Are You Running Out of Podcast Topics?

It happens to the best of us. Show topics don’t grow on trees afterall. Inevitably we face a show deadline with no guest and no topic to work with.

What do you do?

I have three fast and fun ideas for you.

Idea #1: Go to Your Stats

Look to see which of your programs have generated the highest number of downloads or comments. Revisit the topic and give listeners an update.

Idea #2: Go to Google Blog Search

Search for your topic in the Google Blog Search engine and see what the bloggers are buzzing about. You’re sure to find a timely topic in there.

Idea #3: Go to a Newbie

Ask someone brand new to your niche what they’re wondering about right this minute. It will probably be something super basic – and you’ll look uber smart answering their questions!

I’m Just Not That Into My Podcast

When a budding new podcaster comes to me for advice on preparing for their show, I encourage them to make a big list of potential show topics. If they can quickly list 50+ topics, they may just have a chance of making it through the first year without ‘podfading’ into silence.

If you can come up with 100+ that is even better.

We’ve all seen it happen. A new host has a great idea and launches their show with all kinds of vim and vigor – but just a couple of months later they’re struggling to come up with show topic and guest ideas. They thought they had endless ideas but the end came too soon ;)

Maybe they just need to do some creative brainstorming – or maybe they have realized they’re just not that into their show topic.

There’s nothing wrong with giving something a try and changing your mind later – but wouldn’t it be better to go in armed for success?

If you’re thinking about launching a new show – make that big list!

New Resource for Audio Clips

Podcasters who want to make their programs sound more interesting have a new resource available to them. It’s iStockAudio – a new offering from iStockPhoto.

There are all different kinds of audio. Music, voice, environmental, etc.

I did a search for ‘kitchen sounds’ and it turned up an audio with the busy sounds of a kitchen. I think this is going to be a fun place for me to poke around and find clips that would add a new element to my podcasts :)

What about Blog Talk Radio?

Quite a few potential mom podcasters have been asking me about hosting a show on Blog Talk Radio as an easy option for producing a new show.

For those who aren’t familiar, Blog Talk Radio is a totally free live internet radio venue for people who would like to host their own show and even be able to take live calls.  They provide all the cool tools for your show and even generate an RSS feed of your recordings so that it is instantly podcasted.

There are some definite advantages to Blog Talk Radio.  Running a live show means no mixing and production work later.  The fun of taking live calls is a huge plus.  I love how your live listeners can hang out in a web chat and interact with each other and you too.

If you’re going to use BTR, even thought they do provide everything you need for an RSS feed – I advise you to still set up your own blog and post your show notes along with the mp3 link so that you can be in control of your own RSS feed.  You never know when you might want to make a change and it’s a terrible pain to deal with switching things out later.

I used BTR for Mom’s Morning Show for nine months.  The system wasn’t always reliable but we always understood that it was new and constantly being upgraded and improved.  And hey – you can’t complain about free, right?

I wanted to try BTR to see if having a show on their site would increase our exposure but to be honest, I didn’t see that happening.  Even when their Community Manager gave us some buzz on the blog and when we were featured on their main page, we didn’t see big listenership.  There are so many programs running all the time – just being there doesn’t draw attention.  Promoting your show is still up to you.  If you understand that going in, BTR is a great resource for you.

Some of the moms I talk to shy away from doing a live show for fear of things like flubs and dead air.  There’s a post on the Blog Talk Radio Blog about avoiding dead air that I think holds some excellent advice about that.

Learn About Podcasting

Guess who is a Guest Sweetie Saturday Report Writer? It’s me!

I have written the Profiting from Podcasting guide for Alice Seba’s Sweetie Saturday Report Club and you can grab it right now for a measely two bucks when you use this coupon code: 28CC4

Now is a great time to launch a new podcast.  Do you know how many people in your target market just got a new iPod or some other mp3 player for Christmas?  Tons!!  They’ll be hunting for great audio content to fill it with :)

Submit Your Audio Articles to LadyPens

I partnered with Nicole Dean this year on revamping the LadyPens Women’s Article Directory and I want to draw your attention to a new feature there that you should be tapping into one way or another.

It’s a category for Audio Articles.

The same great article content that publishers can grab for a newsletter or website, publishers can now grab for a podcast or internet radio show.  That is IF the author has taken the time to provide an audio version of their article.

These are not computer voice read articles – these are articles read by the author in her own voice – ready for insertion into your audio project.  You use them and give credit for them the same way that you would use the text version.

If you have written articles to promote your business, I want to encourage you to create an audio version of your best articles for LadyPens.  I for one am hungry for some great audio content to supplement my podcasts ;)

Podcasters Take Care with Wordpress Upgrade

The latest version Wordpress (2.6) created a bit of a crumple for us Podpress using podcasters.

If you upgraded to 2.6, then tried to publish a new podcast or edit an old one – you noticed that your podcast Mp3 info was not being saved on the post.

This happened to a couple of my friends this past week and sent them into a panic.

The good news is that the fix isn’t too hard – and I’m sure that the Podpress plugin makers will issue an update soon that will correct the issue.

You can find the fix that I used successfully right here.  Look at Otto’s comment ;)

Lesson: You should always upgrade to the current build of Wordpress BUT if you’re dependent on plugins, it pays to wait at least a couple of weeks to see if there are any known issues before putting your website on the line.

I Want Guests!

We podcasters receive a healthy number of requests from people who want to be a guest on our shows.  To help potential guest make a good pitch, I provide some information and tips right on my website.

Because I have taken the time to tell someone exactly how to approach me with a show topic idea and I have given clear information on just what sort of topics I am open to, I get annoyed when someone makes contact to pitch something that is completely outside of the scope of my show.

Annoyed may equal me hitting the delete key.

I don’t get delete happy with everything.  If the person writing me is a work at home mom, I’ll always take a moment to reply and let them know the topic isn’t a good fit.  If I know of a podcaster who would be interested in their topic I will forward their email to them.

It’s sad that most of the guest requests I get aren’t appropriate because I WANT guests.  I want interesting people with good topics to contact me.  I want to interview moms who are doing well with a home business.

Should you send me a shop topic idea?

Is it ok to take a Hiatus from your Podcast?

It is not only OK to take a hiatus from your podcast now and then, I think it’s a great idea!

I’ll admit that this is a relatively new opinion for me and that I’ve never taken a hiatus from Work at Home Moms Talk Radio in the four and a half years I’ve been hosting it.  But still – I see great value in occasionally taking a breather.

You don’t have to let your podcast feed go silent.  My friend Tara of Army Wife Talk Radio re-broadcasts popular episodes when she needs to take some time off.

If need a break – take it :)  Just let your listeners know in advance when the hiatus will begin and how long it will last.  They’ll be waiting for your return to action with smiles on their faces :)

Build A Community Around Your Podcast

If you’re podcasting (or if you’re a pre-podcaster at this point) you want to have an active, responsive listening audience, right?

Of course you do! No one wants their podcast to be a one way conversation. We want interaction!

Jason Van Ordon (Author of Promoting Your Podcast: The Ultimate Guide to Building an Audience of Raving Fans) is creating a series of videos/audios that talk about building a community around your podcast. I’ve watched the first segment and I’m listening to the second segment right now.

It’s good stuff.  He’s sharing what he calls the ‘Laws of Magnetism’ in this audio.

They’re available to you free, just click here to start :)

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