At the end of 2019, I launched my first podcast to help expand my communications skillset. My podcast, The Cooperators Reviewer's Couch, is co-hosted by one of my best friends and a variety of special guest co-hosts. On the podcast, we talk about TV and movie series that we are currently watching. This has included the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian, Netflix series The Witcher, CBS' Star Trek Picard along with a variety of movie franchises.
The Cooperators Reviewer's Couch was an idea that I came up with after realizing that I wanted to spend more time analyzing entertainment that I consume rather than just sitting and watching aimlessly. It also didn't hurt that Gabe has training and professional experience in media studies.
Starting this podcast, none of us had any idea of what to do. I had no experience in the field, and everything was an intense learning curve (and remains to be so). Listen to the first couple shows compared to the newest. You will see they are vastly different in tone, confidence, and the editing (let's just say the first season of the show is a bit rough).
So you may ask, what has starting a podcast taught me? Keep reading to learn from my experience as you're thinking about launching one of your own.
Sound and Quality
This is probably a learning curve we are still working with. In an ideal world, we'd have access to multiple high-quality microphones (with the current global pandemic I am the only one who has a semi-professional grade microphone) and a soundproof studio to record in. However, since we have 0 budget, we started with only one microphone in my bedroom and are now recording with whatever devices we have available. We have since upgraded to two microphones, but we're still learning how to get the best sound quality.
We can only hope most of our listeners appreciate that this is something we're working on. As we grow, we can hopefully continue to improve this.
Co-Host Balance
We didn't really think about this before we started. We were just two friends who wanted to watch the new Disney+ show and talk about it. Suppose you plan on starting a podcast with more than one person. In that case, you need to ensure you complement one another. Having multiple points of view can make your podcast more relatable to a bigger audience.
For example, Gabe takes a very film heavy focus on the shows we watch at the start. Talking about how shots are set up and how they relate to pretty iconic films. He also usually has very little to no experience with the franchises outside of the show we are currently watching. However, I have more perspective as a regular viewer, and I usually bring more extended universe knowledge to the series. I also speak my mind very openly, making some episodes a little less than SFW (with some definitely airing on the NSFW spectrum). We work well together because we're not the exact same. From listeners I have spoken with, they like the mix of comedy, frank discussion, fandom background, and diving into the series's more technical aspects.
What Works for you
We noticed how much we cut each other off and talked over one another in our first few recordings. It is sometimes hard as we do this so much in our regular lives. Everyone likes to get their opinion out, but you need to learn to wait in a podcast. We still are working on this, especially online, as you have less body language to play off of when you talk. You'll learn a lot about how you speak and present yourself when you listen back either while editing or just wanting to hear what you said.
After those first few episodes, we learned more about how each other's voice patterns and body language worked. This was an excellent way to determine when someone would be finishing their point or comment so the next could jump in. Are we perfect... no. But we are working at it and are much better now, even with the addition of a special co-host, than we were back when we started.
We also learned what we both talk with our hands to emphasize our speech and being an audio medium, well that just won't fly. We had to put more effort into our speech, so you would know exactly what we were trying to get across as a listener.
Subs and Reviews are Hard to Come By at the Start
How many times have your friends or family asked you to do something that you said you would and forgot about it because it wasn't a priority for you? This can be a problem for all of us, and it is why relying on your personal network to start can be an issue. Like when you start an influencer blog, social media account, or Twitch stream, having family and friends subscribe, rate and comment can help you gain a more extensive reach to the general public. Also, likely the people in your lives don't fully understand how subscribing and reviewing can actually make a huge difference for you.
So here's the thing to keep in mind with this. It will be a challenging experience to get people to subscribe, continue to listen, and write reviews. It's going to take you having to harass people constantly, cross-promote, and seek out creative ways to get people to do these things. However, it's all part of the hustle, and it's worth it!
Keep a Backlog and Don't Stress Out
Since you likely aren't going to quit your job to start your podcast, because let's be honest, that is not a sound life strategy when you first start, you will have to find time to record consistent episodes, edit, promote, and everything else on top of your other obligations. We have discovered backlogging help with this, especially when we're working around more than your own schedule. This wasn't exactly a viable situation for our show, as we needed to keep up with the shows we were reviewing. But as I prepare the launch of my second podcast, I will have upwards of 10 episodes in the bank so that if I ever don't have time to record in a week, I have something to fall back onto and not over stress about postponing a release.
Creating Hype Takes Time
Something I learned from launching this podcast is that hype before the initial release is so important. Creating a trailer, setting up a social media page, and getting into an advantageous starting position on those channels would have really helped start the podcast with a considerable following. Did we do this... no. Do I regret it... also no. I have learned so much from that initial launch that I can now be ready for the launch of my second podcast in September. This includes building our social channels, that I am a bit embarrassed to say I have not been good about keeping up to date with. Creating hype takes time, it takes effort, and it takes planning. But that if you do the pre-release leg work, your launch can be super successful.
Starting a podcast is exciting, especially when you're a creative person looking for an outlet. However, accept that there will be many learning curves along the way. It will be an enjoyable and possible life-changing journey!
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