Good Morning Podcasters! Episodes 5-8

This content is repurposed from episodes of Good Morning Podcasters! Episodes 5-8.Good Morning Podcasters (GMP) explores the world of podcasting with a specific focus on marketing, public relations, and social media as they relate to content creation. GMP is hosted by Fuzz Martin. Good Morning Podcasters!Good Morning Podcasters and Podcasting Sucks!: All rights reserved to Snoring Dog Media, LLC. & Jeff Townsend Media, LLC.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Ah, hi everybody, this isa Jeff Townty Media protection right. Have
you been searching for a podcast?Do you want to learn from some great
content creators. Well, you've cometo the right place, Indie podcasting with
your host, Jeff Townsend, theindie podcast father. This is Jeff Townsend,

(00:28):
and as you're aware, Indie Podcasterscurrently on a break. I'm actually
tied up with a job in thepodcast industry and then a lot of other
projects that I'm working on. ButI want to continue to give you some
content that you may find helpful alongyour podcasting journey. With that being said,
I'm going to share some episodes ofGood Morning Podcasters. Yes, that's

(00:49):
right, the return of Good MorningPodcasters. Fuzz Martin and I purchased the
rights to that and podcasting sucks,So today I'll be sharing some episodes of
fuzz Martin's Good Morning Podcasters with you. This is great information. You could
learn a lot from it to learnmore about good Morning Podcasters dot com.
Let's check out some of these episodes. I'm playing them back to back.

(01:11):
Good Morning Podcasters, Good Morning Podcasters. It's me Fuzz Martin. Thank you
for joining me on the second weekand fifth episode of the All New GMP.
Today, we're going to talk abouthost red ads and how you can
make them better for your audience ina number of different ways. For this

(01:34):
episode, we're going to be reachinginto my current ad agency experience as well
as my former radio personality and programdirector experience to put them both together to
talk about what we should and shouldn'tdo when it comes to host red ads.
Back in September, Brian Barletta ofSounds Profitable released some information from a
research study they did with host redlive, host read scripted and announcer read

(02:00):
podcast ads, and I will linkto that article in the show notes.
Sounds Profitable study showed that spots eitherad libbed or read off a script by
the announcer performed better overall, handsdown, than spots that were produced and
sent in from a third party announcer. And that's great, again, totally

(02:21):
expected. What was also unsurprising tome was that while ad lib spots ranked
highest in the listeners overall appeal ofthe spot, the fit of the show
on aided recall of the spot,the scripted host read ads, so the
scripted versions of that did best withinterest in learning more the audience's likelihood to

(02:43):
purchase and likelihood to learn more aboutthat product. In other words, listeners
said that while they liked the longdrawn out ad libbed spots the most,
they were more likely to act whenthe host stayed focused and script. So
let's talk about why podcast hosts that'syou tend to spend way too much time

(03:08):
when it comes to ad lib sponsoredads. Most of you are completely giving
away the farm. We used torun into this all the time in radio,
where a post would get a sheetwith bullet points on it and it
would say sixty second live read foryou name a card dealer, and they

(03:28):
would go on for sometimes two minutesand thirty seconds, and they didn't need
to. The advertiser paid for sixtyseconds. And that's why now that I'm
in advertising, I love to havemy clients buy host red radio and podcast
ads because I know that they're goingto get way more value and the prices
exactly the same as if we paidfor a exactly thirty or sixty second announcer

(03:53):
red ad. If you are seta set of bullet points with an expectation
of sixty to ninety seconds, butyou go on and on for three minutes.
You're wasting your time, you're givingyour advertisers way more than they need,
and you're potentially doing both a disservice. Unless it's completely hilarious. Your

(04:14):
listeners do not want to hear athree minute ad. We're in an era
where people watch forty five second TikTokvideos and gen Z kids can't listen to
a song that is more than aminute and fifty seconds, so a three
minute ad is way too long.If you're getting paid for sixty seconds,
give your sponsor a good sixty secondswith a tight call to action. And

(04:39):
that gets us to my second pieceof advice. Scripted ads are good because
they have a clear call to actionand it gives the hosts a solid beginning,
middle, and end. But sometimesthey can be boring, which is
why respondence to sounds Profitable's research studysaid that they thought that the ad lib
version sounded best. So I recommendhybrid allowing yourself a brief ad libbed intro.

(05:05):
Again brief, and then write therest of the spot in your own
voice using the supplied bullet points.Make it your own, but don't make
it a novel. Give your sponsorthe time they purchased and give your audience
what they want to hear without wastingtheir time. You can get the best
of both worlds pretty easily, andboth you and your sponsor and your audience

(05:30):
all win. On top of allof that, your sponsor is more likely
to reward you based on your audiencesintend to purchase rather than brand awareness or
recall. You can quantify the former. The latter can be attributed to the
advertiser sponsoring a whole bunch of differentshows, and they're not going to buy
more spots because you go over onyour spots every time. They're going to

(05:54):
buy more spots because when they advertiseon your show, people interact and stuff
from them. Remember that, soto recap, podcast ads perform better when
you, as the podcaster, aresaying them, But don't fall into the
trap of giving your sponsors more timethan they paid for. My name is
Fuzz Martin and I am the newhost of Good Morning Podcasters. You can

(06:16):
find the show on Twitter at GMPodcasters. Website should be coming this week,
I hope, just waiting on thedomain from Tanner. New episodes two
or more times a week with anepisode of Podcasting Sucks with Jeff Townsend every
Saturday morning. I do appreciate youlistening, and I will talk to you
tomorrow right here on Good Morning Podcasters. Good Morning Podcasters. Today we're talking

(06:43):
about press releases. Hello, goodmorning, guten Tag, Good morning Podcasters.
This is a short semi weekly podcastabout podcasting. My name is Fuzz
Martin. I am a partner andthe chief strategy officer at Epic Creative near
Milwaukee. And being a chief strategyofficer means that I help clients build their

(07:06):
best marketing and advertising strategies to meetthe audiences that they're trying to reach.
I oversee our account management team,our social media team, our media buying
and planning team, content SEO,and public relations teams. We've got eighty
five employees. There's a lot tooversee. I tell you all that for

(07:27):
a reason, and today that reasonis because we're talking about press releases.
This will be a bit of alevel one oh one course on press releases.
However, from my experience, alot of people are interested in knowing
about what a press release is andwhen they should send one. So I
thought i'd break it down a bitfor you, just to give us a

(07:47):
little starter. Let's talk about whata press release actually is. Okay.
A press release is a very veryformulaic letter that is designed to announce something
newsworthy to the media. This couldbe a new partnership, a big milestone,
let's say your podcast got picked upby a big network, or something.

(08:09):
It could be to announce a veryfamous guest that you're having on the
show. It could be a rebuttalto something horrible you said on your show
or your Twitter account, or eventhe announcement of a new season of your
show. Press releases are sent tonews editors, reporters, producers, other
podcasters, bloggers, etc. Usuallyvia email, sometimes attached as a word

(08:35):
doc, sometimes unfortunately attached as aPDF file. Don't do that. I
don't recommend you do that because itmakes it hard for the reporter to copy
and paste that into whatever CMS they'reusing to file their news. Sometimes people
post press releases as screenshots and theirTwitter feeds. Sometimes they get facts.

(09:00):
Sometimes people spend sixty cents on astamp and mail it. But I recommend
sending all of your press releases asa text email, perhaps with an image
or two and links. Definitely linksto the high res version of the images
that you would like to appear nextto your news story when a journalist picks

(09:20):
up your press release. So nowlet's have a quick conversation about what a
press release is not, and thisis very important. A press release is
not an ad. I will repeatthat a press release is not an AD.
If you want a publication to runan ad for you buy an ad.

(09:43):
A press release is something newsworthy.It's got to be something that this
publication, whether it's a website,whether it's a magazine, whether it's a
podcast that talks about news about podcasting, the news that you send them has
to be something that their audience wouldlike to listen to and not something that

(10:05):
would be considered an advertisement. Andyes, sometimes those lines blur a bit,
but be a good citizen and inthe end you'll be fine. Where
do you send press releases too?I mentioned some of the job titles of
who you send press releases too earlier, so that would be again reporters,
editors, publishers, assignment desk editors, producers, hosts of different podcasts that

(10:33):
don't necessarily have a producer. Butlet's talk about where or to which outlets
you should be sending your press release. What you want to do is find
the publications that will find your pieceof news newsworthy to their audience. So,
if you have a podcast about let'ssay comic books, you probably already

(10:54):
know the websites that write about comicbooks. You probably even listen to some
podcasts about comic book You may evenget a paper magazine about comic books,
since usually comic books are still printedon paper and you like to stay true
to your cause, and that's great. Find the editors, producers, reporters,
etc. Who will write specifically aboutwhat your news is about, and

(11:16):
start a list. You may beable to reach out to an agency or
PR freelancer and ask them to buildyou a list for a fee if you
don't feel like doing the work organicallyor with tried and true google sleuthing.
So, once you have your pressrelease written and it's been proofread, you
take that list that you've developed andyou blind carbon copy it to all the

(11:37):
people on the list. Now,let's quick talk about who you should not
put on the list. Number one, I recommend not aiming unfathomably high.
This isn't the Air Force sending apress release about your comic book podcast reaching
it's one thousandth listen isn't going tomake it into the New York Times.

(11:58):
Think about who will find your newsinteresting in your audience and send that to
them only. This is a tightcurated list. You don't want to be
spam. Also, be sure toinclude your contact information in your email and
on your press release. Make itvery easy for someone to get in touch
with you, and this is veryimportant. When an editor, producer,

(12:22):
or reporter does reach out to you, get back to them as soon as
you are possibly able. Your windowof opportunity is very short. Writers are
overworked and you want to have themdo you a favor, so you need
to be there for them when theyget in touch with you. So to
recap, your press release should benewsworthy. Your press release is not an

(12:46):
ad. Send it as a textemail with a photo and link to the
high rise version of the photo.Send it to news outlets and shows that
typically carry the kind of content andnews that you are sending to them specifically
in your niche don't bother sending itto the Washington Post or New York Times
unless your story is truly newsworthy tothem. Always include your contact info and

(13:13):
respond quickly to request from the peopleto whom you sent your release, and
one last one. Use press releaseslike salt. You don't want to be
the boy who cried news by sendingsomething every other week to an overburdened editor.
We're getting dangerously close on getting thewebsite up and running. I will
create a sample press release for youthat you can download and use as a

(13:35):
template soon, and I will letyou know on this show and on the
Twitter page once that's live, andyou will be able to look at a
sample press release. And I willgive you a written version of this podcast
so you can use some of thesteps when you're creating your public relations lists
and sending out that really important newsto editors in your niche. And that'll

(13:58):
do it for today's episode of GoodMorning Podcasters. If you have a question
for the show, you can reachout by going to pod inbox dot com
slash GMP. That is podinbox dotcom slash g m P. If you'd
rather not leave an audio message,my dms are always open on Twitter for
as long as Twitter hasn't burned out. You can reach me at GM Podcasters

(14:20):
or at fuzz Martin. So againat GM Podcasters or at buzz Martin,
and we will talk to you tomorrowmorning right here on Good Morning Podcasters sor

(14:41):
Wakey, Reiki Eggs and Bikey GoodMorning Podcasters. It's a me, Buzz
Martin, thank you for coming onto my semi weekly show about marketing,
advertising and public relations tips for contentcreators. Thank you. I hope you'll

(15:01):
subscribe to the show and join meas you walk the dog, drive to
the gym, work out, makeyour coffee, take a shower, or
you know, whatever fits into yourschedule. Today we're talking about lining up
guests for your show. There's nothingmore annoying than trying to get two calendars

(15:22):
in order so you can meet withsomebody that has a schedule that's equally as
busy as yours. Right does Fridayat two work? Yeah, Monday at
eight work? I can make Iwant to get back to you. The
good news is there are a numberof calendar programs out there that make this
a lot easier for you. Withmost calendar scheduling programs, you can connect

(15:45):
them to your online calendar, whetherthat's Gmail, Outlook, Office three sixty
five, Apple's iCloud Mail, andit sets a window of time when you're
available to record the length of timefor your according window and then creates a
link that you can share with yourguests. So your guests clicks on the
link and then looks at the differenttimes that your calendar is available, and

(16:10):
voila, they can schedule a timethat works best in their calendar and you
don't have to go back and forthwith your guests trying to find a time
that works for both of you.About this time last year, I purchased
a year long subscription to Calendly.Calendlee is a really easy to use calendar
program. It connects to Gmail,Office three sixty five, Outlook, iCloud,

(16:30):
etc. And Calendlely allows for meetingpolls that allow multiple people to vote
on a time that works best forthe group. So let's say you have
two guests or three guests coming onyour show, they can all find the
time that fits into all of theirschedules, and then they offer easy reminders
to get guests to decrease the chancesthat you're going to get ghosted by those

(16:55):
guests. Calendlee has a free version, but for some reason, I don't
remember why, but I purchased theeight dollar a month version on the annual
plan, which means it came outto about one hundred dollars per year after
taxes. There are also programs likedoodle Pole, which are similar to the
calendarly Pole option, but they're moregeared toward those large groups. There is

(17:18):
a free version of doodle Poll two, but your guests are going to see
ads when they go to that,and if you're cool with that, it's
not a bad choice. If youare working on a budget, it's something
you can do. But if you'retrying to brand your guest booking process so
that it feels premium, then perhapsI would stay away from doodle Pole unless

(17:40):
you pay for the premium version.There's also something I'm not sure how to
put my finger on it about sendingguests to a program with the word doodle
in it, But if it worksfor you, it works. So I
have this calendarly subscription. But shortlyafter I purchased the annual subscription, Google

(18:02):
Calendar released appointment booking features for thoseusing Google Workplace, which I do.
It is very similar to Calendarly,though not quite as feature rich. You
can set up all sorts of differentappointment slots and then you can send out
various links, and it allows forreminder emails, automatic Google meat links,
etc. It's not quite as easyto use as Calendarly, and it's not

(18:26):
quite as pretty as Calendly, butit works nonetheless, and if you're already
on the right level of Google Workspace, it is no extra charge. You
have to be on a Google WorkspaceBusiness Standard Plan or higher. Otherwise,
if you are using Google Workspace BusinessStandard or higher, the Google Calendar Appointment

(18:51):
scheduling feature is included with your plan. You simply go into Google Calendar.
You click on the create drop downon the left, where you would create
a new Google calend Lender event,click Appointment Schedules, and then follow the
prompts on the screen. It's prettysimple to set up. They also now
offer Google Calendar Appointment scheduling with anyGoogle account, but it's nine dollars a

(19:11):
month to get there. Logging theGmail go to your Google Calendar, click
on the create drop down, andthen click appointment Schedule. You'll see a
little premium tag next to it,and it will prompt you to subscribe to
an individual Google Workspace account. Ifyou're going to go that way, I
say spend the extra three dollars amonth and get your own domain to go

(19:32):
with your email. But that's totallyup to you and your budget. One
kind of pro tip for you withany of these calendar scheduling programs, the
platform is going to give you aURL that you can use to share with
your guests. If it's with calendarlye it would be like calendarly dot com
slash fuzz. But I recommend thatyou use a link shortener that is relative

(19:53):
to your show if you have one. If you're using Captivate, you can
then use their attributions in order tocreate a shortcode. Some other platforms allow
this as well. For instance,on my fifteen minutes with Fuzz show,
I send my guests the link fuzzdot cc slash book and that gets them
to my booking page. So whichone do I prefer? I really like

(20:15):
Calendly. The interface is great,it's intuitive, it looks good to my
guests. There are also many morecustomization and scheduling tools than Google. If
I was not using Google Workspaces,I would be renewing Calendly. That said,
I do have Google Workspaces, andwe're already paying at a level where
I don't need to pay any extrafor the appointments scheduling service. From the

(20:37):
guest side, it actually looks great. It's a familiar Google look, and
while it's not as fancy on theback end as Calendly, I'm going to
save the one hundred dollars a yearthat I would have spent and stick with
Google. But again, Googles getmy money for its other workspace tools,
primarily Gmail. Thank you for listeningto Good Morning Podcasters. You can find

(20:59):
every episode, including more robust walkthroughsof these tools, on good morningpod dot
com. New episodes of Good MorningPodcasters at least twice weekly more when I'm
able. Also, we host PodcastingSucks every Saturday morning, joined Jeff Townsend
and I as we walked through someof the things that make podcasting hard to

(21:22):
do. Tomorrow morning, we're talkingabout Twitter's new verification program and the merits
behind it or the reasons not toget it. We'll talk to you next
time right here on Good Morning Podcasters. Good Morning, Happy Monday Podcasters.

(21:47):
Welcome to the all new Good MorningPodcasters with the new host. My name
is Fuzz Martin. I'm a marketing, pr and advertising guy who just also
happens to love all things audio.Instagram is rolling out new tools. They
do this all the time. Sometimesthey make tools that are helpful to podcasters,
and sometimes they make tools that endup being a distraction for podcasters.

(22:11):
What is this tool I'm talking aboutthis week? While it could be either
one of those two things, lastweek Instagram rolled out the ability for you
to post audio along with your staticimage posts. So that is, you
can post music or different sounds alongwith a static image in your news feed.
If you want to play around withit, go to post like you

(22:33):
normally would, then click on thephoto before you share it, click add
music. Then you search for themusic or sound that you want. You
can also look in their trending andfour you sections. By the way,
nice use of stealing for you fromtik tok. Then select the song you
want and the duration you want itto go, and boom, you're in

(22:53):
business. You get between five andninety seconds worth of audio to put into
your statics, and once you clickdone and share, it's on your news
feed. So down the road,this might be good for podcasters, but
it's a little bit too soon totell. I see it as a less
cool version of an audiogram. Ithink if you're going to post something that

(23:17):
was of quality for your audience,it would likely have some sort of video
component along with the audio, andI'll tell you this, it would actually
be much easier for you to postthat. Also, audiograms aren't always super
effective anyway, depending on your contentand how engaging your audiograms are. The
other part that makes this a challengeto be useful for podcasters is that it

(23:40):
will be tough to get your podcastaudio in there. Right now. The
only way you can really upload soundsin Instagram is through reels, so you
would technically have to make the reelfirst and then use that sound you used
in the reel later on in yourstatic post. So this might be useful
for a follow up image or perhapsa carousel full of different clips of different

(24:04):
shows, but as of right now, I'm not seeing a ton of use
for podcasters. Also, if youhave your Instagram page set up as a
professional page, you're going to haveeven fewer sounds that you can use on
your audio because of the limiting factorwith licensing with music. But if you
can figure it out, you mightfind some engaging uses for it, and

(24:26):
I'd love to see some examples.So set up my way. You can
take me on Twitter with some differentpost ideas or send me a DM.
But again, I think that audioin static images sounds like another distraction,
but I thought that you'd like toknow that it's something that's available to you
right now. This week, inthe all new Good Morning Inbox newsletter,

(24:52):
I gave you thirty two ways togrow your podcast subscriber count, and now,
in a bit of podception, I'masking you to go sign up for
my newsletter. To get there,go to GMP dot fm slash news.
That's GMP dot fm slash news.And again, this week's article is thirty
two ways to grow your podcasts subscriberaccount on your podcast newsletter. I'll be

(25:17):
back tomorrow with more marketing, advertising, social media and public relations ideas for
your show right here on Good MorningPodcasters. Thanks for listening and thanks for
telling a friend, but more importantly, thank you for supporting independent content creators.

(25:40):
If you're enjoying the podcast or likethe work we're doing in the indie
podcaster community, I ask you totell just one fellow content creator that hasn't
heard of this podcast or the workwe're doing, and share it with them.
But more importantly, I hope youcontinue with me on this journey as
the indie podcaster. Keep being you, keep being great, And the question

(26:12):
is do I stay here? Willyou be back? Are you gonna come
back? Will you be back?Are you coming back? Jeff counting media back