Podcast Essentials: Your Guide to Planning, Launching, and Growing Your Show
What questions do you want to answer to get your podcast plans moving...
What can I outsource? How much time does it take? What software can I use? In this week's episode, I'm answering these questions.
Thank you to everyone who sent in their questions.
If you're looking for the answer to the specific questions below, there is a handy time stamp next to the question.
If you have questions that I haven't answered, then please fill out this form to get featured in Part 2 later this season.
How much dedication a week is a podcast? [01.16m]
What elements can you outsource? [03.24m]
How long does it take to plan and launch a podcast? [04.50m]
What is the basic kit you need to get started? [05.32m]
What tech stack is involved with podcasting? [08.43m]
How does podcasting increase your subscriber list? [18.14m]
How long is the ultimate time a podcast should be? [19.00]
Any tips and knowledge to make podcasting easier and how to get it out there? [20.48m]
Transcript
[00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to podcasting one on one with Rachael. This podcast is for busy female entrepreneurs who run their own businesses and want to start a podcast or who may already have a podcast. I want to share practical information and tips on how you can get your podcast started and managing it along the way.
I'll also be interviewing other female podcast hosts to give you real insight into what it's like.
Hi everyone, and welcome to this week's episode. This week, I'll be answering your questions about podcasting. I want to thank everyone who submitted their questions and a special shout out to my fellow WIBN members, Jenny, Sarah, [00:01:00] Bev and Amanda. And my podcast partner in crime, Sarah McDowell. So thank you very much for submitting your questions.
This is part one of two episodes. So there will be another episode going out in this season. So let's answer the first question. How much dedication a week is a podcast? This can vary. depending on the frequency of your episodes and if you're going to be doing a continuous podcast compared to seasons or series.
On average, I spend at least four hours per episode after the planning. This includes recording, editing, scheduling, writing show notes, pulling clips and making audiograms, writing social media captions and scheduling them, writing an email newsletter, and adding the podcast to the website. So this does vary from episode to episode and This is just kind of like a ballpark amount of hours that you can spend [00:02:00] on an episode.
I've changed the frequency of my podcast to seasons rather than continuous every other week. So when I initially started, I planned out 12 months’ worth of episodes, just the titles, then batched the episodes every four weeks, and then I fleshed them out and I did all the steps that I mentioned before. I would say you probably need to dedicate a day or two to come up with your initial plan and then come up with the topics to get your initial planning out.
This again is, um, It's very personal to the way that you work. You know, you may not be able to have time to set aside a whole day. Perhaps, you know, it wouldn't take you that long. You're already brimming with ideas. I think this is a little bit ambiguous to say, but I spent some time planning this season at the beginning of the year.
So I would say I had two half days to plan out the season and think about who was going to come on as my guests and what ideas I could do for episodes. And [00:03:00] then Continue that along the way, booking in the guests and things like that as, as they've come up. When you are planning though, you will need to know who your ideal listener is so that you can come up with a relevant topic.
So if you haven't done this piece of work and this is your first podcast, you're launching your first few episodes, this is an important step that you need to take first. What elements can you outsource? So outsourcing, as we know, will free up more time in your schedule for client work and creating the content in the first place.
You can outsource all of the elements of your podcast except the original conception and content. This needs to be done by you or a collaboration between you and your podcast manager if they're offering that kind of support to you. Your podcast is part of your marketing strategy, so it needs to flow with other parts of your business and not be a standalone piece.
So here's an idea of the different elements that you could outsource for your podcast [00:04:00] or get support in. Planning and strategy. Content, which is collaboration, editing, uploading and scheduling, setting up the podcast host and distribution, show notes, and digital content. So this is all of your promotional content for marketing, your cover art, audiogram graphics, creating clips, captions, all of that, all of that stuff.
Uh, guest management and scheduling. You can outsource as much as you like from these different elements. You can outsource all of them. Or parts of them. This is what I do as a podcast manager for my business. So I help my clients with all of these elements, not all of them at once. Some I just do some editing for, some I do some marketing for.
So it just depends on what kind of support that you're looking for. How long does it take to plan and launch a podcast? Great question. Again, this can vary on what type of podcast you want to [00:05:00] create. As I said earlier. It's very doable to launch a podcast in six to eight weeks, but there needs to be a lot of focus and commitment during that time.
You need to consider that if you want to have guests, it may take you longer as you need to factor in their schedule as well as your own. The work needs to be done in order to clarify who your ideal client is and what they will find relevant to do it in a way that's authentic to you. It's key to do this work before you hit record so that your podcast is as successful as possible.
What's the basic kit you need to get started? Okay. So if you really, if you wanted to, you could start this on your phone. So, I know people that have done this, you can start it on your phone. You can do it on your phone, and then when you're recording you just make sure that you are making the best of your time.
environment to make the audio sound as well, as good as you can. [00:06:00] I would recommend though, a laptop, a mic, and headphones. I mean, as business owners, I imagine, you know, everybody has a laptop, a computer, and you can get some low-cost headset mics or standalone mics. I use a Behringer mic and I got that for £50 on Amazon.
It was an Amazon Prime Day, so I think it's about 90 usually. But there are different Um, microphones that you can get. I was doing some research for a client and there are some very reasonable headset mics. Like a call centre type mic headset.
I'm sure you all know what that is. And that's, they're quite good as well because the mic is, you know, near to your mouth. So it's going to pick up that sound and not pick up a lot of the other outside sound. However you do have to be careful of the cable that you don't bang it with anything like that because it picks it up when you bang it.
Um, again, I would recommend headphones. These [00:07:00] just improve the overall sound quality. Quality of the audio, you plug the headphones into your microphone and then you can hear if there is any external noises or if you bang the desk, you can really hear it through your headphones. So it's just a way to, it's just an extra way to, to get your audio sounding as good as possible.
You can use Zoom or an online studio to record. That's very easy. So a lot of, everyone has access to Zoom. So you can, even on the free account, I know it's um, They limit the time now, well, they limit the time, but if you really needed to, you could do it in two parts, there's nothing wrong with that, depending on what your budget is.
If it's not on your budget to pay for it, there are things you can do. There are online recording studios, so for example, like I've said before, I record on Riverside. fm. That is an online studio. So [00:08:00] they do have a free version, I think. There are other options like Squadcast and Zencaster. They just record the audio at a better quality than Zoom or Teams might do, but that being said, you can tweak the settings in Zoom and Teams to get better audio and, you know, improve your environment as well, which you should be doing anyway, just to make sure that you don't get interrupted.
Um, you know, simple things like turning your notifications off on your phone so you've not got them binging away whilst you're talking or having the window open so you can hear trucks and sirens and things going by. So there are little things that you can do that don't cost any money. Next question. What tech stack is involved with podcasting?
So, you can have as much or as little kind of as you want, I, I think. Um, you can keep it simple or you can have lots of extra software. So, this is just what I recommend and what I do for myself. [00:09:00] Well, you need a hosting, a podcast hosting platform, that is. 100 percent definite. So a few of those are Captivate, which is what I use.
This is a paid platform, but it has lots of great features to use, like episode planning, and monetization features. You can send a link out directly from the platform to your guests. You can put dynamic ads in there. There are lots of things there that can help you. Um, streamline all your podcasting processes so you don't have to keep leaving to go to different platforms.
So that is the advantage of having that software. There is Spotify for Podcasters which is free, which a lot of my clients use and I used to when I first started out in my podcast. And this again is, is a great place. Patreon has recently integrated with Spotify for Podcasters. So if you're looking to get monetization with subscriptions in the future, that's something that you can do with Spotify.
Uh uh, some other, the ones [00:10:00] are Ali two, Libsyn, buzz Sprout. There are quite a lot of different platforms. I seem to always come across new ones that I hadn't heard of. A lady I know, Bev, uh, WIBN, num member Bev Denham. She hosts a Pilates podcast on Audio Boom, which I hadn't heard before.
So I would just recommend that you do your research when it comes to this and chat with people that you know may have a podcast and can talk about their hosts as well to you. Recording software, like I've just answered in the previous question, there are lots of free options and paid options there. So you need a recording software, you need something to record into.
I would highly recommend an email marketing platform to start making an email list. This can be your first step. Encourage your subscribers to subscribe to your email marketing. This allows you to capture that information and have it offline. Whether you've got more people following you on your social media, be that Instagram, Facebook, [00:11:00] X, I suppose, not Twitter.
LinkedIn, those can be lost or go away. And the same can be said for followers on Spotify. I recently read an article about a creator that for some reason, um, Spotify had deemed their account had broken some rules. They deleted it, and she had some monetization as well. And the money was gone. I mean, they have worked to get those back and she got refunded the money, but Everybody was unsubscribed, so it's trying to get all those people to resubscribe.
So, you know, even though, you know, it was a mistake and it can happen and, um, you know, Spotify do, do their best to try and get those back. It's still a major inconvenience. Whereas if you've encouraged as many people as possible to join your email list, then this can be Like a really great, uh, way for you to stay in contact with them without, you know, you own that list.
So, I use MailerLite, it has a [00:12:00] great free version, and this is what I use, I use the free version, I don't have You know, more than a thousand subscribers at the moment, so this works really well for me. There are other options, obviously, like MailChimp is a really popular one. I'm not so sure the free version's so great on MailChimp.
I have to say, I do prefer Mailerlite, but there are also some really great ones like Active Campaign and flow desks. I know people that use those and they really love them, so they are paid platforms. So have a little look out there, depending on what your budget is. You need a social media account and a scheduler.
So social media accounts, I think everybody here, everyone listening will have a social media account. But a scheduler, just to make your life easier. I mean, there is always that, you know, native first is scheduled. And by now Elaine Walsh McGrath's episode would have come out. She touched on this a little bit during her episode talking about LinkedIn and making an impact.
If it makes your life easier, and it certainly makes my life easier, yeah. I would use a scheduler. [00:13:00] So you can use something like Buffer, which is free. I think you can connect three different channels to that. If you have Facebook and Instagram, you can use the Meta Business Suite, which I've always found to be great because what the advantage of using something like that over Buffer is if you want to mention your guests, you can do that within Meta.
LinkedIn now has a scheduler in the platform, which I think is brilliant. This is what I use. You can mention the people in your posts and then schedule them. And that was my big, one of my biggest bugbears about using an outside scheduler was that I had to go back into the post and mention the person and if you have guests, if you don't have guests this might not, this is not an issue for you can use something like Buffer but if you do have a guest it is just a tiny little bugbear that just makes things, if you could just mention them it makes things so much easier.
So there you go, I would totally recommend doing that. I would consider something like Airtable, like a project management tool like Airtable, Trello, Asana to [00:14:00] keep track of your episodes and your information. I have used Trello with clients and this works really well. You can lay out Where all the episodes are and have all the tasks and things like that.
So you can have that for yourself. I am currently using Airtable after the recommendation of Hayley Hudson, business bestie. She raves about Airtable. So I decided to move a lot of my things over and also processes for my business over to Airtable as well. So I have a form where I can put in the episodes, the tasks that need to be done, links to copy and things like that. So it just keeps everything really clear. It's really clear what needs to get done, and what you need to do next. So you don't have to worry about where you're at with your podcast. So that is really good, you don't have to have this piece of tech stack because you could do this in a spreadsheet if you wanted to, but it's just important to use something to make sure that you know exactly what is going on with your podcast and where you are with the [00:15:00] episodes.
A website. This is not a prerequisite though. You don't have to have a website to have a podcast. In fact, if you use Captivate as your host and you don't have a website, you can get a webpage with, with Captivate for your podcast and it's great. It's laid out really nice. You can customize it with your colours, you can add links and things like that.
So. That would be, if that's something you don't have, um, a website and you want to use, you want to have a website for your podcast, you could use Captivate. But I have a website and I know a lot of business owners also have websites as well. So I would advise you to put your podcast on your website.
You can display them like blog posts. And this will increase the SEO for your website as well, because you're adding new long-form content to it. Canva, I would say it's an absolute must to do your cover art and all your graphics. I mean, everybody I know knows, uses and loves Canva. So that was probably already a given.[00:16:00]
I would suggest using a tool like Headliner. Now this is an app to make audiograms. Uh, just quickly in case there's anybody missing here that doesn't know what an audiogram is. It's a static graphic and you have a clip of your audio from your. Podcasts that resonates with your audience. So you can use that to promote across all the different platforms.
And this is my favourite one because they are fully customized. It integrates with Canva as well. And what I have recently discovered after chatting with Elissa Craig, who is the head of marketing for Headliner. they have a new AI tool that came out in the last few months called Eddy. So you can upload depending on what level of account that you have, cause they have a free account and they have two different versions of paid.
You can upload your files and they will come up with the transcription, the show notes with quotes They will help you clip audiograms [00:17:00] automatically now I've just been using it today to edit a client's episode and actually It was really, really helpful. I have used Descript to help me do those kind of things in the past.
But actually, it was really useful. So, I would recommend that or having a play around with that. Because it's really, really made me stop and think about maybe I need to change my process. So, there we go. And if you're having guests, I would recommend using a scheduling software like Calendly. I'm going to show you how to create a link for Microsoft Bookings to manage your guests, because it just makes it so much easier to send a link out to people and say, you know, if they once they've agreed to come on your show, send them a link and you can have all that information they can customize it.
So in mine, I have a link, instead of having a link to like Zoom or Teams, I have the link to Riverside. And I. Put in some little tips about recording surroundings, and I also include a little link to an Airtable form where I'd like them to give me their [00:18:00] information for them, so that I can promote it, like their bio, headshot, brand colours, all those kind of things.
So this just makes the process really smooth for your guests. So I would definitely recommend if you're not already using something like this. How does podcasting increase your subscriber list? Well, I think because you have a podcast, people are always interested in listening to podcasts. And I mean, I know I am, and a lot of the women that I speak to are always interested in hearing about new podcasts that might engage them and appeal to them.
And by having a podcast, you have something extra to add to your audience and to your listeners. Um, to get them to subscribe and so they never miss an episode, it's straight in their inbox. And then you can add extra value with that, with extra tips and advice or, you know, introduce your services and things like that.
You're, so that is the way that you can increase your reach with, with podcasting. [00:19:00] How long is the ultimate time a podcast should be? Well, there are lots of information out there on this and what is the quote unquote, Ideal time. My advice sits at 30 to 40 minutes. If it's much longer, people may not all listen in one go, which increases the chance of them not finishing an episode, and we don't want that.
You do need to consider your audience and think about when they would be listening and what time have they got. There is something to be said about short to the point episodes too. Hilary Saltzman has the Everyday Storyteller podcast and she does daily, Monday to Friday, five to ten minute episodes.
They're short, to the point stories with an actionable tips and you can listen to them. listen to it whilst you're boiling the kettle and making a cup of tea in the morning. So Hillary is sort of a really unique way to reach her audiences in that way, the podcast, which I absolutely love this, this, um, this strategy.
So [00:20:00] that is something to consider as well. Obviously, if you're having guests doing five to 10 minute episodes aren't really very doable, but if you're thinking about maybe doing some solo episodes as well as guest episodes, then It could work well for you to do short to the point episodes if you have specific tips and actions that you'd like people to take.
Or you could even maybe record it as a standalone series, you know, 10 episodes with 10 tips or five minutes long. Just something to to think about. Anyway, rounding up. There is no ultimate time a podcast should be, but I would say 30 to 40 minutes because we all know, we all have limited time to listen to podcasts.
This is the final question that I have today. Any tips and knowledge to make podcasting easier and how to get it out there? I would say make sure you have enough time in your business for a podcast. Don't feel like you have to do a podcast because [00:21:00] everyone's doing a podcast. If you don't have the time to fit it in your business and you can't afford to outsource it, there's no point starting it because all you're going to do is overwhelm yourself and create a lot of chaos.
You know, stress in your business and you don't want to do that. If you can find a way to either outsource or to, you know, you find a couple of hours a week to spend on this, on your podcast, and that is great, but yeah, just take a realistic look at the time that's available in your business. And commit to it.
Commit. Um, I know it's scary, but if you're going to do a podcast, I think you need to commit to it. You can't just do a few episodes and then expect, you know, massive success from that. You need to commit to it. I know there are some people that, Don't think that podcasting is, has to be a long game, but for me personally, as somebody who's had to grow their audience from scratch when I [00:22:00] started three years ago in something that I've never done before in my life, never have run my own business, and had to start from, you know, zero, getting followers, building my audience and my clients and everything like that.
And if you already have a very large engaged audience as well, that is awesome and You will probably have more people listen to your podcast because you have a bigger world, but there are people that, you know, don't have a very big audience and you've grown it from scratch, but doesn't mean, doesn't mean to say that your podcast isn't worthy and You know, you have lots of knowledge and experience to share with everybody.
And there is that saying in marketing, a smaller engaged audience is much better than a larger disengaged audience. So always bear that in mind when you're thinking about your podcast and think about it in a long term game. Especially when You're creating this awesome long form [00:23:00] content that's going to help you with your marketing and keep you focused for your themes that you want to achieve in your business, you know, linking your podcast with your business and, and all the content you need for social media.
So your podcast is, is doing that for you. So don't forget that it's benefiting your business in that way as well. You need to know who your ideal client, ideal listener is, and what you do that's relevant to them. This is something that you should be thinking about anyway. It's an exercise that is not very popular.
And I have to say, I didn't find it very easy. I still don't find it very easy, but it is always good to think about it and always good to review it to make sure that has your business is shifted. Has your focus changed? Do you need to tweak some things to make things a little bit more relevant to, to this particular ideal client right now?
So it is always an exercise that is, is good to do. And it is also the key to your success is, is knowing who your ideal client [00:24:00] is and the pain points they're experiencing and how you can transform their life. And my last little bit of a tip is to throw away perfectionism. If you're waiting for everything to be perfect, you're going to be waiting forever.
So Just put it down and publish it. I hope you've enjoyed this episode. There were lots of great questions there and I really hope that I have answered them well enough for you. As always, I would love to hear from you. If you have any more questions, I would be more than happy to answer them and include them in part two of this season.
So thanks so much for listening and bye for now. Thanks for listening to the show. If you'd like to connect with me or get in touch, then head on over to my website. If you liked the episode, then I'd love it if you could leave me a review in your chosen podcast app. Your feedback is much appreciated. See you next [00:25:00] time.