In this episode, I reveal the 7 podcasting rules I deliberately break...and how that unconventional approach led my show to exponential growth.
You won't find intros, outros, or strict formatting here. Instead, I skip the fluff and focus on quality content that connects with my listeners.
I'll share my podcasting tips on why I don't waste money on expensive equipment or studios, rarely bother with video, and steer clear of interview-only formats.
My rule-breaking style clearly works - my podcast continues growing its audience every single month.
Whether you're an experienced podcaster or just starting out, I'll inspire you to throw out the rulebook and redefine what it takes to truly thrive.
Highlights:
Not having a traditional intro and outro
Not following a strict episode format
Including transcripts in episodes for SEO purposes
[00:00:38] Verity: I'm Verity. This is the podcast. This is what you get out of the podcast and then a little bit more music. I did have one, and to be quite honest with you, I just Felt like it didn't really fit my show format in terms of the short episodes that I've got. So I just got rid of it, and, I found that my retention has increased.
[:
::
[:
[00:01:55] Verity: I'm just gonna replace it with a dynamic ad instead. Number 3, Podcasting rules that I don't follow, got to get this the right way around, I don't ignore transcripts. So I guess I could actually turn this into a do of I do include transcripts in my episodes for a couple of reasons. I include them for SEO reasons because, you know, the more keywords that you've got in your transcripts, the more that helps you with SEO in my view and that has been researched as well but that's in a conversation for another episode really. So I do include transcripts.
::
[:
[00:03:12] Verity: And I covered this in episode 67, an Apple Podcast Update made for Lazy Girls. So that was episode 67, where we were talking about as Well, but what you'll be able to do with Apple Podcasts generated transcripts is actually just scroll through, click on the part of the transcript that looks interesting to you, and the episode will just play from there. So transcripts, I think, are super important. The 4th podcasting rule I don't follow is this idea of upgrading my equipment. I don't really get it.
::
[:
[00:04:02] Verity: I will geek out over microphones again, But I'm a firm believer that even if I get a new microphone, that that is not gonna suddenly bring in thousands of listeners to my podcast. I'm could go and get a, I don't know, a microphone that cost me, like, $1,000. That's not gonna bring in my, you know, more podcast listeners. And actually that $1,000 could be better spent on other things and, you know, marketing the podcast in in other ways. The next thing I don't do is I don't hire out an expensive studio.
::
[:
[00:05:04] Verity: But the whole premise of The Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting is that anybody can podcast and you do not need a huge budget. So for me to then go and hire out an expensive studio. First of all, I just don't wanna spend the money on that. But second of all, I wanna, you know, practice what I preach. So if I'm telling people, yay.
::
[:
[00:05:43] Verity: And I can just picture the setup now with, like, neon lights and a couple of plants and a sofa and stuff. But as I said, it's not the ethos of this podcast, so I'm not gonna feel guilty about that. Number 6, I barely bother with video. Oh, shock horror because everybody you know, everybody says Video is king. Content is queen.
[:
[00:06:22] Verity: And I think that's absolutely okay. It's not affecting My downloads, yes, sometimes I will record video with the episode if I feel up to it. Other times, I won't at all. Like, Right now, I am recording. My hair is soaking wet because I've just jumped out the shower.
[:
::
[:
[00:07:17] Verity: And number 7, I don't do interview only episodes. So what I mean by this is, yes, I do have some interviews on the podcast. Those are strategic. I love my guests that have come on to The Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting. I'm incredibly grateful to them.
[:
[00:07:58] Verity: And you've probably noticed that I break up or I tend to break up a lot of my interviews into 2 or 3 parts, maybe even 4. I've done one interview where I did break it into 4 different episodes, and That is because I still wanna keep with the ethos of the episode length that I that I produce. Also, the other thing with doing interview only episodes is You're not able to show your own expertise. You're giving everybody else a platform. And if anything, all you're doing is demonstrating that you can that you can interview.
[:
[00:09:02] Verity: And it's because they're constantly interviewing other people and showing off other people skills. So they're not actually showing off to their audience what they know and what they can bring to the table. So I think that's something that really needs to be considered. And I think I'll probably do an extra episode on that. Why doing interview only episodes could really be detrimental to bringing in clients, particularly coaching clients for your podcast.
::
[:
[00:09:47] Verity: I don't upgrade my equipment. I Don't believe their equipment is gonna bring me in loads of new views. I don't hire out an expensive studio. I barely proper with video. And I also don't do interview only episodes.
[:
[00:10:21] Verity: There's different charting charts of different weights and what have you. But my point is is that The podcast is going from strength to strength every month, and we are doing well. And I don't follow any of those traditional, quote unquote, traditional podcasting rules. So with that in mind, I hope that this episode gives you the confidence that if there is a podcasting rule that you are not feeling is aligned with you, is not aligned with your podcast, with your brand, whatever it is. Take this as permission to break that rule and don't follow it.
