3 Things I Learned From My First Podcast Episode
My goodness, you guys. The response to the first episode of the Creating Your Own Path podcast has been incredible. I've heard that you've listened to the episode during the morning commute, at the gym or while you enjoyed your morning coffee. Just the thought of you all bringing a simple, honest interview with creative entrepreneurs into your everyday lives is pretty astounding. Your kind emails, blog comments and shout-outs have left me with all sorts of warm fuzzies so I have to say thank you for that.
To be honest, the first episode was far from perfect. I've learned more about the recording process, iTunes and my own "on-air" tendencies than I would have ever imagined—and I'm loving it. So, I thought I'd share a bit about what I've learned after the first episode. I still have plenty to learn and I'm sure I'll have more to share in the months to come, but these are 3 things I just can't keep to myself:
- Garage Band is awesome
If you're a Mac owner, you're probably somewhat familiar with Garage Band. I hadn't really used the software for anything (other than a few "testing, testing, 1-2-3's" to see how it all worked), but a few quick searches on Google and YouTube gave me the basics I needed to get started. That said, I still have more to learn and have many more YouTube tutorial sessions in my future! There are plenty of other options for recording a podcast, but I haven't used any of them and can't really give much of an opinion. My best advice? If you're not interested in Garage Band, search around until you find what works for you! - Record in a small room
If you listened to the first episode, you may have noticed a bit of an echo. That was a little oversight on my part. We recorded the interview in the large conference room at ThinkHouse Collective, which has beautiful high ceilings and hardwood floors. I was so excited to record my very first interview that my knowledge of radio and recording studios went right out the window. Whoops! Not to worry, the next recordings will take place in one of ThinkHouse's smaller rooms. - Get to know iTunes
News flash: iTunes isn't always super intuitive and creating a podcast is no different. I can't possibly sum up everything you need to know to launch a podcast on iTunes, but bookmark this page and refer to it often. I made a few early mistakes and later realized I could have avoided that mess had I read this page from start to finish.
Now, I have a few favors to ask:
It's my understanding that the number of subscribers and reviews a podcast has can make a difference. Having loyal subscribers and a decent number of reviews helps iTunes understand that you, the listeners, want this type of content. This is where you come in, my friends:
Become a subscriber
If you've listened to the podcast and would like to subscribe, please just click here, hit the 'view in iTunes' button, then hit the 'subscribe' button once the iTunes interface opens. This means that new episodes will automatically update through iTunes on your various devices and you'll never miss an episode!
Leave a review
If you've listened to the podcast and want to offer feedback (hopefully it's mostly of the happy listener variety!), feel free to leave a review on iTunes. Once you're already in iTunes, you can easily rate and review the podcast by clicking on the 'Ratings and Reviews' tab, rating the podcast with the simple star rating system and clicking the 'write a review' button to leave your kind words. I really appreciate your support!
Lastly, I would love to know what you all want to hear more of in the future. If you have a few more minutes and wouldn't mind telling answering the following questions in the comment section below, I'd be very grateful:
- What did you think about the length of the first episode? Was is too long? Not long enough? Could you have used a break halfway through?
- The current plan is to broadcast an episode around the same time each month. Is that frequent enough for you? Would you like to listen to Creating Your Own Path episodes more frequently?
- Is there a question you've been dying to ask a creative entrepreneur, but never had the chance? Throw it out there and maybe I can incorporate it into the next show!
Thank you so much, my friends!