This series is all about Libsyn’s podcasters. It’s sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A with from Al from The Last Ship Podcast
When did you start podcasting?
I started podcasting in 2014, releasing my first episode two weeks before the premiere of The Last Ship.
Why did you start podcasting?
I did some radio hosting in college, had become an avid podcast listener, and decided I wanted to learn.
The Last Ship Podcast is one of three shows that I have done. One was a weekly pop-culture show that I hosted between the first two seasons of The Last Ship.
The third was a 10-episode limited run I did as a companion to a self-publishing blog that I write.
What’s your show about?
My current show is a Fan Podcast covering the TNT summer drama The Last Ship. I provide my review and analysis of each episode.
What’s your podcasting set-up? Hardware, software, CMS, etc.
My setup is fairly cheap and simple.
I record into my laptop using Audacity, and the microphone I use if the only USB mic Radio Shack at the time I went shopping—the Blue Snowball Ice.
It’s a condenser mic, but the sound is quite good. I am using my WordPress site for my RSS feed. That’s how I started, and since it has been working well, I have opted to stick with it.
How have you promoted your podcast?
I have promoted the show primarily on social media—Twitter, Facebook. During each episode of The Last Ship, I live tweet with other fans. This year I am doing daily trivia questions about The Last Ship on Anchor.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
Many people that teach podcasting will tell you content is king. While that is true, I’d say that your niche is queen, and don’t try to get fancy with your title.
I did a show last year covering sports, movies, and TV. It was the week’s news in 20 minutes. After more than 30 episodes, my downloads were the same at they were for episode 1—it just wasn’t catching on. Looking back, I believe I made two mistakes with this show:
- My topic was too broad. I discussed many different professional sports as ESPN would, along with all movie news and all TV news in all genres. Very few people would have interests that broad.
- I got cute with the title—the show was called “What’s Up on Earth?”, which clearly has nothing to do with the content of the show. How would anyone know what that show is about from the title?
My advice—get down to a very specific niche, and call your show what it is. My current show is specific to TNT’s The Last Ship, and it’s called The Last Ship Podcast. No confusion there.
If you are looking for The Last Ship fandom, why don’t you start with the Last Ship Podcast?. Subscribe. You won’t regret it!
Loving TV shows and being obsessed with fandoms are wonderful ways to get into podcasting! Do you have something that you cannot shut up about? Start a podcast! We’d love to host your media.
