NextStage’s Joseph Carrabis will be using his experience in brain science to predict the 2008 Election outcome today, Monday, 3 November at 3:00pm ET on Adam Zand’s Really Big Shoe show. Want to know how you’re going to vote? Listen in and take part.

You have been invited by Adam Zand to join a live Community Call.
Adam Zand’s Really Big Shoe (Join in)
Host: Adam Zand – ThisDudeAbides.Zand at gmail

Episode: EPISODE23 – Adam Zand’s Really Big Shoe
The world will fundamentally change on Election Day – The Big Shoe talks to Joseph Carrabis for a preview and a review of political social media efforts and effects. Carrabis is Chairman and Chief Research Officer of NextStage Evolution, LLC, NextStage Global LTD, and a founder of KnowledgeNH, NH Business Development Network and the Center for Semantic Excellence. He’s a Senior Research Fellow and Advisory Board Member to the Society for New Communications Research and frequent contributor to www.SoMeElection08.ning.com. You’ve heard the pundits and the pollsters but what does Joseph’s online predictive crystal ball tell about how close the election is (http://tinyurl.com/63hec9); how messages are being received and re-interpreted and if O.J. Simpson is really a factor -http://tinyurl.com/669kc8. We’ll catch up on Joseph’s consulting business (http://www.nextstagevolution.com) and share best practices for marketers in the fields of predictive intelligence, persuasion engineering and interactive analytics. Joseph Carrabis and The Really Big Shoe will reveal what’s behind the voting booth curtain.

Call ID: 18410

Personal Message from the Host:
You’ve heard the pundits and pollsters but have you got your predictive analytics fix on Election 2008? Joseph Carrabis is our guest for a preview and a review of political social media efforts and effects. As Chairman and Chief Research Officer of NextStage Evolution, Joseph has been feeding us nuggets at www.SoMeElection08.ning.com. We’ll look at the political and business ramifications of the science and art of predictive intelligence, persuasion engineering and interactive analytics. Most importantly, The Really Big Shoe will reveal what’s behind the voting booth curtain.

Phone Number: (724) 444-7444 Call ID: 18410

Date: Monday November 3, 2008
Time: 03:02 PM EDT

Call in:
Dial: (724) 444-7444
Enter: 18410 # (Call ID)
Enter: 1 # or your PIN

We just hit our two year anniversary for Personal Life Media and just attained Featured Provider Status in iTunes!

Just as individual podcasts can be featured in iTunes, networks can be featured too. The place where networks are featured is on the Podcast home page on the “Featured Provider” list.

Since we started the network two years ago, it’s been a goal of ours to make it to the “Featured Provider” list on iTunes. We check it almost every day, and think “someday we’ll be on that list”. You can imagine how excited we were to log in to iTunes just a few minutes ago to discover Personal Life Media right there on the featured providers list… between PBS and PRI.

Of course the company is only as strong as the hosts in the network, so this is something that makes us very proud of the talent with whom we associate. It’s a recognition to our hosts and their acheivements that they are in the company of some of the most well known media brands in America.

Thank you, iTunes. Onward and upward!

I just interviewed Bill Tancer, author of the new book “What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters – CLICK: Unexpected Insights for Business and Life.” (phew) He will be on an upcoming episode of DishyMix.

One of the most fascinating insights in a book chock full of train-wreck style tidbits was a list of the top fifteen social “fear of” searches. Apparently we will divulge our innermost fears to Google…

Bill also says that the “strongest recurring theme that presents itself is the battle between two types of social anxieties: the fear of commitment and the fear of being alone.”

Here are the top fifteen social “fear of” searches:

1. Intimacy
2. Rejection
3. People
4. Success
5. Crowds
6. Failure
7. Sex
8. Commitment
9. Public Speaking
10. Being Along
11. Love
12. Girls
13. Falling in love
14. Abandonment
15. Broken heart

On my podcast network, we have 25 shows (more coming soon!) and 9 of them are about sex, love, intimacy, being a fearless lover, manhood and more. They are very popular. If you live your life in any way other than the total embrace of deep intimacy with your lover and your friends, you should tune in to the master, Chip August, host of “Sex, Love & Intimacy.”

Click below to listen now, download it free or subscribe free from iTunes.
Let me know what you think!

Sex, Love and Intimacy

I’m taking a page from Andy Beal and Dave Taylor’s Aloha Social Media Summit at which I spoke recently. They cleverly convened a small working group and imparted a ton of information ranging from uber concepts to picayune tactical details about Social Media Marketing.

The value of that small group exchange inspired me to conduct a similar training session for the hosts of the shows on our podcast network.

Here’s the agenda we’re planning. I’d love your feedback on anything crucial I’ve missed or what you think is most important about these subjects.

PLM HOST TRAINING AGENDA

• Setting up and maintaining a Facebook profile – the whys and hows.
• Using Twitter to increase your audience and extend your brand.
• Leveraging LinkedIn Answers, DIGG and vertical networks to increase your audience.
• What is a widget? Podcast player strategies for increasing your listenership and growing your fanbase.
• Creating and adding the Free PLM Podcast widget to your social media pages for your fans.
• Tracking Your Online Reputation and Blogging Opportunities with Google Alerts and my personal choice, Trackur.
• The line between personal and professional in the social web. (Blog Post Here on Personal/Professional)
• How to promote yourself in the blogosphere using blog commenting strategies and link bait.
• Blogging tips and tricks including guest bloggers, Facebook and Twitter promotion and inserting your show buttons and photos into posts.
• Rocking iTunes. How to optimize for iTunes and how you can get featured.
• Getting your audience involved in growing your show. Notify Me!, Survey.Personallifemedia.com and iTunes Reviews.
• Creating and distributing promotional videos, video blogging, Seesmic/Viddler and YouTube.

If you haven’t yet listened to my interview with Pete Blackshaw, the man who coined the term CGM (consumer generated media) and recent author of “Tell 3000,” you might want to check it out now. Pete has just been elected the Chairman of the Better Business Bureau. Wow. He’s a huge advocate in the customer awarness/service/support space and this appointment will do wonders to inject the web-perspective into a group of more traditional business owners.

Here’s a link to the show and the press release is posted below.

Congratulations, Pete! They are lucky to have you and the business world just got better.

Pete Blackshaw on Expression Platforms, Digital Detox and the Love Spot

Council of Better Business Bureaus Elects Pete Blackshaw as New Board Chairman

Executive Vice President, Nielsen Online, to Support BBB Mission of Advancing Marketplace Trust during Two-year Term

Arlington, VA – October 15, 2008 – The Council of Better Business Bureaus today announced the election of Pete Blackshaw as the new Chairman of the Council’s Board of Directors. A recognized expert in customer satisfaction, digital marketing and word-of-mouth advertising, Mr. Blackshaw is the Executive Vice President, Digital Strategic Services, for Nielsen Online and author of the recently released and highly-praised book, Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000.

“We are extremely pleased to have Pete serve as our Chairman and welcome his fresh ideas and deep, first-hand experience with evolving issues such as customer empowerment and consumer-generated media,” said Steve Cole, Council President and CEO. “Pete’s dedication and expertise will help us focus and execute our strategic plan in the digital realm and bolster our rebranding initiative to more effectively help consumers find trustworthy businesses.”

Mr. Blackshaw joined the Council Board of Directors in April of 2008, and his two-year appointment to the Chairman position was made effective at BBB’s annual Assembly in San Francisco during the October 5 board meeting.

In his capacity as board chair, Blackshaw will also serve as a member of the BBB-administered National Advertising Review Council (NARC).

“The future direction of the marketplace is predicated on many factors, not the least of which is listening to and engaging increasingly empowered consumers” said Blackshaw.

“Great brands are built on a foundation of integrity, performance, and credibility and I look forward to helping BBB continue realizing its vision of creating an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust one another.”

In 2004, Mr. Blackshaw co-founded the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), and played a key role in developing and promoting its ethics code centering on transparency, honesty, and disclosure in word-of-mouth communication. Previously, in 1999, he founded PlanetFeedback, one of the Web’s longest running online consumer feedback services.

In 1998, while at Procter & Gamble, Mr. Blackshaw played an instrumental role in P&G being named Advertising Age Magazine’s “Interactive Marketer of the Year,” and two years later, the magazine named him one of the nation’s top twenty individual interactive marketers. Earlier this year, he was one of three “Industry Achievement Award” winners by ad:tech, one of the Web’s largest conference organizations.

I have three new DishyMix episodes for ya’. Kevin Ryan, John Zogby and Justin Smith. I’m very, very pleased with the Zogby show and you can learn a TON from Justin about Facebook. So…

Strap on a motorcycle and let Kevin take you for a ride. Slap on a headset and cruise Facebook-for-Marketers with Justin. Get some retail therapy politico-style with Zogby. Three great episodes. Not only do I hope you’ll tune in, I hope you’ll tell three friends too!

I have goodies for you too. Get a free conference pass to Search Engine Strategies Chicago or NY. Get an autographed copy of “The Way We’ll Be: The Transformation of the New American Dream.” Download a free copy of “The Facebook Marketing Bible.”

Tell me why YOU need one of these treats by posting your desire on my DishyMix Facebook Fan Club.

Kevin M. Ryan on Thuggish Anonymity, Zen + Motorbikes and Cash Multiples

Everyone knows Kevin Ryan. Whether from reading his iMedia Search column, watching him take the SES conferences ever more global or from his SEM work at IPG, Motivity, Kinetic or Walstrom. You’ve heard of Kevin Ryan or seen him in action at every digital media event. Now discover his lates…more.

John Zogby, Preeminent Pollster on The American Dream, Retail Politics and the Value Chasm

Meet John Zogby, head of the eponymous research and polling firm whose clients comprise an exhaustive list of the top news firms including Reuters, C-Span, NBC, the NY Times, and Fox. John is a spot-on predictor of consumer sentiments and in addition to tracking the upcoming 2008… more.

Justin Smith, Inside Facebook on Drinking from the Watercooler, Talking Smack and the Beauty of eBooks

Meet Justin Smith, editor of “Inside Facebook,” the biggest blog covering social media marketing and app development and author of my favorite ebookever, “The Facebook Marketing Bible.” Justin, in his spare time (as he’s one of those Silicon Valley Brilliants w… more.

In addition to DishyMix, we produce 25 other shows on the Personal Life Media network. I thought you might be interested in one or more of these gems too. Recent shows cover positive ego, happiness, dealing with anger, new energy, ecopreneurs, preserving relationships and more below.

Living Dialogues
Episode 67: Jay Inslee – Apollo’s Fire and Duncan’s New Energy for a New World

In this episode of our Engaged Elder series, I dialogue with Jay Inslee, U.S. Congressman from Seattle, who for a number of years has been the leading voice in the U.S. Congress for what I term New Energy and a New Energy economy. Si… more

Buddhist Geeks
Episode 92: Buddhist Studies in the West

Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins, one of the most important figure in the development of Tibetan Buddhist Studies in the United States, joins us to discuss the importance of academic studies. We explore what Buddhist studies are like in the West, the relationship between being a scholar and practitioner, and…more.
Evolutionary Sales
Episode 29: Deepening Your Understanding of Your Self; Positive Ego Development Part 1 of 2

In this two part series, you’ll get a guided visualization for overcoming your fears about selling. Then in the second episode, Jason takes you deeper into the difference that makes the difference—especially in these economic times. Your ego; your esteem for yourself… more.

Joy of Living Creatively
Episode 40: Preserving Relationships

Today’s episode is part of a series called “Nine Relationship Skills for Artists.” In the series we look at relationships skills that artists can nurture so as to become more effective advocates for their creative work and more comfortable players in the art marketplace. … more.

Just For Women
Episode 59: The Venerable Robina Courtin, Tibetan Buddhist Nun, Talks Candidly about Happiness and It’s Causes and the Power of the Mind

In this rare and riveting interview with Tibetan Buddhist Nun, The Venerable Robina Courtin, we hear straight talk on the powerful tenets of Buddhism that render us completely responsible for the quality of ours lives. A lively and passionate speaker on the importance of being the in… more.

The New Man
Episode 33: Robert Masters: So What Do You Do With Your Anger?

Anger is an emotion, something we feel in our bodies very vicerally. What we do with our anger is another story entirely. Anger gets its bad name from anger expressed as aggression or violence. In this episode, Robert examines this distinction and give us insights on how… more.

GreenTalk Radio
Episode 136: Green Blogger Series: Paul Smith of TriplePundit and Ecopreneurist

GreenTalk Radio host Sean Daily talks with green blogger Paul Smith from TriplePundit.com and Ecopreneurist.com.

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If you’ve listened to my show, you know I am trying to double my numbers and get to 25,000 listeners by the end of the year. I just broke 14,000 in September and have 90 days to get to my goal. That means I have to grow nearly 80 percent. Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!

I’m scared. How am I going to make it???

The ONLY way is with your help. You’d have to recommend me to a friend (or three)…

Coming up I have Kevin Ryan of Motivity; Dave Evans of Digital Voodoo; Marcus Buckingham of The Truth About You; Simon Van Wyk of Regional Media Networks Australia; Beth Comstock, CMO of GE; Bill Tancer from Hitwise; Jonathan Salem-Baskin of DimBulb; Bob Schmetter of EuroRSCG; Tara Hunt aka “Miss Rogue;” Matt Williams of The Martin Agency on the WE campaign; Tom Hespos of Underscore Marketing; Renny Gleeson of Weiden + Kennedy and Lee Daley, famous from running Saatchi UK.

This latest episode with John Zogby may be my most interesting show ever. I hope you’ll tune in!

John Zogby, Preeminent Pollster on The American Dream, Retail Politics and the Value Chasm

Here’s my archive – if there’s a show a friend might like, will you pay it forward?

DM 066: Justin Smith, Inside Facebook on Drinking from the Watercooler, Talking Smack and the Beauty of eBooks
DM 065: Ellen Siminoff, CEO of Shmoop on Homework Helpers, The State of SEM and Being a Great Board Member
DM 064: Sean Cheyney: 21st Century Marketer, Scrabble Aficionado and Multi-Variate Mad Scientist
DM 063: Stephan Spencer on Top SEO Blog Mistakes, Social Media Power User Hacks and Sticky Posts
DM 062: Paul Woolmington, Naked Communications on Brilliant Misfits, Integrated Marketing Communications, Mountain Gorillas and Titanium Lions
DM 061: Pete Blackshaw on Expression Platforms, Digital Detox and the Love Spot
DM 060: Mary Brown, JWT BOOM on Boomer Archetypes, Seasoned Sexuality and the “Club Sandwich Generation”
DM 059: Alex Bogusky of Crispin, Porter + Bogusky on Culture Jamming, Hermie the Pygmy Elephant and Telling the Subservient Chicken to Go “Pluck” Himself
DM 058: Peter Shankman, “Hottest Male Blogger,” on How To Help A Reporter, Outrageous PR Stunts and Adrenaline Addiction
DM 057: Ori Brafman, Author of “Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior” on Purchase Psychology, Interview Insights and Employee Incentives
DM 056: Rohit Bhargava, Author of “Personality Not Included” and 360 Degree Digital Influencer at Ogilvy PR
DM 055: John Battelle on Google’s Mathmatical Equation, Acting Like a Media Company, Video Search and Having Lots of Dry Powder Part 2 of 2
DM 054: John Battelle on The Conversation Economy, Hairy World Issues and High School Musicals Part 1 of 2.
DM 053: Charlene Li, author of Groundswell on Emotional Motivations and the 5 Objectives of Social Media
DM 052: Jon Swartz, USA Today Tech Journo and Author of “Zero Day Threat: The Shocking Truth of How Banks and Credit Bureaus Help Cybercrooks Steal Your Money.”
DM 051: Andy Beal, author of “Radically Transparent” on Creating Your Personal Brand, 26 DIY Reputation Management Freebies and Twitter as Mentor
DM 050: Sean X. Cummings on Lateral Thinking, Social Networking Implants and the Buddhism of Advertising
DM 049: Jason Heller, Laredo Group on Synchronicity, Digital Natives and Swimming with Hammerheads
DM 048: Annette Tonti, CEO of MoFuse on Connected Intelligence, Raising Venture Funding and Mobilizing Your Blog
DM 047: Author Joe Pine on the Principles of Influential Authenticity, The Experience Economy and Phoniness Generating Machines
DM 046: Gina Bianchini, Ning CEO on Top Tips for Attracting Members to Social Networks, Viral Expansion Loops and Listener Love
DM 045: Vince Thompson on Being an Ignited Middle Manager, Universe Maps, The Bigger Yes and Your Personal BOD
DM 044: Bratton Revealed: DishyMix Host Susan Shares Her Rocky Patches, Self-Promotion Tips and Her Allure with Your Personal Life
DM 043: Mark Silva, Real Branding on Consolidating Social Maps, the “New School” of Beer and the Connected Agency
DM 042: Doug Weaver, Upstream Group on Digital Media Sales Talent, Faustian Bargains and the Advertising Revenue Shortfall
DM 041: Sarah Fay, CEO, Carat USA and Isobar US on Corporate Sustainability, African Safari and Managing Billions in Media Integration
DM 040: Julie Roehm, Firebrand, Press Icon, F500 Marketer and Change Agent on The Importance of Culture
DM 039: Rafe Needleman, Editor-at-Large of C|Net’s Webware Site on “Rafe’s Fav’s,” Being Happy and Brilliant Web Aps.
DM 038: Seth Godin, Leader of the New Marketing Movement on Authenticity, Google Dicing and Orange Rubber Squids
DM 037: Eric Maisel on Creativity, Life Purpose, Blog Tours and Sleep Thinking
DM 036: Patricia Martin, Author, RenGen and President, LitLamp Communications Group
DM 035: Amy Powell, SVP Interactive Marketing – Paramount: Secret Crushes, Iron Chef & Movie Marketing
DM 034: Wenda Harris Millard, Martha Stewart Living on Intelligent Marketing, The Go-Go Days and Food Trends
DM 033: Adam Gerber, CMO Quantcast on The Soul of the Viewer and the Enablement Side
DM 032: WOZ Steve Wozniak, Apple Computer on Inventing as Art, Philanthropy and the Spirit of Creativity Part 2 of 2
DM 031: WOZ Steve Wozniak, Apple Computer on Inventing as Art, Philanthropy and the Spirit of Creativity Part 1 of 2
DM 030: Doron Wesly, Millward Brown’s “Stats Man” Dishes the Gossip With Suz on “Chardonnay Tawk”
DM 029: Dov Seidman of LRN and Author of “How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything… in Business (and in Life)
DM 028: Daina Middleton, HP Marketer, Shenanigans and Power Tools
DM 027: Scott Rafer, CEO of Lookery on Facebook Aps, Europreneurs and Sleeper Networks
DM 026: Mary Hodder, founder & CEO, Dabble on Video Search, Key Takeaways and Insider’s Tip to The Best Conferences
DM 025: Doug Weaver and Scot McLernon, Upstream Group on Training Digital Sellers, the Retention Crisis and “The One Thing You Need to Know.”
DM 024: David Scott Carlick, Vantage Point Venture Partners on Life, Love and Taxation
DM 023: Joseph Carrabis, Founder, NextStage Evolution on “Why People Do What They Do.”
DM 022: David Clark, EVP and GM, Joost — Big Brother, Buddha Collector and TV “Re-Inventor.”
DM 021: Marc Canter, Broadband Mechanics on Open Social Networks, Threesomes and Cutting Through the Bull
DM 020: Mitch Joel, President, Twist Image on Power Speaking and Personal Branding
DM 019: C.C. Chapman, The Advance Guard – From Deep in New Media
DM 018: Scott Kauffman, President and COO of Blue Lithium
DM 017: John Durham, CEO of Catalyst SF “Market Capitalist” and “Cork Dork”
DM 016: “Matzoh Man” Pinny Gniwisch, Founder of ICE.com
DM 015: Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Content Hurricane
DM 014: Brad Berens, iMedia’s Editorial Headman Tracks Audiences for 400 Years
DM 013: Mike Donahue, EVP, American Association of Advertising Agencies on Killer Margaritas, Top TV Commercials and Eccentric Parts
DM 012: Brian Morrissey: Adweek Reporter on Running Ultra-Marathons, PigDogs, Man-on-Man Chivalry and More
DM 011: Bob Garfield, Ad Age AdCritic, NPR Personality, Experimental Essayist and Author, Fearless Journalist – Launch into the Bobosphere!
DM 010: Lois Kelly: Foghound Lifts the Fog on Marketing Heaven, Alpha Fraidy Cats, Jerk-O-Meters, Seeing Patterns and More
DM 009: Get a Clue about David Weinberger: Author, Blogger, Speaker, Fellow, Twitterer, Commentator, Columnist and Willing ‘Word Association’ Player
DM 008: Rex Briggs, CEO, Marketing Evolution – Obsessions: Fast Cars, Bright Shoes and More
DM 007: Kevin Wassong, President, Minyanville Publishing and Multimedia Transitions From Agency Guy to Publisher
DM 006: Sir Ken Robinson, Creativity and Innovation Expert
DM 005: David Cowan, Managing Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners on Critical Thinking and More
DM 004: Meredith Medland, Founder, 3Outcomes Talks Hapkido, Visualization and Living Green
DM 003: Chris Fralic: Partner at Innovative Early Stage VC First Round Capital, Former eBay and Del.icio.us Exec Tells All
DM 002: Fantasy Marketing, Virtual Worlds and Heart and Guts with Jack Myers
DM 001: The Sweetest Side of a Digital Marketing Industry Editor with Tobi Elkin

If you’re a podcaster, you must spend time promoting your show once you’ve created and produced it.

In addition to consistently delivering episodes and participating in social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, you should also keep up with the top bloggers in your space. First you have to determine key words and phrases that indicate conversations in which you might participate. Then you can post your comments on the blog posts of those bloggers who are writing about your area of expertise.

One of two good things will happen if you post comments on blogs. First, the other readers will become aware of you and if you note that you have a podcast that covers the subject matter, they might check you out. Secondly that blogger will not only become aware of you, but might interview you or promote you on their blog.

Providing valuable blog comments and adding to the conversation on a blog will endear you to that blogger and open the door for a deeper relationship.

How do you find those bloggers who are in your sphere? Here’s a post I did about a conversation I had with Andy Beal of Marketing Pilgrim that will give you many clever and free ways to find key bloggers.

Specific Instructions for Targeting Bloggers in Your Sphere

Once you know WHO you are following that helps. But there will be many posts on blogs from bloggers you might not track. In general, it’s a good idea to track the online buzz about the keywords associated with your world from across the web.

Here’s the easy way I track the buzz for DishyMix. I monitor what’s being said online about me (“Susan Bratton”), about my show (“DishyMix”), about my company (“Personal Life Media”) and about keywords like “podcast advertising.” I comb websites, the blogosphere and Twitter, and then post and respond where appropriate with my point of view. I always link back to my show page or to a blog post I’ve written or even to a specific episode of DishyMix that relates to the issue in discussion.

I believe that helps bring awareness to my podcast, which is the foundation of my online persona.

I used to use the free Google Alerts to track keywords. I’ve just switched to Trackur, a service created by Andy Beal. I am now a Trackur customer for a couple of reasons:

• With Google Alerts, you get a separate email for every keyword. With Trackur, you can either access all your alerts in the web interface or get an email digest.
• Trackur is great at digging up things Google never finds. Trackur finds posts in BlogLines, in Twitter and discovers a lot more of the social media conversation than does Google Alerts.

Now I check Trackur and it tells me all the places the I might post a comment or engage with a Twitterer. Right from the Trackur interface, I can click to any article or post and check out whether there’s an opportunity to engage.

Here’s the episode that features Andy. And he offers a 14-Day Free Trial of Trackur if you want to check it out. You may be happy with Google Alerts, but for me, the small fee is totally worth the organization and extra data that Trackur uncovers.

Let me know what you think!

Andy Beal, author of “Radically Transparent” on Creating Your Personal Brand, 26 DIY Reputation Management Freebies and Twitter as Mentor

Daisy Whitney, of New Media Minute fame recently interviewed me for TV Week about lessons I’ve learned in being a podcast publisher. The article came about because I was a guest on an episode of This Week in Media TWiM where she often asks about lesson’s learned.

Here’s a link to the article and I’ve written below more specifics.

1) Show+Outreach
2) Hygiene
3) Consistency and Format
4) Throw It Up on the Wall
5) Sloppy Seconds

Show + Outreach - I learned that it’s not just producing a show every week, rather it’s all the additional work that supports the outreach and awareness-building that makes a difference. It’s as much or more work to promote than to produce one’s show. So hosts who are willing to work the web and build and connect with their audience online are the ones that have the most success, all other things being equal.

Hygiene - I underestimated the importance of clean feeds, and organic search optimization as well as keyword optimized show titles and descriptions. Getting found by your prospects requires you understand how they search for you and making sure you’re optimizing for that. We are very detailed in our approach to managing feeds and optimizing our hosts shows. We’ve inherited shows from other networks and are appalled at the sloppy work but we know how to clean it up and make it perform.

Consistency and Format - One of the things that creates brand value for the shows on Personal Life Media is that our listeners always know what they are getting when they listen to any show on our network. We follow a specific format in our intros, how we handle our guest, how we go to and come back from break and how our hosts end their shows. We deliver on our promise for consistency, professionalism and good to great production value. Our listeners entrust us with their precious time and we take seriously that honor to connect with them. So every week, each show on our network follows their pre-determined format. As well, the shows that rank highest for listeners and subscribers are those who consistently deliver on schedule. For example, my show, DishyMix comes out every Tuesday without fail. I have been podcasting since 2005 and only miss a show if there’s some major reason the show can’t go live, usually if I’m ill or my guest is ill. I try to keep a queue of shows “in the can” so I never miss a Tuesday. That’s critical for building audience, the importance of which should not be underestimated.

Throw it Up on the Wall - I have a lot of ideas for shows. We now have 25 shows and are working on launching another 10. In many cases, I come up with an idea and find a great host to do the show. They might have no podcasting or hosting experience, but I’ll know they have the personality and knowledge to appeal to the target audience for that particular topic.

Other times I see a show that’s independent and would work perfectly in our line up of shows in our theme of “self-empowerment” and I’ll invite them to join Personal Life Media. Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of inbound interest from successful, ongoing shows who like our brand and our corporate values and want to join our network. No matter what, I know that although I’m an excellent arbiter of what might be successful (it’s one of my strengths, hence what I do for a living) it’s always ultimately a crap shoot founded on many variables. Some shows are successful, some flop, some are small and mighty and chug along in their vertical niches delighting their audiences and we expect they’ll grow over time. We are patient and we like to try a lot of concepts.

Sloppy Seconds - Initially I thought that if I launch a show and the host “pod fades” that I’d just replace that host with another and keep the show and feeds going. I’ve found that doesn’t always work. It can work, but it’s iffy. I’ve had success, in the case of Coaching by the Life Coach which Robert Harrison ably took the reins of and has morphed CLC into an even bigger idea than the original show.

Coaching the Life Coach: Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs & Executives by Famous Coaches

I launched a business book digest show and it was more work for my host than they realized. I tried to find a replacement but I have not yet been successful getting anyone interested in taking over the format and show that I had envisioned with the original host. That being said, I have some amazing album art for a show called “Book Digest: Summarizing Books with Buzz for Busy People” and I’d like to restart the show and customize a format for someone who loves to net out business books, a cliff notes for biz books person. I’m still looking. Still hopeful. Never say die!