1. Running an Actual-Play podcast is Actual Work
No one wants to hear this, but running the Dice Company Actual-Play podcast has taken more work – of more different kinds – than we ever imagined. Sound quality, editing, release schedules, promotion and a hundred other things have to be done – and done well – to make any headway in this crowded field.
2. Play matters
While we’ve ploughed endless hours into improving and promoting the show, we haven’t lost sight of why we’re doing it. We’re a group of friends, and everything we do relies on the fact that we enjoy hanging out together, being silly, and telling an epic story.
3. Slow progress is fine
I can’t remember what we expected on day one. Maybe some of us expected instant success, while others thought no one would listen. Listener numbers have grown steadily, along with a lovely community on Bluesky and Discord. It’s great to hear from people who love the show, and it’s also incredibly useful – which leads me to my next point…
4. Keep listening
When you face a fancy microphone for the first time, it’s easy to get hooked on speaking. Hundreds of people listen to our podcast every week – so we could just hammer out episodes and assume everyone loves them. But real-time feedback from listeners has been crucial, helping us improve the show and the ways we promote it – which in turn leads to more listeners.
5. Keep going
Every so often, we see a major jump in listener numbers. Usually, we have no idea why. Maybe a major podcast platform featured us in some way, or someone with loads of social media followers posted about us. Whatever the cause, our baseline numbers stay a little higher after these bumps. So – just by being around long enough for these mysterious boosts – our podcast grows. The longer we stick around, the luckier we get.
- For more from Dice Company, listen to our latest episode, go all the way back to chapter one, join our wonderfully welcoming Discord community (the DiceCord), check out our Patreon and sign up for email updates below…