Helping Aspiring Podcasters Get Past What's Holding Them Back
After a year away from creating new content on Tools of the Podcast Trade, I’m checking in to say thanks for continuing to listen, watching, and subscribing.
Although there has been no new episodes, I haven’t stopped podcasting. I’ve been working on my other podcast, SoloMoms! Talk, writing books, and keeping up with developments in the podcasting industry.
In this short episode, I share why I started Tools of the Podcast Trade and why I still believe aspiring podcasters need practical help overcoming the seemingly small obstacles that prevent them from launching or continuing their shows.
It took me six years to publish my first podcast episode. Since then, I’ve met aspiring podcasters who struggled with everything from financing their shows to fixing simple problems they encounter. I’ve even met someone who stopped producing an amazing podcast after just a few episodes because he couldn’t find anyone to help him fix his audio.
Sometimes you don’t need another expensive course or lengthy masterclass. You just need help bridging that 2 mm gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
With 126 episodes already available, Tools of the Podcast Trade will continue offering practical insights, occasional new episodes, and updated information about the changing podcasting landscape.
We’ll also explore developments in video podcasting, AI tools, and something I believe remains irreplaceable: the human experience behind every meaningful podcast.
AI can help us create and produce content, like these show notes based on the transcript. But it cannot replace our lived experiences, empathy, and personal connections.
In this episode:
* Why Tools of the Podcast Trade began
* What I’ve been working on during the past year
* How small technical or financial challenges can derail a podcast
* Why practical guidance matters more than complicated solutions
* What’s next for the show, including AI, video podcasting, and the human advantage
Have a podcasting question?
Whether you’re struggling to launch your first episode or trying to overcome a challenge with an existing show, I’d love to hear from you. Reach out by email or DM or leave a public comment.
Thank you for continuing to support Tools of the Podcast Trade. We’re still here, and there’s more to come.
Remember: Don’t let the little things keep you from hitting publish!
Get full access to Tools of the Podcast Trade at toolspodcasttrade.substack.com/subscribe
0:01 Hello, aspiring podcasters. I'm J. Rosemarie Francis, the host of Tools of the Podcast Trade. We have been out of production for the last year. It's exactly one year this month. And I just wanted to come in here and say thank you because I still see people signing up for and subscribing. And I am grateful for that. I'm very grateful to you for It's not that I've stopped podcasting, but I'm on my other podcast, Solo Moms Talk, in which we, you know, that was like my first love. And that's actually, the experience with that actually is what helped me to start Tools of the Podcast Trade because I realized many people were struggling to start a podcast.
0:51 And so I started a meetup group for aspiring podcasters, and then I started Tools of the Podcast Trade. And so I took a break because I wasn't doing much with Solo Moms Talk. I also wrote a couple of books within the last year, and I'm on my third one. So I've been busy, but not too busy to notice what's going on with this podcast. It was created to help aspiring podcasters Who struggle with the little things in podcasting? It took me six years to launch the first episode on Solo Moms Talk. I have met and mentored other aspiring podcasters or podcasters with shows who just had a few episodes who, you know, were struggling with the smallest thing.
1:43 One person was because they couldn't, they didn't have the money to finance their podcast. And this other person stopped, he stopped publishing at three, I think it was three or four episodes of the most amazing podcast, if you can imagine that. Because he didn't like how the audio sounded and he couldn't find anyone to help him fix it. So that's what I hope that Tools of the Podcast Trade does for people. Not the big course or this long master class or even a book.
2:24 It's just something to help aspiring podcasters reach that two millimeter gap so they could get to where they are from where they are now. From where they are to where they want to be, to meet their goals and to just hit publish already, right? And so I just wanted to do this quick video to say hello, thank you. And we're still around. 126 episodes. And every now and again I'll be adding one or two episodes. Just to keep the content going, to keep it fresh. Maybe I'll go over some things and make sure that they're up to date. I've been keeping up with the industry, see what it's doing, Apple and video, and what AI is doing and not doing for podcasters.
3:14 And I also will probably create an episode about the human part of podcasting because that's why people listen to us or live the experience of And our empathy and our nature, what we have as humans to offer because we have shared experience. AI doesn't have shared experience. And so not that I'm bashing AI, I use it every day, I love it, but it has its place. And so this is one of those times when I'm saying, hello, how are you? Thanks for being here. And to say, we are not path fading.
3:55 We haven't path faded. We're just there with 126 episodes and probably we'll be adding more. I've been busy working on Solo Mom's Talk and my new book and there we have 270 or so episodes. And so working hard, doing the thing and hope you are too. If you have any questions, I'm here. You can drop me an email, a DM or however you want to contact me and I'll respond. So thank you again and I appreciate you. I'm J. Rosemarie Francis.