Embracing Constructive Feedback

I was at an event and went to lunch with an old friend and he asked if I would like some feedback (I'm always open for advice)? He mentioned that sometimes when I'm talking about a mistake someone makes I may be coming across a bit more like a curmudgeon. I didn't get defensive and realized that there may be times when bad advice is being circulated and people are going down the wrong path. (I get frustrated when bad advice goes viral).  When I launched the School of Podcasting, the original price was $5/month. This was one of my first products, and like everyone else I undersold my value.  A friend of mine name Marcus (who had much more insights into marketing) asked, "Do you know of anything else on the Internet for sale for $5?  This lead me to research and find out that when you price things too low, the perceived value goes way down (and hence less sales). EVERYONE NEEDS A STEVE OR MARCUS You need someone who is going to let you know when there may be room for improvement. Realize they aren't trying to hurt or discourage you, but because they care about you they want to make sure you're not shooting yourself in the foot. SPOTTING BAD FEEDBACK When you ask your friend and family for feedback you might hear things like, "Oh you sound so professional! Look at you with the microphone! You're going to be a star."  Let's put this into the kitchen. You cook someone a recipe and they say, "Look at you in the kitchen with the forks and knives! You look like a cook!." You asked them to sample the food, and they're not talking about the food.  They might ask you to explain what podcasting is. Here again, you have a conversation but nobody is talking about you episode.  There is an episode of Friends where Joey has a spot on TV and he asks, "So what do you think?" and then his phone rings. Ross yells out, "I get good lighting!" as Rachel says, "You had good lighting last time! It's my turn."  Give them an episode and ask some hard questions such as: 1. Did you listen all the way through? 2. If not where did you stop and why? 3. What was the biggest takeaway? Realize if the show isn't resonating with the audience you want to know this NOW so you can figure out what needs to be tweaked. It takes a bit of maturity to step back and realize things could be improved, but your goal is not just to produce a podcast, but to produce a good podcast.  FREE PODCAST LAUNCH CHECKLIST Ready to start podcasting but not sure what steps to take and in what order? This free checklist will help you launch your podcast in the correct sequence for maximum effect.  www.schoolofpodcasting.com/checklist NEED SOME HELP WITH YOUR PODCAST? Go to www.podcastconsultant.com/schedule and set up a strategy call to get you going in the right direction and start increasing those downloads.