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July 2016

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I’m just about halfway through my one year experiment in starting a podcast.  (Click here for more information about how I’m evaluating my experiment, here to see my first quarter update, or here to listen to my podcast!) With that in mind, here’s a check-in on how everything is going.

1) Am I having fun?

Sometimes. I love the interview process, I love the people I’m getting to know, I treasure every message I get from someone who’s been blessed by my podcast.The hustle, in all honesty, is starting to get to me: the ceaseless searching for new guests and negotiation of our schedules; the wrestling with technology, island internet inconsistencies, and gremlins of the editing process; the constant work on interpreting my statistics to figure out whether I’m really gaining ground. There are days I handle it fine and days when this feels like pushing a rock up a steep mountain.

2) Is it sustainable?

As it is currently, probably not, although I also acknowledge that I’m working through a wall right now. I’ve gotten the production process down to six to seven hours from start to finish, so long as there aren’t any glitches. It’s been a grind to find room for this while trying to build an actual money-paying career,  since this is nothing but a moderately expensive hobby right now.

3) Is it making a difference?

That’s the big question. My audience growth has stalled out as has my progress in growing an engaged audience. (Again, I’m pushing through a wall right now, so I’m not yet in “The Sky is falling!” territory.)  It’s so hard to gauge whether I’m making a difference, or simply serving as a very small publicity vehicle for my guests (which is a worthwhile goal, but perhaps not worth several hundred dollars and several hundred hours every year.)

Which is why – I’m reaching out and asking for help and feedback from you: 

1) Who might the particular target audience be for this podcast?

2) What other types of content would be the most helpful and engaging? (e.g. how-to blog posts, confessional, roundtables, short videos, photos, etc.)

 

4) Am I learning?

I feel like I’ve turned a corner and settled into an efficient routine when it comes to editing. I also feel like I’m beginning to really learn how to interview guests, get past their prepared scripts, and have authentic conversations about their lives. However, this audience building thing is a tough hurdle to climb.

Bottom Line? We’ll just keep on going for another few months and see what happens.

 

 

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