Category Archives: Episode

Is MP3 Dead? PowerPress Sites Deluxe Launched! – Your Podcast 006



In this episode of Your Podcast Todd and Mike talk about PowerPress Sites Deluxe – it's finally here, clarify and explain how MP3's are not actually dead. After a curious listener emailed them, they addressed some podcasting events, and finished up the episode discussing MP3 encoding tops to save you storage space and bandwidth. Thanks for listening and please subscribe to the show!

 

 

News:

PowerPress Sites Deluxe is available!

Topics:

Is the MP3 dead? No!
Using your webhost server for your podcast hosting: Don't do it! We have been migrating several people's podcast files over to Blubrry due to their webhost cracking down on the amount of storage used, or the bandwidth used by the media. Often times, when you read the fine print for most web hosting companies, they mention something along the lines of “Large media files are not included or supported in this hosting plan…”

Email from a Listener:
Hi Todd & Mike,

I'm enjoying the new podcast and appreciate hearing your take on various things in the podcast world.

You two mentioned recently attending the NAB show which made me wonder, as I'm getting close to launching my first podcast, what podcast conferences are out there that you would recommend as a good place to learn and connect with others in the podcasting space for someone totally new?

I'm also curious if you have any suggestions for finding other podcasters to possibly connect with locally? Does blubrry have any sort of location based directory?

I look forward to the next episode. Thanks!

Blessings,
Bekah
To answer Bekah, here is a list of some podcast events that we know of:

Podcast Movement Aug. 23-25th 2017 – Use promo code BLUBRRY for a 10% off!
Podfest US in Florida
NRB Proclaim! 18
Mid-Atlantic Podcast Conference
Podcamps There are still some active.
WordCamps Also great for podcasters to check out!
Local Meetups NE Ohio, Kansas City, Columbus OH and many more.
Pod2pod.com Newsletter, and they have a list of events as well.

Tech:

MP3 Encoding

Make sure you are saving with a 44.1khz (or 44100hz) sample rate.
128kbps Stereo or 64kbps Mono Constant Bit Rate (CBR).
128kbps Stereo will give you 1mb per minute file size.
64kbps Mono will give you the same quality as 128 at half the size (½ mb per minute) which saves YOU on hosting and bandwidth and saves your listeners time and data on their cell plans.
AAC files are OK. MP3s are still the most compatible for now, but this could change in the future.

To ask questions or to comment on the show, contact Todd and Mike here: yourpodcast@blubrry.com


PowerPress Podcast In Reverse and an Important Blubrry Release



Meredith Adler, a podcaster from North Carolina was MacKenzie's guest for episode 45. This week they went with a different tactic – Meredith interviewing MacKenzie about Blubrry, PowerPress and podcasting. They briefly discuss a potential new podcasting event, PowerPress Sites (Deluxe is finally out!), as well as Meredith's show that she started in the fall of 2016. Check out links below for more details and thanks for listening.
Fan of PowerPress? Leave us a review, here!

Show notes:
What is PodCon?
PodCon Indiegogo Campaign – Donate!
Blubrry Forum
PowerPress Webinar Video
PowerPress Sites
Local Hearted – Meredith Adler show


New Echo With Video and Blubrry Accounts Explained – Your Podcast 005



Todd and Mike talk about the new Echo Devices from Amazon, the Podcast Awards relaunch, Small Batch Audio Kickstarter, and about how Blubrry accounts are organized. Also, we answer the question “How many subscribers do I have?” Thanks for listening and please subscribe.
News:
– Podcast Awards – Relaunched and with new rules
– SmallBatch.Audio Kickstarter
– Alexa Echo Show – Alexa exists in what looks like an “iPad” lookalike, including video and camera.
– Alexa calling and messaging enabled
Topics:
PowerPress Sites Deluxe will include the following:
– A fully managed WordPress Website
– More theme options
– Domain mapping
– DNS control
– Email forwarding
– More plugin selections
Tech:
Accounts at Blubrry.com explained:
– Login account – What you use to sign into your overall Blubrry account.
– Show listing – Your show's listing in Blubrry. You can add hosting, stats, PPS to each listing.
– Hosting or Stats subscriptions – These are hosting or stats for individual shows.
When you ask us to “delete” an account, this means your your login will no longer work and ALL of your serivces and listings will be turned off. We regularly received 2 or 3 deletion requests a week, that then wonder why they cannot login anymore.
We get this question all the time: “How many subscribers do I have?” The short answer is, there is no way to tell, listen to the show for a better explanation.
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To send us feedback or questions, yourpodcast@blubrry.com


Columbus Podcast Festival and Blubrry Updates



If you're interested to know what Blubrry has been to up, this is a great time to catch up on the PowerPress Podcast. MacKenzie doesn't have a guest but talks about what the Blubrry team has been doing, such as attending the Columbus Podcast Festival and working on PowerPress Sites Deluxe. If you haven't heard, Twitter is also up to something new concerning live streaming, with an unknown launch date. Shawn Thorpe graciously shares another PowerPress tip at the end of the episode as well. Thanks for listening and please subscribe to the show!
Fan of PowerPress? Leave us a review, here!

Show notes:
Columbus Podcast Festival
PowerPress Sites Deluxe
Twitter – Live Streaming


NAB Show Las Vegas Recap and Bill O’Reilly is Podcasting – Your Podcast 004



On today's episode, Todd and Mike talk about the NAB Show in Vegas last week, a major broadcaster moving to podcasting and whether or not 22 minutes (or any particular time) is the perfect length for a podcast episode. Sorry for the blown out voices this episode, Vegas is loud!  🙂

 

 
Shownotes
News:

Bill O’Reilly gets fired at Fox News, turns to premium podcasting
Todd and the 3 Robs (McCracken, Greenlee and Walch) at NAB Show talking about podcasting and radio

Topics:

NAB Show April 22-27, 2017
NDI and AOIP were a theme at NAB. Wirecast and many others implementing the protocol
22 minutes – the ideal length for a podcast?

Tech:

Changing RSS Feeds, show titles, email addresses, etc. on your Blubrry listing.

Your Blubrry directory listing — all the information comes from the settings in your RSS feed. You can change the title, description, etc in your feed. This will be reflected in directories. (Apple, Google, Stitcher and everywhere else).
You can change the feed that Blubrry’s directory is looking at in the “Listing Settings” menu in the Podcaster Dashboard. No need to delete your listing or account to change the feed – contact support!
Same with email address. Contact support and we'll help you out.

Blubrry hosting quotas reset on the 1st of every month. Not on your payment date. If you upgrade or downgrade, the uploads for that month still count against your new quota until the 1st of the month.

————-

To send us feedback or questions, yourpodcast@blubrry.com


Blubrry Presence at NAB and A PowerPress Import Tip



Thanks to Blubrry team member, Shawn Thorpe, for being on the show today. Last episode he provided a PowerPress tip and we talk about another important PowerPress clarification this week. Todd and Mike will be going to NAB, the National Association of Broadcasters, this week April 24-28. Todd will be on a panel about podcasting and radio, and Mike will be enjoying the show. This means he'll also be unavailable for phone support, but email will still be up and running. We also briefly discuss the changes from iTunes Podcasts to Apple Podcasts. Thanks for listening and subscribe to the show!
Fan of PowerPress? Leave us a review, here!

Show Notes:

NAB Panel: Today in Podcasting – A Radio Station's Guide to Metrics, Reach, Distribution, and Monetization
Import Your Show Into PowerPress
Todd Twitter – @geeknews
Mike Twitter – @mgdell
Shawn Twitter – @shawno
MacKenzie Twitter – @mackenzieb6


Apple Rebrands iTunes Podcasts to Apple Podcasts and PodcasterPro® by Adam Curry – Your Podcast 003



In the third episode of Your Podcast Todd and Mike go over some breaking news — Apple has rebranded iTunes Podcasts to Apple Podcasts. Apple Rebrands iTunes Podcasts to Apple Podcasts. They also talk about Adam Curry's new device for podcast production, some topics around advertising, slow feeds, rebranding your show and even an listener question.
Thanks for listening and subscribe to the show to be the first to get new episodes every other Monday.

News:
– Apple Rebrands iTunes Podcasts to Apple Podcasts
– Adam Curry's – PodcasterPro®
– Podcast Movement – Anaheim CA  August 23-25th
For a discount on tickets, use promo code: “blubrry” for 10% off!

Topics:
– Advertising deals – Medical related, and military related.
– Slow, aka cheap hosting service and RSS feeds.
– Sequencing your show in a methodical way.

Listener Question:
from Michael Harren
“Hi gents!

I'm really loving what you're doing with “Your Podcast ” I'm already a big fan.

Your last episode made start questioning something I have recently started doing in an effort to get my podcast to as many ears as possible.  My podcast lives at mikeypod.com which is a self-hosted WordPress site and I happily use powerpress. A couple months ago I decided to also upload each new episode to soundcloud and mixcloud thinking that if I am clever with my tagging on those site, I might get some new listeners who would then follow the link back to my site.

Now I am starting to wonder if that is not such a good idea after all — do you have any thoughts about this? Am I shooting myself in the foot by taking attention away from my own website?

Thanks and keep up the great work! I'm so grateful for everything y'all do at blubrry!”
Tech:
Rebranding or changing services? You must do it in a particular order to keep your subscribers.
1. Keep your old site/domain alive for a while (30 days is good for most situations).
2. Move your media — if needed (PowerPress has import and migration tools built in).
3. 301 redirect your old feed to your new feed.

If your current service will not 301 redirect your feed, then double post to the new and the old feed for 4 episodes (or 30 days) with an announcement in the old feed saying you are moving and where you are moving to. You must keep both services running for that time to be sure to get most of your subscribers to move.

See: Migrating to Blubrry
To ask questions or to comment on the show, contact Todd and Mike here: yourpodcast@blubrry.com


Go With Your Gut For Your Podcast



Michael Harren, composer, performer and — most importantly for this show — podcaster is this week's guest on the PowerPress Podcast. MacKenzie and Michael discuss the big release of S-Town, his show MikeyPod and Vanitycasting. If you aren't familiar with the latest NPR show that broke records or know the term Vanitycasting, you'll get an overview of both in the show.
Michael has been podcasting for more than a decade and tells his story of how his show has evolved over time just as he has. It's a great episode discussing the possibilities of podcasting. Stay tuned for the PowerPress tip at the end of the episode as well. Thanks for listening!
Fan of the PowerPress plugin? Leave a review, here!

Show notes:
S-Town and Binge Listening
Michael Harren – MikeyPod
Don't Waste Time Vanitycasting – Check out the Family Guy clip at the end
PowerPress Tip segment music via Matthew Sams – thanks!


Google SEO Announcement for Podcasters – Your Podcast 002



 

In the second episode of Your Podcast Todd and Mike go over some general podcasting tips – including a lesson learned from Mike — current news, and lastly tech topics. If you're not using PowerPress yet but are interested in ensuring SEO for your show, read the Google announcement below and consider updating your website. Thanks for listening and subscribe to the show to be the first to get new episodes every other Monday.

Tips

Do not update or let your computer do any kind of update before a recording with someone else. (Mike was on his laptop with a USB headset this episode due to NOT taking this advice).
How recording your podcast live can help you become a better podcaster.
Editing pros and cons – how much do you edit? 
When should you update your show's artwork?

News

Google SEO announcement for podcasts. **PowerPress already has this feature** 

To enable SEO in PowerPress: Feeds Tab — Check the box 'Include podcast feed links in HTML headers' — Save Settings. (Make sure you are in advanced mode in PowerPress to see the Feeds tab) 

This is another example of why it’s good to have your own website be where your RSS feed comes from.

Tech Topics

Subscribe links – how to populate them (PowerPress and Generator).
Why you should be asking people to subscribe to your podcast, rather than saying “Find us in iTunes.”

To ask questions or to comment on the show, contact Todd and Mike here: yourpodcast@blubrry.com


‘Infinite’ insights and ‘Your Podcast’



Mike Dell of the Blubrry team joins MacKenzie on the PowerPress Podcast to discuss the 2017 Infinite Dial Report, an annual study released by Edison Research and Triton Digital that shows the latest information on digital media consumer behavior. Mike and MacKenzie chat about a certain statistic that stands out this year that you'll for sure want to know about.

They also discuss the new Blubrry show, Your Podcast featuring Mike and Todd Cochrane, RawVoice and Blubrry CEO. The show focuses on how your podcast should be in your control — tune in to learn more.

Lastly, CIO Angelo Mandato stopped by to talk about the difference between web and podcasting SEO, specifically in PowerPress.

Quick note — We will be changing our release day after this episode to Mondays. Look for PowerPress Podcast episode 42 on Monday, April 10.
Fan of PowerPress? Leave us a review, here!

Show notes:

Study: The Podcast Market Is Growing But Still Has One Big Problem
Infinite Dial – Edison Research Results
Blubrry Twitter
Email MacKenzie