2. Three things no one tells you about podcasting

Podcasting is straightforward: record - edit - upload. But there are some bumps along the way that no one talks about. Being aware of them (especially at the beginning!) could prevent burnout and podfade. Let's talk about it.

mentioned in this episode:
Latinas in Podcasting
Women Who Podcast

Chapters

• 1:38 1. There's an on-going learning curve
• 5:50 2. It's time-consuming
• 7:04 3. The podcrash struggle is real
• 8:25 Build a podcast community
• 10:49 Pushing past podcrash/podfade

Transcript

Transcript via Descript. (Semi-edited)

[00:00:34] Angela: Hey, everyone. Thank you for joining me for this podcast. This is the second episode. I'm starting to get this one off the ground. So that's awesome. We'll talk more about what it's been like for me to start a new podcast.

 Um, it's been interesting, so I'll share more about that in another episode, but I will tell you, there's a the first time around. That you're for. And then there's a lot of things you, you kind of forgot about, you know, when you do something for a while and, and then you start over and you're like, Oh yeah, I forgot about that part.

Oh, yep. I forgot about that part. That.

So the topic I want to talk about today is three things nobody tells you about podcasting. And as I talk about these three things, I'm going to share with you kind of what I went through when I first started podcasting in 2020. And then how I'm dealing with those things now, like how they change or how they haven't changed because I think that for anybody who's starting a podcast, it's good for you to just kind of be aware of the things that are coming up, , or you might be knee deep into your podcast and feeling these things, and you're not going to feel so alone.

So.

1. There's an on-going learning curve

[00:01:38] Angela: The first thing nobody talks about when it comes to podcasting is there is a huge learning curve and that learning curve includes time, which is the second thing, but I don't want to jump too far ahead. If you've never done this before, which was me when I first started, I had no idea how to do this.

I had no idea how to get on. Itunes at the time, which was pre Apple podcasts. I remember I didn't, know what microphone to use at the time. I initially started with a blue Yeti microphone, which I'll be honest, it's not my favorite, but I started there. Cause I liked the way it looked.

Um, and then If you've never done this before, which most of us haven't, you know, there's a lot of questions. How do I create cover art? How do I edit? What are these show notes everybody's talking about? Things like that.

Those were my questions.

And I think there's just a lot of time also included with that, which is the second thing that I want to talk about, but I don't want to jump too far ahead, but like focusing on the learning curve, like especially when you start to learn to edit. You can have something recorded, but it's going to take you a second to figure out how to use your editing software.

You know, I started with GarageBand because it was free. It was on my Mac, but I didn't know how to use it. So I'm sitting there on YouTube, you know, trying to learn how to use, uh, GarageBand. And then I did, dabble with Audacity also. But I stuck with GarageBand.

I don't know why, just something about it. I really liked it. So I stuck with that.

But I'll tell you once you get over that hurdle, and once you figure out, okay, I know how to edit, I know how to record, I know how to upload this thing You know, to my hosts, you know, all those things are time consuming.

Like I remember Googling podcast hosts and trying to figure out which one I was supposed to use. What was the easiest? I was also really preoccupied with not choosing the quote unquote wrong one. And I think in my mind, the wrong one was just, you know, was there something better down the line that I was going to have to switch to?

And then I was going to have to learn how to do that. And there's always like this cloud of, for me, of, you know, am I choosing the right thing?

There's a huge learning curve. I mean, if you've never done this before, which most of us haven't. You've got to figure out how to do all the things right? There's a lot of learning involved and you can find all those things on YouTube or Google And that's exactly how I did it

But nobody tells you that that learning curve exists and that outside of this amazing idea that you have and the excitement you have to record your episode comes a lot of learning, that's a lot of time, which time is the second thing we're going to talk about, but I don't want to jump too far ahead, but I do want to note, the learning curve means spending your time learning period. and even five years into my podcast, I'm still learning. I use a combination of GarageBand and Descript to edit. And Descript is always kind of evolving and changing.

And if you distance yourself from it for even a minute, there's something new about it. Or it feels like that to me. So even to this day. I have my favorite descript, uh, YouTube content creators who will do , little tutorials of how to do things . So that learning curve definitely continues. And especially when it comes to social media. Oh my gosh, social media is always changing and evolving, right? Learning how to do social media clips, things like that.

Like those are all a part of the learning curve that people don't really talk about when it comes to podcasting. You just think about hitting record and uploading things. But you don't really think about the time it takes to research things and to learn. So if things take a while to actually get off the ground, to actually launch your podcast, that's normal.

But just know that the learning curve will always be there. You're always going to reach out to other podcasters, ask how they do things. Ask about their systems, ask about their processes. You're going to try to figure out ways to streamline your processes.

So the learning curve will always be there. And that's a good thing. I think, I

 mean, me personally, I am of a mindset of I'm always learning and I want to be open to learning, you know, it keeps you curious. It keeps you excited about doing this thing. So, embrace it and know that you're not alone. And like I said earlier, the learning curve requires time.

2. It's time-consuming

[00:05:50] Angela: And that's the second thing that nobody talks about. Actually people do kind of talk about this when it comes to podcasting, but, once you're in it, You talk about it all the time about how, about how time consuming this thing is. And, if you're like me, you're doing your podcast outside of your full time job. So finding the time to record, finding the time to edit.

 It's going to take you some time to find your footing.

 And then if you have a weekly podcast as opposed to a bi weekly or a monthly podcast like I do, you're just definitely on a different schedule and it's, it's pretty time consuming, you just need to be prepared for how time consuming it is. If you're like me, you're doing this outside of your full time job.

 So it is a balance. And I don't think a lot of people talk about that work outside of work podcast balance.

And that can be a difficult thing For me, you know, it's finding a space in my home where I can have this little space to podcast , and, you know, it's taking up a part of a room and, you just have to have the support of the people in your household as well. So just know that there is a juggle with time and try to be realistic about, that particular topic. 

And just know you're not alone. It's time consuming for all podcasters. But at the end of the day, we're all having a lot of fun doing it. You know. 

3. The podrash struggle is real

[00:07:04] Angela: The third thing I wanted to talk about is something that. Uh, most people, don't come across until later in their podcast experience. But I wanted to bring it up because once you reach this hurdle you know, maybe you'll be better prepared, for it.

The thing that we don't really hear about a lot, a lot in podcasting is that the podcast struggle is real. ? We hear words like pod crash and pod fade, but nobody talks about what it is that leads up to that or how to avoid it and we hear these statistics that like 90 percent of the people don't make it past episode three and most people don't make it past episode 50 before they just quit podcasting.

But we don't really talk about why. And I think two of the biggest reasons are the reasons we just talked about. There's a learning curve, and it's time consuming, and people don't really expect that.

People get excited about just pushing record, having a conversation, and they don't think about, the editing process, trying to make sound better, trying to get your cover art to look great. Do I have the right music? What's the format of my show going to be?

Things like that. So even though the steps of podcasting are straightforward. The process takes a little more time,

 And I think sometimes that process can feel a little disenchanting, to be honest.

Build a podcast community

[00:08:25] Angela: I mean, yes, podcasting is time consuming. And it requires some learning along the way, but it's not something that's impossible. So for me, that's where we have to tap into, how do we push past that? I'm going to talk about this more later, but I think the biggest piece of it is to build a podcast community.

And I will say in this past year, 2024, I have found the most connections with other podcasters than the previous four years before that. , the first four years I was podcasting. I was pretty alone in the process. I had a couple of friends who podcasted, but we didn't really like sit and talk about the process a lot, but then I discovered two very important things for me, one is I discovered women who podcast magazine,

And they highlight women in podcasting who are early in their podcasting journey really giving them a space to show up and it's wonderful.

 And I've been fortunate enough to be in the magazine. I was in the October, 2024 issue and just doing that connected me to the magazine, you know, and connected me to other people who were featured in the magazine as well.

So that's been really nice. That's been great. I also connected with Latinas podcasting, . And I'll definitely share more about that coming up,

coming up because I was a presenter for their very first virtual summit this last year in October of 2020, I did a, I did a, I did a pre 2020 and I definitely. And I can't wait to tell you guys more about that.

And then another organization that really opened up my world as well is Latinas podcasting And I'll definitely tell you so much more about both women who podcast and Latinas and podcasting, but through Latinas in podcasting, 

I have very much found a network of other podcasters. There are group meetups, you know, virtual meetups, there are in person meetups if you're in the Los Angeles area. But, you know, it's great to just hop on a call, talk to other podcasters, connect and talk about what you're doing.

You're going through, get some advice from other people, knowing that you're not alone in something or getting advice from someone of how to make something easier or smoothing out the process makes such a big difference. And I think that those moments of connection and community are one of the key elements that pushes you past those moments that you want to quit.

Pushing past podcrash/podfade

[00:10:49] Angela: And I will tell you guys, I'm approaching 50 episodes this year. At the end of the year, I'll have 50 episodes. I've been podcasting since 2020 on and off , because I do seasons, so I do take breaks. But you know, I think the reason I've lasted five years now going on five years is because I've been really realistic about the time element.

I know that outside of my full time job and outside of my full time life, you know, I have my partner, we have our dog, I have my parents, my sibling. I've been really realistic about how I can show up as a podcaster. And for me, outside of my full time job and my life, without really having it impact my partner, Showing up monthly is good for me. I feel like I podcast all the time. I'm always doing something with the podcast. She's always like, wow, we talk about this a lot and I do a monthly podcast when I tell you that podcasting is time consuming, I'm not kidding.

And a lot of it for me is taking the time to connect with people via social media. Jumping on calls or virtual calls and connecting with people that way. So you're kind of always doing something

So as I approach 50 episodes, I'm gonna be really real with you guys. I have wanted to quit almost every episode. Me personally, I just second guess myself. I overthink everything . I've dealt with imposter syndrome, and when I first started podcasting, one of the things I didn't realize, one of the things that kind of slapped me in the face was. That I had been raised in this community and this culture you know, I'm Latina, and I've been raised in this culture that kind of praises women, , girls specifically for , you know, being quiet and being polite and not making waves and not being too boisterous and too loud and too much.

Right. So as I'm sitting and having these conversations, And sharing my voice as loud as I possibly can. There's something in the back of my head. It was like, Ooh, you shouldn't be doing that. You're supposed to be, quote unquote, seen, not heard. Almost that type vibe, if you know what I mean, so there's a lot of things that when I started podcasting, I didn't expect, and I had to work through those things and I still have to work through those things.

So if you find yourself struggling with sharing your voice. And wondering if you're making an impact and feeling like somebody else should say this instead of you. You're not alone. And yes, you should share your story. So definitely connect to your community of podcasters.

I'm telling you the podcast community, everyone is so nice. Everyone is so helpful. Everyone wants to help. You know, there's room for everybody And people love teaching what's working for them, you know, so, when you find yourself wanting to stop wanting to quit, just know that that podcast grind is normal. It really is. And I think we'll dive deeper into this topic for sure. I think it's a big thing because nobody really talks about how to push through that podcast grind.

That is so natural and so normal for everybody.

Just know that you're not alone. And that's exactly what this podcast is for. This is so we can have the conversations where we can get real about the stuff that is hard and that we didn't expect.

And that's what I want to do. I want to share my experiences with you. It helps me to talk about what I've learned and what I've gone through.

And I encourage you to reach out to other podcasters or find some meetups. And definitely look up Women Who Podcast Magazine and Latinas in Podcasting

All right, you guys, thanks again for listening. I'll catch you on the next episode.