Jim Perry

The time is fast approaching for me to shake up the old creative output channels.  I am growing increasingly comfortable with the idea of publishing my own writing, and the work ethic that kind of venture entails.  But clearly that’s not the only creative work in which I am engaged.

I also must consider the future of all my creative audio endeavors, whether that be podcasting, audio dramas or podcast novels.  Of the three, podcast novels are the lowest on the priority scale.  After all, those novels will eventually be released electronically, in some cases also in print, and I don’t see the need to plan on releasing audio versions of the same.  This does not mean I’m ditching The Last Guardians.  More on that later.

I want to continue podcasting.  It’s how I built my audience initially, it’s a great platform for an author to build a community around their work, and I still see an opportunity to expand that audience.  As I discussed at some length on The Adventures of Indiana Jim, one of the keys to successful podcasting is niche focus.  A show with specific content targeted to a niche audience provides clarity when someone searches for a podcast to listen to.  A show that lacks a clear focus struggles to attract an audience.  People searching for podcasts tend to look with an eye toward a specific subject matter.

This is something I’ve never been able to provide.  When I started with The As-Yet Untitled Podcast, I had no idea what I was doing.  When I changed to Things Are Looking Up, I branded myself a positive thinker, the answer to the cynics, but search algorithms aren’t based on philosophy.  I still was all over the map content-wise.  With The Adventures of Indiana Jim, I centered the style around an image, me in the hat with my microphone whip and a mischievous smirk  (With thanks to Devin Cox for the image).  Of late the content has centered on writing, books, author interviews and general geekdom.  But it’s all very vague and it’s nothing if not subject to random fits of inspiration.

All of that is about to change.

The Adventures of Indiana Jim will become the brand, an umbrella underneath which multiple specific podcast properties will emerge:

1. There will be a show geared specifically toward the aspiring writer, chronicling my own journey in storytelling and into independent publishing.
2. I will have a show devoted to the discussion of other authors’ works, as I still have a strong appetite for purchasing books.  I’ll have reviews as well as roundtable discussions with other book lovers.
3. Movie and Television franchises will have their place as well.  This podcast will be geared toward geeking out on all our favorite film franchises and TV shows, old and new alike.  Those random tangents on midichlorians will be featured here!
4. I’m considering the prospects of doing a general interest show directed at an audience of Christian believers.  This one may, in fact, resurrect the title Things are Looking Up.  Literally.
5. The 49ers Fancast, already reaching a devoted following, will be under this umbrella.

Each will be one of several “adventures” of Indiana Jim. Graphically, each show’s artwork will feature some sort of iconography designating it as within the same family. Each will have its own seperate feed and iTunes listing. As for other flights of fancy and random acts of bit comedy, those will be reserved for longtime listeners who stay subscribed to the master feed.

You may think this looks like an awful lot of work, and no doubt it can be.  But in this multitude of properties comes a clarity for my ADD-riddled brain.  Currently there is one show, released sporadically, for God-knows-what-duration, covering whatever random thoughts I might be having at the time.  This isn’t working, and it sure as heck can’t be boiled down to good metadata for the search engines.

Instead each recording session will be focused on one topic.  One segment.  One discussion.  Sometimes stream of consciousness, sometimes written down.  Instead of trying to find multiple topics for one episode and trying to group them together, I will know exactly where each thought is going to go as they come to me.  This is an exercise in compartmentalization, something I desperately need to practice.

What will happen to the current Adventures of Indiana Jim?  Nothing, really.  Subscribers to the current feed will see the same content on the same site in the same feed.  In fact, nothing will change on the site itself.  WordPress really makes all of this very simple, with the ability to automatically generate a feed for a specific category.  The only difference is you’ll see some new artwork, hear some new intro/outro bumpers, and get a much more streamlined experience.  It will take some work, and it will start slowly, but it will be done.

What will happen with The Last Guardians?  Now that I know what I’m doing with the rest of my life, I can focus on getting the project done.  I can carve out some time in every day to work on it, all the while plotting and planning for future audio endeavors.  The Last Guardians will be my priority until it is finished.

Wish me luck.  I’ve stapled my fedora to my head… because this adventure is about to get rough!