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On last night’s show of Podcaster Training, we had some really great links both from the training and from the listeners. Here are those links so you can check them out at your leisure.

The Catholic Online website reports that Massachusetts-based blogger and musician, Susan Bailey, is publishing a daily podcast during the forty days of Lent.

“Theosis” is a series of daily devotions hosted by Fr. Seraphim Beshoner, a history professor at Franciscan University. The five (or so) minute podcasts do not follow the daily readings of the Roman (Catholic) Lectionary for the scripture readings, but are inspired, rather, by the Eastern (Byzantine) Church.

Beshoner also hosts the “Catholic: Under The Hood” podcast. http://catholicunderthehood.com/

The blog and podcast are here. http://www.gvonline.net/susanbailey/prayer.htm#theosis

Have you ever wanted to play your podcast over the phone? Well now you can with Podlinez.com at http://www.podlinez.com/index.php

This is a free service with some restrictions, such as a 14 day window if no one calls your number before you lose that number. It’s free and it really does work for playing your most recent podcast from your RSS Feed.

Now, I haven’t checked out this next one very much, it is free and has a premium service as well. It is another way to record and play your podcasts over the phone. Phonecasting.com at http://phonecasting.com

This exciting link came from one of my listeners, June, and you have to see this to believe it! It uses your web cam and a printed piece of paper to create a 3D animated image ON YOUR SCREEN! It’s cool! You can get this from http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality

You can see a short video of this being done at http://twitpwr.com/6up/

Thanks June!

More links to come! Enjoy!

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To know why Adsense is essential for your content sites is to know first how this works.

The concept is really simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is accessed, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.

The search engine is the one handling all the tracking and payments, providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive and targeted ads without having the hassle to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor the clicks and statistics which could be a time-consuming task in itself. It seems that there is never a shortage of advertisers in the program from which the search engine pulls the Adsense ads. Also webmasters are less concerned by the lack of information search engines are providing and are more focused in making cash from these search engines.

The first reason why Adsense is essential for content sites is because it already has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Together with its continuous progression is the appearance of more advanced system that allows full ad customization. Webmasters are given the chance to choose from many different types of text ad formats to better complement their website and fit their webpage layout.

The different formatting enables the site owners the possibility of more click through from visitors who may or may not be aware of what they are clicking on. It can also appeal to the people visiting thus make them take that next step of looking up what it is all about. This way the people behind the Adsense will get their content read and making profit in the process.

The second reason is the ability of the Adsense publishers to track not only how their sites are progressing but also the earnings based on the webmaster-defined channels. The recent improvements in the search engines gives webmasters the capability to monitor how their ads are performing using customizable reports that has the capacity to detail page impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Webmasters and publishers can now track specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Trends are also easily spotted.

With the real-time reporting at hand, the effectiveness of the changes made will be assessed quickly. There would be time to sort out the contents that people are making the most clicks on. The ever-changing demands would be met while generating cash for the webmasters and publishers. The more flexible tools are also allowing webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or category, which will provide them some accurate insight on which pages, ads and domains are performing best.

The last and final reason is that the advertisers have realized the benefits associated having their ads served on targeted websites. Thus increasing the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services. All because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are no using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines’ ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

There was a time when people were not yet aware of the money to be achieved from advertisements. The cash generated only came into existence when the webmasters and publishers realized how they can make Adsense be that generator. In those days, the content were the most important factors that is taken quite seriously. It still is. With the allure of money, of course.

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Last week, we began talking about suffering from digital burnout. We interupted our main topic for a really great interview by our own Patti Serrano, so this week, we will conclude our discussion.

Now, we have already talked about what digital burnout is and to finish our discussion this week, I am going to talk about how a broken toaster relates to podcasting and burnout. Or more aptly put, your podcast is not a broken toaster.

A former Co-Host of this show, Tommy Vallier, came back one evening talking about a gentleman that spoke at a conference and he talked about broken toasters. Tommy explained this and I went back into the archives and found his explanation. I am going to play this for you now, just as it was recorded more than a year and a half ago.

Ok, thank you Tommy for helping us relive that moment from a past episode. I went out and found the transcript for this presentation that Tommy talked about and yes, it had some rough language in it. To summerize it though, Neil Gorman, the presenter here, started by saying that his presentation was about broken toasters, William Shatner and podcast burnout. He went on to say that podcast burnout is known by many other names including pod fade, flash in the pan, and taking a hiatus. Sometimes podcasters decide that they are not going to do their show anymore, for whatever reason.

So, we have to agree that we all want to avoid podcast burnout, right? Do we all agree on this? I hope so, that way we are all on the same page here. I really want you to get a couple of things out of tonight’s training, a better understanding of how to avoid podcast burnout and how to have fun podcasting.

To better understand podcast burnout, you have to look at motivation. What motivates you to become a podcaster. What is it that makes you hungry. If you look at your world before you became a podcaster, what mostly did you see? Usually someone trying to sell you something. The whole point was to find customers and sell them a product. Not a bad idea, sometimes irritating, but still, we buy stuff and don’t mind being sold, especially if it is something we want to buy!

Ok, now look at the big boys out their with their marketing departments and big budgets, they can reach a larger audience of customers without trying too hard. Lots of radio stations, both big and small, operate primarily from ad based revenue. Why do advertisers spend money on radio stations…one reason, a built in audience of customers just waiting to buy something.

Ok, then came something called podcasting. Now, anyone can come along and for a few bucks a month, start talking to all sizes of audiences. The myth is, if you build it, they will come! This isn’t always the reality, is it? But, I’m straying from the subject here.

Let’s look at William Shatner for a moment. How is William Shatner like podcasting…he was a symbol on Star Trek, the final frontier. Podcasting is a frontier and like in Star Trek, podcasters are seeking out new possibilities in this new frontier. As podcasters, we explore ways to make our podcasts bigger and better. We look for ways to seek out new people to listen to our ideas and our shows. We try new and innovative ways to appeal to a general audience. But then one day, we realize, hey, we aren’t getting paid to do this, so why should I keep going on week after week, day after day. You try everything, but the burnout starts setting in and if you don’t do something to stop it, it will overtake you and the next thing you know…you stop producing your show and usually never look back.

Now, let’s talk about broken toasters. What do you do when your toaster breaks? You go out and buy a new one! Why? Because they are cheap enough to buy and they are disposable, mostly. It’s not like you have an emotional attachment to your toaster. Sometimes your old toaster won’t do bagels and you just started eating more bagels, so you go out and buy one that will do bagels. Or your toaster starts burning everything you put into it, no matter what setting it is on, so you always get burnt toast, even on a light setting. What you have to remember here is, your podcast is NOT a toaster! You can’t just go out and start a new podcast when the old one doesn’t perform right.

The thing about your podcast is, you’ve invested a lot of money, time and energy and even your passion producing it. Over time, it doesn’t seem like a lot, but think about this, maybe you start off with about $20 a month, then over a few months it becomes $40 a month and then maybe you buy some new equipment one month and there’s an additional couple of hundred bucks, then you add a new web site, more hosting, an auto responder, more new equipment…it all adds up to a bunch of money invested into this little hobby of yours. What I’m saying here is, after this kind of investment, don’t treat your podcast like a broken toaster and just throw it out. Take some pride in it and take some ownership and look for ways ways to fix your podcast.

Look for ways to change your show around, do a mini-series, add a co-host, change your niche or topics, change the format of your show, add some music…most importantly, talk to your listeners and find out what they are looking for. Don’t throw up a poll on your web site, actually talk to them. Do a special show and get their opinions. Most importantly, make your show fun to do again. When you podcast becomes work or a chore and you start dreading firing it up, take some time to see where the magic went and then go re-invent that magic again.

Well, now you learned at least one thing during this episode. What is that? Your podcast is NOT a broken toaster! If you are thinking of shutting down your podcast or you think you are getting burned out on this whole podcasting thing. Find someone in the podcast community and talk to them first. There are a lot of hosts on Talkshoe that would be willing to lend an ear and many on this program will do that too! Better yet, if you want to talk about this in a group setting, Podcaster Training is here to help!

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Last week we started this discussion and this week we will conclude the discussion along with a great analogy about "burnt toast". http://www.podcastertraining.com

Any goal, especially writing goals are
planned.

“I’m going to be a billion dollar
writer, or make that much yearly.”
You said.

It’s good to have dreams, goals,
but you have to have a plan.
Ask questions. How are you going
to start making money? Have you
been published yet? You have a
income from writing? Have you
been contracted? Are numerous
projects in the works?

Sometimes, it best to work on
one project at a time. It stops you
from over–extending yourself.

Don’t take on more than you
can handle. It stresses you,
and your best work isn’t sent out.

Make a schedule, plan to work
on a project. Write it on your
calendar, in an appointment
book.

Work on it as planned. This is
the only way to reach your goal.

Writing must become a habit.
It’s done frequently. It helps
you become a better writer as
you stumble toward your goal.

Is there any tool you need
to foster in achieving a goal?

Take the time to gather these
tools.

“What do you mean?” You
asked.

Well, would taking a college
course help you further a
goal? Perhaps, subscribing
to a blog, e-newsletter, and
the like to heighten your
abilities? Don’t be bashful
when picking tools needed
to further your goals. Do
what’s best for your life-style.

A plan involves stacking the
most important items on top.
So, you have to look at your
life, and pluck-out what’s
most important to you.

I know, it isn’t easy.
Still, make a choice.
Will you pick to achieve
your writing goal?

You’ve come this far.
Remember, as in life,
writing goals require
determination to be
successful.

Rarely, a goal is realized
without hard work,
determination.

If a goal feels too large,
slice it into pieces.
If writing a book, for
example gets over–whelming,
stop working on it. Take a break.

Go back to it tomorrow. Write
three-four pages, not a whole
chapter.

The same advice applies to
articles, business proposals,
essays, reports, poems,
fiction, or non-fiction.

Popularity: 7% [?]

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If webmasters want to monetize their websites, the great way to do it is through Adsense. There are lots of webmasters struggling hard to earn some good money a day through their sites. But then some of the “geniuses” of them are enjoying hundreds of dollars a day from Adsense ads on their websites. What makes these webmasters different from the other kind is that they are different and they think out of the box.

The ones who have been there and done it have quite some useful tips to help those who would want to venture into this field. Some of these tips have boosted quite a lot of earnings in the past and is continuously doing so.

Here are some 5 proven ways on how best to improve your Adsense earnings.

1. Concentrating on one format of Adsense ad. The one format that worked well for the majority is the Large Rectangle (336X280). This same format have the tendency to result in higher CTR, or the click-through rates. Why choose this format out of the many you can use? Basically because the ads will look like normal web links, and people, being used to clicking on them, click these types of links. They may or may not know they are clicking on your Adsense but as long as there are clicks, then it will all be for your advantage.

2. Create a custom palette for your ads. Choose a color that will go well with the background of your site. If your site has a white background, try to use white as the color of your ad border and background. The idea to patterning the colors is to make the Adsense look like it is part of the web pages. Again, This will result to more clicks from people visiting your site.

3. Remove the Adsense from the bottom pages of your site and put them at the top. Do not try to hide your Adsense. Put them in the place where people can see them quickly. You will be amazed how the difference between Adsense locations can make when you see your earnings.

4. Maintain links to relevant websites. If you think some sites are better off than the others, put your ads there and try to maintaining and managing them. If there is already lots of Adsense put into that certain site, put yours on top of all of them. That way visitor will see your ads first upon browsing into that site.

5. Try to automate the insertion of your Adsense code into the webpages using SSI (or server side included). Ask your web administrator if your server supports SSI or not. How do you do it? Just save your Adsense code in a text file, save it as “adsense text”, and upload it to the root directory of the web server. Then using SSI, call the code on other pages. This tip is a time saver especially for those who are using automatic page generators to generate pages on their website.

These are some of the tips that have worked well for some who want to generate hundreds and even thousands on their websites. It is important to know though that ads are displayed because it fits the interest of the people viewing them. So focusing on a specific topic should be your primary purpose because the displays will be especially targeted on a topic that persons will be viewing already.

Note also that there are many other Adsense sharing the same topic as you. It is best to think of making a good ad that will be somewhat different and unique than the ones already done. Every clickthrough that visitors make is a point for you so make every click count by making your Adsense something that people will definitely click on.

Tips given by those who have boosted their earnings are just guidelines they want to share with others. If they have somehow worked wonders to some, maybe it can work wonders for you too. Try them out into your ads and see the result it will bring.

If others have done it, there is nothing wrong trying it out for yourself.

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Adsense is considered as one of the most powerful tool in a website publisher’s arsenal. It enables a person to monetize their sites easily. If used properly, it can generate a very large and healthy income for them. However if you are not using them rightly and just maximizing the income you squeeze from it, you are actually leaving a lot of money on the table. Something all people hate doing.

How you can start earning money with Adsense can be done easily and quickly. You will be amazed at the results you will be getting in such a short period of time.

Start by writing some quality content articles which are also keyword incorporated. There are a lot of people given the gift of being good with words. Writing comes easy for them. Why not make it work in such a way that you will be earning some extra cash in the process.

There are actually three steps to put into mind before you begin writing your ads and having an effective Adsense.

Keyword search. Find some popular subjects, keywords or phrase. Select the ones which you think has more people clicking through. This is actually a keyword selector and suggestion tool that some sites are offering to those who are just their Adsense business.

Writing articles. Start writing original content with keywords from the topics that you have achieved in your search. Take note that search engines are taking pride in the quality of their articles and what you will be writing should keep up with their demands.

Quality content site. Build a quality content site incorporated with Adsense ads that is targeting the subject and keywords of your articles and websites. This is where all that you’ve done initially will go to and this is also where they will prove their worth to you.

The proper positioning of your ads should be done with care. Try to position your ads where surfers are most likely to click on them. According to research, the one place that surfers look first when they visit a certain site is the top left. The reason behind this is not known. Maybe it is because some of the most useful search engine results are at the top of all other rankings. So visitors tend to look in that same place when browsing through other sites.

Some of those who are just starting at this business may think they are doing pretty well already and thinking that their clickthrough rates and CPM figures are quite healthy. However, there are more techniques and styles to generate more clicks to double your earnings. By knowing these techniques and working them to your advantage, you will realize that you will be getting three times more than other people who have been previously doing what they are doing.

Finally, Adsense has some excellent tracking statistics that allows webmasters and publishers to track their results across a number of site on a site by site, page by page, or any other basis you wanted. You should be aware oft his capability and make the most of it because it is one powerful tool that will help you find out which ads are performing best. This way, you can fine tune your Adsense ads and focus more on the ones being visited the most rather than those who are being ignored.

Another thing you should know. Banners and skyscrapers are dead. Ask the experts. So better forget about banners and skyscrapers. Surfers universally ignore these kinds of ad formats. The reason behind this is that they are recognized as an advert and advert are rarely of any interest that’s why people ignore them.

To really start making money with Adsense, you should have a definite focus on what you wanted to achieve and how you will go about achieving them. As with any other kind of business ventures, time is needed coupled with patience.

Do not just ignore your site and your Adsense once you have finished accomplishing them. Spare some time, even an hour, making adjustments to the Adsense ads on your sites to quickly trigger your Adsense income.

Give it a try and you would not regret having gotten into Adsense in the first place.

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Popularity: 8% [?]

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How do you maximize your site?

By earning some few dollars per click from displaying Adsense ads on it. Many are now realizing that good money is made from this source of revenue. Try the simple mathematical computation of multiplying those clicks for every page on your website and you get a summation of earnings equivalent to a monthly residual income with that little effort you have made.

Google Adsense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant and text-based Google ads on their website’s content pages and earn money in the process. The ads displayed are related to what your users are looking for on your site. This is the main reason why you both can monetize and enhance your content pages using Adsense.

How much you will be earning will depend on how much the advertisers are willing to pay. It will depend also on the keywords required. If the keywords the advertiser have chosen are in high demand, you could receive more dollars per click. On the other hand, low demand keywords will earn you just a few cents per click.

How can you start making profits out of your website using Adsense?

1. Sign up for an Adsense account. It will only take a few minutes of your time.

2. When the site is accepted, you will be receiving a clip code to include in your web pages. You can insert this code on as many pages or web sites that you want. The AdWords will start appearing immediately after.

3. You will be earning a few cents or some dollars per click when someone starts clicking on the AdWords displayed on any of your web pages. Trying to earn false revenues by repetitively clicking on your own ads is a no-no. This will result in a penalty or the possibility of your site being eliminated. The money you have already earned may be lost because of this.

4. View your statistics. Adsense earnings can be checked anytime by logging into your web site account.

Once you got your account working, you may still want to pattern them to the many sites that are earning more money than you are. It is important to note that there are factors affecting how your website will perform and the amount of money it will give you.

It is a common practice that when a site earning money, the tendency is for the owner to want to make more out of what they are getting already. It usually takes some time combined with trial and error to attain what you want for your Adsense contents.

Time and some important factors that you can practice and use.

How do you increase your Adsense earnings?

1. Choose one topic per page. It is best to write a content for your page with just a few targeted phrases. The search engine will then serve ads that are more relevant which will then result in higher clickthoughs.

2. Using white space around your ad. This can make your ad stand out from the rest of your page so visitors can spot them easily. There are also other choices of colors you can use, provided by search engines, which can harmonize the color of your ad with the web page color.

3. Test your ad placement. It is recommended to use the vertical format that runs down the side of the web page to get more positive results. You can also try both horizontal and vertical formats for a certain period of time to see which one will give you better results.

4. More content-based pages. Widen the theme of your website by creating pages that focus more on your keyword phrases. This will optimize the pages for the search engines. It can not only attract traffic but also make them more relevant for the AdWords to be displayed.

5. Site Build It. This is the perfect tool to be used for creating lots of Adsense revenues. Site Build It has all the tools necessary to quickly achieve a keyword-rich site that can rank high in the search engines. This will also produce a flow of traffic to your site of highly targeted visitors.

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I just released a new eBook called “It’s You…LIVE!” that covers many aspects of podcasting and videocasting, especially for beginners. You can find out more about this exciting new eBook at http://www.becomeapodcaster.com

I have decided to make Become A Podcaster.com a resource web site instead of a webinar web site. In this way, I can offer you the resources you will want and need to become a better podcaster! This eBook is just the beginning and I will start to reformat the site to add more resoruces soon.

If you have a resource you are trying to locate, but can’t find it or simply can’t afford it, let me know and I may already have it in my arsenal and can get it for you at a price you can afford.

Look for more updates coming soon at Become A Podcaster.com!

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Tonight, Patti Serrano had a great interview with Kit Seeberg from BumperTunes. Listen to this interview in the player below!

We began discussing our main topic, Suffering From Digital Burnout. We didn’t get as far into this discussion as I had hoped, so we will pick up this topic again next week.

Our Podcasting News segment article was about Creative Commons Licensing for Twitter. You can read this article here.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Podcast: Play in new window | Download