The podcast is one of the revolutions that the internet has brought in our lives. In the pre-internet era, for the world to see your videos there was only one way: to be on television. Now we have YouTube, Vimeo, professional filmmakers have Netflix and those who want to broadcast live can do so on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook.
The same goes for radio programs, which were limited to lifelong stations earlier but now anyone can record and broadcast through podcast platforms. Thanks to this, the hardest thing is not to share your content but to have a good idea and carry it out. Technically, its never been easier to write a script, shoot it, edit it and upload it to iTunes, iVoox, Spotify, Soundcloud or others.
In addition, there are a large number of applications to listen to podcasts and they are one of the most successful content. Thanks to the way, we can listen to them whenever and wherever we want, even while performing other tasks.
Advantages of a podcast
Why should you have a podcast? What advantages can it really bring to your business?
- Having a loyal community.
- Having one more channel of reach, impact and conversion (because, yes, it is one more sales channel and very effective).
- They are content that requires minimal production and in the field of editing, it is rather to modify the audio.
- Audio consumption increases every day, and thatβs why a giant like Spotify decided to buy ANCHORFM, one of the largest platforms to distribute your podcast. In their press release to announce this new acquisition, they said they were doing it to βdemocratize audio.β
- It is one more source to monetize, just as you collaborate on YouTube with a brand, you could have sponsors in your podcast.
- It helps you position yourself as a reference/expert since people have the possibility to learn more about experiences through each episode.
- Others may help you position yourself if you do interviews.
- It requires very little investment of time and resources in maintaining the frequency.
Plan your podcast
Letβs go over everything you have to do to create a podcast.
π What are you going to talk about? What will be the theme of your podcast?
It is important that you choose the theme of your podcast, because several things will come from here:
- The name you will use for your podcast
- The category to which you will belong
π§ What type of podcast do you want to create
Search for other podcasts, listen to them and define what you like the most and the least. For example, I only like short podcasts, I feel that I learn a lot.
β How long will your podcast last?
There are different formats:
- Short podcasts of less than 10 minutes
- 15-30 minute podcasts
- Podcasts of more than 45 minutes (usually used for interviews or to develop some topics in an expanded way)
Which would fit you best?
You donβt know yet. Nothing happens, you can start testing until you find what works best for you and what works best for your listeners.
π¨ How do you imagine the cover of your podcast?
You can research the category to which your podcast will belong to have references, analyze which ones captivate your attention. If your photo is going to come out or it will only be a design. There are many factors and remember that you can create one yourself even with PowerPoint and then you can change it.
The size for your cover is minimum 1400 x 1400 pixels and maximum 3000 x 3000 pixels.
π΅ Enter and exit your podcast
A good podcast has a good intro and a good send-off. When you start and you do not have many options to invest, you end up making it yourself and putting some background music with some royalty free music.
ποΈ What microphone do I need?
This is the one million question. How to choose a good microphone depends on many factors. From the budget you have to the minimum quality you require.
It is clear that the microphone of your headphones or your computer will not be enough.
The microphone that I recommend for quality / price is the Audio-Technica.
It is a USB microphone that allows you to easily record with quality audio.
π§ Edit your podcast
You can use several tools to edit your podcast, but no recommendation will be perfect for you until you try the one that is easiest for you. It is also true that you can hire editing experts and get rid of that problem.
- Screenflow (MAC) / Camtasia (MAC and Windows) β As a content creator you need to master 100% of a tool that allows you to record from a podcast to create a video. So I recommend that you familiarize yourself with tools that are easy to burn and easy to export.
- GarageBand (MAC) β This is usually very easy for many people, but you will have to try it yourself.
- Audacity β A free software to edit your audios. You can search YouTube for tutorials.
- Hire Editing Experts β You can hire podcast editing experts from Fiverr to give your podcast a professional look. Few editing experts are given below who can make your podcast stand out from others because of their vast experience.
Tools to distribute your podcast
There are many platforms to distribute / upload your podcast, given below are two of them which is preferred by most podcasters
- ANCHORFM β It is my favorite. Firstly, because it is easy to use and secondly because it even has a mobile application and provides complete analytics.
- BuzzSproutβ It is one of the most complete platforms to distribute your podcast and it has a free plan to get started.
How to promote your podcast?
It is clear that the first thing will be to use a distributor that takes you with a single click to the largest number, as is the case with ANCHORFM and the ones I mentioned earlier. But of course, that is just taking your podcast to platforms like Spotify, Google Play, Apple Podcast and many others, but if you do not promote your podcast and even if you are a good podcaster, few will listen or discover it.
There are many things you can do to promote your podcast
- Upload it on all your social networks with different formats, from images with a link to listen to it on Spotify or your website or upload a piece of the audio. You can use applications like HeadlinerAPP or Adobe After Effects.
- Invest in advertising campaigns.
- Ask for support from others to help you promote your episodes.
- Create a space on your website or a new website for your podcast.
- Hire other influential podcasters to promote your podcast. It can give a kick start to your podcasting journey by giving instant visibility to your podcasts. Few podcasters are given below whom I recommend.
Tips and tricks to make your podcast a success
- If you are going to create a video from your audio, always have the waves. With HeadlinerApp you can do it.
- Add captions to videos as a result of your podcast.
- If you are not going to present with slides videotape your podcast and thus you will have a double format, one for YouTube and social networks and the other to distribute on podcast platforms.
- Always distribute your podcast organically, each chapter as if it were a small campaign.
- Make your podcast name easy to remember.
- Share your episodes in Instagram stories through Spotify.
- Make a good launch of your podcast. Take advantage of key time and create expectations.
π° How to make money with a podcast?
The best thing about having a podcast is that in addition to positioning yourself and having more visibility, it is also a tool to generate income and there are many methods that I would like to share with you:
- Sponsors.
- Affiliate Marketing if you recommend applications or physical products from platforms such as Amazon.
- Selling your own services/consulting/mentoring.
- Selling your own digital products (ebooks, courses, etc.).
- Sale of physical products.
Iβd love to hear your thoughts as well. Be sure to leave them in the comments below!