From NPR comes the definitive guide to podcasting—featuring step-by-step advice on how to find a unique topic, tell the best stories, and engage the most listeners, as well as the secrets that will take your pod to the next level. Whoever you are, whatever you love, there’s a podcast audience waiting for you, and in today’s booming audio storytelling landscape, it’s never been easier to share your voice with the world. But while the barrier to entry for podcast production is relatively low (just the cost of a mic and a laptop), the learning curve is steep—and quality matters. That’s where NPR comes in. In NPR’s Podcast Start Up Guide, Glen Weldon draws on NPR’s extensive educational materials and army of talent—from recognizable hosts, such as Guy Raz (How I Built This), Gene Demby (Code Switch), Linda Holmes (Pop Culture Happy Hour), and Yowei Shaw (Invisibilia), to indispensable behind-the-scenes players, such as producers, engineers, and editors—to guide aspiring podcasters through the conception, creation, and launch of a podcast. Part master class, part candid informational interview with the best in the business, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make their dream of starting a podcast a reality.

"A tactical primer for any business embarking on the critical work of actively building community."—Seth Godin, Author, This is Marketing "This book perfectly marries the psychology of communities, with the hard-earned secrets of someone who's done the real work over many years. David Spinks is the master of this craft."—Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable The rise of the internet has brought with it an inexorable, almost shockingly persistent drive toward community. From the first social networks to the GameStop trading revolution, engaged communities have shown the ability to transform industries. Businesses need to harness that power. As business community expert David Spinks shows in The Business of Belonging: How to Make Community your Competitive Advantage, the successful brands of tomorrow will be those that create authentic connection, giving customers a sense of real belonging and unlocking unprecedented scale as a result. In his career of over 10 years in the business of building community, Spinks has learned what a winning community strategy looks like. From the fundamental concepts—including how community drives measurable business value and what the appropriate metrics are—to high-level community design and practical engagement techniques, The Business of Belonging is an epic journey into the world of community building. This book is for decision makers who want to better understand the value and opportunity of community, and for community professionals who want to level up their strategy. Featuring a foreword by Startup Grind and Bevy cofounder Derek Andersen, it will give you a step-by-step model for strategically planning, creating, facilitating, and measuring communities that drive business growth. Attracting and retaining community members who are also loyal customers, brand evangelists, and leaders—that’s the goal for today’s connected businesses, and this book is the map to getting there.

The only guide you need to build a podcast from scratch with tips, techniques and stories from the pioneers of podcasting, by expert and early adopter Gilly Smith. From This American Life's Ira Glass and George the Poet to the teams behind My Dad Wrote a Porno and Table Manners with Jessie Ware, this practical book is packed full of exclusive, behind-the-scenes advice and informative, inspiring stories that will teach you how to tell the greatest stories in the world. This is a comprehensive yet accessible and warmly written book for creatives who are striving to understand how their content could be successfully turned into a podcast, from conception through to execution, distribution, marketing and monetising. It covers: - Recognising who your show is for, deciding what it is about and where to find inspiration. - Deciding on the format and working on structure and script. - Hosting, casting and interview techniques. - Production expertise - from equipment you'll need to editorial tips and determining the ideal length of your show. - Distribution - deciding on a release schedule, show art, metadata and how to distribute. - Growing your podcast - promotion and building community among fans. With original material throughout, case studies from podcasters across genres and a companion podcast featuring interviews with the pioneers, this is a first in guides to podcasting.

Is it worth doing a podcast if nobody listens? You started your podcast because you want to: - Spread an important message - Share your passion - Make money But your podcast hasn’t quite taken off like you thought it would. What happened? This book is for podcasters who can’t quite figure out what they’re doing wrong (and are ready to do things right). You’ll learn: - Why your “natural personality” may be repelling to people and how to make it attract listeners to your podcast like a magnet (See p198) - What to do when a company tries to “lowball” you on advertising fees (do nothing, except send them the email on p424) - It’s easy to screw up an interview. To be sure you don’t run into any problems, use my “guest contract” on p311. - A six-word “trick” (learned from a 20-year radio veteran) that will instantly make you a better host (it’s on p210) - 9 reasons to kill an interview before it happens – ignore these “red flags” and you’ll be sorry (p299) - What Victoria’s Secret models know about podcasting (even though you never hear them talk) – this lesson starts on p208! - Nervous on the mic? You have lots of company – 75% of podcasters to be exact. I give you a 5-step way to cure your “stage fright” on p229. - If you’re scared of getting bad reviews, don’t worry – I have three simple ways to handle critics on p236 (two of which can turn critics into fans) - Why copying top podcasters may be killing your podcast (I share the story on p116) and how to develop a podcasting style that works for you (and will attract more listeners) - My 3-step “episode teaser” formula – it’s boring, but it works (get it on p110) - Thinking of doing a “daily” podcast? You must read p103 before you start. - Want to impress a guest? See the chapter starting on p321 for my 3-step followup “ritual” that will make being on your podcast unforgettable (and encourage guests to promote your episodes) And that’s just the start … This book contains my complete system on how to attract listeners, deliver your message effectively, and build a big podcast. You can't build a big podcast on "hope." But you can build a big podcast. And if you’re ready to do just that, read this book.

“An interestingly idiosyncratic and personal vision of how to make podcasts.”—Ira Glass Veteran podcast creator and strategist Eric Nuzum distills a career’s worth of wisdom, advice, practical information, and big-picture thinking to help podcasters “make noise”—to stand out in this fastest of fastest-growing media universes. Nuzum identifies core principles, including what he considers the key to successful audio storytelling: learning to think the way your audience listens. He delivers essential how-tos, from conducting an effective interview to marketing your podcast, developing your audience, and managing a creative team. He also taps into his deep network to offer advice from audio stars like Ira Glass, Terry Gross, and Anna Sale. The book’s insights and guidance will help readers successfully express themselves as effective audio storytellers, whether for business or pleasure, or a mixture of both.

Building an audience is tough. Do you work hard to create the best possible content for your target audience? Do you continually wonder why your download numbers remain so flat and... unspectacular? It has always been a challenge to grow a sizable and dedicated audience around content creation. There's a lot more to it than saying, "build it and they will come". And, as new podcasts are launched each day, the space will only continue to get noisier. The competition gets stiffer. Fortunately, you don't need to worry about all the other podcasts out there. You only need to worry about your own. In Podcast Growth, you'll have the ultimate manual for promoting your show, and growing your audience.T his book pulls together our favourite tips and tactics for podcast growth, based on over a decade of professional experience. We break them down into actionable strategies. You can work through them in order, or cherry-pick the ones that suit your content and brand the most. You'll find details on timeframes, checklists, and recommended resources, to keep you moving forward. You'll see those download numbers begin to climb. Your long-awaited engagement will start to increase.If you want to grow your podcast audience, then this is the only book you need. So, let's grow!The Podcast Host is a podcast marketing hub for individuals and businesses who seek to nurture an audience, build trust, and grow revenue through their show or their products. The website was founded in 2010 by Dr. Colin Gray, and has become an authority in the new media space through writing, podcasting, and broadcasting on anything that serves to create loyal and fanatical fans.