Start your Podcast, it is as EASY as 1, 2, 3!

Written By The Plug ATL

CLICK HERE to book your Podcast session at THE PLUG ATL!

THIS IS THE BEST TIME TO START A PODCAST! 

With the COVID-19 Pandemic here, the impact on America and the rest of the world is evident.  Nothing makes that more apparent than the Shelter In Place and Self Quarantine orders happening WORLDWIDE. That means millions of people are just sitting in their homes with nothing to do and plenty of time for consuming new content from all kinds of new influencers and personalities. One of the best and most effective ways of getting your message out to the people is through the avenue of podcasting. Podcasting is still a relatively new and untapped industry with a great source of income and a broad reach to new audiences. The Plug ATL is Atlanta’s newest Multimedia studio with a four mic podcasting room set up for beginners and the more advanced podcast influencers. The best part is all you need to get started, are yourself and an idea. We are here to meet you wherever you are! Click the image above to book your podcast session TODAY!

What makes podcasts different?

FROM: www.buzzsprouts.com

Podcasts are a great way to build a genuine connection with your audience.

Instead of the fractured connection you make through social media, podcasts allow you to engage your audience with unique long-form content. Podcasts are more convenient than blog posts; people can listen to podcasts while driving, working out, or just doing chores around the house.

There is a lot of unexplored space in the podcasting industry. There are at least 600 million blogs, 23 million YouTube channels, but only 800,000 podcasts in Apple Podcasts.

That means for every podcast, there are 750 blogs and 29 YouTube channels.

Imagine the incredible opportunity there was to start a blog in 2004, and you'll have an idea of where podcasting is today.

Step 1: Develop a podcast concept

Podcasts are as varied as the people that create them.

There are excellent podcasts about history, pop-culture, neuroscience, and even a fictional town where aliens are friends with the Yeti. The only limit to what you can do with a podcast is your own imagination.

Before we tackle questions about choosing a podcast name, format, and show length, let's consider some fundamental questions.

To start, ask yourself, "Why am I starting a podcast?" and "What is my podcast about?"

Once you've answered the why and what, the rest of the concept will fall into place.

Identify your podcast goals

So, "why are you starting a podcast?" To phrase it another way, "what's your goal or purpose for your podcast?"

To help you get started, here are some common goals in podcasting:

  • To generate leads for a business

  • To be recognized as a leader in an industry

  • To share an important message

  • To have fun

It's helpful to write your answer down so you can refer back to it as you develop your show's concept.

Pick a podcast theme or topic

Now it's time to figure out your show's topic. Your topic can be as broad as pop-culture or as focused as discussions about recent Supreme Court rulings.

The only requirement is to be passionate about whatever you choose. It should be something you're excited to research and regularly discuss. Once you have an idea of what to podcast about, it's time for market research.

You can search your show's topic in Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes) to see if there are already podcasts in that genre. If there are, listen to a handful of episodes to see what they're doing well and think of ways they could improve.

Name your podcast

When picking a podcast name, try to pick something catchy, memorable, and that will rank for your podcast's relevant keywords.

Here's Apple's advice for picking a good title for your show:

Pay close attention to the title, author, and description tags at the and level of your podcast. Apple Podcasts uses title, author, and description fields for search. The metadata for your podcast, along with your podcast artwork, is your product packaging and can affect whether your podcast shows up in relevant searches, and how likely users are to subscribe to it.

Make your title specific. A podcast named Our Community Bulletin is too vague to attract many subscribers, no matter how compelling the content.

From Apple’s Podcast Best Practices.

Use keywords, without stuffng

You don't want to stuff your title with keywords, but you do want to make it easy for people to find your podcast. If you have a one or two-word podcast name, add a brief description in the title tag to help search results.

Here are a couple examples:

  • Akimbo: A Podcast from Seth Godin.
    Most people searching for this podcast will probably search for Seth Godin. So it's important to include his name in the title.

  • Syntax - Tasty Web Development Treats.
    There probably aren't many people searching for "Syntax" in Apple Podcasts (unless they've already heard of this show). By adding "tasty web development treats," the podcast can show up if someone searches for "Web Development," which will significantly increase the odds of being found by potential listeners.

Don't create podcast artwork, yet

Even though we're doing all the prep work, we suggest holding off on creating artwork right now.

Your podcast is in its infancy, and as a result, the concept of your show will probably change a little as you record your first few episodes. It's totally fine if this happens. It's easy to change the title of your podcast, but it's a real pain to change your artwork, especially if you paid already paid for it once.

We recommend waiting until after you record a few episodes before you create your show's official artwork.

Jump to Podcast Artwork section.

Step 2: Choose your podcast format

Some podcasts just have a single host, others are scripted stories, or feature in-depth interviews.

The important thing is to choose a format that fits what your podcast is about and is something you're comfortable with:

  • If you love improv and banter, you’ll need to have a cohost.

  • If you like having everything planned out and scripted, you might lean toward an audio drama.

When it comes to podcast formats, there isn't one right answer. So, let's talk about the most common formats:

Optimal podcast length

Don't let people tell you there is an optimal length for a podcast episode.

You'll find shows like The Daily that are 20 - 30 minutes long, Accidental Tech Podcast that averages 2 hours per episode, and Hardcore History with episodes as long as audiobooks.

Your podcast should be as long as it needs to be, without being any longer.

Every podcast can benefit from editing, so get comfortable cutting out rambling segments, boring questions, and parts of the episode that don't add much value to the listener.

And remember: if you're producing quality, engaging content, be confident people will keep listening.

Podcast publishing schedule

Podcasting can be a full-time job or something you do on the side. If it's the latter, you can have a more relaxed publishing schedule.

You might decide to publish every day like the Daily or publish a podcast series every two years like Serial.

If you have the bandwidth, we recommend publishing once a week to:

  • Develop a connection with your listeners. If you publish every day, eventually, your listeners will start to schedule your podcast into their day. A weekly schedule allows you to build this more profound connection with your listeners.

  • Create a habit for yourself. Releasing consistent episodes can keep you podcasting even when you lose your excitement for it. You want to build up the habit so you can continue to grow your show and avoid podfade.

Once you have your podcast format, approximate show length, and publishing schedule, you're ready to invest in podcast equipment.

Step 3: BOOK THE PLUG ATL TODAY

Check out this entire article at:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/how-to-make-a-podcast?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuuD6x8mu6QIVBIeGCh1LMAPVEAAYAiAAEgKMFvD_BwE

The Plug ATL https://www.theplugatl.net
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