Sometimes things come to an end. Do want to go out with a bang or simply fade from view?
As ever, this is podcasting so: The Choice is Yours!!!!
If we work on the assumption you’ve started or about the start a podcast, then what steps can you take to avoid the dreaded podfade where you simply cease to be? Step one is to know the stats. The probability of podfading drops dramatically once the seventh show is live. Why this so is a matter of some discussion in the field.
My own feeling is the wonder of hitting publish, then seeing the latest episode on the podcatcher of your choice is still fresh enough to maintain the wonder. (To be fair, I still get a frisson of wonder and excitement when publish leads to podcast episode in the podcatcher.) Also by the time we’ve produced seven episodes we have, generally, worked out a fairly successful workflow. It will still be a bit clunky but it will work.
By the point of episode seven, we are aware for the amount of time we need to devote to podcasting and what we will be giving up if anything. The amount of work does decline with time but not by much in the first seven episodes. So we understand the commitment we have made. If it gets too hard early then it’s likely podcasting is not for you, at least not yet. It might be worth mentioning here that a podfade is not necessarily a fail, it might just be a case of not yet. Anyway life has a way of occasionally through a spanner in the works when we least expect it.
For the first time in my life, I suffered laryngitis after a few months into my first podcast. Murphy’s law at work. I had a couple of emergency episodes ready but my feed still fell silent for a couple of weeks. When I returned, the stats jumped but why I don’t know. The point is I was well past the seventh episode not that would have mattered in my case but I was passed that point and I couldn’t wait to get back into the saddle. Even when life drops the spanner, it’s not all bad.
Takeaways
- Episode 7 is the first milestone
- Understand podcasting will take some of your time
- Stopping your show is your choice