About this episode

Haylee Gaffin shares five crucial lessons for podcasters as she reflects on five years of her podcast, Clocking In.

I'm a little late to celebrating 5 years of Clocking In, so in honor of 5 years, I’m sharing 5 things I wish more podcasters knew in 2026. These are the lessons I find myself repeating over and over again in client calls, podcast audits, strategy sessions, and other conversations with podcasters. And they might make a difference for your podcasting in 2026! Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced by Gaffin Creative , a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com , plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast. Find It Quickly:  Stop building your podcast like someone else’s (1:36) There are very few universal rules in podcasting (5:00) Your guest interviews are only as good as your preparation (7:16) Nobody cares about your download numbers as much as you do (10:43) Stop stepping on your guest’s words (12:36) Mentioned in this Episode: Custom GPT: http://gaffincreative.com/guestresearch Connect with Haylee: Soundboard Society: gaffincreative.com/soundboard Instagram: instagram.com/hayleegaffin Website: gaffincreative.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…

People in this episode

Host: Haylee Gaffin

Topics covered

• podcasting advice
• podcast preparation
• guest interviews
• podcast metrics
• podcast strategy

Keywords

• podcasting
• podcast growth
• guest preparation
• download numbers
• podcast strategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Gaffin Creative, Soundboard Society, Gaffincreative.com, Instagram

More episodes of Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin - Podcast about Podcasting for Podcasters

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• Bonus: Your Marketing Isn’t Converting Because It’s Missing One-On-One Connection with Polly Pollock ft. Colie James of Business-First Creatives · July 7, 2026 · 53 min
• 218: Is Video Necessary for Podcasting? · June 23, 2026 · 16 min
• 217: Your Podcast Is Not Just Content—It’s Part of Your Business Ecosystem · June 16, 2026 · 14 min

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