This post was initially published on Revue, a newsletter platform run by Twitter. This and That was moved to Beehiiv in December 2022. This is a re-post, so there may be some inconsistencies and elements that didn't survive the content import.

Hi, This & That-ers!

Thanks for subscribing to this newsletter despite there being basically ZERO information as to what I'd be writing. You're so trusting and I love that about you🙃

If we haven't met yet, hello! I'm Arielle. I love listening to podcasts, going on walking tours, investigating minor league baseball team name etymology, playing soccer, traveling by train, teaching about podcasts, and many other disparate things.

Here's a promise from me to me (and, as a result of me posting it, also to you):

~This newsletter will not be a regular occurrence~ I am too busy with SquadCast, EarBuds, Tink, Sounds Profitable, Podcast Taxonomy, and other projects (and a little bit of having a social life), and thus, cannot make this a regular thing.

HOWEVER, I will pop in from time to time to share tweets, podcast recommendations, thoughts on podcasting, ideas, gripes, and ask questions of you. NOW is one of those times. And because Revue -- the email marketing service I'm using -- is a product of Twitter, I'll be sharing (mostly) by way of my tweets and others that I find around the web.

You'll want to stay subscribed because I promise to deliver valuable recommendations and advice in digestible, actionable bullet points, always.

Transparency stats

• This newsletter is going out to 156 people!

• No open or click rate to report yet

Why am I sharing transparency stats?

• Transparency is fun!

• So you can learn from my email marketing tactics

Let's get into it...

Podcast Recommendations

• I have a pretty epic-mega-thread going on with podcast recommendations and it will probably never end. Notable mentions this week include Mother Country Radicals, Banned, Scam Goddess, The Trail Ahead, and many more coming your way. That thread can be found in the tweet below.

• I spent the past month actively checking out Apple Podcasts' New & Noteworthy section. Why? Well, I'm fascinated by it. About two years ago, one of my podcasts, Counter Programming with Shira and Arielle, was featured, and it was HUGE for us. But then it was also a little bit devastating because some people...did not like us...which is fine! But it revealed this double-edged sword that I was not aware of beforehand -- that big spikes in listener acquisition can come down pretty hard. Anyway, I wouldn't give it up, but I do caution folks who are hoping for that feature to consider lots of other avenues while jonesing for that, AND to make sure that your podcast's alignment is SPOT on. All this is to say, from May to June, I listened to a bunch of shows on New & Noteworthy and documented my thoughts. Those thoughts are in this tweet.

• I love history podcasts SO MUCH. I also love when my favorite history podcasts swap SO MUCH. History Daily, meet Obscure History. Obscure History, meet History Daily. Listeners, prepare to be amazed! Also, this is just such a great example of a feed drop! My tweet on this is below.

Podcast Maker Things

• I have been saying for a LONG TIME that we need more podcast stock photos. Every blog seems to use the same three images. It's time for some change. There's finally (almost) a solution. When I was in Austin last month for Outlier Podcast Festival, I worked with Eva Sheie and Katie Lyke (and a bunch of podcaster models) to take some new shots! Here's a sneak peek below!

• I shared some thoughts on how to get your guests to share their interviews once your episode with them goes live. And while it's not foolproof -- because nothing is -- I think the name of the game is to make them look like an expert. I explain in this tweet.

• I taught a Podcast Movement University class earlier this week on social media tips for podcasters. Catch the replay and let me know what you think! I think it's valuable, and includes lots of beluga whale references. Find out why!

• If you are an LGBTQIA+ podcast creator and/or host, submit your show to be featured in the EarBuds newsletter's PrideCasts section this month. We're working with Studio71 on this collab, which you can learn about by clicking on the tweet below.

More Podcast Maker & Listener Goodness

• Skye Pillsbury is launching a new newsletter

• The International Women's Podcast Festival is coming later this month

• Lauren Passell's newsletter, Podcast The Newsletter, celebrated three years (yes, I am obsessed with newsletters. I think they are the present and future).

• Watch out for scammy podcast advice on TikTok (and everywhere else for that matter)

• Find a feed swap for the summer so you can take a little breaky break

• I had a great time at Blk Pod Festival in Atlanta! Thank you to Ona Oghogho for inviting SquadCast to sponsor. It was great to meet Jonathan Jones. Y'all should be there next year!

• Submit your podcast to the Swap Database (hosted by Tink Media)

• Join the Podcasting Twitter community

Questions for You

• Are you a podcast creator, listener, both, neither? WHO ARE YOU? Reply and let me know, please!

• Are you going to Podcast Movement in Dallas in August? If so, I'd love to hang out.

• Did you know that the best way to plug into the world of podcasting is to subscribe to all of the podcast newsletters out there? Here's a list.

• We're currently in the process of revamping the SquadCast podcast and want to hear from you about what you'd want to listen to. What do you think?

• Are you on TikTok? If so, are you making podcast-related content?

This first-ever issue of This and That with Arielle Nissenblatt was brought to you by insanely caffeinated coffee ice cream from a fancy lil shop in Williamsburg. Too fancy. Too caffeinated.

Love,

Arielle

P.s. I'm giving myself the freedom to write whatever I want in this newsletter and to format it however I damn well please. So next time this drops, it could look completely different. Stay tuned! Woo!