Podcast Success Blueprint: Launch Your Solo Show

Are there some downsides? Sure! But each challenge is something that you can 100% overcome. They don't make it too hard, or remove all the enjoyment. Although podcasting can be challenging at first, there is so much joy in how you will improve over time.

1. It's a lot of work if you aren't organised about it. You need to keep things somewhat structured and simple to avoid excessive workloads.

2. It's not going to pay you from day 1. However, there are SO many ways to monetize a podcast, from sponsorship to ads and promoting your own products and services.

3. The marketplace can look super busy when you first start. But fear not...most "competitors" will fade away over time, and overall the numbers of listeners are still climbing around the world.

While acknowledging the downsides of podcasting, there is SO MUCH value in the messages received from listeners and the positive impact your podcast can have.

For me, podcasts are something that YouTube can't and blogs can't do either. You can't see yourself in the person speaking to you in the way in the same way in YouTube. and you're not as warm to the person who's communicating with you through a blog.

A podcast can help you express yourself, stand out in a competitive market, attract more customers, and build trust with your audience.

Think about your favourite podcasts. What do they sound like? What different components can you identify?

The 4 Most Popular Podcast Formats

1. The Documentary

2. The Interview Show

3. The Buddy Show

4. The Expert Tip

Consistent structure is very important in podcasting as it helps the listener build trust with you and your creation.

1. Select the right show topic

2. Find a great show name

3. Stand for something

The important question is "what's your promise to the listener?"

Your show may promise them entertainment, education, motivation, perhaps even tangible results. It will deliver even more than that, as it's a ticket into your world view as the host.

In this video, you'll learn more about the different types of audio that make up a podcast.

1. Narration

2. Intro Music and Narration

3. Bridges (narration inn between other audio clips, like interview sections)

4. Outro music and narration

5. Interview - guest only

6. Interview - guest and host

7. Vox pops and street interviews

8. Out-takes

9. Stingers/jingles

10. Soundbed

You do NOT need to include every single one of these in your show, and you can mix & match as you like.

I would recommend a consistent intro and outro including music & narration.

Don't use music that has been released by a record label without explicit permission. It's a copyright law thing. I am not a lawyer or an expert on this topic, so my advice is for you to handle music very carefully and refer to reliable sources.

You may also get free music for your podcast from:

Creative Commons

Pixabay (also good for stock photos)

Free Music Archive

Even if the music is free and royalty free, please pay attention to attribution requirements.

Podcasting is a type of public speaking, and that means you can transfer your public speaking skills to this field. Even when no one else is in the room, the microphone is your audience.

Imagine the listener and where they are as they listen. How would you talk to them on a phone call?

Do not pay attention to what others say about the sound of your voice or how you speak or your accent. It’s personal.

Do pay attention to what others might say about your mic technique and public speaking skills!

New podcasters may pay a lot of attention to the choice of microphone they use, and too little attention to creating the best possible voice and speech from themselves. There are so many easy tricks you can follow to improve your podcast for free!

1. Wear headphones!

2. Sounding good is not just about the type of microphone you have

3. Learn how to use the mic correctly

4. How to fix common mic problems

5. Sound as good as possible going in

In this section, you'll learn more about becoming a well-prepared podcaster.

No one wants to hear a podcast that sounds like it's been recorded in a train station, right? Here's what can you do to start creating good studio conditions when you're recording at home.

1) You don't want any shiny surfaces around you

2) Angle your mic away from any big screens

3) Wear headphones!!! Not the kind that leak sound, think "over the ear cans"

No one wants to hear a podcast that sounds like it's been recorded in a train station, right? Here's what can you do to start creating good studio conditions when you're recording at home.

1) You don't want any shiny surfaces around you

2) Angle your mic away from any big screens

3) Wear headphones!!! Not the kind that leak sound, think "over the ear cans"

The key to recording remotely with 2 people is to

1. Prepare your guest well so they know how to sound good (make them wear headphones!!)

2. Select guests that you have good chemistry with

3. Record onto 2 tracks!

The key to recording remotely with 2 people is to

1. Prepare your guest well so they know how to sound good (make them wear headphones!!)

2. Select guests that you have good chemistry with

3. Record onto 2 tracks!

I aim to create audio that sounds as good as it possibly can during the recording process, so that editing becomes a lot easier.

You edit for sound and content and A LOT is about having good sound going in so you don't really need to edit that much. Make sure you decide how you want your show to sound - remember that promise to the listener? The mood you want to create? All that comes into play here!

Paid advertising has not been proven to bring great results for attracting podcast listeners, but there's still a lot that you can do in your promotion!

1. Tell everyone about new episodes

2. Create audiograms using apps like Headliner

3. Involve your community

4. Create a website for your podcast

It doesn’t have to be fancy, but ideally you want your listeners to go somewhere to

• Find any links you mention

• Access a transcripts if you offer one

• Find out more about you

• Purchase from you if they want

Headliner: Creating Your Video Podcast

1. The more you publish, the more listeners

2. Becoming part of your listener’s routine is great (regular publication slot & time)

3. Think about your listener and their life - what impact do you want to have?

4. Consider if your topics are evergreen or current

5. Consider your own capacity, team size, and the quality level you’re committing to

From my experience:

1. Episodes that are the latest episode for longer get more downloads

2. Total downloads per episode does not equal steady listener number

3. An episode takes between 2 hours and 8 days to produce (and I’m NOT Serial)

4. Promoting your podcast matters, promoting individual episodes doesn’t make a huge difference if you publish weekly

Make the podcast you want to make and consider your metric of success!

First of all, note there are many ways to monetize and sponsorship is only one of them. You can mix & match just fine.

Important question: How much money is that space in your podcast worth?? Because you'll be giving it away.

There are two ways to get sponsored

The "industry standard": Go through ad networks or wait until you're approached, expect to get industry standard rates, worrying about whether you're pre roll or mid roll and how long your ads are.

The rate is calculated per 1000 CPMs, which is about how many people listen to your show on average.

You'll need accurate download numbers for this and it's not worth it in my opinion for most of us smaller show owners. Consider it if your show gets 5000-10,000 downloads.

YOUR standard (the better way)

Get active and approach your own dream sponsors!

Which companies don't compete with you and have something your audience will appreciate?

If you're in a smaller niche, companies will NOT be considering podcast advertising and you can make them a super interesting offer.

So the question in your mind needs to be "do I want to pursue this sponsor", instead of asking if you're good enough to have someone-anyone. Of course you are.

You can even approach a sponsor with a business plan for a brand new show, telling them what numbers you're going for and how many people they'll reach! That's what many other industries do and it's what I'd confidently do if I was starting the right kind of show.

I strongly recommend you make a great case for your show and then throw the industry rates out of the window. There's value in your listener relationships and your niche.

You need a Media Kit.

A media kit is a document bigging you up, showcasing your statistics and describing your audience.

Do you get emails from companies wanting to work with your website? Cool, send them this kit.

What should I charge?

Don't be afraid to start with one rate and review it quickly.

Don't be afraid to hear a no.

See if you can get upsell a review on your blog.

Include a little intro video on their landing page to bridge from them to you. www.clozemaster.com/fluentshow

Write your own promo script as part of the service.

one last tip:

Don't accept payment per episode. Any message takes at least 5 episodes to come through so listeners take action. Longer sponsorship contracts build much better relationships and bring you bigger payments.

How to Juggle Podcasting With a Full-Time Job

• Podcasting with a full-time job is not impossible, and many people do it, but you can't run at it full blast in the way that you might see other people doing.

• Assess your schedule to see when you have time and book in that time as if you were going to a class.

• Consider booking studio time if you can

• Embrace batch production: Lots of podcast workflow tasks are repetitive, and it saves energy to do these at the same time. I even like to batch my interview recordings.

• Establish a really clear recording workflow so you know which apps you use and what happens with the audio files directly afterward.

• Outsource your workflow to a VA. Of course, you need a good workflow to outsource. If you want assistance with this, get a VA or podcast producer in to look at everything you're doing or book a 1:1 session with me.

• Outsource your edits, so you send off the audio file to someone else. This is what most big podcasts do. It's definitely not compulsory. You could also try and see how you like Descript! [Look for my links in the bonus lecture.]

• Reduce your plans to what's essential. Maybe you don't need two pages of show notes, maybe you can publish once a month, or maybe you can cut the scripting.