PodMov Daily: Thursday, August 12

Episode 482: Your Thursday Podthoughts

Stories Wanted: Pineapple Street’s “Mystery Box” Podcast

In the spring, Pineapple Street Studios began accepting pitches for The 11th, “a home for in-between ideas.” The “mystery box”-style podcast debuted yesterday, and new episodes come out on the 11th of each month. Centered on the voices of contributors, each one will take on an entirely new shape, length, and style.

“The reality is that many good stories aren’t meant to be a 10-part series and don’t fit the confines of a formatted weekly show,” the team explains. They’re open to a wide variety of concepts “told uniquely well by the person pitching them,” from personal narratives to fiction and investigative journalism.

The first release is “The Inbox,” a four-part series written and produced by Sarah Viren. Interested in sharing a story? Written pitches can be sent to 11@Pineapple.fm. The show’s team told Hot Pod’s Nick Quah in June, “Collaborators are paid a set fee, and they will own a split of the derivative rights for their project.”

Podcasting Through Parenting and Major Life Changes

At some point, every podcaster deals with a major life change that interrupts their work. For example, Matthew McLean of The Podcast Host became a parent just last week. In their conversation on Podcraft, company founder and practiced parent Colin Gray offers invaluable advice for us all. Writeup by Lindsay Harris Friel.

“If your schedule slips a little bit and you don’t host one week, it’s not going to kill your show,” Gray says. “Your loyal listeners will miss it but they won’t blame you for it, especially if you’ve been honest and open on your show, you’ve been transparent, you’ve said what situation you’re in…Be kind to yourself.”

Though the episode focuses on first-year parenting, Friel’s summary will help creators manage any period of upheaval. Setting clear expectations for listeners is an absolute must. Be flexible with your own expectations as well. From limited recording time to lack of sleep, podcasters have overcome every obstacle in the book.

Dynamic Content: A Powerful New Tool from Buzzsprout

With Buzzsprout, it’s faster than ever to keep your podcast fresh — and your listeners up-to-date. The new Dynamic Content tool lets you easily add and remove short pre-roll (intro) and post-roll (outro) content to your episodes. It's the perfect solution for timely messaging.

Whether you’re promoting a virtual event or giving a special shout-out, Dynamic Content makes it simple to swap, automatically add content to new episodes, or apply it to your existing catalog with a click. Old files are removed and replaced, so there’s no clean-up.

For podcasters, this new tool offers more than flexibility. It benefits your audience in more ways than one: Buzzsprout respects your listeners’ privacy. Unlike most Dynamic Ad Insertion, the Dynamic Content tool includes no tracking or targeting. Ready to make the switch?

Here's what else is going on:

• Bright ideas: Speaker submissions are open for the Afros & Audio Virtual Podcast Festival, taking place November 13-14. By and for Black podcast creatives and audio professionals, the third annual event will focus on trends, tech, monetization, and more. Applications are due on August 29.

• Cash bar: Paywalled podcasts are in line with news sites, TV, and games on “the à la carte internet,” report Neal Rothschild and Sara Fischer of Axios. As podcasting deviates further from its traditionally open standard, “This accelerating trend is carving the internet into many niche audiences.”

• Speak up: The 2022 SXSW PanelPicker is open to the public, and many podcasting sessions are on the table. Anyone with a SXSW signup can upvote (and downvote) proposals on podcast promo swaps, brand development, creative advocacy, and more. Community voting closes August 26.

• It’s tradition: On August 17 at 2:00 pm ET, the American Folklife Center will host “Podcasting: Traditional Folklore in a Digital World.” The virtual panel and Q&A features expert creators like Aaron Mahnke (Lore) and Lamont Jack Pearley (The African American Folklorist). Free registration.