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Timber for Podcasters—Podcasting advice for experts by experts

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Featured Stories

Your Podcast Sounds Bad Unless You Do These Hundred Simple Tricks
Pro Podcast Editor Checklist

Pro Podcast Editor Checklist

We're giving away the actual guides our pro editors use to give feedback

Timber has a private podcast community called The Edit. In it, industry professionals write feedback for our members’ episodes. They listen and take notes with a checklist of things to listen for and take notes as they go. Then they […]

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Your Podcast Sounds Bad Unless You Do These Hundred Simple Tricks
Getting Your Show into Podcast Lists

Getting Your Show into Podcast Lists

Podcast curators and tastemakers reveal their secret formulas

As a podcast consultant, one of the most common questions I get asked is, “How do I promote my podcast?” I get it. Once you’ve poured your blood, sweat, and tears into the production of your show, you want listeners. […]

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Your Podcast Sounds Bad Unless You Do These Hundred Simple Tricks
Grow Your Social Media Following the Hard Way

Grow Your Social Media Following the Hard Way

A five-step guide to attract followers that are actually interested in your podcast

When I was first starting Timber, I knew that I wanted to create a few social media accounts just for Timber and build up their followings. It goes almost without saying that having a high-quality social media following is one […]

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Your Podcast Sounds Bad Unless You Do These Hundred Simple Tricks
Think Like a Journalist to Grow Your Audience

Think Like a Journalist to Grow Your Audience

Jenna Spinelle reveals the surprising parallels between journalism and podcast marketing

If you hang out in podcasting communities online or offline, one of the questions that comes up most frequently is, “How do I grow my audience?” Everyone is always searching for more downloads, more subscribers, more listeners. Much like a […]

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Four Tactics to Strengthen Your Podcast Hosting Skills
Four Tactics to Strengthen Your Podcast Hosting Skills

Four Tactics to Strengthen Your Podcast Hosting Skills

When and how to ask the best interview questions

Back in 2011, when I was making my first podcast, I applied for a media pass to cover the Gemini Awards. The Geminis honored achievements in Canada’s television industry. I applied on a whim but to my delight, I was […]

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Three resources to level-up your podcasting game
Three resources to level-up your podcasting game

Three resources to level-up your podcasting game

Podcasting is more than making goofs on mics with your buds. These resources will lay a foundation for lifelong learning.

If you go on the Facebook groups about podcasting, there are a zillion people new to podcasting asking how to get started, and half a zillion reply-guys that say “best advice is just get started.” I think half of those […]

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No Shortcut to Insider Access
No Shortcut to Insider Access

No Shortcut to Insider Access

How Ear Hustle and Other People’s Problems have navigated access and consent to give listeners a fly-on-the-wall experience.

I love podcasts that give me a glimpse into a world I would have otherwise never been able to see; shows that make you feel like you’re getting special behind-the-scenes access. I’m talking about podcasts like Ear Hustle, which chronicles […]

Society and Culture Crime Film, Literature, and Podcasts Career Podcasters

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So You Want to Start a True Crime Podcast…
So You Want to Start a True Crime Podcast…

So You Want to Start a True Crime Podcast…

A guide to coming up with ideas, making them good, and avoiding common pitfalls. And how Norco 80, an excellent true crime pod, came together.

A guide to the sub-genres: from the popular to the prestigious In the podcasting gold rush, the true crime genre is among the biggest motherlodes. But it’s a lot more varied in form and approach than its reputation suggests. It […]

Crime

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Indie Networks and Collectives—What’s the Difference?
Indie Networks and Collectives—What’s the Difference?

Indie Networks and Collectives—What’s the Difference?

Three ways to amplify your podcasting efforts with advice from Wade Roush, Michael Mongiardi, and Marsha Alejandro

Creating a podcast can be lonely. It starts with an idea. After countless hours of mulling it over, production begins as a side hustle. Evenings and weekends are dedicated to breathing life into a show. It’s recorded in a closet, […]

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How To Make a Compelling Companion Podcast According to Pros
How To Make a Compelling Companion Podcast According to Pros

How To Make a Compelling Companion Podcast According to Pros

Advice from Roman Mars, Bari Finkel, Christopher Johnson, Dan Taberski, Krys Marshall, and Will Malnati

Hollywood is in the middle of a long love affair with podcasts. Evidence of that can be seen in the number of podcasts being turned into TV shows, including The Shrink Next Door, Nice White Parents, and The Edge of […]

Entertainment Film, Literature, and Podcasts Career Podcasters

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One of the Best Serialized Documentary Creators in the World
One of the Best Serialized Documentary Creators in the World

One of the Best Serialized Documentary Creators in the World

Zac Stuart-Pontier Explains His Approach to Storytelling Across Several of His Well-known Works

“There it is. You’re caught.” So begins the final scene of The Jinx, a show that ushered in the modern era of true crime docuseries yet hinges on this jaw-dropping 90 seconds of audio while the camera is trained on […]

Film, Literature, and Podcasts Producer Spotlight

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What It Sounds Like When People Connect
What It Sounds Like When People Connect

What It Sounds Like When People Connect

Why Erica Heilman’s Rumble Strip Conversations Sound Like No One Else’s

Pick an episode of Erica Heilman’s independent podcast Rumble Strip. Odds are, one of the first things you’ll notice is the intimacy of the conversations. Rumble Strip is usually composed of one-on-one interviews, but even in group interviews or solo […]

Career Podcasters Society and Culture

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Navigating trust and truth as an independent podcaster
Navigating trust and truth as an independent podcaster

Navigating trust and truth as an independent podcaster

Journalistic integrity matters—even if you’re not part of a news outlet

COVID-19 confusion and competing realities over election results have pushed trust in traditional media to an all-time low, according to Edelman’s 2021 Trust Barometer. Trust in print and broadcast media fell eight points from 2020, and more Americans now say […]

News and Politics Technology

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How to Host a Podcast With Your Partner That Doesn’t Suck
How to Host a Podcast With Your Partner That Doesn’t Suck

How to Host a Podcast With Your Partner That Doesn’t Suck

The real life couples who host Couples Therapy and Sawbones tell us how they bring their chemistry to the mic

“Can I just throw this out there? We actually love each other.” Andy Beckerman, writer, performer, and podcast veteran, is speaking to me, along with his fiancée—writer, performer, and standup comedian Naomi Ekperigin—about Couples Therapy, the popular comedy podcast the […]

Comedy Society and Culture

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Alie Ward’s Listeners Truly Love <i>Ologies</i>
Alie Ward’s Listeners Truly Love Ologies

Alie Ward’s Listeners Truly Love Ologies

Ologies’ Alie Ward Explains Why You Should Build A Community on Patreon Before Even Launching Your Show

Before Alie Ward launched her podcast, Ologies, she built a community on Patreon. That decision not only helped Ward fund her incredibly fun, fact-filled show, but also helped her harness a base of science-loving supporters to turn Ologies into one […]

Science Career Podcasters

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A Creator’s Guide to Therapy Podcasts
A Creator’s Guide to Therapy Podcasts

A Creator’s Guide to Therapy Podcasts

A close look at the elements that make therapy shows stand out and succeed

“This is the Therapy Chat Podcast with Laura Reagan, LCSW-C. The information shared in this podcast is not a substitute for seeking help from a licensed mental health professional.” A voice actress reads this intro while a cyclical harmonic figure […]

Health

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Podcasts Must Find the Small Moments to Give Life to Big Secrets
Podcasts Must Find the Small Moments to Give Life to Big Secrets

Podcasts Must Find the Small Moments to Give Life to Big Secrets

How Dani Shapiro makes guests' secrets come to life on her memoir anthology show Family Secrets

As Dani Shaprio finished up the manuscript for her memoir, Inheritance, people kept telling her their secrets. The book was about her shocking discovery—after submitting her DNA to a genealogy website—that her father was not actually her biological father, and […]

Society and Culture

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A Voice for Writing a Voice for Podcasting
A Voice for Writing a Voice for Podcasting

A Voice for Writing a Voice for Podcasting

Author Joanna Penn had to find her voice all over again as a podcaster

Joanna Penn starts every episode of The Creative Penn podcast with this salutation, knowing it might alienate some listeners. And she’s okay with that. Since releasing her first episode in 2009, the prolific British author has learned the value of […]

Career Podcasters

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His Stories Became Movies, Now He’s Making Podcasts
His Stories Became Movies, Now He’s Making Podcasts

His Stories Became Movies, Now He’s Making Podcasts

Writer Skip Hollandsworth found the perfect story for his first pod Tom Brown’s Body

Legendary Texas Monthly writer Skip Hollandsworth is used to working hard for a story. He’s been widely recognized as one of the premier writers of longform non-fiction in the magazine world for three decades. Many of these narratives spanned more […]

Crime Entertainment

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Tina Muir—<i>Running for Real</i>
Tina Muir—Running for Real

Tina Muir—Running for Real

Runners want to listen to a well-prepared show where host and guests can be themselves

When former elite marathoner Tina Muir started Running for Real in 2017, she had a specific finish line in mind: she envisioned a podcast that would inspire runners of all levels and backgrounds. Though originally known for her fast times […]

Sports

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FOIA Requests Are Her Secret Weapon
FOIA Requests Are Her Secret Weapon

FOIA Requests Are Her Secret Weapon

How Emily G. Thompson uses research to build a huge audience for Morbidology

There are over one million podcasts in the world—or there were in April 2020, according to Podcast Insights. And thanks to stay-at-home orders forcing everyone to boredom-create new shows, that number has undoubtedly gone up. While it’s hard to determine […]

Crime

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A Close Look at a Podcast Kickstarter Campaign
A Close Look at a Podcast Kickstarter Campaign

A Close Look at a Podcast Kickstarter Campaign

The team behind the upcoming Unseen shares their tips, their worries, and the gamified marketing that led to their success.

When Long Story Short Productions launched the Kickstarter for their upcoming urban fantasy fiction podcast, Unseen, they prepared for the worst. Founders Gabriel Urbina, Sarah Shachat, and Zach Valenti knew they’d have some fans who were likely to support them: […]

Fiction

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Podcasts and Publishers Tips and Tricks
Podcasts and Publishers Tips and Tricks

Podcasts and Publishers Tips and Tricks

How authors, podcasters, and publicists can help each other reach new audiences

If you listen to interview podcasts, chances are you’ve heard at least a few authors come on as guests to talk about their latest books. A book is long enough to provide a podcaster with multiple angles for an interview, […]

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What Mic Does Matt Gourley Use?
What Mic Does Matt Gourley Use?

What Mic Does Matt Gourley Use?

How Matt Gourley went from goofing off on a podcast no one listened to to cracking wise with Conan O'Brien

Matt Gourley says he might have been the first analog podcaster,  which makes perfect sense if you’ve ever heard Conan O’Brien roasting him for his love of vintage items—like, say, his beloved phone that was once owned by Dwight D. […]

Comedy

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A Podcast Built on Ruins
A Podcast Built on Ruins

A Podcast Built on Ruins

Paul MM Cooper tells us how he built a subscription driven powerhouse in Fall of Civilizations

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. Since Paul MM Cooper was a child, he has had a fascination with ruined places. He would stare at pictures of mossy, overgrown churches and […]

History Podcast 🎧

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Three Million Listens a Month Without a Big Name or Network
Three Million Listens a Month Without a Big Name or Network

Three Million Listens a Month Without a Big Name or Network

Drew Ackerman credits his consistency for the year-over-year audience growth of Sleep With Me.

Prefer to listen instead? We add new stories regularly to the podcast Timber—Stories for Podcasters. The world’s “most boring podcast” brings in three million listens per month and has been Drew Ackerman’s full-time job for the last three-and-a-half years. Sleep […]

Career Podcasters Podcast 🎧

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A Breakthrough in Growth From Advertising
A Breakthrough in Growth From Advertising

A Breakthrough in Growth From Advertising

The Growth of Pessimists Archive, with Jason Feifer

All great podcasts have to start somewhere. Many of the behemoths of today began in someone’s closet and with just a handful of friends for listeners. So, what changes that? How does a little, independent podcast spread, ultimately growing to […]

Technology

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How to Magically Grow Your Podcast
How to Magically Grow Your Podcast

How to Magically Grow Your Podcast

Erik Tait has found a winning formula for an audience of magicians

The Penguin Magic Podcast, hosted by comedian and magician Erik Tait, might bring to mind descriptions of tricks and discussions of great magic performances. And it is that—but with a little bit of interview savvy and a lot of magic, […]

Entertainment

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