Happy new year! As we start 2023 we fancied a bit of reflection. 2022 was a massive year for us and we wanted to share with you our 2022 highlights!

⭐ Grab The MIC

We started Grab The MIC: Live, to shout about all of the brilliant and diverse podcasts out there being produced by not-for-profits

We want to inspire more third-sector organisations to harness the power of podcasts!

Grab The MIC: Live is a series of live conversations with not-for-profit podcasters. It’s all about how they make their podcasters, their impact and how they’ve overcome any challenges.

We’ve spoken to the likes of the Legacy Fundraising Chat podcast, The Log Books podcast by the Switchboard charity, Manc Spirit Charity, Children’s University Trust and Made by Mortals.

👀To watch the series to date, head over to our YouTube channel ⬇️

⭐ MIC’s Podcast Club

MIC’s Podcast Club, the community for podcasters that helps each other make brilliant podcasts, hit some ace milestones this year.

– we hit 1,000 global members
– celebrated our 4th birthday
– delivered 15 events – taking us up to 47 in-person and online helpful meetups for podcasters!

We already have our next virtual meetup live and ready to RSVP to and also our next in-person meetup in March 2023.

To join and attend the ace community simply head over to our meetup page www.meetup.com/micpod

We’ve got more exciting things planned for 2023 too – all simply with the aim of helping folk make great podcasts.

Thank-you to everyone who’s been a MIC’s Podcast Club superstar this year!

⭐ Audio Production Award – Silver winner!

In November, our year started to round up in the best way possible by bagging a Silver place at the audio industry’s Audio Production Awards.

We’re still buzzing our little socks off to receive this recognition in the Grassroots category and to receive this industry kudos.

Thank-you to AudioUK, the APA judging panel and all of the nominees and winners.

We wanged on more about our win here.

Learn more about our podcast production services here.

⭐ Podcasting workshops

This year we loved teaching 100’s of people how to podcast, from getting started and interview techniques to editing and ideas development.

We passed on our podcasting skills and knowledge to start-ups, school kids, academics, comms teams, community groups, young community producers, female VCSE leaders and many more!

Our Vic was also made Podcast Expert in Residence at Greater Manchester’s BIPC centre – where we continue to deliver our roster of podcasting workshops.

We’re so looking forward to helping more people start, develop and sustain their podcasts through our podcasting workshops in 2023!

More about our podcast training here.

⭐ Manchester Culture Awards

We were so chuffed to be able to fly the flag for podcasting at this year’s Manchester Culture Awards. We were nominated in the Developing Talent and Leadership category.

We didn’t win on the night, but as always, with any recognition of this kind, it’s just so amazing to be recognised isn’t it?

Especially in the city where MIC was born 😊

A big well done to all the winners of this year’s awards. 🤜🤛

⭐ Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise

This year our Vic was included in the WISE 100 List!

It’s Pioneers Post & Natwest’s selection of the Top 100 women in social enterprise.

Such a brilliant recognition of our work in the sector and Vic’s in some absolutely stellar company.

Here’s the full list of awesomeness ⬇️

⭐ Media recognition as a podcast expert

In September we were featured as a podcast expert in an article in The Guardian about ‘How To Start Your Own Podcast’.

We were chuffed to bits that nuggets of our advice featured heavily in the piece.

We’re especially proud that they kept our ‘we got our first microphone at cash convertors’ quote in there. We’re absolute bargain queens.

📰 You can read the full, online article here ⬇️

In October we then featured on the Third Sector Podcast to chat about how charities can reap the benefits of podcasting.

🎧 Listen to the podcast episode here

We were also delighted to be invited to be a judge for the International Women’s Podcast Awards, the British Podcast Awards and the MPA awards.

⭐ GM Moving

This year we hooked up with Greater Sport’s GM Moving initiative – it’s Greater Manchester’s movement for movement.

We produced series 2 of their podcast – which took you on a tour of Greater Manchester. We spoke with the people and partners who are working on the ground to increase activity levels in that area.

It’s a real insight into the work that’s going on in GM and a source of huge inspiration for wider partners across the UK who are looking to do the same.

We love an opportunity to learn new things as well, and boy did we through this project! It was fascinating to learn the ins and outs of this important work and mostly the local, place-based barriers that people face to move more.

🎧 Listen to the podcast here

⭐ Quite Unsuitable for Females

To coincide with the women’s euros, we worked with the National Football Museum and a team of their awesome community producers to create a podcast about their experiences of women’s football.

‘Quite Unsuitable for Females’ explores women’s football past, present and future. From iconic stars of the 1920’s, the FA ban, kit, representation and those huge crowds the women’s game attracts.

The podcast went down a storm, it was #1 on Apple podcasts new and noteworthy and received coverage on BBC R4, The Guardian, The Times, Podbible and Great British Podcasts!

You don’t need to be a footy fan to thoroughly enjoy this one.

A big shout out to Rosy, Uma, Debs and Meg for being production superstars,

🎧 Listen here

⭐ Stories of Strength

We worked with Action Together for a truly collaborative podcast.

We trained members of their Rochdale Women’s Services network to help them to create a podcast that featured real stories from the women who use their services.

The resulting series is a collection of inspiring stories told by women from across Rochdale. We launched the podcast on International Women’s Day and in December 2022 they released their 22nd episode!

The stories are honest accounts of overcoming adversity including tales about friendship, loss, abuse, relationships, illness and migration.

🎧 Listen here

⭐That Inspire Feeling

This year we had a ball work working with the awesome ladies at Inspire Oldham.

As part of a media project with pals Yellow Jigsaw, we guided the group to create their own podcast to support other women who are experiencing the same ups and downs as the group have.

The whole project, from the training to the podcast recording sessions was all completed online!

This was no easy feat, as most of the team had never heard of a podcast before, let alone made one.

The resulting 5-part series explores how crafting, gardening and holistics have played a huge part in bettering the lives of the women from Inspire. Each episode is full of stories, advice and experience sharing – with a good smattering of northern humour.

🎧 Listen to the podcast here

Thanks to everyone who’s made our 2022 proper top.

Here’s to more podcast fun in 2023!