5 Things I have learned in the first year of podcasting.
Nov 20, 2019
Podcasting. It's the new radio.
More and more entrepenuers are flocking to podcasting(myself included.) Why? Becuase it is a fantastic tool to help you engage with your audience, grow your business, and allow your personality to come through so YOUR audience gets to know YOU, and not just the services and products you sell.
For me, I toyed around with the idea of podcasting for a full year before I finally bit the bullet and started the processing of starting my own podcast. To be honest, I wish I had done this sooner.
Starting my podcast and being able to connect with like minded people whether it be via my listeners or my guests, has been such an amazing experience. Since starting my podcast last year, there has been a couple of things I have learned that I want to share with you about my podcasting journey.
Whether you already have a podcast, or are thinking about starting one - this blog post is for you.
1) YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY A $80-100 COURSE ON HOW TO PODCAST
It burns my ass seeing business owners selling "how to podcast" courses for anything over $20! There is no need. I can't tell you how many times I was sent to someones "podcast course" with a price tag that was outrageous.
Here is the honest truth - Setting a podcast show is easier than you think. Yes, there are steps involved in the process but there are tons of recourses online that will help you in the process. I found a course on UDemy for $11.99 and it gave me all the information I needed to get my show off the ground. You can check it out here. The price of the course might be a little more or less but it is always around $10-20 and well worth the investment.
2) STOP LETTING YOUR EGO FEED YOU LIES
You might have experienced that nasty little voice inside your head telling you that "nobody wants to listen to what you have to say." or that "you don't have what it takes to have people listen to you." And girlfriend, all that negative information is WRONG. If you weren't meant to spread awareness and shine your light, you wouldn't have the idea of starting a podcast in the first place!
Put these stories to the side and remember, that someone out there needs to hear YOUR story, YOUR point of view, YOUR voice.
3) SET A SCHEDULE
Life gets crazy. Schedule get packed. The ONE thing I can tell you about podcasting is that consistency is key. You want your listeners and subscribers to look forward to your episodes. Setting a time and day each week (or every other week or every month.. however many times you want to publish an episode..) will help you establish a routine and a good reputation among your listeners.
4) DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE NUMBER OF DOWNLOADS
Your monthly downloads are going to fluctuate. Some months will be great and other months will be low. When podcasting, you have to remember that all of your episodes are permanently out there for the world to see so people will go back and listen to old episodes, or binge listen on a long car ride. That's why the number of downloads don't matter. Just be consistent. Let the universe work its magic and get it to the ears that need to listen to it.
5) USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO MARKET YOUR PODCAST
I'm sure this isn't news to you - but social media is a great way to grow and expand your podcast reach. Using things like Instagram stories with snippets of episodes helps engage your following to want to check out your show. Also, letting your email list know about new episodes!
Check out headliner to repurpose your podcast episodes!