Seen and Heard in Edmonton

This week’s episode is the audio from our meetup, Let’s talk about promoting your podcast, held on Jan. 24 at Variant Edition Comics and Culture.

We had a great discussion with three excellent panelists:

• Dan Clarke of The Worst Podcast Ever and the Northern Content Network;
• Erika Ensign of Verity!, Lazy Doctor Who, The Audio Guide to Babylon 5, The Incomparable, Total Party Kill, Afoot and The Uncanny Magazine podcast;
• Kevin Horek of Building the Future.

We talked about social media, networks, promotion through guests, live events, merchandise, mainstream media and getting into New and Noteworthy in iTunes, among other ways to promote your podcast. It was a wide-ranging conversation, with a little bit of controversy thrown in. Have a listen (and don’t be deterred by the eight seconds of silence at the beginning):

You can also get it in iTunes, on SoundCloud or on Stitcher.

The next meetup takes place on Feb. 28, and it will be on the topic of monetizing your podcast. RSVP here.

The panel mentioned a few other inspirations and resources along the way, so here are some footnotes of sorts:

• Dan mentioned being first influenced by WTF with Marc Maron. He also made reference to The Cassius Morris Show.
• Erika was first introduced to podcasting by Nerdist.
• Erika noted that Radio Free Skaro, the biggest Doctor Who podcast in the world, gave Verity! a good start, and is also how she met her husband, Steven Schapansky. They should totally be on The One.
• Kevin Horek has built a vast network on LinkedIn. He gets his biggest audience on WDJY-FM in Atlanta.
• Many of Erika’s shows are part of The Incomparable network.
• Kevin mentioned the interview he did with marketing strategist Saba Sedighi, which introduced him to Blab.
• Chris Sikkenga was in the audience, wearing his Montreal Sauce T-shirt.
• Dan noted a couple of Canadian networks: Stop Podcasting Yourself and Talkhole
• Sylvia Schneider of Equinely Inclined was sitting in the front row, which is what got Dan talking about horses.
• Kevin made a joke about Malta; little did he know that Elliott Tanti of Highlevel Showdown was in the audience and is in fact Maltese.
• Kevin also mentioned My Podnotes as a way to get a bit more promotion for an episode.

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This week’s Seen and Heard in Edmonton is brought to you by CKUA, which is in the midst of another great season of the TransCanada Music West podcast. In this episode, host Grant Stovel talks about how fun it is to interview the bands after the show.

You can subscribe in iTunes, or listen to it at ckua.com.

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Many thanks to the Citadel Theatre for donating tickets to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as a door prize. I saw it on opening night, and wow. It is not to be missed.

Thanks too to Variant Edition for hosting our meetup. If you need comics or Magic cards or just a good time, go there.

Finally, thanks to Jayson Merryfield, who took pictures at the meetup.  Check out his new podcast, No Resemblance.

If you would like to reach some of Edmonton’s most creative and interesting people by sponsoring the podcast, donating a door prize or providing services in kind, I’d love to talk to you. Email me at karen@unlandmedia.com. 

Would you like to know who was there? Here’s a mini-guide to the podcasts represented in the room:

• Afoot: A mystery podcast
• Building the Future: Interviews with startups, entrepreneurs, investors and others making the world better
• Conscious Conversations: Soulful chatter
• Cutting Corners: Tips to help you save time and money
• Doctor Whooch: A drunk podcast about Doctor Who
• Equinely Inclined: A podcast for the horse community
• Film Frown: “We frown about bad movies so you don’t have to.”
• Highlevel Showdown: A conversation about civic, provincial and federal politics
• Lazy Doctor Who: A couple’s live reaction to every Doctor Who story ever made
• Montreal Sauce: “Interviews with makers, creators, and friends.”
• Nerdcast: The Northern Nerd Network’s podcast about nerdy things
• No Resemblance: An audio literary anthology
• Podcast! the Comics: A conversation about comics and pop culture
• Seen and Heard in Edmonton: Interviews with bloggers and podcasters
• Tales from the Hydian Way: A podcast for Star Wars role-playing gamers
• Terra Informa: CJSR’s weekly look at environmental news
• The Audio Guide to Babylon 5: A full re-watch of the sci-fi series
• The Dip: A discussion of about disruption in all its forms
• The Worst Podcast Ever: Comedians talk about anything and everything
• Toastcaster: The podcast for Toastmasters
• Toastmasters Podcast: The Toastmasters International podcast
• Total Party Kill: Friends play Dungeon and Dragons on the Internet
• Uncanny Magazine Podcast: Science fiction and fantasy stories
• Verity!: Six smart women discussing Doctor Who
• Yegs & Bacon: “A morning show about comics, in podcast form, from the good folks at Variant Edition.”

See you at the next meetup on Feb. 28.

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Musical credits: Beethoven’s Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1, played by Daniel Veesey, from freemusicarchive.com.