First off, thank you to everyone who sent their well wishes for my surgery and recovery! It’s going GREAT and I’m feeling EVEN BETTER than I did on some of my worst Adenomyosis flare days 🙂 It meant so much to hear from many of you and really speaks to how supportive the Indie Podcasting space is.
Speaking of which, can I tell you a secret?
One of the first steps I tell new podcasters when they ask “How do I get started?” is to come up with a list of episodes/topics/guests to interview. If they’re unable to do that, there’s a good chance they’ll run out of steam quickly and Podfade— when someone starts a podcast and abandons it for one reason or another (most commonly, it’s because people tend to underestimate the time, money, energy, inspiration, etc. it takes to podcast longterm).
This is fairly common starting advice from podcast mentors, coaches, and consultants.
But what I’ve started including in my recommendations for new podcasters is to not only think about what they want to share with the world, but also what they don’t want to share or do when it comes to their podcast.
Back when I started podcasting in 2015 and I told people, I was typically met with, “What’s a podcast?”
Fast forward to today and I don’t get that as much.
In fact, I think the more common reaction when I tell folks I work as a podcast editor and consultant is, “Oh! I’ve had an idea for a podcast myself!”
And some have even purchased the equipment, bought the courses, or went to the conferences to learn, but somehow can’t get past that planning stage to press that big scary RECORD button.
Sometimes I’ll have someone book a call with me and they’ll tell me everything they’ve done so far, and then wait expectantly as if I have to give them the “go-ahead” to officially start.
Here’s a secret, future podcaster …
About 11 years ago, I found my first podcasts and I fell in love. I've talked about the story before so I won't go too deep into it, but the short version is when I was moving out during my divorce, and I didn't have cable set up in my new apartment, but I had internet so when it came to entertainment while I was unpacking, I didn't have much else but my phone.
So I opened the newish purple app called iTunes (now Apple Podcasts) and began exploring what was available. I had a friend who listened to podcasts and I thought it was cool that there were these great audio shows available for free, so I tried it out.
Of course, I wasn’t going to leave you hanging or make you wait for the rest of Lynn’s advice 😉 If you haven’t read Part 1 yet where she gives you the first 5 steps to turn all that content from your podcast into a book, you can read that here.
Post below from Lynn "Elikqitie" Smargis from Write For You:
I’ve noticed a trend recently on the consulting calls I’ve been doing where podcasters who are past the beginning stages of starting a podcast have now hit their strides and then question, “Now what?”
The answer I generally give is in the form of another question or two, “Well, what is it you want to do with your podcast? What did you want when you started it and is that goal the same?”
Do you have a podcast workflow? Maybe you do and don’t even realize it.
A podcast workflow is the order in which you put together a podcast episode from start to finish. It’s something new podcasters seem to overlook, whereas many seasoned podcasters go into their podcasting workflow without even realizing they do it, but would be lost without it.
The beginning of the year is a great time to reintroduce your podcast audience to you, your business, and your show. Sometimes podcasters like to add a quick housekeeping segment to the beginning of their podcast as a way to introduce new listeners to information about your show and extras you may offer, like links in show notes, additional information on your website, or how to work with you/your business.
This is also a great way to remind longtime listeners of all these things, especially those who’ve been loving your podcast content and can’t wait to see what else you have to offer.
Lots of podcasters love Instagram because it adds a visual element to their podcast, plus it gives them an opportunity to connect with their listeners outside of the show. Instagram is also a great platform to get discovered organically, especially if you’re using hashtags related to your show and the topics you cover.
But many folks struggle when it comes to engaging their audience. I’ve seen numerous podcasters sign up for a social media account for their podcast, but all they do is promote new episodes. It doesn’t really give the audience much to interact with, and if you’re familiar with how algorithms work, you already know that engagement on a post can lead to Instagram pushing your post in front of more people, leading to more engagement and more views, etc.
Thinking of starting a podcast in 2022? Here are 3 things I tell new podcasters to consider before pressing that record button:
So many podcasters think podcasting works like this: they get a mic and start talking about everything and anything, and boom! Ka-ching 🤑🤑🤑
Here's the reality: 50% of podcasts stop producing by episode 7. (This is called Podfade 😉) Why? Because they didn't plan topics and ran out of things to talk about. Or they failed to realize how much time and effort it takes to podcast and it's not just about getting on the mic and talking, and they give up.