Megan from the Wild Healers podcast asks, "Is it possible for an independent podcast to make it into the Apple New and Noteworthy section?"

Special thanks to Kris Emerson, host of the Excel Still More podcast, for sharing his experience getting into the New and Noteworthy section.

TL;DR
The Apple Podcasts New and Noteworthy section is a common goal for new podcasters. The appeal is that if you can get your podcast listed there, you'll be able to grow your audience faster, build momentum, and ride that wave off into the sunset of your podcasting dreams.

So... how exactly do you get in? In this episode, we'll share what we know and ask Kris, a fellow Buzzsprout podcaster, what he did to land in the New and Noteworthy section.

What's the best strategy?

The best way to get into the Apple New and Noteworthy section is to focus on getting a lot of listeners to subscribe to your show in Apple Podcasts in a short period of time. As a new podcast, your window to make this happen is typically 90 days from when you launch your first episode.

At one point, many podcasters believed that it was the number of downloads or reviews you received that got you in the N&N section. But over time, as we've seen podcasters try and game the system, we've found that those aren't big indicators.

Apply isn't spilling the beans on their process any time soon, but we DO know that an algorithm based on how many subscribers you get feeds possible selections to an Apple employee who ultimately determines how makes it in and who doesn't.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Review Podcasting Q&A in Podchaser to let us know what you think of the show.

Letty from My Sweet Business with Letty Alvarez asks, "What kind of download stats can you expect with a new podcast?"

TL;DR
Launching a new podcast is a lot of work and is something you should celebrate! It’s only natural to want as many people as possible to listen to it, but where should you place your expectations?

In this episode, we’ll walk through 3 questions that will help you determine what your benchmark for success should be.

1. Do you have an existing audience?

If you’re starting from scratch, you should expect fewer downloads than someone who has 100,000 followers on Instagram.

It’s okay if you’re just getting started, just set your expectations accordingly.

2. How popular is your podcast subject?

The reality is, some podcast topics have larger built-in audiences than others. As an example, True Crime podcasts are currently more popular than Home Gardening podcasts and will naturally have a larger audience.

We would never recommend you start a podcast just to become popular, just recognize that the potential size of your audience is partially determined by how many people are interested in your subject matter.

3. How good is your first impression?

If you have a poor first impression, that will negatively impact your download numbers no matter how good your podcast is. You'll want to make sure you have hi-quality artwork (use a service like 99designs or Upwork to work with graphic designers), practice good mic technique for crisp audio, and use catchy episode titles to grab someone's attention.

If you make a good first impression, and then back that up with great content, your podcast will grow.

What's the average number of downloads?

The average Buzzsprout podcaster gets around 50 downloads per episode. This is a great target for when you're first getting started!

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Review Podcasting Q&A in Podchaser to let us know what you think of the show.

Norman from Antifool asks, "What is the best way to record someone using a phone for a podcast interview?"

TL;DR
In recent years the number of new software options for podcasters has increased quite a bit. Some of them are great for experience podcasters that want every bell and whistle imaginable. While others are focused on streamlining the process as much as possible.

So in this episode, we'll share the pros and cons of the top five recording software options that we use and recommend at Buzzsprout to help you decide which one is best for you.

1. Audacity

Audacity is the most popular podcast recording and editing software in the world (and for good reason). It's free to download, it's available on Windows, MacOS, and Linux, and has the full suite of audio editing features.

Just be aware that Audacity tends to be a bit buggy (like, won't work because Apple updates their OS kind of buggy) and does destructive editing. Destructive editing means that if you delete a portion of your audio and then save your project file, you can't get that audio back.

2. GarageBand

GarageBand comes pre-installed on just about every Apple device you can imagine (Macbook, iPad, iPhone, etc.). Like Audacity, it's free to use. Unlike Audacity, it's easy to learn quickly so you spend less time learning the software and more time editing your episodes.

One thing to keep in mind is that GarageBand's export settings are severely lacking, so if Loudness Normalization or bit rate modes are important to you you'll need to pair it with some additional software.

3. Alitu

Alitu is an internet-based recording and editing software that makes it super easy to create episodes. You can automatically add your intro and outro to every episode, it applies mixing and mastering effects to your audio files as you upload them, and you can publish your episodes directly into podcast hosts like Buzzsprout.

But all that efficiency and ease of use means there are fewer things to customize. So if manually setting your compression levels is important to you, look elsewhere. But if you are a busy podcaster looking for ways to speed up your workflow, Alitu is a great solution.

4. Hindenburg Journalist Pro

Hindenburg Journalist Pro is everything you could possibly need in a podcasting editing software. It's intuitive, easy to work with, and allows you to publish episodes directly to Buzzsprout.

Because it's a pro-level software, Hindenburg Journalist Pro is a more sizeable investment, but if you're a Buzzsprout podcaster you can use the link in the Resources tab of your Buzzsprout account to get a 90-day free trial and test drive it for yourself before deciding if you want to invest in it longterm.

5. Descript

Descript takes a fresh and innovative approach to editing podcasts. Rather than generating a waveform of your audio files, Descript creates an accurate transcript of your recordings. Then to edit your podcast episode you just edit the words on the screen. How cool is that?

Just make sure to listen back to your episode from start to finish before you export it as sometimes the algorithms aren't as precise as you'd like them to be.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

Review Podcasting Q&A in Podchaser to let us know what you think of the show.