2021 Flyover Podcast Festival pivots to go virtual and free

BLOOMINGTON — Today The Mill announced that the third annual Flyover Podcast Festival will be held virtually on August 20 and that for the first time ever, admission would be free. Flyover Podcast Festival attracts podcasters from across the Midwest to learn, connect, and celebrate the art and business of podcasting.

Melissa Wade

“We worked with podcasting expert Adam Schaeuble of Podcasting Business School to design this year’s event,” said Melissa Ward, Head of Initiatives and Partnerships for The Mill. “Adam has been a hugely popular speaker at past Flyovers. He knows exactly what challenges podcasters face. He’s successfully grown a huge audience for his own podcasts and figured out how to monetize them. Most of all, he just really loves podcasting and brings so much energy and fun to share what he’s learned with others.”

This year’s festival is sponsored by Podcasting Business School and WFHB. It was originally planned to take place in person over two days, Ward said, but feedback from podcasting fans led The Mill to pivot back to the virtual format used in 2020.

“Flyover has some very loyal fans, and we decided that right now what’s most important is that we keep connecting and sharing great information,” Wade added. “Going online makes it easier for everyone to attend, and we have such great speakers lined up this year that we wanted to open up the event to the public.”

Ward credits Schaeuble with securing expert speakers with top-ranked podcasts. Allison Melody’s “Food Heals” podcast has been hailed as the “Sex and the City for Food.”

Adam Schaeuble

“Allison is the go-to person in podcasting when it comes to teaching podcasters how to set their show up for success with sponsorships,” said Schaeuble. “I’ve sat in on a few of her workshops, and they are amazing. She can teach any podcaster what they need to know to get connected with great sponsors and build relationships.” 

Other speakers include Karl Sona, co-founder of Streamlined Podcasts, who will speak on podcasting technology to improve audio quality, and Laura Michelle Powers, who has a top 100 podcast on Apple Podcasts and was recently interviewed by Will Ferrell on his podcast, “The Ron Burgundy Podcast.”

“All of our guest speakers are seasoned interviewers,” said Schaeuble, “but Jerome Myers takes things to a whole different level. I’ve been on his show ‘DreamCatchers,’ and he curated one of the best conversations I’ve ever had as a guest on a podcast. He’s going to teach us how to become an elite interviewer and create a unique experience for our podcast listeners.”

The Mill launched Flyover Podcast Festival in 2019 to support the booming use of podcasting among entrepreneurs, startups, and hobbyists. The Mill has its own professional-grade podcasting studio, sponsored by Shine Insurance, whose owner Jeremy Goodrich is also a passionate podcaster and shared his insights at the 2019 and 2020 festivals. Over a dozen member podcasts have been recorded there, including The Mill’s own podcast for startups, “Like a Glove,” featuring interviews with successful entrepreneurs about how they found product-market fit.

Tickets are available on Eventbrite and are free. See the complete schedule, speaker bios, and venue information at https://flyoverpodcastfestival.com/

About The Mill

The Mill is the heart of southern Indiana’s startup ecosystem and its largest coworking space. A 501(c)3 nonprofit, its mission is to spark Bloomington’s innovation economy by launching and accelerating startups, and its vision is to become Indiana’s center of gravity for entrepreneurship. For more information, visit https://www.dimensionmill.org/