That's Not A Podcasting Mistake - It's A Feature! [S3E32]

Not all mistakes made in the process of making a podcast are bad things. Sometimes, these inadvertent errors can be a gift. To help illustrate that, I’ve chosen 10 completely random examples of probable mistakes that might happen to you as you podcast, along with ways to embrace them as a hidden intention.  Publishing Your Podcast Episode On The Wrong Day Or Wrong Time Of Day - There’s no reliable mechanism to unpublish an episode of a podcast and publish the exact same file again later. So instead of freaking out and beating yourself up over your error, use it an opportunity to learn how a change in time impacts your metrics. Skipping A Plugin In The Mastering Chain - Maybe you forgot to add in noise reduction or some other filter or plugin you always use. Well… did it sound better to you? Did it sound better to your audience? Their opinion just might change yours. Adding/Removing Too Much Space Between Segments - Sometimes you’re in a hurry or you accidentally click and drag a segment out of place, changing now long bed music plays before the VO part announces the next segment. The episode probably sounds weird, with that one bit sounding quite different than the rest of the program. But does it sound good? Is the change of feeling, now that you’ve heard it, something worth exploring?  Promoting With A Full-Length Audiogram Instead Of A Clip - It’s easy to accidentally make an audiogram out of your entire episode instead of the short clip you had highlighted. And if the social destination you’re publishing on will allow it, your audience might see a 30-minute long audiogram from your show in their timeline. Did you stumble across a new publishing platform that at least some of your audience prefer? Or do you have new content you can upload to longer-form video platforms that helps your show stand apart? Your Podcast Guest Isn’t A Good Fit For Your Show - You may very well find yourself with a guest that just doesn’t fit. Maybe they weren’t vetted properly. Maybe they’re just “off” that day. But are they saying interesting things? Can you find a way to use the content they are giving you for a different episode, perhaps one you haven’t even conceived of? See if you can make something out of it later, maybe as a bonus episode. Recording Without Your Favorite Microphone - Every one us has a microphone we carry with us everywhere. While no one is going to confuse the depth of sound captured by an SM7B with the built-in microphone on any cell phone, they work in a pinch. What can you capture on your phone in the field that you can use to build a great episode when you get back in your studio? Losing Access To Your Sound Library - You may find yourself without access to your trusted library of music, effects, and loops. Now what? Maybe this is an opportunity to try one of the newer services. Or if you’re really in a pinch, you now have an excuse to revisit the Freesound projec (https://freesound.org/)t, if only until you have the time to carefully vet new services.  Losing Access To Your DAW - I know it’s been a while, but free software like Audacity (https://www.audacityteam.org/) is still out there, and you still remember how to use it. And sometimes, doing “less production” is an interesting break for you and your audience.  When “Oh Shit, I’m Recording TODAY?!” Happens - Through a fluke of scheduling, you’ve nothing lined up. No guest. No well-researched topic. So… lean into it. Riff on a topic all on your own. Respond to some listener feedback. Talk about future plans for the show. Don’t try to fake a normal episode. instead, take the opportunity to give your audience something different from you and the show. You Forgot To Socially Promote An Episode - At some point, you’ll forget to kick off the promotional process you’ve developed. Examine the data for that episode compared to others. Are you getting positive responses from people thanking you for not flooding your social profiles with... Support this podcast