“Fancasting has opened up an immense world for me of other passionate people. Podcasting has led to so many life-long friendships, and it’s been a major confidence-booster for me. I mean, I’m passionate about something and get to talk to other people who are (passionate).” Kevin Bachelder, Host – Tuning Into SciFi TV
In closing, I’m reminded what an honor it was to serve our listeners for so many years. Being a fancaster taught me who I am, creatively, and gave me dozens of friendships I still nurture to this day. Nothing can ever be like it was, but my listeners still are, and will continue to be, a part of my life for as long as Twitter exists, so like until 2022?
“You can start a podcast at any time. Some people go week by week as the media airs, speculating as the season progresses. Some people wait until a season is complete to do a full season recap in one episode. There’s no one right time to start a podcast. The most important thing is to love and have passion for what you’re speaking about.” Hope Mullinax, Jaig Eyes And Jedi, Geeky Girl Experience.
Fancasting offers many rewards: Friendships, increased confidence, notoriety, even a little cash here and there. You aren’t going to be good when you start. It’s going to take trial and error and awkward moments and late nights, but I promise you, it’ll be worth it. Even if you fail, hosting a podcast with an active and engaged community will teach you so much about yourself. The best part is, if you plan it right, and don’t mind sounding tinny, the initial investment can be as low as $0, which is way cheaper than any cooking class you’ll find on Meetup.com.
“The key was we didn’t think we had it right out of the gate. We had to wait and see where it went. Don’t wait until you have the perfect set up. Do it.” Kevin Bachelder, Host – Tuning Into SciFi TV
You can’t buy experience, and you’ll need a lot of it. It took us a year of recording Greetings From Storybrooke before we were any good at it, and we were both performers already! I’ve done my best to boil down all the lessons we learned, but you’ll learn your own lessons. The most important thing you can do is start. Even if it isn’t perfect, even if the only people who listen to your fancast are you and your co-hosts, start now. If you aren’t good yet, you need to get good, so when the stars align and people notice your podcast, you’ll be ready to show them why they should keep paying attention.
As your show grows and you find your community, don’t forget the Café POV: Publish consistently, strive to be accurate, be friends with your listeners, expand your show whenever possible, don’t be afraid to play around, remain objective and respectful about people’s opinions, and give your audience a voice on your show. You’ll attract new listeners, and keep the old ones coming back week after week. You owe it to them.
“We always want to be natural. We don’t want to force an opinion or go with a script. When we all get on our Skype call to get ready, we purposely don’t talk about the show, so when it comes up, it’s very natural.” Kevin Bachelder, Host – Tuning Into SciFi TV
If there’s one regret I have, it’s that we planned our podcasts out a little too much. If we weren’t careful, we’d ping pong pre-written notes back and forth with little attention to what we actually said to each other. Still, a solid plan will give you confidence when you hit record. Planning isn’t a bad thing, but it’s important to remain in the moment and flexible for whatever happens on the show. Those spontaneous side jaunts will become classic clips you’ll hear about years after you’ve forgotten them.
I’ll always be proud we built a platform that welcomed all voices and opinions. Many of our listeners thought of our show as their show, and it kind of was, sometimes literally. Without the active engagement from our listeners, we would have never known why they liked us, and what they didn’t like. Without that information, it would have taken us a lot longer to get good at fan podcasting. Our listeners were contributors to the show, and encouraged new people to get involved. They helped us present the larger picture of the fandom. If you didn’t like my opinion, we’d share fifteen other opinions at the end of the episode you might agree with. We taught our listeners how to disagree without being disagreeable.
Getting that official stamp of approval from the project you’re reviewing, by way of official interviews, retweets, and swag is exciting. You’ll grow your podcast’s credibility within your niche, if you don’t piss off the talent and get yourself blacklisted. Approach press interviews with all due preparation, but when you get nervous, remember that no matter how important it seems, this interview probably won’t make or break your show. Your job is to ask good questions, then let your guest drive. Relax, listen, and enjoy the experience.
Spreading the word about your podcast can feel embarrassing, especially when you do it week after week without seeing noticeable response. But somebody’s out there, typing a search into Google to see if anybody else thinks The Bachelor has some interesting things to say about climate change. If your episode comes up in their search, they’ll dive in and binge your entire back catalog in a week, then show up in the chat during your next live stream to tell you what you got wrong about Chad’s “evening look.”
“Passion is only as important to fancasting as gasoline is important to an automobile.” Justin Robert Young, Host – Who’s The Boss?
Make your podcast for your listeners, but if you lose your passion for your topic, the best thing you can do for your listeners is to step away. If you’re sick of talking about something, nobody else wants to listen to you talk about it either.
If you do decide to step away, it doesn’t mean your podcast or community has to die. Pass the torch to the next generation, then watch them grow the show you started into something mostly different, but just as wonderful. Your show exists because you had passion for your topic. If that passion loses its flame, pass on the ember before it burns to ash and you lose it forever.
With this book complete, I’ve expressed everything I ever wanted to say about fan podcasting. I loved fancasting, but outside of guest appearances on other people’s podcast, I probably won’t do it again. Then again, never say never…
If there’s somebody to blame for me leaving fancasting behind, it’s the people who listened to our shows. Our podcasts weren’t about Once Upon A Time or Gotham. We discussed those shows, sometimes over-discussed them, but on a personal level, the podcasts were about learning to trust in the power of friendship to pursue common goals, together.
To that end, in late 2019 I launched a new company called Do Anything Media, a virtual playhouse and a sacred creative space to collaborate with other dreamers just like you. We’re building platforms for artists to showcase and sell their work. We’re producing podcasts, books (like this one), and videos to teach and inspire creative people of all stripes. Most importantly, we’re making a community to connect creative people to each other. (2024 update: Do Anything Media was a victim of the pandemic, but you can follow my new adventure telling stories in the fictional town of Everly Heights, Ohio at EverlyHeights.tv.)
As you continue to grow as a creator, I’m here for you if you have any questions about fancasting, the book, or just need a guest to join you for a riveting discussion about your favorite show. Let me know when you release your first episode too. I’d love to check it out.
Twitter/Instagram: @billmeeks
E-mail: bill@billmeeks.com
I’m Bill Meeks. Until next time, Greetings from Storybrooke!