J Cleveland Payne's Creators Pep Talk

If you are unsure of just how the flow of your show needs to go, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Review some work you admire in your genre and create an early model for your work of what you like from there. There are reasons why some genres seem to play the same between […]

Your larynx does much more than help you make a sound out of your mouth. It also directs food into your stomach and air into your lungs to breathe. So, any issue becomes not just a creator issue but also a health issue. You magic elixir? Lots of water and moisture from foods.

You want to sell non-podcast listeners on joining the club. Do it by pushing content from creators they are likely to listen to, not just your content.

The numbers are significant but not always the primary reason to start or continue a project. Documenting history, connecting with people, and learning from the process may be a stronger motivator to keep pushing on when the numbers lose their luster.

You don't help a surgeon with confidence by saying, 'Do surgery without killing the patient.' If making better content (or more engaging and entertaining content) is not second nature, consider why you are producing content. And consider what else your critics could tell you but aren't.

Who are your listeners not going to listen to from now on when they start listening to you? Knowing some answers to this question will help you target and capture more listeners.

I am telling you to drink more water as a creator for the same reason I tell people on my health and fitness podcasts: your basic health. Proper hydration is good for your voice (as a podcaster) and your skin (as a video creator).

You can not be discouraged by other people's talent. You need to define your goals, polish up your performance, and keep producing content. Because, in reality, you have little to do with the perception of 'good' once the listener presses play.

Once you settle your content creation process, take advantage of the consistency and create more work in batches to save you creation headaches.

As you see the number of episodes rising, you will gain comfort in your workflow and performance and won't worry as much about the things that seemed like nonstarters when you started.