Have I ever told you that
from Substack recommended to start a podcast? We chatted and she suggested to start a Substack native podcast for The Online Writing Club.I’m super grateful for this nudge because I went from rock bottom to 34,000 downloads! Woohoo.
I still remember my first podcast episode on Substack - in August 2024 - with my baby in my lab.
The guest? Medium Top Writer
— who became a first-time book author of Shy by Design.And the coolest part?
One single story on Medium changed his life.
An agent read one of his stories, saw “the seed” of a book idea, and reached out to him.
Wild, right?
But let me tell you this: publishing this first episode took me hours.
Not because podcasting is super hard...
But because starting something new always feels bigger in your head. I bet you’re feeling this too.
Setting up the Substack podcast
Recording the first episode
Editing the audio (& video)
Writing a podcast post and adding an image
Publishing on Substack
Deciding: Should I connect it to Spotify and Apple too?
It's exciting.
It's scary.
It's overwhelming.
It’s all of that at once.
Why the “Top 1% of Podcasters” is Way Closer Than You Think
Here’s the thing that got me hooked:
I was watching an interview with
(from Ship30for30 and Write with AI).And he said something crazy:
“If you publish 21 podcast episodes, you’re in the top 1% of all podcasts.”
Wait, what? Only 21 episodes?
I had to immediately tell this my smallstack friend
who just recently had started his podcast.I wrote something like:
“Hey David, did you know?! Let’s try this and keep pushing”
Most Podcasts Never Get Past Episode 3
When I did the research for this newsletter post I found another insight.
Attention, please! 90% of podcasts don’t get past episode 3. That’s 1.8 million who quit.
Yup.
Most podcasts never get past episode 3.
Even fewer make it past 10.
Almost nobody reaches 21.
The top 1% isn’t about having millions of listeners.
It’s not about being perfect.
It’s about showing up consistently.
It’s about showing up.
Again. And again. And again. That’s the HARDEST part.
My (Not So) Simple Podcast Goal
Based on these insights I decided to set myself a goal:
→ Publish 1 episode per week
→ For the next 33 weeks
That’s it.
Just showing up every week.
Easier said than done with two kids in the house, a garden, house, leisure time activities, a marriage, being part of the sandwich generation, work etc.
Did I make it?
Noooooo. I managed to pump out (drum roll, pease) 22!
11 missing but who cares!? I’m proud of myself for showing up.
This way I could build a YouTube-Substack flywheel with video interviews on YouTube and audio on Substack.
I also reused video interviews from YouTube as podcasts on Substack because I often didn't have the time, but I wanted to publish at least something.
🎧How I Did Record My Podcasts?
My podcast isn’t polished - except the intro which I record seperately (mostly direct after the interview, you might see my dark patches under the eyes then ^^)
My podcast isn’t fancy and alhtough I took a high ticket course on how to create podcasts.. I can’t put the advice into peractice because time is lacking to look at it like a “producer”. I’m not a producer but, of course, would love to have one, one day, only focus on the interviews and then give the recording to someone else to procuce it. But enough of my daydreams…
Because honestly? I'm a bit proud of my less than perfect podcast.
Most of my interviews happened either:
during my lunch break
or late in the evening, half-asleep
Sometimes I’d sit there thinking about picking up my daughter from kindergarten next.
Sometimes I had just finished reading bedtime stories to my kids, putting them to bed, sneaking upstairs...
Changing from my PJs into a dress (or honestly, just throwing a sweater over them).
Hitting record.
And asking the questions I had quickly prepared the day before.
🙏🏻🙏🏻I’d love to THANK EVERYONE for recording a podcast with me! THANK YOU!🙏🏻🙏🏻
🎙️🎧Tech Stack for Beginners (What I Use/d)
This is how my hubby and I started doing videos and podcasts from our bedroom.
If you want to start a podcast too, you can watch my masterclass (the one I wish I had when I started) plus, as promised, here’s the tech stack I use/d — super beginner-friendly:
