WHY DO YOU WANT TO CREATE YOUR OWN PODCAST?

So you've decided to take the plunge into the marvelous world of Podcasting. Congratulations! Podcasting is one of the fastest growing industries in the world. It is estimated that there are more than 1 Million active podcasts with more than 30 million episodes in over 100 different languages.

To say that podcasting is enjoying an explosive surge in popularity is indeed an understatement. If you are considering entering this amazing world, the best news for you is this... it is growing every single day.

In other words, millions upon millions of people all around the globe are actively looking for new podcast shows - and one of those new shows could be yours!

But before you turn one of your bedrooms into a home studio, invest thousands of dollars in equipment and software and jump headfirst on to the podcast bandwagon, there are a few things you need to seriously consider.

One of the biggest issues facing newbie casters is the amount of time that is required to successfully produce a series of episodes. Do you have enough time to dedicate to this brand new and exciting endeavor? If you do, then you need to ask yourself one more important question.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK YOURSELF
One of the most important questions I ask all of my clients is this... "Why do you want your own podcast show?"

This may seem like a silly question, but it is so vitally important to answer before beginning and it's the one question that is so often overlooked.

Everybody has a different answer. Some will want a podcast show because they've got something very important they feel they need to share with the world. Some will want to promote a particular brand or business.

Both are equally valid reasons. But there should always be a passion around your desire to create a podcast. Your audience will feel it when you speak and when it resonates with them it is pure GOLD!

Podcasting can certainly enhance any business or industry if done right. If you're a real estate agent, a coach or consultant, a healer, speaker, teacher, doctor, etc. literally any profession or industry can have a special place in the podcasting world.

But please do take a moment right now to dive into your own personal reasons for wanting to take on this lifestyle - because it definitely is a lifestyle - and it can take up a large amount of your time.

Think of creating your podcast like getting a brand new puppy. You need to feed it, walk it, make sure it is healthy - and of course love it.

And as with any new puppy you bring into your family, you need to spend a lot of quality time with them. It's the same when creating a new podcast show. Because the most successful podcasts are produced with a level of consistency and an attention to quality that trumps quantity every time.

Yes, developing and creating a new podcast can give you an enormous amount of satisfaction and pride - and it can be wonderfully fun at times. But it can also be extremely time consuming and frustrating - especially when learning new technology. If you don't start with the basics, it can feel very overwhelming.

So the reasons why you want to create your own show should outweigh any of the time commitments and possible learning curve-balls thrown at you.

PERSONAL NOTE FROM CHRISTINE:
If you would like guidance on getting started in Podcasting I would love to help you! Just email me at OutOfTheBoxWithChristine@gmail.com and we can set up a complimentary Strategy Session

THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW FOR PODCASTERS AND RADIO HOSTS

THE ART OF THE INTERVIEW
by Christine Blosdale

Your audience can smell an ego a mile away. And one sure fire way to drive listeners away is to have a big fat one that sucks up the air time.

Letting your guests speak while guiding them to where you want them to go is one way to both entertain and enlighten your audience, so don’t blow it by having to be heard.

The Art of the Interview is an audio ballet of sorts involving balanced conversation and profound moments. Sometimes that dramatic pause (AKA “dead air”) can be so powerful it can transform both your guest and your audience. So don’t be afraid of that silence.

Far too often people feel the need to fill it - to keep talking. Please DON’T. Like I said, it’s a dance. A beautiful, emotion filled dance. And when the dance is done with respect for both the guest and the listener (and the ego takes a hike) it’s pure magic.

One of the best ways to engage your audience and have them in return invest themselves in your show is to know way ahead of time exactly what “story” you want to focus in on and express on air. If your guest has overcome some major obstacles in life or survived against all odds, this story can be what not only draws you in, but your audience as well.

Let’s face it. All of the great films and books have been based on great stories. Anyone heard of “Star Wars?” Exactly. Stories of overcoming adversity or experiencing a miraculous turn of events is what we call a real “page turner.”

Well your podcast or radio show is no different. People connect through stories and they will stick with you until they find out what the hell happened.

Did you leave the movie theater when Darth said to Luke, “I am your father?!!” Ummm NO. You were glued to your seat and you were not leaving that dark place with sticky Coca Cola residue on the floor until you heard the whole damn saga.

“The more personal your story is, the more Universal and connected you are to others.”
- Bo Eason

Another big boo boo I hear hosts make is when they try to be perfect.

Listen, we all stumble sometimes and we all have our “brain fart” moments. In my many years of experience I can tell you that when you are real and honest (and yes, even raw) the audience actually digs you even more! They don’t want perfect. They want real. And they want to know that you are not some robot, but a feeling imperfectly perfect human being.

Now some of you may be saying, “But what about those people on TV? They have to be perfect.” Listen. They are so disconnected from their audience and they have advertising sales managers breathing down their necks. You don’t.

Besides, just because everyone else is doing it doesn’t mean you need to too. The key to succeeding in broadcast journalism is to realize that you are truly unique and with that you possess skills and talents that are your trademark. And one of them is the ability to F- up and laugh about it or connect with people through that very real human quality. Own that. Be real baby, be real!

And don’t be afraid to color outside the lines. Your occasional flubs or “mess-ups” could be the very thing that endears you to people and makes them like you even more - especially when compared to other so-called “professionals!”

You are YOU. And you are F-in YOUnique! Now go speak to your tribe and bring them guests that can offer them a story they will never forget.

• Christine Blosdale
  Coach and Consultant with Out of the Box Strategies for Out of This World Results