ykyz: Have your say

The title of your microcast is like the thumbnail on a video or the first line of a news article. If it doesn’t look interesting, it won’t matter how good your microcast is, people are less likely to check it out. But how do you come up with the right title? One that is interesting, but not pure clickbait, and one that summarizes up your microcast in one short phrase? Here are a few tips that might help, although I do not by any means consider myself an authority – I spend more time trying to pick a title than I do writing my scripts.

Make it catchy
First, try to make your title catch the listener’s attention. “Laundry Time” is simple and to the point, but probably won’t get much traction. Instead, try “Ways to Make Laundry Easier”, or “The Best Way to Wash”. This is helpful because it tells the listener that you have something worthwhile to say – this isn’t just a rant about laundry. If they click on it, they might learn something that will be useful to them. And it just sounds more interesting.

Ask a Question
People love to give their opinion. You know what they love even more? To be asked to give their opinion. Make your title into a question. “Do You…” “Have You Ever…” “Did You Know…” For what it’s worth, I’ve found vague questions do better. “Have you ever done this?” gets more interest than “Have You Ever Skydived?” People want to know what the “this” in the title is, and so they listen. It’s also a good idea to ask a question occasionally during your microcast episodes, even if it’s just a simple one. These are all ways to pull the listener in.

Use a Little Clickbait
Obviously, you’re not going to be lying to your listeners, or promising something you don’t deliver on. But it doesn’t hurt to bait the hook with a few extra worms sometimes. It’s fine to inflate the importance of something in your microcast, as long as you keep it interesting, and don’t shortchange your listeners. And remember, it’s your microcast. You’re excited about your topic, right? So put a little of that over the top excitement out there and convey it to your audience.

Brainstorm
Sometimes, you have to get creative. Try asking your friends to listen to your episode, or read it if you’ve written a script, and suggest a title for it. Bonus: this gets you some more exposure! Another way to think of a title – pretend you’re playing charades, except with words. What words would you use to describe the microcast episode? Get it down to the basics, then you can enlarge your title from there.

Go for Broke
Don’t be afraid to go for something a little confrontational, or maybe unpopular. As long as you are civil and kind about something, putting a bit of zing into your title can get you more listens as well. Again, this is a tactic that draws people in. A bit of debate, a chance to give one’s opinion – all ways to entrance your listeners.

Aesthetics
Last, make sure the title is easy on the eyes. Make sure you’re following the YKYZ protocol – all titles should look like this – 1. Episode Title.  Number, period, title. This makes the site look uniform and makes everything mesh well together. Next, try to keep your title short(ish). Yes, people can hover over the title to see the entire thing, but what if they don’t? You want to catch their attention, and the less they have to do, the better. Feel free to use an emoji here and there to make your title stand out, or fit in with something relevant to your episode. Less is more here, though, unless you’re playing c/emojisentence.

Having said all that, don’t overthink this. Write your script, record your episode, and put a title on it. If you see another microcast, or even an article or video online with a catchy title, take note. What caught your eye? What can you learn from that?  Practice makes perfect, and over time, it gets easier. At least that’s what they tell me. So keep at it, and remember to have fun!

In times when censorship on the internet is on the rise, personal data privacy is non-existent and ads bombard us from everywhere, it seems we need to take a break from all that. We need to “restart” the internet. Keep its technological advances that we have nowadays, but go back in time when the web was fun, light, not touchy, and not under the boot of Big brother.

This is where ykyz might come in for you. We bring the best of the past by jumping directly into the future with decentralization.

Ykyz might actually turn out to be a manifestation of the future, a prophecy of what is coming. Chances are it would be the new Twitter in audio format. Podcasts will definitely stay with us, Joe Rogan will most likely stay on the top of Youtube for more time to come.

But microcasting could be the new diamond in the dirt that hasn’t been found yet that will shine soon. You have 90 seconds max to get your point across. Not as quick to assimilate and comprehend as tweets are as eyes need a few seconds only, but way more engaging.

We do not see the face of the messenger, only their face. I assume this is one of the reasons why literally everybody has been so genuinely nice and friendly on our platform, regardless of the topic or the contradictory opinion. We unconsciously focus on the message rather than the messenger, leaving no grounds for ad hominems. You might argue that it is the exact same case with Twitter, yet Twitter is the perfect place to be a prick and indulge in an emotional, senseless Twitter war.  With microcasting we still receive some close and intimate impression that there is an actual human being on the other side of the cable (or wi-fi), despite not seeing their face. Voice seems to be The Great Balancer.

This week’s topic was suggested by DoctorIrish – thanks for the suggestion! I know there are quite a few people just starting their microcasts, so I’ve used his ideas and hopefully gathered them all into a coherent-sounding post.

First, and most importantly, welcome to YKYZ! You’ve probably noticed we’re friendly and supportive, but it can still be overwhelming when you are just starting out with your microcast. Trust me, we’ve all been there. I don’t think any of us look back at our first microcasts with anything approaching pride, but remember, practice makes perfect! It takes time to build a good microcast, especially if this is your first rodeo. I hope the following strategies will be of some help.

When deciding on your microcast topic, make sure it’s something that you can see yourself talking about for quite some time. While you are certainly welcome to change the subject of your microcast, or start a new one, it is best for consistent listener engagement if you can stick to it over time. If you are switching up the topic of your microcast often, it may be hard to keep your users loyal. It is important to find a topic that you are passionate and/or knowledgeable about, so keep that in mind. This is essential for a couple of reasons – first, your listeners can tell if you are interested in your subject matter or not. Second, it doesn’t seem much like “work” when you can talk at length without having to do a lot of research about your subject.

One thing that may be a tad difficult at first is sticking to your topic, or fitting everything into the allotted 90 seconds. Don’t worry, you’ll adjust. It may help to make a rough outline, writing down the important points you want to mention. You can also just write out the whole microcast episode. I make a point of doing this – otherwise I wander all over creation and say “um” way too much. Remember, the famous sayings we remember from great men and women were usually part of a speech, but only one or two lines are often quoted. Think of your microcast as those lines. You aren’t writing an entire news article. This is a “just the facts, ma’am” type of situation.

That being said, there are some topics that just can’t be squeezed into one microcast episode. When you do a series of episodes, make sure they are clearly labeled, i.e. part 1, part 2, etc. That way your listeners don’t miss any information. It’s also helpful to give a short intro at the beginning of each microcast in the series, so that if someone hasn’t heard the first episode, they still have a rough idea of where you are coming from, as opposed to just jumping straight in. If nothing else, you can mention that “This microcast follows episode 13, so make sure to give that a listen first!”

Your microcast channel will evolve over time. You may add intro and/or outro music and sound effects. The way you introduce yourself and sign off may change. You may find yourself gravitating towards one aspect of your topic more than others, or you may slowly change the tune of your whole microcast. And that is perfectly fine. The important thing is to give your listeners some continuity. It’s best to make changes one at a time, so they don’t suddenly hear new music and a new introduction and a new topic, all at once. It’s also easier for you to slowly change things, as well. One thing that will help with listener engagement is to ask for feedback, or their opinion. Maybe you have a couple different intros you would like to do, and this is a great time to see what your audience would prefer.

One last thing – don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself to do everything right, and to do it right now. It’s easy to listen to microcasters that seem to have all their ducks in a row and go, “Wow. I sound terrible compared to them.” Remember, they’ve likely had experience, and they went through the same learning process you did. So don’t sweat it. Learn as you go, put forth an effort to change and grow as you see room for improvement, and don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. The road to success is traveled one step at a time – or, shall we say, one microcast at a time?