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What are all the crucial podcasting secrets you need to know before starting a podcast? How much time have you already spent thinking about the things you need to learn about before actually starting your show? Search no more. In this post, you will learn things that will convince you to start a podcast immediately!
Do you want to start podcasting, but you don’t know where and how to begin? Every successful podcaster once faced this dilemma.
Yet, with consistent efforts in the right direction, the podcast became a success. In this post, we will discuss things you need to know before you start your podcasting journey.
If you start a podcast on a whim, you are likely to get nowhere.
It is difficult without preparation, and even with preparation and understanding, creating a podcast series is a challenge. In this post, I will tell you about some podcasting secrets, which you must learn even before you dip your feet into the water.
Without a proven method, podcasting is difficult. Merely collating content would not attract the audience, nor would it help you make money podcasting.
Let us discuss some podcasting secrets you need to know before you start a podcast in 2020
1. It is easy to compete despite growing competition
With the increasing digitalization, virtual content has permeated every sphere of our life. While you might feel intense competition among content creators, I want to tell you that podcasts are ready to rule.
The number of shows is increasing every day.
But, let me tell you the first of podcasting secrets. It is still easy to compete despite the growing competition.
Don’t let the numbers dishearten you. Podcasting is still emerging. If you are not convinced, then have a look at these comparative figures.
How much easier is it to compete in podcasting vs. blogging and YouTube?
There are 500 million blogs vs. 25 million YouTube channels, while there are only 0.9 million podcasts.
| vs. blogging | vs. YouTube | |
| Podcasting competition | 555 times easier | 28 times easier |
Competition is lower, and marketing is easier. Moreover, there are a number of dead shows in this figure – podcasts that are no longer producing new episodes. There are also short series or abandoned shows.
Understand trends – the growth of listeners will continue despite the economic situation
Podcasts hold a lot of appeal for the audiences. Moreover, podcast trends show that podcasting is one area that is not affected by economic events like recession or the financial status of your audiences.
Unlike sellers of goods and services, your podcast is safe from the turns and tumbles of world events. There might be some changes in listening habits, but overall podcasting is still expected to grow.
Podcasts are accessible to all, so if the content is good, your audience is bound to grow.
2. You need to choose the right idea and put in the hours
It is very high on the list of podcasting secrets. You need to know before starting a podcast, how to choose an idea that will be rewarding and have a potential for significant growth.
That is the sheer number of hours that you will need to invest in your work.
While the duration of your podcast episode may be only an hour, you will spend around nine to ten hours in creating it (including research, scripting, recording, editing, publishing, etc.).
And that rounds up to be 520 hours per year.
If you include the additional time for learning and growth, it can be easily 1000 plus hours per year. The number of hours is crucial to learn skills, improve quality, and finally maximize your productivity.
Another crucial piece of knowledge on the list of podcasting secrets is to select a podcasting topic correctly.
The idea you will choose needs to appeal to you exactly because you will need to spend all those hours working on it.
While the topic should have a plethora of content to explore and research, you should have a real interest in it for sustaining the work. Hence, you need to know before starting that you are really willing to spend that much time and effort on it in the long term.
So spend quality time working on brainstorming an idea.
Know your audience well and narrow down your topic well. Ask yourself why and what you are doing this for? Whether it’s just for fun, or you want to educate people or to generate income.
Your idea needs to be chosen and then designed with a listener persona in mind.
Once you settle down with the topic, work on the scripting.
Yes, writing a script is often more or less writing an essay. You have to write down all that you are going to talk about on your show. However, this does not imply that you have to keep ranting what you have written. You need to put your emotions into it while recording it.
Sometimes, you will have to change your tone while speaking. These are the subtle nuances of voice recording while you can take the quality or your podcast several notches up.
3. Have a Plan for Content Growth and Monetization
Growth is easy if efforts are focused
Let me tell you another podcasting secret. In the podcasting world, growth is easy if your efforts are focused.
So you need to know before starting a podcast what your choices are:
- go for specific niches to work on,
- select a few marketing channels to evaluate your work,
- stick to your format.
Don’t stretch yourself too much. If you try to manage ten different marketing channels, you will lose the grip on quality, and the results will be slow.
Focus and push your main monetization strategy for best results
Similarly, you need to chalk out a well-focused monetization strategy. In each monetization strategy, there are major winners and a lot of small players. So pick the ones that align you’re your podcasting goal.
There are different ways to monetize a podcast: there are Patreon strategies, affiliate marketing, advertisements, etc.
Identify one or two monetization strategies so you can put maximum thrust in one direction.
4. Have Patience and Commit Yourself
You need to know before starting a podcast that there are no overnight successes in general.
Initially, there might be only a few downloads. Achieving thousands of downloads takes some time. It will take some while for your podcast to gain momentum amongst the listeners.
And to get that, you must maintain a release schedule and consistent quality over time to generate results.
I agree that luck also plays a part in success, but it is easier to be lucky when you are prepared!
5. Divide Work into Standard Episodes and Large Projects
You need to know before starting a podcast that the production of new episodes weekly is the bare minimum you have to deliver.
This is what listeners will expect, so you need to be prepared in advance so that you can deliver on this expectation.
Make sure you make episodes in advance of the schedule so that they are always published on time. For example, if you release your podcast weekly, at any time, you should have at least three episodes ready to deliver. This will help you stick to the schedule even if you fall sick or face any other unavoidable situation.
This can also help you structure your work better.
Prepare an outline of how you plan to go ahead with your work. In this outline, begin by deciding an ideal length of the episode.
Usually, podcast listeners prefer longer and in-depth episodes, so forty minutes to one hour is a good choice. Have a list of episodes prepared so that you have a clear idea of how to divide your content into subtopics.
Constantly raise the bar with new ambitious projects
Instead of merely churning out episodes, you can also divide your work into projects. Just like there are ‘seasons’ in a TV series to mark different phases in the progression of a story, your podcast series too can have seasons or projects.
This will give a better structure to your work, and your audience will appreciate it too! In fact, many people will wait in anticipation for the next season.
Have at least 3-6 large projects every year to surprise your audience.
And work on creating some special episodes too, it will add to the delight of your listeners.
6. Experiment to be Successful and Adapt Your Efforts
Make your listeners and subscribers happy by offering them special content – we have seen many people not aware of this, but as podcasting secrets go, raising the bar will allow you to constantly, positively surprise your audience.
You should find ways to enrich your content and test, which resonates best with your audience.
Do not shy away from trying new things. There are many off-beat podcasts that did something unique and got a great response from listeners.
In her podcast, host psychologist Dr. Suzi Gaze profiles a new substance and explains what it is, why people take it, what the potential positive and negative side-effects, as well as the myths that have surfaced in connection with it over the years.
The theme is daring and different, and the podcast has met great response.
Evaluate what grows your show better and focus on that
You can opt for an experimental approach initially to understand what your audience likes. Experiments are not just related to a theme. It can be about
And then use it offers additional content like:
- bonus episodes,
- Q&A episodes,
- interview vs. non-interview, etc.
You can also experiment among different lengths of episodes or different tone and approach to the subject.
7. Make your Entire Podcast Business incrementally better – month over month
The show is never perfect from the start. That is another of many podcasting secrets that most people won’t tell you. However, this shouldn’t stop you from making the first step. You can begin and focus on making it better with each episode.
Utilize the feedback from the viewer’s to achieve the same. You can ask them to leave their comments and ideas on your landing page, or social media handle. And when you use these ideas, give them a shout out in your show.
Make a list of improvements you need to make and make sure to implement a few each month.
Avoid stagnation, don’t repeat or regurgitate your content. You need to know before you start podcasting that continuous improvement should be your goal.
Make sure there is a monetary increment too- as it should go hand in hand when you expand your listener’s base. Keep an eye out for advertisers and sponsorships that you must grab over a period of time.
8. Manage time and choose priorities
You need to know before you start: what exactly is most valuable for your show? And that should be your focus! If recording is your expertise and strength of the show, do it yourself and outsource the other tasks!
You need not spend hours over non-essential tasks, rather outsource them to someone who will do it better and save your time.
There are many freelancers who can help you with the transcript, research, or editing.
Also, you need to prioritize your daily schedule.
Are you spending too many hours on low productivity tasks that take up a lot of time? Sure, you might be spending hours on Youtube or Netflix to get your creative juices flowing.
You might be reading or viewing a lot of content with the noble intention of understanding your niche better, but keep a tab on the clock. Instead of immersing yourself in the work of others, spend more time actually creating your content.
9. Focus on Execution
You can’t control how many downloads and new subscribers you will get. You need to know this before you start.
However, you can control how your podcast that is your final product will sound and feel like.
A podcast should be concise and gripping. At no point, the listener’s attention should weaken. This can be achieved with excellent editing.
Pay attention to the fine details:
- even the title of each episode,
- the background score,
- the conclusion,
- everything matters in holding the listeners’ attention.
The sound quality of the recording also plays an important role. For newbie podcasters who are probably planning to record in their homes, remember to record in a quiet room.
Before recording, you should learn how to use a microphone.
- Remember to keep the microphone 2-4 inches away from your mouth.
- If you are taking a pause between two sentences, keep the microphone away.
- Also, it will be helpful to you if you test multiple angles in a room and see which sounds the best.
Choose your podcasting equipment carefully. Make sure it does not pick up background noises. Select your equipment based on the environment you will be working in.
10. Choose the right podcasting gear to make the work effortless
As podcasts grow in popularity, people are being told that you can easily record a show on a smartphone and effortlessly publish new episodes. This may work for some extremely niche projects or even a school podcast.
But a simple podcasting secret I will share with you that will save you months of headache is this: invest in premium equipment, it will solve a lot of audio quality issues, and you won’t need to think about upgrading your setup.
The thing you need to know before you start a podcast is that correct gear goes a long way. Sure, you may buy a cheap mic for $20, but you will never achieve good quality. You will just get frustrated by how poor it sounds.
Just use podcasting equipment that is great quality and priced reasonably. Go for professional-grade:
Make sure to adjust the acoustic properties of your recording studio. Soundproof it from external noises.
Conclusions
We have discussed podcasting secrets that should prepare you up to start your journey.
As a layman, when you look at a viral podcast, blog, or video, you seldom realize the hard work that goes behind making it successful.
However, that is not the case. A podcast cannot be successful without a plan or methodology. So as you foray into the world of podcasting, prepare yourself well, and execute the work in a proper manner.
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