Do you really need a podcast coach or course? That’s the million-dollar question we’re diving into today! We’re peeling back the layers on the podcasting coaching scene, where it seems like everyone and their grandma has a “how-to” course to sell. I might even be eating my own words from past episodes because, let’s be real, it’s totally okay to change your mind.
We’ll explore whether a coach can actually help you level up, or if maybe, just maybe, you could save your cash and find what you need in free online communities instead.
Spoiler alert: not all that glitters is gold, and sometimes the best stuff is lurking behind the free curtain. So, grab a cuppa of your favourite drink and let’s get into it!
Takeaways:
In this episode, we dive into whether you really need a podcast coach or course.
Changing your mind about podcasting advice shows growth and adaptability in the industry.
Many people call themselves coaches, but some are more like mentors—know the difference!
Before spending big bucks on a course, assess what specific outcomes you truly want.
Free resources abound for aspiring podcasters, so do your homework before hiring a coach.
Shiny object syndrome is real; just because someone succeeded doesn't mean they can help you.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of the Lazy Girls Guide to Podcasting with me, Verity.
Speaker A:
In today's episode, we are going to answer the question, which is the episode title of do you need a podcast coach or course.
Speaker A:
I think in this episode I might end up eating some of my words from earlier on episodes of the podcast.
Speaker A:
But do you know what it is?
Speaker A:
It's okay to change your opinions, it's okay to change your minds.
Speaker A:
And I think that just shows growth as a human and in an industry really as well.
Speaker A:
But I really wanted to dive into this question because what I've been seeing more and more online in recent months is more than ever people saying that courses are dead, but then also creating online courses, particularly in the podcasting industry of the podcasting game.
Speaker A:
And I'm seeing more and more people popping up giving coaching advice or coaching services, as it were, for podcasters, new podcasters, established podcasters, et cetera.
Speaker A:
And it's really led me to question whether or not you need to either as a newbie podcaster, somebody who's only just started podcasting, if you are thinking of setting up a podcast, if you are established in podcasting and want to kind of get to the next level, as it were, whatever that might look like for you, do you need a coach or a course?
Speaker A:
And the more I was thinking about it, the more I realized there was no clear cut, yes, no answer to this question.
Speaker A:
Some people work really, really well if they've got a coach or a mentor.
Speaker A:
They are two different things, by the way, coaching and mentoring are two different things.
Speaker A:
Coaching is when you are turning around to somebody and you are encouraging them to look inward because they've already got the answer themselves.
Speaker A:
So how do you feel about that?
Speaker A:
Or what do you think you can do about it when you're actually telling someone what to do based on a process?
Speaker A:
That's mentoring.
Speaker A:
And I have to say, it's a big bugbear, very personal bugbear.
Speaker A:
But it annoys me so much in the Internet space where every second person seems to be a coach.
Speaker A:
They're not most people in the coaching space, in my opinion, what I have seen, most people who are calling themselves a coach are not coaching.
Speaker A:
They are mentoring.
Speaker A:
They are two very different things.
Speaker A:
But I think that's just a personal bugbur and I think that's, you know, neither here nor there.
Speaker A:
But regardless, some people work really, really well with having a coach explaining to them step by step what to do or what they think that they should be doing.
Speaker A:
And I think that nobody can take away from that service.
Speaker A:
However, there's a lot of individuals in the coaching space, and I've been there before, I'm holding my hands up to this, who charge a lot of money.
Speaker A:
And again, there's no problem with this because I think, you know, you're charging, or I hope most people are charging as podcast coaches based on expertise, based on real results, based on skill level, etc.
Speaker A:
But I think it's really important to do your homework before you engage with a coach and actually look at what are their numbers, what are their credentials, what is it that they have done that actually makes them worth spending, in some cases thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds for their services.
Speaker A:
Like, are you going to spend £5,000 and actually see that return and then some to make that investment worthwhile?
Speaker A:
And you might think, well, actually it's not about investment, it's just about growing and learning and that's what all that matters to me.
Speaker A:
Okay, fine.
Speaker A:
But what I'm saying is that I think that there's too much space in the industry at the moment where people are charging thousands based on, well, I watched a few YouTube videos, so I'm just going to regurgitate that information.
Speaker A:
And that's not okay, in my opinion, at all.
Speaker A:
I think that if you need someone to keep you motivated, then maybe there's a cheaper alternative as opposed to spending so much money on a podcasting coach, which is costing thousands, if not tens of thousands or equally.
Speaker A:
There are lots of online communities.
Speaker A:
There's podcasting communities on Reddit, there's communities on YouTube, so many of them across different social media platforms that you can join and interact with for accountability.
Speaker A:
It just depends on which social media platform you prefer to engage with.
Speaker A:
And it's important to remember when you're looking for a coach or a course, in this case is that shiny object syndrome really does exist in this space.
Speaker A:
And just because somebody was able to grow their own podcast to X amount of thousand downloads or X amount of listeners, whatever, doesn't mean that they can do the same for you and your podcast.
Speaker A:
Because what you've got to remember is what if they're in a niche where the listenership or the potential listenership is huge, versus if you are in a niche with a listenership which is incredibly small or harder to infiltrate in comparison.
Speaker A:
These are the things that we need to consider.
Speaker A:
And that then brings me on to the next point of these courses that you can buy.
Speaker A:
Some of them are more expensive than a year of a university degree just for A podcasting course, which really is, I hate to say it, but some of them are just not worth that weight at all.
Speaker A:
Then you can go onto YouTube and you can get exactly the same information for free.
Speaker A:
You can listen to this podcast or other podcasts about podcasting, absolutely for free.
Speaker A:
You can go on to Captivate fm and no, this is not an upsell whatsoever.
Speaker A:
We know that they are my podcast hosting platform.
Speaker A:
This is not an upsell because you go on to Captivate FM and you can sign up for free, free, completely free online course to help you set up and run your podcast.
Speaker A:
And there are so many other free resources out there, which really makes me wonder whether or not spending two, three, you know, a few thousand pounds on a podcast course is worth it.
Speaker A:
So what I would suggest is if you are thinking of buying a course, getting a coach, the first thing I would encourage you to do is consider what is it that you want out of that course?
Speaker A:
What do you want that coach to do for you?
Speaker A:
And really have specifics in mind, such as, is it you want to increase your listenership?
Speaker A:
Is it that you want to set up the podcast?
Speaker A:
Is it that you want to retain your listeners?
Speaker A:
Is it that you want help promoting on social media?
Speaker A:
What is it specifically you want from that coach or from that course?
Speaker A:
Because that is going to help you find the coach or course that is relevant to you.
Speaker A:
And it might be that doing your research for that relevant person or for that relevant course, actually you find a lot of the information for free and you've then got to think to yourself, well, once I've consumed this free information and implemented this free information, what else do I now need to know?
Speaker A:
What are those gaps that now need to be filled that a coach or a course can plug?
Speaker A:
Please don't take away from this episode that podcast coaching is a waste of time, that courses are a waste of time.
Speaker A:
What I'm trying to get over from this episode is that coaching and courses, in my opinion, is not always worth the money that people are spending.
Speaker A:
Because you spend a couple of thousand, even a couple of hundred dollars, pounds, whatever you expect return for that money, you expect results.
Speaker A:
And unfortunately, that's just not the case for a lot of these courses.
Speaker A:
For a lot of these coaches, you don't see the results that you expect for the high price point that they are put at.
Speaker A:
So for me, I think it's about, rather than just seeing the results and the amazing stories from one or two clients, it's actually thinking to yourself, specifically, what is it that I want from this course or this coach and almost justifying that expense.
Speaker A:
And you might think to me, you might be listening to this episode and thinking, verity, you're completely wrong.
Speaker A:
I don't need to justify.
Speaker A:
If I want to spend £2,000 on a coach, if I want to spend 400 on a course, I can do that.
Speaker A:
And of course you can.
Speaker A:
It's your money.
Speaker A:
I'm just saying that we've seen so many online courses and so many coaches be exposed, for want of a better phrase, or people saying, you know, you're just copying and pasting.
Speaker A:
You've then got the issue with master resale rights and the product wasn't a good product in the first place.
Speaker A:
You've got coaches who just rehash a load of stuff that they're taught by somebody else.
Speaker A:
And I just think we need to be a lot more careful about how we're passing money to coaches and courses.
Speaker A:
I will have the free course I mentioned from Captivate FM down in the show notes for you to click on.
Speaker A:
And as I said, it is free.
Speaker A:
And you can also remember, go to my blog, because my blog is full of free resources for setting up and running your own podcast.
Speaker A:
Otherwise, hope you have found this useful as ever and happy podcasting.
