Have one thing to say? In the event you’ve been on the lookout for a method to specific your self and interact with an viewers that’s serious about the identical issues you’re, making a podcast is likely to be the proper approach so that you can discover your voice.
Podcasts are rising as the following large factor in relation to sharing content material, which is why entrepreneurs, professionals, and types are including them to their advertising and marketing combine. Based on Podcast Insights, there are over 1,500,000 podcasts on this planet as of October 2020.
Statistics apart, creating content material for podcasts is less complicated than another format. You don’t want distinctive writing abilities, you don’t should create prime tier graphics, and also you don’t should movie and edit movies.
In the event you’re satisfied that podcasts are for you, learn on to be taught extra about methods to plan, create, and promote your podcast in 5 straightforward steps.
Choose a subject
The benefit of a private podcast, versus one by a enterprise, is that you’ve the liberty to speak about something. However as a way to entice listeners and construct a repute as a podcaster price listening to, you have to discuss one thing that provides worth to the lives of your listeners, whether or not within the type of leisure or data.
Begin by digging into your passions:
- Are you a well-traveled particular person with ideas and methods up your sleeve?
- Are you a cinephile, an audiophile, a foodie, or a voracious reader?
Matters equivalent to these will let you use your experience to speak to a distinct segment viewers. However you may also use your storytelling abilities to speak about facets of your private life, equivalent to romantic relationships, friendships, household, or profession. Such subjects are extra actual and relatable and would possibly enchantment to a wider viewers. Furthermore, you might discover solace in expressing your ideas and feelings.
Picture by Soundtrap / Unsplash
Create a framework
There actually is not any very best format for a very good podcast. The truth is, since this can be a private podcast, you’re free to decide on your personal journey, so long as you’ve gotten one thing attention-grabbing to say and there are folks keen to concentrate to it.
Having mentioned that, you do need to preserve some uniformity in your podcast episodes. Not solely does that give folks an concept of what they need to anticipate, but it surely additionally makes your job of manufacturing the podcast simpler. Right here are some things it is best to contemplate when planning your episodes:
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Period: Ideally, it is best to intention at shorter episodes to begin with as a way to get folks hooked after which increase to longer episodes relying upon the listenership you garner. The period can even depend on how many individuals are taking part in your podcast, which brings us to the following level.
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Format: Are you going to host it alone or will you’ve gotten a co-host? Are you going to ask visitors to interview? Involving one other particular person will help you achieve a wider viewers. You possibly can even share the manufacturing and promotion obligations along with your co-host. An alternative choice is to have a solo podcast however reserve a brief part in the long run for a dwell Q&A.
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Construction: This contains your intro and outro music, placement of ads, point out of sponsors, and the period of various segments of your episode equivalent to introduction, most important content material, questions from listeners, sign-off, and name to motion.
Register a website title
Individuals use platforms equivalent to iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud to search out and stream podcasts, however these will not be platforms the place you possibly can really register your podcast. You continue to want an internet site to add it to, and from there it’s distributed to platforms that you simply select.
Registering a customized area title has a number of benefits. Let’s study them by utilizing a make-believe podcast known as “John Talks” for example:
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It permits your podcast to face out. Even when it’s hosted on an present web site, you possibly can register a unique area title for it that redirects folks to the podcast web page. So, your podcast URL might be www.johntalks.on-line as an alternative of one thing difficult equivalent to www.websitename.com/johntalks.
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It comes throughout as extra authentic and authoritative and can be significantly better from a promotional facet. As an example, www.johntalks.on-line is significantly better than johntalks.freehostwebsite.com, which is selling the host web site greater than your podcast.
The area title you choose ought to be quick and easy, ideally now not than three phrases. It ought to go the “radio take a look at”, which means it ought to be straightforward to recall even after an individual has heard it simply as soon as.
It also needs to talk what your podcast is about as a result of, until you’re a well-known character, folks is not going to be enticed to pay attention with out realizing what they’re moving into.
As an example, as an alternative of simply saying www.johntalks.on-line, you possibly can say www.johntravels.on-line or www.johneats.on-line, relying upon what the topic of your podcast is. You may as well use new area extensions to specify your niches, equivalent to www.johntalks.tech or www.johntalks.enjoyable.
Picture by Soundtrap / Unsplash
Ship one of the best sound high quality
Not like movies the place folks can depend on visuals, the one approach so that you can interact along with your viewers in a podcast is thru sound. You want to ensure that folks can hear you loud and clear with none disturbance.
Thankfully, you don’t want to rent an costly recording studio to file your podcast. Listed here are a number of ideas to make sure good audio high quality with out breaking the financial institution:
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Use a microphone and headset
Keep away from utilizing the built-in microphone in your cellphone or laptop computer. You must spend money on a good-quality exterior microphone to sound skilled. You also needs to make sure that each speaker has their very own headset to keep away from audio suggestions. The MXL 990 Condenser Microphone is understood to work properly in dwelling recording studios, whereas the AT2020USB+PK recording set (microphone + headset) by Audio-Technica delivers top quality at a comparatively reasonably priced value. You may as well contemplate the MDR-0756 skilled headset from Sony. -
Test the acoustics of your room
In the event you’re recording your podcast at dwelling or workplace, select a room that has the least degree of noise. Usually, smaller rooms have much less echo. Discover a room that’s away from the road and shut all doorways and home windows. If potential, file your podcast at night time when individuals are asleep and there’s much less ambient sound. -
Do a trial run
Do at the least a few take a look at recordings to be taught what one of the best settings are, equivalent to the amount in your microphone, your distance from the mic, the extent of ambient sounds (together with your respiration), and whether or not your recording room wants any adjustment. -
Discover the best software program
There’s a wide range of sound recording and enhancing software program accessible, relying upon your funds, high quality concerns, and your enhancing abilities. The preferred ones embrace GarageBand, Audacity, and Reaper. In the event you’re not accustomed to utilizing such software program, there are a number of tutorial movies on YouTube to be taught from.
Now that you’ve your podcast recorded and able to go, it’s time to get the phrase out and discover your listenership. Discovering and rising your viewers takes time and endurance however there are a whole lot of steps you possibly can take to extend the natural attain of your podcast.
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Submit it in every single place
The extra platforms you’re seen on, the extra probably individuals are to come back throughout you. Aside from normal suspects equivalent to iTunes and Soundcloud, you may also register on podcatchers like Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Podbean. -
Promote on social media and electronic mail
Whether or not you’re going solo or have a co-host or a visitor, ensure that everyone seems to be on board with selling the episodes on their respective social media accounts and mailing lists. You possibly can present others with ready-to-share materials equivalent to soundbites, quotes from the episode, and graphics to make sharing simpler for them. -
Transcribe and refurbish
You probably have a YouTube channel or a weblog, get your podcast episodes transcribed and add them as an article in your weblog or as a video with captions on YouTube. Not solely will it improve the attain of your materials to different media, however it is going to additionally assist with search engine optimisation.
Upon getting discovered your approach round creating your podcast, you have to concentrate on delivering nice content material constantly to maintain your listeners coming again. With the intention to get new listeners hooked, it’s best to launch at the least a few episodes directly to offer them extra substance. As you and your podcast develop collectively, you possibly can diversify the vary of your topics, attempt completely different codecs, invite visitors, and even graduate to raised high quality recording gear to up your sport.
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