The Final Podcast Launch Guidelines To Lastly Get Your Present Up and Working

Need to launch your personal podcast (or a podcast to your firm) however don’t know the place to start out? I’ve put collectively a podcast launch guidelines you should utilize to get your challenge up and working, together with suggestions gathered from my private expertise and insights from members of the HubSpot Podcast Community.

Let’s rewind earlier than 2018, after I began my very own present, Balanced Black Woman. I used to be one of many estimated 120 million folks listening to podcasts month-to-month. Finally, I had an concept of my very own and was in a position to launch with no prior audio expertise — and if I can do it, you may, too.

Actually, beginning a podcast is simpler than ever because the medium has elevated in reputation and profitability. Right here’s the last word guidelines that will help you begin a profitable podcast.

Desk of Contents

In case your present is simply too normal, listeners won’t ever know what to anticipate to your present. In the event that they don’t know what they’ll get, they tune out. Kyle Denhoff, Sr. Director of Advertising and marketing at HubSpot, echoes this sentiment.

“The extra centered you might be, the simpler it’s to construct an viewers. For instance, be the technique present for B2B entrepreneurs or the information present for AI lovers,” says Denhoff, who oversees demand era for all channels, together with podcasts.

For my present, I began by determining the style and area of interest that my podcast would fall below. This made it simpler for platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify to categorize my content material so my target market may discover it. For example, my podcast present falls below the broader wellness style, with a extra particular deal with the expertise of Black girls.

Different well-liked podcast genres embody:

• Arts.
• Information.
• Music.
• Finance.
• Enterprise.
• TV and movie.
• Schooling.
• True crime.
• Society and tradition.

Professional tip: Decide which style greatest describes the podcast you’d prefer to create or the trade you’re in, and hold this subject in thoughts as you intend out your content material and put together for launch.

2. Establish your excellent listener.

After selecting the wellness style, I took time to zero in on my excellent listener, which I discovered much like making a purchaser persona. Creating a perfect listener helped me hone my messaging and create a clearer focus inside my style.

Listed below are some traits I like to recommend contemplating when describing your target market:

• Age.
• Earnings.
• Pursuits.
• Hobbies.
• Occupation.
• Schooling degree.
• Geographic location.

I additionally discovered it helpful to brainstorm. I requested myself the next questions.

• What is that this listener concerned about?
• How typically do they take heed to podcasts?
• The place do they study new podcasts?
• In case you have been having a dialog with this listener, what questions would they ask?
• What different podcasts is that this particular person listening to, and what does that inform me about what they wish to hear?

The solutions to those questions helped me craft content material that was particularly related for my potential listeners.

Professional tip: If in case you have buddies or colleagues who suit your excellent listener profile, it may be useful to survey them to get their suggestions in your podcast concept and study extra about their media consumption habits.

3. Title your podcast and safe social media handles.

At this level, you realize what your podcast is about and have recognized your excellent listener. Now, it’s time to decide on a reputation.

Whether or not your podcast title is expounded to your online business or one thing totally new, carry out an intensive search to make sure the title you need is obtainable. You don’t wish to choose a title already related to every other podcasts, manufacturers, or registered logos.

At this stage, I additionally advocate registering the area title and social media accounts you’ll be utilizing to advertise the podcast and interact your viewers. When you received’t want them immediately, the very last thing you need is to create art work and produce your podcast, solely to seek out out that the handles you need have been taken.

Professional tip: Working a search within the U.S. Patent and Trademark web sites may also help you guarantee there aren’t any current logos on the title you need.

For extra insights on selecting the best area of interest, naming your present, and extra, you may try HubSpot’s video on 9 professional suggestions for beginning a podcast.

9 Professional Tricks to Begin Your Podcast in 2024 (FREE Information)

4. Resolve which format and publishing schedule you’d prefer to comply with.

After naming your present, it’s time to get into the weeds of what your podcast will appear to be by selecting the format sort and your publishing cadence.

Widespread podcast codecs embody:

• Scripted.
• Interviews.
• Storytelling.
• Documentary.
• Conversations.

When contemplating the publishing cadence you’d prefer to comply with, notice that the most typical podcast publishing schedules are weekly, bi-weekly, and month-to-month. That mentioned, consistency is extra necessary than frequency with regards to podcasting. Above all, select a schedule you may preserve.

Professional tip: Denhoff recommends beginning together with your podcast’s goal, suggesting that you simply “outline the worth your podcast goals to offer. Are you filling a necessity for information, training, or leisure? Your content material ought to align with the position it performs in your viewers’s life.”

For example, if the worth you present is leisure, then a scripted or storytelling format may work greatest. Conversely, since one in every of my targets is to amplify the voices of Black girls within the wellness area, most of my present makes use of an interview format.

5. Choose a podcast internet hosting service.

Now, you wish to choose a podcast internet hosting platform. These platforms show you how to retailer episodes and make them out there in RSS feeds so you may distribute them on platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

I believe Buzzsprout is a superb place to start out, because it affords a free plan and low-cost paid tiers. In order for you extra superior options like monetization choices, listener analytics, and subscriptions, premium providers like Captivate or Libsyn might be match for you.

Professional tip: Get your personal web site. This fashion, you may change internet hosting providers if want be whereas offering a seamless transition to your listeners.

6. Create podcast cowl artwork.

Your cowl artwork offers podcast listeners a primary impression of your present earlier than they press play, so that you need it to be good. I like utilizing instruments like Canva to create my cowl artwork and templates for various kinds of episodes.

Earlier than I began to work by myself graphics, I discovered it useful to browse directories like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts to determine frequent visible components among the many top-rated reveals and add those who suited my model.

Picture Supply

When creating your art work, guarantee that:

• It’s straightforward to learn in smaller sizes.
• It’s constant together with your branding.
• It’s a transparent picture that doesn’t seem blurry.
• It doesn’t comprise any copyrighted pictures or logos of non-affiliated corporations.

Professional tip: It’s additionally crucial that your podcast art work is the proper measurement. Apple suggests utilizing a 3,000×3,000-pixel picture to future-proof your art work.

Incorrect sizing can influence your podcast’s capacity to publish and show in directories accurately, so that you’ll wish to make certain your art work is the best measurement. So, when your art work is full, add it to your podcast internet hosting service to make sure it reveals up accurately throughout platforms.

7. Get your podcasting tools.

Your podcast recording setup might be as advanced or so simple as you’d like. In case you’re opting to file at a neighborhood studio, this might be the right level within the course of to analysis choices close to you and guide a recording session.

In case you plan to file at residence and are searching for a simple setup, you’ll want the next:

• Headphones.
• A laptop computer or laptop.
• Recording software program similar to Squadcast, Zencastr, Zoom, or Riverside.
• A USB or XLR microphone (in the event you use an XLR microphone, be sure to get a mixer to attach the mic to your laptop).
• Enhancing software program similar to Alitu, GarageBand, Audacity, Adobe Audition, or Descript.

Professional tip: You don’t want to interrupt the financial institution on recording tools to start out a high-quality podcast. Take a look at this record of advisable podcast instruments and discover the gadgets that suit your price range and expertise degree.

8. Create a roadmap and attain out to potential visitors.

When you could also be itching to get behind the mic at this level (I do know I used to be), I discovered it useful to create a high-level define of your present’s first 10 to twenty episodes earlier than you file.

After I spoke with Joe Fier of The Hustle & Flowchart podcast, he described a method you may break down the primary 20 episodes based mostly on their goal:

• Introduction: 1 episode (5%).
• Worth episode: 6 episodes (30%).
• Neighborhood episodes: 3 episodes (15%).
• Provide episodes: 2 episodes (10%).
• Visitor appearances: 4 episodes (20%).
• Repurposed content material highlight: 4 episodes (20%).

This is only one instance and might be tailored based mostly in your style and the content material varieties you’ve chosen to create.

In case you plan to interview visitors, I like to recommend creating your visitor record and reaching out at this stage. I discovered that confirming availability with visitors helps me plan out my podcast schedule prematurely so I can keep in line with my publishing schedule.

Professional tip: In case you plan on that includes different folks in your podcast, take a look at your current community for potential visitors. It’s powerful to get folks on board with chilly outreach in the event you don’t have any current materials folks can overview earlier than they comply with the interview.

9. Plan your launch episodes in additional element.

As soon as you realize your general plan, you may map out extra particulars concerning the episodes that may accompany your launch. Sure, episodes.

In any case, getting podcast listeners isn’t that totally different from how music artists draw consideration to their work — you lure them in with track, nevertheless it’s not till they’ve listened to the opposite songs within the album that you’ve really caught them.

Fier agrees and states, “Launching with two or three episodes is greatest since you wish to hold your viewers in that momentum.”

In my expertise, beginning with a number of episodes additionally offers you an opportunity to earn extra downloads, rankings, and critiques in a shorter time frame, which might be useful for discoverability and rating on the charts.

Fier goes on to advocate utilizing the primary episode as an introduction that “highlights your experience after which reveals folks the place you’re going to take them in your podcast.” From there, you should utilize the follow-up episodes to point out them what that appears like.

Professional tip: In case you plan to characteristic visitors in your present, Fier suggests bringing your first visitor early on to introduce your viewers to the kind of interviews they’ll anticipate. “It’s additionally an amazing advertising technique to get a visitor to introduce you and your present to their viewers,” he says.

10. Document and edit your first three episodes.

With the define of every episode in your launch plan, it’s time to file and edit. Earlier than recording, I prefer to create a script for every podcast episode outlining the factors I wish to make (if it is a solo present) or the questions I’d prefer to ask the visitor I’m interviewing.

Making a stable script or define is particularly useful while you’re a brand new podcaster getting used to the medium.

As soon as your scripts are prepared, file your launch episodes in your recording software program of selection. You may then edit them your self or rent an editor to take action. When enhancing, be aware of background noise and filler phrases that would distract the listener.

Professional tip: Learn your scripts out loud to listen to how they sound. This can show you how to think about your content material as a podcast earlier than you begin recording.

11. Write the present notes to your launch episodes.

Now that your first few episodes are recorded, it’s time to write down the present notes.

Present notes are basically quick weblog posts that accompany every podcast episode. They’re an amazing place to place a normal description of the episode together with neighborhood hyperlinks, similar to an electronic mail sign-up.

After I write present notes, I like to incorporate:

• A normal abstract of the episode.
• Time-stamped chapters of various subjects we cowl.
• Details about my visitor (if it’s an interview).
• Hyperlinks to sponsors and any talked about assets.

Whereas it may be tempting to gloss over present notes, it’s price placing in some effort. I’ve discovered that apart from serving to with search engine optimisation, which might convey new listeners to your present, present notes also can hold your viewers engaged and able to comply with your content material on different platforms.

Professional tip: Embody hyperlinks to related assets, similar to books or research you point out through the present. This creates extra worth for listeners and might enhance engagement.

12. Create a podcast trailer.

As one ultimate step earlier than importing your first present, file a trailer. A trailer is a brief audio clip that introduces your podcast to new listeners and will get them excited to tune in. In your podcast trailer, you’ll wish to embody:

• An introduction to your podcast and what it’s about.
• When listeners can anticipate new episodes.
• A teaser of what’s to come back or highlights so the viewers is aware of what to anticipate.
• A call-to-action inviting the listener to come back again.

Professional tip: Hold your trailer participating and informative however concise. One to 2 minutes in size is all you want.

13. Add and schedule your trailer and launch episodes.

Now that you’ve your first three episodes, present notes, and a trailer, you’re able to publish. Add your audio information and present notes to your podcast host, and schedule your episodes to publish in your desired launch date.

Professional tip: Your launch date ought to fall on the day of the week you intend to publish transferring ahead so your viewers is aware of proper from the beginning when to tune in.

14. Submit your podcast to on-line podcast directories.

As soon as your first episodes are uploaded to your podcast service, it’s time to undergo podcast directories so listeners can tune in to your present. Do not forget that directories can take a number of days or a few weeks to approve your podcast. You’ll wish to issue that point into your launch plan.

I like to recommend beginning with the platforms which have the widest attain. The high three podcast directories based mostly on variety of listeners are:

• Spotify, with 25% of whole listeners.
• Apple Podcasts, with 20% of whole listeners.
• Google Podcasts, with 16% of whole listeners.

Streaming your podcast to different platforms similar to Stitcher, Castbox, Pandora, and Amazon Music might be managed inside your podcast host settings.

Professional tip: Revisit step two to see which streaming providers your excellent listener makes use of to find and comply with their podcasts.

15. Market your podcast and have fun your launch.

Congratulations — you simply launched your first podcast! Now, it’s time to get the phrase out by advertising your present to your excellent listeners and celebrating your exhausting work.

I’ve discovered that short-form movies are glorious methods to advertise my podcasts, so I exploit Instagram reels to spotlight high clips from my interviews.

Professional tip: Fier suggests leveraging YouTube as a podcast advertising channel, saying, “Video goes to be a bit of podcasting nowadays. YouTube will probably be the place a whole lot of momentum is going on for podcasts due to their algorithm.”

For much more data on organizing, producing, and advertising your podcast, obtain our Final Information to Beginning a Podcast without cost. You’ll even get electronic mail outreach templates and tips about the perfect methods to measure success.

In comparison with different advertising channels, podcasting is without doubt one of the extra advertising-friendly choices. One survey confirmed that 46% of podcast listeners don’t discover advertisements intrusive in any respect. In distinction, 77% of individuals discover advertisements considerably or very intrusive on YouTube, and 64% discover advertisements considerably or very intrusive on TV.

As such, don’t really feel shy about working with sponsors who’re match to your model. In a podcast setting, advertisements are much less more likely to be a turnoff for listeners. In case you can tie advertisements into the theme of your present or episode, they are often particularly invaluable to your viewers.

Podcasts take preparation.

Podcasts are a wonderful technique to construct neighborhood together with your target market, however if you wish to develop your present’s viewers, you could put together. From figuring out your excellent listener and drafting a launch plan to crafting outlines for every present, the significance of analysis, planning, and preparation by no means goes away.

That mentioned, you don’t want to attain perfection to be ready. Belief me, although, I do know the temptation of getting each element excellent. When you’ve achieved the work, the perfect factor you are able to do is to get began. Over time, you may modify your technique based mostly in your metrics and listener suggestions.