If you're contemplating starting a podcast, one crucial factor to consider is your passion for the topic. When a listener recently asked me about launching a history podcast, I emphasized that success isn't about the number of listeners but about having content you genuinely love and a drive to share it.

I shared the inspiring story of Zita Christian, who started a podcast about her experiences with dementia—not because she was chasing popularity but because she wanted to help others. Her purpose was so clear that it outweighed any concerns about how many people might tune in.

In my experience, understanding your "why" and knowing your audience are essential steps to avoid burnout and keep your podcast journey fulfilling. If you care deeply about your subject and are genuinely committed to serving your listeners, you'll find the motivation you need to push through those initial challenges.

Takeaways:

• Having a strong passion for your podcast topic is essential for long-term success.
• Understanding your audience is crucial; know who you're creating content for.
• Your why behind starting the podcast will help you overcome challenges and burnout.
• Successful podcasters talk about subjects they love, regardless of listener numbers.
• Content and delivery are the two main pillars of a good podcast.
• Don’t start a podcast just because it seems cool; ensure you have the drive.

Links referenced in this episode:

• podcastconsultant.com
• School of Podcasting (use the coupon code listener)
• My Spouse Has Dementia

Mentioned in this episode:

Podcast Hot Seat: We Make Good Podcasts Great

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Podcas Hot Seat

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Dave Jackson: 00:00:00

Today I'm going to answer a question from Ashley, who's worried about starting a history podcast and maybe not having any listeners.

Dave Jackson: 00:00:08

My answer may surprise you.

Podcast Host: 00:00:11

Welcome to youo Podcast.

Podcast Host: 00:00:14

Small Lessons with Big Value.

Podcast Host: 00:00:18

With more than a decade of experience and millions of downloads, this hall of fame podcaster is a featured speaker, author and mentor to thousands.

Podcast Host: 00:00:29

Now he wants to work with you.

Podcast Host: 00:00:32

He's your podcast consultant, Dave Jackson.

Dave Jackson: 00:00:37

Yeah.

Dave Jackson: 00:00:37

So I saw this question in a Facebook group and it says, I've been considering starting a history related podcast that promotes learning from history and applying historical situations to today's events.

Dave Jackson: 00:00:51

So I kind of like that it's a little different slant.

Dave Jackson: 00:00:54

Not just a history, but it's a history and current topics kind of things, right?

Dave Jackson: 00:00:58

Learning from our past business.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:01

Entrepreneurship is not my Forte.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:04

I'm a K through 12 educator.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:06

That even makes more sense.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:08

You're a teacher.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:10

And I cringe at the idea of starting something that isn't popular or has three listeners per week.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:16

But I also really believe in my topic because I think I would be very good at it.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:22

Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:26

So I replied to her and I get it that you think you have to be an entrepreneur.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:31

No, what you need are two things.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:34

You need content and delivery.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:38

And we can expand on those.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:40

That's what I basically do, but that's really what it boils down to.

Dave Jackson: 00:01:43

Do you have good content that your audience wants and then delivery, are you delivering it in a way that would sound boring because you're reading it?

Dave Jackson: 00:01:54

And so I said, when your passion to serve your audience is greater than your worry or your fear about downloads, you're going to press record.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:05

That's really the bottom line because there are so many of us that are like, eh, not really sure if I should do this or not.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:11

But when you're like, oh, and I see people, I'll give you an example.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:17

Zeta Christian is.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:19

She will say this herself.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:21

She's not a spring chicken, right?

Dave Jackson: 00:02:24

She's probably in her 70s and she did a show called My Spouse has Dementia.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:30

And Zita is such a great example of so many things.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:33

She's an awesome person.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:35

She's a member of the school of podcasting.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:37

And why did she start the My Spouse has Dementia?

Dave Jackson: 00:02:41

Well, number one, her spouse had dementia.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:45

And she was tired of seeing all the information about dementia, like, oh, I can't find my keys.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:52

Do I have dementia?

Dave Jackson: 00:02:53

Oh, it's like, no, no.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:54

It's a horrible disease.

Dave Jackson: 00:02:57

Horrible that nobody talks about.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:00

And so she wanted to start a podcast.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:02

So that people could see the truth about it.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:07

And unfortunately, her spouse passed away and her podcast lives on.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:12

And she let me know a couple weeks ago that she still gets email from people that say, thank you, thank you for telling the truth, thank you for letting me know what I was getting into.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:24

And her passion to do that show was greater than, I don't know, is anybody going to listen?

Dave Jackson: 00:03:31

And so that's the attitude that I see from my chair in successful podcast now realize success is painted in many different flavors.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:45

And in Zita's case, it's successful.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:48

Oh, because she's got tons of sponsors and lots of money?

Dave Jackson: 00:03:51

No, because she's helping people that are in the same boat that she was in.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:56

Remember, it's not all about the money.

Dave Jackson: 00:03:59

And so for me, the people that succeed at podcasts pick a topic that they would talk about if nobody listened.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:08

There is just a ton of passion and they need not want, they need to talk about it.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:14

Now, the reason for that is if you don't have the passion to get through that first hurdle of, you know, you're going to learn some new things.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:24

And it's really not that new.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:26

If you've attached a photo to an email, then you know how to upload an MP3 file, if you've ever turned down the radio so you could hear the phone, well, then you know how to mix audio.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:37

I'm not saying there's no learning curve.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:38

I'm just saying it's not as hard as you think it is.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:41

The hard part is knowing your why, knowing your who, and then where those overlap, that is your what.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:49

And so, you know, you say you're not an entrepreneur.

Dave Jackson: 00:04:52

The question is, what is your why?

Dave Jackson: 00:04:54

Why are you doing this?

Dave Jackson: 00:04:56

And you have to identify that because if you don't, you will burn out.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:01

If you don't get your why, after a while you're like, well, I'm not getting any of this, whatever that is.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:08

And you have to know your who.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:10

Because if I say, oh, I'm doing a show for women 25 to 50, there's a big difference between a 25 year old woman and a 50 year old woman.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:20

You have to know who this is for so that you can give it to them.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:24

And then again, where your who and your why overlap, that is your what.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:30

So you can kind of get both.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:32

You entertain, you educate whatever you're doing to your whole while you get them towards your why.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:38

So I thought that was a good question from Ashley and I thought I would share it with you because it's True.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:46

If you're a person that's like, I'm thinking of getting into podcast.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:50

I don't know, maybe it looks kind of cool.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:52

I would say not.

Dave Jackson: 00:05:53

No, I would just say not now, because you need that passion, you need that drive and that love of your topic to really get you through that first learning curve.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:04

And I'm not here to say that the learning curve, again, is easy, but I'm also here to say it's not as hard as you probably think it is.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:13

So if you have a question, you can always go out to podcastconsultant.com I've got a contact page there, and I would love to help you.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:23

That's what I do.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:24

Been podcasting for 19 years, going to celebrate 20 years in 20, 25 of podcasting.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:30

I've seen a lot of things, and I would love to help you not just start a podcast, but start a podcast in the right direction.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:37

I see a lot of people, I'm like, oh, that's not good.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:40

I wouldn't do that.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:42

And, you know, you don't always have to listen to me.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:44

I do have people that pay me money and then ignore all my advice, and then they quit because their podcast isn't doing what they wanted to do.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:53

And, you know, that's an option.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:54

Not my favorite option.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:56

Kind of frustrating, but, you know, it is what it is.

Dave Jackson: 00:06:59

But I do love helping podcasters, especially when they succeed.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:04

I had somebody this week, and I was talking to them, and I said, like, what's our why again?

Dave Jackson: 00:07:09

And he goes like, well, I love hanging out with my friends and talking about sales.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:15

And I said, well, you do realize your podcast is successful then, because you're doing what you want to do.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:23

You're getting your why?

Dave Jackson: 00:07:24

Why do you do it?

Dave Jackson: 00:07:25

So I can talk sales with my friends.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:27

You almost don't need to publish a podcast.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:30

He's already getting it.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:31

So, again, knowing your why is hugely important.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:35

And I would love to help you go out to podcastconsultant.com.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:39

you can contact me there, or just join the School of Podcasting.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:44

Use the coupon code listener, and that'll save you on either a monthly or yearly subscription.

Dave Jackson: 00:07:50

And don't forget, not only do you get the courses and the amazing community, but you get unlimited consulting with me, not with a staff member with me.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:02

Check it out.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:03

School of Podcasting Dot com.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:05

I'm Dave Jackson from the School of Podcasting.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:08

I help podcasters.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:09

It's what I do.

Dave Jackson: 00:08:10

And I can't wait to see what we do together.