Podcasting: The Show Must Go On

A little something I put together for the Podcamp Pittsburgh site…

As many know, I’ve been doing this Podcasting for quite a long time.  From streaming , self run “radio stations” to over four years on my own Wrestling Mayhem Show, I’ve seen a lot of changes.

But no matter what your goals are, you’re not going to reach them without a few main points.

  1. Consistency in release.  Your audience needs to know when to expect you.  My Wednesdays are the day when I expect that there’s a Macbreak Weekly and Between the Ropes in my itunes queue to download.  If something hasn’t posted yet to MacBreak, or Between the Ropes is preempted due to local basketball (because it’s a podcast of their terrestrial radio show in Orlando, FL).  It’s one of the items that will separate being viewed as a pro or an amateur, even if we’re all amateurs…
  2. Evaluate your assets. I would love to higher end productions.  In a perfect world, I’d be doing a Podcast showcasing independent wrestling from around the country, or at least the Northeastern region.  But I know that there is no chance of working that into my busy schedule, or affording the travel.  It would be amazing to try my hand at a more serialized, scripted show, akin or The Guild or Something to be Desired, but again, the time consumption doesn’t allow it for me.  When you start into a project, you have to ask yourself if it’s within your abilities.  If not, maybe it shouldn’t be a serialized, constant schedule.  Maybe, especially if your experimenting, you shouldn’t promise a schedule.
  3. Time vs Money.  I don’t have a lot of money to sink into my content.  So I tend to investa lot of time.  I have five computers running in my studio of varying configurations that have all been hand me downs, and more not running at this moment.  A lot of my problems could be solved, and I could concentrate more on sitting down and putting out great content if I had the money to bring in some cool stuff like a tricaster, build a TWIT-inspired Skyposaurus, or just some newer computers I know won’t crash so hard.  But instead, I found myself on this Sunday updating Xubuntu (a nice free alternative vs managing Windows licenses) on a dormant PC I hadn’t been running, testing what I can do with the new Skype Beta for video conferencing, and what to do with my Mac friends who can’t partake during these shows, and evacuating a monitor that started smoking.  Thankfully, I love the adventure.
  4. Have some heart. It better be something you love.  I’m up to three weekly shows.  It multiplies the time, keeps me up late some nights, but it’s about three topics I can’t get enough of.  Technology, professional wrestling, and music.  A good place for further reading on this idea, and some really good social media cheerleading, I recommend the audiobook versions of Gary Vaynerchuck’s Crush It.  It’s a great message in “Just do it” and will make you want to make

Justin has some great insight into how to make your production matter. But I hope these items I’ve outlined help you keep the faith to push forward personally.

How to you keep the show on the road?

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