If you’ve decided to start a podcast of your own, you’re in for a rewarding journey if you stick with it for the long run. But in the early stages, you will likely encounter many problems.
This article will reveal common problems that beginner podcasters face and show you how to tackle them.
1. Issues With Your Hardware
Having issues with computer hardware is one of the most common challenges that beginner podcasters face. And if you use an external microphone, you will encounter problems with it not connecting properly at some point.
Tweak and play around with the settings on your recording software or platform to ensure that your voice records through your external microphone. Doing so is pretty simple; if you use Adobe Audition, for example, you can make the necessary adjustments in the app’s preferences.
2. Difficulty Finding Good Ideas
Another challenge that beginner podcasters face is coming up with good ideas and delivering them in a way that will entertain their audience. With so much podcast content to be discovered on the likes of Spotify and Apple Podcasts, finding a unique angle can be time-consuming.
Finding good ideas gets easier over time, and experimentation is the best way to tackle this problem. If you’re struggling to come up with topics, consider using tools like AnswerThePublic to discover what people are looking for.
You can also try interviewing a wide variety of people and allow them to tell their stories. Similarly, if you run a sports podcast, you can try to find key talking points from the weekend’s big games.
3. Nothing Recording During Your Sessions
Choosing an interesting idea is only one part of the battle as a beginner podcaster. Perhaps the biggest annoyance on this list is when you’ve got an intriguing topic to talk about, but you can’t hear anything when playing back your audio.
Your audio might not play back for several reasons. More often than not, the issue is something hardware-related. You could have forgotten to change the settings beforehand, and you might also have forgotten to turn your microphone on.
Another possibility is that you forgot to press the record button full stop. The best way to tackle this issue is to create a checklist of everything that must be in order before you record the episode. On top of that, you should also run a mic test.
4. Figuring Out How to Upload the Episode Online
Once you’ve recorded your podcast episode, you’re ready to share it with the world. And that begs the next question: where on earth should you upload it to, and how do you even do that?
If you’re serious about growing your podcast, you’ll want to be on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. On top of that, you should also upload your episodes to Google Podcasts.
YouTube is also a popular place to upload podcasts. You can upload full episodes on the platform, and it’s also possible to create snippets—either in the form of shorter videos or via YouTube Shorts.
You can use a hosting service when uploading your podcast to Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Apple Podcasts. Every platform has different rules for posting your work, so you’ll need to follow the specific instructions for each.
5. The Audio Being Too Quiet
Let’s say that you got over the hurdle of recording your podcast, and you can hear that you’ve recorded some audio. However, you find that your audio is too quiet. Why has this happened, and what can you do?
Your audio might be too quiet for several reasons. In some instances, you simply did not talk loud enough. But in other cases, you might have sat too far away from your microphone.
If you’ve already recorded your audio, you might be able to salvage a quiet recording. You can use editing software like Audacity to change the volume; if you do, you hopefully won’t have too much background noise.
Alternatively, you might need to adjust your setup and re-record the podcast episode. Try editing it first, however, as you can save yourself a lot of time.
6. Nobody Listening to Your Podcast
When you first begin your podcast, you might know what you want it to look like in a couple of years. And while you should aim for success if that’s what you want, you’ll also need to remember that the early stages will probably be tricky and even disheartening. During the first few months, you might only have a couple of people listening to your podcast episodes.
Being patient is important when your audience is small. Even if you don’t have 100,0000 listeners, you should still show up and treat all of your listeners equally. You should also ensure that you’re talking about topics you enjoy; that way, you won’t even think about the statistics.
7. Losing Your Files and Folders
You’ll probably work with multiple files and folders when putting together your podcast. And if you don’t organize these appropriately, you might find that you can’t keep track of them all when editing your content.
Ideally, you should back up all of your files and folders on an external hard drive. On top of that, you can also store them somewhere online—such as on Google Drive. These tips and tricks will let you use Google Drive effectively.
You can also keep yourself organized by giving each podcast episode a unique folder, rather than grouping everything in one.
8. Audio That Doesn’t Sound Very Clear
In the same vein as our point about quiet audio, one of the most common issues new podcasters face is recording audio that doesn’t sound very clear. Your voice might sound muffled, and you could also have a lot of background noise—especially if you recorded the episode in a busy location.
You should try to find a quiet spot when recording your podcast episodes. For example, you can turn your closet into a studio. You could also tell everyone in the house about your plans and ask them to be quiet, or you can wait for them to leave the house.
Make sure that the hardware you’re recording with is capable of producing crisp audio, too.
Podcasting Isn’t Easy, but It Is Rewarding if You Stick With It
Beginning a podcast might seem as simple as switching on a microphone and talking, but it requires a lot of prior planning. When you’re in your early days, you will likely encounter various issues you might not have previously thought of.
However, knowing the issues you might face is a great way to stop them from happening. And having read this article, you should be better equipped to tackle problems that may come your way.
