Evo Terra:
The tools podcasters use are constantly changing.
Evo Terra:
But we tend to ignore changes to a critical piece of our
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the podcaster.
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Has your podcast changed to keep up with changes in your own life?
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Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.
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I was having a conversation with a fellow podcaster recently.
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It had been a few weeks or maybe a few months since they'd put out a
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new episode of their podcast and they were really questioning some of the
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decisions that led them to that point.
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This was an effort for them to reboot their show.
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Something, by the way, that they had done five other times I can think of.
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They were brainstorming some ideas with me.
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Now, over that same time, they'd actually been in the process of
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rebooting their business life once again, which further adds to the challenge.
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Now me personally, I've been through that way too many times.
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Heck, I'm going through it right now, as members of the Advancing Podcasting
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community - AdvancingPodcasting.xyz - found out about last week in a post.
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Back to my friend, I halfingly joked to this unnamed podcaster, put that
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question out there, you know, the "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
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question.
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And the answer they gave me was interesting, and it kind of forms the
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crux of what I want to talk about today.
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"The problem, Evo," they said, "with people like us is that
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that's the wrong question.
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We really should be asked, 'What do we want to be this year?'"
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And I think that has great implications for people like you and me who are
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podcasters and have been at this for a while and have made podcasts that
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are successful, at least successful enough to keep the podcast going and
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whatever that success means to you.
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I started thinking of my history and podcasting, which technically started in
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2004, but had its true start back in 2002.
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That's been two decades of time, two decades in which I've moved
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houses eleven times, I've raised a kid, and I have grandkids now.
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I've changed jobs five times, but careers four times.
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I'm not the same person I was in 2002.
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Heck, I'm not even the same person I was in 2012, and probably not even from 2020.
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So "what do I want to be this year?"
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is a rather compelling question for me.
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If I'm not the same person that I was a year ago, doesn't that mean my
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podcast has effectively changed hosts?
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And when a podcast gets a new host, changes are kind of assumed, aren't they?
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Let's talk more about that.
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If we ignore soap operas and the time when Hollywood swapped in Don Cheadle
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for Terrence Howard, major character changes, and especially host changes,
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cause major changes in format, in tone, and in the styles of the shows.
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Look, it's one thing to sub in a guest host for a few weeks.
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But when it's a brand new person at the helm, things change and
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everyone kind of expects it.
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Even those diehard fans who hope nothing's going to change, they
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know things are going to change, and then they're kind of okay with it.
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And so it goes, or so it probably should go, in podcasting.
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In your podcast, if you're not the same person you were when you started your
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show, your show is probably different.
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But maybe I'm wrong about that.
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You might have it nailed down tight, or maybe you have slowly
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incorporated your life's changes into your show as they happen to you,
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whether that was intentional or not.
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Maybe you're good at that.
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You know, if you're making good money because of your podcast or
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with your podcast, and you've been hosting the same show for a decade
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or more, that's probably the case.
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That, or you're just really good at compartmentalizing.
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Much better than me because I'm not.
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All of those events that I mentioned, and even more of those over the
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last twenty years, are part of the reason why I've either been the host
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or the co-host of more than twenty different podcasts and counting.
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Of the shows I've quit or I've dropped, some of it was it just wasn't possible
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to do anymore based on proximity.
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I mean, the Bangkok Podcast probably needs and has Bangkok-based hosts.
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Or, for practicality reasons.
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Literally no one wants to listen to a podcast about a dead and
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buried operating system, no matter how cool the Palm Pree was.
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And for others, my attention and interest diverged greatly from those of the show.
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Sticking around and doing something that felt cumbersome didn't seem right.
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I mean, for me, doing the show moved from the fun column to the
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obligation column, and I don't really like doing things that I don't find
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fun in at least most of the time.
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Some were intentional, short-term projects.
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Although, short-term could mean six episodes, and has meant six episodes, or
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100 episodes with some sort of an end-date or some other predefined destination.
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Some, like this one, may have morphed through lots of different
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iterations, keeping pace with my changing interests, if you will.
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And yes, this show is eventually going to change again.
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Don't worry.
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You know I'm going to keep changing things, right?
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I keep changing things so that I keep the fun-for-me level quite
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high, just as I've done previously.
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Now, I know a lot of podcasts, some successful and some less so,
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haven't changed much at all - since they were created, actually.
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And they don't change for a lot of reasons.
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Habit.
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Concerns about disappointing or turning off their listeners.
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There's an excellent cash flow that needs to be protected.
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Fear of the unknown.
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Perhaps the show's just hosted by someone who actually knew what they
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wanted to be when they grew up.
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Think for a moment about your own show and your journey through
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podcasting that brought you here today.
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Think of all the changes that you've seen in your life from family to job,
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hobbies, and ask yourself if you've changed, and if you've changed your show
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enough to match the person you are today?
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And if not, should you?
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Would that make you happier?
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Would that re-energize you?
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Would it possibly re-engage your audience?
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And can you do it in a way that doesn't jeopardize the success
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you've already seen thus far?
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That's a question you'll have to answer on your own.
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And let's face it, you may not be as risk-tolerant as me.
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And that's okay.
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If what you've been doing for your show for more than a decade is really working,
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then I want you to keep on keeping on.
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But, if you look in the mirror and the person staring back at you
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isn't the same person you see in your head, it might be time to mix
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things up a bit on your podcast.
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And with that, I shall be back directly 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.
