“I was, like, on tour, I spent twenty hours driving all over Ohio, talking to different places. And I work from home, so I don’t drive a ton. And now I was, and I was listening to all these podcasts, and I was amazed how many times I had to ride the volume knob because somebody would be talking, and then somebody would come in and they’re much, a much lower volume. And then normally, even in a quiet room, you might be able to get away with that, but not when there’s now noise from the tires and the atmosphere. And I was just like, wow, there’s a lot of really bad audio out there. And there are tools, there’s Auphonic, there’s all sorts of things you can do to make things level. And that’s the other one besides the whole reverb room and the dog barking and things like that. Some of the stuff you can’t avoid, kids are not really... A three-year-old doesn’t care that daddy’s recording a podcast, but you can still try to bribe them with cookies or something to be quiet while you’re recording.” -- Dave Jackson This episode is the second half of my conversation with pioneering podcast host, consultant, and School of Podcasting founder Dave Jackson, as we talk about building and growing your podcast, why now may be the best time in years to start a podcast, and Dave’s podcasting tips for beginners.As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. You can also join regular Clubhouse chats in The Power of Sound House every Wednesday (check the schedule for times). Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, when new audio rooms are scheduled and what they'll be about, and it'll give you access to a resource called The Studio with lots of interesting sound-related mp3s, videos, educational pdfs, and exclusive discounts from previous guests.If you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help – and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.(0:00:00) – Podcasting Fundamentals and EvolutionWe begin the second half of our discussion with Dave’s strategies for growing a podcast, and, most importantly, figuring out why it exists. “Is it to position myself as an expert?” he asks. “Is it part of a marketing plan of my company? Is it cheap therapy, which it is at times? You know, I just want to get the word out. I’m creative and I want to do my art man, you know that kind of thing. So you’ve got all those reasons.” Dave also shares the lessons we can learn from celebrity podcasts, the perils of what he calls "room-verb", and how AI is continuing to transform the industry. “By the time we’re done with this interview, there’ll be yet another piece of AI where you upload your audio and it’ll make a newsletter for you. It’ll transcribe it, it’ll do your laundry. It slices, dices, and makes Julienne fries.” (0:13:05) - Microphone Upgrades and Audio QualityDave talks about his podcasting hardware and software tips, and about striking the right balance between recording the best sound at the moment vs. editing it in post-production. We also talk about how having the right microphone can be its own confidence booster. “Sometimes it’s not so much that you know your...