Special article introduction: "How to make a popular Podcast? 》

Who is suitable for reading this book?

First thought after reading: Whether you want to be "popular" or not, everyone who is a little curious about Podcasts should come and watch 🤣

This book talks about the technical evolution and development of Podcast from content conception, presentation form, self-promotion, team management, etc. to the appendix. The critical moment is not only suitable for those who are watching and hesitating whether to do a podcast program. They have entered the Shura field (huh) aka Creators who want to break through bottlenecks and further optimize programs, or writers, producers, sound engineering, advertising marketing, godfather, godmother, etc. who are interested in all aspects of the sound we-media industry. People in different roles can share their own focus and vision in the podcast industry from the author's first-hand experience. This article will propose a direction worth thinking about for the part that resonates with me personally.

In every passage of this book, the author subtly reminds everyone involved in the podcast industry:
"In any case, please go back to the essence of 'telling a good story with your voice'."

It has logic, heart, and chicken soup, and it also clarifies the reality of the industry. It is a good book worthy of repeated reading and reflection.

 Disclosure of interests: This article is an invitation to Ink Publishing. The publisher only confirms the correctness of the content and does not interfere with the reading perspective and writing content.

So, what exactly are Podcasts?

Podcast can be regarded as a "voice version of a blog/personal website". Everyone can freely upload their own voice to the Internet for others to listen to. Just like browsing the web, they can freely choose their favorite browser. Podcast listeners can Listen to Podcasts with a wide variety of players

Common players (both app and web)

Built-in for iOS: Apple Podcast
Built-in for Android: Google Podcast (also supports iOS)
Streaming platform: Spotify owns some exclusive podcasts in Europe and America Web playback: Listen Notes website (web only, no app)
Taiwanese local players:
-Mixerbox, Firstory have community interaction and single-episode message function -KKBOX has platform-exclusive local Podcast content

Chicken Cake privately recommends a third-party app: supports smart speed change, shortened sentence blanks, chapters and time code (time point) playback functions - Pocket casts: can automatically add the latest episodes of subscribed programs to the to-be-play list - Overcast (iOS only): Yes Share any single episode up to 90 seconds The only common shortcoming of the two is probably that there is no Chinese interface, and Chinese search is sometimes stupid. It is recommended to directly copy the Apple Podcast URL or RSS feed of the program and import it into the app to listen to

How is it different from traditional broadcasting?

Podcast, like traditional radio, has a unique sense of background companionship. It is different from turning on TV or radio and passively receiving scheduled programs. Listeners need to actively choose the content they want to listen to. Individuals with stronger motivation, audience and stickiness subjective consciousness

About the author

The author, Eric Nuzum, is a sound production professional. By chance, he came to NPR (National Public Radio) to work. He also started to produce Podcasts with the network of the Public Broadcasting Group.
More than ten years of sound program production experience allowed him to summarize a general Podcast conception process and listening experience design method, which is the core concept of this book.

First, let go of your perfectionism

"I've never heard a podcast that's absolutely perfect, absolutely nothing."

The author chose to use this fact to break the topic in the "Preface" that many people can't read. In addition to accepting the author's thank you for reading with a knowing smile, I think this sentence is very useful to creators at any stage.

For newcomers who are still hesitating, don't worry about "the recording feels terrible..." and delay uploading and opening, as long as the sound processing is clean enough and the words are clearly explained, you can start talking to you secretly: everyone After a period of production, I dare not face my first episode! 🤣

For Podcasters who have already started to create, the program pursues refinement, software and hardware upgrades, improvement in oral expression, adjustment of tonality from 0 to 100 listeners, rapid growth, stuck in the plateau period and can't beat every painful link and psychology Torture is an inevitable process. When you hit a wall, it means you are already moving forward. If you are tired, lie down there, rest well, and live a good life. You will naturally find a way to break through the wall, jump over or bypass it.

"Ambition + Resources = Form"

This is the advice the author and partners jointly give to Podcast creators after in-depth discussions. With limited resources and unlimited ambitions, limitations do not need to be a burden. Under the circumstance that the entry threshold of existing technology tools has been greatly reduced, many creative presentation forms are in Occurs in many restrictive environments

"The ideal is very happy, the reality is very skinny"
This sentence that makes every Internet villager with some social qualifications smile bitterly is also applicable in the Podcast creation process.

Let’s stop for a while and let’s take a look at the current status of Taiwan’s podcast industry. Before the deadline, it is reasonable to estimate that since 2020, there have been more than 10,000 programs in Taiwan. There are many new people joining every day, most of them are self-employed or amateurs. Not fully mature (compared to Europe and the United States, Taiwan is still in the wait-and-see and groping stage)
I personally call it "the wild charm of Taiwanese culture"
The creators of small and medium-sized Podcasts in Taiwan are all bitter:
I don't have enough time, I'm exhausted, I can't make a lot of money, and I feel that no one is listening, so I begin to doubt life: "I have invested so much time, and I also spent money on recording equipment. What is it for?"

After reading this, you can go back to the beginning of this paragraph and let go of your perfectionism and reality.
Only do the best that can be done at the moment. People who speak have a desire to be heard. There is no perfect program. There is always room for improvement.

If you still can't get through in your heart, you are welcome to come and find a good friend of the Podcaster Little League to keep warm!

[LINE Community Link] "Podcaster Group | Experience Sharing Community"
https://wwhowbuhow.pse.is/3fh9wb

Podcast Three Elements: Story, Character, Sound

The author uses the main length of Chapters 2 to 6 of this book to share many of his personal production experience and practical thinking methods when he is a consultant. Repeatedly give the readers examples, questions and specific exercises.

There are many interesting cases and implementation methods in the book. Here I share the unexpected similarities between my personal thinking and the author:

story

There is an old saying: "It takes three years for people to learn to speak, and it takes a lifetime to learn to shut up."
The ten words after the chicken cake chewing translation konjac are: "Focus, clear goals, and stop talking nonsense!"

• focus

A simple and easy-to-remember name. Try to use one sentence to describe the main axis of the program within seven words. No more than three sentences of stage name or real name are acceptable. Try to be easy to pronounce, easy to remember, and not easy to confuse Example: Chicken Cake "Hey Are You Okay?" Good: The Daily Podcast of an Active Duty Depressed Patient

• with a clear purpose

Vernacular or Martian: for ordinary people to understand or only people in the industry can understand Unique point of view: you are an expert in your own life, share the world in your eyes in your own words From every aspect of life: professional, interest , life, current affairs, daily life, entertainment, beliefs...etc

• Without further ado

Before pressing the record button, read and search a lot to find the core of the topic and have a proper sense of rhythm. After that, remove the part that is too far away from the current topic.

Role

• We-media is subjective: using "I think..." as the basic perspective is a natural display of uniqueness
• The show presents one of the creator's identities, a small part of the personality traits
• Personal characteristics can be emphasized: laughter, calm thinking, excited shouting, bad jokes, etc.
• Be truthful and sincere, preserving the degree of self-disclosure

sound

• We-media is different from mass media in that it does not particularly emphasize "standard accent", and it is also possible to use accents or mixed languages.
• Audience seating: You can listen attentively across from the speaker, at the next table or even just passing by
• Listening Situation: Imagine under what circumstances the audience will listen to the Podcast, whether it is listening intently, or the background sound of doing housework, parenting, driving, office (?
• Presence: Think about the timing of the use of ambient sounds and the specific observation and description of the current situation, and you can repeatedly imagine the scene reproduction in advance
• Post-production (called "editing" in the book) can adjust the rhythm of the dialogue, even reverse the order, rearrange the combination, and create a sense of surprise in the story

Creation and Marketing are Two Sides of Communicating Works in the Digital Age

Smashing a lot of money does not guarantee that the work will be good

If it is said that increasing audiences or fans is the reward, output, result, and KPI of creation, you can say whatever you like. It can only be said that the author’s more than ten years of experience in the United States is the same as my experience of watching and eating melons. We can be sure to make podcasts. The investment between the investment and the return can be time, effort, not necessarily money, whether it is traditional marketing activities or modern digital marketing based on big data and algorithms "
Establish the main axis of the story and let word of mouth happen naturally. As mentioned above, "the goal is clear". When conceiving and creating, it is necessary to take into account the influence of the audience's behavior, action or interaction. The podcast itself, which is based on pure sound, is extremely naked to the creator. For the audience, this sense of connection makes the "creator-audience" a community. Whether it is online or in real life, the community participates, interacts, discusses, and comments. There are many ways to make dialogue happen. The method proposed by the author is in The United States is not necessarily established in Taiwan

If flowers bloom, butterflies come

Please remember that the creation is the flower creator is the gardener. Let the flowers grow well, bloom beautifully, and emit their own fragrance. The butterfly comes or not, and how it comes, has nothing to do with the flower itself. Don’t do it for a few particularly conspicuous moths. , make the flowers in the garden look like the moths Have you ever thought about the feeling of butterflies that haven't come yet? ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Every creation that is not perfect now is the nutrient for future progress

Be curious and occasionally look back at the simplicity, naivety, and even a little bit of stupidity that you started out with and ask yourself, "What else do I want to know?", "What else is interesting?"
Open your ears to listen attentively, feel the moment of a conversation or speech with all your senses

"Why did I choose to express my point of view on a pure voice podcast?"

Listen to your own recording again and look at your own notes again (there are several wonderful manuscript drawings in the additional chapter of Chapter 5)
Discuss with other creators or get inspiration and advice from audience feedback

Overweight thinking

Multi-production team or outsourcing

In Chapter 7, the author shares very completely how to operate a program with proper division of labor and ensure production capacity under a highly institutionalized organization. Individual teams can think about how to allocate time and effort to produce programs within their capabilities.

lets go!

People who will embark on the creative road are a little crazy. If we can't find a reason to keep working hard, the appendix Podcast development history and key moments may give you more inspiration. At least for me, this is equivalent to this article. This is how the four-chapter gigantic appendix exists

Book Purchase Link

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Chicken cake shreds

After Taiwan's Podcast industry began to attract the attention of mainstream media, this form of self-media based on pure voice is much lower than the equipment threshold for producing articles, pictures and videos. "You can speak and record!" or "I I have something to say!”, coupled with the COVID-19 outbreak that started in 2020 and spread to the world, the anxiety voice of being locked at home for a long time has become the most companionable content carrier platform

Accidentally, I just hit the first wave of take-off, which made me realize that "the minority is not a minority"
Everyone's voice will find its loyal audience

above.

Happy Podcasting!

【I am Chicken Cake】
Credit Link: https://liker.land/ww-howbuhow/civic

§ Podcasts §

" Hey, are you okay ": the daily life of an active-duty depression patient

" Chicken cake hatching ": Podcast sound content production teaching, behind-the-scenes idea sharing

Medium § Facebook fan page § Instagram § TAIWAN PODCASTER