73: Podcasting During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
Why am I suddenly seeing a big drop in my downloads? Am I doing something wrong?
Should I just take a break from my podcast until things go back to normal?
My podcast is extremely relevant to everything happening right now. Should I release even more content?
I usually record my podcast episodes when my kids are at school and/or my partner is at work. How am I supposed to keep up with my show now that their school or workplace is closed, and they’re home all day?
Should I talk about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on my show or should I just go on like nothing is happening?
Look, this is a crazy time. The world is on edge and people are (should be) isolated in their homes. So, what does this all mean for podcasting and your show specifically?
You’ve got questions about podcasting in the time of the pandemic, and this episode will provide you with at least some of those answers.
If you have questions that weren’t answered, leave me a comment/DM on Instagram or Facebook or send a message via the contact form.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Android Devices | Spotify | iHeartRADIO | RSS
Transcript
Welcome to podcasting for coaches. I'm Britany Felix and I'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business. I realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show. So I created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients. If you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world, head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more. Welcome to Episode 73 podcasting for coaches. As you may have noticed, I did not have an episode last week and as you may also notice, I do sound a little stopped up right now. That is because I am sick. I did go to pod fest. And I had originally said that my first episode after pod fest would be about pod fest. However, obviously some things have changed since then. I came back sick from pod fest that hit me super hard about halfway through the plane ride home. It is entirely likely that I do have Coronavirus aka COVID-19. I have basically every single symptom it is not going like a normal flu does for me it is lingering, it's been a week and a half now. I still have shortness of breath. And I noticed my very first symptom about two days after traveling in the Orlando International Airport, where later a TSA agent did test positive. So hopefully that is not the case. I'm hoping that I don't but just in case I have quarantined myself. Ever since I have been back I have basically been living out of my bedroom. And I have not left my home and I have no intention of doing so for the time being because I am practicing social distancing, as I hope everyone listening to the show does. If you do an update about some things that I learned at podcast, make sure that you check out the podcasting insider's club, which is my paid monthly newsletter. It is only $5 a month. And at the end of every month you get a recap of all of the things that I have learned the industry news, new tips and tools, all of those things. So check out podcasting for coaches comm and then click on the tab in the main menu for the insider's club. Alright, so that's enough of that. I do want to get into this pretty quickly. We are all busy right now things are crazy and chaotic. And I want to talk about podcasting in the time of the Coronavirus, there are a couple of things to be aware of, because I know that for some of you, your businesses may either be going really, really, really well. If you are a business coach who teaches people how to start online businesses, because I know a lot of people are looking for that at the moment with their jobs, temporarily shutting down and them not receiving a paycheck. So if you're a health coach, I would imagine you might be getting an uptick in things as well. But for some of you, this could be a really scary time, you could see a lot of your revenue disappear. If the people you work with are people that are being hit hard right now, so or you could just be someone who has kids that are home from school because their school has shut down. And now you're wondering how the heck you're going to keep up with this podcast, when you have your children at home. So I'm going to give some tips here and bring up some things to kind of help guide you through podcasting in this time. So one thing I want you to be aware of is the fact that your downloads could take a pretty big dip. Or you could see massive growth, just like I mentioned before, it kind of depends on what you talk about. And whether or not those topics are in demand right now. If you see your podcast, take a dip in downloads, don't freak out, don't feel like you're doing something wrong. Don't be like this is the end of your show. This too shall pass things will return to normal. But a lot of people listen to podcasts as part of their daily routine. So while they're commuting to and from work while they're working out in the morning, while they're doing chores around the house when they're kids at school. And a lot of those same people are seeing massive disruptions in their routines. So they're not listening to podcasts as they normally do. So you may be seeing a dip in your downloads because of that. If that's the case, you can choose to take a break right now, if that's something you feel that you need to do for yourself emotionally, if you're noticing that your content is just not getting the engagement, you're losing business, you could hammer down and try and really fight this or if you have the financial flexibility to do so. You could take this as an opportunity to regroup on some things and reevaluate your business. See how you can better prepare for these types of situations in the future. And go ahead and batch record a lot of content for when things do slow down, but not necessarily release it right now when people aren't listening. If you are someone who has information and resources that are really in demand right now, now is not the time to take your foot off that gas. if you can help it, if you can continue to put these resources out there for people, you're most likely going to see massive growth in your show. Because while a lot of podcast listeners are going to take a break for a little while, I do think we're going to see a pretty big uptick in new listeners, people checking out podcasts for the very first time, people are stuck at home. Yes, of course, we have Netflix and prime and Hulu and VUDU and all of those things. A bunch of stuff I probably am not even aware of. People are recording things on Tick tock, there's a lot of things to keep people busy right now. But we're also noticing in case you haven't noticed yet, a lot more people are working from home or stuck at home, which means a lot of people are experiencing internet issues right now, things are running really slowly for some people, which means streaming Netflix all day long, might not be an option. So listening to podcasts on their phone may be what they turn to maybe now is the time that they're going to figure out what the heck this podcasting is all about. So make sure that you are especially now do this always. But especially now, educating your audience on what a podcast is, how they can listen, that they're free, that it doesn't have to use their phone data, if they can download a bunch of episodes when their Wi Fi is good. And then they're good to go. If their Wi Fi does act up, and they can't watch Netflix. And along these lines of battery winning content and not taking your foot off the gas pedal. If you are seeing growth in your show, I do understand that you might become sick, anyone can become sick, I am sick right now. And I had to miss an episode last week because I was not prepared for that. So I want you to be prepared. So now is a great time to batch record content if you can, at the very least have it recorded. And then that way, when you're feeling sick, when you're all stopped up, when you have a sore throat, maybe you can still edit the show or come up with the graphics for it. You don't have to actually sit down and record the content itself. Now I realize that's all well and good. And yeah, let's batch record. But what if your kids are at home for hours upon hours every day, and you normally record when they're at school or daycare or preschool or whatever other places they go to? I cannot relate to that I have no children. But I do know some ways that you can work around this potentially, if you can get away with it. The obvious choice is to record when they're asleep, after they go to bed, make that be your recording time, you may have to adjust your schedule to accommodate that if you normally record during the day. But now just switch to recording at night after they're asleep. And then it's not really an issue at all. If you cannot do that for some reason, then if you happen to have your spouse at home, maybe you can tell them to kind of keep them occupied doing something fairly quiet. I know with kids, they love to scream and make a ton of noise. So that's going to be difficult. But if you can get a spouse or another family member or an older sibling of theirs to kind of help keep them occupied doing something quiet, that would be a good idea and then just record as far away from them as possible in your home. So again, this may involve changing up your recording setup for a little while, but we want to be as far away from them as you can be. And then if you are having to move things around and recorded a different space, I'm going to recommend the closet. I have mentioned that on this podcast before, a closet is usually a great place to record because all the clothes absorb the sound and keep it from bouncing around all over the place which creates an echo. So it's actually really really good soundproofing inside your closet. And it can help muffle the sounds of other things happening in your household. Another thing maybe you can do is if you need to have them near you, maybe put on a movie for them and have them wear headphones, something like that, that will keep them engaged, but hopefully also not have a lot of noise. Now, if none of those things will work, if you try your hardest, and there's still some noise, maybe your kids scream, maybe something happens. Just be open with your audience. Everyone is going through this right now. Everyone understands that this is a crazy situation that none of us are used to or have likely ever been through. And so listeners are going to be really forgiving right now. And honestly, if their kids are at home driving them insane, they're going to relate to you so hard. And it's only going to help build that loyalty to you and build that trust in you and that connection with you. So just do a little disclaimer at the beginning of the episode and say hey, it's a crazy situation. My kids are at home, yours probably are too. Bear with me. If you hear a little bit of extra background noise. We're all just doing our best and you'll be fine honestly. Okay, so another thing that I want to talk about is whether or not you should address the Coronavirus and the current situation on your show. I am obviously doing that in this episode because I feel that it's relevant information for you. And I think that is going to help you. However, if your show has absolutely nothing to do with the corona virus are the situations that it's caused. You don't necessarily need to talk about it. Maybe you can say one little thing or two, but you don't really need to devote an entire episode if it has nothing to do with the topic of your show. I have one client who's a sobriety coach, and they're releasing a special bonus episode this week to talk about staying sober in a crisis, because a lot of people are freaking out right now, a lot of people have extra stress, anxiety, fear. And those are all things that can contribute to a relapse. So it's absolutely relevant for her audience. I have another client who has a show all about branding. And this doesn't really have anything to do with that. So she so far at least, hasn't really addressed it. And the reason I say this is because everyone is being bombarded with this right now. It's literally everywhere. So maybe your show is the one place they turn to because they know they can get a break from it. They know that they're going to listen to this. And you're going to be talking about your topic that has nothing to do with Coronavirus, or lockdown or toilet paper shortage, or mortality rates or any of these really kind of dark and scary things for some people. So really take a good look at your show and whether or not it actually makes sense for you to even talk about the situation. If it does, then Sure, go ahead and do that. Just be careful with the information that you're providing. Because a lot of governments are cracking down on misleading information, false information, especially when it relates to medical care and advice. So just be really careful with the information that you're sharing. Make sure it's from a credible resource. And then if it doesn't make sense for you to talk about it, then don't maybe save that for social media, where you do you know an Instagram story kind of explaining how it's affected your life, but leave it off of the podcast. Okay, so that's a pretty quick episode for you. Just to recap, don't freak out if your numbers dip. If you're seeing a growth, hammer down more than ever, if you can do it, just assume that you will be sick at some point and make sure that you batch record well in advance. And then know that your listeners will give you a pass if you have children at home or a spouse who's working from home now. And that it's okay to have to change things up and adjust the sound and maybe let the audio quality slip just a little bit because you're not able to record in your normal environment. And then obviously just take care of yourself and your loved ones. So I thank you so much for joining me this week. And I want to invite you to come back next week where we are going to resume as normal unless something else drastic changes. And I am going to have an interview with yet another successful podcaster have a fantastic week stay safe and healthy. And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches calm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcasts that you create and put out into the world.