Welcome to the 22nd edition of the Cast of the Week Awards.
You can find this week’s nominees can be found at https://ykyz.com/f/cotwxxii.
There were lots of milestones hit these past couple weeks.
Lilith, of Maleficient Gaming brings in her 100th episode discussing Vader Immortal coming to PlayStation VR. Kayla, of Mental Musings, shares a side of math that most probably were not aware of in her 100th episode.
Our favorite Egyptologist, Life in Ancient Egypt rang in his 200th episode by discussing how Egyptians handled death. Asi the Voluptuous Voyager shares a poem that stands out to her in these hard times called “Do not stand at my grave and weep” by Mary Elizabeth Frye. Poegosi the Poet discusses if the site “live me” is worth using. A Brewtiful Mind lets us all know that beer slushies are a thing just in time for the hot summer weather. Just Thinking Aloud shares his plans on what he wants to do in his next 200 episodes. Lastly, MondragonMMA wants everyone to know that the first MMA gyms are opening back up!
Gem, of Fashionmusings, uses her 300th episode to share the history of why doctors wear white lab coats nowadays.
Addie, of Music and Peace, wants to celebrate on ykyz for hitting the amazing 400th episode milestone.
And finally, Kayla, aka Violaceous Curiosity, was the first user to hit the 500th episode milestone where she finally explains the meaning behind her username.
Congrats to all our milestone breakers.
And now, onto the CotWXXII winners! But first, a quick shoutout:
Shoutout to Practical Magic for bringing in a special guest to help out with her cast, Guest witch of the day.
And now, onto the winners! But first, a few honorable mentions:
Honorable Mentions:
210. Being Brainwashed by Voluptuous Voyager discusses the importance of seeking knowledge on your own and not blindly following everything you are taught.
328. Thanksgiving in a Pan – Ish by SmartMoney shares some delicious recipes for quick dinner ideas, including a way to have the taste of Thanksgivings Day Dinner without all the work.
And now, on to the winners:
Bleats of the week:
Do y’all actually like coffee? by Claybro931 got a dozen ykyz’er to weigh in on this seeming eternal question and got some good recommendations for coffee alternatives.
Best/worst pick-up line WINS Starbucks gift card! by Violaceous Curiosity picks up the second bleat of the week award with a giveaway of her own for pick-up lines. Congrats to Poegosi the Poet for the win, make sure to listen to his answer.
For our regular microcast awards, we have:
Third Prize:
322. Parkinson’s Disease – Real Stories. What you Need to Know by Doctor Irish explanations what happens to one’s body as they begin to develop Parkinson’s Disease. The main focus is on highlighting how this disease affects real people in their daily lives both mentally, as well as, physically.
Runner up:
200. Death by Ancient Egypt shares all the details on what happens after a tomb is sealed and why the burial procedures were so important to the Egyptians for their journey to the afterlife.
Grand Prize:
197. Robot Bartenders: Yes or No? by A Brewtiful Mind takes home the grand prize with this timely and informative episode about using robots as bartenders to reduce human contact in alcohol delivery, which may be a feature or a bug, depending on your perspective. Also, make sure to check out Micah’s excellent episodes on Beer Slushies and Puppies on Beer cans.
Tag: microcasting
Cast of the Week XXI
Welcome to the 21st edition of the Cast of the Week awards (Breaking out of Lockdown Edition). Got the sick of home blues? Get outside! But first, read on for a double dose of winners and important info.
You can find this week’s nominees can be found at https://ykyz.com/f/cotwxxi.
Junior Microcaster Prizes
We will be experimenting with a dedicated Junior Microcaster award and might do a summer program. This would be open to anyone 18 or younger. We hope to offer at least one prize per week in this category, and if we get enough participants, we might offer a Junior Microcaster of the summer award. This is a great way for a teen to launch a career in casting. Note that if you take a teenage caster under your wing, you are eligible for our Mentor program, and will get referral credit for anyone you bring on.
And now, on to the CotW XXI winners! But first, some shoutouts:
Shoutout to PracticalMagic for episode 73. It is OKAY to rest! and the reminder that during the pandemic, lowering expectations for what you get done may be the only way to stay sane.
Shoutout to Rebekah of the SmartMoney microcast for a solid review of pay-to-play games in episode 318. Paid to Play Apps – Worth It?
Shoutout to BorisTheBlade for touching a nerve with the title and content of his 175th microcast episode Fat is not beautiful, Adele’s weight loss and Social Justice Warrior fascists pt. 2.
Shoutout to Asi the Voluptuous Voyager for episode 191. Ramblings… and her thoughts about the goal of her cast and reaching out to others.
Shoutout to Mistress of the Microcast for fearlessly asking the question no one else dares to ask in her episode 260. What happened to the Bermuda Triangle?
A few microcasters had episode milestones recently. Shoutouts to Snippets With Sophia, Doctor Irish, and Smart Money for hitting the big 300. Whoot whoot!
And now, on to the winners! But first, a few honorable mentions:
Honorable mentions:
Poegosi The Poet for his intriguing and highly interacted with episode 195. Selling feet pics online strange ways to earn online.
Snippets With Sophia for episode 302. Food-Based Insults, an excellent overview of the many ways to label another nation based on their food preferences, from Limeys to Krouts to Butter Stinkers (who knew!)
ThatbeardedSwede for episode 262. Nordic Walking voice chat debates online! Apparently, this awkward looking activity works not just for the elderly but can be good for fitness if you swap out lightweight poles for ones that weigh as much as mid-sized chickens.
And now, and this time we really mean it, on to the winners:
Bleats of the week:
This award goes to the most listened to (non-microcast) bleat of the past week. Since two weeks have gone by, we have two winners.
Should they be allowed? by Muslim Things
and
Live now 🔴 Gaming chat at 5 pm Friday! by Maleficent Gaming
Quote of the week:
This award goes to my favorite quote taken from a microcast episode or bleat. The two winners this time are:
“It’s as if you asked me what colors I would want the walls of my apartment painted while there’s a gaping hole in the floors and also the kitchen is on fire”, by Just Thinking Aloud in episode 186. Right/Left Wing and Other Pipe Dreams.
And
“Covid. I blame Covid. The entire last three months I blame solely on Covid. I mean, don’t you?”, by jenagain in episode 87. Ready or Not, pt 1.
For our regular microcast awards, we have:
Fourth prize:
In episode 242. Street Corn by Black Girl Baker, we get a great explanation of how to debug dense cake as well as a mouth-watering description of how to make homemade Street corn.
Third prize:
In Greek mythology, the Titans were pre-Olympian gods. In episode 260. Story Time: The Titans, Astrocast By Diz tells their wild and disturbing story with a mix of drama and delightfully strange detail.
Second prize:
Addie, of Music and Peace, gets a silver star and second prize for episode 384. Give Addie A Sticker – Rough And Rowdy Controversy, for her excellent contextualization of Bob Dylan’s latest album. In this packed cast, Addie covers the questions of how to judge new work of an old artist, music in the time of pandemics, and, as the title suggests, stickers.
First prize:
A Brewtiful Mind takes top prize for episode 189. Could You Drink 101 Beers in a Week? In it, Micah tells the true tale of a former school track star who drank 101 beers in a week and ran 101 miles in that same week. Mixing self-indulgence, Covid relief (funds were raised), excess drinking, and the return to much-neglected exercise, this cast perfectly captures our current moment.
Behind the Microcast:
Tell us about your accounts. You have a few usernames, don’t you?
Yes! I am known as Violaceous Curiosity and Mental Musings on the site now. Funny enough, Mental Musings started out as Snarky Side Dish by Sandrine, went to Babbling Old Bat and has now settled on the latest incarnation
What do your family and friends know you as?
Everyone knows me as Kayla.
Care to tell us where are you from?
Proudly from Monroe, LA.
Do you have any occupations outside of the microcasting world?
I keep myself busy. I see myself as a sociologist and activist, first and foremost. Then there is being a content creator for YKYZ…and a few other things.
How did you get into microcasting?
I started on YKYZ as a content creator, and when we got the opportunity to start microcasting I jumped on it.
Can you tell us a little bit about what your microcast is about?
Violaceous Curiosity is about fighting injustice from the perspective of intersectional feminism, which is the view that all people are equal regardless of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, class, etc. Mental Musings is my space to speak my mind more like a verbal journal, talking about daily life, random topics that may irk me, and pointing out the ridiculousness of humanity…all with a bit of sass.
What lead you to pick that topic?
As a sociologist and activist, the general topic for Violaceous Curiosity was an obvious choice since it is what I do on a daily basis and have been working on for many years. The other microcast has been an evolution of sorts.
Do you have a favorite thing about microcasting?
The platform on YKYZ allows people to really interact, and you don’t get that with regular podcasts, which takes this to another level. Much of what I am working on centers on starting a conversation and generating ideas, and with YKYZ I am able to do that.
What about a creative process? Do you have one?
I approach the process in more of an academic way with VC since it’s more fact-based, but I always try to find a good quote at the beginning to grab listeners’ attention. With MM I just let my hair down and let it flow.
Do you write scripts?
I have never scripted any episode. I gather my information and my quote, plan an overall idea in my head and let it happen naturally. If I script it I feel it will sound like I am presenting a research paper.
What type of recording equipment do you use?
I use a Samson Q2U microphone that was a lovely birthday gift from a friend.
If you could interview anyone for your microcast, who would it be and why?
Ruth Bader Ginsburg…hands down. She was only the second female Supreme Court Justice, overcame insurmountable odds to get there, and has fought for equality across the board for decades. RBG is fearless, and before Covid-19 hit, I had an appointment to get her initials tattooed behind my left ear.
If you could switch lives with another microcasters on ykyz for just one day, who would you pick and why?
ThatOneGirl– Teresa. She and I are the OGs of the site, so we’ve known each other longer than anyone on there. Plus, I would get to play with her dogs, her cat, AND her chinchillas! Bonus for her and my Dad would be them getting to spend the day together since they are BFFs on the site.
So it’s clear you like animals. Do you have any of your own?
I have 1 semi-inside Tortishelle cat named Southpaw and one full-time outside golden Tabby named Hamilton Jr. After Dad’s back is better we are adopting dogs again.
Let’s talk food. What’s your favorite thing to eat?
This is going to sound really sad, but I really am bored of eating. If I could take a pill every day for my nutrients and be done with it I would. That sounds like I have an eating disorder, which I don’t, but I just am not excited by food anymore.
Can you pick just one color as a favorite?
Purple clearly. I mean I am VIOLACEOUS Curiosity after all. Black and grey are my other favorites.
What are you hiding from everyone? Care to spill your hidden talents?
That I will admit here? Hahaha Well, I was an opera singer at quite a young age, and I have some nerdy talents, like being able to write grammatically correct sentences that are a page long or more and having an unusually exceptional long-term memory (My college communications professor had me tested). Other than those I am quite a medical oddity, and if anyone is curious they should feel free to ask me about it.
What kind of music would people catch you listing to?
Having spent so many years singing opera I now love the male operatic roles, classical, classic rock and folk, and some indie like early Tori Amos.
Do you have a favorite movie or show?
Dead Poets Society and Philadelphia are my favorite movies.
And the last one, What are some of your plans for the future?
I have my sights set on a few things, and continuing to help build YKYZ is a top priority. The past year or so has been a rebuilding process for me since I lost my mother, left the world of academia behind, found solutions to health issues, and discovered how YKYZ and what I want to do with my life work so well together, so I’m honestly just looking forward to working on all of that, getting even healthier, helping my father get healthier, getting more tattoos, and still not having kids…always not having kids. One day down the road I’m determined to have a non-profit in honor of my mother that helps people of any gender with issues of partner and sexual abuse/assault/harassment…but that’s one day.
Behind the Microcast:
Starting with an easy question, What is your ykyz username?
Aspie and Proud is my username on ykyz.
What is your name in real life?
Elsa
And where are you from?
France!
Mind sharing what your occupation outside of microcasting is?
I’m a freelance graphic designer.
How did you get into microcasting?
I saw Fred’s post on a subreddit I was following and got curious. I got into podcast two years ago thanks to my wife (a few of my favorites are The Adventure Zone, My Brother, My Brother and Me, The Magnus Archives…) and thought it would be interesting to make something out of my autism.
Can you tell us what your microcast is about?
It’s about autism in general, from my Asperger perspective.
What made you want to do a microcast on that topic?
I was diagnosed when I was 25, so two years ago, and I felt immense relief when I got a name picked out for what was happening to me. Through my microcast, I want to spread a positive vision of what autism can be, as well as our challenges.
What is one of your favorite things about microcasting?
It made me feel more confident to share my story and to talk out loud! It also helps with my spoken English ahaha. Also, I really appreciate how YKYZ allowed me to know new people, new horizons.
Can you share a bit about your creative process making microcasts?
I start out by thinking of a topic to talk about, then do some research and write my episode(s).
Are you a “using scripts” type microcaster, or do you rather freestyle it?
I do! It really helps me to focus my thoughts and to be precise.
Do you use any special recording equipment to make your episodes?
I have a pretty basic setup: I use Audacity on my MacBook Pro and a set of Apple earphones. They do a pretty good job for now! Though I really want to invest in a good microphone.
If you could interview anyone for your microcast, who would it be and why?
I would choose Daniel Tammet, a British author who’s also Asperger. I love his books and my sister had the chance to meet him. I’ve always been fascinated with his writing.
If you could switch lives with another microcasters on ykyz for just one day, who would you pick and why?
I would switch with DoctorIrish! I love his microcast and would love to see what life is through his eyes.
Are there any furry friends in your life?
Two cats, rescued from the streets!
What’s your favorite food?
Pasta and my mom’s lemon chicken!
Do you have a favorite color?
Purple.
Care to share any hidden talents you may have?
I can do two things at the same time! I speak four languages!
What type of music can people find you most likely jamming out to?
Rock and roll.
Any favorite movies or shows that you like to watch in your spare time?
Whiplash by Damien Chazelle.
Lastly, what are some of your plans for the future?
Taking things one day at a time, to be honest, aha!!
Cast of the Week XX
Welcome to Cast of the Week 20, the double X!
You can find this week’s nominees can be found at https://ykyz.com/f/cotwxx.
First, some shoutouts.
Shoutout to NerdyOldGuy for episode 267. What YKYZ Means To Gaming. We always appreciate the good vibes coming our way for our free speech ways. Our commitment to a censorship-free community continues to be rock solid.
Shoutout to Joanie Reviews Stuff for her episodes on Non-Online YKYZ Promotion Ideas!, Pt 1 and Pt 2.
And now, on to the winners! But first, an honorable mention:
280. The Mandalorian And Porringers by SnippetsWithSophia
While enjoying an episode of The Mandalorian, Sophia notices something intriguing. In a particular clip, the waitress asks if the guest would like a porringer of bone broth also. Doing what she does best, Sophia starts researching if this thing called a porringer is real or made up. Her detailed description, mixed with humor, makes learning about this new item all the more fun.
Bleat of the Week:
Polygamy; Yay, or Nay by Medievalscientist
Few Bleats this past week captured as much interest as this simple question, To marry, or To marry, marry, and marry? This simple question brought out many different views of the topic. Proving that sometimes even a simple question can spark deep discussions.
Second Prize:
171. My Pineapple Beer – 1st Taste by Voluptuous Voyager
Some say, “desperate times call for desperate measures.” While Asi of Voluptuous Voyager says, “desperate times call for DIY hooch.” During this pandemic-inspired lockdown on South African liquor stores, Asi explains that many South African people are resorting to making their own booze. In her first-ever attempt, Asi loosely follows a recipe for a pineapple beer.
Grand Prize:
365. Burn Out, Or Fade Away? What’s Your Dream? by Music and Peace
In this episode, Addie discusses the idea of whether it’s better for an artist to “burn up” or “to fade away.” The concept of “burning up” happens to a lot of artists that die at a young age right at the height of their fame. She ends the episode with just one important question. Is it better to live your life in a “blaze of glory” or to enjoy your time “in the sun” but also enjoy “the sunset” of life?
Cast of the Week XVII
CotW XVI
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwxvii
And now I’m handing things over to u/Mattasher for the winners of Cast of the Week XVII:
Shoutouts
Some shoutouts this week to the people who made our week:
Shoutout to If You Were In My Shoes for her willingness to share a well-crafted and poignant personal dilemma, with episode 5. There’s no point anymore.
Shoutout to Joanie for getting a new mic and making a contest out of it. You sound great to us!
Shoutout MondragonMMA and A Brewtiful Mind for each hitting episode 100.
Shoutout to Demi Semi Quaver Note for the awesome recitation of Walt Whitman’s city of orgies, complete with spot-on sound effects. A reminder to please make sure any poetry you post to ykyz is in the public domain, as is the case with Whitman.
Shoutout to Primal Haze for the outstanding first episode, 3 Reasons Why Microcasting Is A Great Idea. We agree with all of them! A reminder, though, to all microcasters: It’s best to fade out your intro music as you begin speaking.
And, last but not least, Shoutout to all of you for continuing to help promote the site. We’re now ranked at about 120k on Alexa, just 20k away from our April goal.
Honorable mentions
217. Sweden food, Swedish meatballs by ThatBeardedSwede
Our favorite Swede shares the history of meatballs and his own family recipe ingredients. IKEA may have spread this tradition around the world, but when it comes to meatballs, IMO there’s nothing better than homemade.
25. Let’s Eat and eat some more by Angelibean
Angelibean shares her newfound quarantine skill, eating all the snacks. She’s definitely not the only one stress eating, though apparently, some ykyz’ers are going in the opposite direction and stress fasting. Who knew that was a thing?
250. Tomatoes Indoors by SmartMoney
Turns out, a lot of us have food on the brain during quarantine. Our final honorable mention goes to Becky of SmartMoney with this perfect explanation of how to grow tomatoes inside.
CotW XVII winners
And now, on to this week’s winners!
Third Prize:
226. Raised And Cake Donuts by SnippetswithSophia
In this mouth-watering episode, Sophia explains the difference between the main types of donuts we consume. Spoiler alert, if it looks like a unicorn or a Pokémon, it’s a cake donut.
Second Prize:
42. “The talk” to save a life. by Doctor Irish
The good doctor gives straightforward advice for dealing with someone who might be suicidal. Never has an episode been so unfortunately timely, as one of the many, many un-considered side effects of extreme “social distancing” has been an all too predictable spike in depression and calls to suicide hotlines.
First Prize:
236. Animal Crossing Filipino textile outfits by fashionmusings
In this episode, Gem explores the intersection of fashion and gaming and describes how the Ayala museum is using in-game outfits to show off traditional Filipino textiles. In times when traveling abroad is virtually impossible, virtual fashion may be the very best thing to go viral right now.
Cast of the Week XVI
CotW XVI
You’ll find all the nominees for this week at https://ykyz.com/c/na?faveOf=cotwxvi
Here is u/Mattasher to announce the winners of Cast of the Week XVI (The Sweet Sixteen):
Before we get into the winners, we have some shoutouts this week.
Shoutout to Mark for hitting episode 100 with his Just Thinking Aloud microcast, to Poegosi The Poet for his 100th, Joanie Reviews Stuff’s 100th, Boris the Blade 100th, and to ThatbeardedSwede, Aspie and Proud, and Astrocast by Diz for posting episodes 200!
Shoutout to Lilith of the Maleficent Gaming microcast for experimenting with rapid-fire, YouTube-style editing in her episode 29. Exploiting employees for Borderlands 3 pt.2
Shoutout to Angelibean for giving the community a shoutout in the wonderfully titled episode 22. I’m a hater and I may need a nap
Shoutout to Rebekah of SmartMoney for the snack tips in episode 232. Give Me the Snacks and No One Gets Hurt, another well-titled episode this week.
Shoutout to Black Girl Baker for experimenting with sound recording in her 174.My version of ASMR. By the end, I was for sure craving some of those salty crunchy snacks Rebekah described.
And now, without further ado, the winners. But first, a couple of Runner’s up:
200. Wine from Sweden – YKYZ Podcast Microcast by ThatbeardedSwede
Who knew Sweden had not one, but several growing regions, and that it produced some award-winning whites?
31. Occupy by Brown Skin Pearls
Clare gives out practical advice for how to stop touching your face in this short but straightforward episode.
219. Danish Pastries by SnippetsWithSophia
Sophia takes us on a tour of Danishes around the world (spoiler alert, they’re not called Danishes everywhere) in this mouth-watering episode.
And now, on to the winners!
THIRD PRIZE:
116. Pilsners for Boris The Blade – A Brewtiful Mind by A Brewtiful Mind
In this packed episode, Micah takes us on a quick tour of the world of pilsners, from their home in the Czech Republic to their new world versions. For my own part, I’d highly recommend heading to Prague, finding a patio, and sipping a punch-bowl sized glass of the local favorite, Pilsner Urquell. You’ll never want to drink beer in a can again.
SECOND PRIZE:
26. Swear Words by Hilarious History
Hannah hits her stride with a SFW episode about NSFW language. In this episode we learn how Saxon words became vulgarities with the help of the Anglos. Hannah leaves us with the polite admonition, “Thank you for listening, and don’t get conquered”, which seems like the perfect advice for this moment we are in.
FIRST PRIZE:
200. Air Signs As Jazz Music by Astrocast By Diz
This was a tough one to pick. Not because we wondered who to give the top prize to, but had a hard time picking which episode from Diz deserved it most. In the end, we’re choosing her intriguing 200th cast, wherein Diz connects the astrological Air Signs with jazz, giving a surprisingly rich introduction to both in under 75 seconds. We also highly recommend you have a listen to her episode 203. Story Time: Bia. Come for the story of Prometheus, stay for the perfectly timed sound samples.
Sound Quality – Noise Prints
To start, this will sound more complicated than it is. Sound quality, ironically, is more easily shown than written about. To start, find your favorite audio editing software. The arguably most popular is Audacity. Multiple other options are available, but for the most part share the same features.
Sound exists at all times. If you buy a fancy mic, it will hear everything. Even that pesky air that’s floating around everywhere. This will create one of your biggest struggles while podcasting (if not the biggest). The good news is it can be simply deleted. You will be using this to create what I call a “noise fingerprint”. If using the Audacity program I linked above, the process is simple.
Before every episode be sure to record dead air for a few seconds. No talking, movement or pen tapping. Just record nothing.
Highlight the section of audio that you recorded at the beginning (the dead air).
On the toolbar towards the top of the application, select the dropdown for “Effect”.
Next, select “Noise Reduction…”.
A box will pop up with numerous options. In the top portion is an option for “Get Noise Print”. Select it.
You will be returned to your recording, and your screen should look like the picture below.
Now you will want to select your entire project. You can do this by pressing CTRL+A if on a Windows keyboard. The classic click and drag works as well simply by clicking the start of the audio and dragging until the end.
Once all audio is selected you will need to return to the Noise Print Options. As a reminder, this is done by: selecting “Effect” in the toolbar and selecting “Noise Reduction”. You will see a dialog box appear again. Instead of “Get Noise Print”, this time you will select “OK”. You can also preview the first few seconds to be sure any background noise has been removed.
Once “OK” is selected you are returned to your project. This step by step will help remove almost everything. It will not however remove what I call mechanical noise. This is noise created by vibrations to the mic. It can be caused from your mic being on the same desk as you PC or Mac for example. I will go over simple fixes for those problems at a later time.
Ykyz- A place to get it off your chest.
I would list other reasons as number one, two, or three why it is awesome to be a microcaster on ykyz, but I feel like going straight to number four or five: You get to share with other users what you are up today, how you feel, what is bothering you.
When I first started off with my cast I wanted to create professional bits with information on historical events, culture and so on. Then I noticed that people react less to those kinds of casts and react more often to my random rants. I don’t blame them at all as with time I realized that although I am an avid fan of history, it is really easier to prepare a 90 seconds max audio of how I was today or what was on my mind than preparing a mini-lesson on the Austrian Empire and the Austrian national identity or where the name “Russia” comes from.
This is not about easy. Besides all other types of fun one can have on ykyz, I found out it is a great place to vent or to just share. Maybe two or three weeks ago I stumbled upon the cast of this female ykyz-er sharing her doubts and emotion regarding her teenage daughter going through and coming out of depression and suicidal thoughts. I may be an extrovert and a communicative person, but I’ve been through that and I related on the double. I bleated back to her, she bleated too. We talked. We didn’t see each other’s faces, which I think made communication more genuine. We only cared about the message of the other person.
I went on ykyz a couple of times to get it off my chest – me turning 30 or my attempts to tone down alcohol a notch. We have a friendly environment here. Not because of some regulation, not because correctness has been imposed on us, but simply because literally everyone on this platform is a cool, open-minded human being. We do not always agree, but we are perfectly cool about that. You know, as Voltaire once said: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
How to Promote Your Microcast and YKYZ
Why should you promote your microcast? Well, there are a few reasons why. First of all, people won’t listen unless you promote them. I’ll go over ways to do that in a bit, but it can be as simple as an eye-catching title or a relevant topic that gets people talking. Second, promoting your microcast, and thus YKYZ, helps the site, which helps you because if YKYZ is successful, you have a good chance to be a success as well. It’s all intertwined – the circle of life if you will. Last, promoting your microcast is necessary because there is a ton of content out there. People aren’t likely to accidentally stumble across it. You have to shove it right in front of them so they have to stumble upon it. How do you do that? There are quite a few ways, some of which I’ll go into below.
Word of Mouth
I’ve listed this one first because it’s the easiest and the most likely to get results. If you have friends, relatives, neighbors, or work colleagues, mention your microcast in conversation. “What are you doing to stay busy these days?” “Well, I have a microcast on this site called YKYZ – let me send you the link!” Simple as that. If you haven’t already, go here https://blog.ykyz.com/index.php/how-to/email-signatures/ to change your email signature to promote your microcast. It takes maybe five or ten minutes, and then every email you send will have a link to your microcast at the bottom.
Social Media
If you haven’t already, follow YKYZ on Facebook and Twitter. Like and share/retweet the official YKYZ posts, and any of the other YKYZ users’ posts you wish. Start your own account – you don’t have to have an account on every social media site, although that will certainly get you more exposure. However, if you only have time for one, pick a platform you will be most likely to engage with. Spend time gathering followers – this can be as simple as liking or commenting on posts, following users with similar accounts – e.g., if your microcast is about gaming, follow other gamers, etc. Make sure to post at least once a day, and ideally four to five times throughout the day. This can be done in five minutes or less – just click on the drop-down link under your episode, then select the link for either Twitter or Facebook. This eliminates the long link in your posts and makes it look more professional. Try to be engaging – grab people’s attention. Ask questions – people love to give their opinion. Another thing I would suggest is using relevant hashtags. For example, those of you who have historical/education microcasts, try using #homeschooling or #homeschool to get your microcast to parents or teachers who could use it. And, as always, make sure to tag YKYZ in your posts!
Linktree
Addie from Music and Peace did a great job with this on Reddit, so I won’t go into a lot of detail. https://www.reddit.com/r/YKYZ/comments/esiqc5/linktree_for_your_instagram_and_social_media/ Basically, this allows you to combine all your links for various platforms into one spot. You can just use this link for promotion instead of trying to decide if you should post your Spotify or your iTunes link. It takes maybe 2 minutes to set up each link. Make sure this is posted in your bio/profile on social media as well – I’m not as familiar with Facebook, but I know Twitter has a website option you can put this in.
Upload your microcast to podcasting platforms
There are tutorials in the YKYZ blog on how to do this for some of the more popular sites: https://blog.ykyz.com/index.php/how-to/. Again, this takes maybe five or ten minutes – once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty much autopilot. Some sites require verification, others just let you upload and go. YKYZ automatically uploads to the sites, so once you’ve done it, that’s it. New episodes show up on iTunes or wherever you’ve uploaded every time you upload to YKYZ.
Say Hi to the new users
When you go on the YKYZ site, take the time to go to https://ykyz.com/c/intros. Go through the list of new users and say Hi. Even if that’s all you say! It can be a little intimidating to talk into the void, so to speak, and sometimes new users don’t stay for very long. If you notice a new name, try to engage with them, even if their microcast or comment isn’t something you would necessarily find relevant to you. It’s about being friendly and making them feel at home so they want to stick around. Community is a big thing here, and we want new users to feel welcomed.
Time to take action!
I know we are all busy right now, lives have been rearranged, and things are uncertain. But I’m pretty sure we can all find ten or fifteen minutes a day to promote our microcasts, and, by extension, YKYZ. Any of the action items listed above should take you five-fifteen minutes, and you’ll be surprised by how much progress you will make. It’s encouraging to see your followers grow, and to see people on the site that you know came there because of you. So here’s to YKYZ – and all of us. Let’s all pull together – promote like crazy, let people know there’s a site out there that is friendly, doesn’t censor, and is exciting and engaging – something we are all proud to be a part of. Cheers!
Editor’s Note: Originally posted on 4/1/2020. Updated on 4/13/2020, for sake of clarity.