Scared to podcast? Top 10 Podcaster Excuses

You're not embarrassed. You're scared to be seen as a beginner. You're scared to be seen trying something. Let's get into my top 10 excuses about podcasting. 

I was just thinking about my funniest excuse someone gave me for podcasting. I've been a podcast host for five years. I now have two shows. I'm a podcast manager. I launch podcasts for other people. I love podcasts. I will tell everybody and their mama and their cousin to start a podcast because I think it's one of the easiest mediums to get into. Occasionally, people come to me, and they have these silliest excuses for not launching a podcast. So let's get into my top 10. 

10. They don't have a cool studio. What does a studio have to do with you sharing a story? What does the studio have to do with you sitting down and sharing your opinion? Well, I mean, look at your video, Kyla. You got your lining. You got your bookshelf. You got this! You got your branded shirt. I've been doing this for five years. If you just started a TV show, just got into dancing, are you gonna be as good as someone who's been doing it for five years? Like, your studio is extra. It absolutely is not necessary. In fact, when I start with podcast clients, unless I am coming on to an existing show, I tell them to start audio-only.

You can always record the video and release it later. But for you to share your story, you don't even need to think about what you look like. You don't even need to think about what the room looks like with the. You need to focus on sharing the story, focus on listening and asking questions if it's an interview show, focus on getting your point across if it's a solo recording. There's enough stuff for you to think about. The podcast studio is by far the weakest excuse to not start a podcast. 

9. The other reason, and these two tie in, that they have to have a video channel. You can include a video segment in a podcast. You cannot have a video podcast. Podcasts are based on AirPods. That's how they were titled. It was audio that you were listening to on an AirPod or cast on a pod- podcast, just like a radio cast. Video is always good. If you have guests, you can record with them. If you're recording by yourself, you can do that as well. You can still focus on the audio and releasing it, and save the video for whenever you're ready. You don't have to release them at the same time. As you grow and want to scale your podcast, yes, you can release the video. But again, there are enough hurdles just to get started with your podcast.

You absolutely do not need to start with the video. 

8. So another excuse for why people don't get into podcasting is that they don't have guests or that they feel like they need guests. It depends. I'm a classically trained lawyer. I gotta give you the lawyer answer. It depends. If you are an expert in a field and you wanna share your expertise, absolutely great. Do it. If you think it's more engaging to have some back-and-forth with someone, do that as well. But there's a thing called a guest bias, where you think that people are only listening to your show because of the guest that you have on. Yeah. The guest could be a big name, but guess what else? They're listening for you. What questions are you asking? What's the follow-up? Are you engaging with the episode? How could you even get this kind of a guest on here? You don't become small potatoes just because you have x, y, and z big name guest on the show. 

That's why it's the guest bias. People think that, “Oh, they're listening because of them.” And but, you've created this entire audience because of you. People listen t the podcast for the host.

At the end of the day, it's you, and it's your show. So thinking that you have to have guests is not correct with having a podcast. On the You Are Lawyer podcast, I have about 240-something episodes, and the majority of them have guests. I'm saying I probably have, like, four episodes on there that are solo episodes just me. But the solo episodes do just as good because people are like:

• What's Kyla doing?

• What's she up to?

• I wanna hear more from her.

Because you are the consistent thread through every episode and people wanna know what you say about this? What questions would you ask? Oh, I knew Kyla would do that. They get to know you as much as they get to see you interact with each guest that comes on the show. It's one of the better excuses, but it still is a bias. It's not necessarily a good one for you not to start your podcast. 

So another excuse to not start a podcast is not having podcast-related decor. I have shirts that have You Are A Lawyer on them. I love to wear them. That's the name of my podcast. I used to have another podcast, and we don't do any of that. So you do not need specific decor, specific things just to start your podcast. Oh, but on Call Her Daddy, she has the microphone wrap and it has the name on there. No. Why can't you let yourself be a beginner? Do not despise small beginnings. It is okay to say this is where I'm starting and this is what I love.

You don't need all of this stuff. You don't need your logo and a hologram on the wall. You don't need any of this stuff to actually get started. You need to have something to say, an RSS host, and the boldness to publish it. I launch and manage podcast rep so another weak excuse that I hear a lot from people who are like, I can't do a podcast is I don't have cover art. This is where you lean on the other person's expertise. If you've never done it before, you need to just lean on the person who has. So let's say you come to me and say, hey, I wanna start a podcast about entertainment news. Do you know what I'm going to do after you pay me and we sign a contract and are in agreement? I'm going to do my research. I'm gonna create a list of examples of podcast names and show descriptions and episode titles.

I will ask each client, 'What would you like your show to look like? If you wanted to use these as examples, which one would you favor? Which one do you like? Which one don't you like?

Occassionally, clients will already have a podcast name and cover art graphic in mind that we can use or decide we need to adjust to better fit the category of existing podcasts with that subject or niche. And sometimes people will say, hey. I already made my cover art. Boom. When I started the You Are a Lawyer podcast, I had text-only cover art for the first two years.

And then once I had established an audience, I honestly became bolder, then I put my face on the cover. And I was like, duh. And so now for the last three years, I've had my face on my cover art. But I don't believe that my face draws listeners or repels listeners. But I just would not use the lack of cover art as a reason not to start because what you think might look great and amazing might not fit in with what you wanna talk about. It might not fit in with the brand or the niche. 

6. And I would even take this one a step further because another excuse I hear a lot is that people don't know what to call it. Oh, I have something to say. I don't know what to call it. These are small. Small. This is literally like putting on perfume after you've already gotten dressed, gotten ready, done your makeup, and put your coat on. Oh, I forgot the perfume. And it's not trivial. It is not trivial, but it's also not foundational. I give my clients a couple of exercises. Try to say the name of your podcast. 

Oh, I think we should call the podcast, Streaming and Screaming. Try to say it in your intro. Welcome to streaming, welcome to… Oh no. Yeah. That's not the name.

Having the name isn't a deal-breaker for the podcast, since it could change. And there's a lot of podcasts that start out, and then when they get acquired or whatever, once they get big enough, they actually change the name of the entire show. 

5. One of the really big ones is that don't wanna have social media page. There are a lot of podcasts that have social media pages. They share clips of the episodes. They share little spoilers or little teasers for what's coming. You do not have to do that. Sometimes you will see a podcast clip, but oh my gosh. I have to go listen to that. Yes. Sometimes you will see it and you would just keep scrolling. You couldn't care less. That social media piece is a really weak excuse for not starting a podcast because the two do not have to go hand in hand. I've had shows with absolutely no social media that blow up. I've had shows with really generic social media that do really well. For you as a beginner, someone who was like, just I wanna do this. I just wanna prove to myself I can do it. Having social media should not be a reason that you do not starting a podcast. Let people come to you like, oh, tell me more. Oh, I'm intrigued. I have a video about that.

SIDE NOTE: It's this thing that I call secret podcast, where you start a podcast, you share it, and you let the algorithms find your audience. You don't even tell the people around you. 

You might want a secret podcast where you start a podcast, you share it, and you let the algorithms find your audience. You don't even tell people who are around you. 

Because the truth is, if everyone around you is not your ideal client, it doesn't really matter. So go on and start the secret podcast. 

4. Feeling like you are not x enough, good enough, attractive enough, smart enough, whatever, to start a podcast is a legitimate concern. That also plays into the idea that maybe you don't need a podcast yet. Okay? When I work with clients, I always tell them to make a list of 10 to 15 topics they want to discuss. These are not broad niches like homeownership. I'm talking like HVAC system versus a mini split. I'm talk latex paint versus oil-based paint. Right? You need big topics you want to discuss and can freely discuss. When I do have clients who come to me, and they're like, I really wanna do it, but I just, I'm not this enough. There's enough; there are a few things we can do coaching-wise to get them ready. Working with me involves mentorship, and I give you a ton of homework. 

3. And so we can pull out a lot of that, but also this ties into number three, which is a lot of times people just don't feel confident enough to start a podcast.

And to that, I say, this is why podcasting is amazing because anyone can start, and the entry is very, very small. I'm talking, you can really start a podcast for $7 or $25. In terms of the actual money is small. The entry level in terms of time is pretty high if you can't pay for an editor, manager and all those things. The entry level in terms of your mindset is huge. But the reason why I say that they're excuses not to start is that working with a podcast strategist can work out some of that not feeling good enough to do it, and you can feel like, okay, yeah, yeah, the urge that I have, the nudge that I have to create, yeah, we can work through that. Yeah, okay, let's do it. The impact is greater than my fear. You're not going to feel confident as a podcaster literally, until you have repetitions of being a podcaster. That is what boosts your confidence. It is getting on here. It's making mistakes and correcting them that boosts your confidence. It's turning on the camera and sitting down, and saying, I can talk. I can. Gotta do it. 

The only way through it is to do it, which is so corny, but it's true. 

2. We're getting into my top two excuses. I don't want to be embarrassed or I don't want someone to know. If you come to me and you tell me you want to start a podcast, you're thinking that you have something to say, and you either want me to talk you out of it, or you want me to say, absolutely. Yeah. This is how we can do it. People have definitely paid me to help them and then not done any of the work, because they're like, "Okay." Never mind. My fear of whoever's seeing it, whatever, whatever, is too great. And this is why it's an excuse. You're not embarrassed. You're scared to be seen as a beginner. You're scared to be seen trying something, but that's okay. You're embarrassed to be a beginner. If you've been building houses for twenty years, now you're ready to start a podcast. You've already got a history, an established history of doing this, and now you're going to start over as this baby podcaster, ouch. But why not? If you have the experience, can teach someone, and be impactful, who cares that you're a beginner now? You care, and that is perfectly valid. Right? The boldness to actually publish the stuff that you've created is by far the hardest part. I still feel it. I just tell myself it's excitement. Your body doesn't know if it's excitement or fear. I'm just like, oh, you feel all that excitement for us to go? You feel it? You're probably a prime candidate for a secret podcast where I get to share my expertise.

It's gonna boost my business. I'm gonna talk about all the stuff I know, and I don't have to tell all my friends at the next cocktail party, Christmas party, or birthday party, oh, I've been working on this podcast. Let it be for the audience who needs to hear it. Let it be for the people who need to hear it. You've been waiting. This is the number one top excuse that I hear for why you cannot start a podcast. And people are like, oh, I hate my voice. I just don't wanna hear it. I go to conferences and people are like, "oh, I'm so proud of you. I hate my voice. I could never."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M0niq3Ox-I

This leads us to the number one excuse. Your podcast episode is for another person. You not liking your voice is the biggest excuse. And unfortunately, it stops a lot of people from launching podcasts, and I think it is absolutely silly because your podcast episode is not for you. There are very few times when you're gonna just go back and listen to your podcast. Now once you're podcasting five years in love with yourself, in love with your voice, I listen to my stuff all the time. I think I'm hilarious. I will have fun when I'm recording. I will be laughing while I'm editing.

I'll be laughing when I listen back to it. But I also have time, and I've accepted myself, and I'm like, this is your voice. And so it's the top excuse because it stops so many people from sharing their story and making an impact, and it is the absolute weakest one. Okay. 

1. So let's say you hate your voice. Let's go hire an editor, and then you can send them clips or podcasts and be like, hey. I want my podcast to sound like this. You don't have to listen to it again. You know that information. You shared it. What do you need to listen to it again for? And I'm not trying to make fun of it, but it was like, wouldn't the impact of someone else hearing it be bigger than the fact that you don't like your voice, yet you have all this knowledge and experience in your head that could benefit someone? The smallest excuse because you're also you, so you can't hear your voice the way somebody else is gonna hear it. So put out what you need to say and let it be impactful to that person. If you enjoyed this newsletter, I know you will absolutely love the information in the newsletters tagged below.

Happen recording and editing!

Kyla