Who Am I?
Hey there! 👋 I'm meta-david, and aside from being the founder and CEO of Media3 Labs, the company behind the Web3 podcast player, Scoop3, I'm the host of The Blockchain Experience podcast. According to Listen Notes, it's ranked as the top 1% of podcasts globally in listenership. I've had the likes of Coinbase, Art Blocks, Optimism, Decentraland, 9gag's Ray Chan, Exchange Art, Sabet, Gabe Weis, and more as guests. Getting to the top 1% was not easy. I had zero experience in any form of journalism or media. In fact, if you go back and listen to my first few episodes, they were terrible. But to my credit, I still showed up, made content, and over (a long) time, it paid off. I've observed some mistakes podcasters make (I made them too), but if you stick with the learnings from what you're about to read, you'll be positioned for success!
You'll also notice I make a lot of recommendations on what to use, but do note I am not using affiliate links or getting paid to make those recommendations. They're recommendations based on my own experiences, and my intent is to be as helpful as possible to you.
And one more thing, there are a ton of articles out there on this subject matter. Instead of rehashing on what others have written about already (like finding your niche, how to find guests, etc.) I am focusing on things things that are equally important, but are not written about frequently, therefore easy to overlook. So let's get to it: what are the mistakes podcasters are making?
Using AI to Make Your Podcast Tile
Your podcast tile is like your book cover, and people do judge a book by its cover. You need your podcast tile to pop. If someone is scrolling through podcasts quickly, yours should stand out so they stop scrolling, and take a moment to look at it. You may be able to use AI to make something average, but I would suggest spending some time (and possibly some money) on this to make sure you get something amazing. My podcast has a pop comic theme with vibrant colors, and I used Canva to make it. It looks and conforms to what a podcast tile should look like, but at the same time, it is different enough where it does not get lost in the crowd. As crazy as it seems, this one change made a huge difference for me.
Investing Too Much in Hardware and Not Enough in Software
This advice will likely run against most everything you hear. Everyone will tell you that audio quality matters and give you suggestions on the hardware setup you should have (typically costs hundreds of dollars). Audio quality absolutely does matter. Here's the thing: software now is so good (and relatively inexpensive), that if you're just starting out, you can use a mid-grade USB microphone and then use software in post-production to make it sound fantastic. My recommendation is to use Audacity (free) for editing the audio (cutting & pasting things around), and Auphonic for AI-powered cleanup. It's super easy to use, and it does everything for you in one click. As your podcast grows, and if you get some revenue, at that point, you can indulge in some hardware, but frankly, the difference is going to be relatively negligible. Start small while still sounding great, then grow.
Using Zoom or Microsoft Teams to Record
Speaking of software, please do not use Zoom or Microsoft Teams, no matter who else you see doing it or how tempting it is. Your audio will be awful on either of these platforms or anything similar because they record real-time (instead of recording locally then uploading), and most likely you're recording one audio file that contains multiple speakers which makes it very difficult for your software (or yourself) to clean up. Use something that is meant for podcast recording. It's worth it. I use Riverside, but other platforms such StreamYard or SquadCast will work fine too. As long as it is meant for podcasting and not virtual meetings, it will work. If you never plan on having guests and are recording locally, you can probably get away with using Audacity for that, but I'd still recommend Auphonic for cleanup and leveling.
Starting the Episode with an Audio Clip from an Interview
This is also likely going to ruffle feathers because I see so many podcasts do it. Each episode starts with a jarring audio clip from an interview with the intent that it will captivate the listener into listening longer. This works if you already have a podcast with a strong following and your goal is to get them to keep listening. This does not work well if you're just starting out because your audience still does not have a personal connection with you, so they still have a guard up. The best way to make that connection? Music. Music serves 2 purposes here: it's a universal and easy way to build that connection, and it also helps sets the mood for the podcast. Have your podcast start with a song (there's plenty of them out there in the public domain), and then start talking with the music fading in the background or out all together. My podcast uses a high energy theme song to get people excited and fired up to listen to the episode.
Being Inconsistent with your Episode Drops
Early on, you should determine how often you want to drop an episode, the day of the week, and even time. Whatever it is, you need to be consistent with it. Our podcast has been going on for nearly 2 years, and the two instances where we didn't exactly hit our pre-determined cadence, we saw a massive drop-off in listenership, and it took months to recover. Why? Because your fans listen to multiple podcasts, and if by dropping it off-cycle, you're throwing off their listening routine and order (possibly permanently). Consistency is key.
You Don't Leverage Social Media
You're putting in the work, recording your podcasts, editing them, and dropping them consistently. You're still not done. People need to discover you, and the best way to fast track that is to use social media. Which platforms should you use? Likely all of them, but if you had to prioritize, your best bet is to pick one or two based on what your podcast is about. If you're a thought leader on something business-related, you'd be best served by LinkedIn. If it's entertainment, then probably clips dropped on Instagram and YouTube. Depending on the demographic, maybe TikTok also. X used to be a good catch-all platform, but increasingly it is becoming worse as X would prefer you house and distribute your content through them exclusively. One more thing about social media -- it should not be a one way method to just inform potential listeners about your podcast. Use the platform to engage people. Acknowledge and thank your current listeners. Go and reply to your potential listeners without mentioning your podcast (but make sure your profile includes a link to it). Talk to other podcasters. If you're bringing value, both on your podcast and elsewhere, people will want to follow you and your podcast.
Giving Up Too Soon
The act of recording a podcast and releasing it is not too difficult, but getting a steady listenership is very tough. About 75% podcasts don't make it past 10 episodes. That's how tough it is. I was there myself, so I completely get it. The first few episodes, I probably had a handful of listeners: myself, the guest, and perhaps a couple of friends from both sides. No matter, how doom and gloom it is, just keep at it. Listen to each episode, and try to see if you can improve on one thing each time, but still give yourself grace to make mistakes and not be perfect. What you will see is a very slow but steady increase in listenership. It won't happen overnight, and you likely won't have a banger that causes hockey stick growth (that seems to be a common misconception). It'll be very subtle and gradual (at least a year). It takes a long time to find your footing, and for your listeners to find you.
Final Thoughts
The common theme here is keep making content, be consistent, be patient, and keep finding ways to get discovered. I know it's tough, and that's what inspired me to have Media3 Labs work on building Scoop3, a podcast player that helps listeners get closer to their favorite podcasters, and each other. If you're a podcaster that feels like you're spinning your wheels, head over to our website, and drop us a line. And don't worry, we're not going to sell you anything that costs you anything...we just genuinely want to help and support creators!
Keep going and you will succeed!
