It’s pretty clear that we celebrate Halloween on October 31st, right?
Wrong.
Last year, a huge storm came through my area on October 31st and a lot of people seemed confused about how to deal with it. Should we still go trick-or-treating tonight or wait until tomorrow, when the weather is better?
A similar situation happened a few years ago when October 31st was on a Sunday and local churches were pissed. They asked people, if they absolutely had to celebrate Halloween, to do it on Saturday. Or was it Monday? Nobody could get the story straight.
Similar "rules" apply to podcasting.
The Three Types of Rules
There are three basic types of rules in the "rule book" that doesn’t exist, but which most of us seem to follow.
Rules of Acceptability - This is what keeps you from going to prom when you don’t have a date. Or taking up pole dancing because you’re a dude. Like the “rule book” itself, these types of rules don’t exist, although we all seem to know of them.
Rules of Success - I see this all the time in music and book publishing when talented people are waiting for a gatekeeper, like a book publisher or record label, to say it’s ok to release what you've got to the world. And it happens to a lot of people when a next-door neighbor gets a Cadillac and the Buick in your driveway doesn’t feel so great anymore.
Rules of Possibility - These usually come from the fact that we haven’t seen something done, so we think it’s not possible. Or something hasn’t been done yet.
"You Can’t Make Money Podcasting."
Every podcaster has heard similar "truths" related to podcasting...
- “You can’t make money with a podcast.”
- "It's too late to have podcasting success – you missed your opportunity.”
- “You must use a dynamic microphone."
All beliefs, not facts.
Who Makes The Rules For Your Podcast?
Are you playing your game or somebody else’s game? Have you seen podcasting success is possible for other people, but wonder if it’s possible for you?
Why not you?
Seriously. You’re the one making your own rules here. Why not? You could go trick-or-treating every day of the year if you wanted to. Or, if a church gets pissed off that Halloween falls on a Sunday and moves things to another day, you could go both days – that's what a lot of kids in the situation I mentioned above did.
Don’t have the skills? Get them.
Don’t have the time? Make the time.
Whatever your excuse for not doing the podcast you say you want, there's an antidote.
So why not you? There's no reason to let an invisible “rule book” dictate what you can make happen.
Need A Push In The Right Direction?
I wrote a book on podcasting with plenty of "rules" for you to break. Or follow – your choice! It's 462 pages and nothing mentioned is beyond challenge, but it will show you what other podcasters are doing and help you create podcasting success on your terms.
