5 mistakes you should avoid with your podcast

If you are just starting out with your first podcast, it's normal to feel extra excited and motivated. Of course, this is a good thing, but in the excitement, it can also be easy to make some mistakes. Here, we'll discuss five different mistakes that you should avoid at all costs when starting your podcast.

Mistake 1: Starting without a concept

There is no one single concept that can guarantee you success. But in most cases, it won't work to just talk aimlessly without a concept to guide your podcast. After all, podcasting is storytelling. It's about telling stories, addressing problems and solutions, and making sure listeners get something out of your podcast.

The concept you choose itself is not as important as answering the why, who, and what.

First, you should think about why you are producing your podcast. Second, who do you want to reach with your podcast and how can you help this target group? And third, what added value will you offer?

The answers to these questions can be a good starting point for deciding on the tone and content of your podcast.

Additionally, the following questions can also play a role in deciding on your podcast's concept: What makes your podcast stand out from the rest? What is your goal with the podcast? Why are you doing the podcast and what is the purpose behind it for you?

Structuring your podcast episodes is also important because having a good structure will allow you to tell your story more effectively and it will also make your episodes easier for listeners to follow.

Therefore, it makes sense to think about a goal before each episode. It might make sense for you to write a script with individual keywords or phrases. You can use this to guide you during the recording, even if sometimes you improvise or go off script.

Mistake 2: Being too impatient

You've just started your podcast and you expect it to become successful in no time? This is a mistake that is all too common. Getting listeners to listen to an entire episode of your podcast and support you regularly is harder than just getting likes on posts on social media.

So, this means you must be patient to build up a following or listenership. The more you stick with it and don't give up, the more likely you are to be rewarded with loyal followers.

Scheduling is also a crucial point: after you have recorded the first few podcast episodes, you should consider coming up with a fixed schedule for posting your episodes. Regularity and consistency will help you grow and improve your ranking in the long run. Taking breaks from publishing, on the other hand, is anathema to success.

Set yourself a specific goal at the beginning; for example, that you will publish podcasts regularly for at least six months without giving up. If you follow through, you'll start to see significant results.

Mistake 3: Skimp on the recording quality

What all do you need to start producing your podcast? You don't need expensive equipment. A microphone, recording and editing software, and headphones are all you need.

However, to keep up with the competition in the podcast market, don't skimp on the recording quality. If your podcast's sound is noisy or echoey, listeners will usually tune away.

If you can't or don't want to use a professional studio for recording, dynamic mics work very well. The sound is slightly muffled, but they pick up very little background noise.

The most expensive mics are usually the highest quality, but mics in the midrange of prices are usually perfectly adequate.

The location you use for recording is also crucial. The less background noise, the better your recording quality will be.

Mistake 4: Using a cover that is too small or has text that can't be read

Your cover gives potential listeners their first impression of you and your podcast. So, it's important that you convince listeners right from the start. You want to entice them to click on your podcast and interest them enough for them to give it a listen.

So, your podcast cover needs to excite or intrigue new listeners from the first glance.

To avoid having your cover image appear small and unreadable, keep these three points in mind:

1. Background: keep the background of your cover image as simple as possible. Avoid flashy patterns that distract from the content. Solid color backgrounds are usually the best choice since they allow your title to stand out better.
2. Title and font: Limit yourself to as little text as possible. Avoid subtitles, small fonts, and squiggly fonts. The font should be legible and stand out from the background.
3. Image: One option is to use an appealing image of yourself as the host of the podcast. This will directly build trust and help you stand out from the crowd of podcast covers.

Mistake 5: Not promoting your podcast

If you want more and more people to know about your podcast, you need to promote it on social media as well. You can set up a Facebook page for your podcast or simply post your episodes on your personal or business profiles.

On Instagram, it might also be useful to promote new episodes in your stories. Twitter now also offers a special newsletter subscription service for podcast creators which allows you to promote your podcast to a wider audience.

Also consider creating audiograms to promote your podcast online. Audiograms are a combination of visual art, sound waves, audio tracks, and text stitched together into a video. They are perfect for promoting podcasts on social media because they grab users' attention and make them curious to listen to your podcast.

There are several tools that can help you create audiograms. Audiocado, for example, is a free online tool that lets you create professional-looking audiograms in minutes.

It can help give your podcast the extra boost it needs. And, as with everything in your first podcast, try it out, see how it goes, and have fun with it!