Once a Month, my Podcast Superfriends get together LIVE on the internet and we talk about podcasting. We started doing it figuring it would get easier and we could conclude the show by 2023. If this week’s episode is any indication, Podcasting is getting harder; not easier. So I write the following with love.

What's Below

• The Hard Truth About Podcasting

  • 1. Nobody Cares… Yet

  • 2. Your Audio Has to Be Excellent

  • 3. Money? LOL

  • 4. It’s a Time Vampire

  • 5. You Wear All the Hats

  • So… Why Do It?

  • The Best Podcast I Listened To This Week

• Last Call For The Sound Off Survey

  • Jeff Vidler Appears on the Sound Off Podcast

• Voiceover Info Here

The Hard Truth About Podcasting

This week, I want to talk about something I think every podcaster either knows deeply or is about to find out the hard way:

Podcasting is hard.

Not just "takes-a-bit-of-effort" hard—like actually, brutally, unforgivingly difficult at times. It looks fun from the outside (and sometimes it is), but let me tell you what makes this medium such a grind.

1. Nobody Cares… Yet

You can launch the perfect podcast and still be met with silence. Growth doesn’t come from just hitting “publish”—it comes from relentless promotion outside the podcast apps. And the payoff? Usually months down the road… if you are famous. The rest of us need three years. Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Hall of Fame Podcaster Dave Jackson.

2. Your Audio Has to Be Excellent

It’s 2025—bad audio is unforgivable. People will give you maybe 30 seconds before moving on. So yes, I obsess over mic technique, room tone, compression settings… and it still keeps me up at night. And so do my Podcast Superfriends!

3. Money? LOL

Monetizing a podcast is like training for a marathon where you don’t know if there’s a finish line. Ads? Only if you’ve built an audience. Paid subs? Possible. So yeah—it starts as a passion project, and might stay that way for a while. Instead - think about monetizing an audience. Yes, some audiences are more valuable than others. It’s not about a mass audience, it’s about the RIGHT audience.

4. It’s a Time Vampire

Podcasting is one of those things that seems simple until you're staring down a 90-minute raw file on a Monday night, wondering if that "uhhhh" at 14:07 is worth cutting. (Spoiler: it is.)

5. You Wear All the Hats

Unless you’re backed by a team (and if you are, congrats), you’re the host, editor, marketer, social media manager, guest wrangler, scheduler… and barista. Burnout? I’ve met them.

So… Why Do It?

Because when it clicks—when someone messages you to say your episode helped them feel seen, or taught them something, or made them laugh on a rough day—it’s magic.

Podcasting is hard. But it’s also worth it.

If you’re in the trenches too, I see you. If you’re just starting out: welcome. And if you’ve podfaded before? I get it. You’re still one of us.

If you need to wear less hats, bring that podfaded show back, or just have some therapy - book in here.
– Matt

The Best Podcast I Listened To This Week

We Regret To Inform You Comes from Terry O’Reilly’s Apostrophe Podcast Company. You may have heard the show on CBC throughout the summer. Josh Allen does not appear on the show… but you aren’t listening to hear Josh Allen; you are listening for Josh Allen’s Story.

Last Call For The Sound Off Survey

Jeff Vidler Appears on the Sound Off Podcast

It was announced at Podcast Movement last year that Paul Riismandel would be taking over as President of Signal Hill Insights and Jeff Vidler would be stepping back from day-to-day duties, and segueing towards retirement. The same way a musician never stops being a musician, and a writer never stops being a writer; researchers may stop doing working for research companies, but their minds never stop asking questions. I've known Jeff for so long that I don't think he will ever stop wondering why something in audio is the way it is.

Jeff has been on the show a number of times before to discuss much of what he researches. But we have never started from the beginning. Until now. We covered his career through research, radio and podcasting. Starting in the 1980s, Vidler worked at various radio stations, including CKDA and CJAY 92 in Calgary. He transitioned to Joint Communications as a music director, where he helped shape radio formats. He then moved to CJFM in Montreal, improving ratings and rebranding the station to Mix96. He later founded Audience Insights and later Signal Hill Insights.

And yes we spook a fair bit about the future too, highlighting the importance of YouTube for podcast discovery and the challenges faced by Canadian podcasters due to smaller advertising budgets. We didn't solve every problem, but we solved a few.

Voiceover Info Here

Here I am sitting inside a beautiful voice studio and waiting to voice something wonderful for you. There’s a camera in the studio and we can literally record it together. The same way you get a sandwich built at Subway.