I have now recorded more than 50 podcast episodes in the last 6 months. Every good podcaster knows it is much harder than it looks (or sounds). Today I share a few of my thoughts on the process, minimally edited from a thread of tweets I previously shared on Twitter.
GET GREAT GUESTS: A lot of people ask me how I get my guests. They are quite an amazing group. The answer is simple to say but hard to do. I send a lot of cold emails. The emails are short and I am persistent. I still get many non-responders & maybe laters.
VALUE PEOPLE’S TIME: So far I have not run any ads. I don’t speak an intro or an outro. I know you are coming for the conversation. I value my guest’s time extremely highly. I prep so they don’t have to. No pre- or post-conversation. The time they share with me, I share with you.
GO AUDIO-ONLY: I record audio-only, partly because I enjoy pseudonymity, but also because I believe it makes for a better podcast. Video = distraction. Forget eye contact / how you look and freely refer to your prep sheet. Listen intently, respond thoughtfully. No eyes, all ears.
BE PREPARED: It is not uncommon for me to listen to every podcast a person has done and read everything (except tweets) they have ever written online. I’ve read my guest’s books in prepping for people like Aubrey de Grey, Elad Gil, and Albert Wenger. I could write a book on prep.
FIND THE BALANCE: A challenging aspect of the craft is finding the balance in preparation. Scripted vs. Unscripted. Preparedness vs. Spontaneity. I lean towards over-preparing but there is something to be said for less. It makes you respond more spontaneously. This is the art.
DON’T EDIT: Editing takes time. It’s not particularly fun. Joe Rogan does not edit and he has the #1 podcast in the world. It seems unedited podcasts do at least as well as edited ones, and I personally prefer them that way. Less time + same or better quality = why I don’t edit.
MINIMIZE COSTS: I run an extremely cost-effective podcast (and blog). I am only making ~$20 / month (via Patreon) and I want my personal runway to be as long as possible without pressure to make money. I wrote another blog post about how I do it called A Cost-Effective Podcast and Blog.
This only scratches the surface of the things I have thought about during these first 50 episodes recording podcasts, but these are some of the points where I think I have a fairly unique perspective. If you enjoy my approach, you might enjoy the podcast :)
