The Podcaster Utilizing His Successes And Failures In Podcasting To Grow

There is too much bullsh*t in the world. Everything seems to come with a sprinkle of political correctness and a fear of talking open, the way you would with friends. I've got interests in Linux and Crypto currency, with nothing to sell. So I go by my day to day business looking into how I can make these tools work for me, and share what I find.

No product endorsements, just honest feedback on what I've been using the last week and why. Usually covers a review or tool about some recent linux tools I've used, and I'll be honest, it's rare the feedback is good, and that's because there is a lot of sh*t out there.

I also touch on some edge subjects like psychology just to screw with the SEO of the show.

I listen to podcasts over the radio because I find they offer me value. But some of the best shows I've had spoilt due to adverts that are too long, or sneaky product endorsements that felt fake. Podcasting is available for anyone to start, and the objective doesn't always have to be to make the big bucks.

I always look for things in life that offer dual benefits. With podcasting I get to practice concise communication and learn about new tech. I ordered a mic about 9 months ago and when it arrived I had a terrible cold, I couldn't even breath out my nose but who cares? Sometimes you've just got to start - I'm not here to make it big - so I started to have fun and learn, and I threw down the first episode, and the rest is history.

Initially I was doing a weekly show, but having a full time job as well meant I was getting to the following weekend and didn't have enough core content. It was feeling more like work than fun to squeeze out the episode so I moved it to bi-weekly. Within a couple of weeks there is always enough things I've come across to make for interesting content without me having to fill with forced garbage.

All in all, after initial hardware expenses (just microphone actually £130) it costs zero to do a show. Other than time of course, which takes, including recording the show, editing and upload, 2 hours every other week. It's nothing.

Even if the show stays small, with the return on knowledge I get, at the cost of an hour a week it would be silly not to do a podcast.

Communication. We're told how important communication is in a business and as I've grown older I've noticed this applies to an individual as well. The more clearly you can communicate to yourself and others, what you want, the happier you'll be. This is internal dialog and external.

I've never been afraid to say what I think, to my detriment sometimes, but you live and learn; I'd stumble over my words and get anxious mid-sentence as I was unable to articulate my point clearly. Podcasting forces the brain to work at the weakness, and the beauty of it is, you're on your own. And you can edit the content.

Over time, the freedom to try in an environment where the only judge is yourself, you begin to gain confidence and flow more easily in conversation. This skill extends to the real world.

I'm actually against sponsors as my content is sold as open and honest. My unique "selling" point, for want of a better phase, is how I can talk about my experiences openly,and usually quite bluntly when it comes to shit products and services. I know from basic psychological human biases, if I was paid, I'd be influenced in a way that would compromise my whole ideal.

I found all my tools for creating the show by scowering reddit. I've ended up with a decent toolbox at the cost of £0.00.

Audacity to record on a Saturday, Audacity to edit on a Sunday. Monday I'll upload to Auphonic which smoothens out all the audio, does a lot of professional level auto editing and filtering to give a more crisp experience. Hooked into that I've got a google API converting my speech into text, creating a transcript for the show which helps with SEO. Again free. Then I'll upload the finished product to podiant, where the show is hosted, again for free.

Podiant is a great platform as it handles a lot of the SEO and pushing the content out to various providers, and it's because of great technology I'm able to run the show without worrying about what money the show itself generates.

Podiant handles all that for me. Once you've signed up you link it up to your twitter and iTunes podcasting account and it handles the integration for you. Outside of podiant I don't do any marketing, that's how I know it's a solid platform, because people keep finding me and I don't do anything apart from create the show.

Actually, this interview is the first thing I've done outside of podiant to try and reach a few more people.

Honestly, just start. Even if you end up with zero listeners, you'll end up net positive and that's what life's about. Do the things that keep you net positive in terms of the goals you want to reach, look for opportunities that offer multiple benefits and you'll always be moving forward.

I'm a huge advocate of failure, it demonstrates effort (you've tried something) and honesty (you've been honest enough to admit you've failed), and those two attributes alone will take you forward in life. So why fear failing? Embrace it.

Don't start a podcast with the objective of making money, start it around some key interests you'd like to develop, that way, even without listeners, you'll benefit. If the show does start to grow, listeners will feel and hear the enthusiasm in your voice and maybe they'll want to hear more.

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