Ideas

Notes from Tim Ferriss Podcast on Podcasting

April 27, 2026 · 4 min read

  • we should make a pre recording and post production checklist
  • You don’t have to commit forever
  • Just commit to doing it for 5-10 episodes
  • Only do it if you’d do it for free (do something you love)
  • Even if you stop podcasting, what skills are you learning while doing it?
  • Sustainability is important. Keep it simple and fun so you’ll keep doing it
  • Audience: books lead to blogs lead to podcast
  • Ask why?
  • Choose a game you can win: a military personal finance / FIRE podcast with two friends conversation. That’s a game we can win
  • If you have a single point of failure (Zencastr) you will get screwed
  • 2017: not too late to start a podcast 2021: still super early to start a podcast (based on advertising dollars)
  • Last 5 years, lots of professional companies moving into podcasting
  • Why am I starting a podcast?”
  • Tim Ferriss Amazon primes a new microphone to guests for every episode haha
  • Pillows in the corner of the room to improve audio quality
  • No one really cares about the audio quality. You can use a phone conversation. “Once you get fancy, fancy gets broken”
  • Pro-tip: use phone to Google things, audience can’t hear it
  • Produce evergreen episodes that have a long tail. Episodes are as relevant today as they will be in 5 years.
  • Elegant operation: research, script, record, edit, publish everything yourself
  • Monetizing: after 100 episodes, you’ll have a broad selection of advertisers
  • What would be amazing from a monetizing perspective
  • Sponsorship, advertising, generate clients, affiliate relationships, newsletter, membership, sell show notes
  • Don’t ask yourself “how can I make as much money as possible?”
  • Write your own insertion orders and everyone pays up front
  • Paperback royalties are 6% vs 12% for hardcover
  • Benefit to the consumer – save $5 on cover price
  • Question the best practices
  • Podcasts: find guests, prep for conversation, have conversation
  • Content is more important than the name of the guest
  • “what is so compelling about this (military finance) that you will want to do 100 episodes on it”
  • Contact all the hacks for MMM? travel hacking podcasts?
  • make it as easy as possible in the beginning. Interview friends
  • what would make this interview a home run when you look back on it in a year?
  • we can always cut things later but we can’t put things in
  • Flag personal things like address, family details, names, dollar amounts for cutting later
  • Podcasting is a black box: it’s hard to get good analytics
  • Pro travel hacks episode
  • Transcribe all episodes and trim down your most common used words and tics 
  • “mmmm” “mmmhmmm” “mmmm”
  • Read the transcript to find repetition and things to work on
  • Asking friends for advice or feedback is not worth the time
  • Confusing or dragging or if your mind starts to wander
  • Minimum 2-4 hours of prep
  • Plant a greatest hit story in the first 10 minutes
  • “if it’s interesting to you it will be interesting to other people” you can’t fake it
  • Audiences know when you’re stoked and when you’re faking it
  • high concept is boring, bring specific details and stories
  • Idea: psychology of money book review
  • Feel free to take bathroom break, start a story over again, where do I want to take this?
  • Verbal tics “that’s a good question” “like like like like” “you know” “you know” “you know” um ah so…
  • Descript transcript app
  • Write or talk about what your want to read or listen to
  • Drop off charts in Spotify?
  • Send them to website so they sign up for mailing list
  • Going on other podcasts grows the podcast
  • Publish podcasts on YouTube
  • Don’t try to appeal to 100% of your audience
  • Make content that 10% of your audience will love and the other 90% can skip and go to the next one
  • Not caring about your audience is the ultimate form of caring
  • What is one of the best investments you have ever made?
  • Working with podcast networks, Tim does not
  • It depends on what you are trying to accomplish
  • 3 years from now: your podcast is successful. What does that mean? What does it look like? 
  • Luse any call with sponsors or networks to grow your knowledge
  • Wait until your audience has influence and size
  • Set terms like no payment terms, you pay up front
  • On investing: how do you feel when you wake up and how quickly do you fall asleep.
  • Same thing for podcasting
  • Podcasting should be net positive energy
  • ontent creation week: all social and podcasts for the next 3 months
  • Batch your podcast creation. Do 3-4 episodes a day for a week and you’ll have content for weeks or months
  • 22 immutable laws of marketing, chapter on categories, old version by reis, 1000 true fans by Kevin Kelly