Nowadays, everyone seems to have a podcast or has been thinking about starting one.
These engaging audio programs aren’t just hosted by the coolest comedians or sports personalities anymore, but regular people as well, but that doesn’t mean it’s all roses being a podcaster.
What are the pros and cons of podcasting? The good sides of podcasting are talking about what you love, earning an income, and doing relatively little work for many rewards.
On the flip side, there are drawbacks like a lot of time and money spent, an overcrowded market to squeeze into, and content protection issues.
If you’ve been dreaming about starting a podcast of your own but aren’t sure if you’re cut out for it, looking at the pros and cons is a good place to begin.
We’ve listed the advantages and disadvantages of podcasting, giving you an insider look at the best and worst of it all.
Podcasting Pros
There’s not just one good reason podcasting has become such a popular media form, but many, and if you’ve been thinking about starting your own, you’ll want to find out what they are. These are the advantages that podcasters enjoy when their series is doing well:
A chance to do what you love
The biggest draw of starting a podcast is the thought of spending hours of your time discussing topics that you’re genuinely passionate about.
You will get to research and present content that you’re interested in, and you’ll also have guest hosts and interviewees that can offer even more insight or input. Knowing that you’re sharing your passion with other like-minded listeners makes it even better.
Income earning possibilities
There are many ways to earn money through your podcast, and the more listeners and bigger reach you have, the easier it is to do.
Some options include sponsorship, direct support from the audience, advertising, and branded merchandise, so you have lots of opportunities to earn a real income.
Direct connection with your audience
Unlike other forms of content creation, a podcast enables you to connect directly with your audience.
For the listener, a podcast is almost like a natural conversation they get to be a part of, and it adds a touch of personality that’s not likely to be experienced with other digital audio content.
Low-cost potential
A smart podcaster knows how to use the right tools and software to grow their brand and publish their series but still deliver a fantastic show.
You can create a high-quality audio program with fewer resources than it would take to make video content, so it doesn’t always have to blow out the budget to start a podcast.
Easy to reach the audience
One of the biggest joys of listening to a podcast is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. This translates to a win for you as the podcast host because you can easily reach your audience at more times of the day and with greater convenience.
Unlike a movie, book, or TV series, your podcast can be played in the background of their daily activities and still enjoyed, so it’s easy to keep listeners coming back for more.
Podcasting Cons
Podcasting isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and getting yours off the ground can be challenging. If you’re considering creating a podcast but want to know what the downsides are, these are the most common:
Protecting content can be hard
The way podcasts are distributed is still evolving and changing as this relatively new media form continues to grow.
As you’re sharing original ideas online without any real protection, there’s little in place to protect your ideas and content from being stolen, republished elsewhere, or modified slightly and claimed as one’s own.
Compared to other forms of content like books and websites, podcasts are hard to protect.
Overcrowded market
As of 2022, there is an estimated two million podcast series out in the wide world for listeners to tune into. When you consider that your podcast will have to find a place here and manage to become successful, it can be overwhelming.
You must be committed to making your show stand out so that it can be found and enjoyed among these millions of other podcasts.
Getting a following going
Following on from the downside of an overcrowded market, many people find the first 12 months of starting their podcast to be the most challenging time.
You’ll struggle to get a good listener base, curate content that shares your voice and brand, and develop ideas for each episode. As time goes on, this does get easier, but many podcasters will quit during the first year because of these common issues.
Time and effort required
Many people assume that podcasts are easy to create because it’s just a host speaking into a microphone about something for an hour and then uploading it online.
A lot of time and effort goes into planning, recording, editing, and publishing a podcast that most aren’t aware of, and once they see how much work is required, they may shy away from it.
The Good With the Bad Podcasting Pros and Cons
With thousands of new series being created every year, it’s evident that people are drawn to the allure of podcasting.
Before putting your heart and soul into creating a podcast, be honest with yourself and whether you’re prepared to deal with the downsides and the good.
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