Something I hear far too often from podcasters is, "Well it's just a hobby, so I don't want to spend money."
Imagine taking that approach with nearly any other hobby. As my friend Brian says, the only free hobbies are in nature, or at the library (and even there, you probably pay taxes to support the library).
The point is, if you're even remotely serious about your podcast, you need to invest in it...even if you call it a hobby.
In today's episode, I tell you why, and where to start
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 Welcome to the Streamlines Podcaster, a podcast
00:00:06 --> 00:00:08 that shows you how to put the right systems in
00:00:08 --> 00:00:12 place so you can stop spinning your wheels, focus
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 on making great content and see your show grow.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:17 Because there's nothing worse than putting a
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 ton of effort into your show to see very few
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 benefits and even fewer downloads. My name is
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Joe Casabona and I know you're strapped for time.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 So let's get into it. walked into a Lego store
00:00:31 --> 00:00:35 recently. And as I was looking at all the sets,
00:00:36 --> 00:00:39 a store clerk came up to me and said, can I help
00:00:39 --> 00:00:45 you find anything? I said, what sets do you have
00:00:45 --> 00:00:50 for free? And the clerk said, sir, everything
00:00:50 --> 00:00:55 here costs money. And I said, you don't understand.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:58 Lego is just a hobby for me. So I don't want
00:00:58 --> 00:01:03 to spend any money on it. That sounds utterly
00:01:03 --> 00:01:07 absurd, right? You have a hobby like Lego or
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 golf or playing some instrument. You have to
00:01:11 --> 00:01:15 invest money in it. You have to buy stuff for
00:01:15 --> 00:01:20 the hobby. But routinely when I talk to people
00:01:20 --> 00:01:25 who have a podcast and they are unwilling to
00:01:25 --> 00:01:30 invest in it. They say, well, my podcast is really
00:01:30 --> 00:01:35 just a hobby. I hate to break it to you, but
00:01:35 --> 00:01:42 if you want to actually enjoy this hobby and
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 make something of it, you're going to have to
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 invest in it. If you want to have listeners,
00:01:48 --> 00:01:52 you're going to have to invest in it. Now, if
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 you just want to talk into a microphone and publish
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 it to YouTube, that's fine. But I suspect that
00:01:58 --> 00:02:04 there's more to your podcast than you just talking
00:02:04 --> 00:02:10 for other people to hear it. Investing in your
00:02:10 --> 00:02:15 hobby doesn't mean wasting money. It means that
00:02:15 --> 00:02:20 you value your time, the growth of your show,
00:02:20 --> 00:02:26 and the enjoyment of your show. You'll get better,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:31 faster, and you'll enjoy it more when you treat
00:02:31 --> 00:02:36 your podcast as something worth investing in.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 And that's what we're going to talk about today
00:02:40 --> 00:02:44 on The Streamlined Podcaster. Because my goal
00:02:44 --> 00:02:51 is to help you have a podcast That doesn't take
00:02:51 --> 00:02:56 away all of your time and that de facto means
00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 you're going to have to invest in it because
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 You can't just buy a microphone plug it into
00:03:05 --> 00:03:10 your computer and say you have a podcast and
00:03:10 --> 00:03:16 If you're going to Add music and edit it and
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 book the guests and try to do everything yourself
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 It's not going to be fun unless you want to become
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 a podcast producer. But if you're saying, well,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 my podcast is just a hobby, so I don't need to
00:03:29 --> 00:03:33 invest in it, you probably don't want to become
00:03:33 --> 00:03:37 a podcast producer. So first, let's let's start
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 with the problem, right? The problem many creators
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 treat their podcasts as a side hobby that they
00:03:43 --> 00:03:48 shouldn't spend money on. Maybe you are a hobbyist
00:03:48 --> 00:03:51 podcaster. Maybe you have a day job and then
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 you have a passion in something else and that's
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 what you've started your podcast in. But that
00:03:57 --> 00:04:01 means that you are probably even more time starved
00:04:01 --> 00:04:05 than people like me who use their podcast as
00:04:05 --> 00:04:08 a marketing tool for their business. That's not
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 to say that the only reason I do this is marketing,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:17 but there is an inherent value and I can trace
00:04:17 --> 00:04:22 an ROI of this podcast back to my business. So
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 it's a little easier for me to spend money on
00:04:24 --> 00:04:27 it. When I had my podcast called Late to the
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 Party, where I was watching The West Wing for
00:04:31 --> 00:04:39 the first time in 2017, I invested in it, but
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 it wasn't necessarily worth it to me because
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 really it made watching The West Wing a job and
00:04:45 --> 00:04:51 I wanted to just enjoy the show. And I, I wasn't
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 really serious about it. It was just kind of
00:04:53 --> 00:04:58 something fun. And I'm a podcast coach. So the
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 idea of doing a rewatch podcast could be tied
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 to my business, but instead I was left with more
00:05:04 --> 00:05:08 frustration, right? And so this is what happens
00:05:08 --> 00:05:11 if you just treat your podcast as, oh, I'll just,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:14 this will just be a hobby of mine and I'm not
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 going to invest in it. You're going to be frustrated
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 with the poor quality or the clunky workflows.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:24 You're going to burn out or pod fade because
00:05:24 --> 00:05:28 you're trying to do everything yourself. Right.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 And the show is not going to grow or improve
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 because you're not spending your time in the
00:05:34 --> 00:05:38 right spots. You know, drumming is a hobby of
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 mine and it really is a hobby. I'm not a show
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 drummer. I don't play with other people. I have
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 an electronic set. Because I live in a close
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 neighborhood and have small children and having
00:05:48 --> 00:05:52 a full -on drum set is just not Acoustic like
00:05:52 --> 00:05:54 having a full acoustic drum set is just not in
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 the cards for me right now but I basically play
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 it when I have time and I play it for fun and
00:06:00 --> 00:06:04 I invest in it, you know, I buy new drums from
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 time to time I Buy new sticks when I need to
00:06:07 --> 00:06:10 I spend time learning new songs, but it's not
00:06:10 --> 00:06:17 something that I am Truly dedicated to So I you
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 know, I don't I used to take lessons, but I'm
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 not taking lessons it's just it's just something
00:06:21 --> 00:06:25 that I do to you know, get a get some movement
00:06:25 --> 00:06:29 in and and just have some fun playing some songs
00:06:29 --> 00:06:34 and So again, like if that's if your approach
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 to your podcast is just I want to talk about
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 stuff and put it on YouTube That's fine, but
00:06:41 --> 00:06:46 do not have any expectations for growth or for
00:06:46 --> 00:06:51 sponsors or for increasing the downloads or anything
00:06:51 --> 00:06:55 like that. Just put it out there. Just like I
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 have no expectation. No one's going to hear me
00:06:57 --> 00:07:02 ever play the drums. Very likely. No one's going
00:07:02 --> 00:07:06 to have me be a show drummer for sure. And if
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 that's your approach, then you can stop listening
00:07:08 --> 00:07:15 right now. But most people I talk to want their
00:07:15 --> 00:07:22 show to grow. They want to eventually get to
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 a point where they're getting some return on
00:07:24 --> 00:07:27 their investment, even if they are calling it
00:07:27 --> 00:07:33 a hobby. And if you are in that camp, then you
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 need to invest money in it. Just like with Lego.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:41 Sure, I can buy one set and build it and break
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 it down and build it again. That's going to get
00:07:42 --> 00:07:47 boring. So I buy new sets from time to time with
00:07:47 --> 00:07:52 cigars. Can't smoke a cigar more than once. Once
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 it's gone, it's gone. It's a hobby I have to
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 invest in and I gladly do because I like it.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:03 So if your goal. Is to actually have a podcast
00:08:03 --> 00:08:06 that people listen to. You can call it a hobby
00:08:06 --> 00:08:10 still, but don't tell Don't tell me that because
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 it's a hobby, you're not going to spend money
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 on it. I want you to think about like how much
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 easier and more enjoyable your podcast would
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 be if you invested just a little bit of money
00:08:19 --> 00:08:25 on it. Hiring an editor. Or paying for a good
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 recording tool, because this is the other thing,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 like people are like, what's the best free editing
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 tool or what's the best free recording tool?
00:08:32 --> 00:08:35 What's the best free distribution tool? Best
00:08:35 --> 00:08:42 free. Is not a good combination The best free
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 piece of pizza is the one that's on the floor
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 that someone else paid for and now it's just
00:08:46 --> 00:08:50 on the ground Are you gonna eat that slice of
00:08:50 --> 00:08:56 pizza? If you're starving sure But if you're
00:08:56 --> 00:09:01 looking for the best slice of pizza It's not
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 gonna be the one with floor pepper on it It's
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 gonna be one that you buy from a pizza joint
00:09:06 --> 00:09:13 that's freshly made. So I want you to think about
00:09:13 --> 00:09:17 how much you're willing to invest. Where are
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 your pain points? I guess that's the first thing,
00:09:19 --> 00:09:24 right? Where are your pain points? Because then
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 you can invest smartly because we don't want
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 you spending all of your money. I don't walk
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 into the Lego store and buy every new set. I
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 buy the ones that are interesting to me. So if
00:09:35 --> 00:09:39 you are spending your time in editing, why is
00:09:39 --> 00:09:44 that? Is it because you sound, you know, you're
00:09:44 --> 00:09:46 using the built -in microphone and you sound
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 bad? Invest some money in a decent microphone.
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 Is it because you're spending a bunch of time
00:09:52 --> 00:09:57 with your guests trying to line up audio or you're
00:09:57 --> 00:10:02 using Zoom or Google Meet to record? And your
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 guest sounds terrible and there's nothing you
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 can do about it. Or maybe the guest's dog started
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 barking while you were talking and there's nothing
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 you can do about it because you didn't get separate
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 tracks. Are you spending a bunch of time creating
00:10:15 --> 00:10:19 clips for social media? When you could be using
00:10:19 --> 00:10:23 a tool like Riverside to get at least a starting
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 point for clips. So think about what your biggest
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 pain point is and invest there first. When I
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 first started my podcast, which is now called
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 The Streamline Solopreneur, it was called How
00:10:35 --> 00:10:41 I Built It, I knew immediately, nearly immediately,
00:10:42 --> 00:10:46 that editing was too big of a pain point for
00:10:46 --> 00:10:52 me to want to do it. So I hired an editor and
00:10:52 --> 00:10:58 I told myself, if it takes me an hour to edit
00:10:58 --> 00:11:03 a half -hour podcast, And I pay the guy I paid
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 started at twenty five dollars. I have a new
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 editor now. He charges a little more, not much
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 more, to be honest with you, but he does a great
00:11:09 --> 00:11:14 job. So if I if I pay twenty five dollars to
00:11:14 --> 00:11:20 somebody to clean up and edit the podcast. Is
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 that worth it to me? And absolutely it is, because
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 my hourly rate was way more than twenty five
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 dollars. And then I could spend time creating
00:11:28 --> 00:11:32 better content. booking better guests, asking
00:11:32 --> 00:11:36 better questions, and even maybe getting a sponsor
00:11:36 --> 00:11:43 or thinking of other ways to monetize. So. You
00:11:43 --> 00:11:47 know, the pain, the problem is that you have
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 is that a lot of podcasters have the mindset
00:11:49 --> 00:11:52 that it's a hobby that they shouldn't spend money
00:11:52 --> 00:11:58 on. But the dream. Is that you invest smartly
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 in your podcast? and then you make a better podcast
00:12:01 --> 00:12:04 that gets more downloads, that gets a better
00:12:04 --> 00:12:09 audience, the investment becomes the accelerant.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:16 So how do we fix this for you? Well, there are
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 three places where you can invest. And again,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 I want you to think about what your biggest pain
00:12:20 --> 00:12:23 point is. You can invest in time -saving tools
00:12:23 --> 00:12:27 like Riverside, Descript. I like Riverside better.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:33 Zapier. Notion. Because when you use tools like
00:12:33 --> 00:12:38 that, you are saving hours. And you're saving
00:12:38 --> 00:12:43 a bunch of mental energy. Riverside's editing
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 tools are actually pretty good. So if you're
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 like, look, I can't afford an editor right now.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:55 Check out Riverside. And do the light edits yourself.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 and then save and then save and then spend that
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 time you're saving, planning a better show so
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 that you don't need to edit out as much stuff.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 You can also invest in education. So workshops,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 coaching, other podcasts or memberships, right?
00:13:18 --> 00:13:23 And doing that means you're learning more. You're
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 getting better at your craft and then maybe you
00:13:25 --> 00:13:31 you move from hobbyist to pro you move from hobbyist
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 to someone who can actually make money with their
00:13:34 --> 00:13:41 podcast and That's really You know, so it's time
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 -saving tools. It's education and then you can
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 invest in the enjoyment right buying gear is
00:13:46 --> 00:13:50 fun Get the Elgato teleprompter the you know
00:13:50 --> 00:13:55 get a nice microphone get a soundboard But I
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 would say invest in the time -saving tools in
00:13:57 --> 00:14:06 the education first So quick win what is a an
00:14:06 --> 00:14:11 investment that you can make today To make your
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 podcast more enjoyable to make it better. Is
00:14:14 --> 00:14:21 it a decent microphone? Is it an editing tool?
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 Is it Riverside? Think about that. And I encourage
00:14:26 --> 00:14:30 you to make an investment. You don't need to
00:14:30 --> 00:14:35 go pro to invest. Investing means intention.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:40 It means that you are committed to the thing
00:14:40 --> 00:14:44 that you're doing. When you say I'm not investing
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 any money in my hobby, What you're saying is
00:14:47 --> 00:14:51 I don't care that much about this hobby. And
00:14:51 --> 00:14:54 that's fine. But don't complain that no one's
00:14:54 --> 00:14:56 listening or that your show is not growing and
00:14:56 --> 00:15:00 that you don't have sponsors. You need to invest
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 to make it better. Because when you invest in
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 your hobby, you're investing in yourself. And
00:15:05 --> 00:15:09 that's what really makes your show more sustainable.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 Let me know what you think about this. I'd love
00:15:13 --> 00:15:16 to hear your thoughts. You can send it over at
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 streamlinedfeedback .com. Thanks so much for
00:15:19 --> 00:15:23 listening and until next time, I hope you find
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 some space in your week.