Recently, I met up with a group of young, passionate individuals from IIUM (Aziem, Bashir, Izz, Adam Zafir) who aspire to start a podcast discussing current issues and life solutions. They sought advice based on our journey with The Barakah Effect (TBE) podcast, leveraging from our experience over the 90 episodes released since its launch in March 2021.
Here are the key tips we shared:
1. Sincerity
Set your intention that you are doing this for a higher purpose, and commit to this sincerity! Sincerity fuels the team to stay motivated, committed, and consistent, even if the views, likes or subscriber counts are not high. Sincerity will also help you persevere through criticism and challenges, ensuring your efforts remain steadfast.
2. Planning
Don’t rush into it. Plan thoroughly to maintain consistency. Prepare a backlog of recorded episodes to avoid disruptions when team members get busy. For TBE, we spent seven months preparing before our launch—designing the logo, assigning roles, conducting research, and recording 10 episodes in advance.
You don’t need expensive equipment. Focus on good audio quality and minimize ambient noises. Affordable microphones like Boya are sufficient and readily available at Shopee.
3. Just Start!
Avoid over-perfectionism—it can stall progress. Start with what you have, review your work, and continuously improve. Mistakes are part of the learning process, so don’t be afraid to fail and try again.
4. Break the Ice
For guest interviews or panel discussions, have a brief ice-breaking session before recording. Discuss the topic early to ensure everyone is comfortable and prepared. This human touch fosters better communication and connection during the session.
5. Teamwork
Don’t do it alone. Running a podcast requires teamwork and proper delegation. Be patient with team members’ shortcomings, and use this opportunity to develop leadership skills by recognizing strengths, addressing weaknesses, and rotating responsibilities. If things go wrong, don’t give up—learn from mistakes and adapt.
At the end of the discussion, I asked them, “So. Are you ready to start?”
One of them, Aziem replied, “this is scary, but we’ll try, inshaAllah.”
I reassured them, “That’s real courage—stepping forward despite fear.”
This is how Allah describes Courage in the Qur'an. When God instructed Moses and Aaron - Musa & Harun - to confront pharaoh, they were scared, too! They felt fear in their hearts - of the terrible violence and brutality this tyrant is capable of!
But in spite of that, they stood firm, stepped up & went forward anyway. Now that is bravery.
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear" (Nelson Mandela)
Starting a podcast is a journey of learning, growth, and collaboration. May Allah bless their efforts and gran success. All the best, friends!
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