You Should Quit Your Podcast

You should quit your podcast because things haven’t worked out as you’d hoped

Because several years in you still haven’t gained any traction

Because you’ve tried everything you can think of and nothing has worked

Because you’re out of ideas and approaching exhaustion

You should quit your podcast because it’s too much effort for too little payoff.

Because podcasting is the single hardest content platform to grow

Because you’ll never build a significant audience

Because you’ll never make any money

You should quit your podcast because you’re late to the party

Because all the good ideas are taken

Because podcasting is too crowded, too noisy to stand out

Because there’s no room left for independent creators in an industry dominated by networks, studios, and media companies

You should quit your podcast because you can’t possibly compete

Because you’re not a celebrity

Because you don’t have a massive budget or production team

Because it’s just you, figuring it out on your own, with no idea what you’re doing

You should quit your podcast because maybe your show isn’t as good as you thought

Because you never get any feedback

Because maybe no one actually cares about your topic

Because there’s no obvious reason for someone to choose your show over a competitor’s

You should quit your podcast because maybe you’re just not cut out for this

Because you don’t have the talent to compete with the best shows in your space

Because you’re even thinking about quitting

Because who were you to think you had something to say in the first place

You should quit your podcast because there’s no shame in quitting

Because you can’t do this to yourself anymore

Because life would be easier, happier, and less heavy without the podcast.

Because it’s for the best

You should quit your podcast because quitting isn’t an ending, but a beginning

Because it will free up space for new ideas to emerge

Because no successful creator gets it right the first time

Because you can take everything you’ve learned from this show to make your next one better

• • •

There are infinite reasons to quit.

Many of them are good.

They’re often right.

But when the right idea comes along, creators that win are the scrappy, unreasonable few who ignore the proof, shun the non-believers, and persist.

PS. If you’re one of those scrappy podcasters for whom quitting isn’t an option, this newsletter is for you.