Why A Mentor Is Important In – and out – Of Podcasting
Why A Mentor Is Important In – and out – Of Podcasting
Author: Robert F. Peterson
I’ve had the honor of being both a mentor and mentee in the podcast industry and some of the most rewarding times have been working with the amazing people who joined The Podcast Academy (TPA)’s Mentorship Program. The unique opportunity to meet with a group of people with different goals for their podcasts allowed me to give feedback that would help set them up for success. The group dynamic also meant that while I may have been answering one person’s question, everyone on the call would benefit from different perspectives and challenges others face.
Even more rewarding, was learning so much from the various people I’ve had the chance to mentor. Not only did I see first hand some of the difficulties podcasters were facing, but I got to learn new ways to grow shows and best practices on how independent podcasters want to be approached when discussing monetization.
If I could yell into a megaphone I’d tell everyone to find a mentor. If you read, watch, or listen to interviews with successful people – be they athletes, artists or business professionals – almost 100% of the time they’ll point to someone who gave them an extra push to achieve greatness.
Whether or not they say the word “mentor”, that is who they are referring to – a person in their corner who is looking out for your best interest. Someone who tells you the hard truths, but also sees the forest through the trees and will help guide you to however you measure success.
Outside of having someone who can help you recognize the pitfalls of certain actions, a mentor’s value is deeper than that. There are times in everyone’s life where they’ve felt they’ve had nowhere to turn for a more objective opinion. Be it personal or professional, a mentor is someone who will give you advice on what they believe is best for you. Some questions may be:
Should I invite my boss to my wedding?
Should I stay with Company X or go to Company Y
What should I wear for a virtual interview?
When should I start investing my money?
Of course, mentor / mentee relationships will be different for each individual person, but the main takeaway is that it’s always important to have a person on your side that’s outside your friends or family. Family and friends always want what’s best for you, but they may avoid telling you the truth about a certain situation. They’ll give you the answer you want versus the answer you need or, simply put, they’ll tell you a podcast all about sponges IS a great idea after all.
This is why I joined and advocate for The Podcast Academy’s Mentorship Program. It was created to make the podcast industry (which can seem massive, especially to those just starting out) feel smaller and more accessible. It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to meet with senior level executives at some of the most prestigious companies in the world, but with TPA’s Mentorship Program you may just be grabbing coffee with a CEO you can pitch your sponge podcast idea to.
About the author:
Rob Peterson is an executive in the podcast industry, overseeing marketing, sales integrations, and audience development teams over the last 10 years. Additionally, Rob is the co-founder of Heard of Media, a podcast consultancy company focused on growing and preparing shows for monetization.