The Jag Show: Podcast Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

The Jag Show: Podcast Tips, Tricks, and Best Practices

Podcast and radio veteran Jon "JAG" Gay provides tips, tricks, and best practices for you and your podcast. By day, JAG launches and improves podcasts for financial advisors, small businesses, nonprofits, and corporate communications departments. His company rebranded from JAG in Detroit Podcasts to JAG Podcast Productions in August, 2025. After 15 years as a radio DJ and program director, and now 8 as a podcast host and producer, he brings over two decades of audio experience and perspective to the podcasting world.

Episodes

October 8, 2025 4 mins

Today I want to talk to you about who is on your team.

I’ll use two examples from the NFL this past Sunday. They happen to be my two favorite teams. I started the afternoon with my adopted Detroit Lions. They were playing at Cincinnati and running back David Montgomery was having a homecoming. His family is there. He's from there and notably his sister is paralyzed after a car accident last year. So lots of pictures surfaced online ...

On September 30th., International Podcast Day, the Podcast Super Friends, welcomed Kendall Breitman, Community Lead at Riverside, with big news on a major product rollout: Riverside's launch of its new chat-based editing tool — the "AI Co-Creator," affectionately nicknamed “Coco” by the internal team. 

Co-Creator introduces a major shift in how podcasters can handle post-production. Instead of manually editing timelines or transcrip...

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September 25, 2025 3 mins

What is your podcast crutch? We all have them.

So I was sitting at a  Detroit Tigers game with a friend the other day. Sadly, we were at a Detroit Tigers game. And we were talking about the WJPZ at 50 podcast that I had done. And he was teasing me that the "whispered wow" is what he called the hallmark of any JAG podcast. When somebody says something compelling or interesting, I tend to sit back and say, "Woooow."

And I thought about...

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This year’s Podcast Movement convention marked a clear turning point in the evolution of the podcasting industry. I’ve been attending this event since 2018, and it has always been a valuable space for independent creators like us. But now, the shift toward corporate interests is more evident than ever. With the merger of Podcast Movement and Sounds Profitable, and the major announcement that the 2026 event will move from its usual ...

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August 4, 2025 5 mins

Today, I'm breaking down 5 popular mics that you may have seen in your search for the perfect podcast mic. 

We start with the well-advertised, terribly performing Blue Yeti.  I explain why you're better off to skip it, and buy a dynamic microphone for cheaper.

Next, the nearly interchangeable Samson Q2U and Audio Technica ATR-2100X.   The ATR has a USB-C option, but has been in very short supply lately.  The Q2U is only USB-A, but yo...

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In this episode, we explore the significant impact listener surveys can have on a podcast's success, especially during the holiday season. Listener surveys allow us to connect directly with our audience and understand their preferences, making it easier to create content that resonates. In the radio world, we called this “Hugging your P1s”—a term for our most loyal listeners. Providing incentives, like gift cards, can increase part...

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In this episode of The Jag Show, we dive into the lessons learned from the highly anticipated Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight and how these insights can be applied to podcasting and content creation. Join us as we explore the essential elements of creating buzz, the unpredictability of viral moments, and the critical importance of technology in delivering a seamless experience.

  • Create Buzz and FOMO: Learn how to generate exciteme...
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November 15, 2024 2 mins

SPOTIFY WILL NOW PAY FOR YOUR CONTENT

The world of podcasting is constantly evolving – and Spotify is now trying to keep up with YouTube.And that means PAYING its creators!

 

This week, Spotify announced they are rebranding their Spotify for Podcasters interface, now calling it Spotify for CREATORS.   This comes on the heels of allowing all podcasters to upload video files of their podcast to the platform – regardless of whether you u...

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November 1, 2024 2 mins

Could podcasts help decide the election?

Here we are in the final days before the most consequential Presidential Election of our lives.Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are criss-crossing the battleground states – and the podcast studios!

Sure, we’ve got wall-to-wall TV and radio ads as always.  My wife and I have YouTube TV as our cable provider -the ads are also there, and on traditional YouTube, where...

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October 4, 2024 2 mins

What you say as a podcaster matters. You know what also matters? Who you work for.

Evan Lazar is an employee of my New England Patriots, who much to the delight of most football fans, have crashed back down to earth, hard, and are one of the worst teams in the league.  (Hey, no complaints here – we got 6 rings when I was young enough to follow sports more religiously). 

Anyway, Evan is a co-host of the Patriots Catch 22 podcast, prod...

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September 11, 2024 6 mins

On September 11th, 2001, I was a senior in college.  My memories of that day are still so vivid.  It's wild to me that we now have a generation of adults entering the world that are too young to remember this day.   I feel it's incumbent upon us to share our stories - so 9/11 isn't "just another date in a history book."

Bonus: Here's a group of us recalling the day at WJPZ, our student run radio station:https://wjpzat50.simplecast.c...

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I came out of Podcast Movement 2024 with two key takeaways: better audio analytics, and the importance of YouTube.

Today, I explain that downloads, while still industry standard, do not paint the whole picture of who's listening to your show, when, and for how long?  The real key data can be found on your dashboards within Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

Speaking of YouTube, the biggest change in podcast survey data between 2023 and 202...

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August 15, 2024 4 mins

Podcast Superfriends Episode Dedicated to "The Money Chase" https://www.soundoff.network/show/the-podcast-super-friends/the-money-chase/

Lately, I've been seeing a number of large podcasts chasing additional revenue - everything from The Daily to Pod Save America to The Tucker Carlson show.   And they've all made critical errors, each in different approaches.  I explain.

Yes, there are ways to monetize your show, even if you aren't p...

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Has Podcasting overtaken AM and FM Talk Radio?   Well, yes and no.

This is from Edison Research’s Share of Ear Survey. In 2017, 66% of all spoken word audio was consumed over AM and FM radio.  Only 13% of ears went to podcasts.  Well fast forward to the second quarter of 2024.  Talk Radio is at 43%, and Podcasts are catching up at 36%. 

But if we dig a little deeper, among ages 13-64, Podcasting has ALREADY surpassed AM/FM Talk Radio...

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July 9, 2024 2 mins

Over the long holiday weekend, my wife and I puppy-sat for Henry, a 4-month old golden doodle.  And this got me thinking.  Puppies and Podcasts have a FEW things in common.

When you start a podcast, you probably have the exuberance of a puppy.  Henry has a habit of BOUNCING when he walks – he’s very excited, and it’s very cute.   But at some point, you need to learn HOW to walk.  And you can learn that by observing other podcasters....

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June 17, 2024 2 mins

Today I’m going to tell you three podcasting mistakes to avoid with your show.

First one, pretty straightforward.  Avoid the word “podcast” in your show title.   Two reasons.One, if someone is consuming your show, they already KNOW it’s a podcast.   Two: SEO.  According to James Cridland and PodNews, there are 700,000 podcasts that include the word “podcast” in their title – 16% of all shows currently listed.  How the heck is your s...

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It’s one of the hardest questions when you start a podcast.  Should I do video, or just audio?  Well, I think I’ve found a way to split the difference.

I was helping a new client launch a podcast this week, and we were talking, as is often the case, about audio versus video.   In a perfect world, we’d all have a video team of several people who can put together something that would make Steven Spielberg proud.   But the cost of that...

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Spotify for Podcasters, or Anchor, as it used to be known, is a free platform for hosting your podcast.   But as we all know, nothing is TRULY free.

I've long said that Anchor, or now Spotify for Podcasters, is a great tool if you're dipping your toe into podcasting.  They won't charge you a monthly hosting fee, and you can kind of get the hang of your craft.  Because the hardest part about doing a podcast - is actually starting one...

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May 24, 2024 4 mins

https://www.edisonresearch.com/the-podcast-consumer-2024-by-edison-research/

The Edison Research Podcast Consumer 2024 report, providing a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of podcasting. As we head into the holiday weekend, it's the perfect time to reflect on these insights and what they mean for podcasters and listeners alike.

Podcast listenership is at an all-time high, with two-thirds of the U.S. population aged 12 ...

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May 1, 2024 3 mins

In this episode of The JAG Show, we tackle the ever-persistent question: How long should a podcast be? The answer isn't one-size-fits-all. We dive into the nuances of podcast length and what makes an extended episode worthwhile. With personal anecdotes and industry insights, we explore scenarios where longer podcasts not only work but captivate. From celebrity-packed interviews, like Julian Edelman's deep dive with Ernie Adams, to ...

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