Mastering the Podcast Universe: A Conversation with Alex Sanfilippo - Part 2

“I do believe in independent voices getting heard and elevated throughout the world, and I don’t feel that there’s a lot of mediums anymore where we have that opportunity. But podcasting, to me, is the ultimate solution right now for getting a voice heard and elevated throughout the world, that it can really change somebody’s life. I’ve had stories from listeners. I have a lot of friends that have stories from listeners that are all around the world focused on something really specific, saying this is the one thing I’ve been searching for, couldn’t find it anywhere except for your podcast. That type of thing, I believe, is what makes the world a better place. And sure, pat on the back for Alex or whatever you want to say, but, like I, am devoted to serving the world in that way.” -- Alex Sanfilippo   This episode’s the second half of my conversation with veteran podcaster, PodPros founder, and entrepreneur Alex Sanfilippo as we talk about what to do and not to do when starting a podcast, the latest developments on PodPros and Alex’s series of podcasting apps, and both the risks and opportunities that podcasting’s explosion into the mainstream offers for creators. As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes.  If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available and access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.   (0:00:01) - Podcasting Tips and Problem Solving As the second half of our discussion begins, we talk about handling an overabundance of content, and how we both happened upon the solution of devoting two episodes to a guest.“But every word he said was gold,” he recalls about one early guest on his show, “like, what do I do? Right, broken into two episodes. So, Jodi, I love that you do it: that’s a pro-level hack right there.” We also talk about our early podcasting days and how tricky it can be finding the right topic and your most authentic voice as a podcaster. “I know all of us have to develop our voice,” Alex says. “I think you can really only discover it by using it often, or at least that’s probably the fastest way to discover where you’re at.”   (0:06:46) - Podcast Solutions and Industry Growth Our conversation turns to Alex’s Podcasting Made Simple show and the reasoning behind his Podmatch and Podscore apps for podcasters. “The whole idea,” he explains, “is can we help them make the whole process less stressful and more organized through some project manager software that doesn’t take time to learn, something really easy, specifically for releasing episodes, and we help them get more reviews.” He talks about his belief in the power of podcasting to connect and help people all over the world, and about the mission that drives him as both a podcaster and app designer: “that’s really my whole mission behind it, it’s just: can we continue to make this thing possible for podcasters?”   (0:11:13) - Impact of Podcasting and Changing Trends We also talk about how podcasting has broken into the mainstream and...