This blog post is a little different then my previous ones, because today I am giving tips about podcasting instead of standup comedy.
This week marks the year anniversary for The Quarter Mile Podcast, so I have been reflecting on what I have learned in the past year about podcasting…so it just seemed to make sense to make a post for the most beginner of podcasters.
Let me be clear…I do not claim to be a podcasting expert. I have a year of experience with a monthly podcast…we legit have 13 episodes out currently (I think?). So I am not an expert. (Sidenote, when we start Season 2 we’ll be a weekly podcast!)
For my target audience however, I do not think I need to be an expert. The folks i hope are reading this article are the people that have been wanting to start a podcast for a while, but don’t even know how to start, and maybe they haven’t even come up with a topic yet. If that is you, I was right where you are now, 12 months ago, and here’s some helpful insight others have shared with me.
Here are 6 helpful tips if you are thinking of starting a podcast!
1. Pick a Topic you REALLY Love
“Really love” may be an understatement. Pick a topic you are obsessed with. Pick something you never are tired of talking about. Pick that thing that you hope they never bring up on a first date, but you will sound super weird with how into it you are.
When I first was thinking of starting a podcast, I had several ideas of topics I could do (And maybe even SHOULD do) but my podcaster friends kept giving me the same advice, “Pick the one you love the most because you have to have fun with it.”
Some of you may know the topic I ended on was a movie rewatch Fast & Furious podcast. Other topics that were heavily in consideration, a Christian/theology/faith based podcast and also a comedy/Nashville comedy related podcast. Let’s be honest, the world probably needs more of the other topics then they do a Fast & Furious podcast but at the end of the day I asked myself “What do I want to talk about the most” and fun movies/my favorite won the vote.
There are several reasons you want to pick a topic you really love over “what you think others would listen to” or “What I am most qualified to talk about”.
The main reason for me is this: If you don’t love your topic, you will likely give up after a few episodes because you feel nobody is listening to your podcast. However, if it’s something you are really passionate about, part of you won’t really care that nobody is listening! You would talk about it to a wall (and let’s be honest, for the first few episodes of most podcasts…you are essentially talking to a wall.)
2. Podcast with Friends!
Back in the early 2000’s there was a Christian slogan we would hear everywhere based on the popular book “The Purpose Driven Life” which simply said “We are Better Together.” They had wrist bands, bumper stickers, all the stuff. That quote has been burned into my subconscious since then…and it very much is true with podcasting!
If you’re going to start a podcast, find some like minded people to do it with you! Get yourself a co-host, a buddy who would love to help film or produce for you, or regularly invite guests. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like podcasting would be so boring if I didn’t have my friends and co-hosts to help with it.
I think it’s a safe bet that you know several people that want to talk about the thing you want to talk about, or be on a podcast. It’s extra nice for your co-hosts and friends too if they don’t have to do any of the work other then just BEING on the podcast. And then it gives you someone to share this hopefully awesome experience with.
And there is so much more to podcasting then just being “on Aire” and talking about whatever. There is the filming, recording, producing, promoting, editing, etc. You may have a friend or two that has no interest in hosting, but would love to help behind the scenes…let them! Start a podcast gang…it’ll be so much more fun for you!
Loneliness is the #1 killer of podcasts. Statistically, most podcasts end in 3 episodes and I think it’s because people get tired of feeling like they are just screaming out about their passion from a deserted island and nobody cares.
Alternatively, in the last season of my podcast the BEST part of the experience has been doing it with close friends. And as I look forward to season 2, I am just as excited about doing it with new friends. When it comes to podcasting, we are just better together!
3. When you start, make a plan and commit to it!
My biggest fear when I started the QMP was that I’d get into it, lose interest, quit, and become another “dead podcast in the graveyard from a host who wasn’t committed enough.” If that’s your fear too, here’s what you need to do:
Make a plan of how many episodes you want to start with, and stick to it!
By the end of your episode plan, if you want to be done…you can hold your head up high saying you made exactly how many podcast episodes you were wanting to do. If you want to keep going, that’s even better!
When we decided to start a Fast & Furious podcast from the very first episode, both Bailey and I committed to 10 episodes. The rapture was the only thing that could potentially stop us from producing 10 episodes for the 10 Fast & Furious movies (Not counting Hobbs and Shaw, which BTW will be covered in Season 2!)
After episode 1, Bailey was having second thoughts. But she stuck it out cause we said 10 episodes. After episode 6, I was having second thoughts…But I stuck it out, because I promised 10 episodes and i didn’t want to be a liar (to myself). After episode 8, Bailey knew she wasn’t going to come back for Season 2…but she still stuck around to finish the season, which I will always be grateful for.
After 10 episodes, we could both be proud of the project we had started and finished together. And had we quit any time before then, that’s not something we could have said.
Even today, I have a gameplan for the podcast for Season 2 AND 3…but I am only committing myself to Season 2. It’s my new goal, and I will complete it. If I want to go on after Season 2, wonderful….and if not, at least I can say I had 2 season of The Quarter Mile Podcast.
You are your most important audience member for your podcast, so always make sure you are proud of what it becomes. Quitters are rarely proud, but you won’t feel like a quitter if you end on your own terms!
4. Ask your podcasting friends for advice and tips!
Who are we kidding, it’s 2025…you know at least 3 people that run their own podcast! That means you know at least 3 people that have been exactly where you are right now, which hopefully, is THINKING about starting a podcast.
Don’t be afraid to ask them for technical help! Or advice/tips on starting a podcast. They’ve been there and done that. And they probably would love to share their experience with you!
We recorded episode 1 of the QMP before either of us knew anything about how to post a podcast. The next day, I called my friend Sydney who runs a highly successful podcast and asked “OK, so how do I put out a podcast?” I also polled all my podcasting friends on what the best platform to use was. I have several friends that run podcasts and so in conversation the next time I would see them I’d ask for tips, advice, do’s, and don’ts.
By the way, all of these points I am sharing with you today are things that they told me. One could argue, I wouldn’t know them unless someone else told me!
Speaking of not knowing…
5. Be Okay With Not Knowing Everything
Podcasting is a skill, and you won’t wake up knowing everything about it. Let learning how to podcast be part of the fun for you! I love all the podcast related things I have learned in the past year. I am far from an expert but I have opinions on mixers, microphones, and podcasting programs now. 12 months ago I didn’t even know it was called a mixer!
If you get into podcasting, look forward to the fact that hopefully each episode will be better and better for you. It’s okay if you get 10 episodes in and cringe when you watch your first or second episode (By the way, I totally cringe when I watch our first two episodes…but it’s because I’ve learned all the things that I could have done better and that I do today!)
It’s part of the process, and every podcaster will tell you they feel the same way. Be okay asking questions, be okay figuring things out, be okay making mistakes….let the learning and growth process be part of the fun!
You are learning a new skill, and that’s pretty cool!
6. JUST DO IT!
Lastly, and most important…if you’ve made it through this article and are at this point, podcasting is clearly something you are seriously considering. To that I would say, JUST DO IT!
You will never be perfectly prepared, there is no perfect time, and you will always be thinking of a potential excuse why you shouldn’t start that podcast.
If you’re waiting for the skies to open and for God to come down and say “START THE PODCAST!”, I think you will be waiting for a very long time….Also I hope God is spending God’s time doing a lot more important things then helping people start podcasts.
If you’re like me, you’re probably wonderful at talking yourself out of doing a podcast. “I don’t know enough”, “I am to busy”, “Nobody will listen to it”, “This topic isn’t good”….give me ten more minutes and i can give you ten more excuses.
But if it’s something you really want to do, and if it’s on a topic you really care about, odds are there are people out there that would really benefit from your voice. I can’t stress it enough, if starting a podcast is something you want to do you must first do the hardest first step….which is to START!
A reminder of the most important factor of Podcasting well…
Make sure you’re having FUN when you podcast. If it’s not fun for you, there is really no point to do it. Podcasting has to be fun, otherwise it’ll be God awful. All of the tips above are meant to help you have fun doing it, and hopefully developing a love for podcasting. If podcasting isn’t fun for you, then do the opposite of my last point and Just Don’t Do It….but something tells me if you are this far into the article, you really need to do it! Good luck!
Thanks for reading today’s blog post! What do you agree or disagree with? What other podcasting tips have you received that you’d like to share with us? What questions do you have? What’s your favorite Fast & Furious movie?
Feel free to share any of your comments below! Happy 2025!
