Three golden rules for an insightful interview.

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  Ask your questions in (chrono)logical order

  If you're used to interviewing people for print, you probably take the liberty of asking the questions in the order they jump into your mind and rearrange them when you write your story. When you do an interview podcast, you must help the subject tell a story by asking in order.

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  Shut up

  Most of us have the habit of saying little words of encouragement as other people talk, such as “yeah” or “cool.” This sounds awful on a podcast. Just listen while your subject talks.

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  Put your subject at ease

  Many people have never given a recorded interview, let alone on a podcast. They have no idea what to expect. Tell them the simple stuff (e.g. your show's not live) and say what you're looking for. If you encourage your guests to illustrate their points with tangible stories, it will make a big difference.

"How long should ads be?"

It's good to keep ads short. Real short. Keeping your messages less than 20 seconds is ideal. If you feel you have more to say than you can fit into a short ad, consider placing multiple spots within the same episode and varying the content.

"What does CPM mean?"

In our last issue we violated our own rule of not using jargon by saying CPM without explaining it. CPM means cost per 1,000 impressions, or downloads. (The M is often confused with million, but it's really derived from the Roman numeral for a thousand.) For example, if you buy an ad at a $70 CPM, then you pay 7 cents per impression.

Have a question?
Email mediamixer@radiotail.com

Podcasts that ought to be on your play list.

Don't drink alone. These intoxicating podcasters will keep you company:

• Grape Radio: Three successful entrepreneurs in their most challenging venture ever: drinking wine and talking about it.

• New York Times Wine Updates: Quick one-minute sips of the latest in wine criticism.

• Craft Beer Radio: Who says the world of beers isn't as diverse as the world of wine? Explore the delicious landscape of craft beers.

Writing ads for audio. You've got only a few seconds to get your message across in a podcast, so you need a quick pitch.

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  Forget everything you've heard from ads on the radio

  In broadcast radio, ads range from bizarre to obnoxious because they need to grab the attention of listeners who are just station surfing. Podcast listeners made a choice to listen to a given show in advance, out of thousands of podcasts. They're already engaged in what they're listening to.

• 

  Use short sentences

  When you write for print, as we're doing right now, you can use long complex sentences if you desire, with the benefit of punctuation. Keep your sentences short when you write for audio.

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  Tell a story

  Don't just read your bulleted feature list, but tell a story about how your product can benefit the listener. Let's write an unsolicited audio ad for Apple's iTunes Podcast Directory:

  Bad ad: “Podcasting is of infinite variety, time shifted, producible by anyone and mostly free. Log into the iTunes Podcast Directory to download a podcast.”

  Good ad: “Your commute is murder if you're stuck listening to junk. Pop on a podcast to fill your trip with talk and music that matters to you. Never be bored in the car again. Visit the iTunes Podcast Directory today to start listening.”