The New Rules Of Podcasting.

1. Networks are a losing business model.
2. Signing away the exclusive rights to your podcast is a stupid thing to do.
3. Speaking at conferences does not qualify as an accomplishment.
4. Statistics and demographics are meaningless and useless.
5. Ninety percent of podcasting news is worthless.
6. What you knew last summer has almost certainly changed today.
7. iTunes is the only Podcast directory that matters.
   
8. There’s much more to a podcast than just a media file.
9. You don’t need expensive equipment and software to create a great podcast show. If you’ve somehow been convinced by the podcasting gods to go out and spend thousands on gear prior to launching your podcast, please think again. I can tell you with all honesty that if you’ve got a decent computer you should only need to spend a couple of hundred dollars (or less) on recording hardware and software in order to launch your podcast. Add a couple of hundred bucks if you go the video route unless you already have a camera that captures pretty good video. Still, you should launch your podcast on a slim budget, forsaking cutting edge and top of the line for inexpensive, basic equipment that gets the job done. If you need a few reasons why then here you go.

   The production value has nothing to do with how good the content that you’re producing turns out. The words from your voice, the images on a video, the vibe of the presentation will come across whether you use a $50 mic and $75 audio editing software or a $500 mic and a $2000 rack of effects. Crappy content looks and sounds crappy even when run through expensive equipment.

   Others might disagree with me. Some folks who talk about podcasting frequently happily gloat over their expensive rigs. And maybe they have the cash to afford those rigs. But you should consider a few things, especially if you’re a newbie to digital media. A simple setup will allow you to learn the ropes in stages and you’ll be less likely to feel overwhelmed by all the options for recording and editing. A simple setup will also allow you to focus on refining your content over time without adding the mental pressure to “justify the investment” in your expensive equipment. Also, learning and growing on a simple setup will allow you to better understand your needs when you really are ready to move to the next level with equipment. If you buy the farm right off the bat you might pick equipment that doesn’t work for you. Finally, you get to focus more on being truly creative and experimenting as opposed to spending your time figuring out how to work expensive equipment.

   And here’s another important note. Most people won’t know the difference between new podcasters using cheap or expensive equipment. Why? Because when you’re learning and starting out, all that new equipment won’t help you to sound or look any better unless you have the experience to know how to properly use it. Plus, there’s a lot of low cost hardware and software on the market for consumers that rivals the quality of professional tools. For example, I use Magix Music Studio for audio production and Magix Movie Studio for video editing. Both cost less than $100 and both have features that rival programs that cost five times more.

   So don’t be fooled into thinking that the gear is the thing when you’re creating your podcasts. Your concept and how you hone that concept are important. The passion that comes across in your final product is very important as well. You can get a good looking and good sounding podcast using basic equipment if you experiment and take the time to master the basics. Then you can spend all the money you save on a trip out to the Podcast Expo or some other conference where the experts mete out their sagely advice.

10. Races aren’t necessarily won by the fastest, but by those who keep on running. I’m talking in riddles again aren’t I. Here’s the thing. We live in a world where things move fast once they get going. And people look at what’s happening and feel that they’ve got to get up to speed and pump out one to five podcast shows a week. This is just not the case.

    Quality always beats quantity in the long run and pacing yourself will be one of the most important things that you do when growing your podcast. And the simple fact is that if you try to do too much, too soon you will experience burn out. I know, because I have been there.

    This particular rule may have less to do with any pressure a person has felt due to outside influence and more to do with the personality of an individual. All I ask of you is that you take a long view when producing your podcasts. I believe that podcasting will be around for a very long time. I believe that my daughter will be podcasting. Maybe when she’s old enough I’ll start her out doing one a month.

    The costs to produce a podcast is so low that you can afford to take your time. The iTunes top 100 will be there six months or a year from now and you can attempt to climb that mountain once you’ve got a lot more experience on your equipment and better ideas for your show. As you create ideas will flow. But they won’t flow well if you overload yourself with too many obligations to create media.

    Finally, consider your subscribers. They have busy lives and they don’t have time to consume tons of media. Sure, some folks still roll several shows a week at them, but do you need to be one of them? Maybe not. And if you are for a while then there’s no harm in slowing down to save your podcast sanity.

    Just some thoughts to put an exclamation point on The New Rules of Podcasting. Because the best podcasts are yet to come and you can’t be in it if you burn out on the twenty yard line.