I Started A Podcast One Year Ago. This Is What I’ve Learnt
My little journal to podcasting
Preparation
I wouldn’t consider myself outspoken or social but I do consider myself a communicator. Typically, I use my skills in design or animation to communicate a clients message.
Recently, I had the urge to express myself and have inspired conversations with like-minded people. One day it hit me, start a podcast!
My Instagram feed (@iamrogergray) already had content through which I shared my rather stoic philosophy on life with content themed around self-improvement. It’s something I gradually became comfortable talking about. My podcast would naturally became an extension of that, an extension of me. The Gray Zebra Podcast was born!
Even before embarking on this journey, I knew it would be a long shot. Not to sound negative, there just isn’t many podcast listeners in Kenya. A lot of people don’t even know what a podcast is. To be fair, I only started listening to podcasts fairly recently too.
That helped lower my expectations because I knew this was so niche that getting one listener would be an accomplishment. No need getting excited over numbers. Vanity metrics, who needs them!
After doing some research I found out you need to have a hosting service to publish your podcast episodes, unlike platforms like YouTube that host all your content.
I found a free option. Anchor, a leading podcast app (acquired by Spotify in 2019) that allows you to record an episode directly on your device. Not only do they host your content, they also distribute your podcast worldwide to all popular platforms such as Apple Podcast and Spotify. All you need is a phone, an internet connection and you have a podcast available for the world to hear. For Free!
What a time to be alive! Imagine the stories our ancestors would have told on their podcasts. Imagine the stories that we can tell on ours!
“Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter”
-African Proverb
Beginning
When we want to share something with the world (like this article), most times we are crippled by analysis paralysis or impostor syndrome. You have to be brave stepping into the dark unknown world.
I was battling with all sorts of negativity but eventually I triumphed thanks to a little push from my first guest, Fedhi Chanaan. It was his Instagram Stories that prompted me to share it and there it began!
If all you can do is crawl, start crawling
-Rumi
The response was encouraging. Friends and followers were sending there best wishes as some of them checked out the two available episodes. The analytics backed it as I saw a spike in streams and I was already getting feedback from listeners.
It’s official, I’m a podcaster! As I typed that, a red error line appeared under the word podcaster (again). Perhaps a sign of how relatively new this whole thing is. Podcasting isn’t exactly new but it’s growing like never before, everyone in this field has heard about Joe Rogan’s $100 million deal with Spotify.
Consistency
After the initial buzz and excitement, things started to simmer down and there wasn’t as much attention. This wasn’t a bad thing, in fact, it was just what I needed! Less pressure to concentrate and do my thing.
The first challenge I set myself was to be consistent.
If there is anything we can all benefit from in our lives, it’s consistency. We usually start something with so much motivation and enthusiasm but that doesn’t always last. It is at this critical point, as the flame dwindles and it requires more out of us, we stop. And just like that, our dreams die.
So, my aim was to create a habit. Be so consistent that podcasting becomes second nature!
Without looking at the analytics, which would cripple me with doubt. Without focussing to much on production quality, which would cripple me with even more doubt. I focussed only on the quality of my content and making sure I posted it on time.
Easier said than done. I failed miserably! One thing I ensured however, is that I wouldn’t judge myself or beat myself up about it. I think this is where a lot of us fail. We are so hypercritical of ourselves that we lose confidence in what we do, so we return into or shells where it’s nice and safe.
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday. Not to who someone else is today.
- Jordan B. Peterson
I continued posting every other week, which wasn’t bad. I knew I could do better though. When the pandemic became a real thing, it really put life into perspective and this gave me a refreshed desire. It reminded me why I started the podcast. I wanted to inspire. In these uncertain times, this is exactly what was needed!
Since that revelation, for the following 5 months, I created an episode every week with guests appearing frequently. This had an clear effect as my listeners grew weekly!
Although I caught my second wind, I realise life happens and consistency is always something to aspire to but not always possible to implement. Be kind to yourself.
Growth
The growth was clear to see. More downloads. More listeners. More followers. More people interacting with me about the podcast on my direct messages. Someone even sent me a box of cupcakes to say thank you for inspiring them! Amazing!
More importantly, I had grown. From a very awkward first episode, to a point now where I felt very comfortable recording my thoughts unscripted and off the cuff. I developed a skill where I can make my guests feel at ease which helps the conversation flow. I found my niche.
With all this being said, I know what some of you are thinking.
“All this sounds great Roger but are you making money?”
Firstly, none of your business!
Secondly, no.
Like all content driven platforms, you must gain a lot of followers, subscribers, or in this case, listeners, to be able to gain ad revenue. I can certainly do more in terms of looking for sponsorships but I would still need a large enough audience to leverage in a pitch. And I certainly don’t feel like pitching my ‘potential’. Perhaps merchandise? Not now.
I’m still growing my core audience while mastering my craft and establishing myself within the niche I am in. I’m focussed on developing the quality of the content more than securing short term monetary goals. I think this is very important to note for someone starting out.
Notes
Notice I haven’t posted screenshots of my downloads/listens numbers or any other analytical data. I had planned to. The first title was ‘my journey to 1k downloads’, but that was many months ago. Yes, writing an article can take months. I haven’t shared the stats because this article is about the journey, the process, not the destination, not the accomplishments. I suppose what I’m saying is, growth can’t always be measured or quantified with metrics or analytics.
If you’re starting a podcast to make money in the short term, you’re going to be very disappointed. That also applies if you are trying to build a community and make money off YouTube, Instagram or TikTok.
Passion. Patience. Profit.
That’s my strategy. What’s yours?
Anyway, I hope this journal could provide insight or any kind of value to you. I plan to continue with more articles on my podcasting journey as I go, so let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!
Click the link below to have a listen to my podcast on your preferred platform.
