As of writing this post (6/28/22), Bill and I are quickly approaching our first year of the podcast.
Have you listened?
If so, I’d love to know what you think. What do you like and what can be improved?
If not, our latest episode is one of my favorites. We had a chat with Stacy Fischer about Emotions that work.
Most entrepreneurs don’t have business problems, they have emotions disguised as business problems. Give it a listen here.
Our first 3 eps were published on August 30th, 2021.
We’ve published 24 episodes and have another 6 in the queue. We’ve had 15 guests on and have another 5 or so scheduled out.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
- It’s so fun…I get to sit down almost every Friday morning and have an interesting chat with Bill and a badass guest. I could honestly do this pod forever.
- It’s so fun…I get to sit down almost every Friday morning and have an interesting chat with Bill and a badass guest. I could honestly do this pod forever.
- There are some best practices to running a podcast, but there are no rules. We decided to do bi-weekly, which turned out to be a great decision. We grow slower, but don’t get burned out. What’s the point of growing fast if you end up not enjoying it a year in. We may hire a bit of help and go weekly before the end of the year.
- Share share share. So many things go into producing one episode, why not share the sh*t out of it? If you spend 90% of your time on the episode, and 10% on promoting it, you’ll never grow. I am working on increasing our promo x3 (emails, reels, youtube etc).
- Riverside is pretty awesome. It’s what we use to record the audio and video. It’s like zoom specifically for podcasts. Not expensive either.
- Our audience is small, but the podcast allows us to connect deeply with those people. We get awesome feedback from listeners. You never know who’s listening and when…it’s exciting.
- We’re not making any money, but the Box is our first offering to come out of the podcast and we plan to bring on sponsors in the future.
- We’re past the experiential phase. This thing is real and it’s growing. The best way to grow your listeners is to have guests who have larger audiences than you and give them simple ways to share it. Our most listened to episode is with Toku McCree because he shared it with his audience. Relationships are everything.
- Keep things simple. Don’t over edit and try to be on all the social platforms, especially in your first year. I also created a guest funnel that makes booking really easy. I invite them on, give them a calendly link (only Friday mornings), it sends them to a super simple “prep page” that tells them what to expect and asks for bio and headshot, then they show up. I’ve been through super bloated podcast funnels that make you feel overwhelmed…no thank you.
- I couldn’t do this without Bill. I think finding the right partner (for any endeavor) is crucial and underrated. He does the audio engineering and editing stuff, I do the design, web, promo stuff. He’s an amazing conversationalist and helps me get out of my head. If you’re reading this, thanks Bill!
I’ve been meeting a lot of interesting people lately. Artists, musicians, creatives, storytellers, and entrepreneurs. I can’t wait for you to hear our upcoming conversations on the pod! Stay tuned!
If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, my suggestion is to really think about why and how.
It’s not easy. It takes a lot of unpaid time. So I would suggest journaling on it first to making sure you’re ready.
A couple amazing things about having a podcast.
- It’s an awesome excuse to connect with cool people (if you have guests on).
- It creates opportunity to grow your audience, resonate deeper, and make sales.
- You learn a lot in the process.
Don’t do it if:
- You don’t have the time, money, or energetic space for it
- You want to grow fast. It takes time. If you want to grow, you’ll likely need to do it consistently for at least a year or two.
- You just want to be known as a podcast host (like writing a book so you can be called an author..)
- You think you’ll grow without sharing and promoting the podcast (a lot).
But definitely DO NOT let “everyone has a podcast nowadays” stop you from starting your podcast.
It’s not true.
At the end of 2021, Apple hosted 2,395,995 podcasts and 548,447 of those podcasts release new episodes on a regular basis.
So, about 22.8% of the podcasts on Apple are active, and roughly 77.2% of the podcasts are inactive.
A lot of people start, but not many continue:
- Almost 60% of US Consumers Listen to Podcasts
- 41% of the US Population Listen to Podcasts on a Monthly Basis
- 28% of the US Population Listen to Podcasts on a Weekly Basis
- 65% Listen to the Whole Episode
It’s one of the best ways to spread your message and grow your brand.
I’m having a ball doing this and would love to check out your pod if you have one.
P.S. If you’re looking for a 1-1 coach (I’ll never not have a coach again), book a coffee chat with Bill Small. He’s one of the best.
P.P.S Join the Box, a community to finish what you start.
