Some of the best, most diverse, and talented audio creators alive make their living creating audio fiction. Shows like Welcome to Nightvale, Limetown, and Alice isn’t Dead, just to name a few, weave complex story arcs, colorful characters, and of course, great production value for listeners. We’re all lucky these shows exist. 

Northwoods Baseball Sleep Radio is firmly in the realm of audio fiction. But unlike most audio fiction, there are no supernatural elements, heroes, villains, or any traditional story arc. In this podcast series, each episode is presented as a full-length minor league baseball broadcast. The teams, the players, the sponsors, all of it is made up. The catch? There is none. It’s just nine innings of fictional baseball.

Created by a podcaster known only as Mr. King, Sleep Baseball is a work of fiction that feels very much like it’s a real broadcast. And if that seems boring, it’s the point. This “boring” show is resonating with listeners. Fans of the show support it through Patreon and merch sales. It’s even been written up in The New Yorker. 

In this episode, Stuart and “Mr. King” chat about the inspiration for making the show, the process of producing fake baseball broadcasts, and how listener support makes a project of this size financially viable.

Links

Full Episodes and Merch:  sleepbaseball.com

A piece on Sleep Baseball in the New Yorker:  newyorker.com/culture/rabbit-holes/the-rapture-of-listening-to-a-fake-baseball-game

Connect your Podcast to Stripe with Castos:  castos.com/integrations/stripe/

***Between the time of this recording and the publishing date, legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully passed away. Read more HERE 

Stuart and Matt gather to discuss a few stories from the world of audio.

Pod Voices

In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe Vs. Wade podcasters are uniting to support women’s right and pro choice policies. If you’re a podcaster who feels called to speak out, Arielle Nissenblatt has a website for how podcasters can spread awareness and link to resources. 

 podvoices.help

White Noise in Podcasting

Ashley Carmen from Bloomberg reports that some podcasters are making $18,000 per month by producing white noise. 

bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-01/how-to-make-money-on-spotify-a-white-noise-podcast-could-bring-you-big-bucks

From Edison Research

Some insight into advertising and podcasting

edisonresearch.com/how-many-shows-must-one-buy-to-reach-the-majority-of-podcast-listeners-in-the-u-s/

Headliner Strikes back at Descript: editeddy.com/signup

Some Comments from Spotify

Johan Seidefors talks about why he sees scripted podcasts as being a big part of podcasting’s future: 

https://twitter.com/RadiodaysEurope/status/1526508588268658688

More commentary from Spotify’s Investor Day 2022: https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-06-08/investor-day-2022/

Indie Rock and Podcasting 

Singer Songwriter eef Barzelay also know as Clem Snide presents “A Life in Song”: https://linktr.ee/alifeinsong

Matt Reviews the Rodecaster Pro II: castos.com/rodecaster-pro-2-review/

On this episode of the Audience podcast, we’re diving into the archives to show you an older but important episode of the 3 Clips Podcast called, “Making a Living in Podcasting.” This episode was hosted by the 3 Clips original host, Jay Acunzo with business partners Kinsey Grant and Josh Kaplan as guests. 

3 Clips is a show that focuses on the craft of podcasting. It showcases specific podcasts in each episode and breaks down their processes, three clips at a time. 

In this episode, Jay talks with Kinsey and Grant about what it takes to turn your podcasting passion into a successful career. Instead of dissecting their podcast and the process they use to create the show, Jay talks with them about their passion and career and how they’ve melded those things together. 

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. Interested in private podcasting? Check out Castos’ private podcasting service at https://academy.castos.com/private/. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Individual strengths and weaknesses as podcasters
• The myth of the solo creator
• The development of the Thinking is Cool podcast
• How they leveraged their brand for sponsorships
• Showcasing ad content and sponsors through various mediums (including podcasting)
• Finding a healthy balance between selling everything to being too discriminatory with ads
• Disagreements with partners
• • Strengths and weaknesses as partners
• Vetting creative (behind the scenes) people and building a great team
• Self-worth as a podcaster and putting your ambitions into perspective

Are you curious about subscription podcasting? Do you know what a private podcast is? Are you scared about jumping into private podcasting?

On this episode of the Audience podcast, Jonathan Jones and Matt do a little experiment with subscription podcasting. Jonathan is going to build a subscription podcast (at Castos) in public, with Matt. Today they go through the initial brainstorming process as Jonathan submits his membership and audiobook ideas for his private podcast. 

Jonathan also talks about the process he went through when publishing both of his books, and he shares the story behind his latest book, Get Paid with Podcasting.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Jonathan’s apprehensions about private podcasting
• Uses for subscription podcasting: audiobooks and behind the scenes bonus material
• The story behind “Get Paid with Podcasting”
• Tips for writing and publishing a book
• Putting stock in your own success
• Jonathan’s initial idea for his private podcast
• Anticipating possible challenges with memberships

Resources/Links:

Your Podcast Mentor Show: https://www.yourpodcastmentorshow.com/ 

Breaking a podcast funk w/ Jonathan Jones: https://castos.com/podcast/breaking-a-podcast-funk-w-jonathan-jones/ 

Get Paid with Podcasting: A Blueprint For Speakers & Coaches On How to Start, Manage and Monetize Their Message Through Products and Services by Jonathan Jones: https://jonathanjonesspeaks.com/products [Type “30OFF” after you click purchase, for 30% off]

JonathanSpeaks, Twitter: https://twitter.com/JonathanJSpeaks

Today I'm hoping you can share in the improvement of the Audience podcast by taking part in our survey. Head there now at https://castos.com/survey

As you might know, Season 2 of our other podcast 3 Clips has come to close. That means Stuart will be joining us more regularly on Audience.

We have some new concepts cooking for you, which I think you'll really enjoy. By visiting castos.com/survey you can help us understand what types of content you'd like us to produce. And hey, if that's not enough, you can always email us hello@castos.com and tell us what you'd like to hear.

But wait, there's something in it for you as a podcaster!

You've heard me say that feedback is important for your podcast and why not use a survey to do that? Even more so, how about using a free survey from a company that specializes in customer research?

The survey I've put together is from a free survey framework provided by Edison Research. You can download their survey for free to use for your own podcast. Use all of the questions they provide or select the few that you think is most impactful for your podcast.

I'll put the link in the show notes so you can grab it, too.

That's what I did. I took some of their questions and added a few that are specific to Castos. Like, how do you plan on monetizing your podcast, if at all? By the way, if you'd like to learn more about selling your own subscription podcasts here at Castos, let's chat. Email hello@castos.com to book a time with me.

Okay I think that's enough call to actions for now. Please take the survey at Castos.com/survey that's castos.com/survey to help improve this show.

What can a soft-spoken painter teach us about podcasting?

In this episode of the Audience podcast, Stuart talks about what we can learn from painting legend Bob Ross. While this beloved artist may have passed away nearly thirty years ago, he is still in the heads and hearts of many people today. 

Stuart talks with Doug Blandy, professor emeritus at the University of Oregon, who has done a lot of work around Bob Ross and his legacy. From books to documentaries, Doug is a Bob Ross expert. Stuart and Doug offer up five lessons that Bob Ross has taught us, which transcend from painting to podcasting.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Looking outside our medium for inspiration
• It’s the presentation that matters
• Creating a workflow
• • Knowing your subject matter: research, practice, experience, and scripts
  • Giving you and your team time to breathe and create (and avoid burnout)
• Leveraging a medium
• • Building your brand through a medium
• Nailing down a format
• • Understand what your podcast is and what it isn’t
• Being genuine
• Sharing knowledge

Resources/Links:

Happy Clouds, Happy Trees: The Bob Ross Phenomenon: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Clouds-Trees-Ross-Phenomenon/dp/1617039950 

WTF with Marc Maron: https://www.wtfpod.com/ 

Serial: https://serialpodcast.org/ 

Make Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling by Eric Nuzum:

Do you have more than one podcast? Have you been reconsidering your podcast goals? How do you continue to innovate (and want to innovate) when you’ve been podcasting for so long?

On this episode of the Audience podcast, Matt and Craig talk about what you can do to hit the reset button on your podcast. Whether you’ve been hosting the same podcast for years or if you’ve been running two or more podcasts, burnout can feel inevitable. 

Today, Matt and Craig talk about what you can do to avoid burnout, continue to stay fresh in the minds of your listeners, and how to keep up with the ever-evolving podcasting industry. They have a plethora of information to keep your show engaging and to keep yourself energetic about your content, from using your competition, to changing up your format, and building a community.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Long-term podcasting and how the industry has changed
• How to avoid being “stuck in your ways” and feeling out of touch
• The importance of and how to evaluate your podcasting format
• How to use your competition to innovate your own podcast
• Utilizing the “season” format
• Let the audience guide what you do 
• Social audio and other means of creating content
• Adopting new technologies and following the trends alongside the younger generation
• When is it okay to kill or end a show?
• What successful shows have in common: a community
• Using your podcast as a platform for others

Resources/Links:

“Social Audio: Clubhouse vs Twitter Spaces” episode: https://castos.com/podcast/social-audio/ 

“The Key To Starting A Podcast Network With Jeff Umbro From Podglomerate” episode: https://castos.com/podcast/podcast-network/ 

On this episode of the Audience podcast, Matt talks about his latest Twitter challenge and how it led to Lauren Passell, the Founder of Tink Media, Podcast the Newsletter and Editor at Hark Audio. Matt talks about Lauren’s top eight tweets (according to Matt) and Lauren joins the podcast for a few extra tips as well. This short episode is packed full of helpful advice for new podcasters, as well as some reminders and words of wisdom for veteran podcasters. So get out a pen and paper, you’re going to want to take notes.

If you’re looking to start a podcast or if you’re looking for a better podcast hosting experience, why not try Castos? Use our Castos Coupon Code when you sign up for a new account: AUDIENCE20. Whatever it is you want to podcast about, we’ll help you get your podcast out into the world.

If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to Castos.com/podcast. And as always, if you’re enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at castos.com/subscribe.

Today you’ll learn about:

• Matt’s Eight Favorite Tips/Tweets:
• • Tip 1: Specificity
  • Tip 2: Switching content
  • Tip 3: Pitch emails
  • Tip 4: Working with another show
  • Tip 5: Silver bullets
  • Tip 6: Show notes
  • Tip 7: Media kits
  • Tip 8: Marketing
• Lauren’s Favorite Tips
• • Building a community/network
  • More on marketing

Resources/Links:

Lauren Passell’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenpassell 

Podcast the Newsletter: <