Our experience of podcasting and the lessons we’ve learnt so far

The startup years are hard work, and our hope is that in sharing our experiences, others also on the journey can feel encouraged and informed. In the book Rework, the Basecamp founders give this advice; ‘out-teach your competition’.

Instead of trying to outspend, outsell or outsponsor your competitors, try to out-teach them.

Sharing knowledge and teaching your audience builds a relationship, shows expertise and reaches your market; different to your usual marketing-spend.

Today I’m sharing the podcasting lessons I have already learnt through hosting the Steadfast Collective Podcast:

1. Your guest’s time is valuable.

You are asking someone to give up an hour to record a podcast with you. That’s valuable time they could have spent doing something else. Always ensure you share your gratitude and help your guest to feel valued. Be prepared with questions and research their business ahead of time, this will help the ebb and flow of the conversation. Always ensure that you are on-time, friendly and professional – after all, the whole point is that you are eager to hear what they have to say!

2. Sound quality is important.

I find it incredibly difficult to listen to podcasts where the audio quality is poor. It is easier and more fluid listening to professional-sounding podcasts where the audio has been well-compressed, gated and background noise is limited. At Steadfast HQ, we do not have a podcasting studio, so we are using a meeting room with a Yeti Microphone and recording directly into a MacBook via USB. We edit in Garageband and release our podcast in Anchor.fm. Results have been good so far, but we are still looking to make improvements, hence this post being about podcasting lessons… watch this space!

3. Content is king

What a cliché thing to say, but it is so true. With an estimated 500,000 active podcasts shows around the world, your audience are not really limited on choice. Keep asking yourself, ‘what makes our podcast different?’ At Steadfast, we set out to interview people in business with straight-talking stories and our cards laid out on the table: complete transparency. We have spoken about starting up, failed ideas and trouble growing.

Our best episodes so far have been the ones where either the guest or myself have shared times when start-up life has not glamorous or smooth. As a consequence, we have found from people’s feedback that they enjoy the honesty and relatability, leading them to keep coming back for more. Our hope is that there are lessons to be learnt along the way and that people will go away feeling inspired or enriched.