Irrespective of whatever you say, at some point the choice of continuing with content creation will depend upon what you are getting out of it.
“I am in it for the joy of creating content. I don’t care if it makes me any money or, not”.
This is something you commonly get to hear if you are interacting with anyone who jumped onto the content creation bandwagon after seeing the hype around it.
But there is little truth in that statement.
I might be sounding a little controversial here, but that’s the fact.
At least that’s what I have seen in my 17 years of content creation journey.
You see, there is this programming that we go through as we grow up which trains us to follow a simple logic – If there isn’t any returns then it isn’t worth doing.
Every one of those things that we do has an expectation of a return. It could be tangible like money or, intangible like satisfaction or, mental peace.
But then, that latter part – the intangible one, is rarely pursued.
Because, like it or, not, except for those mystics and fakirs who would abandon wealth for mental peace and a few gentle souls who selflessly set out to help fellow living beings, that second part doesn’t quite click with the rest of us.
We expect tangible things in return for everything we do.
And with something as time consuming as content creation, the return cannot be anything other than money.
So when, somebody tells me that they aren’t expecting to make money with their content, I know that their journey in the world of content creation is going to be short-lived.
Wondering why?
Because at some point you are going to weigh the amount of time you are putting in against the returns you are getting…
..and then, the so-called “satisfaction” that you thought as your end-goal, will not be able to outweigh the other side, which has the amount of time you put in.
That is where most content creators end up.
And that is supported by data as well.
About 90% of bloggers quit in less than 6 months of starting a blog. There are more than 800+ million blogs out there but only 3% of them will survive to see the next 6 months.
This isn’t any different with video either.
The data with Podcasting is also not different. Out of about 2+million podcasts out there, only 26% podcasts with 10+ episodes produced an episode in the last year and about 8% produced an episode in the last week.
The rest of these shows will end up in the pod-grave.
While quitting isn’t something unreal (after all 95% of the world are quitters who have quit on things even before they started), what I feel bad about is the injustice to the content.
The amount of valuable content that is lost in the process is huge. A quick search on Apple Podcasts will show you how many podcasts with some real good content are lying unattended out there.
Just because the creator quit.
Just because he started off saying that “he wasn’t in it for the money, instead it was for satisfaction”.
Let us accept the fact that we all trade our time for money. And our sustenance depends upon the money we earn which in turn can put food on our tables.
And to make that money we only have so many hours.
Taking anything out of those hours will only mean a proportionate decrease in our earning capacity unless those hours can compensate for that loss through alternate means, which in this case is “Podcasting” or, whatever form of content creation you are in.
Which means that you say it explicitly or, not, the end goal will be to earn from your efforts in content creation.
If so, why not start with that end goal in mind.
It will make that journey easy and much more fun!
Wouldn’t it?
News you should know
PRX media announces another round of their Google Podcasts Creators Program that is about training and grooming new podcasters. There are a host of benefits for people getting selected for the program including a stipend support for getting started. You can apply for it until the 24th of April.
Live podcasting seems to be gaining interest. Spotify had launched “Greenroom” sometime back as a direct competition to Clubhouse. Today they integrated it into the main Spotify app and are now calling it “Spotify Live”.
You would like these links
Apple Podcasts is one of the top 2 sources of podcast discoveries and listenership. It is hence that getting featured on Apple podcasts is a big thing for any podcaster. This article on Libsyn about getting featured on Apple podcasts has some nice tips if you are looking at getting featured.
Data and Metrics has always been a concern in Podcasting. But there has been quite a few improvements and developments in the last couple of years that has changed. Apple Podcast Connect is also showing some nice data about your podcasts. Here’s an excellent article on how to use these metrics.
Questions from the reader
This week’s question is from a Facebook user, Karthik –
What’s the difference between a paid podcast host and a FREE host? Why should you pay for something when the same thing is available for FREE?
This is an excellent question.
There is this saying, “If you are not paying for it, then you become the product”. This is applicable in the case of Podcast hosts as well.
But let me answer the first part of the question first. The difference between a paid podcast host and a free host is in the features that they offer. Now these features could be as simple as more storage for your episodes, to some of the more lucrative ones like advanced analytics, monetization and ad insertion.
Whatever it is, there sure will be a difference between FREE and PAID.
Now what you also need to keep in mind is that the FREE podcast host also needs to make money to stay in business. And that they can do only if they use all of the content you are uploading on their platform. What method they follow is entirely upto them, but they will make use of the content to make money.
But then, you have a choice. If you are happy being the product then you can stay with the FREE host. Otherwise, move over to a good paid host once you are settled with your podcast.
"Making money is a hobby that will complement any other hobbies you have, beautifully." -Scott Alexander
Recommended Reading
I love reading and have a habit of reading at least 2 books in a week. This section will be a book recommendation from what I loved reading.
Here’s the recommended books for this edition –
The Psychology of Money by Morgal Housel – An excellent read if you want to understand how the way we think about wealth impacts wealth creation.
Deep Work by Cal Newport – If you want to learn how to stay focussed and work when you are surrounded by distractions, then this is a must read.
Note – Some of these are affiliate links and I might earn a commission if you choose to purchase using these links, but that would be at no extra cost to you.
That’s it for this week,
See ya again,
Dilip K
P.S. If you would like to connect with me or, read more of my writings in the form of blog posts, then you can visit my blog about Podcasting Tips.
P.P.S. If you loved this newsletter, then why not recommend it to somebody you think it will be helpful for.
