Podcasting is a fast-growing and fast-changing industry that’s been greatly affected by the pandemic, but those COVID-related curveballs have brought some new and exciting changes to podcasting over the past year.

On this episode of The Podcast Club, Molly, Marcus and Adam share thoughts on the year in podcasting and look ahead at what trends they think are here to stay.


Episode Summary 
With 2021 drawing to a close, The Podcast Club hosts huddle to reflect on the year and look ahead. 

On this episode, Molly, Marcus and Adam discuss the role of transcripts and inclusivity in the podcast world, why podcasters need to be on YouTube and the increased awareness of branding and monetization opportunities in podcasting.

They note the lawsuit brought against SiriusXM for not having transcripts available for their podcasts. 

“We are about to see a whole new world of inclusion,” Molly says. “I love seeing stuff like that because it just means we're going to get more and more regulated in the industry. It'll become more and more accessible.”

The hosts also discuss the expansion of video: podcasters are increasingly seeing the value in uploading to YouTube — a trend that will continue to grow in 2022.

“People just spend so much time on YouTube,” says Marcus. 

Overall, it’s been an exciting few years in podcasting with many new developments, and The Podcast Club can’t wait to see what’s next. 

Tune in to hear what they think about inclusion in podcasting, branded podcasting, the amount of work that goes into creating a quality podcast, and the swing from remote to in-person podcasting, and back.

Tools and tech mentioned in this episode:
✔️ Riverside
✔️ Podnews
✔️ RØDECaster Pro
✔️ MV7
✔️ SM7B
✔️ SquadCast
✔️ Cleanfeed
✔️ YouTube


Podcast Pro: Molly Ruland 
🎙️ What she does: Molly is the founder and CEO of Heartcast Media, a full-service podcast production company and content creation lab based in Washington, D.C. 

💡 Key quote: “As a business owner, or any a content creator, you're so focused on the last week or the last episode, or payroll, or the numbers and you forget to take a step back and look at the bigger picture and be proud of what you have accomplished, and not so focused on what you didn't get done.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

 

Podcast Pro: Marcus dePaula
🎙️ What he does: An audio engineer, podcast producer and website designer, Marcus runs Me Only Louder, a podcast production company in Franklin, Tenn.

💡 Key quote: “I think people are finally realizing, not just the opportunities, but also how serious you have to be to actually make something out of your podcast. You have to treat it like a business.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Podcast Pro: Adam Levin
🎙️ What he does: Adam is the manager of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and is the founder of Podcast Outfitters, which specializes in podcast equipment. 

💡 Key quote: “That's probably the biggest thing to come out of all of this, is services like this, that provide a great product to work with. It gives you a lot of the functionality that you had before, in a way that lets you reach more people.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

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Tips for Podcasters 
Top takeaways from the episode 

⭐ Make your podcast as accessible as possible. With increasing developments in AI, it’s easier than ever to include transcriptions with your podcasts. Even for the smallest podcast, the tools are available to make your podcast inclusive for people with hearing difficulties. 

⭐ Expect to see an increase in branded podcasts. More businesses are understanding the value and effectiveness of...

Creating a podcast is time-intensive, so having an easy-to-use, reliable website platform that aggregates everything — from your reviews to your YouTube videos — can make all the difference.

On this episode of The Podcast Club, Molly, Marcus and Adam talk to Brenden Mulligan, creator of podcast website builder Podpage, about the importance of a solid podcast website.

Having a website for your podcast that you can navigate seamlessly is crucial, both for presentation and as a direct connection to your audience.

On this episode of The Podcast Club, Molly, Marcus and Adam sit down with Brenden Mulligan, the founder of podcast website builder Podpage, to talk about the importance of having a podcast website, and current trends in the industry.

With a background in the music industry, Brenden saw how artists invested in building their fanbases on MySpace back in the day when it was a thing. Musicians often built their following on MySpace rather than developing their own websites. When MySpace fell apart, so did those fanbases.

“I was searching for some podcast a couple years ago. And I was like, you guys don't have websites, you're relying on these distribution channels,” Brenden says.

When he discovered that podcasts are syndicated through RSS feeds and the data is available for anyone to use, he realized he could easily build a website because he only needed to build the frontend. He created Podpage, which allows you to set up a website for your podcast that won’t be time-intensive or difficult to set up or maintain. 

“There are a lot of people who set up one of these pages and then never come back again,” Brenden says. “They don't have to worry about the website, we’ll automatically Tweet and post to Facebook if you want.” 

Tune in to hear their thoughts on using tools to automate processes, why the focus needs to be on creating good content, as well as trends that have emerged and waned since the beginning of the pandemic.

Guest of the Pod: Brenden Mulligan
🎙️ What he does: Brenden is the founder of Podpage, which helps podcasters build a professional looking website for their podcast quickly and easily.

💡 Key quote: “I don't need to build a database. I just need to build a front end that reads the feed and puts the data on a website. And because it's structured, we can do all kinds of great SEO work.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Podcast Pro: Molly Ruland 
🎙️ What she does: Molly is the founder and CEO of Heartcast Media, a full-service podcast production company and content creation lab based in Washington, D.C. 

💡 Key quote: “I want to set people up for success, and force them into it.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

 

Podcast Pro: Marcus dePaula
🎙️ What he does: An audio engineer, podcast producer and website designer, Marcus runs Me Only Louder, a podcast production company in Franklin, Tenn.

💡 Key quote: “I feel like there's this contingency of people that feel like it's the apps job to help podcasters be discovered. And I think that is complete bullshit. I do not think that is a realistic way to live.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Podcast Pro: Adam Levin
🎙️ What he does: Adam is the manager of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and is the founder of Podcast Outfitters, which specializes in podcast equipment. 

💡 Key quote: “They gravitate towards one thing and another thing and I see what the consumer behaviors [are] as it's evolved. Cameras are not the requirement anymore for everybody, it just depends on how you create and how you're doing it.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Tips for Podcasters 
Top takeaways from the episode 

⭐ Having a...

 

Choosing the right recording platform is critical when recording a podcast. Which platforms work best? How should you decide who to choose? 

On this episode of The Podcast Club, Molly, Marcus and Adam discuss why Riverside is their favorite. 

“We’re literally producing podcasts around the world right now because of Riverside,” Molly says. 

The audio quality, ability to record video, customer service and its mobile app are some of the reasons why Riverside is a great option for podcast recording.

But it’s not all fairy dust and roses. As a venture-backed company, Riverside is incentivized to continually introduce new features and sometimes the changes can feel too rapid for users. 

Speaking of problems, you will encounter them no matter which platform you use, and Marcus cautions podcasters to recognize this instead of abandoning one platform only to encounter the same issue with whichever one they opt for next. 

The crew shares the tools they like and what’s worked for them, but ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you. 

Tune in to hear their thoughts on how the mindset you need to adopt in less than optimal recording environments, the importance of not allowing yourself to become beholden to a single platform, and why it’s essential that customers know what the work you’re doing for them truly involves. 

Tools and tech mentioned in this episode:
✔️ Riverside
✔️ Cleanfeed
✔️ SquadCast
✔️ Podcast Business Journal
✔️ 5x5

Podcast Pro: Molly Ruland 
🎙️ What she does: Molly is the founder and CEO of Heartcast Media, a full-service podcast production company and content creation lab based in Washington, D.C. 

💡 Key quote: “I love Riverside. (It) changed the game for me, and (with) Heartcast Media not having a brick and mortar studio, this is the next best thing. It's opened up our client base.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

 

Podcast Pro: Marcus dePaula
🎙️ What he does: An audio engineer, podcast producer and website designer, Marcus runs Me Only Louder, a podcast production company in Franklin, Tenn.

💡 Key quote: “The big differentiator with Riverside is they have always been recording video first. … Riverside was the first one to offer the video recording aspect for each individual person.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Podcast Pro: Adam Levin
🎙️ What he does: Adam is the manager of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and is the founder of Podcast Outfitters, which specializes in podcast equipment. 

💡 Key quote: “Find the tool that works for you and know how to use it. But you can't be beholden to the tool.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Tips for Podcasters 

⭐ Riverside offers several advantages over other podcast recording platforms. The Podcast Club hosts like Riverside’s local recording (vs. cloud) approach, mobile app, branding options, as well as the company’s excellent customer service. 

⭐ No podcast platform can transcend a bad internet connection or hardware issues. These are baselines no matter which platform you’re using or who’s producing your podcast. 

⭐ Be aware of drift issues. These occur when multiple tracks are being recorded by different users on different devices at slightly different sample rates. Riverside has settings to minimize this.  


Episode Highlights

00:01:16: A recording platform to rule them all: Glitches occur on all recording platforms. But Molly explains why she thinks Riverside is the next best thing to recording in a brick and mortar studio. 

00:06:00 Catching the drift: Stories about drift issues have caused Marcus to steer clear of other platforms. Riverside’s mobile iOS app...

The systems you use for podcast editing and workflow can mean the difference between calm and insanity — for you as well as your clients. 

On this episode of The Podcast Club, Molly, Marcus and Adam get down and dirty on systems for managing podcast production workflow.

“[Clients] like to know that we have a system in place,” Molly says on this episode. “Systems are so important, and so many people are really intimidated by [them].”

Project management tools like Trello offer the ability to connect and communicate with clients and your team. It makes your job easier and is critical for helping scale your business (if that’s what you want). Setting up a public workflow system has the added benefit of showing clients the value they’re getting from working with you. 

Even though the crew shares the tools they like and what’s worked for them, ultimately, it’s about finding what works for you and your business. 

“It's not one big thing,” Marcus says. “It's all these little things along the way that add up.” 

Tune in to hear their thoughts on how to set up a workflow system, which project management tools are helpful, whether it ever makes sense to do custom work, as well as which mics they’re digging and other podcast industry hot topics.

Tools and tech mentioned in this episode:
✔️ Asana
✔️ ClickUp
✔️ Trello
✔️ Zapier
✔️ Tula microphones

Podcast Pro: Molly Ruland 
🎙️ What she does: Molly is the founder and CEO of Heartcast Media, a full-service podcast production company and content creation lab based in Washington, D.C. 

💡 Key quote: “You have to have a system. You have to have your expectations communicated, you have to have a plan. That's the only way you can scale.”

👋 Where to find her: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

 

Podcast Pro: Marcus dePaula
🎙️ What he does: An audio engineer, podcast producer and website designer, Marcus runs Me Only Louder, a podcast production company in Franklin, Tenn.

💡 Key quote: “So many podcast editors are doing what is best for themselves, instead of what's best for their client or what's best for the listener.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram


Podcast Pro: Adam Levin
🎙️ What he does: Adam is the manager of Chuck Levin’s Washington Music Center and is the founder of Podcast Outfitters, which specializes in podcast equipment. 

💡 Key quote: “It's all about finding that one tool, or that one strategy, or that one thing that helps you keep your shit together.”

👋 Where to find him: LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram

Tips for Podcasters 
Top takeaways from the episode 

⭐ There are tons of project management tools to help streamline your process. Trello, Asana, ClickUp are some that are familiar and recommended by The Podcast Club. 

⭐ Don’t spend hours on custom work. Create and reuse templates, which is more efficient and will help you produce an even higher quality product. “Take the fastest path to the money.” 

⭐ Showing your workflow can help with client retention. An added benefit of building a trackable project management system for clients is that they get to see all the behind-the-scenes work and it will make them feel like their money is well spent. 

⭐ Don’t create an impossible job that only you can do. If you don’t create solid systems, you’re the only one who will know what you do. This might just seem like an inconvenience for now, but if something happens and you can’t work for a while, you could really be in a pickle! Share the love with your team by creating templates and procedures instead of working randomly.

Episode Highlights
Inflection points from the show

[4:41] Podcast systems: Molly talks about how implementing systems for your podcast production...

It's another week of The Podcast Club and it's a fin one as both Marcus and Molly have custom work releasing! Marcus recorded and posted a YouTube video on the 8 different type of microphones that is a must watch for every podcaster, and Molly has a blog coming out that EVERYONE needs to read. We're talking about the importance of YouTube, and how podcasters need to invest more in the platform and start promoting their shows on the site. 


Sponsor Links: 
https://www.podcastoutfitters.com
https://www.meonlylouder.com
https://www.heartcastmedia.com

On this weeks episode of The The Podcast Club, we're joined by Diana Fryc, Partner and Chief Sales Marketing Officer at Retail Voodoo. Diana host The Gooder podcast, and got it started though Molly and Heartcast Media and she joins us to talk about the benefits it's had for her business. From new clients and employees to that feeling of knowing someone personally just from listening to their podcast, Marcus, Molly and Diana dive into all this and a whole lot more in this weeks episode. 

This week's episode was filmed in Hawaii AND a cornfield. Oh Marcus! Join us as we put riverside.fm to the test with a really great conversation with Christy Haussler of Team Podcast. She joined us from beautiful Hawaii and the view did not disappoint, complete with actual goats. We talked all things shop, how to create a successful podcast editing business, how to monetize your podcast, why mentors and masterminds are important to any successful business and where to get started if you want to level up your podcast. 

Christy is the Founder of Team Podcast, a full service podcast production company. She's helped almost 250 podcasters over the past 8 years, and now she's on a mission to help podcasters monetize.

Christy knows the power of podcasting to change lives because it changed hers. When Christy started podcasting almost 10 years ago, she was working a full time job and driving 2 hours each way to work. Since going all in on podcasting, she's been able to move to an island and live the life of her dreams. Christy also has a podcast called Podcast Monetization Secrets to share her knowledge about marketing and monetization.

Sponsor Links: 
https://www.podcastoutfitters.com
https://www.meonlylouder.com
https://www.heartcastmedia.com

Highlights with timestamps:
0:00 Intro
4:50 Christy shares a little background about herself, where she’s from, what she does for a living and how she got into the podcasting world and why she feels every podcast should be monetized
11:12 Christy talks about why people should know how to market stuff and the panel she was put in at the Podfest and what it was all about
12:27 Christy talks about the number of clients she has at her production company and how many episodes she handles every month
12:51 Christy also talks about the services that she offers to her clients 
16:00 Christy talks about how they create an evergreen funnel for their clients that will always create revenue 
17:26 Christy talks about how her customer relation business acumen came about while in the podcast production business 
21:13 Christy explains what a mastermind group is and talks about the Russell Brunson, what it is, and what it is all about 
25:09 Christy also shares some of the tips on how to find the best people to invest in that are ahead of you that will have the best advice for you especially with marketing
27:27 Molly also talks about what a mastermind group is and shares more tips on how to find the people that resonate with you that can help you
30:44 Christy also talks about the importance of accountability and being honest about what you are going through to people that can give you calm, rational advice whenever you're panicking
32:28 Christy talks about where she is recording from at the time and shares some of the reasons she is there 
38:48 Christy talks about the agendas that she has this year like launching the Podcast Success Hub to help podcasters monetize their podcasts very quickly 
42:49 Christy talks about the events that she will be attending this year and the advice that she gives all people 
45:39 Christy also talks about the importance of have multiple streams of income if you want to be successful
46:34 Christy also talks about her team, what it looks like, where they are from, how they work, and why more women should own businesses
50:43 Adam talks about the new Audio Technica AT2040 Hyper cardioid Dynamic Podcast Microphone and if he’d recommend it to a podcaster
54:00 Marcus talks about how he is able to record the show from the fields, the equipment, and software he is using
59:06 Molly shares the updates on the course that she is building and the...

On today's episode, we're joined by Norman Schriever, a world traveler and Molly's friend down in Costa Rica who launched a podcast talking to interesting people all over the world. We talk about his journey both traveling and navigating the world of creating and producing his own show. Norm just purchased himself some fancy Rode Wireless 2's, but is having some trouble getting them up and running, so The Podcast Club is here to help. 

Sponsor Links: 
https://www.podcastoutfitters.com
https://www.meonlylouder.com
https://www.heartcastmedia.com

Highlights with timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:28 Norm shares a little background about himself, what he does, the name of his podcast, and what the show is all about 
4:17 Norm talks about how long he has been doing the podcast and shares his secret of how he gets more downloads 
5:46 Norm explains the strategy that he uses to not only get people to download his podcast but to also listen to his podcast through his digital marketing skills 
7:22 Norm talks about the most important checklist that every podcaster should have for their show to be successful 
10:50 Norm talks about how he uses his marketing skills to get into his client’s brain to make a sale 
14:03 Norm talks about the software that he was using to edit his episodes and what he is using now and why 
14:34 Norm talks about the problems that he’s been having when using his receivers especially when interviewing his guests 
15:30 Marcus talks about the problems that Norm is facing and talks about what could be done or the solutions to those problems 
20:02 Adam talks about some of the best equipment that Norm should use to solve the problems that he is facing 
24:02 Marcus talks about lapel microphones and demonstrates a little bit of how to position your microphone so that you can get the best quality of sound
27:49 Adam, Molly, and Marcus talk about the importance of knowing how to better position your microphone while recording 
35:25 Marcus and Molly talk about the best software that Norm needs to be using while editing his shows 
37:16 Molly and Norm talk about the amazing guests that he brings on the show as a reason why the shows need to be good for everyone to listen to his amazing conversations 
39:15 Adam talks about the importance of having small, quality equipment that can record as a podcaster for when traveling to not miss any critical moment 
40:31 Marcus explains if having fewer bleeds in a recording is going to save someone time when editing 
42:18 Marcus and Adam talk about the Cardioid Microphones and if they’d recommend it to someone
45:18 Marcus explains the process of connecting two microphones to one device like a computer and why he needs to do a blog post on that 
46:06 Adam talks about Rode Connect Software that Rode introduced that also helps someone to connect more than one microphone to one device like a computer 
50:20 Molly and Adam talk about the Rode Connect app and some of the microphones that work with the app 
52:43 Marcus confirms that you can have multitrack or use more than one microphone on one device using software 
56:12 Molly, Norm, and Marcus explains that all you need is the required knowledge to be able to leverage the equipment you have to the fullest 
1:00:06 Marcus, Norm, and Molly explains that the quality of your microphone really matters 

Equipment Mentioned: 
Marcus's Microphone: http://heartcast.biz/3gLTjyG
Molly's Set-Up: http://heartcast.biz/38tHHO0
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