{"id":2428,"date":"2014-07-18T08:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.libsyn.com\/?p=2428"},"modified":"2015-07-06T18:36:15","modified_gmt":"2015-07-06T22:36:15","slug":"podcast-luminary-anomaly-podcast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/libsyn.com\/blog\/podcast-luminary-anomaly-podcast\/","title":{"rendered":"Podcast Luminary: The Anomaly Podcast"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Starting a podcast is a pretty simple. Staying committed, inspired and consistent in publishing your podcast is a whole other matter.<\/em><\/p>\n

In our Podcasting Luminary Series, we share the voices of podcasters that have been podcasting for 5 or more years and have them impart some of their best podcasting wisdom grounded in experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

Today we feature The Anomaly Podcast<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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Anomaly\u00a0is an\u00a0award winning\u00a0monthly talk show that is often featured in the \u201cWhat\u2019s Hot\u201d section under TV and Film in the iTunes Store. Anomaly is primarily an audio show, but does occasionally release video specials.<\/p>\n

Its\u00a0episodes are centered on celebrity interviews, sci fi and fantasy\u00a0books, movies, television, comics, games\u00a0as well as costuming, cosplay, renaissance festivals, sci fi\u00a0conventions, Star Trek episodes, Star Wars movies, Dr. Who episodes and theatre and more.<\/p>\n

The co-hosts (and Anomaly founders), Angela and Jen, have two goals for every episode; to\u00a0have fun and to offer their perspective on all things geek. Angela and Jen recorded the first episode of Anomaly in 2006 and have no plans of stopping.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"host<\/a>Fun, Fame or Profit? Why are you doing the show?<\/h3>\n

For the fun of it!<\/p>\n

Anomaly is our creative outlet. We enjoy recording our geeky conversations, adding a dash of \u00a0\u201cmix magic\u201d \u00a0and sharing the finished product with the world.<\/p>\n

I (Jen) am a voice actress and professional graphic designer and I produce all the graphic work for Anomaly\u2013designs that have become the face of our collaborative work of art\u2026 and Anomaly is a work that we both love very much.<\/p>\n

Angela works in PR and has a degree in theatre. She enjoys balancing her role on the show as the \u201cplucky comic relief\u201d with her in-depth knowledge of acting and directing.<\/p>\n

Angela\u2019s philosophy about the show is that you need to start with the passion and put out something you are proud of. And you put it out there hoping it resonates with people.<\/p>\n

If Anomaly was \u201csuccessful\u201d and did not stick to the original vision, then it wouldn\u2019t mean as much.<\/p>\n

In addition, we\u2019ve made a of number long lasting friendships through Anomaly. We have also learned quite a bit over the years about blogging, recording, editing, mixing, networking and marketing.<\/p>\n

The decision to start our own show was one of the best decisions we\u2019ve ever made.<\/p>\n

Any notable names of listeners you have heard from over the years?<\/h3>\n

Everyone of our listeners is notable, but the ones who consistently interact through Facebook and Twitter have become our friends.<\/p>\n

Over the years, several have even joined us as co-hosts, guests, contributors and bloggers, like: Kasey, Sue, Sarah, Michele, Lynn and Anne.<\/p>\n

Some listeners participate more than others, but they\u2019re all Anomalies and we try to let them know that we appreciate them as often as we can.<\/p>\n

Have you found that social media has expanded your listener base\/reach? (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, etc)<\/h3>\n

Absolutely! At one time we had a forum, \u00a0but the activity there was thin so we dropped that and switched our focus to Twitter and Facebook.<\/p>\n

Feedback via email and voicemail dropped off significantly over the past few years, now almost all of our \u201clistener mail\u201d comes exclusively through Facebook comments.<\/p>\n

I think listeners feel more comfortable with sending feedback after they\u2019ve befriended you through daily Facebook interactions. The Facebook Group specifically, has replaced the forum. We get so many posts from listeners every day that it is often hard to keep up!<\/p>\n

\"Jen<\/a>Do download numbers matter matter to you? or is audience engagement key?<\/h3>\n

Yes, both are equally important to us. We do this for fun, but it\u2019s nice to know how many people are listening and where in the world they\u2019re from.<\/p>\n

When we first started out, it blew our minds that people in other countries were listening to us and they seemed excited when we read their emails on our show.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re just two small town gals, whose children play at our feet while we talked about nerd stuff, but I think that\u2019s part of the reason they listen\u2026we\u2019re not pretending to be something we\u2019re not.<\/p>\n

Knowing how many are listening to each episode, helps us to gage which topics our audience enjoyed and assists us in narrowing down our ideas for the next episode.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give a new podcaster so that they keep going!<\/h3>\n

Treat your listeners like friends.<\/p>\n

Have fun\u2014 don\u2019t take yourself too seriously.<\/p>\n

Network with other shows, befriend them and give back to them.<\/p>\n

Content is king and quality is queen.<\/p>\n

Learn all you can about recording and editing and never stop trying to better yourself and your show.<\/p>\n

And the best advice we can give is this: If you\u2019re not enjoying yourself then stop immediately. Passion for any given subject is necessary for podcast longevity; your passion, or lack thereof, will be evident in your voice.<\/p>\n

The minute you lose your enthusiasm for a subject, or for podcasting in general, it becomes bland to your audience and nothing more than a thankless job to you.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t make it a job, make it fun.<\/p>\n

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You\u2019ve read what they are about. Now it\u2019s time to experience the Anomaly Podcast for yourself with a little bit of audio with some nice images sprinkled in there.<\/em><\/p>\n

Here is their awesome 7th Anniversary episode, The Anomaly of The Women of Star Wars<\/a> and Father\u2019s Day Special: \u00a0Review of Star Trek: DS9: The Visitor<\/a>…OH and a SUPER cute new addition<\/a> that involves a mini-geek in training who is four.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

You know that after that little sampler, you\u2019re just gonna wanna subscribe<\/a>!!! You won\u2019t regret it!<\/em><\/p>\n

If you want to subscribe to the podcast you can do so in iTunes, but by golly you can touch base and connect with these ladies almost anywhere online!<\/em><\/p>\n