A Matt Countdown: The Top 10 Reasons Your Podcast Isn't Working

<p>The last few weeks, I've been doing a lot of podcast housekeeping- pitching sponsors, and reviewing the stats, and thinking about what's next for the Sound Off Podcast. As it turns out, it's going to be more of the same, which is a good thing. One of the biggest questions I get asked is: "Why is my show doing better?" Here are some of the conclusions that often come up. </p><p><strong>Number 10: No Video Strategy</strong></p><p>Have a video strategy that includes Youtube. That's it. That's number 10.</p><p><strong>Number 9: You Are Impatient</strong></p><p>Did you know that it takes three years to build an audience? It’s true, because Dave Jackson, who has been podcasting since 2004, told me so. Even if you have a big audience now with your podcast, because you are named Kim Kardashian – it is still going to take you three years to find that podcast audience. I see this all the time with actors, Youtubers and Instagrammers: They get a big audience out of the gate, and then the audience drops off because those initial people prefer to interact with the star on Youtube or Instagram or TV. But if they stick to it, over the course of three years, a true podcast audience will develop.</p><p>So if you want to start a podcast, give yourself a lot of runway. Like three years worth.</p><p><strong>Number 8: You Thought It Would Be Easy</strong></p><p>Wanna know what’s easy? Doing the midday show on a music station. You talk for a few minutes an hour, and all the elements are handed to you. Produced commercials, traffic and weather together, the music and promos… You have about 56 minutes of the hour taken care of. That’s why you hear the same midday person across many markets now. In podcasting – you don’t have any of that. You have to build most of it from scratch. You will need to produce all the necessary elements including the commercials (if you have any), the intro, the extro, and the music beds. You need to do some show research, show prep, writing, you need to produce the audio and make it sound listena