So you’ve decided to host a podcast! Congratulations, massive step in your marketing strategy in putting yourself out there to seen and especially heard.
As with any strategy that leads a community and builds relationships, it’s important to invest some time in the planning of your series.
There are three phases our podcast hosts go through.
- I’ve got a great idea for a podcast!
- Who am I to create a podcast, who would listen to me?
- OMG there is so much to do.
Yes there is but it’s going to be worth it, so we’ve got this activity to help you see the power of podcasting.
- You are building a community of listeners, some of these people will already know you, some won’t and others are curious about you, your work and what you do.
- You are introducing your tribe to your community. This is like being a party and your worlds colliding.
- It’s important to know who you are, who you are sharing with and how you can serve them in the process of creating your content.
- Skills and knowledge in content creation, storytelling, presenting, interviewing, technology and digital platforms, plus marketing, promotion and pitching are necessary, but if you don’t have them, have time to learn them or not fussed if you do, there are people who can do this stuff.
FIRST TIME LISTENER
The first time your listeners tune in will be to hear what you have to say, so understanding your intention of the podcast is key. Whilst you know everything about you, listeners don’t. Many of them are interested in your life outside of work so deciding how much to reveal is up to you. Remembering it is out there forever and sensitive topics can attract attention – which is good if the topic is ethically discussed or approached. Facts, Feelings and the making those distinction will add credibility to your discussion.
WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?
Explaining who you are and what you do is next, but not as important as to what your listeners will get from hearing what you are sharing. So sprinkle your credibility, awards, accolades and expertise through out your series or do a special all about your episode and embed it into your about me page on your website. This is becoming really popular due to the interest people take in who they are working with.
WHAT ELSE YOU’LL BE DOING?
As the host, you will be responsible for engaging talent, arranging interviews, curating questions, setting up equipment and production processes. (A producer can also do this leaving you to the fun bits.)
When doing an interview style format, it’s important to value your contributing guest. Make it memorable, fun and empowering for them. They are sharing parts of their world with you and that is valuable. Do some research on who they are and what they have achieved and bring this to the table and into the question when you are asking them who, what, where, when, how and why……Framing up a question takes time and each question has an intention. Do be scared to go off script, because organic conversations are more interesting.
You will need to spend a lot of time on promoting, leveraging the content inside each episode and sharing it across platforms, in articles and more.
AS THE LEADER
As the leader of this community it is ultimately your decision what aligns with your brand. Podcast episodes are mutually beneficial. They immediately double your audience and provide valuable information and entertainment to listeners. So decided if the content is worthy of the investment is up to you.
Now there are a few other bits and bobs that will come up and it’s a process of learning or 73 steps in creating a podcast so take your time. Remember the process takes around 12 months to perfect and once you get a schedule, and the working parts in progress, doing your weekly podcast will be like writing another email to your cohort.
If you are looking for accountability in your podcast production, ShirePOD producers are available and keep you to a production schedule.
Every Monday we contact our hosts to ensure they are on track for production time lines.
