I try not to make asking for things of you, my eager reader, a frequent visit. I have posted about Tour de Cure and Step Out and many of you have generously donated. Thank you. The 2011 Tour de Cure event in my area is in the beginning of June. I will be signing up shortly and probably asking for your donations again. I don’t assume that every one one my readers can donate but I figure if the option is there, you will at least consider it. Sometimes a single tweet is all that is needed to get the ball rolling. I open with this comment about asking for stuff because I want to reiterate that I don’t take any of you for granted. You don’t have to read this stuff. You don’t have to listen to my podcasts. But I know you do both. I have numbers to prove it and everything.

I feel like I’ve hit a real stride in my podcasting over the past few months of Just Talking. Converstations have flowed quite well, almost too well. I’ve had a lot of trouble finding interlude points in each episode. My guests are carrying more and more notoriety with regards to the fields that they work in. I know that some of these conversations leave behind my core audience but I hope that you find some part of each podcast episode informative or entertaining. Trying to make a podcast with two distinct audiences is not an easy task. Life would certainly be much easier if Just Talking was exclusively dedicated to Video Games or Diabetes but my life is not that simple and I don’t think my podcast – an extension of me – should be that simple either.

So here it is.

I’m about to publish Episode 82 of Just Talking. 82 consecutive weeks of (hopefully) insightful and entertaining conversations with (most of the time) total strangers up until the beginning of our Skype call. I am quite proud of the results so far and where my podcasting has taken me. The future continues to look bright but I need a little help.

At the end of every episode I mention that Just Talking is available on iTunes and the Zune Marketplace. I also remind listeners that they can subscribe there and, if you’ve got the time, leave a review of the podcast. While I don’t know exactly how all this works, I know that reviews (especially the positive ones) do good things for promotional purposes. More reviews (hopefully positive) mean more notice in iTunes. Because there are more reviews, people will trust what I have to offer, particularly if the reviews continue to flow in instead of in a sudden surge over a particular time period.

I need your help to spread the word. I want my podcast to reach a larger audience. I know that 99% of this growth effort has to come from me and I’m working on that, but I’m hoping that you, my eager-readers and eager-listeners can fill the void of that final 1%. So…

If you are a fan of my podcast but haven’t subscribed on iTunes, on the Zune Marketplace or to the regular RSS feed, I’m providing links below for you. If you haven’t left a review for my show on iTunes or within the Zune Marketplace, Please consider taking a few minutes to leave a review of my show. Every comment helps.

Subscribe to the RSS Feed — Subscribe on iTunes — Subscribe on Zune Marketplace

Finally, if you ever have anything to say to me about the show – for example, “Chris, please stop asking for handouts” – you can send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com.

I truly appreciate each and every one of you for reading this and listening to my show. I know asking for an hour of your time is a lot. We all lead very hectic lives and I don’t take any of this for granted. No one has to listen to my podcast. Quite frankly, I would still be doing this stuff even if everyone stopped.

I’m having way too much fun with all of this.

Also, Sunday is Mother’s Day. I’ll consider something else to mark the occasion, but for now I’m reposting the link to Episode 45 of my podcast featuring my parents. It was a good one.

Download the MP3 [ Run Time – 1:02:38 ]