Starting a Podcast – What You Need
Starting a podcast is one of the many things that’s been on my back burner for some time. When a friend and fellow member of SFM and DEA announced she was launching hers I decided to at least make a start. She pointed to me to a free course from legendary podcaster John Lee Dumas (JLD) so I signed up and started working through it.
His starting a podcast course is pretty good although I must admit to finding his pace and overall exuberance a little tiring – but that’s just me. JLD’s own podcast is called Entrepreneurs on fire so it’s fitting that he’s “on fire” as he presents.
JLD’s starting a podcast course begins by covering the equipment you will need. It’s a reassuringly minimal list, as he demonstrates with footage of his own set up. A mic, computer and some software is about the size of it. He offers a variety of recommended kit to suit various budgets.
So really the equipment side of things is the simple part. If you already use skype or take part in webinars or hangouts, you probably have that covered already. Software-wise you probably have some sort of audio recording software on your laptop that’ll do fine – I’m going to use Garageband. If you don’t then JLD covers some options. These range from free (Audacity – or Garageband if you have a Mac) to reasonably priced or monthly subscription based systems.
What’s It About And Who’s Listening?
But if your planning on starting a podcast – what’s it going to be about and who is going to listen?
JLD starts by suggesting you identify what your own personal strengths are. There’s no point in starting a podcast after all if you don’t really know what you have to offer an audience. He provides a simple, five day exercise to help you do that. You can then start thinking about what you’re going to say: how you can share your strengths and provide value to an audience.
That being done you can then think about who your audience is going to be – I mean REALLY think about this. John gives an example from his coaching business where he asks students to describe their “Avatar” – ideal listener. Often he says, they will offer a very short description: Men aged 30 – 40 who are fed up with their jobs for example.
By comparison JLD describes his Avatar in far greater detail. He puts himself right in the other guys shoes: 35 yrs old, wife and two young kids; Works in a corporate role which leaves him unfulfilled but he cant see any way out because it takes up all his time and energy. He comes home, spends a little time with the kids, eats dinner, watches some TV and goes to bed. On the way to work he listens to audio from Anthony Robbins or Tim Ferriss . At weekends he …… you get the idea?
Starting A Podcast – The Structure
The next thing to consider when starting a podcast is structure. What form is your podcast going to take? Bear in mind this is something you need to commit to doing consistently over time. Your audience needs to know what to expect – a reason to tune in and give you their time every week.
JLD’s podcast is based on an interview format as is my friend’s. Both arrange to interview someone relevant to their audience every week. This takes some planning and you also need to ensure that they have suitable equipment on their end. This approach also requires a structure – what questions will you ask ? Does the interviewee need to see the questions in advance so they can prepare answers?
Other successful podcasters shoot more from the hip – as I plan to. They’ll set out their stall – what they talk about, their expertise etc and take it from there. Even with that style of podcast though, some forward planning and thought is needed. Even it’s just a few bullet points to work to. Even the best of the “buskers” don’t just wing it completely – we can’t all be Robin Williams.
So starting a podcast is easy enough in some ways but harder in others. Like most things in the world of digital marketing, the planning, research and foundations are more important than the mechanics.
John Lee Dumas’s free course goes into a lot more detail than I have. He goes on to discuss marketing, seo, branding and everything else involved in starting a podcast then growing and monetising it. It’s a very good place to start and it’s free. You can sign up for it using this link.
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