Podcasting 101

Podcasting seems to be the digital gold rush that all creators have been dreaming of! Learn about podcasting from the early stages of launching your first episode to establishing yourself as an industry expert in your field.

This blog post is brought to you by Minnestar, who's known for some of the largest community events in Minnesota where thousands of technologists come together to learn, build, connect and grow.

Each month, Minnestar hosts a virtual AMA (or Ask Me Anything) session on a different topic with subject matter experts from our community. Ask questions, and learn from the best of the best - all via an easy Zoom webinar link.

This month, we are lucky to be joined by panelists Jackie Biederman of StoryPop Media and Twila Dang of Matriarch Media, hosted by Maria Boland Ploessl of Minnestar, and this post produced by Dick Polipnick of Online Growth Systems.

Topics Covered:

Why Podcasting?
​Which podcast hosting service do you recommend?
Do I need a website?
Hot Take on Podcasting Right Now
How to Measure Success for Businesses
Price of Production
Who should be a podcaster and who shouldn’t be?
Interview Style Podcasts (quick start guide)
Repurpose your content
Starting Off
Music
Trademarks
AI
#1 Thing We Wish We Knew (when we started)
Podcasting Groups
Favorite Podcasts
Panelist Plugs

Takeaway Notes:

Why Podcasting?
​Audio is an intimate medium! It’s personal.

You can connect on a deeper level with your audience versus other forms of media.

Which podcast hosting service do you recommend?
Blueberry, BuzzSprout, and PodBean for paid services.
Anchor for free hosting.
Art19- takes hosting to the next level and produces reports and data for opportunities- brokers relationships with advertisers.
Simple Cast.

*Make sure that you read the fine print when you sign up for a free or easy to use podcasting distribution and hosting tool- they often include licenses to use your content!

Do I need a website?
Highly recommend having your own website.

Using apps to build your audience is like renting an apartment, building a website is like owning a house. You own that content- you pay the mortgage, you build and retain that audience.

Apps come and go- they rise and fall in popularity, but your website will always be there.

Instagram is here today and might be gone tomorrow, but if you build your own audience on your own platform (like your website, blog, email list, etc.) you'll always have them.

You can embed your hosting player on your site so your audience can listen to your episodes. It has the best of both worlds.

Having your own website establishes you as an expert- not just a random creator online.

Hot Take on Podcasting Right Now:
Neil Patel is releasing 5 minute clips now- experiment with your content and find something that sticks with your audience.

If you say, “I want to do a podcast where I interview people” that isn't novel… it’s usually the same 30 people on every podcast that gets interviewed. Differentiate yourself!

You need to be the center of the conversation.

“You need to establish the point of view that YOU have.”

Centering a podcast with you asking questions is a mistake… lots of people can do that. What makes you different? What are you passionate about that people want to hear your opinion on?

How to Measure Success for Businesses:
That depends on what you're trying to accomplish with your podcast. Is your motive community building VS launching a product or service VS marketing tool?

A good metric for businesses is to measure how many email addresses you collect- aim for 10K emails in a certain amount of time. Those could be leads for your company.

The entertainment perspective is a whole 'nother ball game.

Maybe sponsoring a podcast is a better option for your company- “brought to you by (your company)” is a great way to get involved in the podcasting space without investing into launching your own content.

You don’t want to make something that doesn’t fit your brand… the iteration in your head VS what gets made by your team can be very different.

Not every business needs a podcast. Go through the audience… the purpose of why you're considering starting a podcast… what do you want to say to your audience?

Podcast listeners to sales conversions sounds alluring… but it’s top of funnel for most of your listeners. They are at the very beginning of the buying cycle in most cases.

Listens don’t equate to buyers of your produce. They can, but it's far from a 100% conversion rate.

Price of Production:
There is a wide range for producing and publishing a podcast. You can do it for under $100 using a smart phone, or spend Hollywood sized budgets to produce one episode.

Content agency pricing depends on industry experience. Ask them what shows they've produced, ask for sample work, and ask for case studies.

Quality costs money. Duh.

We've heard both scenarios:
“Oh?" = you didn’t charge enough
"Oh!" = thought it would be free!

The cost of producing a podcast can also very if you're creating a mini series vs an ongoing podcast.

Consider hiring a consultant to get started, then your team can take it from there. There is a lot more work involved here than you think.

Consider if you just want to show up and talk into the microphone. You enjoy the recording process, and have an agency do the rest- booking, recording, editing, distribution, marketing, etc.

Ask yourself what is right for you.

Who should be a podcaster and who shouldn’t be?
Be intentional.
Be passionate.
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

“I’m creating value! I’m gonna make a million dollars like YouTubers!” is not the case.

When you start a conversation like, “I should be on your network… I’m great, you need to work with me” that is an easy no for networks. Be humble but interesting. Make the network want to hear an episode of your show!

Podcasting is not a “quick return” like Instagram… it’s more evergreen content.

Only celebs get that big quick bang for their buck when they start a podcast. You'll grow over time.

Interview Style Podcasts (quick start guide):
1. Prep
2. Schedule
3. Record
4. Post-Production (light edits)

That typically takes 10 hours per episode and doesn’t include marketing and release time. Keep that in mind.

Don't worry about reporting right away.

Most agencies take a minimum of 2-4 months to produce an episode for client podcasts. That doesn’t include illnesses, issues, etc. Keep that in mind when you're planning.

Repurpose your content:
Repurpose your content… stretch them!

Get creative with it.

Pinterest audio is allowed now :) Look at posting episodes there.

Post the audio with a slideshow and share on YouTube.

Post quotes on Twitter and Instagram.

Post clips on social media like this: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkyIQecFTlz

Starting Off:
Start with just 5 episodes.

Anchor, SoundCloud, and Audacity are best for starting.

Get feedback from listeners, see if it’s something you want to pursue! (Don't ask friends and family... ask actual listeners!)

Music:
You don’t need a lot of it.

It's not worth it to take a popular song and use it in your podcast… “I’m too small, they'll never notice me!” The day of reckoning is here! You’ll end up paying royalties for it or worse.

Use songs with creative commons licenses.

Look for songs that are in the public domain :)

A lot of classical music is free to use.

Trademarks: 
Look at your podcast title, consider a trademark. You don't want to get a "cease and desist" letter from some movie studio that owns a trademark from the 60s.

We know of a popular podcast that got one of these letters. They ended up paying over 7 figures in "damages" for using the trademark as the title of their podcast.

AI:
There are now algorithm searches for copyright infringement. Don't give them a reason!

AI can help you rank your podcasts, titles, etc. Use keyword planning and Search Engine Optimization to help get your podcast in front of more listeners.

#1 Thing We Wish We Knew (when we started):
Doesn’t have to be perfect!

You are your own worst critic.

Listen to your favorite podcast’s episode 1… you’ll see how far they’ve come!

Know how much time it is going to take!

Podcasting Groups:
Women in Podcasting event monthly :)

Twin Cities Podcasters - meetup group

Twin Cities Radio Club - free club that make high level audio content

BuzzSprout FB group

Online Growth Systems - community of creators and #growthers

Favorite Podcasts:
Malcolm Gladwell
Tim Ferriss
How to make a Freethrow

Panelist Plugs:

Twila Dang
Founder & CEO - Matriarch Digital Media
We make podcasts for women and corporate clients.

Call to action: empower women to create podcasts.

Jackie Biederman
Co-Founder - StoryPop Media
We partner with brands to create original podcasts that engage listeners and bring people together.

Call to action: Learn podcasting :)

Maria Boland Ploessl
Executive Director - Minnestar
​We host community events in Minnesota where thousands of technologists come together to learn, build, connect and grow.

Call to action: Attend our next MinneAMA, How to rock paired programming

Dick Polipnick
Founder and Host - Online Growth Systems
We help companies #growth online. You are good at what you do, so let us be your digital department.

Call to action: Reach out to us if you're exploring ways to reach your target customers online.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any additional questions about podcasting, ask the #growther community in the comments below!

If you liked this, you might also like:

​How to Start a  Video Production Company

​✎ Want to learn how to get started as a video production company? Want to learn how to grow your video production business? Want to make more money making videos? In today’s interview, we summarize how Jeff Johnson started his video production company.  See how Jeff became so successful in the video production industry and use the discussed strategies to make money.