Guest Blog: What I’ve Learnt From Starting A Podcast - Part 3

CONTINUED FROM PART 2…..

WHY WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER IS BULLSHIT!

I don’t like the saying work smarter not harder.  I prefer to say work smarter and harder.  

The reason I don’t like that saying is it gives the impression there is a shortcut or cheat code to everything and its just about finding it.  

Now I do accept that some people get lucky, but that’s a tiny percentage and I’m sorry to tell you, its probably not you.  

The truth is most of us aren’t special, at least not that special that its going to make a difference.  Once you accept this and realise you need to work hard, everything becomes more clear.  

Now you’re working hard it actually becomes easier to work smart, because you’re already doing the most difficult part.  

Now you’re working hard it’s just about finding the “hacks” or strategies that will multiply your hard work.  All these strategies are most likely out there already, but they may not have been applied to your field, area or industry yet. 

This is why Brok is always going on about books or audiobooks that aren’t necessarily music related.  Often these concepts or principles can easily be applied to being an artist or DJ.  

Now this doesn’t mean you can just copy what someone else has done in another space and gain success.  You have to figure out how to apply it to what you’re doing and how it can work.

The most important thing here though is to keep working hard while applying these “hacks” or strategies.  Working hard is one thing almost all successful people have in common, so if you want to be successful then start working hard today.

COLLABORATE AND BUILD A COMMUNITY

Collaboration is great for so many reasons.

Apart from coming up with better ideas and sharing the workload, you also get more eyeballs on what you’re doing.  This has been key in growing my podcast.  

While this is no secret it still must be said.  Not only has this helped cross promote audiences with my guests it has also built stronger relationships with those I’ve had on the show.

This all helps to build a community around what you’re doing.  

I’ve realised even more recently that most successful things are built around a community.  A successful club is built around the community of DJs and punters that frequent the venue.  

A successful DJ or music producer is built around the community of fans that enjoy and interact with the artist.  When you start to think of people as community members instead of fans, customers or clients you will start to see opportunities for more engagement and interaction which in turn results in a stronger and larger community.  

If you make people feel welcome enough in the community they will even start recruiting others into the community for you by sharing what you do with others.  This is the concept of Super Fans by Pat Flynn and I encourage anyone reading this to go listen or read super fans.

PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF A “FAN”

This one helps on many levels.  

Recently it motivated me to edit my podcast with Batchelo for the audio only version.  The video version was out already but I was feeling drained and didn’t want to do edit the audio only version .  

The thing that motivated me was imagining if It was a podcast that I love and it didn’t come out the day it was supposed to.  I thought about how I’d be bummed and that was the motivation I needed to simply just do it.  This is also the force function in action.  

It is also good to put yourself in the shoes of a fan or someone who will consume what you are making or be part of the community you’re building.  Maybe its something you like and understand, but maybe you need to do it differently for them to understand.  

Its like telling an inside joke to someone who doesn’t know the inside joke.  They won’t get it.  

So often I think about how I would perceive it if I wasn’t the creator and instead was a fan looking on from outside.  

How does that wording come across?  

Does this event actually sound appealing? 

Does this guest sound interesting?  

Have I described our conversation in a way that makes it sound like something people want to listen to or watch?  

These are a few of the questions I ask myself regularly to make sure what I’m doing translates to my audience correctly.

TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE ACHIEVED

This is something I still struggle with, because I have trouble switching my brain off.  

I’m always thinking of whats next and thinking of new ideas.  But this is actually really important to do.  

You should do it not out of ego, but to reset.  Sometimes things like social media can make us compare ourselves to others but its often superficial and only takes into account what you’re doing at the moment.  

By taking a step back and looking at what we have achieved, we can look at the big picture and see our progress which we often have forgotten about.  Think about how far you’ve come in the last year alone, I bet you’ll feel proud about what you have achieved.  

If you aren’t then maybe this is the wake up call you need.   Either way its a useful tool.