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July 3, 2026

The Internet is Broken

This newsletter contains affiliate links. Not all of them, but some of them. I earn a small commission, and it doesn’t cost you anything. I call that a win-win.

Warning: This is can be quite depressing.

I just watched two videos. One from Rick Beato that shows how people are not just stealing your content, they are steeling your packaging, and another video from Drew Goodman explaining how parts of the Internet that is getting bigger is where AI creates content that AI then leaves comments on.

This is a battle over greed, as in “Who can “Outgreed” the other. You have advertisers who are not looking to pay a fair amount to get int front of your audience, while lazy creators dump an avalanche of horrible content and spoof that there is an audience. Once the advertisers figure this out, they will want to pay even less which means the slop factories will need to create more to make the same amount of money.

A few months ago I wrote about how CPM ads are a race to the bottom, and I used the example of banner ads in the early days of the Internet and people scoffed and said I was just using clickbait or “outrageous” but nobody explained how I was wrong.

So How Is This a Good Thing?

Some of this is soooo bad, that even the worst podcast can look amazing next to this trash. That is the problem we will need to overcome. Getting to the good stuff will be like finding the chair in the house of a hoarder.

78% of podcasts are discovered via word of mouth (source). So we need to make sure we are asking our audience to share it with a friend. This will feel repetitive, but every YouTuber asks to like, subscribe, and ring the bell (and we all know where to find the subscribe button and we know what it does).

Speaking of Repeating Yourself

I feel like I am now: lean into being human. How does your show stand out? It’s created by a human. DON’T be like iHeart radio and state you are Guaranteed Human, and then lay off thousands. Then again, iHeart always seems to be a little confused with facts like “#1 in Podcasting” (IMHO) when every reliable report shows it’s Apple Podcasts.


We all hate those bad pitches, but now you can use them to get some exposure for your show. Just read the bad pitch (leave out the names, cause I don’t want to be sued) and explain why it’s bad, and who your preferred guest would be.
Leave your story here.


Podcast not growing as fast as you want? I’ve repackaged the “Podcast Hot Seat" (including a price change) and made it more ala cart. We all miss our own mistakes because we are too close to the content. Pull your car into the podcast garage, and let me take a peak at it. See www.fixmypodcast.com

My Latest Content

School of Podcasting (follow)
How do you measure the success of your podcast that is NOT downloads? (lots of feedback on this one)

Ask the Podcast Coach (follow)
Are You Confusing Your Audience with Split Tests?

Your Podcast Consultant (​follow​)
Late is temporary - Bad is Forever


A Rabbit Hole You Don’t Want to Go Down

Somehow YouTube has sent me down a rabbit hole of police bodycam footage of very guilty people arguing that “They’ve done nothing wrong.” Parents should watch this with their kids cause apparently when you let Tik Tok raise your kids they come out like this.

The Two Videos I Mentioned at the Top of this Newsletter

This can be depressing when you are faced with the lack or morals by some on the Internet.

One little note here: “I came into this world to testify to the truth John 18:36” (when do you testify? when something is on trial…). The blurrier the truth gets the more that verse starts to pop…

What’s Coming In The Future

I’m doing an episode on trolls, and feedback. Got a fun troll story? Let me hear it? Did you receive useful feedback? Let me hear it.


Need Help With Your Podcast?

Whether you’re just starting or a seasoned podcaster, the School of Podcasting can help. Helping podcasters is what I do, and I’ve been doing it since 2005

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