@Ippollo 30 March 2021 edited

Avoid these 10 Mistakes When Starting a Podcast

I started a podcast in January 2020. I've released 60 episodes and had over 100 pre-interviews with potential guests. The podcast didn't succeed as I had hope, so I took a break to understand what I could have done differently. After a few months of learning and studying how to grow a podcast properly, I want to share my mistakes in my first year of running a podcast and the lessons learned. **1. Spending money on the wrong things.** Upgrading your equipment isn’t going to grow your podcast business. Invest in things that will produce a return on your investment, such as automation and delegation. **2. Not editing episodes to maintain the “authenticity” of the conversation.** Your audience is exchanging time for value. Respect your audience’s time and deliver the best value by eliminating waste. **3. Thinking a high-end microphone will solve my growth problems.** You can get a great sounding setup for about $100USD, and that’s all you’ll need for a long time. **4. Relying on social media to grow my audience organically.** Organic growth is only a part of the strategy. You’re going to need to promote your podcast actively to grow your audience. **5. Waiting for 10s of thousands of downloads to start monetizing.** Monetization should be part of your podcast business strategy right out of the gate. Even a “small” podcast can generate revenue. **6. Thinking I needed technical skills (editing, mixing, etc.) to run a podcast.** Outsourcing this is a lot cheaper than you think. **7. Doing everything myself to save money.** If you’re building a podcast business, stop wasting your time with work that other people can easily do. **8. If I don’t release an episode every week, my audience will stop listening.** Releasing a bad episode to “stay consistent” will do more harm than good. Consistency is important, but don’t trade consistency for quality. **9. Waiting to have the perfect plan before executing.** There’s no such thing as the “perfect plan.” Get started and adjust as you go. **10. Not wanting to niche too much, so I can go in different directions.** Niching gives you focus and clarity. Start small and expand as you grow (if you want). I hope this helps other podcasters avoid the same mistakes I made. If you took value from any part of this article, please like and share.