So you’re interested in setting up a podcast? Want to know how podcasters make money? The great news is that there are so many ways to produce a great quality podcast. Starting a podcast isn’t difficult or expensive, but there are several steps you’ll need to work through to get it up and running. Even better news, there are many different ways to monetise a podcast. Some work well when you’re just getting started and others require a more established audience.
In this article, we’re going to walk through every stage of launching your podcast, from planning to publishing, to making money podcasting no matter what stage you’re at.
Setting up your podcast
Here are the 5 mains steps required to set up a podcast:
Step #1. Planning your podcast
Step #2. Preparing your podcast
Step #3. Recording your podcast
Step #4. Editing your podcast
Step #5. Launching your podcast
Step #1. Planning your podcast
This stage is often overlooked but you’ll want to spend a good amount of time here before you get started. Get out a notebook and start brainstorming so you can start planning your podcast.
Topic
Think about what your podcast is going to be about. You want the podcast to focus on a particular topic or area of interest.
You should start broad and try narrowing it down to something that you can speak about for several podcast episodes. The goal is to get it to that sweet spot where your topic is not too broad that it won’t appeal to your potential audience but not too narrow that you won’t have enough to talk about.
Think about your audience, who do you want your podcast to appeal to? Who are your potential listeners? Focus on creating a show that stands out and offers a unique take on your topic. You’re trying to create a podcast that a core group of people will love.
You can always expand your podcast topic as you get more listeners and your podcast popularity grows.
Name
If you take a look at the top podcast charts, you’ll see a variety of different podcast names. Some are descriptive of what the show is about, while others are not and don’t immediately mean much.
You might come up with a clever name for your podcast. But remember that people need to be able to find it when they’re searching for podcasts about your topic.
If you do have a clever name for your podcast, then try to also incorporate a description into the title. There’s no point in putting out great podcast content if no one can find it.
The more search-friendly (but potentially boring) option is to simply name your podcast what your target audience is searching for. Avoid getting too wordy if you go down this route. Remember you’ll be repeating your podcast name quite a lot when recording your podcast episodes, so make sure it rolls off the tongue.
Essentially you want to choose a podcast name that is broader than your topic.
Length
There is a lot of information online about the perfect podcast length. Podcast length depends solely on content.
You don’t need a 28-minute podcast because that’s the average driving time. Or have your podcast be under an hour because people don’t pay attention for longer than that.
There are five-minute podcasts and there are six-hour podcasts, find what works for you and run with it. However, it’s good to have an average podcast episode length so your listeners know what to expect, but you don’t have to stick to it every time.
If you have 50 minutes of valuable, relevant podcast content, why try to cut it down to 20? Or if you have covered everything you need to in 20 minutes why try pad out that podcast episode to 30 minutes? In rare cases, say you do an interview and it is a fantastic, interesting conversation but it runs for over an hour, you can always cut it in half and create 2 podcast episodes out of it.
What you should always try to avoid is making your podcast episodes longer than they need to be because you went off-topic for 15 minutes.
Style
There are many different podcast styles to choose from. The main three are:
- The solo podcast
- The co-hosted podcast
- The interview podcast
You can also do a mix of styles. For example, you can do solo podcasts half the time and interview podcasts the other half.
There are pros and cons to each of the above podcast styles.
The solo podcast
Known as the monologue
Pros:
- You don’t need to rely on anyone else to record your podcast episodes
- You’re building a reputation as the authority on your podcast subject
- You make all the calls on sponsorship and monetization of the podcast
- You don’t have to split the podcast profits with anyone
Cons:
- Can be an intimidating podcast show style for the beginner podcaster
- Need to overcome ‘mic fright’ or the feeling that you’re talking to yourself and realise that you’re talking to the podcast listener.
The co-hosted podcast
Presenting alongside a friend or colleague
Pros:
- A good way to avoid ‘mic fright’ for beginner podcasters
- If you find the right co-host you can bounce ideas off each other, debate or even mock.
- Co-hosted podcasts can have great chemistry between the presenters
Cons:
- Need to both agree on times to record the podcast
- Question of podcast ownership
- Split any podcast income with your co-host
The interview podcast
Interviewing an expert in the field of your podcast topic
Pros:
- Talking to experts or people you admire
- Your guests will have their own audience or followers who may listen to the interview and end up subscribing to your podcast
- You can grow your podcast audience this way
Cons:
- Interviewing is a skill that needs to be developed with lots of practice
- You need to constantly find and approach new podcast guests, schedule interviews and rely on the guests to show up
Episode Format
So what does a specific episode of your podcast sound like?
Like with podcast episode length, it’s good to think about having an average podcast format so your listeners know what to expect from each episode, but you don’t have to stick to it every time.
Here is an example of a podcast episode format:
- Teaser
- Intro music
- Welcome
- Ad spot
- Interview
- Call to action (Review the podcast on iTunes/ Spotify)
- Exit music
You can get creative with this part of planning your podcast. Having different segments to your podcast will also make it easier to share small teaser clips on social media too.
Step #2. Preparing your podcast
Once you have your podcast planned out it’s time to start preparing and getting ready to record your podcast episodes.
Cover art
Your cover art is one of the first things people will see when browsing through their favourite podcast app, so it is important to make a good first impression. It will also be the image your audience sees when you share your podcast on social media.
Podcast Guests
If you are planning on hosting an interview podcast this means you will need to ensure you have a new guest to interview for each podcast episode.
Content Planning
The podcast format you choose will influence the level of research or planning involved. But some planning is necessary for all podcasts. Research is an additional option in your podcast package with Tall Tales.
Step #3. Recording your podcast
At Tall Tales we can facilitate –
In-studio production
We are proud to say that the most loved podcasts in Ireland are
created in our studio. Our Ranelagh studio is fully equipped to
welcome up to five people per show.
Remote recording
We facilitate remote recordings using the latest technology to ensure
the highest sound quality. And can support outside recording for voxpops
etc
Step #4. Editing your podcast
Once you’ve finished recording your podcast the audio will need some cleaning up in post-production. Editing is a component of all Tall Tales Podcast Packages. If you prefer to edit your audio yourself an editing app like GarageBand, Adobe Audition or Audacity can help edit and clean your audio files.
Line up your audio files in a multitrack session on Audition or Garage Band. You can amend the levels on each track individually and apply individual compressions, filtering and EQ to produce a much warmer sound. Remove and reduce rumbles, background noise and any distortion. Add your usual stings, backing tracks and sound effects.
Step #5 Launching your podcast
After you’ve finished recording, editing, and producing your podcast, you can upload it to hosting sites like Soundcloud, Anchor, and Transistor. They’ll generate your RSS feed for you, so you can submit it to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other podcast players.
Our team specialises in data-led content strategy creation. We help
identify where your audience is and prepare distribution strategies for
every project.
Monetising your podcast
Now that you’ve got your set up and ready to go, let’s take a look at the ways you can start to monetise your podcast.
Outcaster
Outcaster helps creators build revenue by selling their content directly to the people who enjoy it most – the viewers, listeners, readers, the fans. With our tech, creators can build customised streaming apps, seamlessly accept user payment and manage memberships.
Premium Content on Outcaster
Premium content can be anything you want, but some of the common ways podcasters offer premium content are with:
- Additional interviews
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Q&A with the hosts
- Video recording of the podcast
- Live episodes
Have fun coming up with unique ways to deliver additional value to your community while you monetise your podcast.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is where you get a commission when you refer people (in this case your podcast listeners) to other companies. You can earn money when those people make a purchase.
Affiliate marketing works best when you promote a product or a service you have an authentic relationship with.
For most podcasters, affiliate marketing is easier to set up than finding sponsors. In your episode format, you could create your own “ad” spot to promote an affiliate offer if you don’t have the audience size for traditional sponsorships. Or you can naturally include a mention of a product or service as you deliver your regular content a straightforward way to monetise your podcast.
Sponsors & Advertising
Advertising and sponsorships are one of the first things you think of when looking for ways to monetise your podcast.
Sponsorships are a contractual agreement where companies pay you a set amount just to mention their products or services.
You usually need a larger audience of at least 5,000 or 10,000 podcast listeners per month to be approached by a sponsor.
If you are a beginner podcaster or have a smaller podcast audience another option is to research and reach out directly to companies that would be a great fit for your audience.
Events
Hosting podcast events is not only a great way to make money, by bringing together your biggest podcast fans to create a more intimate and valuable experience.
Physical Products
Create your podcast merch such as stickers, mugs, t-shirts, and other merch and sell them on your podcast website.
The Creep Dive offers a ton of different products.
At Tall Tales Podcasts, we look after your entire podcast needs. From recording and post production to artwork and distribution. Email us today Hello@TallTales.ie to get started.
Main image from Unsplash
