You’ll hear many aspects of podcasting that might confuse you about how you should prioritize them.
As easy as it can be to set up your podcast social media and hosting site, once you think about episode ideas, you might begin to panic.
That is why there have been many books, videos, and podcasts that talk all about podcast production, and one of these is the school of podcasting, which is said to take a novice with a limited budget and get their podcasts sounding and looking professional.
Below we’ll go over what is covered in each course and how it might be of use to you, so if there is something in particular you want to know, you can decide if this content is right for you or not.
TLDR;
The author, Dave Jackson, presents the School of Podcasting as a solution. This platform is designed to guide you in podcasting, helping you avoid common mistakes such as poor sound quality, buying the wrong equipment, and failing to list your show on all directories. It offers easy-to-understand videos, a private Facebook group for networking, weekly group coaching, and unmatched podcast support.
What Is The School Of Podcasting?
If you search this term, you can find a podcast with over 800 episodes that have been going since 2005, and from here, the founder Dave Jackson advises these episodes on how you can become successful in podcasting and some simple tips to follow.
With over 16 years of experience in podcasting, you have an equivalent to an industry professional, so perhaps this course offered on the school of podcasting site can give you some insights, as the site says a podcast’s growth is based on ‘word of mouth.’
These tips can be of use to those who need a quick fix or want something that will help them out over the long term, so things such as equipment, sound, transitions, mixers, adverts, and presentation skills are things many people think a lot about.
What Does The Course Offer?
If we look at the plan itself, we can find that it’s all easy-to-understand content that goes over so many things, so for your benefit, we’ve listed the courses below.
- Planning your podcast
- Content is king
- Podcasting equipment you need
- Recording interviews, in-person and remotely
- The mechanics of podcasting
- Adobe audition basics
- Podcasting with Hindenburg journalis
- How to use the PowerPress plugin
- How to get more listener engagement
- How to publish your podcast
- How to communicate with your audience
- Submitting your show to other directories
- How to grow your audience and monetize your podcast
So as you can see, there is a lot of content here for the beginner podcaster, and things such as production software and podcast directories are things that can take some time to get to grips with.
Is It Worth It?
Now we know what we can get from this course, we come to membership packages that start at a monthly membership fee of $79.99, a yearly one for $799, and a quick start mentoring program costing $999.
For many, this is going to seem out of reach, but if we take the lowest tier and see what is on offer, you get 17 video courses, live group coaching, weekly coaching calls, a private Facebook group to network, email support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Whether this is worth it depends on how familiar you are with podcasting, so if you’re the sort of person who learns as they go and use tutorials, perhaps there are some aspects of this course you could skip.
What we like about programs like these is that you can find a personalized course that is tailored to your needs, and it seems as if all of these features are available as soon as you sign up, and with the 30-day guarantee, you have time to see if it’s right for you.
We know that many will be doubtful of this service and these costs might be difficult for you to justify, but what if this course was available in other forms elsewhere?
With a Youtube channel and a podcast, we can gauge the content there to determine its worth.
Do I Need To Follow A Course?
From looking at the Youtube streams, we can find titles such as ‘how to set up your podcast for value’, ‘how to organize a podcast with studio pro’, ‘deal with listener feedback’, ‘why your podcasts aren’t getting any feedback’, and so much more.
From this, you could curate your own set of objectives you want to learn about podcasting and work on learning more about it, or you might be someone who likes to learn while using something like equipment, which will depend on why you are podcasting.
If You’re Doing It As A Hobby
If you’re doing it for as simple as a hobby, you might not be overthinking about the different aspects of your podcast, to begin with, and you may, from time to time, get people involved in your process to help with some technical aspects like editing and recording.
If this is the case, you’re not going to be too bothered about things like monetization and ads, but you’ll enjoy having feedback all the same, even if it’s something you’re not too adamant about.
You can use things such as downloads and opportunities that you find as measures for success, and if you keep going with it, perhaps you may find many other benefits further down the line.
If You Want To Make It A Source Of Income
You might be drawn to podcasting because it looks like an exciting opportunity for you, and you want to draw a business you may have into the mix, but the first thing anyone asks is how to make money.
If you find you can’t afford the school of podcasting, perhaps you can gain some insights through books written by Dave himself on how to make income from your shows with real insights from podcast hosts.
Even if you are starting out from scratch, there is a lot of value to be gained from absorbing as much information as possible, as everything will, in some way, contribute to the quality of your episodes and how likely people are to give feedback.
What Do Users Think Of The Podcast?
If we go to Apple podcasts, which has got a significant share of users in the podcast space, has a convenient rating system, and you can find that it is rated 4 out of 5, which sounds great, but what if you were looking to learn something in particular about podcasting.
Here we will list some highlights from these reviews so you can decide for yourself if the podcast is good for you or not.
- Refreshing to hear someone talk with the voice of experience on the subject
- Packed with practical information and advice, it doesn’t over-geek everything, so you find many options on the kit rather than standard choices.
- He (Dave) is the perfect balance of everything, with humor, inspirational words, and knowledge that shines through in each episode.
What About Other Podcasts?
When searching for a podcast about how to set one up yourself, you’ll be met with over 50 different podcasts that have links to their own newsletters and courses designed to help people, but with this oversaturation, how are we supposed to tell which ones are any good?
Skip to the Best Podcasting Courses.
That is why we need to take a closer look at each and can determine this in a few ways that you can find below.
- Listen to the podcast– Instead of looking through lists, find ones that look and sound appealing to you and take the time to find out if this advice is beneficial to you or not.
- Follow Other Links- If the podcasts get your attention, don’t be afraid to look at any links they provide, as you may find something that is useful to you but don’t purchase any products at this stage.
- Look at reviews- If the product has products like books, courses, or tailored service, be sure to see what is on offer and what you can expect, so you can see if these are worth looking into without having to take any risks.
- Have a list at hand- Have some items you want to be more confident in as you explore each of these podcasts, and if you don’t find what you’re looking for, you may be able to find it explained much easier somewhere else.
- Take notes- This might apply more to video podcasts, but if you can, take notes of any equipment, software, effects, and styles that are used and may give you an idea of why that podcast is popular and gets a lot of feedback.
Final Thoughts
Whether you think these courses are a waste of time or have some value to them, you can’t deny that experience is something that adds a lot of value to what is being said, as podcasting can be a minefield.
There are ways you could learn some of the technical aspects, like Adobe Audition through tutorials, where you can better search for something to fix a specific problem you have.
