Starting Your Own Podcast
A number of my clients, students, and acquaintances have asked me about The Digital Freelancers podcast. To be more precise, they’ve actually asked me about podcasting – how it works, is it worth it, and should they start their own?
My podcast was started last year with my business partner and it’s been a great experience. I definitely recommend starting your own show if you’ve been thinking about it but haven’t yet moved forward.
Why Start a Podcast?
As someone who likes to think long and hard about starting new projects, I debated whether or not it was too late to jump into the podcasting pool. It seems like everyone and their brother has a podcast today, and it can be time consuming to produce.
All that being said I think there are a lot of good reasons to move forward with creating your own podcast. Podcasts come in all different shapes and sizes so you can customize it to meet your needs (and preferences). Whether you want to monologue, partner with a co-host, or interview people on your podcast, it’s entirely up to you. However, the process you’ll need to go through to produce a show is virtually the same.
How to Create a Podcast
The process of starting a podcast is actually pretty simple – it starts with an idea. When you have an idea, it’s time to execute. Follow these steps for creating a podcast:
- Determine the topic
- Pick a title and create some cover art
- Buy recording equipment (all it takes is a microphone)
- Download or access recording software (Audacity, Zencastr)
- Record your first episode
- Upload your files to Soundcloud
- Connect your show feed to Apple, Spotify, and other Podcast platforms
Keys to a Successful Podcast
At the time of this writing, my business partner and I have created more than 70 episodes of The Digital Freelancers. The podcast hasn’t yet blessed us with fame or fortune, but has created a number of unexpected benefits.
To me, a successful show is one that delivers meaningful content and is fun to produce. To that end, we crushed it. I look forward to our recording sessions and learn from my business partner each time we record. I’m hoping he feels the same way.
What the medium has created is a closer connection to the content that’s so meaningful to me. Many times we’ll do research on a topic to make sure we thoroughly understand it and can explain the information to our audience. This has made me a better marketer. And it’s definitely a preferred way of learning compared to boring Zoom calls or virtual events.
The biggest key to our success has been consistency. We release 2 episodes every week and we don’t plan on slowing down. Think of your shows in two parts, recording and editing/publishing.
And of course, it’s important to plan your podcasts according to a regular schedule. For example you may choose to record on Thursdays, edit your podcast over the weekend and release on the following Wednesday. Whatever schedule you create, stick to it.
Promoting Your Podcast
Once you’ve created and posted your show through an RSS feed, the next step is to let people know about it. My recommendation is to use social media to the best of your ability. Let friends and family know about the podcast with a direct link to each episode. Once our episodes go live, I share via Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Over time, you’ll build and audience and a following.
Starting and growing a podcast takes time but is definitely worth it. You don’t need a million listeners. Sometimes the satisfaction is in the “doing” and sharing. Get started today and see where your journey takes you.
