I know it’s tempting. You fire up Zoom, hit record, and just release the combined audio into your podcast feed.That’s called record and release. Lots of podcasters do it. It even works for some people. But it won’t work for you.Here’s why.The podcasters doing this have likely already accumulated a big audience. Back when the best way to record a podcast was Skype and eCamm Call Recorder. Back when it was a lot harder to launch a podcast, so just the act of publishing one at all showed you were putting in an effort.But two things have changed since then:The tools got better. It’s a lot easier to just record and publish a podcast.The audience is getting savvier. And as a result, their expectations are higher.An early critically acclaimed movie, Grand Hotel, came out in 1932. It basically takes place in a couple of rooms in a hotel.It’s still considered a culturally significant movie. But it would bomb at the box office today.Movies have come so much further than what was accomplished in 1932. Special effects, storytelling, multi-threaded plots, color…nearly everything.Moviegoers have a higher bar than they did in 1932.The same thing goes for podcasting. Publishing isn’t enough.You need to do more than just talk into a mic. Plan your show. Outline or script it. And add some post-production to make it sound better. Add music.Give the listeners something besides halfway decent audio.You will see more downloads. ★ Support this podcast ★