This is the first installment of our end of the year collaborative blog series featuring podcasters and their insights.
The more we can connect and share our knowledge about podcasting, the more the medium shines and the more we can keep on keeping on, being part of a brilliant and supportive community. Bonus, we all get better!
It’s not always easy, this podcasting thing.
We get lonely.
We get discouraged.
Is it worth it?
Should we continue doing this thing?
Is anyone listening?
And then you remember….
That it’s awesome to get behind the mic.
You do have something to say.
It does feel good when it gets done!
And of course, that one person whose world you sparked up, even if for a nano-second.
You do make a difference.
Check out the candid responses from your fellow podcasters about the things that they did to keep podcasting, one of the most underrated superpowers.
If you’re inspired, share your insight in the comments!
Inspiring podcasters share what it really means to keep podcasting
GRANT BACIOCCO from Saturday Morning Media’s The Uncle Interloper Show
In April of 2013, I began both an audio and video podcast (both hosted via Libsyn).
By about August of 2014 I began to realize that, despite my better efforts, no one was listening or watching either of these podcasts.
So the hardest thing to overcome this year has been answering the question of whether or not to continue putting effort into creating them.
I have continued making the video podcast as, out of the two, that one had gained the most traction with an audience.
I have thirteen more episodes of the audio podcast in various states of completion, but seeing as no one is listening, I find it hard to find the desire to finish them and release them into the wild.
I am a big fan of creating things for yourself first, audience second, but after over a year of releasing content without any substantial feedback, it is hard to justify continuing.
AMANDA COOK from the WellpreneurOnline Podcast
Working far enough ahead in my interview calendar so I’m never stuck without an episode!
DAVID HOOPER from RED – Real Entrepreneur Development
The hardest thing about podcasting is staying on top.
It’s easy to launch in a big way, especially with iTunes’ New and Noteworthy, but difficult to keep up the pace week after week.
Not only does it take a lot of energy to create great content, there is a ton of great competition in this space right now.
DAVID GERTLER from the Tennis Days Podcast
I’m not a natural, or trained, broadcaster, so I’ve needed to experiment with several different preparation strategies in order to develop a way of delivering valuable content once I hit record.
GREG SAHADACHNY from The Debatable Podcast
The most difficult aspect I had to overcome this year was time management.
With a new job, and even starting a new podcast with a friend, my flagship program was something I really had to carefully schedule to make sure it was not ignored.
It was really one of the hardest things I’ve had to do since starting my show in 2012.
D LOUIS MARTIN from Science Fiction Film Podcast
Relaunching the podcast.
Top to bottom overhaul of the website.
A new feed.
Building new listeners while not losing old.
Rebuilding all of my iTunes reviews.
And trying to determine which episodes from the old feed to release on the new.
Coming up with uniform royalty-free music for the intro and outro and finally landing on artwork. So in short… rebranding. It was a TON of work.
MARIANNA DU BOSQ from Bilingual Avenue
The hardest thing I have to overcome this year is actually starting my podcast!
It sounds so trivial but there are so many little obstacles. Some of them are technical while some of them are mental roadblocks but adding them together it can feel really daunting to just start podcasting.
There were so many little things holding me back at first: finding the right name, the perfect cover art, the right website display… Now that I am 14 episodes post launch, these little things seem so trivial and not really worth worrying so much about!
I would say overcoming the technical barrier is a much more significant and real obstacle.
It feels like just when you figure something out, you come across another technical hurdle.
My advice and what helped to really get me to launch and overcome these obstacles altogether was setting a launch date and making the date as public as possible.
I still ended up launching a week after my original date but having a date really did push me to get everything sorted out.
LAURA McCLELLAN from The Productive Woman
For me, it’s discouragement.
I’m a perfectionist by nature, and since I have a demanding day job (I’m a partner in a large law firm) I have to really structure in the evening and weekend to plan and record episodes for my solo podcast.
Add to that the feeling that I’m not doing a good enough job, and nobody but me really cares anyway, and I end up struggling every week to overcome the feeling that I should just pack it in and eat chocolate in front of the TV.
Seems like every time I reach the breaking point, though, I get an email from a listener whose encouraging words bring me to tears. So I do another episode, and another …
PATRICK KELLER from The Big Séance Podcast
The hardest thing I’ve overcome with my new podcast this year, is finding my confidence.
I’m a music teacher, and I’ve led musical groups of all ages and sizes.
I hear myself talk and teach all day long, yet it has taken me a while to shift that same confidence over to my podcast.
I, of course, have to give credit to a master podcaster, who inspired me to even go down this road. For several years, Jim Harold (of The Paranormal Podcast, Jim Harold’s Campfire, and others) was the only podcast I knew.
Jim was podcasting to me. He encouraged me to try it, and that gave me confidence.
And I got to interview him! Woo Hoo!
JODY PETRONELLA from The Live Happy Podcast
Myself.
I had to make a push to get healthy, get past being put on insulin, and battle back from that to clear the brain fog and fatigue that had been dogging me and preventing me from diving into podcasting.
Only a diabetic that has “cured” themselves with diet and exercise can relate to the massive improvement in energy and confidence that feeling that much better can bring, and how it can get you out of your own way.
DONNA PAPACOSTA from Trafcom News Podcast
Being too busy to podcast as regularly as I’d like.
Of course, my clients’ podcasts are always published on time!
JOHN CORNELISON from Snarky Movie Reviews by Nantan Lupan @ the Drive-In
This was my first year of podcasting and I struggled in two areas.
The first was audio quality. By using trial and error, YouTube videos, and finding out about The Levelator by listening to The Feed I was able to boost the quality of my podcast.
The other area where I struggled, was in putting my content out and not being afraid to ask people to listen and comment.
By listening to stories of other podcasters I have learned to put the information out and to just see who listens.
PILAR ORTI from 21st Century Work Life
Talking into a microphone directly.
I’ve had little trouble interviewing others, even though I’ve never carried out interviews before.
But recording the intros and outros… oh man, at times I’ve had to script them. I get all worried about what I’m sound like and as a result, nothing comes out!
I’m getting over it slowly… For the Spain Uncovered podcast, I’m ok with notes. But for the 21st Century Work Life podcast, where I have longer pieces on my own, about stuff I really care about, I’m scripting them.
On the plus side, I get a blog post out of them too!
DARRYL WATTENBERG from GeoGearHeads
Probably the hardest thing in podcasting for me this year was burnout.
After a couple of years with the new show I was beginning to feel the shows were getting stale. Then we launched the Patreon campaign, pretty quietly, to help with the costs of hosting and mailing prizes.
The interest and support from the audience rejuvenated me. The support from the community has been more motivation than I ever expecting and I began dedicating more time and effort to the show.
GREG CURRAN from Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran
It’s been a challenge learning how to edit and mix the podcast.
I started with Audacity but found it too time consuming and not too user friendly. There also wasn’t the full-range of tools that I required.
Now I’m really enjoying using Logic Pro on Mac. It’s really well laid out and makes assembling a top quality show (audio-wise) much easier. There are so many more options that I really appreciated.
MATT HURT from The Obsessive Viewer
We used the podcast to host our first live event to raise money for the local historical society.
We rented a performance art theater, contacted local filmmakers, screened their short films, interviewed them and gave away prizes.
It was incredibly stressful putting everything together and getting the word out.
I was worried about a ton of different things but it went great. We raised close to $300 and established a good relationship with the theater owner and people in the community who will help us get a bigger turnout next year.
CHRIS ROBERTS from The Entre Era
The hardest thing I found was to have 100% confidence to release and push my content.
Although the content is good, I was procrastinating by trying to get the website and blog perfect. Although these are important they are not critical in producing a great podcast.
LISA ROWAN from Pop Fashion
Space!
Kaarin has been a rockstar when it comes to audio editing and conquering the technical side of podcasting.
Kaarin’s also generous in offering up her home for our podcasting endeavor.
But, because we’re focused on having a quality sound, we have to record in an adult-sized blanket fort.
We’ve rigged up curtains and blankets, and have to turn off the heat or AC when we’re recording. Somehow we’re still friends.
HEATHER ORDOVER from Craftlit
This year my family and I moved to a new home (Three moves in two months. Do not do this. Ever.) and my new podcasting space was perfect.
Highly insulated.
Perfect location.
And… my mic was horrible in that space.
So. New mic (sweet!).
And that meant new headphones to go with.
And all of a sudden, in the new space, I could hear audio artifacts in my new AND my oldest podcasts—stretching back 8-½ years—that I’d never heard before.
Heartbreaking.
I’m slowly (and painstakingly) going back and remastering audio (via Adobe Audition and Auphonic) but it’s a long slog, and a solo slog for now (though I’m actively courting college students who want course credit, great in-the-trenches experience, and a really awesome letter of recommendation).
But unlike most shows, the CraftLit back catalog matters a LOT since we do “Audiobooks-with-Benefits.”
New listeners often go back to 2006 episodes to hear “Pride and Prejudice” or 2007 to (finally?) make it through “A Tale of Two Cities” or to 2010 to hear “Flatland” so they can get the jokes on “The Big Bang Theory” or to 2001 to hear “Dracula.”
Because seriously.
You think you know the story.
You don’t.
Which is what CraftLit is all about.
