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The internet is full of tips for beginning podcasters, but which tips are the most valuable? And which tips are relevant for you? That's what we're doing in this article with podcast tips for you.
In the meantime, we have been able to take a look behind the scenes of hundreds of Dutch podcasters. From hobbyists to entrepreneurs, large companies and governments.
This article is particularly interesting for the business podcaster who is starting out with podcasting, but who wants to achieve a professional result.
The main thing we want you to know is that there is no one right way. Experiment with different ideas in the beginning, podcast formats and, for example, the frequency.
But first... the most important tip!
Most of the tips you find on the Internet are based on personal preferences. Given the maturity of the industry, little is known about what the real best practices are.
For example, many podcasters will say that you should publish episodes consistently. But whether that is smart and necessary depends on your podcast format, distribution, goals and target audience.
With my own podcast Growth Minds I only publish an episode a few times a year. I want to keep the quality high and not get into a rat race of finding a suitable podcast guest. Not necessarily the best strategy, but it works for my personal goals.
Moreover, the distribution takes place mainly via my website, the content is evergreen (not time-context sensitive) and I have good podcast hosting.
And read the following tips with these in mind. They are ideas based on what many podcasters are doing now. That doesn't mean it's the best way. So use this list for inspiration and use what is relevant to you.
Overview of all tips
Podcast tip 1: Strategy
The first podcast tip I'm going to give you is to think about your podcast strategy. You don't have to have everything figured out before you start podcasting, but there are some things you should consider when you start.
Firstly, you need to think about why you podcast. Are you doing it for fun? Do you want to have interesting conversations? Or should it contribute to business objectives?
You are inclined to forget why you are doing it because of all the practicalities. And before you know it, you are doing something that is not in line with that goal.
These are common reasons for starting a podcast:
- Building or strengthening a brand
- Building or expanding a community
- Expanding the network
- Having great conversations
- Talking to interesting guests
- Marketing & outreach
1.1 Global direction
The most important podcast tip I gave was that you should start experimenting. And so the following may seem a bit contradictory, but think of it as a starting point that can later be adjusted based on progressive insights.
Especially when it comes to a business podcast strategyHowever, it is advisable to work out a global strategy. Think of the following:
- Target group you want to reach
- Goal you want to achieve
- Message you want to convey
- Podcast formats that you want to try
- Place in the content ecosystem
As I wrote at the beginning of this tip. It may be a strategy written in pencil, but better a rough direction than no direction at all.
1.2 Target group
A podcast target group is slightly different from, for example, a target group for a product, service or website. The target group for a podcast can be much smaller and more specific.
Choose a specific target group (later you may be able to go wider), so that you can define the content of your podcast more precisely. Podcasters who don't have a clear definition of their target audience often find it difficult to establish a line in terms of topics, guests, etc.
This can lead to confusion for the followers.
Podcast tip 2: The business case
If you want to do podcasting as a hobby, there is only one business case... it has to be fun and interesting to do. If not... stop.
But for entrepreneurs and organisations, it works slightly differently. There, the business case often has an economic or idealistic component. You can podcasting for brandingThe aim is to raise funds and awareness for a social issue.
But how do you make the business case?
A word of warning: Give your podcast time to grow and gain traction and don't be blinded by overnight successes. Commit to a year of regular podcasting before you take stock.
As a marketing channel, podcasting can be compared to content marketing. The return is often indirect and comes on slower than paid advertising campaigns, but as you create more valuable content, the impact increases to a return that far exceeds paid advertising campaigns.
The trick is to measure the impact properly. If you use our Springcast website, you can use Google Tag Manager to track listeners in e.g. Google Analytics.
Podcast tip 3: Podcast marketing
This podcast tip is deliberately placed directly under strategy, because in practice we see many podcasters who do little or no promotion after putting their podcast or episode online. And that's a shame!
Because you can really compare a podcast to a blog article. When you have recorded a podcast, you still have to let people know that a new episode is online.
Of course you have subscribers and followers who give a 'ping', like Spotify and Apple podcasts, but you get new followers and subscribers by promoting your podcast.
There is also such a thing as Podcast SEO. In other words... getting your podcast higher in the search results of Spotify, Apple and Google. Because if someone searches on the topic you podcast about, then of course you want to come up.
Do this for every episode for better findability:
- Use a clear title for your episode
- Promote your podcast episode via social media
- Promote your podcast episode via your newsletter
- Develop the show notes into a nice, readable article
- Ask any guest to share the episode too
- Link from blogs to your episodes
- Send a press release if you have newsworthy content
2.1 Advanced: Ensure cross-fertilisation
Make sure your podcast is part of the marketing ecosystem. Offer people the possibility to subscribe to the newsletter via the podcast player, refer to podcast episodes from blogs, but also from podcasts (and showotes) to blogs and social media. But also refer to earlier episodes where desired.
Podcast tip 4: Progression over perfection, but...
Poor quality audio is one of the biggest annoyances (after commercials) when it comes to the podcast listening experience. But that doesn't mean everything has to be perfect before you put the first episode online.
In the end, the content of your podcast is still the most important success factor.
But it should be your second priority. Each episode should be a little bit better than the last. Invest as soon as you can in the right podcast equipment or work with a podcast expert who will improve the quality of your audio files. In our community you will find a handy overview of podcast experts that can help you.
Podcast tip 5: Ironclad content
As you have just read, content is the single most important success factor for podcasts. So if you want to read just one of our podcast tips, this is the one you should have.
Depending on which type of podcast format It is important that you think carefully about the content of your episodes. Are you doing interviews? Then think carefully about strong interview questions. Are you doing a solo cast? Then think carefully about the structure of the story and how to keep the listener's attention.
But whatever podcast format you choose, make sure you know what your listeners and followers want. Target audience knowledge is essential!
You don't have to think everything through during the preparation of the podcast episode, but defining a broad outline for the content is almost always necessary. Even if you're interviewing someone on a broad topic, it's nice for listeners to have some line in the structure.
Pro-tip: Involve your listeners in the making your podcast. Ask them for feedback, topics and ideas. There is no better way to find out what your listeners want.
What are your podcast tips?
We've seen hundreds of podcasts, but we don't have all the wisdom. What's more... when it comes to wisdom, we often work with our network of podcast experts.
So my question to you... what tip would you give to budding podcasters? 👇
