The phrase “I’m starting a podcast” implies a massive long-term commitment. This heavy expectation often leads to failure before you even begin. Statistics show that 44% of podcasts never make it past three episodes.
You can apply the improv concept of “Short Form vs. Long Form” to fix this. Long-form shows require sustained commitment and skill. Short-form scenes allow you to test ideas quickly with low stakes. You should treat your early content like short-form practice rather than committing to a year of hour-long episodes immediately.
In this micro-episode:
- Why most podcasts fade out before episode 10
- How to use shorts or micro-podcasts to test your concept
- Why you should delay adding music and complex editing until you build the habit
Resources:
https://riverside.com/blog/podcast-statistics
Find more episodes and subscribe at stereoforest.com/minute.
Transcript
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::I'm starting a podcast. So notice how that sentence feels. It can feel like a lot. This sentence means a
commitment. It means a long-term project. That there's a pretty big learning curve in front of you
involved. I mean depending on how you go about it. Your podcast project. You'll have to keep going though
and maintain that podcast every week maybe. You're going to jump down that podcast rabbit hole of learning
everything you're going to do.
::you need to learn and then you start planning and all the while none of us who are starting a podcast know if
that show will even work. So no wonder most people just never start. All that stuff I just said happens
before you even start and it's a lot and if you do 44% of all shows never make it past three episodes and only 8%
of shows make it past 10 episodes.
::I'll put a full list of those statistics in the show notes. So that phrase, I'm starting a podcast, can
sometimes be the problem in itself. We're signing up to some kind of contract and we have no idea what we're
really even signing on for. In improv, there's this concept of short form scenes and long form shows. Now
short form is really low stakes in improv. You try something out kind of like a game, it works or it doesn't,
::and you move on from that thing. It doesn't last all that long. Long form requires this really sustained
commitment to a single premise or a story over a very extended period of time. It's oftentimes the whole
show. It can go on a half an hour or 60 minutes. Now, if something doesn't work in short form, it's going to be
over in like 10 minutes. And your own performance in that might only be about one minute of that. But in long
form, that 30 to 60 minute show,
::So you could be on stage or in and out of a bunch of scenes over that entire span of time. Now most people who try
to launch a podcast or online content well it's kind of like a long form show for them when they haven't even
tested doing that short form version of the practice. So you aren't going to say open a theater show one of
those long 30 to 60 minute ones without like doing a workshop or doing a bunch of practice. You aren't going
to commit to
::a whole year of weekly performances without testing things out on, say, a smaller audience first or
learning, going to a bunch of classes first. So why would your podcast be much different? So yes, you can
definitely test the waters for a podcast before you commit to something that's really hard or really long.
Like you could start practicing using shorts or reels, YouTube or Instagram. You could start a micro
podcast like this one.
::perhaps on a weekly schedule to start before you do daily. And for all of these things you can learn and get
better along the way while you practice. For example you don't have to add music to your first episodes you
could just learn to edit your voice first and you can always add more things like that music or say better
show art or whatever one step at a time as you go. And this is why so many podcasts die before
::or episode 3 or episode 10. The creator committed to way too much before they knew whether they wanted to
keep going. And that significant commitment of a weekly, say, 90-minute episode or whatever, it kind of
crushed them before the habit could form in the first place. I'm Jen DeHaan, and this is the Credibility
Minute. You can find more episodes or get in touch with me at stereoforest.com slash minute.