Friendship files and the future of podcasting.

In this week's episode of Creators from TrueFans, Claire chats with Jayne Morgan, the creative mind behind The Friendship File podcast. Jayne shares the unique premise of her show, where two friends independently answer 17 questions about their relationship and then react to each other’s responses. She explains how the podcast delves into the unsung yet incredibly vital role of friendship in our lives, from the heartwarming to the hilariously surprising.

Jayne opens up about the personal journey of bringing The Friendship File to life, starting it during lockdown as a true ‘labour of love’. She discusses the self-selecting nature of guests who are eager to explore their friendships in this intimate format, emphasizing how recording alone fosters candid and often transformative conversations.

A professional podcast producer herself, Jayne also shares her industry insights, including her passion for audio-first storytelling amidst the growing push for video content and the challenges of sustaining a passion project.

Sam and Claire then delve into exciting developments at TrueFans, including a sneak peek at the new Listen Time dashboard, offering unparalleled analytics for creators.

They also cover major upcoming events in the podcasting world, such as PodFest, The Podcast Show London, and The Rest is Fest, and celebrate TrueFans’ recent recognition by the Podcast Tech Stack blog for its innovative monetization approach. Claire also takes a moment to champion a crowdfunding campaign for On Spec podcast, an independent show doing crucial investigative work.

Listen to The Friendship File here

Read the Podcast Tech Stack article here

Financially support On Spec here

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Books that change lives and tech that changes podcasting.

This time Claire welcomes Rebecca Thandi Norman, the creative force behind the Book Imprint podcast. Rebecca shares the evolution of her show, from the Agatha Christie-focused Tea & Murder to Book Imprint, which explores the profound impact of books on individuals before the age of 25. She delves into her unique approach to guest selection, ensuring a diverse range of voices, and opens up about the dedicated team behind Audi Productions that makes her podcast a reality, highlighting the importance of collaboration in independent podcasting.

Claire and Sam provide expert insights, detailing TrueFans' innovative approach to hosting, including transparent cost analytics, listener micropayments, and advanced features designed to empower independent creators.

Plus, find out which books have left an imprint on Sam.

The Creator

• While Rebecca is a writer she considers herself "first and foremost a reader," and the podcast provides an outlet for constant reading and writing.
• The motto of Book Imprint is "everyone is interesting," and Rebecca intentionally seeks diverse guests from different industries to show that books can change the lives of people outside of the publishing or intellectual world.
• The show's production team, Audi Productions, opts to take healthy breaks in between seasons to recalibrate, research guests, and avoid burnout.

Beyond the MP3

• Sam and Claire discuss the alternate enclosure feature, a Podcasting 2.0 extension to the RSS feed that can point to supplementary content, such as video, a soundbite, or a translated file.
• Sam gives an update on TrueFans hosting, including highlighting that the analytics dashboard will show the total listen time and the number of apps that consumed the episode.
• Sam and Claire discuss the possibility for creators to set a suggested value for episodes, designed to cover a podcaster's hosting costs. Listeners have the final decision on how much they choose to contribute (including giving less, zero, or more than the suggested value).

Don't forget: You can support this show by streaming SATs from your TrueFans wallet or leaving a super comment!

Listen to Book Imprint here

Books Sam and Claire talked about

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Powerful storytelling, innovative documentary production and vital discussions on the future of podcasting metrics.

This time, Claire interviews Anna Stoecklein, creator of The Story of Woman, to find out more about her critically acclaimed new documentary series:

The Story of Woman: Finding Strength in Kenya

• A Harrowing Topic, a Powerful Message: Hear how Anna travelled to Kenya to create a three-part series on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), telling the human stories behind the statistics and research.
• Rewriting Tradition: In this series Anna speaks with survivors, activists, and community leaders in a Somali community in Nairobi and a Maasai community in rural Kenya, showcasing the strength and untapped potential of those working to rewrite tradition from the inside out.
• Splitting the Sats: Learn how TrueFans enables creators like Anna to use the splits feature in their digital wallet to distribute listener-streamed payments (SATs) between herself and partnering organisations, such as the Orchid Project.

Creator Strategy: Funding and Features

• New Metrics for Success: Sam explains how hosting on TrueFans provides creators with valuable metrics, including actual listen time and percent completion, that are far more useful to sponsors than traditional download numbers.
• Apple Joins the Chapter Party: Sam and Claire discuss the major industry news that Apple Podcasts will soon support chapters, whether their own or ones provided by the podcaster, including those that carry the Podcasting 2.0 format. Apple will automatically generate chapters using AI/transcripts, but creators are advised to make their own chapters for full control, dynamic updates (even weeks later), and the ability to include images and links that appear in all supporting apps.

Don't forget: You can support this show by streaming SATs from your TrueFans wallet or leaving a super comment!

Listen to The Story of Woman here

Creators from TrueFans on Substack

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Music: How It Is from Ketsa Music

Feedback: TrueFans Support

Read: Creators Blog

Recommendations: Creators Podroll