Celebrating 100 Podcasts

Pretty excited to be typing this up – we have reached 100 shows now in Global From Asia! Remember having no clue how to do a podcast when first starting in October 2013. Now it feels like a totally new perspective on the internet as I type this up.

Today I’ll share with you some things I have learned since starting the show. Hopefully you can learn some things and get inspired to start your own podcast – or keep pushing forward with your current show!

I’ve been a “blogger” or basically have had my online journal since 2007 (via Mikesblog.com). I’d type up blogs about my experience and my life life path and business development since leaving USA and coming to China. No real rhyme or reason. I think it was in 2010 when I would write a blog post a day, as at that time the theme was more content means more traffic.

With this Global From Asia podcast, I had learned it is good to have a regular routine. So that your audience knows when to check in for the next episode.

Picking Tuesday mornings, 10am Hong Kong time for the podcast was what we picked.

I do agree it’s good for the audience, to have predictability for when they should tune in. But it is also a challenge for the creator. I set times in my calendar to have the interview done by – such as:

* Wednesday the week before need have to have the interview done.
* Thursday the week before need have to have the intro and outro of the show done.
* Friday need to have the show artwork ready, profile photo of the person being interviewed
* Sunday need to have the show notes edited and ready to be listed
* Monday audio editing complete and mp3 file uploaded
* Schedule show for release on Tuesday morning.
* Repeat for next week’s show

It can get to be a grind, as I am sure other podcasters out there can attest. Need to keep on top of it, as it gets stressful if you’re a day or two behind in those deadlines above.

With discipline comes routine. The best way to stay on top of these items outlined in the previous section is to outline each and every step you need to do.

While a lot of people see this as a chore, it seriously de-stresses your mind. When the next task came up, I would go to that document and checklist, see the piece that needs to be done, and get to it.

As the system is perfected, you can assign it to a team member. By doing it myself a few times I could get the feel for how much time it would take, and then have an idea how look it would take a team member. Adding extra time is a good habit, especially if they are just getting started with the task and need to get familiar.

By having regular tasks to do, and then writing them out, you can develop a good team to support you.

When I was just blogging without a schedule, or many other types of work I have done in the past, it is harder to standardize the processes. By having regular tasks – you can standardize the business process and have a team member help you out.

This is something I would say I learned and perfected from podcasting. Now moved the thought process to other parts of business.

Many would say Global From Asia’s content isn’t exactly focused – but it is better than I have done in the past! Mentioning my personal blog before, it was a mix of business and personal. Friends and readers would say it was so sporadic that didn’t know what to expect next. They didn’t know what to tell others when they explained the site.

With focused content, it is easier for a reader to more confidently tell their friends what the site is about. Easier to explain, and easier for the person hearing the recommendation to understand and add to their reading list or not.

Focus is something that a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with. For the general public having a clearly defined “product” is critical. Such as this podcast about doing international business via Hong Kong, China, and Asia it is easier to conceptualize.

This exercise of podcasting has helped me do that.

This has been the story of my life. Get out there and do it. Learn on the way. Listen to others. The Global From Asia podcast is no different. The path wasn’t too clear, and still isn’t 100% clear, but you figure it out as you do it.

So many people want to have the path fully clear before they start something. If you need that, then you’ll never start something new and innovative. Just get out there and make it happen. You’ll make mistakes, but you’ll also find out what people like and need.

For Global From Asia, mainly I have learned about the financial and company upkeep issues. Most know how to setup the company, that is straight forward. But how to get the banking and merchant account setup. How to keep the company in good standing and operating smoothly.

Especially in a foreign country with a foreign company. Tax issues, on a local and global level come up.

I’m personally learning it more than ever. Doing this for my own business is one thing, and you make it work. But when you need to explain it to others, you really need to break it down and understand it all.

One of the more frustrating things for me is the lack of feedback from a podcast. Thousands of people listen, but not so often you hear what the are thinking.

For so many years I had been doing “offline” or “in person” events such as Startup Tuesday and Startup Weekend. An event would have thirty people, and you would be able to talk to ten of them after the event and hear their feedback. Immediately! Take down notes, and adjust for the next event.

With a podcast, it is much more of a struggle to quickly hear people’s feedback. The ratio is much lower, at least in my experience. Listeners have told me it is because they are not on their computer, they are riding their bike, driving their car, on the bus, etc. To go to a website and fill out a survey or to send an email is a big step.

Other podcasters have told me similar stories. So I feel a bit more like a broadcaster pushing out content into the cyberweb without much feedback coming in.

The pro of a podcast or online content versus “offline” and real events is that years later someone contacts me about a show I put online. That is so awesome.

I greatly enjoy hearing a listener who learned something from a podcast in 2013 and shoots me a note.

What I am really wondering will happen is if my son will listen to my shows as he gets older. And learns!

Probably he won’t, as you know how kids are with their parents!

But knowing that a show I put online today can help people years later is extremely motivating.

To get to 100 shows is a big deal for me. There were a few times during making these 100 shows where I was really getting burnt out. Just got get over those humps. Making milestones and celebrating them like this 100 show mark is important.

I plan to keep going forward strong. I have lowered my commitment from every Tuesday morning to every other Tuesday morning. This is so that I can catch my breath a bit, as well as listeners saying they are falling behind on the shows.

Would love your feedback! As mentioned above, feedback is critical and extremely helpful. And also seems to be hard to get. If you can leave a quick comment, even if you think the show is crap – I’d appreciate it and put it on my tally.