Tom Evans is both an author and a podcaster and he joins us in this episode of The Author Biz.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS
Have you considered launching your own podcast as an author?
I think of podcasting as on-demand audio, and the idea of listening when and where you want seems to appeal to people. So much so that 46 million Americans over the age of 13 listened to at least one podcast last month.
There are plenty of good reasons why I think authors should have their own podcast, but it’s not just me. My guest today, Tom Evans, calls his podcast, The Zone Show, the best thing he’s ever done to market the ten plus books he’s written.
(If you’re interested in learning more about how to launch a podcast as an author, click over to this page and join a new email list I’ve set up for just that purpose. )
Tom Evans is an ex-BBC television engineer turned author, author’s mentor, writer’s unblocker, creative catalyst and teacher of mindfulness. He loves asking Big Questions and making what seems complex as simple as possible. His books are an eclectic mix of self-help and personal development, philosophical futurology, and metaphysical exploration.
We spend the majority of this 47-minute episode talking about podcasting, but we delve into the value of meditation at the 36:15 mark of the show. If you’re not interested in podcasting feel free to zip ahead and listen to that bit. There’s a link at the bottom of this page where you can get a free guided meditation from Tom that I’ve found to be extremely useful.
Show Notes
- During the intro, I discuss the new podcast from the New York Times bestselling author of the Vanessa Michael Munore thriller series, Taylor Stevens. (Taylor was the guest in Episode 3 of The Author Biz.) You can read her amusing story behind the podcast and listen to episodes at her website, www.taylorstevensbook.com. (Or at iTunes)
- Tom explains the curious route through which he came launch his podcast.
- A discussion of how podcasting opens doors for an author.
- Tom’s original marketing plan for his writing was just to write the next book, which was great for producing a lot of work but didn’t help him sell more books. It was his podcast that finally generated a marketing reach for his books.
- Tom and I discuss the costs of the equipment and software we each use to produce our podcasts.
- A discussion of the time podcasting takes for each of us.
- We walk through the setup process for an author podcast.
- Podcasts have long shelf lives, and new listeners are exposed to your show every day.
- Tom’s books are primarily non-fiction. He shares some thoughts on how authors who write fiction can benefit from having a podcast.
- Tom shares his thoughts on the value of meditation on his career and how a meditation practice can help authors of all type. (36:15)
Links:
Tom’s Author Page at Amazon
Tom’s Website www.tomevans.co
Get Tom’s free e-book and Be Calm guided meditation here.
The Kindle Chronicles podcast
The Taylor Stevens Show at her website or on iTunes
Join the Author Biz Onramp information email list
If you like what you’re hearing on The Author Biz Podcast, the best way to support the show is to take just a few seconds to leave a rating and/or comment over on iTunes, or through your iPhone. Thanks! (Need instructions for leaving a review? Click here.)
Creative Commons image by Patrick Breitenbach
Before getting into the business of writing I spent twenty-five years in the technology business as a financial guy, and then as a serial entrepreneur. I know what it takes to start and run a successful business.
In the podcast, Tom mentioned that he has a podcast to fall asleep and dream about your chapter and remember that dream. Which of his meditation packages is that in? Or is that the free be calm meditation that is on his site?
Hi Melissa – I’ll reach out to Tom and ask him to let you know. It’s a pretty interesting idea, though, isn’t it. I’m fairly certain it’s not the Be Calm meditation.
Hi Melissa, thanks so much for listening in. The techniques to dream a chapter are part of this course on ‘channelling’ your book http://www.tomevans.co/ecourses/how-to-channel-a-book/
Thank you for a good show. You touched on hardware, but I’d be curious about specifics. Which microphone do you use and why did you select it rather than all the other options?
Hi – Thanks for listening and for the questions. I’m currently using a Blue Yeti Microphone. I selected it for sound quality based on Amazon reviews. The sound quality is wonderful, however, in my case the sound quality is so good it picks up too much room echo. The next Microphone I get will be a Rode Podcaster condenser Mic – I’m told it’s less sensitive and won’t pick up as much echo. I’ll let Tom weigh in on his hardware.
I use an Alesis podcasting mic and I confess I bought it because it was good value but it does the job. The model I have I beleive has been superceded. I also use the iRig mic when I am roving to plug into my iPhone or iPad.