01 Apr Imperfectly … TILT the Future in your favour

I am proudly launching my podcast on the Future of Work called TILT the Future.

AND – it has not shown up in iTunes.

I could wait for all the stars to align and have the perfect launch. Instead, I have chosen an

Imperfect Beginning.

I think we often hide all the angst and work and effort that goes into making something new.

Living my brand

As I was talking to parents at a presentation yesterday, I talked about the importance of accepting the iterative process of making something. The investment in time and energy in testing and refining a process.

When we are vulnerable and show the process we are able to offer our younger generation the example that we do not live in a world of

‘insta’ success

Ideas take investment. They take time and energy. And sometimes they can be very frustrating.

But with each step, we can still get the satisfaction of progress.

“It takes years to become an overnight success”

Embracing the ‘AND’

So often we continue a sentence with a BUT and take away some of our glory. I should have said, “I was trying to launched a new podcast, BUT I had problems with the verification for iTunes”.

Instead, the following is much more empowering …

I have launched a new podcast call ‘TILT the Future’ AND

It IS available on

My website: https://karenadesouza.com/tilt-the-trailer-career-roller-coaster/

AND Simplecast: RSS Feed – https://feeds.simplecast.com/gyCHe_mD

AND Spotify: TILT the Future https://podcasters.spotify.com/podcast/1dkOktnGYjawzHw7WLWKF6

AND Google podcasts: TILT the Future https://play.google.com/music/m/I5nc6yrmt6y64uzyt5pjsmp2kcy?t=TILT_the_Future-testing

AND Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/karena/tilt-the-future

and once iTunes, Simplecast and I figure out what is causing the burp, it will also appear on iTunes.

AND then I will do the big announcement! Because over iTunes carries over 500,000 podcasts, and I would like to be one of them.

Helpful people are everywhere

I made some bonus discoveries on my podcast journey:

1. iTunes was sending me an email with an empty error code. As I went about sleuthing, I discovered so much helpful material regarding the parameters that could cause your podcast to be rejected, published by Apple
2. When I described my woes, my fellow TPF2 travelers (SuzieQ) took time out of their projects to help me
3. When I detailed my assumptions in an email to support@iTunes and Simplecast (where I host my podcast) both parties went the extra mile to check behind the scenes. They verified that on the surface there is no clear reason for the rejection, and then made suggestions on little tweaks I could make to jump-start the process. 4 days and 12 iterations of artwork later, we are over the verification hurdle, and awaiting approval.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

My launch email and post is sitting ready and waiting to send out. Meantime, here is a poem from my youth that is so apt in the moment – and of which I could only recall the first line:

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, BUT DON’T YOU QUIT

What now GenZ and influencers?

Can you learn-forward from my experience?

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17968468144244641/

There is value in creating a project flow when we start a big project. It allows us to check boxes, plan ahead, and understand dependencies (e.g. I cannot launch to iTunes users until iTunes validates my Podcast)

• There is always a ‘through or around’ back up plan:
  • I am publishing on my webpage and platform agnostic Spotify
• It is a good plan to play with the concept of back up plans in situations that are certain

And have the courage to take one small step. Get in action!

Credit & Thanks; Definitions & Resources:

• Inspiration: The embarrassment of advertising the launch of the podcast, with no podcast on iTunes
• podba.se – a website that does a quick pre-check of your podcast before submitting to iTunes
• GenZ, Gen Z, Generation Z – if you were born in 1995 or after. You are usually a digital native, having no memory of a world without the internet!
• A version of this article is also published on LinkedIn
• Youtube, Canva and photo credits: Karena de Souza

2019 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research From Mar 2019)