Productive Podcasting: Host or Guest

Caylar Brinkman, THPW Guest Speaker

The local writing group met in downtown Amarillo this month for a program by Caylar Brinkman, host of The Nourisher Podcast and account executive with GriffinWink Advertising. She shared some fascinating statistics.

Podcasting Stats

There are about 584 million active podcast listeners, with 66% of that group being between the ages of 12 – 34 years old. An “active” podcast is defined as a show that has at least three episodes and releases new material within 90 days. Of the 4.5 million Podcast shows there are only around 10-11% classified as actively releasing new episodes. The success rate is not good, unfortunately. Around 44% of new podcasts end after only three episodes.

Be Consistent

Caylar believes the key to success is consistency. You don’t have to release an episode every week but maintain a regular and reliable programing schedule that works for you and your lifestyle.

Equipment

You will need a laptop or computer, a dynamic microphone, wired headphones, and if you are hosting, a reliable hosting software is very important. There are many hosting options; Caylar uses BuzzSprout for audio. At this point, she does not provide a video of interviews.

My son recommended the Blue Snowball usb microphone by LogiTech for me, an inexpensive option if you’re just getting started as a guest. I have had no problems with it, but I still wrestle with headphones. Caylar highly recommends using good headphones even as a guest. Are you talking too loud? Too soft? What about echoes and unnecessary background noise? You can’t know unless you can hear the broadcast.

Podcast Guest

The last part of the program was about being a good guest on a podcast. You must be 100% prepared. If the host does not provide you with any information, ask about a questionnaire. If they have one, fill it out. Be sure to include any topics that might be off limits. Listen to several episodes of podcast before your interview.

For clarity on your key points, Caylar recommends using AI. She gave Claude basic information to help her formulate a more precise outline on the key points she wants to convey.

We received an excellent work sheet with sample questions to help us prepare for our next interview. This is golden for me! It’s true, podcasting can be very stressful, particularly when technology issues happen and they will. My entire connection went down 5 minutes before going live, but I logged in to my phone with seconds to spare. How is one supposed to wrap their brain around a calm and informative book talk after that happens? But readers will not find your books unless you tell them. Being a guest on a podcast is one of the most inexpensive ways to promote yourself and your books.

Look for “author interviews on podcast” or “author podcasts” to find shows that might be a fit for you. Ask your friends if they are listeners, and if they have been a guest or if they can recommend any opportunities.

Tune In to a Podcast

Find out more about Caylar and her award winning podcast at https://www.thenourisherpod.com

One of my favorites, The Self Publishing Show is back! Keep up with the fast changing world of Indie Publishing, hosted by James Blatch and Cissy Mecca.

Book Marketing Mentors Common sense tips on how to get notices in a very crowded marketplace.

Novel Marketing Podcast Practical wisdom to help you get published, grow our influence, and sell more copies of your book. Hosted by Thomas Umstattd, Jr., who I have met before at an Amarillo conference. This guy is a wealth of information!

THPW May Program

Join us in Amarillo! THPW meets again on May 16^th at 9:30 am for “Personal Development through Writing” with Speaker, Karen Benckenstein at https://karenbenckenstein.com

Amarillo based Texas High Plains Writers meets every other month in downtown Amarillo at 600 So. Tyler Street, in the FirstBank Southwest Tower on the 9^th Floor in the Edward Davis Room.

THPW website at https://texashighplainswriters.com

Thanks for checking out the Prairie Purview Blog! Have a productive week, y’all.

Natalie Bright is an author of books for kids and adults, content creator, people connector. For recipes from the old west chuck wagon days and Kansas Cowtown, her award winning books KEEP ‘EM FULL AND KEEP ‘EM ROLLIN’ and END OF THE TRAIL EATS are available wherever fine books are sold. Her most recents release is set in the Texas Hill Country, written with German author Manuela Schneider, A NEW FATHERLAND. Click on the book tab above for more information about her books.