Tag: Startup Iot

The Day I Stopped My Podcasts

SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER’S SERIES

After more than 100 episodes, I decided to stop. Let me share the eight (8) lessons I learned the hard way.

To be exact — I have created two podcast series. One has 61 episodes, and the other has 103. But why do I stop?

I started these podcasts at the end of 2019. Jom Pakai IoT (or Let’s Do IoT) is an English-language version of a podcast about the Internet of Things. With a similar niche, I also created another Podcast called Startup IoT, but in Malay language version.

Jom Pakai IoT
Startup IoT

I initially built podcasts as a hobby, but in early 2020, the world was shaken by the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost all communications depended online.

For almost two years, many meetings, conferences, and webinars have been held online. I took the opportunity to collect all my webinars and convert them into podcasts.

All of my webinar recordings have been uploaded to an application called “Spotify for Podcasters” (previously known as Anchor). Once uploaded, the podcasts are redistributed to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcasts, Amazon Music, and many more using RSS distribution. It’s effortless.

However, when everything is back to normal, webinars are no longer the “thing.” Recording the podcast became more cumbersome, although I purchased a good microphone. However, I was too occupied with other matters and could no longer actively record, edit, or upload to the app.

That’s when I stopped doing podcasting.

I have tested many social media channels, including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, to convey my message. All of the channels have different audiences and demographics. Some have failed, and some have succeeded.

View at Medium.comView at Medium.comView at Medium.com

Like all social media channels, managing them can be very exhausting. Especially trying to create new content, editing, and uploading it. It needs a lot of effort to arrange the time to post them. Of course, when I do all of them by myself, it can become very tiring.

If you read the above stories I posted earlier, I began to slow down with all of my social media channels and focus on the most effective one.

Although blogging is not considered a social media channel, it has a good community where we can socialize. The community is very supportive, and everyone has similar interests. Although it’s not as big an audience as traditional social media channels, the interaction can be pretty rewarding when every article can be monetized.

Below are eight (8) lessons I learned using podcasting:

1 — Adaptability is Crucial: The COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of adaptability in content creation. Transitioning webinar content into podcasts was an innovative way to leverage existing material in a new format.

2 — Technology as an Enabler: Utilizing tools like Spotify for Podcasters (Anchor) demonstrated how technology can effortlessly facilitate content distribution across various platforms.

3 — Sustainability of Efforts: As normalcy returned, the sustainability of podcasting efforts became a challenge. Investing in equipment like a good microphone didn’t necessarily equate to continued enthusiasm or capacity for podcast production.

4—Content Creation Can Be Exhausting: Managing multiple channels requires significant content creation, editing, and uploading effort, which can become overwhelming, especially when done solo.

5 — Audience and Platform Dynamics: Different platforms attract different audiences, and success can vary significantly. For example, your experience showed that you could earn substantially more on Medium than TikTok or YouTube, highlighting the importance of understanding platform-specific dynamics and audience preferences.

6 — Selective Focus Can Lead to Better Outcomes: Reducing the number of platforms you actively engage will allow you to concentrate on the most effective ones, leading to more sustainable and rewarding outcomes.

7 — Community Engagement Over Size: While traditional social media channels offer larger audiences, platforms like blogging can provide more meaningful engagement with a supportive community interested in similar topics.

8 — Monetization Varies Across Platforms: The potential to monetize content can differ dramatically across platforms, as demonstrated by your experiences with Medium versus other social media.

Remember to Subscribe to receive email updates on every post I publish.