Podcasts and podcasting are quickly becoming part of main stream culture. It's no secret that the proliferation of Smart Phones and their wide spread use among consumers of all ages, has played a huge part of the so-called Podcasting Renaissance.
Podcasters are learning quickly how starting a podcast can open doors in terms of audience development. There's nothing better than literally getting “inside the heads” of your listeners when they subscribe to your show. iPhone, iPads and other smart devices put podcasts into the hands of every-day users who can access their favorite shows as they are jogging, doing household chores, walking their dog, commuting back-and-forth to work or simply looking for a way to connect to an uninterrupted stream of content surrounding their favorite hobbies or special interests.
LISTEN TO: Ms. Ileane Presents The Anchor Show
Helping Bloggers Find the “Right” Podcast
Most people will do a quick search on iTunes or Apple's podcast app to hunt for all the engaging, entertaining and educational content that their favorite podcast shows have to offer. However, because the iTunes search engine is no match to the well-oiled machine that the behemoth Google search engine has morphed into, finding the right podcast to listen to is no easy feat. Even a handy custom Google search will turn up tons of podfaded shows in the first few results. But most likely, since you're reading this blog, you're interested in finding the podcasts that can not only get you up to speed with WordPress blogging, plugin and theme development, but you're also interested in list building, social networking, copywriting and tips for creating more awesome content for your blog.
Let me give you fair warning, you'll will not find popular podcasts such as Entrepreneur On Fire with John Lee Dumas or even Pat Flynn's brand new venture Ask Pat, but what you will find here are those podcasts that might not currently appear in the “New and Noteworthy” listing on iTunes. Instead I bring your attention to the “unsung heroes” of WordPress podcasting and you'll get my suggestions based on years of subscribing and listening to thousands of shows. In this post, I'm honored to serve as your connoisseur of podcast content and introduce you to some new and some tried and true shows that can help you glide smoothly down this road toward a more successful and profitable blog.
Learning with Leslie
Is the podcast hosted by Leslie Samuel from Become a Blogger. Described in iTunes as: “Blogging, Online Business, Entrepreneurship…His message is simple – Create Content, Inspire Others and Change The World!”.
I fell in love with Leslie's podcast a few years ago and I fully support his heart-felt message about the power we have to change the world with our blogs! You can't help but smile when you listen to this one as Leslie's infectious personality will lift your spirits and motivate you to take action. Subscribe to this podcast and learn how the power of blogging helped Leslie get his dream job as a University professor and follow along with his future endeavors working to Khan Academy.
Can't miss episode: How to Build Something Bigger Than Your Blog – Interview with Michael Stelzner
The Blog Program
Is hosted by David Risley is from Blog Marketing Academy. David covers blogging, online business, and content marketing.
He also “…reveals the pathway to a successful, money-making blog. He reveals his online business and blogging strategies, marketing tips and tricks, and what's working now in the world of blogging”. David has been blogging even before WordPress existed (I know that is hard for some of us to imagine) which gives him a unique perspective that he shares with his faithful audience. David is considered one of the blogging greats and over the years, he has certainly earned the respect and adoration from those of us throughout the WordPress community. With that said, I gave David some feedback about not being to fond of his “in the car videos”and although I can't say for sure, I think my feedback inspired the change of heart he expresses in this:
Can't miss episode: The A – Z Breakdown of How I Make My Web Videos
Your Website Engineer
Is the podcast featuring Dustin Hartzler “an entertaining and informative look at creating a high quality website for your business or personal blog by using WordPress.” Dustin is truly living a dream right now. He started blogging and got interested in WordPress development about 3 years ago and recently he landed a full-time job working at Automattic. He truly turned his hobby into a career and you'll enjoy hearing Dustin's role as an official Happiness Engineer with WordPress.com. Dustin continues to talk about WordPress.org blogs and plugins on his show and he has a fantastic webinars series you can sign up for or you can visit this page to watch the replays.
Can't miss episode: Is WordPress.com The Solution for Hosting
WordPress Plug-ins A-Z
Is co-hosted by John Overall and Marcus Couch. Premise of the show: “WordPress has almost 20k plugins and growing. How do you sort the gems from the junk? Join hosts John Overall and Marcus Couch for an unrehearsed weekly conversation where they take you behind the scenes to uncover some of the great and no so great plugins.” Both Marcus and John bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this show as they share personal experiences with setting up sites for clients. Marcus is currently working on several projects including content development for WPTavern (more about that later) and another site called WordPress Radio that features a non-stop playlist which constantly streams selected WordPress podcasts. It was difficult to decide on just one episode to mention here, so I decided to reach back into the archives and track down the one where I called into the show and left an audio question about caching plugins.
Can't miss episode: WordPress Plugins- ECommerce, Thumbnails, Post Lists
The WordPress Chick Podcast
This one is from Kim Doyal. “Kim shares her journey in the world of blogging and entrepreneurship on the internet…Her motto is “WordPress Happiness Made Easy”. I admit that I was not familiar with Kim until I found her podcast on WordPress Radio. I'm truly impressed by her knowledge of WordPress and the insights she shares for using the Genesis theme framework for your blog, including set-up of eCommerce integration.
Can't miss episode: Interview with Ray Ortega of The Podcaster's Studio
BlogAid Podcast
Another female podcaster on this list is MaAnna Stephenson. Her show is also known as The Tip's Tuesday Podcast is WordPress and Online Marketing for Non-Geeks. “WordPress, SEO, online marketing, and blogging tips and interviews with industry professionals.” MaAnna is one of my favorite WordPress bloggers and she's does consulting, training and a whole host of WP services. Recently her shows have featured a ton of news covering WordPress security and keeping your site protected. Follow her show to keep up with news concerning updates for WordPress core, popular plugins like WordPress SEO by Yoast and what's new on Google+. I had a blast when MaAnna interviewed me on the show back in 2013, yet since the format of the show has changed somewhat, I'll send you over to check out this:
Can't miss episode: Year End Posts, Offsite SEO, Pinterest, 2014 Content Trends
New Rainmaker
Is the latest foray into podcasting from well known blogger Brian Clark and his team at Copyblogger. “New Rainmaker is a weekly broadcast brought to you by Brian Clark, founder and CEO of Copyblogger Media. It presents the disciplines, strategies, and tactics that can generate a flood of new business using the power of a digital media platform.” Brian is the brains behind the Genesis Theme framework and other software that supports the WordPress blogging community like Scribe SEO and Synthesis webhosting. He also helped folks like Joe Pulizzi popularize the term “content marketing” back in the early days of it's use. To be honest, I'm not really sure where Copyblogger's other podcast, The Lede ends and New Rainmaker picks up the music and the coolness of the voices keep me coming back for more. Warning: you'll need to put on your thinking cap before tuning in to this show. Check out the first episode for your introduction to New Rainmaker and you'll see exactly what I mean.
Can't miss episode: Why The Key to Business Success in Media, Not Marketing
Matt Report
Matt Medeiros' Matt Report is a “WordPress Business Podcast for entrepreneurs, startups and freelancers”. Be sure to check out Matt's interview with James Schramko for a funny story about how on single blog comment lead to an in-depth interview of the topic of building, hosting and managing WordPress websites.
Can't miss episode: 24 Ways You Can Build a Better WordPress Website
WordPress Weekly
Featuring Jeff Chandler and Sarah Gooding, this podcast is “Your weekly source of news and discussions related to WordPress as well as any projects under the Automattic umbrella.” WPTavern (the blog where this show is hosted) was just about to close it's doors for good until in a surprise announcement, the site was purchased by none other than Matt Mullenweg. This podcast brings with it the history of WordPress core development and offers insights that will help all of us improve the performance of our blogs.
Can't miss episode: Dre Armeda and Tony Perez of Sucuri
Blogging With WordPress
Is brought to you by Shawn Ozbun. The show focuses on “talk about blogging, marketing, social media, seo, driving traffic and then of course, all things WordPress! Including WordPress hosting, themes, plugins, hacks and other great WordPress tools”. This podcast has been around for a few years and it seems that Shawn is going to increase his publishing schedule to keep up with demand. It's great to see how the “podcasting renaissance” has inspired some of us to get back behind the mic and start podcasting again. I know how much you guys love WordPress plugins so check out Shawn's annual list of favorites in this episode:
Can't miss episode: 10 Must Have WordPress Plugins for 2014, I especially love #3
Ms. Ileane Speaks Podcast
Last but certainly not least is my very own podcast Ms. Ileane Speaks. I cover all things related to “Blogging Tips, Social Media Strategy, and YouTube Tips. Build a better blog through content creation mastery and making connections that matter.” According to my Libsyn stats, my latest episode seems to be a fan favorite so I'll share it with you here, it's called Optimize Your Blog: A WordPress Theme and Plugin Wish List
What's Your Favorite Podcast about Blogging
Now that you have seen and perhaps heard my list, tell me what you think. Did I miss any? What lessons have you learned from any of the podcasts you subscribe to?
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