Get ready, podcasters. NaPodPoMo is coming! It is an extremely fun podcasting challenge that takes place during November. I participated in the very first one, and in several of the years after that. Every year, I learned something new about podcasting.

NaPodPoMo is the abbreviation of National Podcast Post Month. It was created by Jennifer Navarrete in 2007. NaPodPoMo functions similarly to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Each one requires creative people to produce content during November.

You don’t have to be an expert podcaster in order to participate. When I joined the very first NaPodPoMo, I did it on a whim. I’d only done a little bit of podcasting at the time, in shows that I did with my husband, Shawn. I decided to use NaPodPoMo to learn how to record, edit, and post my very own podcast. I learned a lot about podcasting in a short span of time, and my confidence as a podcaster grew as a result. NaPodPoMo is a great time to start a new podcast – or your very first podcast.

NaPodPoMo is also a great way to get some more listeners to your current podcast. In previous years, I found that many of the people who participated in NaPodPoMo wanted to listen to the podcasts produced by other people who were participating. People left each other comments that got read and responded to. At times, this scenario became a time-shifted conversation.

There is one rule for NaPodPoMo: create and post 30 recorded shows between November 1, and November 30. If you manage to do that – you win! It doesn’t have to be one show every day. If you missed a day because you were too busy to podcast, or started participating after the November 1 start date, you can catch up. You can use any platform you like, and whatever gear you choose.

The NaPodPoMo experience is hectic, a bit stressful at times, as social as you want to make it, and incredibly rewarding. The key is to have fun.