Recording a podcast is a lot of work. From research to editing and all the places in between, a lot can go wrong. So what do you do when you are listening to a podcast you recorded and are not happy with the results?
Helpful Podcasting Hint
It might seem obvious to some, but ALWAYS listen to your podcast again before releasing it for your listeners. ALWAYS.
I bring this up because I was recently listening to an episode of a podcast I enjoy. One that normally has impeccable production values, and a member of the podcast was obviously ill. Not just illness that changed the tone of his voice, but ill in a way where they were coughing into the microphone and making all sorts of unusual sounds.
The end result? The normally informative show was almost unlistenable. So why did they release it?
Sunk cost fallacy
They did all the research, they took the time to record. They are in love with their own product. They hate to think it is going to waste, so they throw out an inferior product and hope that their audience will be forgiving.
This might not be that smart, because audiences, have nearly unlimited choice when it comes to podcasts. You should try to make sure every episode lives up to the your best episode.
Apple Podcasts … features more than 500,000 active podcasts, including content in more than 100 languages.
– Variety (February 2018)
So what should you do instead?
First ask yourself, have I done everything I could to “fix” this episode? Can you edit around your errors? Can you re-record just the parts that are problematic? If you cannot do either of those things, you should probably start over. Armed with your previous recording, your next recording should be a breeze.
You only have one opportunity to build an audience. Sure, one error every once in a while will be forgiven, but remember this could be a potential fan’s first episode. So treat every episode like it is your first episode or you might find that you are inadvertently recording your last episode