Why starting a podcast was harder than my blog
When I started my online business I did a lot of blogging, but I also played around a lot with audio recordings. From the very start I wanted both a blog and a podcast.
The podcast was harder to get started than the blog, because I had gotten a lot of negative feedback about the sound of my voice throughout my life.
I was told it was too childlike. Too high pitched. I laughed and giggled a lot, and so people often treated me like I was naive, silly, or frivolous.
When I talked to people they didn't take me seriously, and I hated that.
When I had the desire to produce a podcast, this was one of my main hurdles. Would my voice sound too childlike? Would anyone take me seriously?
I ended up talking to my coaching buddies about it, getting the help I needed to work through my fear.
And here's the feedback they gave me.
They didn't hate my voice, at all. In fact, they loved it. It made them feel calm and peaceful. It made them feel happy.
The truth was that there were people who responded negatively to my voice. Those people exist. However, there were also other people for whom my voice was just what they wanted to hear.
In focusing on all the negative feedback I had gotten, I was forgetting that those weren't the folks I wanted to talk to. The shamers and blamers weren't my audience. My audience were folks who would geniunely like to hear me speak.
My podcasting dreams were eventually realized when I teamed up with my friend Caitlin Bosshart to produce Full Heart Free Voice Podcast, which we release every other week.
Because of this podcast I've gotten to do a really interesting creative endeavor, and I've also gotten to meet really interesting people.
I've had clients work with me who listened to the show. I've gotten beautiful letters from listeners. I've connected to folks and gotten to see first hand the impact our podcast has had on their lives.
Sharing your voice can be so scary, and it can also be an amazing healing journey where you get to claim the gifts your voice has AND you get to connect with your people, the ones you are who to inspire, help, or teach.
My question for you this week is this: Who do you know who loves talking to you? Who do you come alive around when you're speaking to them? List their qualities, because these might be clues for who your people are.
xo,
Emma
P.S. Listen to the most recent episode of Full Heart Free Voice Podcast, What to Do When a Creative Idea Goes Away. We've been reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and would love for you to read along with us!
P.P.S. A member of the Courageous Bloggers Society shared her voice this week in an amazing blog post called "Embracing Your Inner Outlaw". Read it to get inspired to break free from your old stories.