90: Debunking Five Podcast Myths
Over the past four and a half years, I’ve heard every excuse in the book for not starting a podcast. But, there are a few I’ve heard several times over and, unfortunately, they’re exactly valid reasons for not starting a podcast because they’re just not true.
So, in this episode, I’m debunking the five following podcast myths:
There are already too many podcasts/my niche is too crowded.
I’m going to start a podcast and see immediate success. All I have to do is build it and they’ll come, right?
I’m not a celebrity. There’s no way I’ll be able to stand out and get a large enough audience to make it worth it.
It’s really expensive to start a podcast with all the fancy equipment I’ll need to make my show sound professional.
I’m not tech-savvy and starting a podcast is way too complicated.
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Transcript
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. Welcome to podcasting for coaches Episode 90. I know I've had quite a few interviews for you here lately. So now we're gonna do a stretch of solo episodes for you. And in this first bit of that stretch, we're going to talk about five podcast myths. So just to kind of let you know up here at the top, the five myths we're going to talk about are one, there are already too many podcasts or that your niche is too crowded. To that you're going to start a podcast and see immediate success, all you have to do is build it and they will come right Myth number three. On the flip side of that I'm not a celebrity. So there's no way I'll be able to stand out and get a large enough audience to make it worth it. Myth number four, it's really expensive to start a podcast with all the fancy equipment that you'll need to make it sound professional. And Myth number five, I am not tech savvy and starting a podcast is way too complicated. I'll never be able to figure it out. These are all things that I have heard multiple times throughout my several years in the podcast industry. And let's go ahead and break these down right now. Starting with Myth number one, there's already too many podcasts or my niche is crowded. And I'm going to tell you right now that that's actually not true. I know it seems that way because we're plugged into the podcast world. And so that's what a lot of people talk about podcasters love to talk about podcasts. So it seems like it's everywhere. But the truth is, it's really not. So to put this in perspective, there are 1,394,000 660 million valid podcasts in Apple podcasts right now, according to my podcast reviews. Now I know what you're thinking almost 1.4 million podcasts? Of course, there's too many. But that number is very deceptive. Yes, it is a large number, but only 46.93 of them are active, meaning they've released an episode in the last 90 days. So that actually takes us all the way down to 654,513 podcast. So to make this simple 650,000 podcasts. Again, I know that seems like this massive number. How on earth are you supposed to stand out? There's already too many damn podcasts. But again, it's deceptive. It's a large number, but not in the grand scheme of content. As of March 2020 104 million Americans listen to podcasts on a monthly basis. 104 million people are listening to 650,000 podcasts, roughly Yes, they could be listening to some that are not technically active, but you get the idea. And to put this in even more perspective, at the end of 2019, there were 31 million YouTube channels 31 million compared to 650,000. And to put it even further in perspective, there are currently more than 500 million blogs. And there are about 2 million new blog posts published every single day, 2 million blog posts published every single day, and you're worried about standing out on a 650,000. So I Brahmas you it is still growing. Big companies are still working their way into the game. Amazon slash audible still is not in the podcast game, but they are on their way. They have announced that they are getting into the podcast space but they're not even there yet. And if you think Amazon's not going to get in on this, you're out of your mind. So please do not be worried that they're already too many podcasts and there's not room for yours because there absolutely is. If you want to dig into these numbers a little bit further. That will of course be links to everything in the show notes on my website, which you can find by going to podcasting for coaches. com click on the podcast tab in the main menu Go to episode number 90, that is nine, zero. Okay, Myth number two, you are going to start a podcast and see immediate success, all you have to do is build it, and they will come. This is so wrong. And I know I just told you that there is an audience for you in podcasting. And now I'm telling you don't expect to see him right away. And that's because I have had years worth of experience to know that it generally takes about a year for a podcast to really see significant growth. podcasting is a long game. It is a long term strategy that can bring results unlike any other platform. But you have to put in the work upfront. So if you're looking for something that has immediate results, podcasting is probably not going to be it. But if you have that time to devote to it, it will pay off in dividends later on. And I know that there are a lot of people who think that they're going to get into podcasting, and they're going to find a sponsor, and they're going to make a ton of money that way. Trust me, I was the exact same when I started my very first podcast. Back in 2015, I had these dreams of starting a podcast and landing some sponsors and being able to quit my corporate job and become a full time podcaster. Now to be fair, I was able to quit my job. And now I have a podcast and this is my full time business. It did not happen because of sponsors. I actually never got a sponsor for that very first podcast after having it for two years. Now, to be fair, I did sell it to a listener, and I did have a sponsor for my other podcast. But that's a whole other story. It is not realistic to think that you're going to make significant amounts of money just from sponsorships alone. Most podcasters, if they do get a sponsor, they are literally making dollars a month, not 10s of dollars, not a hundreds, not 1000s dollars as in like two or three. It takes such a large number of downloads that the vast majority of podcasters will never see over the lifespan of their show, in order to make any real money from sponsors. But the good news is you don't need all those downloads, and you don't need those sponsors, which takes us actually into Myth number three, I'm not a celebrity, there's no way I'll be able to stand out enough to get a large enough audience to make it worth it. Again, you don't need millions of downloads every month in order to have a successful podcast because you're not going after sponsors. You're selling your own products and services. So you can have a successful show with just a teeny tiny fraction of the downloads that those celebrities get. Because I mean, let's be honest here, if you had millions of downloads, if you had 1000s of people coming to you or even hundreds of 1000s coming to you, every single month wanting to work with you, could you actually keep up with that? If you're selling a product? Yeah, potentially. But for a lot of you, your high ticket services are one on one, their group programs that are limited in how many people you can take. So honestly, you probably couldn't even handle the amount of work that would come from having a podcast with millions of downloads every month, which Yes, I get would be a fantastic problem to have. But you don't need it. That's basically what I'm trying to say here. If you get just a couple of clients every month, that could probably make a huge impact on your business. So please do not be worried that you have to go out here and chase these downloads, you have to already have an existing massive audience in order to have a successful podcast because that is just not true. I have been extremely transparent with my download numbers on this show. And I am getting downloads that honestly would make a lot of podcasters want to curl up in a ball and cry. But I don't care because it's still bringing in money to my business. And downloads do not equal dollars. Actual clients paying me money equals dollars. So please don't focus on your downloads. Don't worry about a massive audience. Just focus on converting the audience you have or you will have once you start your show. And Myth number four, it's really expensive to start a podcast with all the fancy equipment I need to make it sound professional. I'm gonna be real with you right now. I am still using the microphone that I bought back in 2015 for like, I don't know $70 and I'm recording this in a free program right now. So I'm going to break down these costs for you here. Because starting a podcast can honestly be super expensive if you want it to be, but it can also be crazy Jeet them. So the hosting service that I recommend is Lipson This is what stores your audio files and pushes it out to all the different platforms. There are free platforms that I do not recommend for various reasons. Lipson is the one I recommend. But even the plan that I recommend that you get that comes with some advanced stats and plenty of storage is only $20 a month, the microphone that I recommend using which is actually not the one I'm on now, because they no longer make the one I'm on now they have an updated version that is quite a bit more expensive and frankly, not needed. But the one I recommend which is comparable to what you're hearing right now is the Samson q2 you and it is currently $80 on Amazon. I recommend recording in Audacity if you're a PC user. And that program is free is what I used to record the show that I'm using right now. And if you are a Mac user who has updated to Catalina already, I recommend that you record in QuickTime. And then if you're going to do your own editing, whether you're PC or Mac, you can use Audacity, which again is free. If you're on a super, super tight budget and you need a free way to record remote interviews, you can use zoom it is not the best quality. But again, it is possible and will get you there until you can pay for a better program. If you do have a little bit more money to devote to the show and you want it to be a little bit better quality will actually a lot better quality, you can use the program that I personally use to record interviews which is clean feed, it is $34 a month, the pro version of clean feed has multitrack recording, they do have a free version, but then it lumps everyone together on one track. So I do not recommend that. And then if you are doing your own editing, you'll want to make sure that all the volume is level across the entire episode and between each guest. And you can use a free program called level later for that as well. I do recommend it over all phonic, which is another one that is commonly recommended. But you only get like two free hours a month with that. And honestly I don't think it does a better job level later is completely free. And I think it's much better than a phonic. Now your biggest expense for the show will come if you're not able to edit it yourself. If you just feel you don't have the skills, you don't have the time you just don't want to do it, you want someone else to take care of it, you absolutely can, you can hire an editor that is going to cost you anywhere from like $50 all the way up to $350 in episode depending on the editor that you hire, so that's going to largely be due to where they're based in the world. And their experience level, their skill level, their level of professionalism. All of those things, you as a coach or consultant understand this, you get what you pay for. So you can go pretty cheap on this. Or you can go super professional. So that's it, those are your costs $20 a month $80 if you want to buy a decent microphone, that's gonna make you sound definitely good enough. And maybe the cost to outsource to an editor. But that's it, everything else you can do for free in the beginning to get you up and running. Alright, and Myth number five, I'm not tech savvy and starting a podcast is way too complicated. So I get this, I get that it seems incredibly overwhelming. I remember exactly what that experience was like back in 2015. thinking, Okay, I want to start a podcast. But now what? Where do I even begin? I have no idea what I don't even know. So I don't even know what questions to ask. So Believe me, I vividly remember that situation. But the thing is, it's actually not that difficult to start a podcast. Once you know all the steps. It's figuring out those steps and those little minute things that you need to know that makes it really difficult and can honestly stop people. But the actual technology of it literally I have my microphone plugged into the USB port in my computer, right into a program that all I have to do is click one button to start recording. It can be so so simple. Now as far as those individual steps go, I do have a podcast quickstart episode, which is episode number 74. That will walk you through the basics of those steps. But if you find that you need more guidance, if you find that you would really prefer to have somebody walk you through this and hold your hand and tell you exactly what to do and when to do it so that you really kind of don't have to think about any of those things you can just focus on creating the parts of your podcast are going to be fun, the actual content. I do have an upcoming group podcast launch program, start a podcast in eight weeks or less. The doors will officially open to the public on September 1, but I do have a waitlist going right now that you can access by going to my website, there's a bar right at the top and of course there will be a link in the show notes. And anyone on the waitlist will get access to that program a full week before the doors open to the public and there are only going to be at most 10 spots available. So being on that waitlist could actually be the difference between getting in the program or not. So again, check out the shownotes podcasting for coaches.com. Click on the podcast tab in the main menu and go to Episode 92 Get on that waitlist. That's gonna wrap it up. I hope that breaking down these myths kind of helped calm your fears a little bit or common anxieties about starting a podcast. If you have any other questions, any other hang ups that you have been experiencing or thinking that have been stopping you from starting a podcast and you want to know if they're even legit things that you should be worried about? definitely feel free to reach out to me on Facebook or Instagram. Just search for app podcasting for coaches. Thank you so much. And I would invite you to come back next week, where I'm going to talk about whether or not it's even the right time for your business to have a podcast. Have a fantastic week. 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.