I Paid Strangers For Feedback On My Podcast. Here's What They Said.

I've launched a podcast about the Detroit arts and entertainment scene with Becky Scarcello and Jag called The D Brief. In this column, I am sharing the lessons I learn from it for other radio broadcasters who want to do the same.

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In my last column, I wrote about how podcasters can use Amazin's Mechanical Turk to air check their own podcasts. This video shows you how:

But what kind of feedback do you get from Mechanical Turk? Is it any good?

Yes - some of it is. And some of it is not. Below are some real examples of the feedback we received on our podcast. Here are the instructions I included when posting asking people to review our first episode:

"Listen to the first ten minutes of the podcast athttp://www.thedbriefdetroit.com/zach-martina-erebus-haunted-house-and-dia-de-muertos-at-the-dia/and provide 200+ words of constructive feedback. Please be specific. Please do NOT just summarize the podcast.

NOTE:This podcast is about the city of Detroit. For this review, please assume that you livein the Detroit area.

1. What do you like about this podcast?
2. What are the weaknesses of this podcast?
3. Give 3 suggestions for improving this podcast.
4. How professional does this podcast sound?
5. Would you recommend this podcast to a friend? Why or why not?"

Here - verbatim -is what our reviewers had to say in response:

Review #1:

"So something I really like is the way the intro is formatted. The first minute to minute and a half is really strong, the introductions are good, and I like the way briefly goes over the topics that will be discussed.

"I like the commentators. They have a lot of good, positive energy. They seem like nice guys. They have voices that I really enjoy listening to.

I like the guests. It has a great hometown feel to it. I really like how they delve into the arts and entertainment of the Detroit area. It seems really informative for people living in the Detroit area that want to explore the city of Detroit.

I also like the discussion of the news (like Amazon) and the weather. The two hosts really work well together and I like their conversations.

For weaknesses, I felt it was a little disorganized and could use some more humor. Also, I would want a little more detail about each event. Other than that, I thought everything was fine and professional.

For suggestions, I would suggest: spend more time talking about the news around the Detroit area first, talk more about the events and do less chit-chat, and maybe provide more detail about the events (like the k-pop event).

Also, maybe spend some time interviewing more guests or citizens of Detroit and what they think about the events. I think the podcast sounds very professional, although it needs some work on flow and not rushing through the events. I think the two commentators sound very professional and have good radio voices.

Yes, I would recommend this podcast to a friend if they lived in the Detroit area and were interested in local events. I think it gives a good run-down of events in that area, so they'd probably enjoy it. I also enjoyed the discussion of holidays and such. They two announcers really do have a good repertoire with each other."

Review #2:

"What do you like about this podcast? I like the overall feel of the podcast. It seems like it is something great to listen to in the background when I work as opposed to other podcasts. I think that this is because of the tone of both speakers and how lighthearted everything is.

What are the weaknesses of this podcast? I really thought that the music in the background was too annoying, especially because it loops every 4 seconds. It was hard to focus on the audio after a certain point. Every audio track I listened to was the same. I didn't like the little intro but that is more personal.

Give 3 suggestions for improving this podcast.

1. I personally don't think that you need music playing throughout the entire podcast. It's a choice that's up to the creators, but the content can stand up by itself it.
2. I really hate the intros/transitions to the same degree. If you need to repeat the name of the podcast, you can just have the speakers do that and they can transition the subject as well (I couldn't tell if they took a break during the transitions though) It's a choice that's up to the creators in the end.
3. Maybe add another person?

How professional does this podcast sound?

1. Audio quality was good in comparison to some professional podcasts that I listen to. Everything they said was clear, no distortion, and no background noise. There was some distortion and a lot of background noise when a guest starts talking though (like at ~6:00? and ~17:30)
2. In regards to the content, it felt really pretty causal which I liked. It was a bit more formal than 2 dudes running into each other and talking. I think that is fine for this kind of podcast though.

Would you recommend this podcast to a friend? Why or why not?

Probably not, but it's a toss up. Its strongest point is that it's a local podcast, which isn't something that I or my friends normally seek out. It is something nice to listen to the background though, so I would recommend it they wanted to have something but didn't care about its content."

Review #3:

"What do you like about this podcast? There is a good chemistry between the hosts. I ended up listening to about 20 minutes of it.

What are the weaknesses of this podcast? The beginning sounded a little scattered and was a bit all over the place. When the hosts are talking about concerts coming up, they just read from a list and go on and on for a long time.

I understand they were speaking to someone who worked for the museum but it was a bit problematic having a white person explaining a latino holiday. Then to compound that the hosts started talking about making alters themselves and as fair as I know, they are not latino. That's cultural appropriation.

Give 3 suggestions for improving this podcast. Tighten it up. Make the list of events shorter or break it up somehow. Interviewing more people involved in the art and music scene would be interesting. Consider having a woman join or guest co-host so it is more well rounded and representative.

How professional does this podcast sound? The podcast sounded very professional. As good as the ones my local news station puts out.

Would you recommend this podcast to a friend? Why or why not? I think I would as it sounds like a good show for people in the Detroit area but I would tell them the show is still a bit rough around the edges."

In the end, we listened to some of this feedback while ignoring other pieces of advice. However, it definitely called our attention to details of the podcast that we might not have noticed otherwise. What you do with the Mechanical Turk feedback is up to you, but it's definitely helpful to see what insights other people may have.

LISTEN: Hear the latest episode of The D Brief podcast.

More Glimpses Behind the Scenes:

1. How to Get Actionable Feedback on Your Podcast
2. Why You Should Create a Teaser Before You Launch Your Podcast
3. Creating Benchmark Features for Your Podcast
4. Every Good Podcast Needs a Central Narrative
5. Why Podcast Co-Hosts Need to Know Their Roles