How to Start a Podcast - a Beginner’s Guide

 A quick backstory. In 2020, together with our sister brand Flothemes, we started FloInsider - a podcast for photographers and creative entrepreneurs who want a fresh perspective on business, communication, art, design, branding, and life as we know it. We started with zero knowledge about podcasts and learned SO much in the process. Hence, we decided to put all the lessons we’ve learned into a quick guide for everyone looking to start their own podcast journey. Keep reading!

First things first

Before you get into the fun part of podcasting - meeting cool people, learning new things, and feeling proud of your achievements - you need to lay the foundation.

1. Pick a topic. What will your podcast be about? Who will it be for? Choose a domain you are captivated by, have some knowledge of, but are also curious to learn more about.

2. Decide on your podcast style. The most popular one is the interview style, where you invite one or more guests per episode and talk about a certain topic. Then, there is the solo podcast style - where you are the only one leading the conversation on a subject you’re passionate about. You can also co-host your podcast with a friend/partner. This one is great because you can always bounce ideas off each other, and never run out of things to talk about. Or you can do a mix of all styles. Your podcast - your stage.

3. Choose a name for your podcast.

4. Prepare a cover. This is the first thing someone sees when they search for your podcast on any streaming platform. Use a free tool like Canva or Figma to create it, or if you’re feeling completely stuck - hire someone in your community to do it for you. That way, you also support a small business.

5. Get a jingle. Here is a list of free and paid resources where you can get royalty-free music for your podcast. Or, if you’d like something custom created, hire a freelance musician on Upwork or Fiverr to compose a jingle for you.

At the end of the day, don’t forget that this is YOUR podcast and you can do whatever you want. If you feel that the style or topic direction you initially picked is no longer relevant for you and your community - pivot.

Tools and Equipment

The great thing about podcasts is that they don’t require huge investments. To get started, you only need a computer, good internet connection, and a microphone.

Microphone

Even if you don’t have a professional microphone, in the beginning, that’s fine, you can always record with the one built in your computer. But ideally, you’d like to invest in a good USB microphone, to ensure sound quality from the very first episode. Here is a list of microphones to choose from. Most podcasters and YouTubers recommend Blue Yeti microphones, priced at around $130.

Recording

We use Zencastr to record our podcast episodes (both audio and video). It allows you to record high-quality content, regardless if you’re in the same room with your guest or connecting remotely. It works in the following way: you’d send a Zencastr link to your guest, they would join your “room”, record the conversation and the platform would save both your and your guest’s audio track separately. This way, you can edit each track individually, adjust the volume in case one audio is louder than the other, and make it as consistent as possible.

Zencastr’s free plan has everything a small to medium-sized podcast needs. Check out their pricing plans here and pick what works best for you.

Here is a video overview that explains how the platform works. And here and here you can find some more in-depth tutorials on how to use Zencastr.

Editing

To edit your episodes, try Audacity - a free application used for recording, editing, and mixing audio. It’s fairly intuitive and easy to use, plus you can find tons of Youtube tutorials on how to use it. Another popular app is GarageBand.

Publishing and Hosting

We use Anchor - a free tool that hosts your episodes and distributes them to different streaming apps like Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Itunes. You will need to create a free account, and wait for a few days to get approved. After your account is confirmed, each episode you upload gets published immediately. Here is a quick tutorial on how to get started with AnchorFm

For Apple Podcast/Itunes, you’d have to separately register an account, submit your first episode, get approved, and connect it to Anchor. Here is a tutorial on how to register your podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Marketing and promoting your podcast

Tip 1: Make some noise BEFORE you launch your podcast

Make a huge deal out of your upcoming podcast, because let’s be honest - it IS a pretty big deal, you put a lot of time and energy into it. Get your community pumped about it a few weeks before the official launch. Add a fun Countdown section on your website and have people sign up to learn when it’s out. Make some noise on social media, talk about your amazing guests, share some audio snippets and topics you plan to cover.

Tip 2: Don’t rely entirely on social media for podcast growth

Sharing your podcast only on social media doesn’t guarantee growth, because guess what - these people already follow you. Try new tactics to reach new communities. Here are some ideas:

• Ask your podcast guests to share their interview with their community;

• Share your podcast or a certain episode into relevant closed Facebook groups. If you happen to chat with a guest on a very niched topic, find relevant communities interested in that subject and share it with them;

• Start your own Facebook group to build a loyal and supportive community of listeners. Offer exclusive content for members only;

• Create an Instagram page for your podcast, with sharable content. Don’t just post when a new episode is out - extract key ideas and insights that people will want to save and share with others;

• Collaborate with other podcasts in the industry. Record a co-host episode that will be posted on both podcasts, or simply be a guest on another podcast.

• If you have a budget - run some paid ads.

Tip 3: Have a Podcast Page on your website

Create a landing page on your website. Share a short description, what’s it about, who will enjoy listening to it. Talk about your guests, link featured episodes, and encourage people to subscribe to it for regular updates.

Need some help with choosing a suitable layout for your podcast page? Check out June and Mono design kits. They come with pre-made layouts for podcasts.

Tip 4: Blog about every episode

Blog about each episode, share cliff notes and main ideas from the talk. Add the episode’s embed code directly into the blog post, so people can listen to it on the spot. This tactic will also help your SEO, making your podcast more discoverable online. Let’s say your episode is about How to Avoid Burnout. When someone searches on google“burnout”, they will most likely stumble upon your blog post and listen to the episode. After that, your task is to share some additional episodes or article recommendations that would motivate the reader to explore further pages and subscribe to your content.

Tip 5: Use your email list

Send out newsletter blasts to your subscribers, with cool ideas from each episode. It can be a weekly edition, ie “3 ideas for a better Monday” where you share 3 of your favorite thoughts from various talks on your podcasts. Have people sign up for your weekly newsletter via your website, and encourage your readers to share it with their friends.

Tip 6: Master the art of teasing

Who doesn’t love a good tease? Get your community pumped up about every upcoming episode. Use Canva to create some banners that announce what’s to come. You can also do animated short audio teasers, with tools like wavve.co($10/month), headliner.app ($13/month), or other software options.

Tip 7: Post your podcast on YouTube

YouTube is another platform to share your podcast on and increase its exposure. If you don’t have a video, just add the audio with your cover image. Add relevant keywords and website links in the video and channel description to boost your discoverability.

Maintaining your podcast

One of the hardest things about running a podcast is to keep committed. Have you ever heard about the term “Podfade”?This is a real thing among many podcasters. It’s when you get super excited about your podcast at the beginning, and as the excitement fades - so does the frequency of your episodes. Here are some tips on how to stay motivated on your podcast journey:

1. Post consistently

You have to be consistent and show up even in times you don’t get as much engagement as you’d like. Set a rule for how often new episodes come out, for example, weekly, or every 2 weeks - you decide. Plan ahead and have content ready in advance. Pick a day to post, ie. every Monday, or every first Monday of the month. This will keep you accountable but also set clear expectations for your listeners on when new interviews come out. The best days to post new episodes are weekdays, as more people listen to podcasts on their commute to work/school.

2. Batch, batch, batch

Your podcast is probably a side job. It’s hard to keep showing up, when the podcast takes most of your time and mental space, in addition to your already busy schedule. That’s why you should batch. Take a week to record 5-7 episodes ahead, a few days to focus on editing, and 1 day to prepare social posts/newsletter. Schedule your posts in advance, and voila - you have content for 1-2 months ahead, depending on how often new episodes come out.

3. Repurpose the content

You don’t have to come up with new social media posts every single time. Repurpose. One episode can serve for dozens of Instagram and Pinterest posts. Extract a few main ideas from each episode and turn them into several posts, all presented differently - as a quote, an audio snippet, a video, a reel, a carousel, or a list. You can also repurpose your episodes. Let’s say you want to take a break from recording and posting new content over the holidays. Select a top of 5 most popular ones, and republish them with “Listeners Favorite” in the title. Not only these episodes will get more love and engagement, but you’ll also be able to take a few weeks to disconnect and recharge.

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Lastly, here are some of our favorite podcasts for photographers and creatives: FloInsider, The Unmistakable Creative, The Nerdy Photographer, Make Your Break by Jai Long, Filming Life by Courtney Holmes, The Signature Boss by Nadia Meli, The Shared Shutter. We hope they will inspire you and motivate you to start on your own journey. Good luck podcasting!

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Creatively yours,

Squaremuse Team