So, you’re thinking of starting a podcast but you’re not sure if it’s really worth it. Will people listen to what you have to say? How do I even start a podcast? What’s the point in podcasting? Let’s look at the facts…According to Apple at WWDC 2018, these numbers stood at 550,000 and 18.5 million respectively. Right now, there are more than 700,000 active podcasts and more than 29 million podcast episodes. So, the figures are increasing pretty rapidly.
That’s a HUGE amount of people genuinely interested in what people have to say. Not only is it convenient for listeners who want topics that they’re interested in on demand, it’s also valuable for the person or business hosting them. Let’s pause for a second before we jump right into the wonderful world of podcasting. Ask yourself these questions and pull together a full plan of action in advance of jumping behind the microphone.
Being prepared and having a clear understanding of what message you want your podcast to portray and overlying end goal of you medium is essential. After you’re 100% certain, chuck on your headphones, grab your guests and let’s get podcasting.
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Getting high calibre guests onto your podcast is actually a lot easier than it seems. It benefits both parties. They are given a platform to promote themselves or their product that they might not have had access to before. You’re then given access to their existing fanbase to promote your podcast. Just make sure you’re guest is relatable for your podcast. For example, you wouldn’t want to be asking a Michelin Star chef to come onto your show if your podcast is about Formula 1....
Although it’s great hiring a fully equipped studio to record in, it’s not entirely necessary when you’re just getting started. For sure, production value does increase your audience but these things can come later. It all starts with semi decent microphone, a way to record the podcast and at least one platform to share your content on. Let me break it down into a super basic list.
1. Rode NT-USB Microphone
2. Apple’s Garageband (Audacity for Windows users)
3. Libsyn
4. Spotify for Podcasters
"The RODE NT USB is an excellent entry level microphone for an affordable price. You won't need to upgrade at a later date and getting the best possible recording at the source is the number 1 way to improve the overall quality of podcast."
Although podcasts are audio based and an excellent platform to promote an idea or product, your audience may not be podcast listeners. They may be blog readers or prefer watching videos. Repurposing the material into other content such as video, blog posts or vlog is a great way to engage a wider audience without over stretching yourself.
Lots of companies offer audio transcription services to convert your podcast into a word document for a very responsible price, as well as creating graphic content to share on various social platforms.
The average blog posts is approximately 700-words, which can can be read in about 5-minutes. However, the average podcast is 35-minutes which translates into 4,550 words, the equivalent of 6.5 blog posts.
And let’s not forgot, as long as you have a pair of headphones you can listen ANYWHERE while doing ANYTHING. You wouldn’t be able to watch a vlog while driving would you? Well, you could but we would NOT recommend it. Not only does this allow you to deliver more content to your audience, but it’s also delivered in a way that’s easy to consume.
Podcasting gives the feeling that the listeners know the person speaking, especially if the audience is asked to engage in a poll or question is asked directly to the listeners. The reason why so many people listen to podcasts is because they have an interest in a certain subject. It’s because they have something in common with the speaker and the brand the speaker is representing.
Here’s a fact, when someone listens to your voice for hours every month, they are connecting with you in a way that supersedes anything you get from reading an article here or there or even watching your hilarious youtube video.
Now I know you’re not looking to start a podcast to earn a load of cash, but if you are interested in making money from your show, there are a number of ways to do that, including:
1. Sponsorships
2. Affiliate marketing
3. Product promotion
As podcasts continue to explode in popularity, more and more people are jumping in head-first and creating new shows, in an effort to leverage themselves as industry experts, build an audience, connect with more influencers, build personal brands and boost exposure for their businesses.
Think you’ve got a killer idea for a podcast and you’re ready to get recording? Let’s what’s stopping you?
Start podcasting today!
