1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:03,699 Welcome to Podcast Insider. I'm Dave Clements, support 2 00:00:03,759 --> 00:00:06,500 and media specialist here at Blueberry Podcasting. 3 00:00:07,599 --> 00:00:10,160 And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, director of marketing at 4 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:10,660 Blueberry. 5 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:13,039 Today, we're talking about something that can make 6 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:16,085 podcasting feel a lot more manageable, and that 7 00:00:16,085 --> 00:00:18,824 is planning a full year of podcast growth. 8 00:00:20,004 --> 00:00:23,605 Because growth can feel pretty out of reach 9 00:00:23,605 --> 00:00:26,484 when you're reacting episode by episode. But if 10 00:00:26,484 --> 00:00:28,404 you have a plan, that can make it 11 00:00:28,404 --> 00:00:29,544 a lot more intentional 12 00:00:30,309 --> 00:00:31,129 and obtainable. 13 00:00:32,070 --> 00:00:34,149 So we'll walk you through why planning ahead 14 00:00:34,149 --> 00:00:36,950 matters, how to how to define growth for 15 00:00:36,950 --> 00:00:39,450 your own show, and how to stay consistent 16 00:00:39,509 --> 00:00:40,649 without burning out. 17 00:00:41,350 --> 00:00:43,909 So if you're new to podcasting or trying 18 00:00:43,909 --> 00:00:45,129 to level up 19 00:00:45,515 --> 00:00:47,914 an existing show, this episode is gonna help 20 00:00:47,914 --> 00:00:49,854 you put a clear plan into place. 21 00:00:50,715 --> 00:00:53,515 You're listening to Podcast Insider hosted by Mike 22 00:00:53,515 --> 00:00:56,075 Dell, Dave Clements, and Mackenzie Bennett from the 23 00:00:56,075 --> 00:00:59,609 Blubrry team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and 24 00:00:59,850 --> 00:01:02,030 insider tips and tricks to help you start, 25 00:01:02,250 --> 00:01:05,209 grow, and thrive through podcasting with all the 26 00:01:05,209 --> 00:01:07,870 support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting. 27 00:01:08,569 --> 00:01:09,069 Welcome. 28 00:01:09,530 --> 00:01:10,510 Let's dive in. 29 00:01:11,290 --> 00:01:13,145 We have been doing quite a bit of 30 00:01:13,145 --> 00:01:15,165 planning at Blueberry ourselves 31 00:01:15,465 --> 00:01:17,625 recently, so I think this is, you know, 32 00:01:17,625 --> 00:01:18,605 pretty good timing 33 00:01:19,145 --> 00:01:20,765 to to have a separate 34 00:01:21,224 --> 00:01:22,204 yeah. Mhmm. 35 00:01:23,224 --> 00:01:23,545 We, 36 00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:25,859 we are 37 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:27,620 a tad lax 38 00:01:28,719 --> 00:01:31,920 on the planning ahead for Podcast Insider for 39 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:33,359 the rest of the year, but we at 40 00:01:33,359 --> 00:01:34,819 least have the first 41 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:38,795 month and a half planned out already. Mhmm. 42 00:01:39,435 --> 00:01:41,354 So I think that's, you know, that's doing 43 00:01:41,354 --> 00:01:42,894 a pretty decent job. But 44 00:01:43,275 --> 00:01:44,394 but at the end of the year, we 45 00:01:44,394 --> 00:01:45,134 did discuss 46 00:01:45,674 --> 00:01:46,415 kind of 47 00:01:47,194 --> 00:01:49,114 at least a handful of topics that we 48 00:01:49,114 --> 00:01:51,055 wanted to hit throughout the year. So 49 00:01:51,650 --> 00:01:53,829 you think that's all that's also 50 00:01:54,530 --> 00:01:56,689 helpful to, you know, have in the back 51 00:01:56,689 --> 00:01:57,430 of your head. 52 00:01:58,049 --> 00:01:59,750 Yeah. Yeah. For sure. 53 00:02:01,729 --> 00:02:04,290 When I saw this on our our docket 54 00:02:04,290 --> 00:02:05,030 for episodes, 55 00:02:05,444 --> 00:02:07,305 I think for a a lot of podcasters, 56 00:02:07,525 --> 00:02:09,224 we all look at it and go, 57 00:02:10,004 --> 00:02:12,344 growth is like, it's a scary 58 00:02:12,965 --> 00:02:14,824 thing. I imagine it as 59 00:02:15,365 --> 00:02:17,444 a big scary thing that is staring at 60 00:02:17,444 --> 00:02:19,205 you from, like, the corner of your bedroom, 61 00:02:19,205 --> 00:02:21,219 like, when you were a kid. Mhmm. Because 62 00:02:21,219 --> 00:02:23,139 you're like, I don't know what that actually 63 00:02:23,139 --> 00:02:24,819 is. So you have to take the time 64 00:02:24,819 --> 00:02:26,500 and realize, oh, it's just a coat rack 65 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:28,199 that I know is there, and, 66 00:02:28,580 --> 00:02:30,259 you know, I just gotta make sense of 67 00:02:30,259 --> 00:02:31,639 it. And so 68 00:02:32,340 --> 00:02:35,294 this concept for this episode of planning a 69 00:02:35,294 --> 00:02:37,294 year of growth, it doesn't have to be 70 00:02:37,294 --> 00:02:39,155 scary. I think that it's 71 00:02:39,455 --> 00:02:42,094 a lot easier than I myself would ever 72 00:02:42,094 --> 00:02:43,375 make it out to be. I mean, I've 73 00:02:43,375 --> 00:02:44,514 been doing this for 74 00:02:45,134 --> 00:02:46,114 a long time, 75 00:02:46,414 --> 00:02:49,719 and I'm still scared of whatever growth is. 76 00:02:51,460 --> 00:02:51,960 Yeah. 77 00:02:52,340 --> 00:02:54,740 I mean, that's definitely understandable. The first thing 78 00:02:54,740 --> 00:02:55,560 that we 79 00:02:55,860 --> 00:02:58,659 wanna talk about is essentially defining what growth 80 00:02:58,659 --> 00:03:01,540 means for you and your podcast, because it's 81 00:03:01,540 --> 00:03:03,139 not gonna be the same for everyone. That's 82 00:03:03,139 --> 00:03:04,544 for sure. And it's not 83 00:03:05,405 --> 00:03:07,805 just meaning more downloads, more listens, a bigger 84 00:03:07,805 --> 00:03:10,205 audience, something like that. It can be so 85 00:03:10,205 --> 00:03:12,125 much more than that. Yeah. You can really, 86 00:03:12,125 --> 00:03:14,625 like, fine tune it. Some of our examples 87 00:03:15,085 --> 00:03:18,540 are just publishing consistently without missing episodes. I 88 00:03:18,540 --> 00:03:19,900 know that's always been a big one for 89 00:03:19,900 --> 00:03:21,680 me where I'm like, I am a weekly 90 00:03:21,740 --> 00:03:22,719 release podcast. 91 00:03:23,020 --> 00:03:25,020 Mhmm. And then I will release every single 92 00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:27,180 week for about three months. And then I 93 00:03:27,180 --> 00:03:28,560 stop for whatever reason. 94 00:03:28,860 --> 00:03:30,699 And then I come back and, you know, 95 00:03:30,699 --> 00:03:33,354 just publishing consistently. That that can be growth. 96 00:03:33,655 --> 00:03:34,155 Improving 97 00:03:34,534 --> 00:03:37,094 the content that you already have. We've discussed 98 00:03:37,094 --> 00:03:39,914 this a couple of times on Podcast Insider. 99 00:03:40,294 --> 00:03:42,074 So go back and listen to those episodes. 100 00:03:42,215 --> 00:03:44,555 You can also build a more engaged audience. 101 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,840 I think that's one of the the hardest 102 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:49,240 things. So that might be something to really 103 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,280 dig into in the future. Yeah. And then 104 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,060 you can look into monetization 105 00:03:54,439 --> 00:03:55,500 and sponsorships, 106 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,620 or you can just fix your own workflow. 107 00:03:58,865 --> 00:04:01,264 Like, make something that actually works and is 108 00:04:01,264 --> 00:04:02,485 sustainable for you. 109 00:04:02,784 --> 00:04:04,224 Those are just some of the ideas that 110 00:04:04,224 --> 00:04:04,885 we have. 111 00:04:05,264 --> 00:04:07,344 Yeah. Last year, I feel like we actually 112 00:04:07,344 --> 00:04:08,645 did a really 113 00:04:09,585 --> 00:04:12,724 good job of planning episodes out beforehand, 114 00:04:13,344 --> 00:04:15,539 where it was just more along the lines 115 00:04:15,539 --> 00:04:17,300 of, like, okay. We we know what we're 116 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:19,319 gonna talk about. We have show notes, 117 00:04:20,019 --> 00:04:22,419 you know, planned out a little bit. Now 118 00:04:22,419 --> 00:04:23,620 we just need to find the time to 119 00:04:23,620 --> 00:04:25,699 record and get that done. And I think 120 00:04:25,699 --> 00:04:27,620 that saved us, like, a lot of headache 121 00:04:27,620 --> 00:04:29,639 compared to what it has in the past. 122 00:04:30,324 --> 00:04:32,645 So something just as simple as, you know, 123 00:04:32,645 --> 00:04:33,705 we improved 124 00:04:34,404 --> 00:04:34,904 the 125 00:04:35,685 --> 00:04:36,745 production side 126 00:04:37,285 --> 00:04:39,225 on our end, you know, the the preproduction 127 00:04:39,444 --> 00:04:39,944 side. 128 00:04:40,404 --> 00:04:43,064 And I really do think that helped. And 129 00:04:43,259 --> 00:04:45,020 I think the other one that you were 130 00:04:45,020 --> 00:04:46,240 talking about with 131 00:04:46,779 --> 00:04:49,600 building a more engaged audience, that is 132 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:52,139 the hardest one to do. You're right. That 133 00:04:52,139 --> 00:04:55,180 one is can then that is dedication. That 134 00:04:55,180 --> 00:04:56,914 takes time. That is 135 00:04:57,294 --> 00:04:59,474 not one that you can necessarily rush. 136 00:05:00,254 --> 00:05:02,014 And I think if you try to rush 137 00:05:02,014 --> 00:05:04,594 it, you might actually be doing some damage. 138 00:05:05,214 --> 00:05:06,754 Yeah. Yeah. For sure. 139 00:05:07,214 --> 00:05:09,055 Because for as as much as you want 140 00:05:09,055 --> 00:05:11,339 to build an engaged audience, you could 141 00:05:11,899 --> 00:05:14,060 kind of how do I wanna say this 142 00:05:14,060 --> 00:05:16,720 the right way? You could abuse that position, 143 00:05:17,660 --> 00:05:19,600 and then it turns into spam 144 00:05:20,620 --> 00:05:23,360 instead of actually growing that support. 145 00:05:24,245 --> 00:05:26,164 Yeah. You could engage with your audience so 146 00:05:26,164 --> 00:05:28,164 much that you enraged them, and now you 147 00:05:28,164 --> 00:05:30,024 have an enraged engaged audience. 148 00:05:31,044 --> 00:05:33,865 So that's not exactly something you want either. 149 00:05:34,724 --> 00:05:36,264 You know, look around. 150 00:05:36,970 --> 00:05:39,449 Take a good idea of what you think 151 00:05:39,449 --> 00:05:40,810 your show is and what you want it 152 00:05:40,810 --> 00:05:42,490 to be and what all these things mean 153 00:05:42,490 --> 00:05:44,509 for you. What does growth actually mean 154 00:05:45,050 --> 00:05:45,709 to you? 155 00:05:46,089 --> 00:05:47,230 It's the new year. 156 00:05:47,769 --> 00:05:49,790 A lot of people take a fresh look 157 00:05:49,930 --> 00:05:50,430 at, 158 00:05:50,974 --> 00:05:52,035 you know, their hobbies, 159 00:05:52,654 --> 00:05:53,634 their habits, 160 00:05:54,095 --> 00:05:56,274 their what they wanna do with their year, 161 00:05:56,814 --> 00:05:58,974 and this is definitely something that I think 162 00:05:58,974 --> 00:06:01,055 falls in line with that. Yeah. And I 163 00:06:01,055 --> 00:06:04,254 would definitely, like, don't get overwhelmed and go, 164 00:06:04,254 --> 00:06:06,014 oh, I have to do, like, all five 165 00:06:06,014 --> 00:06:06,870 of these things that we've 166 00:06:07,829 --> 00:06:09,870 mentioned. Like, pick one Yeah. And let that 167 00:06:09,870 --> 00:06:11,750 be the focus for your year because you 168 00:06:11,750 --> 00:06:12,490 can't do 169 00:06:12,949 --> 00:06:13,449 everything 170 00:06:13,750 --> 00:06:16,169 all at once and enjoy podcasting. 171 00:06:16,629 --> 00:06:18,470 We're gonna talk about it a little bit 172 00:06:18,470 --> 00:06:20,389 later. But, you know, burnout, that's that's a 173 00:06:20,389 --> 00:06:23,305 huge thing. And you can burn yourself out 174 00:06:23,524 --> 00:06:26,084 right here at the start just defining what 175 00:06:26,084 --> 00:06:27,865 growth is for you for the year. 176 00:06:28,404 --> 00:06:32,004 Yeah. Exactly. That's that's perfect into our next 177 00:06:32,004 --> 00:06:33,064 one, which is 178 00:06:33,459 --> 00:06:35,560 break the year into manageable phases. 179 00:06:36,259 --> 00:06:38,099 I've really, in the past two or three 180 00:06:38,099 --> 00:06:40,919 years, started to think about the year, like, 181 00:06:41,220 --> 00:06:42,439 professionally and personally 182 00:06:43,459 --> 00:06:46,740 in the quarters. You know, the January 1, 183 00:06:46,740 --> 00:06:47,805 March 31 184 00:06:48,125 --> 00:06:48,625 into, 185 00:06:49,725 --> 00:06:51,884 into summer, and then the the end of 186 00:06:51,884 --> 00:06:54,225 summer into fall, and then the winter. 187 00:06:55,245 --> 00:06:57,425 And it has helped me immensely. 188 00:06:57,964 --> 00:06:59,964 It just allows you to focus on certain 189 00:06:59,964 --> 00:07:03,020 things for perhaps that quarter or that month 190 00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:06,120 or, you know, two months, ninety days, whatever 191 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:07,100 it is that you 192 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:08,699 wanna think about 193 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:11,560 it without pressure for, like, the entire year. 194 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,040 But also, it's, like, kind of motivating because 195 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:15,960 you're like, okay. I said I was gonna 196 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:17,295 do this in 2026, 197 00:07:17,615 --> 00:07:19,134 and I was gonna do it in quarter 198 00:07:19,134 --> 00:07:19,634 one. 199 00:07:20,095 --> 00:07:21,775 So, like Yeah. Let's get it done in 200 00:07:21,775 --> 00:07:22,595 quarter one. 201 00:07:23,215 --> 00:07:24,895 Yeah. To pull the curtain back a little 202 00:07:24,895 --> 00:07:26,915 bit, that's what we've been doing at Blueberry 203 00:07:27,215 --> 00:07:28,275 is going, okay. 204 00:07:28,814 --> 00:07:30,514 From a marketing perspective 205 00:07:31,269 --> 00:07:33,849 and even in, like, a development perspective, how 206 00:07:34,149 --> 00:07:36,709 how do we break things up into the 207 00:07:36,789 --> 00:07:37,529 these manageable 208 00:07:37,990 --> 00:07:40,469 chunks? And we we've kind of been focusing 209 00:07:40,469 --> 00:07:42,009 on, you know, topics. 210 00:07:42,310 --> 00:07:43,944 Like, what are the topics that we wanna 211 00:07:43,944 --> 00:07:46,504 communicate? What are the projects that need to 212 00:07:46,504 --> 00:07:47,245 be improved 213 00:07:47,704 --> 00:07:48,365 the most? 214 00:07:48,824 --> 00:07:50,604 And you can look at your podcast 215 00:07:51,225 --> 00:07:52,685 very much the same way. 216 00:07:53,144 --> 00:07:53,644 And, 217 00:07:55,875 --> 00:07:57,750 again, the the only way to eat an 218 00:07:57,750 --> 00:08:00,089 elephant is one bite at a time. 219 00:08:00,709 --> 00:08:01,209 Definitely. 220 00:08:01,589 --> 00:08:03,829 And, I mean, I know I kinda like, 221 00:08:03,829 --> 00:08:04,730 I just took 222 00:08:05,509 --> 00:08:07,350 two weeks off at the end of the 223 00:08:07,350 --> 00:08:08,730 year. I always know 224 00:08:09,754 --> 00:08:11,514 I need to get the most important stuff 225 00:08:11,514 --> 00:08:14,574 that I need to do done by Thanksgiving 226 00:08:14,634 --> 00:08:16,235 because I'm done for the rest of the 227 00:08:16,235 --> 00:08:18,314 year. Like, I am wrapping things up. I 228 00:08:18,314 --> 00:08:19,935 am not starting anything new. 229 00:08:20,314 --> 00:08:22,649 I am literally just going off of, like, 230 00:08:22,649 --> 00:08:23,949 a checklist of 231 00:08:24,330 --> 00:08:25,550 this has gotta be done 232 00:08:26,250 --> 00:08:28,490 and and go from there. There is nothing 233 00:08:28,490 --> 00:08:29,709 being added to it. 234 00:08:30,009 --> 00:08:30,509 So 235 00:08:30,889 --> 00:08:32,269 the seasons of your life, 236 00:08:32,649 --> 00:08:34,029 definitely take part. 237 00:08:34,464 --> 00:08:36,544 That's a really good point too because I've 238 00:08:36,544 --> 00:08:39,044 I've run into that in doing shows where 239 00:08:39,345 --> 00:08:41,264 you have these plans, and then you go, 240 00:08:41,264 --> 00:08:44,245 oh, shoot. Holidays exist. Yeah. 241 00:08:45,105 --> 00:08:46,625 And then it's like, well, how do you 242 00:08:46,625 --> 00:08:49,279 prepare for those? Do you batch record? Do 243 00:08:49,279 --> 00:08:51,220 you just go, hey. We're taking a break. 244 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:55,139 Again, that's part of your phases in growth. 245 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:56,800 You know? Because maybe you do take a 246 00:08:56,800 --> 00:08:59,595 break this year, and you figure out, oh, 247 00:08:59,595 --> 00:09:01,674 well, maybe that didn't work as well as 248 00:09:01,674 --> 00:09:03,434 I wanted it to. Mhmm. And then next 249 00:09:03,434 --> 00:09:05,774 year, part of your growth plan can be, 250 00:09:05,834 --> 00:09:07,294 well, I'm in a batch record, 251 00:09:07,834 --> 00:09:10,154 or maybe I just release a little bit 252 00:09:10,154 --> 00:09:11,454 less. Like, again, 253 00:09:11,914 --> 00:09:14,314 ebb and flow. You'll figure it out. You'll 254 00:09:14,314 --> 00:09:15,294 figure it out, 255 00:09:15,809 --> 00:09:17,649 and and you're not gonna figure it all 256 00:09:17,649 --> 00:09:19,330 out in the first year, the first six 257 00:09:19,330 --> 00:09:21,330 months. Nothing like that. Yeah. And even if 258 00:09:21,330 --> 00:09:23,410 you do three months later, you're gonna be 259 00:09:23,410 --> 00:09:25,250 like, that was useless. This is so much 260 00:09:25,250 --> 00:09:25,750 better. 261 00:09:26,289 --> 00:09:26,789 Yeah. 262 00:09:27,090 --> 00:09:29,269 Yeah. So things are constantly evolving. 263 00:09:29,705 --> 00:09:31,144 The next one that we wanted to talk 264 00:09:31,144 --> 00:09:33,725 about was planned content with purpose. 265 00:09:34,424 --> 00:09:36,345 This is kinda what I was saying earlier 266 00:09:36,345 --> 00:09:37,784 of we have the first month and a 267 00:09:37,784 --> 00:09:39,565 half planned out. Mhmm. 268 00:09:40,825 --> 00:09:43,679 I I generally try to work in about 269 00:09:43,679 --> 00:09:46,000 six to eight weeks, and then I come 270 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,080 back so that I'm not doing everything for 271 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,139 the entire year at once because things change. 272 00:09:52,399 --> 00:09:54,899 News breaks about stuff in podcasting. 273 00:09:56,399 --> 00:09:57,379 You know, people's 274 00:09:59,004 --> 00:10:01,404 habits, trends, that type of stuff you have 275 00:10:01,404 --> 00:10:03,824 to factor in. So you you identify 276 00:10:04,204 --> 00:10:06,764 a few core themes and topics that that 277 00:10:06,764 --> 00:10:08,924 you might wanna stick with, and then, that 278 00:10:08,924 --> 00:10:11,129 that kinda helps your brain settle, I think. 279 00:10:11,210 --> 00:10:13,309 Yeah. And then being able to 280 00:10:13,769 --> 00:10:16,570 find, like, the evergreen content. I mean, it 281 00:10:16,570 --> 00:10:18,590 really depends on what your show is. 282 00:10:18,970 --> 00:10:22,029 But, you know, if if it's January now, 283 00:10:22,490 --> 00:10:25,070 it's gonna be really hard to plan for 284 00:10:25,370 --> 00:10:25,870 July 285 00:10:26,250 --> 00:10:26,750 because, 286 00:10:27,394 --> 00:10:29,955 like Mackenzie said, you know, things things can 287 00:10:29,955 --> 00:10:30,455 change. 288 00:10:30,915 --> 00:10:31,654 But, also, 289 00:10:32,195 --> 00:10:34,514 because things change, is it going to be 290 00:10:34,514 --> 00:10:35,014 relevant 291 00:10:35,955 --> 00:10:36,695 in July 292 00:10:37,075 --> 00:10:38,615 when you're thinking about it now? 293 00:10:38,995 --> 00:10:40,774 Again, I think I think Mackenzie's 294 00:10:41,779 --> 00:10:44,100 got a point here. Don't plan too far 295 00:10:44,100 --> 00:10:47,220 out, but do those themes. And then drill 296 00:10:47,220 --> 00:10:48,440 down into those 297 00:10:48,899 --> 00:10:49,399 specific 298 00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:50,919 content ideas, 299 00:10:51,299 --> 00:10:53,540 you know, the per episode things. You can 300 00:10:53,540 --> 00:10:55,779 drill down into those as you get closer. 301 00:10:55,779 --> 00:10:57,315 So, like, six to eight weeks out, 302 00:10:57,794 --> 00:11:00,215 most things aren't gonna shift too much 303 00:11:00,754 --> 00:11:02,355 in that time depending on what your show 304 00:11:02,355 --> 00:11:04,274 is about. Unless you're doing a daily show, 305 00:11:04,274 --> 00:11:05,955 and then I don't know how you do 306 00:11:05,955 --> 00:11:07,634 that. Oh, I like, I can't 307 00:11:08,274 --> 00:11:10,934 scary. The daily show people are, 308 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:13,960 like, a whole other type of podcaster. I 309 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:14,779 could not imagine. 310 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:18,059 But No. You like, yeah. You guys 311 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:22,279 have immense dedication and have to have, like, 312 00:11:22,279 --> 00:11:24,164 some type of system set up. 313 00:11:24,725 --> 00:11:26,884 You know? There's Yeah. There is a method 314 00:11:26,884 --> 00:11:28,824 to that madness, and I say madness, 315 00:11:29,764 --> 00:11:30,664 very seriously. 316 00:11:33,524 --> 00:11:34,584 Yeah. For sure. 317 00:11:35,044 --> 00:11:37,879 And then also, leave room for being creative. 318 00:11:38,419 --> 00:11:40,500 I think that that's always been one of 319 00:11:40,500 --> 00:11:42,580 my biggest struggles is that's why I can't 320 00:11:42,580 --> 00:11:45,299 plan too far out because sometimes I'm just 321 00:11:45,299 --> 00:11:47,539 like, I don't really feel like covering that 322 00:11:47,539 --> 00:11:49,799 topic. I've mentioned it a few times 323 00:11:50,179 --> 00:11:52,274 here on this show. You know, I've done 324 00:11:52,274 --> 00:11:54,415 a pod culture podcast for years. 325 00:11:55,274 --> 00:11:58,154 And I used to lay out the full 326 00:11:58,154 --> 00:12:00,335 year based on what movies were coming out. 327 00:12:00,475 --> 00:12:02,315 And then it'd get closer, and then a 328 00:12:02,315 --> 00:12:03,514 movie would come out. And I'm like, I 329 00:12:03,514 --> 00:12:05,935 am not interested in seeing that movie whatsoever. 330 00:12:06,315 --> 00:12:08,070 Yeah. I'm gonna do something else. 331 00:12:09,110 --> 00:12:10,809 So, yeah, give yourself room, 332 00:12:11,269 --> 00:12:12,730 but also think ahead. 333 00:12:13,029 --> 00:12:15,370 And I I think everything just kind of 334 00:12:15,509 --> 00:12:16,410 weaves together. 335 00:12:17,190 --> 00:12:18,090 There's usually 336 00:12:18,870 --> 00:12:20,649 some clearing in the chaos, 337 00:12:21,355 --> 00:12:24,634 and, that's that's generally true with podcasting as 338 00:12:24,634 --> 00:12:25,134 well. 339 00:12:25,514 --> 00:12:27,595 The last one that we'll talk about today 340 00:12:27,595 --> 00:12:30,254 to kinda wrap all of this up is 341 00:12:30,634 --> 00:12:33,134 focus on a few growth strategies. 342 00:12:33,809 --> 00:12:36,210 So that means trying to grow everywhere at 343 00:12:36,210 --> 00:12:38,389 once is gonna lead you to that burnout 344 00:12:38,450 --> 00:12:40,710 that Dave was warning you about. 345 00:12:41,409 --> 00:12:43,669 Choose one or two and go from there. 346 00:12:44,690 --> 00:12:47,490 Yeah. So, again, this is just gonna depend 347 00:12:47,490 --> 00:12:49,029 on what your show 348 00:12:49,595 --> 00:12:50,335 is about. 349 00:12:50,715 --> 00:12:53,434 Maybe you wanna do some guest appearances. You 350 00:12:53,434 --> 00:12:56,014 wanna improve your SEO and your show notes. 351 00:12:56,154 --> 00:12:58,235 Maybe you wanna start a newsletter or get 352 00:12:58,235 --> 00:12:59,375 that newsletter growing. 353 00:13:00,075 --> 00:13:02,495 Like, just just pick some things 354 00:13:03,379 --> 00:13:04,920 that are manageable and 355 00:13:05,779 --> 00:13:08,040 hone in on those. And don't obsess 356 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:10,740 too much over making sure that it's done 357 00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:11,240 perfectly. 358 00:13:11,700 --> 00:13:14,100 I think that's another key thing that that 359 00:13:14,100 --> 00:13:16,095 we could talk about here is, I I 360 00:13:16,095 --> 00:13:17,774 think sometimes we put too much weight on 361 00:13:17,774 --> 00:13:20,334 ourselves to make sure that it's done perfect 362 00:13:20,334 --> 00:13:21,394 the first time, 363 00:13:22,014 --> 00:13:25,214 or is it growing fast enough? So keep 364 00:13:25,214 --> 00:13:27,794 those in mind. Like, give yourself some grace 365 00:13:27,855 --> 00:13:29,394 and be patient with yourself. 366 00:13:30,089 --> 00:13:32,409 Because while this may be a year long 367 00:13:32,409 --> 00:13:32,909 plan, 368 00:13:33,610 --> 00:13:35,389 if it doesn't happen in a year, 369 00:13:35,850 --> 00:13:37,949 that's fine. You're the person that's in charge. 370 00:13:38,009 --> 00:13:40,029 Now, obviously, if you are not the person 371 00:13:40,169 --> 00:13:43,289 in charge, in this case, Mackenzie is our 372 00:13:43,289 --> 00:13:44,429 director of marketing, 373 00:13:44,889 --> 00:13:47,884 and the podcast falls under that. So, you 374 00:13:47,884 --> 00:13:49,884 know, if Mackenzie's like, this has to happen 375 00:13:49,884 --> 00:13:51,884 in a year, and we don't you know, 376 00:13:51,884 --> 00:13:54,125 if we miss that target, well, you know, 377 00:13:54,125 --> 00:13:55,965 then we've got an answer to Mackenzie. But 378 00:13:55,965 --> 00:13:58,065 Mackenzie's also part of the team. So 379 00:13:58,659 --> 00:14:00,519 I think you get what I'm saying. Right? 380 00:14:00,659 --> 00:14:03,379 I do understand what you're saying. And a 381 00:14:03,379 --> 00:14:06,679 podcast is generally a group effort, and it's 382 00:14:07,220 --> 00:14:11,059 the what's that phrase? Poor planning on your 383 00:14:11,059 --> 00:14:13,700 part does not constitute an emergency on my 384 00:14:13,700 --> 00:14:14,200 part. 385 00:14:14,714 --> 00:14:16,954 And that don't get me wrong. That is 386 00:14:16,954 --> 00:14:19,934 a very true statement for many situations. But 387 00:14:20,475 --> 00:14:22,574 your podcast, at the end of the day, 388 00:14:22,794 --> 00:14:24,014 if plans change 389 00:14:24,394 --> 00:14:25,454 for the betterment 390 00:14:25,754 --> 00:14:26,254 of 391 00:14:26,889 --> 00:14:27,389 yourself 392 00:14:27,850 --> 00:14:29,149 and which will probably 393 00:14:29,610 --> 00:14:32,169 include the podcast in that, then go that 394 00:14:32,169 --> 00:14:34,190 direction. You know? Things change. 395 00:14:34,889 --> 00:14:36,830 Focus on what you can 396 00:14:37,529 --> 00:14:39,850 and and just try to move forward. That's 397 00:14:39,929 --> 00:14:42,075 I think that's the most important thing. Yeah. 398 00:14:42,075 --> 00:14:43,754 And, I mean, I think the bottom line 399 00:14:43,754 --> 00:14:44,254 for 400 00:14:44,875 --> 00:14:47,615 for this entire episode and I feel like 401 00:14:47,915 --> 00:14:50,315 I tend to be labor points way more 402 00:14:50,315 --> 00:14:53,455 than I should. But just know that 403 00:14:53,835 --> 00:14:56,175 podcast growth is about you. 404 00:14:56,634 --> 00:14:57,774 It's not about, 405 00:14:58,450 --> 00:15:01,429 you know, chasing trends or having instant results. 406 00:15:01,889 --> 00:15:04,710 You really just build habits and systems and 407 00:15:04,929 --> 00:15:05,429 content 408 00:15:06,049 --> 00:15:08,769 that support your goals as they change. We 409 00:15:08,769 --> 00:15:10,470 try to give a little bit of structure, 410 00:15:10,610 --> 00:15:13,154 but the biggest takeaway is just slow down, 411 00:15:13,315 --> 00:15:14,375 give yourself grace, 412 00:15:14,915 --> 00:15:17,975 and know that everything's gonna be okay. Yeah. 413 00:15:18,274 --> 00:15:20,295 You know, the tracking progress 414 00:15:20,754 --> 00:15:23,154 for your podcast is important. We're never gonna 415 00:15:23,154 --> 00:15:25,715 not say that, you know, that's something you 416 00:15:25,715 --> 00:15:27,889 shouldn't really take a look at. One of 417 00:15:27,889 --> 00:15:30,129 our main offerings as a podcast host is 418 00:15:30,129 --> 00:15:30,629 podcast 419 00:15:31,170 --> 00:15:31,670 statistics. 420 00:15:32,210 --> 00:15:34,610 Like, we Right. We do see the importance 421 00:15:34,610 --> 00:15:36,290 of them, and we know the value that 422 00:15:36,290 --> 00:15:36,950 they hold. 423 00:15:37,490 --> 00:15:38,870 But it's also not 424 00:15:39,824 --> 00:15:41,985 worth it enough to obsess over them to 425 00:15:41,985 --> 00:15:44,304 where it is detrimental to yourself. You know, 426 00:15:44,304 --> 00:15:47,664 obsessing over something to the point of you 427 00:15:47,664 --> 00:15:48,884 only care about 428 00:15:49,424 --> 00:15:51,125 the feeling of that obsession 429 00:15:51,504 --> 00:15:54,549 and not Mhmm. Putting your efforts and mental 430 00:15:54,549 --> 00:15:55,769 capacity towards 431 00:15:56,149 --> 00:15:59,110 actually reaching that goal, you're gonna not enjoy 432 00:15:59,110 --> 00:16:00,870 your podcast as much. And we want you 433 00:16:00,870 --> 00:16:02,250 to be having a good time. 434 00:16:03,110 --> 00:16:05,350 Yeah. For sure. We're we're in the social 435 00:16:05,350 --> 00:16:07,524 age. Like, we are watching all of these 436 00:16:07,524 --> 00:16:10,504 very curated lifestyles and and things like that 437 00:16:10,565 --> 00:16:12,824 on social media, on television, on, 438 00:16:13,605 --> 00:16:15,625 in the things that we just consume 439 00:16:16,004 --> 00:16:16,824 all the time. 440 00:16:17,284 --> 00:16:17,784 And 441 00:16:18,339 --> 00:16:21,220 we do see people that obsess over their 442 00:16:21,220 --> 00:16:22,919 numbers, and if they dip 443 00:16:23,460 --> 00:16:25,080 more than they should or 444 00:16:25,460 --> 00:16:28,259 or whatever. I've seen people just get into 445 00:16:28,259 --> 00:16:29,639 a big panic, and 446 00:16:30,274 --> 00:16:31,955 it's not worth it. It's not worth it 447 00:16:31,955 --> 00:16:34,215 because then you're you're you're not having fun. 448 00:16:34,434 --> 00:16:35,575 You're not wanting 449 00:16:36,355 --> 00:16:37,495 to push toward 450 00:16:37,875 --> 00:16:38,774 more growth, 451 00:16:39,315 --> 00:16:41,794 really. You're just you wanna get that I 452 00:16:41,794 --> 00:16:43,955 don't know if it's dopamine or serotonin, but 453 00:16:43,955 --> 00:16:46,000 you need you need that hit because, 454 00:16:46,379 --> 00:16:47,919 oh, good. I hit, you know, 455 00:16:48,700 --> 00:16:51,419 my my golden number in my stats. Mhmm. 456 00:16:51,419 --> 00:16:53,039 Just don't forget to have fun. 457 00:16:53,419 --> 00:16:55,339 You don't have to conform to all of 458 00:16:55,339 --> 00:16:56,720 the the social media 459 00:16:57,674 --> 00:16:59,995 trends and things that are that are out 460 00:16:59,995 --> 00:17:01,914 there right now. And sometimes we just need 461 00:17:01,914 --> 00:17:02,975 reminded of that. 462 00:17:03,274 --> 00:17:05,035 It's a very good mindset for the beginning 463 00:17:05,035 --> 00:17:08,714 of the year. Yeah. Planning growth is, is 464 00:17:08,714 --> 00:17:10,555 all up to you, but we just hope 465 00:17:10,555 --> 00:17:12,234 that we can help you make it more 466 00:17:12,234 --> 00:17:12,734 achievable. 467 00:17:13,349 --> 00:17:15,829 Fully what we've provided here, even if some 468 00:17:15,829 --> 00:17:18,309 of it is belabored, welcome to me being 469 00:17:18,309 --> 00:17:19,369 on the show now. 470 00:17:19,670 --> 00:17:21,910 Hopefully, this all works as a guide for 471 00:17:21,910 --> 00:17:24,630 you, and we're excited for your 2026 472 00:17:24,630 --> 00:17:27,609 and the years that you continue to podcast. 473 00:17:28,054 --> 00:17:30,294 Plan ahead now, and you're gonna be less 474 00:17:30,294 --> 00:17:31,194 frustrated later. 475 00:17:31,815 --> 00:17:32,315 Absolutely. 476 00:17:32,615 --> 00:17:34,934 It's gonna look different for every show, every 477 00:17:34,934 --> 00:17:37,734 podcaster, every host. But the important thing is, 478 00:17:37,734 --> 00:17:39,815 you know, just stick with a plan that 479 00:17:39,815 --> 00:17:41,835 you actually want to work on. 480 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,119 And if you need tools, there's a lot 481 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:45,799 of them over at blueberry.com. 482 00:17:45,799 --> 00:17:47,099 So tools, resources, 483 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,720 and you can even talk to myself or 484 00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:50,940 Mike over at support. 485 00:17:51,400 --> 00:17:52,920 So go over to blueberry.com 486 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:55,319 for that. Thanks everyone for listening to Podcast 487 00:17:55,319 --> 00:17:57,315 Insider. We'll see you next time. Thanks for 488 00:17:57,315 --> 00:17:59,875 joining us. Come back next week. And in 489 00:17:59,875 --> 00:18:03,075 the meantime, head to podcastinsider.com 490 00:18:03,075 --> 00:18:04,054 for more information, 491 00:18:04,434 --> 00:18:05,095 to subscribe, 492 00:18:06,034 --> 00:18:07,974 share, and read our show notes. 493 00:18:08,355 --> 00:18:10,294 To check out our latest suite of services 494 00:18:10,515 --> 00:18:13,660 and learn how Blueberry can help you leverage 495 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,779 your podcast. Visit blueberry.com. 496 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:19,880 That's Blueberry without the e's. We couldn't afford 497 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:20,619 the e's.