Learning Journey – The Coffee Talk Podcast

Well, this has been a fruitful and enjoyable journey. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize just how much I didn’t know about podcasting—the different avenues, the complexities, and the sheer number of podcasts out there to explore. So, let’s start from the beginning.

When I first started, I had some idea of why I wanted to create a podcast. But as I continued down this path, a sense of resolve began to set in. It started to feel like a real, tangible option.

I didn’t anticipate AI becoming such a useful tool for me. I used it to evaluate the concept of my podcast to see if it was viable—and it determined that it was. After doing my own research, I realized there weren’t many podcasts out there quite like the one I had in mind.

Next came the challenge of identifying which platforms to use. This was extremely difficult. I relied not only on YouTube videos but also did my own Googling and used AI to help make sense of it all. With so many choices out there, I found AI’s results to be the most useful—it broke things down, highlighting similarities and differences. One of the most helpful things it did was walk me through the legal language, helping me understand which platforms would maintain ownership of my content and which would let me retain it. That’s a big deal for creators. We’ve seen this issue play out in the music industry—Taylor Swift, anyone? Now, it’s something that’s heavily negotiated in new contracts. Maintaining control over your content—your voice, your ideas—is essential in today’s world. And in a world where AI can mimic your voice, making sure your content isn’t manipulated or edited in harmful ways is more important than ever.

Now, I didn’t dive too deeply into social media content creation during this journey. I did set up an Instagram account for the podcast, but that’s about it. If I were to keep going with this, I know I’d have to invest serious time into growing my social presence—creating audiograms, teasers, hooks—all the things that help drive traffic.

The recording and editing process was actually really cool. I didn’t know the capabilities of some of these platforms. Riverside, in particular, was the most user-friendly one I tried. Being able to edit while seeing the transcript? Phenomenal. Was it perfect? No. I struggled with overlaying music and voice—it could very well be user error on my part—but I spent two hours trying to figure it out with no luck. That said, I still enjoyed using the platform and would happily use it again for future editing.

Finally, I posted my podcast and waited for the results to roll in. Buzzsprout made it super easy to upload to multiple platforms, and the stats it provides are invaluable.

I loved this journey. I feel so much more confident in my understanding of what it takes to build a successful podcast. Even though I only had six listeners, that’s still six people who didn’t have that information before they listened. I think this is something I could see myself doing as a hobby—not a full-time gig. Podcasting lets me combine my creativity, sarcasm, and academic curiosity into something productive. And it helps others, too. Granted, I still think my first blog title holds true: Who wants to listen to little ole me? But hey—I guess we’ll find out.