How to Avoid Podfading

Feb 2,2017 / By Anna / 1 Comment

Preventing Podfade

Podfading is when a podcast slows down and is (eventually) abandoned about seven or eight episodes in. No one ever starts a podcast intending to podfade. It’s always so exciting to start out with lots of ideas about who to interview and how to get it to sound right.

And yet, it’s a cycle we see again and again. While it can happen for a number of reasons, podcasting platforms that have tracked the phenomenon have picked up on a few recurring trends. For example, podcasters often get overwhelmed by all the work required, or simply run out of things to say.

However, there are plenty of ways to avoid it, from seriously streamlining the production process, to finding co-hosts and guests to help pick up the slack.

Get a full explanation of podfading as a phenomenon and find out how to take it on in this episode of the Spreaker Live Show.

Listen to “SLS98: How To Avoid The Podfading Fate” on Spreaker.

Podcasting Tips

What’s the Hardest Thing to Teach about Podcasting? An Interview With Colin Gray

Jan 26,2017 / By Chiara Sagramola / No Comment

The Podcast Host is where podcasters can find mentors, online courses, and general resources about podcasting. Their latest update is the launch of a great opportunity for students in Scotland: the Scottish Podcast Scholarship will help one winner produce and publish his or her podcast idea. We wanted to talk with Colin Gray, the founder, to understand what’s behind this interesting and educational project, and the importance of training and learning about podcasting.

Listening Podcasting Tips

Spreaker Podcast Radio for iOS Gets a New Addition to the lean-back Listening Experience

Jan 23,2017 / By Anna / No Comment

Sometimes you’re not sure what to listen to, but have a vague idea – you’re in the mood for true crime, or comedy, or maybe you’re looking for something on the light side, like pop culture talk. But looking for a podcast often takes as much time as listening to one.

So we at Spreaker are making a new contribution to your lean-back listening experience – introducing channels to Spreaker Podcast Radio for iOS. Since each channel is based on a particular theme and curated with the best content we’ve got, you can follow your mood’s whimsy, sit back, and enjoy without any fuss.

General

An Update on Spreaker’s Statistics

Jan 23,2017 / By Tonia / No Comment

In any digital content industry, standards must be defined in order to protect advertisers – and ultimately the entire industry – against bad data practices. Advertisers can continue to pay and benefit publishers only if the industry, as a whole, agrees on a set of metrics with which data or stats can be measured.

In the podcasting space, paid advertising is still in its infancy, and there are complications to consider. Take for instance the fact that content is often consumed through apps the publisher doesn’t have control over. For example, podcast listening apps (sometimes called “podcatchers”) allow users to subscribe to podcasts, which are then downloaded and consumed offline. However, in these cases, the only thing the publisher sees in his or her stats is a downloaded episode (either manually or automatically), but not whether or not it was listened to.

News Podcasting Tips

Students, Start Podcasting: Submit Your Idea to this New Competition

Jan 18,2017 / By Chiara Sagramola / No Comment

Have an idea? Have an idea that’s great enough to turn into a podcast? Students in Scotland now have the opportunity to win The Scottish Podcast Scholarship, newly established by The Podcast Host.

“We’re committed to helping people find their voice, and their audience, through podcasting. We’re looking to find someone with a brilliant idea for an audio series, and help them to plan and launch it.”

All university and college students across Scotland are eligible, with no previous podcasting experience necessary – it’s all about what you’ll bring to the table and the great idea you want to pitch. Submissions are open over at https://www.thepodcasthost.com/pitch until Tuesday, January 31, 2017.

General Podcasting Tips

Introducing Spreaker’s Revenue Sharing Program

Jan 10,2017 / By Anna / 2 Comments

You have to be passionate to podcast. To get a great show up and running you need to invest time, and sometimes even money, into the tech, show production, branding, and marketing. While connecting with audiences can be a reward in itself, wouldn’t it be great to get some monetary returns as well?

Unfortunately, agencies and sponsors are not the easiest to come by. Great podcasts are too often overlooked for big productions backed by even bigger networks. It’s hard to get recognition when you’re competing with well-funded production machines.

But we at Spreaker believe your podcast is worth the chance – why can’t monetizing be easy, and accessible to everyone? And so, we’re excited to introduce our new Revenue Sharing Program! It’s an easy opt-in program where podcasters can earn money for every listen, or impression, they get.

Listening

Listen to podcasts offline with Spreaker Podcast Radio for iOS’ new downloading feature!

Jan 4,2017 / By Anna / No Comment

Whether you’re in flight mode or stuck in the subway, you can always listen to your favorite podcasts, even when you’re offline — introducing downloading on Spreaker Podcast Radio for iOS!

Opt to pick and choose and then manually download episodes you want to listen to later, or set up auto-downloading on your favorited shows so that any new published episodes get downloaded straight to your iPhone. Now all you iOS lovers get to create your own listening experience tailored to your ears, even when you’ve disconnected (Android users, you’re already enjoying the feature).

Nine Evolutions of Podcasting In 2017

Jan 3,2017 / By Rob Greenlee / No Comment

Predicting the coming year of podcasting is a little more challenging than usual because, in my mind, the 13-year-old medium has been maturing very fast. Unfortunately, growth and innovation will be slow in coming this next year.

“It is true that podcasting’s best days are ahead and we do have many developing trends that will enable the medium to grow its creators and listeners.”

For a little perspective, the podcasting medium was a revolution when it began between 2004 through 2007. Since then, podcasting has been chugging along at a slow, unrevolutionary but steady growth trajectory for many years. It is true that podcasting awareness and listening grew a little faster over the past 2 years with the heightened media coverage of the reality and fictional storytelling podcasts.

Listening Podcasting Tips

2016: The Year in Podcasting

Dec 28,2016 / By Chiara Sagramola / No Comment

Spreaker’s been a part of the podcasting industry for almost six years now, and we’ve seen lots of changes in who’s trying it out and how the medium is approached. As its consumption continues to boom (at the beginning of 2016, Edison Research reported that 55% of Americans were aware of podcasting’s existence (compare that to 22% in 2006), and 36% had listened to one) we’ve seen it get adopted from both the bottom-up as well as the top-down. Podcasting has grown from a passion project to a full-time commitment for many, and corporations and broadcasting giants are turning to it for a more direct connection with clients and listeners.

Listening Podcasting Tips Product

Enhance Your Story and Create More Easily Accessible Podcasts with Chapters

Dec 14,2016 / By Anna / 15 Comments

Ask yourself: how accessible is your podcast? Can listeners follow your story, or get through your content in one sitting? Could they more fully appreciate your podcast with extra background information or references?

Accessibility isn’t just about making sure your podcast is available on every listening platform, or blowing up people’s social network feeds. It also lies in the structure of your content, how well you tell your story, and the marketing strategies you use to hook listeners in; your podcast needs to be easy to consume for listeners.

Spreaker is now giving you the ability to add chapters to your episode through our CMS. With chapters, you can delineate a clear outline of key points and favorite moments that listeners can get to easily, and create new ways to share your content.