TPU132 – 10 Hard Facts about Podcasting that Nobody talks about!

Did you know that there are so many facts about podcasting that are rarely shared or, told to you?

These facts are extremely critical for the success of your show and in ensuring that you know what you are getting into.

Want to know what these facts about podcasting are?

Then this episode is for you!

The go-to resource for most of us, when it comes to learning something is the “Internet”.

Be it blogging, social media, affiliate marketing, or podcasting, most of us, especially people who prefer not to pay for a course, learn them from all of those FREE blogs, videos, and articles out there.

It is indeed a good way of learning.

But one major downside to it is that you waste a lot of time browsing around to find the relevant information.

But another big drawback that you often do not realize is that these articles, blogs, and videos showcase only one aspect of it – the brighter side.

Only very few and very rarely do they show you the other not-so-brighter side of content creation.

And when it comes to podcasting, the way it is portrayed is as if it is just about picking a microphone, recording something, and becoming the next famous name on the internet.

But it is far from what it is.

In this episode, I will share with you, 10 such facts about podcasting that you rarely hear anybody talking about.

Facts about Podcasting that Nobody tells

These 10 lesser known podcasting facts, that I am sharing today are things that every podcaster faces and that every podcaster, new and old, should know.

Showing the brighter side and saying everything is hunky-dory and that you should just get started is probably the best way to push somebody into starting.

As human beings, we are programmed to avoid anything that doesn’t sound very comfortable. Maybe that is why people usually don’t talk about this honest truth about podcasts, often.

But the reason I am doing it today is to ensure that you know what you are getting into if you haven’t started yet and so that you can make an informed decision. This in turn will help you enjoy the process.

If you already have a podcast and have faced one of these, then I am hoping to make you aware that these are things that every podcaster faces and it is just normal.

Succeeding in podcasting depends upon how you manage these difficult and lesser knows facts about podcasting.

Let us get started –

Podcasting is not as easy as it is made to look

Nothing is easy in this world. If something is made to look easy, then it is unreal.

Podcasting too has its difficulties. You need to slog it out and compete with a bunch of other successful podcasters to make a name for yourself and succeed. Unless of course, you are a celebrity or, a brand name who already has a following.

Podcasting involves learning new things. Technical things about audio, marketing and promotions, socializing, etc. are just some of the things you might have to learn.

So if you feel that you are not a social media person, you might have to become a social media person.

If you are technically challenged, then be ready to put in the effort to learn technical things.

Be ready to work long hours and still be disappointed looking at low downloads and listens.

Be ready for a rocky ride.

Once you accept that it isn’t going to be easy, you will find the going easy.

A good microphone is the minimum equipment that you will need to start

If somebody told you that you could just start without a microphone then they were lying. And if they told you that you could pick up any cheap microphone, then too they were lying.

Podcasting is all about good audio. You don’t need excellent audio but good audio is a must.

And for good audio, you need a good quality microphone and not any microphone.

Hence pick a good microphone and consider that as an investment into your podcasting business. If you are looking for good microphones within a budget (and not cheap ones) then you can check out this blog post about affordable microphones for podcasting.

Sponsorships are a rare commodity and don’t come to ordinary podcasters easily

Every other podcaster out there starts with an eventual goal of monetizing their shows.

Ask them how they are planning to do that and they will say that they are planning to get sponsors for their shows.

Something that you want to be absolutely clear about is, that Sponsorships don’t come to ordinary podcasters who might have about 2000-5000 downloads.

Sponsors look for high-profile podcasters who have huge downloads. And while it is not impossible to reach there, it is difficult and is going to take time.

So, instead of targeting sponsorships, try using other monetization methods like affiliate marketing, creating digital courses, etc. to make money from your podcast.

Podcasts very rarely make money by itself. You need to use it as a medium to make money

One of the honest truth about podcasts is that they aren’t a source of making money.

Except for maybe a few of the top and high-profile podcasters who are paid to run their show, rarely does anyone make money from their podcast as a source.

Every successful podcaster out there be it John Lee Dumas, Pat Flynn, or Amy Porterfield, they all make money using podcasts as a medium. The source of the money is something else like their digital products and services, affiliate marketing, merchandise, etc.

So a decision that you need to make is if you would want to wait till eternity to make your podcast a source of income or, make money using your podcast as a medium.

Two non-negotiables in Podcasting are – a website and email marketing

Whenever podcasting is spoken about, it is spoken about in silo.

But the honest truth about podcasts, is unlike blogging or, YouTube vlogging, podcasting cannot work in silo.

Blame it on the nature of the medium, you need support in the form of a website if you want to make any use of your podcast, be it brand-building or, making money.

And if you are even the slightest serious about learning more about your listeners, making them repeat listeners, and marketing to them then you absolutely need to build an email list.

These two – a website and building an email list are non-negotiables in podcasting.

Don’t expect to make money if you are looking to run your Podcast for FREE

Most online courses and videos speak about starting a podcast for free.

FREE podcast hosting, free editing software, and FREE promotion.

The truth is that if you are planning on running your podcast on FREEBIES, then you shouldn’t expect to make any money from your podcast.

“FREE” creates a mindset of FREE and you will never be able to get into that money-making mindset.

Moreover, FREE will never give you the required opportunities to make money.

So if you are serious go for good quality resources that are premium.

That doesn’t mean, you pay for everything even if you don’t need it.

Invest in the most important things and the ones that can have an impact like your podcast hosting, the microphone, promotion techniques, etc.

Social Media is just one of the promotional methods and the least effective

I see most podcast tutorials talking about social media when it comes to podcast promotions. And when I asked a few podcasters who are already in the game, they too spoke about Social Media as their go-to channel for promotion.

A few others who were getting a good amount of listens had no clue of where their listeners were coming from and they too felt like social media is the thing.

But the hard truth is – social media is the least effective of all promotional methods.

Consider it as just one of the many methods and probably the least effective ones.

Social media is not a discovery source. People are on social media either to interact with their friends, family, and social circles or, to while away their time watching the 60-second videos.

The possibility of somebody becoming a permanent listener of your podcast while doing any of these is remote and very less.

So what exactly does social media do?

Social media brings back your listeners by staying in touch with them thus making them repeat listeners.

But if you are looking at building listenership, then you might want to focus on other methods like word of mouth, search engine optimization, podcast directories, etc.

You can listen to my earlier episode where I talk about podcast discovery, if you are interested in learning more about these.

The first thing to do when starting your podcast is not “identify your niche”.

One of the things that I hear most people talking about when starting a podcast is to identify your niche.

While that is a critical part of any content creation business, it isn’t really the first thing to do.

Instead, the first step is to identify your purpose or, your reason for what you are planning to do.

Your purpose or, your reason is what will guide you throughout the tough journey of podcasting. It will keep you focused and help you stay consistent.

It will be your north star when you need that much-required motivation, that push to keep going.

So before you start ask yourself the below questions –

1. Why am I doing this?
2. What am I planning to achieve by starting this podcast?
3. What is the difference that this podcast will make in the listeners?

These questions will help you find your purpose.

Audio editing is a very simple art you can easily learn and that you should learn.

One of the things that most beginner podcasters are found struggling with is audio editing.

A lot of people do not start their show just because they are too overwhelmed with audio editing and all of the jargon that you hear people talking about.

But the truth is that audio editing is a very simple art that you can easily learn. And it is also true that you don’t have to master it. You just need to know the minimum that you need to make your audio good and listenable.

You can ignore all of the jargon that you hear and dump them for good.

The three things that you will need to learn in audio editing are –

1. Background Removal
2. Cutting, Joining, and Mixing
3. Normalization
4. Exporting

And that’s all that is there to it.

You can never learn everything before you start. Learn as You do it!

This is not just in podcasting. This is true with every form of content creation.

If you thought you could learn everything and then start, then that is never going to happen.

Nobody ever learned everything before they started. You learn as you do it.

So gather the minimum required information and get started with your podcast. Then keep learning and refining as you do it.

That’s the way to go!

Conclusion – Unknown Podcasting Facts

So those were the 10 facts about podcasting that nobody out there will tell you.

The reason why I shared these lesser known podcasting facts with you is just so that you can make an informed decision if podcasting is for you.

And also so that you know what podcasting entails.

I am hoping that this will help you make the right decision and succeed with your podcast.

Do let me know if you have any questions.

Show Notes:

Here’s what we discussed in the episode on the little-known facts about podcasting –

1. the 10 lesser known podcasting facts that you should know about..
2. How to counter the negative impacts of these?
3. Tips to manage the difficult aspects in podcasting.

This episode is sponsored by Zencastr. Use my special link here to save 30% off your first month of any Zencastr paid plan. 

Thank You for Joining

Thank you all for joining me on the show today.

If you enjoyed this episode then I am sure you will love some of the previous episodes as well. Pick your favorite ones and give them a listen.

The podcasting university is available on all podcasting platforms. You can pick your favorite one to listen to the show there. The links to some of the prominent ones are mentioned below.

CASTBOX: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/castbox
STITCHER: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/stitcher
TUNEIN: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/tunein
GOOGLE PODCASTS: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/googlepodcasts
APPLE PODCASTS: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/itunes
PLAYER.FM: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/playerfm
SPOTIFY: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/spotify
HUBHOPPER: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/hubhopper
AMAZON PRIME: https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/prime

Recommended Resources for Podcasting

Here are some of the recommended resources for Podcasting. These are the ones that I personally use and am satisfied with and hence am recommending them.

• Acast Podcast hosting – Acast is my favorite podcast hosting company. They have excellent customer support, have a pocket-friendly plan, and even have a free option with no limits.
• Behringer Audio Interface – You will need an audio interface if you are using an XLR microphone. This is my recommended audio interface.
• Zencastr – Zencastr is the easiest option to record interviews, both audio-only and audio+video. This is a must for an interview podcast. Go to zencastr.com/pricing and use my code “thepodu” You’ll get 30 percent off your first three months of Zencastr professional.
• Audacity – This is the best and the most feature-rich free audio editing software. It gives you a lot of options while editing your interviews.
• Blue Yeti USB Microphone – My recommended microphone
• Tidycal – My recommended calendar and booking solutions
• Fusebox – Embeddable Podcast Player
• Descript – Audio Editing, Transcription and Video editing software

AMAZON DISCLOSURE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The Podcasting University is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

MICROPHONES –

1. ATR-2100x
2. MAONO AU-HD300T : https://geni.us/ro48q
3. Maono AU-WDM01 : https://geni.us/PhZ3V2v
4. Samson Q2U – https://geni.us/k9cuk
5. Audio Technica AT 2035 – https://geni.us/g2URDI
6. Rode NT USB – https://geni.us/O6b65K
7. Shure MV7X – https://geni.us/w7rZ4

LAVELIER MICROPHONES

1. Boya ByM1 Auxillary Lavelier Microphone – https://geni.us/boyabym1lav
2. Boya ByM1 Pro Lavelier Microphones – https://geni.us/boyabym1prolav
3. Digitek Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/R3cGd
4. Boya – BYXM6 Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/OS6gq
5. Vook Dual Channel Wireless Microphone – https://geni.us/V9YBO1i

PORTABLE RECORDERS –

1. Zoom H5 Portable Recorder – https://geni.us/rVTAIAV
2. Zoom H1N Portable Recorder – https://geni.us/dOaDg

AUDIO INTERFACE –

1. Behringer U-PHORIA UM2 – https://geni.us/gBCjm
2. M-Audio M-Track Solo – https://geni.us/RnhHr
3. HAYDEN HY-229 – https://geni.us/c80KbWB

MIXERS –

1. HAYDEN 4 Channels – https://geni.us/cXQ0
2. Behringer Q502USB

MONITORING HEADPHONES –

1. Oneodio Studio Pro-10 : https://geni.us/IQI88Se
2. Maono AU-MH501 : https://geni.us/AbNrU
3. Audio-Technica ATH-M20X : https://geni.us/eEUf9

POP-FILTER –

1. JEYANG Metal Pop Filter – https://geni.us/JMfuY
2. Wright WP 101 – https://geni.us/OcOAzj

DESK-STAND/BOOM ARM –

1. MY-STANDS MC 18 : https://geni.us/Lwnb
2. Bulfyss Professional Recording Microphone Stand: https://geni.us/mV4S

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