245 Podcast Answer Man – PDF Files In Your Feed – Are Facebook Fan Pages A Thing of The Past? – Interview with Jason Cabassi And More!

by Cliff Ravenscraft on January 19, 2012

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How Do I Get Rid of This Hiss Sound?
Tom called in and told us that he had a hiss sound when he talks into his microphone. While I didn’t have enough information to diagnose his problem, I did share how I typically go about troubleshooting such issues. The key is going through, step by step, to rule out problems within each item within the equipment setup.

Help! I have PDF documents in my iTunes Feed!
Kirk called in and said that he’s got an issue where iTunes is pulling in a PDF document that was linked to in the show notes of a recent podcast episode, but the .mp3 file would not come through. In the episode, I share how he can go about fixing this issue.

Are Facebook Fan Pages A Thing of The Past?
I am so happy to bring in my great friend, Erik J. Fisher, as our official gspn.tv Social Media Correspondent. This week, Erik brings us up to speed on an issue where Facebook fan pages are not getting as much exposure in the news feed as personal profile “subscriptions.” I encourage you to check out the full article that we discussed by clicking here.

Podcast Mastermind Group
I briefly mentioned that the Podcast Mastermind Group that I have been planning for the past few months is about to launch this weekend. If you would like become one of the charter members, please email me today at Cliff@PodcastAnswerMan.com.

Where Are They Now Interview
Jason Cabassi does a television show fan podcast called The Waking Dead Cast. The Waking Dead television show is based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, written by Robert Kirkman.

The following description is from the show’s about page: “AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead.”

Jason and his co-host Karen were huge fans of the television series and they had already been enjoying lengthy conversations about the tv show before deciding to podcast about it.

In the early part of our interview, you hear that Jason actually launched his fan podcast several months before the television show actually started. As a result, he thought that he would have the first fan podcast devoted to the show. Jason was shocked, however, to learn that there were already two other Walking Dead podcasts that had already launched before him. I think this is valuable information because, as you hear later in the interview, the fact the he was not the first to market did not keep him from experiencing a tremendous amount of success in getting the actors on to his show, doing something that he’s not able to share due to a non-disclosure agreement, and the potential of actually being on the show in the next season.

I hope that this is a source of inspiration for those of you who became discouraged to learn that there were already a number of podcasts devoted to the niche topic that you wanted to focus on with your podcast. I was about the fifth or sixth LOST podcast out there and that single show led to my currently full-time career in podcasting. So don’t worry about the others in your niche field. Create your unique show and get your voice out there!

An interesting note about Jason is that he is a technical writer by day and he used to work for Apple. He actually wrote the owners manual for the first ever iPod and the iPhone. It was when Apple decided to incorporate podcasting into iTunes that he was first introduced to the world of Podcasting. At first, he was very skeptical of the idea of listening to content created by random people without professional broadcast training. However, it did not take him long at all to find a few shows that were created around topics for which he was passionate about to quickly turn him into a fan of audio podcasts.

I hope that you find the conversation with Jason inspiring to you in your own podcasting journey and that you’ll be able to use that inspiration to take your own show to the next level.

Blue Host Affiliate Signups
Special thanks to the folks behind http://88888ee.com for using my Blue Host affiliate link this past week to create their hosting account. As you know, I earn a commission each time someone clicks through my link to sign up with Blue Host. So thank you!

Random Plug of The Week
This week’s random plug of the week goes out to the How To Be Happy Podcast from Jared & Emily Akers. If you take some time to check out their podcast, please let them know that you heard about them from The Podcast Answer Man.

PODCAST CONSULTING: I’m available for one on one podcast consulting and coaching. Whether you want someone to get everything set up for you or you just need a little help along the way, I’d love to work with you. Please take a look at my consulting/coaching options.

PODCAST VIDEO TUTORIALS: I also have a growing list of video tutorials that I have created based up on the the top things my clients have hired me to help them with. See the full list of tutorials by clicking here.

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Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

Quick Note: Richard A wrote me an email and said.

"Someone called in a question about HISS. You replied that he could have sent a mp3 so you could hear what he was talking about instead of calling via phone. You gave a multitude of possible reasons but I think you left out one important one.

I own three small Berhinger mixers and I've noticed that the pre-amps are not the best. When the channel gain is turned up too high you can hear noise or hiss. Maybe reducing the channel gain on the mixer and increasing the gain on the digital recorder might solve his problem."

catholicworship 5 pts

AWESOME podcast, just recorded my FIRST Podcast as if it were a radio show bringing in sound clips from my iPad DURING the podcast and I won't go back to edit any "umms". Great tip Cliff. 2 questions though:

1) I'm using my iPad with a playlist called "Podcasts" to store podcast media, will that suffice or do you recommend and mac-compatible software to bring in audio clips like I saw you mention "Podcastpro" or something like that in episode 37 or so.

2) What are your thoughts on using "Advanced Podcasts" that allow users to click forward through your episode to the different sections? And about adding "artwork" to a podcast. I've been doing this via post production, but I'm not sure if it's worth it or not.

ManCaveRadio 7 pts

Cliff, what a fun surprise to be listening and learning from the interview with Jason Cabassi and suddenly hear you mention that on Man Cave Radio, J. J. and I refer to our listeners as "Cave Crashers." This was another great episode ... I love the new social media correspondence so I don't have to listen to a separate podcast on that, and your "Where Are They Now?" interviews are packed amazingly full with helpful information and inspiration.

I received my invitation to the Podcast Mastermind Group, have already confirmed that my wife agrees it is a good idea, and Lord willing will be submitting my application soon.

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

ManCaveRadio SWEET! I AM SO EXCITED that you will be a charter member of The Podcast Mastermind. I can't wait to introduce to the other folks that have already signed up.

ButchGibson 7 pts

Maybe I'm a late bloomer, but I just started a Facebook fan page. I'm hoping it will be the thing of the future. If it matters, I've run into a few different issues that maybe I could go into offline by request. I'll tell more about the fan page I created though. The page is devoted to pictures of people taken by themselves at various public events. Sometimes (most of the time) of people that I don't know. Even though I may upload them to my own personal page, I didn't want people to feel compelled to by a Facebook friend in order to interact with their pictures. Not sure if there are any other reasons but I'm hoping that I'll be able to ride the Facebook fan page wave for awhile longer.

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

ButchGibson Butch, make sure you don't miss episode 247 when it comes out. You are going to LOVE our segment on Edge Rank!

TommyGKendrick 14 pts

What a great tip about time stamping and editing interviews. I have told myself to start time stamping but I hadn't thought about editing from last to first to avoid time shifting the edit points. Common sense, but I wouldn't have done that without learning the hard way. Thanks.

My latest conversation: itunes

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

TommyGKendrick Glad to share this with you. I learned the hard way. ;)

nkristianson 7 pts

Cliff,

LOVING the new SEO segment! Learned more in that short segment than other entire podcasts I listen to regularly. So glad to see you narrowing your focus on Podcast Answer Man. It is really coming through on this end. Thank you and keep it coming.

My latest conversation: Need A Logo For Your Small Business

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

nkristianson Thank you so much. BTW, Wait until you hear the 13 minute segment on EDGE RANK in episode 247. It will KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF!

Folks may have been sad to see Social Media Serenity go. However, these 10 to 15 minute segments are going to pack more power in them than an entire episode of those old episodes of Social Media Serenity. :)

thatnickjones 9 pts

Great episode. I have had some issues with Behringer mixers with hissing as well. Honestly, I have concluded that their boards just aren't that great. I switched over to a Mackie, using the same components. Problem solved. Hope that helps.

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

thatnickjones Mackie is my preferred brand for mixers. :)

masonworld 21 pts

Hey gspn Cliff -- did I miss the announcement about TPM?

My latest conversation: What You Can Do To Maximize Your Traffic

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

masonworld So excited to have you as a CHARTER MEMBER of The Podcast Mastermind. Man I am sitting here looking at the folks that have signed up. This is going to be HUGE!

xforce11 17 pts

Kirk, our church uses Sermon Audio to host our podcasts with PDF's (http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourc...)

erictimmer 5 pts

I have the same hiss when I record as well with the Xenyx 802 and Shure. I plug mine into my MBP. I have tried analog and via a USB adapter. I got sick of fighting it and just use Audacity noise removal. I wonder if it could the noise could be "dirty" power from the house?

TommyGKendrick 14 pts

erictimmer I formerly used a little Behringer mixer. The preamp in it was VERY noisy. I could never make the hisss go away entirely. Switched to a different mixer (Allen and Heath Zed 14) and there was great improvement, but still some faint hisssss. Added the Behringer MDX4600 and followed Cliff's tutorial video and put the settings exactly as his and problem solved. Cheap cables can also be a culprit. But if you have a noisy preamp it's an uphill battle. www.actorstalkpodcast.com

My latest conversation: itunes

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

TommyGKendrickerictimmer Tommy has the right idea.. You have to keep working on eliminating possible causes. And yes, those cables can pick up interference.

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

erictimmer I'll share the same thing with you that I shared with the caller. I need to be able to hear this sound that you speak of. Any chance you'd be willing to UNPLUG EVERYTHING. Then, plug in the power to the Mixer, plug the mic, via XLR into the mixer, and the only other cable from the mixer would be going from TAPE OUT to the LINE IN of a digital audio recorder.

This scenario should produce a VERY CLEAR SIGNAL. If you are sending audio from the mixer to the computer, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW, then I would say that there is a 99% change the static is due to the computer.

Angelo Mandato 6 pts

Re PDF Files In Your Feed: If you use PowerPress plugin, it will prevent multiple posts per feed and turn off the auto enclose media links, which will solve the problem your 2nd caller was having.

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

Angelo Mandato Good Point Angelo. Though, I believe that Feedburner "could" still pick up the PDF if it is LINKED in the post. I could be wrong.

I recently linked to a PDF in episode 246 at http://PodcastAnswerMan.com/mastermind. However, I uploaded it to My Cloud App and linked to it there. Like this: http://share.gspn.tv/Dgu0

BTW, Have you noticed that I've had every client that I work with and every person who purchases my tutorials at http://PodcastAnswerMan.com/products using PowerPress ever since we had that GoToMeeting session a few years back?

Wondering if you would like to be a guest expert for one of my Podcast Mastermind Success Seminars. If you would be interested, it would be set up via GoToWebinar and I would record the session as you go through and explain anything and everything you want about PowerPress. Just let me know my friend.

amandato 6 pts

Cliff RavenscraftAngelo Mandato

My Could App PDF linking is smart, WP will not detect the URL because it doesn't directly link to the PDF, thus avoiding the problem.

I did notice and I noticed you've been using PowerPress for your main site as well. Awesome! I hope you've discovered all the nifty features in the PowerPress Tools (like the find & replace media URLs tool) area as well as Category/Channels features. Next update will allow you tie Channels to Custom Post Types in WP 3.2+.

A GoToWebinar about PowerPress with you sounds awesome. Directly Email me the details cio [at] rawvoice dot com thanks!

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

amandatoAngelo Mandato I will do so when I return from my trip to Orlando. I get back some time after 2/15/12. Look forward to it Angelo. ;)

jaredakers 7 pts

Wow, thanks for the link and plug Cliff. I'm extremely humbled... really. I can't think you enough for all you do. We just published our second episode tonight and had a blast! And getting the work-flow down from your video and your Wordpress tutorial was invaluable!

Prior to that I was recording and mixing all the intro, theme music, audio etc. in Soundbooth then having to mix it all down. What a pain! We now use podproducer, a little netbook, sm57 mics, Roland R05, and the Behringer Xenyx 802. Just check levels, cue it all up and go in one recording and taking the single .wav into Soundbooth. So much quicker and easier. Thanks again!

Cliff Ravenscraft 37 pts moderator

jaredakers Jared, it is my pleasure sir. You know, so much of my early success had to do with existing podcasters who promoted what I was doing on their show. I hope that it gave you a little bump in your numbers. More importantly, I hope that you get a few folks who stick around for the long haul!

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