This podcast was recorded on the lands of the Wangal people, of the Eora Nation.
I pay my respects to Elders past and present.
Transcripts
Voice Over:
Got dreams of being a professional podcaster, but have no idea what you're doing. This is impossible. That's about to change. A new kind of school. Welcome to the PodSchool Podcast.
Rachel Corbett:
Hello. Welcome to the show.
Today, I've got a question from Damien, who said, "I want to start a podcast, but I don't feel ready. Should I just start?"
Yep.
As long as you've done your due diligence around whether there's an audience for this podcast that would find the content valuable, and you've nailed your idea in a way that ensures it's going to give something to someone.
I think often people jump into podcasting because they want to say something or do something, but they haven't really thought about whether it's providing value to anybody other than themselves. And I think as long as you've done that work, and you've hit on something where you feel like, “This is really good, I'm passionate about it, and it’s got legs,” then go for it.
That's a big thing — you have to do the work to figure out whether your show has enough content breadth to sustain a weekly episode, if that’s what you’re planning to do.
If this is going to be an “always on” show and you want to grow an audience, it's important to be consistent. And for that, the show has to have enough depth to deliver something every single week. So if those elements are there, yes, I think you should start.
We all get stuck in paralysis by analysis, or perfectionism. I’m guilty of that too.
Sometimes I feel like I can’t move forward with something because it’s not going to look as polished as it should — especially since I do this for a living. I don’t have the perfect studio setup at home, or a team to press record and edit it all for me. So I can get stuck thinking, “Maybe I shouldn’t do this because it won’t look good enough.”
But in reality, I know the content is strong, there's an audience for it, and people are asking these questions — so I just need to get it out there.
I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I still feel this way, so if you're just starting out, it’s completely normal. But if you let that fear stop you, you could stay stuck forever.
The truth is, you will get better over time. Your show will improve. Your presenting will improve. Your audience will grow. But it also takes time to find your people.
You might be sharing episodes for months — maybe even years — before your audience reaches a size you’re happy with. I get emails from PodSchool students saying, “I think I’m doing it wrong — only a handful of people are tuning in.” But if you’re starting from scratch with no existing audience, you are doing it right. Growth takes time.
The only way to build a successful podcast is to publish episodes. All the work you do behind the scenes to make it perfect doesn’t matter if you never hit publish. The only thing that generates audience is releasing content.
That’s why I always recommend a weekly publishing cadence if you want to grow. Fortnightly is tougher. Monthly is even harder.
Over the years, I’ve tested a bunch of different ways to release shows. I’ve tried dropping all episodes at once, and while there’s a spike at the beginning, it’s hard to grow audience that way. It doesn’t build momentum like weekly drops do.
So the key is to get into a rhythm. Start releasing. Start finding your people. Start getting feedback. You can’t adjust or improve until you’ve put something out into the world.
And it’s okay to start before you feel ready. I still don’t feel ready some days. But I remind myself, “Just get this out.”
So if you’ve got an idea you’re passionate about — if you know it’ll be valuable to someone — start. Get going.
If you want help, check the episode description. I’ve got lots of ways to work with me, including my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
Getting started is one of the biggest hurdles. But doing a little bit of pre-work to ensure your idea is right will give you the best chance of success. That doesn’t mean you need to run a massive focus group — just give it proper thought.
Sometimes you just know when you've hit on the right idea. It resonates. It clicks. You can also use family and friends as a sounding board — ask, “Would you listen to this? Is this interesting to you?” Get feedback, then go.
You’ll never know what your show could be until you hit publish. So get to it. You have my permission.
Let’s not get stuck trying to be perfect. None of us are. And none of us ever will be. Don’t wait around for perfection — because it’s never coming.
Hopefully this has given you the confidence to start.
If you’ve got a question, just head to the description of this episode — I’d love to answer it and help you get your podcast off the ground.
