Growth vs. Consistency: A Podcaster’s Dilemma

Hey Everyone,

This week's newsletter is a little bit different.

Today, I want to open up and share a personal reflection on my podcasting journey with the Pharmacist Diaries Podcast. This past week marks a milestone—I've successfully released weekly episodes for a full year! 🎉 Maintaining this consistency has been incredibly fulfilling, and I'm so grateful for the support and engagement from all of my listeners.

However, as I navigate this journey, I've hit a crossroad that I want to share with you because you may face this in the future and I'm hoping it might resonate with you in your own podcasting journey.

Producing one episode per week takes 15-20 hours, and while I’m proud of the content we’ve created, I need to consider how to balance my time and growth effectively. If this podcast is to grow, I need to invest time in understanding what that growth looks like and where it will take me.

The Dilemma

To grow this podcast, I need to invest time in understanding what that growth looks like and where it might take me. Personally, I am torn between maintaining my commitment to my audience and making time for these new ventures. I feel trapped between:

1. Commitment to Consistency: I made a promise to myself and my audience to release weekly episodes. I’m deeply invested in helping fellow pharmacists on their journeys and providing valuable content consistently.
2. Expanding My Horizons: I want to build my brand and explore other avenues such as public speaking, educating others about podcasting, creating a podcasting community, and helping people start and produce their podcasts. This requires time—time that I currently spend producing weekly episodes alongside working 4 days a week and parenting 2 little minis.

Questions to Ponder

To navigate this phase, here are some reflective questions I’m asking myself:

• What are my long-term goals for Pharmacist Diaries and my personal brand?
• How can I effectively balance content creation with growth initiatives?
• Would my audience feel let down if I shifted to bi-weekly episodes, or would they support the change knowing it’s for the greater good of the podcast and community?
• What steps can I take to streamline my production process without compromising quality?
• How can I involve my audience in this journey to ensure their needs and expectations are met?

Insights from the Journey

Reflecting on this past year, I’ve learned some valuable lessons that I believe might resonate with many of you, especially those juggling multiple responsibilities:

1. Importance of Planning: Planning ahead has been crucial. I’ve found that creating a content calendar not only keeps me organised but also helps in balancing my workload. This is something I highly recommend to anyone trying to maintain consistency in their projects.
2. Leverage Technology: Utilising tools for scheduling, recording, and editing can save a significant amount of time. Apps like Asana for planning, Descript for editing, and social media schedulers can streamline your workflow.
3. Self-Care is Essential: Balancing a full-time job, parenting, and podcasting can be overwhelming. It’s important to prioritise self-care to avoid burnout. This sometimes leads to lack of time for hobbies, exercise, or simply resting...something I do NOT want to sacrifice.
4. Community Engagement: Building a community around your podcast can be incredibly rewarding. Engaging with listeners through social media, live Q&A sessions, and feedback forms can create a more interactive and supportive environment.

Seeking Your Feedback

I genuinely value your input. As listeners and supporters, your feedback is crucial to this decision-making process. Please let me know:

• Would you prefer weekly episodes, or would you support a bi-weekly release if it meant maintaining high quality and more diverse content?
• What topics or formats would you like to see more of through social media? Live Q&A sessions, behind-the-scenes content, day in the life short form videos are some examples.
• Do you prefer in-depth interviews, solo episodes, or a mix of both?

The Entrepreneurial Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey of continuous learning, and the process can be quite daunting, especially for someone who always has a plan and likes to know what's coming next.

Part of this journey is accepting that the unexpected is okay.

Embracing the unknown can lead to new opportunities and growth that a rigid plan might overlook. It's a huge learning curve, and while I don’t have all the answers, I’m committed to figuring it out along the way.

Balancing podcasting, a full-time job, and parenting two kids is a challenging endeavour. This journey is filled with learning curves, and there are moments when I wish I had all the answers. But every step, every challenge, and every triumph is a part of this incredible journey.

Thank you for being part of this community and for your unwavering support. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and continuing this journey together.

Lots of love,

Anisha

Join Our Community 🚀

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Thank you for being a part of this journey, and we hope you enjoyed this week's newsletter.

If you have any success stories to share, comment below because we would LOVE to hear about them.

Anisha & Sunjay

Connect with Us:

🌐 Website: www.pharmacistdiaries.com

💼 LinkedIn: Anisha Patel and Sunjay Vyas

📺 YouTube: Watch Pharmacist Diaries and Anisha and Sunjay

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👊 Discount: Sunjay used to spend (waste) ages looking for free royalty free music on the internet. If you’ve ever tried to find images, music or video that is unconditionally 100% free, you’ll know how difficult it is.

He now use Audiio for all his music whether its client work or for our own projects. Use this link to get 70% off your first year of Audiio pro!

🚀 Check out our Amazon storefront dedicated to podcasting gear! We will keep adding/reviewing the list but there’s a selection of microphones, audio interfaces, and more to help you elevate your podcasting game.

🛒 Explore Our Storefront Here

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