Don't Start A Podcast!
Podcasting is not for everyone. Seriously. It’s not about creating a few episodes and sitting back to see the magic happen. There is nothing passive about it. But if you understand this and still want to start a podcast, you’ve come to the right place.
Why You Should Not Start Podcasting?
There are plenty of reasons why you should not start a podcast. Here are just nine of them.
Takes a Lot of Time
Finding guests, planning content, distribution, marketing takes time.
Hard to Monetize
Podcasting itself doesn’t make money. We need to make it happen.
Find Guests
Identifying your guests and inviting them takes time and some skills too.
Expensive Gadgets
Microphone, recorder, an audio interface. They don’t come cheap.
Too Technical
Some level of technical knowledge about sound, gadgets, is needed.
Noisy Place
Where you record your podcast is as important as what your content is.
Planning Content
You do need to plan your podcast episodes and sequence them right.
Marketing Skills
Podcasting is marketing. You need to be prepared to do it.
Getting Listeners
Finding listeners and converting them to subscribers is important.
In short, podcasting is a LOT of work!
But, Podcasting Is Also a Very Powerful Tool.
If you’re ready to put in the work, and learn the right ways to use this tool, podcasting can transform your brand or your business.
Now if that sounds like you, you couldn’t have been in a better place! We have created and curated the BEST resources on podcasting on this blog. You will find articles, podcasts, ebooks, courses, workshops, and more to learn how to use podcasting as a tool.
Are you all fired up 🚀 to start your podcast? Click the button below to get started.
Learn Podcasting In 17 Minutes
Watch this video where we walk you through podcasting from scratch. This video also includes a 7-minute demo that will blow your mind.
What will you learn in this video?
Process
You will learn the process of starting a podcast from scratch to growing it and monetizing it.
Tools
You will be introduced to the latest tools that will get you jump-started with podcasting right from the word GO.
Techniques
While you cannot learn much about techniques in a 15-minute video, you are sure to get inspired to focus on yours.
Tools used in the demo
1
Concept
Your show’s concept is as important as the content you create, if not more. At this stage, your goal is to understand what your show is about, who it is for, and how they will benefit from your podcast.
Duration
5 Days
Type of Work
Creative, Strategic
If you don’t understand who you are speaking to, chances are that you don’t know what you are speaking about too.
In this first step, you’ll learn how to find your ideal target audience. This step paves way to everything – from production, to content, to promotion and marketing.
Please click the Get Started button to begin.
Stop ordering a microphone and read this instead. We will help you with the microphone too. But what is the point if you aren’t sure what to speak into the mic or who you’d be speaking to?
You will learn how to pick the right topic for your podcast. Along the way, you will nail your podcast listener, and your podcast narrative too.
You now have picked a topic you love and resonate with. Even better, you also nailed the perfect podcast audience that also resonates with this podcast idea. What next?
In this step, you will be outlining your podcast. Just like the previous step, this one is full of activities.
So click this to learn how to outline your podcast.
2
Create
The show’s creation starts from planning your podcast to recording your episodes to uploading and distribution. This is the stage where you are not just creating your podcast episodes, but also building a relationship with your audience.
We have created PODIENCE, a free podcasting course to help you through this process.
Duration
2 Days
Type of Work
Creative, Strategic
3
Commerce
The fourth stage is where you focus on monetizing your podcast. There are two ways to do that.
If you’ve signed up for a hosting provider like Buzzsprout, you will have access to ready affiliate partners. You can promote these affiliate partners to your audience and earn affiliate commissions.
The other option is to create your own products. But before you start creating your product, it’s important to understand the problem you are trying to address. Read this article on how to find problems worth solving in the next 30 minutes.
Duration
1 Week
Type of Work
Creative, Strategic
Learn to Monetize Using Digital Products
Often times, people confuse monetizing podcast to podcast sponsorships. Yes, sponsorships is one of the ways to monetize your podcast, but not the best way to get started. Instead, start with digital products.
Click the Get Started button below to learn how to create a digital product in the next 30 minutes.
If you’ve followed the other steps in the process of Concept, Create, Communicate, you probably know exactly who your podcast audience is. If not, I highly recommend you read this post first.
Commerce happens when you solve problems for your audience. But how can you know what problems they have that they would pay someone to get solved?
In this post, I show you two super-effective ways to find and solve problems. Don’t miss watching the video in that post.
FAQs
We understand you are looking for answers. Here are some of the most common questions podcasters ask.
WHAT MICROPHONE SHOULD I BUY?
I’m assuming that you’ve defined your podcast’s concept. If so, it’s time you thought about a microphone. My personal favorite is the ATR 2100 (ATR 2100x is the upgraded model). If this is not available in your location, consider Samson Q2U. Avoid microphones like the Blue Yeti as it does pick up a lot of the ambient noise. If you’d like to read more on this topic, I have written about it in detail here.
WHAT PODCASTING COURSES DO YOU RECOMMEND?
We have one of the best courses on podcasting, and we’re proud of it. Inside that course, you will not just learn how to start a podcast, but also podcast marketing, storytelling, and promotion.
Now that’s unfair because you asked me for recommendations. I will any day recommend Pat Flynn’s Power-Up Podcasting. He’s the person that helped me start my show with his courses back in 2015.
There’s a reason why I pick his course. I’ve written about that in detail here along with some other podcasting courses I like.
HOW TO ASK GOOD PODCAST INTERVIEW QUESTIONS?
Great question! But I’m afraid that’s a lot to answer here. I’d rather let you read this post where I help you craft great questions in 5 easy steps. In that article, I also have listed some of the best questions I received from a survey I did.
But if you insist on a one-line answer, here it is: Be genuinely curious.
HOW DID YOU GROW YOUR FIRST PODCAST LISTENERSHIP?
I have written about this process in detail in this blog post. The short answer is to do with starting an email list. Signup for a free account with ConvertKit or even Mailchimp.
WHAT TYPE OF PODCAST SHOULD I CREATE?
Start a podcast that works for you and your audience. If you love to speak, have mastered a topic, and see people wanting to know more, you can consider doing a solo show. If you like speaking to people, do one with a cohost or an interview podcast.
If you want to do interviews, this post can help you make up your mind.
How to Start a Podcast?
- 1What is Podcasting?
- 2Why Should You Start a Podcast?
- 3Who Is Your Audience?
- 4Why Should They Listen?
- 5What Topic Should I Pick for My Podcast?
- 6How to find a name for your podcast?
- 7How long should an episode be?
- 8What format should my episodes be?
- 9What should the structure of my episodes be?
- 10How to create podcast content?
- 11How to find guests for my podcast?
- 12Asking good questions
- 13How often should I release a new episode?
- 14Recording equipment
- 15Podcasting software
- 16How to speak into a microphone?
- 17Adding Music for your podcast
- 18Recording your intros and outros
- 19Creating Podcast Artwork or Cover Art
- 20Picking a Podcast Host or Co-Host
- 21Recording your episodes (with and without guests)
- 22Editing your podcast
- 23Choose a Podcast Hosting Platform
- 24Submit to Podcast Directories
- 25Post Launch Rituals
- 26Market your podcast
- 27Create a podcast website
- 28Frequently Asked Questions on Podcasting
- 29Podcasting Best Practices