Learn From Our Experience: Valuable Lessons From 18 Months Of Podcasting

After 18 months of podcasting, I'm certainly not a newbie, but I continue to learn new things every day. With over 125 episodes in the bank, I've learned a ton and want to share what I've learned to help you get to where you want to go faster.

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Learn From Our Experience: Valuable Lessons From 18 Months Of Podcasting

After 18 months of podcasting, I certainly am not a newbie, but I continue to learn new things each and every day. With over 125 episodes in the bank at this point, have learned a ton, and I want to share with you my thoughts on what I've learned to help you get to where you want to go faster. Hi, I'm Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, where we believe marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the right plan. Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in.

I got to tell you, I love podcasting, and it happens to be one of my favorite things that I do each and every week.

Our podcast is not just audio. We film via video, and then we repurpose it into a lot of other content. So it's video and audio that we're shooting when we are doing our episodes. I just love video. You may find if you don't like video, you may just do audio, but I think shooting video gives you a ton of leverage.

Now, as I mentioned, in 18 months, we just finished our 125th episode in the last 18 months. So I took some time to reflect on some of the things that I've learned throughout this process. It's going to help you with podcasting, but I think there are also a lot of elements that I'm going to touch on here that you can apply to any part of your business. So I think you're going to find this helpful as a whole.

So I'm going to run through. I've got ten items plus one bonus. So I've got eleven items that came top of mind. When I started thinking back and reflecting on the last 18 months of podcasting.

The first one that came to mind was the more you push yourself outside of your comfort zone, the larger it becomes. When I first started doing this, I was nervous. I wouldn't say I was like nervous shaking in my boots, but I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect, but the more I did it, the more I got comfortable. And I get better each and every time that I do it. Most people, even if you listen to some of the best podcasts, the most highly rated podcasts out there, listen to the early episodes, most of them, I think you will say they were not very good. None of us are very good in the beginning. We have to have the courage to take action, even though we don't have all the capabilities yet. But as we continue to take that action, we get more and more comfortable and confident, and we just get better and better.

Next thing that came to mind, a great system makes things a whole lot easier and much more predictable. I am a very systems based person. I'm very analytical. So when we got into this, I put together a plan, worked with our team on that plan, and it was not the perfect plan in the beginning, but the more we go through it, the more we start to make little fine tweaks here and there. Updates, adjustments, and the system gets better and better and better. And without that, this would be very difficult because there's a lot of moving parts. So having a really strong system and continually refining and updating that system to make it better is key.

Next thing came to mind, the relationship-building benefit of podcasting is often overlooked and is not talked about. Most podcasts, let's be honest, most podcasts are not going to get to the top of itunes, and frankly, you don't have to have a podcast that gets to the top of itunes to be successful. There are huge relationship-building benefits, especially, I would say, if you have a podcast that you are using to create content and add value to an audience, and your main business is not your podcast. If podcasting is your main business, you certainly need to get that podcast to a point where you can generate revenue from it. But for a lot of us, we are using our podcast as a way to produce content to add value and stay in front of our audience. And in that case, we don't have to be generating a ton of revenue directly from the podcast itself, like ads, for example. Okay, so the people that you meet, the people that you interview on your podcast, if you are strategic about it, can become very good contacts for your company, either referral partners or they may even become clients. So do not overlook the relationship-building aspect of podcasting.

Next thing, always use the best tool for the job. It's going to cost you time and money in the long run if you don't. So oftentimes, there are so many tools out there, and there's a lot of tools when it comes to podcasting. You need to find the one that is going to be best for you. Simple that you understand how to use, because if you don't know how to use it, you're going to stop. But use the best tool for the job, trying to save a little bit of money here and there is not going to save money in the long run if it's not the best tool for the job. So always focus on using the best tool for the job.

Next thing, practice makes perfect. As I mentioned before, when I initially got into this, man, I was not good. I'm still getting better and better each and every time. You just got to get in and take action, and the more you do it, the better you're going to get, the more confident you are going to become and you will continue to pick up little things each and every time that make you better and better and better.

Next thing, a strong guest experience makes you stand out. Okay, since the pandemic hit, not only have I been doing podcasting, I've been doing guest podcasting. So I also get to see what it's like from the guest side. And when your guest experience is poor, like, bad communication, you're not organized, the guest doesn't know what's going on or what to expect, that does not instill confidence in the guest, and it doesn't set you apart. But when you have a really strong guest experience, seamless, they were like, "Oh, my God, I would love to do that again." You stand out. And if the people that you are interviewing on your podcast are potential referral partners or potential clients, you are building trust and credibility throughout your podcasting process. So do not mess that up. It has to be good if you want to stand out. Because there are so many people that just do not do a great job at this. Trust me, I've seen it on the other side.

Next thing, be patient. You have to give things time to build momentum. There's so many, most things in marketing take time. A lot of marketers do not do any of us favors. They make promises. "Hey, I'm going to turn your business around tomorrow." Pie in the sky. There is no silver bullet. Things take time. You have to be patient. Almost everybody that I've talked to from a podcasting standpoint has said about 18 to 24 months minimum. Unless you have a huge audience and that audience transfers over to your podcast, I would not go into this expecting that you are just going to shoot to the moon rapidly. Be patient, be consistent and just do it and give it time. It will work and you will see benefits from it. Just think about this. If you had one really strong relationship that came from a podcast interview, that could be worth it for a year of podcasting alone. Okay, so that again, also goes back to my relationship-building comment as well. But you got to be patient.

Next thing, you never know who you are going to impact. Sometimes it is so easy to be doing this and you may not be hearing from people all the time, especially in the beginning. But gosh, if you can just impact and make a difference in one person's life, I don't know to me that's worth it. And you just never know who you're going to impact. And I have heard from multiple people things that I never would have expected have been relayed to me. And I was like, wow, that is really freaking cool. So don't underestimate just the impact that you can have in doing this. I've got three more.

Next one, stop thinking too much and just take action. Implement now and perfect as you go. I fall into this trap. I am very deliberative if you will. I think a lot before taking action. But sometimes you can think too long and just never take action. So do what you need to do to plan accordingly and then jump in and start doing this. As you start doing it, you are going to figure out what's working, what's not and how you can improve and just make those course corrections along the way. Nobody expects you to be perfect in the beginning, so just jump in, create a plan, start with that plan, jump in, take action and then make adjustments to your plan as you learn along the way. But don't plan forever because you'll just be sitting there and you'll never do anything.

Next one. Nobody accomplishes anything of significance by themselves. I am the face to this particular podcast, but man, there are so many things going on behind the scenes. Frankly, there's a lot more work that goes behind the scenes than what I'm doing. And so we cannot do things by ourselves. As entrepreneurs, we all rely on somebody. Even if you're a solopreneur, you are still relying on other people in some way, shape, or form. Even if it's a mastermind group just giving you outside eyes, you cannot get to where you want to go by yourself. So please find the team, the support that you need, not just with podcasting, but with your business in general, and it will help you get to where you want to go that much faster.

Last one, the bonus number eleven. Interviewing people on your podcast is like free consulting. If you are struggling with something in your business, find somebody that knows what you are struggling with and interview them on your podcast. It is free consulting. It is an awesome way to have a great conversation with somebody, build rapport and learn at the same time. So frankly, even if you just did podcasting so that you could learn from other people and pick their brain, podcasting is an easy way to pick people's brain. It's free consulting. And a lot of people don't talk about that one either.

So there you go. Eleven key benefits and thoughts that I had that I've learned from 18 months of podcasting. I hope you found that helpful. If you do, let me know, tell me which one resonated most with you.

Now, if you are struggling with marketing, hop on over to our website, guys. Rialto Marketing dot com. That's R-I-A-L-T-O Marketing dot com. Click on the Get A Free Consult button. I guarantee you will get a ton of value and walk away from that call having clarity on what that next right step is for your business based on where you are and where you want to go. Till next time. Take care.

About the Host Tim Fitzpatrick

Tim Fitzpatrick is the President of Rialto Marketing. At Rialto Marketing, we help service businesses simplify marketing so they can grow with less stress. We do this by creating and implementing a plan to communicate the right message to the right people. Marketing shouldn't be difficult. All you need is the RIGHT plan.