Steve Martin is going to have a class on comedy on masterclass.com, and he said that so many people are asking "How do I get an Agent, or "How do I get a Manager" when they should be asking, "How do I get good." So today I'm going to try and answer the question, what makes a good podcast. I realize that podcasting is subjective, so I'm going to try and put some facts on my opinion.  Enjoy episode 558 Becuase of My Podcast: Gary Leland enjoys "Gary Leland" Day in Texas Gary Leland is the king of Women's Fast Pitch Softball, and thanks to his podcast, Arlington Texas named MArch 1 Gary Leland Day. See all things Gary at https://garyleland.com/ Characteristic's of Good Content Have Something To Say Have something to say before you turn on the microphone. After listening to your audience or using your experiences, you have determined you can create content worth listening to. Keep your message in mind. What is the key point you are are trying to make? Make sure all the other points back up your main idea. Be Engaging Engaging by definition is "to occupy the attention or efforts of (a person or persons)." So how do you do that? It all starts in the first few moments of the show. Let your audience know where they're going, and what they are going to see. Let them know how they are going to benefit. If you can use stories to illustrate a point, that's a great strategy. When you have hit all your points and said what you need to say, then you should stop talking. Let your passion come through. Don't try to be someone you're not. If you want your audience to be enthusiastic about something, you have to let your enthusiasm shine through. Be Original. Many moons ago there are ezine articles, and there would be sites that ranked well in Google. So everyone wrote an article and put it on an ezine list. It didn't last. Why? Be most of these sites didn't' have any original material. It was the same stuff over and over. Be Stuff You Can't Get Any Place Else Some of my favorite podcasts are the No Agenda Show, The Bitterest Pill, the Rock And Roll Geek Show. The No Agenda Show does this stuff I call "journalism" where they scour the news and then decipher it. The Rock and Roll Geek show talks music, and (illegally I might add) plays new music on his show. The Bitterest Pill is the story of a stay at home Dad who is trying to make it in acting and stand up. Good Content Isn't Easy or Cheap The first thing that comes to mind when people get into content creation is, "How do I do this quick and cheap" and still make it good.  There is a saying that I first heard on Profitcast. You have three things Good, Quick, Cheap, but you can only choose two. I recently had a horrible experience with a web host where I had put multiple domains on one hosting account. One got malware, and they took down ALL of my sites. Sure I was saving 30 a month, but now ten years later when I have an audience, my reputation is taking a hit, and I'm paying hundreds of dollars to clean up the mess. You get what you pay for. Be Authentic Get emotional. A study in the New York Times that show the most-shared content garnered a strong connection in the reader, igniting one of six key emotions: surprise, fear, joy, sadness, anger, or disgust. If you disagree, draw your line in the sand and explain why. Can You Answer A Question? In doing this episode, I typed in the question into google "What makes good content." Can You Answer That Question Quickly? Keep in mind that people don't just want answers. When someone comes in and in a passionate tone asks the question, "Where is your bathroom?!" they want an answer fast. Be Accurate All podcasters start with two things in common. They have no listeners and a handful of integrity. When I listen to the No Agenda Show, and I hear a story that is kind of "out there" they always quote their sources. I trust the words that are coming out of their mouths.  When Emily from the Story Behind Podcast gets done with her story, she cites her sources.  Editing is Your Friend Are there any words I can take out? Have I given the readers the best information I possibly can? Is it complete? The So What Test? Would you share this post? Value The World's Best Side Effect When you are accurate, engaging, provide facts with integrity, peppered with stories, and delivered in an efficient manner you are providing value. Icing on the Cake Use images in your show notes to draw people in Create Good Headlines According to Neil Patel (who is a marketing genius),  80% of people read your headline, and 20% read your stuff. Use great headlines. When was the last time you read a headline and thought, "That looks boring, I think I'll read it?"  Can People Find it? Can People Share It? Shareaholic studied 200,000 publisher websites in October 2012 and learned that 27.27% of those sites' traffic came from social media referrals. That means when content is shared on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other platforms, there is a tremendous opportunity for it to get discovered by others, as well. In your sidebar do you have a search widget? Include Your Audience Coke Raise their sales by 2% slapping people's names on the bottle. What If I'm Not a HOW TO Podcast? With some podcasts, there are action items. When the episode is done, people will be able to ______. I remember on the podcast review show; I reviewed a sci-fi movie podcast. I'm not a sci-fi person. After listening to that show, I was empowered to watch a movie differently. When I listen to the Kenn Blanchard show or the Grow Great show, I am empowered to think differently. In Kenn's case, he more than likely made me laugh which brightened my day. There may not be an action to take, but for a brief moment, my life was lighter. If You're Going to Have Advertisements Make them Great Content Make sure they are short and to the point, and that it fits your audience. Something to Realize When You Have Multiple Websites On One Hosting Account I have/had a HostGator account. When I started my second podcast (and third, fourth, fifth), I found out that you could host multiple domains on one single hosting account. This strategy appeared great as I was great as I saved $8 a month every time I did it. I didn't realize that 12 years later when one of the websites would get some malware, HostGator would turn them all off (thankfully the School of Podcasting is on its account on WPEngine). While I saved some money over the years, most the money I saved was lost paying Sucuri.net hundreds of dollars to clean up the website. I'll be talking more about security in the future, but I now say this with more passion than every: make sure your Wordpress Website is up to date, delete any unused plugins or themes, and have multiple backups that you can use. Need Some Podcast Consulting? You can schedule one on one consulting lasting as little as 15 minutes. Check the availability by going to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/schedule   Mentioned in This Show Secrets of Dynamic Communications: Prepare with Focus, Deliver with Clarity, Speak with Power Kenn Blanchard Show Grow Great Show Rock and Roll Geek Show No Agenda Show Bitterest Pill The Story Behind Podcast Sources For This Epiosde https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ingredients-of-great-content/ http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2013/07/29/great-content http://www.whitehatmedia.com/blog/what-makes-good-content