Why You Should Start a Diabetes Podcast - Lessons from 300 Uploads Over 9 Years

[00:00:00] Rob Howe: Welcome back to another episode of Diabetics Doing Things. We are telling the amazing stories of people with diabetes from all over the world. And today's episode is a very special one. As you guys know, on the 100th episode, 300th episode, 200th, whatever, we like to have milestones kind of at the end of the year. We sometimes do some recaps as well. Today is episode 300 on the feed. Cue the 300 theme music. O Tavenya, Antonia, Cernove, O Tavenya. Okay, thank you for indulging me in that. Yes, technically we've done something around 341 episodes, if you include the episodes that we didn't assign a number to and the hashtag Tales of Type 1s series from 2019. but since the first week of 2016, we've published a podcast 341 times with guests from all over the world. We are officially the longest running diabetes podcast hosted by a patient, a person with diabetes, which I take special pride in given how much time, effort, and energy it takes to manage life with diabetes. So when this episode came up on the production calendar, thinking back to other centenarian episodes, 100 with Marie Diaz and episode 200, which was a Robin Eritrea show from a few years ago. And my reflections on the highs and lows of this journey. The title that came to me for this episode was this episode 300, why you should start a diabetes podcast lessons from over 300 podcast uploads over nine years. So let's get into it. For starters, I'm a fan of doing things. People talk themselves out of good ideas all the time and never get started. They're afraid, paralyzed by fear, but you will learn more from doing a thing than you ever could reading about it, listening to it, watching content about doing it, or worrying over it. This has been true for me in my life of podcasting and creating content and otherwise. You will talk yourselves out of good ideas. And one of the things that I abide by, and you guys know that I love quotes, there's a Mark Cuban quote that says, there's never a great time to take a great risk. And to me, I believe that that means now is a great time. One of the first people I met in real life when I was starting this podcast was Tanya Kanovaloff, who is the community manager for our Dallas Breakthrough T1D, North Texas in Oklahoma, formerly JDRF chapter, and I asked to have lunch with her in 2016 when I was just getting started. I wanted to get involved, so I got involved. I answered the call to attend events. I volunteered. I went through different types of training and opportunities that were available through JDRF at that time. And over the years, Tanya and I became friends. I met her partner, Willie, who is a professor of creativity and an artist behind the film Signs of Hope, which has become his life's work. And a few years ago, I asked Willie how he was able to maintain the passion and longevity of a multi-decade creative project. Did he ever think it would last this long? How does he continue to find the passion and energy for it? And what could I learn from him were things that I really wanted to know. And I don't know when I asked him if he ever gave me a direct answer, but he seemed to understand what I was asking. And that was, how can I reconcile with the idea that my current project, Diabetics Doing Things, will continue in my hands for the foreseeable future? And I haven't figured out the answer to that yet. But something I've been focusing on lately is taking inventory of all the things in my life, noticing them, and being grateful for them. So I've applied that to the podcast and I worked backwards. Firstly, I have an overwhelming sense of gratitude. for diabetics doing things. Some of the best things in my life have come from starting and continuing this podcast. So since I know I'm grateful for it, the next step for me was to take inventory of as much as I could from the last eight or nine years. 341 episodes published. 300 plus guests booked. 300 episodes edited and uploaded. 300 graphics built. Over 350 hours of content. Hundreds of thousands of years of lived experience with diabetes. 2 million downloads from 100 plus countries. 30,000 social media followers. 683 social posts and who knows how many social stories. Thousands of emails. Dozens of speaking events. 50 plus flights. Three basketball clinics. four coffee shop meetups, 12 happy hour meetups, one pickleball tournament, soon to be two, and meeting some of my heroes and now calling them friends. So now we get to the advice portion of this podcast. And here they are. They are eight extended points of advice on 300 uploads, 341 total episodes, over eight or nine years of podcasting. Advice number one, start a podcast. It's just as easy as starting a social media account these days. My friend Ryan, shout out Ryan, had to help me set up and submit my RSS feed in 2015 to iTunes, but you don't even have to do that now. You can start one on YouTube. It's super easy. You can use Google Meet for free or a free Zoom account to do it. And you'll learn so much more doing it than not doing it. You don't have to do it forever like I have. Most podcasts don't even have three episodes. So if you make it more than three, you've done more than 90% of podcasts in feeds all over the world. So give yourself some credit and some grace. It can be lo-fi. You don't need a team. You don't need a big following. You just need to sit down and do it. Number two, the universe conspires to give you what you want. I didn't realize that this would become my life's purpose. When I started this podcast, I had no experience or involvement with diabetes. None. I was a total beginner. Only my own personal management was my only experience with diabetes. But because I started, I've been able to meet some of the world's foremost authorities on diabetes and speak to thousands of people worldwide. I'm just a kid from DeSoto, Texas with a dream to play basketball. But when you're following your life's purpose, amazing things can happen as a result. I think of some of the guests that come to my mind from the T1D zine, from the creator zine that we did in 2022. Dr. Michael Riddell is the world's foremost authority on diabetes and exercise, and I get to have him on the podcast. Dr. Josh Miller leads the diabetes practice at a university hospital. Charlotte Drury, Olympian. Amazing things can happen as a result And the universe conspires to give you what you want When you take action Point three Progress isn't linear This effort has been filled with ups and downs And I question whether I'm doing the right things constantly This has been an effort of love and joy And has taken many long nights Weekends, mornings Time away from friends, family, and my day job The price of commitment is steep, and the payment is almost always not monetary. The relationships and impact I've been able to have with my little slice of the internet have taken so much work than I ever thought possible. The relationships and impact I've been able to have with my little slice of the internet has taken so much more work than I ever thought possible, and without the help of my friends, collaborators, partners, employees and contractors, volunteers, supporters and guests, I would not be here today recording this episode. Number four, dream big. The gurus say not to waste time doing what you can't be best in the world at. And I'm proud to say that I've become one of the best diabetes podcasters in the world. The bar for that wasn't really high, but I did it all the same. I'm bullish on podcasting and on this podcast in particular. This is the beginning. It's still early and there is much more we can still accomplish. Number five, there is space for you. You might say, Rob, there's already a diabetes podcast. There's multiple. You have one. There's tons of them out there. I can't, the market's already saturated. There's no way for me to do that. There's too many diabetes accounts. There's no room for me. There is space for you. I'm going to read you guys an excerpt from one of my favorite essays. And it's my most recommended essay or piece of content to marketers, creators, and whoever. It's called 1,000 True Fans. And this is an excerpt from the end. So here it goes. 1,000 True Fans is an alternative path to success other than stardom. Instead of trying to reach the narrow and unlikely peaks of platinum bestseller hits, blockbusters, and celebrity status, you can aim for direct connection with a thousand true fans. On your way, no matter how many fans you actually succeed in gaining, you'll be surrounded not by faddish infatuation, but by genuine and true appreciation. It's a much saner destiny to hope for, and you are much more likely to actually arrive there. And that's the end of the quote. And that's what's meant the most to me. I will likely never meet many of you who are listening. I don't know who most of you who are listening are. I just know that you support diabetics doing things and appreciate the work we do. And for that, I am immensely grateful. And when I receive emails or DMs or when you see me in person and tell me that this podcast helped you somehow, that means the world to me. This is my life's work. And to know how important it has been to some of you is sacred to me, and I take it very seriously. This year in particular, from getting emails from people, or meeting some of you at conferences, or getting invited to your online support groups, this has been a very special time for me to think about all we've done at Diabetics Doing Things over the years. Number six, content begats content. No matter how many episodes you publish, the demands of the engine of capitalism are continue to publish, continue to grow, and continue to push forward. So we're going to keep going. For 2025, I am pushing for this podcast to chart on Apple Podcasts. We're going to get interviews with guests that we've been dreaming about for many years. We're going to improve our workflow. I'm going to improve my skill set as a host and interviewer. And we're going to reach more people via vertical video content than ever before. There are more people living with diabetes, living and sharing their lives than ever. And we want to continue to tell the wide-ranging stories as much as we can. I'm also creating a workflow where those of you who've wanted to tell your story on the podcast, but I haven't had capacity, can share your story on the Diabetics Doing Things blog and social media channels. I stand by what I said earlier. There is space for you. And I want to work to accommodate the many inquiries we get on Instagram, email, and our website. Speaking of which, if you haven't checked out DiabeticsDoingThings.com recently, we've updated the website with our mission and vision and information about our programs. So get ready. We're going to continue doing things in a big way. Number seven, make a friend with diabetes. In the years since I've started this podcast and joined the diabetes online community, my life with diabetes has improved dramatically. And not just socially or psychosocially, clinically. I've been so fortunate to get to meet many of my heroes with type 1 diabetes, people who have taught me something, inspired me, or challenged me to be better about my diabetes management. But above all, they've contributed to me knowing more about diabetes, taking better care of my diabetes, wanting more for my brothers and sisters with diabetes, and to just understand what I'm going through as a person who wants more for their life and doesn't want diabetes to prevent them from doing what they want to do. Without my friends with diabetes, I would not have gotten to 300 episodes or any of the amazing moments in the nine years since Diabetics Doing Things began. It's also dramatically changed my perspective on what it means to live well and do well with diabetes. It looks different for everyone. And it's still early. Number eight, it's the people. I want to close this episode by thanking the people behind the scenes who've supported me over the years. Without their support, I would not be here. Erica Howe, the person who has held down our family's life while I've recorded, edited, scheduled interviews, watched after our pets and house while I travel, and orders and replenishes my low snacks. Without you, I would not be here. Early Diabetics Doing Things, volunteers and contractors. Sarah, Mitch, Casey, thank you for believing in me before this was even a thing. Early Diabetics Doing Things guests and friends of the pod. Lauren, Libby, Neil, Chris, Ben, Sarah, Jillian, Paloma, Laura, you guys believed in my podcast before it became what it became, and I'm immensely grateful to have met every single one of you. Ashley in Eritrea, thank you for your work in the growth of diabetics doing things. Amanda Griswold, Medtronic Diabetes, Janet Cho, thank you for your partnership and your belief in me. You are the Medtronic champions. Anyone who ever sponsored an episode of or any content, thank you for your support and your belief in what we're building. My boys Brent Jones and Ben Fellmeyer for buying hoodies, even when you don't have diabetes. And finally, anyone who ever came out to a meetup, a speaking engagement, downloaded a podcast, bought a hoodie, shared an Instagram post, or left a comment, I appreciate everything that you've done to get us here today. And that's all I've got for now. There's more coming. It's still early. Keep doing things. Keep creating. Keep grinding. Keep blogging the hours. We're in this together. See you next time. We've got some big things coming. Start a diabetes podcast. Rob out.