Do you have a heart-led passion for what you do? When we start working with any of our clients here at Harbour 32, our first question isn’t: “So, you want to start a podcast show?” or “What’s your show going to be called?”

We always start with: WHY. It takes time and effort to create meaningful content that truly connects you to your audience. And, before you can create that content, you need to be clear on who you are, why you are here, who you serve…and what you WANT from life. 

Are you ready to start a podcast show?

At the Podcast Show in London, an industry expert shared their belief that it takes about 100 episodes of a show to be broadcasted in order for it to gain traction. 100 episodes before the magic starts to happen and you find your audience…

I was pleased to hear that confirmed, because that’s what we actually say to our podcast clients: You have got to be passionate enough about starting a show to be “in it” for 100 episodes.

For us, that magic number actually gives you the space to experiment to find your own voice, and navigate how your topic is working with your audience.

Nothing starts perfectly.

Are you ready to record 100 podcast episodes?

Wow. How does that question make you feel? There’s a lot to unpack in that number:

• There’s the logistical and administrative angle of putting together 100 episodes, which is no small task, and then
• Then there is the content piece – do you have enough ideas, guests, features, to fill that much airtime?

But the most important question you should ask yourself is: do you REALLY want to record 100 shows?

That really means: a show every week for the next two years (or one every other, for four years)…just to get started.

Does the thought of that make your heart sink or swim? 

There’s power in commitment

Maybe it will help if I rephrase the question.

What is it you REALLY want? That could be from your podcast, from your brand strategy, from your business, from your life. That might sound deep – but it does matter.

No doubt you’ve seen Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk and read ‘Start with Why’. It has almost become a cliché to talk about ‘finding your why’ but there are two questions that (for me at least) form the tenet of every working relationship I have with my brand clients, podcast clients, coaching clients and so on:

1. What is it you really want to achieve?
2. Why is that important to you?

Actually, there are six questions because the secret to getting to the heart of the ‘why’ is to ask that second question five times.

Let me share an example:

I used to work with a community of independent business owners who sold children’s books. In order to better understand their business vision, I would ask them:

1. What did they REALLY want to achieve?
   A. To improve literacy in local classrooms
2. Why was that important to them?
   A. They wanted to make a difference to education in their local community

At this point, if they were thinking of incorporating a podcast into their growth strategy (a bit of a leap there, but bear with me), there’s enough in those answers for a couple of episodes.

Let’s keep going… at a more individual level:

1. Why is making a difference to education… important to you?
   A. Because a better education provides greater opportunity
2. Why is providing a greater opportunity…?
   A. Because I have seen what happens to the children who aren’t afforded that opportunity
3. Why are those children important to you?
   A. Because I was one of those children and I don’t want others to miss out on what I missed out on

There are still two more ‘why’ questions to go but already the conversation has revealed a much more personal, valuable… human story. A story that the individual is much more emotionally connected to. A story that means more to them…

Where podcasting and your WHY intersect.

The stories and messages that you share, through your podcast (or social media, or newsletters, or from the stage, etc) are ones that should light you up and set your heart ablaze. It should bring you nothing but joy.

Your story is your irresistible magnet – through your infectious passion for what you do, it will capture the attention, imagination and heart of anyone lucky enough to listen to you.

100 episodes? Your story should start a fire that burns for 1000 episodes.

Where podcasting and your personal brand intersect

Over the last few weeks, I have attended four personal brand-focussed discussion workshops as a part of an event I was due to attend.  FOUR. You may think – what on earth could you talk about in FOUR different sessions?

But, let me tell you – whilst nuanced enough to each be of value, they all came back to the same core principle:

Your personal brand is your gift to the world. It is your genius – it will be how you are remembered when you leave the room.

Put a better way:

“Your thoughts become words. Your words become actions. Your actions become habits. Your habits become your character and your character becomes your destiny” – Ayo Olaseinde

I love the granularity of this quote. It starts so small – with nothing but a single thought…

Now – are you ready to record 100 podcast episodes?

If you and I were to start a conversation about your podcast show idea, we would start small. Forget 100 episodes for now… let’s begin with a single thought:

What do you want to say and why is that important to you 😉?

If you are connected to your heart-felt why, it will provide the energy you need to record, deliver and (most importantly) thoroughly enjoy the first 100 episodes and beyond.

This is an incredibly important fact to the success of your show – do YOU love it? And will you STILL love it in two (or four) years’ time?

Trust me, your audience will know if you truly excited and overjoyed with your show. However – setting them aside: why would you dedicate two years (and more) to something that doesn’t ignite your soul?

My team and I here, at Harbour32, would love to help you set your podcast show ablaze with energy.

It all starts with a chat, book a time and let’s do that soon.