Believe it or not. There are millions of anonymous podcasters who are thriving. They usually use a pseudonym to keep their identity hidden in front of their audience, which is a brilliant yet common move. Today, we will discuss everything that you ought to know about creating podcasts anonymously and gaining fame without revealing your identity! Let’s get started!
Why Podcast Anonymously?
There could be plenty of possible reasons why someone would prefer to podcast anonymously. To make things simpler, let’s focus on the most obvious and common reasons.
Separating Podcasts
Suppose you have a business podcast already running under your name. If you also have a knack for entertainment or comedy, starting an entertainment or comedy podcast under the same name might not be the ideal choice.
In that case, the smarter option is to podcast anonymously. This will help you replenish your passion without interfering in your primary profession, which is a complete win-win scenario!
Identify Protection
When you create podcasts and gain popularity, there are chances that you will be out there in the public eye. When you are out there in public with your real identity, you might have to face criticism and bad-mouthing in some cases. You acquire fans and haters in your podcasting journey.
Even though the ground rule is not to let those haters get you if you are sensitive to such comments and want to protect your identity instead, going anonymous is the wiser option.
Name Already Taken
There are hundreds or even thousands of individuals in the world with similar names. You might even find someone with the same name as yours within your friend circle! If your name is very common, there is a high chance that your name is already taken by some other prominent podcaster. Hence, you have scanty chances of gaining fame with your name.
In such cases, you can easily choose a pseudonym and start podcasting anonymously with no restrictions! You also have better chances of gaining popularity meanwhile.
How To Podcast Anonymously?
If you want to podcast anonymously, you ought to choose a pseudonym that suits your personality. Apart from choosing a pseudonym, here is a step-by-step guide on podcasting anonymously.
Create A Special Email Address And Domain Setup
When you have to create a pseudonym for your podcast, you also need to create a new email address. My new email address means a completely different email address that has no relevance whatsoever to your existing identity.
Avoid using your initials in the email address or even your date of birth, which is very prevalent among individuals while setting up their email addresses.
Next, you need to choose a completely different domain for your website and show it! When you set up your new domain name, you can maybe use the same for your email address as well.
For example, [email protected]
However, to have extra privacy and ensure more secrecy of your pseudonym, you might need to pay extra to your host to remain anonymous in the DNS lookup space.
Podcast Hosting
While configuring your podcast hosting, ensure that you do not use your real name anywhere. Make sure that in everything you register to, like your podcast hosting, etc., you use your pseudonym. This will give you an additional layer of privacy since you will omit all the chances of ever getting caught by any fan.
Configure An Email Client
Now that you have your domain name, and email address ready, it is time that you configure an email client or application on your desktop/smartphone/pc. This will ensure that you start receiving emails that are sent to your new anonymous email address.
Branding
Even if you create an anonymous podcast with a pseudonym, you cannot avoid your podcast’s branding. However, while branding, you don’t want to involve your real photos or anything personal, revealing your identity.
Instead, you can create your podcast name, logo, and profile picture as per your podcast niche.
For example, suppose your podcast niche is cartoons. In that case, you can choose a picture of your favorite cartoon or a cartoon you relate to the most in your podcasts.
Similarly, if your podcast is about motivation, maybe you can add motivational quotes to your podcast and continue with your branding.
Either way, you need to ensure that you are not using anything even nearly identifiable to your original identity.
Social Media
A podcast without a social media presence is vague! You don’t want to spend so many hours recording and editing a podcast with no chance of reaching your potential audience.
Hence, you need to create a social media presence even if you are podcasting with a pseudonym.
You can open a Facebook page, Twitter profile, and Instagram profile, for starters. Also, include your pseudonym everywhere, including your username.
Even though this seems like extra work since you have to manage two different accounts, it is certainly worth every effort when you finally see your podcast thriving.
Using A Podcast Pseudonym
While using a podcast pseudonym, you should keep in your mind a few things that will be relevant to your podcasting journey.
Disclaimers
Please be advised that whatever follows is in no way a recommendation, suggestion, or endorsement. Depending on the situation of your requirement, we suggest taking professional legal advice before you create a podcast with a pseudonym.
We completely prohibit any suspicious activity or unlawful activities while podcasting anonymously. Hence, it is essential that whatever you do while podcasting anonymously, you will be held liable and can be charged with severe legal proceedings.
Pros And Cons
Even though we have already discussed the pros of using a pseudonym while podcasting in the segment above, here is a quick breakthrough on the pros and cons of using a podcast pseudonym.
Pros:
- You can hide your identity.
- You will never be personally attacked, even if you have millions of haters from your podcast since none of them know your original identity.
- You can be all raw and can speak about any possible topic without any restrictions whatsoever.
Cons:
- If it is too cute or cheesy, you might not be taken seriously: As irrelevant or wrong as it may sound, many podcasters are judged by their names. If your podcast pseudonym is too funny while you are hosting a motivational or informative podcast, you might not be taken seriously or professionally. This can significantly hamper your overall reputation.
- You may regret your decision later: Once you decide to publish podcasts with your pseudonym, there is no going back! Even if you reveal your real identity later, there are chances that half of your audience might not even believe you, irrespective of how many proofs you display to them. Once you publish a podcast with your pseudonym, your audience will be attached to that, and you cannot shift them to your real name ever. In case you ever changed your mind and want to publish podcasts under your real name, you need to create an entirely new podcast and start right from scratch!
- You will have complications in juggling two different identities: Managing two separate identities altogether is not child’s play! However easy it may sound, you have a high chance of somehow revealing your identity in any way. Also, when you have two different social media accounts, you need to log in to each account every time right from scratch, which sometimes gets frustrating!
- You may have complications with blending both identities: What if you are booked as a podcast guest? Considering that you are a complete newbie in anonymous podcasting, you will have a tough time responding to your interviewer when they address you with your pseudonym. Likewise, you constantly have to live with the lie in public which will take some time to get habituated.
Special Situations for Podcast Anonymously
Some podcasters may prefer remaining anonymous since they don’t want their profession to get hampered while podcasting about something unusual. For example, while you are podcasting about alcoholic recovery, crime stories, or anything similarly unusual, you do not want to let your employer or office colleague be aware of it.
Many organizations even have policies wherein they state that you cannot create a social presence whatsoever, such as crime departments, etc., which are related to the central or state governments.
The reasons could be reputational or privacy-related. Nonetheless, you need to be careful and completely aware of every consequence.
What To Consider Podcasting Anonymously?
Now that we know how to podcast anonymously, there are a few final considerations that you should note down to ensure complete secrecy. Let’s check them out.
- You will need to create a separate Apple ID with your new email address your pseudonym.
- When choosing a podcast hosting company, you should not tie your original identity.
- You should not add anything even nearly personal to your social media sites or websites.
- Even while promoting or advertising your podcasts, you need to ensure that everything revolves around your pseudonym.
- While receiving sponsorships or monetizing your podcast show, you need to consider all the legal aspects of podcasting with a pseudonym.
Wrapping Up
As we said, numerous podcasters are already successful and have remained anonymous throughout their lives. They have never revealed their identity, and people still love them and listen to them every day! Thus, if someone told you that you can never gain fame if you create podcasts anonymously, they are entirely wrong.
