A Stage by Stage Guide to Launching your Podcast
What's involved in starting a podcast? How much is it likely to cost? How do you get it on the various lists for listening to? What are the ingredients of a good podcast?
Welcome to Part 2 of Your Podcast Questions Answered!
Question 1: What's involved in starting a podcast? Using my Podcast Playbook, I talk you through each stage that's involved.
Download the Podcast Playbook here for Free
Want to read the Blog series I'm writing in this? Find it here.
Question 2: How much is it likely to cost?
Question 3: How do you get it on the various lists for listening to?
Question 4: What are the ingredients of a good podcast?
Still have questions? Email me at rachael@rb-va.com
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Transcript
Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachel.
Speaker:This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own
Speaker:businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast.
Speaker:I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast
Speaker:started and managing it along the way.
Speaker:I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give
Speaker:you real insight into what's Hi,
Speaker:and welcome to this week's episode.
Speaker:Today, I'm going to be answering your podcast questions.
Speaker:I did an episode like this earlier on in this season.
Speaker:So check that out if you haven't already listened.
Speaker:So I'm going to be answering some of the other questions that people had
Speaker:sent in to me regarding podcasts.
Speaker:The questions I'll be covering today somebody was asking about what is
Speaker:involved in thinking about a podcast the steps that you would need to take?
Speaker:There was a question about how much is it likely to cost?
Speaker:So we can look at this in two ways.
Speaker:So how much is it going to cost if you're going to do it by yourself
Speaker:and the potential cost if you're going to work with somebody like
Speaker:me, who's a podcast manager.
Speaker:Also, how do you get it on the various lists to listening to that's to do
Speaker:with podcast distribution and then the ingredients of a good podcast.
Speaker:I'm going to talk about what's involved from thinking about
Speaker:it to actually starting one.
Speaker:So I actually have created a free resource called the podcast playbook.
Speaker:And this is a free guide, and I will leave the link in the show notes if you
Speaker:would like to download a copy of this.
Speaker:And it's just a guide to help you get clear on whether a podcast is right for
Speaker:you and what the next steps would be.
Speaker:So this is the stages in which.
Speaker:To go through to getting your podcast launch.
Speaker:I'm also at time of recording and that is May 2024.
Speaker:I'm writing a blog series based on this podcast playbook
Speaker:that's released on LinkedIn.
Speaker:So the first one has already gone out at time of recording.
Speaker:So if you're interested in reading a blog version as well, I will leave a link in
Speaker:the show notes so you can, you can catch up on all the blogs there and you'll get
Speaker:a link to where they are on my website.
Speaker:So, I do say this a lot, and this is the one thing that I do say to a
Speaker:lot of people when they ask me, you know, about wanting to start a podcast
Speaker:is, have you got time for a podcast?
Speaker:It's important to be realistic about what is going on in your life and
Speaker:your business as to whether or not you have time to fit in a podcast.
Speaker:There is a lot of elements involved to podcasting.
Speaker:I'm not going to lie, it does take time, as does a lot of things in your business.
Speaker:So you need to think about whether you have the time to
Speaker:invest in doing a podcast.
Speaker:Even if you're planning on outsourcing the podcast, you will
Speaker:still need to be able to create.
Speaker:The content or have time to create the content and record the podcast as well.
Speaker:Even if you're going to be outsourcing the production elements, the editing,
Speaker:uploading, maybe you've got a VA that's going to help you with your
Speaker:promotion, which is a very important part of it, which I'll get back to.
Speaker:So think about the time that you have in your business.
Speaker:If you have perhaps a big launch coming up for an offer that you're, you're
Speaker:doing at the moment, maybe starting a podcast isn't at that particular time.
Speaker:Isn't.
Speaker:Good.
Speaker:Maybe you should wait until that launch is finished, or if you, you know,
Speaker:you have to consider what's going on in your personal life as well.
Speaker:So a great way to kind of track your time.
Speaker:I use an app called Toggle.
Speaker:I found out about this from my VA days, virtual assistant days, and I
Speaker:now track everything in my business.
Speaker:Everything that I do, I track so that I can have an overview of where I'm
Speaker:spending my time in the business.
Speaker:So whether that's a personal or, you know, like I did Pilates this morning.
Speaker:So I would add in, I did Pilates for 45 minutes because If you leave things
Speaker:out, you won't get a realistic view of exactly where you're spending your time.
Speaker:So it's not an exercise to make you feel guilty about where
Speaker:you're spending your time.
Speaker:It's just an exercise to make you aware of where you're
Speaker:spending time in your business.
Speaker:And like I said, there's a lot of things involved in doing
Speaker:it, coming up with the content.
Speaker:Recording, editing, writing show notes, uploading, creating
Speaker:marketing material, you know, even the learning part of the things.
Speaker:So if you are going to be doing it yourself, you'll have to do a little
Speaker:bit of research into how you're going to record, how you're going
Speaker:to edit, what hosting platform, all of those different aspects as well.
Speaker:So you have to leave a little bit of time in there for the learning.
Speaker:So that's the first thing take a little look at your business and your
Speaker:life and work out whether or not.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:It's going to fit in there.
Speaker:And I do want to just add on the podcasting is part of your marketing.
Speaker:It's not a separate entity.
Speaker:You don't have your business and you're marketing for your business.
Speaker:And then your podcast is a separate element.
Speaker:It's part is a strand of your marketing strategy.
Speaker:So think about your, your, your podcast could be the tree for all of
Speaker:your content and all the rest of the other content branches off of that.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:This way of looking at it is you're not, I mean, yes, there will be extra, you
Speaker:will be spending extra time doing some of the things, but your content will
Speaker:be, your podcast, sorry, will be your long form content for your business.
Speaker:And then all the other pieces of content can come off of your podcast.
Speaker:So you are not reinventing the wheel here.
Speaker:I'm sure in your business, unless you're fairly new to your business,
Speaker:You will have a lot of content already that you could use for your podcast.
Speaker:So don't think of it as a separate, separate thing to your business.
Speaker:Think of it as part of your marketing, part of your business.
Speaker:So number two, why do you want to start a podcast?
Speaker:Think about all the reasons why you do want to start a podcast.
Speaker:Don't, I mean, podcasts are very popular.
Speaker:They are quite trendy to have a podcast.
Speaker:Lots of, you know, ex TV talent are, you know, having a
Speaker:podcast and things like that.
Speaker:And there are lots of people out there having podcasts for their business.
Speaker:And I think it's an incredibly valuable tool to have for your business.
Speaker:Obviously I'm biased because I love podcasts and that is what I do.
Speaker:But You need to, you know, look at the benefits of podcasting.
Speaker:What are the benefits of podcasting for your business?
Speaker:Increase visibility, building your, a deeper connection with your audience.
Speaker:Make streamlining your marketing, making your marketing easier in terms of creating
Speaker:one piece of long form content and pulling all the rest of content over it
Speaker:instead of creating lots of little pieces and not having that long form content.
Speaker:So think about your why and then.
Speaker:Importantly, think about who is your podcast for?
Speaker:You need to have somebody in mind as your ideal listener.
Speaker:Now, your podcast is going to You know, if you're listening to this, you're a
Speaker:woman in business like myself and your podcast is going to be the same as your
Speaker:ideal client because your podcast being an extension of your business and your
Speaker:marketing, you're going to be talking to the people that you're going to help in
Speaker:your business, help transform, transform their business or transform their lives
Speaker:depending on what it is that you're doing.
Speaker:So you need to think about that person.
Speaker:Who is that person?
Speaker:What?
Speaker:pain points do they have?
Speaker:Just like you do for the, you should be doing for the rest of your marketing.
Speaker:Your podcast is for them.
Speaker:It's, it's not a place where you can get on your soapbox and talk
Speaker:at people and expect everyone to engage with your content.
Speaker:You want to be creating something brilliant and
Speaker:adding value to your audience.
Speaker:What are your goals with your podcast?
Speaker:What do you want to achieve by starting a podcast?
Speaker:So I talked, I suppose this is kind of, this is similar to why
Speaker:do you want to start a podcast?
Speaker:The benefits of podcasting really like the type of goals, you know, you
Speaker:want to build authority, increase your brand awareness, and then think about
Speaker:how you can measure that success.
Speaker:In the blog series, I go into a little bit about smart goals and thinking about it.
Speaker:Ways to quantify your podcast in terms of, you know, would you like your
Speaker:podcast to bring you in more leads?
Speaker:Would you like your podcast to reach you more people?
Speaker:How are you going to measure that success?
Speaker:And success doesn't always have to be numbers.
Speaker:So, for example, for me, The main reason why I wanted to start this podcast is,
Speaker:well, first, I really wanted to start a podcast because I love podcasting.
Speaker:And B, I know that everyone can't afford to outsource their podcast.
Speaker:It's not possible.
Speaker:You know, there are lots of things I'd like to outsource in my business, but
Speaker:I don't have the finances to do so.
Speaker:So I listen to podcasts, I consume content to help me do that.
Speaker:So this, I want this podcast to be helping you If you want to do your podcast by
Speaker:yourself, you can listen to my podcast episodes and get that information there.
Speaker:And for me, that is a single biggest goal that I want to have.
Speaker:So when someone tells me that they listen to my podcast and it's helped them,
Speaker:to me, that is a success, regardless of how many downloads or listens or
Speaker:whatever metrics there are out there.
Speaker:So think about what does success look like for you, because it does look different
Speaker:for every business and for every person.
Speaker:Then let's think about.
Speaker:What is it going to be about?
Speaker:So going back to who your ideal client is, your ideal audience, thinking
Speaker:about things they want to hear about.
Speaker:So brainstorming ideas that can be turned into topics.
Speaker:I recommend that you can head to answerthepublic.
Speaker:com.
Speaker:You may or may not have heard of this, so you can use a free version
Speaker:where you can put in a search term.
Speaker:So like, you know, for example, How do I start a podcast?
Speaker:And it comes up with all the different search terms that people have been using.
Speaker:So then answer those questions.
Speaker:These, you know, these might be frequently asked questions that people
Speaker:are asking you every day in your business.
Speaker:So for example, with this podcast, when I first started it, I thought of
Speaker:all the questions that somebody might have when they were starting podcasts.
Speaker:How do I record?
Speaker:What do I need to think about?
Speaker:How do I edit?
Speaker:How do I upload?
Speaker:Where do I upload it to?
Speaker:All of those types of questions.
Speaker:And then I answered those in podcast episodes.
Speaker:That is a great starting place for you.
Speaker:And also if you have been in business for a while, then have a little
Speaker:look at you have been doing for your clients and the transformations that
Speaker:you've made in your business and think about how you can, you know, You
Speaker:know, articulate that into a podcast.
Speaker:Then you need to consider the frequency, length and style of your podcast.
Speaker:Podcasts are extremely accessible, accessible and flexible.
Speaker:So you can make the podcast, how you do it, fit in with your business.
Speaker:So do you want to start a weekly podcast?
Speaker:This is, you know, quite a big commitment.
Speaker:You have to commit to releasing an episode or you might want to commit.
Speaker:To release the episode every week, every month, every two
Speaker:weeks or a limited series.
Speaker:For example, now I am doing a seasonal podcast.
Speaker:So this season will comprise of nine episodes and I
Speaker:release them every two weeks.
Speaker:And then I'll be taking hiatus over the summer and then back in
Speaker:September up until the new year.
Speaker:So think about how you can make your podcast work for you.
Speaker:You don't have to just, if it's too much for you to start a
Speaker:weekly podcast and that's it.
Speaker:You.
Speaker:Quote unquote doing it forever.
Speaker:That's not how it has to be.
Speaker:So think about the different ways and how you can make podcasting fit in with you.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:Also, people ask questions like, you know, what's the ideal listener length?
Speaker:It depends.
Speaker:I know that's not very helpful.
Speaker:It depends.
Speaker:There's lots of stats out there talking about, you know, average podcast
Speaker:episode length being 20 to 40 minutes.
Speaker:I think it does depend on what you want to achieve with your podcast.
Speaker:So I love a short, actionable podcast.
Speaker:There's a lady Hilary Salzman, who did come on last season and
Speaker:she has the Everyday Storyteller.
Speaker:So her way is, she releases Five to 10 minute episode, Monday to Friday.
Speaker:And she tackles a different part of storytelling and she has, she tells
Speaker:a story, she has an actual tip.
Speaker:That is the way that, and I think it's a brilliant way of doing her podcast.
Speaker:So think about, think outside the box in the way that you could do those podcasts.
Speaker:If you're having guests on, you need to consider, you know, do you want,
Speaker:are your listeners going to listen to an hour of you talking to a guest?
Speaker:And this comes back to.
Speaker:The content and thinking about what it is you want to achieve in that episode.
Speaker:So making sure that the episode is.
Speaker:You know, full of the type of things that your ideal listener wants to hear.
Speaker:So they, they very well may listen to the whole episode.
Speaker:So there's no right or wrong answer here, but it comes back to thinking
Speaker:about the relevance of your episode to your listener and making sure
Speaker:that the timeframe fits in with that.
Speaker:Like I, there's a podcast that I listen to that's maybe an hour and a half long.
Speaker:I don't often listen to it all in one go, but I do go back to it, but I know
Speaker:everything in there is relevant to me.
Speaker:That's what I want to hear.
Speaker:So that I think is the key is to make your content as relevant as
Speaker:possible to keep people coming back.
Speaker:You can also choose to do solo episodes, co host, interview style, a mix.
Speaker:So this is a solo episode.
Speaker:I don't often do solo episodes anymore, but this is a second one in this season.
Speaker:And then I have interview style.
Speaker:I love having somebody on to talk to, to bounce off.
Speaker:Have that great conversation.
Speaker:And also I always learn something from my guests as well, which is great for
Speaker:me, but I also think it helps bring out a great conversation and the content
Speaker:in a fun and conversational way.
Speaker:So, you know, think about how, what best way you could get across your content,
Speaker:whether it's yourself, solo co hosting or.
Speaker:With guests.
Speaker:So once you have your, your content in place, you need
Speaker:to think about the branding.
Speaker:How is it going to look?
Speaker:This is an important part as well.
Speaker:Thinking about what is going to be your podcast cover art, whether
Speaker:you're going to choose to have individual episode art as well.
Speaker:So for this podcast, I have a main cover art and then for each episode,
Speaker:I have a different cover art for each episode with the picture of each guest.
Speaker:and the title on there.
Speaker:Keeping it consistent with your overall branding.
Speaker:So linking back to having it for your, for your business.
Speaker:I did actually create separate branding for my podcast.
Speaker:So I have different colors to my business, but they, they do link together.
Speaker:And I have often thought about potentially changing one or the other.
Speaker:So that is, it is all the same.
Speaker:So but there are just things to, to think about there.
Speaker:Most of you, I would imagine, you're women in business, you
Speaker:would know about Canva, but if you haven't, you should be using it.
Speaker:I use it for all of my graphic design.
Speaker:There are lots of templates and things out there.
Speaker:You can set a brand palette, so you can adjust templates
Speaker:to fit in with your own brand.
Speaker:There's lots of ideas there as well.
Speaker:And I think that you should probably have your face on there because
Speaker:you are the face of your business, you're the face of your podcast and
Speaker:keeping it fairly simple as well.
Speaker:Remember the size in terms of when you're looking at your phone
Speaker:or podcast app, how much can you see of other people's cover art?
Speaker:Have a little look through Spotify or Apple podcasts to see, you know,
Speaker:what other people are doing as well.
Speaker:And see how you can incorporate some of those designs for yourself.
Speaker:Promotion and marketing plan.
Speaker:Think about how you're going to promote.
Speaker:And market your, your, your podcast.
Speaker:There are lots of different ways to do this.
Speaker:You can use social media.
Speaker:You can, as I talked a bit about earlier, about turning your podcast
Speaker:episodes into smaller forms of content.
Speaker:So you can create captions from your episodes, audio clips, video clips,
Speaker:if you're recording it, turn these into reels, TikToks, everything.
Speaker:Type of content you can imagine you can do.
Speaker:But I think when it comes terms to the, the writing, the captions is
Speaker:to, to try and do it in a unique way.
Speaker:Don't do it like, mm, this is me listen to my episode.
Speaker:It needs to be more creative in terms of can you share something that you learn?
Speaker:Can you share the key takeaways from the episodes?
Speaker:If you have a guest, can you share a funny anecdote of something that happened?
Speaker:And don't just post once and that's the only, that's the only other time people
Speaker:are going to know about the episode.
Speaker:Make sure you're repurposing it, sharing it multiple times, sharing it with your
Speaker:email newsletter, sharing it with friends.
Speaker:Maybe there's someone you know that would really benefit from that episode.
Speaker:Those kind of ways are really, really important.
Speaker:Great to get your episodes out there.
Speaker:I know a lady, Loretta Milan, who came on this season with the Origineur podcast.
Speaker:And if she meets somebody and they're having a conversation and she's kind
Speaker:of like, Oh, I've talked about this, my podcast, let me send you the episode.
Speaker:I think that's a fantastic way to promote your own podcast, but also
Speaker:really show that, A, you're listening to the person when they're telling
Speaker:you about things they might be doing.
Speaker:Be coming up against in their business or in their personal life
Speaker:and, and being able to recommend an episode that will help them.
Speaker:I think that's, again, this is helping form that deeper connection.
Speaker:I really think that's such a fantastic way to share and promote your podcast.
Speaker:So that comes to the end of the podcast playbook that I have, but I
Speaker:do have a little checklist at the end.
Speaker:Some other things that you obviously need to think about
Speaker:when you're doing your podcast.
Speaker:So naming your podcast, looking at a hosting platform and then distributing
Speaker:your podcast, checking that you've got the right equipment, microphone, headphones,
Speaker:not that they all have to be expensive.
Speaker:You don't need expensive equipment to start a podcast, but
Speaker:nonetheless, audio is important.
Speaker:It is important to record.
Speaker:As good audio as you can, because otherwise it just gets very distracting
Speaker:for listeners and may put people off.
Speaker:But again, this doesn't have to be an expensive exercise.
Speaker:The recording software for this episode, I'm actually trying out Squadcast.
Speaker:I usually record on Riverside.
Speaker:fm, but recently you may or may not have heard of Descript.
Speaker:And Squad, Descript I think they merge with Squadcast and with my package
Speaker:with the So I'm giving it a try out for this episode, just to see what
Speaker:it's like and, you know, compare the quality and the ease of the
Speaker:dashboard and the ease of recording.
Speaker:So far it's going good.
Speaker:So you'd also need to look at some editing software, record a
Speaker:trailer, an intro and outro for your podcast, confirm your launch date.
Speaker:Commit to it.
Speaker:Create a timeline and plan for all the works complete.
Speaker:So taking into consideration everything we've talked about
Speaker:here from this playbook, creating.
Speaker:So once you've got your time, your launch date, you can work backwards
Speaker:for your, you know, your pre launch promotion and all of those types
Speaker:of things, get everything ready.
Speaker:I would say you don't have to, because it can Of course be done, not that far
Speaker:in advance, but if you are able to, to have episodes in the bank, planned out
Speaker:your content, you've got your promotion materials to go out, it will just make
Speaker:everything go that bit smoother and allow you that extra grace for when times
Speaker:are busy and you aren't able to do it.
Speaker:So those things are really important to think about.
Speaker:And then launching it out to the world.
Speaker:So I hope that process has been clear for you.
Speaker:Again, like I mentioned at the beginning, this is available as a
Speaker:PDF, so you can download it for free.
Speaker:I will pop the link in the show notes for you to be able to do that.
Speaker:And also the link to the blog series, if you'd like to take a look at that as well.
Speaker:Somebody asked, how much is it likely to cost?
Speaker:Well, You can pretty much start a podcast for free.
Speaker:So you may have a mic.
Speaker:Everyone's got a phone and a computer.
Speaker:I mean, I know people that have started a podcast on their
Speaker:phone and it has sounded fine.
Speaker:So you can start it very low cost.
Speaker:You could use a host like Spotify for podcasters.
Speaker:You can record on, I mean, a I think Squadcast has a free package.
Speaker:A few of my clients use Zoom.
Speaker:A lot of people use Zoom for their business as well.
Speaker:So you can use a recording software like that and just take into consideration
Speaker:your recording environment, which you should anyway, but just that
Speaker:extra bit, turn off notifications, don't record in a room that's just
Speaker:made of hard floors and hard walls.
Speaker:You know, sending that, those considerations onto your guests as well.
Speaker:I do think that having a mic and headphones is.
Speaker:quite important and you can pick up mics for fairly cheap.
Speaker:My own one was on an Amazon Prime day.
Speaker:It's a Behringer Bigfoot mic and I love this mic.
Speaker:I definitely noticed the difference in audio quality from when I was using.
Speaker:I had a radio mic.
Speaker:My husband is a sound engineer, so he had mics lying around, but I did
Speaker:notice the difference in the quality.
Speaker:And when I started using an online studio compared to Zoom, the audio
Speaker:quality is just that much better.
Speaker:That bit better.
Speaker:Riverside.
Speaker:fm do also offer a free package.
Speaker:It's two hours free a month.
Speaker:I think if you're recording video, it has a Riverside watermark, but if you're
Speaker:just recording audio, it's not a problem, you'll get two hours free a month.
Speaker:So that's something to consider as well.
Speaker:So you can get, I would recommend wearing headphones, wired
Speaker:headphones, not Bluetooth ones.
Speaker:I found there was a delay in Bluetooth headphones.
Speaker:And I also think that the headphones should be plugged into
Speaker:your mic so that you can hear.
Speaker:So if you're doing a solo episode, you'll be able to hear yourself in
Speaker:your headphones through your mic and you'll also be able to hear any other
Speaker:noises if you're banging the desk, perhaps with some bracelets or, you
Speaker:know, fiddling with the wire that can cause noises in the recording.
Speaker:So you can, you can hear some of these things in your headphones.
Speaker:Also with your guests, you're able to hear them better and also detect people.
Speaker:Possibly something coming out of their end.
Speaker:So it just makes the recording experience better and helps
Speaker:with the quality of the audio.
Speaker:You can just use the in ear buds with a cord and plug those in.
Speaker:If you have those, I'd say.
Speaker:99% of people have those type of headphones li lying around.
Speaker:Or the headphones that I wear, I think there are Sony headphones, but
Speaker:they were about 10 pounds on Amazon.
Speaker:Again, you could wait for an Amazon Prime day or something
Speaker:like that to get a discount.
Speaker:So I would say below a hundred pounds you'd be able to get
Speaker:yourself a mic and headphones.
Speaker:That will make all the difference to your recording editing software.
Speaker:There are free editing softwares out there I use.
Speaker:Software called audacity, which is free.
Speaker:I do feel there is a bit of a learning curve with this.
Speaker:But it is not impossible to learn.
Speaker:I taught myself how to use it.
Speaker:Some of the podcast hosting platforms allow you to record
Speaker:and edit within the platforms.
Speaker:When I've edited within those type of platforms, I found it
Speaker:very clunky and hard to do.
Speaker:You can edit in platforms like Riverside as well, and Descript,
Speaker:they edit through the words.
Speaker:Although I must say, that's like AI technology, although I must
Speaker:say, I don't feel like it edits as cleanly as if you do it on Audacity.
Speaker:This is, I edit.
Speaker:professionally for a living.
Speaker:So I would always prefer to use something like Audacity and not the AI, but people I
Speaker:know that are under time constraints, cost constraints, using something like Descript
Speaker:or Inside Riverside is a great option.
Speaker:If you were to outsource your podcast, then to someone like me,
Speaker:who's a podcast manager, then It just depends on how much or what, what
Speaker:it is that you want to outsource.
Speaker:So for example, I offer different packages depending on how often your podcast is.
Speaker:You know, if you're doing a weekly podcast, it might cost you 700
Speaker:a month or up to 1, 200 a month.
Speaker:This is my packages for a weekly podcast.
Speaker:But this includes editing, setting up hosting platform, distribute your podcast,
Speaker:trailers, intros and outros, show notes.
Speaker:Ongoing monthly support and planning and also the done for you digital content.
Speaker:What people offer will vary depending on the amount of pieces
Speaker:that you want to outsource.
Speaker:I do also offer edit only packages if that's something
Speaker:that people are interested in.
Speaker:So prices do differ and it isn't, you know, it isn't cheap because there is a
Speaker:lot of things to do and it does take time.
Speaker:But you just need to think about if you're thinking about outsourcing
Speaker:is if you were to spend that time in your business doing it yourself.
Speaker:If you outsource that part to somebody else and you had a client take that
Speaker:space, would that pay for, that's one way to look at it, would it pay for it?
Speaker:So I'm not saying you should outsource.
Speaker:If you are happy to do it yourself, you absolutely can do it yourself.
Speaker:And I am, you know, a big advocate of there not being any barriers for
Speaker:podcasting because if you want to DIY your podcast, you absolutely can.
Speaker:And I'm sure that you will make a great podcast, but for those of you that do
Speaker:want some help, there are people out there like myself that can help and
Speaker:support you with different elements.
Speaker:Of your podcast, how do you get the podcast onto various lists
Speaker:for listening to, so this is to do with the distribution.
Speaker:So once you upload your podcast to your hosting platform, you will
Speaker:get an RSS feed, which is the code for your podcast, and then you
Speaker:connect it up to the different apps.
Speaker:So if, for example, if you're using something like Spotify for podcasters,
Speaker:once you publish an episode, you will automatically be added to Spotify.
Speaker:In the distribution list, you will see all the different other types
Speaker:of apps that you can be added to.
Speaker:So Apple podcasts, Google podcasts is no longer a thing.
Speaker:They are, they, the app is defunct now and it has been taken over by YouTube.
Speaker:They want to amalgamate into YouTube music.
Speaker:At this point in time, I'm not entirely sure what it looks like.
Speaker:You can actually add your RSS feed, claim it on YouTube, but I am not
Speaker:sure on what kind of analytics and things like that are in.
Speaker:You know, the benefits of doing that, but you can have your app, you can
Speaker:have your podcast on Amazon Music.
Speaker:You can have your podcast on SoundCloud, CastBox, there are a few different
Speaker:other kind of smaller indie apps that you can get your podcast out onto.
Speaker:With Apple, all you need to do is have an Apple ID and create
Speaker:a free Apple Connect account.
Speaker:And once you have published an episode, and I recommend that you publish a trailer
Speaker:first, before you publish your episode so that you get your RSS feed and you
Speaker:can connect up the distribution prior to launching your podcast because it makes
Speaker:it a lot smoother on the launch end.
Speaker:SoundCloud And then you enter your RSS feed into Apple connect or the different
Speaker:apps that when it requires it, some will auto connect, some won't, you'll have to
Speaker:create a free account and it will pull all your information from your host,
Speaker:whether that's Spotify podcasters or some of the other platforms like I use
Speaker:captivate, it will pull the information from there where you set it all up.
Speaker:And then your podcast will be, they'll approve it and then it'll
Speaker:be out there on Apple Podcasts.
Speaker:And then every time you update it with an episode, it will sync
Speaker:and then they'll be out there.
Speaker:So it's fairly simple.
Speaker:It's fairly simple process to do.
Speaker:A little bit of opening, you know, some free accounts and connecting it up,
Speaker:but it's, it's a fairly simple process.
Speaker:And the last question is ingredients of a good podcast.
Speaker:So I have touched on this a bit earlier when I talked about your ideal client
Speaker:or your ideal audience and creating the content that is relevant for them.
Speaker:I think the content is the most important thing.
Speaker:The top thing you should be thinking about is your ideal listener.
Speaker:And creating the content that they want to hear and don't create content
Speaker:that you want or you think they want to hear know and understand who will be
Speaker:listening to your podcast and create the content that will be relevant for them.
Speaker:And then creating as good audio as you can so that you are not putting
Speaker:people off who are listening.
Speaker:and have some best practices in place.
Speaker:Think about your recording environment.
Speaker:If you're inviting guests on, perhaps if those guests have not, don't really
Speaker:feature on podcasts, how can you make their experience with you a good
Speaker:one and get good audio out of them?
Speaker:Simple things often find is shutting the doors so no one interrupts and the dogs
Speaker:don't, you don't hear the dogs barking.
Speaker:You shut the windows, you turn off all your notifications, you.
Speaker:You know, have a meeting with them beforehand to try and
Speaker:see, have they got a mic?
Speaker:Have they got some headphones with a mic in it?
Speaker:All those kinds of things that can make your audio sound The editing
Speaker:process as well, I do feel like you don't have to cut out every and ah.
Speaker:I do say a lot when I'm recording and I do edit a lot of those out.
Speaker:But you need to think about the flow of the conversation.
Speaker:Whether it's you talking by yourself, with your co hosts, with an interview,
Speaker:if you over edit things, it will sound too clipped, not natural.
Speaker:So listen back to what you are editing and see whether or not The conversation flows.
Speaker:Don't say if there's someone's taking their time answering and
Speaker:there's a little pause, don't feel like you have to cut that pause
Speaker:out so it answers really quickly.
Speaker:You know, when you're, I tend to do, to when I'm editing and when I'm editing for
Speaker:my clients as well, I tend to close my eyes and listen back to it and feel like,
Speaker:Does it make sense or does it feel like it's too big a gap to have that there?
Speaker:So this is a skill that does come with the more things that you edit.
Speaker:You can have a fairly raw podcast as well.
Speaker:There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker:I do listen to a lot of podcasts that aren't, aren't over edited,
Speaker:which is absolutely fine.
Speaker:But I think that you just have to listen back to your podcast and not be.
Speaker:overcritical of the way that you sound because we all don't like
Speaker:the way that we sound when we first start recording podcasts.
Speaker:I have got a lot more used to my voice and how it sounds now, but just
Speaker:think about the flow and how it would sound and put yourself in, in, in
Speaker:someone else's shoes that's listening.
Speaker:That's it for this episode.
Speaker:I hope you found this episode useful and that I have Answered those
Speaker:questions with enough information.
Speaker:If you do have any more questions, please get in touch with me.
Speaker:I would love to know what you thought of the episode.
Speaker:And if I haven't answered one of your burning podcast questions, please feel
Speaker:free to email me or connect with me on LinkedIn and send me a message.
Speaker:I will pull the links to those in the show notes.
Speaker:I also want to just add on that if you are thinking about starting your
Speaker:podcast and you are still feeling a little bit overwhelmed and you've
Speaker:downloaded the podcast playbook and you still feel a little bit unsure
Speaker:about how to get forward, or you want a little bit, maybe you want a little
Speaker:bit more knowledge about the tech.
Speaker:the software, the, the hosting platforms and those kinds of things.
Speaker:I do offer podcast strategy sessions, which are 90 minutes where you can come
Speaker:and ask me anything you want really.
Speaker:Whether you like, like I said, whether it's to do with the tech
Speaker:to do with helping you put a plan together, helping you sort out
Speaker:your content, anything like that.
Speaker:The sessions get recorded and transcribed and sent to you afterwards to keep.
Speaker:Also no frantic note taking whilst you are in the session.
Speaker:All I ask is that if you just let me know what you want to.
Speaker:To do in the session beforehand so that I can be prepared and you'll
Speaker:get the most out of your 90 minutes.
Speaker:I've done a few of these now and I'm really seeing the benefits
Speaker:that it's having my clients that are coming along to these.
Speaker:So I will again, leave the link in the show notes for you to check out a little
Speaker:bit more on my website about those.
Speaker:I do also offer a 30 minute free consultation, a 30 minute free
Speaker:session for you to come and get some personalized advice as well.
Speaker:So please take advantage of that.
Speaker:Thanks so much for listening and I'll see you in next episode.
Speaker:Thanks for listening to the show.
Speaker:If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website.
Speaker:If you liked the episode, then I'd love it.
Speaker:If you could leave me a review in your chosen podcast app, your
Speaker:feedback is much appreciated.
Speaker:See you next time.
