What's your motivation
Episode Show Notes
Welcome to PodOn, the podcast where we share stories from other podcasters and talk with them about the challenges we all face when beginning the podcasting journey. If you are a podcaster, we would love to hear your story and your feedback. If you love this podcast, please subscribe and share it with your friends.
On this PodOn episode, Julian and TJ get introspective and talk about a fragile topic: motivation. We’ve touched on the pod fade phenomenon before on this show and it is your level of motivation that can decide whether your show falls into pod fade or continues to grow. But don’t worry! Julian and TJ share the ultimate tips and tricks that will help you remember your initial excitement for podcasting and beat the non-recording avalanche. Join us on this episode and learn everything on batch recording, getting your times set, finding an accountability system, and getting your creative juices flowing again!
Jump straight into:
(00:27) - Why having a co-host is definitely helpful - “From a motivation standpoint, when you are working with team members, or it is a larger team, you want to make sure that everybody's holding themselves accountable, including yourself as a host.”
(02:52) - Beat the avalanche: On batch recording and setting specific times - “Once you get that avalanche of non-recording, it will only become bigger and stronger and eventually it's just going to crumble you.”
(03:33) - Record anyway!- “Even if you're not in a fancy studio or have a fancy mic at home, bust out your phone and just talk about a topic that you're passionate about.”
(07:15) - Give yourself time and get comfortable - “A lot of shows out of the gates that are like, ’We have to be a weekly show’. You don't, you really don't.”
(08:14) - TJ and Julian’s final advice: Build an accountability support system - “Find that friend who's going to call you out to make sure that you're staying on top of things.”
Resources
PodOn is hosted by TJ Bonaventura and Julian Lewis, founders of the full-service podcast company based in San Francisco, StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at info@studiopodsf.com or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodmedia
Episode Transcript (via Rev.com)
TJ Bonaventura:
This is The PodOn Podcast. We're your hosts, TJ Bonaventura, that's me, and Julian Lewis.
Julian Lewis:
That's me. As founders of a podcast media company. We had to start a podcast.
TJ Bonaventura:
So join us each episode as we and our guest drop knowledge on podcasting for you, the curious and scrappy podcaster.
Julian Lewis:
Welcome back to another episode of The PodOn Podcast. We're your hosts, Julian Lewis, and my co-host TJ Bonaventura. We are the dynamic duo that is Pinky and the Brain. And you can determine who's who.
TJ Bonaventura:
Who's who of Pinky and the Brain. As I stumble over that, do not make any speculations based off of that.
Julian Lewis:
TJ, what are we talking about today?
TJ Bonaventura:
Today, we're going to get a little introspective. We're going to be talking about motivation and finding your motivation to continue to record, as much like we've all been there from a written standpoint where we get into writer's block, what can we use in tactics to motivate ourselves, to get in front of the mic and to record as this is something that Julian, you and I, have dealt with both separately when we started podcast and together as we record the PodOn. So I think it's a good episode for us to just air it out there, give some tips and tricks of what we like to do individually and how we collectively come together to record.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. I don't know why when you said air it out there, I thought of The Air Up There, which is a phenomenal hoops movie.
TJ Bonaventura:
Kevin Bacon.
Julian Lewis:
Exactly. But yeah, I mean, there are times when you just run into a wall. I think the difference between what we run into with The PodOn podcast versus what I ran into with Couple Collective was I was just not equipped at all at the time I was doing Couple Collective to be able to sustain what I was doing recording in the same week as I was trying to edit. And since with The PodOn Podcast, I think we've shelved it to really focus on our clients. But I think as practitioners of this industry, it's not an excuse. We have to continue going. And I think one of the things that helps is having a co-host, having somebody during our weekly meetings that we have twice a week is like, "Yo, we need to record something this week. We need to record something this week." And then just putting time on the calendar. And here we are.
TJ Bonaventura:
Yeah, I think in addition to that, and we don't want to turn this into a complete sales pitch of Studio Pod, but we have coordinators on our team that will work with our clients to make sure that they are scheduling the recording. We started this to empower through audio and lower the barrier of entry. So from a motivation standpoint, when you are working with team members or it is a larger team, you want to make sure that everybody's holding themselves accountable, including yourself as a host, to make sure that you are recording. That's why we do recommend the batch recording. That's why we recommend having set times every week that you are going to record.
TJ Bonaventura:
And even if you're not getting any guests in that recording, maybe that's a time for a solo episode. Really dedicate a specific time of the week that you are going to get your recording done. Because once you kind of get that avalanche of non-recording, it's only become bigger and stronger and eventually it's just going to crumble you. And then at the end of the day, you're going to find yourself three, four weeks without a recording and then your shows over with. Julian, I know you love that analogy.
Julian Lewis:
I was literally going to say that was by far the best analogy that you've ever said. And I really appreciate that one.
TJ Bonaventura:
Wow. Okay. For the record, the best I've ever said.
Julian Lewis:
Ever.
TJ Bonaventura:
Leave it up to you, the curious and scrappy podcasters.
Julian Lewis:
And I think the one thing to kind of point back to the episode where we had Golly on here where she dedicated a year, no matter what she was going to get a year's worth of content out. I think a year is a great timeframe. It's a lot, but I think setting some sort of parameters of I'm going to record this many episodes in this timeframe, and then I'm going to take a break.
Julian Lewis:
And because as TJ mentioned, the batch recording, you can give yourself space to take a break, to make sure that you don't lose motivation. But I think having some sort of buddy system to make sure that you continue to go on is extremely helpful because I think with podcasting, a lot of people enter with the hopes that what's going to motivate them is the growth of their audience. But that takes so much time. And even if you do you have a large audience, you still have to find it within yourself to stay motivated, to get in front of the mic and record.
TJ Bonaventura:
Yeah. And remember why you did it in the first place. We've already talked plenty about defining your goals, right? And even if your goals are to become a large, successful show and get all this ad revenue, which is awesome. But as Julian said, it takes time to do that. Remember how you felt. Maybe if you've written that down somewhere, if you've written yourself a brief and you go through that point, when you're like, "Oh, I should start a podcast." And how you felt doing it. Remember that. Get that feeling back in your system.
TJ Bonaventura:
So even if you have a set time recorded and you haven't done all the prep work that you should have, I would still recommend getting and flexing that muscle of recording, because you can always choose not to do that. And I think you'll surprise yourself because once you get in the recording, you'll listen to it. You'll say, "Shit, this wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be." But you now why? It's because I didn't do the prep work. And so that will start to motivate you again to do the prep work or have somebody that's going to be accountable for helping you find accountability.
TJ Bonaventura:
As you mentioned, we have a friend of the program, Rob Walker, who used to contact me when we first started the business of what are you going to be recording today? What are you going to be talking about? What was your biggest challenge? Have somebody add some sort of accountability to you and your show.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. And I think TJ, to your point, if you have a scheduled time just getting in front of the mic and recording, definitely key. But I think also... I don't know what type of phone all of our listeners have, but I imagine that all of their phones have some sort of recording feature. Pull out your phone and just record something. Record what's on your mind. And I think building, as TJ mentioned, that muscle of expressing yourself through audio is going to allow for you to continue to realize that I like doing this.
Julian Lewis:
And if you don't, that's a whole nother conversation. But if you do, I think continuing to record yourself, and in fact, as TJ mentioned, remembering why you did this for the brands that are out there, think of the benefits of recording, right? You have the ability to record one piece of content that then can convert into a number of other pieces of content. And that blinking screen for me or that blinking cursor on a blank screen is so intimidating to me because I have to type out my thoughts, but instead I just word vomit my thoughts and then I can go back later and wordsmith it. So thinking of it as something that you're doing as a workout in a sense where even if you're not in a fancy studio or have a fancy mic at home, bust out your phone and just talk about a topic that you're passionate about.
TJ Bonaventura:
I can't emphasize that enough. Everybody has these moments, whether it's in the middle of the night or whether they're on a walk or whether with somebody and they're like, "Oh, this would be a great idea for an episode." Or "this be a great idea for a guest." Record it, bust it out. It's easier just to talk about it out loud. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's a personal memo to yourself. And then when you hear that, you'll hear your excitement and that will get you that much further to recording on the mic and then finding that motivation again to ultimately creating multiple episodes in a row. And again, the other thing is we talk about it a million times here. If you're able to do it with your show with batch recording, dedicate an hour or two a week to just get through episodes. Whenever Julian and I record, we know that we are going to be recording at least two to three.
TJ Bonaventura:
And for us, being that it's 15 minutes short episodes, we have given ourselves three weeks of content ready to go that we don't have to worry about. So we give ourselves a little bit of leeway. If you don't have that availability to do so, make sure you're doing two. Make sure you have a couple different stints on the weekend. Whatever it may be that works with your schedule, highly recommend dedicating a certain time during the week to set aside for recording.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. And in the beginning you might want to switch up that time based off of when you have the most energy throughout the day, but also a lot of shows out of the gates, they're like we have to be a weekly show. You don't. You really don't. Do it every other week because that gives you a lot more time to build up that batch of recordings that you have. In summary, always remember why you got started, always continue to flex your muscle in terms of busting out your phone and practicing and making sure that even if that day wasn't your day to have that perfect recording, to actually record and also give yourself a break. Set a goal, hit that goal, take a few days off or a few weeks off because you have built up that batch of recordings and then come back to it with new energy.
Julian Lewis:
And the last thing is making sure that you have somebody that can keep you accountable, even if they're not related to your show at all. As Rob has been a friend of the studio as well as our show, find that friend who's going to call you out to make sure that you're staying on top of things.
TJ Bonaventura:
All right. Well, as always, if you want to reach out to us to learn more about how to stay motivated, how to create goals or anything podcasting, you can reach out info@studiopodsf.com or at StudioPodSF across all the social channels. Julian is @LAGentleman across all social channels and I am @TJforthree, because I got that smooth jumper.
Julian Lewis:
Does he though? PodOn.
TJ Bonaventura:
Every episode of The PodOn Podcast is produced and edited by Studio Pod Media. For more information about our work and our clients go to StudioPodSF.com.
Julian Lewis:
Shout out to Gary Oakland for the fire track.
TJ Bonaventura:
Gary O.
This is The PodOn Podcast. We're your hosts, TJ Bonaventura, that's me, and Julian Lewis.
Julian Lewis:
That's me. As founders of a podcast media company. We had to start a podcast.
TJ Bonaventura:
So join us each episode as we and our guest drop knowledge on podcasting for you, the curious and scrappy podcaster.
Julian Lewis:
Welcome back to another episode of The PodOn Podcast. We're your hosts, Julian Lewis, and my co-host TJ Bonaventura. We are the dynamic duo that is Pinky and the Brain. And you can determine who's who.
TJ Bonaventura:
Who's who of Pinky and the Brain. As I stumble over that, do not make any speculations based off of that.
Julian Lewis:
TJ, what are we talking about today?
TJ Bonaventura:
Today, we're going to get a little introspective. We're going to be talking about motivation and finding your motivation to continue to record, as much like we've all been there from a written standpoint where we get into writer's block, what can we use in tactics to motivate ourselves, to get in front of the mic and to record as this is something that Julian, you and I, have dealt with both separately when we started podcast and together as we record the PodOn. So I think it's a good episode for us to just air it out there, give some tips and tricks of what we like to do individually and how we collectively come together to record.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. I don't know why when you said air it out there, I thought of The Air Up There, which is a phenomenal hoops movie.
TJ Bonaventura:
Kevin Bacon.
Julian Lewis:
Exactly. But yeah, I mean, there are times when you just run into a wall. I think the difference between what we run into with The PodOn podcast versus what I ran into with Couple Collective was I was just not equipped at all at the time I was doing Couple Collective to be able to sustain what I was doing recording in the same week as I was trying to edit. And since with The PodOn Podcast, I think we've shelved it to really focus on our clients. But I think as practitioners of this industry, it's not an excuse. We have to continue going. And I think one of the things that helps is having a co-host, having somebody during our weekly meetings that we have twice a week is like, "Yo, we need to record something this week. We need to record something this week." And then just putting time on the calendar. And here we are.
TJ Bonaventura:
Yeah, I think in addition to that, and we don't want to turn this into a complete sales pitch of Studio Pod, but we have coordinators on our team that will work with our clients to make sure that they are scheduling the recording. We started this to empower through audio and lower the barrier of entry. So from a motivation standpoint, when you are working with team members or it is a larger team, you want to make sure that everybody's holding themselves accountable, including yourself as a host, to make sure that you are recording. That's why we do recommend the batch recording. That's why we recommend having set times every week that you are going to record.
TJ Bonaventura:
And even if you're not getting any guests in that recording, maybe that's a time for a solo episode. Really dedicate a specific time of the week that you are going to get your recording done. Because once you kind of get that avalanche of non-recording, it's only become bigger and stronger and eventually it's just going to crumble you. And then at the end of the day, you're going to find yourself three, four weeks without a recording and then your shows over with. Julian, I know you love that analogy.
Julian Lewis:
I was literally going to say that was by far the best analogy that you've ever said. And I really appreciate that one.
TJ Bonaventura:
Wow. Okay. For the record, the best I've ever said.
Julian Lewis:
Ever.
TJ Bonaventura:
Leave it up to you, the curious and scrappy podcasters.
Julian Lewis:
And I think the one thing to kind of point back to the episode where we had Golly on here where she dedicated a year, no matter what she was going to get a year's worth of content out. I think a year is a great timeframe. It's a lot, but I think setting some sort of parameters of I'm going to record this many episodes in this timeframe, and then I'm going to take a break.
Julian Lewis:
And because as TJ mentioned, the batch recording, you can give yourself space to take a break, to make sure that you don't lose motivation. But I think having some sort of buddy system to make sure that you continue to go on is extremely helpful because I think with podcasting, a lot of people enter with the hopes that what's going to motivate them is the growth of their audience. But that takes so much time. And even if you do you have a large audience, you still have to find it within yourself to stay motivated, to get in front of the mic and record.
TJ Bonaventura:
Yeah. And remember why you did it in the first place. We've already talked plenty about defining your goals, right? And even if your goals are to become a large, successful show and get all this ad revenue, which is awesome. But as Julian said, it takes time to do that. Remember how you felt. Maybe if you've written that down somewhere, if you've written yourself a brief and you go through that point, when you're like, "Oh, I should start a podcast." And how you felt doing it. Remember that. Get that feeling back in your system.
TJ Bonaventura:
So even if you have a set time recorded and you haven't done all the prep work that you should have, I would still recommend getting and flexing that muscle of recording, because you can always choose not to do that. And I think you'll surprise yourself because once you get in the recording, you'll listen to it. You'll say, "Shit, this wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be." But you now why? It's because I didn't do the prep work. And so that will start to motivate you again to do the prep work or have somebody that's going to be accountable for helping you find accountability.
TJ Bonaventura:
As you mentioned, we have a friend of the program, Rob Walker, who used to contact me when we first started the business of what are you going to be recording today? What are you going to be talking about? What was your biggest challenge? Have somebody add some sort of accountability to you and your show.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. And I think TJ, to your point, if you have a scheduled time just getting in front of the mic and recording, definitely key. But I think also... I don't know what type of phone all of our listeners have, but I imagine that all of their phones have some sort of recording feature. Pull out your phone and just record something. Record what's on your mind. And I think building, as TJ mentioned, that muscle of expressing yourself through audio is going to allow for you to continue to realize that I like doing this.
Julian Lewis:
And if you don't, that's a whole nother conversation. But if you do, I think continuing to record yourself, and in fact, as TJ mentioned, remembering why you did this for the brands that are out there, think of the benefits of recording, right? You have the ability to record one piece of content that then can convert into a number of other pieces of content. And that blinking screen for me or that blinking cursor on a blank screen is so intimidating to me because I have to type out my thoughts, but instead I just word vomit my thoughts and then I can go back later and wordsmith it. So thinking of it as something that you're doing as a workout in a sense where even if you're not in a fancy studio or have a fancy mic at home, bust out your phone and just talk about a topic that you're passionate about.
TJ Bonaventura:
I can't emphasize that enough. Everybody has these moments, whether it's in the middle of the night or whether they're on a walk or whether with somebody and they're like, "Oh, this would be a great idea for an episode." Or "this be a great idea for a guest." Record it, bust it out. It's easier just to talk about it out loud. It doesn't have to be perfect. It's a personal memo to yourself. And then when you hear that, you'll hear your excitement and that will get you that much further to recording on the mic and then finding that motivation again to ultimately creating multiple episodes in a row. And again, the other thing is we talk about it a million times here. If you're able to do it with your show with batch recording, dedicate an hour or two a week to just get through episodes. Whenever Julian and I record, we know that we are going to be recording at least two to three.
TJ Bonaventura:
And for us, being that it's 15 minutes short episodes, we have given ourselves three weeks of content ready to go that we don't have to worry about. So we give ourselves a little bit of leeway. If you don't have that availability to do so, make sure you're doing two. Make sure you have a couple different stints on the weekend. Whatever it may be that works with your schedule, highly recommend dedicating a certain time during the week to set aside for recording.
Julian Lewis:
Yeah. And in the beginning you might want to switch up that time based off of when you have the most energy throughout the day, but also a lot of shows out of the gates, they're like we have to be a weekly show. You don't. You really don't. Do it every other week because that gives you a lot more time to build up that batch of recordings that you have. In summary, always remember why you got started, always continue to flex your muscle in terms of busting out your phone and practicing and making sure that even if that day wasn't your day to have that perfect recording, to actually record and also give yourself a break. Set a goal, hit that goal, take a few days off or a few weeks off because you have built up that batch of recordings and then come back to it with new energy.
Julian Lewis:
And the last thing is making sure that you have somebody that can keep you accountable, even if they're not related to your show at all. As Rob has been a friend of the studio as well as our show, find that friend who's going to call you out to make sure that you're staying on top of things.
TJ Bonaventura:
All right. Well, as always, if you want to reach out to us to learn more about how to stay motivated, how to create goals or anything podcasting, you can reach out info@studiopodsf.com or at StudioPodSF across all the social channels. Julian is @LAGentleman across all social channels and I am @TJforthree, because I got that smooth jumper.
Julian Lewis:
Does he though? PodOn.
TJ Bonaventura:
Every episode of The PodOn Podcast is produced and edited by Studio Pod Media. For more information about our work and our clients go to StudioPodSF.com.
Julian Lewis:
Shout out to Gary Oakland for the fire track.
TJ Bonaventura:
Gary O.