You’ve got ideas. You’ve got topics. You’re ready to to talk about something you love and starting a podcast is a great way to do just that!
To give you the best chance of having a successful show, you shouldn’t start your new podcast without thinking about a few important things ahead of time – even if your show will be only a hobby at first, at some point you may want to turn it into a business and make money podcasting.
A little planning before you launch can make all the difference between a show that stays a hobby, and one that has an audience of engaged fans.
Here are the top seven things you need to plan out before you start your podcast.
1. Define Your Topic
The first thing everyone is going to ask when you start promoting your podcast is, “What is it about?”
You need to be crystal clear on the focus of your show and will want to choose a topic that you already have some knowledge of and/0r interest in.
Once you have a topic, ask yourself, what unique insight do you have to offer?
Before you jump into recording a single episode, understand exactly what your focus is and the unique value you can bring to your listeners.
Another important question to ask yourself is if this a topic that you’ll be able to produce enough content on?
Some topics may seem exciting at first, but when you start considering what episodes you could create around them, you may realize you need a different topic.
Finally, can you narrow your topic down? It’s important to niche down to something specific, rather than keeping it broad.
For example, talking about parenting is fine, but it may be too broad to build — and keep — an engaged audience.
Niche down to something more specific to create the most loyal fanbase.
When you niche down your listeners will feel as though you’re talking directly to them. They don’t say “the riches are in the niches” for nothing!
Put another way, the more specific your niche, the easier it will be to create episodes that will keep your ideal listener coming back for more.
For example, instead of using the broad topic of parenting, niches for this subject could be:
- Parenting children with special needs
- Parenting without yelling
- Parenting abroad
- Managing your own passions while parenting … you get the idea
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Take a moment to think about your topic now. Is it broad, or is it specific?
To help determine whether or not it’s too broad, start writing down a list of subtopics related to your topic.
If you see that there are far too many subtopics coming to mind, it may be a sign that you need to niche down and get even more specific with your topic.
On the other hand, if you can’t come up with any additional subtopic ideas, you may need a topic that is broader.
Who is your target audience?
Who are you talking to? Why?
Just like a business owner wants to determine who their ideal customer is, you need to figure out who your target audience will be.
Questions to ask yourself as you create your ideal listener persona are:
- Will your listeners be primarily male or female … or both?
- What age group do they fall into?
- Are they self-employed, an employee, unemployed, etc.?
- What’s their social life like?
- What are their hopes, dreams, and challenges?
- What would they want to know about the topic of your podcast?
The more specific you can get the better because the answers to these questions could help you create material for your first several episodes.
2. Create Episode Subjects
Now that you’ve narrowed down your focus to a single topic, it’s time to come up with episode subjects.
If you can’t come up with enough material, you may want to choose a broader topic.
Think about all the aspects of your topic. If your topic is something like parenting abroad, consider all the things your ideal listener might want to know about that.
Here are some examples in this niche to inspire your own brainstorming:
Niche - Parenting abroad
Subtopics
- Schooling while living abroad
- Spotlight on different countries – could make for a multi-episode interview series
- Learning more than one language
- Dual citizenships for parents and their children
- Becoming an expat
- Medical care abroad
- Visas and passports
A great place to start when thinking about your episode subjects is looking at books and blogs on the topic.
Specifically, look at the table of contents in books on your subject. They are great for inspiration!
3. Pick Your Format and Hosting Style
There are several formats a podcast can have. Your format might be educational, storytelling (nonfiction or fiction), conversational, or interviews. You can host your podcast yourself, or you can have multiple hosts as well.
Podcasting with friends
A trend we’re seeing these days in the world of podcasting is that people are creating shows with a friend or even a group of friends.
What’s great about starting a podcast with friends is not only can you split the startup costs, but it can add a lot of variety to your show too.
Having multiple hosts can add interest and pull in a wide range of listeners. It’s why shows like The View are so popular. Audience members all have their favorite host, and each one brings something different to the table.
Perhaps you have a friend, family member, or even a work colleague that you have a lot in common with.
Starting a podcast could be a fabulous way to explore your interests together, and potentially even make some money along the way.
If you choose to start a podcast with friends, here a few things to consider:
- Who will be listed as the show hosts? You could list multiple hosts, or just one “main” host.
- What happens if one of you loses interest? Will you put the show on pause or will you have a rotating guest host?
- Have a plan in place for how you will handle the finances. Include everything from how you will divide the costs to how you will split the profits. If your show starts making money, you’ll be glad you thought of this ahead of time.
- Consider what happens if one of you moves, or you just want to produce the show from your own homes. For this, you’ll need additional equipment and software to record your episodes remotely.
- Who will be in charge of what? One can edit and one can promote, for example. Think about all the tasks involved with producing a podcast, and agree on a plan for how you will divide the work.
Podcasting alone - just you and the mic
You don’t have to have anyone else on your show to be successful. Your show can be just you sitting in front of a mic telling a story, or teaching your audience something new.
To host a podcast by yourself, the work will all fall on your shoulders in the beginning. That is unless you have a company backing your show from the outset. You’ll need to come up with all the show ideas, create the content, and then market them.
This format is wonderful for podcasters who want to dip their toes into the world of podcasting before jumping in with both feet. Then again, fiction and nonfiction storytellers alike can produce dozens of episodes by themselves and grow a rabid fanbase.
➡️ If you decide to use the interview format, think about who you can interview, and create a list of people to reach out to.
If you want to do an interview-style podcast, make an interview wish list. Think of all the people who might have something to say on your topic, and start compiling their contact information.
By the way, go big with your interview wish list! You never know who will say yes to you, and the bigger the guest the larger the potential audience you’ll have to promote your show to.
💡 Pro Tip: Four great places to start looking for guests are other podcasts, blogs, YouTube, and HARO.
HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out, and podcast hosts can sign up as a journalist on the platform to seek out guests for their upcoming shows. This is still a largely untapped source podcasters that isn’t yet saturated with hosts, so it could be a wonderful place to find experts to interview.
Network with other podcasters, bloggers and vloggers to hone in on who the best guests would be for your show. One thing you can do while networking is an attempt to become a guest on other people’s shows. Not only will this help you stay on the radar of other podcast hosts for those moments you’re looking for potential guests, but it’s also a great way to promote your own show.
Consider what subjects they can talk about, and begin designing your show around those subjects. Once you’re up and running, begin contacting and scheduling your interviewees.
A few things to consider if you'll be doing a lot of interviews:
First, you’ll need to make sure you have a podcast guest release form (download one for free here) for every guest that will appear on your show. This document will protect you from things like copyright claims, edit and payment demands, potential lawsuits and more.
In the beginning, you can probably get away with using a template online, but as your show grows it may be a good idea to consult with an attorney for this and all legal forms related to your podcast.
Schedule interviews well before you plan to launch. It’s no secret that people are busy, and you don’t want to find yourself scrambling to find a guest at the last minute so you can keep up with your posting calendar.
Have a launch date in mind when you start interviewing guests. This doesn’t have to be a firm date, but guests like to know an approximate date as to when their episode will be live.
Batch several interviews at a time so you’ll have plenty of content even if someone backs out or has to reschedule. Besides, when you batch interviews, all your equipment will already be set up giving you the ability to get more done in less time.
If you can have your guests market your show, it will help you grow your audience faster. Therefore, ask your guests if they will help you promote once their episode is live. Most people are willing to do so, but it helps to put the ask out there ahead of time anyway to keep it top of mind. Then, once the show is live, be sure to give them the tools to make promotion easy.
If you’re completely new to the interview game, you may also want to practice with friends and family before interviewing a guest for your show. While your first shows may still be cringeworthy, practicing as much as you can prior to recording the real thing never hurt anyone. Even seasoned actors do dress rehearsals and dry runs.
4. Get the Right Equipment 🎙️
Sound quality is critical in a good podcast. If people hear too much background noise or if your voice isn’t crystal clear, they’ll navigate away.
There are far too many podcast fish in the sea. You need to make sure you make it easy for people to listen. While you technically can record a podcast with your computer’s built-in microphone, you’ll get better sound from a high-quality microphone and headphone set.
Additional podcast equipment you may want to consider includes, but isn’t limited to:
- A computer
- Pop filter
- Boom stand/microphone stand
Also, you’ll need to find a podcast host that exactly meets your needs. Believe it or not, to get your podcast episodes on iTunes, Google Podcasts, and other outlets, you’ll need a host for your episodes.
With RSS.com, all you have to do is upload your audio files via your web browser, and we automatically generate and update your RSS podcast feed.
5. Get Recording Software ⏺️
There are many free and paid options for recording and editing software. Your computer may already have Record It, or if you have a Mac, you have iMovie or GarageBand.
Tips for Recording and Editing Your Episodes
- Practice makes perfect
Before your first interview or recording session, you’ll want to practice with your recording and editing software. Look for tutorials online and learn everything you can about how it works. Then, record practice episodes both alone and with friends or family.
Remember, these practice sessions don’t have to see the light of day. Although it could make for some fun bloopers if you ever want to create an episode like that for your fans. The goal is to get comfortable with speaking and recording, as well as editing. That way when you’re ready for the real thing, it won’t feel as scary.
- Choose a sound-friendly recording location
While it’s true that you can clean up your sound in the editing phase, finding a sound-friendly location for recording is better for audio quality. Let’s face it though, odds are unless you have a big budget or a company backing your show, you won’t have a soundproof podcasting studio for recording your first episodes.
Choose the quietest place in your home or office to record your episodes. Some podcasters choose to record in their closets, others under blankets, and others still just try to use a place with minimal background noise and echoes.
- Take your time
Becoming a good podcast host is a marathon, not a sprint. At first, recording and editing may take you a while, and that’s okay. You can worry about speed later. In the beginning, you should focus more on getting it right. Quality over quantity as they say.
As time goes on and you get familiar with your tools and the act of recording and editing, it will get easier and faster to produce episodes. In fact, at some point, you may even be able to hire help to scale your podcast. But, don’t feel like you have to rush to get to the big leagues.
- Accept that there will be hiccups
If you go into this knowing that it won’t be smooth in the beginning, you’ll be less likely to get frustrated when things inevitably go awry. It’s important to know that even the most seasoned podcasters have trouble from time to time.
Episodes accidentally get deleted, guests bail without warning, entire episodes are recorded with the microphone off – it all happens, and it’s completely normal. When things go wrong, you have two choices – 1. Give up, or 2. Dust yourself off and try again. We sincerely hope you’ll always choose the latter.
Intros, Outros, and a Name - Oh My!
While we’re discussing recording, now’s a good time to mention that you should also start thinking about your intro and outro, as well as your podcast’s name.
An intro is usually a 15 to 30-second audio byte introducing/opening your show. A typical intro will include music and mention the name of the show as well as who the host is. Some hosts choose to use the same intro for every episode, whereas others will change them up by season or even use a new intro with each episode they produce.
The outro is the show’s wrap-up and indicates to the listener the show is ending. In this segment, you can add a call-to-action, mention your show’s social media handles, or include a website where listeners can learn more about you.
If you’ll have music in the intro and/or outro segments, you’ll need to find royalty-free music, or create some original pieces. If you’re not using original music, do your homework about the music you’re choosing before adding it to your podcast. Here are a few options for royalty-free music for your podcast:
What’s in a Name Anyway?
You might be wondering why you need to think about your name now. As you begin promoting your show and seeking potential guests, not only will they ask you what it’s about, they’ll want to know what it’s called. It’s also a good idea to start building brand awareness as you prepare to launch so that people will already be familiar with it when it comes time to go live.
Having a name for your show sooner rather than later will help you with other branding decisions you’ll need to make. For example, you’ll need your name in your intro and outro, to purchase a domain name, develop a podcast page on your current website, and to snag up social media handles.
We cover how to choose a name for your podcast more in-depth here, but a few tips you’ll want to keep in mind include:
- Unless your show is based on a geographic location, you might not want to include cities, states, or countries in the name
- Use caution when naming it based on current trends or it might feel obsolete when the trend fades
- Don’t rush to make your name choice, but don’t take too long either
- Podcast names should be easier to remember
- Finally, just because you choose a name doesn’t mean you’re stuck with it forever. You can always create a completely new show under another name later if you really want to.
6. How to Turn Your Recording into a Podcast
Submit your podcast to directories
Submit your show on the most popular directories and get your show in front of millions of potential new listeners and fans.
1. Apple Podcasts: We recommend adding your show to this directory first because it can take the longest to be approved. You’ll need an Apple ID before you can submit your podcast for review.
2. Google Podcasts: Once you login with a Gmail account, you can visit the Google Play Podcast Portal, and click the button that says “ADD A PODCAST.” Follow the prompts, and then wait for your show to be reviewed. This can take as little as 24 hours, or up to a week.
3. Spotify: Create an account, link your RSS feed, and wait for approval. This can take up to five days. IMPORTANT – you need to have uploaded at least one episode to your podcast host. Until you do so, Spotify will not be able to find any episodes and will reject your feed.
4. Stitcher: Create a content provider profile, click “Add Show,” add your RSS Feed and show details. Then, submit and wait for approval.
5. TuneIn (Also adds your podcast to Amazon Alexa): Go to their email submission form, fill it out, and hit “SEND EMAIL.” At the risk of sounding like a broken record, you’ll then wait for approval.
6. Head on over to the Podcasters page on iHeartRadio.com and click the “Submit Your Podcast” button. From here, you’ll need to either log in or create an account.
7. Pandora For Podcasters. Use your Pandora account to log in and submit your podcast. If you don’t have an account with Pandora, you can register for free here.
8. Once you arrive at podcaster.deezer.com, hit the “Publish My Podcast” button. Enter your podcast’s RSS Feed and click the “NEXT” button. At this point, you will receive a confirmation email from Deezer with a verification code.
Before you officially launch, there are a few more things you’ll need
It’s probably getting exciting now, but you’re still not quite ready to share all of your episodes with the world. Before you can launch, you’ll need:
- Graphics for your show: Podcast cover art as well as social media images for Facebook, Twitter and any other social platforms you choose to promote on
- A description of your show: It should be short and sweet, and tell your listeners exactly what your niche is. You’ll use this description when sharing your podcast on all platforms such as iTunes and Google Play.
- A podcasting schedule: Consistency is key to growing a fan base. How frequently will you release your episodes? Will you upload them weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.? Or are you planning on creating seasons and releasing them all at once for people to binge like Netflix and Amazon Prime streaming services do?
- A marketing plan: How will you promote your show? If you have some ideas in place prior to launch, you’ll be that much further ahead of the game once your podcast is live.
7. Manage Your Transcripts
You’ve recorded and edited your podcast episodes. By now you may have already loaded a few episodes to your media host and shared on iTunes. Next, to make your podcast more accessible and interactive, add your transcripts and show highlights to a dedicated website or page on your existing website for your podcast.
Here’s how to transcribe your podcast for free.
Sharing the transcripts and/or show notes helps with SEO, encourages people to share, gives your audience a place to comment, and is also a good place to provide any links to anything you talked about in your show. It’s also a great space to share any affiliate or partner links to products you may have mentioned in your episodes so that your show can start making money even with a small audience.
You want to always keep your audience in mind, and consider how you can make the listening and interacting experience valuable to them. Show notes and transcripts are a great way to give more value to your listeners, and get feedback from them as well.
From here, your next steps are to keep learning and working on developing and growing your podcast. Record and load more episodes, promote them, schedule more interviews, record and promote as much as you can.
Remember that the more effort you put into your show, the more you will get out of it. Your show has the potential to be a raging success, and RSS.com will be here to help you along the way.
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