12. 3 Takeaways from PodFest 2024

I just got back from Podfest Expo 2024! While this introvert is exhausted, I put together a short episode to share 3 takeaways from the event. Tune in to hear some must-dos for podcasting...and, why you shouldn't be like me!

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Transcript

Hey hey and welcome back! I am recording this episode at the absolute last minute because I just spent the past 5 days at the in-person Podfest Expo 2024, and this introvert is TIRED.

I spent nearly a full 24 hours in bed and I’m still not fully recharged. I did get caught up on The Rookie though…we never finished season 5 and season 6 starts in a few weeks, so it was a good time to catch up. I know I’m late to the party, but holy bananas the season finale was insane….if you watch the show, I want to know who you think the guy in the car is. Email or message me on social.

Anyway….despite vegging out in front of the TV, I’m still exhausted, but I did want to get an episode out, because consistency is important, so I thought I’d share 3 takeaways from the conference. 

PodFest Expo is an annual podcasting conference in Orlando, FL, and the conference’s focus is a combination of education and community building. I’ve attended for the past 3 years, and always have a great time. 

I had intended to give you my TOP 3 takeaways in this episode, but I have a lot of takeaways from the event and I spent too much valuable time trying to pick out the best 3, so I ended up just picking 3 at random.  

Takeaway #1 is that podcast listeners come for the content and they stay for the host. This was reiterated in so many of the sessions that I went to.

For educational podcasts, most of the time a new listener arrives at your show to learn something. But in 99% of cases, they can also get that information elsewhere, so what’s going to get them to keep coming back to your podcast? 

It’s you!

You are what makes your show different. And this doesn’t mean that you should try to be funny or put on a certain persona that you think your audience wants. Just the opposite in fact…be yourself, be genuine. The people who are meant to click with you, click with you! 

Share your content your way, in your style, through your lens. 

Ok. Takeaway #2 - If you have guests on your show, make the whole process easy for them. This was also a topic addressed in several different sessions. 

Use something like Calendly to make scheduling easy. Nothing is more frustrating than the back-and-forth emails of trying to find mutual availability. 

Compile important information and/or frequently asked questions and send it to them before they ask. 

Give them materials to make the promotion of the episode easy. Give them a graphic (bonus points if it’s in their branding), and a pre-written blurb to include in their social post or email newsletter. 

And takeaway #3 is that podcasting is a commitment. You need to be passionate about your topic. Putting out a podcast is kind of like the movie Groundhog Day…once you get finished planning, recording, producing, and promoting an episode, it’s time to do it all over again. 

Ideally, you can plan ahead and not be sitting down to record a few hours before air time (do as I say folks, not as I do!), but time is always going to be your enemy. 

You need to WANT to keep showing up, talking about your topic, creating content, and serving your audience. Without the passion, coming up against time challenges, you’re likely to burn out on podcasting and podfade pretty quickly. 

It’s also ideal to have systems and processes in place so that you’re not always scrambling. It’s interesting to have my own show now because I have systems in place for my clients and am always on top of their shows…it’s my own that always gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list. 

Again, do as I say, not as I do, haha!

So, as I mentioned in the beginning, I had a lot of takeaways from Podfest and hopefully these 3 that I shared will help you in some way. 

Also, while I was at the conference, I just happened to check my podcasting stats and saw that Podcasting for Introverts is currently ranking as a top 5% podcast! I couldn’t believe it because the show hasn’t even been live for 2 months yet! 

Thank you all so much for listening, it means the world to me. Stay tuned, because next week’s episode is going to be all about what this ranking means and I’ll pull back the curtain on my podcasting numbers to show you what it takes to achieve this. 

Talk to you soon!