114: Overcoming Your Podcasting Fears

Written By Britany Felix
 
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What’s This Episode About?

Over the past several years of helping coaches and consultants just like you with their podcast launches, I've noticed some common blocks, anxieties, and fears that come up frequently during that process. It's those fears that I want to discuss today to hopefully help you overcome if you're experiencing any of them yourself.

The fears/anxieties mentioned in this episode:

  • Feeling overwhelmed or intimidated by the process and/or technology to the point where it stops you from getting started

  • Thinking everything needs to be absolutely perfect before you can officially launch the show (sometimes presents itself as making constant changes/tweaks or not being able to commit to certain decisions)

  • Worrying that no one will even listen to the show

  • Worrying that it will be a waste of time and/or money

  • Being afraid of getting negative reviews or feedback

  • Worrying that you won't be able to find enough guests to keep the show going

Transcript

0:07

Welcome to podcasting for coaches. I'm Britany Felix and I'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business. I realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show. So I created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients. If you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world, head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more.

0:48

Welcome to Episode 114 of podcasting for coaches. Thank you so much for being patient, as I experienced several different delays. Over the past couple of weeks actually, in trying to get this episode out. I think all I can really say is mercury in retrograde, and upset. But today we are finally going to talk about overcoming your podcasting fears. A couple of things actually inspired this episode. Earlier this year in the spring, actually, I was a guest on another podcast, the relationship coach show. And the topic of fears around starting a podcast came up in that show, which I am gonna link to in the show notes, by the way, because it was just a fabulous conversation. And if you're a relationship coach, it's very obviously appropriate for you. But also in the previous episode, you might have noticed with Finca Djokovic that we also talked about fears with her as well. And her fears actually prevented her from starting her podcast for three years. Now in working with my lunch clients, I have also noticed that fears do come up quite a bit. Yes, I get some clients who are super excited and gung ho, and they just jump right in. But a lot of my clients actually have some resistance, even though they've hired me, we've started the process, I still see these beers pop up. And they can also sometimes be considered anxieties. So some of the things that I've noticed in my own clients are, the podcast gets put on the back burner. And other things just keep continuing to become a priority. This is actually why I eventually put in my service agreement that we have to basically have everything completed within three months of beginning to work together. Because if not, for some people, they will just continue putting it off and putting it off and putting it off. And it's because there's some sort of block, there's something that's stopping them from moving forward. And so I do like to work with my clients and figure out what that is and try and help them push past it. And now hopefully, this advice here will help you push past that if you have some fears, or some anxieties around starting a podcast as well. So one of the most common things that I see, especially with people who aren't working with me, because I really help this process by telling them exactly what they need and holding their hand during it is that all of the tech and just the process of launching a podcast seems really intimidating or extremely overwhelming. And I totally get that. It is a lot of new technology and tools for you if you've never dealt with audio before. And it's also just this ginormous task that seems like of launching a podcast because there are all of these tiny small steps and moving parts, that if you don't really have someone like me holding your hand and telling you exactly what to do next, you can really kind of get lost in the weeds and not know exactly what's next or what all needs to be done. The good news is that it really doesn't take that much to start a podcast, you need a decent microphone, the one I'm using right here is a Samson q2 you there will be a link in the show notes. You need a way to record that audio. I use a basic program called Audacity. It's free, and it is available on both Mac and PC. So what I'm recording right now with this, it's what I've been using the entire time. And if you're editing the audio yourself, it's totally good enough to get started with I being a professional editor have a bunch of other programs that I used to help make the audio sound great, but audacity is good enough to get started. And then you need a hosting service because you don't want to store all these audio files on your website. The one that I recommend is Lipson again, link in the show notes. And to be perfectly honest, that is it. That's what you need to record podcast episodes and get it out to the world. You don't really need anything else. Now as far as the process goes, I do have a course that will walk you through every single step of the way. If you can't afford to work with me one on one. That course is delivered via a private podcast. You can actually listen to it just like you're listening to this right now. You can listen to it on Apple podcast, Google podcasts, several different apps, not Spotify. Currently, they don't allow private podcast feeds but they have promised that that is coming In the future, but even if you don't have Apple podcasts or Google podcasts or one of the ones that is available on, you can listen to it right on my website. And that will actually walk you through every single step that you need to take, as well as give you all the resources and guidance that you need to complete those steps. And then at the end of it, you will have a podcast that is out for all the world to hear. So again, check out the show notes if you want to learn more about that course. Now the other big fear that comes up with my clients presents itself actually, as nothing is good enough, nothing

5:31

is finished, nothing's quite right. And it's this need for everything to be perfect. And this need for perfection really holds things up. And I just want you to know right now that your podcast doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be good enough. It needs to be professional enough, that is a good representation of you and your business and your work. But if you use the microphone that I just told you to use, if you use a decent recording program, if you put in at least minimal effort on your editing, to make sure it sounds decent, that's going to be good enough. And let me just tell you that if you don't cringe when listening to the very first episode of your podcast A year later, then you haven't grown enough and your show hasn't evolved enough. I have launched four of my own podcast. So my personal podcast and I will tell you that even now on my most recent podcast, because I have this one and another one going, if I go back and listen to the first episode, I still cringe because I'm still growing and evolving and getting more comfortable. So please don't expect everything to be perfect right from the get go. Because if it is, then you're not growing, you're not evolving. And then I also want you to bear in mind that you can change pretty much everything about your podcast later on if you want to. The only thing you can't change is your actual RSS Feed URL, which will make more sense as you get into it. But that's it, you can change the name of your show, you can change the artwork, you can change the description, you can change the formatting, you can change pretty much everything. So if you don't like it, at some point in the future, you decided maybe you're not in love with some aspect of your show. Just change it and move on. Okay, one of the other big fears that I know a lot of people deal with is thinking that no one will listen to their show. And this can sometimes really be a side effect of maybe imposter syndrome. Like who am I to talk about these things, nobody is going to care what I have to say any of those sort of things all kind of fall under this umbrella of no one's going to listen, no one's going to care. And I will tell you, they will.

7:51

I wish I had some better way to help you work through this imposter syndrome. That's really a whole other mindset issue that I hope that you're working on in general just to help your business overall. But when it comes to a podcast, people will listen, it may not be a huge number of people, depending on how much effort you put into marketing the show. But they will show up. It is sort of like if you build it, they will come scenario, there will be people who find your show organically. Again, maybe not as many as you would prefer. If you do absolutely nothing else to grow your shows audience. But you will still have people that will find you on their own, especially if you're on all of the major platforms, which are at the moment, Apple podcast, Spotify, Google podcasts, amazon music, and then by default, you'll automatically be on audible.com, Pandora, I Heart Radio. And then there's a whole host of other ones that you can be on. But those are the major ones. And also, it'll help if you have show notes for each episode on your website, because one of the main ways people discover new shows is through just a regular internet search. So your show notes are going to help with SEO for your podcast, which will then also help get found organically. Alright, and the next thing that people worry about is it it'll be a waste of time and money. Especially if you're outsourcing some parts of this hiring a consultant like me to help you get it launched or hiring an editor also like me, to help you get the show out every week, it can sometimes get a little bit expensive if you want to have somebody who really knows their stuff, and is really a professional and has been in this for a while and is going to make you sound great. And I will tell you that honestly, it might end up being a waste of time and money if you don't use the show effectively. And what I mean by that is I have had people who have come to me after they've launched they've wanted to hire me as an editor. Maybe their show's been going for a while. And I ended their first episode, and I could not tell you what they do. I couldn't tell you what their businesses. I couldn't tell you what they help people with because they literally didn't say a word about it the entire time. They didn't mention their website. They didn't mention their services. didn't say anything about the type of people they work with. So you have to really use this show to sell yourself and your business. It's just that with podcasting, it can be done completely naturally. I have worked into this conversation so many times that I help people launch their shows, I help people with editing, but it's relevant to the information I'm sharing. And that's the beauty of podcasting, you're selling yourself in your business without sounding like a salesperson. But you can only do that if you actually talk about the things that you offer and the things that you do, the people you work with, and how you can help them. So yes, you have to effectively use the show, or it will be a waste of time and money. But if you're doing those things, you will be amazed at all of the different ways your podcast will help you and your business, most likely in ways that you never even had on your radar when you started the podcast. That's actually why I first started bringing on guests on this show, because I wanted to explore all of the different ways that entrepreneurs podcast have helped them and their business. And most of the time, it's ways they never even dreamed up. Okay, so the next fear that people have is they'll get negative reviews. And listen, I get this, nobody wants to read bad things people are saying about them. And I also understand that I am maybe a little bit different, because I really, truly, generally don't give a shit what people think about me.

11:27

And that's come from being the youngest of four children, all of my older siblings were brothers, I have a degree in law enforcement where I was, if not the only girl, one of only like two or three in my class with all these, you know, macho law enforcement dudes, I have worked in fields that were very heavily male dominated, a construction company, a moving company, a flooring company, a Sheriffs Association, audio editing, I have from the beginning been very, like, this is how I am Take it or leave it, I really don't care what you do, just get out of my way. So I can do my own thing. And I know that not everyone's like that. So I don't get as bothered by people saying negative things about me. But just know that if everyone likes you, you are playing things to safely, your show should not be for every single person. So if you do get a negative review, I want you to look at it and see if there's actually any constructive advice in there. Maybe somebody is talking about the audio quality of the show and how they really liked the content and they like you as a host, but they can't listen to it because the audio quality is not good enough. That's constructive feedback. And you can take that and run with it and improve your show. However, sometimes people are dicks just for the sake of being a dick. And in that situation, you can hopefully just ignore it and move on. Another fear is that people won't be able to find enough guests for their show. And there are a couple ways to handle this one is supplement with solo episodes, obviously. But even beyond that, you can use a service like Radio guestlist.com, again, linked in the show notes. To help you find guests for your podcast, some of my absolute favorite guests for my very first podcast, which was called Living unconventionally. I interviewed people who traveled full time, because that's my dream lifestyle. And I wanted to know, you know, while I was still in corporate how people achieved this, I had some of the most incredible conversations with people who were living these epic travel lifestyles, and they came from radio guestlist. You can also reach out to podcast Guest Services. These are really companies or agencies that help their clients get guest spots on other podcasts so you can reach out to them and let them know, Hey, I'm open and looking for guests. Here's who I typically like to interview, here's what my show is about. Here's who my target audience is. And if you happen to have anybody, please keep me in mind and let me know. And generally speaking, these agencies and these companies are always on the lookout for new shows that they can pitch their clients to, because a lot of them have an agreement with their client that they will get them on so many shows a month. So you're just going to make their job way easier. A couple of these agencies or interview connections, who I'm actually going to be interviewing the CEO of next month, not sure when the EPA is going to be released yet, but we're going to have the conversation. So if you have any questions, let me know. And podcast ally podcast ally is one that I have gotten several guests for the show from they have been a fantastic agency to work with, as far as being a host who's getting guests from them. So highly recommend that one. And then don't forget to tap into your existing network. Especially if you go into any of these podcasting Facebook groups. People are dying to be guests on other shows, because it helps them grow their own show. And then if you have a guest on that you really like it was a great conversation. They were a great fit. When you wrap up the conversation say hey, do you happen to have anyone in mind that you think might be a good fit for the Show? If so, would you mind doing an introduction between the two of us, and you can just keep that ball rolling because chances are, they probably have people in their network who are pretty similar to them. And then the last fear that I want to touch on, albeit very briefly, is that a lot of people are afraid they're going to run out of content or ideas for episodes. And I will tell you that this is a thing that happens, it does, but it doesn't happen probably as often as you think. And there are some tips and tricks for this because even I sometimes run into like a creative wall. And I have to kind of tap into some of these, like backup topic ideas, and I actually have several of them so next episode is going to be me going into all of these. So if running out of content, ideas, or topics or anything like that is something that you're afraid of, or has even happened to you make sure that you tune in to the next episode. All right, that's gonna wrap up this episode. If you have any fears that I didn't discuss, feel free to reach out to me I do have a contact form on my website. Or of course, you can email me Britany BRIT A ny at podcasting for coaches calm and just let me know and I'll see if I can maybe help you figure it out. Or if I get enough of them, we'll do a follow up to this episode. And lastly, I do want to really quickly mention that I will actually be speaking at xi podcast live in Scottsdale, Arizona, which is coming up like next week, I believe when this episode is being released. So if you are going to be attending that event, make sure that you find me reach out to me ahead of time we can schedule a meet up I would love to meet as many of you as possible while I'm there. Thank you so much. And I will see you back here next time where we're going to talk about some of those content ideas. Have a fantastic week.

16:51

And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches comm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcasts that you create and put out into the world.

 
Britany Felix
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