Making the Pod: Common Roadblocks & Crafting My Why
✴ Podcasting roadblocks & defining my why
Welcome to episode 2 of Making the Pod. Today, I’m reviewing common roadblocks to success when it comes to podcasting and defining my why.
✴ About Making the Pod
Hey, I’m Lauren Popish, founder of The Wave Podcasting. I help women start and grow podcasts. I recently sunset my original podcast and have decided to create a new one focused on, well, podcasting. I’m taking you along as I build this podcast from day one. Be sure to hit subscribe and hit the bell notification over on YouTube so you never miss an episode. You can start from the beginning or pick up anywhere in the series and start learning. Welcome to Making The Pod.
✴ Setting the foundation of my podcast
I’m getting a little bit closer to starting my podcast, but there are still some foundational steps I need to complete before I start recording.
Last episode, I mentioned how easy it can be to skip the mindset and goal setting parts of the podcast process. As someone who already has so much experience podcasting, I’m having an especially hard time not diving into the technical parts. But, let me tell you about a situation I see all the time. A podcaster puts dozens of hours into creating the perfect covert art, building a website, investing in fancy equipment and launching only to stop putting out new episodes after 6 months.
Stopping active production on your podcast is called ‘podfading’ by the way. Some fancy industry language for ya.
Why would someone stop podcasting after investing so much time, money, and energy? It’s because she didn’t prep herself for the long run. You will hear me say this a lot, but podcasting is a long game. It’s not like Tik Tok where you can get millions of listens on an episode over night. The most successful podcasts are popular because they’ve been delivering consistent and high quality audio content week after week, month after month, and year after year.
✴ How to avoid ‘Podfading’
So, how does someone avoid these common pitfalls that lead to podfading?
A few easy things to implement from the beginning is to use systems, particularly for your production process. You can use third party tools to simplify and even automate guest scheduling, transcription, show notes writing, editing, and parts of marketing and promotion.
There are also templates and strategies you can create yourself that will save time like using a Master Episode Template or batching work by task.
We will get into the weeds of how to set up some of these time saving strategies when we get to producing the podcast, but it is so important to look for opportunities to save time and avoid burnout early on. These kinds of systems are a lot harder to implement after you’ve already started releasing your show.
✴ Defining my why
Inevitably though, there comes a time in every podcaster’s journey where the repetitive cycle of schedule, record, edit, release starts to feel like a chore no matter how diligent you’ve been about time saving systems. That creeping feeling of exhaustion or maybe even resentment towards the podcast for sucking up all your precious time can be really hard to overcome.
Of course you have the work from the mindset exercise to help inspire, but I find there is only only one place I can turn to when I need to reignite my internal flame, and that’s by returning to my Why.
Your why statement can be thought of as the mission statement for your podcast. It’s the reason you are doing the work in the first place. It’s the destination you want the podcast to take you. It’s the value you want your listener’s to get from your show.
Your why statement is more than a motivational tool though, it is also the guiding light when making decisions about your podcast. Let’s say a friend approaches me and asks to be a guest on my show to discuss her expertise in wellness and fitness. I would then turn to my why statement and ask “does this guest further my mission of helping women start and grow podcasts so they can share their perspective with the world?”. In this example, the answer is ultimately no. Having a solid why statement means that you never have to worry about whether you are doing right by your listeners. As long as you are delivering on the promise you made to them in your why statement, you’re gold.
✴ Creating a why statement
So, I’m going to fill in the three sections in my guide. The first section asks why am I starting my podcast and what do I want to get out of it now and in the future. The reason I’m starting this podcast is so I can further the mission of my company of helping women start and grow podcasts. What I want to get out of it is building my community of female podcasters and increasing the sales of my educational resources. In the future, I hope this podcast helps me achieve a deeper bond with my community, opportunities to network with others in my industry, and a chance to meet my personal business heroes.
The second section asks what I want my listeners to get out of my podcast. I want listeners to gain confidence in their ability to share their story. I want to provide relief to podcasters who don’t know where to begin or don’t believe that they have what it takes to start. Lastly, I want listeners to find a community of other women like them who they can trust to support, guide, and lift each other up in the best and worst of times.
The last section asks about the values or traits that I care most about representing in my podcast. Inclusivity and diversity are cornerstone values on my company and this podcast. I also want to exude: honesty, trust, humanness, boldness, and humor.
My final why statement looks like this: I will use my podcast to provide education, advice, and encouragement for women who want to start and grow a podcast using humor, inclusivity, and honesty.
✴ Conclusion
If you want some feedback on your why statement, put it in the comments over on YouTube, and I’ll respond to it. And If you want to follow along with the entire journey, be sure to subscribe and hit that bell notification. I have an excerpt of the exact guide I’m using to launch my podcast available for free RIGHT HERE.
In the next episode, we’re going to start my favorite part of the podcasting process - defining my ideal listener using a listener persona. I’ll see you next time on Making the Pod.
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