Your Podcast The Official Blubrry Podcast

There are plenty of reasons why you should have a website for your podcast. Blubrry has the No. 1 podcast plugin for WordPress, so we're obviously big believers in having your own website, but this episode we go over some of the important reasons why you should have one. Many podcasters man the entire show, website, marketing, etc, and is often a thankless job. Speaking of which, Todd has had his own site and been handling his show for a decade and a half and is celebrating 1,500 episodes this week

We've been working with Audioburst for over a year now and are happy to offer you another new perk - their Premium Creators feature. Mike spoke with Amir, their CEO and they discuss what makes their new feature so enticing. Meanwhile, once Todd and Mike joined to chat about things in podcasting like the Wondery sale to Amazon, Twitter buying Breaker, Megaphone getting themselves into some hot water and more, Todd's cat decided to join the show. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Live Facebook recording. News: Amazon is buying Wondery for a reported $300 million. Twitter is buying Breaker (and killing the app). Five podcast trends to watch in 2021 from the Irish Examiner. NPR Podcast Challenge: Open for middle and high school students, submit by March 15. Megaphone now on block lists for the tracking of podcast listeners. Rob Greenlee of Libsyn did not step down as chairman of the Podcast Academy. They elected new officers. He is still on the board of governors. Best Practice: Is there a best day of the week or time to release new episodes? Blubrry News: New things coming in 2021! Tips for Planning Your Podcast, from our Podcast insider blog. Audioburst Creator’s Premium feature available in the Blubrry Dashboard (30 day free trial), learn more here. Interview: Amir Hirsh, CEO/Co-founder Website Question(s) of the Week:   Question: I published my episode just now. Why can’t I see it in the xxxx directory or app?   Answer: All podcast directories and apps run off your RSS feed. When you update your feed with a new episode, directories, apps and subscribers all check the RSS feed to see if something is new. This is not instant. ALL these places and your subscribers PULL your feed. Yes, it's available in your feed cause you pushed it, but the directories haven't pulled anything just yet. It asks for your feed when it gets around to it and PULLS your feed to update your listing (typically in bulk with other shows). Your listeners subscribe to your feed and after that never really touch Apple Podcasts or the other services again.  They are just subscribed to your feed directly in their app of choice. As long as when you publish an episode, you get it if you are subscribed, everything is working.  It works the same as every other directory or app (other than Spotify currently). There is nothing we or you can do to make that faster. It takes whatever time it takes. To check your RSS feed to make sure it’s working and which episodes are in it, go to CastFeedValidator.com and put your RSS feed address in the box and validate. That will show you what is in the feed and as long as the episode you are looking for is there, it will get to all the directories and apps in time. I just want you to understand, there is nothing wrong with your feed, anything Blubrry is doing or anything you are doing. It's all based on when your RSS gets pulled by these places. The important part is your feed is up to date and the rest of the world will update it when they want to. We can't force them (unfortunately). On Saturday’s Podcast Help Desk episode, Creating Your Own Podcasting Platform. If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” in the show notes at PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. ______________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stampe...

Todd is solo this week, and he reflects on the past year along with giving insights for 2021. The future of podcasting is bright, and with audience growth on the rise, podcasters will continue to build bigger audiences as we bring 2020 to a close and usher in 2021. We do thank you for your continued business and trust in making your shows the Blubrry Way. Happy New Year to you and yours. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded at Todd's studio here’s Podcast Insider. News: Spotify podcasts loophole: Leads to remixes and unreleased songs to be inserted into episodes. Was 2020 really the year podcasting took shape? Some think so. Best Practice: Keep on Podcasting through the holidays. If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” in the show notes at  PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. ______________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com  Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Mike is flying solo this week.  In the news, Netflix adds an audio-only mode in its android app; why your podcast needs a website; and some new destinations for Blubrry podcasters.  PLUS, we have some of our team members chiming in with some holiday wishes and, a special treat, some holiday music from Aaron Hope on our design team! Happy holidays to you! Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded at Mike Dell's World Studios in northern  Michigan, here’s Podcast Insider. News: Netflix audio-only mode Has independent podcasting peaked? Why your podcast needs a website 10 Top podcast advertisers in 2020 Best Practice: Keep on Podcasting through the holidays. Blubrry News: We have added JioSaavn and Gaana to the destinations section of the Podcaster Dashboard AND PowerPress Submit your show to Podchaser a well PowerPress 8.4.7 released to add the new destinations. Blubrry will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 for the holidays.  Also, a lot of our team members will be out in between, so we might be a bit slow to answer, but we will get back to you. On Saturday’s Podcast Help Desk episode: 'Podcaster's Block - What to do when you just don't feel like podcasting.' NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” in the show notes at  PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. ______________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

A well crafted podcast intro can make a significant difference to the listeners, and as such, creators should learn some podcast intro dos and don'ts. Todd and Mike made intros the main focus of this episode but they didn't leave out some news going on such as some new podcasters joining Spotify, estimations on how long Rogan will stay there, and research on podcast listening habits. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Live Facebook recording. News: Harry and Meghan sign with Spotify to produce podcasts. Podcast Taxonomy Project White Paper. A worthwhile read to understand where the podcast industry is headed. Adam Curry predicts Joe Rogan will be back to open podcasting within a year. Pew Research says more people are turning to podcasting for news. Countless end of 2020 best podcast lists are coming out. What are the pros and cons of these lists. Best Practice: Podcast Intro Dos and Don'ts When done correctly a podcast intro can not only keep a listener around for that episode, but bring that back consistently. Do a shorter live-voiced intro or just cold start Read more dos here. Don’t make them too long Don’t make them sound too much different than the main show Blubrry News: Blubrry holiday hours: Half days on 24/31 and completely off the 25/1. Also some team members are out the week in-between. The December newsletter went out yesterday, read it here to catch up on our year entirely. New destinations in Podcaster Dashboard at Blubrry, these will be added to PowerPress as well. Question(s) of the Week: Question: What is your favorite podcast listening app? And why? Answer: Mike: I use Overcast for my personal podcast listening. If you have an iPhone, it seems to be the best one for me because it’s just organized well and Marco (the developer) really keeps it up to date.  Also, you have the ability to put in any RSS feed and subscribe without it having to be in the overcast directory. Being that I have to test with just about every one of them out there, I have android and IOS and many podcast apps. My favorite on Android is a tie between Podcast Addict and Pocket Casts. Todd: Personal listening, Apple Podcasts. Other, Overcast. On Saturday’s Podcast Help Desk episode, 'What is RSS and why you should care?'. NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” in the show notes at  PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. ______________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Podcast artwork is often times the first thing potential listeners will see, before they even hear anything. It's an opportunity you don't want to mess up as a podcaster, so we've got some tips on how to make the best and don't hinder yourself. And it's getting to that time of year, when everyone releases their predictions for the coming year and wrap ups of the past 12 months, Todd and Mike went over some of them in this episode. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Live Facebook recording. News: Edison Research “Super Listeners 2020” survey results. Pacific Content’s predictions for podcasting in 2021. YouTube taking down anything that alleges 2020 USA election voter fraud. Podcasts from Fox News now available on Amazon Music. IAB released Podcast Measurement 2.1 guidelines, open for public comment. Cool Tool! OnlyPod lets you review how your artwork will look in several podcast syndication points. Best Practice:  Podcast Artwork Image Size (pixels): Must be 1400x1400px and no larger than 3000x3000px File Size (mb): No more than 500kb (.5mb) in file size File name: Letters, numbers, underscores or dashes only. No spaces in file names! Content: Make sure that your image looks good at about 1 inch by 1 inch (2.5cm). That is the size most people will see, on a mobile device. If there is fine text, it won’t be readable when sized down that far. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4.6 released because of a PHP update and WordPress update. Tell a better story on your podcast, from our blog. Tiana from The Part-Time Jungle was our Instagram giveaway winner. She won herself an ATR2100x-USB microphone. Part-Time Jungle site Instagram Facebook You can now submit your show to JioSaavn, an India based music and podcast streaming app, via the Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Starting next week, Podcast Help Desk, Mike’s podcast about podcasting, will start 2 short episodes weekly (Wednesday and Saturday). Podcast Help Desk is the unofficial companion podcast to Podcast Insider. A place to dig a bit deeper in the geeky technical subjects for podcasters and to answer listener questions. Check it out at PodcastHelpDesk.com. Question(s) of the Week: Question: I've noticed that my show notes in iTunes podcast player do not have the URLs hyperlinked. Is this normal? Or is there a setting I have to change? Answer: Apple Podcasts will show links, but only if the person that is looking is already subscribed in Apple Podcasts and is looking in their Library. BONUS: Best Practice for show notes in PowerPress/WordPress: First, in the reading menu of WordPress Settings (plain settings in the sidebar) select full text where it says "For each post in a feed, include" select "Full Text", save changes. Second, if you are using Classic Editor, in the post editor, click "Screen Options" and check the box for Summary. If you are using the Block editor, click the little 3 dot icon in the upper right, select Settings, and make sure the Summary box is checked. Then, when you work on a post, type out your formatted show notes in the big text box, the main content area of the post. Put a summary (a few lines describing the episode) in the summary box. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, head to “Leave a voicemail” in episode show notes from PodcastInsider.com. Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _______________________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com

Image by Podcast Movement. Choosing a podcast microphone typically involves some testing. With such a wide variety of options to choose from, we tested some for you live and give recommendations and a clear understanding of condenser vs dynamic microphones. Wondery is still up for grabs, Joe Rogan is now Spotify exclusive and QCode just gained a former Apple Podcasts exec. That's not all, tune in to hear more. Thank you to Elisa for sitting down with Todd to talk about her show In the Business of Change. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Apple Podcasts Connect will require 2-factor sign-in starting in February 2021.  In a note sent to podcasters... “Starting February 2021, additional authentication will be required for all users to sign in to iTunes Connect. This extra layer of security for your Apple ID helps ensure that you’re the only person who can access your account. If you haven’t already updated your account, you can enable two-step verification or two-factor authentication now in the Security section of your Apple ID account or in the Apple ID section of Settings on your device.” A Spotify employee has supposedly removed a Joe Rogan Episode. Survey says that young adults replace TV watching with listening to podcasts. QCode hires Steve Wilson, Former Apple Podcasts Executive. Congrats Steve! Less than 2 weeks left to submit your show to the Ambies. Deadline December 15th. Amazon may buy Wondery for $300 million. Don't take our word for it. Best Practice: How to choose the right microphone for you. Three different microphones, three different price points. Electro-Voice RE20 $450 (Todd uses the Shure SM7B $400) Sennheiser e835 $100 Audio-Technica BPHS1 Headset Mic. $200 Dynamic vs. Condenser Dynamic is better for noise rejection Examples: Heil PR40, SM7B, RE20, SM58, ATR2100 and the new MV7 The condenser is more “full” sounding Examples: Snowball, Blue Yeti, Any built-in mic for Portable Recorders, Blue Mickey and the REALLY expensive Neumann U 87 ($3600!) Expensive vs. cheap Is a $400 microphone $300 better than a $100 mic? What is your budget? Does YOUR voice sound good on the mic you choose? Some voices do not sound good on some microphones.  For instance, often times women’s voices do not sound as good on the Heil PR40 as they do on the Heil PR30 or the SM7B.  If you can borrow a mic to test with, test with as many as you can. What is your podcast environment like? Dynamic mics are better if you have background noise or for recording in the field. If you are very sound-proofed room, or the coat closet, a condenser microphone could work for you. USB vs. XLR Bottom line, if you find one that works for you, you can check it off your list of things to do.  Don’t overthink it. Blubrry News: Microphone giveaway! It's the last few hours of our Instagram giveaway for an ATR2100x-USB. To participate, follow us, like the Instagram post and tag 3 friends, it ends tonight Dec. 4 at midnight EST. PowerPress 8.4.5 is out, with some minor bug fixes. Leave us a review! From our blog, Internet Security and Podcasting. Interview: Elisa Birnbaum - In the Business of Change Connect with Elisa here... Facebook Twitter Instagram Question(s) of the Week: Question: What would you recommend to backup your files for your Podcast? Answer: Here is what I [Mike] do, I have offline backup disks on two portable hard drives. One is set up on my Mac as a running backup (Time Machine).  The second one is in another building (my office/studio is separate from my house).

Oh, the noise, noise, noise, noise! If your environment is noisy, we have some tips today on how to set up your recording space. Todd and Mike talk about Rode's new Vlogger Kits, People Magazine's new daily podcast, who the largest advertiser in podcasting was last month and more. Thank you to Jennifer for sitting down with Todd to talk about her show Fading Memories. Thanks for joining us on this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distanced podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Rode is selling $149 “Vlogger Kits.” All-in-one filmmaking kits for your mobile phone. People Magazine is launching a daily podcast. Volvo was the biggest advertiser in podcasting for October. Podcast Movement “home for the holidays” meetup is Dec. 9 - (virtual) Best Practice: Improving your recording environment Try to set up “your space” for recording. Pick a quiet place (duh!). Turn off/down any fan noise you can (computers, A/C units, fans, SUMP PUMPS!). Try to put the computer on the backside of the microphone’s pattern. Soundproof the area (carpet, curtains, foam tiles, audio blankets or panels). Record in a closet (lots of clothes hanging around mute the echoes). Let your significant others know when you are recording and ask them to be quiet or be somewhere else for that time.   Blubrry News: Be sure to take a look at our Instagram on Friday!  You could win something cool.   https://www.instagram.com/blubrry_podcasting/ We are off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. We'll monitor support emails over the weekend. We are looking for Blubrry Podcasters of the Month. Contact MacKenzie if you are interested in being in the running to be selected in 2021 (and you can be on THIS show).   Interview:  Fading Memories with Jennifer Fink   Question(s) of the Week:   Question:  When I create an episode within Blubrry, I format the show notes with links and formatting. When the episode shows up in the Apple Podcasts app, it displays an unformatted version followed by a formatted version. Anyone know what's happening or how to fix it? Answer: There are three tags that various apps use for “show notes.”    and Apple uses content encoded for formatted show notes. They use Description for the short preview that is seen if subscribed when looking at an episode. The iTunes Summary is used if neither of the other tags are in the RSS feed.  (Not really used in most cases.) In Blubrry Publisher: Put the formatted show notes in the “Content” box.  Click on “Advanced Apple Settings" at the bottom of the episode editor and put the short description in the “RSS Description” box. PowerPress: In the Reading menu of WordPress Settings (just plain settings in the sidebar), where it says "For each post in a feed, include" select "Full Text," save changes. If you are using Classic Editor, in the post editor, click "Screen Options" and check the box for Summary. If you are using the Block editor, click the little three-dot icon in the upper right, select Settings, and make sure the Summary box is checked. Then, when you do a post, type out your formatted show notes in the big text box, the main content area of the post. Put a summary (a few lines describing the episode) in the summary box. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a Voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _____________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in northern and southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only). Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only). Email mike@blubrry.

The pros and cons of joining a podcast network are debatable, and that's exactly what we did in this episode. Before we get to that, Todd and Mike discuss Apple's new embeddable player for website and how their charts system actually works. Thanks to Jen for speaking with Todd about her show and how she got started. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Apple’s new embeddable player is available for websites. Apple holiday hours: November 23-27 and again December 21, 2020 - Jan 4 2021, there might be delays in approving new shows. More than the normal 5 business days due to time off. Who may be the next podcast acquisition? Spotify plays wait and see about more podcast acquisitions. NBC signs exclusive ad deal with SiriusXM. What it's like hosting a podcast as a musician. Podcasts, narrated by someone else… seems to take all the creativity out of a podcast. Check out Poise. Apple's Top Charts, they've always been much debated on how they work. And frankly how people want to game the system. We've spoken to Apple how it actually works, and well don't put too much belief into the rating and reviews advice you've been given. Take a look at the tweet that kicked off this conversation. Best Practice: Do you really want to join a network? Pros Cross promotion Being part of something bigger than yourself Advertising and sponsorships Social media Community Sharing the costs Cons Ownership Content control (editorial) Personality conflicts Sharing revenue Read the fine print, can never be too careful     Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4.4 is out with minor bug fixes. Fight the podfade! Podcaster of the Month - we’re looking for people that want to be featured in 2021, contact MacKenzie. You can even be a guest on this show. Interview: Jen Rodd - Inspirational Interviews Connect with Jen here... Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Apple Podcasts Question(s) of the Week: Question:  When I try to upload my file to Blubrry hosting from PowerPress I get this error: “Authentication failed. Please verify that your email and password are correct.” Answer: This is normally caused by a change in password or login email at blubrry.com. To correct this, Go to blubrry.com in one tab in your browser. Then in another tab, on your WordPress site, go to PowerPress > settings and click the link that says “Go to Blubrry account”.  Click “unlink account”.  Then refresh your browser window and click on “Lets Connect” in the same box where “Go to Blubrry Account” was.  Click OK on the box that pops up that says Authorize. Click OK and refresh your browser again and it should say “Connected to blubrry” again. Your upload should work now.    Any time you change the password at blubrry.com you will have to re-do the link between PowerPress and Blubrry. NEW! If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. _____________ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

While podcaster creators might be hunkering down to finish more episodes for the holidays, podcast companies have been busy buying - each other. Spotify is buying Megaphone and Wondery is dealing with multiple potential buyers. The podcast industry consolidation isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but it's worth weighing the pros and cons of new acquisition and pondering what this means for the future. We have a unique outlook on this, as a hosting company, we provide advice on what podcasters should do in case their podcast host gets bought. In the early days of podcasting, we helped migrate many customers in short periods of time, to ensure they had no down time before their previous host went under, disappeared, etc. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording News: • Spotify buying Megaphone for $235 million. • Apple (or Sony) supposedly in talks to buy Wondery, but it would come at a steep price. • Bitcast - Seems like many have tried something similar, with no large payoff or users. Best Practice: What do you do if your podcast hosting company is acquired? Blubrry News: • Podcast to Profit - Our friends at Infostack created a valuable collection of resources on monetizing a podcast. Available until midnight EST tonight. • Private Internal Podcasting webinars tomorrow, Fri. Nov. 13. • PowerPress and WordPress webinar next week, Tues. Nov. 17th at 1pm . Question(s) of the Week: First few episodes missing from RSS feed - Tanya - Gift Girls Faith Question: Why would the first few episodes drop out of the feed? I have 13 but only the last 10 are showing anywhere other than my website. Answer:  In WordPress, the RSS feeds are limited to 10 items in the feed by default. You can change the default for Podcast Feeds by going to the PowerPress Settings > Feeds menu > then select Feed settings and scroll down to where it says “Show the most recent” and set it to 300. Also, check the box that says “Maximize the number of episodes while maintaining an optimal feed size.” and save changes.  This will allow all your episodes to get into the RSS feed (up to 300). NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Ownership of your podcast is Blubrry's top priority, don't worry we tell you why it's critical as a creator. That's not all we talk about on this episode, we interviewed Misty Phillip, creator of the Spark Christian Podcast Conference, happening all day Friday, November 6 2020. We're excited to be be sponsoring Spark as well as a keynote speaker. Todd will be speaking on the future of podcasting, and other speakers touching on the possibilities for the Christian community to get involved in podcasting. We're giving away a year's worth of podcast hosting to one lucky winner. Lastly, you'll see a few small tweaks this episode, we're looking forward to hearing questions from you to answer in the future. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording News: Google’s impact on podcasting and search, an insightful look at the future. Dan Franks from Podcast Movement was featured in Podcast Business Journal. Podcast Movement 2021 will be in Nashville. Nielsen says 'Host Reads' are better than other forms of podcast advertising. Yes, Blubrry teams are well aware of this fact. YouTube channels pirating podcasts? Check out this one. Apple says delays are likely between Nov. 20-30 and between Dec. 23, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021.  Apple said...“Shows submissions during these windows may not be available within our regular time frame of five business days.” Evolving the audio community. Elsie Escobar recently sparked discussion about how the audio industry still has some work to do with expanding on diversity. Best Practice: Who owns your podcast? There can be many answers to this question but we hone in on 'The Blubrry Way', ensuring that podcasters are aware of all of the ways they can control their intellectual property, branding and more. Blubrry News: PowerPress 4.8.2 has been released. The biggest change is a subscribe link for Podcast Index. Podcast tools that podcasters love, how podcasters have upped their game in 2020. Todd speaking at Spark conference. Interview: Misty Phillip, from Spark Christian Conference Looking to be a guest on the show? Contact us. Question(s) of the Week: NEW! - If you have a question or feedback, click on the “Leave a voicemail” tab on PodcastInsider.com.  Record your question and we may answer it on the show. Question: I had a couple of bonus episodes from a few months ago that were posted on Patreon only.  As placeholders, I posted blog posts on my website with no actual audio episode attached and instead just a link to the Patreon and all the show notes...but now I want to actually post those as real episodes in the main podcast feed. If I go back to those blog posts and attach an audio episode to them... 1) Will they show up in everyone's podcast app as new episodes? 2) If they do, will they show up with a date of back when I first posted them or will they change to the new current date of when I update them with an actual episode file? Answer: They’ll show up as new episodes, but backdated based on your post date. If you want them to display as the most recent episodes, change the post dates. Connect with Misty here... Attend Spark Contact Misty Facebook Twitter Instagram __ Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is:

Voxnest is being acquired by iHeart Radio, bringing together the publishing platform and well-known audio platform. Meanwhile, the She Podcasts team recently launched Super Squad, featuring virtual membership to make up for the canceled conference this fall. The NaPodPoMo challenge starts this weekend, get your podcast episodes prepared now for easy publishing the rest of November. And while you're working on publishing episodes every month, consider the current state of your podcast. Is it time for a refresh or a rebrand? And be sure to check out next week's episode featuring Misty Phillips from the Spark Christian Conference. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Facebook live recording. News: iHeart Radio to acquire Voxnest (Spreaker’s parent company). Read about it here. New microphone! If you're in the market, or even just looking for a new podcast toy, Shure has a new mic, MV7 coming out. The MV7 is a USB/XLR version of the SM7B (sort of) $249. Congratulations to Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak on 13 years of producing the No Agenda Show. #NaPodPoMo starts on Sunday! National Podcast Post Month - 30 episodes in 30 days challenge,  can you do it? Podbooking: The “LinkedIn” of Podcasting opens on November 1st. She Podcasts launches SuperSquad. Amazon adding 100k free podcast shows to Audible. Best Practice: Re-tooling your show.  When is it time for a refresh? Branding (new logos, new colors, redesigned website) Show format Show frequency (more or fewer episodes per month) Expectations… how long it'll take to get all of this done, do things individually or all together, do you need help/assistance. Blubrry News: Pro hosting webinar tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30. 1PM EST. Spark Christian Conference is next week, November 6th. Todd will be speaking and we'll be giving away a year's worth of hosting. PowerPress 8.4.1 was released today. Including new destinations and some cool under the hood improvements. Interview:  Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  How to check how much storage or space you have left towards the end of the month. In PowerPress, when you hit choose file scroll to the bottom and you will see how much space you have left for the month. In the Blubrry podcaster dashboard, go to “manage published files” and scroll to the bottom and you will find the same information there. You can upgrade your plan at any time, in the billing section of the dashboard by clicking “Change Plan”. It will be pro-rated and you will get the additional space right away. If you have more than one show in your blubrry.com account and have an issue with one of them, PLEASE tell us what show you are asking about. Send screenshots that are fullscreen, much easier to troubleshoot when we see exactly what you see. Send lots of information the first time and it makes it easier and faster for us to help you out. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in and Northern and Southern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Recently we've been quite busy with live demos, webinars and virtual events. Podcasters are no stranger to live recordings, and the industry is buzzing with collaboration and information sharing. The Blubrry team is hosting some webinars and demos this week and next. Welcome Todd back this episode, as he and Mike chat about podcast listening being at an all time high, updates from SiriusSM and Google Play Music and more. And if podcasters themselves are looking to expand into different directories, we now offer Podcast Index and Amazon Music. In podcasting, and as in life, what can go wrong, will go wrong. The important thing is how you react to it, that's our best practice tip this episode. Live Facebook recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News PM20 Virtual going on this week and next week, end Oct. 29. Joe Rogan show on hold for positive COVID test of a producer. Podcast listening at an all-time high. Given how 2020 is going, this is somewhat to be expected. SiriusXM’s purchase of Stitcher is complete. Stitcher's podcasts now are now available on Pandora. Google Play MUSIC is Dead, Dead, Dead. Podinstall, another podcast PWA. See our listing here. Spotify removed four QAnon related podcasts. NPR announced their 3rd annual Student Podcast Challenge. Best Practice: What can go wrong will go wrong, don’t sweat it. Blubrry News: Live exhibitor demos will be happening next week, streamed on Facebook as well. 4pm Tuesday the 27th and 3pm Thursday the 29th. Private Internal Podcast webinars tomorrow,  Friday the 23rd at 10am for Business and 11am for Indie Podcasters.  Find information here. Submit to Podcast Index from Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Submit to Amazon Music from Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard. Podcast namespace by PodcastIndex.org, soon Blubrry will support the new tags.  Professional hosting webinar on Friday, Oct. 30. 11 AM EST. Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  Where to find our documentation: create.blubrry.com. That site has a TON of information about Blubrry, PowerPress and our services plus a lot of general information about podcasting, including our Podcast Manual. WordPress sites have a Media Library, designed for photos or other files you want to be available on your site in pages or posts. This is not meant for podcast episodes/files. Blubrry hosted podcasts, using PowerPress, have another box lower in the post called “podcast episode”. That is where your podcast media goes, not the WordPress media library. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in Columbus, Ohio and Northern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

It's worthwhile to have a podcast host that implements new features in a timely manner, for instance new tags that seem minor can have significant importance to podcast RSS feeds. Filling in for Todd this week, MacKenzie and Mike discuss the Podcast Academy awards, just what is going on currently with Podcast Index and elements of RSS, new information from Google Podcasts Manager and more. Looking to improve your SEO? We recently wrote about how to make the best of podcast SEO, in a few easy ways. Thanks to Stacey for being a Blubrry customer and chatting with Todd. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: The Podcast Academy announces The Ambies, the name of their awards. New podcast RSS namespace, adding elements to RSS. Google Podcasts Manager: New feature, Web Search Performance. “How people find your show.” NightBuds! A cool kickstarter project for those that like to listen while they sleep. Spotify will now allow full songs to be included in Spotify-exclusive podcasts. Best Practice: SEO for Podcasters? YES! Learn some tips here. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4 beta is out. Give it a try! Private Internal Podcast webinars are,  Friday Oct. 16th at 10am for Business and 11am for Indie Podcasters. Information and sign up here. Michael Harren of MikeyPod  is Blubrry’s October Podcaster of the Month! Interview:  Stacey Mack  - Grateful Badass Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Caching on your website Not related to browser caching Happens on your web server Can cause your feed not to update Can cause any website changes to not show up right away There are lots of caching systems. Ask your web hosting provider to explain how to clear, purge, delete, empty or otherwise delete the cache after you work on your site or publish a post (most of them will clear automatically). Connect with Stacey here... Website Podcast Facebook Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Blubrry Studios in Columbus, Ohio and Northern Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Last week Blubrry was lucky enough to have two sessions for International Podcast Day, one of which was hosted by MacKenzie Bennett, Powerful Women in Podcasting. She was joined by two guests, Candy O'Terry and Laura Wiese, both heavily involved in different aspects of podcasting. Check out the news update from Mike at the beginning of the episode and then replay of the IPD session. And we recently started out Instagram account, Blubrry_Podcasting. Go ahead and follow us for podcast tips, education on our services, info on events and more. Thanks for joining us in this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. News: Google announces its teams for the 2020-21 Google Podcasts creator program. ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) announced OzPod will not be taking place in 2020. IAB removes Apple Watch numbers from certified stats (including Blubrry) starting October 1st. Joe Rogan says Spotify is NOT muzzling him. Blubrry News: Private Internal Podcasting Webinars: Tomorrow, Friday Oct. 9. Business Podcasters 10AM EDT. Indie Podcasters 11AM EDT. Learn more here and sign up to attend! Take a look at our Podcast Movement 2020 virtual booth. If you are attending, check us out when the show opens on October 19-29th. Todd will be speaking,  join us and sign up to attend here. P.S, use the code Blubrry50 to get $50 off your ticket! Interview: Replay from International Podcast Day 2020 Powerful Women in Podcasting with MacKenzie Bennett, Candy O’Terry and Laura Wiese Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Connect with Laura Wiese... Website Instagram Email Connect with Candy O'Terry... Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from the Blubrry North studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Today Todd, Mike and Adam talk about the history and future of podcasting. They also cover some news stories and some advice for podcasters to keep up with your fans and listeners. **Warning - The interview part of this episode contains just a few curse words.  Nothing terrible, but may not be safe for work or children **     News: People’s Choice Podcast Award Winners! Congratulations!! Podfriend has released a Progressive Web App Podcast Player using the Podcast Index. - Check out our listing Megyn Kelly escapes the corporate overlords with her own podcast New Echo Dots from Amazon Apple buys Scout FM and kills it - New features in Apple podcasts because of it Best Practice: Follow up with your fans! Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.4 in internal testing. We should be ready for beta testers next week.  Email Support@blubrry.com if you would like to test it. International Podcast Day was yesterday. We had 2 sessions. Powerful women in podcasting with MacKenzie and Podcasting History / Podcasting 2.0 With Mike and Todd with Adam Curry. Interview: Adam Curry "The Podfather" - NoAgenda Show Connect with Adam Curry here... Website Podcast Index Social Twitter Email

There are a variety of podcast platforms available for shows to be found on and podcasters to submit to, but not all are created equal. They are all have certain features and quirks, Todd and Mike get into some pros and cons of the major directories currently available and relevant. Don't miss some virtual events coming up real soon, including International Podcast Day, we're platinum sponsors! Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Spotify is testing listener polls in their app. Podcast Movement announced another keynote speaker, Mark Cuban. Zoom releasing is new soundboard designed for podcasting. Looks similar to the RODEcaster Pro. They will be available mid November. Spotify employees say they will strike if Joe Rogan’s episodes are not edited or removed. Charlotte Podcast Festival is October 5-30th, they'll have free sessions all month. Best Practice: What podcast apps do you want your podcast listed in?  You can choose what apps you want your podcast to be distributed to. You don’t need to be listed in all the major players. Why would you NOT want to be in a particular app?  Most of your potential listeners do not use that app, for example, a linux podcast may not need to be in Apple Podcasts although it doesn’t hurt anything. Or a podcast specifically about Apple Products, likely wouldn’t do well on Google Podcasts. The directory/app does things you don’t agree with, for example, they put ads in or around your episodes. The app does not attribute the show to you and makes it seem like they own your show. Terms of service, for example, some apps say you can’t say something bad about their company. Or you can’t talk about xx topic. You get an exclusive deal with an app/company to be only on their platform. Blubrry News: International Podcast Day is next week, September 30.  Schedule: Session 1: 11am PDT - Powerful Women in Podcasting: Candy O’Terry and Laura Wiese will be joining MacKenzie. Session 2: 5pm PDT - Todd and Mike will have Adam Curry on to talk about Podcast history and Podcasting 2.0 (podcastindex.org). The Blubrry website has been updated. The homepage and our main service pages were released, look for more changes the rest of the year. Tell us what you think! Our newsletter went out this week but it might have ended up in your spam folder. If it did, please mark it as safe! Interview: No interview this week.   Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  You can have an account at Blubrry without any services. Services are subscriptions. Account: Your login email/password at Blubrry.com. Show listing: A listing for a podcast within your account. Subscription: Either Free Stats, Pro Stats or Hosting plans. More tags for Blubrry Publisher users. Subtitle (not used anywhere but populates the tag. The main text box populates the tag (which has live links and formatting). In the Advanced Apple Podcasts Options, there is now a “RSS Description” box.  That populates the tag for the episode. (Formatting gets stripped out in Apple podcasts). This is useful to totally control what is shown in Apple Podcasts. When contacting tech support,  please do not just send a ticket that says “call me”.  Please give us some information about what the issue is. That way we know who would be the best person to call you, or if it can be handled by email or some other way. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com

It's been a long seven months here in the United States (as it has been elsewhere), and we're only two weeks away from the U.S Presidential Debates - which was recently suggested to be hosted on Joe Rogan's podcast, with Donald Trump and Joe Biden. We ask, is a presidential debate on a podcast a good idea? Don't worry we discuss more than just politics integrated into politics this episode. Such as news from Amazon Music / Audible, some moves to the Apple team, and some upcoming events. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Amazon Music / Audible added podcasts in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Jake Shapiro, CEO of Radio Public and PRX founder moves to Apple Podcasts. Kara Swisher joins the New Your Times with a podcast called Sway. Apple updates with iOS14 and iPadOS14.  Some new things in Apple Podcasts. Presidential Debate on a Podcast? For four hours?! Podfest is doing a Podcast Masterclass on Sept 28 - October 2nd. Best Practice: Audio levels and tools for editing/recording For Podcast insider, we use a lot of tools.  Auphonic for leveling + Blubrry Pro Production Audition, for editing and final file creation Recorded on each end with hardware recorders.  Rodcaster Pro and Dennon digital audio recorder as a backup. Blubrry News: Blubrry at 15!  We had a Facebook Live “party” celebrating 15 years in business. See the replay here. New website coming soon! Watch for it at blubrry.com in the next few weeks. International Podcast Day: Coming up shortly, Sept 30. Potentially still looking for a second guest to join the Powerful Women session with MacKenzie. Newsletter will be going out next week, keep an eye out in your inbox. Interview: No interview this week, we will replay our 15-year anniversary live steam at the end of the show.  Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  Amazon Music / Audible podcasts: YES, we will be building in support for Amazon in our products. If you'd like to submit your show now, head here. Push vs. Pull: RSS (and podcasting) is a PULL. You create your show and create an RSS feed.  All the directories and apps PULL your show when they can. It can take 24-72 hours. This is normal. That is why you want your listeners to subscribe; if they do they get episodes as soon as their app pulls your feed (normally within an hour). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

A release schedule can be critical for a podcast, but so are breaks every once in a while. We promise, taking time off won't kill your podcast overnight. There are a few strategies and best practices for taking some time off, whether it be unexpected or the foreseeable future. Mike and Todd discuss podcast days off among event details, webinar info and more. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Podcasting 2.0, preserve podcasting. Joe Rogan moved to Texas and his first new episode featured Adam Curry. The Podcast Academy September Social is on the 17th at 5pm EDT. Not much time left to join the Podcast Academy at $50 yearly. Price is going up real soon to join. NAB Show 2021 rescheduled for October 2021 instead of spring. Former President Bill Clinton is starting a podcast. Indie Pod Con is this upcoming weekend. Todd speaks Saturday at 6:25pm EDT. “Your News Update” in Google podcasts. Best Practice: Take a day off from your podcast, it's ok... maybe? Blubrry News: Mike is doing a live PowerPress webinar next Tuesday at 4pm EDT. International Podcast Day is Sept. 30th. We super excited about our two sessions, Powerful Women in Podcasting and Podcasting History and Podcast 2.0 with Adam Curry. Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Q: “I’m getting an SSL mixed content warning from the browser. My site is HTTPS. What’s wrong?” A: There is likely a photo on your site that is linked with http instead of https. If that photo (or other linked file) is on your site, change the link to https and you should be OK.  If it’s offsite, see if the file works with https from the other source (sometimes it will).  If that doesn’t work, down the file and re-upload it to your site and change the link.  Also, use a plugin like Really Simple SSL to force https on all links that it will work on.  If you are hosting and publishing on blubrry.com directly,  make sure you put YOUR email address in the Podcast Settings in the blubrry.com dashboard.  That way YOU will get the email from Apple and others instead of us. A trick we use in support for looking at RSS feeds. Install the Firefox browser (you don’t have to use it for anything other than looking at feeds if you don’t like the browser). Install the Add-on called RSSPreview  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/rsspreview/ (Very important that you get the one with no space in the name of it. There is another one called RSS Preview that is not the one I’m talking about). Then, when you load your feed in Firefox you get a nice view of it. You will see the title of your show, the description, the image and the posts listed. A cool tool for looking up a show https://castfeedvalidator.com/FindCast.php When you publish an episode, load your feed in Firefox and double check that it is there, and plays (You can click on the enclosure to open the media in the browser). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Choosing a title for a podcast is not always an easy thing to do, but it is an important part of a podcast. A crucial step in starting your podcast or any kind of rebranding, Todd and Mike provide some tips for podcasters to use when making this decision. Keep up to date on podcasting events, including some happening very soon. Thanks to Mike Moreno for joining Todd to talk about his podcast. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Happy Birthday, Adam Curry, the Podfather Overcast adding “security” notices for podcasts. Is Spotify censoring Joe Rogan? Already. International Podcast Day is at the end of the month, September 30th. We're the main sponsor. Radio Days Europe’s Podcast Day Online takes place October 26th. Is Spotify requiring HTTPS on media files? Quote from Podnews.net newsletter yesterday: “Spotify is now rejecting new podcasts served with an http (non-secure) audio addresses, according to emails seen by Podnews. Audio served using http rather than https also doesn’t play in Chrome on embedded players. Apple Podcasts expressed a preference for https back in May 2018, but have not yet insisted on it.” Listening to podcasts a half-hour longer because of the pandemic? Edison put out this short video:  https://youtu.be/14xzAUXvB-c A new newsletter called “Sounds Profitable” from Podnews. Best Practice: Titling your podcast Be careful that you are not using something in your title that is trademarked.  What is a good title for a podcast? Shorter titles are generally better Unique titles are best (Do a search for the title you are thinking about using) Do not stuff titles with keywords. Make it easy to spell and pronounce Maybe see if it means something totally different in other languages.  (Not sure how to do that exactly) Blubrry News: DragonCon presentation Todd @ 6pm EST Another PowerPress update - 8.3.7 is the latest Blog post: Guerrilla Podcast Marketing. Affiliates have been paid, so check your PayPal just in case. And as always, affiliates can check their progress in the affiliate section of the Podcaster Dashboard. Interview: The Actor CEO -  Mike Moreno - Actorceo.com Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Rebranding?  Changing the title and artwork for your show. In PowerPress settings > feeds > feed settings > “Show Title” Artwork in the “Podcast Artwork” menu of the feed settings in PowerPress In Blubrry Publisher > Podcast Settings > Title Artwork in the “iTunes Artwork” menu in Podcaster Dashboard 24-72 hours to update on the Syndication Points (faster if you publish an episode) Changing the Account email at Blubrry (We have to do it for you) Sign in at blubrry.com Go to blubrry.com/contact and request the change We can’t do it over the phone because there is no way to know if it’s really you making the request. More about the Blubrry way. Recently we had a customer that is being de-platformed from a different company. We are helping him stay online with his show. He has been doing it the Blubrry way all along and couldn’t be de-platformed (for long). Connect with Mike Moreno here... Website Facebook Twitter Contact form and email

Audible's new podcast plans, Shaq changes podcast teams, Apple sends an email to podcasters and we ask you to help new podcasters by spreading the Blubrry Way! Thanks to Lori Reising for joining Mike to tell her story about The Raw and Wild Hearts Podcast Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. News: Audible’s new subscription podcast service Shaq’s Big Podcast moves from PodcastOne Apple’s email to Podcasters -  Expanded audio search for more countries and Hosts and Guests features expanded.  Email at bottom of this post. Best Practice: Some podcast hosting services are removing shows completely for arbitrary reasons. Help new podcasters avoid this by spreading the word about the Blubrry Way! Own your own RSS feed and your own website. Spread the word on the following platforms when someone asks about where to host a podcast. Blubrry Podcasting Facebook Group Twitter Podcast Movement and other Podcasting Groups on Facebook Blubrry News: Headliner repaces Post 2 Social on Blubrry.com PowerPress 8.3.6 hotfix is out.   (8.3.7 coming soon)  Watch for updates and keep all your plugins updated, Blubrry’s podcaster of the month! - Dr. Mark Shapiro, MD - Explore The Space Ad deals are available Interview: Lori Reising - The Raw and Wild Hearts Podcast Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: If you change your password at Blubrry.com, you also have to re-login to blubrry.com from PowerPress.  Your PowerPress needs to have the new password. Apple Podcasts has been a bit slow to update new episodes. It was 100% on their end.  Nothing was wrong with the feed.  Normal is 6-24 hours. Subscribers get it right away. If your new episode doesn’t show on 1 of the many syndication points but does on others, chances are, that one app or directory is having an issue.   As with Apple, Spotify was having an issue that seems to be solved now. Episode images - We are getting a lot of questions about those.  They only show in some directories.  Oddly, not in Apple other than episode search in iTunes (the old desktop software) We will have a list of which apps show which type of episode image in the show notes.  List of which platforms use episode images on Podcast Help Desk Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in  Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Connect with guest Lori here... Website Facebook Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com From Apple podcasts: Dear Podcast Creator,   We’d like to share some updates that help improve the experience for your listeners on Apple Podcasts and make it easier to manage your content.   Search Enhancements: International Expansion Today on Apple Podcasts listeners can now discover shows and episodes by searching audio in 10 more languages in addition to English: Danish Dutch French German Japanese Korean Norwegian Russian Spanish Swedish   With this enhancement, listeners can easily search for and find shows by title, topic, guest, host, and more with just a few taps.   Moreover, we are expanding host and guest images across show and episode pages for a subset of shows in French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish, making it easier to find related content to help fans dive deeper into the listening experience.   These features are routinely added to more shows. To prepare your show for eligibility: Sign in to Podcasts Connect to review and accept the latest Terms of Service if needed. Identify the appropriate language in the show RSS feed. If your show page already displays a Hosts & Guests section and you...

Podcasting events are alive and well in 2020. The Podfest team is hosting a virtual event this week and Podcast Movement is looking for proposals for speakers for their virtual event come October.  There isn't much time left to submit, so act now. Speaking of virtual events, Todd and Mike discussed some tips on how to stand out and the ability to create some authority in these virtual events as opposed to the in person networking we're used to. Blubrry is way deep into a development process change and it involves the entire team. Meanwhile, later this month we'll be hosting a PowerPress webinar that new WordPress podcasters don't want to miss. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Virtual Podfest Summit is ongoing this week. By the time you're reading this, they're reached their goal: Guinness World Record for the largest attendance of a 1-week virtual podcasting conference! Congrats :) Is Amazon and Audible adding podcasts? $61 million worth of podcast promos have been aired on radio stations in 2020 so far. But why? Joe Rogan had top reach Q2 in 2020.  Edison Research shows Joe Rogan had the top reach in Q2 and other interesting data. Podcast Movement Virtual is looking for speakers - submit your proposal. Best Practice: Building authority during a virtual event: We live in a world in virtual events as opposed to in-person for the time being. One way you're able to stand out and garner some authority in your industry is by having a professional background. These are relatively easy and free or affordable to create. Blubrry News: PowerPress webinar, Aug 25 4-5 EDT. Sign up to attend here. The entire Blubrry team is switching from waterfall development process to SCRUM (Agile). It's quite a process! Interview: Mike Ehmcke -  We Be Geeks Podcast Collective Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support:  Updated Blubrry Directory Listings We’ve had several users submit tickets about their Blubrry Directory listings showing no episodes, even though they’ve published some. The reason for this is because the Hosting Settings area in the Podcaster Dashboard is not set. You have to specify if you’re using a PowerPress feed or Blubrry.com feed, then the directory will update. Be sure to add your PowerPress feed in the correct spot as well, otherwise, we don’t know what feed you’re using! Where Can I See My Monthly Quota Balance? It’s always good to know how much upload space you have. There are a couple of different places you can find it, depending on how you’re using Blubrry Hosting. Publishing from Blubrry.com If you go to Upload New Media Files or Manage Published Files in the Podcaster Dashboard, you’ll see your upload balance in bold under the list of files. It will show you how much space you have left and how much your quota is in total. Publishing with PowerPress This one is a little harder to find, but when you go to upload a new file within PowerPress, you’ll find your balance at the bottom of the window. Scroll down and you’ll see Publishing Space Available with what’s left for the month. Keep in mind that your quota resets on the first of the month, but your billing date may differ, depending on what you originally signed up for hosting. WordPress issues can cause podcast feed issues. Be cautious when you add a plugin, check your RSS feed. Something that seems unrelated can cause problems if the developer of that plugin doesn’t really understand or ensure RSS compatibility.

The time has finally come, Google Play Music Podcasts will be shut down in the upcoming weeks. We've heard news of this in the past, but it appears late summer, early fall will be it's last days. On this podcast, we say god riddance. Todd and Mike also chat about some upcoming virtual podcast events you don't want to miss such as Podfest and The Podcast Academy. Blubrry is known for integrating with WordPress, and so we really went through some best hygiene practices with WordPress. Managing a website for years on end is no easy feat and we included some tips that people might miss over time. And for our support chat this episode, we provide an update on a stats issue we had recently and more. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Google Podcasts Manager is replacing Google Play Music Podcast Portal as the new home for your podcast listeners on Google. Starting in the next few weeks, you’ll no longer be able to add new podcast shows through Podcast Portal. Later this year, access to Google Play Music Podcast Portal will be removed permanently. The Podcast Academy is having an August Social event.  August 13th at 5pm Eastern. Podcast Awards slate coming out soon. Nominations are over. Podfest Global Summit kicks off Monday, Aug. 10 and runs through the week, ending on Saturday the 15th. Todd joined the pre-event festivities yesterday. Another way to play podcasts on Amazon Echo - via Pandora. Zoom, the recording equipment company, has released a new recorder and microphone, the Pod Trak P4. Kindergarteners listening to podcasts as part of their remote learning due to COVID. Best Practice: WordPress Hygiene  Keep things updated (Plugins, WordPress and Themes) Remove unused plugins or themes Complicated passwords for logins Do not use “admin” for a login Limit logins plugin is a good idea Set “new users” to Subscriber if you are going to allow people to create logins. (mostly no need for this “feature”) Blubrry News: Our Private Internal Podcasting service includes a free Android app to listen to secure episodes. Learn more about the Android app here. Join Mike for a live webinar on Aug. 25th at 4pm. How to set up and use Blubrry PowerPress. Bonus Best Practice: Check your SD Cards for Cracks! Interviews: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Stats reporting slow-down last weekend and early this week.   We had some maintenance on Friday that slowed down our stats reporting for a few days over the weekend.  Everything should be close to back to normal now.  No data was lost. We still have not heard from Deezer about show submissions. Be sure to set your email address in the Podcast Settings at Blubrry (feed Email) ONLY IF YOU ARE NOT USING POWERPRESS and host with Blubrry. Otherwise, we will get the emails to claim ownership of a show at Google and the notice when you are excepted into Apple Podcasts. PowerPress *can* be used with any host.  But you have to still publish using PowerPress and not the embedded player from the host.  Otherwise, it makes it very hard to move to another host. Google Podcasts Manager - https://podcastsmanager.google.com  You can claim your shows there.  If you need to add a new show, go there and give them your RSS feed.  It could speed up getting into Google Podcasts. Learn more here. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team.

Todd's back and discussing an array of new podcasts and events happening, with co-host Mike. Ford has a new podcast as a retired Chicago radio personality, and we can't forget Michelle Obama's new "podcast" is now out! Big news from some industry events, including switching to virtual, 2021 updates and speaking opportunities. Thanks to Scotty Iseri for joining Mike to discuss his children's podcast. And for those that missed our PowerPress webinar recently, we've got a treat for you. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Ford has a podcast! Bring Back Bronco launches August 4th. CES has made the switch to virtual for 2021. Still happening early January, they'll be moving everything to an online event, considering they're one of the largest events every year this is definitely the responsible course of action. Retired Chicago radio personality, Steve Cochran goes to podcasting, Live From My Office. Podcast Show will be hosted in-person in London May 2021. They’re expecting 6k attendees. Deezer permanently features Black artists and podcasters on their Black Culture Channel Michelle Obama’s Spotify exclusive podcast is now live! Podcast Movement speakers: Anyone can submit to speak at their virtual event, submissions must be submitted by Aug. 19. Best Practice: What to do when you get no feedback and your audience is growing slowly. Blubrry News: Catch a replay of our latest PowerPress webinar.  Currently on YouTube. We are working on a video channel for Podcast Insider that will include these types of videos as podcasts. RIAA takedown notices are way up lately. Podcast App Recommendations, the latest from our blog. Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Scotty Iseri - The Imagine Neighborhood Support: Upload quotas reset on the 1st of every month How do you encode your mp3 files? 128kbps Stereo = 1mb per minute of audio 64kbps mono = ½ mb per minute 96kbps = .75 mb per minute The WordPress Forum for PowerPress, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms are great! ...And we love hearing from you, but any questions should be directed to our website where you can contact us directly. Such as blubrry.com/support or email support@blubrry.com. Connect with Scotty here... The Imagine Neighborhood - website Contact them Facebook Instagram Twitter Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Show notes are an important part of publishing podcast episodes and creating an online presence for your content. This week two tech-minded team members - Mike and Shawn from the support team - discuss some show notes dos and don'ts when it comes to Blubrry services. And we'll be seeing you online this year for Podcast Movement, instead of in person in Dallas. We've heard whispers of the New York Times partnering with Serial Productions, and now it's official. They chat about some other podcast news as well as what Blubrry has been up to - listen in and get more details in the latest newsletter. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern Michigan and central coast California; here’s Podcast Insider. News: Podcast Movement 2020 in Dallas no more. They made the official announcement this week that they're moving to virtual in October. Podcast Movement 2021: Nashville! We'll be joining the event in person next year, more details coming soon. Spotify is now providing video podcasts. The New York Times bought Serial Productions. No changes coming to their association to public radio and affiliates. Audio is listened to more on digital devices than traditional audio devices i.e radio. According to the most recent Edison Research Share of Ear survey. Best Practice: Show Notes - Part II Recommended settings in WordPress using PowerPress for show notes In the Reading menu of WordPress Settings, select “Full Text” for syndication feeds. In the Post Editor (Classic) go to screen options and check the box for Summary.  In the Block Editor go to settings and check the box for Summary. When you make your post include your fully formatted show notes (format IN WordPress, not cut and Paste from any word processor)  (content:encoded tag) Put what you want as a short description of the episode in the Summary box that then shows (description tag). Blubrry News: The iOS app for Private Internal Podcasting is available, read about it here.  Our monthly newsletter went out this week, check up on what we've been doing. Podcasters of the Month - Mouse Chat – Steve Griswold and Lisa, Lauren, and Sharpie Interview: Blubrry podcasters, let us interview you for the show! Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider. Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Shawn’s strategies for launching a new show If there’s a planned launch date in mind, give yourself plenty of lead time to get everything in place. Launching a new podcast is rarely a “weekend project,” especially for brand new podcasters (though, it can get easier with subsequent launches); give yourself adequate time to avoid going into panic mode. Levelator (for Mac and maybe others) issues: It's currently causing some trouble on Apple Products for playback.  Make sure you are encoding your files correctly. Mp3 format, 44.1khz sample rate (Or 48khz works too), 128kbps CBR bitrate is best. If you are using WordPress and PowerPress for your podcast feed currently,  DO NOT move your site to another platform (Squarespace, Wix, etc) without first making arrangements for your podcast RSS feed. Your show will be gone if you move before you think about your show. Contact us for options! (BEFORE you move). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package.

Welcome to a special celebration episode of Podcast Insider, our 200th episode. Mike and MacKenzie hosted and shared some memories and past episode clips from over the years. Before they begin the reminiscing, they discuss a variety of podcast news articles - spending quite a bit of time on Spotify and Apple. Apple has released a new daily show, and Spotify has a new exclusive show with Michelle Obama. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern Michigan and central Ohio; here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. News: Apple now has a new podcast,  Apple Daily News. Spotify now has podcast charts! Available for about 25 markets and top 50 results. They also announced Spotify is now available in Russia, but only the music portion with podcasting to come later most likely. SiriusXM update! The confirmed selling price for Stitcher’s sale to SiriusXM was $325 million. Congratulations to Scripps! Rode announced the winners of their contest, “My Rodecast 2020”. New podcast: There Are No Girls On The Internet IAB Podcast Revenue study - Comedy is #1 The Michelle Obama Podcast, a Spotify exclusive, will debut on July 29. Nine episodes total released weekly. Replacing Best Practices: History of this podcast ... our this may be a bad practice The podcast originally started  started as The PowerPress Podcast, with MacKenzie as host Then on March 17, 2017 Todd and Mike decided to start Your Podcast.  We combined them into this show, Podcast Insider, a year ago. Episode 200 is the sum of all of the shows. Blubrry News: We have installed SpeakPipe on PodcastInsider.com so you can send in your questions, comments or other feedback to the show and we may use it in the show.  The button is under the subscribe links on the sidebar of Podcast Insider. Leave us messages! Interview: Nothing this week, we're looking for guests! Let us interview you for the show!  Tell your story of podcasting right here on Podcast Insider.  Email Todd@blubrry.com, Mike@blubrry.com or MacKenzie@blubrry.com. Support: Changing Artwork: When you want to change artwork, simply upload the new artwork to your settings.  In PowerPress you have to put the link to the artwork in two places in the Podcast Artwork menu. Upload it once and copy and paste the URL to the other box. Make sure your artwork file name is NOT the same as the last version of the artwork. This could delay it getting to all the apps and directories.  There is no set time for them to update but most will update within 72 hours. Along the same lines, changing the TITLE of your show. You simply change the “feed title” and it will get PULLED into the directories and apps the same as any other change to your RSS feed. Email addresses: Make sure you have an email address you check (not a spam catcher email) in the RSS feed settings. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Todd and Mike are Navy and Air Force veterans, respectfully, and recently spoke with a veteran podcast, be sure to stick around for this weeks interview portion. Stitcher has recently been acquired by SiriusXM for a reported $300 million, only five years after it was bought by Scripps. Spotify and Omnicom are also working on a deal concerning advertising in podcasting, and Pandora is considering a paywall feature for podcasts. It's been a busy week for podcast purchasing. But, if there was any doubt, we now know that podcasting is at an all-time high, with more podcasts created in the first half of 2020 than all of 2019, thanks COVID. We've got some Blubrry updates and news, featuring an interview with Todd as CEO and the idea of podcasting with kids. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: SiriusXM Buying Stitcher from Scripps for $300 Million More new podcasts in 2020 so far than ALL of 2019.  There are currently 1.3 million 'active' shows. Spotify and Omnicom: Spotify got a 20 million payday from Omnicom for ad measurement. Pandora experiments with a paywall for podcasts. How will listeners react? Are ID3 tags needed any more? For SEO, or really anything. Thanks, Cridland. Best Practices: Should your show talk about current news and events that are unrelated to your podcast topic? If the news effects the topic of your show, then yes, talk about it. If your show is “evergreen”, you might not want to date the content by talking about current events. If your audience is coming to your show for something OTHER than the news, it might not be a good idea to address current events. Blubrry News: Major overhaul of our checkout process. Upgrades and downgrades are a breeze and prorated now. Recently on our blog: Podcasting with Kids. In case you missed it recently: Todd was featured in Columbus CEO, and now it’s been run in the Columbus Dispatch. PowerPress 8.4 will allow people to create an account at Blubrry, right from PowerPress  (For Free stats, Pro Stats or Hosting). Interview: Stigma Free Vet Zone - An Interview with Mike Orban and Bob Bach Support:  Advanced Menu in PowerPress: Unless you’re publishing more than one show/podcast, or utilizing the playlist player, you do not need to turn on the Advanced Menu. Those extras are unnecessary for most podcasters, so just keep it simple. Spotify Stats: The Spotify statistics section is still visible in Blubrry stats, but has been discontinued since March 2020. Your Spotify stats (if you submitted via Blubrry) are now the main stats section, located under Clients. Podcasting with a team?: If so, if possible please assign one person to work on the website and podcast settings. That way there is one person that knows what was changed, when and why. Voicemails!: We’re adding Speakpipe for website voicemails to Podcast Insider.  We want to encourage you to ask questions about podcasting and comment on what we talk about here, and best of all we may use your comments on the show. Connect with Mike and Bob here... Website Email Facebook LinkedIn Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180

It's well-known that we encourage podcasters to use WordPress for their podcast - website as well as RSS feed. With any service there are dos and don'ts, pros and cons. This episode Todd and Mike discuss those and more when it comes to maximizing results using WordPress for your podcast. The Nod, has been a hot topic recently as the hosts would like to gain ownership over their show but have been met with resistance from the company behind the show - of which they worked for. Blubrry has always been big promotors of owning your brand, IP, RSS feed, etc - while not always easy and possible - it prompted a great discussion with this episode. Those of you in the U.S, enjoy your socially distant 4th of July! Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: No more recommendation letters for the Podcast Academy. Earlier this week they removed the requirement, which means it is now easier to become a member. The podcast hosts of the show The Nod want their show back from Spotify/Gimlet. From the team that provides an annual conference, Podcast Movement University. A virtual event, SHIFT Conference will commence on July 14, check out the site for more info. BBC is starting a new unit for podcasting. The Google Podcasts creator program is accepting applications. Not to be confused with the water bottles... are you Swellcasting yet? It's a new app sort of like Twitter for audio called Swell. 25% of Latinos are podcast listeners. NPR’s Invisibilia gets new hosts. New hosts have been previously involved in the show. Pablo Torre becomes the new host of The ESPN Daily Podcast in August. Best Practices: Make sure your audience can contact you from your website Email address and/or contact form. Social media links to your profiles. Voicemail line or Speakpipe link. If you have guests, make sure you include a section in the show notes for their contact information. Blubrry News: Todd (and Rob G.) had Adam Curry (The Podfather) as a guest on the New Media Show yesterday. We are out tomorrow for the 4th of July (observed on the 3rd). Please keep in mind our staff will be largely unavailable. Podcast Awards nominations are open! Support: If you are using WordPress it’s important to keep everything (plugins, themes, and WordPress itself) up-to-date. Hackers look at any updates and then figure out what is hackable in the old version; then they target sites using that old version. On the same topic, if you are not using a plugin, delete it. There is no need to have extra code on your website. Be careful when you hire someone to design your website. It might not feel as intimidating or essential as hiring an employee but you are relying on them to help you move forward with your entire brand. Make sure they are knowledgeable about podcasting and how that integrates to your website; remember many podcast RSS feeds come from their website. The main thing is to keep your WordPress site as clean and uncluttered (on the back end, but it’s not a bad idea for the front end as well) as you can. The less plugins you have, typically, the better it will run. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E.

Podcasting the Blubrry way - what does this really mean? We strive to make our service as easy as possible for all podcasters, without losing the power that podcasting really has and that we want podcasters to have control over. This truly is a medium that you're able to have branding, marketing, and most importantly your own voice with, and in our own Blubrry way we set you up for success. Mike and Todd go on to discuss the positive ways we make this possible for all podcasters. This episode they also talk about some newcomers to podcasting and an update to Spotify for podcast ads and sponsors. And speaking of directories and apps, Scripps might be looking to sell Stitcher, less than five years after their acquisition. Thanks for Kevin Pannell for joining us this episode to discuss his podcast, People Process Progress. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: CBC is using an old radio show as a new podcast. Spotify is introducing a new feature for ads: In-App Offers Is Scripps looking to sell Stitcher? iHeart is utilizing radio to promote their podcasts. Let's welcome CourtTV to podcasting. Their first show is Murder and the Menendez Brothers: A Court TV Mystery Best Practices: Back to Basics. Own your show, completely! Purchase your own domain name You should have a home base for your podcast, preferably not owned by someone else A home base means better SEO! YOUR branding for YOUR show Blubrry News: The intentionalism of ‘The Blubrry Way’ Slowly but surely we're making progress on on UX/UI work PowerPress 8.4 is getting close to a beta release; if you'd like to test, let us know! Interview: Kevin Pannell - People Process Progress Support: Replying to old tickets and emails: Don’t do this. If you have a new issue the support team needs to look at and assist with, send us a new ticket. Play your published episode: It’s a breeze publishing an episode, but after it’s been done hit play just to make sure it actually does work properly. On the off chance it doesn’t work, you’d rather find that out yourself than a listener, right? Linking your Blubrry account to PowerPress: You are logging into your Blubrry.com account FROM your WordPress account Saved passwords will not work (in most cases the password manager thinks you are logging into your WordPress site instead) This obviously only applies to those using Blubrry stats (free or paid) or hosting. Spotify… How it really works (at Blubrry) Spotify requires you to be hosting at Blubrry to submit via our dashboard. Not just have a hosting account, but the files have to be hosted at Blubrry.com. Your files should be in mp3 format. M4A will not work at Spotify directly. We have to transcode. We utilize Passthrough, so your stats for Spotify will be collected in with your main Blubrry stats. If you are moving to Blubrry from another host that submitted your show to Spotify, you have to have them remove your show from Spotify before you can submit it via Blubrry. Show Titles: Remember, the simpler the better. Keyword stuffing not only looks bad, but can potentially get you removed from directories. Connect with Kevin here... Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com

The past few weeks have been crazy busy with releases here at Blubrry, and Mike and Todd review them in this episode of Podcast Insider. Our most recent release, Blubrry podcast hosting now available via the AWS Marketplace, a first in the podcast industry. And private internal podcasting is already in the works for podcasters. We can't forget that we also released PowerPress 8.3, which included a major look and feel overhaul. Before they get into Blubrry's news, they discuss podcast length, PocketCasts issues in China, a new audience donation option, equipment updates, and whats going on with Luminary. Note: We had some glitches on the live show, but Kate and the Blubrry Pro team fixed them in the recording! Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: Podcasts have gotten shorter over the last 5 years. They’ve gotten shorter by about 10 minutes since 2015. PocketCasts has been removed by Apple from the Apple China Store. PocketCasts was contacted and notified shortly before the removal. (also Castro was removed)  Podhero, a new listener donation app for podcasting. For audiences that would like to donate to multiple shows and not sure how to do so easily, this seems like a simple solution. The RØDECaster Pro released a firmware 2.1 update, which offers a set of new features. Such as master bus compressor, broadcast-style level metering (in dBFS, not PPM nor short-term LUFS), and multitrack recording can now be achieved “post-fader”. The companion app has also been improved, including direct uploads to podcast platforms and firmware updating straight from the app itself. A conversation with Luminary, what they need to do in the future to be successful, but not sure how they might get there. Best Practices: Planning for the long haul what your show will look like in two years. Advertising: Placement or time hacks for future ad spots. Prep your audience: Let your audience know beforehand that you may be commercializing the show. Regular support requests: Get your audience used to supporting the show through volunteering and/or monetary support. For you: what do you want to get out of your show? For your audience: what do you want to provide to your audience? Blubrry News: Blubrry Pro Hosting is now available on the AWS Marketplace. Check out the highlights: First in podcasting to offer this capability Truly SAAS (software-as-a-service) No contract negotiations Billing is already handled in AWS, users AWS billing units Setting up special billing IT/Dev/owner just adds the service to AWS Scenarios for AWS Marketplace Use our services like normal Publish through Dashboard Publish through your WordPress site Roll your own and Complete API Integration Our new service, Private Internal Podcasting, now has demo accounts. Mobile apps waiting on approval. Interview: We want you on our show! Set up an interview with Todd, Mike or MacKenzie to tell your podcast story on Podcast Insider. Support: Best Ways to reach support and get help, in order of fastest to slowest. Submit a ticket! You can do this on our website, found in our footer. www.blubrry.com/contact/ A phone call during business hours. Available from 9am-5pm EST, Monday through Friday or leave a message. Submit an email to the support team, support@blubrry.com. Blubrry Facebook Group - group, not business page. WordPress.org Support Forum for PowerPress (only if it’s not account or Blubrry specific). Worst Ways, definitely the slowest ways. As in, most likely you will be told to contact us via our ticket system dedicated to helping podcasters.

Happy Birthday, Todd! Here at Blubrry we're big believers that podcasters should have a website for their podcast, and it turns out we're not the only one. Check out the article listed below that details reasons why a podcaster should always have a website for their show. Submitting your podcast to directories is critical so people can find your show everywhere, and owning those listings is important is any issues come up and the directory team needs to contact you. We've been talking about our PowerPress update for a while now and earlier this week it finally went live. PowerPress 8.3 is ready and available for all users, with significant user interface changes. And we've got a webinar coming up to review all of the changes made, sign up here. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and southern Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Infinite Dial 2020 Canada, happened earlier today, at 1PM EST today. Why it’s critical to have a website for your podcast, from Brenden Mulligan. According to a recent survey, Joe Rogan could lose a chunk of his audience by going exclusive with Spotify. Podthon is happening July 18-19, 2020, as a virtual summit. 96,537 podcasts were added to Apple in May (a new record), according to My Podcast Reviews. Best Practices: Submitting to the Directories and Apps One published episode is required to submit to directories. Typically most podcast apps only download the last episode if you’re subscribed. Submitting multiple episodes at launch may have disadvantages such as only the last episode is downloaded when someone subscribes. Older episodes may or may not be listened to.  Episodes can not be made private and continue to be published in directories. One episode has to be public to be found. Launches work best when you’ve already submitted an episode zero or pilot episode. That way, you can ensure your new episodes will be found in directories on launch day. Submit to directories yourself; do not leave this up to a third-party organization (such as your hosting company). Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.3 is out, finally! Columbus CEO Magazine featured Todd Cochrane Meet Toby, he works on our Pro-Production team, article on our blog. Interview: We want you on our show! Set up an interview with Todd, Mike or MacKenzie to tell your podcast story on Podcast Insider. Support: Webinar coming soon! PowerPress 8.3 webinar, Tuesday, June 16th 4PM EST. Sign up! All the how-to videos for PowerPress 8.3 have been updated. Give them a look if you’d like to review changes made and how to find everything. Podcasting by Committee: AKA too many people involved in the tech side of your show. Designate one or two people on your team that will take care of all tech and interact with support.  Mike’s favorite tools for ensuring your podcast feed is healthy after publishing an episode: CastFeedValidator.com - Check your feed here after posting a new episode Firefox Browser with the RSSPreview plugin/add-on - Load your feed in Firefox to see if the post shows up and that it has a working mp3 link in it (click on the mp3 link). Chrome Browser - Load your feed in Chrome to make sure it comes up as XML code and not plain text / HTML (this only works if you are not using a service that formats your feed like Podcast Mirror or Blubrry.com based feeds). Play Your Show - Try the player on your website to make sure it plays. Subscribe to Your Show - Apple or either Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts and make sure YOU get the episode. (Stitcher, Tunein, Spotify and others like that will not work for this. Use Apple or Google). Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com

The Blubrry team is putting some finishing touches on the latest version of PowerPress which features a major UI/UX overall. We can't wait to see what you think of the changes, and big thanks to all of our beta testers. Todd and Mike discuss the latest on the Podcast Academy, such the newly appointed board of governors and membership updates. Podnews shared information on the most popular Android podcast apps and Larry King is coming out with his own podcast soon. Lastly, Adam Curry weighs in on the Joe Rogan Spotify deal. Our support team would like to remind podcasters that we don't submit your podcast to directories, but we can help you get there, and that a little politeness goes a long way. Facebook Live Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and south Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: The Podcast Academy Board of Governors: they set officers and governors, check out the appointed here. Membership opens for the Podcast Academy June 22nd, 2020. Memberships start at $50 USD. From Podnews: What are the most popular podcast apps on Android? The Millionth Question, Larry King’s re-entrance into the audio world, in podcast form. Creators of S-town settle a lawsuit with the family of John McLemore. A new kind of podcast app? From Morten Just, sign up for the beta. The Podfather speaks about Rogan and other podcast topics. Best Practice: Teaching your audience about podcast listening Talk about how you listen to podcasts Tell them how to subscribe to your show and other podcasts Have a subscribe page on your site that explains it and gives all the links (PowerPress will create a page for you if you want). Even if your podcast is not about podcasting, it is a podcast so it never hurts to educate your listeners a bit about the medium. You can do this in many ways: Facebook, Instagram Stories, YouTube videos. Maybe put a how-to subscribe video on your site. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.3 is in final beta, give it a try and let us know what you think. Official release out on Monday. Top Ten Things to After You Publish Your First Episode, from our blog. Our team is still working from home, we’ll be slowly opening up the office soon. Interview: The Urban Astronomer Podcast - Allen Versfeld Support: “Where does Blubrry submit my podcast to?” Yes, we get this question all the time. Does Blubrry distribute to xxx app or directory? And the answer is yes, our service will distribute your podcast to any app that accepts an RSS feed for submission. But, the podcaster must submit, we do not handle that for you. We tell you how in our manual.  Blubrry hosting podcasters, your upload quota is meant for the month and the storage of past episodes. Upload quotas reset on the 1st of every month, not the day of billing. We know we don’t need to tell our listeners this, but just in case, BE NICE. We’ve had some interactions with people that are upset about glitches or about something they haven’t quite learned yet. Please contact us, but when you do, try to remember, we didn’t break whatever isn’t working for you. We are here to help. It makes everyone’s day better if we are just nice to each other. AND we are more likely to help you fix your issues quickly if we are not hitting the mute button and screaming :) Connect with Allen here... Facebook Email Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-addre...

The team is proud to announce the launch of Private Internal Podcasting by Blubrry. We've nicknamed it PIP and go over all the details on what we offer in this weeks' episode. Our plugin, PowerPress also has a new beta available for 8.3, we're still looking for additional testers. Before we discuss our new product, they chat about the new exclusive licensing deal Joe Rogan signed with Spotify. Many podcasters and podcast listeners had lots to say on the matter. And if you're a current podcaster, considering starting a second show, take our advice and ensure that you have the time, money and motivation to manage two or more shows at the same time. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and south Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: Joe Rogan signs deal with Spotify  Marco from Overcast had quite a bit to say on the matter, he tweeted, “moving an existing, open, free show behind a proprietary wall results in massive audience loss. I hope he at least leaves his public feed up so he can return to it when his Spotify exclusivity fails.” Podcast Addict was removed from Google Play App Store and now its back. Google Podcasts 2.0 on iOS adds Apple Carplay British Podcast Awards Nominations are out, take a look here.  Desktop podcatcher "Winds", from GetStream.io is an open-source desktop and web app. 2020 Webby Awards have been announced. Read the podcast results here. Best Practice: Best Practice: Second Shows. When is a good time to start a second show? What's the best way to set up a second RSS feed? Remember, a second show is the same amount of work as the first one so make sure you have the time and motivation to keep it going. We love it when our podcasters want to do a second show, but please plan ahead to make sure you can keep it going. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.3 beta is now available. Give it a try and let us know what you think. Private Internal Podcasting, PIP, has finally launched. Interview: No interview this time around, but the podcast featured Jeff Levine, Marketing Manager, from the team. Support: PowerPress Sites Upgrading and Downgrading: If you have a PowerPress site Deluxe (includes domain mapping), and are upgrading or downgrading your plan, make sure you check the box that says “I also want a website for my podcast” and select the Deluxe website. Then checkout as normal. Caching: Some (most) sites include caching and there are 100 ways to clear the cache depending on what system you're using. Look for something that says 'Clear cache, purge cache, empty cache or even DELETE cache in the menus on your WordPress site.' This should be done whenever you make changes to your website so the rest of the world sees your changes right away.  Most of the caching plugins do delete the cache when you publish a post, but not always. This can cause delays in your episodes making to the RSS feed. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Todd and Mike caught up on Google Podcasts Manager, and reviewed how people will be able to transfer their information from Google Plays Music Podcasts to the new Manager. Youtube Music comes into play in this transfer. Luminary is burning cash quickly, about 4 million a month and recently had to secure more money to continue. They secured almost 200 million for the future. It's a privilege to be able to present to podcasters on our expertise, and Todd was a keynote speaker at Outlier, and we've included a recording in our episode today. His presentation, 16 Years of Podcasting and Strategies to Succeed Today is a wonderful combination of showcasing some history and how it continue podcasting now, in 2020. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in northern and south Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider... News: PodcastOne will be acquiring LiveXLive, expected to close in June 2020. With the introduction of Google Podcasts Manager, Google Play Music Podcasts will die for good in July. Youtube Music will make it simple to make this transfer. A new tool will be useful in PodcastsManager.Google.com used to import your shows from Google Play MP to Google Podcasts. No one wants to do that by hand. Youtube Music will make it simple to make this transfer. Luminary, the monetary subscription-based podcast network, secured more money, $160 million in the first round, $30 million in a second round. They’re currently losing $3.5 to 4 million per month, so this funding seems necessary. My RØDE Cast, a contest is on again this year: Win some of $150,000 worth of RØDE gear! Half of the Chinese podcast listeners listen every day, according to a survey from Podfest China. Best Practice:  Own your show...  All aspects of it or it could be taken from you. If you have a co-host, make sure you have an agreement in place on who owns the show. Make sure YOU personally retain logins and passwords to all accounts associated with the podcast. Blubrry News: Our new summer development interns started this week. While a bit of a challenge with people working from home and social and physical distancing, we’ve made it work. Matt and Matthew both attend Ohio State University and Faith returns (she’s been with us twice before) and attends the University of Cincinnati. Todd gave his presentation at Outlier earlier today, 16 Years of Podcast and Strategies to Succeed Today. The event is still ongoing, and you can watch here. Interview: Todd's Outlier presentation, 16 Years of Podcasting and Strategies to Succeed Today We need interviews! Email Mike, MacKenzie or Todd to set up a time for an interview about your podcasting journey! Support: Contacting support: Provide your account email address (especially if you’re using another email address). We’d rather have too much information on the first contact than too little.  Spotify: ALL of your media files must be on Blubrry.com’s servers for episodes to work properly in Spotify. This means, even if you have a hosting plan at Blubrry, every file must be ON Blubrry for it to get pulled into Spotify (if you submitted via Blubrry.com). And more Spotify: Stats for Spotify are included in your main Blubrry stats, as opposed to a separate Spotify section. We made the passthrough change in mid-March 2020. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send...

Google Podcasts, which has gained prominent use with Android podcast listeners has finally released a host dashboard. Todd was able to interview a Google team member earlier this week to get inside information. Hosts are able to log into the new site and begin reviewing their stats data, such as listener retention. Jetpack released a new update to its plugin, featuring a podcast playlist and podcasting has finally entered the Pulitzer Award list, a first for the audio reporting category. Todd and MacKenzie also talk about a new deal with Fox News and Spotify, as well as 20 additional countries that now feature Apple Podcasts. The Blubrry team is working hard on our PowerPress plugin, with a bug fix release soon and a new full version beta release later this month for 8.3 with a significant dashboard upgrade. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in southern Michigan and central Ohio, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider… News: Google Podcasts Manager, now available! Todd interviewed the Google team to discuss the new release. PodcastsManager.Google.com Jetpack, a plugin for WordPress, added a podcast player. This only works with the block editor. The player is based on an RSS feed from anywhere, which is a nice feature to put a playlist on your site for any show aka not your own! Podcasts win Pulitzer prizes! This American Life and 1619 Project both won the first audio Pulitzer Prize awards. Congrats to both of them. Apple Podcasts is now available in 20 more countries.  Fox News Media signed a deal with Spotify for podcasts, featuring more than 20 podcasts. NABshow Express virtual event will be online next week, May 13-14. Gordon Firemark is hosting a Facebook Live Q&A Friday, May 8, to answer your legal podcasting questions. Best Practice: Consistency: Releasing episodes on a regular basis is important for your audience. People build your show into their lives, and even now when the majority of people are working from home, they’ve adjusted into a new routine. If you’d like to take a break, send out a quick social media message about said break. You can even release a quick episode to let them know, or post a rerun. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.2.11 is out - this should be our last update. PowerPress 8.2 should be available in beta in about a week or two. This includes a major UI overhaul. If you’d like to beta test, email support@blubrry.com Todd will be speaking at Outlier next week, a now virtual event. We're thrilled to be sponsors and speaking. Check out the schedule here. Support: Google Podcasts Manger - this new admin for podcasters gives them an inside look into their Google Podcasts statistics. Todd was able to demonstrate some of the functionalities. Podcasters, go ahead and get started to take a look at the information for your show. PodcastsManager.Google.com. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

We've got a wonderful interview with Mike and Jewells where they discuss her show All Things Iceland, catch it about halfway or so through the episode. Before that, they go over a new podcast finally available on Spotify, metadata and stats info from the support team, and more. Once last piece of advice, remember pants before any video call

On this special episode of Podcast Insider, Barry Kantz, podcaster and Blubrry board member, join Todd and Mike. The team talks about recent news in podcasting, how transcriptions can be useful for podcasts, affiliate payments, and lots of insight into file naming. Don't forget, Barry tells us all about getting started as a podcaster. Live Facebook Recording. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from three well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. This week on Podcast Insider... News:  New mobile video platform, Quibi, says no to fan podcast. TWiT Turns 15! Happy birthday. Or anniversary. Want to work for NPR? Third Coast International Audio Festival calls for 2020 entries. Get them in soon. Edison Research is up to another webinar, April 30th at 2 P.M. EDT. Register to attend the Smart Audio Report. Patreon lays off 13% of its workforce ☹️ Best Practice: Transcriptions: Definitely not mandatory or what all would call necessary but they can be useful to expanding your audience and SEO. An actual person is typically costly, but much more accurate. Depending on the level of accuracy and how important it is to your audience, it could be worth it. For a simple solution, automated is great. If you’re hosting with us you can use Audioburst for a free automated transcription for each episode. Blubrry News:  Two Ways to Start a Podcast, from our blog. Way to go affiliates! Many of you are getting paid this month, check out your PayPal soon if you think you're doing well. PowerPress 8.2.10 was just released. We tweaked the Episode Box for a few improvements. While you're at it, go ahead and leave us a plugin review. Interview: Guest co-host, and Blubrry board member - Barry Kantz. Host of Home Based Travel Agent. Support: File names (for artwork AND media files): Lately Apple has been having issues with some artwork file names.  Do not include special characters, except for underscores or dashes. Only use the dash and underscore in the middle of the file name, not the beginning or end. Letters and numbers only. Do not include periods - other than the extension (.jpg or .mp3) Keep em short! Make them unique (no two files should have the same name) File names are very rarely seen by anyone but you. The best place to get help with Blubrry services is our contact form.  We repeat, our contact form on our site. This ensures that the whole team can access your question and provide the quickest answer. We are, of course, answering the phone as well. 877-RAW-VOIC(e) or in real numbers 877-729-8642 9 A.M. - 5 P.M. Eastern M-F. Please shoot us an email at support@blubrry.com or call us. Do not contact us on social media or send us a DM, we’ll send you straight to support as the social team is not the support team. Remember,  if you subscribe to your own show in Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts (or any other RSS based app)  you will get your episodes as soon as your phone checks (PULLS) the feed. Your episode does not have to be listed in the App’s directory listing for your show to be available to subscribers. Some apps, like Spotify, Deezer, Pandora and iHeart, will take longer, normally 12-24 hours later. No way to speed that up, unfortunately. ReCAPTCHA on the Blubrry contact form doesn't work in all browsers. If you run into that and need assistance, email support@blubrry.com OR call us. No need to post on social, thanks! Connect with Barry here... Email Travel Podcast Site Twitter Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com

Publishing podcast episodes is best done with a routine, that's why we shared ours. Todd and Mike touch on some podcasting events, many virtual that are coming up soon. Blubrry also has some important things coming up, including a new service. And we're hoping you'll participate in our Ask Blubrry segment starting soon with Shawn Thorpe. We've once again recorded this episode live on Facebook and then published the finalized episode. Live recording of this episode. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. News: Podapalozza: A virtual event, that features pay what you can, benefiting COVID-19. Learn more here. NAB Show Express: Replacing the canceled in person event, this virtual event will occur mid May. This competes with the Outlier event we'll be speaking at as well. If possible - make it to both! Podcast Inc. has moved to November as opposed to this spring. Get your ticket here. Open job at Spotify: Head of Podcast Editorial. Mic recommendations and other things, from Podcast Movement. Apple is nearing 1 million podcasts in their directory!! According to Daniel J. Lewis, thanks! Best Practice: Workflow for publishing an episode.  Do you have a checklist?  Below, is the process we use.  Following the same checklist will ensure your show gets out every time. Example Workflow Checklist: Prepare talking points Produce mp3 (media) file Create a blog post. Title the post (episode) and write the blog post content or “show notes”.  Upload the mp3 file in the Podcast Episode Box in the post editor. Set any extra tags and categories for the post. (right sidebar and under the media file link after uploading). Publish the blog post. (clear cache)  Verify episode plays in the post. Make sure it plays and is the correct time duration. Validate the feed at https://CastFeedValidator.com   Make sure you get the episode in your podcast app of choice within an hour or so. (Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts is best for making sure). Subscribe to your own podcast. Directories and most apps take up to 24 hours to update with new episodes. Blubrry News: Blubrry monthly newsletter went out yesterday AWS Marketplace for Pro Hosting More new stuff coming! Some updates to PowerPress as we tweak the episode publisher New segment for this podcast starting soon.  Get your Questions in for Ask Blubrry with Shawn Thorpe (Replacing the PowerPress tip of the week). Email shawn@blubrry.com and put “Ask Blubrry” in the subject line Interview: Evangeline Hemrick -  Inside the Healing Room and Scared to SACRED  Support: Redirecting an RSS feed: The OLD feed to the NEW feed (do this before getting rid of the old feed) and leave it in place for 30 days.  CastFeedValidator.com is the only updated and maintained podcast specific feed validator out there and it's recommended by Apple. Others will give you false “errors”. “Can Blubrry get my show on xxxx?”  Yes, if that place takes RSS feeds, you can put your show on that app/directory.  Learn more here. Things you should learn about your podcast to help when there are issues. RSS feed address Logins and passwords to any/all accounts (website, web Hosting platform, FTP, podcast hosting and anything else you use for your podcast publishing) Apple ID email Apple Listing address Connect with Evangeline here... Website Facebook Instagram Email Apple listing Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@b...

We hope you're enjoying the live recordings of Podcast Insider on Facebook recently. We're keeping this up until the world calms down a bit. Without a Blubrry podcaster guest this week, we had Dave Clements from the support team join Todd and Mike to discuss how he got started, what he does for the team and more. Before we dive in with Dave, they discuss a few company releases and partnerships, events and tools to stay organized. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from three well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan and Indiana, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. Facebook live recording. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Pros and Cons of Internal Company Podcasts, definitely relevant in today’s world. SquadCast announced a new collaboration with Dolby Sound. Congrats!  Wondery CEO facing an upcoming legal battle, concerning FIFA World Cup TV rights with Fox TV networks. Zencastr removes free tier limits to help home-bound podcasters through the end of coronavirus. Soundbite, a new podcast app designed to ‘help you find hidden gems through bite-sized listens’ is coming soon. Join the waiting list to try it out. The Listen In conference has been postponed until Oct. 5. The one day event was originally scheduled for June 25 in downtown Los Angeles. Top side-hustles for podcasters, from our friends at Podcast Movement. Best Practice: 1st We’re here to help you, the podcasters. That’s why we’re available via email, phone and video. 2nd Here are some useful tools to help you stay organized. Calendly, a great way to handle guest booking. (Todd uses) Schedule Once, also a good way to book calls. (Mike uses) Reaching your audience: Mailchimp, TinyLetter and other email services. Mike and Todd use Google Groups, but it’s not nearly as robust as other options. Google Docs, the almighty online resource for collaboration, especially good for show notes with multiple hosts. And of course if you’re looking for a team to handle these things, head on over to BlubrryPro.com Blubrry News: Beginning last Monday (March 30), Google Podcasts for iOS is tracking separately in stats at Blubrry. You can find Google Podcasts for iOS under Clients in the Blubrry Stats section of the Podcaster Dashboard. Listening habits have changed a bit this spring thanks to this ‘stupid virus’ as James Cridland calls it Just in case you didn’t know, we never sell or share your stats info with anyone. Announcing a new, exciting product next week. Working towards the next release of PowerPress 8.3, featuring a fancy new UI design. Guest co-host: Dave Clements, Support Analyst, from the Blubrry Support team. He’s the host of Geek This! Intro and background, how’d you get into podcasting, what led you to Blubrry, customer support survivor story, recent projects (PP theme). Support: Accidentally added a season to your show in PowerPress? So did we. Double check your settings for Apple Podcasts in the plugin and if you have added a season or two, you can easily edit them out. But, we’re planning now to fix this in a new version of PowerPress. One-on-one consulting with customers is booked two weeks out. Please be patient and we’ll do our absolute best to assist via email and phone. We do have loads of videos here. You don’t need permission, but you probably need some guidance. And by that, we mean please ask us before you move your website to something other than WordPress. There are multiple requirements before moving, and it is way, way easier to do it properly before than to fix after the fact. Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com

In an effort to keep socializing online, Todd and Mike recorded this episode live, and will continue to do so as long as we're still on lockdown. They discuss how COVID-19 is affecting content creators, RODEcaster has been up to a few things recently, and loads of companies are releasing info on podcast consumption habits during the coronavirus pandemic. They also give some tips of how to make the best of your new recording space, an update on Blubrry projects. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan, here’s a Podcast Insider show LIVE. Live recording of this episode. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Spotify has been taking down some podcasts concerning COVID-19. From what we can tell, it’s based on episode titles that mention COVID-19 treatment or prevention.  RØDEcaster Pro has a firmware update, 2.1 beta. You can download it here. Speaking of RØDE, they are donating equipment to schools during coronavirus. An uptick in podcast listeners is coming from radio listeners. Americans are listening to podcasts more often at home; no surprise given that everyone should be staying home currently. Similar to listening at home, more people are listening using web players - because we’re all stuck (safe) at home. Best Practice: Recording Try to keep your recording space as quiet as possible. Maybe hang a blanket on the wall behind you or record in a closet. (No really!)  :)  Record at a lower volume and boost it in post-processing. This can help with keeping out background noise. (Auphonic.com can help with post-processing). Dynamic mics work best for noisier environments. Pick a time that is less busy in your recording space. Don’t worry about little things in the background. (Dogs barking in the distance, fridge hum, kids playing in the background, etc. It happens when working from home). Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.2.8 has been released. Just some quick fixes and ensuring it works with the latest WordPress version. We’ve got lots of stuff in the works, look out for releases later this spring and summer.   April 15th we will start talking about a new product. We’re seeing more and more podcasters looking to start a second podcast. Please contact us before adding another RSS feed. There are many ways to add an additional show and even more ways to screw it up.  Interview: Kelly Ann Gorman - Happy Workaholic Support: Feed validation: how and WHY to validate your RSS feed Castfeedvalidator.com Podba.se DO NOT USE feedvalidator.org or w3 validator. They are out of date and are NOT podcast specific feed validators. Upload quotas with Blubrry hosting: they reset on the 1st of every month. Total storage is unlimited (as long as you have an active hosting plan). Podcast show notes, again. Lots of people are asking about how things display in the directories and apps. Dave, from our support team, is working on an article about which apps/directories display different portions of your podcast feed. Shawn’s Tip of the Week: website settings part 3 Contact Kelly Ann Gorman here... Work with her Instagram LinkedIn Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

How is everyone holding up on weeks one, two, three or longer of lockdown? To keep in contact and to showcase remote recording, Mike and Todd did another live recording of Podcast Insider, and this version includes an interview with Michael Harren. They talk about Google Podcasts apps, some conferences and a new podcast, Unexpected Joy. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan, here's a Podcast Insider show LIVE. Watch the live recording from Facebook here. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Google Podcasts for iOS! Now available. Android Google Podcasts redesign rolling out slowly to users Unexpected Joy Project: A podcast that features you! Anyone can record a snippet that they’ll feature in a podcast. What joy have you experienced lately during COVID-19? Podcast Movement has shared their plan to handle coronavirus - if that’s still a prevalent issue come August 2020. Best Practice: Keep making content during this world-wide event. People are looking for something to listen to while they are locked down. Blubrry News: The Indie Podcast Virtual Conference, this weekend, March 28-29, 2020. Blubrry is sponsoring this event and Todd is speaking on Saturday at 5PM EST, about RSS feeds. Remote recording demo. Earlier this week we released a demo video on how to make your podcast recording at home a bit easier. (Skype and Zoom) We’re looking to gather some more data on stats during COVID-19 before we release a full article. Please participate in our poll, here! Interview: Michael Harren - Mikeypod Support: A dedicated tab on your website is helpful and necessary on your website. This page assists with SEO and will more than likely, help you get on Google Podcasts quicker. Instructions on how to set up a ‘posts’ page on WordPress is here. Should you separate your blog posts from your podcast posts? Watch our video on how to do it and why you might not want to do it. Blubrry does not transcode media files. Wav files can be uploaded, but will not play. MP3 is the audio format of choice. Convert the file to mp3 before you upload it. (Video is mp4/m4v). What you upload is what we deliver. AAC (M4A) is not recommended. (Because of Spotify). Figuring out what plan you need: 128kbps 48khz (or 44.1khz) MP3 is about 1MB per minute of audio. 64kbps 48khz (or 44.1khz) MP3 is about 1/2MB per minute of audio.  Shawn’s tip of the week: PowerPress Website Tab - part two Contact Michael Harren here... Mikeypod site Become a Patron - donate! Twitter Instagram Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Todd and Mike recorded this podcast live to change it up a bit and to showcase how easy it can be to record a podcast during a time when almost everyone that can work from home, is. We've got PSAs available to all podcasters to use in their podcast about coronavirus. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. Recorded Live from two well-separated and socially distant podcast studios in Michigan, Podcast Insider LIVE show. Check out the live Facebook episode recording here. This week on Podcast Insider... News:  Don't start a podcast! Well, obviously we're kidding but we've gotta keep the humor going during times like these. COVID-19 update, we have PSAs available for podcasters to use on their show. Zencaster has removed their 8-hour free limit - now providing free accounts until July (In response to COVID-19). Amazon smart speakers lead the market in the US and will most likely stay that way. A new site, aiming to be "The Rotten Tomatoes of Podcasting", called PodFavs.com. This could turn into something cool! Eventbrite, the popular ticketing company, is holding onto all ticket money from events. Not exactly a good look at this current time. Best Practice: To practice social distancing, a remote recording is likely your best option for podcast interviews (at this time).  Audio quality might take a hit, but it will keep you safe AND keep your content releasing. There are a lot of ways to do this: Skype Zoom Zencaster Squadcast GotoMeeting Double Ender Streamyard Blubrry Pro-Production Blubrry News:  Working from home continues for the Blubrry staff, staying safe. Hope you are as well! We now have passthrough with Spotify stats. You will start to notice your Spotify stats are now in your Blubrry stats. This is only for those that submitted to Spotify thru Blubrry. March newsletter is out! Interview: Joe Pardo - Dreamers Podcast and founder of Independent Podcast Conference Support: Show notes displays: They are different on each app and are hard to control overall. Dave, from our support team, is working hard to find out what part of the feed each app utilizes and displays; we'll update you with results. Keep it simple and don’t give them a choice. Just put whatever you want to show everywhere in the post content area and then don’t worry about the apps. Google Podcasts: Again, they work differently than the other directories and apps. Shawn’s Tip: PowerPress Website Tab settings explained (part 1) Contact Joe Pardo here... Website Facebook Youtube Twitter Instagram Linkedin Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from two very separate podcast studios in Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Todd and Mike talk about podcasting events, including some canceled ones, the results of our Nominate Your Favorite Woman Podcaster contest, and it's a COVID-19 world, be diligent and safe stay out there folks! Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider… Podcasting News: NABshow has been canceled due to COVID-19. Multiple other events, such as SXSW, have been canceled and schools and offices are moving to remote working. Google Play Music Podcasts is no longer taking submissions! Well, we think so. It looks like the submission link is dead. This will make our friend James Cridland of Podnews very happy. Podcasting can be good for your mental health! Tell us something we don’t know. She Podcasts Live - year two will be held in Scottsdale, AZ October 15-18. We’ll be there! COVID-19 What You Need to Know, a new podcast from ABC News. This is now a daily podcast and can keep you up to date. The Ron Burgundy Podcast is back (season 3) and will be having a live show in San Diego on March 17. Tickets are available here and currently range from $36-$119. Best Practice: Episode Artwork, revisited: Mike tested various ways you can use episode level artwork for your show; this is explained in Podcast Help Desk Episode 130. But, bottom line,  RSS level image and a featured image appear to be the most used. The ID3 tag image, not so much. Is it worth worrying about? Blubrry News: The Blubrry team will likely be remote working starting next week. Want to tell your story on this podcast? We’ll schedule an interview with someone on the team. Email one of us! Mike@blubrry.com Todd@blubrry.com MacKenzie@blubrry.com Alie Ward, of the podcast Ologies was the winner of our Nominate Your Favorite Woman Podcaster contest! Congrats, and based on the number of submissions we received and that it is women's month, we’ll be reaching out to some of the other women. Interview: Anibal Ruiz - Non-Profit Luminaries Support: Non HTTPS media files no longer play in Google Chrome browsers starting this summer. Make sure you’re hosting your files on an HTTPS server, such as Blubrry. How to put an episode level image in your feed in PowerPress using the new Podcast Episode box.  Category podcasting creates a feed unique to the category used.  As a completely separate show. The main feed from WordPress and PowerPress will contain ALL podcast episodes no matter which category you post them to. Shawns Tip of the Week: Network mode in PowerPress Contact Anibal Ruiz here... Email on his site Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan and  Todd from the Convo by Design Blubrry Studio in Columbus, Ohio.  Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235

Blubrry's legal counsel graciously stepped in to join Mike on Podcast Insider to fill in for Todd, who is attending Podfest. They discuss equipment updates - such as AudioTechnica - and some podcasters, new and old. Barry has some great advice on how to handle a podcast partnership, legally. And we've got a lot going on at Blubrry recently, specifically for affiliates and women. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider... Podcasting News: 75% of all Americans now know what a podcast is according to Tom Webster of Edison Research.  Check out The Infante Dial 2020 on March 19th  - Sign up here for the free webinar. The Audio-Technica ATR2100 has been discontinued! But don’t worry, ATR2100X is out now, and a wonderful replacement. This has a USB-C connector, and still a great option for podcasters. Todd and Rob Greenlee interviewed Wondery CEO, Hernan Lopez, on the New Media Show recently. You can listen here, it includes a refresher on the Podcast Academy. Anyone know who is the oldest podcaster in the world? It might be Ida Schuster, who is 101. Hillary Clinton is coming out with a new podcast, she has signed with iHeart. Best Practice: Podcast Ownership: If you’re an employer and you have an employee producing a podcast for you, ensure you have administrative access to your podcast site. If you’re producing a podcast with a co-host, ensure you have a basic agreement of some sort designating how you’ll handle a host leaving.  Blubrry News: Affiliates! Blubrry Period 1 2020 payments went out last week. If you’ve been paid, you’ll have received a PayPal email notification. If you’re not already an affiliate, you can learn more here and apply. There is still time to participate in the Nominate Your Favorite Woman Podcaster contest. We’re highlighting a woman podcast host with a free year of Blubrry hosting, an interview spot on this show, blog post and more. Nominations are open until Sat. March 7 at midnight EST. Help us celebrate International Women's Day, and share the link! Podfest: Todd, MacKenzie & Angelo are attending in Orlando. Todd will be hosting a live show of the New Media Show with his co-host Rob Greenlee on Sat. March 7 at 12-1 EST. All of our Getting Started tutorials have been updated. Interview: Win Charles - Diary of a Fashionista Podcast and Ask Win Support: Updating show listings on the Blubrry Directory: Whether you’re hosting with Blubrry or not - it’s a good idea to make sure your listing is up to date. Doing so regularly, we will be able to recover your RSS feed if something goes wrong. Do you have an app not updating? If say, Stitcher is not updating, but all the other apps are, the trouble is with Stitcher, not your feed. (P.S, we’re not picking on Stitcher, it’s just an example.) Changing the email address at blubrry for your account.   You must contact us to change the login email address. We have to 1, make sure it’s a valid email address and 2. That you are authorized to change that email. Bonus Best Practice:   Remember, we are an AUDIO platform.  Spending too much of your valuable time on things that do not matter as much can take away time and energy for the main product of your podcast.  The Audio (or video I guess). The little things do not matter as much as the audio. Do your show. Both Shawn and Todd will be back next week! Contact Win Charles here... Twitter Email LinkedIn YouTube Google+ Facebook Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan and  Barry from the Sunny East Coast of Florida. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com

The team has been busy attending podcasting events recently, but Todd is back this episode to chat with Mike about new Edison Research tracking, Sony, and Oprah have announced new ventures in podcasting and more. Thanks to Jim Malliard for joining us on this episode. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider… News: Edison Research launches Podcast Quarterly Consumer Tracking Report: A valuable asset of information. Sony Music and Somethin' Else have partnered for a new podcasting venture. Oprah is starting a podcast -- different from SuperSoul Conversations. Earlier this week the PRX Privacy Symposium event occurred in NYC. Teachers and educators are received Bell grants - for podcasting! Best Practice: What is the critical information you can gather from podcast stats? Blubrry Specific: Podfest is next week - MacKenzie, Todd, Angelo will be attending. Ticket prices go up Feb 28 at midnight! Blubrry wants you to Nominate Your Favorite Woman Podcaster, for International Woman's Day. Anyone can nominate until Saturday, March 7 at midnight EST. Share the link! https://forms.gle/m3cRar57GVrhYeiC7 We're looking for guests. If you'd like to be interviewed and a guest for the show, let us know! Todd recently attended the Spark Christian Podcast Conference in Houston, get his take on the first time event. Interview: Jim Malliard - The Malliard Report Support: Post Types and PowerPress: how do they work.  WordPress dot COM vs WordPress dot ORG (self-hosted) Know your Dashboard - The Blubrry Podcaster Dashboard that is. Did you know you can record on a Chromebook? Reminder: Login to your Blubrry account when you submit a Support Ticket. This makes it much easier for us to get to your issue quickly. Shawn's Tip of the week: Blubrry Account integration in PowerPress - NOTE: You do not need to (and in fact, cannot) link your account if you do not have any services at Blubrry.com. Contact Jim Mallard here... Email Reviews and more Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan and Todd from the Convo by Design Blubrry Studio in Columbus, Ohio. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com

Kate from Blubrry's Pro-Production team joined Mike Dell on this episode of Podcast Insider to discuss the new Podcast Academy, smart speakers, show notes and more. The announcement of the Podcast Academy brought many reactions - good and bad. Todd does make an appearance this episode in the interview with Trevor Bell from The Iron First and the Velvet Glove. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider… News: The Podcast Academy - Announced at Podcast Movement Evolutions in LA. Not to be confused with the Academy of Podcaster's Hall of Fame. Lots to take in and reflect on here, in the continue indie vs. pro podcast world. Kate would love to hear your opinion on this subject, email her, kate@blubrrypro.com. If you're part of the original Hall of Fame, she wants to help get it back on track. Want to work at Apple? They're looking for a Head of Podcaster Relations. They seem to be putting concentrated efforts to keep up with Spotify and others, who are all working towards the same goal. Staples has installed podcast studios in their concept stores. It's a great idea with lots of potential, curious to see where it will go as they try to simplify a podcasting problem. Smart Speakers broke a new record! In 2019 Amazon and Google combined to a record breaking number of speakers sold. In a more and more automated world, this will only become more important in podcasting. Best Practice: Show notes: They're more than just a description of what was discussed during the podcast. They're a powerful tool, and even better Pro-Production offers this as part of their service. Blubrry Specific: PowerPress 8.2.4 is out! Just a few more bug fixes, should be the last one for a while. Todd is speaking at Spark Christian Podcast Conference in Houston this weekend. The team is also prepping to attend Podfest in Orlando soon; MacKenzie, Todd and Angelo will be there. Nominate your favorite woman podcaster for a winner announcement there. And then we'll be attending NAB in Vegas this April. More info coming soon. Interview: Trevor Bell - The Iron Fist and the Velvet Glove Support: We've noticed lots of people moving shows to different websites, rebranding and generally changing things up; as one does the first quarter of the year. Two words of caution: GO SLOW! Know exactly what you are doing before you do it, or ask us! Moving or rebranding a show has to be done in a particular order to maintain the connection with your audience. We've done it 3 times here on this show and haven't lost anyone.  Call us, email us, just get ahold of us before you make any big tech moves. It's much easier to do it once correctly than fix it after a mess up. Artwork: You have to follow certain specs, or you're out of luck. Artwork must be 1400x1400px or 3000x3000px, SQUARE, in RBG, jpeg or png and under 500kb (about 1/2 MB in file size). In PowerPress, there are two places that image must be linked. The Artwork tab of PowerPress settings in both the Apple image and the RSS2 Image box. (Should be the same). Shawn's PowerPress Tip of the Week. Contact Trevor Bell here… Contact him - Email or phone Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan and Kate from the Pro-Production team. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com

Lots of things happening in the podcasting community this week, including Podcast Evolutions in Los Angeles. With Todd attending the event, Angelo Mandato, CIO of Blubrry, stepped in during his absence. Mike and Angelo talk about Chartable's IAB certification, Luminary and Spotify and more. Lots of WordPress discussion, as we recently released PowerPress 8.2. And a great interview between Todd and CJ Boat of Geek I/O. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Happy belated, Africa Podcast Day! Feb. 12. Chartable is now IAB certified. Smartphones will likely lead podcast growth. The never ending podcast subscription discussion - Luminary is expanding Dave Winer, co-inventor of the podcast RSS feed, has some things to say on whether or not its dead. 250 million - that's how much Spotify paid for The Ringer. At long last, a Google Podcasts home page. Best Practice: WordPress organization: Are you mixing blog posts with podcast posts? Should you have a landing page? A blog post page? We answer many site questions that might be plaguing podcasters. Blubrry Specific: PowerPress 8.2 is out! With a fancy new episode box. PowerPress 8.3 is in works and should be ready for beta soon. Todd, Toby and Jeff are in LA this week a Podcast Movement Evolutions. Shawn's PowerPress Tip of the Week - it's back! This time he discusses Moving RSS Feeds. Interview: CJ Boat  - Geek I/O Support: File names: Make sure each one of your episode file names is unique. If you don't use a new name, the new file will overwrite the old file for one thing and the stats will collect under the old file name mixed with the first time you used that filename. Reminder: Blubrry offers 2 versions of RSS feeds. 1) WordPress (self-hosted or PowerPress Site) 2) Blubrry.com. Select how you'd like to publish in the Hosting Settings in the Blubrry.com Podcaster Dashboard. You cannot use both. Contact CJ Boat here... Twitter Twitch YouTube Email Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from The Convo By Design Studio in Columbus, Ohio and  Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com

Podcasting can be a very lucrative business for some. That includes the hosts as as well as the companies involved in content creation and distribution. Some numbers have been released letting us know that some popular hosts are able to make millions - and Spotify has once again purchased a company for content. Stay tuned for information on upcoming events, tech support cries and of course an interview with podcaster, Bill Fairchild. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Podcasters are making the big bucks. My Favorite Murder and Joe Rogan are pulling in millions and so are others. Gary Leland is now working with BizTalkRadio. Congrats on the new gig Gary; BizTalkRadio is based in Dallas. Spotify has officially purchased The Ringer. The two companies had already been working on content for some time now. Speaking of Spotify, listenership is up. Nearly 200% the past year. Best Practice: Walk before you run. We relate to this when it comes to podcast shows and networks. We suggest that podcasters start with one show, learn the ropes and then expand. It's the same amount of work for the second show - are you sure you have the time for that? Blubrry Specific: We're looking for an experienced writer AND podcaster for a long-term contracted writing position. Contact jeff.levine@blubrry.com for more info. New music for your podcast? Our partner, SourceAudio provides a plethora of affordable and legal music for your podcast. And for those searching for a podcast producer or looking for production help, we also know a team. Blubrry Pro-Production provides high quality services, including launches, - they even produce this show - and is available for any hosting customer. Check it out. Podcast Movement Evolutions in LA - Hang out with Todd and meet our new marketing manager, Jeff Levine, and VP of Pro-Production, Toby Goodman. Interview: Bill Fairchild - Run Jump Stomp Support: If you submitted your podcast to Spotify via Blubrry, ALL of your files must be hosted with us for them to work properly in Spotify. Apple and Spotify issues - all fixed!

Todd and Mike take a stab at politics and their relation to podcasts. They also discuss some recent issues with Apple and Spotify. Thanks to Tommy Savoia for being the guest this week, showcasing a topic we haven't focused on often, gaming! If you're looking to start interviewing people for your show or some tips, stick around for the Best Practice portion of the show. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Gimlet Academy: Gimlet Media will be releasing all of their tips and tricks to the public on how to make a great podcast. MTV UK: They'll be adding 5 new podcasts to compliment their TV shows Senator Ted Cruz has started a podcast, The Verdict: As an active participant in the U.S Trump Impeachment Trial, he has been recording episodes every night to review what happened that day concerning the trial. So You Want to Be President, a podcast by MSNBC's Chris Matthews: Launched on Jan. 27, 2020. Keeping track of the 2020 presidential race. How much influence do podcasts have in politics or vice versa? Happy Birthday, Rob Greenlee! Todd's co-host on The New Media Show. Best Practice: Prepping your podcast guest: Prepare your guest for their experience, what should you tell them. Blubrry Specific: Spark Christian Podcast Conference: Todd is speaking. A new event in Houston, can't wait! Podcast Movement Evolutions: Again, Todd is speaking. The smaller, first PM event of the year. We want to know -- what type of swag or gifts do you like to receive at conferences? Let us know in the comments or send us an email. Interview: Tommy Savoia - Cube Command Podcast Support: Check your post after publishing: Make sure that the episodes does indeed play and is the correct file. Apple Updating issue: Yes, they were having issues last week (perhaps still) updating new episodes in their directory. Spotify Updating issue: If you're having issues with this as a customer and submitted via Blubrry, let us know. Welcome Emails: When you sign up for hosting, you receive a welcome email. That email contains links to videos on how to get set up and use PowerPress to get started. We highly recommend you watch that video, and you'll be off on the right foot. If you have issues after watching, we're all ears! Phone Support hours: Remember, we're here on the phones 9am-7pm EST Mon. - Thurs. and 9am-5pm EST Fridays. No other hosting company even has phone support. Connect with Tommy Savoia here: Cube Command Email Twitter Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from The Blubrry, Convo By Design Studio in Columbus, Ohio and Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com

As many podcasters are hobbyists, the legal aspects of podcasting are often a mystery. Gordon Firemark has made a name for himself in the podcast industry by sharing his knowledge as an entertainment lawyer. Todd and Mike discuss some sales propositions, upcoming shows and Blubrry releases. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider... News: Is the Serial Productions up for grabs? They're currently exploring a sale. Newly launched women's podcast network: Seneca Women Podcast Network, in conjunction with P&G CNN diving into podcasting: They're planning to launch a dozen shows, and have started with The Jeffrey Epstein I Knew. Read here and here. Best Practices: Listener privacy:  We are negotiating a contract with Chartable as we have determined they are doing listener attribution in relation to ad buys. Blubrry News: PowerPress 8.2 coming, we're hoping for Monday, Jan. 27.  PowerPress 8.3 ready for beta soon. Spotify passthrough coming soon! Available to hosted and submitted shows.  Interview: Gordon Firemark - Entertainment Lawyer extraordinaire Support: Moving to or from Blubrry? Please contact us BEFORE you do this. Make sure your outgoing company provides a 301 redirect for 30-60 days, at least.  Yes, Spotify has been slow lately. We're aware of the issue and currently in the process of fixing it. Adding 3rd party stats redirects via PowerPress. Contact Gordon Firemark here: Email Twitter (personal) Facebook Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from New Media Studio Southern Michigan and Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Schedule a one-on-one with Todd (hosting customers only) Email todd@blubrry.com Schedule a tech checkup with Mike (hosting customers only) Email mike@blubrry.com Send us your podcast sticker and a self-address stamped envelope (SASE) and we will send you a Blubrry care package. Our mailing address is: Blubrry – MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. #180 Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com

Three long-time podcasters on the show this episode of Podcast Insider; Todd Cochrane, Mike Dell and special guest, Daniel J. Lewis. They discuss current industry news and even get into a case from many years ago concerning patents and podcasting. Thanks for joining us this episode of Podcast Insider. Looking to be a guest on the show? Let us know. This week on Podcast Insider... News: iHeartMedia announces technology transformation and new organizational structure, aka layoffs. Spotify - Podcast Producer for 'Owned Channels': Looking for a job, give this a shot. Podcast Patent Troll: This is case is finally over! DJL: Luminary is slashing prices Consent in podcast directories: Are you being asked to add your show to apps or directories? DJL: Podcast related jobs: From Apple Jan. 13,14,15. Best Practice: Be everywhere you reasonably can be, your podcast that is. This means in podcast apps and directories; the more syndication, the better. Blubrry News: January newsletter is available Blubrry blog and Podcast Insider are together again! We're back on the main Blubrry.com site. www.blubrry.com/podcast-insider. Columbus Podcast Meetup - Jan. 28 Blubrry Academy (Columbus, Detroit this spring and summer) Interview: Daniel J. Lewis - The Audacity to Podcast Support: Directory update times: Apple, Google, Spotify and whatever other directory or app can take time to update.  24 hours is not abnormal. Known issue with Divi version 4. Issue with RSS enclosures. Use default WordPress editor for Podcast posts. Determining how much space you have left for the month on your Blubrry hosting plan. Contact Daniel J. Lewis here: Twitter Facebook Audacity to Podcast Promo code INSIDER for a free month at Blubrry.com Coming at you this week from Convo By Design with Todd and Daniel in Columbus, Ohio and Mike Dell’s World Studio in Traverse City, Michigan. Produced by the Blubrry Pro-Production team. Get on Todd’s one-on-one schedule. Email todd@blubrry.com  (hosting customers only) Get on Mike’s schedule for a tech checkup.  mike@blubrry.com (hosting customers only) Send us a sticker and a SASE and we will send you a care package.   Our mailing address is: Blubrry - MacKenzie 150 E. Campus View Blvd. Columbus, Ohio 43235 Contact Us: todd@blubrry.com mike@blubrry.com mackenzie@blubrry.com