Podcasting's purveyors of picks and shovels—the myriad service providers that make our space an actual industry—are filled with smart people. But smarts only gets you so far. What's needed is experience. I have a pointed, actionable message for everyone who works in the business of podcasting. If you work in the business of podcasting, you need to be a podcaster. If you're feeling called out right now, relax. I'm not advocating for your immediate dismissal. My position is that you should want to have your own podcast, either a solo show or a group effort, because being a podcaster will make you better at your job. It will accelerate your career trajectory. It will increase your value, present and future, and it will make you all the more resilient and able to withstand the upheaval our industry faces every single day. By becoming a person who works in the business of podcasting and is a podcaster, you'll gain a greater appreciation for the role you play in the podcast ecosystem at your job that no amount of training can ever provide. By becoming a person who works in the business of podcasting and is a podcaster, you'll have more than just an appreciation of the effort it takes to put out a podcast; you'll gain empathy for the clients of your company who do. That empathy will lead to understanding, and understanding will make you more efficient and more effective because you'll know the crux points faced as a podcaster because you too faced them as a podcaster. But I do not care what your show is about, where you host it, and even if you can grow it. Sure, start on a free hosting platform. Collaborate if you can. But also try your hand at every aspect. Start with free tools. Spend time hanging out in online communities. All of that is valuable experience. Just don't worry about making a hit, finding sponsors, or landing big guests. All you have to do is learn what it truly means to make a podcast. I assure you that doing so will make you that much more valuable to the podcast-related company you work for today, as well as podcast-related companies you might work for tomorrow. ----- Sponsored by: https://evoterra.link/captivate (Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast hosting company) ----- Links ----- https://www.apple.com/mac/garageband/ (GarageBand) https://www.audacityteam.org/ (Audacity) https://www.descript.com/ (Descript) https://hindenburg.com/products/hindenburg-pro/ (Hindenburg Pro) https://www.adobe.com/products/audition.html (Adobe Audition) https://www.avid.com/pro-tools (Pro Tools) https://www.canva.com/ (Canva) https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/spaces (Twitter Spaces) Got a podcasting service? https://podcastpontifications.com/about/sponsorship-information (Become a sponsor of Podcast Pontifications). Serious about podcasting? Join the https://evoterra.link/app (Advancing Podcasting Community) today! ----- https://podcastpontifications. (Podcast Pontifications) is a production of https://simpler.media (Simpler Media). New episodes are released weekly, providing ideas and questions every serious podcaster should be thinking about. It's created and hosted byhttps://twitter.com/evoterra ( Evo Terra. Follow him on Twitter) for more podcasting insights as they come. http://alliepress.ne (Allie Press) assists with the production and transcription of the show. If you received value from today's episode of Podcast Pontifications, return some of that! We call it https://PodcastPontifications.com/support (value-for-value) and there are many ways to show your support. Mentioned in this episode: Captivate.fm If you could save more time during your podcasting processes and put that time into audience growth, how big could your podcast be? Captivate’s dynamic show notes builder cuts the average podcaster’s show notes creation time down by 90%, and it's free to all podcasters hosting with Captivate. Get a...