How To Help How Not To Sail


THANK YOU for lending a hand, matey!

You can browse through here, or skip to the area that suits you best. (Um, as soon as I put the links in here. Currently working on the podcast!)

Join the Patreon Crew

Patreon is a way for podcasters like me to connect with listeners, share directly with members, and…earn some ducats to help with all those boat repairs and maintenance!

I share exclusive content on Patreon, plus there are perks like members-only meetups and occasional free swag. (How are those pint glasses working out, Annapolis meetup attendees?) I think most of the How Not To Sail Patreon Crew just want to support How Not To Sail, though…

Becoming a patron is super easy:

  • Click the link below to go to Patreon.com/HowNotToSail.
  • Choose a monthly level of support that works for you. (Starting at $3.)
  • Follow the instructions.

We love our Patreon Crew…!!!

Join the How Not To Sail Patron Crew!

Subscribe on Your Favorite Device

Here’s a good way to help for free. (And, um, also…you could tell a friend!)

I created this easy Subscribe button, which will take you to a links page to subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora…you name it.

Subscribing helps make sure each episode is delivered to you. Which helps the download count. Which helps boost How Not To Sail. Thank you!

(If you’re a little nerdier and on an Android device…I actually use the AntennaPod app to listen to podcasts on my Android (GrapheneOS) Device. It’s free, open source, and privacy-friendly. Download using F-Droid if you’re an extreme privacy enthusiast.)

Subscribe FREE and never miss an episode!
(Works simply on whatever device you’re reading this on.)

Leave a Nice 5-Star Review

This is HUGE. Our visibility in Apple Podcasts and the other places is VERY much affected by the number of reviews, how recent they are, and how highly the podcast is rated.

So your reviews are critical.

If you’re subscribed to How Not To Sail on a device, you should see in the app’s page for How Not To Sail an place to rate and/or review the show. (On Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes), scroll down toward the bottom of the podcast page and you should see the reviews.)

If you’ve enjoyed How Not To Sail and feel like leaving a nice 5-star review, I would not be mad at that at all! If you have any trouble finding the rate/review section on your podcast app, let me know and I’ll be gald to help.

Call or Email the Show

Call and leave a voice mail at this number… (I’m guessing you can just add the US country code if calling from outside the US. I don’t often have to do that!)

…or email me!

I love to hear from you—whether it’s good, bad or indifferent…and other #HowNotToSailers would probably like to hear your questions, comments, and ideas as well.

Thanks so much for keeping the How Not To Sail community lively…I can’t do it without you!

Vote Us Up on Goodpods, World Podcast Network, etc.

Your votes and reviews help more folks find How Not To Sail.

Goodpods

So, as of this writing, we’re #4 on Goodpods in the Sailing category, and apparently #1 in the Boating category. (Which seems weird, since I’d think that “boating” would be a larger group than “sailing.”)

But irregardless, as my friend Bill would say, I could use your help in getting to #1 in both categories…and staying there!

Just click on the badge, and look in the right sidebar (or maybe scroll down if you’re on a mobile device) and look for the Comments section to leave a nice 5-star review.

To do this, you have to create a free Goodpods account. (You’ll see the prompts.) I would do it that way instead of downloading the *(!&%^#@$^!! app.

World Podcast Network

This is an interesting one. We’ve been bounding around the World Podcast Network Leaderboard anywhere between #45 and #241, from what I’ve seen.

Just visit the show page on World Podcast Network, and any episodes that have a lavender-colored link, you can “vote up.”

In fact, you can apparently vote on any episode once a day…so give it a whirl, eh? I’m not sure you have to listen to any of the episodes listed there in order for your votes to be validated…but if you feel like listening to one of the episodes while you’re there, well good on ya, mate!

 

Shop the How Not To Sail Store

So, if you buy anything from the How Not To Sail Store (well, except for the t-shirts and stuff), the links will take you to Amazon, and Amazon will send my a little money if you end up buying something.

Just a little note, though… Even if you click on one of the affiliate links and go to Amazon and don’t even buy the thing you were clicking on…I *still* get a small commision if you end up buying something else on Amazon.

So I’m not suggesting that the next time you need to buy a washer and dryer on Amazon, you should just drop by the HNTS Store and click on a link for a microphone or something to take you to Amazon and give HNTS a little commission for your washer and dryer purchase… I’m not suggesting that at all. What you do is up to you. 🙂

(And just another note: the commission Amazon pays its affiliates (like me) is not added to the price of your purchase. Amazon pays affiliates out of their end of the deal. So it’s a win/win/win, as the kids like to say.)

Tell a Friend!

(No, I’m not saying you should deface any urinals… In fact, please don’t do that. But you can drag all your friends, kicking and screaming, to HowNotToSail.com …!)

Share How Not To Sail on Social Media

I should have put this one higher, maybe.

It’s SUPER helpful if you can share the latest episode or blog post on your Facebook wall, Twitter feed, or what have you.

How To…

If you just copy the web address of the episode or page you wanna share (these typically look like https://www.hownottosail.com/2024/02/02/ep-53-your-questions-and-an-audiobook-giveaway/) and paste it into the Facebook or Twitter space where you write stuff…it should create a nice image link and you can add your comments before posting.

An example of pasting the URL (web address) of the How Not To Sail post into Facebook, which makes a nice little photo link.

Posting to Facebook Groups

I would even encourage you to post to Facebook sailing and crusing groups, but PLEASE observe these guidelines so you don’t end up souring that Facebook group on How Not To Sail.

  • Only do this if you are an active contributor to that group
  • Be sure that someone else hasn’t posted How Not To Sail stuff in that group recently
  • Always respect the rules of the group. Some groups have specific days where you can post certain kinds of things, some prohibit links to podcasts or YouTube…you get the picture.

But you don’t have to post to groups…

If all that stuff about Facebook groups sounds a little daunting, not to worry…! You can make as much impact just posting to your own Facebook feed (or “wall,” I guess they still call it.)

Heck, you could share each new episode or post from HowNotToSail.com to your Facebook feed, to make sure all your friends are in the know…and I wouldn’t mind that at all!

A Handy Link To Share

This is very cool. Just copy the link below and paste it into a Facebook or Twitter post, and it will show up as a slick-looking graphic, which when clicked will take the viewer to the most convenient way to listen to the podcast, no matter what kinda gadget they’re on!

How To:

  • highlight the below link and
  • hit ⌘ + C (hold the ⌘ key down while pressing the letter “C”) to copy on Mac (Ctrl + C on Windows),
  • then ⌘ + V to paste (Ctrl + V on Windows) to paste it into your post:

https://link.chtbl.com/HNTS2

Two Important Final Words

THANK YOU!!!!!!