Geeks and God Podcast

Are you a stat junkie? If so, you may be in trouble when you get your new podcast online. Today we talk about why podcast statistics are so important, yet we warn that they can be addictive and skew your reasons for podcasting.

We talk all about why tracking your file download and subscription stats can create a two-way conversation between you and your listeners. You can find out what topics they want/need to hear about and get some ideas about which episodes "worked" and which didn't. We also talk about more direct feedback: email, voicemail and more. Staying in touch with your listeners is crucial, and web stats and user feedback are essential pieces to that puzzle.

But, before all that, we talk about a new drupal module and ask the big question: Is podcasting dying?

So, we've brow-beaten you into creating a studio podcast for your church. Now, you gotta distribute it to the big bad world (or, maybe just your congregation). On today's podcast, we talk about how to deliver your podcast...but maybe not in the way you'd expect.

We DO spend a little bit of time talking about creating an RSS feed for your 'cast and using a CMS or other feed-creation method to get your episodes out there...but, we also spend lots of time talking about unorthodox methods for distributing your show. We suggest using CDs (and un-scary language about them) to bring your congregation along with you as well as a way to use an ISO to deliver the goods.

But, before all this, we talk about this comment on how you should test the waters before dropping a bunch of bling on podcast gear and we weigh the idea of an enhanced version of the G&G podcast (tell us, in the comments, if you want us to do an enhanced version).

Studio podcasts at your church can be a powerful way to communicate with your congregation and even the world about the greatest message ever and living in the community that God has called us to. That's what we talked about last week when we discussed the theory of studio podcasting. This week we take studio podcasting and get hands on. We talk gear, we talk setup, we talk about spending your money. This episode is all about the tools and workflow of producing a studio podcast. We talk about microphones (including some you might already have sitting around your church), we talk about mixing equipment (wow, has that stuff come down in price in recent years), and we talk about all that connector equipment. Curious about the cost? Well help you answer that question.

But, before we dig into the details we talk about building a podcasting site with drupal and we get into a case study for a church studio podcast (give feedback on it here). Stay tuned... it's Geeks and God...

In last weeks episode, we got you all depressed by telling you how ineffective sermon podcasting is. This week, we hope to raise your spirits and inspire you to begin a podcast that can be much more effective: A studio style podcast. We discuss many theories of studio podcasting such as why studio podcasts are good for your memebers and for outreach, what kinds of studio podcasts could you think about doing, and what type of planning should go into a studio podcast.

But we don't stop there...we talk about what kinds of things to look for in a podcast hosting personality, what types of goals you shoud think about in regards to your podcast, and finally, we talk about why it's important that your podcast has a target audience.

Before all that, however, we dive into listener feedback...playing some of your comments that remind us that the G&G listeners are much smarter than the hosts.

Today's podcast offers up a big ol' contradiction. The topic is "How to podcast your sermon or bible class", yet we spend tons of time telling you why sermon and bible class podcasts aren't very effective. I know, I know...so why try?

We like to call sermon podcasts "The Starting Line" for churches. You MUST podcast your sermons because people expect it and it's good for your members. So, if we must do it, yet it's a fairly ineffective endeavor, let's figure out how to make it better, shall we?

So, in this episode, we spend lots of time talking about how to make a dual-use message more effective as a podcast recording. We talk about tailoring it for the web, recording the highest quality signal, and what you can do to deliver the message in the most effective way possible. We wrap up the episode by talking about some how's of recording, and push the countryman E6 microphone in a way that makes you think get a cut of every sale (we don't, I promise).

But, before all this, MF issues a challenge to all our listeners...check out his post for more information.