There is no doubt that the podcasting industry is growing, especially after the COVID pandemic. There is almost 465 Millions of podcast listeners worldwide as of February 2023 and it is projected that by the end of 2024 there will be around 505 million podcast listeners worldwide. This is a huge increase from 2019, when there were 274 million podcast listeners worldwide.
Our team at Convince & Convert has produced over 550 episodes for the Podcast for social professionals and more than a dozen separate shows for corporate clients and us. As the producer of the Social Pros Podcast for the last two years, I’ve found a huge interest in podcasting and learned a lot of tricks along the way.
With millions of podcasts being produced, it might seem intimidating to start your own. But once you’ve found your hyper-relevant topic and found an audience to reach, all you need is a few tips and patience.
Here are 6 tips for producing a killer podcast:
1. Be willing to allocate time
Recording content for a podcast isn’t easy. No matter how long or short your episodes are, you need to set aside enough time in your calendar. Our hosts for the Social Pros Podcast (Anna Hrach & Daniel Lemin), typically record two episodes per week with a 1-hour block of recording time. This doesn’t include potential pre-show calls to add to the weekly mix, which some guests also want.
Manufacturer tip: If you’re working with hosts for your podcast, make sure you’re also actively attending those pre-show calls and recording sessions with them. Don’t leave everything to your hosts because you are the one holding the whole process together.
2. Develop guidelines for your podcast
Policies are designed to help you ensure a smooth production experience, not only for you but also for your guests (if any). We’ve perfected our process from the start of a guest selection process to the end when an episode is released. Our guests receive a pre-show questionnaire to help them brainstorm topics they would like to talk about. And of course, it helps our hosts prepare any additional information needed for their episode. From there, we log each guest into our AirTable sheet and track everything from episode release dates to guest headshots and logos.
There are many microsteps and rules that you go through with each guest or episode. So having a guideline and checklist for yourself will help you stay on track and won’t surprise your guests either.
3. Avoid being too pushy when recruiting a guest
If you’re planning on having guests on your podcast, the first thing to do is avoid being too “picky” and desperate. This often results in a very lengthy invitation for a potential guest to read (completely ignore in most cases), and will turn someone away if you come up to them with an entire bibliography that doesn’t get straight to the point. The typical human attention span is only 7 seconds. So make sure your question falls within this 7 second time frame.
I find the best response for a guest is to ask them, “Would you be interested in being a guest on our podcast?” at the very beginning of my conversation with them. Also, make sure to link the URL to your podcast website in this question. Adding a statistic or important note to your podcast is also a good addition, but of course if someone is really interested, they’ll want to know more and ask about it.
Manufacturer tip: Talk to your guests on the platform where they feel comfortable. Most of my inquiries to a potential guest are made through LinkedIn messaging. Most of the time, the conversation transfers to email, but some guests have preferred to stay on LinkedIn throughout the process, and that’s fine. Being flexible with your guests makes it easier for them.
4. Use a user-friendly platform — Especially if you record virtually.
When you decide to record your episodes virtually, you want to make sure the recording process is as easy as possible. We’ve been using Riverside.fm for a while now and absolutely love how easy it is to use. All guests have to do is log in using either their computer or their phone and it saves all of our episode recordings for our editorial team at Content 10x.
You want to avoid your guests working too much on the day of their episode. The best thing they have to do on the day is test their audio and log into your chosen recording site.
5. Share your podcast episodes
Before an episode’s release date, you should make sure you have plans to share it on your social media platforms. In our case, all our guests receive creative files that we produce so that they can also share them on their own social networks.
Yes, you can try to rely on native searches for your podcast on listening platforms, but take it a step further and share it online so it reaches more people who might never have heard of it. Encourage your guests to share them by tagging them and letting them know when their episode will air so they have time to add it to their own content calendar.
6. Always say “thank you”!
If you invite a guest to speak on your podcast, thank them after they’ve taped their episode and again on the day their episode airs. It’s a small gesture that makes a big difference.
Manufacturer tip: Keep in touch with your guests even after the episode has been released. This builds a connection and also leads to some of the best re-invites.
We know that starting a podcast can be scary. But with the right tools, preparation, and patience, it will undoubtedly reach the audience you’re aiming for. Much luck!
If you need help starting or improving your podcast strategy, contact Convince and Convert today.
