Get ready for another self-agrandizing post where I describe the success of my podcast.
If you’ve ever listened to The Workshop Podcast, you know the above statement is not true. I don’t mean the podcast is terrible, it’s just not ‘successful.’ I can spend a extended amount of space describing how great my co-host is and how much I enjoy doing it, but I would need to know what success looks like in order to write a post like the one described above. And yes, I know that success is what you make it and whatever other coined phrase you want to throw at me. Maybe a quote about success from Ford or something.
This post, however, will have nothing to do with success or lack thereof. Instead, I wanted to note a couple lessons I’ve learned from podcasting the last year. I’ve kept it fairly brief as I know you don’t have time to read a 2000 word white paper on the subject.
1. Podcasting is only as fun as you make it.
If you don’t enjoy your podcast, the process of recording and editing, you will not continue to podcast. If you do not believe in your podcast, you will not continue to podcast. Like anything you do, if you do not enjoy it, you will not continue to do it.
2. Don’t Overbook Yourself
Podcasting amidst a busy schedule can become a drudgery if you let it. The schedules Matt and I have are very likely not as busy as your own might be. Even still, adding the process of recording, editing and posting your podcast to an already busy week can turn your podcast more into a chore than something you enjoy doing. It can zap the fun and even interest out of what you are doing. This also will eventually begin to affect your podcast. If you are no longer interested in your podcast, the podcast will suffer.
3. Pick Topics you are Interested in
Matt and I only choose to discuss topics we are interested in. Although we sometimes delve into some of the most pressing topics in culture, we often steer clear from them. This is largely due to the fact that we simply are not interested in covering something a thousand other people are talking or writing about. If you’re not interested in the topics, you can be disingenuous and typically are boring to listen to. Find what stirs your interest, not what you think the listeners want to hear.
4. Don’t Get Discouraged by Numbers
I honestly can’t tell you how many people listen to The Workshop Podcast. Maybe 5 people. Maybe 50 people. Maybe no one (Although, I’m fairly sure there’s at least 1 listener). It is so easy to become dissappointed that your podcast is not reaching the masses. Let me be honest…your podcast most likely will not have the same listenership as This American Life or even be in the top 100 downloaded podcasts. And that’s ok! As I’ve said several times already: Just enjoy what you create!
5. Love What you Create
I’ve alluded to this throughout the entire post. You must love what you create! Whether its writing, podcasting or whatever you create, you should love it. We tend to place more effort in what we like doing than what we don’t. The result is a product that is enjoyable for the listener. Take pride in what you create because you created it! This can make all the difference between a podcast that is lazily put together week after week and one that is uniquely crafted as your own podcast.
As Matt and I start another year of podcasting, there will be more lessons learned. There will be changes and tweaks to the way we record, the way Matt edits, and possibly the format of the podcast. Use the lessons you have learned to gradually make your podcast better. Learn from mistakes and continue to do what you know is working. Seek to create the best podcast you can. Both you and your listeners will appreciate it.
If you would like to listen to the culmination of a year of the The Workshop Podcast, you can do so on the link below.
Eric Ortscheid 