What happens when you go from traditional media to new media, and try to use old lessons for a new audience?

Kendall Breitman, Community Manager at riverside.fm, joins the show.

She and Freddy dive into the real struggles—connecting with listeners, building community, and why sound can make or break your show. Whether you’re just getting started, or you’re an experienced podcaster feeling stuck, you might hear what you need.

Learn more about riverside.fm here.

Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

Buy tickets to Speke Fest: Night of the Living Pod here.

Key Takeaways

1. The Transition from Traditional Media to New Media (Podcasting)

• Takeaway: Both speakers draw parallels between their backgrounds in traditional media (TV journalism and radio) and the current landscape of podcasting. They emphasize the importance of storytelling, extracting headlines, and using lessons from old media (such as brevity and hooks) to enhance new media content. The skills and techniques from traditional broadcast can still offer valuable structure to podcasts.

2. Importance of Audience Connection and Content Relevance

• Takeaway: Success in podcasting isn’t just about information, but also about creating a bond with listeners. Hosts need to balance staying on-topic (especially for niche podcasts) with the right amount of personality and relatability. Sharing small, personal stories can strengthen the audience connection, but going off-topic at the start risks losing listener attention.

3. The Power and Simplicity of Modern Podcasting Tools (Riverside.fm)

• Takeaway: Accessible, user-friendly technology like Riverside.fm empowers anyone to create high-quality podcasts without a major studio setup. The discussion highlights Riverside’s features that simplify processes (multitrack editing, AI scene creation, noise reduction), effectively lowering barriers for new podcasters and supporting more diverse voices.

4. The Central Role of Audio Quality in Podcasting

• Takeaway: High audio quality is vital—listeners may forgive minor video flaws but will leave if the sound is poor. Riverside’s tools, such as background noise removal and enhancing low-quality guest audio, are specifically designed to uphold audio standards and ensure a professional listening experience, no matter the recording environment or equipment.

5. The Evolution and Future of Podcasting: Customization and Live Features

• Takeaway: The future of podcasting is moving toward even greater customization—video branding, overlays, animated captions, and expanded live-streaming features. Podcasters are being equipped to create more engaging, branded content and reach audiences across multiple platforms, adapting to new content consumption trends and opportunities.

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Showtime Factor in Podcasting

03:18 Coaching: Mastering Media Brevity

09:08 Enhancing Remote Audio with Riverside

09:59 Understanding Riverside's User Needs

13:52 Empowering Diverse Voices

19:45 Enhanced Video Customization Tools

Support the show: https://cruzthroughhtx.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding listeners for your podcast can feel impossible, even when you have a big brand or a well-known name behind you. I talk with JJ Ramberg, co-founder of Good Pods, about why discoverability is a challenge for every host and what you can do about it. On this episode, you will hear:

• How social features and word of mouth help podcasts reach new audiences
• What Good Pods is doing for indie shows and bigger names alike
• Steps you can take today to get your work noticed

Learn more about GoodPods here.

Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

Buy tickets to Speke Fest: Night of the Living Pod here.

Key Takeaways

1. Discoverability in Podcasting

Takeaway:
Discoverability is a major challenge for both indie and established podcasters. The market is saturated, and even brands with huge followings often struggle to grow their podcast audiences. There’s a big gap between great content and being found by listeners who would love it.

2. The Power of Word of Mouth

Takeaway:
Word of mouth remains a powerful engine for podcast discovery. Good Pods leverages social connections—by sharing what friends are listening to, it effectively digitizes and amplifies the traditional word-of-mouth recommendation process, making it more immediate and visible on the platform.

3. Social Features and Community Interaction

Takeaway:
Good Pods adds a social layer to podcast listening, similar to how Goodreads works for books. Users can see what friends are listening to, comment, and interact—not just with each other, but with podcast hosts too. This fosters genuine connection, community, and audience retention, going beyond just passive listening.

4. Leveling the Playing Field for Indie Podcasters

Takeaway:
The platform creates special features and lists to help indie podcasters get noticed without having to compete directly with major networks or celebrities. By allowing users to claim shows and self-identify as indie, Good Pods provides opportunities specifically targeted to the needs of smaller creators.

5. Data, Retention, and Marketing Value

Takeaway:
Good Pods gives podcasters actionable data—like listen-through rates, engagement, and social sharing—that’s valuable for understanding and growing audiences, as well as attracting advertisers. Each listen is not just a number, but a potential springboard for more listeners due to the platform’s visibility and sharing tools.

Timestamped Overview

00:00 "Boosting Podcast Discoverability"

03:05 Podcast Discovery Challenge

07:24 Positive Podcast Interaction Feedback

10:02 "Claim Podcasts on GoodPods"

13:07 "Good Pods Sharing Boosts Marketing"

17:25 "Easing Indie Hosts' Content Overwhelm"

20:38 Podcast Discovery Problem

22:33 "Join GoodPods Community"

Support the show: https://cruzthroughhtx.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if your podcast could rank higher and reach new listeners just by making a few changes?
Andrea de'Marsi, founder of PodSEO, joins me to talk about:

• How keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions help your show get found on platforms like Apple and Spotify
• What rankings mean for independent podcast hosts looking to grow
• Ways to use simple tools and strategies to reach more people

Learn more about PodSEO here.

Subscribe to Your Mic on YouTube, Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Shoot Freddy an email: freddy@spekepodcasting.com.

Buy tickets to Speke Fest: Night of the Living Pod here.

Key Takeaways

1. Podcast SEO and Discoverability

Takeaway:
Optimizing your podcast's metadata—such as keywords, episode titles, and show descriptions—is vital to making your podcast more discoverable on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Small tweaks in these fields can significantly boost your podcast's visibility, moving it up in search rankings and helping listeners find your show more easily.

2. Keyword Strategy and Ranking Insights

Takeaway:
Monitoring which keywords your podcast ranks for—and their positions—guides your SEO strategy. Identifying keywords where your show is close to the top three search results (the “prime spots”) allows you to make targeted adjustments in your metadata, leading to potential jumps into these highly visible rankings and capturing more listeners searching those terms.

3. Optimizing Metadata via Experimentation

Takeaway:
SEO optimization for podcasts is an iterative process. Regularly experimenting with your podcast’s metadata—titles, descriptions, and use of keywords—lets you test what works. You should track listener growth and rankings after each change to see which optimizations have a real impact, just as successful blogs or websites continually refine their content for search engines.

4. Competitive Analysis

Takeaway:
Tracking “competitors” or peers—other podcasts with overlapping keywords—can provide actionable insights. By seeing what keywords others are ranking for or how they adjust their metadata, you can identify new opportunities for your own show. This can even include monitoring when your peers update their titles or descriptions to inform your own strategy.

5. Evolving Role of AI and Search in Podcasting

Takeaway:
The landscape of search and discovery is changing rapidly, especially as AI-driven platforms increasingly influence how content gets surfaced. While traditional search optimization is crucial, staying aware of how podcasts might be recommended or found through AI tools should be part of a forward-thinking SEO strategy—even though best practices are still emerging.

Timestamped Overview

00:00 Podcast Visibility & Keyword Optimization

05:12 AI-Driven Keyword Tracking System

10:13 SEO Optimization Workflow Steps

12:25 Keyword Ranking Strategy for Podcasts

14:48 Understanding RSS Feeds and Metadata

17:52 Optimizing Podcast Metadata

22:59 SEO Tracking & Experimentation Tips

25:01 AI Search Visibility Challenges

Support the show: https://cruzthroughhtx.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.