Note from the Editor

I’ll be so glad to get things quieter around here. The kind of chaos we’ve been having is fun in some ways, but it sure makes it harder to get work done.

But I did finish my series on starting a home business. Not that it’s comprehensive or anything; there’s too much to learn. But many basics have been covered.

5 Mistakes You Could Make as a Podcaster

The Internet makes it easy to operate a global business. If you use the marketing technology right, you can get outstanding results without spending a fortune. You can even automate part of the business through the use of tools and software programs.

Technology can be a double-edge sword though. If you are an independent professional or solo preneur, it is easy to fall into the technology traps.

Here are some mistakes you should avoid (or fix as soon as possible) as a podcaster.

1. Analysis paralysis

The amount of information available on the Internet is a bless, but at the same time a curse. It was said that information produced in one day is so overwhelming no one can possibly digest it at a lifetime.

Although planning is very critical to any aspect of a business, over planning is even worse than having no plan at all. The key is to take action and keep adjusting to the goal.

By all means, research what you need to know about podcasting to make the right decision but believe that at some point you have known enough to be get things out there.

This applies not only to newbie podcasters, but existing podcasters who need to process a lot of information for their podcasts.

2. Can’t let go of all the details

There is not much choice for people who work at home independently. Most of them do all the work alone. Perhaps this is acceptable when they are starting out, but once the business starts to run, outsourcing is not something they should avoid.

Focus on the details that you like to do most, but outsource the rest. If hiring full-time staff is not an option, you can start with local college student or part time virtual assistant.

3. Get buried in all technical stuff

For some of us, this is very addictive. For instance, once I got my hands on web site design, sometimes I spent days trying to tweak small things that might not matter at all. Instead of focusing on the copy or product creation, I wasted a lot of my precious time doing what I think urgent but not important to my bottom line.

Other people I know of tinker with software program for hours trying to figure out how to use it effectively. Be forewarned, these are very time consuming and if you tend to get distracted with them, you should probably outsource or track the time you use for different technical stuff closely.

4. Targeting the wrong market

Just because you like graphic design doesn’t mean that if you want to build a business, it should be around providing graphic design service to others who need it. You may be doing what you like, but you prefer to express yourself using your own ideas instead of working with other people’s ideas.

Perhaps you dislike all the details of approaching a business just to get a deal for some work. But there are endless alternatives if you look around. May be you can hold a workshop to teach others about digital art, or create an information-based product as a low-cost entry point for those with the hobby to access you.

Looking for graphic design work and teaching others to do what you do is entirely different. And you won’t know which market to target unless you know what you want.

5. Not investing on yourself

People often think that just because they like to design web pages, they can succeed in building a web design business. Nothing is further from the truth.

The technical skill is entirely different from business skill. Knowing which is your weakest point and invest on education is important to speed up the process and get results.

As a podcaster, perhaps you have other mistakes you have experienced. Write them down. When you write them down, you own them. When you own them, you are more likely to avoid them in the future.

Copyright Hendry Lee and MarketingLoop.com

Hendry Lee helps small business owners and web publishers overcome challenges in using marketing technologies to start and grow their online business. Get comprehensive tutorial on how to plan and start your own podcast here: podcast tutorial. Download white papers and subscribe to weekly dose of podcast profit tips and get concise information and strategies to get the most out of your blog.