Your First 3 Years of Podcasting: Expectations, Goals, and Action Steps [Ep. 116]

 
 

Click play to hear about your first 3 years of podcasting:

 
 

Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Overcast

Here’s what to expect from this episode:

You've probably heard people say that podcasting is a long game, and I would definitely agree. If you're going to start a podcast, you want to go in with the intention of sticking with it - not for weeks or months, but YEARS.

Whether you're in the beginning stages of starting a podcast or you've been at it for a few years, I thought it would be helpful to break down some expectations and goals to have for each of the first 3 years of your podcasting journey.

I know how easy it is to get caught up in where you are in this moment and comparing your show to others, but it's so important to constantly think about where you started and where you're going.

In this episode, I dive into laying the foundation and building habits in year 1, refining your content based on data in year 2, and the higher-level strategy that comes in year 3. I also leave you with some action steps you can take today, regardless of which year of podcasting you're in.

TOPICS COVERED:

  • Year 1: Laying the foundation, building habits, and finding your voice

  • Year 2: Building momentum and refining your content based on data

  • Year 3: Reaping the rewards, outsourcing, and higher-level strategy

  • Actions you can take today regardless of which year of podcasting you're in

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

favorite podcasting resources:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:01

    Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners, and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whittaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager, and I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators.

    Sara Whittaker 0:27

    Hello, hello. Welcome back to another episode of podcasting for educators. You've probably heard people say that podcasting is a long game. And I would definitely agree. If you're going to start a podcast, you really want to go into it with the intention of sticking with it not for weeks or months. But for years. Whether you're in the beginning stages of starting a podcast or you've been at it for a few years now, I thought it would be helpful to break down some things to expect and goals to have for each of the first three years of your podcasting journey. Before we jump into that, I want to read a quick review that someone has left on Apple podcasts recently. This is from a m 04 to four. Every time I read the usernames for people who leave reviews I always think about if you're in the generation that had this, I always think about like our AOL screen names that we used to have back in the day for aim. If you know what I'm talking about, there's a little millennial memory for you. Anyway, she says Sarah has thought of everything in this podcast. Her advice is genuine and her ideas are simple and effective. I also love that she's a former teacher. Each episode gives you actionable tips to help you stay the course on your podcast journey. Her podcast course is amazing as well, just in case you're considering. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Sara, thank you so much. For that review, it makes my day every time I read a new review that you all have left, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it, and how much it helps other people decide if they want to listen to this show. So if you haven't already, I would love for you to write a review for this podcast, head on over to Apple podcasts, it will only take you a minute to do so. And you can even sign it with your name and the name of your podcast if you have one. Just another great way to get your podcast name out there and allow other people to find you as well. Okay, so let's start at the beginning with year one of your podcast. I would argue that this is probably the most crucial year that you will have in your podcasting journey. And we're going to call this stage this stage of laying the foundation for your show. Now, at the beginning of 2023 it was reported that there are somewhere between three and 4 million podcasts published. Now according to pod news, 44% of those podcasts have less than three episodes. I'm going to repeat that because that is mind blowing. 44% of the podcasts that have been published have less than three episodes, only 720,000 podcasts had more than 10 episodes. This article also shared that out of those 720,000 podcasts, only 156,000 release a weekly episode. So we went from three to 4 million podcasts that had ever been published down to 156,000 that are actually releasing a weekly episode. So why is this number so much lower than that three to 4 million number. Because podcasters drop off, I talk about this all the time, they jump in really quickly without a plan, which makes it really difficult to keep up with long term. So I just want to say from the very beginning of this conversation, if you can make it an entire year with your podcast, you are crushing it, and you should be so so proud of yourself. Now, as far as some expectations to have during this first year. It is very, very normal for things to start slower than you anticipated. You might have an established business and a large Instagram following a large email list. You might have all of those things going for you. But your downloads your podcast downloads might not match your usual audience size right at the very beginning. Like I said, this is extremely normal. And to get really, really specific. You might also see that that first month that you launch, your numbers might be up here wherever they are. And then that second month you might even see that number drop a little bit that is also very normal. And that is usually because When you first start your podcast, you're gonna have people in your world that are very curious about what you're doing. And this is going to include people that are not necessarily your ideal listener or your ideal customer. It might be your friends or your family who see you post about it on social media and think, oh, my gosh, what is she doing? Or what is he doing starting a podcast, I need to listen and see what this is all about. And then they're going to listen, they're going to get to see what's going on with your podcast, and then they're probably going to drop off because it's not a show that's actually created for them. So I did just want to add that little bit of detail. If you see that when you launch your podcast, it is normal. And if you do see that drop, don't freak out, you're gonna get those numbers back up. But like I said, if you launch your podcast, and it's been three months, and your numbers are not where you would like for them to be, don't freak out. This is a brand new platform for your audience, a brand new way that you are presenting information. And the biggest thing that you have to remember is that these podcast episodes that you're creating, it really requires a lot more of their time and their intentionality. listening to a podcast episode is absolutely not the same as watching a four second Instagram reel, or reading a 300 word email. But that's okay. And that's good, because the people who are tuning in week after week are becoming a very, very warm audience. And while we're on this topic, I, I love to show people this chart, and I'll include a link in the show notes for this page that you can go to this website that you can go to. But these are numbers that Buzzsprout puts out and they update them all the time. And it's just a really good way because everybody's podcast is different, everybody's downloads are different, totally depends on the type of content you're creating who your audience is, so many different factors go into it. But it is nice to have some sort of touch point that you can compare your numbers with somebody else. So anyway, this website has a chart. And what it shows is, when you release a podcast episode, depending on the average number of downloads that episode gets after being live for seven days, it ranks you as to like where you are compared with other people. So for example, if you put out an episode, and within the first seven days of it being live, if it has 31 downloads, then you're in the top 50% of podcasts. If it has 114 downloads, you're in the top 25% of podcasts, if it gets 468 downloads, and again, these are like average numbers, right, but around that 400 Mark, you're in the top 10% of podcasts, and on and on and on. So thinking about that top 50% of podcasts is 31 downloads after being live for seven days, I bet that the majority of you are getting that and much more. So you're probably doing a lot better than you think you are. And you have got to stop comparing your podcast numbers to other numbers in your business. Some other things that you can expect during this first year, you're really establishing your podcasts brand, the concept of your show the niche that you're speaking to, even if you have a clear idea of this in the beginning, which I hope that you do, it's still going to evolve over that first year. I've had people including myself, change their cover art within the first year, or change the structure of their show. You might decide early on that you want to change things and this is good. You're figuring things out. This is all an experiment. This is something new that you're doing. And it's going to work itself out. Allow yourself to make those changes as you see fit. The other big thing that you can expect is that you are in this first year you're developing basic podcasting skills. Having a podcast hosting a podcast is a skill and it is a new skill for most of us that you've probably never done before a lot of people start a podcast without ever even having been a guest on another podcast. And I think we can probably all agree that sitting in front of a mic and talking into the computer with no one talking back to you is a really weird feeling. And it takes some getting used to. So that is a huge part of this first year is just getting comfortable with being behind the mic, recording your episodes, editing, writing, show notes, if these are things that you're doing if you're not outsourcing those things. These are all skills that you are learning and developing over this first year. Some goals that I want you to have in your first year of podcasting. Number one is to find your voice and give yourself time for that to happen. Like we just mentioned with developing those basic podcasting skills. I want you to allow yourself to get more comfortable and confident recording your episodes and the only way to do that is to keep going and do it consistently, just as with any other skill, riding a bike, playing the piano, editing a video, whatever it is, we're going to get better, the more and more that we practice. And that might include part of finding your voice might include figuring out what's comfortable for you, maybe you thought that you would use an outline, like a rough outline for your episodes, but then you realize that you're really more comfortable. And you actually create better content when you really script out your episodes in more detail. Or maybe it's vice versa. But allow yourself to try different things and find your podcasting voice. Second goal is to get in the habit of podcast, content creation, production, and data tracking. These are the three things that I want to become a habit for you creating your actual episodes, producing these episodes, and tracking your data. So within this goal, releasing episodes regularly is going to allow your listeners to get into the habit of listening to your show, week after week after week. And it's going to allow you to become more comfortable behind the mic. So try and get yourself on some sort of schedule. And this might change or slip every few months. And that's okay, but try to allow yourself to get into that groove. Find a schedule that works for you for recording your episodes for producing your episodes. If you don't commit to making your podcast recording and production a priority now in this first year, it is not going to get any easier moving forward, you really need to get control of it as soon as you can. So that you can put your energy into other things like being really intentional and strategic and creative with your actual content and your growth strategies later down the road. So get these systems and these routines in place now. And then that last piece of this is to track your data from the beginning, at the end of every single month, I have an episode, I will link in the show notes that I've done about data tracking. Also, if you are in either of my online courses, podcasting for educators or podcasts like you mean it, there are lessons on data tracking, and there are resources spreadsheets that are done for you where you can just plug and play your information. And I am telling you this, you are seriously going to regret not starting it from the beginning. Because if you have your podcast for a year and you haven't been tracking any data, you're going to get to a point where you're going to want to track your data because you're going to want to look back and make good content decisions moving forward. And if you don't have the data to back that up, you're going to be really stuck. So do it now, wherever you are, whether it's day zero or month 10 start tracking your data. Okay, and the third goal for this first year of podcasting is to start working on building an audience of loyal listeners. Start working on promoting your episodes on social media and through email marketing, to share about your podcasts, share about your individual episodes, encourage people to follow your show rate, review, and most importantly, share your podcast build up that credibility and that buzz from the very beginning. Remember that your podcast is a business tool. And I want you to always be thinking about it anytime you're marketing your business. Okay, and lastly, the big thing I want you to do at the end of this first year or even six months in, but definitely at the end of year one is to do a listener survey. In episode 41. I talked to all about listener surveys, so go check that out if you haven't listened to that one already. Okay, let's jump into year two of podcasting. This is your growth and refinement stage. Here are some things to expect during your second year of podcasting. Your authority is naturally continuing to increase at this point, because you're a year into your podcast, when somebody new comes across your show. There's definitely something to be said for having this bank of episodes. You know, if you're doing weekly episodes, you've got over 50 episodes at this point, and that's definitely putting yourself in a position of authority. When people find your show. You are hopefully starting to see your weekly and monthly downloads increasing. That year mark a lot of times is really when people start to see bigger things happening with their podcast. The other thing that's happening during year two is you are becoming more aware of who is actually listening and what kind of content that they like because you have that data. Hopefully you did an audience survey within your first year of podcasting. So you have that data about who your listeners are, what their specific needs are, what kinds of topics, they want to hear what they're struggling with all of that really important information that's going to drive your content. And then you also have all of this data from your first year worth of episodes that you can pull from to see, okay, this episode did really, really well, people were really engaged with this episode, I got some messages about it, or some people share this episode. This is the kind of data that you can tap into, to create more of, in the years to come for your podcast. Hopefully, by year two, podcasting is becoming more comfortable for you, I will completely admit that I'm almost two years in. And there are definitely times where I second guessed what I said, or I listened back to it. And I'm like, Oh, why did I say that? Or why did I have that tone in my voice or whatever, that's still going to happen. But overall, hopefully, you are becoming much more comfortable with the process as a whole. By the second year of podcasting, you should really be seeing where your podcast fits into your business. And you should be if you haven't already, really focusing on aligning your podcast episode content with the goals in your business. So if you're launching, you should be using your podcast as a launch tool to funnel people into whatever it is whether that's a course, or a membership or something else. And in your two, you're probably starting to see what does and does not work for promotional strategies.

    Sara Whittaker 16:45

    Maybe you are creating carousels from your podcast episodes. And you realize that when you do educational carousels, you're actually teaching something from your episode in the carousel, people are super engaged with that versus an audiogram that you put up maybe people aren't very engaged with. So think about what's working and do more of that. And that leads us into actually, what I have for your first goal for year two is to do more of what works. Because of all of that data that I have been talking about that you have gathered, and really also just observed from your first year of podcasting, do more of the things that are working, dive into those topics that people are super engaged with, do more of those social media posts are those emails that people are actually clicking on. But you have to look at your data to be able to do that. A second goal that you can have, is it to diversify your content structure. And what I mean by this is to explore different episode formats, specifically, interviews, or maybe some roundtable discussions. I see this a lot when I help people launch their podcast. And maybe when they first get started, they think that they want to have a mix of solo and guest episodes, they want to have like maybe one guest a month or every other week. But as time goes on during that first year, they're not actually having as many guests as they had hoped they would. And so if that's you, then maybe you can focus on okay, how can I really create a guest booking system? How can I make this a priority so that I can reach my goal of having more guests on my podcast. Now I wanted to give you a specific goal for your downloads. Again, this is going to vary from person to person, podcasts, podcasts. But I think a great goal is always to double your monthly downloads year to year. So if you launched in October, and you had 500 downloads, then by the next October, it would be great to have 1000 downloads per month after that first year. That is where I tend to see spikes in downloads happen. For example, I looked back at one of my clients, and she launched and the first month that she launched she had 800, just over 800 downloads for that first month of her podcast. That was in January, the next January. She had 5800 downloads that month, and the next January. So that's year three now she had 11,700 downloads for that month. So she went from 800 to 5800 to 11,700. And I still remember the conversation that we had after that very first month of her launching her podcasts and even in the few months to follow. And she was really kind of bummed that her numbers weren't matching her expectations because they were a lot lower than hers. Social media and her email list. And that all goes back to what I was saying at the beginning of the episode, you have to give this time you have to give it time to catch on, you have to give it time to be a resource that people know about and that they really love. So be patient, it's going to pay off. A fourth goal that you should have for the second year is you should have some kind of system in place to get an idea of what kind of impact your podcast is having on your business, whether that is tracking links, which is honestly not my favorite way to track ROI just because there's so much involved there, somebody could hear something on your podcast, but they don't use the link, they type it into their computer, or they heard about it on your podcast, and then they saw it on your Instagram stories. So they clicked your link from your Instagram story. So it looks like it came from Instagram. But really, they first heard it on your podcast. So I definitely don't think that link tracking is the end all be all by any means. It could be a discount code that you give for podcast listeners, like if you have a course or membership. It could be a customer intake survey. So when somebody joins your course have a survey for them to fill out asking Where did you hear about this? Or why did you decide to purchase this and have your podcast be one of the options and see how many people are selecting them? And then it could be as simple as putting a question on your Instagram Stories from time to time. Something like have you ever bought one of my resources because you heard me talk about it in a podcast episode yes or no super simple. It's something that you could do once a month if you wanted to. And then the fifth goal for year two is to really tap into collaborations. Okay, by now you have a solid foundation for your show, you've got this bank of episodes, you really know the direction that your show is going. So now it's really time to leverage that and to tap into these collaborations. So think about how you can collaborate with other podcasts through things like podcasts, ads, or podcast guesting or creating a little blurb that people put in their newsletter about your podcast, there's so many different ways that you can leverage collaboration. All right, moving on to year three of podcasting. At this stage, you are maturing and expanding, you're really beginning to reap the rewards of your podcast. Some things to expect during this third year, you are really in it, you are seeing the rewards of your podcast, you're finally having more people, whether that's in your Facebook group, or your course community or in TPT reviews or whatever, saying, I listened to your podcast or I love your podcast. At this point, if you haven't already outsourced anything for your podcast, I would recommend looking into outsourcing because by year three, if you are still going strong, then your expertise could probably be better used in more of the actual episode Creation versus the production of the show. During your three, you should have a clearer picture of how your podcast is helping your business. And your downloads have hopefully jumped from when you first started your show. Some goals for your third year of podcasting is number one, to deepen listener connection, start thinking of some ways that you could really focus on fostering a stronger sense of community among your listeners. That's one big thing that's missing from a lot of podcasts. And it's one thing that podcasters really wish they had more of is that kind of bridge between you and your listeners. This could be through a Facebook group for your podcast. And that could be either free or paid. I'm not telling you to pour a bunch of time into a free Facebook group. But it's definitely an option. inviting your listeners onto your show is another really great way to just deepen that connection and that engagement with your listeners, you should be doing an audience survey at least once a year and really utilizing that feedback to shape your content and the direction of where you want your podcast to go. When someone asks in a Facebook group, hey, does anybody know any good podcast for fill in the blank? Whatever your niche is, I want your name to be first on their list. Goal number two is to really be utilizing some of these higher level audience growth strategies, like collaboration like I mentioned in year two, but also putting some focus into SEO if you aren't already really thinking about having a strong keyword for each of your episodes for are the titles ever episodes and also for your shownotes Facebook ads, running Facebook ads to a specific podcast episode. And or leveraging Pinterest for your podcast I have talked to a lot of people who use Pinterest and they get a lot of traffic to their Show Notes Pages, and in turn their episodes from their pins. By year three,

    Sara Whittaker 25:23

    I want you to really be leveraging your past episodes, there are so many things that you can do with past episodes by now you have over 100 episodes. Don't forget about those, those are like a goldmine for you. And you can use them in so many different ways. You can use them to create kind of like spin off episodes from you can create playlists, you can have them in emails on the back end of things you can do, maybe like a once a week Instagram post that is directing people to a past episode, there's so many things that you can do to bring in new listeners and drive people back to these past episodes. Because if you think you've got 100 200 episodes, and you get a new listener, a lot of people will scroll back and look at past episodes. But at that point, they're probably not scrolling all the way through, and they're gonna miss some really amazing content that you've created. So use that. Refer back to that all the time, every time that you outline a new episode, think okay, what past episode could I refer to, in this episode to direct people back there to further help them with this topic. Goal number four for year three is to really get strategic with your content creation, I want you to be planning your episodes right alongside your business goals, you should have really clear offers, and people should know about them. At this point, if you are kind of slacking on the whole selling thing, in year one and year two, it's time to amp it up in year three. I'm not saying to be salesy, but I am saying to bring more awareness to the things that you have for people. And then goal number five, is to do a podcast audit. By now you probably have a really strong foundation for your show, you've got all of these episodes, you've got all of these things in place. Now it's time to really sit down and do a formal audit, whether that's a do it yourself audit, or have somebody else come in and do the audit for you. I do one on one podcast audits on a very limited basis. But in podcasts like you mean it, I have a whole lesson that has a step by step audit that you can go through to really have that perspective of okay, this is exactly what I need to look for. This is exactly what I might need to tweak a little bit in order to really be getting the most out of my podcast. So as you can see what the breakdown of year one, year two and year three of your podcast, as your podcast is maturing your business is maturing right along next to it. So as we wrap up this episode, I really want you to consider where you are in this timeline, which year of podcasting Are you in? What are some of the things that you can focus on improving? What are some of the things that you can celebrate? This kind of reflection is so so important, we get really caught up in where we are in this exact moment. But I am a big fan of constantly thinking about where we started and where we are going. Where you start day one of your podcast definitely is not where you're going to end up. If you stick with it, you will see the rewards. And you will unlock all the benefits of podcasting for your business, there's going to be a moment where you will say, Wow, I have really made a lot of progress. And that might be progress with your listenership or your content or something else. If you are on your two or three of your podcasts, and you aren't already a part of my audio course podcasts like you mean it, I really encourage you to at least go check out and see what's included. I'll put a link for that in the description and in the show notes. It's really going to help you level up your podcast game and really see how you can better leverage this platform. There's a step by step audit metrics, bundle content, calendar and so much more. I'd love for you to take one of these actions today. Either one go and check out podcasts like immediate or go write a review for this show on Apple podcasts. I will see you here next week. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast Check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep School I'll see you here next time

More about Podcasting for Educators:

Podcasting for Educators is the podcast for TpT authors and other online educators. It's a show that will help you get your podcast in front of those who need it most - teachers, counselors, literacy specialists, SLPs, parents, and more! Each week, Sara Whittaker and her guests will share top tips and actionable strategies that you will need in order to launch, manage, and grow your podcast. You’ll learn how to leverage your show to build long-lasting relationships with your audience and promote your TpT resources, courses, and memberships, all while providing valuable and accessible content!

Some links on this page are affiliate links. This helps to support this podcast at no additional cost to you.

 
Sara Whittaker