Podcast Answer Man

In this episode, I'm sharing some of the ways I'm currently using artificial intelligence in my content creation process.

I've been watching several members of my Green Room Mastermind experiment with AI to automate much of their video production workflow. Seeing what they've been able to accomplish inspired me to explore what might be possible with audio.

That led to an experiment where I took a 33-minute episode of The Cliff Ravenscraft Show and used AI to turn it into a 10-minute narrative documentary, complete with a synthetic narrator, music, sound effects, and excerpts from...

The phrase “creator economy” gets used everywhere these days.

But what does it actually mean to be a creator?

Is a creator someone who earns money directly from YouTube views, sponsorships, Patreon supporters, advertising, or brand deals?

What about the entrepreneur who creates content for an audience of only a few hundred or a few thousand people, but uses that content to build relationships that lead to clients, customers, products, services, speaking opportunities, or other forms of business?

And what about the person who simply has something meaningful to say and feel...

Podcasting can be a surprisingly lonely activity.

You can spend hours sitting alone behind a microphone, creating something that reaches hundreds or thousands of people, while having very few people in your everyday life who actually understand what you do.

I remember what that felt like during the early years of podcasting. Before there were large industry conferences, some of my favorite experiences were the smaller PodCamp events happening in cities around the country. You could drive a few hours, walk into a room filled with people who understood podcasting, and immediately feel like you...

At the beginning of 2026, I committed to publishing a new episode of Podcast Answer Man every Friday morning at 12:01 a.m.

I kept that commitment for months.

Recently, I decided to let it go.

In this episode, I want to take you deeper into the thinking behind that decision because this has become about much more than how frequently I publish a podcast.

I've been asking myself a larger question.

What forms of creation deserve my life energy now?

Audio podcasting has been one of the most...

In 2011, Gary Takacs joined my four-week Podcasting A to Z course with an idea for a podcast specifically designed to serve dentists.

Gary was certainly not new to his profession at the time. He had started his own dental practice management consulting firm in 1989 after spending the 1980s learning his craft with two larger consulting organizations. His marketing model consisted primarily of writing articles for dental publications and speaking at conferences around the country.

Then he discovered podcasting.

Gary saw the potential for audio to give him an ongoing way to share useful...

For the past 32 weeks, I have been committed to publishing a new episode of The Cliff Ravenscraft Show every Monday and a new episode of Podcast Answer Man every Friday.

I made that commitment because I believed strongly in the value of consistency, and because bringing Podcast Answer Man back was part of a larger strategy to restore visibility, reconnect with the podcasting industry, get back on stages, and create new relationships and business opportunities.

That strategy has worked. Podcast Answer Man has reopened doors, created speaking and community opportunities, and contributed to new client...

For more than twenty years, people have asked me two questions about podcasting more than almost any others:

“How do I launch a podcast?”

“How do I grow my audience?”

Those can be useful questions, but neither one appears on my list of the five questions you must be able to answer if your goal is to generate clients through your show.

Do not ask, “How do I grow my podcast?” until you can clearly answer what the growth is intended to produce, for whom, and why they would eventually pay you.

...

In 2016, I helped a student launch a podcast through my four-week Podcasting A to Z program.

For this story, I call him Bill.

Bill was 62 years old at the time. He wanted to create a library of leadership content that people could access on their own schedule. He also wanted to build a more virtual business that was less dependent on his physical presence with clients.

At a deeper level, he hoped this new way of working would give him and his wife more time together and greater freedom to choose where and...

There may be a podcast you’ve listened to for years—someone who has taught you, encouraged you, entertained you, or helped you make decisions that changed your life.

But have you ever actually told them?

I’ve been listening to podcasts since the summer of 2005. Over those twenty years, I’ve listened to thousands of episodes from countless creators. Yet when I honestly thought about how often I’ve personally reached out to tell one of those creators about the impact they’ve had on my life, the number was surprisingly small.

This episode...

What happens when your work has evolved, but the market still associates you with an earlier version of your professional identity?

In this episode, I explore how to use the content you create to intentionally change what people know you for, especially when your current work is profitable enough to keep postponing the work you most want to become known for.

This episode was inspired by a powerful question that someone brought to a hot seat in one of my mastermind groups.

This entrepreneur already had a successful service-based business, plenty of client...

Many people begin podcasting with the goal of launching a show and growing an audience. But after observing thousands of podcasting journeys over the past two decades, I have become convinced that the podcast itself is rarely the true desired outcome.

What people really want is what they hope the podcast will help them experience.

That might include more fulfilling work, meaningful income, greater freedom, stronger professional relationships, increased influence, thought leadership, or a creative outlet for expressing what is inside them.

In this episode, I explore the deeper question every podcaster should...

Does every podcaster need to be on YouTube?

That is the question I’m answering in this episode of Podcast Answer Man.

A recent LinkedIn post, sent to me by my friend Stuart Crane, talked about YouTube’s latest podcast-focused features and the growing amount of podcast consumption happening on YouTube. The post suggested that the future of podcasting is not audio-first or video-first, but audience-first.

There is a lot in that statement that I agree with.

YouTube clearly wants to be seen as a podcast destination. More and more people are...

Last week, while attending a social media conference in Lima, Ohio, I heard a speaker recommend something I had never seriously considered before: Submit your podcast to IMDb.

The idea was that IMDb has become a highly trusted source that AI tools and search engines often reference when gathering information about people. If that's true, having an accurate IMDb profile and podcast listing could influence what people learn about you when they search your name.

That immediately made me curious. So instead of speculating, I decided to run an experiment.

In this episode...

I recently came across a LinkedIn post that made a strong case for podcast hosts getting to the point more quickly.

The idea was simple: if your episode could be ten minutes, don’t stretch it into forty-five. Respect your listener’s time. Say the thing.

And honestly, I get it.

If I’m reading a book, listening to an audiobook, or sitting in a conference room while someone gives a presentation, I usually appreciate clarity, structure, and a clear point. I don’t want unnecessary repetition. I don’t want someone saying the same t...

Welcome to episode 500 of Podcast Answer Man.

This milestone episode gave me an opportunity to reflect on what podcasting has meant to me over the past two decades, how the podcasting space has changed, and why I still believe so deeply in the power of this medium.

There is no shortage of commentary today about whether podcasting is growing, shrinking, oversaturated, being disrupted by AI, replaced by YouTube, or simply no longer worth the effort. I understand why people ask those questions. I’ve seen the shifts myself. Listener habits have changed. There is more co...

In this episode, I share the thinking behind my new live streaming and video content strategy.

For the past several months, I’ve been very clear that Podcast Answer Man is an audio-only podcast, and that is still true. I remain a strong advocate for creating audio content that is designed first and foremost for the person who will listen later, away from the screen, in the flow of their real life.

At the same time, I’ve always loved video and live streaming. In fact, I used to host “Live Show Thursdays” years ago, where pe...

A question came up while I was preparing for my podcasting workshop at Social Media Marketing World:

Does the world really need another podcast?

It is a fair question.

There are already millions of podcasts out there. Many industries feel crowded. A lot of topics have already been covered. AI has made it easier than ever to create average content. And with so much short-form video competing for attention, it is understandable that someone might wonder whether starting a podcast is still worth the time, effort, and energy.

In this episode...

In this episode, I recorded while out for a walk using a small wired lavalier recorder clipped to my shirt. It was not a studio setup. It was not polished. It was not carefully produced. And that is exactly the point.

The recorder I used for this episode is the TASCAM DR-10L PRO - https://amzn.to/4d9vEHd

In a world where AI is making it easier than ever for content to sound clean, refined, and professional, I believe genuine presence is becoming more valuable than polish. For those of us who are...

I missed an episode last week. It was the first time since recommitting to a weekly publishing schedule for Podcast Answer Man that I failed to release an episode on Friday morning at 12:01 a.m. And you know what? The world is still spinning.

In this episode, I talk through what happened, why I made the conscious decision to miss the week, and how I’m thinking about consistency, commitment, grace, and returning to the microphone when life is full.

I recorded this episode from an Airbnb in Bowling Green, Kentucky, sitting at the edge of...

This episode came from a pattern I’ve seen over and over again.

So many people come to me asking for audience growth strategies. They’ve been podcasting for a while, they feel like they’ve hit a plateau, and they believe the answer is getting in front of more people.

In this episode, I challenge that assumption.

I share my own experience of going from a tiny audience to tens of thousands of listeners almost overnight, and what that actually felt like behind the scenes. I talk about the pressure, the criticism, and th...

In this episode, I share something I’ve been seeing over and over again in conversations with people who are on the verge of launching a podcast.

There’s this belief that you need to have everything figured out before you’re allowed to speak, teach, or share your voice. I challenge that idea directly.

I talk about the fear of not being experienced enough, not having the right credentials, or not feeling confident yet, and I explain why none of those things are actually required to begin.

Confidence doesn’t come first. It comes...

Over the years, I’ve told my origin story in podcasting many times. I’ve shared how I got started, how things grew, and how this work eventually became my full-time career.

But what you’ve almost never heard is this story told alongside Stephanie.

Recently, Stephanie and I were invited to be guests on the Our Family Invests podcast with Mike Neubauer. And after the conversation, we both agreed. This was our favorite interview we’ve ever done together.

In this conversation, you’ll hear how podcasting impacted our marriage, our family, and our li...

In this episode, I’m sharing a conversation with Heather Bayer who was one of the first people in her industry to launch a podcast. She didn’t wait for permission. She made a decision about who she was and who she was there to serve.

More than a decade later, she’s still showing up every single week.

She now has over 650 episodes, a global audience and a business built through relationships that started with her voice.

What stands out to me most about Heather’s journey is how she thought from the very...

In this conversation, I sat down with Jason Cabassi, someone I had the privilege of helping launch into podcasting back in 2011. Since then, Jason has gone on to produce more than a thousand episodes and build an entire podcast network centered around the shows he loves.

We talked about how it all started with a fan podcast for The Walking Dead, the unexpected opportunities that followed, and how a simple curiosity-driven approach opened doors to interviews, live events, and long-term creative work.

What stood out most in this conversation is what it actually looks like...

In today’s episode, I’m sharing a replay of a conversation I had two years ago with Alex Freeman on the UpFlip podcast. When that interview first aired, it quickly became one of the most significant entry points into my world. For several months afterward, people were reaching out to me saying they had discovered my work through that interview. Many told me they had listened to the episode multiple times, taken notes on it, journaled about it, and even meditated on the ideas we discussed.

As I listened back to that conversation recently, I realized some...

In this episode, I share one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from more than twenty years of podcasting and content creation. Success in this space, more often than not, comes down to two simple things: getting started and staying in the game longer than everyone else.

I talk about how my own definition of success has evolved over the years. I’ve learned to pay attention to resonance and relationships. Are the right people connecting with the message? Are deeper conversations and meaningful opportunities emerging over time?

I also reflect on what I’m...

Have you ever felt like your podcast is a grind?

You’ve been showing up consistently. Publishing episodes every week. Doing everything people say you should do. And yet, after months or even years, it feels like nothing is really changing.

You keep telling yourself:

“Once my audience gets bigger, everything will change.”

More listeners.

More opportunities.

More success.

But after helping thousands of podcasters over the past two decades, I’ve discovered something that may surprise you.

A bigger audience rarely fixes what’s a...

In this episode of Podcast Answer Man, I talk about a milestone moment that I never thought I’d see so soon. For the first time in history, audio podcasting has surpassed AM/FM talk radio as the most popular way Americans consume spoken-word audio.

This episode is part industry insight, part personal reflection, and part behind-the-scenes look at what I’ve been building lately. I also share several important updates related to podcasting tools, events, and opportunities for creators.

Podcasting Has Overtaken Talk Radio

A close friend sent me an article this week...

Lately, I’ve been seeing a growing narrative that video podcasting is no longer optional. That if you’re not producing high-quality video alongside your podcast, you’re already behind.

I don’t buy it.

In this episode, I offer a thoughtful, experience-based response to that claim. Not because I dislike video. I actually enjoy video podcasts and have been consuming them for decades. But because I believe we are confusing expansion with evolution, and in the process, placing unnecessary pressure on creators who already feel stretched thin.

In this conversation, I break down why...

In this episode, I share a conversation that was recorded at the Cincinnati Podcast Studio with Brian Erickson.

I originally invited Brian to join me for an episode of my What Are You Creating? podcast, which I typically produce as an audio-only show. Since Brian runs a studio devoted to high-quality video podcast production, he invited me to come to the studio and record the conversation there.

What took place was a very unscripted conversation that began as an interview, but it naturally became a genuine exchange between two podcast professionals exploring how we each...

In this episode, I sit down with Scott Smith, host of The Daily Boost, for a wide-ranging conversation shaped by more than two decades of podcasting experience.

This is an honest exploration of what it actually takes to stay relevant, build a sustainable business, and remain creatively alive over the long haul in the content creation world.

Below, I’ve compiled a list of insights drawn from our conversation so you can revisit the ideas that matter most and reflect on what they mean for your own podcasting journey.

Podcasting Longevity and Identity

Does podcasting really take too much time and cost too much money to produce? That question came up for me after a series of conversations with experienced podcasters who have stepped away from shows they once loved.

In this episode, I explore that question from multiple angles, drawing on my own workflow, my production history, and what I consistently hear from people who feel stuck, burned out, or unsure about what comes next.

I walk through very practical ways I personally reduce production time and cost, including how I record, edit, and publish multiple long-form...

What if the most powerful podcast you ever create is not one you plan to produce every week for years, but one you intentionally decide to end before you ever hit record on episode one?

In this episode, I share the full recording of my PodFest Expo 2026 session where I make the case for launching a limited-series podcast. A short, laser-focused show designed to solve one specific problem for one specific audience.

I walk through why this approach is easier to discover, easier to binge, easier to trust, easier to recommend, and ultimately easier to...

If you would like to learn how to start a podcast and still be around 12 years later, you will want to listen to this episode. In it, I share a powerful conversation with Laura McClellan, host of The Productive Woman podcast, who took my Podcasting A to Z course more than twelve years ago and has now published over five hundred episodes.

Laura almost never launched her show. She recorded her first episode, then let fear stop her for six months before finally deciding to publish an episode she recorded from a closet with a handheld recorder...

In this episode, I share why podcasting conferences still matter in 2026. Attending podcast-focused conferences has shaped my entire career. From the early days of missing the very first podcasting events to the way conferences eventually accelerated my growth, my relationships, and my income, this episode is a reflection on why rooms full of podcasters change everything.

For the first few years of my podcasting journey, I was creating alongside others, but I was not yet connected to the larger community of podcasters who lived and breathed this medium the way I did. That changed the moment I...

One of the most common questions I get from podcasters is how long a podcast episode should be, and in this episode I go much deeper than just throwing out a number.

Podcast Episode Length

In the first half of this episode, I answer a SpeakPipe voicemail from Nate about episode length and whether it is okay to mix short and long episodes within the same show. I explain why episode length is about how your show fits into the daily habits and routines of your listeners.

The Pressure To Add Video

In this episode, I respond to a popular video from Stephen Bartlett, host of The Diary of a CEO, where he shares how his podcast generates seven figures a year and suggests that "anyone else can do it too" by following six simple tips for podcast success.

Let me be clear. I respect Stephen immensely. He’s built something extraordinary, and much of the advice he shares is genuinely solid. Consistency matters. Quality matters. Reaching new audiences matters.

But what I want to unpack in this episode is the part of the story that often ge...

Podpage Features For Podcasts:  In this episode, I share the full story behind why I’ve rebuilt the Podcast Answer Man website using Podpage and why I now believe it’s an excellent turn-key solution for podcasters who don’t want to deal with custom design, WordPress architecture, CSS, plug-ins, developers, maintenance, or the expense and complexity of building a fully customized site.

For three decades, I've used everything from WordPress to managed VPS hosting to Kajabi to power my online presence. Recently, I discovered Podpage and decided to rebuild my PodcastAnswerMan.com site on their platform.

To...

The Real Definition of a Podcast

Podcasting has been around for more than two decades. You would think the definition would be settled by now. Yet here we are in 2025, and people are still confidently giving advice in large Facebook groups while misunderstanding what actually makes a podcast a podcast.

In this episode, I walk you through a recent thread inside a group, devoted to the topic of podcasting, with more than 103,000 members. Someone asked a simple question about whether video is required for podcasting. I explain how after reading the answers that followed, I...

Your P4next Questions Answered

After several years focused on business strategy and mindset coaching, I am stepping back into the role that shaped two decades of my work. Podcast Answer Man is officially back. This episode marks the beginning of a new chapter that honors my roots while embracing everything I have learned since.

Inside this episode, I answer thirteen of the most common questions I’ve received about the Zoom PodTrak P4next. This tiny device has quickly become my favorite portable podcast studio, and today I walk you through what it can do...