Your podcast intro is one of the first things a listener hears. So it's essential that it is written well and conveys the emotion, info, and calls to action that will make people continue listening and subscribe.

I go thought my process of crafting an intro in this episode.

Your podcast intro has 7 seconds to

hook listeners or lose them forever. Most podcasters blow it with

generic music and boring introductions. Let's talk about the sound

design psychology that separates amateur podcasts from the ones

people actually binge.*

The Brutal Truth About First

Impressions

You've got brilliant content.

Game-changing insights. Stories that could transform lives. But

here's the thing - if your intro sounds like garbage, nobody will

stick around to hear any of it.

Bad sound design pushes people away

before they even get to your brilliance. It's like showing up to a

business meeting in pajamas. Sure, you might be a genius, but

nobody's going to take you seriously.

After 13 years of producing podcasts,

I've seen it all. The good, the bad, and the "oh dear Lord, make

it stop." Let's make sure yours falls into the first category.

Watch along as I show you how to do this yourself on this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxiP2w1LI00&feature=youtu.be

A podcast could revolutionize your business, fill your client funnel, and help you network like never before.

The brutal truth about your failing content strategy (and the 3-second rule that changes everything)

The 3-Second Death Rule That's Killing Your Content

Your reel has exactly three seconds to live or die. Three seconds before viewers scroll past, potentially lost forever. And here's what makes it worse: when viewers swipe past, the algorithm doesn't forget about it—it actively punishes you.

It's a brutal truth! While you've been making content, successful creators have been making something completely different. There's a massive distinction that's costing you hundreds of thousands of views. Gone are the days when you could simply pull highlights from your podcast and expect them to perform. The game has completely changed, especially in the last year.

Those creators getting 200,000 views understand a fundamental shift in how short-form content works—a shift that most creators completely miss. It's not about better content or fancier editing. It's about understanding what your reels actually are (hint: they're not what you think).

The Content Creator's Secret Weapon

We're not content hopers. We're content creators. But most creators are hoping for viral moments instead of engineering them. The difference between 200 views and 200,000 views comes down to specific techniques you can implement before you even hit record.

There's a pro technique I use with interview guests that turns boring responses into viral gold—without making your guest look bad. In fact, it makes them look even more expert while giving you complete control over the viral potential of your content. This single technique has transformed how my clients approach their podcast interviews.

But here's the thing: none of this works if you don't understand your audience's deepest pain points. I've developed a specific questionnaire that digs through the layers to find your true niche and audience. Once you have this clarity, creating scroll-stopping content becomes almost automatic.

You can check that out right here.

The Framework That Changes Everything

The worst content mistake you can make isn't what you think. It's not about poor quality or bad audio. It's something that makes viewers ignore you forever and triggers the algorithm to bury your content even deeper.

I've developed a specific framework for creating what I call "scroll-stoppers"—content that doesn't just get views but builds an empire. It involves scripting certain elements (but not what you'd expect) and understanding the three types of headlines that actually make people stop scrolling.

In the full episode, I break down:

- The exact 5-hook method I use before every recording

- Two different recording strategies (one saves time, one maximizes viral potential)

- How to pull 10 viral reels from a single piece of content

- The spokesperson technique that saves boring interviews

- Why giving away your best content actually makes you more money

---

Subscribe to the podcast or Watch the Full Episode

Ready for the complete system? This blog post only scratches the surface. In the full episode, I'm revealing everything—including actual examples of hooks that work and live demonstrations of how to implement them.

📺 Watch the Full Video Tutorial

🎧 Or prefer to listen? Get the complete breakdown on the Podcast Fast Track podcast, where I go even deeper into the psychology behind viral content and share client case studies you won't see anywhere else.

Connect with Aaron

Get daily content tips and behind-the-scenes...

Remote recording for interviews and the like has always been a bit tricky and the platforms that provide recording of this type are always trying to improve.

2022 brings us a lot of contenders for the title of "best remote recording platform."

This episode is a handful of recordings of me and my right-hand audio-man, Aaron as we test out the top 11 platforms. You're going to hear about...

• Boomcaster
• Cast
• Cleanfeed
• Clearcast
• Iris
• Remotely
• Riverside
• Squadcast
• Welder
• Zencastr
• Zoom

And we also tried Ringr, which has been around for some time but we got so frustrated trying to get it to work that we dropped the attempt. It could have been a bad day (for both of us?) but we made the call not to move forward with that portion of the recording and moved on.

• Boomcaster - https://Boomcaster.com
• Cast - https://tryca.st
• Cleanfeed - https://Cleanfeed.net
• Clearcast - https://clearcast.io
• Iris - https://iris.fm
• Remotely - https://remotely.fm
• Riverside - https://riverside.fm (affliate link here)
• Squadcast - https://squadcast.fm (affiliate link here)
• Welder - https://GetWelder.com/remote-interview-recording
• Zencastr - https://zencastr.com
• Zoom - https://Zoom.us

I have LONG wanted a Podcast Newsletter that provides content for me — an INDEPENDENT PODCASTER.

I mean, it's OK to have industry news about who moved from what bigwig company to another biggerwig company in a higher profile industry-speak position... no problem there.

But it's not relevant to me at all.

So I've created an Indie Podcast Newsletter FOR Indie Podcasters, BY an Indie Podcaster. Abraham Lincoln would have said something like that if he were a podcaster.

I'm calling it "Podawan" (hat tip to the Star Wars universe).

I LOVE the idea of Podawan Learner... and since we are all bootstrapping, do it yourself kind of folks, we can be Podawans.

Each episode or installment of the Podawan newsletter will include...

An Education section that highlights stuff you need to learn or do better

A Success Stories section that tells of Indie podcasters who have actually done it.

An Industry News section where I frame happenings in ways that matter to you.

And an Editorial section... where I write an opinion piece based on issues within the podcast industry (and shock... it will be RELEVANT to Indie podcasters).

Finally... I'll be taking LETTERS TO THE EDITOR... you can write your input about my opinions, industry stuff, something else. I don't care what it is. Send it to me.

I hope you'll subscribe. It's going to be a fun and RELEVANT ride.

Oh yeah... you can also find some fun, Podawan swag here.

That’s when the very first episode of his show (a podcast about podcasting) “The Audacity to Podcast.” You can hear it here.

Daniel has already been podcasting for about three years when I first came across his content and I can’t express the number of ways he’s helped me personally, both through his content and via personal email interactions we’ve had together.

He’s a regular guy who is as genuine in real life as he seems on his show.

THIS episode featuring Daniel J. Lewis features the story of how Daniel has used his podcast as a launching pad for SERVICES-based businesses - from website development to plugin development, to podcast consulting, Daniel has tried his hand at a wide variety of things — with varying levels of success. On this episode he shares...

▷ His path into podcasting from a job he loved

▷ How he built authority in a niche that was new to him

▷ Choosing from the wide variety of income models

▷ The power of perseverance in finding what fits you

I hope you take the time to listen. Daniel doesn’t hold back and if you apply what he shares, you’ll move WAY forward in your attempts to monetize your show.

The answer likely depends on the niche. For example, back on episode 154 of this podcast Glenn Hebert, the personality and power behind The Horse Radio Network said this about his niche:

”(Annually) We are well into five figures, and you know, in our niche, we’ll probably never get to six figures. I don’t see us ever doing that.”

But his comments are about an expensive and specific niche, horses. What about if the niche in question is broader but very popular?

While he was still in college, Kenny Coleman became a fan of bourbon (makes sense) and got into the “Bourbon Culture” from there. His interest became a passion and his passion has turned into a multi-six-figure business, all built on the back of a podcast that happened to become very, very popular.

My theory? Kenny pursued something he loved that many others were growing to love at the same time, and he saw an opportunity to serve people like himself.

Go back and listen to episode 1 of The Bourbon Pursuit podcast (you can find it here). There was nothing super special about it. Just two guys with a mic (maybe two) who were talking about something they enjoyed — bourbon. They set the stage, gave listeners an idea what to expect, and asked for feedback. I love what they said at the end of that episode...

“If we suck, let us know, if it’s good, let us know. If you think something else would be cool, let us know. We just want to learn and grow as we go.”

No matter what your niche is, you won’t be able to serve your audience well until you know what they want. So figure out ways to ask them...

• What do they want to learn?
• Who do they want to hear from in the niche?
• What kind of skills do they need?
• What are the pains they feel related to the niche?

These days Kenny and Ryan do that through a community that is managed, run, and kept alive by members of their Patreon supporters. But back at the beginning, they had to figure out ways to do it. Annual surveys were a tool they used. Soliciting listener feedback episode to episode helped. And little by little, they were able to dial-in their demographic and know how to serve their audience better.

Kenny and Ryan started their podcast about bourbon back in 2015. Bourbon back then was NOT the thing it is today. Today it’s cool, hip, trendy, etc. , but back then, it was just a hobby for enthusiasts. But that began to change. More bourbon-related podcasts started showing up and Kenny (the Executive Producer of the show) realized he’d have to figure out ways to make their show better than all the rest.

So he up-leveled the equipment they used. He improved their interviewing skills. He shot for higher-level guests and topics listeners said they wanted to hear.

And the podcast continued to grow.

There was a turning point when Kenny felt he was going to have to give up the podcast. He was working a full-time job, was married, and had a child, and he felt that he was being pulled in too many directions. Between his job and the podcast he was working 80 hours a week and knew that without any payoff coming from his efforts, it didn’t make sense to keep making the kind of sacrifices he was making.

He was open about the situation on social media and a fan reached out and suggested they start a Patreon. Kenny didn’t even know what it was. If you dont, here’s the nutshell: Patreon allows fans to support you on a donation level. You can set it up in a way they donate monthly, or per-episode you...