This first sentence took me a long time to write.
It’s our first blog, it’s the first sentence of the first blog. It really should be profound.
Pretty sure I blew it.
Screw it, I quit. I can’t do this.
You’re going to feel like that when you start a podcast. You’ll want it to be perfect, poignant, momentum-building. You won’t get it perfect, not the first time. If you do podcasting well, your first episode will probably be your worst. Just do your best.
Getting Started
There are a million “how to” guides out there for starting your own podcast. Hey even we have one. They’re important because lots of people don’t know where to start and many of these guides are thoughtful and helpful. But getting started isn’t really the hard part. It’s just the first part. Maintaining and growing the podcast are the hard parts.
Sound like exercise?
Starting a podcast has become popular. The chart below was published in 2015 and intended to show the rapid rise of podcast popularity.
According to the Podcast Index, today there are over 4 million podcasts. About 10% have published a new episode in the last three months. Nine out of ten podcasters haven’t published a new episode in three months.
Gotta Keep Going
Just like exercise, it’s not that podcasts don’t work, that they don’t have an incredible ability to help you develop deep connections and engagement for your brand. The top podcasters get to talk about that in the media all the time, but the smaller independent podcasters enjoy the same benefits by publishing consistently and connecting with their audiences.
Just like exercise you gotta keep going. Develop good content your target audience will appreciate, keep publishing on a regular cadence – every two weeks is fine. Don’t skip an episode if you can help it, even during the holidays. Podcast listening is a deeply personal experience for the listener. They have MORE time during the holidays, not less.
If the gym mantra is No Pain – No Gain, think about this for your podcast. No Show – No Grow.
Your comments on this are welcome. We’re Listening.