Getting Started with Podcasts

Recording of Zoom workshop
(note this expires in 120 days from 20th October)

What is your Podcast Goal?

Why are you starting this podcast? Your business and personal goals should inform the decisions you make later about format, etc.

  • Grow your audience & email list
  • Build trust (“parasocial relationships” with listeners)
  • Build strong new relationships with your guests
  • Get more clients
  • Direct revenue from sponsorship (this can take some time if you don’t already have an audience)

Which Podcast Formats?

  • Interview (different guest each episode)
  • Co-host (same hosts each episode) Offline (Philip Morgan & Liston Witheral), 2Bobs (Blairs Enns & David C. Baker), TBOA (Jonathan Stark & Rochelle Moulton)
  • Solo (monologue)
  • Panel discussion
  • Coaching session
  • Educational series (evergreen) e.g. Seth Godin Startup School
  • Repurposed content (webinars, talks, etc)
  • In the field
  • Storytelling/branded/”NPR-style”

You can mix and match format to some degree, e.g. an interview podcast with occasional solo episodes or repurposed content. Be aware: podcast listeners like consistency, so if you mix it up, try to do that in a consistent way.

Interview podcasts are great for networking,  building relationships and growing your reach.

One thing to consider with interviews is whether you can focus on interviewing ideal clients – this can be a fantastic complement to Account-Based Marketing.

Demonstrating Your Expertise

This can be difficult to do with interview shows, as the focus is usually on the guest’s expertise.

Solo episodes, regular co-hosting, and solo segments in interview shows are all fantastic ways to demonstrate your expertise.

Your Listeners

You can’t go wrong if you focus on creating a podcast that is in service to your listeners.

  • Who are they, specifically?
  • What problems or pains do they have that you can help with?

Choose Your Podcast Topic

  • Focus on serving your audience and helping them with their problems
  • Don’t get too tight on your expertise, or it will be difficult to bring guests on (“Why would I come on when you’re clearly the expert in this?”)

Picking Your Show Title

  1. Keep it short (3-5 words)
  2. Name aligned with content
  3. Words that people might search for
  4. Don’t use “Podcast” in the title

Podcast Description

  • WIIFM – “What’s in it for me?” – why should they care about your show?
  • Describe who the podcast is for, why they should listen, and what they can expect.
  • Encourage them to give you a listen

Podcast Artwork

  • Don’t use a picture of microphone or headphones
  • Use Canva, make a large square (3000×3000 px)
  • Remember it will appear very small on phones
  • Keep it simple to start, improve later
  • Focus on your listeners

Recording Equipment and Software

  1. If you’re not sure, start with a USB headset like the Logitech H390 or
  2. a USB dynamic  microphone like ATR2100X
  3. Cover hard flat surfaces with soft covers or acoustic foam
  4. Use Audacity (free) to edit if you can’t outsource
  5. More information

Record Your Episodes

  • Zoom
  • Go Live on YouTube or Facebook
  • Recording services like Riverside, SquadCast

If you record while broadcasting live, that removes the need to do post-production editing. Make the listeners aware that it was recorded live and that will raise their tolerance levels.

Podcast Workflow

This is the actual workflow for The Recognized Authority podcast:

  • Invite Guest
  • Guest Schedules onto calendar
  • Guest fills in intake form
  • Record Interview with Guest
  • Notify Editor a new interview is available in Riverside
  • Download raw WAV files from Riverside
  • Edit Interview Audio v1.0
  • Upload Interview Audio v1.0 to Auphonic
  • Zapier copies Auphonic version to Google Drive (for later upload)
  • Zapier copies Auphonic version to Dropbox (backup)
  • Zapier copies Auphonic version to Otter (automated transcript)
  • Sanity Check Audio, Edit to v1.1 etc if necessary
  • Create Episode Title from Transcription (optional)
  • Create Episode Description for Podcast Player & Website Episode Post
  • Pick Episode Image Quote from Transcription (copy to Quotes sheet)
  • Create Episode Graphics (Square, Rectangle, Quote)
  • Review & Fix Transcription Errors
  • Pull out Show Notes & Other References
  • Create Google Doc with Email for Guest & meta info
  • Schedule Website Episode Post on Our Website
  • Upload & Schedule Episode on Podcast Hosting
  • Send Guest Notification & Promotion Email
  • If New post with tag Podcast on your blog, then tweet link

Podcast Hosting

Your podcast must be hosted somewhere.

  1. Don’t try to host your podcast files yourself
  2. Don’t use free hosting (if it’s free, you are the product).

Here are some podcast hosting companies to check out:

  • Podcast.co (where we host The Recognized Authority)
  • BuzzSprout
  • Transistor.fm
  • PodBean
  • Simplecast
  • Captivate
  • Castos
  • Libsyn

Podcast Guesting & Promotion

  1. Promote every episode on all of your social media channels
  2. Encourage your guests to share by creating graphics and pre-writing a message for them
  3. Using Canva templates for images