No Foolin’: Collaborations Benefit Podcasters.
If You Can’t Find a Takeover, Make One!
Collaborations (aka ‘Collabs’) help mix things up for the parties involved, friends and fans . . . particularly podcasters. You may have heard of the podcaster collaboration named, ‘Operation Switcheroo.’ It is a simple project where two podcasters record on each other’s podcast episodes and the ‘switched’ episodes are released on April Fools’ Day. So a listener hits ‘Play’ on the podcast and they hear the correct podcast, with a different voice. Anecdotally, participating podcasters report that their own listeners seem more engaged with their show because of the April Fools gag AND they gain new listeners because they hosted the other show.
Here is a brief history of ‘Project Switcheroo.’
Since the Great Comic Switcheroo of 1997, newspaper and online comic writers have perpetrated April Fools pranks on their readers by drawing each others’ comics, drawing the same comic as each other, or having their characters take over the other strip. Inspired by this, Operation Switcheroo supports podcasters ‘swapping feeds’ for a day. Technically, this sort of thing is called an RSS feed exchange or take-over, but that sounds more complicated than it is. (Have no fear, no one has access to each other’s feed.)
Shows are matched by theme, style and explicitness. Hosts have the right of refusal of their pairing, but since shows are so perfectly paired, refusal rarely occurs. Each host is given the paired host-recorded episode file to review and edit, adding a quick intro of explanation, etc. Each episode is then released at the appointed time.
In 2019, more than 50 podcast hosts participated. More than 60 podcasts are set to ‘switch things up’ on April 1, 2021. These podcasts include:
• A Ninth World Journal
• American Timelines
• Ballsy History
• Better Than Human
• Book of Lies Podcast
• Brain Ladle Trivia
• Bunny Trails: A Word History Podcast
• (don’t) Waste Water
• Doomsday: History’s Most Dangerous Podcast
• Drunk Mythology
• Everything I Learned from Movies
• Everything Is Awful Forever
• Evidence Locker
• Genuine Chit-Chat
• GenXGrownUp
• Good Times Great Movies
• HERstory on the Rocks
• Historical Hotties
• Hysteria 51
• I Have So Many Questions
• Ink to Film
• Jackie Watches Stuff
• Legendsmith – Audio Drama Showcase
• Louisiana Saturday Night Podcast
• Mr. Bunker’s Conspiracy Time Podcast
• My Handle is Johnathanblade
• No Highway Option
• Odd Dad Out
• On Second Watch
• Play It By Ear Podcast
• Podcaster Stories
• PopaHALLics
• Quiz and Hers
• Ready Set Roll
• Sandman Stories Presents
• Southern Discomfort
• The Accidental Swingers
• The Black Case Diaries
• The Book Nerd Diaries
• The Broken Brain™
• The Cinema Guys
• The Endless Knot Podcast
• The Ladies Of Strange
• The Vocal Fries
• The Wonder Women
• Trivia With Budds
• Useless Information Podcast
• We’re All Screwed
• Worst Foot Forward
Consider checking them out.
Operation Switcheroo was created and is still spearheaded by one person, Moxey Labouche. She was aware of the Great Comic Switch of 1997 and heard about current Instagram Takeovers and the YouTube Collabs. She realized a similar approach could apply to podcasts as an amped-up version of guest appearance exchanges. As well as organizing, she participated in Operation Switcheroo 2019. She saw a boost in her downloads and “had a number of people mention hearing my show on the other feed or finding new shows through Operation Switcheroo.”
Seek out an opportunity to collaborate with another podcaster to mix things up a bit and expand your audience’s interests. If you cannot find a collaboration that you would like to participate in, don’t let that stop you. Be like Moxey, create your own. Either way, your podcast will benefit.
If you are thinking about starting your first podcast (or your second or third), that’s where Blubrry can help. Check out Blubrry’s services here.