Latest / The Daily Writer / 20 Podcasting Lessons from 200 Episodes

Transcript

20 Podcasting Lessons from 200 Episodes · The Daily Writer

0:01
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever thought about starting a podcast?
0:03
SPEAKER_00: If so, you'll enjoy this episode where I share 20 important lessons I've learned from 200 episodes of podcasting.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Hey, thanks so much for joining me on this episode of the Smart Business Writing Podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: My name is Kent Sanders, and I'm a ghostwriter and professor of communications.
0:20
SPEAKER_00: This is the show that helps you write amazing content so you can save time, stand out from the competition, and get more leads that turn into customers or clients.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: Well, my friend, this is a very special episode of this show because it's episode 200.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: This is kind of a milestone for me, so I thought it would be fun to stop and reflect on some things that I have learned about podcasting over the last few years.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: So if you've ever thought about doing a podcast, I hope that my reflections and my lessons that I'm going to share here, I hope that those encourage you to consider starting your own show.
0:54
SPEAKER_00: And if you already have a podcast and you enjoy doing that, I hope that this encourages you to keep going because what you're doing is really important work.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Well, before I get into some specific lessons, let me give you a little background on my podcasting journey.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Back in 2014 or so, I started a show called The Artist Suitcase, which was a podcast about creativity.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: It was also the title of a book that I released around that same time.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: So that podcast was really all about exploring the themes that I had in my book.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: I did some solo episodes, I think, but mostly it was interview episodes.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: However, I only did 37 episodes of the Artist Suitcase podcast because honestly, I just lost steam.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: I didn't have a clear purpose for the show, I didn't have a clear end goal.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: I didn't have very many listeners, to be honest with you.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: And overall, I just didn't know what I was doing.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: And because I didn't have a clear goal for the show, and I didn't really know what I was doing, um, therefore I didn't have very many listeners.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: I didn't promote it very much, and it just really didn't go anywhere.
1:57
SPEAKER_00: Now, on the flip side, I will say that I definitely learned a lot about podcasting, and in my defense, I think that I had a pretty good I think that I produced the show pretty well.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: It sounded good.
2:08
SPEAKER_00: I learned a ton in the process.
2:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think I did a decent job with interviews, but ultimately I just got discouraged and I ran out of steam.
2:16
SPEAKER_00: So I set it aside for a couple years, and then in 2017, I decided to pick up the podcasting mic again, and I started a show that was called Born to Create, which was on the same theme of creativity.
2:28
SPEAKER_00: I did 50 episodes of the Born to Create show, and then you know, you can see a pattern developing here.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: Again, I didn't have a clear goal for the show, so I just got kind of burned out and I didn't do any episodes for a long time.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: I think it was like eight months or maybe even a year before I started doing episodes again.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: So in 2018, the next year, I picked up it, I picked it up back again, and I stuck with it this time.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: I just decided that I was going to figure out this podcasting thing, and I was going to make this a viable part of my business, whatever that looked like.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: So I kept doing solo episodes, I kept doing interviews, and I just decided I was going to stick with it.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: And last year I changed, I decided to change this show to smart business writing because I wanted it to be more in line with what I was doing with ghostwriting, and I felt like smart business writing was a more focused show, which I do think it has been a way more focused show, although we still talk about creativity a lot.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: Now the decision that I faced when I switched the podcast to smart business writing was that I had to figure out do I start a new podcast or do I just change the change the the theme or the topic of the show a bit, um, but still keep all those episodes in the same podcast feed and just basically change the title.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: So what I decided to do is just keep all those born to create episodes in the feed and to change the title and change the focus and the topic of the show.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: So that brings me to the 200 episodes that I'm mentioning here.
3:58
SPEAKER_00: This includes all the past Born to Create episodes.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: It does not include the artist suitcase episodes because those are actually not even on iTunes anymore.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: I just basically killed that show and uh maybe I'll resurrect in one of those old episodes, sometimes just for kicks, just to see what I sounded like.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Now, one thing that I have not mentioned here, so I've got 200 episodes of my own show.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: Actually, more than that, but we're just counting this particular show as 200 episodes.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: But one thing I did not mention is that over the last several years, I've written podcast show notes for several clients, which totals something around 800 episodes.
4:34
SPEAKER_00: Now, again, that's divided among several clients.
4:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I've got one client that I did, gosh, probably 300 episodes for.
4:41
SPEAKER_00: Another client I did about 150, another client I think I did a couple hundred episodes or something, maybe a hundred, two hundred.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: And then there was two or three other clients I did a smaller.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Oh, one client I did like 60 episodes for.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: So when I added all that up, it equaled seven or eight hundred episodes.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: So what we're talking about here is either producing or helping produce well over a thousand podcast episodes.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: So the things I'm sharing here are based on my own experience as well as being heavily involved in several other people's podcasts.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't make me an expert by any stretch.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, in fact, I tell people many times that um I can't always tell you all the things that you should do for a podcast, but I can tell you a lot of mistakes that you should avoid because whatever mistake that you can conceive of when it comes to podcasting, I've made it probably three or four times over.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: So I've learned a lot and I've learned a lot of things not to do.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm very much learning about what works and what doesn't work.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: So trust me, I don't have this all figured out, not by a long shot.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: Now, on top of that, podcasting is still a very young medium, and we're only at the beginning of seeing all the amazing things that can happen with podcasting.
5:47
SPEAKER_00: I mean, podcasting has really only been around in sort of a mainstream way since probably what, 2005, 2006, something like that.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: So this is very, very young when it comes to a particular type of a medium for broadcasting or for getting content out there.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: So podcasting is going to go through a lot of changes probably over the next decade or so.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: And it's really exciting because some people are doing some really, really cool things with podcasting.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in here.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: I want to share with you 20 podcasting lessons that I have learned from 200 episodes.
6:22
SPEAKER_00: These are in no particular order, by the way.
6:24
SPEAKER_00: These are just kind of as I thought of them.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: Number one, podcasting is the most intimate way to connect with your audience.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: When you're listening to someone and you have them in your ears, you're hearing their emotions, their tone of voice, and all the little nuances of communication that you don't get from the written word.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: So if you're a fan of a podcast and you listen to that show on a regular basis, that podcast host, or those hosts, if they have more than one host, they have a pretty big advantage over somebody who just writes.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because you have a much more intimate connection with somebody who's talking as opposed to somebody who's just writing.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: So I believe if you want to develop the most intimate connection possible with your audience, then podcasting is the perfect way to do that.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Now, somebody who's listening to this will immediately say, now, what about video?
7:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, video can be even more intimate because you're not just listening, you're also watching somebody.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: And yes, that can absolutely be true.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: However, here's my huge uh concern about video, and I'm not saying video is bad, not at all.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: The uh the issue with video is that when you make video, that's way more time-intensive, and I would argue it's way more expensive to produce well, if for no other reason than it just takes a lot more time to do well.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: People have extremely short attention spans when it comes to video.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: Like, this is why many times on Facebook you'll scroll through and you'll see these like little 30-second videos.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's a reason why commercials are only 30 seconds.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: It's because we just have very, very short attention spans.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you're watching a video, your attention has to be on that video for you to really get the biggest benefit of the biggest benefit out of it.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: You have to really not be doing anything else other than watching that video because it's gonna make you laugh or cry or make you curious or whatever they're trying to do emotionally in that video.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, now the other thing about video is that people can't drive or they can't go for a run while they're watching video, at least they're they probably shouldn't, because they're gonna get into an accident.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: When people are watching video, they are they have to be focused on that video.
8:34
SPEAKER_00: And the reason that podcasting is so awesome is because people can listen to something, they can listen to your podcast while they do other things.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: It is extremely rare that I listen to a podcast while not doing anything else.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Like 99.9% of the time, whenever I'm listening to a podcast, I'm doing one of really like three or four things.
8:55
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing the dishes, um, I'm driving, or I'm going for a walk or a run.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Those are basically the times when I listen to a podcast, one of those three things.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: There are exceptions, but generally that's the case.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, so podcasting has a huge, a huge advantage because people don't really need to just focus on the podcast.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: They can do it while they do other things, which is a huge advantage over video.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Now, also, podcasting is far cheaper to produce than video, and I and I believe far less time consuming.
9:25
SPEAKER_00: So this is no offense to video people at all.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, but to really be competitive with video, I think you've got to have a pretty high standard.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, you've got to put a lot of time and effort into your video production, to graphics, and all those kind of things.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: So this is why I do podcasting, um, also because uh I don't know if this is like appropriate to say on a podcast, but you know, I'm just kind of like a regular middle-aged guy, so there's like really nothing photogenic about me.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: So, hey, I believe in going with your strengths.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, like my hair's thinning, I need to lose, lose a few pounds.
9:58
SPEAKER_00: So I have no illusions about myself.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: I think part of growing older and part of uh maturity is realizing what your strengths are and what your strengths aren't.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: And I realize I'm not that great on video, I'm just not.
10:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I think I am way better on the mic.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: I think I have an ability to be authentic and to come across um to connect with people, um, to just make some kind of emotional connection, perhaps, through my voice.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, you'll have to be the judge of that.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
10:27
SPEAKER_00: You're the listener, you can tell me.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: But I feel way more comfortable behind the mic than I do on video.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: So this is why I'm such a huge fan of podcasting, because it's a great way if you don't, if you're not really a video person, you can do it cheap, you can do it fast, and you can develop an intimate connection with people in a way that they can experience your show while they're doing other stuff.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: So there's a ton of reasons to do podcasting.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Now, that's only one thing.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to reason number two, and I promise not all the points will be that long.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: I just got excited about that one.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: So, okay, uh, lesson number two, be as excellent as you can be with every aspect of your show.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: Now, hear me out for a second, though.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Don't get all um, you know, some people hearing this are like, oh, I've got to be like this highly produced podcast.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that the opposite of what you just said?
11:14
SPEAKER_00: Not really, because what is it that excellence really means?
11:18
SPEAKER_00: To me, excellence means doing the best with what you have.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: And I think at the minimum, there are really two things that you cannot scrimp on when it comes to a podcast.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of things you can do cheap, but do not go cheap on your artwork and do not go cheap on your microphone.
11:33
SPEAKER_00: I would recommend using Canva.com for your artwork.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: You can just download a template.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: They've got millions of things there, you know, for every conceivable graphic design need.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, if you're good with graphics, you can make your own artwork that will probably look decent.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: I made my own podcast artwork, I think it looks pretty good.
11:51
SPEAKER_00: Or better yet, pay a graphic designer a little bit of money and have a great podcast logo created for you.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: That's probably the best thing if you're not good with graphics.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Pay somebody a hundred bucks to create a good graphic, uh, some good podcast artwork for you, and that will serve you really, really well.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Now for the microphone, I recommend getting an ATR 2100 USB mic that plugs directly into your computer.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: It's great.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: Tons of podcasters use them.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: It's what I use.
12:18
SPEAKER_00: They're about 70 bucks on Amazon and they're super good quality.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: And I would highly recommend that you do not just record into your phone for a podcast because it's really, really difficult to make that sound good.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: I know some people do that, and I know that's a super common practice, but you know, I think in the end, you want to get a good microphone, spend a little bit of money on it that sounds like professional quality.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, that being said, though, I also do some post-production on my audio.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: So what you're hearing now is not just the result of the mic plugged into the computer.
12:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm running this through an app called Audacity, and I also apply like bass and treble adjustment.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I remove noise from this signal, like from the wave file.
13:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, I also apply some compression, and um many times I also adjust the volume a little bit up or down as it needs to be.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: So I do some audio sweetening after I record this to make it sound better.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: So it does involve a little bit of time, but it's way cheaper than doing video.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Um so there are a lot, again, there are a lot of things you don't have to spend money on when it comes to podcasting, but I would really strongly recommend don't go cheap on artwork and don't go cheap on your microphone.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to number three.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: Third lesson is um that being said, I'm I'm kind of contradicting myself a little bit.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: That being said, just get started with what you have and always be improving.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: A lot of people don't do a podcast because they're afraid of not being good enough.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: And I would say if that's the case with you, just make a plan and get started.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: If you have to start by recording audio into your phone, then do that.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: If you have to start with a moderately okay looking graphic for your artwork, then just do that.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: You can always go back and replace stuff or delete it or do something better if you need to.
14:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, even if you don't think something is your best when you put it out there, just get moving, put it out there, and you can always improve and get better later.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: So all things being equal, just get going and you can improve it later.
14:20
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number four episode titles are important.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: Now, there are different schools of thought on this.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: If somebody has an interview-based show, many times they'll just put the guest name in the title.
14:33
SPEAKER_00: This is common for let's say somebody like Joe Rogan.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: So whenever you see Joe Rogan's podcast, I'm not necessarily recommending it.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: I do listen to it on a semi-regular basis, but I can't necessarily recommend it because he does have a lot of profanity.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: So um, like if that's not your thing, I probably would not recommend listening to his podcast.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he does have a lot of fascinating guests, so I kind of try to tune out the profanity and uh learn some things um as it were.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: Joe Rogan has a huge podcast, so he doesn't really need any fancy titles.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: But for mere mortals like you and I, who don't have a podcast, you know, that has like tens of millions of listeners and that kind of thing, we still need to craft titles that demonstrate what the listener is going to get out of the show.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: For example, with the podcast that you're listening to right now, I rewrote the headline a couple of times and I landed on this one 20 podcasting lessons from 200 episodes.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to make sure that the title was clear and that there was a perceived benefit of listening.
15:35
SPEAKER_00: So I wanted you to see that and know that you were going to get 20 podcasting lessons out of this episode.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's a good general rule of copywriting.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: Make sure the benefit to the reader or the listener is clear.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: And if you really want to geek out on titles, you know, that's not there's a whole science devoted to headlines and titles.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: And I'm kind of fascinated by it because it involves copywriting, it involves psychology and marketing and sales.
16:02
SPEAKER_00: I would recommend checking out a headline analyzer tool that a company called CoSchedule makes available.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: You can go to co schedule.com slash headline dash analyzer.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: Check that out.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: That's actually a really fun headline analyzer tool to use.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number five, should you have episode numbers in your title?
16:24
SPEAKER_00: I think you can go either way on this.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: Now there's somewhat of a debate among podcasters as to what the format of your episode titles should be.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: I've gone back and forth over the years on whether to include a number in the episode title.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: Starting with this episode, episode 200, I've decided to take episode numbers out of the title because they add unnecessary clutter to the title, especially on podcast apps where there's limited space for the title in the first place.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: Now, the only drawback to not having episode numbers is that it's harder to reference specific episodes.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: It's very easy to reference an episode by number if you have numbers in your episode titles because the listener can find it really easy.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: They just scroll through and they find that number.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: So there are arguments either way.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: There are some big podcasters like Pat Flynn, Tim Ferris, and Joe Rogan who all use episode numbers in their titles, but other very well-known podcasters don't.
17:20
SPEAKER_00: So I would say just pick your poison and stick with it, whatever you decide to do.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number six, don't be afraid to make a pivot with your podcast.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: Now, as you can see, a lot of this episode is giving specific pieces of advice, then uh then immediately taking it back, so to speak.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh the reason is again that podcasting is still a new medium, and there are very few established rules.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: For every example of something that is quote unquote successful, you can find another example of something that is successful that's the complete opposite of that thing.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, whenever I talk about pivoting your podcast, what I mean is making some sort of fundamental change to your show.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: For example, I changed the title and the artwork of this show just last year.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Uh, that was one example of pivoting my podcast.
18:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh, for a little while on this uh version of the Smart Business Writing Podcast, I did five episodes per week and then I scaled it back to two again because five episodes just was not really sustainable.
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Most of the time, for the life of this show, I just did one episode per week.
18:26
SPEAKER_00: So don't be afraid to experiment and see what connects with listeners and to see what's doable for you as a podcast creator.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you need to make such a radical change in your show that you've got to start a whole different show.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: And I would say be very careful with this because when you do this, you're gonna have to start from scratch with a new show.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna start, you know, from episode zero or episode one, uh, but you're also going to have to start from scratch with your iTunes reviews.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: So just keep that in mind if that's important to you.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: I would say uh my my advice, honestly, when it comes to kind of choosing a topic or a theme for a show, is choose something that is specific enough to where you know you can be recognized for that topic, but also choose something that's broad enough to where you can talk about anything as it relates to that topic.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: For example, um, this topic is on business writing.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you think of smart business writing, you probably think of me because that's the title of this podcast.
19:25
SPEAKER_00: However, the cool thing is that I can talk about anything as it relates to business writing.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: If I want to talk about health, uh, not that I have any credibility with that topic necessarily.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: I probably need to spend more time on that in my own life.
19:38
SPEAKER_00: But if I want to talk about health, or if I want to talk about uh fitness or marketing or parenting or uh Christmas or holidays or college, I can figure out a way to make that fit into that box of smart business writing.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: So pick a box that's not too big, not too little, it's just right.
19:59
SPEAKER_00: In fact, you might call that the Goldilocks principle of podcasting.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: Something that's, you know, not too big, not too small, but it's just right.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: I made that up totally on the spot right now.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: I have no idea if that's helpful, but somebody should do a podcast about that.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Maybe I will.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Alright, lesson number seven, don't quit too soon.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: I have made this mistake at least a couple of times in the past.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Remember that it takes a podcast a while to get going unless you're a celebrity.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Now, if somebody like um gosh, I can't even I heard the other day some it was some celebrity who said they were going to start a podcast.
20:35
SPEAKER_00: I totally forget who it was.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: All kinds of celebrities have done that.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: Let's take Conan O'Brien, for example.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: When he started his podcast, what, a couple years ago, I mean, immediately was wildly successful because he's already famous.
20:48
SPEAKER_00: He already has a very, very large following.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, for most people, that's not going to be the case.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: It's going to take a while to get going.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: Podcasting is a long game and it's not a quick win.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Many, many other shows have grown far faster than my podcast.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think consistency and improving over time is the name of the game here.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: And this is really a big deal in the podcasting world.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: In fact, there's a term for quitting too soon, and that is called pod fade.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: And really, if you talk to any podcaster, they are probably familiar with this phenomenon that happens a lot in the podcasting world.
21:23
SPEAKER_00: What happens is people are excited, they start their podcasts, they they're excited about the newness of it, and they're telling lots of people about it.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: And they get about seven episodes into their podcast, and then the excitement of doing the show wears off, and the reality of the workload sets in.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: And this is when a lot of people give up.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: They they get discouraged by the time it takes to sit down and record the episodes, to plan them out, to edit them, to create artwork, to do all the stuff you need to do with the podcast.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: So just realize that whenever you start a podcast, it's going to be a time commitment.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: And you've got to have some realistic evidence.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Expectations for how fast it's going to grow, and you've got to have realistic expectations for the workload it's going to take to produce a quality show.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: So just if you realize that going into it, and then it's a long game, you will be totally fine.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: But I beg you, don't quit too soon because a lot of people quit way, way too early.
22:19
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number eight, interviews are great for building relationships.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: Interviews have been a key component of this podcast.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: I get to interview amazing people and learn from them.
22:30
SPEAKER_00: Better yet, many of these people become good friends, and our relationship continues after the episode.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: And those relationships can result in a lot of other new connections.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they result in getting referrals going either direction, and most of all, they enrich my life.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, interviews are so much fun.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: They do take time, they do take prep work, they take some editing of the shows, but they are so enriching, and I am so thankful that I've gotten to interview some really, really cool guests here on this show.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number nine, this is related to interviews.
23:04
SPEAKER_00: You will be surprised at who you can get as a guest for your podcast.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: I have honestly, and I'm just saying this in all complete honesty, I've been really surprised at the caliber of guests that I have been able to get on this podcast.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Just this year, I've had people like Aaron Walker, Dan and Joanne Miller, Jeff Coyne, Honor Ray Corter, Lee Cockrell, and so many other really awesome people who are at the top of their game in their field.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing about podcasting it gives you a place to have a conversation.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: So if I were to call up an influential person and say, hey, can you give me some advice about and I would just list whatever I wanted some advice about.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: Or hey, can you chit-chat for 30 minutes and just shoot the breeze?
23:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh they'd probably not agree to do that because they're busy.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: But because I have a podcast and I have a platform, I can invite them for an interview and then I get to benefit from their wisdom.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: I can ask them whatever I want to ask them.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: And then what's even more cool is I can share that with other people.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: So my audience wins, they win, their audience wins, and we all win together.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: It's just such a cool thing.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: Now you might be wondering how is it that you connect with influential people and you get them to come on your show?
24:16
SPEAKER_00: I mean, do you just call them up or do you send them a Facebook message, or how do you do that?
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Well, there are some specific ways that I like to build relationships, and I'm not going to review all those now.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: I would encourage you to go back just a few episodes to episode 195, where I talk about networking strategies for introverts.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: And you may not consider yourself an introvert, but everything I talk about in that episode is honestly applicable to introverts and extroverts and anybody.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: So go back and listen to that episode.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: That's where I kind of share all my secrets for developing relationships with people and connecting with them.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 10, again with this theme of interviews, is be prepared when you do interviews because the guests will really appreciate it.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you interview somebody on your show as a guest, make sure you're prepared with good questions.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: I always do research on guests beforehand.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: I check out their social media.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: I read at least part of their book.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: If they have a book, or if they have more than one book, I will read at least one of them, or whatever one we're going to be talking about on that episode.
25:15
SPEAKER_00: I listen to their podcast and I get a sense of who they are and how I can position the interview to bring out their expertise.
25:22
SPEAKER_00: So this is not something that is random by any stretch.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: It's not something I wing or something I go into an interview with just wondering, well, what are we going to talk about?
25:29
SPEAKER_00: This is something I spend time preparing for every single episode without exception and without fail.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Then what I do is I craft seven, seven or eight questions ahead of time.
25:40
SPEAKER_00: I try to be very thoughtful in what I'm asking.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: I try to make sure it's something I'm interested in and something that the guests can answer or something they want to talk about.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: But also I think about you.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: I think about the listener.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Whenever I craft those questions, I try to put myself in your place and I go, what would they want to learn from this guest?
26:00
SPEAKER_00: And I try to think about all those things in crafting my questions.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: So I send those questions to the guest.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they they want to see them.
26:09
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they don't care to see them.
26:10
SPEAKER_00: They just want to go into the interview cold.
26:12
SPEAKER_00: And I'm totally cool with any way they want to do it.
26:14
SPEAKER_00: My job as the interviewer and as the host of the show is to adjust to the guest.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: I don't expect them to come on my show and adjust to me.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: I try to make the guest feel as comfortable as possible and I adjust what I'm doing to them because they're my guest.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: They've agreed to come on my show.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: The point is, do everything you can to add value to the guest and to make them feel comfortable and to help them to have a great experience on your podcast.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: If you're the host, it's your responsibility to do this.
26:41
SPEAKER_00: And it will not happen by accident.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: You have to put time and effort and thought into this.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: Be intentional and be prepared.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you do that, the guest really sees it, they acknowledge it, and they really, really appreciate it.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: And what's even better is they will be much more likely to recommend your podcast to their friends who are also looking for podcasts to come on.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: If you're sloppy and you're not prepared and the interview doesn't go well, they're probably not going to recommend you.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: But if they have a good experience, they will recommend your show to their friends, which is really, really cool.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: And that's happened to me many times before.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 11, this is a very simple thing related to interviews.
27:19
SPEAKER_00: Send guests a thank you gift after the interview.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: Now, after the interview's over, after I've hit stop on the record button, I always ask the guests for their mailing address so I can send them a handwritten card.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: Many times I also send them a little gift as well.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: Now I haven't always done this, which I regret.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening to this and you were a podcast guest before, let's say March of this year, I probably didn't do that for you and I apologize because I just wasn't thinking.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: I just wasn't thinking about it.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: It didn't occur to me to do that, to be honest with you.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but now I know better and I'm trying to be much more intentional about sending gifts and acknowledging guests just by sending at least a handwritten thank you card.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you send something in the mail to people, it makes a big impression because honestly, so few people are doing this.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it costs a little bit of money, especially if you're shipping a book.
28:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, it takes time, it takes a little bit of effort, but it's so worth it because people appreciate your thoughtfulness and they appreciate the fact that you went to the trouble of sending them something in the mail.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: In fact, I had several podcast guests over the last eight months or so who were not from the US.
28:30
SPEAKER_00: I had two who were from Canada and one from Australia.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: And whenever I I sent them a package, for each of them I sent a handwritten uh thank you card in a package that also contained a copy of my last book, The Artist Suitcase.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: And when I went to the post office, I had to fill out a custom, like a detailed customs form for each one of those packages.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, it was it was a little time consuming, but it was so worth it because those guests knew that I care about them.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: They knew that because I went to the trouble of sending them a package in a different country that that I was really genuine in my gratitude for them, and they'll remember that.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: So if you do those little bitty things, they really make a huge difference.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: Let's go to lesson number 12, which is if you only do interviews, you never get to really show your expertise.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: So obviously I'm a big fan of doing interviews on your podcast, but I want to caution you that I don't believe you should just do interviews.
29:32
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is, is because if you're only doing interviews, it always puts you in the learner seat and never in the teacher's seat.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: And this is why I do both types of episodes on my podcast.
29:43
SPEAKER_00: For example, right now I'm teaching, but I also do interviews where I'm learning.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: And both of those have their value.
29:50
SPEAKER_00: There are a lot of guests who actually, I'm sorry, a lot of podcasters who take the same approach where they have solo episodes, but they also do interviews, and I think that's a really good mix of episode types.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 12, if you only do interviews, you never get to show your expertise.
30:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, obviously, everybody is going to have their own format for their show, but I would caution you against only doing episodes where you have guest interviews.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because if you're only doing interviews, it always puts you in the learner seat and never in the teacher seat.
30:22
SPEAKER_00: And this is why I do both types of episodes.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: For example, right now I'm teaching, but I also do interviews where I'm learning, and both of those approaches have their value.
30:32
SPEAKER_00: Now I know there are some podcasters who they sort of mock people who do interview shows.
30:38
SPEAKER_00: And their argument is that interviews are a big hassle, and there's so many other podcasts that do interviews.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: And so why do we need another podcast that is just interviewing guests?
30:48
SPEAKER_00: But I think that's totally missing the point because when you do an interview, that makes a personal connection between you and the guest, and the guests can also share their knowledge and wisdom with your audience.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: And those are all great things, but I also encourage you to do solo or perhaps co-host episodes where you become the teacher.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: And if you're building a business where you're doing coaching or consulting, or you have courses, or you're wanting to show your expertise, this is really important because when you teach on your episode, whenever you're showing your authority or your expertise or your knowledge, then people get a taste of that and they will be more likely to trust you in situations where they're paying for that knowledge or wisdom, like if they're doing coaching, uh, if you're doing can if you're coaching them, if you're a consultant, if you're doing courses or or whatever it is.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 13, borrow ideas from other successful podcasts.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: There are certain shows that I really like, and I've built my format for this podcast around what they do.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: For example, the title Smart Business Writing, which of course is the title of this show, it's a direct riff on Pat Flynn's Smart Passive Income podcast title.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: And I really like his smart in his title.
32:01
SPEAKER_00: I think that's really cool.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: So that's where I got it for this show.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: And I borrowed the term business writing from Ed Gandia's podcast, High Income Business Writing.
32:10
SPEAKER_00: So whenever I was switching this show around, I think about a year ago, I was trying to figure out what the title of it would be, and those are two shows that I loved, so I just borrowed elements of those titles and uh put them together, and that's how I got my title.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: But it also goes further than that.
32:26
SPEAKER_00: As I have changed my podcast intro and my outro over the years, I studied other successful podcasts to see what they did, and I learned from what they were doing, and then I adapted it for my own show.
32:37
SPEAKER_00: The truth is that you're not going to do anything that's totally original.
32:40
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you do for a podcast, it's not gonna be completely and totally original.
32:44
SPEAKER_00: So you might as well accept the fact that everything that we do is a derivative of something else.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: So feel free to borrow ideas from other people.
32:53
SPEAKER_00: Don't steal, you know, uh don't steal their content, don't steal their ideas that you're passing off as your own.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: But you can borrow ideas and you can rework those ideas into your own ideas.
33:07
SPEAKER_00: That's what all of us do.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: Or as Austin Cleon says in his book, Steal Like an Artist, he's encouraging us to steal like an artist, which means be inspired, take inspiration, use ideas from other people, don't copy other people, but you can borrow those ideas and you can be inspired by them.
33:24
SPEAKER_00: And that's what every single podcaster does.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 14, and this is an important one, and that is count the cost before you start a podcast.
33:36
SPEAKER_00: And this is really where the rubber meets the road.
33:38
SPEAKER_00: If you do a podcast, it's important to count the cost.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: And really it's the same thing for anything worthwhile that you do.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: You've got to have a realistic idea of the time and energy it takes to create a quality podcast.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: Let me give you a breakdown of the time it takes me to put together this show each week.
33:55
SPEAKER_00: And this is not bragging by any means.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: It's, I mean, there's nothing to brag about.
33:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm just telling you, this is what's required from me to create this show.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: Your mileage may vary.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: Other people are faster or slower, but this is what I put into the show each week, just to give you one example.
34:09
SPEAKER_00: For the solo episodes, it takes me about an hour and a half to write the content, uh, including the email newsletter version, the blog post version, the show notes, and the script and all that stuff.
34:20
SPEAKER_00: For the interview episodes, I spend about an hour in prep time before the interview, uh, typically an hour for the interview, including the chit chat before and after, and then about an hour afterwards writing the intro, the takeaways, and other miscellaneous items that go along with it.
34:37
SPEAKER_00: And then whenever I do production and post-production each week for two episodes, that's about three hours worth of recording, editing, creating graphics, uploading, formatting the blog posts, the social media posts, the email newsletter, and so forth.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: So, all in all, we're talking about six to eight hours per week that's invested into this podcast.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: And that's consistent.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: That's basically every single week.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: Now, that is spread out in a few different chunks throughout the week, but that pretty much aligns with a general rule of podcasting, which says that for every hour of audio you hear, there's about four hours worth of prep and production time that goes along with that.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: And I have found that to be exactly correct in my experience.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh I would say I'm probably a little more than that because I do a lot of repurposing of content and I do a lot of writing connected to my show.
35:26
SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is not like I just turn on the mic and go.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: I put a lot of prep time into this.
35:30
SPEAKER_00: So if you're listening to this and you're kind of you're kind of like balking at the numbers and going, what the heck?
35:38
SPEAKER_00: I don't have that kind of time each week.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Um just know that going into it, if you want to produce a quality show, it's going to take time.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: Podcasting is a long game, and if you want to have a good show, it does require an investment.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: I think it's absolutely worth it because I love to connect with people and I think podcasting is an amazing way to do that.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: Now that brings me to my next point.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh, speaking of kind of getting a lot of mileage out of your show, lesson number 15 is repurpose your content.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, the reason why I script out my solo episodes is that I reuse that material in other places.
36:13
SPEAKER_00: For example, this episode we're talking about 20 podcasting lessons, okay?
36:18
SPEAKER_00: This could become several social media posts, it could become a blog post.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this will go in my email newsletter, it could become a book chapter, it could be split up into a few different articles for other outlets, it could become a lead magnet for my website to get subscribers.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: It could be a workshop, it could be something I use in my college courses, or whatever.
36:39
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you reuse your podcast material, you can get way more mileage out of it than you would if you just leave it as a podcast.
36:47
SPEAKER_00: And your investment of time becomes way more worth it because you're getting a lot more mileage out of that podcast material.
36:55
SPEAKER_00: Lesson number 16.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: You will find your voice the further you go in your podcast.
37:01
SPEAKER_00: Whenever I started this show, from the beginning, I felt like it would take me about 100 episodes to really find my voice and to feel super comfortable doing this.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, that was right on the money.
37:12
SPEAKER_00: I had committed in my own mind that it would take a while, and it really did.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: I tried a lot of different things, but it took me a while to find my footing and to feel totally comfortable in this medium.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's true for you as well.
37:25
SPEAKER_00: The more podcasting you do, you'll get comfortable with the technology and the format, and you'll start to really figure out what works for you and what doesn't.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: And you'll also get feedback from the audience that'll help you as well.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: I think the reason we sometimes have trouble finding our voice is that we get enamored with somebody else's voice who we admire, and we sort of feel like we have to be like them, except we never see ourselves as getting as good as them.
37:49
SPEAKER_00: So we're always putting ourselves in this position of I've got to be like so-and-so, but I'm never gonna be as good as them.
37:55
SPEAKER_00: And I don't think that's a healthy way to approach it.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: I have been heavily influenced by people like Pat Flynn, Michael Hyatt, Dan Miller, Jeff Goines, and Donald Miller, and many, many others.
38:08
SPEAKER_00: And at different times I have tried to emulate them to some degree on my podcast.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: Now, nobody probably ever picked up on that, but in my own mind, I was thinking, oh, if I could only do it like they do it, it would really be good.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, those are all wonderful and phenomenal people, but I'm not them.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: I had to find my own voice and my own identity.
38:28
SPEAKER_00: And now I realize that my authentic voice is being what I call a gentle coach.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: I think I do pretty well with teaching and breaking down concepts and explaining things.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm not a highly emotional person on the mic.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: As you can tell, if you're listening to this right now, if you've made it this far in this episode, thank you, by the way.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: If you're listening to this, you know that I tend to be a pretty rational thinking, reasonable person who doesn't get highly emotional about things.
38:56
SPEAKER_00: I think when I'm on air, I hopefully give off an air of calmness and rationality, and hopefully I can make people think about things in a different way.
39:05
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm a natural encourager, and I think all those qualities tend to come out in these podcast episodes.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a lot of value in realizing who you are and who you're not.
39:16
SPEAKER_00: And when you discover who you are and you feel confident in that voice, I think you should lean into that and make it work for you.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: Don't try to be somebody else.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: I realize that I'm not some, I'm not a naturally like funny person.
39:29
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm pretty self-deprecating, but I'm not a natural humorist.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't tell jokes well.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: So I don't try to be that guy.
39:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'm not somebody who's like this highly super amazing interviewer who asks all these like world's most insightful questions.
39:44
SPEAKER_00: There are podcasters who do that, but I'm not one of those people.
39:47
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm a good interviewer, but I'm not great, and I'm not like super phenomenal at it.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: So I don't try to be like somebody else.
39:53
SPEAKER_00: I just try to be myself.
39:56
SPEAKER_00: It does take a while to figure out your voice and how you best connect with people.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: And you've got to commit to sticking with it for the long haul in order to break through and to find your authentic voice.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: Now that leads me on to the next lesson, number 17.
40:11
SPEAKER_00: And this is one that if you're thinking about doing a podcast, um, you probably don't want to hear this, but I'm I've said it before, but I'm committed to being honest with you.
40:20
SPEAKER_00: I always tell the truth, at least as much as I possibly can.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: So here I'm just going to tell you the truth.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: And that is about 90% of podcasting is just showing up and doing the work.
40:31
SPEAKER_00: For example, as I'm recording this, it is 4 15 p.m.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: on a beautiful, gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: It's perfect outside, and I really, really want to get outside and go for a bike ride.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh, my family's gone.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: They uh my wife took my son out for kind of a mom and son date this afternoon, so I'm home by myself.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: I really want to go out and do a bike ride, but I've got to get this episode recorded and edited and uploaded.
40:57
SPEAKER_00: So I'm paying a bit of a price today to get this done.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't get this episode done any earlier uh the last couple days because of some family and client commitments.
41:06
SPEAKER_00: Um so today, this afternoon, I'm just showing up.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing the work because I've committed to putting an episode out on Tuesday and Thursday, and I'm um in my heart, I'm obliged to keep that commitment to the listener, to you, because I feel like if I don't put my episodes out on time, then then I have broken that that uh unspoken level of trust with you as the listener.
41:31
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'll be honest, sometimes putting together a podcast feels like drudgery, but that's part of anything valuable that you're doing.
41:38
SPEAKER_00: There are parts of anything that are hard and that are a slog and that are not exciting, but you do it because the end result is worth it.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: The same is true for writing a book, building a business, getting in shape, getting healthy, or anything else that you want to do that's worthwhile.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: This is the main reason why a lot of people don't finish their books and why they don't stick with the podcast.
41:59
SPEAKER_00: It's because the excitement wears off, and that's when the real work starts, is when you decide that you have committed to it, and because of that commitment, you're going to show up and do what's required, regardless of what your emotions are telling you.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: That's that's where a lot of podcasters get into trouble, and a lot of writers, to be frank with you.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: So about 90% of this is just showing up and getting the work done.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: And it's when you show up and get the work done that then you have the rewards, whatever those rewards look like.
42:29
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's go on to lesson number 18, which is remember you're talking to one person, not a crowd.
42:36
SPEAKER_00: A few months ago, I was talking to my friend Fred Zalanko, who is a veteran radio producer and broadcaster here in St.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: Louis.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: He gave me some great advice about broadcasting, and he said, remember that you're talking to one listener, not a group of listeners.
42:51
SPEAKER_00: He said, People listen as individuals, so speak to one person when you're on the mic.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: Don't pretend like you're speaking to a whole group of people.
42:59
SPEAKER_00: And I've thought about that conversation probably a dozen times over the last few months, and it really impacted me.
43:06
SPEAKER_00: So I'm passing on that wisdom to you.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: Whenever you're on the mic, don't talk to a group, talk to one person, talk to one listener, talk to that one individual.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: Have that person in your mind as you're speaking to them.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: I've got a person in mind that I'm speaking to right now.
43:21
SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to tell you who it is, but it's a friend of mine who I'm talking to who I think probably is considering doing a podcast.
43:28
SPEAKER_00: When you do this, it really does change how you approach podcasting because it ceases to become a production or a performance and it becomes something personal.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: It becomes a conversation between you and that individual listener.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: Number 19, hey, we're winding down.
43:46
SPEAKER_00: We're into the hump stretch here.
43:47
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for hanging with me.
43:48
SPEAKER_00: Number nineteen, and this is really important don't be a perfectionist.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: This is a hard one for a lot of us, isn't it?
43:58
SPEAKER_00: It's hard.
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Because we want to be perfect, we want to be awesome, we want to get it right.
44:03
SPEAKER_00: But the reality is that you will always hear things you need to improve in your podcast.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: If you're growing, that means you'll be thinking of new ways to improve your show.
44:12
SPEAKER_00: And that's definitely a good thing.
44:14
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's a group within the podcasting community that emphasizes having as perfect a production as you can possibly have.
44:21
SPEAKER_00: They talk about spending lots of time taking on every um, every every awkward pause from the interviews and all that stuff.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: They want to make sure everything sounds perfect.
44:30
SPEAKER_00: And I used to think this way, but I've since learned that this is really not a good use of time, especially if you're doing your show yourself.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think overproducing a show makes it sound worse because it doesn't sound human.
44:44
SPEAKER_00: There is a podcast, and I'm not going to name what show it is, obviously, but the production of this podcast is not very good.
44:53
SPEAKER_00: Last weekend I listened to an interview that this person did on the podcast, and their audio was absolutely horrible.
45:01
SPEAKER_00: It was muffled, and I could barely understand what the guest was saying because it sounded like they were talking through a phone line.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, the host of that particular podcast is a very, very successful author who's been on the New York Times bestseller list many times over.
45:16
SPEAKER_00: And their podcast has over a thousand reviews on iTunes.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: And this person is successful by any metric of writing or podcasting.
45:25
SPEAKER_00: Yet their podcast really needs better production standards.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes they'll have an episode and they'll have like the commercial segment, uh, a little teaching thing, an intro, and you can tell they're all different slices of audio because they they all sound the EQ on them sounds a little bit different.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: So it's almost like they've been spliced together without not a lot of thought as to how to make this sound better.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: They really need to use a better mic and do better post-production on their show.
45:54
SPEAKER_00: Having said all that, here's what might surprise you.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: I don't really care about those audio production issues.
46:00
SPEAKER_00: I continue to listen to that show and to be a very enthusiastic supporter of that podcast because the content is absolutely amazing.
46:09
SPEAKER_00: I love that show.
46:11
SPEAKER_00: And I come from a worship production background in church ministry, and I've done my own podcast for a long time.
46:17
SPEAKER_00: I've worked on a lot of other people's shows, so I know audio production pretty well.
46:21
SPEAKER_00: However, I listen to that person's podcast because I love the host, I love their books, I love their interviews, and I love their content.
46:30
SPEAKER_00: So here's my point with all this.
46:32
SPEAKER_00: Don't be a perfectionist.
46:34
SPEAKER_00: People don't listen to a podcast because it is awesomely produced.
46:38
SPEAKER_00: They don't listen to a podcast going, man, I hope I can hear pristine audio production today.
46:43
SPEAKER_00: They listen to a podcast to connect with the host, to learn something, to laugh, to cry, to be entertained, to be moved, and to somehow improve their life in some way, whether that means learning something or being entertained.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: So I say do the best you can with what you have and just let it be.
47:02
SPEAKER_00: Focus on letting your heart come through and really connecting with the listener.
47:06
SPEAKER_00: Focus on doing good interviews, building relationships with your guests, serving people, putting out good content that people like, being interesting, being entertaining, if that's your thing.
47:18
SPEAKER_00: That is why people really listen.
47:19
SPEAKER_00: People don't listen because of great audio quality.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: Now, having said that, if your audio quality is consistently really, really bad, people will not listen.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: So whenever you hear podcasters talking about you've got to have like the most amazing production and you've got to go record in a studio and you've got to hire these people, just ignore all that.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you can afford to hire people to do your production, that's awesome.
47:45
SPEAKER_00: But if you can have just good audio quality that's listenable, you know, if you can make it the best you can, just focus on having good content and good guests, and that's really like 90% of the battle.
47:59
SPEAKER_00: Podcasting is not about perfect audio, it's about the heart, it's about connecting with people.
48:04
SPEAKER_00: And if you remember that, I think you'll do you'll do just fine when it comes to podcasting.
48:10
SPEAKER_00: You can fix audio easily, but you cannot fix a boring show, and you definitely cannot fix a host who isn't serving their audience or who isn't putting out something that people want to listen to.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's move on to the final lesson, which is lesson number 20.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: And lesson number 20 is that there is no lesson 20.
48:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm purposefully leaving this at 19 lessons because I want you to take it from here.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: This less is incomplete because your learning and my learning is always incomplete.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: We're always growing and we're always learning.
48:45
SPEAKER_00: The number 19 feels incomplete.
48:47
SPEAKER_00: It feels uncomfortable.
48:49
SPEAKER_00: And that's how you will often feel, especially in the beginning stages of doing a podcast.
48:54
SPEAKER_00: But that's a good thing.
48:55
SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because it means you're out of your comfort zone.
48:58
SPEAKER_00: And that's the only way to keep growing and to keep reaching new people.
49:02
SPEAKER_00: If you're always comfortable, that means you're not moving.
49:04
SPEAKER_00: And if you're not moving, that means you're soon going to get passed up by everybody else.
49:10
SPEAKER_00: Well, hey, my friend, I I hope that this has been helpful to you.
49:13
SPEAKER_00: I hope this has been inspiring and encouraging or has helped you in some way.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: As you can tell, I love podcasting.
49:19
SPEAKER_00: I truly do.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: And I hope that you will consider doing your own show as well.
49:24
SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks so much for listening.
49:25
SPEAKER_00: And remember that you can find lots more resources for writers at KentSanders.net.
49:31
SPEAKER_00: Until next time, remember that your writing has the power to change people's lives.
49:36
SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.