Pat Flynn is the man behind the Smart Passive Income Blog. He has (as of 11/2011) 33,351 subscribers to his blog. He actually posts income reports on his website. Here is his income over the last year:

October 2011 – $38,612.90
September 2011 – $36.592.27
August 2011 – $34,034.40
July 2011 – $32,851.84
June 2011 – $30,393.49
May 2011 – $26,609.13
April 2011 – $41,634.24
March 2011 – $29,429.93
February 2011 – $24,616.83
January 2011 – $35,607.11
December 2010 – $23,646.83
November 2010 – $21,641.75
October 2010 – $17,905.88

From Oct/2010 – Oct 2011 = $393,576.60

He recently did a talk at blog World Expo (YouTube Video)about how we should “Be Everywhere.” In the talk he mentions how podcasting has boosted his traffic.  In his talk he mentions that if your “Just going to stick to your blog you’re going to limit your reach.” He had learned about Internet Marketing through the Internet Business Mastery Academy  and learned how a voice can add intimacy to your content.

Pat put a question that ONLY appeared on his blog. It was, “How did you find me?”Over 1700 people responded.  The top answer? His podcast. 20% of his blog readers found him in iTunes. This was more than YouTube, more than links from other sites, the NUMBER ONE WAY people found Pat was THROUGH HIS PODCAST.

Here are some fun numbers to think about:

37,000,000 – Number of people who have a Gym /Fitness Club Membership

97,000,000 – Number of people who actually drive to work ALONE.

Average Commute is 26.4 minutes

50,000,000 iPhones have been sold through April 8th, 2010

275,000,000 iPods have been sold through 9/1/2010

A Podcast is Simply Audio Tied to a Blog Post – Your 70% There!

The thing that drives me absolutely crazy is that there are bloggers who have free articles on their website, and GREAT content in their blog posts. All of  this content is for free. Yet they don’t see why they should record as audio and put it out as a podcast. Why? Because its great content and millions of people are STARVING for good content (have you listened to the Radio lately – oofah!).  So many bloggers are using WordPress (which is the platform I recommend) and are simply a few plugins away from being ready to podcast.

Jump In the Podcast Pool – Start a Podcast Today

If you are a blogger looking to turn their content into a podcast, don’t get hung up on the steps to start a podcast. I’ve got podcasting tutorials to walk you through, or you can hire me as a Podcast Consultant to set up your podcast and walk you through all of your questions – and let you get back to creating great content – for a much bigger audience.

Today we listen to Jay Mohr from his Podcast Mohr Stories talk to Patrice O’Neil about how his podcast is helping to bring people to his comedy shows.  Jay has some great stories, and his podcast also gives you a glimpse into his personal life as he often has his wife sits in on the podcast.

Jay noticed that every opening act was creating a podcast. Then other comedians he trusted told him he should start one. A few months later he is seeing the clubs fill in with people who are shouting out lines from the podcast (“I don’t want to go in the water..”). How is that for ROI?

Jay asked, “So this is like the future, and his friends explained PODCASTING IS NOW.

Today we play a clip from the Rock and Roll Geek Show (which is now the longest running podcast as Adam Curry has quit producing the Daily Source Code). Michael is the original music podcaster. Today we listen to Michael read an email from one of his listeners who explains how she purchased some music after she heard it on his podcast.

There was a part of this email that I edited out as they talked about who was in the band, etc. Here the listener is asking Michael because he is seen as an expert when it comes to Rock Music. He has a huge amount of knowledge of musicians, bands, and rock music.

Michael was one of the original guests of the Power of Podcasting. You can hear that episode where his fans pay to have him fly to London.

I was approached by a company about starting a podcast where the target audience is college students. I explained how I use to do a podcast for students called “Quiet Study Area” that had soft non distracting music to study by, and study tips. The site (ugly and simple) is still there, and I went and check my stats at Mevio and was surprised that even though the Podcast “podfaded” in October 2009, I am still getting 2000+ downloads (and this month isn’t over).

This is why creating “evergreen” content (when possible) is important.

Today we talk with Joanna Penn from thecreativepenn.com who uses her podcast to interview experts in her field. She is passionate about writing, and has built a growing community around her podcast. She now has webinars and courses for authors who are looking to publish their first book, or keep up with the changes in the publishing world.

She started off with almost know equipment. She uses a headset microphone now, and records both the audio and video (which she then uses on Youtube). You will hear how she is getting to know her audience, and be seen as an expert in her field based on the relationships she is building with her podcast and website.

For more information go to www.threcreativepenn.com

Please note, we encountered some technical difficulties and the audio quality of the episode is not up to my typical standard, but the story is great we couldn’t keep it unpublished.

Bob Andleman has done over 700 interviews and is passionate about books and writing. He has helped many people co-author books. You can see Bob’s Books Here. He has done a ton of interviews of celebrities and people in the media as well as online entrepreneurs. His interview skills have helped him pick up work doing interview for the publisher of the “For Dummies” books, as well as companies like the Ford Motor Company.

Many people want to give up when their actual podcast fails to make money (and quit), but Bob is showing how his podcast is opening doors for other opportunities.

His content is syndicated all over the Internet. There is so much media, and so little time. Who keeps track of it? Mr Media.

I was reading an article about a nurse whose mother (due to having MS) was forced to become a consultant for nurses. This service has been turned into a podcast by her son Jim DeMaria who is a RN, BSN, vice president of Renal Care Registered Nursing Services in Nanuet, N.Y

Here are some things that caught my eye from the article:

The Nurse’s Station, a weekly audio podcast that discusses current events and issues that affect the nursing community. The show also features guest interviews with fellow nurses and answers questions from listeners who write in to the show. The show, which has about 15,000 subscribers and more than 15,000 weekly downloads, is available as a free download on iTunes and on Renal Care’s website at www.RenalCareRNs.com.

The Nurses Station came out of an idea that the company could use a social medium, such as podcasts, to reach a large portion of the nursing community while at the same time bringing brand recognition to Renal Care, the sole sponsor of the show.

DeMaria said the show started out as a monthly broadcast and then went to twice a month. “After about a year, we started to go weekly,” he said. Topics include meditation for stress in nursing and the healthcare reform debate. All the shows are prerecorded, and DeMaria usually does about five interviews each Friday. He recorded more than 20 shows in February alone, he says.
“I do a little background on my guests first and then just have a conversation,” DeMaria said. “The more free flowing the better. It makes for a much more informative interview.”

Because nurses can send topics for broadcast, DeMaria said the show works because there are real nurses listening to real nursing topics. “We can talk about what we want when we want,” he said.

To me this is just a great example of keeping your brand in front of your target audience, while providing them useful information, and building community at the same time.

I’ve contacted numerous companies over the years who have franchises across the country, or who put out their email newsletters on a monthly basis, but do not have a podcast. I put out this article to say, “SEE?!?!?” to these people who are not sure if it would be worth the effort.

Want to start a podcast? Come see me at www.schoolofpodcasting.com

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PODCAST CONSULTING: I wold love to work with you via one on one podcast consulting and coaching. I can do as little or as much as you’d like. I can demonstrate and walk you through the podcasting process. Email me at , or schedule an appointment.Self Paced Tutorials: The School of Podcasting has self paced tutorials that will walk you through the entire podcasting process, and has an organized resource section to equip you with the proper tools. Sign up for a week, or a year. There are many packages to meet your needs sign up today.

In this episode I talk about some podcasts that I am really enjoying. These include Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast (www.wtfpod.com) and Greg Fitzsimmons “Fitzdog Radio” (www.fitzdogradio.com). Marc mentioned in an episode that he recently was on the road where he sold out consistently. He attributed this to his podcast, and the fact that instead of having people in the comedy clubs in the mood to hear comedy, they were people that had come to specifically come to hear Marc. Just another example of the loyalty podcasting develops.

In today’s show I play a clip from Greg Fitzsimmons show where is talking with Chris Hardwick (who I remember as the host of “Singled Out” on MTV with Jenny McCarthy) who has his own Nerdist Podcast (www.nerdist.com) and they again discuss the benefits that podcasting has brought them.

Realize Greg has been doing standup comedy for YEARS, does a show on XM/Sirius, has won four Emmys and is a regular on Howard Stern. He also has been on the Tonight Show, Letterman, Conan, and appeared on Comedy Central. He has also been on a lot of the VH1 “I love the (insert year)’s” and “Best Week Ever.” The same goes for Larry Miller. He is a veteran who is also just LOVING podcasting (calling it “Jazz” for creative people). Larry also has a podcast on Adam Corrolla’s network called “This Week with Larry Miller (www.adamcarolla.com/LMBlog).

Adam Corrolla, Marc Maron, Greg Fitzsimmons, Larry Miller, and Chris Hardwick have all come to realize the power of Podcasting.

If you’re interested, Greg just released a book called “Dear Mrs Fitzsimmons” which is getting great reviews.

Ready to start a podcast? Check out www.schoolofpodcasting.com and www.podcastmechanic.com

Today we talk with Chris Christensen of the Amateur Traveler’s podcast. The show is about travel and travel stories. It is intended for people who love to travel or at least dream about travel.
Chris has gone many different places, and some of them for free. He doesn’t have a major pile of gear, and uses a simple headset and a macintosh laptop with Garage Band software.

Not only is Chris benefiting by free travel, you will see where he has advertising on his site, and also is selling the pictures he takes during his travels. His pictures are absolutely gorgeous and you need to check out his website to do them justice. That website is www.amateurtraveler.com

Chris is growing his audience by networking with other travel based podcasters which you can hear at http://thisweekintravel.com/

It doesn’t matter if its Michigan, Greece, Egypt, Hawaii, Ghana, Bangkok, Chris has got an episode about it. Currently his show is sponsored by Viking river cruises.

Congrats to Chris for taking a passion and hobby and harnessing the power of podcasting.

Check out this video from the Association of Downloadable Media, and Edison Research.