I will be updating on future posts to take you along with me through every single step around How I Started a Podcast. These posts will include my thought process while planning for success, my equipment, how I record, editing, publishing and growth.
In this series of posts, I will walk you through every step I took to launch my podcast, from planning to publishing. By the end, you’ll know exactly how I made a podcast, and hopefully, be motivated to do it too as soon as possible!
In this ‘How to Start a Podcast' blog series, there will be 5 stages, broken down into steps, so subscribe to the blog to get future updates on this series. I hope this guide helps give you the skills and the inspiration to get started. And, if it does, get in touch and let me know. I want to hear all about it.
A quick heads up. Some of the services I point too are affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission if you were to buy, at absolutely no extra cost to yourself. This all goes towards supporting the masses of free content I put out. I only recommend things I use myself, and think highly of!
Stage 1: Planning My Podcast
There are two big questions you need to ask yourself here, and they're joined at the hip.
First…
What's My Podcast For?
I have always wondered what it would be like to have a podcast. I myself am an avid listener of several different podcasts that span different genres. Listening, I felt compelled to want to share my advice and knowledge on subjects I am passionate about.
I began to research to see how "easy" it would be to start a podcast. Through my research, I learned that podcasting is a great way to build authority in a subject and provide your target audience with valuable and entertaining content, while also driving traffic to your brand.
I didn't think I was ready for a brand yet. Let alone a business that I could scale. I decided that like many of you who are looking to start; I was a hobbyist. That meant that I needed to expect that I would be creating a show in my spare time. And the subject would need to be something that I am passionate about.
In either case, whatever the reason“why” you are here, it's important to keep in mind that you need to stay motivated.
Who is My Podcast For?
The big question: Who are you making this podcast for?
The thing is, unless you know exactly who you’re making your show for, and why you’re doing it, I figure I have got zero chance of growing an audience.
If I was coming at it from a business point of view, and I was (for example) a personal trainer who wants to make a health and fitness podcast, then my target audience might be people who are interested in healthy eating, weight loss, exercise, or bodybuilding.
If I was creating a hobby show – let's say it's based around my love of zombies and post-apocalyptic fiction – then my target audience would simply be folks with the same passion.
I figured that it was a good idea to start sketching out exactly who it is that I would like to listen to my content. It is something I tried to keep in mind every time I sat down to plan what is going to be in my content.
So once you know who you want to reach, how do you reach them?
I need to give people a reason to listen.
This means creating content that they will get something out of when they hit play.
What If I Have No Audience?
This is me. Welcome to the vast majority of people who start a podcast! Of all the things I thought that might put me off launching my own show, it was this. Most podcasters kick things off by talking “into the void” and that worried me the most.
Here's some good news for you. I learned from research that potential new listeners don't care if they've never heard of you. In fact, it's the least important factor they'll consider when weighing up whether or not to hit play.
That means I have to give them a reason to listen and a reason to come back for more. It's important to think about this in the planning stages. I started by writing down 10-15 potential episodes that I thought my target audience would love to listen to.
From these episodes I started to see a trend in content topics. This helped to shape my next stage in this process...
Check out the other posts to take you along with me through every single step around How I Started a Podcast. These posts will include my thought process while planning for success, my equipment, how I record, editing, publishing and growth.
Follow along and let's get your message out into the world!
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