So it's really just been about, like, my instincts. Like, what am I feeling here, and what are people
reacting to the most as well? Because I think taking in information from the audience is also super important.
Welcome to About Podcasting,
a show for podcasters.
We talk about podcasting practices, tools, successes, and failures mixed with interviews and music.
Hosted on Podhome dot fm,
the most modern podcast hosting platform.
Welcome back to another episode of About Podcasting.
And this week, I'm talking with Cole McCormick from the America Plus podcast.
He is very enthusiastic, and it's just it's infectious.
It's inspiring.
I love it.
We talk about his setup, his workflow, what type of devices that he uses to create his podcast.
We talk about why he creates his show and how he thinks about audience and growth
and a lot more. You can find the America Plus podcasts wherever you listen to your podcasts. And obviously, you should do that in a modern podcast app, which you can find in modernpodcastapps.com.
You can connect with Call on various platforms, and you'll find links to those in the show notes.
Alright. Enjoy.
A little bit of a sunrise in LA, so we're feeling good. Hopefully, the light is golden.
We're feeling good.
Excellent.
You can see the sun where you are, jeez. You're so lucky. Yes. I know, dude. I know it's been it's actually been a little rainy here the last few days, but, or the last few weeks. But luckily today and yesterday, it's a sunny day, so so we're getting a bright sun right now.
Awesome. Yeah. There's no, there is sun supposedly
here, so they say, as in it is light out. It is behind the clouds as always, of course.
Yeah. But, yeah, we don't we don't have that here. It's it's rare. The fake clouds. The fake clouds. Right?
But once you see it, you can't unsee it. Right?
Yeah. That that I I went through that, a similar thing. I went through exactly that, like, a few weeks ago. I was like, holy shit. I think
I think they're actually not real.
Yeah. So,
by the way, I'm already recording. So I like to do these things just as a conversation and then, you know, we just talk about and story fine. Perfect. But,
you know, let's stay on this topic because it's it's super interesting. So here, what happens a lot is you start out with a bright and blue sky in the morning. Right? And when you see these stripes, like, alright, it's just clouds or something. I always thought it was clouds, whatever.
And then I started noticing that these clouds, like, after 30 minutes or so,
these stripes, the the the plain stripes, right, the condensation
of the airplanes, they become these bigger clouds.
And actually, you know, it becomes cloudy. Like, oh, okay. That's
pretty strange.
And then actually on the mainstream media, like the 8 o'clock news here, at least I don't watch it, but I, I heard somebody say that and then I actually watched it. They said, yeah, we're doing that. It's called cloud seeding and it's for climate change. It's good for you. I was like, it's good for you.
Okay.
That's what that is. And then I started, you know, and then you start
watching this stuff.
And then I see planes, some planes do it, right? They have these stripes,
and other planes just don't have these stripes. And if you watch closely enough, and if you watch long enough, then sometimes you see a plane that has stripes,
coming out of it, and then it just stops.
Right? Mhmm. Right. K. So that's condensation.
Right? Sure.
Yeah. I don't I I they've been cloud seeding in California for a while now. I think even before I was born possibly since, like, the nineties.
I don't trust it, dude. I don't like how it goes. I don't think the sun is bad for you. That's just my opinion, though.
Well,
duh.
I think
the next thing, we of course, we shouldn't block the sun. Plus, what is in those clouds? Right? How do you make those clouds? Just as water vapor? I don't believe that's just benign water vapor.
No. It's like plant based something with canola oil.
Sure. That's probably very good for you.
Alright. So,
enough of the crazy talk. Thank you very much for, for doing this and for talking with me. And that is for podcasters
to get some inspiration on, you know, how to do a good podcast, how to grow, how to get inspiration,
why to do it.
So that's why I wanted to talk to you because you've been doing this for quite a while already, and it's going pretty well. Right? But what do you think? Yeah.
Yeah, man. I think it's going well. I mean, I'm getting people listening. I'm, I'm actually growing. Like, that's like a the the chart is up into the right, so that's exactly where you wanna be at. Yeah. And, yeah, I'm still getting fulfilled from it, so I think it's been pretty successful. Okay. Maybe for people, that don't know, and obviously, this will all be in the show notes as well.
What is your your podcast about?
Yes. My podcast, America Plus,
started it back in 2022.
Mainly, I I'm just trying to talk about healthier narratives or identify
an unhealthy narrative,
whether it be political or religious or spiritual
or about food.
I just wanna talk about my experience with something, talk about,
how I think about it, and what am I seeing, like, on the Internet. So I'm usually pulling clips,
from Twitter or YouTube, and it might be from the news. It might be from just some interview.
I might talk about the future about a certain industry, like movies and Hollywood and AI.
I just try to talk about that in an entertaining way, try to make some people laugh and make people think more.
Yeah. Yeah. And I I think that's, that's working because it's a very, positive podcast. It's not all negative stuff. It's very positive. And and why did you start this in the first place?
I mainly started it because,
of Adam Curry and the value for value system.
During COVID, I was, you know, like, all of us are struggling with, like, mental health and stress,
and I was getting so much information
about just, like, the world, and it seemed like the entire world was crumbling. And
I knew that I I had actually done a previous podcast when I was,
in in 2016, like, right out right out of high school,
and I had a really enjoyable time with that. And in COVID time, I I was like, maybe I should do, like, another podcast, but I didn't know how or what or why.
And, I started listening to Adam Curry and no agenda,
and, I sort of fell into the podcasting 2 point o space.
And I was like, woah. There's, like, actual innovation happening, and there's,
like, there's a payment system. There's there's chapters. There's, like, there's a whole new realm
of producing content online.
And I was like, okay. I think I can actually, like, sustain something. I can maybe I can build my name.
Maybe I can build some sort of brand with podcasting.
And,
so that was, like, the strategy side of it. I wanted to use value for value,
just because I was stressed, and I wanted to express myself, and I was just trying to stay sane, ultimately.
Right. Like like self therapy. Just just talk it out to yourself. Just Yeah. A a little bit. Just like just to get steam off my chest, you know, not even therapy. Just to get steam off the chest because
I was angry
at a few things. I was scared at a few things and, you know, just lamenting that. You know, just simply speaking that and
trying to aim
towards
something healthier. You know, that was always my aim. Even if I didn't, like, reach that, even if there wasn't a clear conclusion
to what the better narrative was, you know, at least I was able to talk about it, and maybe I help someone
look for that narrative as well.
Yeah. Yeah. And did that, did that goal evolve, or is that still the same now?
It it's evolved a little bit.
That's always evolving, honestly.
When so with the whole value for value
and,
and podcasting 2 point o, it's expanded into music. And so I've been trying to,
interview more musicians using value for value
and and producing their music with an RSS feed.
That's sort of, like, gone to the side a little bit now,
just because, like,
sometimes the interviews just, like, aren't, in my opinion, like, aren't that engaging,
even though, like, it was like like the interviews I did do were, like, really good, but I wasn't like I didn't have, like, a real draw to do more interviews with musicians.
So I'm still just, like, doing my thing, pulling clips here and there, and just trying to have fun, ultimately.
So it it's sort of changed, but not really.
But I'm I'm open to the change. You know? I'm not I'm not trying to be
stern with with what I'm doing.
Yeah. Yeah. I like that a lot.
You know, because somebody sometimes you get stuck into what you think the goal should be. Right? And then,
that's when pod fade happens because then the goal doesn't happen. Like, for instance, I wanna do 20 interviews or something, and then you're not feeling it anymore because you wanna do something else. And you think, let's let's just quit. You know? Who cares?
Yeah. That's a common thing for me. Like, sometimes when it comes to my creative life, I can start a project and get, like, halfway there and then just fall off. And then, like, there's, like, a few projects where I actually, like, follow through with it. And so it's really just been about, like, my instincts. Like, what am I feeling here and what are people
reacting to the most as well? Because I think taking in information from the audience is also super important.
Right. And and how do you do that? How do you get feedback from your audience?
Mainly through multiple ways. I mean, just looking at the at the download and listen numbers, but also looking at,
the main way that people support me is through boostograms on modern podcast apps like Fountain and Podcast Guru, Podverse,
Cast O Matic, all that stuff.
And if they're sending me if if I'm getting a higher amount of, boostograms and and satoshis, then that's that's a clear signal to me to to keep doing what I was doing.
Yeah. Right. Yeah. That is a great way now with all the innovations
that we can can actually get, messages from, from listeners, right, with Boostgrams and with all that stuff, instead of just from social media.
But that doesn't happen that much, at least, not to me because people are listening on their app, and then they don't go to another app to, you know, write a whole message. At least they usually don't.
Yeah. I've been well, that's why, I've actually been, like, promoting one specific app. Ever since the beginning, I've been fountain, ride or die fountain.
That was the 1st modern podcast app that I really fell into, and for some reason, I just thought it was beautiful. I just thought it was, like, clean, simple, pretty.
And, I just chose to just always promote that because
when I'm listening to Adam Curry and everyone talk about podcasting and podcasting 2 point o stuff,
it's it's so open source. It can be a bit tangled up.
And so I've tried myself to simplify the narrative of what modern podcasting is by just telling people, go to Fountain, boost me on Fountain, support me there.
And it's it's actually working because, like, over 90% of my downloads are on fountain.
So I'm like fountain boy.
Yeah. Yeah. But but you, I guess that that grew, as such. Right? Because you need to educate your your listeners.
Yeah. Go there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's the big thing on my end. That's the whole like, if I if a podcaster wants to be into
podcasting 2 point o and boostigrams, then you really need to educate your audience, and that means that you need to be on top of it yourself. You need to, like, have an understanding of
what's working.
Why is this system this way?
And so that's been a challenge on on my part to to understand
all the
all the interconnectedness
of RSS feeds and why it's important to have a Bitcoin lightning wallet attached to your RSS feed.
And that's always like a practice. You know, every week, it is a practice for me when I talk about the boostograms or when I read them out. It's another moment for me to to practice
telling them, telling the audience
this is how and this is why.
Yeah. Yeah. I I guess and I hear the this a lot. So the story,
of podcasting in general and especially the modern podcasting is still,
difficult. Right? It's hard to explain to, you know, normal listeners that just have an app and they just wanna listen to a podcast.
Where does it even come from? Like how did, how is this thing distributed? They have no clue how that, how that actually works. That's a difficult thing to still, still educate people on. Yeah. It is difficult. I mean, especially like I'll just stick with my own family. You know? My my family, they don't listen to too many podcasts, but they do know what a podcast is. Like, they like but I think their definition might be, like, long form. You know? Like, definitely Joe Rogan. Like, they they definitely know Joe Rogan as a podcast, but that's just because it's 3 hours. So is a podcast really 3 hours? That was really like, when I first started doing it in 2016,
they're like, so you're gonna talk for, like, multiple hours? And I'm like, I'm not I mean, I don't know if I can, but, like, I'm not even sure if that's, like, the point.
And so I think there is still a general
consensus,
education hill to get over. Like, people need to know that a podcast is just
media produced through an RSS feed. You know? It doesn't matter how long it is. It doesn't matter what the media is. It could be anything.
Yeah.
Yeah. Totally agree.
So so if media is agnostic, so it can be audio, can be video, can be
whatever else.
How do you deal with that? Do you also do video?
I've been trying to. I've been doing more of that.
Right now, I'm not producing video through the RSS feed. Not yet. That is in the coming with Pod Home.
I definitely think Pod Home will be hosting video sometime in the future, but I've been just recording the video on my phone and posting that to YouTube,
posting that to Twitter when I can.
The video thing is a bit more of a hurdle for me currently because
I didn't start out with video.
I've always been a consumer of YouTube,
but it's been hard for me to get over the hump of, like, from consumer to creator with video.
But that's, like, that's something that this year I'm focusing on, and I definitely wanna get through.
Yeah. Video definitely,
takes time and effort to produce well,
especially if you wanna also
produce that well for, let's say, for YouTube,
because it might be very different process than just recording, like we're doing right now,
with squad cast or whatever and just posting it there because it might not be that engaging for a YouTube video. Right?
Yeah. Facts. I mean, YouTube has to be YouTube is a lot in the edit. And and just in my first few little
four four way into into posting video there, it's more about the edit than
anything else. You know? You just gotta edit it snappy because you're trying to get the the retention. You know? And people are consuming video on YouTube differently than some people might consume a normal audio podcast.
Because when I listen to a podcast, my personal thing is I'm willing to listen to the whole thing. I'm willing to just, like, let it play out. I don't care how long it is. I don't care about the pauses.
And that sort of bleeds into how I watch a video as well.
But you also see the biggest video,
on YouTube. You know, they're they're sort of either quickly edited or snappily edited,
and they have music and they have swipes. And that's like they're always trying to keep the viewer engaged. It's almost like it's almost similar to
to children's programming almost.
You know? I'm not sure if you know anything about that, but I just know that
children on, like, a psychological
level,
I think the threshold is, like, 5 or 10 minutes, and then you need to, like, change topics.
And so it's something similar with YouTube and editing.
Yeah. I think that's true. Like, I I know it's with my children that they, for instance, Kokomelli when they were younger. There's this, I don't know if you know that. Kokomelli with these songs and animated stuff. They love that stuff. And that is really well done for children because every 2 or 3 seconds or something, the the visual changes
and then the sound changes, and then something else changes. So they're never bored. It's an extreme attention grabber. So it's it's much more difficult than what we're doing right now, for instance, is will be very, very boring, at least for children and probably for a lot of, adults as well to watch, at least.
It's it's a different use case, definitely.
Yeah. You know, we're we're just not jumping off cliffs or giving people $80,000
to open up a trunk of trunk of a car.
No. And the use case is also very different. Right? So
when I listen to a podcast, I'm doing other stuff as well. I'm driving, I'm cooking, I'm cleaning, I'm doing all sorts of stuff. Where, you know, watching is a an active thing. I'm actually having
sitting down and and watching something. It's different.
But,
yeah. I'm always at the gym listening to podcasts. You know, it it's rare when I might I might have a YouTube video up, but I'm just listening to the YouTube video.
And I think that's the interesting thing about
YouTube as well. I've been researching, like, how to do well on that platform, and
it seems like a a a large I'm not sure the the exact number, but a large portion of people who consume YouTube,
they are just listening to the video.
Yeah. And so there is like like, that's where podcasting can
float to the top,
when you're on these mega video platforms.
Yeah. Probably. Yeah. They they probably do. But you definitely cannot talk about cloud seeding on YouTube because just gotta be banned.
Facts. No. You're right. I mean, yeah, you gotta align yourself. That and that's the hard thing too when it comes to any centralized
system. You know? They're probably especially nowadays,
they're gonna be aligned with
either big government
or big corporation,
World Health Organization,
whatever narratives
these big institutions
are pushing out, you definitely need to either be aligned
with it or you need to just not talk about it.
And so that's a little difficult because, you know, America Plus,
naturally, I wanna talk about America. I wanna talk about what I think is unhealthy in America.
But sometimes those narratives might get
might get a little,
squirmish
for, for the mainstream.
But I also think,
I think it's also tampered down
because
I mean, I'm not sure if tampered down is the right word, but
I just know that when I'm watching an interview with, like, Robert Kennedy junior, you know, who talks a lot about vaccines, talks a lot about the environment,
You know, he's on these bigger podcasts
on YouTube, and they're not getting banned.
And they're talking about
assassinations,
and they're talking about,
Monsanto. They're talking about all these lawsuits.
You know? So
I think there also might be,
like, when it comes to, like, censoring, I think there also has to be, like, a concerted effort. I don't think it's all just algorithm.
I don't think it's all just automatic. It has to be
pointed to, like, hey. We are suppressing
information that is against this. You know? Because that's what happened with COVID. You know? You weren't able to talk about certain things around COVID,
because they chose
that those types of narratives were bad.
So but then it's a matter of, like, playing around that. You know? Something I've been thinking about is,
these concepts of, like,
politicking
or, like, walking the line. You know? Just just not being
blatant about your opinion, but also
towing the line of where you're at.
And I do think there's a there's a skill set to be gained to tow the line when it comes to any whatever you think a serious narrative is. And if there's information about it being suppressed,
you gotta tow the line and you gotta figure out how to
bring people on your side or,
into your realm of the Internet
because that's where the freedom of RSS and podcasting is. You know? You're able to just talk about anything
when you have an RSS feed. And so that's sort of how I've been playing around with it. I think if I wanna
if I wanna talk about something controversial,
I wanna try to tow the line on the centralized areas
and try to get people interested enough to come into the openness of RSS feeds.
Right. Without
immediately shooting yourself in the foot.
Exactly.
Yeah. So then you can also be on the centralized platforms and still,
you know, be talking and getting people over the line to your side. That's that's a good strategy, I think.
Yeah. But but I think, like you said, some things are censored. Some things aren't sensors on these, big platforms.
Like
what I think is going on there is that
if it's too big, like for instance, Robert Kennedy,
junior,
then it is so blatantly obvious that they are actually censoring stuff that
they they don't do that. Because in the beginning, they did do that a couple times with RFK Jr as well. Like, for instance, he was on T. O. Vaughn or something. And then when as soon as he announced that he was running for president,
all that stuff got, got pulled from YouTube. And later on, it got
brought back after,
lots of social media uproar. And I think, Joe Rogan also talked about it. And, you know, when that stuff happens,
then it comes back.
But smaller shows, obviously, they will just be wiped away and nobody will ever hear hear about it,
again, because that's easier. Right? There's not so much uproar, not so much struggle. So I think that's also a strategy that they do,
and perhaps not all automated, like you said.
But anyway Yeah. I see that. I I see I see that totally. Yeah. You're right. Yeah.
So this is still free, and let's let's,
keep it, free, RSS. Right? It is still an RSS feed.
If you host it, at Borthome, for instance,
it is just an RSS feed. It's open to the Internet, and any app that can read an RSS feed can just read it and play your your media. And that's that's the amazing thing. Right? I love that.
Let's keep it like that.
Please, dude. Please.
Yeah. Yeah. I I will do anything in my power to to keep it like that.
Now now let's,
perhaps switch topics because I think podcasters
will be interested in what other podcasters'
workflows
are.
So how how do you work when you,
you know, you have a you have an idea for an episode. What do you do from start to finish? How does it work?
Yeah. So beginning, like so I record on Sundays,
and I record what's called live to tape.
So I just pretend that I'm live, you know, and I got that
model from
I was able to work on the Conan O'Brien show,
before the pandemic. I used to be an employee at Warner Brothers Studios,
and I saw I I had that experience of looking at how Conan O'Brien did his show, and I really just enjoyed that that model.
And,
and and throughout the week before I record,
I'm sort of just, like, jotting down small notes.
I'm looking for clips. I'm saving things online,
and then I'm taking clips.
And then Sunday mornings are usually when
I get it all together.
I record it. I record, the clip. I edit it down to what, like, the best
pieces, and I've sort of figure out a workflow
of, like like, just general, like, bullet points of, like, what I will be talking about.
I never have a full script personally. I'm not I'm not good with, like, a full script for a podcast. I don't think it's relevant for me.
But I am always, like, ideating. I'm always thinking about things. I'm sort of just,
like, speaking certain lines out loud,
to see if they work or or to see if they're funny to myself.
And then,
it's based off of instinct when I'm ready to record,
when I'm ready to actually hit the button.
And, I usually record for about
between 30:30
minutes to an hour, somewhere in between there.
And,
along with that, I'm also looking for a song. Recently, in the last few months, I've been adding,
RSS music,
to to to my podcast. And so
that's been a matter of,
usually on Sunday mornings, I'm like, I'm going to there's this web website called Wave Lake, which is like the it's like the main platform right now to look at value for value music and independent stuff. I'm just going through the top 40, or I'm going through the newly released,
and I'm looking for
just a song that resonates with me. This most recent week, I was actually listening to Adam Curry's music podcast, Boosted Grand Ball, and there was a song that I really liked on there, a a really nice rock and roll song. So I was like, alright. I'll pull this right
here. And so that's been getting into my workflow a bit more.
But then I just hit record. I I record off of a, Roadcaster,
Pro 2. That was like a big investment I made back in 2022.
And, it's been working out perfectly for me. I can program all my little buttons. I have little jingles. I have that's where I I sometimes do the clips.
And, I mean, I I have just a little workflow with, like, what buttons I'm pushing. And
and,
and then, yeah, after that, after I'm done recording,
I use Pod Home for my hosting service, which is the most modern hosting service I've ever used. So thank you, sir. Thank you, Barry, for making that. Because I used to be on,
Castos, and I was on rss.com
for a minute.
And those people, like, they say that they're aligned with the 2 point o stuff, but then they're just super slow with putting out new features.
And so that's why I was interested in using a a host like Pod Home because I wanted to be on top of all the features.
I wanted to be able to specifically put music in my RSS feed.
And so as soon as I knew that I could do that with Pod Home, I I was on that, and
I just,
link up the song
in Pod Home. I I I usually begin an episode,
like, when I'm uploading it. I begin creating it before I upload the audio.
I'm sort of just doing
the music, and I'm making sure all the payment splits with Bitcoin
are in there. And then once I know the audio is all good,
I I might need to, like, trim some things here and there.
I usually add in the music manually.
I don't play it live. I just add I I just click and drag it into the into the audio file.
And once I once that is all set, then I upload it to Pod Home, and then Pod Home does its thing. I I use the AI assistance for a lot of the features for the transcript, the chapter creations,
the clips and all that. And then when that's done, I I just do some, some more tweaks. I add in my name where my name needs to be added mainly. That's, like, the main thing I edit
when it comes to the transcript or or description.
And then I just do
triple check, check, check, check, and then I post.
Okay.
Yeah. Simple enough. So so you record directly
towards the RODE,
Procaster 2. So in device on on the SD card.
I do not on on the SD card. I sort of I should I should have said I record through it. I've never recorded directly on it. I record on my computer. I record the audio. I'm just on GarageBand. I'm just doing the free software.
But I use the RodeCaster
for for the preset buttons, for the jingles.
And when I'm on the road sometime,
I definitely think I'll be using I'll be recording directly to them because that's a huge benefit.
Yeah. Yeah. I've also never actually recorded to it,
but I I do use it. Like, I have it. There's a
you know? So Yeah. All the all the little, yep. It's pretty cool.
And so you use GarageBand also to, to edit your your audio?
Yeah. Mainly. I mean, I'm really when it comes to the paying for any editing service,
I've just never really been into that. When I first started
podcasting in 2015
and 16,
I was just on Garage Band as well.
My parents, they were always, like, into, like, supporting,
my creative work, so they actually bought me
a little, like, MacBook Pro and, you know, they're like, hey. Just like this has software. You should use that free software, Cole. And I was like, okay. Cool.
And I've never really known, like, the giant benefits of paying for a service like Adobe or something or or even Logic.
Yeah. I just think it's super simple. Like, I'll just use the free thing.
Yeah. Why not? You know, if you just do, some cuts here and there or a little paste of of something.
How do you make sure that your audio is, crisp and, all on the right,
levels of
volume. Yeah. So that's, that that's a trial and error when it comes to just, like, recording certain things, making sure like, it it's different between
my voice and if I have a clip. My voice, I'm able to manipulate my voice,
on the on the road caster 2.
You're able to raise your levels on on that device. And then
starting out, I would just, like, record a little bit and see how it sounded.
And then if I needed to raise it, I would raise it.
But that's also been like a learning curve for for myself as well, because I'm not like an audio head. I'm really just a guy who just wants to record.
And so I need to
I need to get better at, like, figuring out what maybe there's a better microphone or maybe there's a better setting. Because the RodeCaster, it just has, like, these presets for the microphones, which is great for me. I just wanna, just just click and go.
But understanding more about, like, the levels. Because when I listen to my own podcast,
I'll just be honest about this. Like, it sounds different in my headphones than it does, like, in the car.
And so there is, like, an adjustment
that needs to happen with the audio, but, ultimately, like, it works. You know?
Yeah. And I think your audio actually,
sounds very professional and and good,
because you have a very professional mic and a very professional setup. I hear lots of podcasts, and most are way worse
than people report through
Airbuds, like the Apple Airbuds and through all sorts.
It's I hate that. I hate that stuff, dude. Luckily, when I so my my first podcast when I started in 2016,
my parents got me a little, like, Snowball. It was it was, like, the brand is called Snowball Microphone.
Yeah. And so that's how I was, like, starting out,
and just, like, figuring out, like, how how far should I be from the microphone, and what happens when I what happens when I click this button? Like, how does the sound change? Because it had, like, a
mono directional, and it had, like, a general I I I forget all these names. Yeah. But you're you're able to change the direction of what the microphone was picking up. And so that was where I was able to to really just play around with that and figure out, like, oh, okay. So a microphone matters,
but I don't think the most expensive microphone is necessary.
So and when I started this, I just I got the Zoom microphone.
When I bought the Rodecaster, I was at Best Buy.
So I picked up the Rodecaster, and then I was like, I just need
the the RODECaster was, like, most of my money. It was, like, most of my tip money because I had a a bunch I I just paid for it cash. It was, like, 700 a $100 and, like, in ones and fives. People thought I was a stripper.
But then I was like, alright. Now I just need, like, a cheap microphone. I and I and I got the Zoom kit with the with the Zoom headphones and everything.
Yeah. That that works
great. And, the combination of all that stuff works very well. Like, you don't need a
studio or you don't need to to pad your whole room with
with audio insulation or anything for echoes because that's all taken care of, which is great. It just works out of the way. That was a benefit for me as well because I'm just recording in my kitchen clearly. As you can see, my open
my open, what's it called? My open source or,
open idea,
whatever they call it in architecture.
Yeah. So any microphone that can just help my voice sound a bit more,
you know,
can, like, inside is perfect.
Yeah. I'm a fan of tools that make it just easier to to create this type of stuff so that you don't have to, do lots of,
post processing, get rid of the echoes, all that type of stuff. It just makes life more difficult.
Okay. So you make your podcast, and then you you publish your episode.
Then what do you do? Do you go on social media to promote the thing or send a newsletter? Or how do you get people to listen to it?
Yeah. So right now, I'm just posting on Twitter,
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook.
Again, I I it's one of those things where I'm getting better at figuring out what to post,
because I feel like if I just post a link, like, no one's gonna click on it. And so I've been trying to do, like, more more native video on Instagram.
I'll do, like, a longer Instagram story. I'll share that to Facebook.
I'll try to, like, talk. I'll I'll try to make an interesting post on Facebook because that's, like, a different type of audience.
I'm always trying to be aware of
what
what type of audience is on what platform
because it like, the difference between
Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,
I have a lot more, like, high school friends
on Instagram,
and then I have a lot of those same friends and, like,
like, maybe just, like, family friends, like like,
families that I might have, like, gone to church with when I was a kid on Facebook.
And then on Twitter, you know, that's like the wild west. You know, you got you got these, crypto d gens on there, and I'm trying to attract
those people.
So that's something that I'm still working through, but knowing my audience, knowing what might get them intrigued
within the certain post, within the copy, within, like, what I'm actually writing,
I'm practicing,
getting better at that and aligning that copy with that audience,
and then just being consistent with it. You know, that that's the biggest thing.
I've been the most consistent with just posting to Twitter and just
putting out multiple posts.
And recently I've been,
setting up a newsletter because I think that's necessary as well just to have another
another angle, just another avenue for people to to get it because some people might be interested in the newsletter. Maybe I can
write out some more content.
I can draw out something that I didn't go into as much as I maybe wanted to, or maybe there's a different topic that I can tease.
You know? So I'm still expanding.
Yeah. Yeah. That that's always a very difficult,
thing. Right? The social media, to get that right and to get it right for all the audiences.
I'm trying to figure out how to help with that also from the Podhome
side. Like right now, Pod Home AI creates clips for you. It does an okay job. It can do better, and it will do better in the future.
These clips are audio clips, and you can also
create video clips from them based on your episode art at the moment. And once we support video, it will also take then the video that's associated with that
time stamp in your, in the episodes.
Would it be useful
if Palta Home automatically already created these video clips for you and put those at the ready,
so that you can just share them to wherever,
Instagram or something after all the API is done.
Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, when it comes to
posting a video, I've been posting more like stories on Instagram.
Stories on Instagram and Facebook. So something that looks good with that.
I'm not sure exactly how that might look like, but I think right now the the Pod Home video is just like a square. Right? It's just a it's just a square video.
You can shoot something.
Or or 69 or 196 or whatever.
Yeah. Okay. I'll definitely okay. Then that's my issue. I'll choose the 16 by 9 option then. Yeah.
But also just
maybe more option for images. You know, maybe that's
an opportunity to,
maybe like a chapter image,
can can come into one of those
videos on Pod Home.
Just something like that, because
just to be able to have a bit more customized
customized
ability,
for those videos, I think would be useful,
because if I wanted to
post a clip of the video version,
I would need to do just like that much more editing.
So there needs to be some sort of consolidation or some sort like, there's an in between when it comes to video and audio
that can be more automated.
Yeah. Definitely. So so now you can,
you can upload a custom image,
to create a video, but then that's, you know, for all the clips that you then generate. So that's not
super,
easy to do or or not not automated.
And you have the
subtitles
and you can do a couple other things, like have a waveform in there, for instance, to make a little bit more
animated, let's say. But, yeah, definitely, thinking about how to make that
even better, like to integrate.
Headliner does this very well, that type of,
of functionality in there just to make it easier, and then also to cater
specifically to those different audiences because they need different content
very much. Yeah, man. And there's also when when it comes to video, there's another AI service
called Opus,
o p u s, and they do a pretty good job at, taking in.
This tool is good for
great for podcasts, great for conversations.
And
the AI automatically makes like a 30 second or or 90 second
clip,
and they have, like, really, like, snappy,
captions
and stuff like that. So maybe just, like,
maybe
some more options for, like, how the captions look like,
because that's also because if a person is just pulling that video, you know, try to make it a bit more colorful, maybe. Maybe just more colors. Maybe it's as simple as that.
Yeah.
Yeah. Definitely.
Okay. Yeah. That's all
on the backlog. So we're we're building that. That's all coming.
Alright. So cool. So
you produce it, then you start to,
put it out there, get people to, to listen to it.
What's next for you? How are you gonna make your podcast grow if you want to?
Or are you gonna keep it, you know, to this audience and try to keep the audience? And and what what's next for your show and or shows?
Yeah. So mainly for, in 2024, mainly I've
wanted to focus more on the video side of it. I'm really confident with the audio. I'm really confident with the podcasting 2 point o tools.
And so what I wanna do now is use the centralized platforms to my advantage
and to make more clips
on those and to and to post more to my personal
YouTube channel, maybe even make a clips clips channel
and
to just to just hit the video as hard as possible because,
I I think that's how a podcast grows. I'm not sure if
advertising
really works for podcasting.
I think podcasting really just grows from people sharing clips. You know, everyone is always sharing a Rogan clip. Everyone is always sharing a Lex Fridman clip.
So it's it's eve even if it's not coming directly from those people's channels,
people are clipping somehow.
And so just getting to a point where
people are interested in listening
and a part of getting people interested in is,
I think, talking about relevant things, whether it be politics
or whether it be some sort of take on on what someone said,
just being on top of that and just getting it out there, just simply posting it. Not I'm not I'm not trying to be
I'm not trying to go viral. I don't wanna go viral. I'm not trying to do that. I don't really know what the value of of going viral is,
but just using the centralized system to my advantage because there is power in that.
You know? I I don't know if advertising,
like, if I were to take an advertisement, I'm not sure if that advertising model would even work or if I would be able to implement it, but
that's another option I'm looking at. If I were to make more video or different video for the podcast,
does advertising work in that? What type of advertising? Because, you know, I have all these opinions about clean food and meats, and I don't wanna just, like, sell some, like, some drink. You know? I would wanna make sure that it's good or Sure. Maybe
focus on,
having more merch, you know, just having, like, a hoodie or having a hat, you know, but making sure the quality of that is good.
Maybe even, like, American made.
That's all stuff I'm I'm looking through, but
I wanna mainly build up the centralized
systems,
mainly Twitter and and YouTube
and a little bit of Instagram. You know, I just
when it comes to growing it, it's so hard to be consistent everywhere. You know, I I I definitely need a need it to be more automated as well. Just on my end, I need to just, like,
just, like, schedule more videos and stuff like that.
But to have a more, like, complete experience
when it comes to the podcast, because
even, like, on the spectrums, you know, like the most centralized thing, like, I think the some of the most centralized podcasts
are gonna be,
like, maybe Call Her Daddy
or the Andrew Scholes podcast.
There's even, like, this one this other podcast I follow, Den of Nerds.
They have merch. They have products.
They have things.
And on the other end of the spectrum, the open source side, you know, Adam Curry side,
he even has merch. You know, you can buy a no agenda
shirt, you know, and, you know, it's his prerogative to take profit from that or to take any money from that.
But there is, like, a full package when it comes to producing media.
And so just getting more in line with that full package to have the newsletter,
to have the merch, to have the hat,
just stuff like that.
Okay. Yeah.
Yeah. That sounds sounds really good. I think you could definitely grow with that.
It will take effort of of course. Like, that's all everything does.
Of course. Yeah. I mean, it it's gonna be art, but it's gonna be I just think it's worth it. You know? Because
even if it's just like a little collectible thing, you know, maybe it's just if even if it's just a little pin, you know,
the idea is to you you wanna inspire
the audience to support you in any way. And a person might have an interest in pins. A different person might have an interest in shoes. A different person might have an interest in Bitcoin.
And so Yeah. I I came in with it with with asking people to support me with Bitcoin,
but that's only relevant for the people who know and enjoy using Bitcoin as a currency.
You know, different people are gonna wanna use different tools to engage with me.
Yeah. Definitely.
Okay. That's very cool. So that's the podcast, and that's growing. That's going well.
I also hear you sometimes on,
mere mortals, the book review as a narrator, which is really cool. How did you Yes. Get there, and are you gonna do more of them?
Yeah, man.
The voice acting stuff and the narration that came sort of came out of the blue.
I've been getting more friendly with Kyron Down,
within Australia, one of the cohosts of mere mortals, and
he does his own personal book reviews, and he does, the value for value show, which is incredible. If anyone wants to learn more about the value for value system,
look up Kyron Down's podcast,
value for value, the value for value show.
That's a great breakdown for all digital creators to figure out what that model is and how they might be able to implement it.
And
he came to me about,
narrating and reading excerpts of books that he was reading and reviewing,
and I was always into that. And,
on the creative side for me, you know, I've always
been like a director, actor,
performer,
and I've always been into the idea of doing voice acting.
When I was a kid going to church,
I would do a puppet,
with like, for the elementary school kids, so I would do, like, a voice
for that. And so and everyone around me growing up has always said, like, Cole, like, you're pretty good at voices. Like, you're good at reading stuff like that. Like like, don't, like, don't stop doing that. And so that's always been in the back of my head, but I've never known the right way to do it. And thank god Kyren came to me with that idea because it's really been
it it's really been, fulfilling for me to do that. Even if it's just like narration, you know, I can focus on having the best narration voice. I can focus on
saying the word the right way or having the right infliction to get the point across, you know, because
the part of voice acting that I think is interesting is
my voice from afar. You know, we're, like, it's a 16 hour flight between him and I.
My voice can help strengthen his narratives
and his voice,
And so that's been a real interesting thing that that we've been experimenting with. And,
we stopped doing the book reviews, but now I'm doing the narration for the value for value show.
Karen's nice enough to give me a split
of that,
and that's what value for value is about. If you collaborate with someone, you're able to give them a split. And if the audience gets value from that product, then they're able to support the 2 of you instantly.
And that's been a huge thing because I've I've actually made a lot more,
money, a lot more Satoshis
doing the value for value show
from just people
enjoying the product, people engaging with it,
talking to Kyron about it, and then they and then they send in a boost. And then all of a sudden, I got I have money in my wallet. It's awesome.
Yeah. And I guess the collaboration also, supports your show as well. Right? Because then people might check out your show.
Like, oh, okay. This is Yeah.
The it's the crisscross. Do you that that's how it goes, dude. That's value for value. Even me on this show me on this podcast,
that's how that's another way how podcast grows.
Just getting yourself on other podcasts
and having a new channel
of people
getting to hear you.
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely. Because, you know, you need to go where podcasts
are and where podcast listeners are, which is in other podcasts, right? Which is in the audio platforms themselves already.
Absolutely. I hope most collaboration
will happen
within,
the community, let's say of podcasters and of modern podcasters. I think that is on the horizon
as people start finding each other, which is very, very inspired.
Yes, sir, man. I I believe it. I want it to happen,
and I wanna do more of it. You know? I I have, plans of doing a second podcast
that emphasizes my narration and my voice acting.
It's gonna be called Cole Story, so just my name, a story at the end, Cole Story.
I'm into the idea of having, like, podcast names be like verbs.
So, like, right now, like, when it comes to America Plus,
I want, like, an idea that I talk about to be America Plus. Like, oh, this is so America Plus, dude.
And then when it comes to my second podcast, Cole Story, I want their
It's gonna be a combination of me reading poems,
and, public domain books,
maybe some Bible stories, and then also original stories that I'm writing myself
and doing, like, the voices for as well. And I wanna get some more voice actors involved. I have a friend in Arizona
who does voices. She's really talented.
And,
just to
emphasize, I double down on my creativity, double down on my voice. What's the best way that I can use my voice? And,
I I'm definitely planning on telling more stories.
Yeah.
Yeah. Okay.
That just gave me an idea. You know, people,
I'm just, brainstorming here. People do audio books as well and, courses and all sorts of things where they need narration for,
that they might not want to do or cannot do themselves.
And,
they might, you know, look for
professionals.
It'll be cool if that would be like a directory of modern podcasting
narrators
like you and your friends. Yeah. Yeah. Almost like a 5 like, did you did you know Fiverr?
The website Fiverr? Yeah. Yeah.
I'm a Fiverr above 4.
Exactly. That's what we need. We need a directory of
the modern talent, modern podcasting talent.
Yeah.
Cool. Let me think about that a bit more.
So let's, let's end with this.
What
do you have some, some practical tips for people that, are podcasters or are thinking about creating a podcast?
What are some of the things that they should keep in mind maybe or to keep them motivated?
Yeah, man. The the most practical tips is to just keep doing it. If you want to do it,
don't be afraid of being consistent with it. Whether
it's a 5 minute episode
or an hour long or a conversation, just keep posting and just keep experimenting. Just continue to be curious
about what you wanna put out in the world because
when it comes to
putting out any media, you know, it's about
you being you.
So don't try to be someone else.
Be you and be curious about what you wanna produce,
and just never stop experimenting with yourself because that's how you're gonna find
the right thing. That's how you're gonna find it. And to also to not get yourself stuck in a certain routine
or to
or or to believe that you need to be a certain way,
because
so I I feel like sometimes,
for me personally, I can
I might have a standard in my head
that
I don't wanna leave,
whether whether that standard be good or unhealthy? You know? Like, so I I can get caught up in my own ideology.
And so a practical advice is to not get caught up in your own head and with your own
thought process of how it should be. You know? Just
try to
just try to make it the best you can and just keep putting it out there because that's the most important thing, and people will respond
if you're if you're honest and authentic
and true to yourself.
That's beautiful, man. Thank you. That's awesome.
Alright. Thank you everybody for tuning in.
As I said in the intro,
you can find Cole everywhere,
in all the links that you see in the show notes, and you can listen to his podcast and support him there. Thank you very much, sir.
Hey. Thank you, Barry. This is awesome.
Thanks for tuning into the show. For more episodes, go to about podcasting dot show, and remember to host your podcast on podhome.fm,
the most modern podcast hosting platform.