Successful podcasts do not become that way by chance. They are the result of the efforts of many talented and dedicated people working together toward the same goal (and partnering with helpful companies such as Blubrry to accomplish those goals). Figuring out effective ways to work with your team is not only important in making your content shine, but it’s the most important element to nurture if you want your show to have a long lifespan.
Podcasts require more than just a mic, a host and an idea. There’s prepping with writers, pre-interviewing guests, setting up a recording studio, figuring out where to host your content, post-production, not to mention marketing the show, creating a website, artwork, music licensing — the long and the short — there are many people that are involved in bringing a show to life.
If you begin your show having made a list of tasks to be completed for each episode, split up your show’s tasks fairly among your team, then you’re off to a great start. But that’s often easier said than done.
ASSESS AND ADDRESS
What happens if you’re up and running and suddenly you feel like you’re doing the lion’s share of the work and your collaborators are just along for the ride? Address it head on. Communicate to your team what you’re doing and what you need help with. If you’ve started this journey together, the only way to move forward together is to be honest about your feelings and what you want your workload to be.
DELEGATE
The worst thing to do if you’re feeling overworked and under-appreciated is to sit on those feelings. If you don’t reach out for help, or don’t communicate to your team what you’d like them to do, there is more room for resentment to grow. More often than not, your team may want to take on more responsibilities. Try delegating one task and build from there. Not only will this take things off your plate, but it will also give everyone else more of a stake in the success of the show.
GO DEEP
If you’ve delegated tasks to your team and the tasks aren’t being completed, it could be time to consider what is most important to you. You might be head over heels in love with your show, but is the show worth losing friendships or burning bridges with coworkers over? No matter how hard you try, the inner battles will make their way into your content in some form or another.
Even if you end a show sooner than you had anticipated, the content you’ve created is still out there. No one can take that away from you! Who knows — ending a podcast that’s burning you out, could be making room for another, even BETTER podcast, to come into your life.
TEAM UP!
Cultivating healthy working relationships with podcast team members is crucial to any show’s success. But cultivating a healthy relationship with your own boundaries is equally as important for the future of your podcast.
Be sure to check out all the resources Blubrry offers to help every person on your team!
Written by: Tara Jean O’Brien
Tara Jean O’Brien has been a writer, actor, improviser, podcaster, and stand-up for nearly 800 years. When not producing, editing, and hosting her podcast, Single Vs. Married, or co-hosting, Cinema Craptaculus Presents: B-sides, she also writers on Medium and recently found a floor safe hidden in her coat closet.