In this week's episode, I talk about 5 things I wish I knew before I started podcasting!

I've been podcasting for about 18 months, and it's been a big learning curve!

1. No one cares what you sound like! [1.09]
2. You don't need expensive equipment [1.50]
3. It doesn't matter if there's already a podcast that is about the same subject as you [4.22]
4. You'll get better at talking to guests [6.48]
5. Enjoy making your podcast! [09.37]

If you have any questions or would like some help with your podcast, you can book a 30-min Free Session with me.

Can I ask a favour?

If you enjoyed the episode, I'd love it if you could leave me a review.

You can leave one here

Thanks so much!

I'd love to connect with you on social!

You can find me on:

LinkedIn | Website

Want to start a podcast, but not sure where to start? Download my free Podcast Playbook Get clear on your ideas!

Struggling with your podcast promotion? Grab my Easy-Peasy Podcast Promotion Checklist here!

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

Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Unknown: 00:00:08

Welcome to podcasting one on one with me your host

Unknown: 00:00:10

Rachel. This podcast is for female business owners and

Unknown: 00:00:13

solopreneurs that are looking to start a podcast that add to your

Unknown: 00:00:16

own already awesome offering. I'll give you helpful advice

Unknown: 00:00:20

that you can take away and use in your podcasting journey. I

Unknown: 00:00:23

hope to answer those tricky questions that just keep you

Unknown: 00:00:25

from starting. Once a month, I'll be joined by other female

Unknown: 00:00:28

podcasters. They'll share their journey with you and offer tips

Unknown: 00:00:31

and advice they discovered along the way. Let's get started. Hi,

Unknown: 00:00:53

and welcome to this week's episode. So I've been podcasting

Unknown: 00:00:58

for about 18 months now. And I just wanted to share five things

Unknown: 00:01:03

that I wish I knew more about. And that I didn't know when I

Unknown: 00:01:07

started. So first one, no one cares what you sound like. Now,

Unknown: 00:01:14

lots of people have trouble with this. And I worried a lot about

Unknown: 00:01:18

this. When I first started, I worried that my voice didn't

Unknown: 00:01:22

sound right, that it didn't sound the same. In my head as it

Unknown: 00:01:26

did when I listened to the recording, Did I sound

Unknown: 00:01:28

professional enough? I kind of had it in my head that

Unknown: 00:01:31

everything had to be perfect. And that's always a problem,

Unknown: 00:01:35

isn't it perfectionism. So I also felt like I needed to sound

Unknown: 00:01:38

like a proper quote unquote, broadcaster, you know, like, BBC

Unknown: 00:01:43

Radio and sound have that kind of quality. I mean, this kind of

Unknown: 00:01:48

leads into my second point about not needing really expensive

Unknown: 00:01:52

equipment to start your podcast. And I know it's really important

Unknown: 00:01:57

for the sound quality to be good. You don't I mean, nobody

Unknown: 00:02:02

wants to listen to a half an hour podcasts with like to with

Unknown: 00:02:07

somebody who you can't really hear what they're saying it's a

Unknown: 00:02:09

it's a background noises, it's a banging. You know, it makes it

Unknown: 00:02:13

really difficult to hear what you have to say, that's not

Unknown: 00:02:15

really good. But let's be honest, it doesn't need to be

Unknown: 00:02:18

perfect before we start. And I've said this before, you don't

Unknown: 00:02:22

need expensive equipment. I didn't go out and buy loads of

Unknown: 00:02:25

stuff. I was in the privileged position that my husband is a

Unknown: 00:02:28

sound engineer, and has been for many years. And he does have

Unknown: 00:02:32

quite a lot of equipment. So I was lucky enough that he had

Unknown: 00:02:35

some mics for me to use. I have kind of upgraded them since

Unknown: 00:02:39

then. I love my Behringer big mic that I'm using now. And I

Unknown: 00:02:44

think it sounds really good. But what I had to begin with was

Unknown: 00:02:49

good enough. And doing this simple things like you know,

Unknown: 00:02:53

making sure you've closed all the windows and making sure you

Unknown: 00:02:56

know you're in a place where you aren't going to be disturbed.

Unknown: 00:02:58

And all those kinds of things can make a lot of difference. I

Unknown: 00:03:02

then tried to move away from what I sounded like. Or if

Unknown: 00:03:08

you're doing a video podcast as well, what you look like whether

Unknown: 00:03:10

you turning up full face and makeup, as you can see today,

Unknown: 00:03:13

not for those of you that are listening on audio. But those of

Unknown: 00:03:17

you watching on YouTube, I'm not wearing any makeup today, I've

Unknown: 00:03:21

just got my hoodie on. And I think that it's it doesn't. What

Unknown: 00:03:27

I'm wearing has no bearing on the knowledge that I want to

Unknown: 00:03:29

share with everybody today. And that kind of thing can stop you

Unknown: 00:03:33

from showing up on video in general. So I'm kind of a big

Unknown: 00:03:37

believer of showing up as you are and as how I am most days

Unknown: 00:03:41

and this is how I am most days. I just try to focus on how I can

Unknown: 00:03:48

make my episodes better in terms of their content. Obviously, my

Unknown: 00:03:53

delivery, I have got easier talking to the microphone and

Unknown: 00:03:56

talking to the cameras since I've started doing this in the

Unknown: 00:04:00

last 18 months. But also making sure that my content is

Unknown: 00:04:04

relevant. And kind of going back to that point of what would my

Unknown: 00:04:09

audience want to listen to? What problem am I solving for them to

Unknown: 00:04:13

help them with their transformation with your

Unknown: 00:04:16

podcast? Not there. You're you listening out there? So the

Unknown: 00:04:22

third thing was, you know, this big, there are other people that

Unknown: 00:04:27

have a podcast like mine. So when I first started my virtual

Unknown: 00:04:31

assistant one I was like, How can I make a virtual assistant

Unknown: 00:04:35

podcast, a podcast aimed at virtual assistants that's not

Unknown: 00:04:38

like any other podcasts that I've listened to or when I

Unknown: 00:04:44

connected with rosemary calendar, who is also a podcast

Unknown: 00:04:47

manager and a podcast host and I really really love rosemary, and

Unknown: 00:04:51

I love what she's doing with her podcast, and her business. And

Unknown: 00:04:54

so when she started her tbz to podcast podcast, I was one

Unknown: 00:05:00

worried that if I started my own podcast about podcasting that it

Unknown: 00:05:04

would look like I'm either copying her or, you know, trying

Unknown: 00:05:08

to do the same thing. And I was really worried I didn't want to

Unknown: 00:05:12

be that person. But then it kind of, I then kind of got over

Unknown: 00:05:17

myself in a way that there are plenty of other podcasts out

Unknown: 00:05:20

there doing similar things to what I'm doing now and what

Unknown: 00:05:24

Rosen is doing. But the one thing that makes it different is

Unknown: 00:05:27

the fact that it's you that's doing it, you are showing up as

Unknown: 00:05:31

you and your vibe and your authenticity appeals to a

Unknown: 00:05:36

different audience in a specific way to other people's podcasts.

Unknown: 00:05:40

So, you know, somebody who enjoys my podcast, they just

Unknown: 00:05:46

might not saying they don't like other people's podcasts, but it

Unknown: 00:05:49

just makes, you're just being you. And that is what is the

Unknown: 00:05:53

most important thing to come across in your podcast, you're,

Unknown: 00:05:56

I'm talking about podcasting, and the way that I would deal

Unknown: 00:06:00

with it, and everyone else is talking about it in the way that

Unknown: 00:06:02

they would do it. So my biggest piece of advice here is just to

Unknown: 00:06:06

be you. I know that's easier said than done, because it is

Unknown: 00:06:09

hard. Showing up and showing up authentically and having that

Unknown: 00:06:15

big impostor syndrome, like I mentioned, for thinking about

Unknown: 00:06:18

your voice, and what do I look like, and am I gonna say

Unknown: 00:06:21

something has what I got to say important enough for people to

Unknown: 00:06:25

listen to. But those are things that just try and get over and

Unknown: 00:06:31

just and just start and start talking and planning and doing

Unknown: 00:06:36

those kinds of things. And just always keeping your ideal

Unknown: 00:06:39

listener in mind, so that you're staying on track. So number four

Unknown: 00:06:46

is being nervous about interviewing guests. The thing I

Unknown: 00:06:50

would tell myself or tell you is that you get better, you get

Unknown: 00:06:54

better each time you do it. If you don't practice, you won't

Unknown: 00:06:58

get better. If you don't start, you won't get better. It is

Unknown: 00:07:01

nerve racking. And I was quite nervous when I first started

Unknown: 00:07:05

interviewing guests. But I that was what I wanted to do for my

Unknown: 00:07:10

podcasts, that is what I decided to do. So I just in the end, you

Unknown: 00:07:14

just dive in and you just start. And that is the best thing that

Unknown: 00:07:18

you can do is to just start, you won't get any better. If you

Unknown: 00:07:21

don't start, there are some things that you could do. If

Unknown: 00:07:24

you're really nervous about interviewing people, then you

Unknown: 00:07:27

could rope in your friends, your family, business bestie, do some

Unknown: 00:07:32

mock interviews, record them and watch them back. And kind of

Unknown: 00:07:38

have a little bit of a learning exercise from those. I used to

Unknown: 00:07:42

clear up half an hour before my interviews, I sorted out now,

Unknown: 00:07:46

before I do an interview just talking getting the right kind

Unknown: 00:07:48

of a headspace I can have a coffee have a quiet moment, you

Unknown: 00:07:52

don't want to be rushing around doing work, why up until the

Unknown: 00:07:54

hill and then you're not prepared, you want to be able to

Unknown: 00:07:57

just log on a little bit earlier and whatever software you're

Unknown: 00:07:59

using, or however you're doing it, however you're recording so

Unknown: 00:08:03

that you can get your mic set up and you're all ready for them to

Unknown: 00:08:05

arrive. So those kinds of things can help with your nerves. And

Unknown: 00:08:10

yeah, I still do that kind of, you know, have that half an hour

Unknown: 00:08:13

downtime. Now. And I think the most important thing is to just

Unknown: 00:08:16

start because you will get better once you start. And it

Unknown: 00:08:22

becomes less of a big thing less nervous, the more times you do

Unknown: 00:08:25

it. I mean, I do get a little bit of a nervous anticipation.

Unknown: 00:08:29

Sometimes if you're having just one of those days, I've got to

Unknown: 00:08:32

psych myself up a little bit. But once I get into the swing of

Unknown: 00:08:36

it, once I've got into talking to my guests, you kind of get

Unknown: 00:08:40

sucked in not in a bad way into the conversation and you kind of

Unknown: 00:08:44

forget that you were nervous or forget that you were worried

Unknown: 00:08:47

about it. Oh, and also I would say, don't treat it like an

Unknown: 00:08:52

interview, quote unquote. Obviously, if you can't see me

Unknown: 00:08:55

you're not watching on YouTube, but an interview because that's

Unknown: 00:08:58

how I kind of thought about it when actually it's more of a

Unknown: 00:09:04

chance. Something that's a bit more laid back. You're not like

Unknown: 00:09:09

an investigative journalist. That's, I mean, if that's your

Unknown: 00:09:12

podcast, and yes, you would have to have those types of interview

Unknown: 00:09:14

skills that you're, you know, that type of interviewing that

Unknown: 00:09:18

you're doing. But I would say on a general term, like what I'm

Unknown: 00:09:21

doing and what I'm seeing a lot of my clients and other people

Unknown: 00:09:23

out there in the space doing is you're more having a chat with

Unknown: 00:09:27

somebody with your peers, with someone that's got something to

Unknown: 00:09:30

offer for your audience. It's not like a big, big interview

Unknown: 00:09:34

kind of thing. And the last one number five is I kind of knew it

Unknown: 00:09:40

was a big commitment. And but I possibly didn't realise how much

Unknown: 00:09:45

until I was really in the thick of it. I mean, for me, I

Unknown: 00:09:51

absolutely love podcasting. That's kind of what I live in

Unknown: 00:09:54

breathe at the moment. And I once I kind of caught a bug I

Unknown: 00:09:59

wanted to carry on podcasting. Because I just love the whole

Unknown: 00:10:05

process. I love recording the episodes, I love interviewing

Unknown: 00:10:08

them, I love helping my clients get their awesome podcasts out

Unknown: 00:10:11

there and increase their business and their audience, I

Unknown: 00:10:15

really enjoy all of that. But if you don't enjoy it, it can be it

Unknown: 00:10:20

become, it'll become a chore like anything else that you

Unknown: 00:10:23

don't like doing. Obviously, if you can afford to, and it's good

Unknown: 00:10:28

for you and your business, you can outsource some of the things

Unknown: 00:10:30

which can help with the commitment side of things and

Unknown: 00:10:32

the time. And you know, because it's not just recording the

Unknown: 00:10:36

episode and bang, you've got it. Because even if you don't want

Unknown: 00:10:39

to edit, you want to keep it as warm as possible, you still got

Unknown: 00:10:42

to upload it, you still want to make the most out of that piece

Unknown: 00:10:46

of content you've created for your social media, your

Unknown: 00:10:48

marketing strategy, you don't want to just leave that as one

Unknown: 00:10:51

podcast, you've got to be able to promote it. Pull out things

Unknown: 00:10:55

from the episode that are going to be really valuable to your

Unknown: 00:10:57

audience to let them know, all those kinds of things so that

Unknown: 00:11:00

there are a lot of moving pieces with the podcast. So one thing I

Unknown: 00:11:05

think it was Janet Marie that said to me, which I haven't

Unknown: 00:11:08

thought about before, so I learned a lot from Janet, she

Unknown: 00:11:10

was such a great conversation. And if you haven't listened to

Unknown: 00:11:13

the episode, I'd really recommend you go back and listen

Unknown: 00:11:16

to Janet's episode, I'll link it in the show notes to make it

Unknown: 00:11:19

easy. But is to do a season or series that can be as many

Unknown: 00:11:25

episodes as you like, you could even do just a series of four

Unknown: 00:11:28

episodes, you've got four very specific themes or topics, from

Unknown: 00:11:33

your business from what you want to talk about. And you can

Unknown: 00:11:36

really get to know whether you enjoy podcasting, whether you're

Unknown: 00:11:40

doing guest or solo however you're doing your episodes,

Unknown: 00:11:42

you'll get like the feel of all the whole process of recording,

Unknown: 00:11:47

talking to guests, if you have a guest on uploading, the

Unknown: 00:11:51

promotion side of things, all of that you'll get a good a really

Unknown: 00:11:55

good idea of how long it's going to take you as well and see

Unknown: 00:11:57

whether or not this is going to be viable for your business. Can

Unknown: 00:12:00

I carry this on? Or if I'm going to outsource it? Can I afford to

Unknown: 00:12:03

outsource it, what is reasonable can hire, outsource some of it,

Unknown: 00:12:07

all those kind of things. And it will really give you a really

Unknown: 00:12:10

great idea and into whether or not podcasting is going to be

Unknown: 00:12:15

great for you and your business. I hope you've got some value out

Unknown: 00:12:20

of me sharing my learns. If you're in the same position, if

Unknown: 00:12:25

you're just starting out in your podcasts, and this is how you're

Unknown: 00:12:28

feeling or you're in the middle of your podcasts. And you're not

Unknown: 00:12:32

sure whether you want to carry on. I'd love to chat. I'm always

Unknown: 00:12:35

happy to chat to anybody about their podcasts or their journey.

Unknown: 00:12:39

And I'll leave a link in the show notes. So you can book

Unknown: 00:12:41

straight into my calendar and we can get a chat in and just let

Unknown: 00:12:44

me know. And also if you have any questions also let me know.

Unknown: 00:12:48

I'd love to hear from you. Great. Well, thanks for

Unknown: 00:12:51

listening, and I'll catch you next time. Bye. Thanks so much

Unknown: 00:12:56

for listening. If you've enjoyed today's episode, please like

Unknown: 00:12:59

share and subscribe. Your support means so much to me. If

Unknown: 00:13:02

there's a question or topic you'd like covering then I'd

Unknown: 00:13:04

love to hear from you. Find the podcast on Instagram at Reggie

Unknown: 00:13:08

Botfield and drop me a DM till next time bye