So my friend, who got into podcasts during their work commute, asked me how to start a podcast. The first thing I told them was not to pod fad and to compare it to inactive social media/app accounts. As a weekly listener to over 30 different podcasts, it wasn't the best answer in hindsight. As part of my New Year's Resolution, I'm turning to the NotePD community for assistance more frequently to see if I can provide a better answer to them in order to have a successful launch.
1. Find a niche
Since the dawn of time, the formula for success has been: find a niche and be the best in that niche. This is true for all aspects of life, from dating to business to podcasting. So if you want to start a podcast about sports, don't just talk about sports. Find your own angle on what makes sports interesting or not interesting or why you love it or hate it. And then create episodes around that theme.2. Don't be afraid to fail
I think people are afraid to start something because they are afraid of failure. But this is the wrong approach. Failure (or "failing") is part of the process of learning and improving and eventually succeeding. I would rather make 100 podcasts and have 10 fail than have 90% succeed without any real learning experience along the way.3. Have guests
This is hard! It requires reaching out to people, asking them if they would like to be on your podcast, setting up a time with them, having good questions prepared as well as topics to discuss during "the off-topic" portion of your show, etc. BUT...if you can do this, then you will get instant audience growth through guest recommendations alone (and by having great guests). Plus it's fun! There's nothing more exciting than talking with someone who has made something cool in the world and discussing how they did it and what their future plans are.4. Be consistent but not predictable
People will listen to your podcast if they like what you talk about AND when they know when you are going to publish an episode so they can schedule their listening time accordingly (i.e., commute time). So every week at X time an episode should come out unless there's some reason it can't come out (like sickness or travel). But try not to have too many regular scheduled breaks in between episodes unless there's some special reason for them (like a vacation). People do get sick sometimes but most times sicknesses last less than 3 days so try not take more than one week off per year unless there's some special reason.
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