Podcasting

What Is a Podcast

A podcast is a recording of audio discussion on a specific topic, like business or politics, that can be listened to. They’re often found on platforms such as iTunes and Spotify but can also be hosted on websites. A podcast is an audio program, just like the radio. The difference being that you subscribe to it on your smartphone and listen to it whenever you fits you the best. A podcast refers to episodes of an audio series. A podcast generally has a host and a guest. Podcasts are getting extremely popular, with the different music applications having included various podcasts in their playlists. Here are a few people that use the podcast platform to reach their audience:

• Companies
• Radio networks
• TV networks
• Comedians
• Politicians
• Storytellers
• Churches 

How Podcasts Make Money

There’s a couple of ways to monetize a podcast. Most successful podcasters use several monetization strategies in order to guarantee a constant flow of revenue. If all your revenue comes from one source alone, you risk loosing everything. A good example would be if you only publish your podcast on YouTube and your account is suspended. This would ruin your business. So I recommend creating multiple revenue streams. I will get into the different ways you can keep a healthy money stream flowing to build a successful podcast.

A sponsorship is the most common way a podcast makes an revenue. In return the podcast promotes the sponsor during and/or after the show. Most people already know this method from social media influencers. The amount of revenue you earn from a sponsor depends on the number of downloads your podcast has. You can price your ads depending on where you place them within your podcasts. Pre-roll ads run at the beginning of the show, while post-roll ads run at the end of the show. Mid-roll ads are more valuable to sponsors for clear reasons.

Another great way to make earnings of your podcast is affiliate sales. These are similar to sponsorships, but instead of getting paid by the download, you get paid based on what you sell for the affiliated company. The affiliated company will pay you a commission for each sale. If you use this model, make sure the affiliate company gives you a unique affiliate link that’s easy for you to say and your listeners to understand.

Here’s a list of methods you can use to make money with podcasting:

• Sponsorship
• Affiliate sales
• Patreon
• Selling products
• Selling services
• Listener donations
• Using a podcast network that pays you
  

Pick a Topic

Before you get started on your podcast you need to pick a topic. The podcast topic forms the soul of your podcast. Pick a topic that you yearn to talk about and is relevant to the audience. Choose a topic that can be easily explained with the usage of words. Also, you have to be extra expressive with your voice, since your listeners cannot see your expressions. Picking a subject for a podcast is easy if you already have an existing business or a blog, because your podcast reflect that same topic.

Prior to picking a topic, you should go on some of the more popular podcast platforms and see what topics are most successful. If there are podcasts that cover your same topic, look into the statistics and popularity of their podcast and episodes. If there are already a lot of podcasts covering your topic, you’ll want to spend some planning how your podcast will be different than all the existing podcasts. Because, if you simply copy what other people are already doing, it will be hard for you to build an audience and achieve success with your podcast.

Pick a Title

When you get ready to pick a title for your podcast, you should take a one important thing into consideration. You can easily use your name (The “John Doe Show”). However, I would suggest you use a descriptive name that tells people exactly what your podcast is about. This will help your podcast turn up in searches on Google, Spotify or iTunes when people search for podcasts about your specific topic.

Pick a Format

Now that you have a topic and title, you’ll need to pick a format for your podcast. Will your podcast be a video or audio podcast? How long will your shows be? How often will you publish new shows? These are questions that you need to consider before moving on. It’s important to consider your target audience as you ask yourself these questions. Will the host interview a new guest on each show? Who is the expert on the topic? Is the host or the guest the expert on the show? Will you have one or two hosts? Make sure you have answers for these elements before you move on.

Here is a simple podcast format that will work:

• Teaser
• Intro 
• Welcome
• Ad Spot
• Interview
• Call To Action
• Outro
  
  

The Equipment
Contrary to what some people think, you really don’t need much equipment to produce a quality podcast. All you need is a good microphone. If you’re starting a video podcast, you’ll need some additional equipment such as a webcam. A quite room is a must for optimum quality podcasting. Nobody wants to listen to a show that has people talking or cars honking in the background. It distracts the listener from the audio and holds them back from becoming a part of the story.

Necessary equipment:

• Microphone
• Headset
• Camera

The Hosting Platform

Your podcasts needs a place on a server where the media files will live and be available to your audience. While you can host a podcast on your website, this is not recommended. Because if your podcast takes off and gets a lot of downloads, it could really slow your site down and cause frustration for your audience. Instead, I recommend you use a dedicated podcast host or platform. $15 a month will give you plenty of storage space for your media files on a pro platform.

Your Intro and Outro

You want each episode of your podcast to have a professional intro that includes the title, slogan and the topic of the show. You can record this yourself or have a freelance voice-over artist do it. Similarly, you want an outro for your show. In the outro you can include your website or how the audience can contact you. To make things easier for yourself I suggest you save the intro and outro as a template in your audio editing software. This way you can simply add the audio files for each episode after each episode is recorded.

Your Studio

As I mentioned before, you need a quite room to record in. You don’t need to set up a huge home recording studio in order to achieve good sound quality. Any room can basically become your studio. Just avoid flat surfaces around you that make the sound bounce off and cause unpleasant echo. Many podcasters start out by recording in their closet surrounded by clothes. This will create a very professional sound and eliminate all the echo.

Podcast Guests

This is the step where you put a list together of all the guest you want on your show. Then you need to start reaching out to them yourself or hire a freelancer to do it for you. This saves you the headache of going back and forth working out a meeting time. Getting an assistant to do this step, means you can focus on getting more quality content out there.

Promote Your Show

Just as it’s important it is to create good content, it is equally important to promote it in the right manner. Making people aware of your podcast is an important factor in the game. A way you can expand awareness of your show, is by collaborating with other podcasts to promote yours. Remember, making guest appearances is always a great way to gain new listeners. Build a website to promote your podcast and use hashtags when promoting it on social media. Keep in mind that maintaining a social media presence for your podcast is extremely important. On social media, you can also connect with other podcasters, which might land you an invite to one of their shows.

Here are a few key factors that you can use to promote your show:

• Invite guests on your show
• Be a guest on someone else's show 
• Ask your audience to share the show with their friends and family
  

Have Fun

The secret to having a successful podcast is to enjoy doing it. People can hear whether you actually love doing what you are doing or not. No matter which subject you discuss or who you have on as a guest, you should make it a habit to enjoy what you do. The key is to enjoy every moment you share with your audience. This energy is infectious and connects with your listeners. The more you love talking about a subject, the more your listeners will be interested in listening to what you have to say. Finally, do your research on all the subjects you pick and make sure you have some credibility to your statements. This will build a trust with your listeners and help your podcast on the journey to become a successful business.