Is it “easy” to start a podcast?
The answer is, “Yes, and…”
There’s a lot of communication, especially in the online marketing world, that’ll have you convinced that starting a podcast is easy! And equally as much suggesting that “everyone” should have a podcast!
Starting a podcast doesn’t require a degree in physics or biochemistry (unless that’s what you plan to talk about in your show) but it’s not always as easy as people think to start a podcast. People often come to Galati Media with an idea for a podcast, but don’t know whether or not they should start a podcast, do something else entirely, and how to take action on starting a podcast.
Here are ten things you should think about and consider before you start your own podcast:
1. Determine whether or not launching a podcast is right for you!
Starting a podcast isn’t complicated, but it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not some quick fix or hack for more business and more clients. It’s a long game and requires time at the beginning to build, grow, and plan.
To determine whether or not starting a podcast is right for you, you first have to ask yourself whether or not you have the capacity to show up regularly for your audience, to engage in the topics you’ll be providing, and to market the show.
Ideally, your show will be produced on a regular basis with a steady stream of valuable content for listeners to learn from and enjoy. Are you able to set aside time and attention to be consistent and show up for your show?
Episode 38 of Listeners to Leads: Is Launching a Podcast Right for You?
2. Do your market research
Who are your ideal listeners and audience and is there a need or desire for your content? Is what you want to talk about going to fill a gap in what’s out there as far as resources and education around what you’re sharing?
Market research involves learning about your listeners and audience as well as looking at other podcasts talking about the same or similar topics.
If there are endless podcasts out there covering what you want to talk about, it might be an oversaturated topic and too broad. You might think of a different direction, or reconsider. There may be no gap to fill. Conversely, if there are NO podcasts out there talking about what you do, or there are just single episodes, there may not be enough to cover and it might be too niche of a topic.
If your topic is something you can cover in just one episode, or a single workshop, starting a podcast might not be right for you.
Another piece of market research is listening to other podcasts and learning what you like and don’t like, how you’ll do it differently or focus on a different niche, and really getting to understand if there’s an audience for your show.
Episode 22 of Listeners to Leads: The Importance of Market Research
3. Determine your goals for your podcast
As a podcaster, it’s important to set clear, achievable goals, and treat your podcast like you would any other part of your business so you don’t set yourself up for failure or podfade due to lack of results.
Your podcast could have goals around building your business through lead generation, supplementing your existing content for additional support, raising awareness, connecting with guests for networking or potential client opportunities, or something else entirely!
Looking to monetize and make money with your podcast? Make sure to check out our blog “How Can I Make Money from My Podcast” when you’re done with this one!
Whatever goals you set, you’ll want to make sure that they are SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. You also want goals that are relevant to your unique business!
What do you want your podcast to do for you and your business? Ask yourself what your goals are for your show and get clear on that and it will make starting a podcast (and not getting frustrated) a whole lot easier!
Episode 44 of Listeners to Leads: Creating and Keeping Podcast SMART Goals
4. Take time to map out your podcast content
We spoke to this a little in the market research paragraph above, but trust us, it bears repeating and needed its own section! Content (and you, of course) are the reason people are listening to your podcast in the first place!
Approximately 90% of podcasts stop producing before they hit seven episodes.
There are many reasons why this happened, but one of the most common reasons is because they run out of content.
Brainstorm your content ideas and be really honest with yourself about whether or not you have enough content within your topic area to keep you excited and engaged as you share consistently.
5. Determine Your Format
As you listen to other podcasts, you start to learn what you like and don’t like about how they do their shows in the content they offer, their perspectives and viewpoints, and the format as well.
There are so many different ways to format and structure your show and the only right way is the way you decide to do it.
Thinking about the format for your podcast is a crucial step to getting started. Ask yourself if you want:
- Formal or informal show
- Solo episodes (you by yourself)
- Guests
- Co-hosts
- Scripted vs. not scripted
Choosing the format of the episodes will help guide you in how to move forward in starting with your show, plus help you understand better how much time you’ll need to commit to each episode.
Episode 36 of Listeners to Leads: How to Choose a Podcast Format
6. Consider equipment
We promise not to get too in the weeds and overwhelm you here. You will need to spend time, prior to starting your show looking at what equipment you need and how much you can afford to spend on what.
At the very minimum to get started you need, a set of headphones, a quality microphone, recording software or platform, editing software and a podcast host (which we’ll talk about more in a minute!).
How much you’re looking to spend on your show is unique and personal to you and depends where you are in your business, what goals you have for your show, and how much you want to invest initially.
Will you be outsourcing the many tasks and headaches of editing and producing to a podcast production company or will you be DIY-ing it?
If you’re planning to outsource, we’d love to help you get started considering these questions, and more!
7. Choose your hosting platform
Choosing a podcast hosting platform isn’t as simple as just picking the cheapest podcast host, there are a lot of factors to consider when looking at what you need in the short term and long term for your show.
Fortunately, we’re not going to leave you hanging here. Here’s our blog, What’s the Best Podcast Hosting Platform where we highlight eight top podcast hosting platforms to help you decide which is right for you!
8. Branding and Artwork
Finally, the fun part, right!? Making your podcast pretty and pop visually!
Unless it’s a hobby podcast, your branding and artwork for your podcast should align with your current business branding. Your podcast is an extension of your brand, so it’s important for the two to be cohesive and work together.
Plus, if you’re as OCD as us, you’re not going to want clashing colors next to each other on your Instagram feed.
The visuals you’ll need for your show depends on where you’re sharing episodes and how, but you’ll most likely need visuals for your podcast page/website, individual episodes, cover art (your show’s main graphic), and individual social media graphics for things like quotes and audiograms.
While podcasts are mainly an audio experience, graphics still play an important role. Graphics are definitely something to think about as it’s crucial to share bold, clear podcast graphics that catch attention and are a reflection of your brand.
Episode 96 of Listeners to Leads: How to Design Eye-Catching Podcast Graphics with Lauren Felter
9. Create your marketing plan, launch strategy, and assemble your launch team
The more intentional you are at the beginning, the better. When you start a podcast in a thoughtful, strategic way, it can help your show be more successful from the get go, and save you a lot of frustration!
You’ll want to think about how you plan to market your show, who to can help you share when it first comes out, and what steps you’ll need to take to share it with the world and get people listening!
It’s really important to take time now and think about your first few weeks of content so you’re not flying by the seat of your pants when getting started.
Listeners to Leads Episode 23: How to Create a Podcast Launch Plan
10. You don’t have to do this all alone!
The number one piece podcasters tend to hire out is editing. In addition to editing, there are so many tasks that go into the management and production of a successful podcast.
Here are some of the things involved in producing a show:
- Launching strategy
- Marketing
- Editing and audio quality
- Guest booking and follow up
- Publishing and syndication across podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and other podcast networks and directories
- Cover art design, promotional graphics, and branding
- Creation of show notes
- Social media posts, blog posts, emails to promote the show
- Creation of intros and outros
- Generating episode transcriptions
- Repurposing podcast content into video clips, audiograms, and other social media content
The good news is, you don’t need to do any of this alone. At Galati Media, we support you in managing your show from soup-to-nuts, even the stuff not on this list (yes, there’s more!)
We walk you through these questions prior to getting started, and help guide you in making pivotal decisions for your show.
When we’re asked, “Is starting a podcast easy?” our answer is a confident, “Yes, if you’ve taken time at the beginning to ask yourself these questions and make a plan! And it’s a whole lot easier with us by your side!”
Ready to start your podcast?
You’ll want to check out this blog next if so where we walk you through Step-by-Step How to Start a Podcast
