This is the show for creative entrepreneurs who have a message to share and want to live a life of freedom. Learn how to grow your network and net worth. Hear from exciting guests, and more. My name is Dylan Schmidt and Welcome to Digital Podcaster. Podcasting pitfalls. There are a few pitfalls that I want to talk with you about today. And these are some of the biggest I see, before we get started here. There is a quote that I saw online a while back that summed up the process of podcasting. So well, podcasting is the hardest, easiest thing I have ever done. I didn't say that originally, I read it. But how true is that? Because not only is podcasting, a lesson in patience, endurance and learning new things. But it's also a lot of fun. And like most things that you want to get good at, there's a learning curve to the fun part, right? Once you understand some of the basic mistakes that podcasters make, you can avoid them and get to the good part, the more enjoyable part faster. So let's quickly go over three of the biggest podcasting pitfalls that I see they're all equally important. Number one, not having a clear focus or direction for your podcast. This is probably the most common mistake I see podcasters make is they start a podcast without really knowing what they want to talk about, or who they want to appeal to. And as a result, their episodes tend to be all over the place and lack any real direction. It's discouraging for the podcaster, but also the listener. If you want your podcast to be successful, you need to have a clear focus. And let me be clear, a clear focus is not getting things perfect. What I'm talking about more specifically, is you need to know what topics you'll be covering and roughly who your target audience is. Only then can you start planning out your episodes. And building an audience that will stick around, we have a clear focus and direction, you can start to book guests that fit within that framework that you create. And you'll produce episodes that are truly valuable to your listeners. Number two is not being prepared for your interviews. Now this is a painful mistake because it not only reflects poorly on you as a podcaster. But it also wastes the time of your guests. Don't just wing it or try to come up with questions on the fly. Sure, leave room for the element of surprise to take place organically. But having a set of questions ahead of time will make sure that you get the most out of your interview. and how to best prepare yourself is to simply take some time before the interviewer to write out a list of questions that you want to ask and make sure that they're thoughtful questions, not perfect questions again, let's so perfectionism out the window, but thoughtful questions. And what that means is, there's an intention behind what you're asking. Speaking as a guest, I can tell you, I know when a host has done their research on me, because they ask great questions, I can conversate with them better. And they know what I do, I can tell that they came prepared. I know when the host hasn't done their research, most of the time it makes for an awkward interview. It also makes it less likely that I want to come back on their show. And it also is less likely that I'll promote the episode when it's released. If I feel like they're winging it, and just using me and my audience, I'm far less likely to then promote anything I did with them to my audience, you don't want your guests to have that feeling. Number three is not promoting your episodes to your audience. And this is a mistake I see a lot of new podcasters make is they'll start out producing an episode they'll publish it. And then they just sit back and wait for people to find it. And unless you're promoting your episodes, nobody's going to know that they exist. Marketing your podcast is as much a part of the process as recording, especially when you're first starting. And even when you start getting listeners if you're not actively promoting your episodes, you're not going to grow. What all three of these pitfalls have in common is that they can all be avoided by doing a little bit of planning. If you take just a little bit of time to create some space between you and your recording date or your published date, you'll be able to avoid mistakes that are easy to make when you're just getting started. Podcasting is more than just sitting down and having long form conversations. And it's tricky because we see others do it and think oh, yeah, they're just talking and then they release it. But there's more happening. And you'll be so far ahead of the game when you show up prepared just covering the three things I talked about today. So focus on where you want to go. Do a little preparation before you press record, and promote your episodes. Doing these three things consistently. Over time will help you avoid the three biggest podcasting pitfalls and set you up for success. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean the world to me if you could leave a quick rating and review of the podcast. The simplest way and you can offer this same way to your listeners is to visit rate this podcast.com/dylan or rate this podcast.com/d y l a n click on your favorite podcast app that pops up and it will take you right there to leave a rating and review. It literally takes 30 seconds and it really helps me out and you'll see the process thanks so much for your support and I will see you in the next episode