Don't Miss the Podcast Journey

I saw a post on Reddit recently. Someone’s family wanted to start their own podcast and asked, “Leaving Spotify aside, which are the best podcast websites to post our work and get paid for it?” When I see questions like that—especially when they end with “and get paid for it”—my knee jerk reaction is: don’t even start a podcast. Not because you can’t make money with a podcast (I do!), but it’s not something that happened quickly for me. My first three years in podcasting, starting back in 2005, were painful—back then, nobody even knew what a podcast was.

Here’s what I always say: you don’t monetize a podcast, you monetize an audience. And I love the idea of a family starting a podcast. When I was growing up, my family would sit together for game nights—Parcheesi, Rummy, or, when I could actually handle the length, Monopoly. These shared moments are what life’s really about. That’s why I think so many people miss what matters when they focus only on the money.

I have a brother who lives about 20 minutes away from me. The drive to his house is beautiful, especially in October when the trees along the road explode into color—God pulls out the big box of crayons and goes crazy. I love that drive. Yes, I have a destination, but I’m not fixated on his house; I’m savoring the journey. The same idea applies to podcasting. If you focus only on how much money you can make, you miss all the gorgeous moments along the way.

Imagine this: Twenty years from now, your kids are grown up, married, maybe have kids of their own. And you have these classic recordings of your family’s game nights. That’s priceless. I would love to have recordings of those moments from my own family. That, in my opinion, is much more valuable than the couple of cents you might earn from hosting platforms like Red Circle. If you need something free, Red Circle is my "free" recommendation. But here’s something to remember: hobbies cost money! The Game of Life wasn’t free, just like baseball required gloves, bats, and balls. Every hobby requires some investment.

Platforms like Red Circle, Buzzsprout, and Captivate will give you a basic website, and sometimes that’s enough. If all you need is a place for people to listen and follow you, fine. But if you want to make money, you’ll need more than that.

The point is: yes, downloads and a big audience are great, but don’t forget about the journey. Don’t miss out on personal growth, building your network, gaining confidence, and improving your public speaking—all benefits that have nothing to do with the money in your pocket.

I’ve had situations where my improv skills from podcasting, combined with my teaching background, enabled me to do presentations with zero preparation. That’s just one of the unexpected perks.

Podcasting is about building relationships with your audience. Those relationships lead to opportunities, which then lead to more relationships. It’s an ongoing process.

Let’s talk about the mentality of monetization. If you want to make money, great—state that goal so you can set things up properly. But you have to be realistic.

It may take years to build an audience that’s willing to buy, support, or attract advertisers. In those first years, things are going to be slim. That’s why so many quit by episode ten—eight episodes in, no money, so they give up. You need about two to three years, sometimes more.

If you start off obsessed with monetization, you’re likely to miss the journey entirely and burn out too soon. The episodes when you’re not making money are when you grow, experiment, find your voice, and have fun.

That’s what keeps you going.

So, enjoy the creativity. Enjoy the freedom to do whatever you want because it’s your show. Keep your eye on the destination, sure—but make sure to embrace the journey along the way. If you need help, you know where to find me: School of Podcasting. I help podcasters. It’s what I do, and I’ve been doing it for nearly twenty years. I can’t wait to see what we create together.