If you’re anything like me, you got into podcasting because you love it! There is something so special about podcasting for hosts, it could be a creative outlet, a fun way to educate and inform, or even your way of connecting or giving back to the community.
For me, it’s been a lot about giving back to the podcasting community by providing education.
I want to warn you though, like many passion projects or even work projects, it’s easy to burn out and forget how much fun it can be. Today, we’re diving into the signs that you might have lost the fun in your podcast and the steps you can take to bring some fun back into your show.
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
Mini Podcast Audit Challenge
If you have a podcast, don’t miss out on our podcast audit challenge, happening August 16-18th!
Resetting Your Podcast to Bring Back the Fun
- Take a break to reset. Now I don’t recommend breaks often, but sometimes a break is just what you need. If you’re worried about strategies for keeping your audience, it could be as simple as releasing a quick episode letting your audience know that you’ll be back next week, what you’re working on, and why you’re taking a week off. They’ll understand!
- During your break, you can look at all of the things that could add fun to your show again. What were you missing? What’s been keeping you from getting ahead or even enjoying the show anymore?
- Go back to the drawing board, what were some of the main reasons you wanted to have a podcast to begin with, and what made it fun in the beginning?
How To Add More Fun
- If you’ve lost out on a connection with guests because you’re hosting a lot of solo episodes, this could be a great time for you to bring the fun, lively personalities of others into your show. This is a BIG thing for my own show and something I’m working to change in the coming months! I want my audience to hear from others, grow in their knowledge, and get perspectives from others.
- Create special episodes—I know there are many shows who do episode types, where they explore playing around with themes like happy hour, quick 5-minute minisodes, or seasonal content. These special episodes are something your audience will look forward to in your content! Think through what this looks like for you.
- Find something you love in other shows and ask yourself why you love them and is it something you could incorporate into your own show?
- Mix things up—just because you’ve always done your show a certain way doesn’t mean it has to remain that way. Try something new out, whether that’s jumping on video, not scripting an episode, etc.
The most important thing is that your show is fun. And if you’re a business owner who doesn’t believe there is a way to make your shows more enjoyable for yourself, I want you to consider how that’s coming across to your listeners. Your show is only as great as the host is making it and if you’re not enjoying it, then they probably aren’t either.
Mic Check Society
Today’s episode is brought to you by Mic Check Society, a community for podcasters. Each month, I’m dropping an exclusive training, hosting a monthly hot-seat call and coworking sessions, plus you’ll get access to our members-only Slack channel to connect with and network with other podcasters! Make sure you head here to get your name on the waitlist and be the first to know when we’ve launched to the public!
Check out the Show Notes:
Find Ways to Put the Fun Into Your Podcast (1:50)
– Take a Break
– Go Back to the Drawing Board
Ways to Add Fun to Your Show (3:05)
– Guest Interviews
– Special Episodes
– Find Something You Love in Other Shows
– Mix Things Up
Make Your Show Fun (5:18)
Mic Check Society (5:45)
Links Mentioned In Today’s Episode:
Mic Check Society
Mini Podcast Audit Challenge
Review the Transcript:
Last week we talked about hitting the reset button on your podcast! Today, I want to continue the conversation and talk about something that can help you either before you have to hit the reset button or can be guided by the things you find in your podcast audit. We’re going to talk about putting fun back into your podcast.
Hey, y’all, welcome to the clocking in Podcast, the podcast for entrepreneurs and professionals making their way in the working world. I’m your host Haylee Gaffin. This podcast is produced and brought to you by Gaffin. Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffin creative.com. Plus, you’ll also find resources, show notes and more for the clocking in podcast. So let’s clock in and get to work.
If you’re anything like me, you got into podcasting because you love it! There is something so special about podcasting for hosts, it could be a creative outlet, a fun way to educate and inform, or even your way of connecting or giving back to the community.
For me, it’s been a lot about giving back to the podcasting community by providing education.
I want to warn you though, like many passion projects or even work projects, its easy to burn out and forget how much fun it can be.
We had a bit of you join us for last week’s mini podcast audit challenge, where you reset the essentials of your podcast. Some of you even snagged your seat inside of Mic Check Society as a Founding Member and get started with our full podcast audit.
Even if you haven’t had a chance to audit your podcast, you can still rethink your show and find ways to put fun back into it.
So let’s talk about a few steps you should take to help you reset your podcast so you can put fun back into it:
- Take a break to reset. Now I don’t recommend breaks often, but sometimes a break is just what you need. If you’re worried about strategies for keeping your audience, it could be as simple as releasing a quick episode letting your audience know that you’ll be back next week, what you’re working on, and why you’re taking a week off. They’ll understand!
- During your break you can look at all of the things that could add fun into your show again. What were you missing? What’s been keeping you from getting ahead or even enjoying the show anymore?
- Go back to the drawing board, what were some of the main reasons you wanted to have a podcast to begin with and what made it fun in the beginning?
Now for every podcaster, this will look a little different, so I want to run through a few ways you could actually add more fun into your show:
- If you’ve lost out on connection with guests because you’re hosting a lot of solo episodes, this could be a great time for you to bring the fun, lively personalities of others into your show. This is a BIG thing for my own show and something I’m working to change in the coming months! I want my audience to hear from others, to grow in their knowledge and get perspectives from others.
- Create special episodes—I known there are many shows who do episode types, where they explore playing around with themes like happy hour, quick 5 minute minisodes, or seasonal content. These special episodes are something your audience will look forward to in your content! Think through what this looks like for you.
- Find something you love in other shows and ask yourself why you love them and is it something you could incorporate into your own show?
- Mix things up—just because you’ve always done your show a certain way doesn’t mean it has to remain that way. Try something new out, whether that’s jumping on video, or not scripting an episode, etc.
The most important thing is that your show is fun. And if you’re a business owner who doesn’t believe there is a way to make your shows more enjoyable for yourself, I want you to consider how that’s coming across to your listeners. Your show is only as great as the host is making it and if you’re not enjoying it, then they probably aren’t either.
I’d love to hear how you decide to put fun back into your podcast. Before we wrap up today’s episode, if you’re looking for a community to share these ideas with or bounce concepts off of, Mic Check Society is open for enrollment for our podcast listeners… yep, you’re getting an exclusive invitation before we launch to the public (that’s right, I’ve only shared it with our waitlist, our email list, and YOU!).
What is Mic Check Society? Mic Check Society is an annual membership community that was built for podcasters, both just starting out and long-time hosts. Whether you’re looking to build connections, find guests to interview, test out new strategies, or just hear what others are doing with their podcasts, this is the place for you. Members get access to our self-paced podcast audit and workbook, a community of like-minded podcasters, educational trainings and hot seats, guest expert trainings, silent coworking sessions, and even exclusive discounts to some of your favorite podcasting products!
Clocking In Podcaster listeners now have access to our Founding Member rate, which is only available for a limited time and a limited quantity. Once we sell out, the price goes up!
You can snag access to Mic Check Society at micchecksociety.com or the link in our show notes.
I can’t wait to see you inside of Mic Check Society!
This has been another episode of The clocking in podcast. You can find the show notes for this episode and more at Gaffin creative.com. Thank you so much for your listenership and support. If you love this episode, I’d be so honored if you leave me a review in the Apple podcast app. Until next time, I’m your host Haylee Gaffin clocking out.
