Checklist to Broadcast

[William Thomas]

Does anyone have a Checklist of things to do while building a podcast or webcast whatever the difference is is beyond me. The more i read the more I find out there are more things to do than time to do them and i dont work. What the hell do you guys do that have real jobs.????

Ok besides building you viewership and the show and the content and the software and hardware that all need to be addressed.

I just find out about storing the shows and storing the audio shows seperate from video shows and whats the tracking s**t. What the hell is being tracked. Viewers and where they come from ????

Ok then there is twitter, facebook, myspace your space and all the different social interfaces???? dammit....

I want to have something i am proud of but for some reason the more i like what i see the more there is to do.

Which brings me to my initial question....

DOES ANYONE HAVE A BROADCASTING WEBCASTING HARDWARE SOFTWARE WHAT THE HELLO TO DO CHECKLIST?

Thanks,

Bill

Ps I am serious if you know of anything that is organized and helpful I would be very interested. Somehow Chris Pirillo doesnt seem organized enough to have a show that big....

[Amnon]

Ok besides building you viewership and the show and the content and the software and hardware that all need to be addressed.
You got it all screwed up Bill (maybe because you have too much time on your hands :-))))) Here is the order you should do it in:
1. Decide on a show topic.
2. Come up with content.
3. Decide what software and hardware to get.
4. Configure #3
5. Do a few test shows, invite friends and family (you will screw up!!)
6. Only when things are going to your liking, worry and do something about growing your audience.

[William Thomas]

Amnon,

Thanks Sir so much for your help. That's a great start. especially the part about don't worry about growing your audience until you have a show to your liking.

Thanks very much

Bill

[BradShoemaker]

Also remember none of us grew anything over night. This is still an industry in flux. Yes Podcasting has been around for some time now, but it has only been recently where everything is starting to converge to make it accessible for people wanting to start a broadcast and people wanting to watch a broadcast.

The hardware, has come way down in price, broadband has enabled people to add video streams, etc. You just have to take it a step at a time. I might be the minority here, but get your audio secured then worry about video (should you even want to add video).

The first 3 episodes we did were audio only. I added a simple Microsoft Lifecam to the mix just so the people watching on UStream had something to look at. It wasn't until early this year that I started making strides in adding multiple cameras and Vidblaster, etc. So we went an entire year with a 1 camera shot to start with before building it up.

Don't get overwhelmed, just take it one step at a time and as Amnon said, grow your audience when you have a good handle on everything.

[RichardCleveland]

I will be starting a new podcast on this very topic very soon. As far as a formal checklist Amnon has given you a great start.

[William Thomas]

Thanks for the responses and Richard keep us posted on when your podcast is so that we can tune in. Most of what you folks have said i have written down and read about and have done. I guess when i said checklist i meant how do you keep everything organized and making sure everything is done. Do you have others that help? I am a one man band here. I just asked my wife if she would like to help. She is very organized.

Here are a few other questions i have that the answers i believe would help others as well:

1. Is there a way to update everything with one place...ie...facebook, tweet, myspace, and website????

2. I have not started a web site yet ...suggestions on one that would be helpful. Go Daddy????

3. I am on livestream and justintv right now. livestream just changed things around. not sure i like it but i do like the sofware to broadcast with. works well with Vidblaster.

4. Another problem i have is I dont know how to do overleys and titles and things like that. any suggestions on how to get those accomplished????

thanks again....like most of you we are self taught on all of this. I dont know if after 40 years of bong resin that there is much room left for after effects and final cut.

[RichardCleveland]

Ok before I answer any of these great questions' I need to know are you streaming live or pre-recording?

[William Thomas]

Hello Richard,

Thanks again for responding. This is new to me. I have done both live shows and pre-record.

I just noticed you are from Calgary. I am originally from Maine and live in NC now but my wife and i took a trip to Alaska in an RV and went up near your area. We went to Lake Louise. Wow. That place should be on everyone's Bucket list for sure. Place is Beautiful. We loved the Canadian Rockies 100 times better than Alaska . Nicer Campgrounds and Free Firewood.

Thanks again for your help.

Bill

[washproof]

1. Is there a way to update everything with one place...ie...facebook, tweet, myspace, and website????
2. I have not started a web site yet ...suggestions on one that would be helpful. Go Daddy????

Hi Bill, for Social Media Management you'll wanna take a look at hootsuite.com (http://hootsuite.com)

As for hosting, take a look at hostpapa.ca (http://www.hostpapa.ca), I got 3 years unlimited hosting for just 70 GBP, and with lots of cool freebie add-ons and the free domain for life it was a real bargain, also their wordpress installer works like a dream!

[washproof]

Here is the to do list i'm working to, its all the things I need to do on the admin / promotion side of things and in no real order!


Build your website:

Select a unique domain name
Choose a hosting service
Select a CMS platform (Wordpress is a good one!)
Choose a theme or template
Decide on a navigation style and layout
Architect your site for search
Add a blog
Burn your RSS feed
Set-up an account with a hosted email provider
Add an email subscription box
Build your email list
Build a place for your community (forums or message boards etc)
Enable social sharing (Add a Facebook “Like” button etc)
Add a row of social media icons
Make your site mobile friendly
Optimize your web pages and blog for search (SEO)
Create an account with Google Webmaster Tools and use an analytics tool


Setup your social networking:

Claim your social network accounts (Set-up a Hootsuite, Twitter & Facebook fan page account etc)
Find online influencers via Twitter / Blogger (people who deal in the same area of interests as you)
Follow influencers (a lot of them will return in kind)
Build your Twitter following
Start your community outreach
Add your Twitter stream to your website
Manage, schedule and track your tweets and status updates via Hootsuite


Upload your Videos:

Create and install a video sitemap
Use YouTube Suggest to find organic keywords for your videos
Setup your Youtube account / channel (or any other media host your going to use)
Customise your YouTube channel
Optimise your YouTube channel for search with key words etc
Optimise your video for search meta tags etc
Upload and promote your video and add it to a playlist etc
Apply to become a YouTube partner
Tap into YouTubeʼs Promoted Videos Program

keep calm and carry on...

[William Thomas]

Thank you Washproof for the information as you are approaching exactly what i was looking for. Do you guys do all that by yourselves?

Thanks again,

Bill

[washproof]

No problem Bill, yeah I'm doing it all solo, like you I'm new to all this (apart from some cinematography training I did a few years ago) I'v found it best just to take it bit by bit, there is a lot to learn, but the best way to learn is by doing it!

Its taken me around 8 months to date to research and buy all the hardware / software that I need and put in place the infrastructure a project like this needs.

For the next 3/4 months I plan to:

Flesh out the website (been playing round with a few testbed iterations of it)
Develop content content content!
Put in communication lines with potential future guest speakers etc.
Put in communication lines with potential future sponsors and supporters.
Learn my way around any new software, nail down my video editing workflows etc.
Animate my titles and bumps etc.
Learn my systems and hardware, camera and audio mainly so I know them inside out...

Then after a full year of development (first 8 months I'v done it part time along with my day job) I should be ready to launch the project at the start of the new year.

For me its been a long road but an enjoyable one, I love to learn new things and i'v picked up some great friends and contacts along the way.

[andrewzarian]

Thats a great list washproof!