Last week I hit what I called in the weekly e-newsletter an accidental milestone. Mind you, it’s quite, quite notable. Yet because of its construct, it wasn’t waving its arms and flashing all kinds of lights at me.
I can now officially say, though, that I have hosted 500 episodes in my podcasting career, which is two months shy of seven years. This is a combination of 356 episodes of “Now Hear This Entertainment” (number 357 just two days away), 96 episodes of “Catholic Sports Radio” (now 97, with the release of the latest episode of that show today), 41 episodes of “TASCAM Talkback,” and seven episodes of “Capture Your Art.”
Along the way, “Now Hear This Entertainment” alone has gotten listeners from 153 countries around the world (“Catholic Sports Radio” is at 57), and a lot of what I’ve learned and excelled at has taken me to speaking opportunities across the country, from Orlando to Washington DC to Los Angeles and other points in between.
And all that brings up the question of what exactly I have learned.
Thus, I’ve put together this list that could be called, “If I knew then what I know now.”
In no particular order…
1. As much as yes, in theory, doing an interview style show should mean that you’ll get twice as much promotion for each episode since your guest will also be letting their followers know about the interview, it is not a guarantee. This one is still a bit of a mystery to me, given that I actively promote anywhere and everywhere that I’ve been interviewed, but some folks – for reasons I’d love to learn – just don’t do anything with an episode that comes out where they were the guest. So, if you’re just starting your podcasting career, don’t rest on the assumption that your guests will actively promote your show for you.
2. Establishing your authority early/up front (in your podcast episodes) is key to branding yourself as an expert in your field. By early I mean, in the beginning segment of your show, not the first few episodes and then abandoning such. I am a manager/publicist and first started “Now Hear This Entertainment” with the thinking that it would help potential new clients find me. The problem is, I lost sight of that as time went by and as podcasting grew into what we know it as today, and as a result, I’ve done a very poor job “on the air” of letting people know who I am in terms of what I do for people and that I’m not “just a podcaster.” (Fortunately, I had a wake-up call in time to take back part of the show come Episode 10 of “Catholic Sports 
Radio” and have stayed consistent with the segment that I built in for that.)
3. This one – presumably – should be common sense as we head towards 2021, but, back at the start of 2014 I just knew I needed a logo for my show. It wasn’t well thought through and I just did a hit and run with some seller on Fiverr and boy do I wish that I’d have had the awareness that it needs to draw potential listeners in because…
4. The title should give people a pretty clear idea of what your podcast probably is about. Again, when I was starting my show almost seven years ago, I was thinking about my company and getting more clients. I was ready to call the podcast “Now Hear This,” since that’s the company name (well, legally it has Inc. at the end) and, again, I was focused on, “Hey, this could be a marketing tool for me,” but I saw that someone else was using that already. So, I stuck the word Entertainment at the end and called it a day. Nowadays I still second guess that.
5. As thankful as I am that I launched an Instagram account just for my podcast is as uncomfortable as I get when I have to tell people that my Twitter handle is different, but then there’s even a third username once you ask for the Facebook page too. (Note: The Twitter and Facebook accounts envelop the whole company, even though, of course, I do post each Wednesday on those too about the newest podcast episode.) If you’re just starting up a podcast, grab a consistent username for all your social media platforms and, as I’m heard saying in my “20-Plus Ways to Promote Your Podcast” talk, have at least one account dedicated just to your podcast.
6. Those first five have all been said with my head hanging down, but now I’m practicing perfect posture and beaming like a little kid smiling for the camera as I say, podcasting has allowed me to meet people that I couldn’t have otherwise gotten the time of day from. My guests have ranged from Roy Orbison, Jr. (pictured) to the keyboard player for Aerosmith to the lead guitar player for Garth Brooks to the drummer for Cheap Trick to the bass player for P!NK to the trumpet player for Billy Joel, plus, three Grammy Award winners, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, a Las Vegas headliner, three Emmy Award winners, and even participants from “American Idol,” “The Voice,” “America’s Got Talent,” and “The X Factor” (including one singer who won “The Voice”). Sure, these are the “sexy” names that get your attention, but, all in all, I can’t tell you how many new relationships I’ve built – contacts made and, yes, even friendships started – all because of the podcast. As for what I would’ve done differently here is not book the 16-year olds who have big social media numbers but struggle to provide meaningful conversation over 45 minutes.
7. Want some technical stuff? I’ve learned that just like when you try to do handyman repairs at home, having the right tools makes such a difference. When you do live, on-location interviews and have a unit that has two mic inputs but four band members show up for an interview that you thought was just going to be with the lead singer, it’s not a smooth operation. One microphone getting passed back and forth around the table to the different band members really tests the sound that’s all being recorded on that one track. (So, yes, to the representative reading this whose company has a unit that has, say, six mic inputs, I’d love to rep that device and your brand. Let’s talk!) I should’ve been better prepared equipment-wise or spoken up and said, “Sorry, one representative from the band only.”
8. More techie stuff? Okay. When I stopped going to the recording studio and started doing everything myself for “Now Hear This Entertainment,” I had great gear, but I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Going to the recording studio I was basically just “the talent.” I never thought to ask questions about what I would have to quickly (quickly!) get up to speed on when I was suddenly doing it on my own. I’m tempted to say, “For all you beginners out there,” but then again, it’s never too late to learn, educate yourself on compression, for example. Learn what a compressor does. Find out what normalizing means. I did always (and still do) place a big priority on sound quality. I just didn’t know what that man was doing behind the curtain that achieved it for me.
9. I also wish that in February 2014 I would’ve made the decision that I made (for “Catholic Sports Radio”) in February 2019, which was to use a podcast hosting company. Mind you, I have no beef with my Web developer, who did a terrific job of setting up this site for the show to be hosted here, but you get what you pay for, as I’ve seen with the bells and whistles and conveniences of doing it with a company who, simply put, that’s all they do! Invest in a proper podcasting hosting company for your mp3 files, kids. Don’t take the shortcut.
10. Take copious notes. While this is initially in reference to creating your show notes page, it is meant just as much as building a resource for yourself later on. You don’t know how many times I’ve regretted not putting time codes with the corresponding guest quotes on show notes pages. Or, wasted time figuring out how to find which guest mentioned which tool I wanted to look up and possibly use for myself or a client. This might seem small, but when you’ve done 356 episodes and know that someone mentioned a particular website for auditions and you have a client that’s counting on you to help them get those kinds of opportunities, it suddenly becomes a needle in a haystack situation.
11. Since ten just isn’t enough, I’ll also add that I wish I would’ve long ago developed a consistent template for promoting my new episode every week. It’s good to have a consistent look that stands out and will draw someone’s eye immediately, not to mention something you can send to your guest for them to use. Funny enough, I did implement one that I use every Monday to promote the latest “Catholic Sports Radio” episode and, it figures, I’m not completely happy with it. (Shown here.)
12. Since a dozen seems like a good quantity, I’ll end with this final lesson that I was told by someone well-respected in the podcast community that I wish I would’ve learned early on. While we all, as podcasters, want the audience to follow on Twitter and Instagram, and Like our Facebook page, and click through our Amazon banner, and support us through Patreon, and rate and review our show on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show, and be sure to hit the Subscribe button, reading off all those requests is asking far too much. Pick the one (the ONE) that you most want your audience members to do, and just ask for that. One of the reasons I’m in no hurry to go back and listen to my early episodes is having to listen to all those that I used to ask for in one episode.
With that, I’m now at 501, having mentioned that Episode 97 of “Catholic Sports Radio” came out today. So, I’ll see you at the next milestone.
Until then, keep in mind that I started off this blog by saying that the first people to learn that I’d hit the 500 career episodes mark were the subscribers of my weekly e-newsletter. (They also got a better Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal than I offered anywhere else.) If you aren’t receiving it already, use the signup box on this page to get added to the list.
What lessons have you learned in your time podcasting? Or even listening to a podcast (NHTE or others)? Tweet at me via @NHT_tweets or share your feedback with me on Facebook or LinkedIn. Alternatively, send me an email to let me know. And if you want a personalized, one-on-one consultation about podcasting (or your music career), you can book that with me here.