Welcome!

Can I Make
a HIT podcast?

I’m a former news editor and journalist and I’m on a mission to find out what really works in podcasting by studying the big firms and testing their techniques

SUBSCRIBE PODCAST

Latest show:

Find out more about Richard Midson

SUBSCRIBE
Follow real-time updates on social media

For the very latest as it happens (almost) click the right social channel (Twitter is best)

You do not need to be famous to give a public talk about your podcast. You just need a great story and this.... "You can't just be a podcaster these days!!" If you want to turn your podcast into a public talk start by thinking about this. One of the big advantages of being a speaker AND a podcaster is this according to @theproveitguy How do you fancy being kicked in the privates to illustrate a point? The more I learn about public speaking the more I can see how it can benefit podcasting making.
Episodes
  • Could you turn your podcast into a great talk?

    Could your podcast make a great talk?

    Would an event organiser be interested in what you have to say?

    In this week’s episode, we find out that the answer is a resounding… YES!…. but…..

    There are some things you need to think about to make it work.

    Last time I spoke to TEDx speaker and podcaster Liam O’Neill to see whether you should be a public speaker.

    This week we find more about how to do it, from event organiser and speaker herself, Patricia Curty. Patricia runs “Gallery of Ideas”. She has a wealth of experience and plenty of ideas on you can make this work.

    You can find Patricia here :-

  • A public speaker helps podcasters get into public speaking

    I’m asking the question at the moment, as podcasters could we and should we become public speakers to promote our podcasts?

    Can we use that as a medium to help us publicize what we do to reach a bigger audience, get in front of people and build our brand? This is what I’m trying to find out.

    In my research I found this chap called Liam O’Neill. He is a podcaster AND a public speaker. I thought this really sums up what we’re trying to do here. I wondered what has learned from that experience of doing both? What are the mistakes he’s made? What are the good things he’s learned?

    I invited him on the show. We recorded it on YouTube where you can also see the episode but here is an audio version of the show.

    SHOW NOTES

    Liam O’neill – The Prove It Guy

    LinkTree – https://linktr.ee/theproveitguy
    Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/theproveitguy/
    Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/proveitguy
    YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6-OtqbHQ8G1J_QrhHD-OVQ

  • Podcast Public Speaking (step2)

    SHOW NOTES

    Can you promote your podcast with public speaking? The next step in this journey was to try to get a big event to accept me as a speaker.

    This episode opens with the result of that attempt and then I go into how I think I managed to get accepted. What were the techniques I used and more.

    Here also is the video I pitched to the event :

    https://youtu.be/_QLyooWVvFI

    Links:

  • If advertising doesn’t work, is there another way?

    SHOW NOTES

    Over the next 45 minutes or so in this special episode, I think you are going to find some really useful answers to the question of how to get guests that are based not one wild claims designed to get you to buy a course but on real world success…. and spectaclar failures.

    So what you’re about to hear are proven techniques tested with real podcasts in the real world.

    As you know if you follow this show regularly I’ve been trying to test the theory that you can buy podcast listeners with adverts. In my case, I tested the myth that you could ask people to subscribe to your show with targetted Facebook ads. It was a resounding failure but what I found was actually something much nuance and frankly more clever.

    What you are about to hear might throw up some new techniques for you or even if you have thought of them before some new emphasis and perspective on how to get them to work.

    You’ll hear from 3 pannelists.

    Phil Better from Invest in yourself

    Micheal Liddicoat from Dissecting the Deal

    And Tommy Outdors from Toomy outdoors.

    There is so much in this episode, that even though I’ve edited it. I’m still picking out ideas.

    Links:

  • Can I use public speaking to promote my podcast?

    SHOW NOTES

    I’ve always been curious about public speaking but mostly because I’m scared of it. It’s something I want to overcome as a challenge. But I also think there could be good reasons to overcome it from the point of view of podcasting.

    If you’ve watched a TED talk then you’ll know the “power” of public speaking.

    The techniques hook you in right and the view counts show how effective they are. It feels like we could be using these techniques to draw people into our shows and help us promote the ideas we are sharing or the products we are marketing if that’s our aim.

    It would look great in our podcast bios to say “international speaker”, right? I mean would you listen to a podcast by someone just starting out or someone who sounds like they might be about to deliver some real value? A “international speaker” we hope should be a person who is going to deliver that. It’s like saying, “as seen on TV”.

    If the goal of a podcast is to change attitudes or sell products then perhaps speaking would also provide a way for us to connect directly with the people we need to reach outside of the podcast itself.

    Yet few podcasters seem to use public speaking for this purpose.

    As usual in this project, I’m trying to find out if the techniques I’ve seen being used by others could help me promote a podcast.

    Links:

  • Can I book better and better guests? (special)

    So here’s the problem.

    A lot of the same guests go on a lot of the SAME shows and deliver basically the SAME interview to the SAME people. 

    It’s boring for listeners and while it helps podcasters grow their audience within that “bubble” a bit, it’s not going to be as effective as getting good original guests.

    So what do we need to do to get good original content?

    To some extent that comes down to the guests to say something original but it also comes down to us to pick the right guests and I found one man who is doing just that and so I invited him on the show.

    Mike Fisher lives in LA and has a creative podcast called “Anyway Whatever”. You might think being in LA all he has to do is open his door and creative guests pour in but that’s not the case so what’s his secret?

    This is the second of a special series called “Cracking the Podcast Code” in which I interview a podcaster who is doing ONE thing exceptionally well.

    It could be content, social media, getting guests, any “one” thing.

    Links:

  • Can I avoid podfade?

    Cracking the Podcast Code is a new series which is part of the CanIMakeAHitPodcast.com project.

    The aim is to talk to people who are doing at least one thing exceptionally well in their podcast project.

    Today I’m talking to Mike Winter from WiseCrackin With Winter about the topic of “Podfade” and how to avoid it.

    Links:

  • Can I use Facebook ads to promote my podcast?

    Can I get people to listen to my podcast using Facebook ads on a limited budget?

    That was the test. I got some very clear results.

    So for your enjoyment and insight, here’s the results of my tests, all the data and some pretty clear conclusions. If you are thinking of spending money on ads I think this might be of interest to you. Oh and what the big podcast companies are doing with Facebook ads too.

    Links:

  • Making a Podcast advert that works
    Can I create a podcast advert using international marketing techniques?

    So, here’s the ambitious target. Grow my audience 50% with advertising alone.

    To do that I’ve been studying how to make an advert that “works” by looking at international marketing techniques used for the past 100 years.

    So how do you make a podcast ad like that. How do you make a podcast ad like a major advertising agency?

    Well I’ll tell you if you click play on this episode.

    Links:

  • Are there other ways to make money from podcasting?

    A bite-sized episode looking at alternative ways to make money from podcasting and whether you change your podcast to a news style format.

    Business Insider Australia:- https://www.businessinsider.com.au/australian-podcasts-subscription-patreon-independent-boonta-vista-a-rational-fear-2020-11

    Reuters report:- https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/daily-news-podcasts-building-new-habits-shadow-coronavirus

    Someone reached out to me on Twitter the other day and said about how to increase listeners, which is something I’m working and studying at the moment, but also how to get more advertising revenue.

    And this got me thinking because when I was on YouTube, I was getting about $400USD a year. Which is not exactly enough to live on!

    And then I read this article from Business Insider Australia, about two podcasters, two podcasts shows that are going out, that are making money from Patreon. One.. I think they’re earning $6,000 USD a month. The other $1300USD.

    One is called “Boonta Vista”. The other one is called “A Rational Fear”.

    And it was really interesting because what they’ve done is that they’ve really listened to their listeners and then they’ve delivered that and then people have wanted to give them money.

    So they’re not “upselling”. They’re not doing anything like that. They are literally just delivering the content that people want and people they want to support that. There are loads more details in that article. I’ve done another separate video, a longer one on YouTube with more details as well.

    All the links, of course, in this social media update.

  • Can I learn how to make the perfect podcast advert?

    International marketing firm versus solo podcaster?

    There’s a big difference right.

    But is it still possible for us independent podcasters to learn from there? It might seem a bit far fetched.

    I mean, if you count the number of people in the average podcast production team you’ll get to a figure on one!

    And if you walk into the offices of a major advertising firm you’ll find designers, producers, creative directors coming out of every door.

    So, we are not in the same league right? But having studied advertisers for the past two weeks and in particular a chap by the name of Ogilvy, I think there is a lot we can learn…. and I’m going to try and put his techniques into practice to promote my podcast.

    In this episode, I’m sharing my research as always and putting things to the test to find out what really works.

  • Can I future proof my podcast?

    This is kind of a warning.

    The competition to grab our podcast listeners is growing and it’s not from other independent podcasters but from the big names and it’s going to get worse.

    Almost every day, studying what firms are doing you can see how this is beginning.

    But luckily it’s the big firms and well know individuals who may also perhaps provide us with some of the solutions.

    In this episode, I look at some of the options available to us.

  • Could I get signed by a big podcast company?

    How do you get your podcast signed up by a big company?

    I would love to know the answer to this because I would love to know myself.

    This was something I was asked the other day on Twitter, so as usual with this project I thought I would do some research.

    And I started off by looking at Gimlet.

  • How to be a good podcast guest?

    You don’t have to pay for media training.

    At least that is what I’ve found in my research as I start investigating “guesting” on podcasts.

    A lot of what you learn in traditional media training can be found in other ways. And it’s worth doing.

    Guesting is a powerful way of marketing yourself and your brand but also for networking.

    In this first show looking at Guesting on podcasts, I ask the questions about how to prepare to get started.

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    Can you grow podcast listeners with paid ads?

    Can you grow your podcast listenership with paid adverts?

    I’ve seen a lot of opinions saying adverts don’t work but I’ve also seen opinions saying adverts do work.

    I wanted to know the truth. What were the facts?

    So I conducted a experiment live on YouTube and this is what happened.

    Links:

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    Editing a hit show (part 1)

    There are 5 hours of audio sitting on my computer which needs editing into a hit show.

    The prospect is daunting.

    I can’t just edit out the ums and errs, I need to edit it in such a way that it becomes a chemically addictive show for the audience.

    So how do you do that without spending months on it and burning yourself out through over work?

    In this week’s episode I look for the shortcuts and hacks that will make editing easier.

    Links:

    Full transcript here

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    Fixing the show (podcast)

    I’m diving even deeper into the topic of podcast “topics” this week.

    I’m shredding up my own podcast ideas once again as I attempt to emulate the success of the big podcast companies.

    This episode takes me even deeper into one of the topics I touched on last week.

    Plus, this episode might feel different!

    The reason is that I have spent quite a bit of time changing this show based on what I learned last time.

    So the question is, does it “feel” better? Can you tell the difference? Do Gimlet’s techniques actually work? Let me know if you can feel the difference.

    Links:

    Full transcript and links here

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    Making a podcast unmissable

    Can you make a podcast show that is so appealing to people that they simply can’t help but click play on it? Is it possible?

    I’ve been wondering about the progress of this show “Can I Make A Hit Podcast”. It doesn’t seem to be delivering quite what it originally promised. So can you “repair” a show or start one for the first time that is so addictive people will have to listen?

    In this episode, I look at the techniques from some of the big podcast names to see what they do to make an unmissable show.

    Full transcript and links here

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    Nailing podcast guest interviews

    Guest interviews are a bit like flying an aeroplane. It’s too late to fix them when you are up in the air. It’s all in the preparation.

    This week I set a task to do 4 hours of interviews but I soon began to realise that there was a lot more pressure on me in these interviews than I first thought.

    Full transcript and links here

  • Can I Make a Hit Podcast - Podcast logo
    The final push for “landmark” podcast guests

    If you want “landmark” guests, not “good” or “any” podcast guest then it’s going to take time but time is not something we have as independent podcasters with full-time jobs.

    So can we make the process much more efficient so that it puts the best quality guests within our reach? Can WE get them?

    As usual, not everything went to plan as I put techniques to the test but with 4 guests now booked, a lot of lessons were still learnt.

    In this episode find out what went wrong and how to use those mistakes to your advantage.

    Full transcript and links here