Is There A Conversation?  

Posted by Unknown

Just thought I'd share an interesting conversation that is going on in the Yahoo Podcasters Group. Urbanskypodcast writes:

Published my first podcast, 'Geeks and Geek Culture' on libsyn more

than a week ago.


So far, just eight people have listened to it. Two of them are friends

of mine. No comments, but my friends did say (offline) they liked the

podcast. I was hoping for more listeners and more objective feedback.


Two might have subscribed to the RSS feed, but libsyn's stats aren't

detailed enough to let me know if they actually subscribed, or just

simply happened to download the 'cast from the RSS side of my blogpage.


Either my podcast really sucks, or something else is going on here,

like someone's put a hex on it so people don't listen to it. :)



That is the whole email. Start to finish. All valid concerns. Let's dissect this into a valid conversation.

First, congratulations are due. Content creation is a large task when all is said and done. From concept to upload, the amount of work is astronomical when you look at the steps that are taken to share something you create.

Second, and I'll stop counting paragraphs after this, eight people is a great achievement. You've already surpassed obscurity. You, my friend, have made it. Overnight success? Maybe not, but an audience is an audience. No matter the size, you now have 8 people that will tell others about what they have heard.

Comments are hard to come by. People have enough trouble reading. Now you want them to write? This takes encouragement. Let them know that your site is open to comments, and you would appreciate any feedback they can give you. Don't be shy either. If you get any comments, respond to as many of them as possible. People like a host that is accessible. If you could somehow comment about Jay Leno's show, would it not be a good thing if he could respond in kind? Maybe Jay is a poor choice, but you get the picture.

Libsyn stats are decent, but don't look at the numbers for validation. You need to look to your content and audience for that. The numbers will become more important at a later time, if you need to secure sponsors, but that is far into the future. Just worry about the show. By the way, do you listen to it?

As far as your podcast sucking, I really wouldn't know. You don't have a link in your post, and a Google search is not really helpful. This needs to be fixed really soon.

There are a quite a few good posts with great advice. Mike Sharpe comments about the sig. Shawn Thorpe speaks to expectations and audience size. Andy Bilodeau reminds us that a promo is never a bad idea, and socializing is in. Josh encourages more podcast pimping. Have you really told everybody you know?  I like the diverse crowd on the group, and there are a lot of smart people there. Here is my post:

These peoples know what they say.

First, start with your email sig, or lack of one. You need a title and site in every email you send.

Next,
start cruising the social networks. Twitter, Bebo, Facebook, MySpace,
Pownce, LinkedIn, Plaxo, Friendfeed, Brightkite, etc. Claim your name
and podcast in each of these sites before someone else does. Get a
HelloTxt account and then you can update all of them at the same time.

Start talking to others on these sites so they get to know you. No
B.S. about listening to your podcast. Start a real conversation, and
then they will get to know who you are and what you love. Then
everytime you have a new show come out, update your network. Since they
already have had interaction with you, they will be curious and perhaps
check out the show.

Listen to other podcasts with similiar interests. Comment on their voicemail lines and their sites.

Visit
blogs and comment on them. Real genuine comments. If people like what
you have to say, they will follow the link to your site.

Start your own blog. Extend your content and grow it from there.

It's all about the conversation. If it is real, people will listen.

If you need help, or more specifics, just ask. We live for that stuff.

;>)




See. Great conversation, and I realized I know a whole bunch about this stuff. Maybe I should be a content creator.

But seriously. Is there a conversation going on in your group? Your clique? your network? Or is it just noise. Are you doing it to get readers, listeners, donations? Or are you doing it to be a part of something? Don't under estimate the power of a great conversation. The Yahoo Podcaster Group knows this.