Podcasters Burning Out Chasing Growth
Podcast creators across various niches are grappling with the challenges of maintaining consistency, audience growth, and avoiding burnout. Many feel pressure to produce 'perfect' content, while others struggle with direction, workload, and monetization, highlighting a need for better planning, support, and sustainable practices.
SOURCES (60)
“If there's lag during the recording, you can definitely edit it out, but if a co-host or guest says something is meaningful, insightful, impactful, or funny, and their computer lags because it can't keep up with Zoom or their internet speed is slow, then that…”
“137 subs in 15 weeks isn’t nothing, especially for a podcast that’s pulling hour-long episodes. most people bail after 3 weeks with 8 subscribers and a glitchy webcam. you’re in a niche (science) where the audience is naturally smaller but way more loyal over time, so the slow burn might actually work in your favor if you stick with it the 17 hours of watch time on one episode is a solid signal to youtube that someone out there is treating your content like a netflix binge. shorts are weird righ”
“i just take the article and highlight the key bits then talk through it in my own words like i'm explaining it to a buddy at the bar. never found a tool that doesn't spit out something stiff and unnatural if the article has clear sections i'll jot down a few bullet points in my pocket notebook and riff off those. way less cleanup later”
“Thank you for the encouragement! I'm very glad to hear the numbers aren't awful, and I'll be pushing a little harder on the socials this month. I'll add reaching out to my task list.”
“I only know remote, just use discord to talk, while everyone records their own audio with audacity and sends me the file with Google Drive. If there’s a special guest who doesn’t do that, I can just record with obs, people kind of expect that a guest won’t have the same quality as the host all the time.”
“☝️ this. If you have a couple highly produced episodes in the can, it will be a lot easier.”
I think that this is the direction I will go in. I already have the equipment. Thank you.
“Interview professionals in the space to get credibility and then do a call in show like Dave Ramsay”
“You do it all on your end. It’s how live radio shows do it. All they need to do is call you.”
“Any non-technical person could do this? Many of the people I interview have no podcasting background whatsoever.”
“Recording locally wouldn't have even fixed the last nightmare, because my guests couldn't hear me in real time and one guest's levels were flying into the red and crackling non-stop. It wouldn't have fixed a lot of these problems, honestly. I just don't understand why these platforms have one job to do and they can't get it right. Edit: Do you mean bypass any and all remote recording platforms?”
“It’s ranged from as few as two people to as many as 10, though 10 was too many. I think five or six people attended the last one. Having six people is probably the max where I can give everyone equal time to talk about their podcast and not have us be there for 2 and a half hours.”
“The local audio backup thing is the only real safety net, and yeah it’s a pain to ask guests to set that up, but I’ve found most people get surprisingly on board if you frame it as a “just in case the internet gremlins attack” thing rather than a technical hurdle. I send a one-paragraph guide with two free app options and it’s worked more often than not, even with non-techy guests That said, the platform failures you’re describing sound way beyond what anyone should tolerate before a show, maybe”
“I’m not looking for another platform recommendation. I’ve already read the recommendations. I’m trying to find a reason not to give up on remote podcasting and go strictly with local guests. Remote podcasting has been my favorite thing to do so far. I love being able to talk to random, awesome guests that I would never otherwise get to interview. But this has become exhausting, frustrating, and honestly humiliating. Here was my first experience, with Zencastr: Zencastr has been a freaking nightm”
“My 2 operating principle are, you pay for what you get, you pay peanuts, you get monkey”
“Hello, I started a podcast to improve people's personal finances. My friend helped me film 1 episode, I clipped it and reception has been positive. The problem: I need more in person guests who are struggling financially and are local to LA . The only solution I thought of is to post in local Reddit communities and Facebook groups asking for anyone who would like financial guidance, but I'm worried this would annoy people. Is this just the nature of looking for guests? submitted by”
“Once a month, I host a free virtual meetup for podcasters who want help getting started, improving an existing show, or figuring out what's next. I'm scheduling the next meeting for Saturday, September 5 at 10:00 AM (PT). I apologize for the late notice, but this month is a little crazy, and the Saturday is the only day that makes sense I've spent more than a decade producing podcasts and have serve as a mentor with The Podcast Academy. My clients have included Ear Hustle, PRX, the S”
“Hi All, I want to start a podcast that is critically important to myself and thousands of others in my position. I do not care for revenue, advertising etc. id happily throw it all away.. I have the kit, as I do hosting for eSports. But how do you generate reach, in particular this is for the UK and USA as we seem to suffer the exact same issue. This is about 2 subjects, being, Lies in the family courts, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, are... Without consequence. Lie to your heart”
“That's not a monetizing strategy. That's a price structure that assumes you'll have paying customers. What is your strategy for getting the people... With money to spend Who are willing to spend it Who need or want your product ... to listen to your product? That's a monetization strategy.”
“Tiers can definitely work if you're clear about what each level offers. Just make sure you're providing real value at each stage; otherwise, listeners won't see the point in paying. I've seen folks use Patreon for this kind of setup, which lets them manage tiers easily. Also, don't underestimate the power of community, engagement can really help boost your paid offerings.”
“Hey all, Your thoughts please, because I do not have a background in podcasting process. Startup space I am going to tier my content Tier 1-free-basic intro 6-8 content, on how to learn, how you communicate Tier 2-paid-your invited to webinar-more work on communication, onboarding other disicipline Tier 3-paid-semi pro- able to help others-workshop Tier 4-paid-pro- Mastermind content This is content specific to startups submitted by /u/WillieAHill [link] [comments]”
“Can't share the links here, but my podcast had a good summer of growth even if I "paused" it, but I was still working on the existing content. Sharing the 5 things that worked best for me: 1. Resharing a Podcast Episode This is one of the easiest, most impactful thing you can do. If you revisit a previous episode and edit its date to the current one, it will appear at the top of the audience feed as a new episode, giving it a new life. I used our most popular episodes that are over”
“In my case, I was able to drop into a pre-existing community because the subject matter that I was talking about already had a large base of things like Facebook groups and YouTube channels. So I was just able to make content which slotted in to that pre-existing community. I don't know if where you're positioning your podcast fits, but that's certainly a way to short circuit a lot of it, because you can dwell in those communities and mention what you've done and they'll prob”
“guest swaps have worked well for me. I've gained some superfans because of them. But you have to do them right. You need to see if you can form relationships with podcasts that are bigger than yours, and ask them to come on the show. Don't ask to be on their show. How I approach it is I reach out to them, tell them how much I enjoy their show, mention an episode I liked, and mention that I think we might share a similar listener base. Then I pitch a collaboration. They can come on my sho”
“The OG Raw and Real Podcast of Shwetabh, Prakhar and Vedant Rusty submitted by /u/Infinite_History6599 [link] [comments]”
“You could setup direct listener donations into accounts you own like Venmo, PayPal, etc., but watch out for the fees on some of them. A $5 donation can be much less. Some banks even have options to setup recurring payments by check for about 15 cents per payment, or so I've heard. Instead of Patreon and the other platforms that will all take a cut, you keep doing what you're doing and take the money directly in a Value 4 Value pitch. The key to this approach is NOT to put a number on it”
“I will have to practice my yoga breathing before and after logging into Zencastr!”
“- Trailer swap: I do a swap with any podcast in my topic that is interested, some of the podcasts I have swapped with have grown a lot in the last few years and the swap helps their new listeners discover mer. - Posting shots on TikTok and Instagram: I post clips of my podcast consistently and have found listeners increase that way because of the discoverability. Last year I did a 30 day countdown to Halloween (I'm a paranormal podcast) and it helped boost my overall social media followers a”
“Yes! It’s a TON of work to get a one hour show out. Probably 8-10 hours up front then another 2 on the back end. Thanks for mentioning that!!”
“one thing that helps is being really specific about the time commitment upfront. a lot of cohost searches fall apart after 3-4 episodes because nobody talked about the actual weekly hours involved before starting”
“if you ever want transcripts for your episodes, happyscribe handles mixed language audio pretty well so the English and Spanish parts both come through cleanly”
“Podcast which generally have good amount of view/watchtime get sponsor easily. In starting u could try affliation like adding your setup gear link.”
“yeah the "too much AI content" point is the real issue here imo, its not about quality its about fatigue”
“I post on instagram, share my show video form on YouTube and clip it into YouTube shorts.”
“#1 Being a guest on another podcast. This was far and away the biggest gainer of listeners. And quality listeners that subscribed because it’s a similar format. I bet this varies considerably but the one I was on must have a significant following given a fraction of those listeners started following us and it was a decent amount. #2 Being featured on Apple Podcasts. It was in Australia and Canada. Based on the listener increase, I can assume being featured in the US would be a massive uptick. It”
“If someone producing a podcast doesn’t have time to secure a host and plan out their debate podcast, why the fuck would a listener make time to listen to this garbage?”
“Hey guys, I keep seeing the same advice everywhere (post clips, be consistent, guest swap) but I'm curious what actually moved the needle for you. Did anything ever bring you a real bump in listeners, or has it all been slow grind? Genuinely curious what worked and what was a waste of time. submitted by /u/CopyBulky1938 [link] [comments]”
“Hey everyone! I’m fairly new to podcasting and very much in the learning-as-I-go stage . I recently started my first audio podcast mini-series , I Thought I’d Know By Now . I just published Episode 9 , and I’m planning to wrap up this first mini-season with Episode 10. The podcast is audio-only and currently available on Spotify, YouTube and Substack . Now that I’m almost at the end of my first season, I really want to learn more about reaching new listeners and growing an audience outside of fr”
“I just started out with my own podcast, not intending to monetize it. But I do everything from reaching out to potential guests, work the interview guide with questions and follow-ups, recording, post-editing and posting to podcast platforms. So, one person can obviously do the whole thing, but I have no one to handle things if I get sick or some sort of absence. Equipment: I’ve gone quite lean here as well, but am considering to make some changes. At the moment, I use 2x Shure SM58, shockmount”
“Has anybody here ever turned their finished novel into a podcast? I am in the midst of doing this (two seasons already published) and it is so much work! I have had to upskill tremendously. Any advice for new podcasts and how to get your story out to more people? submitted by /u/ravenousreckoning [link] [comments]”
“If you're staying truly lean, two people can cover a lot of ground. one person handles the recording, edits in a quiet closet later, and posts it, the other is the primary voice who keeps the convo moving. gear wise a zoom podtrak p4 is small and reliable, pair it with a couple samson q2u mics and you're set without blowing a budget.”
“one thing that helps a lot when looking for a co-host is being upfront about the time commitment. like how often are you planning to release, how long are prep sessions, etc. people drop off fast when expectations arent clear from the start”
“How easy is it to obtain sponsorship for start-up podcasts (<1,000 downloads). Any ideas where to start? submitted by /u/gy08rgt [link] [comments]”
What's in there for me if I can also publish directly on Spotify??
I’ll take a listen too. Happy to help a fellow indie podcaster:)
“Hey team - After about 2 years I am finally biting the bullet and putting my podcast on YouTube. Feel extremely silly that it's taken me this long, but very pleased with the simple visual I've made to accompany each episode. Currently, I have 22 published episodes across platforms. I would appreciate any tips on maximizing YouTube's algorithm. I'm thinking I'll upload the first 6 (which work as a season) at once, then stagger with releases every couple days. Would love any fe”
“i'm not exactly clear how this works. do people just post videos on the platform? are they moving their hosting to your platform? what's the ROI if the platform is only populated by other podcasters?”
“Yep. I did this when I was podcasting like 15+ years ago and it’s what I’m doing with my new project. Works great.”
“I still use Zencastr but only for recording. I just download the files and do everything else myself.”
“People come for results. If they enjoy the podcast they will not care how it gets edited”
“After 3 disasters in 3 episodes with Zencastr, I switched over to Riverside and was relatively happy until I wasn't. My most recent attempt at an interview was almost assuredly ruined by an update. I miss the old days when you bought a program and it worked and it never changed.”
“We’re 8 episodes in, our episodes only get 20-60 listens but our social media has started to pick up and we’re seeing a slight uptick in streams. I would focus on socials rn in addition to each episode just get a good estimate of your bandwidth and what kind of content outside of the pod itself you want to bring to the table. Good luck!!!”
“We are all at the mercy of the algorithm. I would suggest making yourself available on podcast apps. Find ways to get commenters to engage so you know that your listeners are engaged. Also numbers mean less these days with AI scraping podcast feeds. Sometimes our numbers get inflated.”