Do You Need a Podcast Co-host? – PCI 349

0:00 One of the great things about having a podcast and with this more advanced technology nowadays is that you have this low barrier to entry where it is so much easier to, you know, grab yourself a mic, do it online in remote locations, and do it together, you know, with a co-host. But to be frank, you don't need one. If you want one, that's great, but you really don't need one. You're listening to Podcast Insider, hosted by Mike Dell, Todd Cochran, and Mackenzie Bennett from the Blueberry Team, bringing you weekly insights, advice, and insider tips and tricks to help you start, grow, and thrive through podcasting.

0:41 With all the support of your team here at Blueberry Podcasting, welcome. Let's dive in. This is Todd Cochran, CEO o and co-founder of Blueberry Podcasting. And I'm Mackenzie Bennett, marketing specialist here at Blueberry. This. Week we're going to be talking about having a co-host for your podcast, something we're both very familiar with after years of podcasting. Perfect example is this show, you know, we've been doing this on and off in varying degrees, uh, with varying hosts for a very long time. But can you give me your, your perspective of the amount of people that have co-hosts now compared to when podcasting was just starting?

1:22 Oh, I think it was, you know, I think there was a pretty even mix in the early days, but the challenge was really, you know, hugely technical to have a co-host unless they were in the same room. We didn't have all these great tools like Weeb now where we can be, you know, literally in different countries. Mm-hmm. . Producing a high quality show. So a lot of the co-host situations were husbands and wives, or, you know, there were, uh, someone that lived close to them in those early days, but as the tools have improved, matter of fact, that's one of the reasons why I was primarily a solo show from the beginning was my geolocation being in Hawaii, and then not available to record until late at night. So for me, uh, having co-hosts wasn't even really an option. Uh, whereas a little bit later on when we started, when I started this show with, uh, Rob Greenley, you know, I would, uh, literally be 6:00 AM uh, Hawaii standard time to record that episode with him as a co-host because of, you know, the time zone challenges. So I think that, uh, you know, compared to now and then it's definitely much, much easier to have a co-host and maintain quality.

2:34 Yeah, the, the technology has really changed quite a bit, and also a lot of the time with up a podcast, I just expect that there's probably gonna be two or so people, or if it's an interview show, you know, there's gonna be the main host and then whoever is going to be the guest. I, I find myself gravitating towards shows with more than one person, um, just for that conversation flow, the format, I just tend to enjoy it more. But in general, one of the great things about having a podcast and with this more advanced technology nowadays is that you have this low barrier to entry where it is so much easier to, you know, grab yourself a mic, do it online in remote locations, and do it together, you know, with a co-host. But to be frank, you don't need one. If you want one, that's great, but you really don't need one.

3:29 And you know, I think too, you know, if you, you're the originator of the show idea and you're looking for a co-host and you gotta find someone that kind of share the same experiences you wanna be, you know, hopefully your friends, you know. So I think having co-host offers its, uh, own unique initial challenges to getting started. And the biggest challenge, I think, really, I think the most co-hosts that we find over time is really the schedule, finding a schedule that you both can, uh, agree to for years that, you know, that Saturday morning show, uh, the reason I was able to do it is because it was so early in Hawaii.

4:10 Then when I moved to Michigan, then all of a sudden I went from a 6:00 AM start to a 12 noon start, and it really threw a, a wrench in the monkey works because it took up two, three hours of my Saturday midday, and it just wasn't sustainable long term. So that's one of the reasons why we made the change to the show, to record it when we do now. So I think navigating all that is part of it, but I think also at the same time, I think on many, many shows, people kind of divvy up duties. You know, maybe one person's a recorder producer, maybe someone else does the, the show prep, the content collaboration, that type of stuff.

4:52 So you have more hands and and eyes on the product. But I think also some shows are, you know, it's still like a solo show where one person does most of the production work and the, the other guest just shows up, or the other co-host just shows up and is there for the episode. Yeah, there's definitely gotta be a conversation about responsibilities there to delegate who's gonna be responsible for what on a regular basis, and set your mental and emotional expectations of, I want help with this thing, and they don't wanna help with it, and now I resent them, that type of stuff. So I think it's good to figure that out, probably sooner rather than later.

5:35 Um, and, you know, like you said, that's gonna change. Nothing is that static. So you're really gonna have to evolve with that over time and decide, do we wanna do this for one season? Do we wanna do a series? Do we wanna have this, you know, every week? Is it once a month? That's setting all of those idea or all of those questions up for your own success? Because, you know, there can definitely be less stress involved in the execution, but if you chose the wrong co-host, you could also be making it worse for yourself. So choosing the right person, whether it's a colleague, a family member, a friend, someone that you just randomly found, having that clear idea of how this is gonna work was probably gonna work out for the best for you.

6:21 I think two is the concept of, you know, who owns the show, and you're gonna have to have some sort of legal agreement and or what happens when one person leaves the show. And, um, that's a big one. I don't think those have to be overly complicated, but it's, something does need to be put on paper and signed so that you know, they, whoever's the owner and, you know, all those circumstances that can come up with a co-host leaving, some of those things you have to, uh, have to be careful for as well. Um, so I think that conversation in the beginning is important because if the show starts out small, then all of a sudden find some medium of success and monetization, then the dynamic can really, really change very, very quickly.

7:06 So that should all be planned for very early, even if there is no desire to do monetization at the beginning, you just gotta kind of have these ground rules set up of, uh, okay, you've been here two years and you leave, you know, what happens, or, you know, and I think some of the best examples I've seen are really, uh, cut and dry. Uh, you quit, you're out, you know, those types of things. Um, so it, it really gives an incentive for someone to stay. And also what happens if it's my idea and I think you're not a good fit anymore, how does, how do I ask you to leave if I've been the one that asked you to participate?

7:47 So, yeah, I think all those things are good to be sorted out and, uh, there's some great legal podcasts online that have some of this type of advice as well, but if you think it's gonna be really, really big, then you get yourself a lawyer to do something official with the writeup. Uh, but I think most podcast co-host, they have some sort of written agreement because we do see . We, yeah, we have personally seen it, you know, as a podcast hosting provider. People come to us in the middle of their drama and try to get things figured out, and we just kind of have to go with the account settings. That's what, that's the only thing we have to go off of.

8:29 And there's been, you know, all kinds of things that have happened where someone says, oh, I forgot my password, and you're trying to reset it, and, you know, where they're actually trying to hijack the account. So, uh, you know, we have some internal policies on, you know, who gets the reset password and, and you know, that type of thing. Uh, so I think it's, uh, something that you have to, again, you don't wanna be in a situation where all of a sudden it's war and you know, you're in a fight for life to save the show that is legally yours. Yeah. And you know, the podcast content can go so much farther nowadays where people have social media accounts associated to this, you know, imagery, a lot of the time people will be viewing video whether or not they have an actual, like, video show, or they're just using that for TikTok or Instagram or something.

9:18 But there's a lot that goes into it, and it can be a lot of fun, but, you know, just decide who wants to be in charge. . Mm-hmm. , that's the key. And I, you know, I think it, uh, can be very rewarding for those that are, you know, has a dynamic co-host. And, you know, sometimes, uh, I think if you think about some of the best TV that I've ever seen, it's where you have two individuals that have diametrical opposing views, but yet are just absolutely fantastic on the air. And I think if you find that duo, uh, depending on the type of content, you know, because, you know, let's be honest, if you're gonna be doing a sports show, do you both wanna be the fan of the same team? ?

10:05 I mean, yeah, you can, that's the thing. You can be a fan of the same team, but you can't have the exact same opinion. You can't just be barking at each other. The, you know, in agreement. No one wants to hear that . So I think that, uh, varied conversations, opinions are always good in picking a co-host. And, you know, even Rob and I, we, we sometimes we agree to disagree on things, and I have my view and he has his view, and we, you know, we kind of, uh, we kind of put it out there. Same with this team, you know, we, uh, we have our own opinions and ideas and, um, and each of those are valid. And I think that it's good to, to have those types of, uh, inputs because it just makes the content richer.

10:52 Some of your favorite shows that people feel engaged and feel like they're part of this community is because of the fun banter and relationship that the hosts have with one another. You know, they, they feel like it's their little online family, and you can't always, you know, just hope for the best. You have to make sure that you're setting yourself up for success there. And a lot of the time you just have to, you know, have that, that natural chemistry with someone. If this is not your actual job, if you're not getting paid to smile and say that you're, you know, doing this with your colleague, whether you like it or not, you know, that happens. But for the most part, with the podcast, I don't think you're gonna be doing this if you don't want to.

11:42 It's so easy to start on your own and do outside of, you know, any major production that we want you to be passionate and having fun with it. So a lot of the time that's able to shine through. And, you know, I, I like my solo show, but it's also designed to be a solo show, my co-hosted show. I like it because it's designed to be a co-hosted show with a, with an occasional guest. One thing too that I will mention is, is some of the most downloaded episodes are highly, you know, the have the highest download numbers is not when we have a guest. It's when just the two co-hosts banter between their each other. Um, so I think that if you're gonna do a, a podcast where you're, there's just two of you and you're occasionally bringing in a guest, um, you might end up being very surprised that really the audience comes to hear you and that maybe not necessarily your guest unless they're like a, a superstar.

12:43 Hey, that's a very good point. It's, you know, they're really there for you a lot of the time. It's fun to see that in the stats . It's one of those situations where, you know, we have a guest town and think, oh, this is gonna be greatly followed. And, you know, you kinda look at the numbers next week, Andre like, well, that wasn't so interesting. Mm-hmm. . But again, you know, each show is different and the dynamic's different, and the content's different. So, uh, you know, you're mileage of area, I think. Yeah. And when I started doing the Power Press podcast years ago, it was me, and then I would get a guest and I, I, I enjoy this on, um, on a different level of, you know, knowing what's gonna be happening and that I'm gonna have a good conversation.

13:30 Because when you have a guest, depending on how well you know them, if you have any background history, you know, it could, it can kind of go off, off in a different direction, then you might have expected. And that is in a good way and a bad way, but it just, um, this feels more reliable in the way that we're getting content out. Not that I didn't enjoy doing that before, but I feel like I have a better understanding of, you know, the schedule, the, the feel, the tone of the show, um, as opposed to new people coming in every week. And I think that's, I definitely see that as a benefit.

14:12 Well, I, I think we've covered the pros and cons of having a co-host and the advantages of, uh, you know, of, you know, all options. I think. I think so. So how's your show doing with your co-host? That's what we wanna know. What's happening with yours? What's, what's been something weird, what's been a negative, what's been a positive? If you've had any feedback for us, definitely drop us an email and, uh, and provide us feedback on how it's worked out with you having a co-host, or the reason not to have a co-host. Thanks for joining us. Come back next week and in the meantime, head to podcast insider.com for more information to subscribe, share, and read our show notes.

14:56 To check out our latest suite of services and learn how blueberry can help you leverage your podcast. Visit blueberry.com. That's blueberry without the ease. We couldn't afford the ease.