Celebrating 200 Episodes & 3 Years of Podcasting

I love a good celebration and if 200 weekly+ episodes of the podcast isn’t a call to celebrate, I don’t know what is! I’m so incredibly grateful to have this platform to celebrate and connect with you, the listeners.

I never intended to start a podcast but I’m so glad I did. And on today’s episode, I’m sharing what I personally have gotten out of the process…and I how I feel about publishing an episode every week.

A podcast is such a good learning experience and I’ve grown so much from doing it. If you’ve been putting off starting your podcast or are frustrated with where it is right now, listen in this week. You’re not alone.

Mentioned In This Episode:

Transcript:

Welcome to episode 200 of the Content Experiment Podcast! I’m so excited to hit this milestone with you, just a few weeks after the podcast’s three year birthday.

For this episode, I’m going to skip my traditional opening and just dive right in because so much has changed over these last 200 episodes and my goal today is to share about the changes and the impact the podcast has had on me and my business.

In preparation for this episode, I went back to my notes on the one anniversary, which was episode 60, episode 100, which went live in February 2021, and the two year anniversary, in September 2021. I think all of these are important milestones, and all of which I’ll link to in the show notes.

At the one year anniversary, episode 60, I talked about the reason why I started the podcast. It was because of you, the listeners. I hadn’t really planned to have a podcast but after an audience survey, I learned that podcasts are the preferred way for my audience to consume content.

I talked about some of the lessons I’ve learned from podcasting: that the tech isn’t that hard but I don’t really want to be the person doing it all, that you have to really, truly be yourself if you want people to listen to you, that a podcast doesn’t mean that people will flock to you…it’s a long game. And so much more.

In episode 100, I announced that the podcast, originally called Stories in Small Business, was changing names to The Content Experiment. There’s a story behind this and while the name of the podcast and my business fits incredibly well with what we actually do here, the name comes from a big life change I made back in September 2020. You should listen in to episode 84 and 100 for more on that!

I talked in this episode about why content is truly an experiment and how it’s more important to just do the thing than worry about it being perfect (it will never be perfect). I also shared why I didn’t spend a ton of money on a big overhaul and re-launch. Yes, I rebranded, but it didn’t cost me ten grand. Because no one really cares and spending money on something big and flashy isn’t my style.

And then a year ago, in September 2021, the podcast celebrated two years in existence. Again, that was episode 146 if you want to listen in. Here I talked about what I don’t like about podcasting, one of which is the frustration around finding a quiet place or time to record–which is exactly why I recording the day before this episode goest live…something I rarely do. But life circumstances had me living out of a suitcase for the last month and I didn’t have my quality microphone handy, or a quiet space, to record. Even now, I know the sound quality isn’t perfect but it’ll have to do!

In this episode I also talked about taking a big chance in business (and having an underwhelming response from it), changing up release dates, my shift in messaging (which I continued to shift over the last few months), and more.

So I feel like I’ve really shared a lot about the process of my own podcast. So today, in honor of episode 200, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite things: me.

Haha! I kid, sort of. But I really am going to talk about myself. I want to share some of how 200 episodes has impacted me, my life and myself as a business owner.

Because, let’s face it: If you’re listening in, thinking that you can’t do something or that no one wants to listen to what you have to say, you’re wrong.

As an adult, I’ve had the attitude of just do the thing that’s hard. And if something isn’t working for you, do something different. I’ve run marathons and ultra marathons. I’ve quit my day job that I was incredibly unhappy in to grow a business that was FAR from providing a safe income. I’ve said yes to projects without really knowing how I was going to complete it but knew it was something I wanted to do. I’ve quit drinking because it was no longer serving me or my life, signed up for challenges at the gym to push myself more, and challenged myself in so many ways. I’ve spoken up for myself at work when circumstances were unfair…at that day job that I eventually quit. I recently tried out a Peloton for the first time and bought one for myself for my birthday so I could kick my butt in a different way than I ever have before.

Because you know what? I’m the one who has to live inside my head or my life but me. And I want to be proud of what I’ve done in my life…do hard things, show my daughter that she can do hard things too.

The podcast is just one of those hard things. It’s something I never imagined myself doing, but I’m so glad I did. The way I was creating content before…blogging…was no longer serving my business just like I saw it no longer serving so many other businesses.

Here are some feelings I have about what I’m doing here:
It’s a lot of work, and while I know I’m not going to podcast forever I’m happy to continue doing it.
I still get nervous about publishing it every week, some weeks more than others. This is one of those weeks.
I literally get sick to my stomach when someone I’ve just met or someone in my personal life discovers I have a podcast. When they ask me the name of it, I cringe. I don’t want them to listen to it for a couple reasons: they’re not business owners so I’m always afraid that they won’t understand why I talk about the things I talk about. And, as a result, they’ll think it’s dumb and pointless and a waste of time. And I’m even more afraid that they won’t like it and will look at me differently afterward. Ridiculous, I know. So if you know me personally and not through business and you’re listening right now, know that I’m cringing inside as you listen. You know who you are! (And yes, it’s okay that you listen!)
I’m so incredibly proud of myself for sticking with this podcast for 200 episodes and 3 years. I’m kind of the queen of unfinished projects over here. I’ve been working on a covid-inspired cross stitch for over two years and I’m barely ⅛ of the way done with it. I lived in my last house for almost 4 years before unpacking the last box (I just moved into a new condo last weekend and I’m determined to not do the same thing here. I’ll keep you posted). When putting away laundry, there’s always, always something that sits on top of my dresser until the next time I do laundry. Because it would be a shame to have it all put away, wouldn’t it?
Maybe it’s because I haven’t set an end date for the podcast that it’s not painful to continue publishing it? I’m not sure but I’m sure proud of myself for sticking with it.

So what has hosting a podcast taught me so far?
I can do hard things
Not everyone will love it…and that’s okay
Learning to grow and develop as a business owner, podcaster, and person is incredibly important. I’m not always a great listener–in my business or in my relationships–and the podcast is helping me grow to be better.
I need contractors and handy folks to get the heck out of my house (as I’m outlining this, there’s literally a guy right next to me caulking the window in my office and I want to lose my shizzle)
Maybe, just maybe, I should get back on the batching train so I can get ahead on the next episodes!
And…probably most importantly…even when you feel like no one is listening, even when your download numbers aren’t where you want them to be, even when you haven’t received feedback in weeks…people are still listening. And eventually, soon, you’ll get an email from a listener whose life or business you’ve changed. That’s the best and most important reason to keep doing this.

I’m incredibly grateful to have you on this journey here with me. Thank you for listening and thank you for sharing, rating and reviewing, and for replying to my emails. I couldn’t be here…wouldn’t still be here…without you!

If you’ve been thinking about starting a podcast or you already have one and you’re struggling with getting into a consistency groove with it, I hear you. If this episode has revealed anything to you today, hopefully you heard that even after 200 episodes it can still be a struggle.

One of the things that’s helped me most in business over the years is accountability. I talk about creating consistent episodes, and that’s my accountability for continuing to publish. But if you struggle with finding the time to create consistent episodes, I can help.

Podcast Ease is a monthly membership designed to do two things: Make sure all your nagging podcasting and content questions are answered AND to give you the time you need to create each episode.

Every Tuesday at 8 a.m. Pacific we’ll meet for 90 minutes to get your work done. We hop on a Zoom call and each member uses the time to get their podcast episodes outlined, research potential guests or topics, write up show notes, schedule social media posts, or whatever else you need to get done for your next podcast episodes.

And every Thursday at 8 a.m. Pacific we’ll meet for 60 minutes so you can ask any and all of your podcasting questions. The Q&A calls will be recorded so you’re covered if you can’t make it!

Your audience expects to hear from you on a regular basis. They look forward to your episodes. But it’s also SO hard to prioritize our own work. We’re so busy making sure our clients and families are taken care of but the work on our own podcasts isn’t going to get done unless we make the time.

I’m going to help you with that.

This Podcast Ease membership is a month-to-month commitment, you can join or cancel at any time.
The investment is $99 a month for weekly Q&A sessions, weekly coworking sessions AND I’ll also pepper in some additional support and trainings here and there.

You can join us at thecontentexperiment.com/ease.

If you found value in what you learned here today, be sure to share it on social media. Take a screenshot of the episode on your phone and share it over on Instagram stories. Tag me at thecontentexperiment. The more you share, the more we can get the podcast into the hands of more business owners, just like you, who need to hear the message that they are not alone.