Casting a Pod

So I have a podcast, it’s not big, but I’m proud of myself for taking the initiative and producing the episodes I have so far.

I wanted to challenge myself to make one and host it solo. I mean I’ve had guests but it means that I make the call on who’s on the show what’s talked about etc. It also means there’s no one to “banter” with “on-air” – I have to keep the flow and monologue – unless I have a guest, and then it’s still up to me to prepare.

There’s a few lessons to be gleaned from this experience.

One, I don’t think podcasts need to have a set length, sure I suggest having each show last at least a minute but normally more, but if you don’t have things to add and you’ve made your point, you shouldn’t have “filler” time that is non-valuable to the listener.

Two, there are a lot of podcasts out there and some are more focused than others but, again, if you’re providing value, I don’t see a problem, if you also can get your listenership to your goals, so again this is more about what you expect to get out of it and how you can get there.

Three, make your cover as readable as possible, and ideally have photos of hosts and guests somewhere, with their names attached, it’s easier to feel engaged as a listener is you can at least picture your host and which is which if there are multiple hosts.

Four, your equipment does NOT have to be top of the line when you start. However, trouble shoot your options before recording the whole episode, I’ve been surprised by what tools have gotten better sound, in my opinion, than others, say AirPods vs built in speaker, vs cheap table microphone, vs lapel mic. Though whether you have guests or not may make an impact on what mic set up you might need as you grow.

Five, look at the popularity of episodes but take it with a grain of salt. There may be different marketing and sharing that played into different listening metrics, but it can be a good frame of reference or a guide if you’re torn about what to do next.

Six, ideally have one social channel or web page where you reference your podcasts for your own marketing, whether it’s a small, personal show you share from your personal accounts, or it’s a business’ show and you should be aware of posting ads for the show on a company social and the website.

Seven, pre-write content for every episode, not necessarily a full script but certainly a couple main talking points to have in mind whether you’re by yourself, with a co-host, gorup of guests or something else.

I hope this helps you if you’ve ever thought about starting a podcast, or even if you’re just curious about some things that go into podcasting. I don’t claim to be perfect at this but I hope this is at least helpful.