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.

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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!

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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!

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Are you struggling to break into the media industry or advance your career? David Spencer, who created The Media Mentor brand twenty years ago, shares why he launched The Media Mentor podcast as a powerful audio tool to help people navigate the "mystifying world of recruitment".

Episode Highlights You Won't Want to Miss:

• The Power of Audio: Discover why David, a long-time lover of audio who always dreamt of working in radio, believes podcasting is a "beautiful powerful way to communicate".
• The Video Frustration: Hear David's strong feelings on the general trend that "everything has to be video," arguing that a podcast is inherently not video and that the industry risks losing the magic of audio storytelling by becoming too fixated on video.
• Structuring Success: Learn how David structures his show to provide maximum value, balancing direct advice (theory on CVs and cover letters) with client case studies (brilliant stories and great learning experiences), and expert industry interviews (including a crucial episode on AI and recruitment).
• The Business of Podcasting: David explains how his podcast functions as a form of "soft power," helping to build the brand of The Media Mentor and showing the value of being a human character behind the brand.

Plus, Sam and Claire Dive into Exciting TrueFans Updates:

• Fairer Podcast Hosting is Coming: Sam shares exciting news about the progression of the new TrueFans hosting service, with the waitlist expected to open at the end of the month.
• Value-for-Value Pricing Explained: Learn about TrueFans' innovative hosting plan based on listen time rather than fixed fees or downloads. Sam reveals how the pricing works: you are charged a maximum amount (e.g., $15/£15), but if you use less listen time, you are charged less. Any unused allocation rolls over into the next month.
• Boosting Discovery: Claire praises the TrueFans' homepage, which highlights the latest episodes rather than shows promoted by huge PR budgets.

Hear more about why Sam believes independent podcasters are the "bread and butter" and "lifeline" of the industry, and stick around after the main interview for more from David and Claire on authenticity in audio and the difficulty of not spreading yourself too thinly across social media.

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Connecting cats and the creator economy!

This time Claire Waite Brown chats with Amanda B, AKA Captain Kitty, the creator and host of the brilliantly inventive and award-winning 6 Degrees of Cats, the podcast that explores deep, cat-themed questions such as 'Are cats cuter than babies?' and 'Did Sir Isaac Newton really create the cat door?'.

Amanda shares the frustration of the industry devaluing 'human, handcrafted work', but offers a powerful, optimistic theory that the rise of AI-generated content is pushing the industry toward a new economy requiring 'proof of humanity': advertisers will ultimately demand host-read ads and genuine human interaction because 'nobody wants to pay for a bunch of robots listening to their stuff'.

We also contemplate a fun new way to use the Podcasting 2.0 Person tag and give Binky, Snuggles and Peanut the credit they deserve!

In this episode you'll discover how TrueFans is driving interactivity by teaching people 'that there are different ways to help listeners become fans'. Sam reveals how creators can use a marketing budget to incentivize listener engagement with small sats payments that show podcasters value the listener's time and attention.

Plus, learn about new TrueFans discovery features, including a dedicated Awards page that turns winners and nominees into dynamic playlists.

We also cover critical industry news, including a warning about rising production costs from hosting platforms, and the positive prediction that podcast advertising is expected to top $3 billion in 2025!

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Podcasters perplexed at how to turn their passion into profit.

Norma Jean Belenky and John Kiernan search out answers to the question, "Where's the money in podcasting?" with their new show PodBiz, dedicated to transparent conversations about podcast monetization across the industry.

In this episode of Creators, Norma Jean joins us to discuss how PodBiz explores diverse revenue streams through conversations with platform executives, adtech specialists and independent creators.

We explore the value-for-value model, where listeners can directly support creators based on the perceived worth of the content they consume, an approach that eliminates intermediaries and fosters a unique connection between the podcaster and their audience.

Sam introduces the new TrueFans wallet page, which makes it easier for creators to track all incoming and outgoing transactions. Listeners benefit too, with their own wallet tab showing payments to podcasters and earnings from engagement activities.

Sam highlights some of the ways that listeners can earn these micropayments, from becoming a superfan to listening to Fanzone from TrueFans or commenting on this show.

We also explore exciting industry developments including Podcasthon in March 2026, where podcasters dedicate episodes to charities, and potential global music licensing that could transform podcasting into "the new radio."

Discover how both creators and listeners can benefit from the evolving podcast monetization landscape. Leave us a comment to join the conversation – we'll even pay you a small amount for your thoughts!

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Discoverability and interactivity are significant challenges faced by independent podcasters, as highlighted in this episode's interview with David John Clark of The Late Bloomer Actor podcast, which explores David's creative journey and experiences in podcasting.

In this chat David challenges conventional wisdom about podcast metrics. 'Download numbers do not mean they are listeners', he points out, sharing a revealing anecdote about a TikTok video with 746 plays but only 0.2 seconds average watch time. This stark reality highlights why podcasters need more sophisticated data to truly understand their audience engagement – something platforms like TrueFans are addressing with metrics that measure actual listening time and completion rates.

Sam and Claire also explore the critical importance of your podcast's opening moments, with data suggesting that the first 60 seconds determine whether listeners will return. The advice is clear: avoid meaningless chatter and immediately deliver value.

The episode also unveils TrueFans' new podcast promotion feature, allowing creators to request promotion on other relevant shows – a more targeted and less intrusive alternative to feed drops. This creator-friendly approach gives both requesting and hosting podcasters control over the cross-promotion process, addressing the perennial challenge of discoverability.

Points discussed in this episode include:

• Why some podcasts don't show up on TrueFans – make sure your show is listed at Podcast Index
• How to connect with Creators From TrueFans – we'd love to hear from you
• David John Clark's take on Podcasting 2.0 features
• How TrueFans plans to promote award-winning podcasts
• TrueFans' new podcast promotion feature allows creators to request promotion on other shows
• Upcoming events include London Podcast Festival, Podcast Days in Spain, and various awards opportunities

By providing valuable metrics and features that enhance listener engagement, TrueFans empowers podcasters to better understand their audience and foster meaningful connections. The journey of an independent podcaster is filled with ups and downs, but with the right tools and strategies, creators can navigate these challenges and find success in their podcasting endeavours.

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Independent podcasting is where the industry's creative energy truly thrives, bringing fresh ideas and unique voices to the forefront.

The discussion around this energy takes centre stage in our conversation with Frank Racioppi, founder of Ear Worthy – a publication dedicated to championing indie podcasts in an increasingly corporate landscape. Frank shares his fascinating journey from longtime podcast listener to passionate advocate, explaining why he made the deliberate choice to focus on independent creators rather than network shows.

'It's at the independent podcasting level that there's the greatest creative energy within the industry,' Frank explains, contrasting the formulaic approach of network podcasts with the genre-defying innovation of independent creators. He reveals how removing all paywalls from his content led to a 200% increase in readership – a decision that aligned perfectly with his mission to connect listeners with exceptional indie shows they might otherwise never discover.

Sam explains more about TrueFans' new promotional features designed specifically for independent creators. With a pay-per-action model, podcasters can purchase visibility on the home page header and in category carousels, and pay only for actual engagement – views, clicks, and plays. We also unveil plans for a creator-to-creator promotion system that will enable podcasters to host promotions on their own show pages, creating revenue opportunities while helping fellow indies gain visibility.

Here's some more of what you'll hear in this episode:

• Discoverability remains a significant challenge for independent podcasters, highlighting the importance of platforms dedicated to showcasing their work
• Engagement with audiences through listener support and monetization options can positively impact independent creators' sustainability in the podcasting landscape
• Networking with other independent creators can lead to innovative collaborations and new ideas that benefit everyone involved in the podcasting community
• How to start a promotion on TrueFans
• How TrueFans promotions reporting will work
• Sam and Claire's plan for a new carousel on the TrueFans home page
• Research shows that most podcast listeners only make room for three shows in their weekly routine, emphasizing the importance of consistent publishing
• Nearly half of listeners are unwilling to give podcasts a second chance after a disappointing first impression
• What puts Claire and Sam off shows

Whether you're a seasoned podcaster or just starting out, this episode offers valuable perspective on navigating the complex landscape of independent podcast creation, promotion, and monetization.

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