5 Biggest Mistakes New Podcasters Make
Have you recently started your podcast or want to start a podcast? Here are the 5 biggest mistakes new podcasters make and how you can avoid making these same mistakes!
Mistake #1 - Trying To Do It All Themselves
We’ve all been told, “you can do it”. And you can do it! Don’t get me wrong, I believe this statement. But we can’t do it alone. And we need to pick and choose what we do. Sometimes we need help.
When you start a podcast you are adding a new area into your business plan. With so many benefits to starting a podcast, you probably have thought of starting your podcast. But with starting anything new, you will need time to learn and develop this new skill. It takes work and energy to publish episodes for your audience on a consistent schedule.
One of the biggest mistakes new podcasters make is believing they can do it all themselves. At the beginning of your business journey, I’m all for getting familiar with and learning a new skill but I also believe in handing off the task when you reach a certain point in your business. You need to be able to outsource tasks so you can better serve your business and your clients.
The problem with believing you can do it all yourself is that there is only 1 of you. At some point, you will be maxed out. You will need to delegate tasks to grow your business. If you don’t, your business will be limited as to how big it can grow and how many people you can serve.
Mistake #2 - Trying To Save Money By Editing Their Podcast
Another mistake new podcasters make is trying to save money by editing their podcast. Here are some problems with editing your podcast episodes.
First, you are not an expert in editing podcasts, nor should you be! Your time is spent more efficiently and effectively in other areas, such as creating content, connecting on social media with potential clients, and coaching your existing clients.
As a trained Podcast Editor, I will reduce harsh sounds that will distract your listener. If your audio has distractions like false starts, pauses, filler words, and harsh sounds your listener will not feel as connected to you. Or, if the audio quality is bad, they just will skip to another episode or worst-case scenario, to a new show altogether.
You will want to make sure your audience can hear what you're saying by reducing background noise and having someone edit the audio so you sound professional. You don’t want your audience to stop listening to your episode because the “s” sounds are screeching in their ears.
Mistake #3 - Editing A Podcast Is Easy
Another mistake new podcasters make is that editing a podcast is easy. It takes skill to be able to cut filler words or edit a sentence with a mistake in it so that the listener doesn’t know a mistake was there in the first place.
If you have a good Podcast Editor, you should be able to listen to the episode and it should sound like they never edited the episode. This sounds weird, right? But the audio should sound clear, easy to understand, and natural.
In addition to removing starts and stops and stumbles, your Podcast Editor should be making your voice sound its very best. This means using compression, equalization, normalization, and a whole bunch of other audio skills and tools to get your voice the best it can be so that your listeners can understand you clearly and your voice is the same volume level as your guests. You also want your Podcast Editor to make sure your podcast episode is at the correct volume level before publishing your episode. Nothing worse than having each of your episodes at different volume levels so your listener has to keep turning up or down the volume dial in their car or on their phone as they listen.
Mistake #4 - Editing A Podcast Doesn’t Take Much Time
Another mistake new podcasters make is that podcast editing is fast. For professional Podcast Editors, usually, an hour of raw audio takes approximately 4 hours to edit. Creating a good podcast episode is much more than just piecing together the intro, music, episode content, and outro. It may take me 4 hours to edit your episode, where it could take you even longer simply due to the difference in skill level and experience. You could be using your time more effectively to engage with potential clients and grow your business rather than editing. As a business owner, you need to be conscious about where you spend your time and how you best serve your business.
Mistake #5 - Not Giving Your Podcast Enough Time
With any of the mistakes mentioned above, you run the risk of podfade. Podfade is when you stop releasing new episodes and your podcast fades away into inactive status. If you stop putting out new episodes, you lose the established connection you have with your audience. Podcast listeners like consistency. They want to trust you and for them to trust you, you need to keep showing up.
Many podcasts are not an overnight success. You need to be committed to creating quality content for your listeners for at least a year before seeing a return on your investment. Many podcasters don’t last this long. You need to create space for your podcast if you want it to succeed. And when it does, your clients and listeners will be forever changed by your podcast and will show up for every new episode, just like you showed up for them and created valuable content.
How To Avoid Mistakes With Your Podcast
To get to the next level in your business, you need to choose to outsource certain tasks or areas of your business. By realizing that you cannot do it all, and by getting help, you can grow your business and keep your sanity along the way! Sometimes you just need to hire an expert.
Ready to start your podcast? I can help you avoid these mistakes, save you time and energy, and make the process enjoyable for you so you can connect with your listeners consistently.
Let’s learn more about each other! Schedule a call with me today for a chat :)
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