After listening to your fair share of podcasts, you’re thinking, why don’t I start a podcast? Then why not do it? It’s not highly difficult but can be tricky when it’s your first time. We are going to make it easy for you to start your own podcast. We are in the process of setting up our very own podcast, so we are taking these steps ourselves.
In this article, we will cover a range of steps for you to set up your podcast in no time:
- Choosing a Podcast Topic
- Choose a Podcast Name
- Show and Episode Format
- Podcast Cover Art
- Intro & Outro Music
- Podcast Equipment
- Audio Recording & Editing
- Podcast Hosting
- Promoting Your Podcast
- Make Money Podcasting
Why Do You Need to Start a Podcast?
There might be a variety of reasons for you to start a podcast. There are different reasons for everyone. A podcast is a great way to build an audience online. They start to trust you as they hear from you every week on various topics. Hundreds or even millions will hear your podcast if it takes off big time! If you have knowledge or skill in a certain area, why not share it with other like-minded people?
Starting Your Podcast
Now is the perfect time to start a podcast in Ireland. It is a much less crowded space than blogging, and it’s an area growing rapidly. There are currently 2 million podcasts but a whopping 600 million blogs. A massive difference!
1. Choosing a Podcast Topic
One thing about starting a podcast is there is a tonne of planning that goes into it. If you don’t plan accordingly, you’re already on the backfoot.
It takes a lot of work and thought to create a podcast and weekly episodes of your show. You’re going to want to pick a podcast topic that interests and excites you. It needs to be a topic that you want to talk about for months and years to come because if it does succeed, you’ll have loyal followers to entertain.
There is no specific topic that we can advise you to but think about your personal life or career, something you want to talk about more or something you have expertise in.
Start writing down different ideas for episodes when you think of a topic. Can you think of an endless list, or do you burn out after 4 or 5? If you can’t think of episode ideas, that topic is not for you, but that’s okay! There’s lots more to choose from.
You have to also think about the future. Let’s say you are nearly 50 episodes in. Can you imagine that? What an achievement? After those 50 episodes, will you still be as excited as you started, or will you get bored talking about the same topic? Your answer will dictate if this podcast topic is right for you or not.
2.Choosing Your Podcast Name
This is one of the most important aspects of your podcast. It’s what people will see before they even hear your podcast. Will the podcast name interest people or send them to sleep? It’s a big decision.
It may be hard to think of a podcast name. We know it is from our own experience. It can even take hours. But you’ll get there.
There are different types of podcast names. Those already well-established will name the podcast after themselves, such as “The Joe Rogan Experience or That Peter Crouch Podcast”. Off the bat, we know who the podcast is by, and it will either make you want to listen or not straight away.
Lots of podcasters already have a platform on social media or tv, and for that reason, they may use that name and simply add the word “podcast” to their name. We see this a lot. Some examples are “Stuff You Should Know Podcast or Catfish: The Podcast”, based on the internally known Catfish Tv Series.
Other podcasts may describe what the podcast is about. It helps the audience understand what the podcast is about and helps with SEO, so it’s a win-win, right? Some examples are “Tech Stuff and The Making of a Detective”. You already get an idea of what they’re going to be discussing.
Of course, there are many other podcast names that don’t reflect the podcast. You might be more curious about what they are discussing than anything. For example, the highly successful “99% Invisible” you would have no idea what that’s about, but it has been incredibly successful.
3. Podcast and Episode Format
You may not know what we’re on about here. But this is essentially how will your podcast be structured. Some questions you should think about are:
- Will there be interviews, or is it just you?
- How long is each episode?
- Will it be a weekly podcast?
- What day will the podcast be published?
You need to plan out these details before even thinking about plugging in that microphone and recording.
There’s no correct way to approach the style of the show. It all depends on whether you want to invite guests to your show or not. Interviews are brilliant for getting information or stories that you would not be able to provide yourself.
Solo shows are also brilliant. The audience gets to build this amazing connection with you as each episode passes. It builds up your authority on the topic that you’re discussing too. It may feel weird at the start, but after a few episodes, you’ll be content talking to a wall. It just takes time and practice.
Podcasts range in length. They can be anywhere from 30 minutes to hours, as seen with the JRE Podcast. The podcast should be the right amount of time to keep the audience engaged. If you plan to have interesting guests each week, go ahead and plan for a long episode.
If it’s a solo show and you struggle to find more information on a certain topic, around 30 minutes is perfect. It decides on how you can host the podcast. You don’t want to bore your audience, so always think of that. The average podcast length is 36 minutes, according to Story Ninety-Four.
Publishing Format
The publishing schedule is totally up to you, but we find that most successful podcasts upload every week. You should always upload on the same day and same time every week so your audience is ready to listen to the latest episode. The last thing you want to do is annoy your loyal fans by missing a day. CoSchedule have a great post on keeping consistent and organised with your podcasts.
4. Podcast Cover Art
Podcast Art is another important element of your podcast. It will help build up an impression on your podcast before listeners hit play.
Podcast art is a square artwork that represents your show. It’s what will grab your listener’s attention. It will be seen on phones, laptops and other devices. You must ensure that viewers can clearly see your Podcast title in the artwork.
If you can’t design the artwork yourself, there are many websites to get a professional to create one. You can try Fiverr or 99designs.
5. Intro & Outro Music
Every podcast has intro and outro music. The intro music is all part of the intro segment to your podcast. It can be funny, uplifting or dramatic. It all depends on what your podcast is about.
You should include a voiceover over the intro music to introduce people to your podcast. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to new listeners. It should be about 30 seconds no more. You don’t want to say too much, or you’ll bore your regular listeners.
6. Podcast Equipment
Podcasting equipment is crucial to have clear and crisp audio. You can always start low and work your way up if you don’t want to make a big investment upfront.
If you want to invest money, your first step should be investing in a high-quality microphone. We have a post on podcasting equipment that may interest you.
You can also get podcasting sets on Thomann, which has everything you’ll need to get started, which range in price.
7. Audio Recording & Editing
If you haven’t used any editing software before, it may seem intimidating. You could hire someone to edit your podcast or learn to do it yourself. There are lots of great free and paid options to choose from.
The Podcast host has a great detailed breakdown on recording your first podcast today. They discuss the different software and look in-depth at some more podcasting equipment.
8. Podcast Hosting
Many creators will assume that you simply upload your podcast straight to Aptify or Apple Podcasts. We want to be on these top platforms, but this is actually not the way to upload to these podcast providers.
Instead, you upload to a podcast hosting company. You upload your files to the podcast hosting company, connecting to all those directories. You won’t have to worry about doing this step again.
Next, you just need to upload your new podcast to your host and all the podcast platforms connected will post and distribute them to your subscribers.
The best podcasting host is Buzzsprout. They have a great UI which makes it easy to upload and publish your new podcast. It is a quick and easy process with them.
9. Promoting Your Podcast
Once you have planned everything and recorded your podcast episodes, it is time to launch your podcast. You will have to market it everywhere online to find potential new listeners. Without marketing your podcast, it will be near impossible to scale your podcast.
You should make your launch day a big event. Get as many listeners as you can to your podcast on the first day. Try to get the press involved. A great strategy is to launch a competition on the same day with a big prize guaranteed for sharing your podcast. It’s a quick and easy way of getting shared everywhere online.
Send it to everyone you know, from friends and family to old work colleagues. Don’t be afraid to share your new creation with anyone you know. They will be more than happy to share the podcast.
If you have an email marketing list for your business or your podcast, now is a good time to utilise it. Send out an email to all your subscribers to tell them about launch day. They would be eager to find out about your podcast if they signed up.
Interact with as many people as you can when launching your podcast. Reply to comments, reviews, and more. Share your listener’s thoughts online, such as on your Instagram Story. You want to push it as much as you can, especially on launch day.
10. Make Money Podcasting
So now you’re a podcaster! You’ll be spending a lot of time on your podcast, so it’s a great idea to monetise your podcast. Even if it’s passive income, it all helps, making you more motivated to create a successful podcast.
The main way to make money podcasting is through ads or sponsorships. Typically companies will pay you to read a script to promote their product in different parts of the podcast.
Another great way to make money podcasting is with affiliate marketing. You can generate money by recommending and talking about products. You could promote products through the Amazons Associate Program or other affiliate programs.