that I think can probably get a little tired very quickly. Like people, people include details about their lives, they like to talk about it. People feel that connection through that, but it, it generally is not the whole show, you know, so there, there's gotta be something behind there changing it up Every episode somewhat.

Speaker 1 00:17:30 We, we change it up by, you know, changing the hosts around. You know, it's, it's usually McKenzie, Todd, and myself, uh, in various combinations. And that helps. And sometimes we bring in other people and, you know, we like to throw in some interesting stuff once in a while that is, doesn't really follow the format, which is cool. But again, you know, if you make it exactly the same every time, then people are gonna kinda go, Hmm, well I've heard this before, or have I,

Speaker 0 00:18:02 Or have I . Yeah. That that is true actually, , you know, you don't want someone to doubt that you, they've already listened to this before.

Speaker 1 00:18:14 The last one here is inconsistent branding or theme. Your podcast have a, should have a consistent image tone and subject matter to attract a attract. I'm reading, can you tell attract a dedicated audience? But what, what they're talking about is, you know, if you have intro music, if you change it every single episode, that's fine, but they may not realize if they got it in a playlist, what, what show am I listening to now? You know, and, and that's probably not a good thing. Or, you know, if you're doing a show a about podcasting like we're doing and you're talking about dogs and weather and all these other things in episodes, it's not gonna have the same attraction as somebody that's interested in podcasting or the podcasting business. You know, you'll listen to some other shows about podcasting that focus on that. If they're talking about microphones instead of the business of podcasting, it's probably not gonna be, uh, as interesting to you.

Speaker 0 00:19:20 It did kinda remind me, this is not exactly the same thing, but like the consistent hosts, we change it up here, but there's only two guys who sound different and one women that are, that's regularly on here with the three of us. I just remember trying to listen to, I wanna say it was Radio Lab years and years ago, and I was really interested in the topic that they were discussing, but there were like five or six guys on here, and I was like, I have no idea who anyone is . They're all talking over one another. I feel like this is so inconsistent that like, I can't just dive in. And I was like, I don't care about these men enough to try. So keeping it simple and, you know, not too chaotic, that bleeds into the consistent image, the tone every like regular subject matter episode to episode.

Speaker 1 00:20:13 Yeah, for sure. I, I was listening to a radio show, uh, which I don't normally do, but I had to drive somewhere and I didn't feel like putting on a podcast, so I was listening to these guys and it's a show with two hosts and they sounded almost identical.

Speaker 0 00:20:29 Yeah, it's not a fun experience.

Speaker 1 00:20:32 And I just, you know, I I guess those two shouldn't really be doing a show together or what it is, is maybe if one of 'em was missing, you wouldn't even notice. Interesting. Uh, I was just thinking of that show while you were talking and I'm like, yeah, I remember that. I couldn't tell who was saying what.

Speaker 0 00:20:49 Yeah,

Speaker 1 00:20:49 Sometimes that's unavoidable depending on who you got on your show, but it happens. But anyway, hopefully we've gone through some of the stuff that, uh, you may want to avoid and how to avoid them. If you have anything you'd like to add, you know, shoot us an email mike@blueberry.com, mckenzie@blueberry.com orTodd@blueberry.com and maybe we can expand on, on your question or whatever, but we'll definitely answer your email. Hence the, uh, the advice we gave earlier. I think we got it covered. Any anything else off the top of your head you can think of that, uh, people shouldn't do,

Speaker 0 00:21:29 Don't give up. Do your podcast, have fun with it. . Yeah. That's all.

Speaker 1 00:21:34 And you know, and that's the thing is it comes through, this is a, a one of those mediums where, you know, you're right in somebody's head most of the time through earbuds or whatever, and if you're not having fun, they're not gonna have fun. You know, make sure it's not drudgery, you know,

Speaker 0 00:21:51 It should be hard work, but it shouldn't be hard.

Speaker 1 00:21:53 Yeah. It's, you know, it's something you should be, uh, interested in, you know, and it, and when it becomes not fun anymore, then change it up. Yeah. Or start something new, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. I've started and stopped more podcasts than the average person, simply because it's, it wasn't fun after a while.

Speaker 0 00:22:13 Yeah. That's all happy podcasting people. Yeah.

Speaker 1 00:22:16 Happy podcasting. We'll catch you next week. Thanks.

Speaker 3 00:22:19 Thanks for joining us. Come back next week and in the meantime, head to podcast insider.com for more information to subscribe, share, and read our show notes. Check out the latest suite of services and learn how blueberry can help you leverage your podcast. Visit blueberry.com. That's blueberry without the ease because we can't afford the ease.