Mid-Level Podcasters' Biggest Mistake: Complacency

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On the podcast forums and such, I often see variants of this question: “What are the common mistakes newbie podcasters should avoid?” And while that’s a valid question, I’m much more interested in what happens when we shift the perspective and look at the most common mistake made by people who've been podcasting for a while who have yet to make their podcasting efforts a going concern.

I spoiled it in the title: the biggest mistake made by the not-quite-viable podcaster is complacency. I don’t mean becoming accepting of where you are with your podcasting efforts. I’m talking about the sort of smugness that comes with assuming you’ve attained the “supposed to be here” level. Whatever that means.

Hang around with enough podcasters who've been at it for a while and you’ll eventually hear many of them ask the same question: “I don't know if my podcast is as big as it should be.” Or perhaps, in rare cases, “I don't know if the quality of the content I'm putting out is as good as it should be.”

If you’ve spent any time in therapy, you’ve been told to avoid the evil word “should” to increase your personal happiness. I’m a fan of that, but in this case, we need to un-banish that word and really examine where your podcasting efforts should be... if you’re willing to do the work necessary to get you there.

The best way to break the complacency trap is by understanding where you could be. You might have aspirations, but quite often they aren’t written down or codified in any way so that you or your podcast team can measure the effectiveness of your efforts.

When you're not really sure what success looks like, you just keep going about the motions. You become complacent. Complacency breeds familiarity. Familiarity becomes habit. And habits develop into ruts. You do the same thing day after day, week after week, or month after month, without any growth or change.

Even if your show is getting hundreds or thousands of people listening to each episode, you can still grow and change. Even if your goal isn’t commercial viability, you can still grow and change. You’re reading this, so clearly you’re looking to move past complacency. This big idea is less about making your shows as big as they can be but more about how you feel about how your podcasting efforts are paying off for you right now.

Your first step on that journey is looking inward. What do you need? What are you looking for? What is an attainable goal you can make for yourself? And just as important, are you willing to make the necessary changes to do it? Because if podcasting is an afterthought for you or something you wish you could spend less time on, you're not going to get over the complacency hump. Once you’ve identified where you want to go, you're going to have to work harder. You have to dig in deeper, roll up your sleeves, and spend more time making great content.

Can you do that? Can you afford that? Is that really what you want? Are you willing to completely overhaul your show? Are you ready to look at the consumption numbers provided by Apple Podcasts and Spotify to see exactly how much (or little) of your content is being consumed by listeners? Are you willing to make drastic changes when you face evidence that what you are doing right now is not resonating with your audience?

I know that’s a heavy set of questions to dump on you on a Monday morning, podcaster. But at some point, if you really do want to move closer to viability, you’re going to have to face the reality those questions present. Because complacency is the biggest mistake that mid-level podcasters are making today.

But don’t just take my word for it. Raise this question with the other podcasters you interface with. Ask them if they’re complacent with where their show is today. Ask if they are happy or if there are things they want to do differently. Just by having this conversation with other podcasters, it’ll help you get over the hump and understand your own ideas around complacency and your podcasting efforts.

And while you’re having this conversation, be sure to tell them what sparked the idea. Maybe they're not yet listening to Podcast Pontifications. Maybe they need the regular kick-start I try to provide here on the program. I don't sell ads and I’m not even selling this type of advice, so please tell a friend about PodcastPontifications.com. evo@PodcastLaunch.pro reaches me, and I’m always happy to answer any questions from listeners. Fire away!

Thanks very much for reading, watching or listening. I'll be back tomorrow for yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

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If you're stuck just below the commercial viability level, that threshold with your podcasting efforts, you might be better served looking inwards than outwards as you seek to push you and your podcast over that brink to bring in a brand new wave of listeners.

Hello and welcome to another podcast. Pontifications with me, Evo Terra. I often see variants of what are the common mistakes newbies make when getting into podcasting. Question on various forums around the internet. Valid question, don't get me wrong, and get lots of answers for them, but today I want to talk about what if we shifted the perspective, the common mistakes that people who've been podcasting for a while make, podcasters who have yet to hit the next level to where they can really make this as a going concern.

And that's what I want to talk about with you today. And as I spoiled it in the title, the answer to that question of what is the biggest mistake? Middling, if you will, not quite commercially viable, podcasters are making, it's one of complacency now, complacency. By what I mean by that is. Not necessarily the nice, uh, definition of complacency, which is, you know, being okay with your lot in life, being complacent, but it's more about the smugness that comes off with it.

More about the attitude of this is where I'm supposed to be level. That's the thing I think you need to break through. And a lot of that might actually come from not really knowing where you should be. I hear from a lot of podcasters who've been at it for a while who have the same question. I don't know if my podcast is as big as it should be.

I don't know if the quality of the content I'm putting out is as good as it should be, and I spend a little bit of time in therapy and you'll know to get rid of that word should, but I'm going to have to disagree with your therapist for a moment because should, in this case isn't a bad. Word should, in this case, it gets you to compare yourself with where you know you could possibly be.

I know should good would bad terms, but let's embrace them, at least for the next few minutes. As we, as we talk about this, because to me, the best way to break a complacency, the best way to get out of that thinking is to understand where you could be. What is the actual goal you're trying to hit? What is it?

Quite often that's not been written down, it's not been codified in any way for you or your podcast team that you've got assembled. You're not really sure what you're supposed to be doing, so you just keep going about the motions, and that's what complacency really breeds. Complacency breeds familiarity.

Familiarity becomes habit. Which becomes a rut and you're just kind of moving on the same thing. You're doing the same thing either day after day or week after week, or one day a year, and it's not really moving the needle forward. And that's a big challenge. And you might be getting decent numbers. You might be getting hundreds or sometimes even thousands of people who are listening to your show.

But if your goal is commercial viability, and I know that not everybody's goal is commercial viability. So if your goal is just viability, whatever that means to you. You need to figure out where do you need to get it? You've got to draw a bigger, not every podcast deserves to be big. I get that not every part of the customer wants to have a really big show.

I totally get that. Chances are those people probably aren't listening to this program. Oh, and also this program isn't designed to help you make it tell you the secrets to make a really, really big show. That's, that's not what I'm here for. This is less about how big your show can get and more about how you should be thinking about your show.

Are you happy where it is now? do you need it to be any bigger or better or different? If the answer's no, then you've probably already tuned out of this episode anyhow. But if you're still consuming the things I'm saying you're seeking something and you probably probably don't know what that something is.

If I had to hazard a guess, so your first journey to understanding what it, what it is. Is a little inward look. What do you need? What are you looking for? What is an attainable goal? I'm not going to walk through some articles. What is something that you really need and are you more importantly or maybe as importantly as this, are you willing to do it?

Look, if podcasting is that one leftover thing that you do where you just don't have enough time to invest in it right now. You're not going to get over the complacency hump because I've got news for you. Once you figure out what it is you want to do differently, you're going to have to work harder. You have to dig in deeper, roll up your sleeves, spend more time making your content.

Can you do that? Can you afford that? Is that what you want? I mean, if so, great. I mean, if you're at the mid level right now, when you think that success is just around the corner, then yeah, you're going to have to go for it. But. With that mindset of, okay, I'm willing to invest extra money, time, energy, effort, all that.

Before you do that inwardly, look, what did you want to do? What does the goal look like for you? You have to be ready for that. That thing might be a complete overhaul of your show. Are you willing to go that far or are you overhaul your show completely. Are you willing to look at your numbers in Apple podcasts and in Spotify that show you the consumption, how people are consuming your content?

Are you willing to bravely look that in the face and go, wow, what I'm doing is, or is not resonating with my audience because I can see that change. I want to do that. It's an Edward look. I know it's a heavy thing to dump on you on a Monday morning podcaster, but I'm going to dump it on your shoulders.

Are you ready to have that honest conversation with yourself so that you can break yourself out of this complacency? Maybe you just moved from complacent teeth to contentment, and that's fine. But that's the biggest mistake I think that mid level podcasters are making is we stay complicit. No, not complicit.

We stay complacent. Yeah. That's it. Complexity. That's it. So I need you to start thinking about that. I need you to do one more thing for me as well, because probably you are not the only podcast or that you interact with most podcasts. As I know, well, many of the podcasts, as I know well most that I know are.

Friends with other podcasts or as they share, they come as rate. They tell ideas, raise this question with them. Raise this question of, are you complacent in where your show is due? Are you happy with where it is? What do you want to do differently? Have this conversation with other podcasts that will help you get over the hump.

Also, while you're talking with him, tell him what sparked the idea. Maybe they're not yet listening to the podcast. Pontifications maybe there's a whole chapter that should go back and forth after one of these episodes where it sparks one of your brains to go, Holy cow, and you shoot the other one a node and you need to go back and forth.

Tell them about podcasts. Pontifications it helps me grow the show. I don't sell ads. I'm not asking anybody for anything, but please tell a friend about podcast pontifications.com yeah, and if you want to send me an email, great evo@podcastlaunched.pro reaches me. Happy to answer any questions that you would like to have.

Thanks very much for watching. I'll see you back or listening. I'll see you back tomorrow for yet another podcast. Pontifications cheers.

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