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TL;DR

In this edition, I share how I managed, in two weeks, to secure 50% more podcast appearances than during a whole year.

Today's Mac app pick will help you quickly capture your screen into an animated GIF.

What's up?

The Fastest Way to Be a Guest on Podcasts

What is the best way to increase the audience of one’s podcast?

Well, let’s look at this from another perspective.

How did you discover most of the podcasts you’ve subscribed to?

I bet that:

• either their names were mentioned in an episode of another podcast
• or the host was interviewed in a show you were already subscribed to.

From my side, that’s exactly how I’ve discovered most of the podcasts I ended up subscribing to.

This is why, in 2025, I’ve decided to ramp up my guest podcasting game with the stretch goal of 50 appearances for the whole year.

The next question is: How am I going to achieve that?

Well, for the past 6 months, I've been consistently finding and booking high quality guests for Macpreneur through Podmatch (affiliate link).

So, at the beginning of January, I’ve increased my subscription to be listed as a potential guest as well.

And guess how many podcast appearances I’ve already been able to secure?

Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, but 6 appearances, in less than 2 weeks.

It’s 50% more that all my appearances between July 2023 and July 2024.

And the best part: 3 of those episodes have already been recorded and published!

Now, whether you have a podcast or not, I strongly believe that Podmatch is the best way to spread the word about you and your solopreneur business.

Why?

Because as the name implies, it is powered by a well tuned matching algorithm that constantly runs in the background.

The matching is based on the content of your guest profile, including the keywords that are most important to you.

And this algorithm works both ways:

1. You constantly get notified about shows whose profiles you can review and apply to if you see a potential fit
2. Your profile gets automatically suggested to podcast hosts who may then contact you after deciding that you are a good fit

Here's my guest profile, for instance:

By providing as much relevant information about you as possible, you make the job of potential podcast hosts super easy!

And the opposite is true too.

Deciding whether a show would be a good fit is very easy, since most of them provide information about their audience and how long the recording takes, among other things.

Here's an example for the KAJ Masterclass Live I guested on:

All the conversations between hosts and guests are centralised in the web app.

And on the right side of each conversation, you can quickly see where you are in the whole process.

You’ll quickly know if the host requires a pre-interview and in that case, you’ll simply need to click on a button to book it.

After being approved, another button will appear allowing you to book the actual interview.

Once that is done, the host has the possibility to share the recording link on that panel too.

After recording the episode, both you and the host will mark this process as “Complete” and you’ll immediately be prompted to review the host.

The last step is done by the host by providing a link to the episode.

If you're frustrated trying to be featured on other people's podcasts using traditional means, like online communities or word of mouth, you ought to give Podmatch a try.

For that, either visit https://www.joinpodmatch.com/macpreneur or click on the image below and I guarantee you that you'll book your next interview in no time.

Mac App Pick

With the built-in screen capture tools from macOS, it’s very easy to create either a static image or record a video.

The default keyboard shortcut is Command-Shift-5 (⌘⇧5) and you’ll get a floating panel like this one:

The first three buttons allow to create images of either the whole screen, an application window or a rectangular selection.

The fourth and fifth one allow to create a movie recording of either an application window or a rectangular selection.

Clicking on the "Options" menu gives you the following:

• Save Location: Choose a preset folder under "Save to" or select "Other Location" to pick one manually.
• Set a Timer: Under "Timer", set a delay before the screenshot or recording starts.
• Microphone for Screen Recording: Under "Microphone", pick a mic to record audio or select "None" for no sound.
• Floating Thumbnail: Appears in the bottom-right corner after capture, letting you edit, drag, or share before saving. Enable/disable it under "Options" > "Show Floating Thumbnail".
• Remember Last Selection: Saves your previous screen capture area for next time. Toggle it under "Options" > "Remember Last Selection".
• Show Mouse Pointer: Include or hide the pointer in screenshots under "Options" > "Show Mouse Pointer".

That's well and good.

Unfortunately macOS doesn't offer a native way to create animated GIF versions of screen recordings, like the two I included above.

It’s possible to use the Shortcuts app to convert a video into an animated GIF.

However, this method takes multiple steps and you still end up with 2 files: the original screen recording and the animated GIF.

There's an app to prevent that and it's called "CleanShot X".

It is the best screen capture tool for Mac, period!

So, yes, you can record your screen and turn it into an animated GIF in one go.

But it does much much more than that.

You can blur part of the screenshot, right after taking it, which isn't possible with the built-in macOS screen capture tool.

You can hide the desktop icons, directly upload the screenshot or screen recording to the cloud to share it in seconds.

This app is available from the developer's website (one-time purchase and subscription):

• The one-time purchase only gives you 1 year of free updates and 1 GB of cloud storage.
• The subscription offers unlimited software updates and cloud storage, as well as custom domain and branding for sharing.

It is also part of Setapp, with the same features as the subscription version, except for the cloud storage which is capped at 10 GB.

In case you don't know, Setapp offers a collection of 240+ trustworthy paid apps under one subscription.

It takes away the pain of looking up, comparing, buying, and managing separate apps.

If you're tired of that too, then you ought to give Setapp a try.

They offer 3 plans, each allowing you to install applications on a different number of devices:

• 1 Mac for $9.99/month
• 1 Mac and 4 iOS devices for $12.99/month
• 4 Macs and 4 iOS devices for $14.99/month

I've chosen the latter to be able to install apps on my iMac, Macbook Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPad Air 4.

Normally, you can try Setapp only for 7 days, but I made a deal with them so that you can test it free for a full 30 days, using my affiliate link.

After clicking on this button:

1. you'll access a page where the 'macpreneur' promo code will be pre-populated
2. you'll just need to click on the 'Continue' button
3. you'll have three signup options:
   1. your Apple ID or
   2. your Google account or
   3. your name, email address and the password of your choice

After that, simply download the Setapp app on your Mac and start exploring the various apps available in its catalog, including In Your Face of course 🙂

Latest Macpreneur episodes

Episode 126 Discover how Squarespace expert Wayne Pelletier harness the power of Apple's ecosystem to run his solopreneur business. Video & show notes

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Missed the previous Digest?

Consistency Formula, Elgato Key Light Mini and more...

Cheers,

Damien

PS: Not sure where to start streamlining your solopreneur business? My 360° Tech diagnostic will give you the clarity you deserve. Learn more by visiting https://macpreneur.com/diagnostic