Lessons Learned from Taking an Accidental 11 Month Break from Podcasting
My Downloads Still Grew
Announcements:
Black Friday Sale Ends This Friday
Creators Getting Paid Mastermind-Details in the linked to post
Payment Plans-will be available after the deal ends. Reach out to me at: thebrandbuildinglab@gmail.com for more details.
December Calendar
End of Year Holiday Hang Out-Friday, December 8, 2023 at 3:00 pm MTN/5:00 pm EST via Zoom. Details will be shared earlier that day. Enjoy your favorite treats while we hangout before closing things down for the End of the Year. Holiday Ugly sweaters are encouraged.
January Calendar
Free Workshop: Creating an Impactful (And Paid) Vision for Your Online Brand in 2024-Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 6:00 pm MTN/8:00 pm EST
IN-PERSON Workshop-How to Build and Grow a Newsletter that Pays (in 2024) I break down what works, what doesn’t and mistakes to avoid in 2024. Every person who runs an online brand who is serious about making money within their brand MUST have an email list or newsletter.
Leave the workshop understanding how to monetize your specific newsletter
Learn Michelle’s affiliate strategy
Get a chance to ask Michelle questions specific to your newsletter
Learn how to “sell” within your newsletter
How often to send out your newsletter and more
Cost: $97 (sale price until Friday, December 1, 2023)
When: Saturday, January 20, 2024 at 10:00 am MTN/12:00 pm EST
Zoom details will be shared the week of the workshop
Plan for at least 1.5-2 hours
Affiliate Disclosure
“In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog. Also, “As an Amazon Associate I may earn income from qualifying purchases that you interact.”
Previous Newsletter Edition
“You Can Make Money Online….but, Can You Make Predictable Revenue?”
That’s a whole different ball game. Make sure to check that post out.
My Accidental Podcasting Break
I caught COVID the first week of October 2023. I’d attended a really cool free event in Denver called “Denver Start Up Week” that I go to every year. I’d attended a happy hour and remember thinking that a particular person was talking way too energetically and closely to me.
Ewww.
Then, I got sick. To be honest, I was expecting that I would eventually get sick and it was a pretty rough week. What I hadn’t anticipated was the long COVID symptoms that lingered on. Achy legs, fatigue in my legs and brain fog. I just wasn’t myself and it was hard to get people to understand that I wasn’t doing ok because I looked ok.
As time went on I still wasn’t myself. I didn’t have the physical or brain energy to work in the way that I used to. Then in February I ended up taking a break from podcasting.
In July I recorded a couple of episodes thinking that “I was BACK!” I wasn’t. I ended up continuing to take time off from podcasting.
So, What Happened?
I rested and the long COVID symptoms finally went away towards the end of May. That was 8 months after I first caught COVID.
I realized the importance of the backlist. I’ve recorded so many podcast episodes that were still still relevant that I could continue to share those episodes and grow my downloads.
Content design is so important. The bulk of my most recent episodes were designed with longevity in mind.
Come to find out that I was in good company. There were a number of well-known and not so well known content creators who have taken significant breaks from podcasting:
Stu McClaren-He actually has a huge online community and usually used podcast episodes as the top part of a 2 month funnel before the beginning of his yearly course launch. One year I remember him remarking in a show that he needed to figure out a way to keep up with his annual podcast. And as of this period in time, it looks like he still hasn’t released episodes for that podcast and it has been at least two years.
Lauren McManus-She is part of the wildly successful Create and Go duo. And her podcast has been released infrequently. If I remember correctly Lauren moved to another country, got married and I think she had a baby during that time.
No one was upset with me for taking a break-Instead, they were very supportive of me taking the time to rest and feel better physically and emotionally.
Lessons Learned
Podcasting (even when using AI tools) takes a lot of time, energy and thought to do well.
Create and grow an email list that you can share your content to and communicate changes with your listeners.
Continue marketing your backlist on different platforms-This could include, but is not limited, to the following:
Being a guest on other platforms such as podcasts, video, livestreams, social shares, etc.
Content produced for other brands-I worked on a project for a non-profit in 2022 and it’s still being shared at the end of 2023 (providing awareness of my work and personal brand). Yes, I include this content as part of my backlist.
Remember that each old episode represents an opportunity for a person who is new to you and your brand to learn about:
What you care about
Your brand
Mission and goals related to it
We need to have a broader conversation about the topic of consistency vs. cadence and I will be sharing thoughts on that soon.