Welcome to 2024! Happy New Year! We are kicking off January with a new theme for this month and that theme is Podcasting 101 with Podcasting First Steps. I shared on social media this week that I have had a podcast since August of 2020, so just a little over three years now. There are many reasons why I believe that podcasting can be a great addition to your business. We won’t talk about that too much, but I do want to say that podcasting allows you to reach a different audience than you might reach with other forms of marketing. The goal of this series is not to convince you that you need to start a podcast; it is just to give you some information if that is something that you are wanting to do or have thought about doing.
Today’s episode is going to be “Podcasting First Steps.” Next week, we will cover “Podcast Essentials.” The third week, we will cover “Solo Verses Guest.” This will explain to you the differences between the two types so that you can decide which one you would like to do. The last week of the month will be “Podcast Guesting.”
Let’s dive right into Podcast First Steps. I want to also share that in the Facebook group The Christian Business Advantage, I am hosting a free training on Thursday, January 18th, at 10 a.m. During the training, I will walk you through the first steps that you will take to start a podcast. Today, I am going to give you a number of questions that you can ask yourself before you start a podcast. These are two different opportunities for you to gain knowledge and information. Let’s begin by asking these questions.
The first question is, “Why do you want to start a podcast?” I shared with you that my podcast has helped me reach an audience that I might not have reached otherwise. This is the answer to my why. I wanted to use my podcast as an extra means of reaching out to my potential audience as a business owner.
The second question is, “What is your goal?” For me, it was reaching a larger audience. For you, it might be telling your story, educating people, entertaining people, or another reason. There are many reasons why you might want to start a podcast.
The third question is, “Who is your show for?” I have to share that I began my podcast under a different name. I actually rebranded my podcast back in July of 2023. For the first two years, my podcast was called “The Virtual Assistant Advantage.” It was for virtual assistants, Christian business owners, ministry owners, and bloggers who hired them. As time went on, I realized that I could speak to Christian business owners, authors, speakers, and coaches as a larger audience and decided to rebrand. Knowing your audience is essential if you’re going to start a podcast.
The fourth question is, “How often do you plan to publish your podcast?” One of the most important things about podcasting is consistency. I don’t recommend doing a monthly podcast because people tend to forget. You could do a bi-weekly, weekly, or even daily podcast.
The fifth question is, “How long do you want your podcasts to be?” Sometimes longer podcasts are great if they are telling a story or something like that. If your podcasts are geared towards business, then you may want them to be shorter. I try to keep mine around 15 minutes or less. Sometimes, I do longer episodes if I need to expound on a topic or if I have a guest on my podcast.
I wanted to share with you an article that I found on Shopify. The article is about different types of podcasts and their structure. It gives some ideas and options for different types of podcasts. One is an interview-style podcast. This one is a single host who interviews different people around a specific theme. The second is scripted non-fiction. These use a single theme for the entire season. If you listen to podcasts, you may have heard of the podcast called Serial. This is an example of scripted non-fiction. It tells real-life stories. Another podcast idea is news. These podcasts give you news in a simple, digestible format. The fourth type it gives is educational. These are normally scripted and non-fiction. They usually function primarily to teach you something. Another is scripted fiction. They tell us a story. They are more for entertainment. These are just a few examples of different types of podcasts.
You also need to think about what your branding will be. I chose to brand my podcast so that it corresponds with my business. That way, it is more recognizable. I use the word advantage in both my podcast and my business. I also used the same colors in my logos and in my cover art.
You want to create an intro and an outro to your podcast. My podcast has an intro but not an outro. My intro introduces my podcast. It has music that is played in the background. This is another way of making it recognizable to people. You do have to pick your music for your intro and/or outro, so I am going to share with you some resources for the music. You need to make sure to choose music that is royalty-free; this keeps you from copyright infringement. Here are a few options for you: Youtube Audio Library, 909 Music on Soundcloud, The Free Music Archive, Epidemic Sound, and SoundStripe. I found mine on YouTube. Mine had a note in the comments that told me where to go to purchase the clip. I did this so that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting in any trouble for using that particular music clip. You want to make sure that you don’t use a clip that you need to pay for, even if you are looking on YouTube.
These are some questions that you need to ask yourself when you are starting a podcast. Answering these questions can help you see if starting a podcast is right for you, help you determine steps to take to start a podcast, and also help you consider things to consider to make sure you are successful if you start a podcast. I hope that this was helpful and that you will come back next week for some essentials that you will need for your podcast.
STAY CONNECTED
I have a Facebook group for Christian authors, speakers, and coaches. It’s called The Christian Business Advantage, and each month I do a FREE training around the third Thursday of each month. Please come join our group, and you will learn tips and tricks for your business.
