Podcasting for beginners. This is a simple guide that will teach you how to start a podcast and make money from it.
Podcasting has emerged as a popular medium for both amateur and professional broadcasters.
A podcast is a radio-like program listeners listen to at their convenience. They can download podcast episodes and replay the podcast audio when they want.
Podcasting Tips for Beginners
If you’re considering starting a podcast, there are several easy steps you can take.
We will walk you through some important tips for creating a podcast. Such as:
- identifying your target audience,
- creating a content calendar,
- recording and editing the podcast episodes,
- podcast hosting platforms,
- and monetizing podcasts.
It’s never too early to start, even if you’re just a beginner. Start with these easy steps, and you’ll be well on your way to podcasting success.
Identifying Your Target Audience
Identifying your target audience when podcasting is important to get your message across. Podcasts that do not have a specific target audience lack personality and interest.
Although saying “everyone” might sound easy, this approach will only get you so far. Your target audience may be a particular demographic or a subset of your audience.
In either case, focus on creating a product that is high quality and relevant to your target audience. Creating a podcast that offers value to listeners is a great way to get your message across.
Once you’ve established the general audience, develop a persona for preferred listeners. Determine who and what your podcast’s content would be most useful for. If your audience is more interested in politics, sports, or comedy. Your ideal listeners will be those who have an interest in politics, sports, or comedy.
Creating a Content Calendar
Having a podcast editorial calendar is a strategic approach to content marketing. In this way, you can keep your podcast publishing schedule consistent.
Like, any other content marketing tip, you must frequently publish new podcasts. Keep your audience equipped with fresh and new podcast episodes.
Depending on your style, you might have to publish content more than once a week. To make the process easy, create a content calendar. This is your schedule of upcoming content. Including the topic, date, and potential guests. After creating a calendar, you can set a date to publish each episode.
It will also help you track your content’s availability. You can make your content calendar more manageable. Plan out your episodes based on your availability.
Once you have a schedule, you can focus on creating more content. If you’re a new podcaster, start by scheduling a day to promote your podcast. Incorporate the days when you will do promotional activities into your content calendar.
Write Podcasting Scripts
When recording your podcast, remember that the audience is not your personal computer. So remember that the intended use of your podcast is for people to hear it.
Create a rough outline that will help you decide what kind of content you want to include in your episodes. A podcast script could help you flesh out quality podcast topics. Considering how your audience would want to experience your show.
Imagine yourself as your listener’s avatar and write out an episode plan. Create a script that will interest, inform, and entertain your listeners. Include a hook, introduction, rhetorical questions, call to action, transitions, and closings.
Write your podcast hook based on these details. Think of it as your opportunity to entice the potential listener to play your podcast to the end. A hook will give listeners an idea about your podcast and why they will enjoy hearing it. It can be as simple as three sentences describing the concept behind your podcast.
Recording Podcast Episodes
Once you’ve started a podcast, the next step is to record your first episode.
While recording your episodes, make the intro and outro for the podcast stand out. You may choose to commission custom music. While the costs of custom music may deter you, remember that the cost is worth it in the long run. But don’t let that stop you from creating a high-quality podcast. A good podcast intro will help your listeners to identify and remember your brand voice.
While recording, keep in mind that your episodes should be 45 minutes to an hour. It’s also a good idea to silence all notifications while recording. You can cut out these notifications later if needed.
While podcasting doesn’t require a lot of processing power. It requires certain podcasting hardware equipment. However, you can buy some podcasting tools at affordable prices. In the long run, it will be well worth the investment when you have a successful podcast online.
What equipment do you need for podcasting? Podcast beginner equipment does not have to break your bank. A decent microphone, an audio editor, and a few other items are enough to podcast.
Once you have mastered the recording process, edit your podcast episodes.
Editing Podcast Episodes
The editing process depends on how you approach your content and your audience. You are an excited podcasting beginner. So, it might tempt you to skip the post-production process. . But that’s the worst thing to do.
This process involves editing the raw recording to improve the story. The podcast editing process is a subtractive process to refine podcast episodes. You cut audible distractions or rearrange audio. You also include sound effects, transitions, music, pre-recorded advertising, and more. As with any editing process, it’s crucial to remove any content that doesn’t belong in the episode.
When you edit episodes, keep in mind that it’s a slow process. It takes a lot of time, and many podcasters use a program like Audacity. Podcast editing software makes refining an episode easier.
You can either use the free Audacity program to edit your audio. Or pay for a professional editing tool such as Alitu podcast maker. It is a great option for beginners, but it will require paying a subscription fee. It includes tools to edit raw audio, add music and transitions, and publish the podcast.
Depending on the type of podcast you produce, you can enlist the help of micro job freelancers.
Creating a Podcast Description
Write a podcast SEO description that will attract and inform potential listeners.
A podcast description helps you to summarize what the podcast is about. This is also a good way to include some SEO meta keywords so search engines can find your podcast.
As these short descriptions can contain keywords and relevant phrases. That will help people find your content on platforms such as iTunes and Spotify. These platforms act as search engines. Most people will probably discover a podcast through a search query.
You can use a common interest in your podcast description. This will help you captivate listeners who share similar interests. Try to address a problem that your ideal listener faces. Highlighting this problem in your podcast description will attract the right audience.
Mention the frequency of episodes and hint at the schedule of upcoming episodes. If you have a show that is irreverent or humorous, include that in your description. Whether you have a comedy or a serious topic, be concise in your description.
Choose a Podcast Publishing Platform
As a new podcaster, you must find a way for listeners to access your podcast episodes. You can create a nice-looking website and upload your podcast there. But there are other ways for you to host your podcast and make it available to a wider audience.
Podcasting platforms provide an easy way for people to create podcasts. And distribute their podcast audio shows anywhere in the world.
The most popular podcasting platforms are Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. All three platforms offer a wide range of features. Such as the ability to:
- subscribe to shows,
- download episodes,
- and listen to podcasts offline.
In addition, each platform has its directory of popular shows. Making it easy to find new programs to listen to. With so many options available, there is something for everyone on podcasting platforms.
Hence, podcast hosting platforms provide services and tools for managing podcasts. Podcasters can upload their audio files for listeners to access and download.
Entrepreneurs and businesses are leaning toward services provided by Buzzsprout. But there are also Spreaker and Redcirlcle podcasting platforms. All three options facilitate podcast creation, hosting, and distribution. Some podcasting providers offer users free plans, such as Soundcloud.
Also, podcasting services assist you with getting your podcasts published on other platforms. You publish your episode on your preferred podcast hosting platform. Then that service pushes your episodes to third-party podcasting platforms. Such as iTunes or Spotify. This aids in the distribution of your podcast and makes it available to a wider audience.
Closing: How do Podcasts Make Money?
Popular podcasts make a lot of money every day. This makes the benefits of having a podcast, twofold.
On one hand, podcasts are a great way to reach out to an audience and provide them with valuable information. But, podcasts are also a great way to monetize your content.
There are many ways that you can monetize podcasts. Podcasts can generate passive income. You can sell advertising space, sell products, or even charge for subscriptions.
Hence, some podcasts have sponsorships, while others have advertisements. Many podcasts have Patreon accounts where listeners can donate money to the podcast creators.
Podcast hosting platforms like Buzzsprout, Redcircle, and Spreaker make podcast monetization easy.
