It is because of a good friend of mine Andrew Griffiths that asked the question, that made me go back and think about the conversations I had with people. I went back and thought about the resistance that fired off in our brains when it came to creating a podcast. I remembered my resistance. Here are my seven …
1. I don’t know how to
You didn’t know how to walk. You learned. You had the right encouragement around you and with the right determination, you walked and have been ever since. Learning anything new is just the same. When learning something new, always make sure you are determined and have the right encouragement around you.
I think more than “I don’t know how to”, the reason that I thought back when I was faced with the same decision was, “I don’t know if I really want to.” Ask yourself if this really is a reason that is stopping you. And, its fine if it is. But instead of making an uninformed decision, learn about the pros and cons so that you can work out if you really want to podcast.
2. I won’t sound good
This is a common reason and it happens to everybody. Myself included. We are always too hard on ourselves. In fact, we are the most critical towards our own actions and thoughts. It was only last week I heard this one, “You have a great sounding voice for radio, I don’t. I sound weird.” So I responded with, “Really? It is probably the first time that an Indian was complimented for his accent, because your inner critique is telling you that you won’t sound good.” I still go through these days when I listen to myself and think how ridiculous I sound. But, the show must go on. Also, we don’t know how good we sounds until someone else tell us we do.
3. I don’t think anyone would listen
I get this one more than any other reason. Every time you are about to produce new art (term coined by Seth Godin), you wonder if anyone would care. Maybe the whole world wont. But, the people that care about the problems you are solving on your podcast will care. That is why taking as much time to clarify your concept is pivotal to the success of getting to those people that care.
4. I’m not sure about podcasting
This one it more of an excuse than a reason. It is not knowing enough about the potential of podcasting to make an informed decision. To be honest, it is not knowing about the disadvantages of podcasting as well. The idea of putting together these articles on podcasting is so that I can help you make an educated decision.
If you aren’t sure, it means you don’t know enough. Don’t chalk it off the board before you make an intelligent and sensible decision based on possibilities.
5. It is too technical for me
Yes, I have to agree that this can be a hurdle for some people. But, would technicalities stop you from changing a leaking tap, or getting your taxes filed on time? You would either learn how to do it, or get an expert to help you. And, you don’t have to know how a microphone take sound waves and converts them to a digital mp3 file.
You just need to know that it does and what plugs go into what sockets to make that happen. There is enough information out there to make sure you can get the technical side sorted, so don’t let this be your reason.
6. I don’t have the time
This one is a good problem to have. If you don’t have the time, it probably means that you are busy in revenue generating activities. If that is the case, then you need to talk to your people regularly. There is no better medium to constantly be in your customer’s ears than a podcast.
And, because you don’t have the time, you can get an expert to do all the heavy lifting. You can set it up in a way that you only turn up for recording the interview. Everything else is taken care of including hardware setup, recording, guest invitations, production, uploading the final file, and even social media. It’s 2015, for God sakes!
7. Someone told me that podcasting is going to die
That someone sounds like a wise person. When you hear these predictions ask yourself, these 3 questions:
- Does this person have a podcast or do they have any one of the reasons above plaguing their inner voice?
- Did this person start a badly conceptualised podcast and it didn’t work?
- And, can they comment on it’s future with informed certainty?
By no means, do I think that a podcast is for everyone. So far, I know that it is for very niched businesses and for those of them that challenge the status-quo.
If you have any reasons that are stopping you from creating a podcast platform, please let us know in the comment section below. Let us all make informed decisions.
