10 Bad Habits To Avoid For Your Podcasting Success
These are the 10 bad habits to avoid if you want to be successful in podcasting. Not all of the podcasting habits you establish when you get into a groove are beneficial. Not if you want to improve your podcasting skills. But which are these habits and how can you avoid them so they don’t stand on your way to success?
Download the first chapter of The Storytelling Series: Beginners’ Guide for Small Businesses & Content Creators by Obehi Ewanfoh.
Jordan Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist, a popular YouTube personality, author, and professor at the University of Toronto, Canadian. This is what he says about the effects of bad habits.
“Once someone has spent enough time cultivating bad habits and biding their time, they are much diminished. Much of what they could have been dissipated.”
Please, do pay attention to those words.
It’s difficult to anticipate who will be a successful podcaster. However, it’s very easy to tell who won’t last long based on their activities. Inactions, for example. Here are a few of the bad practices you should avoid in your podcasting journey.
The habit of Not listening to your own shows
You’d be shocked how many podcasters don’t listen to their series’ final episodes after they have been made. Which is odd because if you can’t be bothered to listen… what makes you believe your audience doesn’t feel the same way?
I know you listened to the episode when it was being created. You may have spent five, fifty-, or 500-hours reviewing recordings, laying out the tale, editing the audio, scoring, and other on-task duties while creating the episode.
But until you upload the final.mp3 file to your phone, attach your headphones, and walk away from your computer with the finished audio evidence playing in your ears as if you were a listener… you are missing out!
If nothing else, you are passing on a private opportunity to critique your own completed work. While it’s natural to be critical of your own work, developing the habit of listening to your own shows can be beneficial for your podcasting journey in the following ways:
- Identify areas for improvement: By listening to your own shows, you can identify areas where you can improve your content, delivery, or production quality. This can help you refine your skills and create better content that resonates with your audience.
- Ensure consistency: Listening to your own shows can also help you maintain consistency in your podcast. By reviewing your own work, you can ensure that you’re staying on brand, following your established format, and delivering consistent quality.
- Connect with your audience: Listening to your own shows can help you better understand how your audience perceives your content. This can help you tailor future episodes to better meet their needs and interests.
- Keep a pulse on the industry: By listening to your own shows and other podcasts in your industry, you can stay up-to-date on trends, hot topics, and new formats or styles of podcasting.
Overall, while it can be uncomfortable to listen to your own shows, it’s an essential part of the podcasting process. By developing the habit of listening to your own shows, you can improve your content, connect with your audience, and stay on top of industry trends.
Not Responding to your listeners is a bad habit
Nobody owes you anything for putting together your podcast. Yes, I know you put hours of your time, some of your hard-earned money, and a lot of your blood, sweat, and tears into your most recent episode. However, no one owes you anything in exchange for your podcasting efforts.
So, whether your material inspires someone to send you an email, leave a comment on your episode page, write a review, or just share a link to your episode with their social connections, the least you can do is thank them.
That is something you owe to them! And never underestimate that.
Make it a point to acknowledge and respond to any positive acts taken by your audience. Set up notifications if necessary to assist with this.
Alternatively, strive to keep your notification indications as near to zero as possible. Just don’t abandon listeners who have said great things about you or who have helped you expand your program.
When you don’t give much attention to content
All too often, I hear a newbie podcaster complain about how they just spent $3500 on podcast equipment but have no idea what to talk about.
To be honest, equipment isn’t that important if you can use them to produce great work. The ideal podcast equipment for you is the podcast equipment that you already own and understand how to use.
Yes, I understand that purchasing equipment is exciting. I understand how it makes you feel as though you have achieved something. However, spending $3000 on a Neve preamp isn’t going to assist you at all during the brainstorming process.
Yes, the quality of the audio you generate is important, but it is not nearly as vital as your ability to consistently convey fantastic and fascinating tales. Here’s why you need to give much attention to the content you create:
- Your content is what sets you apart: With so many podcasts available today, creating unique and high-quality content is essential to standing out from the crowd. By developing a clear and consistent content strategy, you can attract and retain listeners who are interested in your specific niche or topic.
- Quality content builds credibility: Consistently creating high-quality content can help build your credibility as a thought leader in your industry. This can lead to opportunities to collaborate with other podcasters or industry experts, be featured on other shows, or even monetize your podcast.
- Your audience expects quality: Your audience listens to your show because they expect to be informed, entertained, or educated on a specific topic. By creating quality content that meets their expectations, you can build a loyal audience that trusts and values your insights.
- Content drives engagement: Engaged listeners are more likely to subscribe, share, and provide feedback on your show. By creating content that encourages interaction, such as asking for listener questions or feedback, you can foster a sense of community and engagement around your show.
Overall, giving much attention to the content you create as a podcaster is essential to the success of your show. By creating unique, high-quality content that meets the needs and interests of your audience, you can build a loyal following and establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry.
When you don’t plan ahead
Get a head start, podcaster. Like, far ahead. If you can, plan ahead of time for many weeks. If possible, plan for months in advance.
When you don’t plan ahead, you end up cramming a lot of tasks into the same time slot, which means you spend less quality time on each of them.
When you attempt to accomplish too many things at once, it adds a lot of stress to your life. And rushing to create material that will be released a day or two later—or an hour or two later, as some podcasters do should be avoided.
Do you want to do anything serious in life, including podcasting? Make a clear plan. Planing is designing a future you want and going back to make it happen.
When you overuse filler words
“Um, like, um, I mean…” That’s what I mean.
Filler words infiltrate into our everyday language without our knowledge. And when we’re conversing with our friends in an informal chat, these filler words don’t seem to stand out as much, and they are certainly not grounds to stop a discussion!
Filler words, on the other hand, might be a significant turnoff for your podcast! Literally.
Do you use too many filler words? Listen to your most recent episodes and pay close attention to your speaking patterns.
If you find that there are too many “uhms,” “aahs,” and “likes” on your podcast, and you want to attract your audience, it’s time to go a bit more heavy-handed with your editing.
Do not ignore the sound quality
If you are in the (poor) habit of just setting up your mic, pressing ‘record,’ and moving on to your next episode, you are probably not getting the finest audio quality. And this is a significant issue.
You may have been able to get away with poor audio in the past, but that is unlikely to be the case in the near future! Listeners are getting more aware of what a great podcast should sound like as more podcasts are released. And they are not going to accept mediocre audio quality.
However, this unhealthy behavior is easily remedied!
Simply spend a bit extra time on your setup. Plug in a set of headphones, perform a few sound checks, and make any required modifications until you hear high-quality raw audio.
When you focus on negative reviews
It is never a nice feeling to learn that your podcast has received a poor review. It’s especially heartbreaking when you’ve worked so hard to make your podcast the best it can be.
However, no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to please everyone all of the time.
It’s also fine to get discouraged after reading the unfavorable reviews. But! Don’t get caught up in the negative feedback! Use them as constructive criticism when possible, and then discard them!
Negative reviews are an inevitable part of being a podcaster, and it’s natural to feel discouraged or disheartened when you receive them. However, focusing less on negative reviews can help you maintain a positive mindset and continue to produce quality content. Here are some tips on how to do it:
- Remember your purpose: When negative reviews start to get you down, it can be helpful to remind yourself of why you started podcasting in the first place. Focus on your passion for your topic and the value you bring to your listeners. Don’t let negative feedback distract you from your purpose.
- Take constructive criticism to heart: While negative reviews can be hard to hear, they can also provide valuable feedback for improvement. Take the constructive criticism to heart and use it to make positive changes to your content, delivery, or production quality.
- Balance negative feedback with positive feedback: It’s important to remember that for every negative review, there are likely many more positive ones that you may not be hearing. Take the time to read positive feedback from your listeners, and let it balance out the negative feedback.
- Don’t take it personally: It’s important to remember that negative reviews are not a reflection of your worth or value as a person. Try not to take them personally and instead focus on the specific feedback provided.
- Keep perspective: It’s easy to get caught up in negative reviews, but it’s important to keep perspective. Remember that not everyone will like your show, and that’s okay. Focus on creating content that resonates with your target audience, and let go of the opinions of those who are not in your target demographic.
Overall, focusing less on negative reviews can help you maintain a positive mindset and continue to produce quality content for your listeners. By balancing negative feedback with constructive criticism and positive feedback, you can stay motivated and focused on your purpose as a podcaster.
When you compare yourself with others
It’s one thing to aim to improve your program by attempting to match podcast hosts you admire. It’s quite different to berate yourself when you compare yourself to others.
Constantly comparing yourself to others and feeling like you’re falling short will destroy your self-esteem, erode your self-confidence, and leave you feeling depressed when you think about your show.
As a result, don’t do that! Yes, look to other podcasts for inspiration and hold yourself and your program to a high level, but if you’re giving your podcast your all, that’s enough!
When you seek perfection in everything
Don’t succumb to the Imposter! Allow yourself to be proud of what you’ve accomplished and the effort you’ve put into making your show a success! When you’re praised or given praise, accept it gracefully, and don’t look for reasons to minimize or lessen your efforts.
This does not only undermine all of your hard work, but it also lowers the pleasant gesture that someone else was hoping to do for you. So, break this harmful behavior right now!
As a podcaster, it’s easy to fall into the trap of seeking perfection in everything you do. While it’s important to strive for high-quality content and production, seeking perfection can be time-consuming, stressful, and ultimately hinder your progress. Here are some tips on how to avoid seeking perfection in everything you do as a podcaster:
- Set realistic goals: Instead of aiming for perfection, set realistic goals for yourself and your podcast. Determine what’s achievable within your available time and resources, and focus on creating quality content that meets those goals.
- Embrace imperfection: Remember that imperfection is a natural part of the creative process. Instead of striving for flawless content, embrace imperfection as an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve your skills.
- Prioritize quality over perfection: While it’s important to strive for high-quality content, seeking perfection in every aspect of your podcast can be overwhelming. Instead, prioritize quality in areas that matter most to your listeners, such as content and audio production.
- Accept constructive criticism: Be open to constructive criticism from your listeners and peers. This feedback can help you improve your content and production quality without striving for perfection.
- Focus on consistency: Consistency is key to building a loyal audience. Instead of striving for perfection in every episode, focus on consistently delivering quality content on a regular schedule.
Overall, avoiding the trap of seeking perfection can help you stay motivated and productive as a podcaster. By setting realistic goals, embracing imperfection, prioritizing quality, accepting constructive criticism, and focusing on consistency, you can create high-quality content without getting bogged down by the pursuit of perfection.
When you are afraid to try
Yes, our comfort zone may be really snug and safe. And, certainly, if we do move outside of our comfort zone, we may fail. And it is terrifying! What’s scarier is looking back with perspective and wishing you had tried.
So, don’t make it a terrible habit to stay in your comfort zone. Experiment with new things, start that podcast or push yourself to acquire that talent you’ve always wanted to perfect. And see how much you’ve grown!
You, like many of us, are probably guilty of one or more of these bad habits. That doesn’t mean you’re a lousy podcaster. Even if you have all of these terrible behaviors, you aren’t inherently a horrible podcaster.
But, if you can break those negative behaviors and replace them with good ones, how much better can you and your podcast be?
Download the first chapter of The Storytelling Series: Beginners’ Guide for Small Businesses & Content Creators by Obehi Ewanfoh.
