Not so long ago, it was possible to talk about the future of podcasting in relevant terms for every podcaster. But podcasting has evolved beyond those simpler times. So what do we do in these more complex times? I'm not gonna beat around the bush. What you are listening to or reading right now is the very last episode of Podcast Pontifications that I will make. This is it.  I wrote out this long and detailed outline of a script that dug deep into why I'm making this decision and what I'm doing next... but I threw it out because it was a little—OK, a lot—self-serving. Brevity is better. Ep ..read more

The podcast advertising business is once again taking it on the chin, blasted from inside the industry and out. What can podcasters and podcast listeners do about it? From ad buyers paying for podcast plays that ran inside mobile video games. 20-minute episodes with 20% filled with ads. People are getting fed up with advertising. If a popular podcast runs ads, it's guaranteed that more than one negative review will simply read: too many ads. A valid complaint leveraged against much of the content we watch on our TVs and mobile devices. Ads we can't avoid. But podcast creators can (and often do ..read more

If the majority of the world isn't talking about one single must-listen podcast, the industry is dead. Right? Wrong. So very, very wrong. Here's why this mythical success metric needs to die. Every time there's a negative article focusing on podcasting's inability to generate blockbuster hits, I get a little stabby. Because here's the secret: you don't need to create a blockbuster podcast—because podcasting does not need blockbuster hits. I know that seems at odds with other forms of media. There's a blockbuster movie every three or for years that everyone is talking about. Every fall, there's ..read more

Podcasting should be made better, not just easier! That's the motto I started this show with. And I still stand by it! But a lot has happened in five years. What if making it easier to podcast also made it better? #podcasting https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/making-complex-podcast-tech-disappear-with-alitu One thing that has me terribly excited for the future of podcasting is how the entire process of making a podcast has, for many, changed drastically in the last 20 years or so.  Alitu, a service from The Podcast Host, is one of those services reimagining how podcasts are made ..read more

It's almost impossible to make a good podcast without listening to great podcasts. But it probably takes more than listening to get from good to great. The secret is learning those not-hidden secrets. I recently discovered the secrets to restaurant-quality eggplant parmesan and crave-able Manhattans. Only they weren't secrets. They were just things I'd overlooked or rushed through. Tiny things learned when I (finally) asked people who were better than me. One thing was clear with decades of hindsight: eating and drinking great examples of both wasn't the answer. No, I needed to learn secrets ..read more

Podcasters have a lot of jobs. One we don't often think of is being ambassadors for podcasting. But it's an important job if we're to grow the entire podcasting pie. Start by having some IHNIs at the ready. https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/changing-the-minds-of-non-podcast-listeners-one-ihni-at-a-time What's an IHNI? That's a podcast episode that makes someone—someone who thinks podcasts aren't for them—look up and say "I had no idea podcasts could sound like this!" Spoiler: A lot of people feel that way. Bad experiences, misconceptions about what podcasting is... there are myriad way ..read more

Growth and monetization are at the top of every podcaster's wish list. At least every podcaster who's yet to achieve those two things. Or perhaps not at the level said podcaster is happy with for their own show. Buzzsprout aims to change the growth and monetization question with a new product they've just released called Buzzsprout Ads. And interestingly enough, they're tackling both of those challenges—growth and monetization—with the same solution. A solution built for indie podcasters of all sizes. Alban Brooke, Head of Marketing at Buzzsprout, thinks the new service is a great way for indi ..read more

Big tech provided podcasting's first shot in the arm in the early days. In fact, big tech often provided the catalyst for several inflection points in podcasting's history. But recently, the tide seems to be shifting.  Photo by Michelangelo Buonarroti from Pexels Big Tech does not care about podcasting the way we care about podcasting. There. I said it. Remember Twitter's big podcasting plans from just a few weeks ago? Now it's a pretty safe bet that those plans are all out the window as Twitter reshuffles to a new set of priorities now that there's a new sheriff in town.  And rememb ..read more

Everyone agrees that pre-produced, lifted-from-radio ads suck on podcasts, and that host-read ads are the clear winner. But is that true for every podcast? More importantly, is it true for your podcast?  https://podcastpontifications.com/episode/host-read-podcast-ads-arent-always-the-right-answer I think we put too much emphasis on the idea that host-read ads are the be-all end-all for podcasting.  Not that I have any doubts about the myriad case studies and the reports that provide ample evidence to the fac that yes, podcasting's host-read ads beat the pants off of just about every ..read more

Podcasting's purveyors of picks and shovels—the myriad service providers that make our space an actual industry—are filled with smart people. But smarts only gets you so far. What's needed is experience.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy ..read more