How to start a podcast in 15 simple steps [FREE PRINTABLE CHECKLIST]
Download the checklist + follow along so you can get started ASAP!
I’ve had a ton of inquiries from my followers and subscribers about how to start a podcast since launching my podcast, Bloom Boldly, in March 2020. I hesitated to start a podcast for so long because A) I thought only people with fancy equipment, studios and staff could start podcasts and B) I had no clue where to begin even if that wasn’t the case - the concept and tech was so foreign to me. Then, after enough guidance and inspiration from colleagues and encouragement from my community, I just went for it and I’m so glad I did. Launching my podcast has been an amazing experience.
This post is for all of the people out there who want to start a podcast but aren’t sure how. If you haven’t started one because you’re not sure what to do or because you feel like it has to be perfect, listen up.
The beauty of podcasting is that it doesn’t have to be perfect and ANYONE can do it. I was a newbie to all of this once too but was able to set up and run mine without spending a cent.
If DIY podcasting is something you want in on too, keep reading.
Podcasting is so simple and so much fun once you get in a groove! Getting set up takes a bit of time but once you’re going, it’s all gravy, baby. Plus, since it’s only audio, the prep work for each episode doesn’t take nearly as long as say...planning to record videos, write blog posts, etc. Podcasting is such a unique and efficient way to create and repurpose content as a means to share your expertise and stories, especially for business.
I’ve broken down this checklist into two parts: Starting a podcast and promoting a podcast / podcast advertising. These are the exact steps I took to start and market mine. It’s not perfect and I’m sure there are a million different ways to go about this but these steps are what’s worked beautifully for me and, like I said, I was COMPLETELY new to this when I started. You pick up on it fast once you have a process. So, let’s get you up and running!
**This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you sign up for a program or make a purchase from my link I may make a small commission at no cost to you.**
Listen to my latest episodes of Bloom Boldly Podcast + SUBSCRIBE on Apple Podcasts :)
How to start a podcast in 15 simple steps [FREE PRINTABLE CHECKLIST]
STARTING A PODCAST
1. PICK A HOSTING PLATFORM. The first thing to know about podcasts is that you can’t just record audio and plop it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or Google Play. You need to pick a podcast software to host your content so it can have its own RSS feed. For this, there are many options like Libsyn, Zencastr, Acast. I use Acast because they have a really great free version (and amazing customer service for when you’re confused).
2. PICK A PODCAST NAME. You’ll need this to get started on your hosting platform. Pick a podcast name. Keep in mind that you want it to be as clear as it is clever. Brand in Bloom, my podcast name, builds on my already well-establish brand and online courses so it’s clear that the podcast is an extension of my business offerings. Podcast names can be tricky but, you only have so many characters to work with AND there are only so many characters that someone is going to be able to see in a podcast app. Consider the user experience - how much is someone who is not subscribed going to have to type into their app every time they want to listen to your podcast and will they always do it and do it right? Make it easy for them to find and come back to. Instead use your podcast artwork / podcast cover art to help your podcast stick out (we’ll get to that in a minute). For names though, I recommend keeping yours to 3-5 words MAX. You may have one in mind already but I advise that you do a quick audit and research Apple Podcasts / Spotify to see if your name is already in use. If it is, you can still use it but, beware, the promotional space will be much more competitive. I recommend picking a unique podcast name that isn’t already taken - it makes marketing it much more effective and fun!
3. PICK A PODCAST GENRE. There are so many podcast genres you can choose from so here are some thoughts: Is your podcast educational? Is it personal or professional? Is it business-related? Is it comedy? Is it serial or episodic? Will it just be you or will you also have guests? Is it free or is it paid? All things to consider and best to plan out in advance. When I started, my podcast outline included one guest interview episode for every 3 solo episodes - this is a podcast format I still use today and it works really well (and reduces my workload :) As for free vs paid podcasts, my podcast is free but I reserve some episodes just for my Bloom Crew members who get exclusivity to certain episodes AND access to my podcast video interviews. There are a bunch of ways you can put your own spin on your podcast to incentivize and increase downloads.
4. WRITE A PODCAST DESCRIPTION. What is your podcast about? What will you share? Who are you trying to reach? What will you teach? How will it help people? In 3-5 sentences, describe who you are, what your podcast is, and what makes it unique. Don’t skip out on this! You’d be surprised how many people read these before they decide to subscribe.
5. CREATE PODCAST ARTWORK. Use Canva to create podcast cover art that’s unique to you and your brand / your mission. The correct podcast cover art size as of 2020 should be at least 1400 by 1400 pixels (a hi-res square). The goal of your podcast cover art is to stop the scroll inside of podcast apps, like Apple Podcasts, which means you should keep them clean and simple. Don’t go crazy with text and colors on your podcast cover art. Even though you’re designing it at 1400 x 1400 pixels, when your podcast gets distributed across platforms, it’s only going to be this tiiiiny little box. For this reason, I recommend that your podcast covers include a photo of yourself with bright solid colors (2 at max) and minimal text to catch the eye. Go to your podcast app and look at the most popular podcasts - see any similarities in the cover art?
6. OUTLINE YOUR LIST OF PODCAST TOPICS. I use Asana to keep track of my episode topics and use that as a reference when I record. To think of topics, I recommend looking at your blog and consider any popular content you’ve already shared that you could repurpose into audio content, as well as on your social media platforms. My first step was recording my most popular blog posts. Then, once the podcast episodes are live, I go back and update the blog posts with the embed player of that episode so readers can also listen to the content as well as subscribe to the podcast. I also love using Google Search Console to see what my audience may be looking for and creating podcast topics based on my findings. I’ll dive into this more further down the checklist.
7. RECORD PRE-LAUNCH EPISODES. Have at least 5-7 episodes of your podcast recorded and ready to go from your topic list. In terms of podcast equipment, I record right to my Macbook using Quicktime audio recording and my Blue Yeti Microphone BUT you can also just record using your Apple headphones and your computer OR your headphones and your iPhone using the voice memo app that comes with your phone. I’ve done both and the audio quality is pretty consistent across formats as long as you’re using headphones with a mic. I LOVE how easy it is to record. My best ideas usually come to me when I’m walking, in the garden or out in the backyard so, for some episodes, I’ve literally just popped on headphones and hit record on my iPhone with the Voice Memos app, which is automatically included on all iPhones. It’s so easy! I will say though, while on-the-go recording is fun, it is important that you loosely plan out each episode so there is structure of some kind. There has to be value for the listener - they don’t just want to hear you blab about your life without any real structure. Teach them something. Give them takeaways. Tell a story. When I record on the go, I always go into it with an initial thought that I know will have a valuable takeaway / task for them to try.
8. RECORD A TRAILER. Record a brief 1-3 minute trailer that introduces listeners to you and your podcast. This will appear at the top of most podcast publishing programs like Apple Podcasts. It helps for new visitors who aren’t sure if they want to subscribe or not. I have one on my podcast if you’re looking for an example - listen below.
9. RECORD AN INTRO + OUTRO. Add flare to your podcast episodes by recording an intro and outro that you can edit into each episode. Include podcast intro music to make it stick out and get people used to your format but make sure it’s royalty free and, even then, it’s still appropriate to credit the creator. I found mine for no cost and rights free in the Youtube Audio Library. PLEASE, I can’t stress this enough, make sure that your music is royalty / right free so you’re not breaching copyrights. Read the fine print and make sure you can use someone else’s audio for your podcast. If you find a tune that fits the bill, make sure to take screenshots of what it is, where you downloaded it, and the rights tied to it (with URL visible) for reference should you get challenged for it in the future. At least then you have proof.
10. EDIT YOUR EPISODES. Come up with a simple system for editing your episodes so they’re not clunky using podcast editing software. I use GarageBand on Mac to edit my episodes. I have one project with my intro and outro so that every time I edit an episode, the only bit I have to replace each time is the actual episode audio content. Editing allows me to cut out any weird spots seamlessly. To make this easier on yourself, I recommend recording somewhere it’s quiet and background noise is minimal. It will make the editing process so much easier. Take a listen to a few of my episodes and you’ll see what I mean. GarageBand is also how I was able to make my sole intro and outro audio files so it’s me talking with music in the background. I was completely new to GarageBand but once I opened it and just started playing around, I found it was really quite easy to use. To save, click “Share” and then “Export to disk”. Boom, you have your episode ready to upload.
11. UPLOAD YOUR EPISODES TO YOUR PODCAST HOSTING SITE. Import your episodes to your podcast hosting platform, like Acast. When you do this, you’re allowed to create a title, subtitle and description for the episode, as well as upload podcast cover art by episode, if you want. Make sure your titles are short and keyword rich to help guide listeners who may be looking for info on a particular topic/theme. It helps to number your podcast episodes too should you ever need to reference them for listeners - makes them super easy to find.
12. PUBLISH YOUR PODCAST. Once you have your initial episodes in your hosting platform, it’s time to distribute them - yay! This is the exciting part. I was so freakin’ stoked when I saw my podcast appear on Apple and Spotify. I may have only just started but hey that’s me and my brain out there - pretty cool. Anyway, you can pay your hosting platform to automatically distribute your podcast across platforms for you OR you can do it yourself. For example: Acast is free but they’ll charge me if I want to link up all my distributors like Apple, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc. I did it myself because I made it my mission to find a way to have a podcast free of charge. Honestly, the workaround was low effort - just a couple extra steps. There are a TON of places to distribute your podcast. To start, I’d go with the big guys and you can always branch out from there. All you’ll have to do is fill out a form for each distributor. I’ve linked to them below:
How to submit your podcast to Amazon Podcasts **NEW** (Amazon is just starting to roll this out, I recommend being an early adopter and getting in on the ground level by submitting your podcast here!)
PROMOTING A PODCAST
13. PREP YOUR PODCAST GRAPHICS. Create a series of podcast art for your Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Pinterest for both your walls/grids as well as your Stories. I also recommend creating audio snippet graphics to promote to Instagram Reels, IGTV, and TikTok. You’ve probably seen those nifty 30 second video clips with wave bars floating around Instagram and Facebook promoting people’s podcast episodes. They look like this:
These graphics are a really unique way to draw attention to your podcast every time you release an episode and ESPECIALLY when you first launch. I use Headliner to make these. It takes a bit of time to play around with and get just right but it’s worth it. I also use Canva for all of my design needs.
14. PRE-PROMOTE YOUR PODCAST. Before you go buckwild marketing and advertising your podcast, try to gain some initial traction for it to garner early subscribes, downloads, and reviews first. In advance of going live, I sent my podcast to my email subscribers and to my family and friends to let them know about it and asked them to listen, subscribe, and rate. Having a few ratings before you launch will encourage more listeners, subscribers and reviewers. This acts as a unique form of social proof. It literally 30 seconds, if that, to rate and review a podcast you like. Encourage your inner circle to support you before you go public. You can listen, subscribe, and rate mine here: elisabethfleming.com/podcast I’d really love that :)
15. LONG-TERM PROMOTION. There are a few techniques here I need you to know about:
CREATE A PODCAST WEBSITE OR WEBSITE PAGE. Have a unique page on your website aka your territory where you can draw attention to your podcast and capture leads. You don’t just want to drive followers from social media right to Apple or Spotify. Get them to your site first so you get their unique page visit. This will (eventually) impact your page rank on search engines like Google, Bing, etc. Creating a podcast website or webpage is also a great way to start show casing your podcast should you want to pitch it for advertising, press or guest collaborations in the future. When you beef it up, it really can act as your podcast media kit!
MULTI-FORMAT / REPURPOSE YOUR EPISODES. Want to encourage more subscribers to listen to your podcast? Consider all the ways your podcast content can be formatted and repurposed. Here are a few examples:
Publish a podcast transcript as a blog post for every episode and embed each episode within like this so they can listen right from your website. The longer someone is on your website, the better :)
Write an email to your subscribers with the episode as the focal point or just send the episode as a written email.
Make your podcast into a video or vice versa, when you record your podcast do it via video recorder so you can capture both the audio AND visual. This is a more advanced technique but it’s super efficient. Maybe you go Live on Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram a lot? Plop those videos into iMovie, extract the audio, edit the audio in GarageBand to make it into a podcast episode. It requires no extra recording on your end. I’ve done this for a couple of my episodes and it works like a charm. Just make sure you brief your audience so they know to expect this. In my description, I let my subscribers know that I publish directly recorded episodes as well as audio from videos, audio from keynotes, workshops and, when I have permission, some business meetings.
My goal is to provide my listeners with the most valuable content possible related to my niche. For me, this comes in many formats. Transparency is important in marketing any piece of content within your business so, when in doubt, just be straight up with your audience so they know what they’re getting when they subscribe and listen. Your podcast doesn’t have to be perfect. Actually, the imperfections create intrigue and make it more desirable. Podcasts are popular for a reason - they’re versatile, story driven, value driven, casual, fun. Keep those attributes in mind as you bring yours to life.
BE CONSISTENT. If you’re gonna host a podcast, HOST a podcast. Don’t go through all the effort of getting set up and drawing in subscribers to then only leave them hanging because you didn’t have a system to scale it. This is a commitment you MUST make before you even hit record. Stay consistent with your posting schedule and your process. Do new episodes air every Monday? Friday? Monday and Friday? Every other week? Either way, it’s important that you let your audience know the deal so they know what to expect right from the get-go.
Here’s a quick overview of my simple podcast system:
I pick a day of the week to batch record and edit 4-8 episodes at once.
I write blog posts for each one.
I write emails for each one.
I have 2-3 social posts for each one.
I schedule the distribution for each piece of content through Acast, Squarespace, Planoly, and Tailwind then my content is automatically disseminated for the podcast over 2 months at a time. A few weeks after that, I start the batch process again.
This process sounds like a lot of work and, honestly, it is when you first start but...systems like this make the process so much easier, especially for us entrepreneurs who tend to do everything ourselves for the first several years.
Once you have a system and you start to automate tasks, it gets so much easier.
Now, if your budget does allow, you can hire someone to do all of this stuff for you but what’s the fun in that?! Challenge yourself to learn a new skill. Then, down the road, you can always outsource if your podcast gains enough traction.
As with your marketing, podcasting can be as simple or as advanced as you want it to be. My advice? Take it slow and go step by step. The world needs your story. You’ve got this!
Got a podcast? Drop the link in the comments so I can check it out and listen. In the meantime, you can subscribe and listen to mine below for your weekly dose of more business marketing tips like this! If you dig it, let me know with a 5 star rating + review, k? It helps a ton.
Happy casting!
Rate, Review, & Subscribe in Apple Podcast
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