Why You Should NOT Start A Podcast: Insights From 12 Top Podcasters
This is a guest post – Tom Hunt is a TEDx Speaker, Dragons’ Den Failure & Internet Entrepreneur. He believes that entrepreneurship, marketing and decentralisation are becoming increasingly important so he writes about them on the Internet MBA Blog.”
Welcome Tom Hunt…
Don’t start a podcast.
No seriously… just don’t do it.
Why?
Because I don’t think you have it in you.
You should not start a podcast if you are getting into podcasting for all the wrong reasons, like:
- Getting famous
- Meeting people
- Making money
- Getting more Twitter followers
Don’t get me wrong, you will obtain each of these things if you build a successful podcast but it will be a long and lonely road to get there.
In order to get there, you must cultivate a joy for the process of podcasting. The process of tirelessly reaching out to awesome guests, editing audio and helping your audience.
Because when you develop this joy, you may find that you do actually have it in you to build a successful podcast.
Anyway, don’t listen to me, I only have 1,781 followers on Twitter…
It just so happens that I reached out to a few of my podcaster friends to see what they had to say…
I sent them JUST this simple question:
If you had to give 1 reason why someone should NOT start a podcast, what would it be?
Take it away friends…
1. Andrew Warner – Mixergy
“A podcast takes commitment and consistency to be successful, but most people give up if they don’t get immediate success.
In my first year, I remember struggling to get 100 people to catch my interviews in a day. Meanwhile some YouTube video of a kid whose brother bit his finger was getting millions of views. I felt like my work was worthless, but instead of giving up, I ended up renting office space. So I decided that if I wanted the world to take my work seriously I had to take it seriously myself.
I went to the office every day and took podcasting as seriously as my friends took their jobs. That’s what made all the difference.”
“A podcast takes commitment and consistency to be successful” @AndrewWarner [Click to Tweet]
2. Chris Ducker – ChrisDucker.com
“In my eyes, you shouldn’t start a podcast if you’re not committed to serving your audience for the long-term. Building an audience doesn’t happen overnight, and I’ve seen so, so many podcasters quit quickly because they’ve not seen massive download and review numbers right out of the gate.
What really matters is that you create and launch a show that strikes a chord with the demographic that you’re wanting to serve and support. If you go into podcasting with that, value-rich mindset then the sky truly will be the limit for you. If you don’t have that mindset from the get-go… don’t get going at all!”
“You shouldn’t start a podcast if you’re not committed to serving your audience for the long-term” – @ChrisDucker [Click to Tweet]
3. Omar Zenhom – The $100 MBA Show
“I wouldn’t recommend starting a podcast if you can not fully commit to consistently serving your audience with uniquely valuable content that gives them an immediate win.”
“I wouldn’t recommend starting a podcast if you can’t commit to consistently serving your audience” – @BizRepublic [Click to Tweet]
4. John Lee Dumas – Entrepreneur On Fire
“In Entrepreneurship, we have the opportunity to choose activities that FIRE US UP. If Podcasting does not IGNITE a spark in your belly, it will be very obvious in your voice. Podcast listeners are very savvy, and want passion and enthusiasm in their host. If you don’t have it, pass on Podcasting.”
“If Podcasting does not IGNITE a spark in your belly, it will be very obvious in your voice.” – @johnleedumas [Click to Tweet]
5. Gun Hudson – Freedom Business Guide
“You are committing to a fairly routine schedule, which can sometimes be hard to keep to and stressful. Although if you do stop for a bit and continue later it’s still totally worth doing a podcast – they’re amazing I recommend everyone to start one.”
“You are committing to a routine schedule, which can be hard to keep to and stressful” – @gunhudson [Click to Tweet]
6. John Wall – Morning Over Coffee Podcast
“You shouldn’t podcast unless you are already crushing it with your blog. Compared to a blog podcasts take 10x the work and don’t have any SEO benefit.”
“You shouldn’t podcast unless you are already crushing it with your blog” – @johnjwall [Click to Tweet]
7. Jordan Harbinger – The Jordan Harbinger Show
“Because you won’t be good enough to profit from it for years to come and it’s a lot more work than you think. If you’re just getting into it to become a “thought leader” or “influencer” or other buzz-word du jour, you’ll find other platforms much easier.”
“If you’re just getting into it to become a “thought leader” you’ll find other platforms much easier” [Click to Tweet]
8. Nathan Chan – The Foundr Mag Podcast
“Do not do a podcast if you do not have a way to extend the relationship with your audience. You need to have a website, lead capture, and a place for your listeners to go if they want to find out more. This is very important when looking to build trust and play the long game.”
“Do not do a podcast if you do not have a way to extend the relationship with your audience” @NathanHChan [Click to Tweet]
9. Michael O’Neal – The Solopreneur Hour
“You should not start a podcast because the art of of a masterful interview cannot be learned in a couple of short months.”
“The art of of a masterful interview cannot be learned in a couple of short months.” – @solohour [Click to Tweet]
10. Chris Michael Harris – Entrepreneur Hour
“The only reason one should not launch a podcast is if you are merely doing it as a means to make money but do not feel truly passionate about the topics of discussion.”
“You should not launch a podcast if you are merely doing it as a means to make money” – Chris Michael Harris [Click to Tweet]
11. Erlend Bakke – Hardcore MBA
“Do not start a podcast if you are not going to be in it for the long haul. Results take time and if you are not consistent, you’re going to fail big time. I have my full-packed team behind Hardcore MBA and we’re working on it together to make sure we provide value to our listeners and not waste their time.”
“Results take time and if you are not consistent, you’re going to fail big time” – @erlendbakke [Click to Tweet]
12. Joe Saul-Sehy – Stacking Benjamins
Why shouldn’t you start a podcast?
That’s simple. Don’t start a podcast if you have nothing to say. iTunes is chock-full of “just like BLANK” podcasts.
If you really want to create greatness, listen to LOTS of shows, find your niche, and say something the world hasn’t yet heard. They’ve already heard knockoffs.
The world needs to hear YOU.
“If you want to create greatness, listen to LOTS of shows and say something the world hasn’t heard” @AverageJoeMoney [Click to Tweet]
Awesome, thanks friends!
Let’s summarize:
- Take your podcast as seriously as a job
- Pick a topic that your are enthusiastic about
- Commit to a routine schedule
- Consider starting a blog first, as podcasting will have low SEO benefit
- Podcasting is harder than other platforms
- Plan the launch of your podcast
- It will take time so be prepared for a long haul
Ok, so we cleared out the weak.
They would have stopped reading at Mr Warner’s mention of commitment and consistency.
But no, you are still reading, which means that maybe you are ready to start a podcast.
Are your ready for:
- realising that just 3 people have listened to your first episode?
- the countless hours you will need to spend to work out audio issues?
- getting rejected by 50% of the first guest invitations?
If yes, then what are you waiting for?
GET STARTED!
On a serious note, if you have a friend that is considering moving forward with that podcast, use the social icons below to send this article over, you could be doing them a massive favour. Tell them to research different guides to podcasting because you can learn lots from people who’ve done it already.
About Tom Hunt
About Tom HuntTom Hunt is the Founder of Fame.
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