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Podcasting's purveyors of picks
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and shovels—the myriad service providers that make our space
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an actual industry—are filled
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with smart people.
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But smarts only gets you so far.
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What's needed is
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experience.
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Hello, and
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welcome to another Podcast Pontifications
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with me, Evo Terra.
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I'm breaking
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a cardinal sin of podcasting today because I'm going to be talking to
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an audience other than my primary one.
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Because I follow many of the best practices I put forth on the show, I
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know who I'm for, the serious podcaster, and why
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they are here.
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I also know that many people who work in the business of podcasting
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either listen to my episodes,
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watch the videos, or read my words, either on the site or in the
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newsletter I send out.
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People at
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the top of the companies that make the podcast ecosystem
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happen, but plenty in the middle of those organizations, as well,
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in the business of podcasting.
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And that's who I'm talking to today, those of you who work
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in the business of podcasting.
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And I have a single message for you.
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And it's a message I'm confident my
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primary audience will get behind
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completely.
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And here it is.
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If you work in the business of podcasting, you need to be
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a podcaster.
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A controversial
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take, I know, which is why I wanted to take today's episode
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to really help push you in the right
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direction, or what I feel
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is the right direction.
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Now, if you're feeling called out right now, relax, I'm not advocating
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for your immediate dismissal, nor do I think your employment should
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be predicated on you having
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an active, growing podcast.
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That is not my position at all.
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My position is that you should want to have your own podcast, either a solo show
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or a group effort, because it
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will make you better at your job.
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It will accelerate your career trajectory.
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It will increase your value, present and future.
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And it will make you all the more resilient and able to withstand
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the upheaval our industry faces
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every single day.
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By becoming
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a person who works in the business of podcasting and is a
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podcaster, you'll gain an appreciation for the role you play in the podcast
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ecosystem at your job that no amount of training can ever provide.
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By becoming a person who works in the business of podcasting and is
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a podcaster, you'll have more than just an appreciation of the effort
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it takes to put out a podcast,
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you'll gain empathy for those
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that do.
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And that empathy will lead to understanding, and understanding will
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make you more efficient and more effective because you'll know the crux points faced
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as a podcaster because you faced them.
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That's the why.
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Here's the how.
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Before the how, let me be clear, I do not care what kind of podcast you make,
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where you host it, or whom you collaborate with, or even how
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big you can grow it.
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I mean, you may care about some of those aspects, depending on your own
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goals and objectives, but for me, it's enough that you start podcasting.
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And then keep podcasting, ideally.
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So go ahead and start on Anchor or some other free hosting platform if you want.
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Though, I would recommend keeping your employer's
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relationships in mind.
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If they have
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a, or perhaps they are their own, preferred podcast hosting company,
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you'd probably be seen as a model employee if you use that same service.
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Likewise, if your company has an antagonistic relationship with a hosting
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company, that's probably one you want to
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avoid.
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But look, podcasting
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hosting companies range in price from free to cheap.
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So don't let that stop you.
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And when you podcast, I mean, you know, going through the actual motions of
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making a podcast, I think you should do as much as you possibly can on your own.
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And yes, that's scary and a lot.
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So I'm not going to fault you if you establish a team of
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people, hand off as many moving parts to others.
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There's
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a lot to podcasting and you're not going to grok it all,
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probably, if you just simply show
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up and talk into a microphone
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with your
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friends for thirty minutes and
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then bug out while they do all the work.
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But hey, at least you'll understand some of the process.
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But I think you should try your hand at everything, even like audio
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editing and engineering.
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And I don't
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care if you use a free tool like GarageBand or Audacity.
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You can
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even use Descript if
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you want.
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You don't have to use professional tools like Hindenburg Pro, my tool of
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choice, Adobe Audition, or Pro Tools.
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You'll learn so much about this industry just by
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editing audio tracks, sweating
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over things like softening
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plosives, EQ, and whether
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or not to leave in that sharp intake of breath.
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Riveting, I know, but also very crucial to what it is that we do here.
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And if you can, I think you should work on your episode outline.
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You should write up the episode details.
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You should send the audio file off for transcription and then
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correct that transcription.
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You should fret over just
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the right
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title for the episode.
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You should
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create episode
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cover art in Canva or some other
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tool.
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You should research guests, invite the guest to a recording session,
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conduct the interview, and then pull the files from the recording system.
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You should make social media assets, whether those are static
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images or audiograms, and
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even video formats.
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And you should then publish those assets
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to see what resonates.
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You should
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try to get people to listen to your show.
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You should work on collaborations with other podcasters and participate
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in various Twitter spaces and even answer newbie questions in places
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where newbie podcasters hang out.
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You don't have to have a hit podcast to gain this experience.
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You don't have to attract advertisers or sponsors to your show.
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You don't have to vie for the biggest
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celebrity guest.
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All you
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have to do is learn what it truly means to make a podcast.
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And I assure you that doing so will make you that much more valuable to
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the podcast-related company
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you work for today, as well
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as podcast-related companies
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you might work for tomorrow.
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With that, I shall be back next week with yet another Podcast Pontifications.
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Cheers!
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Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra.
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He's on a mission to make podcasting better.
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Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes
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section of your podcast listening app.
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A written-to-be-read article
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based on today's episode is
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available at podcastpontifications.com
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where you'll also find a video version and
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a corrected transcript, both created
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by Allie Press.
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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.
