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The Top Ten Podcasting Myths Debunked · Randy Unscripted

0:02
Randy Black: Randy Black.
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Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Randy Black. Black. He's a troublemaker. Welcome back to Randy Unscripted.
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I'm your host, Randy Black, and this is the podcast where
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I talk about whatever just happens to to be on my mind.
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And today,
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there's no shortage of of podcasting advice out there. Open YouTube,
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scroll through social media, read a blog post,
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and you'll be told exactly what you have to do if you want your podcast to succeed.
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You need this microphone.
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You need to use this release schedule.
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You need to be on video.
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You need to hit a certain number of of of
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by by a certain number of downloads, by by a certain number of episodes,
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or else
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you're just doing it wrong.
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And the thing is, a lot of this advice gets repeated so often
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that it starts to sound like fact
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even
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when it's not.
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Some of it is outdated.
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Some of it is oversimplified,
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and some of it just flat out scares people away before they ever press the button to record.
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And over the years, I've launched several shows. I've produced episodes.
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I've watched other people's in my own podcasts grow and install
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and have to evolve. And no matter how much the the platforms out there all change,
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I keep hearing the same myths come up again and again,
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especially from people who are just getting started
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in the entire
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podcasting space.
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So today on this episode of Randy Unscripted, I wanna do a little a little myth busting,
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Not to to tear anyone down or not to claim that I have all the answers,
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but to take a look at some of the most common
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podcasting myths,
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the ones that I get that I get shared the most, the ones I see the most,
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and to talk honestly about why they don't always hold up in the real world.
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If you're thinking about starting a podcast,
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this episode,
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it might save you some unnecessary pressure.
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If you've already been podcasting for a while,
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it might give you permission to stop chasing things
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that don't actually matter.
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So let's go ahead and get started with the myth that I hear more than any other right now.
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Myth number one,
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you must do video to be relevant.
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Again, there's no shortage of podcasting advice out there,
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And this piece of advice,
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this myth is the one that I hear more than any other right now.
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If you spend any time in podcasting spaces on YouTube or social media or creator forums, Reddit,
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you'll hear some version of this message.
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If you're not doing video,
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you're already behind.
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And and I get it. I understand where the idea comes from. Video is everywhere. Clips tend to perform well.
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Platforms
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reward you for it.
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And it's easy to look around and think, well, I
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guess this this is just what podcasting is now.
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But here's the problem.
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That message quietly turns an option
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into a requirement.
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Podcasting started as an audio first medium,
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and for a lot of people, it still works best that way.
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Not everyone wants to be on camera.
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Not every conversation benefits from video,
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and not every creator has the time, the energy,
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or the resources
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to add an entirely new production layer.
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Video
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doesn't make a podcast better.
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It makes it different.
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For some shows,
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video absolutely
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adds value.
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For others,
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it adds stress, complexity, and burnout without actually improving
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the content,
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you know, the thing that actually matters.
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What often gets lost in this conversation is that platforms don't care about your sustainability.
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They care about engagement.
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That doesn't mean you're obligated to restructure your workflow just to chase visibility.
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Audio pod podcasts
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still build trust with your audience.
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They still create that connection with them, and they still meet people where they are, driving, walking, working,
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just living their daily life.
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If video serves your show,
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awesome. Use it.
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If it doesn't,
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you're not doing podcasting wrong.
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You're just choosing the medium that fits your voice.
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And, honestly, that pressure to to do more shows up in another way almost immediately.
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Because once people decide they're going to start a podcast,
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the next thing they're told is that they need to spend more money
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before they even begin.
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So that takes us to myth number two.
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You need expensive gear.
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This one usually shows up right after that video conversation takes place.
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Once someone decides, okay. I'm gonna do this,
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the next message that that they hear is that they need to buy something.
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Actually,
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they need to buy a lot of things before they're allowed to start.
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They need to have a certain microphone. They need a certain interface,
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headphones, boom arms, acoustic panels, a camera if you're doing video.
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And before long,
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starting a podcast feels less like hitting record
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and more like building a studio.
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Here's the reality though.
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Great content has never been dependent on expensive gear.
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Yes.
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Clear audio does matter, but clarity and cost,
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they're not the same thing.
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A basic microphone, a quiet microphone, a a quiet room, a a thoughtful conversation
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will always outperform a thousand dollar setup with nothing to say.
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What gear culture does often unintentionally is give people a reason to delay.
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Oh, I'll I'll start once I upgrade my microphone, or I'll launch after I get the right equipment set up, or I just need just need one more piece of equipment to get going.
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But momentum
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doesn't come from the gear.
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It comes from your consistency.
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Most podcasters who stick with it upgrade over time, and and that's fine.
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But upgrade should follow commitment,
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not replace it.
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Listeners don't care what microphone you're using. They care if they can hear you clearly,
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and they care whether you're saying what what it is that you're saying is is worth their time or not.
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If you record something understandable today,
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you're equipped you're you are equipped 100%
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enough
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to begin your journey.
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And once people finally get past the gear hurdle,
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the next rule they often hear is that they still can't launch yet because apparently
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one episode isn't enough.
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Takes us to myth number three. You must launch with three episodes.
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This is one of those rules that sounds like it's official.
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If you've spent any time reading launch guides or listening to podcast advice, you've probably heard it. Don't launch with just one episode. You need at least three. Sometimes it's five. Sometimes it's even more, and it's usually presented as a hard requirement.
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Like, your podcast doesn't count unless it launches with a small library already in place.
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And here's the truth.
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That rule has context,
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but it's rarely explained.
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The idea behind launching with multiple episodes is simple. Give listeners something else to listen to if they like what they hear.
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That's not bad advice,
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but somewhere along the way, a suggestion
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got turned into a gatekeeper.
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What actually happens for a lot of people is this. They record one solid episode
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and then they stop
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Because now they they feel like they're not allowed to publish it yet.
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So they wait,
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and they tinker,
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and they plan.
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Sometimes they never launch at all.
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A single well thought out episode released today is far more valuable than three unfinished episodes setting on a hard drive or an SSD or a USB stick or a NAS.
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Launching isn't about perfection. It's about starting.
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If you're record if you're recording three episodes before you launch works for you, great.
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If it slows you down or adds pressure, then it's not serving you.
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Your first episode doesn't have to prove anything.
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It just has to exist.
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And once a podcast finally launches,
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the next pressure shows up almost immediately because now you're told that if you don't release it on a certain schedule,
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everything's going to fall apart.
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Takes us to myth number four. You have to release weekly
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or you'll fail.
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This myth usually shows up right after you launch.
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You finally get your podcast out in the world, and almost immediately, you're told that now you have to keep up. Weekly episodes. No breaks. No missed weeks. Because if you slow down, the algorithm will punish you. The audience will disappear, and the whole thing will just fall apart.
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That
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kind of pressure can turn something creative into something exhausting very, very quickly.
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Here's the reality.
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Consistency matters.
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But consistency doesn't
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necessarily mean weekly.
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What listeners actually care about is knowing what to expect.
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A podcast that releases every other week or once a month and does it reliably will build far more trust than a weekly show that constantly disappears or sounds rushed.
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The idea that everyone must publish weekly comes from places that don't always translate well to real life. You know, radio schedules, content calendars, and and the hustle culture that's out there.
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But podcasting,
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it lives inside real lives with real responsibilities and and limited time.
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Burnout
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doesn't usually come from podcasting itself.
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It comes from the unrealistic expectations about how often you're supposed to show up.
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A sustainable schedule is a successful schedule.
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If weekly works for you, that's great.
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If it doesn't,
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then choosing a different rhythm isn't a failure.
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That's wisdom.
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The goal isn't to publish the most episodes possible.
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It's to keep publishing.
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And when people do manage to stay consistent,
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the next thing they start watching, sometimes a little clues too closely,
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is the numbers.
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And that takes us to myth number five.
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Downloads are the only metric that matters.
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This myth usually creeps in very quietly.
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You've launched. You've settled into a rhythm,
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and now you start checking the numbers.
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How many downloads did that episode get?
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Did this one do better than the last?
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Why did that spike happen, and and why didn't it happen again?
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Before long,
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downloads stop being information
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and start becoming validation.
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Here's the problem with that.
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Downloads
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are easy to see,
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but they don't tell the whole story.
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A download doesn't tell you if someone listened all the way through.
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It doesn't tell you if an episode encouraged someone, challenged them, or helped them feel less alone,
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and it doesn't tell you what impact your podcast is having outside of an app.
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Some podcasts exist to reach thousands of people.
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Others, though, they exist to serve a specific community
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or a classroom
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or a church
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or a conversation.
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Both can be successful even if the numbers
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look extremely different.
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When downloads become the only measure of success,
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it's easy to miss the real wins.
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The message from a listener who who needed that episode,
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the conversation that started because of something you said, the doors that opened simply because you showed up consistently.
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Numbers,
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yeah, they can be useful.
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They just shouldn't be in charge.
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If downloads are growing,
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that's great.
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If they're not,
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it doesn't mean your podcast isn't working.
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Sometimes it means it's working exactly the way it was meant to.
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And tied closely with numbers is another belief that sounds nice on the surface, but doesn't hold up once you're actually publishing.
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And that's our myth number six. If your podcast is good, people will find it.
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It's one of the most appealing myths in podcasting. It sounds fair. It sounds hopeful,
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and it lets us believe that quality alone is enough.
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If I just make something good, people will find it.
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Problem is,
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that's not how discovery actually works.
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Podcast apps aren't great at helping listeners find new shows.
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Search is limited, recommendations
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are inconsistent,
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and there are thousands of podcasts being published every single day.
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So even really good podcasts can sit quietly
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simply because
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no one knows they even exist.
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This myth doesn't doesn't fail because
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quality doesn't matter.
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It fails because quality
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isn't the same thing as visibility.
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Promotion
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isn't bragging.
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It's not selling out. It's just letting people know something exists.
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And for a lot of podcasters,
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that part feels uncomfortable.
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We want the work to speak for itself,
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but the truth is
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the work needs an introduction.
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Sharing episodes,
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mentioning your podcast and conversations,
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repurposing
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content,
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those things don't cheapen what you're doing.
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They give you a chance to be heard.
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A podcast can be excellent
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and undiscovered at the same time.
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That doesn't mean you failed.
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It just means discovery takes intention.
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Good content matters,
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but good content plus visibility
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is what actually gets heard.
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And sometimes
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the hesitation
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to put something out there or even to promote it comes from a much deeper place.
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And that takes us to myth number seven. You have to be an expert to start a podcast.
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This myth doesn't always get said out loud, but it's felt.
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It shows up as hesitation,
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as overthinking,
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as the quiet question in the back of your mind that says,
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who am I to talk about this?
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A lot of people never start podcasting because they assume they need credentials, titles, or some kind of official permission before their voice counts.
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But podcasting has never been about being the smartest person in the room.
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Some of the most meaningful podcasts aren't hosted by experts.
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They're hosted by people who are just curious,
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people who ask good questions,
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people who are willing to learn in public.
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They don't need to have everything figured out to be worth listening to.
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You just need
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to be honest about where you are.
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There's value in experience.
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There's value in perspective,
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and there's value in walking alongside listeners instead of standing above them.
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In fact, pretending to be an expert when you're not is often more damaging than simply being transparent.
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Podcasting works best when it's human.
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If you're a step or two ahead of someone else, you have something to share.
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And if you're still learning, inviting people into that process can be incredibly powerful.
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Your voice doesn't need a credential.
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It just needs authenticity.
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And when people finally get past that internal barrier,
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another external one often will then show up because now the question becomes whether the podcast is, quote, unquote, worth it if it isn't making money.
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And that's myth number eight. If you're not making money, it's not worth it.
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This myth has been becoming louder and louder in recent years.
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Podcasting is often framed as a revenue stream first and
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everything else second. Ads, sponsors, downloads, monetization strategies.
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It can start to feel like your podcast isn't making if it isn't making money, then it's just a hobby
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or worse,
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it's a waste of time.
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But that way of thinking misses the bigger picture.
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Not every podcast is is meant to be monetized,
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and not every valuable thing produces income directly.
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Some podcasts exist to build trust.
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Some exist to create conversation.
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Some exist to document ideas, share stories,
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or serve a specific group of people.
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Those outcomes still matter even if no money ever changes hands.
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Truth is,
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many podcasts
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that do make money, they didn't start that way.
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They started with consistency, clarity, and purpose,
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and monetization came later,
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if it ever came at all.
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Money can be a byproduct.
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It doesn't have to be the goal.
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If your podcast opens doors, strengthens relationships,
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sharpens your thinking, or or helps somebody else,
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that's value,
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and value isn't always measured in dollars.
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A podcast
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doesn't need to pay you to be worth your time.
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Sometimes the return shows up in ways that you didn't expect.
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And a lot of monetization pressure comes from the idea that set that success should should just happen quickly, almost almost like it needs to be immediate.
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And if you're doing things the right way, that should happen.
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That takes us to myth number nine.
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Success happens fast if you do it right.
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This myth usually shows up disguised as encouragement.
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You'll hear stories about podcasts that took off overnight,
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about sudden growth, about explosive numbers after just a few episodes.
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What often gets left out is everything that happened before that moment.
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The years of experimenting, the false starts, the episodes that no one heard.
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Podcasting culture loves highlight reels,
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but it rarely shows the long, quiet middle.
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Most podcasts grow slowly,
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unevenly,
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and oftentimes invisibly.
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That doesn't mean you're doing it wrong.
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It means you're doing something real.
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Progress in podcasting usually looks like small improvements over time.
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Better conversations,
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clearer focus,
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more confidence behind the microphone.
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Those things always show up in the stats right away,
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but they matter.
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Fast success
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is the exception,
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not the rule.
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The podcasters who last aren't usually the ones who grow for the fastest.
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They're the ones who keep showing up even when growth feels slow.
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If your podcast hasn't, quote, unquote, taken off,
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doesn't mean it never will,
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and it definitely doesn't mean it hasn't already been worthwhile.
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Sometimes success isn't speed.
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It's staying power.
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And that slow,
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steady reality leads to the final myth that we have to talk about, one that stops a lot of people before they ever begin.
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That's myth number 10.
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Podcasting is too saturated right now.
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This is one of the most discouraging myths that I hear, especially from people thinking about starting a podcast today.
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They look at charts. They read headlines. They scroll through directories, and the numbers seem overwhelming.
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There's already millions of podcasts. Why would anyone start now?
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And, yes,
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the number of shows is big.
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There are currently
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4,573,619
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podcasts listed in podcast index.
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That sounds like a lot,
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and it is.
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But the raw numbers really only tell a small part of the story.
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Let's dig in a little deeper on them.
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Of all of those
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podcasts,
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that four and a half million,
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only 481,923
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of those shows have published an episode in the past ninety days.
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In the last sixty days,
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428,328
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have released an episode.
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In the past thirty days,
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that number drops again,
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now to 345,610.
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In the past ten days, just 210,770
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shows have posted something new.
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And in the last three days as of this recording on 12/27/2025,
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only 62,659
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shows have actually put out new content.
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So while we do have millions of podcasts listed,
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the majority of them are not actively publishing.
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The space isn't full.
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It's just noisy.
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Most podcasts launch and then quietly fade.
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Only a fraction are able to stay consistent over time.
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That means there's still plenty of room for new voices,
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especially those who bring authentic
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or authenticity,
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who bring who bring new perspectives,
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and who are consistent. They bring their consistency with them. Niche shows,
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thoughtful conversations,
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and and unique angles still break through that noise
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every single day.
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Saturation
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can feel like a barrier,
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but in reality,
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it's more like a filter.
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There's always space for a podcast that commits to showing up, serving an audience, and sharing something real.
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So if the fear of too many podcasts has been holding you back, here's the truth.
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The podcasting space isn't crowded.
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It's waiting for your voice to be added.
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And there you have it. 10 of the most common podcasting myths that get repeated again and again
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and why they don't always hold up in the real world.
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From the pressure to do video
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to the belief that gear or downloads define success to the fear that the space is too crowded,
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so much of what we hear as, quote, unquote, rules is really just advice taken out of context.
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The common thread through all of these myths is this.
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Podcasting
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works best when it's human,
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when it's authentic,
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when it's consistent,
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and when it's driven by curiosity,
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connection, and purpose rather than fear or comparison.
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If you've been holding back because any of any of these myths, I hope that this episode today gives you a little permission,
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permission to start,
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permission to experiment,
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permission to grow at your own pace.
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And for those of you already podcasting like me, maybe it's a reminder to focus on what truly matters
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on the conversations,
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the stories,
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and the listeners you're reaching rather than chasing perfection
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and numbers
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or everyone else's rules.
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Podcasting
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isn't about racing.
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It isn't about being first.
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It isn't about doing everything everyone says you must do.
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It's about showing up,
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speaking your truth, and letting your voice be heard.
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So
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whatever stage you're at, whether you're starting out, you're in the middle, or you're well into your podcasting journey,
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the key is to keep creating,
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to keep experimenting,
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to keep sharing.
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And remember,
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the myths are loud,
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but your voice
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is louder.
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Thanks for listening to today's episode. I hope that it helped cut through some of the noise that you can focus on real really matters,
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building your own podcast.
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I'm Randy Black, and this has been Randy Unscripted.