Who Is That Podcaster In The Mirror?

The tools podcasters use are constantly changing. But we tend to ignore changes to a critical piece of our podcasts: the podcaster. Has your podcast changed to keep up with changes in your own life?

Hello, and welcome to another Podcast Pontifications with me, Evo Terra.

I was having a conversation with a fellow podcaster recently. It had been a few weeks or maybe a few months since they'd put out a new episode of their podcast and they were really questioning some of the decisions that led them to that point. This was an effort for them to reboot their show. Something, by the way, that they had done five other times I can think of. They were brainstorming some ideas with me. Now, over that same time, they'd actually been in the process of rebooting their business life once again, which further adds to the challenge.

Now me personally, I've been through that way too many times. Heck, I'm going through it right now, as members of the Advancing Podcasting community - AdvancingPodcasting.xyz - found out about last week in a post.

Back to my friend, I halfingly joked to this unnamed podcaster, put that question out there, you know, the "what do you want to be when you grow up?" question. And the answer they gave me was interesting, and it kind of forms the crux of what I want to talk about today.

"The problem, Evo," they said, "with people like us is that that's the wrong question. We really should be asked, 'What do we want to be this year?'"

And I think that has great implications for people like you and me who are podcasters and have been at this for a while and have made podcasts that are successful, at least successful enough to keep the podcast going and whatever that success means to you.

I started thinking of my history and podcasting, which technically started in 2004, but had its true start back in 2002. That's been two decades of time, two decades in which I've moved houses eleven times, I've raised a kid, and I have grandkids now. I've changed jobs five times, but careers four times. I'm not the same person I was in 2002. Heck, I'm not even the same person I was in 2012, and probably not even from 2020. So "what do I want to be this year?" is a rather compelling question for me.

If I'm not the same person that I was a year ago, doesn't that mean my podcast has effectively changed hosts? And when a podcast gets a new host, changes are kind of assumed, aren't they? Let's talk more about that.

If we ignore soap operas and the time when Hollywood swapped in Don Cheadle for Terrence Howard, major character changes, and especially host changes, cause major changes in format, in tone, and in the styles of the shows.

Look, it's one thing to sub in a guest host for a few weeks. But when it's a brand new person at the helm, things change and everyone kind of expects it. Even those diehard fans who hope nothing's going to change, they know things are going to change, and then they're kind of okay with it. And so it goes, or so it probably should go, in podcasting.

In your podcast, if you're not the same person you were when you started your show, your show is probably different. But maybe I'm wrong about that. You might have it nailed down tight, or maybe you have slowly incorporated your life's changes into your show as they happen to you, whether that was intentional or not. Maybe you're good at that.

You know, if you're making good money because of your podcast or with your podcast, and you've been hosting the same show for a decade or more, that's probably the case. That, or you're just really good at compartmentalizing. Much better than me because I'm not.

All of those events that I mentioned, and even more of those over the last twenty years, are part of the reason why I've either been the host or the co-host of more than twenty different podcasts and counting. Of the shows I've quit or I've dropped, some of it was it just wasn't possible to do anymore based on proximity. I mean, the Bangkok Podcast probably needs and has Bangkok-based hosts.

Or, for practicality reasons. Literally no one wants to listen to a podcast about a dead and buried operating system, no matter how cool the Palm Pree was.

And for others, my attention and interest diverged greatly from those of the show. Sticking around and doing something that felt cumbersome didn't seem right. I mean, for me, doing the show moved from the fun column to the obligation column, and I don't really like doing things that I don't find fun in at least most of the time.

Some were intentional, short-term projects. Although, short-term could mean six episodes, and has meant six episodes, or 100 episodes with some sort of an end-date or some other predefined destination.

Some, like this one, may have morphed through lots of different iterations, keeping pace with my changing interests, if you will. And yes, this show is eventually going to change again. Don't worry. You know I'm going to keep changing things, right? I keep changing things so that I keep the fun-for-me level quite high, just as I've done previously.

Now, I know a lot of podcasts, some successful and some less so, haven't changed much at all - since they were created, actually. And they don't change for a lot of reasons. Habit. Concerns about disappointing or turning off their listeners. There's an excellent cash flow that needs to be protected. Fear of the unknown. Perhaps the show's just hosted by someone who actually knew what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Think for a moment about your own show and your journey through podcasting that brought you here today. Think of all the changes that you've seen in your life from family to job, hobbies, and ask yourself if you've changed, and if you've changed your show enough to match the person you are today?

And if not, should you? Would that make you happier? Would that re-energize you? Would it possibly re-engage your audience? And can you do it in a way that doesn't jeopardize the success you've already seen thus far?

That's a question you'll have to answer on your own. And let's face it, you may not be as risk-tolerant as me. And that's okay. If what you've been doing for your show for more than a decade is really working, then I want you to keep on keeping on. But, if you look in the mirror and the person staring back at you isn't the same person you see in your head, it might be time to mix things up a bit on your podcast.

And with that, I shall be back directly with yet another Podcast Pontifications.

Cheers!

Podcast Pontifications is written and narrated by Evo Terra. He's on a mission to make podcasting better. Links to everything mentioned in today's episode are in the notes section of your podcast listening app. A written-to-be-read article based on today's episode is available at podcastpontifications.com where you'll also find a video version and a corrected transcript, both created by Allie Press. Podcast Pontifications is a production of Simpler Media. Find out more at Simpler.Media.