5 things that matter more than your podcasting equipment

Once upon a time, I started my podcast from scratch. Like so many people who I see, so many of my students who I see launching podcasts now, they all think that the very first thing they need to do is go out and get a microphone. They think that choosing that equipment is going to be the hardest part about starting a podcast. You know what, like there are plenty of mistakes you can make in choosing your podcasting equipment. But I personally don't think it's the thing that's going to make or break your show.

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These 5 things are more important than your equipment when you're launching a podcast

I think there are plenty of other things that are much more important and going to be much more crucial to your podcasting success than the microphone you choose.

 

 

#1. Your topic

This is especially so in 2022, where there are more than two million podcasts out there at the moment. If your topic isn't something that is very specific and isn't something that a very niche audience will want to listen to, and when I say very niche audience I don't mean it has to be is super niche topic, but we want to make sure that it's very specific for a very specific audience. Because the chances of you trying to reach and build that mainstream audience, it's really difficult when you're competing against brands like Wondery and NPR and Spotify who have a huge budget and huge reach. It's going to be really difficult to try and have a really mainstream podcast. So the more specific your topic and the more specific your niche, which is the next thing that matters more than your podcasting equipment, the easier it will be to grow that podcast.

 

 

#2. Your niche, your audience

It's not about limiting the number of potential listeners, it's not about that. It's about reaching that specific audience. It's not about limiting listeners, it's about getting specific on who those listeners are. Because if you can be specific on who they are, your podcast is going to resonate it with them so much more, which means they're going to tell their friends about you, rather than being a podcast that is just kind of for everybody and doesn't really resonate with anyone in particular.

Let me tell you. When I niched this podcast down, this used to be a general marketing podcast. When I niched this into launching, that was when everything started to change. That was when the show grew. That was when people started to tell their friends about it, rather than when it was just one day it was tips about Instagram, the next day it was tips about Facebook ads.

 

 

#3. How you are going to monetize it

Podcasting is a really fun hobby at the start. But when you're showing up each week or multiple times each week over a couple of years, it can start to feel a lot like a job. There are times in the four years that I've had this podcast where I have almost wanted to give up. But monetizing it turns it into an income stream, which then makes it that much more worthwhile to show up. It also means that if you choose to get somebody else to produce your podcast, if you choose to hire somebody to help you market it, schedule it, whatever, if you've got some income coming in, you can cover those expenses and it takes a lot of the admin-related side of podcasting off of your plate. So then you just need to show up and talk and then the rest of that is taken care of.

 

 

#4. Why you're podcasting in the first place

What is the purpose behind why you're starting? The show. Is it so that you can impact more people? Is it so that you can build a brand for yourself? Is it so that you can build a side hustle, make more money? Why are you starting that podcast? Because when that podcast starts to feel like a bit of a chore, when the shininess has worn off, the reason that you'll stay in podcasting is the reason why you started it. You might start it, you might feel really excited and like you really can't wait to start that podcast now. But when you're a hundred episodes in and it's not feeling as fun and exciting anymore, that's when it can really help to connect back to why you are doing it in the first place.

 

 

#5. Your content and your consistency

What you're saying in your podcast, the topics you're talking about, the guests that you're interviewing, the opinions that you're sharing, the perspectives that you're giving, that's all way more important than your equipment. Those are the things that somebody will stick around for. If your content is good enough, your audience won't care if your audio quality isn't 100% perfect. They'll care if your content isn't great though. Likewise with consistency, if you're sharing one episode a month or one a week and then suddenly nothing for months, that's going to be, your audience isn't going to like that because they won't know what to expect from you. They won't know whether to expect a new episode this month or not. They won't hear from you often enough to build that relationship with you. So you've lost that listener that's coming back.

 

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