How I Reached My Podcast’s 6-Year Anniversary

It’s ironic that the six-year anniversary of the “Now Hear This Entertainment” podcast should fall on the same day that the weekly blog is published.  After all, that’s a big part of how this milestone was reached – by being on-time.

When I’m talking about the show, I usually mention that it has gotten listeners from 152 countries around the world and I rattle off a bunch of the notable guests that have been on NHTE – Roy Orbison, Jr., the keyboard player for Aerosmith, the lead guitar player for Garth Brooks, the drummer for Cheap Trick, the bass player for P!NK, the trumpet player for Billy Joel, plus, two 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.”

But I always stick in there that a new episode has been delivered on-time, every week (for what is now six years).

It’s about consistency and, as I heard comedian/actor Jay Mohr say on his podcast, it’s about showing up.

No excuses, no holidays, no days off.

Until you decide you’re not going to do your podcast anymore, you’ve got a verbal contract with your audience that you will deliver a new episode (on-time) each day that you say you will, whether that’s seven days a week, five days a week, once a week, or once every two weeks.

I have also prided myself on no repeats, meaning, not simply reissuing an old episode.  How many times have you sat down to watch an episode of a TV show, only to realize, “Ahhh, I’ve seen this one before!”  You probably change the channel angrily.

Perhaps more importantly, by continuing to put out a new episode on-time, every week, I get to meet more people and learn more.  All the amazing contacts that I’ve built up over these six years from having conversations close to one-hour in length have made for some nice relationships that’ve been fostered.  You see, I pride myself on not being the host who interviews you and you never hear from him again.  I think guests are pleasantly surprised when I continue to engage with them in some way, shape, or form.  Going the extra mile for them, showing them that you care, and seeing how else you can help them (in addition to the interview you did) makes you memorable with them.

Sure, audience size makes podcasters happy.  After all, there are always jokes made about constantly checking stats.  But consistency and milestones like this six-year anniversary can be something you take equal pride in (if not more).

My thanks to all the guests over the 314 episodes to-date and the global NHTE audience for helping the show get to this point.

And by the way?  I’ll talk to you early Wednesday morning on Episode 315, of course.

Talk with others about this blog in the NHTE Listeners Facebook group, which also has some past guests among its members.