Ten Tips for Improving Your Podcasts
Pages: 1, 2, 3, 4

6. Talk to Your Friends and Listeners

As I interviewed the successful podcasters for the book, a few common elements came through. The best of the podcasts were a two-way conversation with the listener. Because podcasts are recorded in advance and are time-delayed, this obviously wasn't a real-time conversation. But the podcasters used a combination of text email, attached sound files, and online answering machine services to receive feedback from their listeners. This feedback would give them ideas about where to take the show, and would often be incorporated directly in the content of the show.

A common thread with the radio professionals I talked to was that they always "respect the listener." Audio has to be listened to in real time. That means that you are asking your listeners to spend a lot of their valuable time listening to your show. Would you listen to your show? Do your friends listen to your show? Find out what people want and find the happy medium between what you want to talk about and what your listeners want to hear.

7. Do It on a Schedule

Even though podcasting is a subscription medium, a schedule is still valuable. You will want to find a schedule that works for you, let your listeners know when they should expect your next show, and give some idea of what will be in the next episode. This is one of the ways to follow the old entertainment maxim, "Always keep them wanting."

From my interviews with podcasters, I found that 15 minutes of show took between one and four hours to produce, from starting through show prep, recording, editing, and uploading. Shows with little editing were on the low end of the time scale, while highly produced music shows were on the longer end of the scale. Think about your weekly schedule and how much time you have to give over to your podcast, and then decide for yourself how long the show should be and how often you will be producing a show.

8. Slow Down and Relax

Talking too quickly is a very common mistake. If your podcasting routine is to practice your podcast a couple of times before recording it for release, then you need to watch your pacing. As you get more comfortable with the content, you may find yourself speeding up your pace and you will need to keep an eye on that as you record. Give yourself enough time to slow down and to try enough times to get the podcast to where you want it.

Another element of the speed problem is being tense. Audio recording, with the presence of a microphone and hearing your own voice through the headphones, is alien to most people, and it's tough to be relaxed while doing it. As I mentioned in the first section, preparing show notes in advance can help make you more comfortable. Another technique is to avoid caffeine. So no soda, coffee, or caffeinated tea, though an herbal lemon tea is often used to relax, loosen up the throat, and to keep the mouth moist without getting too sloppy.

Another cause for stress is unrealistic expectations. Adam Curry, the king of podcasting, makes shows that are very well-produced. It's no wonder, since he spent years ad-libbing on MTV as a VJ. He sets a very high bar that many people find tough to live up to. You shouldn't feel that you can sound as professional as he does right off the bat. The successful podcasters I talked to were happy as long as each show sounded and felt better to them then the previous show. Almost all of them were unhappy with the sound of their voice.