Starting a podcast is challenging, especially if you’re not a celebrity or an influencer. Even more challenging is creating a popular podcast—because there were over 850,000 active podcasts as of 2021. Yours needs to stand out to make a great impact.
The good thing is that you don’t need to be an expert or have deep pockets to start a podcast for your business. You just need some tips to get started. A podcast offers a less intrusive way of growing your market reach. Here’s how to start a podcast.
1. Plan
Planning is the first step to making a podcast. Most people overlook this stage and regret it later. Before you begin making a podcast for your business, spend a good time planning every detail. Get a pen and notebook and write down what you need, don’t leave anything to chance. To create a great podcast with longevity, plan like a pro.
- Plan the length of your episodes
- Choose a theme
- Use the three-act episode structure
- Plan podcast episode pacing.
- Raise some early questions you want to address.
2. Identify a Theme
After planning, identify a podcast theme. Once you settle on a theme you like, write more than ten episode topics to help stress test your podcast idea. This test is important as it prepares you to run your podcast efficiently.
If you can’t think of at least ten episodes, then you’ll run out of ideas before your podcast even picks up. A good podcast idea stands on a good foundation, and a good podcast theme has a longer shelf life.
3. Choose a Topic
To appeal to your audience, ensure your podcast focuses on a specific topic. Choose a topic you can narrow down and can speak about for more than a hundred episodes. Avoid choosing a broad topic unless you want to limit your ability to please your potential audience. In 2020, there were over 700,000 podcasts. Today, that number has gone higher. So, make sure your podcast stands out with an impressive topic.
For example, instead of having a podcast about photography, be more specific and talk about car photography. As your podcast gains traction, expand your topic and speak about photorealistic car images HD and contemporary car photography. You won’t have a lot of competition.
4. Choose a Great Name
Choosing a podcast topic is just half the journey, you also need to choose a perfect name for your podcast. Go for an appealing name that’s descriptive enough and easy to remember—a self-explanatory name.
Alternatively, you can pick a catchy and clever name that connects with your topic. Around 77% of consumers use brand names when they speak. If podcast lovers fail to recognize your podcast’s name when checking related topics, then you’re doing your podcast an injustice. Avoid using your name as the podcast’s title—unless you’re a popular celebrity.
5. Choose a Format
Some experts suggest creating short podcast episodes because people have shorter attention spans these days. Create 30-minute podcast episodes because that’s the time people spend on their daily commute. While there’s no perfect length for a podcast episode, some studies claim 38 minutes and 10 seconds is the average podcast episode length.
You can still make a great impact with a 2-hour or 4-minute podcast episode. The only downside of creating longer podcasts (more than 15 minutes long) is the risk of going off-topic.
