PoDrops: Recent Episodes
Brittany Brown and Rob Winters
We break podcasting down in 60-second, bite-sized episodes that are easy to follow and apply to your own podcast. Whether you're just getting started, or you're a seasoned podcast professional, we have tips for all levels, genres and interests.
Do not self-host your podcast. Let me repeat, do not try to save money by self-hosting your podcast. At the end of the day, this will not do you any favors. Use a reputable service like PodOps Hosting. Not only do they provide highly affordable hosting options, but they also offer a plethora of features to help you reach your future audience. For example, PodOps Hosting can help your podcast be submitted to a huge number of podcast directories at the click of a button. They also automatically push out every new episode. If you self-host, you need to do all of this work manually, episode by episode. Self-hosting is a recipe for failure as it will consume too much time and effort for you to focus on producing great content.
We've discussed the value of transcripts as a way to make your podcast more search engine friendly and provide journalists and reviewers an easy way for obtaining accurate quote material. One of the most important things a transcript brings to your podcast is ADA compliance. There is a difference between a full transcript and an episode script.
Your transcript should include the following description of any music sound effects or background noise intentionally included in your podcast. Minute markers and who is speaking as well as the script or discussion between the speakers. Also be sure you provide a link to each of your episodes, and transcripts, and avoid creating one webpage containing all transcripts for your show.
A podcast network is a curated collection of podcasts that are hosted by a third party. Some podcast networks are designed to promote new and niche shows while others are focused on shows that have already made a splash and looking to grow their audience. If you have a popular show, it can be a great way to expand your reach. A podcast network can help get your podcast in front of new audiences and boost its visibility on platforms like iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. However, if you’re just starting out, it’s hard to get added to a podcast network as they’re generally focused on more established shows with already-established audiences. So if you’re just starting out, it’s best to promote your show independently until it becomes more widely known. You can submit your podcast for consideration on most podcast networks for free. Alternatively, some networks charge a fee for submitting your show. There are many things to consider when submitting your show for consideration on a podcast network. First, make sure that your show is relevant to the network's audience. Second, decide whether your show would benefit from being hosted by the network or if you'd rather do it independently. Third, decide how you're going to promote your show once it's been accepted by the network. Finally, make sure that you have a plan in place for promoting your show even if it's not accepted by the network because sometimes podcasts are rejected even if they're perfect.
Podcast require a good bit of talking rather than going into an episode cold, give yourself a little time to warm up. If you have a script, read it through a time or two if your episodes are unscripted, try using a tongue twister like Sally sells seashells by the seashore or Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.
Say something, even if it's a little silly, a few times over and it will help wake up your vocal cords. Which improves your dictation and helps you deliver a more flawless episode.
Whether you’re monetizing your podcast or just trying to grow your audience, if you want to get people to listen to your show you’re going to need to engage them on an emotional level. One of the best ways to do this is by asking for listener support. By creating a pledge or donation system and posting it on your website and social media channels, you can give listeners a way to contribute to your podcast in a meaningful way. Not only does this make them feel like they’re part of a community, but it also gives them a reason to listen each week and share your show with friends. With this type of support system in place, you are also more likely to get featured on popular websites such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. When listeners see that other people are listening to your show, they might be more inclined to check it out for themselves. Ultimately, listener support is one of the best ways to grow your podcast and reach new listeners who might not have been aware of your show before.
If you are using the new Spotify feature that allows you to incorporate video into your podcast or you're taking the more traditional approach and posting your podcast videos on YouTube. Remember to brand your space. Visuals make an impression, your shirt, your hat, and your microphone are excellent places for your podcast logo to appear.
If you have a full studio, neon signs can turn a bare wall into an extra piece of content that helps your brand stand out to. If you have space, a green-screen is a great way to come up with visual set. Not only incorporate your logo, but facts and figures, as well as other important points from your conversation.
When you’re hosting a podcast, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all you need to do is sit in front of a mic and talk. But while it’s true that you do need to talk, that doesn’t mean that you should only talk about the thing that you set out to talk about. In fact, the best podcasts are the ones that take listeners on a journey, incorporating all kinds of different elements into their shows. So how can you make sure that you’re always taking your listeners on a journey? Well, the first step is to start by making a plan. You want to think about what kind of show you want to present and what kind of audience you want to reach. Once you’ve done that, you can start outlining how your show is going to work and how each episode is going to flow. Once you’ve done that, you can start working on your content. The key thing here is to keep things fresh and interesting. It might be tempting to just dive right into talking about your topic, but that can get boring fast. Instead, try using different media like images or video to spice things up. And don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas and new formats either. The more variety you can throw into your show, the more interesting it will be for your listeners.
You're going to get sick at some point. There's no way around it. The sore throat, the stuffy nose, they both suck depending on the content of your podcasts. They make you sound awful unless you have a very specific kind of podcast, but that's not the topic here. Sick days can be a great opportunity to catch up on producing new episode ideas, scripting episodes. If you do use a script as well as an opportunity to focus on your podcast website and social media pages. If you've fallen behind on posting your transcripts, creating social media-friendly graphics or blogs, the time you spend curled up on your couch or in bed with a laptop can help you get ahead. By the time you're feeling better.
Whether you’re recording a podcast for your business, or you’re just doing it for fun, one thing is clear: people want to hear from the people behind the brand. And with good reason! People are drawn to personal stories, and there’s no better way to share your story than through your podcast. As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to keep everything separate—to keep your business life and your personal life separate, to keep your work life and your home life separate, to keep your professional self and your personal self separate. And while this might be easier in some situations, it’s also a lot less fulfilling. And while it might seem like a lot of work at first, once you start opening up and sharing yourself with the world, you may be surprised at how rewarding it can be. So why should you get personal on your podcast?
Promoting your podcast is a critical component of attracting new listeners. You want to be sure all of your efforts carry through when building a website for your podcast, be sure you are following web content accessibility guidelines, or what is commonly referred to as WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 alternate tax to all of your imagery. And when using hashtags capitalize the first letter of each new word to ensure screen readers can more easily interpret and read what is being presented. If WCAG and ADA compliance standards feel daunting, you can start with a Google search to understand the basics. If you need support in getting started, don't hesitate to contact us at the pop-ups dot com forward slash contact.
There are many ways you can monetize your podcast. You can either use traditional advertising or make money from your own products. One option is to place ads on your show. There are many ad networks that specialize in podcasts. So it's easy to find the right one for you. Ideally, you should choose a network that targets the same audience as your podcast. That way your listeners feel they're getting value from both your show and the product being advertised. Going down a more indirect route. You can create and sell your own products. For example, a popular podcast host created a book on how to start a podcast. Another host created a course on how to improve the audio quality of your show. Selling products related to your podcast is a great way to make money and build an audience at the same time. Happy podcasting.
Drink a glass of water before you start recording, but not so much that you'll need to rush to the bathroom every few minutes. If you are properly hydrated, it can settle your stomach help to loosen your mouth muscles, and let you stay focused. Being hydrated can also help prevent some of the clickings we naturally make. When our mouse get dry. I personally like to keep a glass of water on hand and sip while my guests and co-hosts. If you take this approach, remember to mute? No one wants to hear you gulping down mouthfuls of water while they're having a conversation.
If you’re a fidgety person, this is going to be a difficult tip to accept. Moving your body around can generate extra background noise. For example, wired headphones, as you move the cord can rub against your chest and create sounds you may not be hearing at the moment. Your swivel chair, it’s letting of small squealing noises as you shift around. And if you stand, shifting can cause your shoes to squeak, your floorboards to creak, and add excess sounds your producer, or you will have to edit out.
Why should you have a podcast marketing plan? For one thing, it allows you to create a sense of community among your listeners. A podcast is a great tool for building an audience and generating engagement with your brand. By creating a plan, you can ensure that the podcast is meeting its goals and that listeners are getting the most out of it. While there are many benefits to having a podcast marketing plan, the most important one is that it helps you to achieve your goals. Whether your goal is to simply build an audience or to generate leads, a podcast plan will help to ensure that everything is going smoothly. By mapping out your objectives and coming up with ways to achieve them, you can make sure that the podcast is running smoothly and achieving the results that you need. Another benefit of having a podcast marketing plan is that it helps to streamline your efforts. By having a written plan in place, you can make sure that everything is running smoothly and on time. This can be especially helpful if you’re planning a season with multiple episodes.
You need to create your own buzz when you release a new podcast into the world. Host a Facebook Livestream launch party, have several blog posts lined up and ready to release the same week, plan a multi-episode go live, and do all you can to drive online engagement. There’s nothing wrong with running a Facebook or Instagram ad to get a few more eyes on your show. The first few weeks, and especially the first few days, are critical to your long-term success. Be your own biggest advocate and let everyone know what you’ve created, and promote, promote, promote.
By using an online scheduling tool such as Calendly, you can make it easy for your guests to schedule an interview for your show. You can also set up an auto-responder email that is sent to guests when they schedule an appointment with you. This can be a great way to build rapport with new guests. It also helps to reduce the number of missed appointments. Calendly allows you to customize your booking pages so that they include information about your podcast and a link to the interview. Calendly also allows you to control the availability of these booking pages so that you can set them up to only be available during certain times. This is a great way to ensure that you are able to manage your booking efficiently.
One way to get your social media followers to tune in to your new podcast is to let them know that you’re running a contest or giveaway. You can tease the giveaway but inform your social audience they have to tune in to your latest episode for the details. In the episode, you can let listeners know that if they share a review of your podcast on iTunes, or wherever you prefer, they’ll be entered to win a prize. You can give away branded merchandise or gift cards. The prizes don’t generally need a high dollar value for people to get excited. A five-dollar coffee gift card can get you a surprisingly high amount of interest. But if you do go for low value, try to give more than one away. You don’t want to be labeled as a cheapskate.
Naming your show can be difficult. Here are a few routes to consider. You can be direct and name your show after exactly what it is. If you have a show about health food, you may call it The Health Food Podcast. It’s boring, but very clear what the topic is, and it’s good for search. On the other hand, you can try to get creative with your name. But keep in mind that if your name is too creative, people may not think of it, find it when they are searching, or it’s possible they won’t know what your topic is. Then there is a go-to we don’t recommend, and that’s naming it after yourself. If you start The James Smith Show and then talk about health food or rock climbing, people are going to ask, who the hell is James Smith? Aim for a clear title that’s short, sweet, and easy to remember.
Voice search is important for podcasts because it allows listeners to quickly and easily access information. With the growing popularity of voice-activated devices like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, it’s likely that the number of voice searches will continue to grow. This means that podcast creators will need to make sure that their content is easily available through voice search. By optimizing their podcasts for voice search, they can increase the likelihood that their listeners will find them through this medium. In addition, podcasts also tend to be very visual in nature. This means that many listeners may prefer to view the podcast instead of listening to it. By optimizing for voice search, podcasts can increase the likelihood that their listeners will view the content rather than listen to it. By making these changes, podcasts can take advantage of the growing popularity of voice search in order to reach a wider audience.
Reviews can be hard to swallow, especially if they are negative. One way you can use your competitors' reviews for good is to read them. Good or bad, take some time to see what people love and hate about podcasters you’ve defined as competition. Pay special attention to the negative reviews being left about their show and episodes. These can be gold mines of information on what you can do to grow your own audience and maybe even how to best your competition in the rankings. competitor's
Let’s talk about Cross-Promos; what are these? It’s where you have your show promoted on other podcasts in exchange for you promoting or shouting out the other person’s podcast. There are a few ways to do swaps that are both lucrative and successful for your audience's podcast growth. Keep in mind that cross-promos work because you are engaging an audience that is already listening to a podcast and has a similar audience. Shout Outs Dual episodes and guest exchanges are the best forms of cross promos
Podcasting can feel like a very one-way medium. As a podcaster, you are pushing your content out and not directly interfacing with your listeners at the time of recording. You can ask open ended questions of your audience and let them know that responses will be shared in upcoming episodes. This is where a website or your social media pages can be handy. You want to direct your listeners to a single location where they can respond. For example, if you are asking questions, you could then let the audience know questions from today’s show are in your Facebook group where they can share their opinions. You can then engage with people in a more real time setting as well as generate content for future episodes.
It doesn’t matter the genre of your podcast; storytelling is a valuable way to engage listeners and grow your audience. In our own podcast, we’ve shared stories about our biggest work mistakes, discussed how as co-hosts and business partners we met years ago, and several other things that still support our business and entrepreneur genres. Your story generally needs to follow the three-act story arc. This means a beginning to set it up, build up to the confrontation, and the ultimate ending. Fun fact, Standford researchers have found people remember stories better than any other kind of information. This is a good way to make a lasting impression.
We all know as a podcaster growing your audience is one of your top priorities. One of the ways you can do this is by doing a podcast swap. This is when you get with another podcast host and you take turns interviewing each other. You both get content out of the interviews, and you get exposure to each other audiences. This is is what they would call a win-win, make sure to choose someone that has a similar audience to yours so that there is more of a likelihood they would listen to your podcast. Happy podcasting.
Have you ever read a news article or a blog that has a very engaging title, only to find out that the content had little to nothing to do with what was advertised? Is there anything more aggravating than being lured into something only to find out it’s not what it seemed? Catchy titles are a great thing. The important thing is to ensure that whatever you title an episode, that title needs to reflect the content of your conversation. People don’t like a bait and switch and if you use this sketchy marketing tactic, you’ll see the negative backlash in your reviews and declining download numbers.
If you're looking for something to help you grow your audience. Try doing live podcasts. This is a great way to engage your audience and create buzz around your podcast. You can allow a certain number of listeners in for free. And then after you've met that threshold, you can charge the additional audience to attend. You can also sell tickets outright. There are several different platforms you can utilize for these types of events, youTube live, Facebook live, Twitch, livecast, Castbox, and zoom. Just to name a few Good luck out there and happy podcasting.
Your listeners are listening because they want your content. So, get to the conversation as quickly as possible. It’s fine to introduce yourself as the host, as well as welcome your guest or guests, but then dive directly into the conversation. Too many podcasters fall into the trap of treating the beginning of their show like a personal Zoom call. They talk about what they had for lunch, or what’s going on with their pet. It’s fine to insert personal details into the conversation if they are relevant, but if you are constantly starting your show with small talk about your life, it’s a turn off and listeners are going to tune out.
Pre-recorded intros are common among podcasts, especially those with multiple seasons. They may have a unique clip from the episode, but in general, they are templated and don’t require too much upkeep. Intros are great marketing tools that can snag new listeners, be turned into visual soundbites, and be used across virtually every social platform. Though there is some debate on the perfect length, 15 to 25 seconds is a sweet spot that gives you just enough time to present your show, topic, and a clip, while not boring the listener who is there for the show.
So you're thinking of starting a podcast, but you're not really sure. What you want to talk about? Number one, think of the things that you're interested in and things that you can talk about. Also think about your network and who you could have on your show. The other thing to consider are what genres are currently trending. And the top five, currently are education society and culture, arts, business, and of course, health and fitness. So go ponder on that. Get in the game and start your podcast.
Before you even start recording your first episode set a plan of what success will look like for you. Start with knowing who your target audience is and what value you are intending to deliver with each episode. Determine how much time and money you can devote to your podcast. If your podcast is a hobby you are trying to squeeze into an already packed schedule, it’s very likely that you’re going to fail. The reality is that most podcasters don’t manage to grow their audience to one-thousand listeners. By setting targeted goals from day one, you can map out your path forward and ensure growth and success are possible.
Consider doing exclusive content. This offers you a way to monetize and interact with your audience. In a new way, there are several ways to do this. You can offer a behind-the-scenes. Look at your podcast or day in the life, which can be a good way to connect with your audience. You can provide bonus content. For your members, maybe it's an additional conversation or a more explicit version of your podcast, that's only available to members.
Another great way to provide additional content and engage more intimately is to host a Q and A session. Audiences love the opportunity to ask you questions. This is a great way to monetize your podcast without taking away listeners' ability to listen to your podcast for free Happy podcasting.
If you are new to podcasting and want to get in some practice with recording audio, as in working with a microphone and editing audio. You can volunteer at librivox.org. That’s l-i-b-r-i-v-o-x.org. You will read and record free public domain audiobooks that are distributed for free over the web. It’s also a good way to get some practice with annunciation and practice your breathing. Take it from me, there is nothing worse than constantly sounding like you’re breathing heavily into the mic or trying to catch your breath.
It may sound odd for me to tell you to visit the restroom before you start recording, but picture this: You’re about to interview a guest. You sit down, perform mic checks and hit record. Things are going well. The interview is rolling along, you’re getting great one-liners, and you have a genuine connection with your guest. They’re comfortable. Suddenly, you’re already forty-five minutes into your interview and you get the urge to pee. Well, your guest is a talker. And they are talking. They are still talking. Then it’s sixty minutes into your interview, then seventy. Suddenly you feel like you’re going to burst. Do yourself a favor, take that restroom break before you begin and go slow on beverages while you record.
You’ve finished recording an episode, you’re in post-production and you’re listening to the playback. And it sounds like garbage. None of us like to re-record an episode because we put so much effort into every episode. I will be honest, due to a technical glitch, I re-recorded forty-eight PoDrops episodes because at the end of the day, the goal is great content and the best sound we can provide without losing our minds during editing. Don’t be afraid to re-record. Sometimes you just need to accept that the sound can be better, and you have to do it all over again. But you and your audience will be glad you did.
There are many ways you can monetize your podcast. You can either use traditional advertising or make money from your own products. One option is to place ads on your show. There are many ad networks that specialize in podcasts, so it’s easy to find the right one for you. Ideally, you should choose a network that targets the same audience as your podcast. This way, your listeners will feel like they’re getting value from both your show and the product being advertised. Going down a more indirect route, you can create and sell your own products. For example, a popular podcast host created a book on how to start a podcast. Another host created a course on how to improve the audio quality of your show. Selling products related to your podcast is a great way to make money and build an audience at the same time.
This tip is more so for our hairy-faced gentlemen friends. If you are recording a podcast, take the time to shave your face before you sit down to record. This will ensure that as you lean into your microphone, your stubble isn’t scratching and rubbing on your pop filter. That’s the thing between you and the mic. Now, if you have a beard, it may be unavoidable, and you’ll just need to learn to keep some social mic distance. But if you’re just letting the 5 o’clock shadow grow, whip out the clippers and clean up your face.
One of the number one things in podcasting is being consistent. So you're thinking about jumping into the world of podcasting. Make sure you have a plan to execute on releasing episodes consistently, even if it's just once a month. Once you commit, stay committed. One thing to keep in mind is that Spotify doesn't even rank you until your hundredth episode.
We want to keep all podcasters in the space and we don't want to see podfade which is when a podcast or starts their podcast decides it's too much work and they exit the podcasting space forever.
Depending on your topic, someone has probably already recorded a podcast on the exact same subject. Maybe you’re listening to a show that is inspiring you to record your own episode on that very topic. The point here is, there is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration, but be sure you are adding in your own unique flavor. Don’t just repeat what you’ve heard. Find a way to make the topic your own and add some value to the conversation. This could lead to opportunities to cross promote to other podcasts’ audiences or even guest star on other podcasts as an expert. cross-promote
Buzzsprout Monetization is now in beta, this is very exciting for podcasters using this platform. This allows access to advertise on your podcast and get paid for all the work you put into it. If you meet these 5 requirements I suggest you get on board quickly
· 5 published episodes
· 1000 downloads in the last 30 days
· Episodes need to be at least 23 minutes long
· Verified email
· Set up 3 podcast categories and you have to be on a paid plan
It seems pretty easy, right? If you meet these five requirements, I recommend jumping in both feet and getting on board early. Happy podcasting.
If at first, you don’t succeed, keep working hard to get to where you want to go. Unless you are already famous, your podcast is most likely not going to be in the top 1% overnight. In fact, you probably will be in the bottom 5% for a good bit of time. Ensure you are getting your episodes and great content out into the world, but also ensure you are promoting them on the right social networks. If your listeners are on the younger side, incorporate Tik Tok. If your listeners are older incorporate Facebook. If your listeners are into facts and politics, think Twitter. And depending on your topic, try a mix of networks. If you keep working hard, the audience will grow.
At some point, after you launch your podcast, you’re going to begin to get comments and suggestions from your audience. Some people may even be asking you to make certain changes to your show and the format. It’s always good to consider the feedback of your audience, but ensure you stay true to your original vision. Don’t lose sight of your podcast’s goals and what you’re trying to create. There is a difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Also, podcast listeners don’t want to listen to pushovers, so be discerning when taking advice and making changes to your show.
When you initially start a podcast, you typically don't know how much work you're getting into. And sometimes after you started the process between pre-production and post-production. You can get overwhelmed. Between the editing producing transcripts and also the social media marketing that's involved. It can be a lot of work.
The good news is, is that there are places that you can reach out to for help. One of those places being Pod News, you can definitely post a job here and get it out to the podcast community. Another place you can go is Upwork or Fiverr happy podcasting.
Just like technology won’t always work for you, there are going to be times when a guest cancels or events in the world conflict with an episode you’re planning to release. Having some evergreen episodes that aren’t tied to anything specific going on in the world or are more related to your life, that can easily be substituted into your release schedule at the last minute when things go wrong. These softball episodes may not be the life-changing crowd pleasers you prefer, but you’ll be glad they’re there when the occasion arises.
If you're a new podcaster and you're trying to determine what editing software you should use. I recommend Descript. It's an all-in-one tool that makes it easy for new podcasters to streamline their process.
It has a lot of features that help you make your process more manageable, especially when you have a lot of things going on. One of my favorite features of Descript is the automatic filler word removal. This is an automatic process that can take up to a couple of minutes, depending on how long your podcast is, but makes your process way smoother. It can help you cut down on your editing time it also has other features such as transcription, audiogram creation for social posts. Word gap reduction along with many others.
This can reduce the time it takes to edit one podcast. So go check it out and let us know what you think.
Keeping your podcast pipeline fully stocked can be a difficult task depending on your show’s topic area. As you think of ideas, note them down. If you’re a team of podcasters, do this with a shared document. Remember, not all ideas are going to become episodes, but there are no bad ideas. Review your idea bank regularly to flush out the best ideas, and even think of ways you might be able to spin those less than stellar ones into something worth recording. Keeping an idea bank will help you ensure you have a strong stream of content for your show and your listeners.
A rookie mistake is to create and release your episode one by one. Once you get going with your podcast, you’re going to be scripting and editing multiple episodes at the same time. Build up a reserve of episodes and have them ready to go a few weeks out from their release date. This will allow you to release teasers on social media, build up some buzz, and get a head start on your social posts and any complimenting blogs you’re releasing. All of this is one of the reasons we suggest you begin to record and produce a few weeks ahead of your official release date. It just makes your life easier.
If you’re working on your podcast with a co-host or an entire team, be sure to include them in the process. Don’t be a control freak or allow any one team member to be siloed into a corner. When everyone on your team is in sync and communicating, it makes all parts of the process run more smoothly. From the planning to publishing components of the process, your podcast and your team will be better when you work together to produce a superior product.
Do you ever wonder how people choose the music for their podcast? How'd they get their intros and outros. to flow so well, This is so important as it helps solidify your brand as a podcaster. Choosing music is really fun. Especially, if you already have the idea for what your podcast is going to be.
Make sure that if you have a happy go lucky podcast, that your music matches that if you're talking about really heavy things, don't use upbeat music. It can really be a turnoff to your listeners.
And it really doesn't help the brand for your podcast.
So go check out something like sound Stripe or Pixabay they have some free options, some paid options, go listen to some music and really decide what you want. Do you want heavy guitars, jazz? Blues. Have fun with it when you're choosing your podcast music and remember that it does tend to carry your podcast through.
After releasing an episode, especially the first few if you are new to the wonderful world of podcasting, do a postmortem on what went wrong. Did you run behind schedule in getting the episode produced? Did it take longer than planned to script the episode? What about getting your social media posts drafted, did you get them ready before the episode went live? Learn from your mistakes and make the necessary adjustments to your schedule moving forward. That said, also pat yourself on the back when you do a good job.
We’ve talked in several episodes about how you should prepare and handle guests on your show. An effective way to grow your audience and get in front of new listeners is to appear on other podcasts. PodOps is where we suggest starting your journey. By downloading the PodOps app to your Android or Apple device, you can quickly create a profile that utilizes machine learning to score and match you with compatible show hosts. And if you aren’t ready to be a guest yourself, you can switch into host mode to find guests for your show. Learn more about the app by visiting ThePodOps.com.
Don’t confuse show notes with episode notes. Show notes are associated with your entire podcast series. Episode notes are detailed notes about a specific episode within your series. Distributors, such as Apple, provide up to four-thousand characters for episode notes. But on average, most episodes have around two-hundred-and-fifty-six-character length descriptions. Episode notes can describe what is discussed in a particular episode, share a bit about a guest in attendance and provide useful links referenced in the episode. Well-crafted notes should also have search engine optimization in mind as they will help your episodes appear in front of potential listeners searching for topics just like yours.
In a previous episode, we covered transcripts, which are useful in their own right. But when thinking of ways to expand how you can market individual episodes of your show, consider writing blog posts on the topic being discussed. This allows you to embed your episode player in the blog post, link out to supporting articles, as well as reference other posts and episodes within your website that may be relevant to the topic. This also gives you another piece of content to share through social media to draw in potential listeners who may have missed or ignored posts regarding your show.
Let's talk about owning your own content and why it's so important. It allows you the freedom to decide. What platforms you're going to put your content on and what audiences you want to be associated with. As you look at some of the things that have happened in podcasting in recent months, you can see how having your podcast on one platform can isolate you from other audiences and also have your content controlled.
When you were on multiple platforms, you have the ability to have controversial content. And if a platform doesn't agree with you and decides that they want to pull your content, you still have other options whether you agree with Joe Rogan or not, you can see how this has impacted his podcast, all the controversy surrounding the guests that he has had on. And how much pressure is put on Spotify to cancel his show.
Don't put yourself in these situations. Own your own content and decide what platforms you want to be associated with.
It’s day one of your new podcast show and you aren’t sure what to use for recording software. Before investing in some of the more expensive software, which also requires a considerable amount of time to master, try some of the free, entry-level tools on the market today. For people new to podcasting, Garage Band and Audacity are suitable options to get you going. You can also consider buying plugins before moving to expensive software if you’re looking for slightly more control or specific sound effects. And if you are ready for the big leagues of editing software, try a number of products by looking for free trials before you commit to a single tool.
Organic subscriber and listener acquisition is great because these people are genuinely interested in your show and are likely to remain invested in future episodes. However, the process of growing your audience organically can take a long time. If you have budget to advertise, consider Podcast Addict and Overcast. Both have the ability to put your podcast show in front of a targeted audience that is actively engaging with podcasts. In contrast, sites like Facebook may not be as effective for growing your audience as most people there are scrolling through photos and not digging too deep into the content.
Have you ever given a presentation in front of a large audience or at a conference? After creating your content and slide deck, you rehearsed what you were going to say. Just as I’ve done with each of the PoDrops episodes before pressing record. If you rehearse a scripted episode a few times before recording, you’ll be able to catch any language that sounds off or potentially trips you up when speaking. Writing something on paper and reading it to yourself in your head, are not the same as speaking the words out loud. Rehearsing saves time on editing as you’ll have fewer trip-ups to remove and be better prepared to speak when it’s time to record.
Have you ever had a delivery that was promised to arrive on a certain date and didn’t? If it was late by a day or a week, you were most likely frustrated and annoyed. The same will be true with your listeners if your episodes are not dropping on the promised schedule. What I mean is, create a production schedule that fits your schedule and is realistic. A lot of people produce podcasts in their free time, and after work. Ensure you have enough time for all of the things on your to-do list. If you fall behind and begin missing release dates for episodes, you’ll see listeners drop off and negative reviews creep in.
If you’re a perfectionist, you may find the editing process to be a hellish one that consumes hours and hours of your day. Do yourself a favor and be prepared for recording by being in a quiet space. No people, televisions, or phones preferably. Also, complete a mic check to ensure sound quality is good from the beginning. These little things will help save you time during the editing, or post-production, phase. In editing, focus on removing excess background noise, static, and echoes. If there happens to be one small sound, think about it from a listener’s perspective. Would they even notice? Don’t be lazy when it comes to editing but be realistic and use the rule of 4. Typically, an episode should require 4 times its length to edit. Meaning a twenty-minute show will require eighty minutes of editing.
When recording an episode, you are going to eventually stumble over your words and get tongue-tied. It happens to everyone. Don’t stop recording and start over. This will cost you valuable time and if you were to start over at every mistake, you may never complete a season. Instead, when you make a mistake, pause for 3 to 5 seconds, then restart where you had left off. When editing the episode, you can cut out the mistake as well as the excess time between speaking moments. If you want to make it easy to find these mistakes in your audio, take a slightly longer pause and clap your hands loudly near the microphone. Then, when editing you can look for the visual sound spike to jump directly to the audio that needs to be cut.
Podcasts can be a lot of fun to create, but they can also be a lot of work. Setting a routine for yourself each week is a good way to ensure you stay consistent and don’t lose focus or steam in releasing episodes. Whether you’re doing all of the work alone or you have a partner, define when the writing is done for an episode in advance of the day you want to record. Determine when editing of an episode will take place after recording. And finally, determine your release schedule. As mentioned in a number of other PoDrops, releasing your episodes with consistency is key to your performing well on nearly all streaming services.
The Intro is the first thing someone is going to hear when they tune in to your podcast. These can evolve over time but should be soundbite worthy. Introduce the show, your topic, and your guest if there is one appearing. You can even work in a clip of the show if there is a good one-liner that will hook your audience. Your outros may also evolve over time. At a minimum, make sure they are consistent and contain a call to action. Something like: thanks for tuning in, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to be notified of future episodes and let us know what you thought of this week’s show by visiting our Facebook group. Don’t forget to set up and mention your Facebook group by name.
Your guests may not be familiar with podcasts or used to being interviewed. To ensure a successful interview, provide them with a checklist of what to expect in advance. If this is a remote interview, include items such as: be in a quiet location, have a strong internet connection, use an external microphone, if possible, explain any software downloads required or browser needs, and inform them of the shows format. For example, will you simply perform Q&A, or do you want them to feel comfortable riffing? The more you prep your guest, the less time you will need to spend dealing with technical issues or explaining how things work prior to hitting record the day of your interview.
Technology will not always be your friend and cooperate when you’re recording. Be sure you always have a backup plan in place. If you’re remotely interviewing a guest and they can’t access the software in your meeting invitation, be sure you have a backup tool available to deploy on-demand. If you record episodes with a co-host, you can do what we do here, and record from each of our locations. This means we always have two master recordings, saved on two different computers. If something were to happen to one, we always have a fallback. This saves us valuable time on needing to re-record episodes. As well as saving us from losing any of those unscripted moments that can’t be replicated.
Each microphone is just a little bit different in how they pick up sound. At the beginning of your recording sessions, take a minute to complete a mic check, confirm the recording is working as expected and do a playback. This will help you confirm each person’s mic is working if everyone is the correct distance away from their mic and gives you one more chance to make any final adjustments. Considering your mic is literally the component tasked with capturing your words it is worth taking a few extra minutes to ensure everything is operating as expected. You can also save yourself production time by performing mic checks.
When you first begin to air episodes, you have a lot going on. You’re scripting content, recording, trying to book guests, and promoting episodes as they release. As you share new episodes be sure to include a direct call to action. Ask your social media followers and listeners to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or hit the notification bell in Spotify to learn about new episodes. Don’t assume people will take these actions without being prompted to do so. In general, you will need to ask, ask, and ask again to get your listeners to leave reviews and subscribe. Be consistent and be sure to show appreciation as you watch your reviews and subscriber numbers rise.
When a guest comes on your show, one of the goals you should have is for them to cross-promote the episode through their social media channels. Creating a marketing package is very helpful in making this happen. You can deliver this to your guest post-interview, once you’ve completed production of the episode, via email. Share the episode, the podcast episode cover, a digital soundbite, an episode player if you have one available, and the social posts you’ll be sharing and when they’ll be published. Don’t forget to include your social media handles in the email. Recommend to your guest when they should share out the episode. We typically ask a guest to share a week after we’ve done so to gain maximum reach.
In the world of remote meetings, we’ve all experienced a poor connection. If you’re interviewing a guest remotely, be sure to let them know how critical a strong internet connection is to the interview. If they are on a weak connection, consider having them disable video to improve their audio quality. If the guest’s connection is incredibly weak, you’ll be better served to reschedule when you can meet in person, or they can connect from another location. You won’t be doing yourself any favors by having them dial in by phone if their internet connection is weak. Most interviews held over the phone capture an immense amount of background noise, and if your guest is like me, you’ll record every step they take as they pace around the room.
When interviewing a guest, especially if you’re doing so virtually, give them an overview of best practices before you begin. Keep in mind, your guest wants to come off sounding just as good as you, and technically they are the featured component of that particular episode. One important thing to remind your guests is to lean into their microphone. As you chat, guests have a tendency to get comfortable and lean back in their chair. The problem is that as they lean away, their voice will become distant, and the sound quality will be degraded in post-production editing. Remind them to keep those lips close to the mic to ensure they sound clear and crisp
Podcasts are typically thought of as audio content consumed from smart devices. This is true, but as we’ve seen in recent years, the phones we carry around, as well as cellular service providers, are getting faster and better at supporting HD video quality. With this in mind, think of your entire audience. From the MySpace to TikTok generations, each likes to consume content differently. Recording your podcast sessions is one more content medium you can share and promote through YouTube and other video platforms to expand and maximize your audience reach.
There is a lot of fancy equipment out there today. From mixing boards to microphones, you could easily spend thousands of dollars for what is promised to be the best possible sound quality. If you’re just starting out, don’t drive yourself into debt by trying to buy the best-in-class items. Focus on quality content and consistent episodes. If these items are intact, utilizing the microphone within your laptop is going to be fine in the short term, and you can clean up echoes and static in post-production. Listeners will be more forgiving of the occasional sound hiccup if the content quality is consistently delivered. When you are ready to invest in equipment be sure to check out our blog at thepodops.com/blog where we cover microphones and headphones at several price points and quality levels.
Being a good conversationalist begins with being a good listener. When you have a guest on, you should have prepared for the interview in advance by researching the individual, getting to know a little about their area of expertise, and having prepared questions to drive the conversation forward. As your guest begins to open up and share, be sure to listen for interesting points. These may change your line of questioning, but having a genuine interest in your guest also puts them at ease, as well as makes them comfortable to share more personal details. You’ll find some of the best one-liners and soundbites come from those unplanned moments that arise when the guest is sharing their story.
Facebook, like so many other social media platforms, sees the future of podcasts and the value to their own platform as they work to draw in content creators like yourself. Adding your podcast is simple. All you need is a Facebook Business Page. There you can locate the podcast tab and enter your RSS feed URL. Most podcast hosting services like BuzzSprout and PodBean automatically generate your show’s RSS feed. Meaning you simply copy and paste. With your episodes automatically pulling into your Facebook page, users can listen within the social media giant’s platform, as well as take advantage of audio clipping tools to share your content. Keep an eye out, as we’re certain Facebook will add new ways for you to monetize and promote your content.
You have a podcast. You have a website. These are two key pieces to your podcast platform, but in general, they are typically one-way communication paths. Your audience may be able to leave a comment, but they aren’t that likely to see a reply, nor have the ability to deep dive into a discussion with you or other listeners. By creating a Facebook group, you are giving your audience the ability to build a community around your podcast. As you release new episodes, you can direct listeners to your group where timely episode-based discussion topics are posted. This gives your audience a way to connect with your content and one another in a more meaningful way.
As podcast hosts, we are very familiar and comfortable being behind the computer screen. Tucked away in our homes and studios, we have a non-physical wall between ourselves and the audience. By creating a podcast hotline, you can give your audience a place to call and leave voice messages and commentary on episodes. You can also promote this at the end of your episodes by featuring clips of messages that have been left by listeners. Be sure to ask them to leave their name and location along with their message so you can call them out by name in future episodes. It’s one more way to grow and deepen your audience relationship.
There are all kinds of events, not just about podcasts, that are opportunities to make connections. Do you have a podcast about beer? Search the web for beer related events or festivals in your city. Show up with your podcast logo on your shirt, hat, or whatever it is you’re wearing. Work the room and meet as many people as possible. It’s a great way to meet potential guests, as well as spread the word about your show and gain a few new listeners. Like any business opportunity, being able to give someone a card with your contact information and website is a good approach and ensures they won’t forget you when you walk away.
Many podcasts are heavily scripted, almost like a television sitcom. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s not the only approach. You can also have high-level bullet points on your discussion or interview points, or if you’re feeling really wild, go completely unscripted. Some of the best content is produced when you are not reading a script but being present in the moment and speaking as the industry expert you are. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake or trip over your words. You can do some polishing in production but leaving the occasional mistake or stutter in also helps humanize you to the audience, creating a rich listener experience.
If you have set up a website, or at least a web page for your podcast, you’re probably aware that podcast players are not the best when it comes to search engine optimization. These players are small bits of code that lack headers and text, which are the primary things being looked for as search engines crawl your site to categorize the content. Adding transcripts to your podcast website can be beneficial in helping search engines more accurately define and rank your page. On top of this, if someone decides they’d like to quote you or write an article with a reference to your show, a transcript makes it much easier to ensure they are getting the language correct, rather than trying to transcribe directly from an episode.
You may be surprised to know that not everyone knows how or where they can listen to podcasts. The first thing you should do when launching your new podcast is to setup a website or webpage about your show. Depending on where you are hosting your show, you can typically grab a bit of code and plug a player directly into a web page. In addition, you can add links to major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Amazon Music, or wherever you want to direct users. Then, when you post on social, you can always use this as a primary link to your podcast, making it a hub for all the places people can go to access your show on their devices. It’s also one more way you can monitor traffic around your show to leverage sponsors.
This seems like it should be obvious. You want to be passionate about your podcast show’s topic. Your enthusiasm, or lack thereof, will carry through the microphone and right to your listeners. If you’re lackluster about the show’s topic, you’re likely to have a monotone voice and fall flat. This will make you less entertaining to your audience. On the other hand, if you love the topic of your show, you’ll be enthusiastic during discussions with guests, you’ll engage your co-host, and if you’re running a solo show you’ll be able to keep your audience gripped and looking forward to your next episode drop.
A listener persona is a written description of a fictitious person. For example, Gaby is a mother of two, podcast listener, yoga instructor, and a social influencer with over one million followers. She loves true crime podcasts and sharing the shows she is enjoying with her listeners via TikTok and Instagram. As you define these people, and there can be more than one, it helps you to define the content you want to produce. If Gaby is my target, we are going to need episodes that touch on true crime in some fashion. Then consider how to touch on a niche of the genre. Perhaps you will focus on 1950’s cold cases in the United States that appear to be the work of serial killers. The more niche you go within a genre, the more likely you are to have unique content. The more definition and clarity you bring to your listener personas, the more clearly you can define your content goals.
You’ve taken the plunge into the world of podcasting, recorded your first episode, and nobody is listening. It’s okay! Think of it like this; Nobody is great at something the first time. Your first episode may kind of suck. Maybe you’re a bit nervous, or you’re still trying to fully define your listener person, or even your show’s tone. All of these things can be worked out and adjusted as you record a few more episodes. Read your podcast reviews, even if they’re critical and consider the comments as constructive criticism. Ask friends and family who are a little more likely to be blunt to listen to your first episode and get feedback. You can always make tweaks to your show’s tone and format. Don’t be afraid to do so. By leaning into these things early on, you’ll more quickly find your groove and see the positive audience response.
If you aren’t a graphic designer, don’t have Photoshop skills, or really just need to get social media-ready graphics in a hurry, use system-generated imagery to your advantage. Spotify offers Promo Cards at promocards.byspotify.com and Apple offers an array of image-generating tools at tools.applemediaservices.com. Both are free resources that only require you enter the name of your podcast or episode title. Once entered, you will hit submit and receive a Spotify or Apple branded social ready graphic with your podcast cover and show title prominently displayed.
There are a seemingly endless number of places to connect with potential users online. Each platform has its own format requirements. Some are video based, other image, some need everything to be in a portrait view, others offer square and rectangle. No matter where you are planning to promote your podcast there are a few must-have items in your pocket. You need a standard branded podcast cover that is easily identifiable with your logo or podcast show name. Create a digital soundbite for each episode that takes advantage of this cover, adds a snippet of content from the episode, and has the wavelength visual to draw in the eye. And of course, your hashtag. It may not be trending today, but there’s no stopping you from going viral tomorrow. Ensure you’ve claimed your brand’s hashtag.
Recording and scripting your podcast takes a considerable amount of time. A twenty-minute episode can easily have one to three hours of work behind the scenes when it comes to scripting, research and then sitting down to record. If you have a true crime series, there can be even more time to perform the research phase. The production phase can also be time-consuming. You have to understand the software needs for sound, and video if you’re planning to share on YouTube or Vimeo. You also need to know how to work with different file types, how to manipulate sounds, cut pieces of audio, smooth out background noises, and a dozen other things. It is worth considering outside production help. By visiting ThePodOps.com, you can explore pricing for a single episode or multiple. We can assist in taking the stress of production off your shoulders so you can focus on your content.
As someone with a podcast and a co-host, I can tell you that a show with two hosts brings a different dynamic to the listener. My co-host and I have known each other since 2008. We have a long friendship that works well in our episodes as we can comfortably riff and joke with one another. If you are considering teaming up with someone who you don’t have history with, you’re going to want to spend some time together, be that through virtual cocktails or in person. You need to get to know each other to ensure that when you press record, your audience can’t pick up on the fact that you’ve just met in the last few days or weeks. Poor chemistry will kill your podcast no matter how good the content.
Are you funny? Are you serious? Are you a little more on the not safe for work side? When you sit down at your microphone and press record, you want to bring the same sense of self-confidence and personality that you would bring to a familiar gathering with your friends. Whether you are a solo or co-host, being able to speak and remain natural in your language will convey to your listeners. If you’re nervous or uncomfortable being recorded, do a few warm-up takes to get the stress out and even try the age-old practice of sitting in front of a mirror, or turning on your computer’s camera app and smiling into the mirror or program. You may feel silly, but it’s hard to remain nervous or have your voice break when you focus on the excited person staring back at you.
I hate to say this, as it has become a marketing term that is vastly overused, but you need to be authentic, as in your real self when recording. If you create a persona for your podcast, keep in mind you are committing to acting for each and every episode. This can be exhausting as well as come across to your listeners as being fake. When you are not yourself behind the microphone it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to speak from a place of experience. If you find your personality and the content aren’t enticing listeners, consider pivoting the show to topics more in line with your voice, or consider adding a co-host. A second personality can positively change the dynamic and place less pressure on you as a host to carry the show.
There is not a hard rule for how long your episodes need to be. Keep in mind, your listeners may listen to five minutes in the morning during breakfast then a few more minutes on the way to work. The portability of our devices and easy access to podcasts makes them very flexible to the individual’s schedule. That said if you have a twenty-minute episode that can deliver on the episode title with great content, great! If you’re like PoDrops and only need sixty seconds or less to get your point across, awesome. Your episodes can also vary. Some may be fifteen minutes, some may be twenty. Don’t lock yourself into a box where every episode must be exactly the same length. Make sure the length of time fits the content and your listener persona. Remember, you are creating content for the listener, make sure it’s good and worth their time.
With 56% of podcasts having ten or fewer episodes, being an active podcast means you need to be releasing episodes with frequency. A super listener is someone who listens to twenty or more hours of content per month. Typical listeners are consuming 6.5 hours of content per month. If you are just getting started, we recommend targeting a release of at least one episode per week. An effective rollout strategy is to record a number of episodes, or an entire season prior to release and then push content live over the course of several weeks. When you follow this strategy, it makes it easier to release two or three episodes per week. Create realistic goals from day one. Define how many episodes will be in a season, your target episode release per week number and if you plan to maintain or grow that over time as you move into future seasons.
Most people are happy to talk about themselves and their businesses. However, it’s not always easy to find guests, or cheap, that’s why we created PodOps in the first place. When you have a guest, say a local bakery, you can have the guest share a promotion at the end of your interview. Think, buy one muffin get one free on ‘X’ date. Then, you can share the promotion via social the day the show drops, and the guest is highly likely to heavily promote the episode as there is a greater benefit to them doing so. Keep in mind, guests can get lazy when it comes to sharing their interviews on their social channels and you may need to prod them. Offering a promotional plug is an easy way of getting them engaged.
You need to do your homework two-fold for a podcast. First, if you’re just getting started, dive into other shows that you love and make notes on what is engaging to you. Is it the host, the topic, or the guests? Think about what components you can make your own and bring into your show. The second thing is in regard to content. If you are presenting facts and figures or grilling a guest on a topic, make sure you are well read on the topic. Never make up statistics, nor rely on a single source of information. For any fact you present, you should have verified it with at least two different sources to ensure it is accurate and can stand up in a debate.
In the movie clueless, there is an insult where the main character refers to someone from a distance as a Monet. More or less, when people see your podcast cover artwork, you want them to see something with wow factor, not something that looks like a big old mess up close. This may mean having to make changes along the way and getting some outside assistance from a graphic designer. In our other podcast, Digitiv. The Podcast., we fully rebranded. This meant not only moving from covers that changed week to week, but also changing the show's name. In the end, we produced a highly polished, brand cohesive cover that resonates with our listeners. Clueless
This probably seems simple enough, but you should have a plan for every episode you are intending to record and produce. Think of it like the podcast you are listening to now. We mapped out dozens of topics before we began recording. We had topic evolution in mind as the goal is to support you as our listener in growing your own podcast. When all of that was in place we began to record and produce. If we had sat down at the microphone and pressed record without these items in place, you’d be hearing a lot of long pauses as we tried to pull from thin air concepts to be useful. Planning goes a long way and ensures your end product is polished and meets the objective promised in your show title.
Editing software has come a long way and is continuing to evolve all the time. You can remove certain words like “um” and long pauses, but background noise, like barking dogs and televisions, are much harder to cleanly remove from an episode without degrading the quality. Your recording space, which may not be an actual studio, should be a place where you are removed from people and animals, a place where you can sit comfortably without a squeaky chair, and be ready to hit mute if you’re going to sip on water or coffee. Those slurping sounds are not sexy unless you’re creating an ASMR podcast, in which case, slurp it up. And of course, try to avoid typing or clicking your mouse while recording, as those light clicks almost always come through loud and clear.
You’re so excited to drop your new episode. You’re talking all about the COVID-19 virus. You spent hours, days, even weeks doing research and putting together the perfect episode. The only problem is you are sharing a topic that is not fresh, people are not excited to hear about this topic, and you probably aren’t able to share an angle so new that it’s going to pull in listeners. Add on top of this, that you are unlikely to rise above the noise of major news outlets on the same topic. My point? Whatever your topic is, be timely and fresh. People want to discuss things happening in the moment, not something that started a year or two earlier. If you can be at the forefront of trends, you’re going to see your audience numbers grow rapidly.
A pop filter is a mesh membrane stretched tightly over a frame. Most of us recognize this from music videos as the weird little thing between a singer and their microphone. Using a pop filter helps cut out certain sounds and noises, especially a number of spit and low breathing sounds. This also helps you when it comes to editing. Pop filter equals time saved for you or the team member who is in charge of post-production. And, if you record your podcasts and share the video online, you look ten times more legit with your mic and a pop filter.
When considering who you want to target and market your podcast to, you need to consider your content. Are you telling stories? Are you providing business advice? Are you creating a platform for advocates? It doesn’t matter your genre, it’s your content and how you promote your podcast. The average podcast gets around twenty-seven listeners per episode. The top 1% receive nearly thirty-two hundred listeners per episode. And then there are those rare podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience, with upwards of eleven million listeners an episode at the time of recording this podcast. The moral here: Define your listener personas and where they spend their time online (Instagram, Spotify, Tik Tok) and tailor your marketing efforts to them and where they are.
With more than two million active podcasts in the world today, they are seemingly all the rage. What people don’t tell you is that 56% of all podcasts have ten or fewer episodes and only 17% have more than fifty episodes. The mean number of episodes is thirty. When it comes to planning for your podcast and success, the first thing is a mindset. You need to be in this for the long haul and avoid getting discouraged if early listener numbers are low or you feel the effort is too high. It will pay off as long as you remain committed to producing great content for your audience.
A podcast network is a curated collection of podcasts that are hosted by a third party. Some podcast networks are designed to promote new and niche shows while others are focused on shows that have already made a splash and looking to grow their audience. If you have a popular show, it can be a great way to expand your reach. A podcast network can help get your podcast in front of new audiences and boost its visibility on platforms like iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. However, if you’re just starting out, it’s hard to get added to a podcast network as they’re generally focused on more established shows with already-established audiences. So if you’re just starting out, it’s best to promote your show independently until it becomes more widely known. You can submit your podcast for consideration on most podcast networks for free. Alternatively, some networks charge a fee for submitting your show. There are many things to consider when submitting your show for consideration on a podcast network. First, make sure that your show is relevant to the network's audience. Second, decide whether your show would benefit from being hosted by the network or if you'd rather do it independently. Third, decide how you're going to promote your show once it's been accepted by the network. Finally, make sure that you have a plan in place for promoting your show even if it's not accepted by the network because sometimes podcasts are rejected even if they're perfect
Podcast require a good bit of talking rather than going into an episode cold, give yourself a little time to warm up. If you have a script, read it through a timer to if your episodes are unscripted, try using a tongue twister like Sally sells seashells by the seashore or Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.
Say something, even if it's a little silly, a few times over and it will help wake up your vocal chords. Which improves your dictation and helps you deliver a more flawless episode.
Whether you’re monetizing your podcast or just trying to grow your audience, if you want to get people to listen to your show you’re going to need to engage them on an emotional level. One of the best ways to do this is by asking for listener support. By creating a pledge or donation system and posting it on your website and social media channels, you can give listeners a way to contribute to your podcast in a meaningful way. Not only does this make them feel like they’re part of a community, but it also gives them a reason to listen each week and share your show with friends. With this type of support system in place, you are also more likely to get featured on popular websites such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify. When listeners see that other people are listening to your show, they might be more inclined to check it out for themselves. Ultimately, listener support is one of the best ways to grow your podcast and reach new listeners who might not have been aware of your show before.
If you are using the new Spotify feature that allows you to incorporate video into your podcast or you're taking the more traditional approach and posting your podcast videos on YouTube. Remember to brand your space. Visuals make an impression, your shirt, your hat, and your microphone are excellent places for your podcast logo to appear.
If you have a full studio, neon signs can turn a bare wall into an extra piece of content that helps your brand stand out to. If you have space, a green-screen is a great way to come up with visual set. Not only incorporate your logo, but facts and figures, as well as other important points from your conversation.
When you’re hosting a podcast, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all you need to do is sit in front of a mic and talk. But while it’s true that you do need to talk, that doesn’t mean that you should only talk about the thing that you set out to talk about. In fact, the best podcasts are the ones that take listeners on a journey, incorporating all kinds of different elements into their shows. So how can you make sure that you’re always taking your listeners on a journey? Well, the first step is to start by making a plan. You want to think about what kind of show you want to present and what kind of audience you want to reach. Once you’ve done that, you can start outlining how your show is going to work and how each episode is going to flow. Once you’ve done that, you can start working on your content. The key thing here is to keep things fresh and interesting. It might be tempting to just dive right into talking about your topic, but that can get boring fast. Instead, try using different media like images or video to spice things up. And don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas and new formats either. The more variety you can throw into your show, the more interesting it will be for your listeners.
You're going to get sick at some point. There's no way around it. The sore throat, the stuffy nose, they both suck depending on the content of your podcasts. They make you sound awful unless you have a very specific kind of podcast, but that's not the topic here. Sick days can be a great opportunity to catch up on producing new episode ideas, scripting episodes. If you do use a script as well as an opportunity to focus on your podcast website and social media pages. If you've fallen behind on posting your transcripts, creating social media-friendly graphics or blogs, the time you spend curled up on your couch or in bed with a laptop can help you get ahead. By the time you're feeling better.
We've discussed the value of transcripts as a way to make your podcast more search engine friendly and provide journalists and reviewers an easy way for obtaining accurate quote material. One of the most important things a transcript brings to your podcast is ADA compliance. There is a difference between a full transcript and an episode script.
Your transcript should include the following description of any music sound effects or background noise intentionally included in your podcast. Minute markers and who is speaking as well as the script or discussion between the speakers. Also be sure you provide a link to each of your episodes, transcripts, and avoid creating one webpage containing all transcripts for your show.
Whether you’re recording a podcast for your business, or you’re just doing it for fun, one thing is clear: people want to hear from the people behind the brand. And with good reason! People are drawn to personal stories, and there’s no better way to share your story than through your podcast. As an entrepreneur, it can be tempting to keep everything separate—to keep your business life and your personal life separate, to keep your work life and your home life separate, to keep your professional self and your personal self separate. And while this might be easier in some situations, it’s also a lot less fulfilling. And while it might seem like a lot of work at first, once you start opening up and sharing yourself with the world, you may be surprised at how rewarding it can be. So why should you get personal on your podcast?
Promoting your podcast is a critical component of attracting new listeners. You want to be sure all of your efforts carry through when building a website for your podcast, be sure you are following web content accessibility guidelines, or what is commonly referred to as WCAG 2.0 and 2.1 alternate tax to all of your imagery. And when using hashtags capitalize the first letter of each new word to ensure screen readers can more easily interpret and read what is being presented. If WCAG and ADA compliance standards feel daunting, you can start with a Google search to understand the basics. If you need support in getting started, don't hesitate to contact us at the pop-ups dot com forward slash contact.
There are many ways you can monetize your podcast. You can either use traditional advertising or make money from your own products. One option is to place ads on your show. There are many ad networks that specialize in podcasts. So it's easy to find the right one for you. Ideally, you should choose a network that targets the same audience as your podcast. That way your listeners feel they're getting value from both your show and the product being advertised. Going down a more indirect route. You can create and sell your own products. For example, a popular podcast host created a book on how to start a podcast. Another host created a course on how to improve the audio quality of your show. Selling products related to your podcast is a great way to make money and build an audience at the same time. Happy podcasting.
Drink a glass of water before you start recording, but not so much that you'll need to rush to the bathroom every few minutes. If you are properly hydrated, it can settle your stomach help to loosen your mouth muscles, and let you stay focused. Being hydrated can also help prevent some of the clickings we naturally make. When our mouse get dry. I personally like to keep a glass of water on hand and sip while my guests and co-hosts. If you take this approach, remember to mute? No one wants to hear you gulping down mouthfuls of water while they're having a conversation.
If you’re a fidgety person, this is going to be a difficult tip to accept. Moving your body around can generate extra background noise. For example, wired headphones, as you move the cord can rub against your chest and create sounds you may not be hearing at the moment. Your swivel chair, it’s letting of small squealing noises as you shift around. And if you stand, shifting can cause your shoes to squeak, your floorboards to creak, and add excess sounds your producer, or you will have to edit out.
Why should you have a podcast marketing plan? For one thing, it allows you to create a sense of community among your listeners. A podcast is a great tool for building an audience and generating engagement with your brand. By creating a plan, you can ensure that the podcast is meeting its goals and that listeners are getting the most out of it. While there are many benefits to having a podcast marketing plan, the most important one is that it helps you to achieve your goals. Whether your goal is to simply build an audience or to generate leads, a podcast plan will help to ensure that everything is going smoothly. By mapping out your objectives and coming up with ways to achieve them, you can make sure that the podcast is running smoothly and achieving the results that you need. Another benefit of having a podcast marketing plan is that it helps to streamline your efforts. By having a written plan in place, you can make sure that everything is running smoothly and on time. This can be especially helpful if you’re planning a season with multiple episodes.
You need to create your own buzz when you release a new podcast into the world. Host a Facebook Livestream launch party, have several blog posts lined up and ready to release the same week, plan a multi-episode go live, and do all you can to drive online engagement. There’s nothing wrong with running a Facebook or Instagram ad to get a few more eyes on your show. The first few weeks, and especially the first few days, are critical to your long-term success. Be your own biggest advocate and let everyone know what you’ve created, and promote, promote, promote.
By using an online scheduling tool such as Calendly, you can make it easy for your guests to schedule an interview for your show. You can also set up an auto-responder email that is sent to guests when they schedule an appointment with you. This can be a great way to build rapport with new guests. It also helps to reduce the number of missed appointments. Calendly allows you to customize your booking pages so that they include information about your podcast and a link to the interview. Calendly also allows you to control the availability of these booking pages so that you can set them up to only be available during certain times. This is a great way to ensure that you are able to manage your booking efficiently.
One way to get your social media followers to tune in to your new podcast is to let them know that you’re running a contest or giveaway. You can tease the giveaway but inform your social audience they have to tune in to your latest episode for the details. In the episode, you can let listeners know that if they share a review of your podcast on iTunes, or wherever you prefer, they’ll be entered to win a prize. You can giveaway branded merchandise or gift cards. The prizes don’t generally need a high dollar value for people to get excited. A five-dollar coffee gift card can get you a surprisingly high amount of interest. But if you do go for low value, try to give more than one away. You don’t want to be labeled as a cheapskate
Naming your show can be difficult. Here are a few routes to consider. You can be direct and name your show after exactly what it is. If you have a show about health food, you may call it The Health Food Podcast. It’s boring, but very clear what the topic is, and it’s good for search. On the other hand, you can try to get creative with your name. But keep in mind that if your name is too creative, people may not think of it, find it when they are searching, or it’s possible they won’t know what your topic is. Then there is a go-to we don’t recommend, and that’s naming it after yourself. If you start The James Smith Show and then talk about health food or rock climbing, people are going to ask, who the hell is James Smith? Aim for a clear title that’s short, sweet, and easy to remember.
Voice search is important for podcasts because it allows listeners to quickly and easily access information. With the growing popularity of voice-activated devices like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, it’s likely that the number of voice searches will continue to grow. This means that podcast creators will need to make sure that their content is easily available through voice search. By optimizing their podcasts for voice search, they can increase the likelihood that their listeners will find them through this medium. In addition, podcasts also tend to be very visual in nature. This means that many listeners may prefer to view the podcast instead of listening to it. By optimizing for voice search, podcasts can increase the likelihood that their listeners will view the content rather than listen to it. By making these changes, podcasts can take advantage of the growing popularity of voice search in order to reach a wider audience.
Reviews can be hard to swallow, especially if they are negative. One way you can use your competitors reviews for good is to read them. Good or bad, take some time to see what people love and hate about podcasters you’ve defined as competition. Pay special attention to the negative reviews being left about their show and episodes. These can be gold mines of information on what you can do to grow your own audience and maybe even how to best your competition in the rankings.
Let’s talk about Cross-Promos; what are these? It’s where you have your show promoted on other podcasts in exchange for you promoting or shouting out the other person’s podcast. There are a few ways to do swaps that are both lucrative and successful for your audience's podcast growth. Keep in mind that cross-promos work because you are engaging an audience that is already listening to a podcast and has a similar audience. Shout Outs Dual episodes and guest exchanges are the best forms of cross promos
Podcasting can feel like a very one-way medium. As a podcaster, you are pushing your content out and not directly interfacing with your listeners at the time of recording. You can ask open ended questions of your audience and let them know that responses will be shared in upcoming episodes. This is where a website or your social media pages can be handy. You want to direct your listeners to a single location where they can respond. For example, if you are asking questions, you could then let the audience know questions from today’s show are in your Facebook group where they can share their opinions. You can then engage with people in a more real time setting as well as generate content for future episodes.
It doesn’t matter the genre of your podcast; storytelling is a valuable way to engage listeners and grow your audience. In our own podcast, we’ve shared stories about our biggest work mistakes, discussed how as co-hosts and business partners we met years ago, and several other things that still support our business and entrepreneur genres. Your story generally needs to follow the three-act story arc. This means a beginning to set it up, build up to the confrontation, and the ultimate ending. Fun fact, Standford researchers have found people remember stories better than any other kind of information. This is a good way to make a lasting impression.
We all know as a podcaster growing your audience is one of your top priorities. One of the ways you can do this is by doing a podcast swap. This is when you get with another podcast host and you take turns interviewing each other. You both get content out of the interviews, and you get exposure to each other audiences. This is is what they would call a win-win, make sure to choose someone that has a similar audience to yours so that there is more of a likelihood they would listen to your podcast. Happy podcasting.
Have you ever read a news article or a blog that has a very engaging title, only to find out that the content had little to nothing to do with what was advertised? Is there anything more aggravating than being lured into something only to find out it’s not what it seemed? Catchy titles are a great thing. The important thing is to ensure that whatever you title an episode, that title needs to reflect the content of your conversation. People don’t like a bait and switch and if you use this sketchy marketing tactic, you’ll see the negative backlash in your reviews and declining download numbers.
If you're looking for something to help you grow your audience. Try doing live podcasts. This is a great way to engage your audience and create buzz around your podcast. You can allow a certain number of listeners in for free. And then after you've met that threshold, you can charge the additional audience to attend. You can also sell tickets outright. There are several different platforms you can utilize for these types of events, youTube live, Facebook live, Twitch, livecast, Castbox, and zoom. Just to name a few Good luck out there and happy podcasting.
Your listeners are listening because they want your content. So, get to the conversation as quickly as possible. It’s fine to introduce yourself as the host, as well as welcome your guest or guests, but then dive directly into the conversation. Too many podcasters fall into the trap of treating the beginning of their show like a personal Zoom call. They talk about what they had for lunch, or what’s going on with their pet. It’s fine to insert personal details into the conversation if they are relevant, but if you are constantly starting your show with small talk about your life, it’s a turn off and listeners are going to tune out.
Pre-recorded intros are common among podcasts, especially those with multiple seasons. They may have a unique clip from the episode, but in general, they are templated and don’t require too much upkeep. Intros are great marketing tools that can snag new listeners, be turned into visual soundbites, and be used across virtually every social platform. Though there is some debate on the perfect length, 15 to 25 seconds is a sweet spot that gives you just enough time to present your show, topic, and a clip, while not boring the listener who is there for the show.
So you're thinking of starting a podcast, but you're not really sure. What you want to talk about? Number one, think of the things that you're interested in and things that you can talk about. Also think about your network and who you could have on your show. The other thing to consider are what genres are currently trending. And the top five, currently are education society and culture, arts, business, and of course, health and fitness. So go ponder on that. Get in the game and start your podcast.
Before you even start recording your first episode set a plan of what success will look like for you. Start with knowing who your target audience is and what value you are intending to deliver with each episode. Determine how much time and money you can devote to your podcast. If your podcast is a hobby you are trying to squeeze into an already packed schedule, it’s very likely that you’re going to fail. The reality is that most podcasters don’t manage to grow their audience to one-thousand listeners. By setting targeted goals from day one, you can map out your path forward and ensure growth and success are possible.
Consider doing exclusive content. This offers you a way to monetize and interact with your audience. In a new way, there are several ways to do this. You can offer a behind-the-scenes. Look at your podcast or day in the life, which can be a good way to connect with your audience. You can provide bonus content. For your members, maybe it's an additional conversation or a more explicit version of your podcast, that's only available to members.
Another great way to provide additional content and engage more intimately is to host a Q and A session. Audiences love the opportunity to ask you questions. This is a great way to monetize your podcast without taking away listeners' ability to listen to your podcast for free Happy podcasting
If you are new to podcasting and want to get in some practice with recording audio, as in working with a microphone and editing audio. You can volunteer at librivox.org. That’s l-i-b-r-i-v-o-x.org. You will read and record free public domain audiobooks that are distributed for free over the web. It’s also a good way to get some practice with annunciation and practice your breathing. Take it from me, there is nothing worse than constantly sounding like you’re breathing heavily into the mic or trying to catch your breath.
It may sound odd for me to tell you to visit the restroom before you start recording, but picture this: You’re about to interview a guest. You sit down, perform mic checks and hit record. Things are going well. The interview is rolling along, you’re getting great one-liners, and you have a genuine connection with your guest. They’re comfortable. Suddenly, you’re already forty-five minutes into your interview and you get the urge to pee. Well, your guest is a talker. And they are talking. They are still talking. Then it’s sixty minutes into your interview, then seventy. Suddenly you feel like you’re going to burst. Do yourself a favor, take that restroom break before you begin and go slow on beverages while you record.
Once you've entered the world of podcasting. Remember to stay up to date on all the latest trends. There's always new tools to utilize creative ways to grow and create content. The podcasting space is ever-changing and is experiencing an incredible amount of growth right now. This opens the door for new collaborative tools, new technology, and new ideas. A few tools you can utilize today is the PodOps app, which is an app that helps you match. Your show with the perfect guest. The other is podinbox. It's a fan page that can help you engage with your audience and help you grow your show. So check those out. You could be the next big thing.
You’ve finished recording an episode, you’re in post-production and you’re listening to the playback. And it sounds like garbage. None of us like to re-record an episode because we put so much effort into every episode. I will be honest, due to a technical glitch, I re-recorded forty-eight PoDrops episodes because at the end of the day, the goal is great content and the best sound we can provide without losing our minds during editing. Don’t be afraid to re-record. Sometimes you just need to accept that the sound can be better, and you have to do it all over again. But you and your audience will be glad you did.
There are many ways you can monetize your podcast. You can either use traditional advertising or make money from your own products. One option is to place ads on your show. There are many ad networks that specialize in podcasts, so it’s easy to find the right one for you. Ideally, you should choose a network that targets the same audience as your podcast. This way, your listeners will feel like they’re getting value from both your show and the product being advertised. Going down a more indirect route, you can create and sell your own products. For example, a popular podcast host created a book on how to start a podcast. Another host created a course on how to improve the audio quality of your show. Selling products related to your podcast is a great way to make money and build an audience at the same time.
These days most of us have two computer screens. When it comes to recording your podcast, having a second screen is very handy whether you’re alone, with a co-host or a guest. The point of a second screen is so you can have your show notes readily available to you without blocking the software on the screen while recording. And the podcast hack here is that you can use a tablet for your notes, it doesn’t need to be a crazy expensive monitor. Remember, if you are just starting out, be frugal.
This tip is more so for our hairy-faced gentlemen friends. If you are recording a podcast, take the time to shave your face before you sit down to record. This will ensure that as you lean into your microphone, your stubble isn’t scratching and rubbing on your pop filter. That’s the thing between you and the mic. Now, if you have a beard, it may be unavoidable, and you’ll just need to learn to keep some social mic distance. But if you’re just letting the 5 o’clock shadow grow, whip out the clippers and clean up your face.
One of the number one things in podcasting is being consistent. So you're thinking about jumping into the world of podcasting. Make sure you have a plan to execute on releasing episodes consistently, even if it's just once a month. Once you commit, stay committed. One thing to keep in mind is that Spotify doesn't even rank you until your hundredth episode.
We want to keep all podcasters in the space and we don't want to see podfade which is when a podcast or starts their podcast decides it's too much work and they exit the podcasting space forever.
Depending on your topic, someone has probably already recorded a podcast on the exact same subject. Maybe you’re listening to a show that is inspiring you to record your own episode on that very topic. The point here is, there is nothing wrong with drawing inspiration, but be sure you are adding in your own unique flavor. Don’t just repeat what you’ve heard. Find a way to make the topic your own and add some value to the conversation. This could lead to opportunities to cross promote to other podcasts’ audiences or even guest star on other podcasts as an expert.
Buzzsprout Monetization is now in beta, this is very exciting for podcasters using this platform. This allows access to advertise on your podcast and get paid for all the work you put into it. If you meet these 5 requirements I suggest you get on board quickly
· 5 published episodes
· 1000 downloads in the last 30 days
· Episodes need to be at least 23 minutes long
· Verified email
· Set up 3 podcast categories and you have to be on a paid plan
It seems pretty easy, right? If you meet these five requirements, I recommend jumping in both feet and getting on board early. Happy podcasting.
If at first, you don’t succeed, keep working hard to get to where you want to go. Unless you are already famous, your podcast is most likely not going to be in the top 1% overnight. In fact, you probably will be in the bottom 5% for a good bit of time. Ensure you are getting your episodes and great content out into the world, but also ensure you are promoting them on the right social networks. If your listeners are on the younger side, incorporate Tik Tok. If your listeners are older incorporate Facebook. If your listeners are into facts and politics, think Twitter. And depending on your topic, try a mix of networks. If you keep working hard, the audience will grow.
At some point after you launch your podcast, you’re going to begin to get comments and suggestions from your audience. Some people may even be asking you to make certain changes to your show and the format. It’s always good to consider the feedback of your audience, but ensure you stay true to your original vision. Don’t lose sight of your podcast’s goals and what you’re trying to create. There is a difference between constructive and destructive criticism. Also, podcast listeners don’t want to listen to pushovers, so be discerning when taking advice and making changes to your show.
When you initially start a podcast, you typically don't know how much work you're getting into. And sometimes after you started the process between pre-production and post-production. You can get overwhelmed. Between the editing producing transcripts and also the social media marketing that's involved. It can be a lot of work.
The good news is, is that there are places that you can reach out to for help. One of those places being Pod News, you can definitely post a job here and get it out to the podcast community. Another place you can go is Upwork or Fiverr happy podcasting.
Just like technology won’t always work for you, there are going to be times when a guest cancels or events in the world conflict with an episode you’re planning to release. Having some evergreen episodes that aren’t tied to anything specific going on in the world or are more related to your life, that can easily be substituted into your release schedule at the last minute when things go wrong. These softball episodes may not be the life-changing crowd pleasers you prefer, but you’ll be glad they’re there when the occasion arises.
If you're a new podcaster and you're trying to determine what editing software you should use. I recommend Descript. It's an all-in-one tool that makes it easy for new podcasters to streamline their process.
It has a lot of features that help you make your process more manageable, especially when you have a lot of things going on. One of my favorite features of Descript is the automatic filler word removal. This is an automatic process that can take up to a couple of minutes, depending on how long your podcast is, but makes your process way smoother. It can help you cut down on your editing time it also has other features such as transcription, audiogram creation for social posts. Word gap reduction along with many others.
This can reduce the time it takes to edit one podcast. So go check it out and let us know what you think.
Keeping your podcast pipeline fully stocked can be a difficult task depending on your show’s topic area. As you think of ideas, note them down. If you’re a team of podcasters, do this with a shared document. Remember, not all ideas are going to become episodes, but there are no bad ideas. Review your idea bank regularly to flush out the best ideas, and even think of ways you might be able to spin those less than stellar ones into something worth recording. Keeping an idea bank will help you ensure you have a strong stream of content for your show and your listeners.
A rookie mistake is to create and release your episode one by one. Once you get going with your podcast, you’re going to be scripting and editing multiple episodes at the same time. Build up a reserve of episodes and have them ready to go a few weeks out from their release date. This will allow you to release teasers on social media, build up some buzz, and get a head start on your social posts and any complimenting blogs you’re releasing. All of this is one of the reasons we suggest you begin to record and produce a few weeks ahead of your official release date. It just makes your life easier.
If you’re working on your podcast with a co-host or an entire team, be sure to include them in the process. Don’t be a control freak or allow any one team member to be siloed into a corner. When everyone on your team is in sync and communicating, it makes all parts of the process run more smoothly. From the planning to publishing components of the process, your podcast and your team will be better when you work together to produce a superior product.
Do you ever wonder how people choose the music for their podcast? How'd they get their intros and outros. to flow so well, This is so important as it helps solidify your brand as a podcaster. Choosing music is really fun. Especially, if you already have the idea for what your podcast is going to be.
Make sure that if you have a happy go lucky podcast, that your music matches that if you're talking about really heavy things, don't use upbeat music. It can really be a turnoff to your listeners.
And it really doesn't help the brand for your podcast.
So go check out something like sound Stripe or Pixabay they have some free options, some paid options, go listen to some music and really decide what you want. Do you want heavy guitars, jazz? Blues. Have fun with it when you're choosing your podcast music and remember that it does tend to carry your podcast through.
After releasing an episode, especially the first few if you are new to the wonderful world of podcasting, do a postmortem on what went wrong. Did you run behind schedule in getting the episode produced? Did it take longer than planned to script the episode? What about getting your social media posts drafted, did you get them ready before the episode went live? Learn from your mistakes and make the necessary adjustments to your schedule moving forward. That said, also pat yourself on the back when you do a good job.
We’ve talked in several episodes about how you should prepare and handle guests on your show. An effective way to grow your audience and get in front of new listeners is to appear on other podcasts. PodOps is where we suggest starting your journey. By downloading the PodOps app to your Android or Apple device, you can quickly create a profile that utilizes machine learning to score and match you with compatible show hosts. And if you aren’t ready to be a guest yourself, you can switch into host mode to find guests for your show. Learn more about the app by visiting thePodOps.com.
Don’t confuse show notes with episode notes. Show notes are associated with your entire podcast series. Episode notes are detailed notes about a specific episode within your series. Distributors, such as Apple, provide up to four-thousand characters for episode notes. But on average, most episodes have around two-hundred-and-fifty-six-character length descriptions. Episode notes can describe what is discussed in a particular episode, share a bit about a guest in attendance and provide useful links referenced in the episode. Well-crafted notes should also have search engine optimization in mind as they will help your episodes appear in front of potential listeners searching for topics just like yours.
In a previous episode, we covered transcripts, which are useful in their own right. But when thinking of ways to expand how you can market individual episodes of your show, consider writing blog posts on the topic being discussed. This allows you to embed your episode player in the blog post, link out to supporting articles, as well as reference other posts and episodes within your website that may be relevant to the topic. This also gives you another piece of content to share through social media to draw in potential listeners who may have missed or ignored posts regarding your show.
Let's talk about owning your own content and why it's so important. It allows you the freedom to decide. What platforms you're going to put your content on and what audiences you want to be associated with. As you look at some of the things that have happened in podcasting in recent months, you can see how having your podcast on one platform can isolate you from other audiences and also have your content controlled.
When you were on multiple platforms, you have the ability to have controversial content. And if a platform doesn't agree with you and decides that they want to pull your content, you still have other options. , whether you agree with Joe Rogan or not, you can see how this has impacted his podcast, all the controversy surrounding the guests that he has had on. And how much pressure is put on Spotify to cancel his show.
Don't put yourself in these situations. Own your own content and decide what platforms you want to be associated with.
It’s day one of your new podcast show and you aren’t sure what to use for recording software. Before investing in some of the more expensive software, which also requires a considerable amount of time to master, try some of the free, entry-level tools on the market today. For people new to podcasting, Garage Band and Audacity are suitable options to get you going. You can also consider buying plugins before moving to expensive software if you’re looking for slightly more control or specific sound effects. And if you are ready for the big leagues of editing software, try a number of products by looking for free trials before you commit to a single tool.
Organic subscriber and listener acquisition is great because these people are genuinely interested in your show and are likely to remain invested in future episodes. However, the process of growing your audience organically can take a long time. If you have budget to advertise, consider Podcast Addict and Overcast. Both have the ability to put your podcast show in front of a targeted audience that is actively engaging with podcasts. In contrast, sites like Facebook may not be as effective for growing your audience as most people there are scrolling through photos and not digging too deep into the content.
Have you ever given a presentation in front of a large audience or at a conference? After creating your content and slide deck, you rehearsed what you were going to say. Just as I’ve done with each of the PoDrops episodes before pressing record. If you rehearse a scripted episode a few times before recording, you’ll be able to catch any language that sounds off or potentially trips you up when speaking. Writing something on paper and reading it to yourself in your head, are not the same as speaking the words out loud. Rehearsing saves time on editing as you’ll have fewer trip-ups to remove and be better prepared to speak when it’s time to record.
Have you ever had a delivery that was promised to arrive on a certain date and didn’t? If it was late by a day or a week, you were most likely frustrated and annoyed. The same will be true with your listeners if your episodes are not dropping on the promised schedule. What I mean is, create a production schedule that fits your schedule and is realistic. A lot of people produce podcasts in their free time, and after work. Ensure you have enough time for all of the things on your to-do list. If you fall behind and begin missing release dates for episodes, you’ll see listeners drop off and negative reviews creep in.
If you’re a perfectionist, you may find the editing process to be a hellish one that consumes hours and hours of your day. Do yourself a favor and be prepared for recording by being in a quiet space. No people, televisions, or phones preferably. Also, complete a mic check to ensure sound quality is good from the beginning. These little things will help save you time during the editing, or post-production, phase. In editing, focus on removing excess background noise, static, and echoes. If there happens to be one small sound, think about it from a listener’s perspective. Would they even notice? Don’t be lazy when it comes to editing but be realistic and use the rule of 4. Typically, an episode should require 4 times its length to edit. Meaning a twenty-minute show will require eighty minutes of editing.
When recording an episode, you are going to eventually stumble over your words and get tongue-tied. It happens to everyone. Don’t stop recording and start over. This will cost you valuable time and if you were to start over at every mistake, you may never complete a season. Instead, when you make a mistake, pause for 3 to 5 seconds, then restart where you had left off. When editing the episode, you can cut out the mistake as well as the excess time between speaking moments. If you want to make it easy to find these mistakes in your audio, take a slightly longer pause and clap your hands loudly near the microphone. Then, when editing you can look for the visual sound spike to jump directly to the audio that needs to be cut.
Podcasts can be a lot of fun to create, but they can also be a lot of work. Setting a routine for yourself each week is a good way to ensure you stay consistent and don’t lose focus or steam in releasing episodes. Whether you’re doing all of the work alone or you have a partner, define when the writing is done for an episode in advance of the day you want to record. Determine when editing of an episode will take place after recording. And finally, determine your release schedule. As mentioned in a number of other PoDrops, releasing your episodes with consistency is key to your performing well on nearly all streaming services.
The Intro is the first thing someone is going to hear when they tune in to your podcast. These can evolve over time but should be soundbite worthy. Introduce the show, your topic, and your guest if there is one appearing. You can even work in a clip of the show if there is a good one-liner that will hook your audience. Your outros may also evolve over time. At a minimum, make sure they are consistent and contain a call to action. Something like: thanks for tuning in, be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to be notified of future episodes, and let us know what you thought of this week’s show by visiting our Facebook group. Don’t forget to set up and mention your Facebook group by name.
Your guests may not be familiar with podcasts or used to being interviewed. To ensure a successful interview, provide them with a checklist of what to expect in advance. If this is a remote interview, include items such as: be in a quiet location, have a strong internet connection, use an external microphone, if possible, explain any software downloads required or browser needs, and inform them of the shows format. For example, will you simply perform Q&A, or do you want them to feel comfortable riffing? The more you prep your guest, the less time you will need to spend dealing with technical issues or explaining how things work prior to hitting record the day of your interview.
Technology will not always be your friend and cooperate when you’re recording. Be sure you always have a backup plan in place. If you’re remotely interviewing a guest and they can’t access the software in your meeting invitation, be sure you have a backup tool available to deploy on-demand. If you record episodes with a co-host, you can do what we do here, and record from each of our locations. This means we always have two master recordings, saved on two different computers. If something were to happen to one, we always have a fallback. This saves us valuable time on needing to re-record episodes. As well as saving us from losing any of those unscripted moments that can’t be replicated.
Each microphone is just a little bit different in how they pick up sound. At the beginning of your recording sessions, take a minute to complete a mic check, confirm the recording is working as expected and do a playback. This will help you confirm each person’s mic is working if everyone is the correct distance away from their mic and gives you one more chance to make any final adjustments. Considering your mic is literally the component tasked with capturing your words it is worth taking a few extra minutes to ensure everything is operating as expected. You can also save yourself production time by performing mic checks.
When you first begin to air episodes, you have a lot going on. You’re scripting content, recording, trying to book guests, and promoting episodes as they release. As you share new episodes be sure to include a direct call to action. Ask your social media followers and listeners to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or hit the notification bell in Spotify to learn about new episodes. Don’t assume people will take these actions without being prompted to do so. In general, you will need to ask, ask, and ask again to get your listeners to leave reviews and subscribe. Be consistent and be sure to show appreciation as you watch your reviews and subscriber numbers rise.
When a guest comes on your show, one of the goals you should have is for them to cross-promote the episode through their social media channels. Creating a marketing package is very helpful in making this happen. You can deliver this to your guest post-interview, once you’ve completed production of the episode, via email. Share the episode, the podcast episode cover, a digital soundbite, an episode player if you have one available, and the social posts you’ll be sharing and when they’ll be published. Don’t forget to include your social media handles in the email. Recommend to your guest when they should share out the episode. We typically ask a guest to share a week after we’ve done so to gain maximum reach.
In the world of remote meetings, we’ve all experienced a poor connection. If you’re interviewing a guest remotely, be sure to let them know how critical a strong internet connection is to the interview. If they are on a weak connection, consider having them disable video to improve their audio quality. If the guest’s connection is incredibly weak, you’ll be better served to reschedule when you can meet in person, or they can connect from another location. You won’t be doing yourself any favors by having them dial in by phone if their internet connection is weak. Most interviews held over the phone capture an immense amount of background noise, and if your guest is like me, you’ll record every step they take as they pace around the room.
When interviewing a guest, especially if you’re doing so virtually, give them an overview of best practices before you begin. Keep in mind, your guest wants to come off sounding just as good as you, and technically they are the featured component of that particular episode. One important thing to remind your guests is to lean into their microphone. As you chat, guests have a tendency to get comfortable and lean back in their chair. The problem is that as they lean away, their voice will become distant, and the sound quality will be degraded in post-production editing. Remind them to keep those lips close to the mic to ensure they sound clear and crisp
Podcasts are typically thought of as audio content consumed from smart devices. This is true, but as we’ve seen in recent years, the phones we carry around, as well as cellular service providers, are getting faster and better at supporting HD video quality. With this in mind, think of your entire audience. From the MySpace to TikTok generations, each likes to consume content differently. Recording your podcast sessions is one more content medium you can share and promote through YouTube and other video platforms to expand and maximize your audience reach.
There is a lot of fancy equipment out there today. From mixing boards to microphones, you could easily spend thousands of dollars for what is promised to be the best possible sound quality. If you’re just starting out, don’t drive yourself into debt by trying to buy the best-in-class items. Focus on quality content and consistent episodes. If these items are intact, utilizing the microphone within your laptop is going to be fine in the short term, and you can clean up echoes and static in post-production. Listeners will be more forgiving of the occasional sound hiccup if the content quality is consistently delivered. When you are ready to invest in equipment be sure to check out our blog at thepodops.com/blog where we cover microphones and headphones at several price points and quality levels.
Being a good conversationalist begins with being a good listener. When you have a guest on, you should have prepared for the interview in advance by researching the individual, getting to know a little about their area of expertise, and having prepared questions to drive the conversation forward. As your guest begins to open up and share, be sure to listen for interesting points. These may change your line of questioning, but having a genuine interest in your guest also puts them at ease, as well as makes them comfortable to share more personal details. You’ll find some of the best one-liners and soundbites come from those unplanned moments that arise when the guest is sharing their story.
Facebook, like so many other social media platforms, sees the future of podcasts and the value to their own platform as they work to draw in content creators like yourself. Adding your podcast is simple. All you need is a Facebook Business Page. There you can locate the podcast tab and enter your RSS feed URL. Most podcast hosting services like BuzzSprout and PodBean automatically generate your show’s RSS feed. Meaning you simply copy and paste. With your episodes automatically pulling into your Facebook page, users can listen within the social media giant’s platform, as well as take advantage of audio clipping tools to share your content. Keep an eye out, as we’re certain Facebook will add new ways for you to monetize and promote your content.
You have a podcast. You have a website. These are two key pieces to your podcast platform, but in general, they are typically one way communication paths. Your audience may be able to leave a comment, but they aren’t that likely to see a reply, nor have the ability to deep dive into a discussion with you or other listeners. By creating a Facebook group, you are giving your audience the ability to build a community around your podcast. As you release new episodes, you can direct listeners to your group where timely episode-based discussion topics are posted. This gives your audience a way to connect with your content and one another in a more meaningful way.
As podcast hosts, we are very familiar and comfortable being behind the computer screen. Tucked away in our homes and studios, we have a non-physical wall between ourselves and the audience. By creating a podcast hotline, you can give your audience a place to call and leave voice messages and commentary on episodes. You can also promote this at the end of your episodes by featuring clips of messages that have been left by listeners. Be sure to ask them to leave their name and location along with their message so you can call them out by name in future episodes. It’s one more way to grow and deepen your audience relationship.
There are all kinds of events, not just about podcasts, that are opportunities to make connections. Do you have a podcast about beer? Search the web for beer related events or festivals in your city. Show up with your podcast logo on your shirt, hat, or whatever it is you’re wearing. Work the room and meet as many people as possible. It’s a great way to meet potential guests, as well as spread the word about your show and gain a few new listeners. Like any business opportunity, being able to give someone a card with your contact information and website is a good approach and ensures they won’t forget you when you walk away.
Many podcasts are heavily scripted, almost like a television sitcom. There’s nothing wrong with this. It’s not the only approach. You can also have high-level bullet points on your discussion or interview points, or if you’re feeling really wild, go completely unscripted. Some of the best content is produced when you are not reading a script but being present in the moment and speaking as the industry expert you are. Don’t be afraid to make a mistake or trip over your words. You can do some polishing in production but leaving the occasional mistake or stutter in also helps humanize you to the audience, creating a rich listener experience.
If you have set up a website, or at least a web page for your podcast, you’re probably aware that podcast players are not the best when it comes to search engine optimization. These players are small bits of code that lack headers and text, which are the primary things being looked for as search engines crawl your site to categorize the content. Adding transcripts to your podcast website can be beneficial in helping search engines more accurately define and rank your page. On top of this, if someone decides they’d like to quote you or write an article with a reference to your show, a transcript makes it much easier to ensure they are getting the language correct, rather than trying to transcribe directly from an episode.
You may be surprised to know that not everyone knows how or where they can listen to podcasts. The first thing you should do when launching your new podcast is to setup a website or webpage about your show. Depending on where you are hosting your show, you can typically grab a bit of code and plug a player directly into a web page. In addition, you can add links to major platforms like Apple Podcasts, Pandora and Amazon Music, or wherever you want to direct users. Then, when you post on social, you can always use this as a primary link to your podcast, making it a hub for all the places people can go to access your show on their devices. It’s also one more way you can monitor traffic around your show to leverage sponsors.
Do not self-host your podcast. Let me repeat, do not try to save money by self-hosting your podcast. At the end of the day, this will not do you any favors. Use a reputable service like BuzzSprout. Not only do they provide highly affordable hosting options, but they also offer a plethora of features to help you reach your future audience. For example, BuzzSprout can help your podcast be submitted to a huge number of podcast directories at the click of a button. They also automatically push out every new episode. If you self-host, you need to do all of this work manually, episode by episode. Self-hosting is a recipe for failure as it will consume too much time and effort for you to focus on producing great content.
This seems like it should be obvious. You want to be passionate about your podcast show’s topic. Your enthusiasm, or lack thereof, will carry through the microphone and right to your listeners. If you’re lackluster about the show’s topic, you’re likely to have a monotone voice and fall flat. This will make you less entertaining to your audience. On the other hand, if you love the topic of your show, you’ll be enthusiastic during discussions with guests, you’ll engage your co-host, and if you’re running a solo show you’ll be able to keep your audience gripped and looking forward to your next episode drop.
A listener persona is a written description of a fictious person. For example, Gaby is a mother of two, podcast listener, yoga instructor, and a social influencer with over one million followers. She loves true crime podcasts and sharing the shows she is enjoying with her listeners via TikTok and Instagram. As you define these people, and there can be more than one, it helps you to define the content you want to produce. If Gaby is my target, we are going to need episodes that touch on true crime in some fashion. Then consider how to touch on a niche of the genre. Perhaps you will focus on 1950’s cold cases in the United States that appear to be the work of serial killers. The more niche you go within a genre, the more likely you are to have unique content. The more definition and clarity you bring to your listener personas, the more clearly you can define your content goals.
You’ve taken the plunge into the world of podcasting, recorded your first episode, and nobody is listening. It’s okay! Think of it like this; Nobody is great at something the first time. Your first episode may kind of suck. Maybe you’re a bit nervous, or you’re still trying to fully define your listener person, or even your show’s tone. All of these things can be worked out and adjusted as you record a few more episodes. Read your podcast reviews, even if they’re critical and consider the comments as constructive criticism. Ask friends and family who are a little more likely to be blunt to listen to your first episode and get feedback. You can always make tweaks to your show’s tone and format. Don’t be afraid to do so. By leaning into these things early on, you’ll more quickly find your groove and see the positive audience response.
If you aren’t a graphic designer, don’t have Photoshop skills, or really just need to get social media ready graphics in a hurry, use system generated imagery to your advantage. Spotify offers Promo Cards at promocards.byspotify.com and Apple offers an array of image generating tools at tools.applemediaservices.com. Both are free resources that only require you enter the name of your podcast or episode title. Once entered, you will hit submit and receive a Spotify or Apple branded social ready graphic with your podcast cover and show title prominently displayed.
There are a seemingly endless number of places to connect with potential users online. Each platform has its own format requirements. Some are video based, other image, some need everything to be in a portrait view, others offer square and rectangle. No matter where you are planning to promote your podcast there are a few must have items in your pocket. You need a standard branded podcast cover that is easily identifiable with your logo or podcast show name. Create a digital soundbite for each episode that takes advantage of this cover, adds a snippet of content from the episode and has the wavelength visual to draw in the eye. And of course, your hashtag. It may not be trending today, but there’s no stopping you from going viral tomorrow. Ensure you’ve claimed your brand’s hashtag.
Recording and scripting your podcast takes a considerable amount of time. A twenty-minute episode can easily have one to three hours of work behind the scenes when it comes to scripting, research and then sitting down to record. If you have a true crime series, there can be even more time to perform the research phase. The production phase can also be time-consuming. You have to understand the software needs for sound, and video if you’re planning to share on YouTube or Vimeo. You also need to know how to work with different file types, how to manipulate sounds, cut pieces of audio, smooth out background noises, and a dozen other things. It is worth considering outside production help. By visiting ThePodOps.com, you can explore pricing for a single episode or multiple. We can assist in taking the stress of production off your shoulders so you can focus on your content.
As someone with a podcast and a co-host, I can tell you that a show with two hosts brings a different dynamic to the listener. My co-host and I have known each other since 2008. We have a long friendship that works well in our episodes as we can comfortably riff and joke with one another. If you are considering teaming up with someone who you don’t have history with, you’re going to want to spend some time together, be that through virtual cocktails or in person. You need to get to know each other to ensure that when you press record, your audience can’t pick up on the fact that you’ve just met in the last few days or weeks. Poor chemistry will kill your podcast no matter how good the content.
Are you funny? Are you serious? Are you a little more on the not safe for work side? When you sit down at your microphone and press record, you want to bring the same sense of self confidence and personality that you would bring to a familiar gathering with your friends. Whether you are a solo or co-host, being able to speak and remain natural in your language will convey to your listeners. If you’re nervous or uncomfortable being recorded, do a few warm-up takes to get the stress out and even try the age old practice of sitting in front of a mirror, or turning on your computer’s camera app and smiling into the mirror or program. You may feel silly, but it’s hard to remain nervous or have your voice break when you focus on the excited person staring back at you.
I hate to say this, as it has become a marketing term that is vastly overused, but you need to be authentic, as in your real self when recording. If you create a persona for your podcast, keep in mind you are committing to acting for each and every episode. This can be exhausting as well as come across to your listeners as being fake. When you are not yourself behind the microphone it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to speak from a place of experience. If you find your personality and the content aren’t enticing listeners, consider pivoting the show to topics more in line with your voice, or consider adding a co-host. A second personality can positively change the dynamic and place less pressure on you as a host to carry the show.
There is not a hard rule for how long your episodes need to be. Keep in mind, your listeners may listen to 5 minutes in the morning during breakfast then a few more minutes on the way to work. The portability of our devices and easy access to podcasts makes them very flexible to the individual’s schedule. That said, if you have a twenty-minute episode that can deliver on the episode title with great content, great! If you’re like PoDrops and only need sixty-seconds or less to get your point across, awesome. Your episodes can also vary. Some may be fifteen-minutes, some may be twenty. Don’t lock yourself into a box where every episode must be exactly the same length. Make sure the length of time fits the content and your listener persona. Remember, you are creating content for the listener, make sure it’s good and worth their time.
With 56% of podcasts having ten or fewer episodes, being an active podcast means you need to be releasing episodes with frequency. A super listener is someone who listens to twenty or more hours of content per month. Typical listeners are consuming 6.5 hours of content per month. If you are just getting started, we recommend targeting a release of at least one episode per week. An effective roll out strategy is to record a number of episodes, or an entire season prior to release and then push content live over the course of several weeks. When you follow this strategy, it makes it easier to release two or three episodes per week. Create realistic goals from day one. Define how many episodes will be in a season, your target episode release per week number and if you plan to maintain or grow that over time as you move into future seasons.
Most people are happy to talk about themselves and their businesses. However, it’s not always easy to find guests, or cheap, that’s why we created PodOps in the first place. When you have a guest, say a local bakery, you can have the guest share a promotion at the end of your interview. Think, buy one muffin get one free on ‘X’ date. Then, you can share the promotion via social the day the show drops, and the guest is highly likely to heavily promote the episode as there is a greater benefit to them doing so. Keep in mind, guests can get lazy when it comes to sharing their interviews on their social channels and you may need to prod them. Offering a promotional plug is an easy way of getting them engaged.
You need to do your homework two-fold for a podcast. First, if you’re just getting started, dive into other shows that you love and make notes on what is engaging to you. Is it the host, the topic, or the guests? Think about what components you can make your own and bring into your show. The second thing is in regard to content. If you are presenting facts and figures, or grilling a guest on a topic, make sure you are well read on the topic. Never make up statistics, nor rely on a single source of information. For any fact you present, you should have verified it with at least two different sources to ensure it is accurate and can stand up in a debate.
In the movie clueless, there is an insult where the main character refers to someone from a distance as a Monet. More or less, when people see your podcast cover artwork, you want them to see something with wow factor, not something that looks like a big old mess up close. This may mean having to make changes along the way and getting some outside assistance from a graphic designer. In our other podcast, Digitiv. The Podcast., we fully rebranded. This meant not only moving from covers that changed week to week, but also changing the show's name. In the end, we produced a highly polished, brand cohesive cover that resonates with our listeners.
This probably seems simple enough, but you should have a plan for every episode you are intending to record and produce. Think of it like the podcast you are listening to now. We mapped out dozens of topics before we began recording. We had topic evolution in mind as the goal is to support you as our listener in growing your own podcast. When all of that was in place we began to record and produce. If we had sat down at the microphone and pressed record without these items in place, you’d be hearing a lot of long pauses as we tried to pull from thin air concepts to be useful. Planning goes a long way and ensures your end product is polished and meets the objective promised in your show title.
You’re so excited to drop your new episode. You’re talking all about the COVID-19 virus. You spent hours, days, even weeks doing research and putting together the perfect episode. The only problem is you are sharing a topic that is not fresh, people are not excited to hear about this topic, and you probably aren’t able to share an angle so new that it’s going to pull in listeners. Add on top of this, that you are unlikely to rise above the noise of major news outlets on the same topic. My point? Whatever your topic is, be timely and fresh. People want to discuss things happening in the moment, not something that started a year or two earlier. If you can be at the forefront of trends, you’re going to see your audience numbers grow rapidly.
When considering who you want to target and market your podcast to, you need to consider your content. Are you telling stories? Are you providing business advice? Are you creating a platform for advocates? It doesn’t matter your genre, it’s your content and how you promote your podcast. The average podcast gets around twenty-seven listeners per episode. The top 1% receive nearly thirty-two hundred listeners per episodes. And then there are those rare podcasts like the Joe Rogan Experience, with upwards of eleven million listeners an episode at the time of recording this podcast. The moral here: Define your listener personas and where they spend their time online (Instagram, Spotify, Tik Tok) and tailor your marketing efforts to them and where they are.
Editing software has come a long way and is continuing to evolve all the time. You can remove certain words like “um” and long pauses, but background noise, like barking dogs and televisions, are much harder to cleanly remove from an episode without degrading the quality. Your recording space, which may not be an actual studio, should be a place where you are removed from people and animals, a place where you can sit comfortably without a squeaky chair, and be ready to hit mute if you’re going to sip on water or coffee. Those slurping sounds are not sexy unless you’re creating an ASMR podcast, in which case, slurp it up. And of course, try to avoid typing or clicking your mouse while recording, as those light clicks almost always come through loud and clear.
A pop filter is a mesh membrane stretched tightly over a frame. Most of us recognize this from music videos as the weird little thing between a singer and their microphone. Using a pop filter helps cut out certain sounds and noises, especially a number of spit and low breathing sounds. This also helps you when it comes to editing. Pop filter equals time saved for you or the team member who is in charge of post-production. And, if you record your podcasts and share the video online, you look ten times more legit with your mic and a pop filter.
With more than two million active podcasts in the world today, they are seemingly all the rage. What people don’t tell you is that 56% of all podcasts have ten or fewer episodes and only 17% have more than fifty episodes. The mean number of episodes is thirty. When it comes to planning for your podcast and success, the first thing is mindset. You need to be in this for the long haul and avoid getting discouraged if early listener numbers are low or you feel the effort is too high. It will pay off as long as you remain committed to producing great content for your audience.