Good Morning Podcasters‪!‬ Fuzz Martin

Good morning, Podcasters! This is a rather introspective episode. You'll have to listen to get the full experience (though the transcript is below).
In the episode, I talk quite heavily about a few books and blogs:
The Creative Act: A Way of Being, by Rick RubinMake Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling, by Eric NuzumThe Interestingness of Everyday Experiences - a post by Jeffrey Saddoris
Thank you for listening to Good Morning, Podcasters!

On yesterday's episode, I spoke the need to collect first-party data since third-party data is not long for this Earth. On today's episode, I talk about some simple ways you can update your website in order to optimize it for growing your email subscriber list.
Here are 9 ways you can optimize your podcast's website in order to grow your email subscriber list:
Make sure your sign-up form is prominent. A lot of people bury their newsletter sign-up at the bottom of the page or on the “Contact Us” page. Give it the prominence it deserves.Reduce the fields in your sign-up form. Research shows that the more fields you have, the fewer people will sign up. Unless you require specific information to segment your audience, I recommend starting with just the email address OR name and email address.Give something away for every subscriber. If you want to grow your list fast, offer something like a free sticker, custom piece of art, shout out on the pod, etc. for signing up. Remember that if you go with something physical that you have to mail, you’re going to need to mail it. And in the U.S., postage is at 60¢ plus the cost of the envelope, sticker, and your time. It can get pricey, but it may be worth it depending on how you monetize your show and your email list.Add a timed pop-up or exit-intent pop-up on your homepage. You’ve all seen this before. The box pops up after a few seconds on the site asking you to sign up for the newsletters. You’ve seen them so often because they work. An exit-intent popup works by triggering when the site detects the mouse moving to the top of the screen (signaling that the visitor is about to bounce).Add pop-ups on your most popular content. If you don’t want everyone getting hit with a pop-up, you could only put it on pages that are high performers.Require registration for blog comments. If you take comments on the show, you could require that the visitor registers first. In that registration process, you could include an opt-in box. Just be sure you’re following GDPR/CCPA/etc. guidelines.Test & update your CTAs. Have you not been getting many sign-ups? Maybe the copy isn’t landing with your audience. Try changing up your Call-to-Action and button copy.Make a quiz. People like to interact with fun quizzes and polls. Put one on your website and require the user to sign up in order to see the results.Create a survey. Ask your listeners to give you feedback about your show and at the end, give them an opportunity to sign up for your email list.
There you go! Nine ways to grow your subscriber list. Thanks for listening to GMP!

Man, I've been waiting to use this title for a long, long time!
What are Third-Party Cookies?Third-party cookies have been a vital tool for advertisers and websites for years. These cookies are used to track users, gather data, and help advertisers provide more targeted ads to the right people. However, many consumers feel that data tracking is an invasion of privacy, and the increasing trend towards data privacy has led to the sunsetting of third-party cookies.
What's Happening?In 2024, Google plans to eliminate third-party cookies on Google Chrome, the world's most popular browser, with a 68% market share. This move will make it harder for advertisers to get their ads in front of the right audience and almost impossible to retarget users. First-party cookies, on the other hand, will not be affected. These cookies are set by the website that the visitor is on and include preferences such as dark mode and shopping carts.
How Will It Impact Marketers?This change will have a significant impact on advertisers and marketers, as there will be a new focus on gathering as much first-party data as possible. The emphasis will be on email newsletters and other data-gathering promotions, and creating useful, authentic content that people will want to interact with and share.
Large websites with massive datasets will still benefit from first-party cookies. For example, Facebook has a lot of first-party data because people provide them with every bit of information about who they are and what they like. This means that advertising on the platform will still be an easy way to reach people. However, it won't be possible to retarget people who visited your website on Facebook.
This is going to be a significant change that will impact the world of online advertising and marketing. However, it also provides an opportunity for you to focus on gathering more first-party data and creating authentic, useful content that people will want to interact with and share.

I absolutely love trying new social media platforms. When Bot Sentinel's new social media platform, Spoutible, became available to the public, I signed up as soon as I could.
For those who have used Twitter, Spoutible has a very familiar interface:
Tweets = SpoutsRetweets = EchoesQuote Tweets = Quote SpoutsLikes = Likes
Spouts are limited to 300 characters, but your are able to edit your Spouts for up to 7 minutes after they've been, uh, Spouted. You can only edit a Spout once.
Unlike Twitter, there is no algorithm. Everything is currently chronological. Only "Echoing" a Spout will make it seen by others that aren't currently following you. Also, since it is run by Bot Sentinel, each Spout has a bot score. So far, I've only seen "Normal 0%" on posts.
At the moment, Spoutible lacks the ability to create Lists, upload videos, and there is currently no mobile app—but they're working on it.
Will Spoutible be a viable alternative to Twitter? Time will only tell. But for now, I'm having fun in the social media platform du jour.
Links to the things we discussed this episode:
Spoutible
Follow UsTwitter: @GMPodcasters | @FuzzMartin | @Podcast_Father

Good Morning, Podcasters! is a product of Snoring Dog Media, LLC. Podcasting Sucks! is a product of Snoring Dog Media, LLC & Jeff Townsend Media.

Have you ever wanted to send out a press release and thought, "Hey, there are distribution services that can push this out to all the news outlets. I could be on CNN! I could be in the New York Times! I could be EVERYWHERERERERE!!!"
Before you go wasting your money on a wire service distribution, let's talk about what newswire releases are and whether or not they're worth it.
On today's episode, I'm joined by EPIC Creative's Content Director and Head of PR, Scott Covelli.
What is a Newswire?A newswire is a tool you can use to distribute press releases to media outlets and journalists. These distributions come with a fee that is usually determined by the size of the audience, number of images or logos accompanying your release, and often by word count. Wires are typically used to send news to large audiences of journalists—though they often are themed by industry (e.g., automotive, oil & gas, food & beverage, etc.) and geography.
What Does a Newswire Release look like? If you're sending a newswire release, it should be written in a standard press release format. This will ensure it's easy for journalists and news outlets to quickly assess whether the information you're sending them is relevant to their audience. The release typically includes a headline, a dateline, a lead paragraph, the body of the release, and media contact information. On Episode 6 of GMP, I walk you through the standard format of a press release.
As with any press release, the information included in the release should be newsworthy and not just an ad written in a press release format.
What Are the Benefits of a Newswire Distribution?The biggest benefit of a newswire service is the wide reach it can provide. Newswire services have established relationships with a variety of media outlets, making it likely that your release will be picked up and published by multiple sources. This can help to increase the visibility of your news, and can also give you the appearance of credibility by landing placements on multiple sites.
What Are the Limitations of Newswire DistributionsNewswire releases certainly have their limitations. Since they are sent out to such wide audiences, it can be difficult to ensure that your release is targeting the right news organizations.
Distributions are "pay-to-play." Your news will most likely get picked up, possibly on hundreds of sites, but it will generally be a straight copy/paste of your press release. The placement of these releases, however, is usually in the utter depths of hell of a news site. Even if you are getting picked up on MSNBC or the NYT, it's almost always in a place that is not ever going to be seen by a human. Also, the links in your release will likely be given the rel="nofollow" HTML tag, stripping you of the possible SEO benefits from the host site.
News releases sent via a wire service are also quite costly. Even the most basic services charging a few hundred dollars at a minimum. If your release includes additional elements such as images and your podcast's logo, the cost can easily exceed $1,000. It's important to keep in mind that the cost of the service does not guarantee that your release will be picked up by specific media outlets.
It may be worth exploring other cost-effective options for distributing your release, such as sending it directly to targeted media contacts or posting it on your podcast's website and social media channels.
However, if that $1,000 is burning a hole in your pocket, you could spend it on Facebook or Instagram ads and potentially reach even more people than you would with a newswire distribution.
Down to The WireNewswire-distributed press releases are popular for a reason—but that reason is mainly self-gratification. If...

As a podcaster, you want to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more. Running promotions is a great way to do this, but it’s important to know the difference between a contest, sweepstakes, and an illegal lottery. You don't want to end up getting sued, so let's dive into the world of promotions and how to run them legally.
In case you're wondering, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.
First and foremost, let's get one thing straight—gambling is illegal unless you are a licensed casino. When you make someone exchange something of value for a chance to win something, that is considered a lottery or, simply put, "gambling." The rules are in place to ensure fairness and to prevent people from starting their own illegal casinos.
The Three Elements of a PromotionThe three key elements that determine whether a promotion is gambling or an illegal lottery are Prize, Chance, and Consideration.
Prize is the thing that a person (or people) wins.Chance means there are odds involved in winning. Consideration is the requirement that something of value be given up in order to be “considered” for the promotion.
If you have all three elements, you risk legal trouble.
Playing By the RulesTo avoid holding an illegal lottery, simply eliminate one of these elements.
Prize is the hardest element to remove since you want to be incentivize your listeners to enter. You could skirt the prize by having a prize with no value. For instance, you might name one of your random paid subscribers as, "The Good Morning Podcasters listener of the week."
You can remove Chance by turning the promotion into a contest where winners are chosen based on certain criteria rather than by chance, or into a giveaway where everyone who enters wins a prize.
Consideration is the easiest to get rid of - just don't require that listeners pay to play.
The Types of PromotionsSo what exactly are the different types of promotions?
Sweepstakes: A sweepstakes is a promotion that has Prize and Chance but no Consideration. Contest: A contest is a promotion where there is Prize and could be Consideration but no element of Chance and winners are chosen based on certain criteria. Giveaway: A giveaway is similar to a contest, but with the element of Chance removed by giving everyone a prize.
Other Things to ConsiderWhen running a promotion, it's important to have official rules detailing how a listener can win and how the prizes will be distributed. To reduce the appearance of impropriety, it's best to have a third-party draw the random drawings. Don't forget to put an end date for the contest and consider asking a lawyer for advice, as rules vary by location.
Running promotions is a great way to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more. Just make sure to know the difference between a contest, sweepstakes, and illegal lottery, and to follow the rules and regulations to avoid any legal trouble. And remember, never refer to your promotion as a raffle or lottery unless you are properly licensed to run one.
As a podcaster, you should really know the rules and regulations surrounding promotions, so you can run them legally and fairly for your listeners. Don't risk getting sued—follow these guidelines and the advice of your actual legal counsel, and you'll be able to run successful and exciting promotions for your audience.