254 Resources About Podcasting, Audiobooks, and Smart Speakers (All the Audio!)

Over the next few weeks at least, it’s all about social distancing. I recently posted some tips and tricks I’ve picked up working from home. This is seems like an opportunity to work on other platforms as an indie author, and creating content for people who are spending more time at home.

If you know me, you know I’m a podcaster so this may not come as a surprise. Here’s a roundup of articles that give insight, news, and tips on podcasting, as well as about audiobooks and smart speakers (because, you know, audio).

Metrics

1. “Intrado Digital Media Introduces Podcast Monitoring and Reporting Through its Notified Platform” on MarsTechSeries
2. “The first scoring standard for audio creative. Fast insight that grows your business.” on Veritonic
3. “Downloads aren’t the whole story” on Pacific Content
4. “Podcast Audience Strategy: What Your Downloads Can’t Tell You” on The Startup
5. “Technical analysis of top podcasts” on PodNews
6. “Podcast Stats: How many podcasts are there? ” on Listen Notes
7. “’Days After Release’ Comparison Analytics” on Omny Studio
8. “Measure the Impact” on ACX
9. “Podbean’s Big, Fat 2019 Podcast Statistics and Trends Roundup” on Podbean
10. “How to understand podcast stats” on PodNews
11. “Podcast Industry Statistics” on My Podcast Reviews
12. “9 Ways to Increase Podcast Downloads” on Medium
13. “Dollars In, Downloads Out” on Pacific Content
14. “The case for using the Spotify podcast player on your website” on Medium
15. “Buzzsprout Releases Advanced Podcast Statistics” on Podnews
16. “Podcast Analytics Beta Help” on Apple
17. Podtrac: The Standard for Podcast Analytics
18. “Podcast Subscriber Tracking Is Pointless” on Medium

Podcasting Success

1. “Podcasting finally creates another mega-hit show” on NiemanLab
2. Darknet Diaries Stats
3. “CBC Announces First-Ever Podcast-To-TV Development Slate” on CBC
4. “They left their jobs to do this full time — is podcasting the new ‘in’ thing?” on TODAY Online
5. “Marvel Entertainment and SiriusXM Enter a Major Multi-Year Deal to Create Original Podcasts for SiriusXM and Pandora” on Marvel
6. “How Morning Brews First Podcast Hit 1 Million Downloads” on Medium
7. “No, the podcast ‘gold rush’ isn’t over. Podcasting’s golden age is just beginning” on What’s New in Publishing

Connecting

1. Collective World: An exclusive network for creatives to connect with each other, find work and get published.
2. TINK: Connecting writers and creators with engaged podcast listeners
3. Regional Groups on AIR Media
4. List of Audio Group Meetups

Funding

1. “Less than 1% of our Patreon supporters view our content” on Fable and Folly Productions
2. “How to come up with membership content your listeners will love (and pay for)” on Glow
3. “The Missing Patreon Dashboard” on Fable and Folly Productions
4. “How To Make Money With A Podcast” on Medium
5. “Patreon is now issuing microloans to select content creators” on TechSpot
6. “What makes a successful (and profitable) podcast? #RadioAlive2019” on RadioInfo
7. “3 Easy Steps to Accepting Donations for Your Podcast” on We Edit Podcasts
8. “How “Tip Jars” Can Tip the Balance for Podcast Creators” on The Canadian Podcast Listener
9. “Why it’s so hard to scale paid podcast subscriptions” on What’s New In Publishing
10. “UK podcast listeners willing to pay £4 average for monthly subscriptions” on PodNews
11. “Your favorite podcast might be making over $100,000 a month” on SF Gate
12. Membership revenue for podcasters on Supporting Cast
13. “Everything you need to build a better customer journey” on AdRoll
14. Ready, set, launch! Announcing your new membership to the world” on Glow
15. “The Math Behind Membership” on Glow
16. “How to Turn Your Podcast into a Product Your Listeners Will Want to Pay For” on Medium
17. “Want podcasts to remain independent? Support independent podcasts” on TechCrunch

Brand Podcasts

1. “Great Brand Podcasts: Big Companies Who’ve Had Podcasting Success” on The Podcast Host
2. “B2B podcasts: count your meetings, not your downloads” on Podnews
3. “Brands, Here’s How to Measure Podcast ROI” on JAR Audio
4. “How to Get Great Guests for Your B2B Podcast [Outreach Templates]” on Content Marketing Institute
5. “Can Podcasting Help Your Business Grow? 25 Podcast Hosts Share the Top Benefits of Creating a Podcast” on PodReacher
6. “Glassdoor debuts IN PURSUIT podcast, featuring inspiring career conversations” on PodNews
7. “Audio: Activated – the power of branded podcasts” on PodNews
8. WaitWhat invents boundary-breaking and profitable media properties that change our cultural landscape.
9. “Branded Podcasts vs. Podcast Ads (hint: it’s not a fair fight)” on JAR Audio
10. “Schwab creates its own podcast marketing funnel” on WARC
11. “Inside Charles Schwab’s “audio funnel”” on Pacific Content
12. Casted: Podcast platform for B2B brands
13. “Brands, Here’s How to Measure Podcast ROI” on JAR Audio

Industry News and Predictions

1. “Podcasts in MENA: State of the Industry 2019” on AMAEYA Media
2. “Audio 2020 predictions: Automated radio buying and more money for podcasts” on AdNews
3. “The future of podcasts is a Choose Your Own Adventure-style interactivity” on Mumbrella
4. “How indie podcasters can survive the tsunami of bigness in 2020” on Medium
5. “17 Podcasting Industry Predictions for 2020” on Design Your Thinking
6. “Morgan Stanley: Spotify is now #1 podcast platform, beating Apple” on Podnews
7. “The Smart Audio Report Winter 2019” on Edison Research
8. “Critical Mass in Podcasting” on LimeLink
9. “A new way of listening to Posta: on LATAM Airlines flights” on Posta
10. “Venture capital cash is pouring into podcast companies” on AXIOS
11. “Universal Music Group Files a Lawsuit Against PokerNews for Infringing Works on Podcasts” on Digital Music News
12. “Spotify’s podcast dashboard comes out of beta” on TechCrunch
13. “Spotify is working on Stories for Playlists” on Wong M Jane
14. “Pandora opens up podcast submissions to all creators” on TechCrunch
15. “Spotify’s pitch to podcasters: valuable listener data 37” on The Verge
16. PodPass Prototypes
17. “Self-publishing News: Rise of the Podcast” on ALLi
18. “Andrew Mason’s Descript snags $15M, acquires Lyrebird to let users type text to create audio in their own voices” on TechCrunch
19. “Hilton Hotels and iHeartRadio Have Teamed Up to Bring Guests All of the Music And Podcasts They’ll Need For Their Next Hotel Stay” on iHeartRadio
20. “Korn Drops New Song and Announces Podcast Series” on Premier Guitar
21. “Podcast Trends Report 2019” on Discover Pods
22. “What Is a Microcast, and Why Do You Need One? (Guest Column)” on Variety
23. “From Apple: Live: Apple Podcasts for Mac; Podcasts Connect Maintenance” on PodNews
24. “Some unusual clauses from podcast host terms and conditions” on PodNews
25. “What’s up in European podcasting? A status assessment.” on Mateusz Sojka
26. “Five Absolutely Crazy Beautiful Things About Podcasting.” on Medium
27. “From Apple – Manage Show Launches; Updates to Host and Guest Image Specs; Holiday Submission Schedule; Siri Commands” on PodNews
28. “JetBlue Expands Its Lineup of Free Entertainment with Launch of New Onboard Content Partners” on Business Wire
29. “Are podcasts a disaster waiting to happen? ” on The Guardian
30. “Podcasting: what Apple should do next” on Medium
31. “Spotify’s Daniel Ek Lays out the podcast plan – Annotated” on AmplifiMedia
32. “The Netflix of Podcasting is Finally Here (Literally)” on Medium
33. “New learning through podcast app Sparks” on PodNews
34. “Pulitzer Prize Board Announces New Audio Reporting Category” on The Pulitzer Prizes
35. “Milwaukee Startup Zima Podcasting Network Looks to Reinvent Podcast Industry” on Marketers Media
36. “2019: The State of the Podcast Universe” on VoxNest
37. “Comedy, News, and Society and Culture Podcasts Most Listened-to Genres in Podcasting ” on Edison Research
38. “Google Play and Google Podcasts – what’s the difference?” on Transistor
39. “Spotify creates podcast to comfort lonely dogs left at home when owners are away” on iNews
40. “I Don’t Really Listen to Podcasts” on Pacific Content
41. “US Spotify Listeners Surpassed Pandora Listeners in 2019, Sooner than Expected” on eMarketer
42. “Tuning in: Has the City undervalued the podcast craze?” on City A.M.
43. “Deaf and Hard of Hearing People Are Helping to Fix the Podcast Accessibility Problem” on Forbes
44. “The Impact Of Podcasting On The Music Industry: A Double-Edged Sword?” on Forbes
45. “A Digital Briefing Book on Privacy and Podcasting” on Medium
46. “Why the podcast gold rush is slowing down for some publishers” on DigiDay

Podcasts and Radio

1. “How podcasts have transformed radio” on The Spectator
2. “All Our Rate Guides” on AIR

Discovery

1. Podcast Discovery
2. “Send Personalized Podcast Recommendations with Podchasher” on Podchaser
3. CBC: Find a podcast
4. Synth: Get condensed highlights from podcasts delivered to your inbox
5. “Introducing Podchaser Feed – A Game-Changing New Way to Discover Podcasts” on PodNews
6. Podchaser: Your Daily Source for Podcast Discovery
7. Repod: Podcast discovery
8. “Humans, Not Algorithms : music loving curators at AccuRadio lead to 10x fewer skips and 3x longer listening times” on PodNews
9. Easy Podcasts: Short and useful clips from the best podcasts!
10. “How to add your podcast to every podcast directory” on PodNews
11. Google Podcasts
12. “I Tried Listening to Podcasts at 3x and Broke My Brain” on OneZero
13. “How long should my podcast episode titles be?” on Pacific Content
14. “Your podcast episode notes could probably be longer and more search-friendly” on Pacific Content
15. “The art and science of podcast show descriptions” on Pacific Content
16. ”Radio drama and fiction podcasts are having a renaissance as artists make television for your ears” on ABC
17. ”What Agencies Want To Know About Work From Home And AM/FM Radio” on Westwood One

Promotion and Marketing

1. “Overcast Advertising: Promoting Your Podcast” on The Podcast Host
2. Chartable SmartPromos Beta: Podcast-to-Podcast Marketing Attribution
3. “9 Marketing Lessons for Podcasters: Inside the Strategy of Facebook’s New Podcast” on Pacific Content
4. “Moonface Trailer” on YouTube
5. “Audio to video: Keep audiograms short and compelling” on JRJI Online
6. “Free tool for marketing your podcast on social media” on Birds of a Feather Press
7. “Podcast onramps and episode entry points” on Pacific Content
8. “Smart link to Podcast Episodes with Plink” on Plink HQ
9. “How to Get Free YouTube Subscribers (the Real Way)” on Hootsuite
10. “Marketing a podcast and the team that does it” on Medium
11. “Acast announces live podcast events offering in the UK: Acast Live” on PodNews
12. “How WebSub works: and why it’s good for your podcast” on PodNews
13. “Which social channels have the highest podcast download conversion rates?” on Pacific Content
14. PodReacher: We turn podcasts into high-quality articles to boost discoverability
15. “Startup Pex can now scan Apple Podcasts for music clips” on Music Ally
16. “Publishing video clips with Headliner ” on Audioboom
17. “What Makes Compelling Podcast Cover Art? ” on Resonate Recordings
18. “How to Create Beautiful Podcast Cover Art According to a Graphic Designer” on Medium
19. “Why Your Podcast Needs a Trailer” on We Edit Podcasts
20. Gift List Media
21. “Podcast Episodic Artwork Test Results” on Podcast Help Desk
22. “The most crowded categories in Apple Podcasts (February 2020 edition)” on Pacific Content
23. “Triple your podcast’s reviews and subscribers” on Rate This Podcast
24. “Why Podcasts are a Vital Part of Experiential Marketing” on JAR Audio
25. “This little-known service from Apple will help you 📊📈🔥 your podcast marketing” on Pacific Content
26. “The 5 Stages of the Podcast Listener Journey” on Medium
27. ”iTunes Podcast Categories” on The Podcast Host
28. “16 Ways to Promote Your Podcast” on Berkeley Advanced Media Institute

Advertising

1. “Spotify will use everything it knows about you to target podcast ads” on The Verge
2. “Rewriting the Playbook for Podcast Advertising” on Spotify for Brands
3. “A Future Reckoning For The Podcast Ad Bubble” on Medium
4. “ABC Podcast Survey reveals just how engaged podcast audiences are” on PodNews
5. “Which Podcast Ad Placement Converts the Best?” on Podsights
6. “Lessons learned from selling Morning Brew’s first podcast ads” on Medium
7. “Why podcast advertising is effective” on AdNews
8. Magellan: Discover the 4,000+ brands buying podcast ads.
9. “Incremental Lift: The Next Evolution in Podcast Advertising Attribution” on Chartable
10. “What Podcast Sellers Say is Needed to Achieve 2 Billion in Podcast Ad Revenue” on Westwood One
11. “The Fastest Way to Kill Podcast Advertising” on MarTechSeries
12. “Bayer podcast ads beat industry norms for purchase intent, authenticity in new analysis by ART19 and Veritonic” on Podnews
13. ”Advertising A Podcast, Part 3” on PodNews

Creating Podcasts

1. “Productivity Lessons from Artists and Entrepreneurs” on Outside
2. “7 side hustles you can start from your couch” on Forbes
3. “How long should a podcast be?” on Podnews
4. “What makes a great podcast host?” on Pacific Content
5. “How Sticky Is Your Show?” on Medium
6. “Let Your Favorite Podcast Hosts Fix Your Public Speaking Problems” on Fast Company
7. “What I learned as a “Solo Podcaster”” on Medium
8. “How to be a Great Podcast Interviewee” on The Podcast Host
9. “How I make… Podnews” on PodNews
10. “How To Make Your Podcast Sound Professional” on Lifehacker
11. SoundMadePublic: An audio creative agency
12. “Music Production vs. Podcast Production” on Resonate Recordings
13. “Celebrate Milestones and Grow Your Audience with a Montage Episode” on The Podcast Host
14. “The “Local Podcast” Trick” on Medium
15. “Thinking Big with Smaller Podcasts: How Niche Can be Nicely Profitable” on The Canadian Podcast Listener
16. “Using Music and Sound Effects in Your Podcast: A Few Tips and Resources” on Medium
17. “Do you need a co-host for your podcast” on Part-Time Producer
18. Total Body Voice: Develop Voice Skills
19. “What app buttons should you have on your podcast website?” on Podnews
20. Apple: Watch video tutorials to learn about using Podcasts Connect and Podcast Analytics.
21. “How to Make a Podcast: Lessons from an NPR Producer” on OK Dork
22. “Niche Podcasts Have More Listeners, Indicating Untapped Advertising Opportunities” on Media Monitors
23. “How to Create Your Own Podcast: A Guide for Students” on IvyPanda

Audience Growth

1. Castro: Grow your audience where they’re already listening.
2. “How to Grow Your Podcast With Facebook Ads” on The Podcast Host
3. Podcast Brunch Club (Monthly Listener Community Meetup)
4. “Radio Ambulante’s audience is worldwide. Listening clubs help bring them together” on NiemanLab
5. “What I Did (or Think I Did) to Grow as a Podcaster; 500K Downloads in 1 Year and 1K Reviews Later” on Medium

Some Podcast Shows

1. “5 Outstanding Podcasts from Africa” on Podcast Review
2. MarTech Podcast
3. Podnumber: Podcast Curator
4. “Coronavirus: Supplemental Podcast Listening List” on Podcast Brunch Club

Technical and Tools

1. “How to encode your audio: MP3 or AAC / M4A?” on Podnews
2. Parcast. Podcast. Audio. Radio. Re-imagined.
3. “How to record yourself if you’re a remote podcast guest. And why!” on Medium
4. “Audio Innovations and Superfans” on David Gaughran
5. PodPass Technical Specification DRAFT 0.1
6. Start With This is a podcast gone creativity playground designed to put your ideas in motion, from the creators of Welcome to Night Vale, Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.
7. “PodPass: Proposal for an Open Protocol to Enable Direct Listener Relationships” on Medium
8. “Self-publishing News: New Podcast Tools” on ALLi
9. Overdub: Correct your voice recordings by typing. Powered by Lyrebird AI. on Descript
10. “Introducing Descript Podcast Studio & Overdub” on Descript
11. Audio Fiction 101 Online Course
12. “This Guy Made an Ad Blocker That Works on Podcasts and Radio” on Vice
13. “How to turn your podcast into a YouTube video in one step” on Medium
14. “Introducing The Resonate Recorder ” on Resonate Recordings
15. “How to Make Your Own Podcast Playlists” on Spotify
16. “Podcast Chapter Editor – Add Chapters to MP3 and Podcast Audio Files Online” on Backtracks
17. “Partnership allows users of both platforms to easily develop companion digital book or podcast” on Yahoo! Finance
18. Storyblocks: Unlimited Royalty-Free Audio
19. “Podcast app switching tool” on PodNews
20. Modus Hub: Podcast Hosters Directory
21. “New in Descript: Um detection, search, and more” on Descript
22. Spotify for Podcasters
23. “Added! Configuring Your Own URL Prepends” on Libsyn
24. “Generating Podcast Thumbnail Images Caching and Changing Them with AWS” on Medium
25. Podfollow: Get a magic podfollow link for a podcast
26. Podkite: Kitelinks are short links of your podcast with the focus on converting your audience into subscribers of your podcast.
27. “Share exclusive content with NEW Spreaker Enterprise private podcast RSS feed” on Spreaker
28. “Create your own private podcast” on Castos
29. “Transcribe Your Podcasts Automatically, and Share Online To Get More Viewers!” on Medium
30. Online MP3 Cutter and Ringtone Maker on Toolur
31. Ringr: Record long distance interviews
32. “13 Tools to Record Audio on Chromebooks and Other Devices” on Shake Up Learning
33. “Record. Transcribe. Edit. Mix. As easy as typing. Take control of your podcast with Descript.” on Descript
34. Headliner Video Maker on Chrome Web Store
35. “A podcaster’s guide to RSS” on Apple
36. ”RØDE is pleased to offer a full RØDECaster Pro kit (including a RØDECaster Pro, 2 x microphones, microphone stands, cables and headphones) to any NSW public school with a year 7-12 cohort”
37. ”Making your editing process faster. Help removing “ums” and other noises (We need Beta-Testers!)”

Audiobooks

1. “Audiobooks: The Rise and Rise of the Books You Don’t Read” on BBC
2. “Opinion: Future Audiobook Trends” on ALLi
3. “Audiobook Promotion for Indie Authors” on ALLi
4. “Researchers state people absorb audiobooks and ebooks the same” on GoodEReader
5. “Kobo Writing Life now accepts Audiobook submissions” on GoodEReader
6. “Guga Mafra, Brazilian podcaster, releases How To Be A Rockstar, a podbook with a lot of rock, pop and crushes” on PodNews
7. “Ebook, Audio or Paper Book. What’s Best According to Science?” on Interesting Engineering
8. Audiobooks on Smashwords
9. “5 ways to use audio for book marketing and reader engagement” on Louise Harnby
10. “Chirp Deals: Tips on Optimizing Your Audiobook Submission” on BookBub

Smart Speakers

1. “Amazon and Leading Technology Companies Announce the Voice Interoperability Initiative” on Amazon
2. “Google Tightens Its Voice Assistant Rules Amid Privacy Backlash” on Wired
3. “New ways Alexa makes life simpler and more convenient ” on Amazon
4. “How to increase customer engagement with your Alexa skill” on Alexa Blogs
5. “Leverage the New Metrics Dashboard to Deepen Skill Engagement, Drive Retention” on Alexa Blogs
6. “Voice Search SEO Guide” on Medium

Interactive Audio

1. “Meet Shampoodler, the podcast and Twitch superfan who’s the future of fandom in interactive media” on Fast Company
2. Giide: Audio that’s Interactive

This post was originally published March 2020.