← The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcast Tips, and Podcast Community
The How To Podcast Series - Podcast Co-Hosts, Practical Podcast Tips, and Podcast Community
E575 - Common Podcaster Doubts and Excuses - The Podcaster’s Path, 24 Steps from Beginner to Pro
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Okay, we're rolling. Hey, welcome back to the how to Podcast series. It's Dave with you. We're. This is episode two of our 24 in a row on the podcaster's path, episode 575, if you're paying attention at home. And we're doing 24 episodes in 24 hours. Focusing on your starting point as a podcaster, I want to give you a. A path, right, that takes you right from the beginning all the way through into the final stages, where you're an active podcaster and things are going swimmingly. There's a word for you. You can borrow that if you want. And that's what the idea of this whole series is. Definitely head over to YouTube. There's a playlist. All of the episodes are in there for you, so you can click on and go through them all in order. Here's the reason why I'm doing this. A. I'm doing 24 episodes in 24 hours, because why not? It's on top of the 365 episodes we're doing this year. Why not? But I get people coming to me saying, dave, there's so many episodes of the how to Podcast series. Where do I even start? I'm a new podcaster. I need a starting point. I just need the basics. I just need to get going, and I need a starting point. So please create a starting point. So that's what this is. It's a podcaster's path. This is us starting at the beginning, walking you through 24 steps together, you and I, to get you from an idea to reality. So I'm glad you're here. We're going to be looking at your doubts and excuses as podcasters from common podcaster doubts and excuses around the beginning stages of your show. Happy you're here. Let's go. I think this is where a lot of podcasters stall out right here. The excuses and the doubts that you have when you're starting something new. Think about the last time you started something new. What was it? New job, new relationship, knew what? There's a lot of doubts. There was a lot of, like, yeah, I don't know if it's gonna work out. I don't know if this. I feel like this person. I don't know if I like this job. I don't know if this is a good fit for me here. I feel awkward because it's new and I don't know what. I don't know. And it's obvious to everybody else that I don't know what I don't know. So you struggle with this. This feeling of inadequacy is feeling of being in the wrong place in the wrong shoes and being in everybody's way. And a lot of podcasters feel like that when they first have an idea for their show. I just feel like I'm in everybody's way. Like, oh, I. I'm sorry. Sorry, excuse me, Pardon me. Right. That kind of feeling. Everybody seems to know what they're doing except for us. When we first started our show. It's like you look at all these other podcasts and go, oh, my gosh, they got it all together. They sound so natural. They sound like they know what they're doing, yet they've been doing 2,000 episodes. And yeah, eventually you do kind of get into a rhythm when you do that many episodes. So when you compare yourself, your episode one to somebody's episode 2000 or 50 or 100 or 300 or 800, when you compare that, that's an unfair comparison. So please stop. Don't. Don't focus on that. If you want to compare your first episode to anything, go back to your favorite creators first episode, if it's still available, and listen to their. Where their starting point was. And then also keep in mind that their starting point is different than yours, even though it's episode one. They could have been in radio for 30 years and then started a podcast. They know how to talk on a mic. They could be a performer, they could be famous, they could be nobody as far as fame like me. And they start from scratch, from zero listens. So even though episode one to episode one is a more fair comparison, it's still not truly fair. So just keep that in mind. Who am I to start a podcast? Like, really, who am I to do this? There's. There's so many people who do it so well. Who. Who really cares what I have to say about anything, my opinion on anything. Like, who would ever listen to this? This is where a lot of podcasters start. The majority do. You're not alone. And this is exactly where the real journey of podcasting begins. Imagine a listener. Let's give him the name Alex. Now, Alex is someone who emails me after binging my first few episodes. For months, he's brainstormed show ideas. He's bought a microphone. He's even sketched out his cover art. He's. He's done a lot of work, but he's never, ever hit record. I'm not an expert. He keeps telling himself, no one will care about my takes upon on urban gardening, Nobody cares. Analysis Paralysis has kept him glued to tutorials, tweaking his gear that he didn't need to buy, waiting for the perfect first episode to fall into his lap. Does that sound familiar? Alex finally launched after reframing his fear not as a stop sign, but as a proof that he cared enough to get it right. Here's the core truth about doubts. They stem from a clash between your current identity. I'm just a beginner. And your aspiring identity. I'm a podcaster imposter. Feelings hit everybody. Everyone. Even. Even I still to this day wonder who's even going to listen to this. When I first started the how to Podcast series, there was this fear of sounding unpolished, rambling, irrelevant, wrong. And it's your brain protecting you from you being vulnerable. So here's a thing for you. I part of what I'm doing this weekend with this 24 episodes in 24 hours is I want to go live on all the platforms. So I go to Instagram, where I went live a lot in the past, and you just click the button, go live easy, right? Until Instagram says, oh, you don't have enough followers to use this feature anymore. Now, I think I remember that happening, but I'm not a social media person. And you're probably laughing like, yeah, but I don't go on social media. So I'm purposely on top of recording and doing episodes and posting them one every hour. I. I'm also trying to go live and just spend some time connecting with my audience. So I put it out there. Hey, everybody, I'm going to be live on Instagram here in a few minutes. And guess what? I didn't go live. Why? Because I don't have access and I have to go, like, get new software. I have to go learn Software in like 10 minutes to go live on Instagram. What a frustrating thing that is to do. Okay, so it happens. It happens. Just keep that in mind. Your best plans. Sometimes you don't have control over them. Your audience loves a content creator that builds in public, that learns the tools in public, that makes mistakes, owns up to them and goes, oh my gosh, I could have done that way better. Listeners don't expect a TED Talk from your podcast, something super polished from episode one that feels fake and forced. They crave your real voice, your genuine curiosity, and you showing up and just being you. So as you start your podcast journey here at the beginning, this is your second step in their path right now. As you start your journey, don't be overly Fixated on perfection. It's not fair. You'll never get started if that's all you focus on is, I want to be perfect. I want my show to be flawless. I want. I don't want anybody to have any reason to not listen to my show. I don't want a single or. Or breath or pause or stumble. I got this. Make this thing perfect. The bar's too high. The bar is too high. You need to just start where you are with what you have. That's it. When you focus too much on perfection, it gets in the way of you starting your show. My fear for you in step two of 24 steps is that you fill your mind with a hundred gurus, multiple conferences and courses and books and classes and feedback and opinions, and you just spinning out because you have too many inputs. I would encourage you to limit the amount of voices who direct and guide you. I would tell you to if it was my choice. 1. Just pick one voice. Work with that person. Learn from them. It could be your friend. It could be somebody else in podcasting, someone else who has a show about podcasting somebody, pick one voice. Learn as much as you can from that person, and when you've exhausted the amount of knowledge that they have that pertains to you, then move on to somebody else. This show's not for everybody. I get that. But it might be for you. So pick one voice. Learn what you can. They don't. They don't know everything. Just so you know, as. As expensive and as well polished as they seem, they don't know everything. So don't anticipate you're going to get every answer from that person. You're going to have seasons of your life in podcasting where you're going to resonate with somebody over somebody else. You're going to outlearn your guru. In some cases where you will know more than they do, and it becomes quite obvious because all they have is one scripted path to podcasting, and you're like, oh, I hear you repeating yourself again. When you work with somebody, pick one voice, learn what you can, and then move on. That's how it works. So if you have 35 gurus, when you first start, you're going to burn out with all of the different opinions about things. Keep in mind, every person you work with has their flaws and has their successes. Focus on the things that grow your podcast and make you want a podcast and walk away from anybody that makes you want to give up or makes you feel inadequate, stupid, or you don't belong Those are not your ideal points of reference in podcasting. Dismiss them, walk away and focus on the people who give you life. And if you need help with that, howtopodcast ca the podcaster's path. The 24 steps from beginner to pro. This was step two, common podcaster doubts and excuses. You probably have your own. I'd love to hear what your doubts are as a podcaster. And what's an excuse? What's keeping you from starting? Have that conversation. Howtopodcast ca. Thanks for being here. Step three Coming up next. If you're looking for more information about podcasting and you're looking for a community around podcasting, come check out howtopodcast ca. It's my website where everything we do around podcasting, this show, our community or meetup resources. There's a lot of great stuff there for you. A whole list of free tools that you can use as a podcaster to save yourself some money. That's based on my website, podcastforfree.com which just leads you back to my regular website. And if you want any more information as well, there's a calendar link on my website where you and I can meet anytime. It's always there. It's always available. Whatever you see available on your end. I'm ready to talk podcasting with anybody. I'd love to help you no matter what your questions are. We can grab a virtual coffee and we can talk through what your big idea is. Maybe some of your struggles in podcasting, maybe some motivational things, maybe some growth things. Happy to help you over at howtopodcast ca. Come check out the website. Let's connect. Stick around because we have a bunch more episodes here on The Podcaster's Path. 24 episodes here in a row. That's meant to be kind of your starting point for your journey as a podcaster. Or if you're going to start a new show or you want to refresh your journey and catch up on maybe some of the things you might have missed. That's what this show's about. I'm glad you're here. My name is Dave. Love to help you. Reach out anytime. HowtoPodcast ca. Take care. Talk soon.