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If the majority of the world isn't talking about one single must-listen
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podcast, this industry is dead.
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Right?
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Wrong.
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So very, very wrong.
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Here's why this mythical success factor needs to die.
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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.
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Every time there's these negative article about podcasting's inability to generate
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blockbuster hits, I get a little stabby because here's the secret, you don't need
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to create a blockbuster podcast because podcasting does not need blockbuster hits.
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Now, I know that seems at odd with other forms of media.
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I mean, three or four times a year, there's a blockbuster movie that almost
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everyone is talking about, and every fall there's a TV program or two that captures
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the entirety of the world it seems.
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There are hit songs that dominate the airwaves for weeks or months,
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and there are best-selling books that everyone you know is reading.
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But in podcasting, eh, not so much.
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Not since the 2014, 2015 era by some yard sticks.
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Back to my secret - so what?
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You're probably expecting me to come break down all the reasons why podcasting is
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different from those mediums, like our purposely distributed architecture that
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we built podcasting on 20 years ago.
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Or the relatively low barrier to entry, both creating and
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distribution, podcasting affords.
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Or the fact that it's a podcast tells a potential listener absolutely nothing
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about the actual content of that audio.
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And yeah, all of those things are true and certainly contribute to
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why podcasting doesn't really have blockbuster hits the way that other
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media forms have blockbuster hits, but I return to my secret another time.
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So what?
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Podcasting doesn't need blockbuster hits to survive.
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Podcast creators, those in it for the long haul at least, don't
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need blockbuster hits to survive.
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Do we need popular shows that attract and retain a large audience?
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Yeah, the industry certainly needs that.
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And many shows, especially those with high production costs, they also need that.
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But an audience described as "large and retained" need not mean everyone.
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Having a large and retained audience of several orders of magnitude lower than
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everyone can still make the efforts pay off for all of a podcast's creators.
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And that's what matters for many podcasters.
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It's what matters for many podcast networks.
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It's what matters for many podcast service providers who build the
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tools and services necessary to power podcasting as an industry.
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My advice?
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Get out of podcasting if you wanna make a blockbuster hit, but stay in podcasting
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if you wanna build a show or a service that can only work in podcasting.
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And 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 based on today's episode is available at
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podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected
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transcript, both created by Allie Press.
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Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media.
