Podcasting for Solopreneurs | Podcasting Tips and Online Marketing Strategies for Business Growth

215. Do I Need a Big Audience Before I Start a Podcast? | Podcasting Tips for Beginners

Julia Levine | Podcasting Coach for Business Growth (The Podcast Teacher™)

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Welcome to Podcasting for Solopreneurs and FAQ Friday, where I answer a podcasting question in 5 minutes or less. Today's question is, do I need a big audience before I start a podcast? This question is one that I see posted in Facebook groups all the time. It's a really common question for aspiring podcasters. The short answer is no, you absolutely do not need a big audience before you start a podcast. Now, of course, it is true that if you already have a large audience on social media or you have a big email list, that your podcast may grow faster in the beginning because you already have people who know, like, and trust you. When you launch your podcast, you can tell those people about your show and invite them to listen and start getting traction. But that doesn't mean that you need a big audience in order to start. In fact, many podcasters start their show specifically in order to build an audience.

Podcasting is one of the best ways to do that because it allows people to hear your voice, learn from your expertise, and feel connected to you. That connection is powerful. It helps to get people to know, like, and trust you much faster than any of the other types of content that you might be publishing. Another thing to keep in mind here is that podcasts are discoverable in ways that other content sometimes isn't. So if your show is optimized for the search inside podcast players, new listeners can discover your show that way. And of course, people recommend podcasts to their friends and colleagues all the time. And when someone finds a podcast that they like, they often listen to just more than one episode. They probably go back and listen to several episodes in a row, and that gives you multiple opportunities to connect with that listener.

So while having a big audience can help accelerate your growth, it's definitely not a requirement for starting a podcast. In many cases, the podcast itself becomes the thing that helps you grow your audience in the first place. So if you've been waiting around to start a podcast because you feel like you need a bigger audience first, consider flipping that around and thinking that your podcast can be one of the tools that helps you build that audience over time. If you have a podcasting question, click the Send Me Your Question link in the episode description and we'll answer it in an upcoming episode. Until next time, happy podcasting!