I Deleted My Podcast

I did something really hard today.

I deleted my podcast.

I read through all the information about what deleting it from my host would do. I clicked the delete button. It asked if I was sure, and I clicked that button too.

After three and a half years as a podcaster, I called it quits.

Here’s why.

The long and short of it is this: I didn’t have a niche.

Here’s what I mean.

My podcast was Let the Adventure Begin with Chris Denker. I focused on four facets of health: physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.

It worked modestly okay, and yet it felt too broad.

So, I narrowed my scope to focus on women in their 50s and beyond.

What I didn’t realize is that there really wasn’t an audience for it. Or at least my voice didn’t resonate.

After six months, I pivoted back to my original content. I thought that I would recoup my original audience. Then, I could grow from there.

The audience didn’t come back. They moved on.

Proof positive is that my last episode garnered three downloads, and I guarantee one of them was my mom (Thanks, Mom!).

One might think that because I changed my focus, I lost listeners. Perhaps that was the case.

However, I never wavered in my commitment. With the exception of one three-week period, I published an episode every single week for three and a half years.

How I fooled myself.

I honestly thought that if I committed myself to an episode every week, it would organically spread. I planned to modestly publicize it on Instagram through posts, reels, and stories, as well as Threads.

Close friends and family seem like the most supportive. However, they were the hardest to get onboard. If they had shared the information with even one person, it would have spread inevitably.

It would have organically grown.

Except, in my case, it didn’t.

For whatever reason, my content was just another voice in the noise that didn’t stand out enough to gain traction.

What I learned.

I learned that even though this podcast didn’t make it, I can do hard things.

It was a challenge to do something different to get out of my comfort zone. I researched podcast hosts, watched a lot of YouTube videos, and found the right equipment to use.

I loved my solo weekly episodes, but I think I enjoyed interviewing people even more. I got to share stories from others who were getting out of their comfort zone to try something challenging.

I learned that even the closest people say they are supporting you, but they aren’t. I’m not mad about it. Okay, maybe I’m a little disappointed but not mad. People have their lives to live and listening to my podcast didn’t make the cut.