The Voice In My HED

The Keys to a Great Interview - Part One

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 07:05:00 +0000

After 10,000 - 12,000 interviews over the course of a career, I'll share with you one of the most important things I learned about how to immediately improve the quality of your interviews.

Forking Genius

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:05:00 +0000

Everybody is "niching down", and it's a sound strategy for everything from your podcast to your audio repair shop.

What Anyone Who Uses a Microphone Can Learn from Van Halen

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 07:05:00 +0000

Nope, we're not going to teach you how to do that twirly thing with the mic on the end of the cord. And we're not going to make you a fretboard wizard. But Van Halen did leave a teachable moment in their decades of success that many of us failed to pick up on.

What Broadcasters & Podcasters Can Learn from Barbra Streisand

Mon, 27 May 2024 07:05:00 +0000

There's a valuable lesson to be learned in some Hollywood drama. Let's spend a few minutes chewing the fat on this one.

Hey Podcaster! Show Me Your Deck!

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:05:00 +0000

I unwittingly participated in a little experiment today, and I felt I had no choice but to share it with you and get a couple of things off my chest.

They Lied To Us

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 07:05:00 +0000

They knew what they were doing all along. We fell for it. And now, it might be too late to stop it. Even now, they tell us that “the AI revolution is coming”. No, the AI revolution started a long, long time ago. And like a science fiction movie where the bad guys have infiltrated and permeated every aspect of our lives until there’s no way to fully remove them from the system, we’re trapped.

Hey, Where's My Biscotti?

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 07:05:00 +0000

Humans love bonuses. We love to feel special. So what's the biscotti in the project you're working on right now?

The Gorilla In The Room

Mon, 22 May 2023 07:05:00 +0000

It's human nature to give credit where no credit is due. (Accidentally, of course.) Don't let the gorilla in the room steal your thunder.

In Defense Of Defensibility

Mon, 01 May 2023 07:05:00 +0000

Doing things on purpose is the difference between the pros and the cons. (And by "pros and cons" I don't mean "positives and negatives".)

The Consumer Is Always Right - Even When They're Idiots

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 07:05:00 +0000

But keeping that in mind, you have to choose which hills to die on.

Is It Podcasting's Pendulum? Or Is It A Wrecking Ball?

Mon, 03 Apr 2023 07:05:00 +0000

We might be seeing a momentum shift in the podcast industry. But as yet more evidence that podcasting isn't as unique as the gurus would have you believe, we've been here a hundred times before.

Hiatus Hysteria & The Myth of the Publishing Schedule

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:05:00 +0000

It's been four months since the last episode of this show.

Certainly it has podfaded and will never recover, right?

Going Through The Motions

Mon, 21 Nov 2022 08:05:00 +0000

Not everything has to be a passion project. But going through the motions is a conscious choice. A quick story might help you get back on track.

Why Your A/B Testing Isn't Working

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:05:00 +0000

A/B Testing isn't new. It wasn't invented by the tech community. And that might be why many people are just plain using it wrong.

Advertising Fails On This One Mistake

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 08:05:00 +0000

Advertising fails, as far as I'm concerned, for one reason more than any other. Maybe this perspective shift can change your results.

Content Creation and the Genesis of a Curmudgeon

Mon, 17 Oct 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Content creation is supposed to be fun... isn't it?

Attention As Currency

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 07:05:00 +0000

We use the specific phrase, "PAY attention" for a reason, but seldom stop to think about the value of what's being paid for. Let's explore attention as currency.

Stop Selling Me Stuff

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 07:05:00 +0000

There comes a time when you get to stop selling, and instead focus on helping. Sadly, most marketers have forgotten what that looks like.

Introducing Enhancement Marketing™

Tue, 13 Sep 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Enhancement Marketing represents what I think could be a seismic shift in the way we connect with people.

Details on the program, the discount, the perks - everything you might want to know. (Except I forgot to mention the part about the money-back guarantee.)

Funny Advertising Doesn't Work... Does It?

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 07:05:00 +0000

"Dying is easy. Comedy is hard." goes the quote. Funny advertising is even harder. Gurus might be talking you out of it for reasons other than you were expecting.

Google Says "You Should Have Listened To Neil Hedley"

Mon, 29 Aug 2022 07:05:00 +0000

For people who never stopped writing for other people, Google's latest SEO guidance wasn't the horrific death knell it spelled for others.

The Hollywood Quote We All Got Wrong

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 07:05:00 +0000

When famous people say things that get repurposed as business mantras, the potential for misinterpretation abounds.

My Lifetime Ban from the Podcasting Cool Kids Club

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 07:05:00 +0000

SPOILER ALERT: The entire episode builds to the mic drop moment with the last two sentences. If you're offended by this piece, I challenge you to get that far.

What Podcasters Can Learn From Their Golf Game

Mon, 30 May 2022 07:05:00 +0000

As we try to do with every episode, the lessons here apply to SO much more than what the title suggests. Podcasters, sure. But culinary wannabes and budding carpenters, too.

What's Your Favorite Position?

Mon, 23 May 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Your position is different from your niche, but equally critical to your success. And if you're not careful, someone will assign a position to you.

Soufflé As A Teaching Tool

Mon, 09 May 2022 07:05:00 +0000

I hope that disagreeing with Jim from "Ask The Podcast Coach" goes better than disagreeing with Chef Gordon Ramsay.

The Art of Not Creating

Mon, 02 May 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Just because you can do a thing, doesn't always mean you should.

Are You Talkin' To Me?!

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 07:05:00 +0000

For most media, we're told that connection is key. But it's possible that you're subconsciously torpedoing that connection with some of the first words out of your mouth. The good news? It's very easy to correct. It might just involve breaking some habits that aren't serving you.

Normalizing Mediocrity

Tue, 19 Apr 2022 07:05:00 +0000

While it's admirable to have the attitude that you're not competing with your peers, does it also insulate you from having to admit that your skill set might be inferior?

The Connection Reflection

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:05:00 +0000

You can make the argument - and I will here - that connection might be the single most important aspect of human life. But maybe we should look at the quality of those connections.

Iterating VS Quitterating

Mon, 04 Apr 2022 07:05:00 +0000

It used to be that the only thing you needed to claim "professional" status was to collect a paycheck. Now, I think it's something more.

Zen and the Art of Ambulance Chasing

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Knowing who your intended audience is - and thinking of them as an actual person - not only helps you avoid creating things that don't interest them; it also prevents you from insulting them. Or worse.

What Most People Get Wrong In Front Of A Microphone

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Let's have this conversation now, one time, and then we never have to cover it again.

Don't Find A Niche. Find The Right Niche.

Mon, 14 Mar 2022 07:05:00 +0000

Joe Rogan doesn't care that I don't like his podcast. And he shouldn't, either.

What Marketers Can Learn From My 3-Year-Old

Mon, 07 Mar 2022 08:05:00 +0000

Toddlers should attend more board meetings. We'd wind up with much smarter content.

Why On Earth Would You Call It "The Blog"?

Sun, 27 Feb 2022 08:05:00 +0000

Or, how being the smartest kid in the room might be hurting you.

The One Thing That's Killing Your Writing

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:05:00 +0000

A media giant told my friend to let them know anytime she published new content, so the media giant could amplify it. As you'd expect, my friend immediately stopped writing. Wait, what?

Norm MacDonald, Marketing Genius

Sun, 06 Feb 2022 08:05:00 +0000

In the two or three hundred shows I did with my old friend Norm MacDonald, there was one bit that marketers would do well to pay attention to.

How To Get "Natural Sound"

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 08:15:00 +0000

Audio producers have long been obsessed with how to recreate naturally-occurring sounds in a studio environment. Technology has made it easier than ever... to be lazy.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Podcast Advertising

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 08:10:00 +0000

We'll probably catch considerable heat for this. But somebody's got to say it.

Why do you really think host-read ads supposedly work better than traditional "commercials"? The truth might hurt some. But here it comes.

The Awesomeness Of Hyperbole

Sun, 30 Jan 2022 08:05:00 +0000

Hyperbole is literally the worst thing in the history of the Universe.

Wait, what?