50. What I've learned After 50 Podcast Episodes

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 episodes.  That seems like a big number.  It’s time to reflect on how far I have come and what I have learned with the podcast. When I started off my goal was to get good at podcasting.  I didn’t really have a very clearly defined strategy.  I knew I liked creativity, strategy and leadership.  I knew that I wanted to talk about storytelling and filming. It was a lot of fun and while I didn’t directly monetize off of the podcast, because I produced one, it gave me the confidence to tell other people that I could produce a podcast.  That in turn led to me producing a podcast for USAID that was a great opportunity in many ways. Along the way I have learned about launch and podcast and how hard it is actually to get podcast downloads.  In part because it's not that easy to find a podcast. It’s a lot easier to see content on social media or see podcast excerpts posted on social than it is to download a podcast. Perhaps the best way to actually grow a podcast is to appear on other people’s podcasts.  Because if someone listens to a podcast already, then they are more likely to listen to another podcast. When it comes to growing an audience, you are best off really niching down so that you speak directly to one particular audience.  In the US there are tons of podcasts on leadership, video business, creativity and productivity.  At this stage of the game, you probably aren’t going to stand out unless you bring a unique voice on one particular topic. Which has led me to make the decision to refocus the podcast.  I’ve realized that I have loved episodes that deal with Cross-cultural Creative issues.  And while I would love to talk about leadership and productivity, it’s just too crowded of a space.  However if you limit the issues so that they all deal with things through a cross-cultural lens, all of a sudden you are talking to a much more specific crowd. So for now Episode 50 is going to be my last of the No Fat Cats while I rework my new podcast and relaunch.  In part I made my decision because No Fat Cats doesn’t translate well cross-culturally and I need something that people can get across different cultures.