This series is all about libsyn podcasters. Its sole purpose is to introduce these awesome podcasts to the world as well as share their podcasting insight to empower the community!
Q & A’s with Kevin from The Ends Podcast
When did you start podcasting?
For my show, I started production in October. The first episodes released in December.
Why did you start podcasting?
I started podcasting because I want these stories to be told.
There are so many lessons locked up in old books and forgotten tapes, and if I can do my part to bring some of these to light, I’ll be happy.
Plus, with the mood of the world this past year, especially America, this podcast felt appropriate.
What’s your show about?
The Ends is about endings, and the people caught up in them. Think World War One, Vesuvius, or Hurricane Katrina.
I try to keep the actual event as a sort of encroaching shadow, and focus on the stories of how people reacted in the face of massive change. And they’re not always downers!
For example, the story of the hurricane party to end all hurricane parties, or the story of the son of a cult leader reconciling with his mother in a quiet grove in Guyana.
Being in an apocalyptic situation is so rare, yet we’ll almost all experience it, and I think having some historical examples of what people did in a similar situation is helpful to navigate your own life. Plus, some of these stories are pretty cool.
What’s your podcasting set-up?
To record, I use a Heil PR40 (sorry Rob!) hooked into a Behringer mixer hooked into a Macbook pro.
I do everything on Audacity and use creative commons and royalty-free music as background for my episodes.
How have you promoted your podcast?
To promote the podcast, I paid for a Facebook ad, directing people to my website.
On that website, I had a big ol red banner on top that linked to iTunes imploring people to subscribe.
I was actually pretty happy with the results.
Otherwise, I’m making (hopefully) share-able images with quotes from the episodes on top of fun images and posting those to Twitter and Facebook.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
One was how to work my equipment. I definitely fell for the “buy a $300 microphone and things will just work” trap.
These things are nuanced, and take skill to use effectively. Respect your equipment, and put in the time and effort to learn how to use it.
Another thing is the name. Unfortunately, The and Ends are two very common words. Basically, my SEO is in the toilet right now.
I still really like the title, but pragmatically speaking I probably should have chosen something more unique. I guess it just means I’ll have to make my show that much better.
What a riveting concept! If you’re interested in seeing the way things ‘end’ and the way that we as humans draw connections and meaning, this is the podcast for you! Go ahead and subscribe, you won’t regret it!
If you’ve got your own creative concept, or new POV that you feel that should be a podcast, stop thinking about it and get started! We would love to host your podcast.
If you do wanna get started but are a bit confused about the tech and all the steps that you need, to get started, we do a monthly Podcasting QuickStart, which walks you through everything that you need to know!
