Like many podcasters, Noah found some podcasts that weren't bad, but they didn't really fit 100% of what he was looking for. What did Noah do? He started one of his own. Is he a big tech nerd? No. Did he come with a pre-made audience? No. He found guests that had more than a heartbeat (like some shows) he found guests who could bring value. In this interview you will also hear how: Noah is buying ads on other history shows to promote his show How much Noah is spending per show How reviews seem to be boosting his chart position, but may not do much for downloads How he appears on shows as a guest even if they are not about history He is building relationships with fellow podcasters and his audience His strategy is to do your research and be genuine Not everything he tried worked How he overcame Imposter Syndrome to start his show How he is now pursuing monetization His main priority is growing his audience. Check out his show at www.thehistoryofvikings.com  Mentioned: www.newandnoteworthy.info Podcast Rewind: Where Has Dave Been? 19:15  Big Podcast: Podcast Longevity, Failures, And How To Know If You'll Make It In Podcasting Podcast Envy: Dave Jackson, School of Podcasting, on Impostor Syndrome and Podcasters Hall of Fame Unstructured Podcast: Dave Jackson The Word From Mouth: SEARCH, ADOPTION, AND MOVING THE NEEDLE IN PODCASTING – WITH DAVE JACKSON Want to interview me on your show? Contact Me What I Learned From My Podcast Focus Group 24:54 I am in a "Mastermind" with a graphics person, a lawyer, audio editors, and more. We are all podcasters and share our opinions on how to grow each other's podcast. It's free (you don't need to spend 5,000 a day to be in a mastermind start one today).  Here are some of the things I learned: I don't expand enough on what people get so they see the value My bullet points were out of order and I put the best bullet point at the bottom of the list You're not really saying what people are getting I had too many options to choose from I need to take my testimonials and sprinkle them through the sales copy So What's This Have to Do With Your Show? Sometimes you need an OUTSIDE opinion to find things that are RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.  We Need To Talk: Setting Your Podcast Expectations 31:30 There are people with 10 downloads who want to monetize their show.  There are people with five episodes that want to quit their day job.  Here is another way to think about this and set expectations A musician has written their first five songs. Can they make a living? An actor has gone on five auditions and might have a lead on a commercial. Can they make a living acting? An author has five manuscripts and an agent. Can they make a living as an author? The answer? It depends. The odds are not in your favor, but it's going to take TIME. Many "overnight successes" took YEARS to get their big break. If your sole reason is to make QUICK MONEY, and you are bringing NO AUDIENCE, the odds are stacked against you. STEP ONE OF MAKING MONEY WITH YOUR PODCAST So many people hear crowdfunding and focus on the funding, and forget that step is one is create a crowd. They put the cart before the horse. How do you build your audience? In a nutshell, it boils down to this. 1. Identify who your audience is 2. Listen to them and determine what content they want to hear. 3. Create content that will inspire them to tell a friend (in other words, its good). I refer to this is "deliver value." 4. Go to where your target audience is 5. Make friends with them, and bring value to every conversation, listen for ideas for future episodes. 6. Then tell them about your show Step 7 would be repeat steps 2-6 Ready to Start a Podcast? Get coached by an award-winning, Hall of Fame podcasters Go to www.schoolofpodcasting.com/workwithme