Is Podcasting a Career?
The honest truth is, probably not, at least not by itself. Podcasting is hard, and it takes time to build a community of people who are as invested in your show as you are. Moving those folks through some sort of sales funnel takes more time and attention. Doing that consistently enough, and on a large enough scale to provide a reliable income? Well, that’s even harder.
Of course, the other truth is that everything in life is hard, to some degree, and some of the things in life most worth doing happen to also be the hardest.
So, let’s rephrase the question. How CAN podcasting be a career, or at least a central part of your career? That is, how do we build a career AROUND podcasting? That’s definitely possible.
It starts with understanding what you like about podcasting:
Do you like having a platform to share your thoughts and ideas, to define your public voice?
Do you enjoy engaging with others and having thought provoking conversations?
Or do you really love the editing process, and getting in your DAW to make these conversations informative and entertaining by improving sound quality, cutting your mistakes, and adding sound design?
Maybe it’s the last step that gets you going—sharing the content, posting it, writing about it, helping folks benefit from the content by putting it to practical use in their lives?
In each of these scenarios, there’s a way to build a career around what you love.
If what you love is defining a public voice to weigh in on what you care about, well a podcast is just the start. Financial viability for you might come in the form of a book, or as a freelance editorialist, with the podcast serving as both proof of concept for authority in your space, and a way for folks who love your writing to engage deeper with you. Take it a step further and set up a community space, like Circle or Patreon, where the folks who most enjoy your content can pay a small fee for exclusive early access to all your work. Just make sure to clear it with any freelance publications that are paying you for that work, too.
How about those provoking conversations? Lots of podcast hosts supplement their income by offering coaching services. Coaching, after all, isn’t about telling someone what to do, but listening to them and giving them the space and subtle support to realize what it is that they should be doing. If you’ve found yourself fighting the urge to offer your guests gentle nudges in what you think is the right direction for them, you might be fighting your natural coaching instincts. Get some training, because it’s critical that you say what you mean and not what you don’t, and try to find someone in your network who will trade meaningful feedback for free coaching sessions.
Editing is the easiest way to build a career around podcasting, because it’s the task that most people like the least. So if you enjoy, and are good, at editing podcasts, and feel confident in your ability to pump out a high volume of work, try offering editing services to others in your podcast networks. Free trailers are a great way to engage new clients, try posting in a few forums to see if anyone you already know is interested in a new trailer! All you need is the audio files and some music. Library subscriptions are the best.
Clearly, there are ways to build a career around podcasting if that’s what you love.
What’s holding you back?
How can I be a resource for you on your journey?
Let’s connect!
