I have a few observations about podcasting that I would like to make.  I have done a few shows, TWIBS, This Week in BS, also I have done Rant5.  I also tried to do a few other shows, but none of them have really gone anywhere, not that Rant5 or TWIBS did either.  I also have started a few video shows which you can find on my TV Channel, which I have also found to follow similar trends to podcasts.  If there is anything I have learned from podcasting, it is hard.  For those of you new bloggers who are about to drop your blog because it’s too much work, podcasting requires much more work, especially to make it good, and is really hard to keep going.  Very few podcasts live longer than 10 episodes.  For example, my longest running series has gone on for 15 episodes, with my average being closer to 6, and having tried to do about 7 shows, and other than my TV channel, none of them have lived.  However, in the process, I would like to give out a few tips that I have found to help you keep a podcast going.

First, you need to find something that you enjoy doing.  I don’t just mean something that you don’t mind doing, or something that is mildly fun to you, I mean that you need to find something that you look forward to doing weekly, or daily, or however often you want to do it.  Unlike blogging, if you don’t enjoy doing your show, you will stop.  Even if you get a few minor ads in there, unless you start getting enough money from it, which is very rare, you will stop doing your show, because it’s too much work, and you because it is not required of you, you will stop it.

I would recommend finding a friend to do it with.  While it’s not a requirement, it seems to work better.  First of all, it makes it more fun.  I looked forward to TWIBS each week, because I would spend a few hours blabbing with Jesse before and after the show.  If it was’t for that show, I would have stopped on episode three or four, just because very few people cared.  Unfortunately, he eventually left me, so the show died when he moved.  Next, creating content with multiple people is a bit easier.  When you have two or three people, there is a high chance that someone has something to say at any given moment, but when there’s one person¸you have to give a constant stream of information, which is much harder to do.

Next, if you can’t find anyone, don’t wait, just start.  When you’re at the bottom, aka not a podcaster, the only lower that you can go is being branded as a bad podcaster.  But that brand is a very small setback, and it’s fairly easy to shake it off given time.  Also, almost everyone who gets into podcasting makes the same basic mistakes.  The idea is to get in there and make the mistakes as early as possible.  Now, the paradigm of podcasting is about over,  being replaced with a pseudo-podcasting-webtv hybrid.  Nonetheless, the skills you will learn  in podcasting will travel into you with whatever form of new media you will do.  I would suggest that if you can’t find co-hosts, or people to interview, you find something to teach, or something to review, as those are easy to do with just one person.

One of the most important things to do is set a schedule, and try to stick with it.  Some shows work on a sporadic basis, but those are usually more like recorded parties than an actual show.  If you want a loyal listener base, you need to keep producing shows on a consistent basis, otherwise you will, at best, get casual listeners.  Even more important though, when you miss a week, it is easier to miss more weeks, and it’s the first symptoms of a show that’s about to die.  The week after the one week I missed TWIBS was quite possibly the hardest week for me to actually get back into the swing of doing TWIBS, the exception being episode two.

Finally, get a good mic.  You don’t need to go out and buy a $1,000 mic, not even a $100 mic.  However, one of the things that will set you apart from everyone else is your mic.  The default mic in your laptop won’t cut it.  I use a Samson C03U USB Condenser Microphone, but you don’t need to use it.  A simple $15 mic should work.  Although, unless you have a professional audio system set up, I would highly recommend using a USB mic, it produces much better quality than most other mics.

Remember, the paradigm of traditional podcasting is ending, and ending fast.  The good news for you is that while this door is closing, another one is opening.  The idea here is to get your foot in the door before everyone else does, that way you will get noticed, and become part of the loop.  Good luck in your world of new media, and remember, even though you’re producing audio, the main place you will get new listeners, is by being a guest on other shows, and having a good website that conforms to SEO, although even that may be changing.