The Waveform Issue 28 - Keeping It Going
Hello!
It can be a challenge to keep a podcast going for 10 episodes, and then 20, 30, or, in the case of The Glo Podcast, 56 episodes.
It helps to build on a clear concept, and then not be afraid to open up to new ideas, and even new hosts. The Glo Podcast has benefitted from a group of guest hosts drawn from the roster of teachers who are on the Glo platform. On glo.com, you can find teachers of Pilates, yoga, and mindfulness. Quite a few of them have large audiences, and some are new. It has been a net positive for us to showcase the established folks (their audience of fans will listen), as well as the new folks who gladly promote their episode to help build their audience.
In our most recent episode, Mark Osmundsen, a Glo teacher, guest hosts to interview drag performer Marti Gould Cummings, the first non-binary person to campaign for city council in New York. Listen to The Glo Podcast, Episode 56 – Activism and Healing with Drag Performer Marti Gould Cummings.
Your Performance Review – Episode 04
Your Performance Review, a science fiction audio drama that I wrote, produced, and directed, is about to premiere Episode 04. I realize this is a problem for those just joining this newsletter or who haven’t tried the podcast yet. What if you would rather not start on Episode 04, but want to start at the beginning? Or what if you are a contrarian, and starting at Episode 04 sounds just fine to you?
People don’t always listen to podcasts in order. There are a few apps that will start you at the beginning and allow you to easily pick up where you left off. (See below for a few suggestions.) But most of the time, it’s kind of … a mess. But there is a solution. Dynamic audio insertion is a fancy term for popping an audio clip into an episode that’s already been published. You can add something at the beginning, at the end, or even in the middle. It’s usually used for advertising. You can run a campaign for 30 days, and then disappear it. Or you can run promotions that have a short shelf life. I had another idea, though.
At the start of the first few episodes of Your Performance Review, I used dynamic audio insertion to pop in a short clip that explains what the show is about. If someone is listening for the first time, they will get a taste of the audio trailer. A listener dropping in on Episode 03 gets a different message. It’s a viable solution for listeners who drop in after the curtain has already risen, and I can make changes to the clips, even after the show has premiered.
How to Listen to Podcasts
What if you don’t like listening to podcasts on your computer, or even using a playlist thingie like Apple Podcasts or Spotify? There are a few apps that can make the podcast listening experience better. With Overcast, available in the App Store, you can listen on your iPhone or iPad. Airshow, a new contender, has a slick interface that makes it easy to pick up where you left off listening. For Android, the best listening app for podcasts is Pocketcast.
Thanks for listening, and for reading this newsletter.
Lee