Thoughts about Podcasting

Here I am cutting it close again, I actually held off releasing the new episode to give myself an extra day to do all the ‘marketing’ work for the podcast. Which means I will type up the show notes for the episode, type up the marketing or tweets for the episode that will be posted all week.and get the show posted on Facebook, Google Plus and to our Networks. It is tedious but good practice for podcasting, which brings me to this weeks topic. I have been open about how I can get frustrated with podcasting and how do you judge/grade your podcast.

The last couple of weeks I have been slowly sinking into that pit again. To the point that I am now questioning if it is not being bipolar or depressed. Over the course of Green Up’s 2 years of podcasting I have gone through hell and back with this show, I have had my good days and my bad. When we started we released with a basic idea, have fun and bull shit about video games. In a sense just record our Xbox Live Party Chats, me and my friends (at the time) would have long nights of busting each others balls and laughing our asses off! It seemed like a great idea, so I did all the research into what it took to make and produce a podcast, got them on board and we started the journey. I had no idea how I would get sucked into the numbers and I didn’t learn how to keep the show good, keeping solid content and interaction with your audience. Our numbers dropped BIG and I lost a lot of faith, doing so i took some shitty advice and made some bad decisions.

I found some good people to help me get back on track and I busted my ass! It took a lot of hard work and some hard decisions but in the process I learned I was good at what I was doing and gained a ton of faith in myself. I made some really good friends that at the time, I thought that we were friends in the full definition of the word, but I found out that meeting people online and becoming ‘friends’ doesn’t always mean the same thing… I got my show back on track and with the support of some genuine friends I brought this show from the ashes and back to being a decent show. At this point I was still sucked into the numbers and to me it was the only way to judge success of a podcast.

Almost a year later, the show has had its ups and downs but we stay consistent with releasing a show once a week and I am trying my best to bring good content but I know I fall short on it. I work hard on marketing, which means I type up some tweets and rape twitter with them all week. Our Facebook page is in a process of turning around but how the hell do I judge success? If it is numbers, fuck me! I can’t take it anymore, there is NO rhyme or reason to them and ZERO support or guidance how to look and grow them! I read a very good article this week that helped me find a way to express my frustrations.

Indie podcasters have a very tough way to grow; Twitter and Facebook are the biggest and most popular ways to grow/interact with others. Using these social media can be very frustrating in its own, at first you are welcomed with open arms. Indie Podcasters supporting each other, which is completely true but there is a underlying clique feel to it. Kind of like high school and unfortunately for me I didn’t care for that shit during those 4 years of my life. This is where I started getting the feeling that our podcasts are a reflection of us, in the sense that if you are an outgoing person or someone that is more shy or timid it shows in your show and how you are online. Some can hide behind the keyboards and avatars and ‘remake’ themselves.

High school was fine for me, I was good with everyone. I had good grades, played Football and Basketball but even though I was good at both I was the quiet one and let my work do the talking for me, I was usually the one at the party that was hanging out in the corner and would talk when people came up to me. I can see the same on my interaction on twitter/facebook, I keep to myself and get to watch as others flourish, growing followers, listeners and ‘friends’. So I have to ask, do I have any chance in hell to have a ‘successful’ podcast not being the ‘popular’ one or outgoing?

It comes down to what do I define as success? Is it popularity, downloads, or something else? I will never be the popular guy or the go to guy. I’ve always been the friend that people like to have around, enjoy talking to and they can count on, but can easily be forgotten about. I think my show reflects that, it does ok but I think it has hit its platoe. Has Green Up reached its highest point? I think it has, so how do I move forward? The last time I went down this road, having fun was the answer. I guess I have to judge my success by how much fun I have with the show? Is editing, producing and marketing fun….? FUCK NO! I spend almost 3 times as long as the recording working on the show after we record, why? I do it because no matter what I am doing I am going to work my hardest and do the best I can, and while doing that I am going to take everything to heart. I am an emotional person and whatever I am doing I hold it close to my heart. I am not the type of person that can just say fuck it, and not edit and just put out a show doesn’t sound the best I can make it.

I have no friends or family that listens to the show and I assume when my daughters get old enough, neither will give a shit about it but if for some reason they do at least I know I worked hard at it. Is there any change in the future for podcasters? Are there any other podcasters out there that feel the same? I question if anyone even reads this. At least I worked hard at it and for the few that do check it out, feel free to tweet @greenuppodcast or email me at greenuppodcasting@gmail.com.