Podcircle Podcast

Welcome to the Podcircle podcast where we bring practical tips and insights for every podcaster.

From aspiring podcasters to experts with hundreds of episodes under your belt and everywhere in between, these conversations dive into all the topics that matter most to you. Let's get started. Today, we each brought our top mistakes that we see podcasters making, and we thought it might be fun to do this in real time. So, Kyle, we don't know really know what the other person's going to share.

True.

Kyle, can you start us off? What is a mistake that you see podcasters doing?

Yeah. I think one of the biggest and most common mistakes that I see It's kind of twofold. 1 is just microphone selection. Most podcasters aren't really getting into this because they're tech savvy.

Right.

Love microphones and gear and things like that. And so they don't really know what to get. So maybe they hop on Amazon, and they just buy whatever is the most highly rated, which is rarely the best option.

Right.

There are a lot of good options and different price points and things, but a lot of folks get what's called a condenser microphone. You don't want a condenser microphone more times than not because they're very sensitive, and they pick up a lot of background noises and things. You want something and if you're on video, you can see me move my mic here.

Oh, so close.

I know. So if you get really close, and that's my next step, stay tuned. You want a dynamic microphone, those just tend to pick up what's right in front of them. And without getting into a lot of technicals and specifics, they just work well for podcasting. So if you can just stay close to your mic, which is the part 2 of that tip is just staying really close.

And part of that I think it's just having like a stand. Like I just have this little tripod stand here if you can if you're watching this on YouTube. Mhmm. And it just it's just a little desktop stand. It comes with a mic.

It it works well. Like, I I kinda have to get kinda close to it. I think I think that's some of the thing. Like, people feel like we're getting close to the mic, and maybe they don't like how it shows up on camera. But truly, the best way to capture the best audio is just to stay as close as you can to the mic.

There are different stands, like there's a boom arm stand that you can actually clamp down onto your desk and you can kinda swing it wherever you want. But I would say that's, 1st and foremost, the thing that I give feedback on the most is just the microphone selection and just making sure that you're staying really close to it and getting that really good proximity effect.

In a real time, you gave me this feedback. You said, get a little closer. And also, the last time we recorded podcasts, I could hear things happening on your desk, so don't touch it. So in real time, even experts.

Yeah. Hey. I'm fidgety too. I mean, I you know, a little bit of restless leg. And before you know it, you're bumping your mic throughout the whole podcast.

And it's like, oh, you don't want that. But

So I just did it.

I think I

know it happens. Listen,

it's not about perfection here. We're just it's just about principles and making progress. And how about that for some alliteration on a Monday morning?

I loved it. One of my favorite things that you told me early in this podcasting journey was that COVID really leveled the playing field for us and especially, the number of big podcasts that are leaning into remote interviews where you're not in a studio and you don't have the most high-tech gear. Your listener kind of expects that. We've created a different expectation around audio. But, also, it just takes some of the pressure off that you can show up.

You don't have to be perfect. And you can still have a really great podcast

It's true.

Without having all the knowledge. So

It's true. And Riverside really our recording platform here that we evangelize frequently really open that up for people. So getting people off of Zoom and getting people onto a better platform that records high quality audio and video, to me, is is the first step in that.

Well, my mistake I think I love that we're gonna be taking this from kind of our 2 different lenses. Yours is gonna be from a tech standpoint and mine's probably gonna be from more of a content standpoint. And so I think something that I see podcasters really make a mistake around and I'll continue to harp on it is not to create a plan that they don't know who they are, so overarching episode. And it doesn't have to be here's every single thing I'm gonna say. But if you don't know where you're gonna go, you're gonna end up somewhere you don't wanna be.

And so I really encourage people to just create a brief outline, have some talking points so that there's not lulls or freeze in the conversation if you're doing an interview. If you are doing a podcast like we're doing, where we're not interviewing the other person, just hit your bullet points. I've got another document on the left here that I'm looking at my notes to make sure that I'm hitting my points. But if you make it too scripted, you're gonna sound scripted.

Mhmm.

And if you don't have any points, you're not gonna know where you're going. So that is a mistake that I see people making.

You say it all the time and I think about it. It's we've all listened to an hour long podcast that could have been 30 minutes and a lot of that just comes down to a little bit of that prep work on the front end. Another one of mine is kind of back to the tech side is that if you're recording a video podcast, whether you're it's your podcast or you're guesting on another podcast Mhmm. Sometimes they don't tell you that they're capturing video. Yeah.

Is maybe to ask for one say, hey, is this a video podcast? Should I show up camera ready? And then if so, being mindful of where you're at in the frame. So like, is half of your head getting chopped off? What's going on on in the background?

Should you maybe consider getting a ring light or something that that makes sure that your face is is lit pretty well.

Do you have a ring light right now? Or do you just have a really good camera?

I have a good camera. I've got this Logitech camera, and I've got a couple windows. Like, I've got one here to my right. I've got I'm backlit from this other window, but that's not always gonna be the case. You know?

It's No. A lot of our recording environments aren't ideal, and I would say this one isn't really ideal. Yeah. It's not perfect, but, you know, there's small moves that we can make. And I think honestly, just being mindful of just where we're at in the in the frame.

I've got a little lamp here that, you know, it's it's turning my face a little bit orange right now. But

Well, mine's making mine a little white, but it's better than how dark it was because it's very rainy here in Nashville today. So

Totally. And good, you know, a good video editor is gonna is first thing they're gonna do is do some color correction, and and we we do that when we Mhmm. At Podcircle as well. So that's kind of the first thing that they'll notice. Like, oh, let's do some color balancing and matching here.

But it's better to to do a little bit of that than to have to, like, really, really brighten someone up a lot, but that's my next common mistake that I see.

So good. A common mistake that I see, and this is kind of more particular for interview podcast, so if that's the format that you lean into, is just making an interview about yourself. And I think there's a fine line between establishing yourself as a thought leader and as an expert in your space. That's why you started a podcast. That's one of the main reasons we encourage you to start a podcast, is if you wanna grow that expertise and continue to establish yourself as a thought leader.

And then I have listened to a lot of podcast that turned me off because I've tuned in for the expert and I love them, but I also tune in for the great guests that they're gonna bring on. And sometimes when an interviewer just makes the entire interview about themselves, it puts a bad taste in my mouth. And so I really encourage people to find that balance, connection the same way you would in a conversation. Don't dominate the conversation. Don't talk all about yourself.

Don't not ask questions about the other person. Create connections. I think just a reminder that it's less of an interview and more of a conversation. The majority of our podcasts are gonna be more about having a conversation and making a connection than it is about proving yourself to your guest. I think that's something that I see a lot is when you bring in someone who is also an expert, you wanna say, like, like, oh, but I'm also an expert.

And we kind of lean into some of our insecurities. And so I would encourage you not to make the interview about yourself and more about that guest and that connection that you can make. That's gonna be the best experience for your listener.

Oh, that's really good. I wonder if this kind of goes along with that too. Some feedback that I I give folks sometimes is just to ask better, shorter questions.

Yes.

I think that people feel the need to ask a question and then like, give it all this context and frame it. And I think sometimes that can be helpful. But I think sometimes just asking a really high quality question, for lack of a better phrase, and then passing the ball back to the guest and and see how they respond. Because if they need more context or clarification, they'll they'll ask for it.

I know that I have fallen into that and felt insecure of, oh, am I explaining myself well? Do I need to have more context? And my questions start out small on my content plan that I've created for the episode and then get, like, really long. And as someone who edits me, you've probably have noticed that.

Not recently. I think that you've actually I'm not gonna say grown in that area. It's just something it's not even something that I notice that I notice anymore.

Great.

But maybe maybe a couple of years ago, we were chopping those questions down a little bit. But Yeah. Now you you guys do a great job. I think the last one for me, and maybe you can speak into this a little bit, is I think a lot of new podcasters expect people to find their podcast organically. They maybe if they distribute it in all the right places, like if I get it on Apple, Google, Spotify, Stitcher, that people are just gonna find it.

And yeah, maybe a couple will. But I think it's really important to set expectations that you're gonna have to do the work there to help them find it and and really create more of that strategic plan around leveraging your social media. If you have an email list, and honestly, this is more of your wheelhouse, so I'll I'll let you speak to it.

No. These that was on my list as well as not promoting it. And I kind of imagine that movie from my early childhood, Field of Dreams, is like, if you build it, they will come. And that's not true when it comes to podcast that people don't know you have something really great unless you talk about it. And I think, in general, that is true of marketing that you have to tell people what you have and how it's going to serve them.

And self promotion, we kinda get, like, icky feeling about that. But when you've got something of value and a podcast is something that's gonna be so valuable for your listener, it's free content, free advice and resourcing that you are giving on a consistent basis. And so I think you should feel really good about that. Like, I have something I want to offer you and give you and it's going to provide value. So maybe that reframe today is going to help you lean more into promoting your podcast.

And you mentioned a couple of those ways, an email list that already exists, social media. If you are an interview podcast, really equipping your guest to talk about you, talk about the episode, share about it, create resources for them to do. I know that's something that we create, Kyle. Our team does when you're creating social media assets is how do you equip the guest in the best way for them to talk about what they did? Maybe it's providing them quotes from the episode.

Maybe it's video content that they can share. Maybe it's a displayable graphic. Maybe it's something they can add to their website if they've got a media section on their website that says featured here. That's a great resource as well. And the extra caveat that I have on the back of this is a mistake is not showing up consistently.

So if you're talking about it, you're promoting it, and you say, like, every Tuesday, we show up and we have great in-depth conversations about x y z and then you start missing Tuesdays, people are gonna stop coming back. So

Yeah. Yeah. I think you summed that up brilliantly. And you may have mentioned this. I'm not sure.

But one of the things is just to make sure that your guests know when their podcast is coming out their episode that you did with them, send them those social media assets that feature them and make them look really good and smart. And say, hey. This episode drops this day. I would love for you to help promote it and send them the link. So if you have a landing page, which hopefully you do, and if if you work with us, you do.

We we set up as basic landing pages for each episode that make it really easy for people to listen to the episode, review the show notes, and then subscribe in their favorite app. Send that good stuff to them so that they can link it in their social media, or maybe they can post it up as a the clip as a story Yeah. Their Instagram and and drop that link right there. That's how you convert your social media following, their social media following into podcast subscribers, which is what it's all about.

Yes. And make sure you're tagging your guest where they are. So if you normally promote on Instagram and occasionally promote on LinkedIn, but your guest only has a LinkedIn, make sure you're tagging them and making it easy for them to share something you're already sharing and then they don't have to come up with something out of nowhere either. That's always an easy lift that I've seen is that sometimes people can't build it into their content calendar because they're really strategic in how they're posting. Maybe they've already scheduled things out.

But if we can tag them in the stories, they're more likely to share that and make it easy for them.

Totally. That's really, really smart.

Alright. So speaking of asking good questions, Kyle, we have created the complete podcast starter kit that you can find at podcircle.com/ start. And in it, we created a PDF that will help you ask better interview questions. Check it out.

Yeah. It's one of many things that are in that starter kit, so go check it out. We call it the complete podcast starter kit for a reason because there's a lot of really good information in there. So go check that out. Again, that's at podcircle.com/start, and we'll be back with you next week for some more practical tips and insights for every podcaster.