145 | The Transcendent Podcast (BONUS EPISODE)

Transcend Human

Dec 30

Written By Daryl McMullen

Date: December 30, 2022

Welcome back to the podcast!!!

I just couldn't leave well enough alone 🙂 so I decided to do one more episode
We'll call it a BONUS episode - after all - it feels better to end on 145 than 144 right?
That probably makes me a little OCD, or perfectionistic - but what you see is what you get!

Today's Topic: The Transcendent Podcast

This isn't your typical episode - this one is just for the fun of it.

I've had a few people ask about the mechanics behind the podcast - the platform, the hardware, the software and all that good stuff...

So I thought I'd do an entire episode explaining everything I know about podcasting:

So for those of you interested in that - hang on the for rest of the episode
For everyone else - you just got 45 minutes of your life back 🙂

We’ll walk through the episode by looking at The 5 Laws of Podcasting:

First Law: Content is king
Second Law: Find the platform that works for you
Third Law: It takes hardware and software
Fourth Law: There's always something new to buy
Fifth Law: Network to find your stride

// FIRST LAW: CONTENT IS KING

This section will have nothing to do with the mechanics of starting a podcast.

And yet it is probably the most important step in the process.

Before you ever purchase a microphone. Before you ever submit your podcast to the Apple Podcast Library.

You have to have an idea. And not just an idea...a really good idea.

Why? Because content is king. In a nutshell - if your idea isn't solid - you're in trouble...

Not that you can't put the podcast out there. But if your goal is to be found, be seen and move up in the rankings - there has to be something unique about it.

This isn't unique to podcasting though - it's the same for many creative pursuits:

Writers
Musicians
Artists
Movie makers

Think about it - in each of these professions there has to be something unique, or eye-catching about the art or it never sees the light of day.

Here are a few good questions to ask yourself about your content:

Has this been done before? If so, how many times? If it's been done more than 5 times - and there are a few really popular podcasts already killing it in that space - rethink it

For example: Reviewing movies. I did a quick Google search for "movie review podcasts" and the results made it obvious that there are hundreds of these already out there. How do I know? Because the articles are things like this, "The 10 best movie review podcasts"
So unless you have a really unique way of reviewing movies - you're just going to be one more movie review podcast in a sea of similar ones
Now - don't let that get you down!
If you really love reviewing movies - you just have to find the secret sauce
For example - I follow The Hero's Journey Podcast. A movie review podcast - but reviewed through a pretty distinct lens - that of the Hero's Journey - as described by the American mythologist Joseph Campbell. It's funny, engaging and different enough to stand on it's own. At the end of the day - you just have to find your unique way of doing what other people are doing

Are people asking for it? This is a tough question to answer at times. sometimes.

You can literally ask people...
If you have a following of some sort - a group of people who know you and your work - you could do a poll
Tell them what you're thinking about doing and see if they are interested
If not - it might be time for a new idea 🙂
The other option is to look at popular culture
What are people taking about in magazines, on the news or in your community?
Does your content scratch that itch?
If everyone is talking about politics and religion and you want to do a podcast on underwater basket weaving - you may have missed the boat...
Not that underwater basket weaving isn't a really cool idea - in fact - it's pretty niche and you may wind up being the resident professional in that space. Just not sure your listener base will grow very big

Am I passionate about it? At the end of the day - you have to go with your heart. Even if you've blown up your idea by asking the first two questions. If your heart is in it - go for it

I've come to believe that sometimes creating stuff is less about who finds it, and more about us releasing it
That even if it never blows up - even if it never becomes a household name - the work it did within us is the most important thing
You just have to be ok with that
You have to be ok putting something out there - even if you never gain a following
Paint - even if nobody buys your paintings
Write - even if you never get published
Podcast - even if your family doesn't care to listen to it
Because it's cathartic - it's you doing what only you can do
And there's something supernatural about the creative process
Something that will sustain you and add to the richness of your life

Okay - enough with the questions.

Real life examples...

For a few years I tried to get a freelance web design business off the ground. And during this time - I had two clients. Both were what we call "Life Coaches" these days. One was a self made life coach - the other actually has a PsyD - so he has the credentials to back up his ideas.

And both wanted websites for their content.

We got them both set up with nice Wordpress websites. They had blog content - they had podcasts - and they had digital products they were trying to sell.

Sound familiar? It's the go-to business strategy these days. Get paid to create content.

But here's the problem. They weren't making money. So they both hounded me to "fix" the problem from a technology standpoint:

We need better SEO
We need to start using HubSpot as a CRM
We need to make the MailChimp emails more engaging
How do I use social media better so I get people back to my website?
Are my calls to action compelling enough?

You can probably see where I'm going with this. At the end of the day - I didn't have the heart to tell them it has nothing to do with those things. Yes - you need a good digital strategy - but at the end of the day - it's the content that will sell itself - not how well you sold the content.

In fact - you can get someone to buy in using all the bells and whistles - but the minute they get your content - if it isn't what they thought it was - they're out. And you just lost that ongoing revenue stream...

In the case of these two individuals - the content was fluff. Psyco-babble. Think positive. Have a glass half full attitude. Stuff like that.

Not wrong. Just overdone. Way too many people acting as if they're the next Tony Robbins - with all the answers to life's questions.

And at the end of the day - that type of content just isn't sustainable as your one source of income.

Now - this brings up a good question...

I can hear it now - people asking, "But Daryl - you're in the same boat right? It sounds like you're describing Transcend Human. Isn't it just the same old thing? Isn't this podcast just more of the same? Psycho-babble, and how to rise above your problems?"

Touche...

You're right! And I am stuck in that battle with myself.

When I ask the questions above - this is what I get:

Has this been done before?

Yes and no
Life coach-y type stuff to be sure
But at the same time - Transcend Human is the convergence of Christianity and Psychology - which makes it a little unique
So I went with it
I did some research to see if there were other podcasts or website that used the "transcend human" branding, or idea and found little to nothing - so that seemed promising

Are people asking for it?

Not necessarily
I never asked people about it, I didn't even ask my wife
I simply started purchasing gear for the podcast - and started recording
One day she was like, "What the heck are you doing? What's with the microphone and stuff?"
So no - I didn't ask people, I didn't do pilot groups and I didn't do research on the felt need either
Now what I do find fascinating is that I started the podcast in January of 2020
Right before COVID hit
And since then I've never felt more sure about my decision
The content I'm pumping out seems to be just what people need
Given the new normal we're facing with political polarization, Christian Nationalism, the environmental crisis, the war in the Ukraine and a resurgence of racist and bigoted behavior
If there was ever a time to try and Transcend Human - the time is now

Am I passionate about it?

Yes - I was passionate about it in 2019
Which led me to start the podcast in January of 2020
And I've been passionate about the content to this day
I'm proud of the episodes
I love the series I was able to get out there
And I'm hopeful that Season 4 is going to take things to another level
So yes - I'm passionate about it - and that's what keeps me going. I don't know that Transcend Human will ever become my main thing - but maybe that's for the best. Maybe it just needs to stay right where it is - the thing on the side that I'm passionate about...

Okay - gotta keep moving or this will be a 2h episode...

// SECOND LAW: FIND THE PLATFORM THAT WORKS FOR YOU

What do I mean when I say platform?

Well - in order to have a podcast - you need to have a website
Or sign up for an online service that takes your podcast episodes and publishes them online
This website, or platform generates what is called a feed

This feed is an XML file that contains all of the necessary information about your podcast, and each episode in the podcast
Every time you add a new episode - it's added to the top of your XML feed
So it grows over time
This is the feed you submit to podcast libraries like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc.
Once approved - each library looks at this one XML file in order to keep your podcast up to date in their library

It doesn't get a lot more complicated than that - so we'll leave it there.

Now - I said to pick the one that works for you - because everyone is different - and has a different comfort level.

As a web guy - I was pretty comfortable with the technology side of things - so I setting up my own platform:

I created a website using Squarespace: transcendhuman.com

It's my website for the brand, the idea, the resources
And also the podcast
Squarespace makes it easy to set up a podcast, add all necessary feed elements required and then grab the feed feed URL which is submitted the podcast libraries of your choice

The other big piece of the puzzle is file hosting and distribution - in this case, your .mp3 files for each of the episodes

I chose to use Amazon S3 as my repository for all audio files
It's super cheap storage, is easy to use and provides a CDN - a Content Delivery Network which spreads duplicates of your files across a network of servers around the globe - making them available immediately no matter where you're listening from

Total Investment:

All together I'm paying $18/month plus storage costs from Amazon S3
This is more than some of the platforms I'm going to talk about below
However, in choosing Squarespace I have not only the podcast hosting - but also full control over the website. The ability to do my own branding, create my own pages, blog, provide resources, etc.
And - if I every decided to monetize Transcend Human - there are tools in Squarespace to set up Member Only areas

Now - one thing before leaving this option...

There is a drawback
Some of the platforms I'm going to talk about come with baked in reporting and analytics
My setup is not quite as clean
Squarespace gives me analytics on site traffic
However, my .mp3 files live in Amazon so the only way to track actual listeners is by getting analytics out of Amazon
And this is not for the faint of heart
Amazon does a lot of things well - but they don't make it easy to track podcast files usage
And I can't find a lot of people talking about this - so I'm sorta stuck...
If anyone listening has a great idea, or tool for tracking file usage in Amazon let me know...

So that's the platform I chose - with the good, the bad and the ugly...

However, there are other options:

If you aren't very technical - or just have no desire to be that hands on
There are all-in-one platforms you can sign up for online
Here are a couple examples:

Anchor.fm

A platform created by Spotify
I believe this platform is free
It looks pretty sweet - and it may have been my second choice if I had found it at the right time

Libsyn.com

Always in the top 5
$5/month

Podbean.com

Always ranked pretty high as well
$9/month

The only thing that worries me about some of these platforms is that it isn't a set cost/month. You can start at a pretty low level - but as you realize your need for more storage, or more bandwidth or a feature that seems like it should just be included - you realize you need to bump up a few levels
And before long - you're paying at least as much as I'm paying if not more
So just be aware of that as you do your research

// THIRD LAW: IT TAKES HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

This is the part I geek out about - even though I'm not an audio engineer by any stretch of the imagination.

I'm a noob - and I'm ok with that. It's still fun for me.

So when I started the podcast I had nothing. But the funny thing is you don't need much.

I could have started the podcast without spending a dime:

I have a MacBook Pro
I have Apple headphones that came with my last iPhone. They are not only headphones - but also have a built in microphone
And I could have recorded the episodes using the Voice Memo utility on the computer
Boom - drop the mic - or the earbuds in this case...

It's literally that simple.

In fact - if you choose the Anchor.fm route - there is an App you can download to your phone - and you can literally hit record, start talking and you're on your way to publishing your first podcast episode.

At the end of the day it's not rocket science.

But of course - if you're like me - you like toys. You like gear. You want all the cool tools to create the things we create. And on some level we understand that the sound quality from an actual microphone is going to be better than what we can pick up through the mic on our Apple earbuds...

So I dove into that world. My first purchase was the following:

Audio-Technica ATR 2100 USB Microphone ($80)
Audio-Technica ATH-M30x Headphone ($70)

And that was it! For $150 I was off and running.

I used GarageBand - the Music Studio software available for free on a Mac.

And I did purchase one other thing - I purchased some music loops for my intro and outro from a site called NeoSounds.com

But that was it. At the beginning.

This allowed me, myself and I to record my content and get it out into the world.

My next step in the process was to upgrade my microphone.

I purchased the Rode NT-USB.

$135 - and a sound upgrade from the entry level Audio-Technica Mic
It's also a USB microphone
So very easy to use
Plug your headphones into the mic, plug the mic into the MacBook and you're in business

But this is still gear for a one man operation. Which was fine, because that's all I needed. Until the day it wasn't...

// FOURTH LAW: THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW TO BUY

So things were moving along nicely. I was knocking out episode after episode. Just me, my USB mic and my content.

But one day my wife said, "Hey - I think you should do a series on parenting. And if you do it - you'll need me to jump on because you'll need someone who actually knows something about the topic."

Ouch...but true. So we decided to do a parenting series. Which meant I now needed to be able to record two people - not just one.

So I did some research to see how I could use both of my USB mics. And quickly realized they weren't meant to be used that way...

Now it's possible - I put a link in the show notes to a YouTube video where the lady shows you how to set it up.

But as I did research - I realized that I had two good options:

Buy another mic - one that was built to be omnidirectional
Or go all in and buy an audio interface with real microphones

Basically what are called "Dynamic" microphones
Microphones that connect with a very large XLR cable and require a device called an audio interface
The XLR microphones plug into the audio interface and that plugs into the MacBook

Now - to save money and to keep things moving quickly I opted for the first option. One of my bigger mistakes...

I purchased the Blue Yeti X for $120:

It's USB like my other mics
So very simple - plug it into the MacBook and you're good to go
Set the mic to "bidirectional (for two people sitting across from each other or omnidirectional if there a lot of people sitting around the table
What's not to love right?

Well - I didn't love it. At all.

In fact - it created more problems than it was worth.

I did multiple episodes with my wife
And it was really hard to get our voices to mesh
Her voice was over the top and mine could barely be heard
We played the game of putting the mic by me and leaving a lot of room between her and the mic
But that didn't work very well either
In fact there were times she sounded like she was in a tunnel because she was just too far away
At the end of the parenting series we sat our kids down and interviewed them
Same thing - 5 people sitting around one mic - some with voices that carry - others with voices that are barely audible

So lesson learned. Would not recommend an omnidirectional USB mic if you're looking for a good quality recording.

So I dove into the "Dynamic" mic world - but did so without doing enough research...

Here were my next purchases:

A new Dynamic Mic - the Rode PodMic for $100
What I haven't told you is that my original Audio-Technica ATM 2100 mic was actually a workhorse. It was a USB mic - but also had XLR outputs so you could use it that way
So now I had two XLR mics
My next purchase was a second set of headphones. I bought the Audio-Technica ATH M40x headphones for $100
I then purchased the audio interface required for using XLR mics
I chose the Zoom Podtrak P4 for $220

This is an audio interface that allows you to connect up to 4 XLR mics at one time along with 4 separate sets of headphones
Perfect - right?
Well yes - perfect for the podcaster on the go
What I didn't realize is that you can't just connect the Zoom Podtrak P4 to your computer and use GarageBand to record the episode...
The Podtrak P4 has an internal SD card and you record the entire episode to that card. Then - when you're done - you can connect the Podtrak P4 to your computer - and move the files over - import them into GarageBand and then edit from there
Not ideal to say the least...
And my fault for not doing enough research...

Fast forward to today - and my most recent purchase. Probably my favorite piece of equipment - and one that makes my life so much easier...

I got another audio interface - one made just for podcasting.

It's the Focusrite Vocaster 2 and it'll run you around $230

But it's so worth it
If only the Vocaster series had been available back when I first started
It would have saved me a lot of time and money...

The Vocaster 2 allows you to plug in two XLR mics and two sets of headphones.

One for the Host and one for the Guest. Imagine that? Using words we can all understand...

The Vocaster is then attached to the MacBook and after a quick configuration you have both channels coming into GarageBand.

Tammy and I both have mics - with the necessary levels based on our voices - and we're good to go.

Now...one of the downsides of the Vocaster 2 is that it's only for two people.

If I wanted to do a family interview again - I'd be in a predicament. But we'll cross that bridge if we ever reach it again.

So am I happy with my current setup?

Yes...for the most part.

I did purchase some additional items to make life easier:

I purchased the Rode PSA 1 - which is a microphone arm that holds the mic in the perfect position
And the Rode DS1 - an adjustable desktop stand which basically does the same thing

I would like to get one more of the Rode PodMics. Just so my wife and I are using the exact same mics. But that's for next year 🙂

And then there's alway the peer pressure to use what all the cool kids are using.

And if you know anything about voice recording - you've probably heard of, or seen people using the Shure SM7B dynamic voice microphone.

Each mic goes for a whopping $360 - but the quality is pretty nice.

I don't know if I'll ever go this route - but one can dream...

// FIFTH LAW: NETWORK TO FIND YOUR STRIDE

Just as the first law didn't really have anything to do with podcasting, so too the fifth law is less about the mechanics of podcasting and more about taking things to the next level.

I talked about Transcend Human being very content heavy. At the beginning it was just a way for me to get stuff out of my brain and into the world.

Because of this - it was just me, a microphone and a bunch of content. Then we did the Transcendent Parenting Series - and I moved a little outside my comfort zone. It required me to be on the mic with another person - sharing conversation, asking questions and figuring out that rhythm.

https://transcendhuman.com/transcendent-parenting

I did a few interviews with other members of the family: https://transcendhuman.com/conversations-with-family

But then went back to just pumping out content like normal.

Until this month.

I was listening to one of the podcasters I follow. He was wrapping up a season and was talking about the next season - and how he was looking for interesting people to interview. Naturally I thought, "I wonder if he would want to interview me?"

Now normally questions like this are followed up with a nervous laugh and me dropping the idea all together.

But for some reason I didn't do that. In fact I reached out to the guy and offered to be on his show.

One thing led to another and last week I taped an episode with him. My first time being on someone else's podcast. The episode will air next year sometime - so look for that in the near future.

But during the taping he also mentioned that he'd be up for doing a Transcend Human episode. I was blown away - and was like, "Totally man! That's awesome!"

So we have some details to work out - but hoping to get that set up soon.

All that to say...

If you want to grow - you have to take risks. And I'm not very good at taking risks that involve other people.

I'm all about taking personal risks - doing new things - things that I have 100% control over.

But introduce new people, new environments, new collaborations and I suddenly become Mr. Shy Guy.

But this month I learned that with very minimal effort - I was able to network with someone I didn't know - and create content that couldn't have been created just by me - sitting in a dark studio by myself...

It's strange, it's a little uncomfortable at times. But at the end of the day it's growth. And I'm looking forward to where it might lead.

Let's land the plane:

First of all - thank you for letting me throw in this BONUS Episode.

I hope it was helpful to those of you interested in podcasting.

To the rest - if you stuck it out - thank you - you're the best!

Enjoy your holiday season, and I'll see all of you back here next year to kick off Season 4.

Until then, keep Transcending Human!

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