J Cleveland Payne's Creators Pep Talk

As you get started in podcasting, you may think you are talking to yourself, and you just might be. But when do you determine if you are podcasting to a real target audience or just as an excuse for talking to yourself?

Whether podcasting for business or as a hobby, you need to have a handle on your podcast-related spending. 

Unless your podcast is just for a proof of concept, you need real people to become listeners of your podcast. That means producing a podcast for real people to listen to.

It is nearly impossible to get someone to subscribe to your podcast by simply saying find it on your favorite podcatcher. Your podcast needs a website home to direct subscribers to the exact locations.

Your podcast does not take a timeslot on broadcast television without literally has to fill that time with something. So why are people going to take the time to listen to your podcast?

Stop using the excuse of asking for help to stall. You should take action on whatever issues you seem to be having and be okay with doing it your way.

In order to have a bank of good ideas for topics for your podcast, you need a bank of ideas. Find a way to record every idea you have with no worries about their viability. You can determine that later.

Having your family and friends as a support system is awesome. But these people who love you unconditionally may not be the same type of people you are looking to reach with your podcast, and their support may bring less progress than you initially believe.

Much of the podcast advice from the early days of syncing with iTunes is no longer valid, and just bad advice in general. In this episode, I flip-flop on a piece of advice that I always hated, and suggest you implement it for the reasons given.

You probably have many ideas to add to your podcast episodes as potential calls to action, but a basic request to just listen to the next episode is a very powerful one.

Independent podcasters are beginning to beef with the radio faction and high investor groups on their corporate approach to podcasting. But this is a setup akin to a knife fight with some stranger wandering in with a machine gun.

One plus one equals two. Add one again and it equals three. And if you keep adding ones, in eventual time, it adds up to a significant amount. This is how we got to 25 episodes of this podcast, and how you can get to 25 episodes and beyond.

A problem many podcasters have once they get their rhythm is their show becomes an inclusive club that requires a good amount of effort to understand so that new listeners can join.

Sponsorship sounds wonderful because it is a way for your podcast to make money to support itself and you. But with great revenue possibility come great responsibility.

You have more idea than you can actually use, and all those ideas come to you with an expiration date for effectiveness and relevance.

It's not as much a matter of time, but a matter of consistency and resolve. Longevity is all about sticking around for whatever milestone you wish to accomplish.

Where you host your podcast files is important. But not so important to stall your start because you fear making the wrong choice. Make a choice, get started, and change hosts later if you think you can get something better.

Madonna sang 'music makes the people come together,' but if you use any of her music in your podcast, her people will come after you for a check. Copyrights and royalties are not issues to be ignorant of when it comes to producing a popular podcast.

There are plenty who can give a solid argument that having your show's audio on YouTube does not equate a true podcast. Whether you fall into that camp or not, I give a reason why it doesn't hurt you as a content creator.

The odd thing about podcasting is that it is populated with many people who call themselves misfits and outsiders, but it still has a weird high school hierarchy vibe within pockets of the community. Don't worry about being rejected by a particular clique, as there are literally tens of thousands of people in the community to latch on to for support.

Your social media profile can be a window into your life, or the life of your podcast. It should not be both under the same username.

You will quickly begin to worry about various 'issues' with your podcast, and those worries may have serious merit. And most of your audience will not notice, and most of those that do will not particularly care.

Things that become priorities take up time. Time that is taken away from things that can not be priorities, or you would not be able to relinquish the time. Make note of what podcasting duties become real priorities as you get deeper into the business.

If you got into podcasting after complaints of hearing other podcasters recycling episode topics and ideas, this lesson may be a hard one to accept, even if obvious.

Tall tells are not just the expertise of sportsmen. The tech-heavy world of podcasting allows plenty of room for embellishment of stats and figures.