The Birth of a Podcast

The Birth of a Podcast
by
Corin Tomasello

So you want to start a podcast? This is something that is coming up with my business partners and networking groups a lot lately so I thought I’d share my take on how to set your podcast up for success!

Just over 20% of the U.S. population listen to podcasts regularly with most podcast listening taking place on Apple iOS devices. Podcasts differ from radio where content has to fit 15 minute increments to make room for advertisers. If your podcast episode topic warrants 56 minutes of conversation, then that’s how long it should be.

A podcast isn’t meant to be a one and done thing.

It’s meant to be a series of episodes that are meant to educate and inspire your target audience. So as always, you must define your audience and your goal first! Think of what questions would they want to ask you and learn about. Are you starting a podcast to complement your existing business marketing strategy (add more value) or will it be geared toward developing a new business venture (branding)?

Once you’ve defined your podcast audience, you need a podcast name and a format for how you’re going to deliver your listener’s questions. Podcasts should have a catchy name; not just your company name with podcast at the end. It’s also good to use a word or phrase that describes what content listeners will hear when they tune in.

I recommend before you launch your podcast, that you listen to other podcasts in your market. This is a sort of market research so you can differentiate your show from the competition. Once you’ve determined a name and audience, you need some serious album art. Ask a Tampa graphic designer (like moi) to create a high-quality one for you!

Now that you have podcast branding complete, you need footage (save as a .aif file) and edit it appropriately for the best quality audio file. Make sure to cut your podcast files into different sections to remove odd pauses and so you can move sections of content around as needed. Plus, by having your audio in their own tracks, you can also use snippets as a teaser for the full podcast for social media or other advertising.

Listen to your full audio file and then have a friend or co-worker listen for a second opinion. This will give you great feedback before putting your podcast episode live. Then upload to iTunes and add your show info.

But wait, you’re not done! Now the true promotion starts. Create a podcast show page that connects to your business for enhanced search engine optimization (SEO), add call-to-actions (CTAs) throughout the page, and include content and additional resources about your episode in show notes. Now you’re selling your show!

Best practice: create a page for each podcast episode to build more optimized marketing content.

Once your podcast is complete, promote your podcast show with social media and where possible link back to your show page for enhanced online traffic. You’ll also want to get your podcast transcribed so you can use that content for SEO on your show page.

Other integrated marketing tactics you’ll want to do with every podcast episode include: coming up with a creative hashtag, unique social media graphics that drive social shares, announce your new podcast in your email newsletter, and of course tell your friends, advocates and network groups about your show!

And there you have it, your podcast is born and you’ve added another aspect to your branding and marketing strategy. Until then, here are three cool podcasts Charisma Communications recommends:

Youpreneur FM

The Youpreneur podcast is the brain child of personal branding expert Chris Ducker. He and his guests, discuss topics that help modern entrepreneurs & solopreneurs be successful.

The Growth Show

Hubspot’s podcast, The Growth Show, provides great tips and tricks for growing your business. Tune in for proven strategies for taking your business to the next level.}

Unemployable Podcast

Brian Clark has started 8 successful businesses including Copyblogger. He talks about topics that “unemployable” entrepreneurs care about, such as: how to find your winning difference.