It's hard for podcasts to go viral, but the viral-spreading
Evo Terra:of the podcasting bug is undeniable.
Evo Terra:We love bringing others to our party.
Evo Terra:But are we being honest with our dazzling praise of the medium?
Evo Terra:Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.
Evo Terra:Recently, I had an odd call with a prospective client and it was all due
Evo Terra:to a disconnect between expectations.
Evo Terra:It's not terribly unusual.
Evo Terra:I mean, people in business have all sorts of misassumptions and
Evo Terra:incorrect notions about podcasting.
Evo Terra:When I'm on early calls with them, I try and get all of that cleared up as
Evo Terra:quickly as possible in our conversations.
Evo Terra:We don't want to waste anyone's time with this.
Evo Terra:But this call was different almost immediately.
Evo Terra:The conversation switched from "Is your firm the right firm to
Evo Terra:help us produce our podcast?"
Evo Terra:Which I'm used to, but it switched quickly to, "I'm sorry, why would
Evo Terra:we even want to have a podcast?"
Evo Terra:Which in and of itself is not all that of an unusual question.
Evo Terra:And it's one that I'm happy to answer and do answer quite a lot, typically
Evo Terra:not in this particular scene.
Evo Terra:But the answer that I give when I get that question, the way it was asked is one that
Evo Terra:you probably haven't heard all that much.
Evo Terra:And my answer to the question of "Why would we even want to have a podcast"
Evo Terra:is simply this, "Maybe you don't."
Evo Terra:Maybe you don't.
Evo Terra:There are almost four million podcasts now.
Evo Terra:Do we need any more?
Evo Terra:Well, yes, of course, we need more.
Evo Terra:C'mon, I'm not that person.
Evo Terra:Of course, yes, we want more podcasts.
Evo Terra:We'll have more podcasts.
Evo Terra:Absolutely.
Evo Terra:But the reality is that podcasting is not for everyone.
Evo Terra:And I think we podcasters need to be more honest about that during
Evo Terra:our conversations with people.
Evo Terra:Like when a business, perhaps a business that you work for in your
Evo Terra:day job, when your business says, hey, let's just have conversations with
Evo Terra:some of our clients or our prospects, and we'll just shove that out.
Evo Terra:That sounds easy enough, right?
Evo Terra:Well, okay.
Evo Terra:You and I both know that can work.
Evo Terra:Most of the four million podcasts out there are some variation of that.
Evo Terra:And a lot of them are actually from either companies or business-minded people.
Evo Terra:But we also know that those low-effort shows might get a few dozen downloads
Evo Terra:each episode, and probably then only a single handful of listeners.
Evo Terra:And those are going to fade out for most businesses because
Evo Terra:businesses want to see results.
Evo Terra:And they're going to be dismayed when that happens to them.
Evo Terra:Maybe you have some creative friends in your life like visual artists, musicians,
Evo Terra:poets, actors, comedians, writers, all these people oftentimes are in, we are
Evo Terra:encouraging them to start a podcast.
Evo Terra:"You're so creative!
Evo Terra:You should start a podcast, too!"
Evo Terra:And that's true and great.
Evo Terra:We clearly need more people who are creative at their core in the
Evo Terra:podcasting space, whether they're making amazing shows or whether
Evo Terra:they're making not-so-amazing shows.
Evo Terra:I don't care.
Evo Terra:We need more creatives in this space.
Evo Terra:But you and I know that making a podcast is in and of itself a creative endeavor.
Evo Terra:And the creatives that you and I talk into podcasting or fail to be
Evo Terra:honest with about podcasting, they're going to have to learn new skills.
Evo Terra:They're going to have to stretch their existing skills, and all of
Evo Terra:that takes time and energy away from their primary creative outlet.
Evo Terra:Is that going to work for them long-term?
Evo Terra:I don't know.
Evo Terra:Subject matter experts, or perhaps people in your life who are just
Evo Terra:all-around super smart people are often told, "You should start a podcast!"
Evo Terra:And again, yes, they should start a podcast.
Evo Terra:There is plenty of appetite in the podcast listener space
Evo Terra:for knowledge-based content.
Evo Terra:But again, podcasting, you and I know, isn't the same as putting together
Evo Terra:a keynote presentation or writing a research paper, or even doing interviews
Evo Terra:for radio, TV, and other podcasts.
Evo Terra:They're similar, but content creation - we have to remember that
Evo Terra:those subject matter experts aren't subject matter experts in podcasting.
Evo Terra:And even though you and I, their friends, make it look really
Evo Terra:easy, we know it's not easy.
Evo Terra:And for many, they're going to find this as a new discipline that
Evo Terra:they really struggle to master.
Evo Terra:So the next time your employer, co-worker, creative friend, super-smart person in
Evo Terra:your life, next time they ask you about podcasting, be every bit as honest as you
Evo Terra:are encouraging because nothing sours a working relationship, or even a friendship
Evo Terra:for that matter, like missed expectations.
Evo Terra:So this, by the way, was the penultimate episode of Podcast
Evo Terra:Pontifications Season Three.
Evo Terra:I'll do one more tomorrow and then I'm on break until Season Four
Evo Terra:kicks up again in July of 2021.
Evo Terra:In the meantime, please be sure you are subscribed to Podcast
Evo Terra:Pontifications In Your Inbox.
Evo Terra:That's the newsletter that I send out.
Evo Terra:I'm trying out some new ideas and they're going to be amongst the
Evo Terra:first to know, subscribers of PPIYI.
Evo Terra:So too will be those who have gone to buybuymeacoffee.com/EvoTerra and
Evo Terra:purchased a virtual coffee for me.
Evo Terra:I will also let them know the score early.
Evo Terra:That's it.
Evo Terra:I shall be back tomorrow with yet another Podcast Pontifications.