I’m planning to launch a new gaming podcast about PlayStation, and I did record the intro part today as I promised myself I would. But I can’t stop second guessing myself and just sitting here wondering if it’s even worth the effort. My plan was/is to record the rest tomorrow and launch, but I’m really not sure if I’m going to go through with it after all. Idk who’s going to see this post or care but I guess I wanted to tell someone how I’m feeling about it. That’s all.
I did a very very mildly related thing about a year ago trying to set up monthly “Twilight Imperium” teaching games at my local boardgame shop. After the first two months of going and not having enough people show up to actually play we now have 3 different games running each month.
It’s hard to put yourself out there, but you might as well give it a chance
Thank you!
#1 is to have fun and expect nobody will listen to the podcast. While you can get a couple views by posting links all over the place odds are there won’t be much retention.
The second thing you need to do a dry/test run and produce a couple episodes before publishing anything online. First impressions are important and the first few episodes you record will be awkward and difficult to listen to. Those podcasts should be produced as if they will be posted online and everybody involved should listen to them and take notes on anything that could be improved for the next test recording. This is also your opportunity to iron out any production issues while also getting into that weekly/bi-weekly/monthly recording routine.
I would also suggest looking at what else is out there and take notes on what they tend to cover. A quick search shows there are over 20 PlayStation focused podcasts out there. Many of them will have overlapping content but can you spot any gaps you could potentially fill? Unless you can find a certain niche or bring a different style it’ll be hard to attract people who already listen to other long standing podcasts.
In my 15+ years of content creation the overwhelming majority of newcomers tend to stumble at the first 2 points and give up after 1-2 episodes. The barrier to entry is very low and people seem to forget the time and work required to produce content and grow an audience. Hopefully this wasn’t too discouraging!
Wow this is a great reply. Production issues absolutely make or break my continued listening to a podcast for sure. Bad audio, or a cohost who is clearly being recorded on Zoom with audio jitter.
As others have said, just go into this with the view that it’s for you. It’s a hobby and if people listen, even better. I do something similar. I have been using BandLab to produce music. Nothing that will ever get regular listeners, just a fun creative outlet for me.
These are very valid points and I don’t think it’s discouraging at all. Thanks for chiming in
Record the first 4 episodes first, then release them one at a time.
I read something a while ago somewhere that said something like 90% of podcasts don’t make it past episode 3.
I want the episodes to be somewhat topical and keep up with recent news / releases so I’m probably not going to record that far in advance. I’m thinking today might not work for launch but I’m going to try for tomorrow or I’ll have to push to next week. The stat about 3-4 episodes makes sense, that was my cutoff point as well lol
Your only enemy is yourself. Just do it. And if you fail it’ll still likely be worth it. I had a personal goal when I was younger (music, not podcast). I failed. It sucks. But I don’t regret for a second. I met a lot of amazing people along the way and still ended up with a lot things I’m very proud of. I also learned a ton about life.
You just have to do it. Buy in. Go all out. There’s zero way it can be worse than doing nothing at all right?
Yeah, no regrets. Thanks
Just do your best my guy! We’re rooting for you!
Thanks!
As Shia Lebeouf once said, just do it.
I made a couple of communities here on Lemmy and initially freaked about not getting people interacting and whatnot but whatever I made them anyways because they’re about things I love. You’ve gotta do it for you, not anyone else. If you create something you love then who cares if no one else sees it? It has value to you, and that attracts people, it’s like an unspoken rule of the universe or something.
If nothing more, it’ll be worth the experience you gained from doing it. That is of course worse case-scenario. Realistically, you’ll probably get at least a few people listening at first, and grow from there.
Best of luck on your ventures!
I think this is exactly what I needed to hear but couldn’t quite articulate myself. Thanks
No problem. :) We all have those moments. Don’t be scared to get out there and try your best. 😁 (Maybe just don’t spend a ton of money on it at first though. Okay? haha)
Oh for sure, my budget for the first episode is $0 but I’ll try my best 🫡
Just do it and don’t care about the numbers. Having fun is the most important part of the process. Seems like a great hobby!
I agree, thanks
Creating something and sharing it can be so difficult and daunting! I hope you give it a try, share it here so we can listen. I would say the toughest thing will probably be the marketing aspect, there is plenty of competition. Doesn’t mean it isn’t worth giving it a go, hell I spend time watching a guy clean out culverts on YouTube and so do plenty others, and I like video games way more than culverts.
Anyway good luck and worst case you just spend some time talking about something you enjoy hopefully with some good company.
Yeah so true. I’ll share the link in this thread once it’s up tomorrow. Thanks
Hey all, just a quick update on my podcast plans:
As of today I’ve recorded about 45% of the 1st episode and I feel pretty good about it. Considering some of the feedback here I’m going to record the first 2 episodes and launch the podcast next Wednesday. This will actually really help because I need to travel quite a bit 2 weeks from now for a wedding and I’ll still be able to post the 2nd episode on schedule.
I’ll post the link here for the first episode (hopefully/definitely) next Wednesday. Thank you all for your kind words, I really appreciate it!
1st episode will release on 7/26.
