Hey friend! Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you're having a good day wherever you are.

If this is your first time hearing or seeing me, welcome! I'm glad you're here! My name is Aaron Dowd and I'm here to help you learn about podcasting and connect you with other great podcasters in the podcasting community.

If it's been awhile since you heard from me, I'm sorry I've been absent for so long, but thanks for giving me another chance!

If you've been following for more than a couple years, you know I used to host a podcast and YouTube channel called The Podcast Dude. I'm renaming and relaunching that show and calling it Podcasting With Aaron.

My Two Goals for This Show

First, to share everything I've learned about podcasting so far.

I've been making podcasts and helping people make podcasts for about 8 years now. I don't know everything, but I'd like to share what I have learned, and hopefully it will be helpful to you. Let's learn together!

Second, I want to introduce you to other podcast producers and people working in the podcasting.

I know that it's hard to do things alone, and finding other people who share your enthusiasm for podcasting can be challenging.

Fortunately there's an amazing community of people who are passionate about podcasting, and I think we should all be friends. I want to help facilitate those friendships and make introductions through this show.

New Episodes Every Saturday

That's right: New episodes every Saturday! I know how important it is to have something to look forward to, and a weekly cadence is what I'm committing to.

The format for the show will be simple, to prevent me from overthinking it and procrastinating.

I'm going to record a video for YouTube first, and export the audio from the video to publish in my podcast RSS feed.

I think you'll enjoy the video version the most, but I understand if you like listening in your podcast app better.

I'll try to make sure the audio-only version is just as good as the video version, and include links to anything I show in the video in the podcast show notes.

I'll have a few different segments that I'll be doing regularly:

• Q&A, where I answer your questions
• Tips & tricks, where I talk about a specific topic related to podcasting
• Interviews, where I talk to podcasters and people making useful things for podcasters
• Recommendations, where I talk about things I think you should know about or check out (news, videos, blog posts, gear, etc)
• Personal updates, just to give you a peek into my life and what I've been up to

I'll aim for 15 minute episodes, and try to keep them under 30 minutes unless I'm doing an interview (sometimes it's nice to let those go a little longer). I'll bring an outline and notes, but I'll try not to script it too much.

I'll make sure to have the next week's topic ready and share it at the end of every episode.

What I Need From You:

I do have a favor to ask: Please leave a comment in YouTube or a review in Apple Podcasts and tell me about yourself and your show.

I'd like to know how you found me, how long you've been listening or watching, and what your podcast is about, and if you have any questions or things you're currently struggling with related to podcasting.

This helps me get to know you a little better which will help me make this show better, but it will also help other people connect with you as well.

And if you have any feedback, suggestions, or encouragement you'd like to share, I'd love to hear those too.

The website for this show is podcastingwithaaron.com, that's where you can find links to my social media accounts and other resources and stuff related to me and this show.

If you have a question you'd like me to answer on the show, record a voice memo and email it to aaron@thepodcastdude.com.

Dedications

I'd like to dedicate this show to a few people.

To Sofia, for always inspiring me to get better, and to my nephew Silas: I hope this show inspires you to start your own helpful YouTube channel or podcast someday.

And finally, I dedicate this show to you (you reading, watching, or listening). Thank you for joining me and following along. Podcasting is definitely more fun with friends, so I'm thankful you're here.

Recommendations

There's a YouTube channel and a podcast that both inspired me to get back into making videos and podcasts. 

The YouTube channel is Yoga with Adriene, and the podcast is Deep Questions with Cal Newport.

I'm not exaggerating when I say they changed my life this year. They're both made by incredible people and absolutely worth your time.

Next Week on Podcasting with Aaron:

Next week's topic will be How to Stop Procrastinating and Make a Podcast. This was a question from Chris B. on Twitter, and a topic I have YEARS of experience with. 

If you've been procrastinating on starting a podcast or making new episodes, leave me a comment or send me a message and tell me about it so I can talk about it in next week's episode.

Happy podcasting, and I'll see you next week!

Aaron Dowd 
Granbury, Texas 
December 5, 2020