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I just got an email from podcasts.com and I went over to check it out. It has some interesting features, but there are some big negatives. I've got an email into their support to see if I can get some answers.

Today we talk about Rode REC Le software and using a free email provider like Mail Chimp

There are few free platforms. Tools like Tumblr.com and Blogger.com are great, but if I am building a "Starter Podcast' that maybe later I will bump up a notch, I want something that can be upgraded. For this reason, I went with Wordpress.com as the best tool is a Self hosted (but that includes fees) website. So Wordpress.com allows you to get used to the system, create a great looking site, and later if you want to move to your own server with a bit more control, you can without losing anything.

There are pieces of the Podcasting For Free Model still missing. We need an RSS feed that we can control. We need stats. We need unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth. We have those when we start using audiometric.io We also had advertisements at the beginning of our podcast.. It's a trade. We get hosting for free. They get an channel to monetize. You get a cut of the pie as well, but it will take you 200,000 downloads to get your $100 payout. Things are still very new with this company. Another side effect of being free is they do not protect your ID3 tags. This is only a problem if someone downloads your show to their computer (in apps like Apple's podcasts it won't effect anything). What happens? Your title, description, and artwork do not appear. When I mentioned this to Jason (who works/started the company) he said they are aware and that is something in the future they plan on addressing. You don't have any control (at this point ) who the advertisers are but we are told it will be quality advertisers. So we have a podcast. We have artwork. We have a media host. Now all we need is a website. For more information see my website at www.podcastingforfree.com

Today I talk about intro for your podcast. You need to know that you can't use music you hear on the radio as you need 1. Permission from the songwriter 2. Permission from the performer 3. Permission from the person/company that own the masters rights. Free Podsafe Music I found a song on Music Alley. If you use music from this site you have to credit them in each episode. So I found a song and contact the band directly (they broke up, but the singer said it was cool). Inexpensive Voice Over Work I found a person on Fiverr who did the voice over for me. It cost $10 I then used Audacity (free software for mac and PC) to put the song and the voice together. Be careful using fiverr. I would NOT use Fiverr for graphics or intros (I explain in the episode as people use illegal pieces in their work). Here is a comment from one of my listeners: fiverrDave, I can’t believe what a coincidence that you mentioned them on your podcast. I am working on launching my new podcast in May – The College Money Maze and went to fiverr for a designer for the cover art. I hired designeye, gave me the info about what I wanted and paid $15. He sent me a note asking for more info from me but I did not get to it for another week. When I did get to it, he had already done it. It was not what I was looking for. He was also asking for me to rate his work and my experience. I gave him 2 stars out of 5 and asked him to revise the design (which he indicate that he would do within 24hrs). His next response to me was that he would redo the design if I remove the negative rating. I did not remove my rating and wished him good luck. DON’T USE DESIGNEYE for any graphic art work on your website!!!! He indicated that he was a college student trying to make some money to pay for school. This is not the way to do it. Ellen http://www.caregivingstrategies.com My $1 Artwork While there are different services that will make your artwork, if you want to make your own use the website canva.com I used it and it cost me $1. If you don't use any photography in your image its free. To see how I did this, purchase the "Podcasting For Free" course.

While you can podcast using your phone, if you've got it in the budget to spend $60 or less on a microphone, it may be worth it. See www.podcastingforfree.com/2 for the full show notes.

Today we hear how a conversation with a future podcaster has lead Dave to investigate the possibilty of podcasting for free. Is it possible? He talks about going in with your eyes open and realizing we do pay with two types of currency (money, or time). There are starter homes, starter guitars, starter cars, why not starter podcasts? What if you just want to test the waters of podcasting? Come along for the journey.