Feeling stuck in a podcasting rut? We totally get it! In this episode, we're diving into seven super handy tips to help you shake off that creative slump and reignite your podcasting passion. Whether you're wondering "what to podcast about" or contemplating “should I quit my podcast?”, we’ve got your back with some fun and practical advice to get those creative juices flowing. From revisiting your most downloaded episodes to answering listener questions, we’ll explore ways to make your podcasting journey enjoyable again. So grab a snack, get comfy, and let’s figure out how to podcast like the pros (or at least like we know what we’re doing)!

Takeaways:

1. Revisiting your most downloaded episodes can spark new ideas and help you understand what your audience loves.
2. If you're in a creative rut, just record a messy voice note when inspiration strikes, no matter how wild the idea!
3. Audience interaction is key; asking for listener questions can turn into multiple episode ideas, so don’t be shy!
4. Repurposing old content can breathe new life into your podcast; consider turning popular blog posts into episodes.
5. List episodes are super easy to create and great for SEO, so why not make a top five or seven mistakes episode?
6. Taking a break from podcasting doesn’t mean you have to explain yourself; prioritise your well-being and come back when you're ready.

Podcast Episodes Mentioned:

1. Ep 43: Should I Quit My Podcast? >> https://lazygirlpod.captivate.fm/episode/ep-43-should-i-quit-my-podcast
2. Ep 100: Why It's Okay to Take a Break from Podcasting >> https://lazygirlpod.captivate.fm/episode/100

Hello everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Lazy Girls Guide to Podcasting with me, Verity.

In today's episode, we are going to be covering seven tips to get you out of a podcast creative slump.

Because we all know what it's like.

I've been through slumps in the podcast as well.

We all know what it's like when you just don't feel creative.

You're just not sure what to podcast about, or you're just not feeling the energy of it anymore.

You're wondering if there's any point in continuing your podcast, whatever it might be that you are currently thinking.

I don't know whether or not I either want to continue with this podcast or I just don't know what to podcast about.

Hopefully these seven tips that we're going to cover in this episode will get you out of that podcasting creative slump.

So let's crack on.

The first tip is to revisit your most downloaded episodes.

And not just at the download numbers, but also for how long people are listening to those episodes.

Because it's all very well saying, oh well, I got like 500 downloads for this episode, but if everybody clicked off it and didn't listen past the first 10 seconds, that's a little bit pointless.

So look at your most downloaded episodes, but then within your most downloaded episodes, which ones are people actually listening to a good amount of that episode?

Which topics seem to be resonating with your audience?

Was it that your 10 minute episode did better than your hour long episode?

Was it that your 45 minute episode did better than a 15 minute episode did?

People tend to prefer it when you did a solo episode or when you did an interview.

Maybe perhaps when you were more prepared for an episode and you had a script, or when you just went off the cuff and it was quite chatty and informal.

And the reason I recommend this is because when you start looking at your old episodes, you might feel like, actually I could do an update for that particular episode or I could do a part two or I could do a response to it.

Maybe you reviewed a product six months ago and now you're thinking, oh, I could do a follow up now that I have been using that product or service or whatever it is for six months or whatever it might look like.

So look at those downloaded episodes that people are really listening to and consider whether or not you could do another episode off the back of those ideas.

My second tip is to just record a really messy private voice note to yourself when an idea just comes to you, even if it's completely random and out there.

I do this quite a bit when I'm in the car.

I've got my phone connected to the hands free in my car and I might be listening to something, it might be another podcast, might be on the radio, it could be that I'm not listening to anything and I'm just letting my mind wander whilst I'm stuck in traffic and I will suddenly say, hey Siri, explore the idea of creating an episode about da da da da da.

Or I will just put down a thought process around podcasting.

It will then save it to my notes and I can go back to that idea later and I'll be thinking to myself, maybe there's like a 10 minute episode in this that I can do.

Or maybe sometimes I actually look at a range of different notes and I'll pull two or three of them together and that will create an episode in its own right.

My third tip is to answer a listener question, so reach out to your audience.

That could be through an email list, it could be through social media.

However, you connect with your audience and ask them, say what would you like to hear on the episodes?

Or do you have a question about the topic that you want me to answer?

And hopefully you'll get more than one question.

And even if you get only five questions, that's five episodes.

If you get 10 questions, that could potentially be 10 episodes.

So reach out and ask your audience what they want.

Tip four is repurposing old content.

Maybe you run a blog in conjunction with your podcast and you blogged about something that you didn't cover on the podcast, or you covered a podcast episode slightly differently to how you then wrote it in the blog?

Could you use that blog post and create a podcast episode from a slightly different angle?

Or equally, do you have a blog post which did incredibly well, or a social media post that did really well, a reel, for example, that your audience really resonated with and now you're thinking, wow, I could actually turn that into a full episode.

Tip five is to do a list episode.

I really like list episodes.

This is a list episode.

For example.

It could be things like five mistakes that people in your niche make or seven hacks for.

Whatever it is, it could be three ways to do and get some kind of end goal which is relevant to your audience.

But list episodes tend to be really, really easy to put together.

You can update a previous list, you can do a previous list from a slightly different angle, but lists episodes are also really good for SEO as well.

Tip 6 Talk about what's happening in your life.

This particular tip is going to work well for some shows.

It won't work so well for other shows, but depending on the show that you have got, maybe you just want to do a bit of an update.

This is what's going on in my life.

Get to know your audience a little bit more or even give that opportunity for your audience to get to know you that little bit more.

People love behind the scenes.

People love to know what you're doing.

Obviously you don't have to share your innermost, darkest, deepest secrets and only ever be happy to share what you're happy to share what.

Obviously I'm never going to say go and share stuff that you're not happy with people and strangers essentially knowing about, but even if it just seems trivial, some people really like that.

It's about relatability.

It's about making you seem more of a person and approachable as well.

And my final tip Tip seven for when you are in that creative slump with your podcast is to take a break.

I have talked about this on the podcast before.

In episode 43 of the Pod podcast, we actually covered the question should I quit my podcast?

So if you're thinking, should I quit the podcast, maybe go back and listen to that episode.

And in episode 100 we talked about why it's okay to take a break from podcasting if you feel that that is right for you and your podcast at this particular moment in time.

So if you're thinking of either quitting your podcast or taking a break, I would highly recommend going back and listening to episodes 43 and episodes 100, because they might also help you get out of that creative slump and help you figure out the next steps for both you and your podcast.

And if you do take a break with your podcast, you need to remember you don't have to come back with an absolute bang and explain to everybody why you disappeared and why you weren't on social media, why you weren't producing new episodes, et cetera.

If you want to share that information, great.

But equally, if you don't want to, you don't have to.

As I said, I have taken breaks from this podcast before and sometimes I've explained why and other times I haven't explained why.

And that's absolutely fine.

You don't need to share absolutely everything with your audience, only the things that you are comfortable with.

I hope from this episode you have found at least one of these seven tips for how to get out of a podcast Creative slump Useful creative slumps are normal as well.

You are definitely not alone.

And sometimes we go through different seasons in our life.

Sometimes we're going through the literal seasons, and sometimes you're busier, and sometimes you're just not feeling it.

And that is absolutely fine.

But remind yourself, when you are creating content for your podcast, it doesn't need to be perfect.

You just need to show up in a way that's authentic, that's meaningful, and in a way that you enjoy as well.

Because I do 100% believe you've got to enjoy podcasting in order to be a podcaster, you've got to enjoy the medium.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you hit subscribe.

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I have loved sharing these tips with you, and I will see you next time.