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New PBJ editorial board member, Rebel Base Media CEO Mark Asquith, wants all podcasters to be aware that scammers are out there targeting your shows, and you need to know what’s going on and how to avoid getting ripped off.
Head of Podcast Relations at Rebel Base Media James Marriott received a support request from one of the company’s podcast clients. The podcaster was asking for advice about an e-mail he received from a “podcast promoter,” the kind of e-mail we all get from someone who claims they can jack up the numbers for our shows.
Here’s how James described it: “Our podcaster was approached on Instagram by ‘Mysha’ who claimed to be a fan of the show and was offering to help it grow. Mysha claimed to be a ‘podcasting expert’ who had helped multiple podcasts. Our podcaster, intrigued at the offer, simply replied to indicate an interest in finding out more about the, apparently legitimate, consulting-style service. A few days later, with no further contact in between, Mysha got back in touch claiming to have done promotional work for the podcast and began aggressively requesting $800 payment. No agreement had even been discussed, let alone signed.
No proof of any work was provided. Sadly, things took an unpleasant turn when the podcaster, obviously, refused to pay.
Upon refusal to pay for “work” that was never agreed, Mysha threatened to use his “network” to flood the podcaster’s podcast with negative, 1-star reviews across all of the directories, including Apple Podcasts, and cause other problems, alluding to actions such as being able to “ban” the podcast in Apple Podcasts – which of course wouldn’t be doable directly but may include reporting the show for violations that don’t exist, etc.
Mysha eventually vanished, although this is a good lesson in what to watch for and what to avoid. You certainly don’t need the headache or the threats.
Check out the entire article from Mark HERE.
Comments:
Unfortunately, there are no short cuts to getting listeners in an honest, truthful way. Unless you’re a celebrity, with sizeable name recognition, you have to build audiences and earn their trust. To do this takes a commitment of time, money and even more time. Focussing on goals, and making them bite-sized and actionable, is very important. You’ve heard that raising a child takes a village. Growing a podcast does too. But, scammers realize that patience is a virtue that some of us don’t have. We’re building our own media platforms! It’s easy to want to find short cuts while reading about other’s successes. Take a breath. If it does sound too good to be true…. Well, you know the rest.