716: Should You Start a Podcast? Answer These 5 Questions

0:01Okay, I have been on this ruthless pursuit to purge any clothes that I'm not actually wearing. Like if I haven't reached for it in months, it's got to go. I am trying to be really intentional about what I bring into my closet right now, which means I am only buying pieces that I know I will actually wear and use. Revolve just gets it though. I'm literally wearing my brown Autry sneakers from there right now and my new suede purse. It fits my laptop in it. So it's basically a fancy shoulder bag that works for everything. I love finding pieces like that. Things that look good, but also work hard for my actual life.

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1:15So happy shopping. You can release your podcast in seasons. In fact, this is what I recommend a lot of beginners do. Now, if you choose to do this, what you can do is you can create three, five, 10 episodes and have a bunch of episodes ready to go to be released. Hey, my name is Jenna Kutcher and I am obsessed with all things business, marketing numbers, and helping you to navigate both the messy and the magical seasons of this thing called life. I'm a small town mama who took a$300 camera, grew a successful photo biz, and now I work from home and run a seven figure online business. I teach you the tried and true secrets to building a career you adore.

1:56Shy away from the real talk? No way. Money, hardship, growth, loss, and marketing are all topics we discuss here. Think of this as your one-stop shop for happy hour with a gal pal mixed with business school. Pull up a seat, make sure you're cozy and get ready to be challenged and encouraged while you learn. This is the Gold Digger podcast. Chances are if you listen to podcasts, which I'm guessing you do because you're hearing my voice right now, you maybe have wondered these five words. Could I start a podcast? Should I start to podcast? Now it's no secret that podcasting has absolutely exploded in popularity.

2:32It is this unique and super powerful tool that allows you to reach and engage with your audience. Obviously, I can speak from experience. But before you jump into the world of podcasting, it is crucial that you ask yourself the right questions to really understand if this is the right platform and medium for you. Inside of today's episode, I'm going to be exploring the five essential questions that every potential podcaster should consider before hitting the record button. Whether you're a seasoned marketer looking to expand your current repertoire or a newcomer curious about the podcasting landscape, this episode is filled with the insightful information that you need to make an informed decision about whether or not you're going to start your own show.

3:17Now, before we dive in, I wanted you to know if podcasting is something that you are sure you want to do, I have an upcoming free class that you are going to love. It is called Podcasting 101, three easy steps to launch your show. You can save your seat at freepodcastclass.com. Inside of this class, I'll walk you through how to navigate from planning your show to sitting down and hitting record all the way through monetization strategies for a podcast. Again, you can save your seat right now at freepodcastclass.com. Now, if you're not sure if podcasting is for you, keep on listening. This is the perfect episode for you to make that decision.

3:55Without further ado, let's dive on in. What if you could find, track, and close deals all in one place? And what if your schedule and your goals, your to-do list and emails were organized in one tab instead of dozens? What if connecting with customers didn't leave you with so many what-ifs? And what if I stopped talking in questions and just told you about HubSpot Sales Hub. Meet the new powerful and easy to use sales software designed to help sales teams prospect smarter, grow revenue faster, and mine deeper customer insights all on one connected platform. With HubSpot sales hubs, your data, tools, and teams are fully linked on a highly customizable platform that's actually a joy to use.

4:36It's smart software for smart sales teams who want to close the year strong. Visit HubSpot.com slash sales to learn more. That's HubSpot.com slash sales. This episode is sponsored by Higher Dose, at-home wellness tools inspired by biohacking technologies to ignite vitality from the inside out. Visit jennacutcher.com slash higher dose and use the code gold digger for 15 % off site-wide with the exceptions of full saunas, bundles, and subscriptions. Question number one to ask yourself is what is my purpose and message? So I think it's really important before you start your own podcast, really define the purpose of the podcast and the message that you want to convey.

5:20What are your goals? Like, is it for entertainment? Is it education? Is it storytelling or to make people laugh? You really want to understand what your purpose is because that's going to guide your content and also give your audience a glimpse into what they can expect as they become subscribers of your show. So if you want to work through a few extra questions, if you're like, oh my gosh, how do I know what is my purpose in my message? I feel too big. Some of these questions might help you. So what is something that you could hop on a stage and speak about for an hour, totally unprepared, whatever popped into your head right now, that's probably a good inclination of what your topic could be.

5:58Or maybe you think about what is something that comes easily to me that is life-changing or mind-blowing for other people. Sometimes it helps to have people speak into your life when you ask them that question, because a lot of times we are too close to our own genius to even recognize that it is something that could help transform other people's lives, businesses, bring them more joy, save them time. And so if you're thinking, okay, I really want to do a podcast, but I have no idea what I'm going to talk about. Maybe ask some people that are close to you. What is something that comes really easily to me?

6:28Or what is something that you think I'm known for? What is something you wish you could hear from me or learn from me? And that might get you closer to what is your message? What is your mission? Now, one thing I want to note here, and I think a lot of people get stuck at this point is that they think, okay, I have to have one very clear topic. How the heck am I going to talk about a topic for 10, 20, a hundred episodes? It doesn't just have to be one topic that you talk about, but you want it to be easily categorized. If you're struggling to figure out, okay, what category would I see my podcast in?

7:00hop onto Apple podcasts and scroll through the different categories to start to dream about where your show would fit in. I know when I wrote my book, I would walk into Barnes and Noble and I would walk through all the different shelves and I would ask myself, okay, where do I want to see my book? And I think the same can go for podcasting. So here are some different categories that you can consider. Remember, think about what lights you up immediately when I say it. So there's arts, business, comedy, education, fiction, health, history, news, religion and spirituality, science, society and culture, sports, technology, true crime, TV and film, government and organizations, hobbies, music, kids and family, self-improvement.

7:40There are so many different categories and a lot of subcategories that fall under those big umbrellas. So think about which one lights you up and where you visualize your own podcast landing. For example, my show is in the business category. And then beyond it, it's in the marketing subcategory. But I still talk about things like work-life balance and motherhood and body image and all different topics that are covered on this very podcast. So while I have a main category, I still have different pillars of content that I cover within my own show. So let's kind of review some examples of a podcast purpose in different niches.

8:16So a motherhood podcast purpose could be to empower women and make them feel less alone on their motherhood journey. Or a show about health and wellness could have the purpose of helping people become the best version of themselves. Sports podcast could have the purpose of educating and entertaining sports fans with game recaps and stats. It just has to be something that you're passionate about, something that you're not going to run out of steam on. Now, let me tell you a quick story. Before I started my podcast, my brother actually gave me a microphone. He had bought it for some project, didn't need it any longer, and he handed it over to me and he said, Jen, I really think you should start a podcast.

8:52And I literally remember laughing at him and being like, what would I talk about? I would totally run out of topics. There's no way that I could go beyond five shows talking about one topic. Well, the joke was on me because now we're 700 plus episodes deep and I still haven't run out of things to say. And so if you're thinking, gosh, I don't know how I would keep talking about this one thing. I want for you to remember two things. It can evolve. So it can have a lot of different pillars that fall under that main umbrella of your category. But also you are going to continue to evolve and grow and so will your show.

9:26So my brother was right. And for the record, my brother has his own podcast now. So really, what I should do is return the mic to him. When we were young, we dreamed of castles and fairy tales. And as we grow up, those dreams might shift into building something real, like starting a business. You need a website, payment systems, a logo, and a way to reach customers. It can all be overwhelming and confusing, but thankfully that's where today's sponsor Shopify comes in. Shopify powers millions of businesses around the world and 10 % of all U.S. e-commerce from big brands to folks just getting started.

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10:43Look, I've become kind of a systems nerd and anything that gives me more space in my day, I'm all in. And a reliable connection is a huge part of that because when the internet lags or cuts out, everything pauses and suddenly the simplest tasks take forever. I learned really early on that dependable internet, it's not a luxury, it is a must. Whether you're a content creator like me, a restaurant owner, or running a busy dry cleaning business, you need that steady connection to support your team and your clients. That's why I'm excited to share a solution for my fellow business owners. Spectrum Business keeps businesses of all types connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, and mobile services, all with connectivity solutions built for your budget.

11:26And they have a truly incredible offer. Business owners can get free business internet advantage forever when you add four or more mobile lines. It's simple with no contracts and no added fees. Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Question number two is, do I have the time and commitment that it takes to be a podcaster? Podcasting takes time and consistency. Producing episodes, planning them out, editing, promoting, engaging with your audience, it all takes time, right? Consider if you have the dedication and the resources in order to maintain a regular podcasting schedule.

12:08So when I was first starting out with this podcast, it started as an experiment. Literally, I had an off season as a wedding photographer. Basically, what I mean is I was shooting between the months of April and October. And then I had November all the way around through March, where it was just a quieter time. We live in the Midwest, the wedding season is mostly in the summer. And so during that off season, I was like, I think I'm going to experiment. And I think I want to start a podcast. Now I was at a place in my business where I was ready to invest to save myself time So from day one, I hired someone to edit the episodes.

12:41I don't want to edit I just wanted to talk and I also had some help with a va of getting the show out now Let me tell you that when I launched my podcast It was literally me and one other person on my team for all the things I didn't have a team of 10 I didn't have a bunch of copywriters and content writers and editors and and social media people I didn't have any of that. It was just me and one other person. But from the very beginning, I said, OK, I think I'm going to invest in having an editor so that I don't get bogged down in some of those details. If you are someone who uses the idea of perfection as a form of procrastination, then this might be an area that you want to explore.

13:20So here are some of the tasks that are involved in producing a podcast. And let me just quickly say that a lot of times we trick ourselves into thinking that something is a lot harder than it is, but we also trick ourselves into thinking that something is easier than it is. I remember when I became a wedding photographer, I was like imagining my life as holding a camera and shooting these beautiful, elegant weddings every single weekend. When in reality, the actual taking pictures part was a very small portion of what the end result of being a wedding photographer was. The same goes with podcast production.

13:52And I don't say this to intimidate you. I say it to inspire you, but I want for you to really think through, do you have the time and the resources to do all these things? Or are you able to financially invest money to get back time if this is something that you do desire doing, which I hope it is. So first is content preparation. So this involves researching, outlining, scripting, planning the episode's content. So depending on the depth of research and scripting required, this can take anywhere from a few hours to several days. So for me, what we do in terms of the content prep is if it is a guest interview, I now have a producer who kind of seeks out the guest, does the back and forth, gets them on the calendar, sends them the interview prep, does all of those things for me.

14:36Now reminder, it was just me and a VA at the very beginning. So it didn't always look like this. From the content preparation standpoint for a solo show like this episode, I sat down and I outlined this entire show. I'm not reading off of a script right now I am talking, but I am using bullet points to keep me in check because hello ADHD and to make sure that I deliver on the promise of the episode. And so I love to do a pretty robust outline to make sure that I hit on all the points. And that outlining process can usually take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours based on how familiar I am with the content, how sure I am, how many stories I want to tell, what bullets I want to hit, et cetera.

15:13Now, after you do the content prep, you are going to record. This is the part that you're probably already imagining when you're thinking about becoming a podcaster. Now recording the actual episode takes time as well. The length of the episode, the number of hosts or guests, the need for retakes and edits can all impact the recording time. Now on average, based off of the average of all the podcasts out there, recording could take anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours for a typical episode. If your podcast that you want to start is very research intensive and you're bringing in a lot of different areas and facets to it, it could take a lot longer than that.

15:48Like I listened to some incredible true crime podcasts and I know that recording takes a lot longer and a lot more production. So for me, on average, the actual recording of each episode is around 45 minutes. So for interviews, we do our interviews are about 35 minutes in length, plus an intro and an outro that I record separately. And then for solo shows where anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes, that's around the amount of time that I spend recording for the show. After you record, then comes the editing. Now, this is the area that I outsourced from day one. I did not want to become an audio engineer.

16:22Yes, I knew I could learn it. It actually is a skill that you can learn quite easily, but it can take a significant amount of time. This is where the main investment comes in, in the form of your time or investing in someone to save you time. Cleaning up audio, removing mistakes or pauses, adding in music and sound effects, ensuring a smooth flow, that can take several hours for a single episode, especially for beginners. More experienced podcasters tend to be faster at editing, and there are some tips and tricks that you can utilize. But I would say this is the meat of it. And it actually makes me smile because it makes me think about my photography days.

16:59And I would shoot, you know, an eight hour wedding, but I would be editing 40, 50, 60 hours after that wedding. And so the same goes for this. After you edit the show, then you upload and distribute it. So when you upload that finished episode, you upload it to a hosting platform. A lot of people don't know this. They think that you're submitting it to Apple Podcasts and Spotify and all the different platforms, but really you're uploading it to a hosting platform. Then if you are someone who wants to have things like show notes or episode artwork or the promotional pieces of your podcast, that is how you are helping distribute that.

17:35So you are creating kind of all of the promotion around that episode to get the word out. That can also take a couple of hours to half of a day. And then lastly, you want to focus on engagement and promotion. So ongoing efforts to engage with your audience, respond to comments, and promote your podcast through various channels can add several hours. So when you're looking at it, a lot of times when we envision, oh, I want to have a podcast, you're like, I just sit down and record for an hour each week, right? Wrong. But there are so many different ways that you can systemize this process to one, speed it up, to two, simplify it and streamline it, and to three, figure out can I invest in this in order to get back that number one asset, which is our time.

18:17So kind of an interesting statistic, but the average podcaster might spend anywhere from five hours to 20 hours or more on a single episode, depending on the factors mentioned above. So keep in mind, as you gain experience and you develop a streamlined workflow, you can become way more efficient and reduce the time required for each episode. Now, additionally, a lot of podcasters out there get to a place where they can outsource certain tasks like editing or graphic design in order to save themselves time. Now, something else to note here is that you do not have to release episodes indefinitely.

18:50So if you're thinking about this and you're like, hey, like I have an open month right now, but like, I don't know if I can commit to this for a year. I want for you to consider something else. you can release your podcast in seasons. In fact, this is what I recommend a lot of beginners do. Now, if you choose to do this, what you can do is you can create three, five, 10 episodes and have a bunch of episodes ready to go to be released. Then you can either release them all at once or you can release them and trickle them out slowly, but that allows you to have kind of a start and end date. And also then you can take a break for a few months and then come back for the next season.

19:27Now, I love this because a lot of people get very excited about doing new projects, like starting a podcast. They get into it and they're like, hey, this is working really well, but I don't think I can sustain at this pace. I was actually just talking to a friend about this because she really wanted to do a podcast. And I said, how about this? Why don't you commit to doing 10 episodes? Announce it as a season. If you love it, just keep going indefinitely. If you don't love it or you need a break from it, then you can say I'm coming back for season two when I'm ready. and I love that because I think so often and I've talked about this on the show so much, we paint things as a success or a failure and if you were to start something and stop it after 10 episodes, you might chalk that up as a failure but if you do it as a season, it allows you to really put in the consistent effort but then figure out, okay, is this sustainable?

20:14Is this something I wanna do long-term? What does this look like in my life, my work and my business? And so I love the idea of doing seasons. Do you like fast paced and packed with value stories of successful entrepreneurs from failures to aha moments to what's working for them today? If so, you will love Entrepreneurs on Fire hosted by my friend, John Lee Dumas. Entrepreneurs on Fire stokes inspiration and share strategies to fire up your entrepreneurial journey and create the life you've always dreamed of. Their recent episodes about starting an RV rental business, the future of real estate, and how to cultivate a mindset of resilience have all got my wheels turning on how to generate more revenue and fulfillment.

20:55Listen to Entrepreneurs on Fire wherever you get your podcasts. If you know me, I am all about naturally improving my body's functions. And one of the easiest ways to do this is with the sun. Natural sunlight impacts countless functions in the body from skin health to energy levels to natural recovery processes. And low daily doses can lead to decreased energy, inflammation, poor sleep, and weakened recovery. Mimicking the sun's rejuvenating rays, higher doses red light face mask enhances your skin's natural processes while giving that same feel-good effect you get from laying out in the sun without the harmful UV rays.

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22:17Again, that's jennagutcher.com slash higher dose and use the code gold digger. Question number three is, am I passionate about this topic? Podcasting is so much more enjoyable when you love what it is you're talking about. So are you genuinely interested in the topic that you plan to cover? Passion can sustain your motivation and your enthusiasm over the long term. I never in a million years, when I started my podcast, thought about year seven of talking about marketing. And yet here I am, as excited as ever, excited to share new marketing strategies and things I'm trying and what is working and what is not working and the evolution of the business world.

22:59And so one thing that I'd love for you to do is kind of get a lay of the land in terms of what kind of episodes would you wanna create? Like, what would the first 10 episodes look like for you? Just so you can kind of see a roadmap of not just the beginning, but where you want to take it. Here's an idea that could help you. So here's what I want for you to do. Hop onto ChatGPT, also known AI, and use this prompt. So say, generate 10 unique podcast episode ideas related to, and then insert in your chosen topic or theme here. Each idea should explore a different angle or aspect of the above topic and be engaging and informative for our audience.

23:38And here is where you can define who your audience is and what the end result is that you want them to get. Now, this can be an amazing way to start seeing, wait, okay, there are so many different things I can talk about. Oh my gosh. Yes. I want to talk about these things. And it can also be a way so that you don't throw everything in the kitchen sink in, in episodes one, two, and three. And now you're like, I've got nothing left to do. I love using chat GBT for my podcast prep process, because it allows me to think about different angles, different themes, different ways to present content. And again, it can just kind of be that brain boost that you need and that clarity that you might be searching for that will make you confident that yes, I can do a podcast and I can talk about this.

24:19And there are so many different ways I can talk about this. Now I'm so inspired. I cannot wait to talk about this. Now, as you think about the main category your show is going to be in, you might be concerned that like, hey, how am I going to sustain this? Or what is this going to look like? One thing that I want for you to also consider is you can think about other additional adjacent topics that can fall under that main umbrella, right? So we kind of talked about it. You're going to have a main category. You might also fall into a subcategory. But what are some of those differentiators or pillars that would still be aligned with your ideal audience, but maybe not as on the head as what the topic of your show is?

24:57Now, this is something that I think I've been able to do really well over the years. And I think that is why the show has had the success it's had. But also I've been excited about the show for as long as I have is because I'm not just talking about the same thing every single time. And so what you can do is again, hop onto chat GBT and you can start to figure out additional topics that could fall under your main category. So you can say to chat GBT, brainstorm podcast subcategories that could be covered within the main category of, and then insert your chosen category topic, provide a list of diverse and engaging subcategories or content pillars that would appeal to potential listeners seeking specialized content on X.