(Click Here) for the podcast version of this article
Life is full of choices and entering into the podcasting life is no different. Have you really thought about who you want to reach and what you want to accomplish with your podcasts? There is nothing wrong with beginning with a single idea and trying it out, but you also need an expanding vision of the possibilities. Along the way, you may find your focus and direction change a little –maybe even a lot– but it becomes more clear.
If I may, I want to speak to you from my personal experience on this subject. When I first started with my pursuit of podcasting, I had an idea of what I wanted to do and I had a lot I wanted to say. I wanted to share the things I have learned over a lot of years of working with live and studio sound. I have also spent a lot of time during those years recording groups and individuals, capturing them live. Most of what I have done in the recent past can be edited later, but I only get one chance to capture it. Many of the things I have done, and do, are for broadcast, both live and captured live and edited for later broadcast.
I learned a long time ago, whether recording or podcasting, the more your do it, the less you find you know. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. I’m not saying that experience and knowlege don’t mean that much, but, the more you learn the more you know there is to learn. I have always been a person willing to share what I know if someone is willing to listen. Still, everyday is a learning experience for me. I don’t know everything there is to know, but I am thankful that there are others that are willing to share their knowledge with me. Technology is changing at such an abrupt pace that it is difficult to keep up with everything.
The more I’ve done, the more I have changed my approach, but not necessarily my direction. I haven’t departed a long way from my original vision but, over time, I have expanded and honed it to take in more things that I, at first, thought I didn’t want to do. I have begun to focus more on a method to teach what I have learned and know. What you choose to do with my knowledge is up to you. I simply share what I know and have learned an hope that it helps one, or many of you, advance toward your goals for podcasting and that you can avoid at least some of the pitfalls.
Now, getting back to you and your podcasting; do you want to take the idea you have and make it an everday thing or once a week? How about once a month? We can talk about those options more fully later, but they are options that must be considered very early on.
You have to choose how you want to get to where you want to go. If you think you can just get on the mic and start talking, you will find your dream may be short-lived. Understand, your short sightedness may work well if you are the only one listening to your production, but, if you want to grow your audience, you need to have a strategic plan for your podcast.
In the end, the choice is up to you. You choose what you want to say and how you want to say it. You even choose whether you want to take ‘the time it takes to do it right’ or just throw it all together and hope for the best. You see, ‘flash in the pan’ podcasts, whether audio or video, can be wonderful for the moment, but they seldom last any length of time. Your choices will affect the way your podcasts will be looked at and thought about by those that frequent them. Choosing to plan, whether short term, long term or both, is the best way to better assure yourself of extended success.
See ya next time . . .
