![\"polyamory](\"https:\/\/libsyn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/PW-logo-2012-white-square-1.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This series is all about showcasing Libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n My primary driver is to be a resource for my community. So many polyamorists don\u2019t know there is a word for the way they prefer to love, and often end up isolated, marginalized or shamed for their orientation.<\/p>\n Knowing that the podcast is a sympathetic voice for those who are wired for multiple, loving, long-term relationships with the full knowledge and consent of all parties involved is what keeps me going.<\/p>\n That being said, it is kind of fun to be internet famous, especially at conferences and events! I love talking to listeners and hearing their stories.<\/p>\n Every day, listeners write in and tell me that they didn\u2019t know that it was OK to be poly or that their family didn\u2019t understand or shamed them for being \u201cgreedy\u201d or promiscuous and assured them they would \u201cchange when they met the right guy\/gal.\u201d<\/p>\n When I hear that knowing that there are others like them makes their lives better, I could podcast for another 10 years!<\/p>\n I\u2019m rather embarrassed to admit that not a lot has changed, save the microphone.<\/p>\n I started with an analog mic, moved to a digital and then to a Blue Snowball and now, a Blue Yeti. Everything else has stayed pretty much the same. I\u2019m sure the audio quality could be better, but I choose to focus more on the content.<\/p>\n I have honed my process over the years, by adding a live episode map spreadsheet so I can easily schedule content in advance and by standardizing my show notes outline.<\/p>\n My dream is to have Dan Savage listen to my podcast!<\/p>\n While I appreciate all the features Libsyn rolls out, the reason I\u2019ve stayed with Libsyn since 2005 is because of the people: you\u2019re always just an email away, and no matter how many silly mistakes I made over the years, you never acted like my questions were dumb!<\/p>\n While I engage regularly on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Tumblr and LinkedIn, by far the best social network for engagement with our fans is Facebook.<\/p>\n If I\u2019m short on content for the week, all I have to do is to post a question on Facebook (such as \u201cwhat do you wish you\u2019d know about poly before you got into it?\u201d or \u201cwould you date someone in a couple whose partner self-identifies as monogamous?\u201d or \u201cwhat is your pet peeve on dating websites?\u201d), and dozens of funny, interesting and sometimes heartbreaking responses will appear, many of them lengthy and quite personal. I\u2019ve used that method more than once to get direction for relevant content for the podcast! Producing a weekly podcast without a regular co-host is not for the faint of heart! I use a number of tools to manage the workflow.<\/p>\n Hardware<\/strong><\/p>\n First, the easy part: the hardware. I plug a Blue Yeti with a pop filter into my MacBook Air and capture the audio using Audio HiJack Pro.<\/p>\n I\u2019m lucky to have a volunteer editor, but when he\u2019s busy, I edit the episodes myself using Audacity and export as a wav file.<\/p>\n Thanks to Rob\u2019s advice on a recent episode of The Feed, I import the wav file into iTunes and convert it to mp3 there, and then add the album art and ID3 tags before posting to Libsyn.<\/p>\n I purchased a Google Voice number for the listener comment line.<\/p>\n Workflow<\/strong><\/p>\n This is the hard part! I keep a running Google Spreadsheet episode map to track episode dates, topics, cohost or guest and where each sits in the production process, including:<\/p>\n I try to keep at least three weeks ahead in terms of the topic segment, which is the bulk of the show. But currently, I\u2019m only two weeks ahead due to a heavy workload at my day job.<\/p>\n Each episode has a folder in Drive, which includes the show notes document (Google Doc) and any relevant audio files such as listener comments or questions. The show notes outline is populated during the week, as I respond to emails and check feeds:<\/p>\n Google Voice audio files from listener feedback are downloaded, renamed and then uploaded to the appropriate episode folder with a summary and annotation in that episode\u2019s show notes.<\/p>\n Posting<\/strong><\/p>\n Once the audio file is completed, the posting and promotion begins. These posting steps are also reflected in the PW Episode Map spreadsheet:<\/p>\n Promotion<\/strong><\/p>\n I thankfully use HootSuite Pro for most of the social promotion, which saves buckets of time. However, it still takes about an hour per episode for the full cross-posting regimen:<\/p>\n I use the Boxcar app on my iPhone to track mentions, re-tweets and new followers and favorites so I can respond promptly.<\/p>\n Like any good podcaster, I pretend numbers don\u2019t matter. Then I check them religiously and do a Download Happy Dance every month.<\/p>\n That being said, I\u2019ve said many times that the minute that the listeners stop emailing me with questions and topic suggestions, I\u2019ll happily hang up my microphone and enjoy the extra 10 hours of sleep a week. It\u2019s the listener engagement that keeps me going year after year.<\/p>\n Since I\u2019m not contributing to the gene pool, I feel an extra drive to make a difference in this world. There is a huge need for a safe space for people to share their experiences with both monogamy and polyamory in a fully-inclusive, non-judgmental and welcoming space.<\/p>\n While there are many poly mailing lists, forums and online groups, an unpleasant aspect of alternative communities is that they can tend to be exclusive and judgmental, what I call the \u201cpoly police.\u201d<\/p>\n This can have the effect of shaming or shunning people that are perceived as \u201cdoing poly wrong,\u201d which can be devastating to the unwitting people that came to an online community looking for help.<\/p>\n On our blog and Facebook page, civil discourse rules the day. Commenters that name call or make snap judgments are quickly reminded to be respectful and thoughtful; \u201cthat\u2019s just stupid\u201d doesn\u2019t fly here. I am really proud to provide such a space for the poly and poly-curious.<\/p>\n Podcasting has really changed my life in that it has made me an activist, something I\u2019ve never been before! I spend a good chunk of my time blogging, speaking and teaching classes both online and in real life about how to have healthy poly relationships and how to interact compassionately both inside and outside the poly community.<\/p>\n Last year, I was honored to give the keynote at the national Poly Living conference, which I entitled: \u201cHow Polyamory Became More Mainstream Than Peanut Butter: From Scandalous to Swank in 10 Years Flat.\u201d<\/p>\n Because I know people will ask, yes, I do generate a modest income from the podcast and its related content. About a quarter of the monthly income comes from donors; another quarter from book and ebook sales, another from live classes and the final quarter is from online courses. All in all, it generates about enough revenue to pay a modest mortgage.<\/p>\n Only start podcasting if the topic is something you are extremely passionate about. Like, you can\u2019t shut up about it.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s not something you\u2019re willing to focus on every week, you\u2019ll likely podfade when you get sick or have a fight with your spouse or change jobs or take a vacation.<\/p>\n Oh, and never put the word \u201cweekly\u201d in your podcast title. That was the dumbest thing I ever did!<\/p>\n Think of the podcast as the marketing and PR mechanism for the other things. It\u2019s like your business card, resume or weekly ad.<\/p>\n I cannot stress enough that the great content and the relationship with your fans have to come first.<\/p>\n They are the ones that will make you famous, not you. Once they know, like and trust you, then and only then should you develop products that they might be willing to purchase.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell a little story about my first online course, which I just began offering last year. It came about not because I sat around saying \u201chow can I make money from my podcast?\u201d but rather because listeners were complaining that I kept talking about this great class I love teaching at events that they couldn\u2019t afford to travel to.<\/p>\n Every time we taught the live course at a conference, the room was packed, and we got a lot of positive feedback. So we already knew there was a market for it; it was just a matter of choosing the right delivery software, customizing the content for online delivery and choosing the right price point.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the basic marketing process: what do your fans want and would be willing to pay for?<\/p>\n I saw it originally as a form of self-expression and public service. I only started the podcast because I was curious about audio RSS delivery, and my boyfriend, his wife and I had had such a rocky first year of trying out polyamory.<\/p>\n I figured that I could talk about what we did wrong, what we did right and the lessons we learned\u2014throw myself on the grenade, as it were, in the hopes that others wouldn\u2019t make the same mistakes.<\/p>\n I know I keep saying my podcast is a public service, but it really did develop into a small business, even though that wasn\u2019t my original intent. I just wanted to share my story, and I would much rather speak than write, so podcasting made more sense to me than blogging.<\/p>\n I do believe that going in with the genuine intent to share my own experience and to help others are the reasons for the podcast\u2019s success, however. If I had seen it as a business opportunity from the beginning, I doubt the show would be as popular as it is today.<\/p>\n There is the danger that monetizing might have driven my decisions rather than listener engagement\u2014and that focus on listener engagement is what made the show so popular!<\/p>\n Podcasting is more personal than other media. There is something uniquely intimate about listening to a person\u2019s voice in your ears; it\u2019s easy to feel like you know the host intimately after listening to a few episodes, even if you\u2019ve never met.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t get that same affinity from reading blog posts or Tweets or seeing filtered photos on Instagram. Audio is just different; it\u2019s more personal.<\/p>\n So be yourself, and keep your podcast free. Think of the podcast as free marketing for your awesome personal brand, your direct line to your audience and your best chance to prove the true value of your authentic brand.<\/p>\n You can charge for everything else, but that audio connection is your lifeline to an engaged fan base, so keep it real. And keep it free.<\/p>\n I have promised my listeners that \u201cthe podcast is and always will be free.\u201d When we came out with the podcast app (thanks, Libsyn!), some listeners wrote in, upset that they were missing out on app-only content just because they either didn\u2019t have a smart phone or couldn\u2019t afford $1.99 for the app.<\/p>\n So I decided then and there that all the audio content would be free and searchable through the blog. It made more sense to write and sell an ebook or an online course than to charge for podcast content. Again, the podcast acts as free marketing and PR to drive Poly Weekly\u2019s brand discoverability and engagement; the books and courses are for income.<\/p>\n You know if this is the podcast for you! And if you know this is the podcast for you don\u2019t delay! Get involved with the community and subscribe<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n Minx mentions her online courses and stuff and here they are!<\/em><\/p>\n
\nQ & A with Minx from Polyamory Weekly<\/h2>\n
\nFun, Fame or Profit? Why are you doing the show?<\/h3>\n
What is your most memorable feedback from a listener?<\/h3>\n
What has changed the most in your recording setup since you started?<\/h3>\n
Any notable names of listeners you have heard from over the years?<\/h3>\n
What tools on libsyn have you found most helpful in building your brand\/podcast?<\/h3>\n
Have you found that social media has expanded your listener base\/reach? (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, etc)<\/h3>\n
\n###What is your workflow: include hardware, software, text editing, and services as necessary<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
Do download numbers matter matter to you? or is audience engagement key?<\/h3>\n
How has or has podcasting helped create opportunities for you?<\/h3>\n
What advise would you give a new podcaster so that they keep going!<\/h3>\n
How important is podcasting to the success of other revenue generating opportunities you currently have?<\/h3>\n
Did you start off podcasting and that lead into a business or did you see podcasting as a necessary support for an existing business?<\/h3>\n
Has podcasting helped you grow your business.<\/h3>\n
What piece of advice would give others looking to generate revenue from podcasting whether directly or indirectly?<\/h3>\n
If you charge for access to your podcasts or premium, how did your audience react when you started doing this? How did you handle this?<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n