Here Is What I’ve Learned from Having a Podcast for the past Two Years

Do you have a favorite podcast? I know I do. Maybe you’re even thinking of starting one? If so, here’s what I have learned from having my own: 

• If it is an interview style show that you want to produce, invite people who truly interest you on your show. It is here where interesting questions come from. When you sincerely want to know more about a person and what a person does, better questions begin to flow.
• You can ask some of your audience what questions they want the answers to, but it’s also a good idea to search yourself to find questions that you want to know answers to. Because chances are, the questions that you have are the questions that many others have as well.
• Prepare by researching a person thoroughly and then throw out the notes. This makes it more of a conversation rather than an interview and allows the conversation to remain more fluid.
• Remember that you invite other people on your show to hear their thoughts on a subject. Don’t forget the power of listening without interrupting. If you have content you produce elsewhere, such as a blog or other social media outlets, you can use that for other people to get to know you better. Your job as an interviewer is not to have all the right answers, but all the right questions.
• Sound quality matters–a lot. Here is my current podcast setup: I use the Blue Yeti Microphone, an Apple 15″ Macbook Pro, Shure SE112-GR in-ear headphones, Skype with Ecamm Call Recorder, Garageband to edit every episode, and then upload finished episodes to WordPress via the Blubrry Powerpress plugin. I also use Feedburner to produce my podcast URL and check analytics.

I don’t think there is any “right” way to podcast, but these are just a few takeaways that I have observed from my own experience. Take them or leave them, but starting a podcast is a great way to get your message heard. Do you have any of your own podcast suggestions?