A journey through the American Revolution, going chronologically

I am telling the story of the American Revolution, how the United States became in independent nation.
 

I have always had an abiding interest in reading about the American Revolution. I wanted to share this story with others, and saw that there was no other podcast that covered this era in detail. Since I had never created a podcast before, I spent about a year writing articles and learning more about recording, editing, microphones, etc. I released my first episode in 2017.
 

I release a new episode each week. I also release a special interview episode, usually each month. It takes about 30 hours to produce a regular episode. I do have a day job, so it keeps me pretty busy. I've spent nothing really on marketing, but have allowed the podcast to grow using social media and spreading the word in other ways.
 

I have taken some occasional advertisers, but no regular sponsors. The bulk of the podcast's income comes from Patreon and other donations. The podcast income covers expenses plus a little extra, but is not a primary source of income. The podcast has helped me to become a larger part of a community of people interested in the era.
 

The podcast remains basic. Since most episodes are just me talking, I have not had to invest in a multi-microphone setup o mixer. I get by with a PC and a relatively inexpensive microphone. I use Audacity for editing.
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Each episode requires reading and research, as part of writing a script. I then record and edit the twenty minute episode, and add an "aftershow" that contains book recommendations, answers listener questions, and mentions other news about the show, lasting about ten minutes. Once the podcast is complete, I put a transcript of the show on my blog, along with relevant links and other information. On release day, I place multiple posts across social media, and to my mailing list.

For special episodes involving guests, I record those via Zoom. Because of my audience size, my guests often reach out to me or are very willing to accept an invitation to speak. Most are authors with books that are either about to release or have recently released, about some topic related to the American Revolution. I have established contacts with major publishers on this topic.
 

My show is available on a wide variety of platforms (all that I know of). According to my host platform (Podbean) just over half of my downloads come from five platforms: Spotify 22%, Apple 16%, Pandora 9%, Podbean 6%, and Google Podcasts 5%. Most marketing on social media is done via Twitter and Facebook.
 

Don't expect to get rich from Podcasting. Unless you are already a celebrity or have a ready audience you can bring to a new podcast growth will be slow and sponsorship may take years. As a new podcaster, download numbers tell you more about your marketing than the quality of your podcast. Pay much more attention to the listeners who come and then become regular listeners. It is that retention rate that tell you that your podcast is doing well. I.e. if you had 100 downloads of episode 1, and 80 came back for episodes 2 or 3, that would be better sign of a quality podcast than if you had 1000 for episode 1 and then only 100 came back for episodes 2 or 3.

I'd shy away from paying for consultants or expensive "how to" guides. You can find plenty of good free advice on Podcast Facebook groups, or guides listed on various hosting sites. Find a podcaster you like and reach out to him/her with questions. If they are not too big, most podcasters would probably be happy to help.

I actually created a "test podcast" that I never published, spending several months trying out microphones, learning my editing software, and trying out my techniques. This took many months, preparing me for the release of episode one after learning a considerable amount.
 

You can find my podcast at: https://pod.amrevpodast.com
I have a corresponding blog at https://blog.amrevpodast.com
I also have a website at http://www.amrevpodcast.com
I have a Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132651894048271
Follow me on Twitter: @AmRevPodcast
Check out my Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=15621839
I also have a TeePublic storefront: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/american-revolution-podcast?ref_id=23124
Mailing List: https://mailchi.mp/d3445a9cd244/american-revolution-podcast-by-michael-troy
PayPal: http://paypal.me/AmRevPodcast