#027: Why Nobody Cares About Your Podcast

I'm not usually a "hard truths" kind of person. Mostly because you could look at me the wrong way and I'd get my feeling hurt. 🥲 But this is a hard truth every podcaster must face: there will come a time you feel like no one cares about your podcast.

In this episode we'll talk about what to do when you start having a podcast meltdown, my embarressing first attempt at starting a podcast and why it's okay if no one cares about your podcast.

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Creators & Guests

Host

Morgan Franklin

Morgan Franklin is a podcast producer, strategist and educator. Since 2020 Morgan has founded and produced multiple top ranking podcasts from the health industry to beauty. Featured everywhere from Good Morning America to Martha Stewart Living Morgan's passion and knowledge for branding and podcasting have helped countless business owners and brands grow their impact and bottom line podcasting. Morgan is the Founder of Podcasts for Profit and Morgan Franklin Media, in addition to host of Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin.

What is Podcasts for Profit with Morgan Franklin | Podcasting Strategy for Podcasters?

If you’re ready to create a podcast that will align you with experts in your industry, position yourself as a trusted leader and create another source of revenue for your business you’re in the right place. Podcasts for Profit will help you create and grow a podcast that cuts through the noise of social media and speak directly to your target audience. Stop letting the algorithm determine your social marketing strategy. Stop letting trends dictate the kind of content you’re able to create. Hosted by expert podcast strategist, producer and educator: Morgan Franklin, Podcasts for Profit is your step-by-step guide to creating a podcast that will transform your business, opportunities and life.

Morgan Franklin: Unfortunately,
for most of us, there will come

a time when we feel like no one
really cares about our podcast.

Every single long term client
I've ever worked with has at

some point said, what's the
point? Or should I keep doing

this? Or what am I even doing?
Or why does it feel like no one

cares about my podcast, and
these are all great questions to

ask ourselves at every stage of
our podcasting journey. And you

know, it might feel bleak to ask
them, but on the bright side, if

you aren't regularly asking
these questions, you're even

further away from creating a
podcast that anyone will ever

care about in this episode,
we'll talk about why your

audience isn't growing, what to
do when you have a meltdown

moment and you're questioning
everything about your podcast

existence. And finally,
hopefully answer the question

of, Why does no one care about
your podcast? Hello and welcome

to podcast for profit. My name
is Morgan Franklin. I'm a

Podcast Producer, strategist and
educator. This podcast will help

you create and grow a podcast
that cuts through the noise of

social media and speaks directly
to your target audience. If

you're ready to create a podcast
that will align you with the

experts in your industry,
position yourself as a trusted

leader and create another source
of revenue for your business.

You're in the right place. I
started working on my first

podcast at the beginning of 2021
I had no idea what I was doing.

Like that is an understatement.
I never used a microphone or

Adobe Audition or really
explored any kind of audio

medium. I remembered. I ordered
about $500 worth of equipment

from Amazon. I couldn't figure
out how to use any of it, and I

returned it all. I spent
countless hours on Reddit and

YouTube trying to figure out how
to get the recording from

talking into the microphone to
on the computer. I started

developing a brand with a client
who wanted to run for a state

senate seat, and having my
background in content creation,

I thought the easiest and most
obvious way to get in front of

his constituents and set himself
apart in this race would be to

have an open line of
communication with social media

and content. I'm gonna tell you
this story, and I've never told

it on the internet before,
mostly because it's

embarrassing, but we all start
somewhere, and I wish I'd known

how many versions of podcasts
that the people I look up to in

podcasting had before their
podcast idea that actually

worked out I was sitting in a
Dunkin Donuts drive through, and

I have no idea why I remember
this, but for whatever reason,

the location that was by my
house was really, really slow,

like sometimes I would sit in
that line for 30 Minutes, and I

would do all kinds of things
while I was waiting in line. But

on this one day, I was sitting
in the dunganas drive through

brainstorming ideas for this new
role and how I could get my

client in front of the community
for whatever reason. And still,

to this day, I'm not 100% sure
why this popped into my head,

but I thought, wouldn't it be
fun if he had a podcast with two

of his other male friends who
are also parents and business

owners and generally interesting
guys to show a more vulnerable

side of male friendship, because
what the world needs is one more

podcast with middle aged white
men talking about stuff and

sharing their unsolicited
opinion. Right from a brand

perspective, I think that I
thought this would humanize my

client, but what I didn't really
think about is what our actual

goal was. The actual goal was to
help this client run for

political office. So while yes,
this could have achieved that

final goal, kind of there were
just so many better ways of

doing it after four attempted
recording sessions that were a

complete and total disaster. I
was feeling really defeated. I

was questioning everything about
myself and my work and this

brand strategy overall, and I
honestly just wanted to quit the

entire podcast idea. I was like,
this is not working. Luckily,

one of the two friends we had
for the initial episode

recordings had an offer to move
out of state before we were able

to launch the podcast. And you
know, sometimes things have to

fall apart to fall back
together. And that is just

something that you should always
remember in podcasting and life

in general. But I knew deep
down, something had to change.

Because not only was this
podcast a total mess from the

production side me, it was
really, really boring. We had no

objective. We had no
inspiration. This was three

middle aged white guys talking
about their work and family and

stories that no one cared about
except for them. And that's the

point of this entire episode
when you're creating selfish

content no one cares about it,
except for you. So after that co

host left, and I was scrambling
to figure out if a podcast

should still be a part of this
campaign strategy, I decided to

take a page out of my favorite
comedian and podcaster, Conan

O'Brien's book. If you've ever
listened to his podcast, it's

called Conan O'Brien needs a
friend, and in that moment,

well, we needed more than.
Anything was to make this brand

and campaign some friends. So I
re pitched the podcast idea, I'm

guessing, this time I worked on
it after I got the coffee and we

decided to move forward with a
podcast that would interview

interesting people from our
community. And you know, this

has gone on to be one of the
most downloaded, talked about

and highly regarded podcasts in
our area, we've had almost 200

different guests, and I'm proud
that this podcast consistently

gets over 30,000 downloads every
month. It's changed my life, and

I know it's played an important
part in strengthening our

community and bringing quality
media back to our area. Our

community cares about it, and
not because of us, but because

we have integrity and purpose.
We want to uplift the guests

that are on our show. We want to
introduce them to people who

might have never heard of them
before. About a year and a half

into working on this project,
the client I was working with

decided he no longer wanted to
run for office after spending

some time in the state
legislature, it just wasn't the

environment or experience that
he thought it would be. But we

both realized we created
something that would exist far

beyond a campaign or any selfish
purpose that had inspired it. If

you want to make a podcast that
people care about, it can't just

be about you. It has to be about
them. So if you're looking at

your podcast downloads every
month and they're not growing,

or worse, they're decreasing, I
want you to take some time and

think about how this podcast is
speaking into people's lives.

Did you make it for selfish
intentions? And if you did,

that's okay. We all have to get
off the launch pad, and

sometimes selfish reasons are
just as good as any other. But

while that'll get you in the
sky, it's not gonna keep you

going. It's not going to grow
your podcast. It's not going to

build a community that can't
wait to hear your new episodes.

And what about the inevitable
podcaster breakdown? I hope you

know what I mean when I say
that. But generally, anytime

you're just in the total pit of
despair, thinking this is never

going to work out, or why am I
doing this, or who even cares

about my podcast, or who even
listens to this podcast? And

we've all been there. I've been
there. I've been there very

recently. Podcasting is hard.
Podcasting is the long game.

It's just like owning a
business. There's gonna be

really high highs. They're gonna
be very low lows. But you know,

the people who make it, they're
the ones that figure out their

audience, they know who their
community is, and they're always

working to grow and serve them.
I was reading a newsletter from

Guy Roz this week, and he was
saying that the thing that

almost every business owner he's
interviewed over the past 20

years, which is a lot has in
common, is they all

underestimated how long it would
actually take to become

successful. And if there's a
through line through every

podcaster that I've ever met,
I'd say it's the exact same

thing. You are not going to be
where you want to be with your

podcast in a month, or three
months or six months, I'd say

after a year, you're probably
just getting in the groove of

how this specific podcast works.
In my experience, it takes about

three years to see a real
community growth and development

from your podcast. If you're
doing a podcast every week,

that's 156 episodes. So yeah,
I'd say after 150 episodes,

you're finally going to see
where you stand. But do you know

where most podcasters give up?
I'll give you a hint. It's not

150 episodes, it's three. Three
to seven episodes is how many

episodes most podcasters publish
before they decide if this is

working or not, and that's just
so unrealistic. Success in

podcasting will always belong to
the creator who is willing to

stay the course, because not
only are you consistently

showing up for your audience,
you're passing up all those

other 90% of podcasters who try
and quit and try and quit.

You're getting better. You're
improving your skills. You're

writing more interesting
episodes, you're connecting with

your audience, you're getting
better guests. You're learning

not to use the microphone like
that. Practice makes perfect. No

one just wakes up being a
professional podcaster, and you

have to give yourself the grace
to know you have to practice at

this. You can get better, and
you will if you're putting in

the effort. I feel like so many
people I meet are just like, I

would never be good at that.
Yeah, you might not be good at

it right now, but you will be
good at it if you practice, if

you put in the time, and that's
so important, because it's hard

to be proud of something when
you aren't confident in it. And

I know I've said this before,
but if you aren't talking about

your podcast, no one is. And if
you're wondering why no one

cares, it's because you don't
care if you aren't caring about

it. Enough to talk about it or
learn about how to get better or

practice. Why would anyone else
care? We have to take

accountability for ourselves
first, because we can't control

how other people feel and how
other people feel really has

nothing to do with us. I want
you to be confident, so sure of

yourself, so passionate and
inspired and in love with the

podcast you create that even if
no one else gives a crap about

it, it wouldn't faze you in the
slightest. You'd keep going.

You'd know that your value, when
you find the listeners who this

podcast is created for was so
powerful and meaningful and

valuable that you have to keep
going until they find you,

because you can create a
community around your podcast of

people who love you and adore
you and I want you to I pray you

do. The only thing that's going
to keep you going and keep you

motivated and keep you creating
is knowing that you have

something to give the world that
is so meaningful that you have

to keep going, you have to have
clarity, you have to have

direction and purpose. And I
know that that's not always

easy. That's not always easy for
me. I know that sometimes you

get started and you think you
know exactly where you want to

go, but then things just still
end up falling apart. So if

you're feeling lost or
uninspired or you just don't

know where to start, I'd love to
help you out. Send me an email

to Morgan at morganfranken dot
media, and I'll share my website

in the show notes. I have
monthly coaching available, or

we can just sit down for an hour
together and strategize for your

podcast and figure out how
you're going to find the

audience who needs to hear what
you have to say. Because

remember, you have to care about
your podcast first. And as

always, I can't wait to listen
to your podcast. Hey, thank you

so much for joining me on this
episode. If you enjoyed the

podcast and you'd like to hear
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podcast.