burnout – Podcastreporter.com

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In this episode that supports both PodcastReporter.com and 2030Podcast.com, we explore from experience how negative results can come from a podcaster who becomes obsessive with podcasting. For the most part, the examples come from my own experience for the last 18 years (when I started getting into podcasting).

The model that many podcasters had since their beginning is the following:

First, they publish a podcast show and its first episodes;
Their elation is high and they result in excitement and success;
They then feel that they must start more podcast shows;
Soon, when they get more ideas, they create and publish even more podcast shows;
In my experience, I had 16 podcast shows within the first 4 years of podcasting.
However, with each new podcast show, I devoted less time to the quality of the content of my flagship podcast shows;
I found that I lost time in promoting shows;
My interest went into attending, speaking and participating in live inbound podcast show events (e.g., conferences like New Media Show and also podcamp events;
My show notes grew very thin and I started losing interest in both content quality and regular consistency in publishing of my then 16 current podcast shows;
Thus, I began to podfade each show and reduce the overall time of podcasting, as I felt that I was burning out.

So the net of my experience as that the excitement and thrills in publishing podcast shows grew to a very high level, but the cost of that made my shows suffer in quality, content, consistency — and the end result was that of being close to burnout (especially when I had to travel to attend and present at shows and conferences — especially when I had to prepare the presentation).

I say this only to warn those whose excitement leads them to begin a second or third (or more ) podcast show after having completed their first show and venture into the podosphere. Also, I wish to give a sign to those who start multiple shows and then try to monetize them quickly — within a month to six months — and wonder why their success has not brought them to financial glory.

I myself have had the negative experience of both burnout and unsuccessful shows, as well as negative comments from episode reviews in the past. Now, I did start my last podcast show as a “fun” or “hobby” podcast, with no expectations or promises of consistency or promotion and no expectation nor desire for monetization. It was called the Grumpy Old Bears podcast show, and my co-host has come and gone, then returned and left again — he himself has almost burned himself out and has overwhelmed himself with too many commitments due to the excitement of being involved in numerous projects. And thus, there is NO expectation of commitment from this show, and for us, it is a periodic release of frustration and the ability to just laugh and mock society and present day events. It is for laughter, and that is why we consider it a “comedy podcast show.”

So from this podcast reporter and struggling entrepreneur, I’d like to thank you for listening, and “we’ll see you next time.”

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In this episode of The Podcast Reporter, we discuss the possibility of podcaster burnout, as emphasized by Evo Terra in his podcast show of Podcast Pontifications. In an episode of July 29, 2021, he emphasizes the need for balance in your mental health to avoid mental and physical burnout when you have not been able to say “NO” to podcasting opportunities that present themselves to you in many fashions — from interviews, from starting many podcasts as a labor of love, from all the podcasting events and conferences, and from a myriad of other podcasting opportunities.

In this episode from Evo, the warning that is given is one to which podcasters should be aware: “Busy podcasters know that there’s always more that can be done. Fans of busy podcasters know that too, often trying to be helpful by highlighting new opportunities. Which, while nice, can lead to burnout.”

I found this out to be true in my first 5 years as a podcaster. I was attracted by all the podcamps and podcast conferences and podcast events, and I traveled to attend all of them — even though they were fun and I met a lot of great people, I did not have a good business ROI from them, mainly because I was to busy to follow up properly after each event.I also started and maintained up to 16 podcast shows at the same time — until I literally almost burned out in 2011 from too much “opportunity” and too much work and responsibility. I did not put in the necessary time for each show, and thus the process of podfading show by show began. The result — today, I only have 4 podcast shows (in which the last 3 had grown in the last several years after my wake-up calls and close bouts with death due to medical conditions resulting from the complications of Agent Orange exposure from my earlier days as a combat veteran in the Vietnam War.

I then had to realize that my life required some sort of balance, and that I could not renew the fun and crazy world of being a podcaster that kept jumping on ‘OPPORTUNITIES’ the minute that they crept up or when someone suggested them to me. I mainly ignored a suggestion from a colleague of mine who worked with me during my day-job in corporate America, who said “There has to be a balance.”

As Evo Terra states in his podcast episode titled “The Mental Healthy Way to Podcasting Opportunities”: “But you, working podcaster, may not be in a place of balance. Or your balance might be less steady than the one I’ve worked to achieve.”

So looking for that balance during the turmoil and the energetic whirlwind of possible podcasting opportunities may blind you going into that mountain cave’s lair and seeking to conquer the lion in that environment. From my own experience, I would say that it is more important to be in balance before you step into the abyss of opportunity and attempt to “reap the whirlwind.”

The best words that I reflect on are the words of wisdom that Evo Terra has delivered in his episode — after all, he has been a podcaster for over 16 years, and he has seen a lot of pain in growth and in the real world of hardships for podcasters:

“Alternately, you may find an opportunity has just dropped into your lap…Chances are, some of that filled you with anxiety, stress, and a general feeling of ‘… How am I going to get all of this done?’ But let me impart another nugget of wisdom: Opportunity will knock again. Occasionally, you may realize that passing up on an opportunity is as much of an opportunity as the opportunity itself. …Your mental health is just that: your health. Treat it as such.”

Thank you for your attention.