We'll See You Soon with Some Changes! [Ep. 177]

 
 

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Here’s what to expect from this episode:

Ready or not, the end of 2024 is quickly approaching, and it was a doozy for a lot of us.

With 2025 right around the corner, this is a very natural time for us to do a lot of reflection and think about what we want to continue doing for the next few months and what we might want to change about what we're doing.

In this episode, I'm sharing how I'm taking time next month to reflect on my show and make some changes.

So tune in to hear more about the importance of taking time for reflection, some highlights from The State of Business Podcasting Report (linked below), and how you can catch up on my top episodes of 2024 (spoiler: also linked below)!

I am super excited to come back in the new year and share these podcast changes with you. If you are not already following or subscribed to this podcast, make sure that you do that so that it will show up in your library (looking a little bit different!).

I hope that you are going to give yourself some time off this holiday season during the month of December to do whatever kind of reflection you need. Let yourself have some rest time, and I can't wait to meet you back here in 2025!

Topics Covered:

  • An update on this podcast for December

  • Top episodes of 2024 (check out the playlist below!)

  • The State of Business Podcasting Report

  • The importance of taking time to reflect on your show or business

Resources mentioned:

Favorite podcasting resources:

  • Sara Whittaker 0:01

    Sara, 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 the show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whittaker, classroom teacher turned podcast manager, and I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators. Ready or not? The end of 2024 is very, very quickly approaching, and it was a doozy for a lot of us. If you haven't already listened to last week's episode, which was episode 176 go back and check that out. I talked to Kelsey Sorenson about what a crazy year, maybe two years it's been for so many business owners online, and some different pivots that Kelsey has had to make in her business, and kind of when to know if you might need to make some changes in your business. And it was just a really good conversation about how sometimes we have to re evaluate the direction that we're taking our business due to all kinds of different circumstances. In any case, 2025, is right around the corner, and I think whenever we get ready for a new year, it's just a very natural time for us to do a lot of reflection. Think about what we want to continue doing for the next few months, and what we might want to change about what we're doing. And if you're listening to this episode, then podcasting is probably one of those things that you're thinking about, whether you're gearing up to launch your show, or maybe you've had your show for a while, and maybe you want to make some changes, or maybe you are just wanting to continuously get better and better at podcasting, which is all of us, right. We're all constantly trying to improve and grow our audience and make great content and all of that good stuff. And sometimes when we decide that we want to make changes, whether it's with our podcast or our business or whatever, sometimes that requires us to just step back and slow down for a little bit, and that is exactly what I am going to be doing for the next month. Ever since starting this podcast, I've had this for over three years now, I've never missed a week of episodes. I take that back. I think there was one week that I missed an episode because I had just come back from maternity leave and I just couldn't quite get caught up. But hey, that's a pretty good track record missing one week in three years. I'll take it, but I have decided that I am going to be making some changes to this podcast, which I am very, very excited about. But in order to do that, I do need to put things on pause for the next month so that I can get everything ready and be good to go by the time the new year rolls around. So for the month of December, I will not be releasing new episodes, but luckily, you have over 170 other episodes to listen to about pretty much any topic that you could think of when it comes to podcasting. If you haven't listened to all of these episodes and you need a place to start in the show notes, I am going to link to a playlist that has my top episodes from 2024 this playlist is going to include episodes about creating an Instagram funnel, how to get more podcast listeners, four types of episodes that should be a part of your podcast strategy plan, how to leverage your podcast archive, what to know about creating trip wires, strategic podcast marketing tactics. Those are just some of the episode topics in this list, it's going to be the 10 most downloaded 2024 episodes, so definitely click on that link and find an episode that tickles your fancy and gives you something to listen to until January comes around. One other resource that I want to leave you with is one that I stumbled upon earlier this week, and it is called the state of business podcasting 2024 it is a report that was put together by Megan from one stone creative and it's all about what the top 100 business shows are doing and what we can learn from them. So in this report, it says that they pulled a list of the top 100 business podcasts according to Apple podcasts, and then they manually evaluated each of those shows based on more than 60 individual metrics. So in this report, it's like a PDF slide deck, and in this report, she shares the 2024 results and some takeaways from this analysis. It's really interesting. I enjoyed checking it out and some of the things that are in there, just to like, give you a little taste for these top 100 shows. It tells you of these shows what kind of release schedule they are on. On like how often they're releasing episodes? Are they using seasons or not? What is the average monthly listens that these shows are getting? Who is their audience? What are some trends with cover art? What are they seeing when it comes to show notes and the style of show notes? Are these shows on YouTube? Are they on Instagram? Are they on Tiktok? Some really, really interesting information. So I will leave a link for that in the show notes. It's a free report that you can grab. You have to put in your email address, but it is completely free to download. It'll just be emailed to you straight away, and you can check it out. I think that, as I was saying at the top of the episode. This is just a really great time of year for all of us to be reflecting on how the last year went, how we're feeling about each of these different things in our business, such as our podcast. What are some changes that you might want to make moving forward? One thing that you'll see in the results of that report that I was just talking about, one of my big takeaways is that not every single top podcast is doing exactly the same thing, which makes sense, because every show is unique, every audience is unique, and you really have the power to make your show whatever you want it to be. So if you're somebody who has been podcasting for a while, and maybe you're not seeing the results that you want, but you really want to stick with it, because you love this platform. You love this way of connecting with your audience and providing value to your audience, and this is your favorite way to show up online. You can make changes, and honestly, we should be making changes. We should be always kind of striving to see how we can improve, see how we can tweak things so that it's being as well received as possible by our ideal listener, and that we are enjoying the type of podcast that we are creating. I am super excited to come back in the new year and share these podcast changes with you. If you are not already following or subscribed to this podcast, make sure that you do that so that it stays in your library, because we will be changing the cover art. We'll be releasing a new trailer, so be on the lookout for that, and I want to make sure that it will show up in your library. Might look a little bit different, will look a little bit different. And honestly, this is going to be one of those things that's just a little bit of an experiment, which I always enjoy doing. So you can come along on the ride with me. I will be sharing all about the changes and about what kind of results I see from these changes, I cannot thank you enough for being a listener of this show, whether this is your very first time listening, or you've been around here for a while, I appreciate you so much. I know that you have a lot of options of podcasts to listen to, so thank you for spending some time with me. I hope that you are going to give yourself some time off this holiday season during the month of December. Give yourself that time to do whatever kind of reflection you need. Let yourself have some rest time, and I can't wait to meet you back here in 2025 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 in 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 you.

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!

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Sara Whittaker