Podcasting for the independent creator can be a labor of love or just another burden on the small business owner looking for a new tool in their marketing toolkit. Either way, it’s work. Lots of work.
There are many moving parts in a quality audio show: A decent mic with a windscreen, an awareness of your voice, the engagement of the host(s) with an unseen audience, editing software, mixers, hosting providers, timelines, deadlines, guests, permissions, copyrights, and so much more.
If you are a budget-minded content creator, you may want to do much of the work yourself. In that case, I have one very important piece of advice: Make sure you carve out, and commit to, the time to do this.
One of the key components of success in podcasting is consistency. As you gather listeners, fans, and subscribers to your show, this audience is going to expect your content on a regular basis. Part of what makes podcasting so wonderful is the personal connection an audience who becomes invested in your topic – and in you. If you fail to publish a show when you say you are going to, or if you miss your deadlines, your listeners will quickly become disenchanted. With literally hundreds of thousands of podcasts in circulation today (October 2018), it’s easy for a fan to move on to a show that is predictable and consistent.
So, don’t spend all that energy creating a podcast only to have it languish because you don’t have the time for it. Even if all you have is 30 minutes a day, that’s 2-3 hours per week to get your show out the door in a timely fashion. And if you don’t have that time, remember that it is okay to seek help.