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Alex
Alex

Posted on • Edited on • Originally published at blog.openpodcast.xyz

Writing A Book About Podcasting

Writing a podcasting book will help many people. The people that have the desire to start a podcast will get the guidance that they need. Different people that do not know anything about podcasting might see my book. Then, grow an interest in podcasting.

What is this book?

The book is a brain dump of everything I've learned from podcasting since I started. I have taken the podcasting episodes from the podcast and written them down. Every chapter will include extra content. ideas that I thought of after I recorded the podcast. The book will be more structured than the podcast. I will be using comedians as examples in the book.

Why write a podcasting book?

Giving the same advice to beginners

Since the beginning of my podcast I have been helping people start their own podcast. The advice and details about starting a podcast are very fresh in my mind. This is different from someone who has been podcasting for 10 years. Those people may have difficulty giving advice to beginners. They have not been beginners in a while.

For my podcast I give advice to new podcasters. A listener might want to hear one part of an episode. To find the content they want to hear they have to listen to one entire episode. With a book the listener has the ability to skip to the part that they want to read.

Where to Buy the Book

For now, the book will be on the platform Gumroad I will be adding the book to other platforms soon.

Why comedians

Similarities Between Stand-up Comedians and Podcasting

There are many similarities between a podcast host and a comedian. A podcast host can use the principles of stand-up comedy to improve their podcast. For example stand-up comics know how to tell a story. A podcast is someone telling their story. A host can improve their storytelling skills by watching stand-up.

Makes Book More Interesting

The book has to stand out from all the other "how to podcast" books. Adding the element about stand-up comedy makes the book more appealing. Compared to a book that is only about podcasting. someone interested in being a stand-up comic is more likely to read the book. That opens the book to 2 markets, podcast hosts and comedians.

Pricing

Pre-order price

The pre-order price fluctuates but will be no higher than $15

Launch Price

The standard launch price will be $20. Different communities will get discounts.

Exclusive Offer for BAIB Listeners and OP Members

Listeners of BAIB and Open Podcast Community members will get the book for free.

How to Promote the Book

Directories for Ebooks

There are directories for books. These websites allow authors to add a link to their ebook for free. People search the directories for books that they want to buy. These directories are another website an author can use to gain organic sales.

Special Deals with Communities

Some communities well have users that want to buy this book. I can offer a discount to those communities to give their users an incentive to buy the book.

Send People Free Copies

I can send people free copies of the book. Those people might like the book and tell other people about the book. The other people might buy the book based on the first person's review.

Do Interviews

I can do interviews with other hosts. If the interviews go well some of the podcast's audience might find me interesting. The audience for that reason might buy my book.

Giveaways

One option is to use social media for giveaways. I can give away a free copy of the book to someone on social media. On the condition that they join the mailing list. I asked people to sign up for the newsletter and in exchange they have the opportunity to win a free copy of the book.

Sample chapter

A sample chapter will give potential readers an idea for the rest of the book. This will increase the chances of someone buying the book. If they like the sample chapter.

OP Newsletter

The Open Podcast Community newsletter is about the Open Podcast Community. I can promote the book in the newsletter for all these subscribers to find the book.

OP Blog

Adding the sample chapter to the Open Podcast blog is an option. The Open Podcast blog will have links to the book and other information about the book. For the readers to get even more information about the book. To increase the likelihood of people buying the book.

Struggles

Deciding the Order of Chapters

The book needs to flow. The order of the chapters helps a book flow from chapter to chapter. Which is why I struggle with the order of the chapters. Every time I look at the order of the chapters I make a change.

Knowing When to Stop Adding

Right now, I have many chapters for the book. I have this feeling that there is something missing from the book. I have to be happy with the content. If not, I can not release the book.

Release Date

July 31st

On Gumroad the current release date is July 31st. For now I am editing. As long as there are no surprises I can meet that date.

Latest August 31st

If there is a factor that I am missing in the book making process. I can solve it in a month.

Conclusion

Writing a book will help everyone in the industry. My book might help people discover podcasts. They might start listening to existing podcasts. Which would help existing hosts grow their audience. My benefit is that people may join the Open Podcast Community after reading the book. The more content created for the podcast industry the better.

The book is available for purchase here.

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