How To Outsource Your Podcast Production + Free Workbook
Podcasting is a popular and effective way to reach a global audience and share your ideas or stories. Podcast production requires a lot of time and effort, from recording and editing to promoting and distributing.
You might be wondering what’s involved in getting a podcast up and running and if there are parts of the podcast production that you could outsource, which would allow you to focus on creating great content without the stress of managing the entire process yourself!
In this blog post, we’ll explore everything you need to know about podcasting and how you can add one to your content calendar or optimize the podcast you already have.
Blog Overview:
- What is a Podcast?
- What Equipment is Needed for a Podcast?
- How Do I Get Started With Podcasting?
- What Podcasting Needs Can I Outsource?
- Finalize Your Podcast Assets
- Set Up Your Podcasting Website
- Podcast Promotion
- Measuring the Podcast Metrics
- Action Steps
- Links to Important Resources
What is a Podcast?
A podcast is audio that users can download to their personal devices and listen to at their leisure. Podcasts generally center around one topic, which each episode ranging from 15-60 minutes. Imagine watching a TV show but only hearing the audio (that’s a podcast!)
Today in the U.S., over 28% of individuals listen to podcasts on a weekly basis! HUGE! If you aren’t podcasting, there’s still time to get in and hear your voice.
What Equipment is Needed for a Podcast?
A Microphone: This isn’t the time to use your computer’s built-in microphone. You’ll need to invest in a USB mic that will have better sound quality. I’ll link to my favorite affordable options in the show notes, so check them out at jennielyon.com/140
A Studio or Soundproof Room: Easier said than done, right? I don’t have either, but I work with what I have and try to keep my space as quiet as possible! The quieter the better, obviously.
Editing Software: Your episode will need to be edited if you aren’t into learning how to edit, adding music (intro and outro), and removing any content that may not fit (or the ten mistakes I made this episode that my editor removed for me – thanks, Greg!), then you might want to outsource this part of your podcast production (as I do!)
A Hosting Platform: Before you can get your podcast out to the world, you have to upload them to a hosting platform for distribution. I’ll link to my favorite hosting platform in the show notes, so check it out.
How Do I Get Started With Podcasting?
First things first, you’ll need to find a unique and compelling topic! What expertise do you have that you can share with your audience? What passion do you have that you can talk about for days? Start by asking yourself a few questions:
- Is there other podcasting doing this exact same topic? If so, how can I make mine different/better – what gaps can I fill?
- Is this idea timely? Will anyone even care?
- Is there an audience that will be interested in this content? If so, what type of podcast content will you create?
- Is there enough content for me to talk about episode after episode after episode?
- Am I going to interview-based content? Will it be a monologue? Will you want a cohost?
If you do this exercise and find that you have clear answers to all of these questions, then you have your podcast topic.
What Podcasting Needs Can I Outsource?
Once you’re ready to start recording, it’s time to consider the parts of your podcast production that you want to do and what pieces make the most sense to outsource. Here are some of the pieces of the process that I usually recommend that my clients outsource to us!
- Audio editing: Editing audio files to ensure high sound quality, removing background noise, adding intros and outros, and trimming the audio for time constraints.
- Show notes: Write detailed scripts for recording and/or summaries of the podcast episode, including timestamps, key takeaways, and any additional resources mentioned in the episode.
- Social media management: Managing social media accounts and creating engaging content to promote the podcast and connect with listeners.
- Graphic design: Creating graphics, logos, or other visual assets to support the podcast brand and enhance its visual appeal.
- Research and guest booking: Finding guests for the podcast, conducting background research on topics, and scheduling interviews.
Once you’ve determined what parts of the process you want to handle you can move forward. Our team can help with all of your podcasting needs!
Resource: How to Start Podcasting Workbook – A podcast is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. This workbook and checklist have everything you need to launch your first podcast in record time!
Finalize Your Podcast Assets
Once you have your first handful of podcasts recorded, you’ll want to go back and decide on a name and logo for your podcast. The reason I like to do this after you’ve recorded a few episodes is that they will give you inspiration as to what the name of the podcast should be!
Set Up Your Podcasting Website
- You’ll need a home base for your podcast, and a website is a great place to start! If you already have a website, you can create a podcast page where your podcast will live, including episodes, show notes/transcripts, links, etc.
Podcast Promotion
So you have a great podcast, you can just upload it and forget it, right? WRONG! Having a great podcast isn’t enough to attract an audience. You have to get the word out, and having a robust podcast promotion strategy is key for attracting that ideal audience.
You’ll want to start promoting your podcast before it even launches. This way, you’ll build a buzz among your current content to start to build an audience right out of the gate.
PRO TIP: Once your podcast goes live, start asking for reviews! Reviews will definitely help to get more listeners and should be part of your launch strategy!
Measuring the Podcast Metrics
You guys know how I feel about tracking metrics, analyzing, and tweaking! Once your podcast is in full swing, you have to monitor its performance such as:
- # of subscribers
- # of monthly downloads
- # of unique views to the podcast page
- Average listening time
By tracking your metrics, you’ll know what content is popular so that you can create more content like that. If a particular episode is really popular, you might want to cover that topic more in-depth.
By following these tips, you can set up your podcast for success! This will help ensure that you and your podcast team stay on track and that your podcast production runs smoothly. It will also help to ensure that your podcast is successful and build upon the metrics that are performing well for you.
If you’re already feeling stressed out by the amount of work involved in starting a podcast, don’t fret, we can help! This will allow you to focus on what you should be focusing on (you know, that thing only you can do!) and leave the heavy lifting to us!
Action Steps
- First, download our Getting Started With Podcasting Workbook & Checklist and start to work through it.
- Schedule a call with me and let’s look over your business and your workbook to see if podcasting is a good fit for your current business model.
- If you already have a podcast, make a checklist of the parts of the production process that you can get off your plate. You should show up to record and hand off the rest. (Remember, ZONE OF GENIUS!)
- Next, record your first two episodes (whether you’re doing them solo or interviewing someone). Having those first two episodes done will really excite you and get you moving forward on building a successful podcast!
Links for this episode:
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