Today Fred Castaneda tells the story about how he got two meet two fellow veterans who had an impact on his life. While many of the episodes of this podcast are about making money, growing your sales, etc. Fred talks about about his podcast opened the door to allow him to meet his Brothers in Arms (who have had heir books about the Vietnam War turned into movies).

With more and more proof that the current state of the media is awful (see Trust Me, I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator its good that we podcasters are being seen as the media so we can honor things more important than what dress some celebrity is wearing.

Fred’s Podcasts

Struggling Entrepreneur

CIB Austin

Finance For Startups

Jungle Warriors

When I talk about building loyalty with your podcast, NOBODY trumps Keith and the Girl. This dynamic duo produces an HOUR of great content FIVE days a week. That is an aggressive amout of content, and it’s funny. Here are some snippets from their story.

1. Keith was a comic, and Chemda was a singer working childrens parties.
2. They have outgrown their printing “one CD at a time” system.
3. They maintain a forum on there website. This is no small feat. Many podcasters start forums, and many fail. Not only do they have a forum, but they have a THRIVING forum.
4. They released a book. Its very rare for authors to sell any number of copies, Keith and Girl went through their first printing requiring a second printing (for those not into the world of being an author, this is unheard of for people who are no named Steven King, or Harry Potter).
5. The now have a premium version of their podcast that sells their massive back catalog.

They didn’t have the best equipment, but have since upgraded their equipment. They have learned to call on people who know what they are doing so they can focus on the content.

Keith and the Girl Links

Keith the Girl Website

What Do We Do Now?: Keith and The Girl’s Smart Answers to Your Stupid Relationship Questions

Ken N Blanchard is a man with many talents. He’s a pastor, a gun saftey instructor, a technical writer and more.  He’s spent time in fron of Congress. Of his show “The Urban Shooter” he says, “It allows me to minister, encourage, teach and entertain people that I would never be able to meet on my budget. It has been a fun and growing endeavor.” Of his podcast he says, ” I sing, I joke, I interview interesting people I have met or hear of that are not afraid of coming on a show where they might find a new friend. The show is apolitical and I try to let my Christian values shine through, meaning who I am doesn’t take away from who you are.”

He mentions that the days of renting hotel rooms wer expensive, and now he can reach a global audience for a fraction of the cost.

Currently he is in discussion with the Discovery channel, and Sirius/XM Radio about expanding his platform. For more information check out his websites at

kennblanchard.com and blackmanwithagun.com

Lou Mongello loves Disney. He has been going since he was age seven. He was a lawyer from New Jersey. He wrote the book he alwas wanted to read about Disney and started to build his community. Along the way Lou started podcasting and now is podcasting live every Wednesday from Disney. He has also created a lot of great content that has resulted in Lou being voted the top travel podcast 2006-2011. Here are some of the lessons you can learn from Lou.

1. He knows what his audience wants as he interacts with them on a regular basis.
2. He has found advertising and sponsors that fit his audience (like travel).
3. he has expanded beyond the microphone with private tours, speaking, books, and more. (See his shop)
4.  Everyone loves a “behind the scenes” look of everything. Lou provides that and then some.
5. You never know what you’re going to get. When I listened to his one podcast he walked into a restaurant and did a live review.
6. If you want to do this for a living you need a niche that has enough people, and can be monetized.

When I listened to Lou’s podcast you can hear the excitement in his voice, and you instantly know that Lou is a Disney expert. He is going to help you get the most out of your Disney trip.

Apparently Jimminy Cricket wasn’t lying when he said “When you wish upon a star your dreams come true.”

Check out Lou’s Website at www.loumongello.com and listen to his podcast at www.wdwradio.com

Start your podcast at the School of Podcasting

We need to thank Andy White from podcastingadvisor.com for letting us use this clip (He is a podcast consultant in the U.K.). IN this show we hear how Ted Forbes who does the art of photography podcast. In this clip we hear how Ted got asked to speak at a convention in Paris France. Ted describes himself as “Little guy from Texas.”

This year I’m speaking at Blogworld and New Media Expo because of my podcasts about Podcasting. If you are looking to position yourself as an expert, podcasting is a way to position yourself to be seen as an expert on a global basis. Today’s podcast is living proof.

Mentioned in this Episode

Pat Flynn is the man behind the Smart Passive Income Blog. He has (as of 11/2011) 33,351 subscribers to his blog. He actually posts income reports on his website. Here is his income over the last year:

October 2011 – $38,612.90
September 2011 – $36.592.27
August 2011 – $34,034.40
July 2011 – $32,851.84
June 2011 – $30,393.49
May 2011 – $26,609.13
April 2011 – $41,634.24
March 2011 – $29,429.93
February 2011 – $24,616.83
January 2011 – $35,607.11
December 2010 – $23,646.83
November 2010 – $21,641.75
October 2010 – $17,905.88

From Oct/2010 – Oct 2011 = $393,576.60

He recently did a talk at blog World Expo (YouTube Video)about how we should “Be Everywhere.” In the talk he mentions how podcasting has boosted his traffic.  In his talk he mentions that if your “Just going to stick to your blog you’re going to limit your reach.” He had learned about Internet Marketing through the Internet Business Mastery Academy  and learned how a voice can add intimacy to your content.

Pat put a question that ONLY appeared on his blog. It was, “How did you find me?”Over 1700 people responded.  The top answer? His podcast. 20% of his blog readers found him in iTunes. This was more than YouTube, more than links from other sites, the NUMBER ONE WAY people found Pat was THROUGH HIS PODCAST.

Here are some fun numbers to think about:

37,000,000 – Number of people who have a Gym /Fitness Club Membership

97,000,000 – Number of people who actually drive to work ALONE.

Average Commute is 26.4 minutes

50,000,000 iPhones have been sold through April 8th, 2010

275,000,000 iPods have been sold through 9/1/2010

A Podcast is Simply Audio Tied to a Blog Post – Your 70% There!

The thing that drives me absolutely crazy is that there are bloggers who have free articles on their website, and GREAT content in their blog posts. All of  this content is for free. Yet they don’t see why they should record as audio and put it out as a podcast. Why? Because its great content and millions of people are STARVING for good content (have you listened to the Radio lately – oofah!).  So many bloggers are using WordPress (which is the platform I recommend) and are simply a few plugins away from being ready to podcast.

Jump In the Podcast Pool – Start a Podcast Today

If you are a blogger looking to turn their content into a podcast, don’t get hung up on the steps to start a podcast. I’ve got podcasting tutorials to walk you through, or you can hire me as a Podcast Consultant to set up your podcast and walk you through all of your questions – and let you get back to creating great content – for a much bigger audience.

Today we listen to Jay Mohr from his Podcast Mohr Stories talk to Patrice O’Neil about how his podcast is helping to bring people to his comedy shows.  Jay has some great stories, and his podcast also gives you a glimpse into his personal life as he often has his wife sits in on the podcast.

Jay noticed that every opening act was creating a podcast. Then other comedians he trusted told him he should start one. A few months later he is seeing the clubs fill in with people who are shouting out lines from the podcast (“I don’t want to go in the water..”). How is that for ROI?

Jay asked, “So this is like the future, and his friends explained PODCASTING IS NOW.

Today we play a clip from the Rock and Roll Geek Show (which is now the longest running podcast as Adam Curry has quit producing the Daily Source Code). Michael is the original music podcaster. Today we listen to Michael read an email from one of his listeners who explains how she purchased some music after she heard it on his podcast.

There was a part of this email that I edited out as they talked about who was in the band, etc. Here the listener is asking Michael because he is seen as an expert when it comes to Rock Music. He has a huge amount of knowledge of musicians, bands, and rock music.

Michael was one of the original guests of the Power of Podcasting. You can hear that episode where his fans pay to have him fly to London.

I was approached by a company about starting a podcast where the target audience is college students. I explained how I use to do a podcast for students called “Quiet Study Area” that had soft non distracting music to study by, and study tips. The site (ugly and simple) is still there, and I went and check my stats at Mevio and was surprised that even though the Podcast “podfaded” in October 2009, I am still getting 2000+ downloads (and this month isn’t over).

This is why creating “evergreen” content (when possible) is important.

Today we talk with Joanna Penn from thecreativepenn.com who uses her podcast to interview experts in her field. She is passionate about writing, and has built a growing community around her podcast. She now has webinars and courses for authors who are looking to publish their first book, or keep up with the changes in the publishing world.

She started off with almost know equipment. She uses a headset microphone now, and records both the audio and video (which she then uses on Youtube). You will hear how she is getting to know her audience, and be seen as an expert in her field based on the relationships she is building with her podcast and website.

For more information go to www.threcreativepenn.com

Please note, we encountered some technical difficulties and the audio quality of the episode is not up to my typical standard, but the story is great we couldn’t keep it unpublished.