Spreaker Live Show #131 for Oct 18th, 2017

Show Duration: 46 minutes

Host: Rob Greenlee, Head of Content, Spreaker @robgreenlee - rob(at)spreaker(dotcom)
We stream LIVE every Weds at 3 Pacific /6pm EST from SpreakerLiveShow.com

Show Today:
- Spreaker Launches New Amazon Alexa app for Echo “Smart Spreaker Devices”
- Steps and Tips to Pre-Launch and Promote a Big Podcast
- Listener Comments

On the show today:

- New! Spreaker’s 50,000+ Show Catalog Is Now on Amazon Alexa Devices

Listening just got even more hands-off. Spreaker is proud to introduce yet another way of engaging with its catalog of podcasts: a new Amazon Alexa skill for Echo..

Amazon Alexa devices are wireless, voice-activated “smart speakers” that feature a personal assistant voice service named “Alexa”. These devices include Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot. Similarly to Siri, Alexa will carry out the commands you say out loud to it.

Smart speakers have become a pretty big deal in the podcasting world as of late, and were the main topic of interest at this year’s RAIN Podcast Business Summit presented by NPR. Since Amazon Echo’s debut in 2014, they can now be found in over 20 million homes across the US. In fact, 42% of smart speaker owners claim they’re already essential to their everyday lives. Their ease of use alone is a persuasive selling point; there’s no searching for a remote control, not even the need to use access pins or swipe across the screen. With voice activation, smart speaker owners can ask for the weather report, access their favorite music, and, most importantly, tune in to podcasts.

You read that right: listeners are using these tools to search, browse, and listen in to podcasts. And the rising popularity of smart speakers pairs itself extremely well with Edison Research and Triton Digital’s recent data showing that the home is where podcasters are tuning in the most. To prove this point: 50% of listeners tune into podcasts at home, more than any other location. And having podcasts on while you’re cooking, cleaning, or just plain relaxing has made them an intimate part of our daily routines, providing moments of entertainment and comfort whether we’re with friends or alone. The difference now is that smart speakers offer a more seamless experience between it all.

And as this new pathway to content unfurls before us, we at Spreaker knew we couldn’t let the opportunity just pass by. We’ve added Spreaker’s catalog of podcasts to all Amazon Alexa devices (only English-language podcasts for now, due to some Amazon Echo limitations, but we hope to get everyone else in on it soon!), as well as Spreaker-specific commands your listeners can use to play, search, and take control of their listening experience.

With Amazon Alexa, together with automatic sharing to social media networks and syndication with Apple Podcasts, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and SONOS, you’re getting open use of every distribution channel out there.

Now, you don’t have to do anything to get your podcast up on these devices. In fact, we’ve already done that for you. However, you should let your listeners know they can find you there. Take a moment this week and make a quick note about it on your podcast, social media channels, or newsletter. The instructions you need to give are simple:

First, your listeners will have to add this “skill” to their Alexa device from the Amazon Store, which they can do at the URL here.

Once it’s enabled, they can test it out by saying any of the commands. Play Here’s how it could go:

Your listener could say:
Alexa, open Spreaker

And then search for and play a specific show thus

Ask Spreaker to play The Blacklist Exposed
OR
Ask Spreaker to search for Pod Save America

They can execute a number of actions, too, like pause, resume, skip, and more, by using the right phrases. And plays coming through on Amazon Alexa devices will still be trackable for you. You can find those stats in the CMS’s statistics page, under both “Sources” and “Devices”.

Become an unmissable part of your listeners’ days with the easy accessibility of Amazon Alexa devices. With Spreaker’s new skill, simple voice activation can have your podcast up and playing at command—literally.

Show your Amazon Alexa listeners how it works and get them to try it out now at this link.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0764J52QR

Blog Post https://blog.spreaker.com/2017/10/17/new-spreakers-50000-show-catalog-now-amazon-alexa-devices/

- Steps and Tips to Pre-Launch and Promote a Big Podcast

1) Pre-Planning - Show, Graphics, MetaData, Target Audience, Pre-Launch Advertiser, Set Launch Date, Set CPM
2) Pre-Launch Promotion, PR and getting Promo Episode Published, Platform Promotions Planned
3) Then Produce Launch Episode with advertiser
4) Deploy Social Media and Media Set as lead up to launch
5) Launch 1-2 weeks later, can take a month or more to pull together.

Linda Irwin
Rob, Alex and Jay together on a future show!

Linda Irwin
PodVader comedy? "Use the farce!" 😃

Linda Irwin
Spreaker on road trips! Looking forward to it!

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Email: rob at spreaker.com

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