Why I chose a written blog over podcasting
When I had the idea for a blog, I ran it by a few friends of mine, who suggested I start a podcast instead. Podcasts have always been rather popular, but lately them seem to be more popular than ever. I know at least a dozen people who have them and it seems every single celebrity big name or even washed up has a podcast.
Some are doing great, some hardly anyone listens to. More and more podcasts are video podcast now, which I tend to prefer if I’m going to listen to one. As a whole I rarely watch or listen to podcasts. I’m not sure why. I always enjoyed Jessica Chobot’s Occulture Shock podcast where she discusses paranormal stories and history, but I couldn’t keep paying the 5.00 a month for her Patreon, so now I just listen on Spotify when I can.
There are some incredibly famous and successful podcasts out there. I have no idea what kind of revenue or return on investment. I hand it to anyone who does a podcast, but cause it’s a lot of work, and as much as a blog is putting yourself out there, I feel a podcast is even more so.
So, why didn’t I do one? For one, despite people telling me I have a radio type voice, I really hate the sound of my own voice. When I was a teenager I thought of being a sports announcer and worked the PA at some little league games. I could make my voice deep and talk like one of the big-league PA announcers and people got a real kick out of it.
But as I got older, I just think my voice sounds silly. I hear this so common and not unusual to feel that way. But honestly, I don’t even like to talk on the phone. Let alone record myself on a podcast for over an hour. Which brings me to my other issue. Even the most interesting podcasts I enjoy are way too long and I can’t even listen to the whole thing.
I think 20-40 minutes is plenty long for a podcast or video cast or whatever it is you’re doing. But most go 90 minutes and longer. I simply don’t have that long of a block of time to watch or listen to one thing. Plus when It comes to retaining information, I’m a visual learner. I do better reading it. Hearing it for too long makes my brain tune out.
Maybe I’m old school or maybe I’m just old. I never got on the video trend on social media either. I would rather read articles and posts and see pictures than watch a video of someone talking.
Which brings me to doing a video podcast. I hate the sound of my own voice, I hate being on video even more. I’ve never been photogenic. I talk with my hands to the point I’ve been told its distracting and I lose my train of thought and ramble when I’m nervous.
Back when I was writing books I did a few podcast interviews by phone or video call. A few went ok, most were very awkward. One in particular, it had 2 or 3 hosts and one would ask me a question then the others would talk over me and they would all sit there cutting up amongst each other while I just sat there until someone said “are you still there?” because I wasn’t going to fight to be heard.
I’ve noticed that listening to podcasts as well. I want to hear the special guest and what they are up to, but the host or hosts monopolizes the whole session. Which is why I think guys like Joe Rogan are so successful. Mind you, he’s a dude bro and I think he’s not smart and I can’t stand him. BUT he knows how to interview. He allows his guests to talk and yields the floor to them without interrupting. When I listen to a podcast with a special guest, I want to hear what the guest has to say. I really don’t give a shit about the host’s opinions on whatever.
My first blog, I believe was on Livejournal in the early 2000’s. I had just discovered the concept of blogging and started out posting random stuff there. I was in Bible college at the time (Yes, I got an associates in Bible and ministry) and started posting my various bible studies on there.
It was fun for about six months or so, but then everyone I knew left there for Myspace. So, I started a myspace. I called it I Am the Way Ministries based on a verse when Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Though some took it to think I was saying that I, me, myself was the way and I was starting a cult. I would post studies there and got a lot of attraction and had a lot of readers. It was a fun time, but it was around that time I had a crisis of faith. That is a whole different article for anohter day. but I slowly examined the crisis I was having, and then Facebook came along and somewhere Myspace collapsed.
Once on facebook, I tried to blog using their Notes feature but it wasn’t the same. Over the years I had different blog attempts using my own website when I was writing books, usually things about horror and short stories and such. That was rather haphazard and not consistent.
It wasn’t until the last year or so I made a real attempt to blog again. I tried Ghost at first, as I’ve gown distrustful of platforms, but social media has changed so much over the years. Getting and outbound link seen on Facebook or Threads is so difficult now, let alone getting people to click on it is a full time job. Its stressful and exhausting.
This is how I got on Substack. It has the notes feed so it works like a social site, and you can post your essays right in the notes as a link and everyone sees it. Then there is the newsletter feature which is even better. Just way more chances for discoverability here.
On the back end, there is great analytics even ghost didn’t have to tell you where traffic came from. Its all around more useful than I had given it credit for. Plus, if you want to do a podcast on here, it has that feature as well. I see some folks are doing quite well with podcasts on here.
I still choose to blog, because in the end, I’m a better writer than talker. I can write out my thoughts, and I guess for a podcast you write a script, so that would factor in. I also have a tiny house and not sure where in this home I would do a podcast. I love our house, its 100 years old and small and has a lot of character. Just not a lot of extra space to set up mics, and lights and other things. Which is another issue, that stuff costs a lot of money for decent equipment. Money I don’t have.
I’d rather pay for a quality laptop I can write from and keep my overhead as low as possible. Though my laptop brand is Lapbook, so its an off brand, but has worked great so far.
I’m not trying to convince anyone to podcast or blog. Both are highly competitive and saturated. It all comes down to what you yourself are comfortable with. Even if I had all the gear and a place to film a podcast, I’m just not comfortable. I have felt awkward enough doing reels for Facebook where I show my face. I can’t imagine it being part of my usual content. In the end, you just have to do what you are comfortable with. I know people who love their video podcast even with very few listeners. I love my Substack with just a few readers so far. I writing makes me happy and I feel like I’m getting out things I didn’t even know was troubling me until I saw it on my screen. That’s a good feeling. Which is what it’s all about in the end
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