506 - The Feedback That Could Keep a Creator Going for Six Months

There may be a podcast you’ve listened to for years—someone who has taught you, encouraged you, entertained you, or helped you make decisions that changed your life.

But have you ever actually told them?

I’ve been listening to podcasts since the summer of 2005. Over those twenty years, I’ve listened to thousands of episodes from countless creators. Yet when I honestly thought about how often I’ve personally reached out to tell one of those creators about the impact they’ve had on my life, the number was surprisingly small.

This episode was inspired by something I heard while listening to Matthew McLean interview Sarah Golding on his Audio Indies podcast.

Sarah talked about how little direct feedback creators sometimes receive—even when the download numbers tell them that hundreds or thousands of people are listening. She shared that one meaningful piece of feedback can sometimes provide enough encouragement to fuel a creator for another six months.

That really stayed with me.

As listeners, we often assume established creators hear appreciation all the time.

The reality is that they often don’t.

People listen silently.

They learn silently.

They appreciate silently.

Sometimes they even make significant changes in their lives because of something they heard—and the person behind the microphone never knows.

In this episode, I share why analytics and download numbers can never replace genuine human acknowledgment.

I also tell a very personal story from the early days of the Weekly Lost Podcast, when harsh criticism nearly caused me to walk away from podcasting altogether. I genuinely believed I was done.

Then something happened.

Our community responded with an overwhelming amount of encouragement and honest feedback about what our work meant to them.

That feedback helped me keep going.

Had I stopped producing podcasts at that moment, my entire life might look very different today. There may never have been a Podcast Answer Man. I may never have trained more than 40,000 people to launch podcasts. So much of what followed over the next nineteen years might never have happened.

That experience taught me just how powerful expressed appreciation can be.

I also share a practice I’ve developed over the years: intentionally saving meaningful feedback. I have physical letters and cards that I’ve kept, along with a Gmail label called Praise and Encouragement where I save messages that remind me why this work matters.

When those inevitable questions arise—

Is anybody really listening?

Does this matter?

Should I keep going?

—I have somewhere to return and reconnect with evidence of the impact.

A Few Creators I Want to Publicly Thank

In this episode, I also take some time to publicly express my appreciation for several creators whose work has had a profound influence on my life.

Leo Laporte introduced me to podcasting in its earliest days and has been one of the most influential voices in my relationship with technology. More than twenty years later, I still regularly listen to MacBreak Weekly and This Week in Tech.

Fr. Roderick Vonhögen has been another voice in my life for more than twenty years. His curiosity, childlike astonishment, authenticity, love of service, and passion for personal growth have influenced me in countless ways. Over the years, our connection grew from listener and podcaster into a meaningful personal friendship.

Brian and Liz Deacle, creators of It’s a Drama, are another couple whose podcast I listen to consistently. I love their authenticity, their relationship, their adventures around the world, and the opportunity to live vicariously through some of their experiences.

I also give honorable mentions to three people whose podcasts have played significant roles in different seasons of my life:

• My dear friend and mentor Dan Miller and the 48 Days Online Radio Show

• Michael Hyatt and his This Is Your Life podcast

• My dear friend Ray Edwards and The Ray Edwards Show

Each of these creators has contributed something meaningful to the person I am today.

My Challenge to You

Before today ends, think of one creator who has positively impacted your life and send them a message.

Don’t just write:

“Great episode.”

Tell them something specific.

Tell them what you heard.

Tell them what you learned.

Tell them about a decision you made or something you changed because of their work.

Tell them the story of the impact.

And for bonus points, consider doing this one without AI.

Just be fully human.

Human to human.

Listener to creator.

Don’t assume your appreciation is obvious. Expressed gratitude is different from felt gratitude.

The message that takes you three, five, or ten minutes to send may become the fuel that helps someone continue creating for the next six months—and their decision to keep going may ultimately impact countless other lives.

Sometimes We Need More Than Encouragement

There is another side to feedback.

Sometimes we simply need someone to remind us:

What you’re doing matters. Keep going.

But there are other seasons when encouragement alone isn’t enough.

Sometimes we need honest reflection.

We need someone who can see what we’re too close to see.

We need questions we haven’t thought to ask ourselves.

We need strategic feedback, greater clarity about where we’re going, and help identifying the next aligned step forward.

Sometimes we need a room where we can safely say:

“This is who I am. This is where I am. This is where I want to go. This is where I’m stuck. What do you see that I may not be seeing?”

That is exactly why I created Next Level Mastermind: Momentum.

Momentum is a weekly mastermind environment for entrepreneurs who want greater clarity, honest reflection, strategic feedback, aligned next steps, and the kind of relational accountability that turns insight into committed, calendared action.

I have been loving what is already happening in this room each week.

If you are in a season where you could benefit from greater clarity, perspective, meaningful feedback, and a room of people genuinely committed to helping one another move forward, I invite you to check it out.

Learn more about Momentum at: https://cliffravenscraft.com/momentum