Understand Before Being Understood About a month ago I left a comment on the Spreaker Live show, and this comment resulted in a response from the host that in a conversation he had with me was "Disproportional." So after we both hissed at each I set up a time when we could talk about this and see how we pushed each other's buttons. We did and it was a great interview. The bad news is my SD Card ran out of room, and my backup (mp3 skype recorder) didn't get it either. I could call Alex back on, but at this point, so much water is under the bridge, I thought I would just paraphrase what really happened. In my comment, there were times when I used ALL CAPS to make a point. Alex is used to dealing with comments from YouTube which are much crueler, and personal that the average podcast comment This was the first time he had been challenged on the podcast side of this content (vs the YouTube side) and it caught him off guard. He apologized for calling me a schmuck, and I explained that when he made a joke about me not having any listeners (because I don't use Spreaker), and that I wasn't up front with people about the fact that I work for Libsyn, and we chatted about that. I explained how I wasn't trying to push his buttons, and then we did something that most people miss out on. We had some cool conversation about topics we have in common. For example, Chris Cornell had just died. Neither one of use quite gets while World Trade Center Tower Number 7 went down. In the end, I look forward to meeting Alex at Podcast Movement. If I had not taken a second to step back, and wonder if there was something I DID to create such a reaction (instead of just condemning the other person) then I would've lost out on an opportunity to learn something (be careful using caps in comments), and Alex wouldn't have been able to see his reaction. Lastly, I think we both gained a new friend. So instead of being so set on proving somebody wrong, instead maybe ask, "Why did you say that?" or "What were you feeling when you said that?" and try to understand before being understood (Which is a lesson I learned from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) Seriously, How Do I Grow My Audience? Devlin Wilder posted in a Facebook Group, "Please, for the love of all that's good and pure, someone please help me WITH REAL INFO on how I get the numbers. I don't want to hear I need to have my show out for years or I need to get to 200 episodes or what not. And I've had no luck with Fiverr. I need to know the real deal" This is like saying, "I want to know about making a baby, but I don't want to hear about ovaries, sperm, or having to wait 9 months." THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS  In her book Beyond Powerful Radio Radio Consultant Vallerie Geller states, "in my experience, with few exceptions it takes about three years to build a talk station." She points out that the original Star Trek Series was canceled after three seasons and it was re-runs where the audience found the show. Jerry Seinfeld has framed a memo stating that his show has a poor supporting cast, and most people who saw the test pilot would not watch it again. Gary Vaynrchuck says nobody watched his show for the first 19 months Rand Fishkin tells about his wife, Geraldine, and her travel blog, Everywhereist. For two years she never broke 100 visitors a day (she does a blog). Five years later she gets 1000,000 visitors a month. Source Success comes from feedback, and the ability to look at yourself and ask "Can I Improve This?" Growing up I had a basketball hoop in my backyard. Every time I shot a basket and it bounced off the rim and back at me.... that was feedback.  I watched Kareem Abdul Jabar and his sky hooks shot. It was unblockable. I practiced my skyhook over and over and over. Eventually, I could shoot it with my eyes shut. That took time. If you want to quit your job in six weeks, I would recommend that you not even start podcasting. This is like someone wanting to lose 40 pounds in six weeks.