Amelia [00:00:05] [Twinkling, airy music plays, overlapping with the introduction] Welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit.

Amelia [00:00:12] [Music continues to play] I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs. On this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:00:23] Things like:

Amelia [00:00:23] Should I put my show on YouTube?

Amelia [00:00:25] Can I just record it on Zoom?

Amelia [00:00:26] How much do editors really cost and how many downloads should my podcast be getting?

Amelia [00:00:32] Yeah, I'll even answer that question. Every episode of The Softer Cast is really practical, a little magical, and less than 10 minutes long. If you like what you hear, please subscribe to the show and share it with your podcast bestie. Then head to the show notes to check out our free resources.

Amelia [00:00:51] No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you. Join us on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:05] Hello and welcome to The Softer Cast, a podcast [intro music fades out] for small business owners and creatives who want tender podcast advice without any tech bro bullshit. I'm Amelia Hruby and I'm the founder of Softer Sounds, a feminist podcast studio for women and non-binary entrepreneurs. And on this show, I answer your questions about podcasting.

Amelia [00:01:27] And today's question for our very first episode is perhaps the question about podcasting— an age-old question about podcasting. That is:

Amelia [00:01:37] Should I start a podcast?

Amelia [00:01:40] And I'm going to answer that from a perhaps more specific perspective of should I start a podcast right now in Fall of 2022 when this episode is going live, is right now a good time to start a podcast?

Amelia [00:01:57] And as you might have gleaned from the title, in my opinion right now it is the best of times and the worst of times to start a podcast. So, at the end of the episode, I'm going to share more about some really good reasons to start a podcast right now, and maybe some bad reasons to start a podcast right now.

Amelia [00:02:14] So, if you're trying to answer this question for yourself, if you're considering starting a podcast and you just can't make up your mind about whether or not you're going to do it, this episode is for you, babe.

Amelia [00:02:25] Let's dive in.

Amelia [00:02:28] So, one of the reasons it is the best time to start a podcast is because podcast listening is at an all-time high. According to Edison Research Group and their 2022 Infinite Dial report, 79% of the U.S. Population is familiar with podcasts, 62% of people living in the U.S. have listened to a podcast, 38% have listened to a podcast in the past month, and 25% of the U.S. population has listened to a podcast in the past week.

Amelia [00:03:00] Twenty-five— that's one in four people have listened to a podcast in the past week. Of those people who've been listening— who listened in the past week, they're averaging eight podcasts a week. So much listening. So again, podcast listening is at an all-time high, and that's a really great reason to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:03:19] Podcasts are more popular than ever. They are growing in visibility and popularity. At this point, even my grandmother knows what a podcast is, sort of at least [laughs heartily], but we're really seeing podcasts, you know, there are TV shows about podcasts now. There are podcasts being made into TV shows. So, we're seeing that crossover from podcasting to other forms of media. So, based on that research and probably just your own experience of the world, if you're listening to this podcast, podcast listening is at an all-time high.

Amelia [00:03:52] Another reason it's a great time to start a podcast is because podcast listeners spend money on things they learn about on podcasts. So, this show, The Softer Cast, is for small business owners and creatives and that means that you likely have something that you would like to promote or sell through your podcast. And podcasting is a great channel to reach people who are ready to make purchases.

Amelia [00:04:18] So, in 2021, Edison Research and Ad Results Media surveyed a group of what they call super listeners, which are people who listen to more than five hours of podcasts per week. And when they released this Super Listener Report, it sounds so, like, [chuckles] superhero-esque, I guess— the superheroes of the podcast world.

Amelia [00:04:38] When they released this report, they found that 74% of super— super listeners had visited a company's website because they heard about it on a podcast.

Amelia [00:04:48] And 72% of super listeners had considered a new product or service after hearing about it on a podcast.

Amelia [00:04:55] And then 65% of them had actually purchased something they heard about on a podcast. So, these are going to be products that they're hearing about through ads placed on podcasts and through more organic promotion of products and services by podcasters— so people promoting their own things and promoting other people's things.

Amelia [00:05:14] But that number is amazing. 65% of super— super listeners have purchased something they heard about on a podcast. I mean, I know I've purchased something I've heard about on a podcast. I'm guessing if you're a small business owner who wants to start a podcast, you might have purchased something you heard about on a podcast. Or if you might be one of my clients who never listens to podcasts but wants to start one anyway [chuckles heartily].

Amelia [00:05:36] Either way, all of this data I've just been— like moved through really quickly, just supports the idea that it is a great time to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:05:46] Again, because podcast listening is at an all-time high and podcast listeners really spend money on things they learn about on podcasts. So, those, I think, are two of the most compelling reasons that it's a great time to start a podcast— perhaps even the best time to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:06:05] Now, I've also said it might be the worst time to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:06:09] So, what are the arguments for that point of view? Well, podcast listening is at an all-time high because there are more podcasts than ever and the growth is not linear. It is exponential at this point. According to Podnews in 20— Podnews, which is a industry leader in providing podcast news to podcast producers, and hosts, and anyone in the podcast industry.

Amelia [00:06:36] They, kind of, took this question on in spring of 2022, the question of how many podcasts are there? And in the various methods they looked at tracking that they argued that back in 2006, just over 15 years ago, there were about 90,000 podcasts in existence.

Amelia [00:06:53] Ten years ago, like 160-something thousand.

Amelia [00:06:57] Five years ago, just over 500,000.

Amelia [00:07:00] One year ago, 3.5 million.

Amelia [00:07:03] So, in those four years, we went from .5 million to 3.5 million.

Amelia [00:07:08] And as of fall of 2021, they estimated there were almost 4.5 million podcasts in existence. 4.5 million.

Amelia [00:07:17] So, there are more podcasts than ever. This leads to all sorts of jokes. You know, everybody and their brother has a podcast, everybody and their sibling has a podcast [laughs]. I saw a great meme that was like, "You know, you're either a podcast person or a zine person." I am both, you know, in terms of independent media creators.

Amelia [00:07:36] So, I think that one of the reasons it's really challenging to start a podcast is because there are more podcasts than ever, and it's really hard to get people's attention when the field is so crowded.

Amelia [00:07:49] I also think because of that, it's maybe not a great time to start a podcast because lots of podcasts have very few listeners, and I think that does happen because the space is so crowded at this point.

Amelia [00:08:02] So, Buzzsprout has reported that of shows listed on their platform, half of the podcast episodes published were downloaded fewer than 29 times in the first seven days. So, that means that half of the podcast episodes published on Buzzsprout, which is one of the largest podcast hosting platforms— half of them are getting less than 30 downloads in the first week of being out.

Amelia [00:08:25] Now, on the one hand, getting 30 people to listen to your show is great, especially if you have a really targeted audience. I mean, so many business owners would love to get their message in front of 30 people who are listening and paying attention. That's a real gift.

Amelia [00:08:39] On the other hand, maybe you're a product-based business owner who needs to be selling hundreds of products a month. And you're like, "I'm going to do all this work just to get it in front of 30 people." Maybe that's not the best return on your time spent.

Amelia [00:08:53] So, if it was the best of times to start a podcast because podcast listening is at an all-time high and podcast listeners spend money on things they learn about it on podcasts— it's maybe not so great a time to start a podcast because there are more podcasts than ever and people launching shows every day. And lots of those shows, unfortunately, have very few listeners.

Amelia [00:09:17] It's challenging to grow an organic audience for your podcast, and we're seeing more and more money spent just to get people to listen and pay attention when shows are launched.

Amelia [00:09:28] So, now that I've given you all of that information, you're probably listening to this because you want to know if you should start a podcast.

Amelia [00:09:35] Yeah, it's great to have that industry info, but we're really making a personal decision here, right?

Amelia [00:09:40] Should I start a podcast? — is probably what you're asking yourself.

Amelia [00:09:44] Well, here are a couple good reasons and not-so-good reasons to start a podcast. Let me give you my top three good reasons to start a podcast.

Amelia [00:09:52] Number one— I think you should start a podcast if you have something to say and you want to say it. That type of internal motivation is what's going to drive your show forward. And I really think it's so important for folks, especially from underrepresented backgrounds, to be stepping into the spotlight and sharing their voice. So, I think that's a good enough reason. Ignore all the industry stuff I just shared. If you've got something you want to say, say it on your podcast. I support you.

Amelia [00:10:18] Another good reason to start a podcast is to build trust with your audience and make sales over time. Podcasts are so great for service providers. They allow you to nurture your community and to really build trust with that audience so they want to buy things from you. At this point, like, it's really hard to do that on social media or even over email sometimes.

Amelia [00:10:40] Podcasting brings your voice to your sales, and that is so important.

Amelia [00:10:46] Another great reason to start a podcast is to connect with your community outside of social media and algorithm-fueled platforms. So, so many of us are burnt out on social media— we're burnt out on algorithms that are really opaque and share or don't share the things that we're creating with the people who've opted in to follow us.

Amelia [00:11:07] When you have a podcast, if somebody subscribes to your show, they're going to get notified when you have a new episode every single time.

Amelia [00:11:15] So, I love podcasting because it creates that space for me to grow and connect with the community outside of those algorithmically run spaces. You want to hear a lot more about that, you can go listen to my other podcast, Off the Grid, and— where I talk all about leaving social media for small business owners.

Amelia [00:11:35] So, those are my good reasons to start a podcast. What are a few not-so-good reasons [chuckles] to start a podcast?

Amelia [00:11:41] Well, number one, it might not be a great time to start a podcast if you're trying to get famous. The podcast industry is really, kind of, following other media— areas of media or media industries, I suppose. More and more celebrities are coming in and starting podcasts, getting these flagship shows on networks, and fewer people are becoming celebrities by creating a podcast and growing their audience that way.

Amelia [00:12:06] So, I think that it's not the best time to start a podcast for fame or glory. That doesn't mean that you can't launch a show and grow an audience and hit those top ten charts, but I'm not sure— it's definitely gonna take a lot more work than it did five— even five years ago. So, that may— maybe is a not-so-great reason to launch a podcast. Maybe just get on TikTok, you wanna be famous, get on TikTok. Isn't that what everybody does [laughs]?

Amelia [00:12:30] Another not-so-great reason to start a podcast is because you think you should or because someone has told you, you should start a podcast but you don't really want to. This may be obvious that you don't need to do things you don't want to in life, but I actually get a lot of people who come to me at Softer Sounds with some sort of like, "My marketing coach said I should start a podcast," or, "My— like client said I should start a podcast," or normally it's like, "This ten-step program I was a part of said I should start a podcast."

Amelia [00:13:00] And, you know, it's great when someone else gives you that idea, but it doesn't always give you the internal motivation to keep a podcast going. Podcasts do require a lot of work. It's why my whole business exists— to do that work for small business owners and creatives. But I really think that if you're coming to podcasting because you think you should, that you might want to interrogate what's beneath that "should," what are you really hoping to get out of podcasting, and how can you create that internal motivation for yourself?

Amelia [00:13:30] And finally, my last not-so-great reason to start a podcast is if you are looking to make some quick cash. In my experience, podcast listeners do make purchases, but it takes them a little longer because normally people are listening to a podcast while they're doing something, they're maybe only paying half attention. They might be driving. You know, they're not in that position of like, "Oh, here it— like I'm listening to this because I'm ready to buy."

Amelia [00:13:57] I find that if you want to sell things through your podcast, you really want to pair your podcast with some type of email message that'll follow up. It's like on the podcast you introduce them to the thing, you get them to want it, and the email is where they like— they press purchase.

Amelia [00:14:11] It can be challenging to make that quick buck on a podcast because we're really in the business of building trust, which takes time. So, if you're looking for quick solutions for your cash flow, I'm not sure a podcast is the best place to put your energy at that moment.

Amelia [00:14:28] And that's it, y'all. That's why right now is the best of times and the worst of times [laughs softly] to start a podcast and some really great reasons and some not-so-great reasons that you should start a podcast or not [laughs].

Amelia [00:14:43] I'm going to wrap up this episode, which has officially gone over the ten— less than ten-minute mark that I promised you by inviting you to submit your own questions to The Softer Cast. To do that just head to speakpipe.com/softercast to record a message with your question or you can always send questions via email to hi@softersounds.studio. Let me know what questions I can answer for you about podcasting.

Amelia [00:15:09] And while you're at it, go to softersounds.studio/softercast to subscribe to the show and to download some really great free resources that we've created for podcast beginners and pros, including our Podcast Launch Toolkit and our 3-step Podcast Audit.

Amelia [00:15:27] [Outro music begins to play] That's it for this episode. I will be back answering more of your podcast questions very soon, but for now, I'll see you on the softer side of podcasting.

Amelia [00:15:44] [Outro music continues to play] Thanks so much for listening to The Softer Cast. If you enjoyed this episode, please send it to your podcast bestie and after you do that, go ahead and drop us five stars on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Amelia [00:15:56] If you'd like to submit a question, head to speakpipe.com/softercast to record a message or email us at hi@softersounds.studio.

Amelia [00:16:05] And last but not least, we made some awesome free things for you. Head to the show notes to download our free Podcast Launch Toolkit or our 3-step Podcast Audit. No matter where you're at in your podcasting journey, we're here to support you.

Amelia [00:16:21] Thanks again for tuning in and joining us on the softer side of podcasting [twinkling music closes out the show].