TPU43 – The 10 Step Framework to Start a Successful Podcast in any Niche

Episode-43

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[00:00:00] Dilip: People could be listening to it on any one of the numerous platforms out there, but then how do you make them stay with you when you do not have control over them or these platforms and the choices that the audience are making. So it is important that you funnel all of these people, or at least some of these people to a single place where they can listen to your podcasts.

[00:00:30] And at the same time also interact with you.

[00:00:35] Welcome to the podcasting university, looking for help on starting your own podcast, then this is the place to be. We will help you with everything from selecting your topic to promoting and monetizing your podcast in the simplest language possible. Listen to other podcasters, who've been through the grind and learn from them,

[00:00:55] as we interview them every week, you can find more details on [00:01:00] the podcasting university.com.

[00:01:09] Hello, and welcome to episode forty-three of the podcasting university. This is your host Dilip. And in this episode, we're going to talk about a, 10 step framework to launching a podcast that will make money. Now, these 10 steps that we are going to talk about in this episode is basically a framework that you can use for any type of podcast, irrespective of what niche you are in, what is the format of your podcast. Irrespective of whatever it is

[00:01:41] you can use this framework for launching any kind of podcast. So without spending any more time, let us get into these 10 steps that are there in this framework. So number one, define the purpose of the podcast. Now this is one of the most important steps [00:02:00] to start off with a podcast. What is the purpose of your podcast?

[00:02:04] Why are you making the podcast? Who are the people you are trying to help? Even if it is a storytelling podcast, there has to be a reason why you're starting it. Identify that purpose. It is important that you identify that purpose for starting the podcast, because this is the foundation on which your entire journey with podcasting is going to be based on.

[00:02:28] So spend some time to identify the purpose of the party. Step number two, planning, plan your podcast. Now this step again, decides how consistent and persistent you're going to be with your podcasting journey, whatever you plan right now will serve as a foundation for every one of those episodes that you're going to release in the next one year or even the next two years.

[00:02:57] So take some time to plan for your [00:03:00] podcast. So what exactly will go into your plan? You need to plan on what the niche for the podcast is going to be. You will also have to decide on what is the format? Is it going to be a monologue or dialogue, an interview based format or whatever the format is, decide and plan on what the format for your podcast is going to be.

[00:03:22] The third one is going to be the frequency. So how frequently are you going to release your episodes? A point where you will need to spend some time to consider your logistics, your availability, your time, and then take call. Because if you decide on a weekly format and then you're not able to release episodes every week, then it is going to impact your podcast.

[00:03:48] So at the beginning itself, decide on what is the right frequency for you to go and start your podcast on. So this entire step of planning is another very important [00:04:00] step that is involved, and this will decide a lot on how your podcast is going to do in the next, maybe a year or. One another very important aspect that you need to consider while you're planning for your podcast is the audience profile.

[00:04:15] It is important that you decide or your plan or a research a little bit on who your audience is going to be. What is going to be the audience profile and who are going to listen to your show, because if you are able to do that well, then it'll help you a lot in creating content that resonates with your audience.

[00:04:39] And if you need to know, a little more or learn a little more about how to go about creating a audience profile or a podcast listener profile you might want to listen to episode number 35, where we discuss about audience profile in a lot more detail. Step number three, now that we [00:05:00] have defined the purpose of the podcast we've planned for the podcast, it is time

[00:05:04] to get into the real meat of recording and releasing our show. So, first of all, we need to decide on the name of your show. We've discussed this part in a little more detail in one of our earlier episodes. If you want, you can listen to the episode number 29. Where we talk about how to pick a good name, a relevant name for your shoe, but a couple of things that you might just want to keep in mind is that the name of the show needs to resonate or reflect the content that you're planning to produce.

[00:05:35] or, what is going to be the essence of the show, because if it doesn't talk to each other, then that name might sound a little ambiguous and your audience might not be able to relate to it. And also your names should not be something that is too long, because it is easier for people to remember short names.

[00:05:54] So keep the name of your show a little short and also don't use the same name that [00:06:00] somebody else is using for their podcast. Step number four, which is creating an artwork. Now, an artwork is something where a lot of podcasters don't give a lot of thought to, but keep in mind that an artwork is where your audience.

[00:06:14] will have the first encounter with your podcast. So it is important that you, your artwork stands out and it tells the audience what your podcast is all about and entices them to start listening to the show. So you need to spend some time, give it some thought and create an artwork that not only looks good, but it's also relevant to the show.

[00:06:39] We've discussed this in much more detail in episode number 10. So you can tune into that episode to learn more about how to create an artwork. Step number five, identify a good host. Now picking the right host again is a very important decision because it'll depend upon a lot of what your requirements [00:07:00] and needs are. There are different kinds of hosts that are available.

[00:07:03] Like for example, there are paid hosts and then there are free hosts, but which of this will suit, you will depend upon what features are you looking for? Are you okay to do all your distribution on your own? Or are you looking for some support? What is the bandwidth that you're looking for? How many episodes are you going to release everyday?

[00:07:22] What does the story is that you will need per month. So all of these things needs to be considered. And from the plan that you've put together for your podcast, you will get all of this information. And based on this information, go ahead and decide on a good host. There are a few hosts that we recommend because they have both paid and free plans.

[00:07:44] Like for example, anchor, sounder and Riverside are extremely good hosts. They have both free and paid plans. You can start off on a free plan and then maybe upgrade to a paid plan. If that is something that you need, you can also go with Hub hopper, which is a [00:08:00] free and a very good host, a host that we use for our show.

[00:08:04] So you can always go with Hubhopper as well, but then it's a very important consideration. So spend some time to pick the right host for your show. Step number six, set up your website. Now, one of the most important activity that podcasters often ignored is to set up or put together a website for that podcast.

[00:08:24] All said and done. The one important thing that you need to understand is that podcasting today, the way it is, doesn't have a standing on its own, unless you are a Joe Rogan. People could be listening to it on any one of the numerous platforms out there, but then how do you make them stay with you when you do not have control over them or these platforms and the choices that the audience, are making. So it is important that you funnel all of these people, or at least some of these people do a single place

[00:08:59] [00:09:00] where they can listen to your podcast and at the same time also interact with you. And if you are able to do that, you will also be able to guide them towards whatever it is that you are promoting or services that you're offering. We discuss a lot about setting up a website in episode number 11, so do give it a listen.

[00:09:19] That'll give you much more information about this step. But then the important thing that you need to keep in mind is that setting up a website for your podcast is a very important activity. And it is something that you should essentially have. If you're planning on staying with podcasting for a long time. Step number seven, record your episodes.

[00:09:41] Now, why is it that I've put recording your episodes as a step? Because there are a few critical steps that are in in this larger step of recording your episodes. Start with a teaser that is not more than two to three minutes. Keep it to two to three minutes, because that is what we [00:10:00] want to do. It has to be a teaser, tease your audience with what they can expect from the show that is all that you need the teaser for, and also set some expectations,

[00:10:11] so that people know what is the frequency going to be for the podcast and when can they expect new episodes to be released once you've done with the teaser record about five episodes for your podcast, the first episode has to be extremely engaging content, the best content that you've ever produced.

[00:10:33] It should ideally be your brain dump. The very first thought that came to your mind when you started planning for your podcast. So put all of that in there, create that first episode that is so engaging that people start tuning into your remaining episodes. One after the other, this needs to show your listeners the reason why they should be tuning into your show.

[00:10:55] So use all your excitement to create the first step. [00:11:00] Then create four more such episodes, which can tie off into the first episode so that there is a continuity in every episode, the content flow in every one of these episodes. Then on the date, you're going to release your podcast. Your first one to release your teaser, then followed by

[00:11:22] two episodes back to back. So again, in your teaser, it is important that you tell your audience that they will be able to listen to two episodes back to back as soon as the podcast is released. When you record your episodes, it is also important to keep in mind, two very important aspects of the entire recording process, which is the intro and the outro.

[00:11:46] We discussed the intro and outro in a lot more detail in episode number 10. So you can listen to episode number ten to understand what are some other things that you'd need to keep in mind when you're recording an intro and an outro for your episode. Now, once you've [00:12:00] recorded your episode, it is time for step number eight, which is preparing your promotional material.

[00:12:06] Think as if you're going to open a store or maybe launch a brand. Just as these things to create some amount of hype or interest around that brand or around that store, your podcast also needs to do that. So create a lot of promotional materials like audio snippets, you can create by using headliner or, Descript,

[00:12:28] create a lot of banners, quotes, coming, soon stories, et cetera. And you'll create a lot of these promotional materials because you will have to do a lot of these promotions over the next four to five days. You need to prep your audience for what is coming. Once your promotional materials are in place, it is time to move to step number nine, which is launching your show.

[00:12:53] Now, one important thing that you need to keep in mind is all of the hype that you're going to create and all of the promotions that you're going [00:13:00] to do, limit it to about three to four consecutive days before you launch your show because after about three to four days, these promotions start to lose interest.

[00:13:12] So people will also start to lose interest in these promos and they will stop looking at these promotions and when they are at the peak of their interest, it is the best time to launch your show. So launch your show after about three to four days of promoting, creating teasers and promoting the promotional materials that you've done.

[00:13:32] When you launch the show, use it to the best. Ensure that you are releasing the episode, and then once again, promoting all of those episodes that you've released one after the other, at least for the first couple of days. Now that you've launched the show, comes the last and the most important step, which is to distribute and promote.

[00:13:55] You will have to spend time to distribute and promote your show because [00:14:00] it's your show, the amount of effort that you put right now to promoting your show is what will decide on how good the launch is and how good your podcast will be in the coming days. So spend some time to distribute and promote the show.

[00:14:17] Don't procrastinate and delay it because this is where you get the initial impetus. The first thing that you might want to do is send your podcast to everybody you know, without judging who will listen to it. Announce on your social media group, your WhatsApp groups, and everywhere possible, ask your friends, ask your parents to refer it to their friends and acquaintances, because that way you will get better reach

[00:14:46] in fact, you will multiply your reach. And one thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn't feel shy, to do it because if you miss here, it will be very difficult for your show to takeoff. But if this is done [00:15:00] well, then your show will do extremely well because there'll be a lot of momentum that it will gather in the beginning, itself.

[00:15:10] And always remember that the start is the most important thing in any race. So this step of distribution and promotion is a very important step. Those were the 10 steps in the framework. I hope I was able to give you a gist of what goes into each of these framework? We'll be touching upon some of these aspects in our future episodes as well.

[00:15:35] So stay tuned and keep listening to the podcasting university, because you will learn a lot about some of these steps in the coming episodes as well. But as of now, I hope that you are able to understand each one of them. And you were able to understand what goes into each of these steps that we spoke about in the framework.

[00:15:53] If you want to get a copy of these in a simply printable checklist format, just [00:16:00] follow me on Instagram, at podcasting university and send a DM to me with the words checklist in there, and you should be able to get a link to download this checklist. You can also visit https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/checklist

[00:16:15] checklist to download these 10 step framework checklist. So that is all that I have for this episode. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I'll be back again in a couple of weeks from now with another interesting information about podcasting and also another guest who's done really well in podcasting. But before I leave, you can listen to the podcasting university

[00:16:40] on almost all podcasting platforms, including Google podcasts, apple podcast, Stitcher, TuneIn radio, Hubhopper, Spotify and Amazon prime music as well. So pick your favorite platform and give it a listen. And don't forget to subscribe to the show in order to stay updated with the latest episodes that I come out with.[00:17:00]

[00:17:00] That's all that I have for this episode. Don't forget to download the free checklist. Visit https://thepodcastinguniversity.com/checklist to download the checklist. I'll be back again in a couple of weeks from now until then keep listening to the podcasting university and you all have a wonderful rest of the week.[00:18:00]

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