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Podcasting Why Bother: How to Use Podcasts to Build Your Brand and Business



One of my favorite mics to use for podcasting and recording on the go is the Samson Go Mic. which runs about 42 in the UK. I get great results from mine. And with an OTG adapter, you can use it in tandem with your cell phone to record on the go.


Self-regulation challenges, heightened moodiness, social anxieties, and increased academic demands can intensify the pressure bearing down on middle and high school students with ADHD. With deficits in the areas of executive functioning and motivation, many teens become checked out and stressed out, frustrated by the constant struggle to keep up in class. These students appear unmotivated, and unwilling, to do class assignments and homework. Their refrain: Why bother?




Podcasting Why Bother



Forget what you have read online or what you believe to be true. Ignore the "acquire to perspire" motivation quote you might have to listen to or read online from motivational speakers by podcasting. You need to look past all of that at the moment and focus on the absolute truth and why podcasts might not be for you.


This is not to discourage you but to make you see a few reasons why you shouldn't start a podcast so you don't get stranded in the long run. We have seen people start podcasting with a few episodes and stopped midway because they couldn't keep up.


You need to think about these essential things before you decide to dive into podcasting. You shouldn't go into podcasting without thinking about them beforehand if you want your shoe to have a chance at success. A little planning can be the deciding factor for listeners to engage your show and for you to eventually get a massive following as your show becomes the talk of the town.


So, let's dive into what we believe are the reasons you should not go into podcasting. Make sure you are not doing it for these wrong reasons, except you want to stop halfway when you could have invested that much time in something more productive.


If you are thinking like this person, ladies and gentlemen, podcasting is not for you. To be an excellent podcaster and create great shows, you need to learn new skills that you may not have. You need to study your topic thoroughly, extract new facts and information, and convince listeners to want to listen to you every time you speak.


You should be looking at spending, let's say $30 monthly, and that's on hosting and editing software. Although we didn't calculate the equipment you have to buy or your time, we guess it is precious. At the end of the day, podcasting needs investment, and you need to invest in your show to produce high-quality audio that the audience will respect. On equipment, you may have to spend a minimum of $200 to as high as $1000 if you want your show professionally produced.


Some people just start podcasting because everyone is doing it. That's a big joke, in my opinion. Podcasts take time, it takes effort, it takes money, and it takes work. Doing it because people do it or you found out that some people are successful isn't the conviction you need to start podcasting.


One of the many reasons that push people into the podcasting industry is promoting or selling their products or services. Now, this isn't a bad idea, to be honest, but promoting one product or service wouldn't take you far in the podcast industry. While we are not saying you shouldn't promote your product or service, you can certainly do that if you want.


However, when it comes to podcasting, promoting your product or service doesn't always translate to your audience taking action. Using a podcast as a direct sales tool demands more work than you typically do when not promoting. You have to tell your audience to halt and do something else; let's say go to your website and click a link or buy a product or service offline.


The good news is that the podcasting world isn't as flooded as other online worlds like websites and YouTube channels. There are not many people in the space, yet you will want to come up on top, and you can only do that by beating the competition. You need to be serious about this, except you want to be left behind in the process. Like I said earlier, it is not a walk in the park. It is not a space you can just stroll in, and everyone bows to their feet. You need to work for it and keep working.


Unlike every other space, the podcasting space is different. Whereas analytics rules and tools help us understand what our listeners need and what they are not looking forward to in the content development and creation space.


Some podcast hosting platforms will provide you with the number of downloads on every episode on your show and the location of the downloads in countries. Yet, it doesn't tell you how long people listened or if they listened to other episodes on your show, among other things. Thus, if you don't have the patience to dig deep to find something, your listeners will be excited about it. I'm afraid podcasting is not your forte.


Starting podcasting for the fun of it, for instance, will only lead you to abandon it before it hits the ground running. You need to be passionate about it, put in all the work, and show some commitment too. Think about the time you will invest in creating the first few episodes, producing, and publishing.


Furthermore, it is even slightly easier to make money from podcasting than from publishing. Unlike the giant ball of wibbly wobbly that is the Amazon KDP global fund payout rate, podcasting is similar to radio advertising in terms of how ad rates are calculated.


True story: I mentioned podcasting to Kristen back then, and she threw holy water at me and ran screaming. Then two days later, she was back with three podcasts I JUST HAD to listen to, wanting to know when were we going to start ours?


Is mythology the most popular genre in podcasting? Obviously not. But are there enough people who enjoy mythology to make up a decent sized audience? Sure. Are there enough who might then also be interested in my book? Absolutely!


What are your thoughts? Questions? Comments? Do you listen to podcasts? Which ones are your favorites and why? Have we helped those who are terrified at least consider that podcasting might not melt the flesh off your bones?


If you scroll down, Cait is offering three classes on podcasting. There are discounts for early registration as well as a podcasting bundle that will save you WAY more than all the discounts combined.


Kate Kaput: Got it. And I would imagine that talking to a dermatologist can help you figure out which products you should be trying, which ones you shouldn't bother spending your money on, and yeah, which ones are going to be the most effective, ideally for you and for your specific skin.


To quote the great Northern Irish philosopher Liam Neeson, "that's bananers." I have to be honest here--though I am certainly in the Super Listener tier myself, I am not sure I could manage 11.2 hours per week, and I work in podcasting. If you love podcasts, you REALLY love podcasts, because this number doesn't necessarily have to go up, right? You certainly aren't getting more time in your day.


These data taken as a whole would seem to indicate that we haven't yet ruined podcasting with advertising. But make no mistake--the medium isn't invincible. It is eminently ruinable. In fact, the latest Super Listeners data shows that we may not have fully gone off the rails, but podcasting is picking up speed in a dangerous turn:


I do worry more about #2 above than I do #1. I am not one of those who fears programmatic advertising in podcasting--the potential there to give us better targeting and more relevant messages is enormous. But I'll say this--in the three years we have conducted the Super Listeners Study, we have asked a question about all major media types about whether or not there were "too many" commercials on each medium compared to others. In all three years, Podcasting has been at the bottom of that list (Live TV is currently at the top, which means the worst). But the percentage who think podcasting has too many ads has more than doubled, from 10% in 2019, to 22% this year, nudging it closer to the 28% for Magazines. If podcasting starts to nudge into that 28% to 30% range with Super Listeners, well--then podcasting is starting to behave like any other medium in terms of perceived ad load. Different people will feel differently about that, I suppose, depending on if you are on the content side, or the sales side.


These kinds of messages, along with live host-read ads, are clearly the top performers. We all know this. But they aren't the only performers. In the Super Listeners Study webinar, Marshall Williams, the CEO of Ad Results Media, said this best: host-read ads are the "beachfront property" of podcasting. I hate it when someone beats me to a great analogy. But the other properties also have value. Pre-recorded ads not read by the host--basically, radio spots--still show favorability with 36% of Super Listeners. I think this is less about them saying YES MOAR GEICO ADS PLEASE and more about an acknowledgement that this is great content, and these ads are the price.


  • My sixty-seventh podcast is up. In this miscellaneous episode, Carl and I tidy up our brains and talk about the week's goings-on. Subscribe: Download: MP3 Full Show ACTION: Please vote for us on Podcast Alley! Digg us at Digg Podcasts!

If you have trouble downloading, or your download is slow, do try the torrent with µtorrent or another BitTorrent Downloader. Do also remember the complete archives are always up and they have PDF Transcripts, a little known feature that show up a few weeks after each show. Telerik is our sponsor for this show. Check out their UI Suite of controls for ASP.NET. It's very hardcore stuff. One of the things I appreciate about Telerik is their commitment to completeness. For example, they have a page about their Right-to-Left support while some vendors have zero support, or don't bother testing. They also are committed to XHTML compliance and publish their roadmap. It's nice when your controls vendor is very transparent. As I've said before this show comes to you with the audio expertise and stewardship of Carl Franklin. The name comes from Travis Illig, but the goal of the show is simple. Avoid wasting the listener's time. (and make the commute less boring) Enjoy. Who knows what'll happen in the next show? 2ff7e9595c


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