The Top Ten Podcasting Myths Debunked

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

Randy Black.

He's a troublemaker.

Welcome back to Randy Unscripted.

I'm your host, Randy Black, and this is the podcast where I talk about whatever just happens

to be on my mind.

And today, there's no shortage of podcasting advice out there.

Open YouTube, scroll through social media, read a blog post.

and you'll be told exactly what you have to do if you want your podcast to succeed.

You need this microphone. You need to use this release schedule. You need to be on video.

You need to hit a certain number of downloads by a certain number of episodes, or else

you're just doing it wrong and the thing is a lot of this advice gets repeated so often

that it starts to sound like fact even when it's not some of it is outdated some of it is

oversimplified and some of it just flat out scares people away before they ever press the button

to record. And over the years, I've launched several shows. I've produced episodes. I've

watched other people's and my own podcasts grow and install and have to evolve. And no matter how

much the platforms out there all change, I keep hearing the same myths come up again and again,

especially from people who are just getting started in the entire podcasting space.

So today on this episode of Randy Unscripted, I want to do a little myth busting.

Not to tear anyone down or not to claim that I have all the answers,

but to take a look at some of the most common podcasting myths,

the ones that I get shared the most, the ones I see the most,

and to talk honestly about why they don't always hold up in the real world.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast, this episode, it might save you some unnecessary pressure.

If you've already been podcasting for a while, it might give you permission to stop chasing things that don't actually matter.

So, let's go ahead and get started with the myth that I hear more than any other right now.

Myth number one, you must do video to be relevant.

Again, there's no shortage of podcasting advice out there.

And this piece of advice, this myth is the one that I hear more than any other right now.

If you spend any time in podcasting spaces on YouTube or social media or creator forums, Reddit,

you'll hear some version of this message.

If you're not doing video, you're already behind.

And I get it. I understand where the idea comes from.

Video is everywhere. Clips tend to perform well.

Platforms reward you for it.

And it's easy to look around and think, well, I guess this is just what podcasting is now.

But here's the problem.

That message quietly turns an option into a requirement.

Podcasting started as an audio-first medium.

And for a lot of people, it still works best that way.

Not everyone wants to be on camera.

Not every conversation benefits from video.

And not every creator has the time, the energy, or the resources to add an entirely new production layer.

Video doesn't make a podcast better.

It makes it different.

For some shows, video absolutely adds value.

For others, it adds stress, complexity, and burnout without actually improving the content.

You know, the thing that actually matters.

What often gets lost in this conversation is that platforms don't care about your sustainability.

They care about engagement.

That doesn't mean you're obligated to restructure your workflow just to chase visibility.

Audio podcasts still build trust with your audience.

they still create that connection with them.

And they still meet people where they are,

driving, walking, working, just living their daily life.

If video serves your show, awesome, use it.

If it doesn't, you're not doing podcasting wrong.

You're just choosing the medium that fits your voice.

And honestly, that pressure to do more shows up in another way almost immediately.

Because once people decide they're going to start a podcast, the next thing they're told is that they need to spend more money before they even begin.

So that takes us to myth number two.

You need expensive gear.

This one usually shows up right after that video conversation takes place.

Once someone decides, okay, I'm going to do this, the next message that they hear is that they need to buy something.

Actually, they need to buy a lot of things before they're allowed to start.

They need to have a certain microphone.

They need a certain interface.

Headphones, boom arms, acoustic panels, a camera if you're doing video.

And before long, starting a podcast feels less like hitting record and more like building a studio.

Here's the reality, though.

Great content has never been dependent on expensive gear.

Yes, clear audio does matter, but clarity and cost, they're not the same thing.

A basic microphone, a quiet room, a thoughtful conversation

will always outperform a thousand dollar setup with nothing to say.

What gear culture does, often unintentionally, is give people a reason to delay.

Oh, I'll start once I upgrade my microphone, or I'll launch after I get the right equipment set up,

or I just need one more piece of equipment to get going.

But momentum doesn't come from the gear.

It comes from your consistency.

Most podcasters who stick with it upgrade over time, and that's fine.

But upgrades should follow commitment, not replace it.

Listeners don't care what microphone you're using.

They care if they can hear you clearly.

And they care whether what it is that you're saying is worth their time or not.

If you record something understandable today, you are equipped 100% enough to begin your journey.

And once people finally get past the gear hurdle, the next rule they often hear is that they still can't launch yet because apparently one episode isn't enough.

Takes us to myth number three.

you must launch with three episodes. This is one of those rules that sounds like it's official.

If you've spent any time reading launch guides or listening to podcast advice, you've probably heard

it. Don't launch with just one episode. You need at least three. Sometimes it's five. Sometimes

it's even more. And it's usually presented as a hard requirement. Like your podcast doesn't count

unless it launches with a small library already in place. And here's the truth. That rule has context,

But it's rarely explained.

The idea behind launching with multiple episodes is simple.

Give listeners something else to listen to if they like what they hear.

That's not bad advice.

But somewhere along the way, a suggestion got turned into a gatekeeper.

What actually happens for a lot of people is this.

They record one solid episode and then they stop.

Because now they feel like they're not allowed to publish it yet.

So they wait, and they tinker, and they plan.

Sometimes they never launch at all.

A single, well-thought-out episode released today is far more valuable than three unfinished

episodes sitting on a hard drive, or an SSD, or a USB stick, or a NAS.

Launching isn't about perfection.

It's about starting.

If you're recording three episodes before you launch works for you, great.

If it slows you down or adds pressure, then it's not serving you.

Your first episode doesn't have to prove anything.

It just has to exist.

And once a podcast finally launches, the next pressure shows up almost immediately

because now you're told that if you don't release it on a certain schedule,

everything's going to fall apart.

Takes us to myth number four.

You have to release weekly or you'll fail.

this myth usually shows up right after you launch you finally get your podcast out in the world and

almost immediately you're told that now you have to keep up weekly episodes no breaks no missed

weeks because if you slow down the algorithm will punish you the audience will disappear and the

whole thing will just fall apart that kind of pressure can turn something creative into something

exhausting very, very quickly. Here's the reality. Consistency matters. But consistency doesn't

necessarily mean weekly. What listeners actually care about is knowing what to expect. A podcast

that releases every other week or once a month and does it reliably will build far more trust

than a weekly show that constantly disappears or sounds rushed. The idea that everyone must publish

comes from places that don't always translate well to real life.

You know, radio schedules, content calendars, and the hustle culture that's out there.

But podcasting, it lives inside real lives with real responsibilities and limited time.

Burnout doesn't usually come from podcasting itself.

It comes from the unrealistic expectations about how often you're supposed to show up.

A sustainable schedule is a successful schedule.

If weekly works for you, that's great.

If it doesn't, then choosing a different rhythm isn't a failure.

That's wisdom.

The goal isn't to publish the most episodes possible.

It's to keep publishing.

And when people do manage to stay consistent,

the next thing they start watching, sometimes a little too closely, is the numbers.

And that takes us to myth number five.

Downloads are the only metric that matters.

This myth usually creeps in very quietly.

You've launched, you've settled into a rhythm,

and now you start checking the numbers.

How many downloads did that episode get?

Did this one do better than the last?

Why did that spike happen and why didn't it happen again?

Before long, downloads stop being information

and start becoming validation.

Here's the problem with that.

Downloads are easy to see

But they don't tell the whole story

A download doesn't tell you if someone listened all the way through

It doesn't tell you if an episode encouraged someone, challenged them, or helped them feel less alone

And it doesn't tell you what impact your podcast is having outside of an app

Some podcasts exist to reach thousands of people

Others, though, they exist to serve a specific community

or a classroom or a church or a conversation.

Both can be successful even if the numbers look extremely different.

When downloads become the only measure of success,

it's easy to miss the real wins.

The message from a listener who needed that episode.

The conversation that started because of something you said.

The doors that opened simply because you showed up consistently.

Numbers, yeah, they can be useful.

They just shouldn't be in charge.

If downloads are growing, that's great.

If they're not, it doesn't mean your podcast isn't working.

Sometimes it means it's working exactly the way it was meant to.

And tied closely with numbers is another belief that sounds nice on the surface,

but doesn't hold up once you're actually publishing.

And that's our myth number six.

If your podcast is good, people will find it.

It's one of the most appealing myths in podcasting.

It sounds fair.

It sounds hopeful.

And it lets us believe that quality alone is enough.

If I just make something good, people will find it.

Problem is, that's not how discovery actually works.

Podcast apps aren't great at helping listeners find new shows.

Search is limited.

Recommendations are inconsistent.

And there are thousands of podcasts being published every single day.

So even really good podcasts can set quietly,

simply because no one knows they even exist.

This myth doesn't fail because quality doesn't matter.

It fails because quality isn't the same thing as visibility.

Promotion isn't bragging.

It's not selling out.

It's just letting people know something exists.

And for a lot of podcasters, that part feels uncomfortable.

We want the work to speak for itself.

But the truth is, the work needs an introduction.

Sharing episodes, mentioning your podcasting conversations, repurposing content,

those things don't cheapen what you're doing.

They give you a chance to be heard.

A podcast can be excellent and undiscovered at the same time.

That doesn't mean you failed.

It just means discovery takes intention.

Good content matters, but good content plus visibility is what actually gets heard.

And sometimes the hesitation to put something out there or even to promote it

comes from a much deeper place.

And that takes us to myth number seven.

You have to be an expert to start a podcast.

This myth doesn't always get said out loud, but it's felt.

It shows up as hesitation, as overthinking,

as the quiet question in the back of your mind that says,

who am I to talk about this?

A lot of people never start podcasting because they assume

they need credentials, titles, or some kind of official permission

before their voice counts.

But podcasting has never been about being the smartest person in the room.

Some of the most meaningful podcasts aren't hosted by experts.

They're hosted by people who are just curious.

People who ask good questions.

People who are willing to learn in public.

They don't need to have everything figured out to be worth listening to.

You just need to be honest about where you are.

There's value in experience.

there is value in perspective and there's value in walking alongside listeners instead of standing

above them. In fact, pretending to be an expert when you're not is often more damaging than simply

being transparent. Podcasting works best when it's human. If you're a step or two ahead of someone

else, you have something to share. And if you're still learning, inviting people into that process

can be incredibly powerful. Your voice doesn't need a credential. It just needs authenticity.

And when people finally get past that internal barrier, another external one often will then

show up because now the question becomes whether the podcast is quote-unquote worth it if it isn't

making money. And that's myth number eight. If you're not making money, it's not worth it.

This myth has been becoming louder and louder in recent years.

Podcasting is often framed as a revenue stream first and everything else second.

Ads, sponsors, downloads, monetization strategies.

It can start to feel like your podcast isn't making, if it isn't making money, then it's just a hobby.

Or worse, it's a waste of time.

But that way of thinking misses the bigger picture.

Not every podcast is meant to be monetized.

And not every valuable thing produces income directly.

Some podcasts exist to build trust.

Some exist to create conversation.

Some exist to document ideas, share stories, or serve a specific group of people.

Those outcomes still matter, even if no money ever changes hands.

Truth is, many podcasts that do make money, they didn't start that way.

They started with consistency, clarity, and purpose.

And monetization came later, if it ever came at all.

Money can be a byproduct.

It doesn't have to be the goal.

If your podcast opens doors, strengthens relationships, sharpens your thinking, or helps somebody else, that's value.

And value isn't always measured in dollars.

A podcast doesn't need to pay you to be worth your time.

Sometimes the return shows up in ways that you didn't expect.

And a lot of monetization pressure comes from the idea that success should just happen quickly,

almost like it needs to be immediate.

And if you're doing things the right way, that should happen.

That takes us to myth number nine.

Success happens fast if you do it right.

This myth usually shows up disguised as encouragement.

You'll hear stories about podcasts that took off overnight,

about sudden growth, about explosive numbers after just a few episodes.

What often gets left out is everything that happened before that moment.

The years of experimenting, the false starts, the episodes that no one heard.

Podcasting culture loves highlight reels, but it rarely shows the long, quiet middle.

Most podcasts grow slowly, unevenly, and oftentimes invisibly.

That doesn't mean you're doing it wrong.

It means you're doing something real.

Progress in podcasting usually looks like small improvements over time.

Better conversations, clearer focus, more confidence behind the microphone.

Those things don't always show up in the stats right away, but they matter.

Fast success is the exception, not the rule.

The podcasters who last aren't usually the ones who grow for the fastest.

They're the ones who keep showing up even when growth feels slow.

If your podcast hasn't quote-unquote taken off, it doesn't mean it never will.

And it definitely doesn't mean it hasn't already been worthwhile.

Sometimes success isn't speed, it's staying power.

And that slow, steady reality leads to the final myth that we have to talk about,

one that stops a lot of people before they ever begin.

That's myth number 10.

Podcasting is too saturated right now.

This is one of the most discouraging myths that I hear,

especially from people thinking about starting a podcast today.

They look at charts, they read headlines,

they scroll through directories, and the numbers seem overwhelming.

there's already millions of podcasts why would anyone start now and yes the number of shows is

big there are currently four million five hundred and seventy three thousand six hundred and nineteen

podcasts listed in podcast index that sounds like a lot and it is but the raw numbers really only

tell a small part of the story. Let's dig in a little deeper on them. Of all of those podcasts,

that four and a half million, only 481,923 of those shows have published an episode in the past 90

days. In the last 60 days, 428,328 have released an episode. In the past 30 days, that number drops

Again, now to 345,610.

In the past 10 days, just 210,770 shows have posted something new.

only 62,659 shows have actually put out new content.

So while we do have millions of podcasts listed, the majority of them are not actively publishing.

The space isn't full.

It's just noisy.

Most podcasts launch and then quietly fade.

Only a fraction are able to stay consistent over time.

That means there's still plenty of room for new voices, especially those who bring authentic

authenticity, who bring new perspectives, and who are consistent.

They bring their consistency with them.

Nice shows, thought for conversations, and unique angles still break through that noise every single day.

Saturation can feel like a barrier.

But in reality, it's more like a filter.

There's always space for a podcast that commits to showing up, serving an audience, and sharing something real.

So if the fear of too many podcasts has been holding you back, here's the truth.

The podcasting space isn't crowded.

It's waiting for your voice to be added.

And there you have it.

Ten of the most common podcasting myths that get repeated again and again, and why they

don't always hold up in the real world.

From the pressure to do video, to the belief that gear or downloads define success, to the

fear that the space is too crowded.

So much of what we hear as quote-unquote rules is really just advice taken out of context.

The common thread through all of these myths is this.

Podcasting works best when it's human, when it's authentic, when it's consistent,

and when it's driven by curiosity, connection, and purpose rather than fear or comparison.

If you've been holding back because of any of these myths,

I hope that this episode today gives you a little permission.

Permission to start.

Permission to experiment.

Permission to grow at your own pace.

And for those of you already podcasting like me,

maybe it's a reminder to focus on what truly matters,

on the conversations, the stories, and the listeners you're reaching,

rather than chasing perfection and numbers or everyone else's rules.

Podcasting isn't about racing.

It isn't about being first.

It isn't about doing everything everyone says you must do.

It's about showing up, speaking your truth, and letting your voice be heard.

So whatever stage you're at, whether you're starting out, you're in the middle,

or you're well into your podcasting journey,

The key is to keep creating

To keep experimenting

To keep sharing

And remember

The myths are loud

But your voice is louder

Thanks for listening to today's episode

I hope that it helped cut through some of the noise

That you can focus on

What really matters

Building your own podcast

I'm Randy Black

And this has been

Randy Unscripted