Prologue
Seeing the Holes in Your Podcast
SWOT = Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
Doing a SWOT analysis for your podcast is helpful because it gives you an honest look at what’s working and what’s not. You’ll see your podcast’s unique advantages, like a loyal audience or a niche topic, as well as areas where you could improve, such as production quality or marketing reach.
Want to analyze your podcast? Here's a list of things to look at.
Want somebody to do it for you? Talk to Shrikant Joshi. He did the one for me and handed me dozens of pages on what I'm doing right and where I can improve.
Worth it!
Below, I have some great ways to you to improve your podcast, including a couple of new AI tools to make you sound better and attract new listeners via automated blog posts.
Need help? Let's talk!
Sponsor
Big Podcast AMP
If you like the newsletter, you'll love Big Podcast AMP (Audio Monetization Program).
This personal coaching program helps you do three things:
- Grow your podcast audience.
- Get people talking about your podcast.
- Make more money with your podcast (and podcasting skills).
You can get details here.
Podcast Hosting Skills
The Myth of "Natural Talent"
The idea of "natural talent" is often romanticized as the secret ingredient for success in any creative endeavor, including podcasting.
Debunking the myth of natural talent is liberating. It means you don’t have to wait for some magical spark to record your first (or next) episode. Embrace this!
Successful podcasters meticulously plan their episodes, research their guests, and refine their formats. They invest in improving their audio quality, marketing strategies, and audience engagement techniques.
None of these things happens by accident or sheer natural ability—it happens through effort and continuous improvement.
Start messy, accept your imperfection, and focus on getting better with each episode. Podcasting isn’t about being born with all the skills; it’s about showing up consistently, learning from your mistakes, and building something meaningful.
Podcast Production
The First 10-Minutes (of Your Podcast)
I love this commentary by Josh Spector about how to make the first 10 minutes of your podcast better.
His advice ...
- Lose the intro.
- Lose the guest’s backstory.
- Lose the small talk.
- Make it immediately clear why someone should keep listening.
He's right!
Yes, "skip the intro." Do let people know the name of your podcast and who you are, but make it quick! Nobody’s here for your dramatic music or the sixty-second monologue about “what this show is all about.” People know what they clicked on—get to the point and stop wasting time.
Forget the guest’s life story before you let them talk. Cut to why you brought them in and let the details come out within the interview..
Ditch the small talk that doesn't directly connect with the topic of your show. Listeners don't need to hear about the weather in Boise. Keep the conversation tight.
Give listeners a reason to stick around—immediately. If you don’t grab their attention in the first minute, someone else will. Tell them what problem you’re solving, what secret you’re revealing, or what hot take you’re about to unload, and do it fast.
Podcasting Deals
Enhance Your Audio Quality with AI
Xound makes it easy to optimize your content’s audio quality, so you’re heard the way you want to be.
- Clean the entire audio track or select parts of a file you want to sound more polished
- Automatically detect audio quality and identify areas that can be tweaked
- Use natural pitch detection to tune vocals while maintaining their authentic sound
Forget monthly fees and get this for a one-time payment of $59.
Automate Your Entire Blogging Process
Blogify takes your podcast audio and turns it into SEO-friendly blog posts.
Want more listeners for your podcast? This is a great way to do it.
Podcast Humor
Worst Podcast Ever
JD Considine is a music review legend.
His review of Bad English's debut album, an American/British hard rock supergroup, was one sentence ... "Grammar is the least of their worries."
But it's his review of GTR, another rock supergroup, that people remember most ... "SHT."
While these are funny to read, they're not really helpful to readers. And you likely have received a review for your podcast that falls into this category.
What's the worst review you've received for your podcast? Let me know via Bluesky.
Classifieds
Riverside - Remote Recording Studio
Riverside records high-quality audio (and video) directly from your browser. No special equipment is needed and connecting with your guest is as simple as sending a web link!
You can try Riverside free (no credit card is needed) and, if you like it, save 15% on any paid plan by using the coupon code BIGPODCAST.
The Wrap Up
More Help for Your Podcast ...
If you want the shortcut to building a podcast people care about, here’s how Big Podcast can help you …
Free of charge ...
- Big Podcast Extra – Short emails to help you build an audience, attract clients, and make money via podcasting
- Build a Big Podcast – The Marketing Podcast for Podcasters
- Podcast Growth Toolkit – The "Swiss Army Knife" of podcasting ...
For budgets under $750 …
- Big Podcast AMP (Audio Monetization Program) – Personalized coaching for indie podcasters to help you grow your podcast audience and build your authority, brand, and reputation
For budgets of $3000 or more …
We offer a range of podcasting services including:
- Full-service podcast production and marketing
- Podcast and radio hosting
- Podcast launch and development services