Wondering how to start a podcast?
As a business owner, starting podcasting can be a great strategy to reach more audiences and expand your business through content marketing.
If you are worried about the technology side or a specific skill set, worry not. The truth is that you don’t need to be a tech person. Yet there are some must-dos, pros and cons, which you need to know beforehand.
We are sure that this step-by-step guide will help you to confidently create and launch a podcast successfully.
What Is a Podcast
A podcast is a series of a digital audio episodes focused on a particular topic, and hosted by one or more hosts.
Podcast Statistics
The podcast industry is booming. Let’s take a look at some stats:
- 55k people search for “how to start a podcast” every month. 51K people search for “what is a podcast” every month. 85k people search for “best podcasts” every month. [AHREFS]
- 388M new podcast listeners are expected by 2024. [INSIDER INTELLIGENCE]
- Podcasting will be a $94.88 billion industry by 2028. [INSIDER INTELLIGENCE]
Benefits Of Starting a Podcast
You might wonder if you should start a podcast. Even if there are benefits for doing so.
Here, we are going to give you some reasons why you should consider it:
- Build a loyal audience, with little investment.
- Get another stream of revenue. You can have sponsors of your podcast.
- Position yourself as an expert.
- Amplify your network by interviewing other experts.
- Audio consumption is increasing day by day.
- It’s not time-consuming. Episodes don’t need to be long, and audio edition requires a minimum production.
How To Start a Podcast
If you decide to start a podcast, but you don’t know how to start, just follow the following steps.
Step # 1 – Plan your podcast
Choose a podcast topic and name it
Choose a podcast topic that is broad enough, so you can create infinite episodes around it. Your audience might want to listen about many topics that we can connect them into one category.
Once you’ve chosen your podcast topic, it’s time to brainstorm for a name. Be creative!
Research existing podcasts
Once you’ve chosen your podcast topic, a great move would be to research podcasts on that topic.
That data will definitely help to position your podcast better.
Choose the type of podcast and pick the episode format
There are many length podcast types out there, from 10 minute podcasts to more than 45 minute podcasts, used mainly for interviews.
22 minutes is the average time a listener is connected. But we recommend you to try different formats, and mostly adjust it to your creation possibilities.
Record an intro and outro
Add some personality to your podcast by having an intro and outro.
Hook your readers with:
- Your introduction
- What your podcast is all about
- And what are the benefits of listening
As you are starting, you can use some free background music. Free Soundtrack Music is a great web for royalty free licensing to video producers.
Define cover art creation
Researching podcasts, you would have seen many podcast covers.
How do you envision yours?
You can start by using a template with Canva.
Step # 2 – Build your brand
As any content marketing, it’s important that you incorporate your company’s visual identity.
Branding elements such as your logo, colors, and font are essential to enhance and build your brand awareness.
Step # 3 – Set up your equipment and editing software
To start podcasting, you don’t need a fancy studio. But maybe recording audio using your computer or phone device, you won’t get a clear sound.
There are many podcast micros in the marketplace with different range of prices. We can recommend you Audio-Technica USB/XLR for the best value for money.
As said before, you don’t need to be a tech person, so you can edit your podcasts with the following tools:
On the other hand, if you don’t feel confident in editing your podcasts, or you don’t have or don’t want to spend time editing, you can always hire some external help in Fiverr or Zencastr.
Step # 4 – Record your first podcast
You can either write your scripts with episodes’ descriptions before recording, or wing it. It’s up to you.
We recommend you a little preparation, mostly if it’s your first time. With time and practice, we are sure you are going to rock on!
It’s also a great move to record a test track. Then, listen to the recording
Remember to pick a good place to record. A quiet room will do.
Step # 5 – Distribute and promote your podcast
The next step is to store your audio files and distribute them to podcast platforms. Here are some platforms to distribute your podcast:
Now, it’s time to promote your podcast. One of the best strategies is to share it through social media. Consider running some ads for more impact.
Content Related: How To Promote Your Brand On Social Media: 10 Easy Tactics
How To Make Money With a Podcast
With a podcast, not only you are going to position yourself, but you can also make money.
There are many ways to make money with a podcast. Here are a few:
- Sell your products or/and services
- Insert sponsored ads
- Earn commission via affiliate links.
- Create additional episodes with a paid membership
- Book consulting
Etc.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve covered the step-by-step process to start a podcast.
- Plan your podcast
- Build your brand
- Set up your equipment and editing software
- Record your first podcast
- Distribute and promote your podcast
Even though it’s not difficult, as any endeavor, it requires time and effort. But it can be exciting and a great strategic tactic to reach your goals.
We wish you much success!