How many times have you been chatting to a friend, and they’ve said, “so I heard an interesting thing on a podcast…”? We’re guessing this isn’t the first time, right? 

Podcasts have emerged as one of the largest growing digital channels today. In fact, the total podcast audience is growing at a rate of 20% year on year, and as more people get involved, you might just start entertaining the idea of joining the podcast movement yourself… But where do you begin when you’re thinking of starting a podcast?

Why?

Start with the why. Ask yourself, why should you start a podcast? What makes you different? Do you have a unique perspective on a current event? A great story or experience you want to share? Or are you and your mates just way too funny not to be heard?

Goal

What is the end goal of the podcast? Do you want to gain more exposure for your business or brand? Build a community, or simply talk with your friends about a shared interest or hobby? Maybe you’re keen on networking or want to start a movement to influence change.  Sometimes it can be as simple as wanting to get creative and express yourself. 

Audience

Knowing your audience inside out is an absolute necessity before starting a podcast. It will help guide your decision making and get things off the ground. Remember audiences can change over time, and you might have new listeners each week! This is a relationship you will need to constantly nurture as you release new episodes and unite a likeminded community. 

Theme & Structure

Now that you have your why, your goal, and a target audience, it’s time to put some thought into how your podcast will run. Are you getting straight into it? Think - catching up with a friend over coffee, simply turning the mics on and starting the conversation. Or are you going to be more produced with an introduction, theme song and structured questions for your guests?  

Topics

As your audience grows, it’s time to optimise, test and learn. Ask your listeners which segments they most enjoy, is there anything that they don’t quite like? Or something specific they’d like for you to include next time? Remember, your audience will keep growing and changing as your podcast becomes more popular, so it’s important to be open to the evolution of your content. 

Timing

There is no real science when it comes to how long or short your podcast should be. The only thing that matters is that what you’re producing is valuable, it aligns with your goal and the audience is receptive to it.

Outline

Having an outline of the episode format will ensure that your time in the studio runs smoothly and it will keep your guests feeling comfortable and informed while recording. Build an outline with plans for music, introductory sound bites, question time, ad reads and more. It will keep everyone on track and by developing your own unique style you’ll become more memorable in the podcast market. 

Consistency 

Consistency is key, especially early on. Audiences will expect your episodes to drop on certain days of the week and will be quick to unsubscribe if they aren’t fed regular content. Decide from the beginning how often you want to launch a new episode, keep your listeners informed and stick to the plan!

Record Ahead

Before launching your show, ensure you have 4-5 episodes up your sleeve. This helps with consistency and by working ahead there’s no need to panic should a guest cancel at the last minute, or if an emergency pops up on recording day

Seasonal

Most platforms encourage you to create seasons, much like your favourite Netflix show. This allows you to structure your show around a calendar (or your personal life!) and schedule breaks between each season launch. No matter how frequent or infrequent your seasonality, always manage your audiences’ expectations and let them know when they can expect to hear from you again.      

Production

The level of production is critical when deciding how much time, energy and money you’d like to invest in your show. A better level of production will attract a broader audience and prevent the loss of listeners that are interested in what you have to say but skip out due to poor sound quality. Think about how you’d like to introduce yourself with an original piece of audio? What microphones and recording software will you need? Where will you record? How will you edit? And how will you market your show to gain momentum? Production burnout is very common when starting a new podcast, it’s also very common when a podcast sees large success!      And that’s where we come in. 

Working with a team like Pot Plant Productions can take the stress out of managing the sometimes overwhelming technical components of producing a podcast, and it also leaves you with more time to focus on creating brilliant content. 

If you’d like to find out more about how to kick start your podcast journey or you need to level up the production on an existing one Get In Touch, We’d Love To Hear You Out!