How Benjamin Wasley launched a podcast about a lost diary

Note from Mike: In our first ever guest post, Benjamin Wasley reflects on how the pandemic lockdown gave him the opportunity to realise ’19 in 89: Inside the diary of a (wannabe) radio announcer’. Jumping the gap between not having a podcast and starting a podcast is always bigger than people expect so I was interested to hear how he went. The article reminded me of how reaching out for advice and taking advice are two separate experiences. One is research and the other is a choice. We are responsible for our own choices and – when the time comes to take the leap – we must make the decisions we believe in.

Between lockdown and a lack of work I found myself without any excuses to start a creative project I’d been sitting on for years.

I knew something had to be done with a diary I’d rediscovered. 

I’d kept it in 1989 during my very first year in radio. Confronting my teenage scribbles was both horrifying and hilarious.

After deciding a podcast was the perfect vehicle the next job was to refine the idea.

I’ve never done a podcast before, but I had a rough idea of what I wanted to achieve and how I thought it could sound.

Still, when you’ve spent most of your career working as part of a creative team, how do you make a creative project all on your lonesome?

So I opened it up to friends and former co-workers for advice and feedback.

That is when my creative project almost stopped dead.

So much of the advice left me wondering if it was even a good idea.

I was convinced the podcast format came without rules.

I was convinced it would allow me to do anything I wanted, any way I wanted.

When someone suggested I needed to set up the theme of the podcast early on and reset it within every episode my immediate reaction was to have none of that.

But I also didn’t realise that some people might not start with episode one. Having a reset in every episode meant anyone could pick it up, no matter when they started listening.

I’d planned on inviting different friends and family to join me in each episode. Some thought it would be better to do it alone; others suggested I get one or two regular co-hosts.

In the end I decided to stick to my original plan of rotating guests, which meant it would be up to me to make sure each episode worked regardless of who I invited on to help me.

I had to remind myself to step back from each bit of advice and try to assess it without being defensive or over protective of my pod-baby.

Some advice was superb and I was frustrated I hadn’t thought of it myself. 

Other advice just didn’t fit with how I wanted to do things and created more hurdles.

Eventually I decided to announce a launch date even though I didn’t have any episodes to share.

I gave myself two weeks to assemble a debut episode and made sure I was ready for the commitment I’d made.

That process of having a deadline gave me something to work towards and forced me to commit to the choices I’d made rather than refining and tweaking myself into oblivion.

I also realised I’d be able to tweak as I went along anyway.

So if you’re trying to get a passion project off the ground by yourself, reach out to the people you think can help you, make sure you listen to their advice, and don’t be afraid to set a release date or make a commitment that will help you see it through.

Check out Benjamin’s podcast now – 19 in 89: Inside the diary of a (wannabe) radio announcer’