Launch Your Podcast!
Launch Your Podcast!
With 5 easy steps
Hola manis, to celebrate Cafe con Pam’s birthday I created the Launch Your Podcast episode, and because I want to make sure you get the most out of it, here are the steps I mentioned in the episode.
For this episode, I partnered with Verizon because I recently switched phone companies. I ended up walking away from my previous carrier because I tried to upgrade my old phone, and the offered me nada. They couldn’t lower my bill or give me a deal on a new phone. Even though I had been with this carrier for over a decade, I decided to explore my options and I wanted to make sure I chose a reliable carrier, so I walked across the parking lot into the Verizon store to see what they had to offer. They were able to lower my bill and also they took my previous phone and gave me a credit for a new one. It was a no brainer for me. Since I have been with Verizon I have been able to get some work done through my phone’s hot spot when WiFi is not available when I travel. You know manis, I have promised to only work with brands I resonate with, and I truly believe que #VerizonTeDaMas.
Now let’s get you to launch your podcast through the 5-step BREPP System
Branding
Recording
Editing
Publish
Promote
Step 1. BRANDING
You know my specialty is branding so of course that is going to be the first step I recommend when launching your show. Remember branding goes beyond your square thumbnail.
Name your show - What is it going to be called? Is it catchy? Does it resonate with others?
Know your audience - Who are you trying to reach? Be specific, riches are in the niches. If you try to serve everyone, you’re serving no one.
Create a tagline - What is the one-liner that describes your show? Typically this goes at the beginning of your episodes.
Podcast container - Listen to my branding episode. Essentially this is why you decided to create this podcast and your podcast container is the place to go back to when you need that reminder.
Develop your visuals - Now we’re getting into the good visual development part. Podcast artwork is 3000 by 3000 pixels, and Apple Podcasts will require you to have a high-resolution image at this size. Whether you use Canva or hire a designer, make sure the image is clear and we can see the name of your show when it’s a tiny thumbnail on our phones.
Step 2. RECORDING
This is the daunting part that haunted me for a long time. I didn’t know how to even begin. And knowing what I know now, you can truly create beautiful audio with only your phone. Of course, you can invest in a nice recorder and audio equipment, pero I want to remind you to not let ignorance stop you from starting your show. Just start. You can save up and buy better equipment as you grow.
Show format - This is where you have to decide if you are going to have a solo, interview, or cohost show. There are other formats like storytelling and news reporting. Think about the format of your show and layout the plan for it.
Tools - Depending on the format of your show, what tools are you going to use to record? If you’re a solo show, maybe you only need one mic. If you have a cohost that lives on the other side of the world, figure out the online tools that can help you record like Skype or Squadcast.
Music - This is a super common question I get all the time. For me, I paid a licensing fee to Henry for the intro and outro song I use all the time. If you have listened to the show for a while, you know I have some episodes with other music. I was playing with the options, and ultimately I decided to always use Henry’s song because it gives you the familiarity of my show. The other songs I have used are royalty-free. You can search for royalty-free music and you’ll get a vast number of sites letting you download music and using it at no cost for your projects. Here’s the caveat, be careful when you look at the terms because some royalty-free music only lets you use the song for personal projects, and if you plan to monetize your show at some point, then it’s a business, not a personal project. Don’t use songs without getting permission from the artist as you can get into trouble for utilizing copyrighted material.
Intro / Outro - What are your intro and outro going to look like? Are you going to have a pre-recorded blurb of what your podcast is about at the beginning and then jump right into the episode? Will you have an update from you every episode? How are you going to close? Will you have a phrase or question you always close with? Think about this because consistency is key.
Step 3. EDITING
Another daunting question people ask me all the time. My answer is this: You either learn how to edit, or you hire someone. I hired someone in the beginning, then learned it myself, then hired someone again. I feel that learning how to edit sound allowed me to really ask for what I want when the second time of hiring an editor happened. This is when you put your episode together right before you hit publish.
Editing Software - There are free editors like audacity you can use. I still use Audacity and Auphonic on my episodes.
Saving and Storage - Where are you storing your episodes? Is it your computer hard drive? An external hard drive? Decide on the nomenclature and saving format so you know how to easily find your recordings when you need them.
Editing Style - I am a trained toastmaster, which means I spent 3 years of my life learning public speaking. I gave a lot of speeches, and I went through rigorous evaluations that went over the number of times I said filler words like uhms, ahs, and, and like. Because of this, I am hyper-aware of these filler words, and in my show, those words get eliminated when they don’t enrich the conversation. Now, let me be clear that we never remove words that disrupt the original idea of the guest, we only eliminate words that are there to fill space. And we don’t always remove them because having filler words also remind us how our conversations actually happen in real life. Doing this type of editing requires more time and a more tuned-in ear to know when to remove a word or a breath and when to leave it. I have met many podcasters who record and publish without editing, that is fine also, you have to make a decision depending on your time budget and financial budget.
Episode Editing - Here is where you add your music, your breaks, and essentially when you glue your episode together.
Step 4. PUBLISH
Now you’re ready to hit publish.
Hosting - In order to publish your show, you have to host it somewhere. There are actual podcasting platforms that let you host for free like Podbean, Buzzsprout, and Spreaker. The caveat is that when you host for free you are limited in the number of hours per month you can upload as well as for analytics. If you are looking to dabble in podcasting, then create a free account and play. However, I want to invite you to take this podcasting journey serious and invest in a hosting platform. My podcast host is Simplecast, and I love their customer service and simple format. Other great paid podcast hosts are Libsyn and Blubrry. All of these are IAB measurement certified guidelines which means they follow a defined set of rules to report a true number of listeners. Believe me, when I switched from SoundCloud to Simplecast I got really sad because I realized my numbers were inflated, and then I got happy because I realized I finally knew the actual number of people I was reaching. Also, this is why I didn’t mention Soundcloud as a free service. While it’s available, please don’t use it. They are not built to host podcasts, and you have little to no support with the platform.
Submit to platforms - This is the one-time tedious job you have to do if you want your show to appear on all the podcasting platforms and another reason to chose a podcast hosting platform is because you can do the redirect from your hosting platform and they typically do the work for you. When I was hosting with SoundCloud, I had to figure out where to go and how to submit. Once I switched to Simplecast, I went to the publish tab and entered the information on one page. They took care of the rest.
Step 5. PROMOTION
Now you are ready to start promoting your show manis! How exciting is this? This is the part where I want you to do more work than I did because when I launched Cafe con Pam I didn’t believe I could. And I’m telling you now, YOU CAN. You are capable of creating a beautiful show and its time to promote it to the world.
Marketing plan - This could be a whole episode alone, so to keep things simple ask yourself the following questions. Which channels are you going to show up in? Is it Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and email? Secure your handles, make them consistent, and create a promotion plan. Start mentioning your show at least two weeks before the launch date. Make a 30-day plan, a 1-year plan, and a 5-year plan. Where do you want your show to be?
Launch day - I recommend launching with at least 3 episodes so your audience can binge in the content and get excited. Don’t forget to tell everyone to subscribe, rate, and review your show.
Bonus:
Create your system
How are you going to track your episodes? I started with a simple Google sheet. One tab for published episodes, the other tab for guests and recording. If you don’t keep track and manage this, you will lose control very quickly.
Guest forms, email templates
These will develop over time, you will find yourself sending the same email over and over, create a template so next time you just load it and send it.
Podcast tracking systems
Aside from your analytics from your host, how are you going to measure the growth of your show? Consider all your channels for this. Data helps you make decisions.