“Can I really start a podcast?”
Of course, you can!
When you’re thinking about starting a podcast it’s easy to let self-doubt get the better of you. Particularly if you’ve never done anything like it before.
Podcasting can be daunting when you don’t know what you’re in for but there are a few simple things you can do to make sure those feelings don’t stop you from starting a show.
Practice
When you decide you want to start a podcast you don’t have to release episodes straight away, even if you’re recording them.
While you should never wait until your show is ‘perfect’ (because you’ll be waiting forever) there’s nothing wrong with getting comfy before you go ‘live’ with your first episode.
Especially if this is the first experience you’ve had with hosting or recording audio.
As with anything new, it takes a while to get your head around the process and to get good at it.
So, if you’ve got your equipment and you’ve got your idea, you can start planning and recording episodes for your ears only.
This will not only help you get into the groove of podcasting and give you a realistic idea of how much time you’ll need to set aside each week, but it’ll also help you feel more confident behind the mic.
And the more confident you feel the more you’ll chip away at those pesky feelings of self-doubt.
If it takes 100 practice episodes to feel like you’re ready to go live, that’s fine!
No one will know how long it took to get there but you.
Plus, you can take all the content you’ve prepared for your practice episodes and use it for the real thing.
Set achievable goals
Podcasting doesn’t have to be something you do every week for the rest of your life.
Some ideas are more suited to seasons which means you can release episodes in smaller chunks rather than releasing an episode every week until the end of time.
Doing your show this way also allows you to take a break in between seasons so you can use this time to plan and record content for the next one or start something new.
Stop stressing about how many people are listening
Of course, everyone wants their podcast to be listened to by millions of people but if you’ve got a small audience there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
If you’re stressing about numbers, ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”
If the answer is: “Because I want to be famous,” “Because I want to tell everyone it’s a big success” or “Because I want to quit my job and get paid to host my podcast,” I wouldn’t hand in your letter of resignation just yet.
Building an audience takes time so your main driver needs to be a passion for your content and a desire to provide value for your audience.
Otherwise, you won’t have the motivation required to do the work to get there.
Your podcast also doesn’t need to be all about audience numbers.
Maybe it’s enough that it’s a source of content you can share on social media to build your brand.
Maybe you can use it as an audio showreel to get speaking gigs if you’re an expert in something?
Or maybe it’s just something you’ve always wanted to do and you can feel really bloody proud of yourself for doing it.
A podcast doesn’t have to have a million listeners to be successful so don’t make the mistake of setting unrealistic expectations or comparing yourself to others.
Just start from a desire to get your content out into the world the let the rest unfold.
Improve your skills
One of the reasons most people don’t succeed in podcasting is because they don’t arm themselves with enough information before they jump in.
Building up your knowledge around podcasting and how to be successful at it is really important if you want to give yourself the best chance of success.
You can do that via podcast-specific training like my online podcasting course, PodSchool, where you get taken through everything step by step.
You could find a radio school in your local area and get some training in how to be a better presenter.
You could volunteer at a community radio station where you can watch people broadcast and maybe even work on a show yourself so you get more familiar with coming up with content.
Or you can research as much as you can (there’s plenty of information on my website and podcast) and practice, practice, practice so you feel more confident when it comes time to release your first episode.
Got a burning podcasting question you’d like answered? Ask it here.
Want to start your own podcast but need a little help? Download my “How To Start A Podcast” guide or sign up for my online podcasting course, PodSchool.
Thank you! I appreciate the effort you went to in responding to my query! I think self practice will be very valuable in gaining my confidence and becoming familiar with the audio space!
Thanks
Needed that advice and reminder…