3 Podcasting Tips I Wish I Knew to Avoid Burnout

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Unedited transcript of the episode:

When I first started my podcast, I did quite a few things that helped me create my podcast as a mom of three littles that didn’t have very much extra time. I released my first episode with a month’s worth of content already uploaded to my podcast host. I used Calendly to set up interviews so that there was less emailing back and forth with potential guests, and I created drafts of emails that I sent often so I didn’t have to type them out every single time I had to email that.

Some of those drafts that I still use versions of today are, information for my podcast guests before they come on the show. And the email that I send to guests the day that their episode comes out

so they don’t have to try and remember what day their episode is coming out. But even with all of those good things in place, I still burned out. In this episode, I’m gonna tell you the three things that I wish I would’ve done differently when I started my podcast. That would’ve probably prevented my burnout. 📍

Hi, I’m Andy Smiley, your friendly podcast guide. I help you start and launch a podcast that is fun and fulfilling.

I share tips, stories from my own journey and insights from podcasters I admire.

And just as a reminder, if you only have the capacity to implement one thing at the end of the episode, I’ll tell you what that one thing should be so you don’t feel overwhelmed trying to figure out where to even start.

I am so excited to talk about the three things that I wish I would’ve done differently when I started my podcast, so that you can learn from my mistakes and be in such a better place when you start your podcast, the first thing is having a seasonal format. I could talk about this all day, and I do talk about this so often, but the reason that I talk about it so often is because it is so important.

I know that if I would’ve had a seasonal format from the beginning, I wouldn’t have burned out. That’s just plain and simple. It’s just how it is. Putting out an episode every week and even I experimented with putting out two episodes every single week for about, I think it was almost six months.

Crazy. That was not the way to go. I had a bit of a lack mindset. Instead of an abundant mindset of like, oh, I need to put out as much content as possible to make sure that people remember that I’m here and. To make sure that my downloads are as high as possible. When in reality, when I started putting out two episodes a week, my download numbers actually started trending down. And truly, I think part of the reason was because I was putting out so much content that I wasn’t able to market like any of it.

I was so overwhelmed just trying to put out two episodes a week that it was just too much. So seasonal format is the way to go give yourself scheduled breaks so that you can come back with your best ideas and you can have time to execute on those ideas that are going to help your people the most.

And if you’re not sure what a seasonal format looks like, let me give you some examples. So for me, my show, I do three months on, three months off. So for three months I put out an episode every single week. And then for those three months that I’m off, I don’t put out podcast episodes. Okay. That’s not exactly true. I do sometimes do bonus episodes, but I only do bonus episodes when it feels fun and exciting and. It doesn’t take away from me resting and taking a break.

So that’s how I do mine. And that is very structural, right? Three months on, three months off.

But that is not the only way to have a seasonal format.

One of my friends that you’ll actually hear from next week, her name is Whitney Archibald. She is the host of the Family Lab. The way that she has structured her seasonal format is she takes a break during the summer when her kids are out of school, and then she takes the month of December off. Those are her two scheduled breaks, so it’s not as structured. Like me, but she still has those scheduled breaks in to help her get that break and that like recharge that she needs.

So that’s another style, let’s say, of seasonal format. And then the last one that I’ll tell you about is my podcasting friend. She’s the host of for the love of History, she goes by tk. She usually puts out 10 to 12 ish episodes and then she’ll take a month to six weeks off and then her next season will start. So again, not as structured as mine, if you can’t tell. I am a structured girly

and I need that structure for peace of mind while. You don’t have to have that much structure as you can see from my podcasting friends who have significantly less structure to their seasonal formats. But the one common thing for all of us, is that we have scheduled breaks so that we can recharge and make sure that we’re not burning out. If you’re worried about your people forgetting that you exist when you are on a break, which is a valid concern. There’s a lot of content in this world. There’s a lot of people that are making a lot of great things and you don’t wanna be forgotten. I hear that and I have a solution.

I have a couple of solutions. So the first one is when you’re taking your break, make sure to tell your people when they can expect you to come back. So for me, when I ended season two back in November, well actually it was the first week of December.

I said, Hey, this is the last episode. This has been a delight. I kind of did a recap of season two, and then I said, I hope you have a lovely Christmas and keep an eye out for me in the spring, and that just tells my people, Hey, we’re all taking a little break, but I will be back in the spring.

So then the plan is that when Spring comes, they’re like, oh, hey, Andy probably has new episodes. I should go check. And then they will find this episode and the other ones that I’ve put out for season three. So that’s the first thing that I do to make sure that people don’t forget about me and the friendly podcast guide.

The second thing that I do is I take an entire month before the first episode of the next season drops to launch that season. So I start talking about it a month before and this is on social media as well as in emails,

so that people can remember that the friendly podcast guide exists and that we are back for another season and giving myself that entire month. I’m not only giving myself a month to talk about it and remind people, but I’m also giving my listeners a month to remember

Because we know when we put something out on social media or we send an email, it doesn’t always get seen or opened or whatever. So you’ve gotta give your people a lot of chances to be reminded that you exist.

And if you do those two things, so tell your people when to expect you back when you’re ending a season, and take an entire month to launch the next season of your show. I promise that you will be successful with a seasonal format. And honestly, you’re just gonna feel better. You’re gonna be rested, you’re gonna like feel more creative.

All of the things. Having a seasonal podcast has changed my life in so many ways, and all of them for the better. before we talk about the two other things that I wish I would’ve done differently when I started my podcast, I wanna take a minute to tell you about my podcast Jumpstart Sessions.

So you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast, but every time you think about actually starting questions pop up, what mic do I need? How do I get my show on Apple podcasts? What if I start and then get overwhelmed? I get it. Podcasting can feel super overwhelming, but that’s exactly why I do free 30 minute podcast jumpstart sessions.

It’s just you and me on a call chatting about your questions and figuring out what’s actually holding you back. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to do next. Plus, I’ll send you my favorite mic recommendations, the best podcast hosting platforms, and the next two steps

to get your show started. I only do a few of these calls each month, so grab yours before they’re gone. Go to the link in the show notes to book your free podcast Jumpstart session. Let’s make this podcast happen. Okay. The next thing that I wish I would’ve done differently when I started my podcast is to not even look at my download numbers for the first year.

And yes, that’s like perfect world to not ever look at my download numbers, but in reality, I think. If I could have even just cut it back to once a month looking at my download numbers, just to kind of get a gauge for, what episodes people liked and which episodes they didn’t. That would be such a game changer because download numbers are so finicky and can really get you down, especially when you’re starting your podcast

because when you first start your podcast, the goal, in my opinion, the goal should not be to have a certain number of downloads. The goal should just be to put out really good content and start to build your episode catalog so that when people find you, they have a back catalog of. Wonderful, amazing content for them to just binge and fall in love with you and then Be excited and waiting for that next episode.

Whenever it drops. , when you look at your download numbers, that can sometimes make you sad or bummed, and. That is not the energy that you wanna be bringing to your podcast episodes, so, when you look at your download numbers less often, and you’re not focused on that number,

you’re just focused on putting out really good content and starting to build that catalog. Your mindset around your podcast will be so much healthier, and that is definitely something that I didn’t do. I checked my download numbers so often that it did. It became a problem and I had to set some like boundaries in place, that ended up being that I would only check them once a month, but I didn’t set that boundary at the beginning, and I really wish I would’ve, because I think it would’ve helped me to have a healthier outlook on downloads, but also just my podcast as a whole. So if you can just don’t look at your download numbers for the first probably.

Six months to a year. If you can wait an entire year, I think that would be great. Truly, and I know that sounds crazy coming from a podcast coach, but your first year of your podcast, the most important thing is putting out amazing content and not how many people are listening.

Because in the end, the goal is to reach people on an individual level. And when you can have that mindset of I am talking to one person. It can really help you connect with your people instead of thinking, Ooh, I wonder how many downloads this episode’s gonna get.

You can just think, I am helping one person with this podcast episode. And when you think like that, you’re going to connect with your people so much better.

Okay. The last thing, at least for this episode that I wish I would’ve done differently when I started my podcast is I wish that I would’ve used Descrip for editing from the beginning. Script Descrip is an editing software, and how you use it is you upload your audio or your video file to script and then it transcribes it for you. So instead of editing sound waves in GarageBand or Audacity you are editing. A Word document so when you wanna delete something, you don’t have to try and like figure out where the audio is.

You just go to the transcript, highlight the part that you want to delete, and then press delete, and then it goes away. It’s amazing and I love it so much and it has cut down on my editing time significantly, and I really wish I would’ve done this from the beginning because I spent so much time editing the audio for my episodes that I could have spent with my kids, that I could have spent sleeping. Like there are so many other things that I could have been doing instead of editing audio, because I was editing it with GarageBand, no shade to Garage Band, but Descrip is just such a better fit for me, and honestly I bet it’s gonna be a better fit for you too. It’s so good for moms that podcast because we don’t have extra time to be spending on our podcast. If we can cut down on our podcasting time so that we can do other things in our lives, that is always a win.

I really wish I would’ve used a script from the beginning. And if you want to try it out, I will put a link to it in the show notes. You can try it out for free. You don’t have to pay them anything to try it out, see if it’s a good fit for you. And honestly, I can almost guarantee that it will be because I love it so much.

As I’m wrapping up this episode, here is the one thing you should implement in your podcast if you’re feeling overwhelmed and you’re not sure where to start, and that is having a seasonal format. Yes. I’m going to say it one more time. Having a seasonal format guarantees that you get a break. That break is not only so that you can rest, which is very, very important, but it’s also to give your brain a break from putting out content so that you can refill your creative cup so that you’re ready to put out your best content again for the next season.

If you don’t have that break, eventually you’re probably gonna run out of ideas,

which is kind of the worst thing that can happen for a podcaster. So you need to take those breaks so that you have time to recharge and

give your brain a break from trying to think of new ideas so that when you do come back, the ideas are just gonna flow. I can promise you that because that’s what happened to me when I finally took my first break. I came back with so much energy and excitement around my podcast and. You deserve to have that energy and excitement around your podcast too, not just when you first start your podcast, but every season after that. 📍

Will you share this episode with your friend who’s ready to start their podcast, but worried that it’s gonna take over their life? This episode will help her know what she can do to make podcasting much more sustainable. In next week’s episode, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Whitney Archibald, the host of the Family Lab.

As we talk about all the different ways that we write and create our episodes,

in the episode, we don’t actually always agree on the best way to do things, so it was really fun to have both of our different perspectives on things. I think you’re really gonna enjoy it. Whitney is a delight. Thanks for being here, and I’ll see you next week.