30 Blunders That Kill Your Podcast 🤦
A short and practical guide from VIC Podcasters covering five more common podcasting mistakes and how to steer clear of them.
Ideas Discussed This Episode + Episode Timecodes:
00:00 – Introduction and reminder this is part two of podcasting mistakes to avoid
01:00 – Poor guest etiquette: preparation, respect, and sharing episodes
02:00 – Editing mistakes: skipping, rushing, or over-editing
03:00 – Not including a clear call to action (CTA)
04:00 – Podcast burnout and tips for sustainability
05:00 – Giving up too early: the value of consistency
06:00 – Final thoughts, community shout-out, and call to share podcasting mistakes
More Podcasting Blunders You Don’t Want to Make 🤦
From ignoring guest etiquette to forgetting a call to action, we break down more of the sneaky mistakes that trip up even seasoned podcasters. Learn how to avoid burnout, improve your edits, and grow a show you're proud to share.
If you want guests to say yes again, prep them right. Giving your guests an outline or talking points helps everyone sound like pros. It’s also just good manners—not to mention a better listener experience when no one’s talking over each other or fumbling on-air.
Editing is one of those podcasting tasks you might love or hate, but it’s essential. A rushed job or no job at all can sabotage your hard work. And yes, over-editing is also a thing. Let your podcast breathe so your audience can connect with the real you—just without the awkward dog barks in the background.
Finally, burnout is real. It’s okay to take breaks and pace yourself. A sustainable schedule trumps an overwhelmed podfizzle every time. Celebrate those small wins, stay patient, and give your show time to grow. And if you want more help building a show that lasts (and laughs), work with Zoë Wood of the Video Confidence Coach to get the support you need to thrive.
TIME FOR A QUICK QUIZ 🤓
What’s one sign of podcast burnout?
A) Batching 12 episodes
B) Skipping editing
C) Losing podcast motivation
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Answer: C) Losing podcast motivation - You can always take a break and take time for yourself as long as your communicate that to your audience.
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Zoë Wood 00:00
Wait, wait, wait, we're not done yet. We've got some more mistakes for podcasters and ways you can ultimately improve. You're listening to the Vic podcasters podcast, your bite sized slice of podcasting. Know how we're here to connect Victorian podcasters, whether you're just starting season Pro or stuck in the one day I will phase Stop dreaming and dive in, join our email list or hop onto our Facebook and LinkedIn groups for updates, resources and a supportive community, because podcasting is better when we do it together. Vic podcasters is proudly produced on water, run land. You This episode is part two of a longer list of mistakes to avoid as a podcaster, but let's keep the pain minimal and the podcasting fun. So let's get started with the first one, which is poor guest etiquette. So when you are a podcaster, that you have guests or multiple guests, not prepping your guests ahead of time will ultimately result in a in a not great episode. I've gotta say, Don't make them wing it, even if they are a professional, even if they have plenty of podcasting experience, make sure you respect their time by giving them an outline of what you're planning to talk about, giving them even a script, if that's helpful, not necessarily a word for word script, but a dot point script. And also make sure that you respect them, just in general, by not talking over them in your podcast. Yes, you can have friendly banter, but talking over them consistently will make you come off as the bad guy, and also makes your listener feel like they've wasted their time keying into your podcast to listen to them and please, please, please share your episode with them so they can help promote it. Because if you've got a guest on, you've put all the effort of recording and editing the podcast, make sure people listen, especially followers of that guest. The next mistake podcasters regularly make is rushing the edit or just skipping it entirely. I understand that it can take time to edit a podcast. As you can imagine, the five minute podcast, it's a lot easier, but a quick cleanup makes all the difference. You are respecting your audience's time over editing can also occur, which is where you're beginning to sound unnatural. Allow yourself to breathe and allow your audience to hear what is actually being recorded and intended. And if you're not a fan of editing, try practising and self editing as you record. And if you need to at least cut out the major bloopers and any background noise that might distract any listeners, because they want to hear from you, not your dog or your neighbour vacuuming and hey, listener, I'm just pausing your podcasting experience to let you know that I have my own podcast to the unboring your brand podcast. It's branding, but make it un boring, smashing your goals while laughing and listening to unboring your brand podcast. Check it out. Wherever your podcaster says that you can, you can find the one that's by the video confidence coach, that's me, and now back to your schedule programming. Another mistake that podcasters make is no call to action or a CTA, as it's called. Essentially, a call to action is whatever you ask as the host or maybe even a guest on a podcast a nudge to tell them what to do next. If they've really enjoyed the podcast episode or topic, where can they go to find out more information? What can they do to support you in the podcast? Can they subscribe? Can they review? Can they follow you on socials? Make sure that you pick one asking people to do all of them can get a little overwhelming, and of course, I say that with the full awareness that we ask people to do many things in our in our own podcast episode, but that's because we want to give the podcasters and members an opportunity to be able to choose what methodology works for them. But when you're trying to get feedback or any interest from your audience, being able to choose one option allows you to focus and also allows your call to action to sound more natural and less forced. You're not an infomercial. You're not a Slap Chop or a collection of copper like cookware. I just remember that infomercial. Okay, I'm getting distracted. The next common mistake podcasters make is podcast burnout. It's real, and it's deadly, making sure that you set your podcast at a sustainable pace and not going all in and crashing two or five or eight episodes in making sure that you're able to both batch record and give yourself some breaks in the meantime, so that you can spend some time creating your podcast episodes without burning out or things getting too busy in your life that you don't do it at all. Make sure to take breaks. Plan ahead for busy times, especially during holidays. Remember why you started your podcast. It is not for you, it is for your audience, but you're also recording it and editing it. The same time. So make sure you keep it fun for yourself. And the last podcasting mistake that podcasters make is giving up too soon. Podcasts take time to grow patience grasshopper, celebrate the small wins. 10 listens today, 100 tomorrow. Make sure you stay consistent and your audience will come and correcting all the mistakes from these past two episodes, you'll be able to grow your podcast faster and easier than ever. Now you're smarter than the average podcaster. Make sure you avoid these mistakes and have a better podcast. Have you got a podcasting mistake story? Make sure you share it with us on our Facebook, LinkedIn and email newsletter. We'll see you next week. Foreign. That's a wrap. Remember, we're here every week to share quick tips, updates and the occasional bad joke. Feeling inspired good now hit record or go to the show notes of this episode for a backstage past experience of the Victorian podcasting scene. Vic podcasters would like to acknowledge and pay our respects to the wadawurrung people of the Kulin nation, the traditional custodians on the land on which we work, live and play. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present. We stand with the traditional custodians of these lands in working towards a more equal future. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land. And remember, podcasting doesn't have to be a solo gig.
The above episode description and transcript were generated with human knowledge + ai.
Photograph of 4 members of VIC Podcasters who met up in Geelong.
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