PodMov Daily: Monday, December 16

Episode 106: Your Monday Mix

Guest Feature: Creative Strategy from Filmmaking Podcaster Doug Fraser

This Monday’s guest article is from Doug Fraser, creator of the documentary podcast series What We Do and co-host of the upcoming Curious State University. Fraser is a copywriter and filmmaker with a distinct flair for engaging storytelling.

“Being a documentary filmmaker has taught me a few things about podcasting that will hopefully help you on your journey,” Fraser writes. Using detailed examples, he explains the three core exercises that lead his creative problem solving process.

When it comes to cross-media creative strategies, Fraser sees the bigger picture: “From honing the pitch of your series to boiling down what each episode is really about, every step of the way comes with its own challenges and rewards.”

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Get It In Writing: How Authors on Podcasts Boost Book Sales

For Discover the Best Podcasts, Frank Racioppi investigates the medium’s power to boost book sales. Marketing consultant Maggie Hammerstein explains why authors make such engaging interview guests.

On podcasts, “authors provide legitimacy to any topic and their insights – based on the wisdom mined from their book research – can make for enlightening and lively discussion.”

Skillful marketing hinges on an author’s ability to connect with listeners on an emotional level. Because podcast conversations tend to be niche-oriented, sharp facts and intriguing insights can go a long way.

“There’s no doubt that author interviews on podcasts do increase book sales for that author,” Hammerstein tells Racioppi. “For the author and the author’s agent, you want to find the right podcast and the right timing.”

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NPR's Innovative and Complex Contributions to the Sound of Public Radio

Upon the 50th anniversary of public radio, Jason Loviglio for Nieman Lab digs into how NPR developed a “new approach to the sound of radio in the United States.” The organization’s 1970 founding document declared that it “would speak with many voices and many dialects,” but what did that come to mean?

To illustrate NPR’s “contradictory legacy of both sonic innovation and monotony,” Loviglio considers both its strides toward diversity and gender equity and its oft-mocked, profesorial ‘radio voice.’

Beginning with the remarkable accomplishments of Susan Stamberg, Loviglio describes how women have shaped the programming’s distinctive sound. “NPR has continued to speak with many voices that would sound out of place on the air anywhere else. Many, if not most, have been female.”

Think About This: A Dynamic Podcast to Inform and Inspire

A great discussion podcast should inspire — not tell you what to think. From Westwood One Podcast Network, Think About This with Shelly Palmer and Ross Martin reimagines the conversation. The more you listen, the less you know!

On Think About This, business advisor Shelly Palmer and brand strategy CEO Ross Martin dive deep into the world of digital transformation. Guests like Marty Cooper, the inventor of the first cell phone, bring insight into changing technology you won’t find anywhere else.

Business, money, culture, marketing, and more are all on the table. From essential data development to near-future concepts (“Did a drone from a spaceship just deliver my pizza?”) you’ll find out what’s happening, where the future is headed, and how you fit in.

What will your thoughts be? Find out! Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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Here's what else is going on:

• Power launch: Four women have each been awarded £10,000 from Spotify’s Sound Up UK program to develop their podcast ideas. Tosin Mustapha, Esther Robertson, Clara Monroy, and Shade Nathaniel-Ayodelea pitched the winning concepts.

• Full steam: Gaana, India’s largest commercial music streaming service, has over 150 million monthly users. It’s “going in big” on podcasting, planning 3,000 new ‘Gaana Originals’ of comedy, storytelling and retro Hindi songs through spring.

• Go fish: Spotify’s latest ‘podcasting hook’ targets subscribers who have never listened to one on the app. A tap of the new homescreen icon prompts the user to pick topics of interest, generating a list of personalized recommendations.

• Not ideal: Nick van der Kolk has been podcasting in complex, often dark territory since 2005. The award-winning creator of Love+Radio tells Barry Divola of The Sydney Morning Herald about that one time an interviewee pulled out a gun.