Reasons to Start a Podcast
As luck would have it, I’ve already written a brief post on that fact that it’s important to know WHY you do a podcast, and also WHO it’s for - BUT - I have yet to really articulate some of the specific reasons for the “WHY.”
So, let’s dig in …
Do it for funzies! That’s right - believe it or not - people do still create podcasts for the fun of it. Despite the overwhelming waves of content currently flooding the market that would have you believe you need to make sure your podcast can turn into a business at a moment’s notice … you can just do something for fun. That doesn’t mean you ignore long-term strategy that might allow for the possibility of your adventure to generate income - but your podcast is allowed to just be a creative endeavor. You don’t have to “do it all.” You can just do whatever is fun for you and expand things when you’re ready!
Do it for the sake of educating others. Maybe you have an experience that you want to share? Maybe you have a passion that you are now considered an expert in, and you want to share that knowledge with others? Maybe you’re an educator in your day job, and you want to take that knowledge and help train future learners? Does any of that sound like you? If so - perfect! Podcasting can be a great platform to share information that is easily accessible.
Do it as a business strategy. Some people use podcasting to advertise their current business, while others have a goal of turning the podcast itself into a business. While this is definitely an approach to take, I would encourage you to keep expectations low and have goals that are realistic and attainable. Podcasting tends to be a long-term endeavor. Most people who I have heard speak on their success in the industry (and have generated some kind of income) have been doing it for YEARS before something finally took off and audience growth turned into a little bit of monetization. Having said that - even at that point - 3 to 5 years in - the people I’ve heard speak on it say the growth was still slow and gradual. People always refer to Joe Rogan as the poster child for potential podcast success, but they often neglect to remember that he was doing his podcast for YEARS before anyone noticed it. AND - his show continued to evolve and get better over time. So, there was consistency, effort, and adaptability at play.
“ … you can just do something for fun.”
So those are the three categories I think usually encompass most of the motivations for people to start a podcast. Any additional reasons I can conjure up are a subcategory of those three, so I’ll leave it at that and ask you to ponder this: What is YOUR reason for wanting to do a podcast? Maybe it’s one of the categories I mentioned, and maybe it’s a blend of a couple. The important thing is that you know WHY you’re starting it. Knowing your WHY will help you make decisions about content creation as your podcast naturally evolves over time. And the really fun (and sometimes frustrating) thing to remember is that it’s okay to change your WHY. The person you are when you start a podcast is rarely the same as who you become 50 episodes later. So, it’s normal to want to reevaluate things on occasion to make sure the podcast is where you want it to be.
