1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:04,880 This episode of the All New Sounding Podcasting Insights 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,760 may well shock you. Not because it's gonna be 3 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,400 particularly controversial, but because it's going to be 4 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,080 talking about something which runs counter 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,320 to the very thing that my business, Podnos 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,000 Podcasting, actually makes money from when 7 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000 clients work with us. And that is 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,920 strategy. And why I think that many 9 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,080 podcasters don't actually need a new 10 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:38,120 strategy. They just need better feedback. 11 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:47,080 And when I'm talking about feedback, I'm not talking about the polite kind, 12 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,920 you know, not notes about pacing or transitions 13 00:00:51,830 --> 00:00:55,510 or whether the audio sounds great. What they 14 00:00:55,510 --> 00:00:59,150 actually need is someone to tell them that uncomfortable 15 00:00:59,150 --> 00:01:02,310 truth about what it feels like to listen. 16 00:01:03,510 --> 00:01:07,230 Because here's the thing. A lot of podcasts aren't 17 00:01:07,230 --> 00:01:10,070 actually bad. They're just 18 00:01:10,950 --> 00:01:14,710 massively forgettable. You know, they're competent, 19 00:01:15,190 --> 00:01:19,040 they're structured, they're fine. And 20 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:22,560 fine is the most dangerous place that a podcast can be. 21 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,080 Fine is mediocrity. Fine is getting 22 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:30,000 caught in that trap of just publishing content 23 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:34,320 for publishing content's sake. It's about 24 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,160 ticking off the task from your calendar, week in, 25 00:01:38,160 --> 00:01:40,560 week out. Oh, look, it's Wednesday 26 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:45,250 podcast recording day. You see, from the 27 00:01:45,250 --> 00:01:48,930 very beginning, the energy you're carrying into that is off. 28 00:01:49,410 --> 00:01:53,170 And the listener will definitely pick up on that lacking energy. 29 00:01:54,210 --> 00:01:58,050 Without the energy, you don't have the strong opening. And when I'm 30 00:01:58,050 --> 00:02:00,850 talking about a strong opening, I'm not just talking about the tone. 31 00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:05,410 I'm talking about answering the question every 32 00:02:05,410 --> 00:02:09,250 listener is silently asking you in the first 33 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:11,440 30 seconds of your episode. 34 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,320 Why should I care right now? I 35 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,880 mean, scripts can help with clarity. For sure, they can, but 36 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,720 connection comes from delivery, from sounding like a human 37 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:27,840 who actually believes the thing that they're saying. 38 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,400 I'm not going to be a hypocrite about this. Of course, transitions, how you 39 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:36,250 place your ads, the pacing, the 40 00:02:36,250 --> 00:02:39,770 strategically placed silences, all of that does matter, 41 00:02:40,570 --> 00:02:44,250 but none of it compensates for a lack of point of view. 42 00:02:46,250 --> 00:02:50,050 So when people say they want feedback on their podcast, what 43 00:02:50,050 --> 00:02:53,610 they usually mean is, tell me how I can polish this. 44 00:02:55,130 --> 00:02:58,850 What they should actually be asking you is, well, 45 00:02:58,850 --> 00:03:02,660 is this actually earning someone's time? I'm going to ask you 46 00:03:02,660 --> 00:03:06,380 now, is this podcast in the various 47 00:03:06,380 --> 00:03:10,180 formats that I've tried with it, is 48 00:03:10,180 --> 00:03:13,620 it worth your time? I'm not changing 49 00:03:13,620 --> 00:03:16,940 formats because the show doesn't work. Believe me, the show works. 50 00:03:17,500 --> 00:03:21,140 I have the listeners that are in my stats. I look at Apple 51 00:03:21,140 --> 00:03:24,700 podcasts and I see how many followers it's got. I look at Spotify 52 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:29,640 less. So there's as someone very helpfully pointed out on 53 00:03:29,640 --> 00:03:32,320 LinkedIn the other day. But the thing is, 54 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,080 I want this to resonate with you. I want this to make impact on 55 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:39,840 you. I want your podcasting life 56 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,720 to feel a difference from what I am publishing 57 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,640 for your ears through this channel. 58 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,370 Is this show earning your time? Because growth 59 00:03:53,370 --> 00:03:56,490 doesn't usually come from doing more or doing differently. 60 00:03:57,370 --> 00:04:00,730 It comes from being braver about what already exists. 61 00:04:02,330 --> 00:04:05,610 It comes from taking what you've done, literally 62 00:04:06,090 --> 00:04:09,290 screwing it up into a ball and throwing it in the bin. 63 00:04:10,970 --> 00:04:14,770 And that's kind of what I've done with this podcast. Right now. You'll hear the 64 00:04:14,770 --> 00:04:18,450 difference in the format. And so I want your feedback to 65 00:04:18,450 --> 00:04:22,039 this. Most people never get that feedback. 66 00:04:23,079 --> 00:04:26,279 I'm hoping I'll get it from you. Because 67 00:04:27,479 --> 00:04:31,199 to come back to my opening point, most podcasters 68 00:04:31,199 --> 00:04:34,519 don't need a new strategy. They need better feedback. 69 00:04:35,399 --> 00:04:39,239 And not the polite kind. Thanks so much for listening 70 00:04:39,239 --> 00:04:42,639 to this episode of Podcasting Insights. I've been Neil 71 00:04:42,639 --> 00:04:46,470 Velio the Podmaster, and I'm thanking you for your 72 00:04:46,470 --> 00:04:50,190 time listening this week. If you think anybody else would 73 00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:53,990 find it useful, do. Please feel free to share it with them. And if you 74 00:04:53,990 --> 00:04:57,510 haven't yet, follow the show in your favorite 75 00:04:57,510 --> 00:04:58,350 podcast app.