Five Lessons Learned from One Year of Podcasting
If you’re having fun, the audience will have fun...
Hi Everyone,
No podcast today but two weeks ago I hit the one year podcast milestone.
I have posted at least one podcast a week for an entire year.
Here’s what I’ve learned over 66 episodes.
Lesson One: Have Fun
The first piece of advice I received (from Dan Healy of Miami Heat UK) was the best piece of advice:
If you’re having fun, the audience will have fun.
This maxim has proved true over and over again. If you are having fun, and your guest is having fun, the listener will have fun.
Lesson Two: Iterate
Start.
Make mistakes.
Learn.
Iterate.
This process is the heart of skill development. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re being too safe. Most people play things too safe. Don’t be most people.
Whether it’s podcasting or life, get out there and try.
So what does this mean in terms of podcasting?
Record five episodes with five different friends/family members. Don’t publish them. You will improve exponentially from episode one to episode five.
Now you’re ready to begin.
Lesson Three: Niche or General?
Is your podcast about a niche topic (sport fishing or hiking or improv) or is it general conversations with interesting people?
I started with the idea of general conversations.
It doesn’t get any more general than “The Creativity, Education, and Leadership Podcast.”
As I’ve iterated I realize the value of drilling down into a specific topic.
For example, I love the show Ted Lasso. My friend Andrés and I have been kicking around the idea of doing a Ted Lasso recap podcast. I think it makes sense to do that as a separate podcast with a separate Twitter feed, Substack, etc.
When you try to appeal to everyone you often end up appealing to no one.
Put another way, fifty invested fans is better than 200 lukewarm ones.
So my advice to new podcasters is keep the podcast focused on something small, something niche.
If your podcast is about something niche, say a minute-by-minute analysis of the film Heat that an Australian named Blake Howard made called One Heat Minute, then make a list of all the people you’d like to talk to. This could be actors, behind-the-scenes people, critics, bloggers who love the film Heat, etc.
At the top of your list put your number one “get.” In Howard’s case it was Michael Mann, the writer and director of Heat.
Work your way down from there.
Can you get Mann, one of the smartest and busiest directors in Hollywood?
No.
Can you you get Al Pacino or Robert De Niro? Nope. Can you get Danny Trejo? Probably not, but at least ping him on Twitter. Can you get Xander Berkely, who acted in one scene in the film? Probably.
Check the crew credits on IMDB. Can you get the set dresser or craft services person who has a bunch of great anecdotes? They’re on Twitter. You probably can.
Can you get the random blogger who wrote a great analysis of Heat?
Yes.
Your college roommate who loves Heat?
Of course.
The point is, you make a list from who is most difficult to get (Michael Mann) to who is easiest to get (your college roommate).
Work your way through the list, from easiest to most difficult.
In Howard’s case, after 200 plus episodes, guess who his final guest was?
Lesson Four: Prep and then freelance
I write out a list of specific questions for my guest.
Once the interview starts I ask the first question and then I stay present, listen, and naturally respond to their answer.
I have the questions if I need them but, hopefully, at this point, the interview shifts to a conversation with a natural back and forth.
We’ve all listened to podcasts where the conversation was stilted and unnatural because the interviewer was just working their way through a list of questions rather than listening and responding to the answers.
Lesson Five: Audio Quality Matters (Equipment)
Your voice clarity and audio quality matter.
Here is the equipment I use (and costs):
-Zoom ($14.99 a month)
I record using Zoom. I’ve tried other platforms like zencastr. They all have issues and nothing has worked as well as Zoom.
-Audio-Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone ($99.00)
Great mic at a great price.
-Auray MS-5230F Tripod Microphone Stand with Fixed Boom ($23.99)
Keeps your mic stable and, more importantly, keeps you from touching it.
-Auray OMPF-33 On-Microphone Pop Screen ($19.99)
Eliminates popping sounds which makes you sound better.
-Headphones
Any will do, whether Airpods or wired headphones.
That’s a pretty inexpensive setup to get started.
There are two more services I use:
-descript ($24 a month)
descript lets me use an AI generated transcript to edit the audio. I used to edit the podcast in Final Cut Pro and manually take out all the umms, ahhs, filler words, boring sections, etc. Descript makes all that much easier.
Here’s a cool video of what descript can do:
-Rev ($1.25 per minute of transcription)
Lately I’ve had my interviews transcribed. If your content is evergreen having transcriptions may prove beneficial down the line.
For example, I recently completed a mini-series on self-publishing. I could take the transcriptions and use them as the basis of an eBook on how to self-publish.
Underlying Principles
As with all things tech, much of this will change.
However, there are some underlying principles of podcasting I think will always be true:
-If you’re having fun, the audience will have fun.
-Do five trial episodes. You will exponentially increase your knowledge. Iteration is key.
-Make a list of guests you would like, from easiest to book to hardest.
-Use open-ended questions and listen.
-Voice clarity and audio quality matter.
I hope this was helpful. If you are planning on starting a podcast please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
And please share this post with others.
Cheers,
Ben
P.S. Now that I’m a year into podcasting, and posted at least one episode every single week for a year, I will likely podcast less frequently going forward. Maybe every two weeks or even once a month.
P.P.S My cousin David Oates has a GREAT podcast/Substack called Something Like That. David is the CEO and co-founder of Curtsy. Last year they closed eleven million in Series A funding and, before that, went through Y Combinator. In his podcast David shares the lessons of starting a company.