The Five-Finger Podcast Launch

Is starting a new podcast worth it? Will your idea work? Will anyone care? Should you even start? 

All podcasters think about these things. 

The “five-finger trigger” suggests you start a project once you find five people who are genuinely interested—not just lukewarm. You need emphatic yeses. Think, "Yes, man! Why haven’t you started yet? Here’s my credit card!" Those kinds of responses. 

Once you have your five enthusiastic supporters, start building.

But let’s add a layer to this ... Not all “enthusiastic supporters” are equal. Sometimes people try to be supportive and will say yes to anything. 

It’s good to have friends who are encouraging, but they can also lead you astray. You need honest feedback from the people whom you’re trying to reach, not just anybody. Definitely not your mother or yes-men. 

Surrounding yourself with the wrong people leads to poor decisions and limited growth, because their feedback can lead you to think you're doing well when you're not. This is why you’ll often see average, or even novice singers on reality television talent shows.

Nobody goes on national television thinking they’re a “novice.” These people are there because they don’t know any better and, as cruel as it is, television producers are using them for ratings.

Yes-men happen with pros also and the result can be just as bad,

I see this often on my radio show, Music Business Radio. We often work with celebrities who have entourages and payrolls. When a famous person enters a room, the atmosphere shifts. As a podcaster, you might have that effect too—everything you come up with becomes a “great” idea, regardless of how great it actually is.

It’s disappointing when you realize some people who are “encouraging” are only that way because they’re afraid of losing their jobs or missing out on hanging with you. But you also have a responsibility to yourself to let people know you want honest feedback and, when you get it, to actually listen to it.

As long as you pick the right people to listen to, the five-finger trigger is a solid way for you to evaluate ideas, including new podcasts.