If it's a dream or ambition of yours to start a podcast or launch a podcast in 2020 this podcast episode is for you. In this episode, I answer the many questions that I get asked all the time about launching a podcast.
So if you'd love to start a podcast but you're unsure of what equipment you need or how to host it and get it online or even get people to listen to it then this is a must-listen.
In this podcast episode, I share my practical actionable tips including how to choose a topic and why you should choose a niche to reach a larger audience.
Even if you're not planning a podcast and just a regular piece of consistent content then you'll still find this episode useful.
I'd love to know what you think.
{Click on the player above to listen to the podcast episode and/or read on for a detailed overview. Scroll down to the bottom to read the show notes including all the links mentioned in this episode} Why do you want to start a podcast?Launching a podcast can be a big investment of your time, energy and money. Which is why it’s important to get clear on why you’re doing it. A podcast can be a great way to attract leads and sales for your business. For example, many of my clients start listening to my podcast way before they become a client.
However, you may have other aims - such as connecting with other influencers in your industry or raising your profile so you can land more speaking gigs or a book deal. If you’re clear on why you want to start a podcast, it will be much easier to measure the potential return on investment for your business.
How to choose a topic for your podcastRegardless of the topic, your podcast should solve a problem for your listeners. Solving a problem for people can simply be about entertaining people and/or making them laugh.
But for most business owners, this is generally about providing valuable information/discussion around a specific topic. For example, my podcast 'The Janet Murray Show' provides actionable tips and business/marketing advice - on topics ranging from Instagram marketing to creating a content calendar for your business to how to start a podcast for your business.
As with many things in your business, the more ‘niche’ and/or specific you can be, the better. Spend some time searching through the podcasts Apple and/or other podcasting platforms and you will be amazed what people have podcasts on.
For example:
Pat Flynn - passive income Steve Folland - parents who freelance Bella Vasta - pet business owners How to choose a name for your podcastOnce you’ve decided on a topic, it’s time to choose a name for your podcast. I’d suggest picking a title that describes what your podcast is about.
For example, Employment Law Matters, the Smart Passive Income Podcast, the Property Development Podcast.
While it might be tempting to come up with something creative, this will make it easier for new listeners to find you. Ditto for individual episode titles.
Interview or solo show? How to choose a format for your podcastThere are no hard and fast rules about which is best: solo, interview or a mix of both. It really is down to you. It’s also something you may need to test over time i.e. do your solo shows perform better than your interview shows. For example, I started off with a weekly interview but found my solo shows often performed better, so I gradually started to do fewer interviews and more solo shows.
How often should you put out a podcast (and how long should it be)?Again there are no hard and fast rules about how often you should put out your podcast i.e. weekly, daily, monthly. This is really down to you.
If you’re new to podcasting, creating a season of 6-8 episodes can be a much less daunting than launching a weekly or daily show. If your first season does well, you can always create another on a related topic and/or move to a regular show.
Your podcast can be as short or as long as you want. But if you’re new to podcasting, starting with a 15-20 minute show might be easier.
How many episodes should you launch with?If you listen to podcasts, you’ll probably know that when you find a podcast you like, you often want to binge listen to other episodes. This is why it’s a good idea to launch with more than one episode. But again, this will be dependent on a number of factors e.g. whether you’re launching a weekly or daily show or a season.
Creating a content plan for your podcastOnce you’ve decided on the topic, frequency and length of your podcast episode, it’s a good idea to make a content plan, setting out what you’re planning to publish and when with draft titles.
What kind of equipment should you start withIf you’re new to podcasting, it’s best to keep it simple. And, as you don’t know whether you’re going to enjoy podcasting, I wouldn’t recommend investing tons. I would recommend a simple set up. I would recommend a USB microphone like the Blue Snowball or Blue Yeti you can plug straight into your computer and a pop shield. These start at around £65. If you are recording solo shows, you can use Audacity - free software and Zoom/Skype to record interviews.
Where should I host my podcast?You will also need to choose a place to host your podcast on the web (most podcast files are too big for websites). You will need to pay for hosting. This can vary depending on how much content you have, but I started off paying around $5 a month. Now it’s around $25. Popular choices include: Buzzsprout, Spreaker, Blubrry and Libsyn.
Find out more about how to host your podcast: The Podcast Host
How to edit your podcastYou can edit your podcast yourself using free software like Audacity or you can outsource. Expect to pay at least £15-20 an hour for podcasting editing, but if you think about the value of a potential lead/enquiry, getting a professional to do this for you can be a much better ROI (return on investment) in the long run. You could also use a podcast maker like Alitu which helps you clean you your audio, add your intro and outro, edit out mistakes, edit and publish your podcast.
Depending on the format of your show, you may also need to source a voiceover artist for the intro/outro and/or copyright-free music. I found my voiceover artist on Fiverr. You might also want to try People Per Hour or Upwork. There are tons of sites you can use to source copyright free music but my favourite is Audiojungle.
Finding guests for your podcastIntroducing your listeners to interesting guests - people who are experts in a specific topic - can be a great way to add value.
The mistake many new podcasters make is thinking that having ‘big name’ guests is a great way to promote your podcasts. Actually the opposite is often true. Someone who already has a large audience is less likely to have the time or inclination to promote your podcast. A guest with a small but engaged audience may be much more inclined to tell the world about it.
When it comes to inviting guests onto your podcasts, the key thing to remember is that you are asking them to give up their time. So it’s important to demonstrate what might be in it for them e.g. the chance to get in front of your listeners, social media followers, email list. If you have a small audience or you haven’t started your podcast yet, it’s best to be upfront about that but show how you will promote the podcast.
Doing interviews for your podcastAs with anything in your business, it’s all in the preparation. The more you can prepare your guest for the interview - by sending over detailed instructions on how to prepare or join the call PLUS the questions you are likely to ask - the better the interview is likely to go.
It’s generally better to use open questions e.g. ‘can you tell us more about’ or ‘what did it feel like when…?’. This will encourage your guests to talk more freely and make your interview feel like a conversation rather than a question and answer session (which is exactly how it should be).
Preparing a list of questions is a good idea, but don’t stick slavishly to your question list. If you let the conversation flow naturally, your interviews will sound a lot better.
Promoting your podcastUnfortunately getting your podcast listed on Apple Podcasts (and other podcasting directories like Spotify, Acast, Google Podcasts and Stitcher) is not enough to build an audience for your podcast. You will also need to actively promote your podcasts via social media, your email list, Facebook messenger, Pinterest and any other marketing channels. There are also many things you can do to encourage your guests or listeners to share your podcast (such as creating branded, shareable artwork).
Most people vastly under promote their podcast because they’re worried people will get sick of hearing about it. In reality, most people are far too busy getting on with their lives to notice you’ve already posted multiple times about your podcast - and appreciate the reminder.
Podcast shownotes What you need to ask yourself if you want to start a podcast (7:12) How to choose a podcast topic and why it needs to solve your client/customer’s problem (9:16) Why you should niche your podcast to make it focused to reach more people (12:40) How to name your podcast and why you can change the name as you evolve (15:30) How to plan your podcast and decide on the format of your podcast (18:15) How often you should produce your podcast and launch with a good number of episodes (20:15) How to plan out your podcast episodes and create a content plan for your podcast (23:52) What equipment you need for your podcast and why you should keep it simple (24:40) What you can outsource to produce your podcast and why you should look at ROI (28:29) Where to host your podcast and why you actually need to host your podcast (30:30) How to prepare a podcast guest for an interview and why big-name guests can be a red herring (31:35) Why you need to promote your podcast and just having it listed on a platform isn’t enough (34:57) Why you might want to join my new course ‘Launch your Podcast in 60 days’ (36:47) ResourcesWant to start your own podcast? Sign up to my podcast course with The Podcast host - Colin Gray
How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest (blog)
[080] Three must-do tips for pitching yourself as a podcast guest (podcast)
[094] Seven steps to starting your podcast (podcast)
[190] How to pitch yourself as a podcast guest (and why you must do) (podcast)
[253] How to land guest appearances on podcasts with Nicola Holland (podcast)
[263] Why I changed the name of my podcast (podcast)
[331] What it really takes to build an audience with John Lee Dumas (podcast)
[348] How to write social media posts that sell (podcast episode)
[343] The three audiences you must build to create a successful online business (podcast)
[357] How to transform your Facebook page from ghost town to garden party with Bella Vasta (podcast)
[376] Lessons learned from 1 million downloads of my podcast (podcast)
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