How to create a cool podcast

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to choose a topic, prepare for recording, and what mistakes to avoid so that your podcast will win the hearts of listeners.

If you clicked on the link and started reading this article, then you can assume that the term "podcast" is familiar to you. But just in case, I will indicate what it is.

A podcast is an audio or video file that covers a specific topic. For example, an audiobook can be one big podcast. But, as a rule, this word means something shorter - 10–20, less often 30–60 minutes of conversation on any topic.

One of my Telegram channels is dedicated to podcasts from the books I read. These are not just reviews, but short and juicy retellings through the prism of entrepreneurship. What you, as a listener, can apply here and now. At the moment, the channel has more than 160 thousand subscribers, and based on this, we can assume that I can tell you something interesting about podcasts. So, they drove in order.

How to choose a theme

This is the first and most popular question that comes to mind. And the most logical and simple answer is to go, for example, to Yandex. Wordstat and see what people are most interested in. After that, take and produce podcasts on the most popular topics. But there is one "but" …

You yourself should be captivated by what you are doing. Otherwise, the result will be tasteless, dead, mediocre audio products on a topic that has already been clipped by all and sundry. Therefore, the question "How to choose a topic?" I responsibly declare stupid. It's like asking "What business to start?" or "What sports to do?" The stump is clear that the one that resonates personally with you, and not the one that is in the top for requests.

I recommend not doing any market, demand or trend analysis at all. You died as soon as you began to bend under these things and act, aligning with them.

It makes sense to do what you yourself get an aesthetic orgasm. There is always an audience. The main thing is for her to feel that you are not trying to poke fun on some topic, but that she (the topic) excites you. Then everything will be fine.

I didn't monitor the podcast market at all. I took what I love to do, which is reading books, and decided to share the extracts from them with other people. Moreover, by doing this I solve one more problem that is important for me. After some time after reading the book, the information disappears somewhere. And I found a way out: to pronounce theses, to disclose them from the perspective of an entrepreneur and share it with people. There is a benefit for everyone here. For me - because this way I remember information better and can always re-listen to my reflections on the topic. And for people - especially for those who do not like to spend time listening / reading the entire book or are very careful about the choice of books.

So, the formula for finding what to do: a topic that you would be happy to discuss at 3 a.m. in the kitchen + lack of desire to make money on it (or, if there is one, then at least not a priority) + willingness to share it with others = podcasting success.

How to prepare for recording

I do not write the text and do not recommend it to you. Why? It's simple. When you read, and not tell, it is always heard and there is less naturalness in it. If you want the listener after a couple of minutes to already feel that you are his best friend, then you should tell him exactly - from yourself.

You won't read a ready-made text to your best friend, will you? You will say to him: "My friend, this one like this, this one like this, this one like this, okay?" I'm exaggerating, of course, but the point is this: record the podcast as if you were telling something to a friend. At the same time, you will pump yourself up in the art of public speaking: lose all "bae", "meh", "well" and other parasites.

Here are some more tips for getting ready.

1. Choose a specific time to record a podcast

For example, I have it from 4 pm to 8 pm. By this time, I have time to fully wake up and warm up my voice.

2. Write down the main points

After reading the book, I have the main theses written out. Before recording a podcast, I go through these theses for three minutes, remember what it was about, and imagine how I can continue these ideas. The theses themselves look like one short sentence, and I need to develop some idea from them.

I don’t know what topic you’ll be making podcasts on, but it’s necessary to have a list of theses in front of your eyes.

3. Buy a normal mic and pop filter

A pop filter is a thing that allows you to remove unnecessary unpleasant sounds. Banal respect for the listener's audio channel.

4. Train your voice

Before each recording, do different, albeit sometimes funny, breathing exercises and train your voice. You can easily find exercises on YouTube.

How to style a podcast post

I will not say much about the design of the post itself with the podcast. You need to write a catchy headline, write a short description and stick a picture - that's it. But!

I pay a lot of attention to style. After all, first we buy with our eyes and only then we listen. For me, the effect of memorability is important. At the moment, my portrait appears on every picture, and I also indicate the number everywhere, for example "Book No. 46" so that the newcomers would understand: "Yeah, so there are 45 more books." This specifics makes you linger and see what else was there. If you do not do this, then the listener has every reason to believe that the number of podcasts is simply endless, and "well, it's nafig, wasting time."

Where and how to promote

First, I appeared on Soundcloud - all the files with my podcasts are stored there. But the fact is that this site is not widely used in the Russian-speaking space, unlike iTunes or the Google Play Market. Soundcloud, though, has the ability to create an RSS link and paste it on iTunes. And if you are there, then you automatically appear in almost all podcast apps. But this is not enough.

There are services that you need to write to and with which you need to negotiate. For example, the last one I wrote to is called SoundStream. Through negotiations, I became one of the first in the search.

You, as an author, have to spin, fuss and negotiate yourself. Go to the most popular applications, look where you are not, and start writing to the admins with requests: they say, here I am, I'm cool, add me to your application, from me content and views, from you audience.

What mistakes beginner podcasters often make

Pay attention and don't repeat them.

1. Doing something other than your own business

This is not only about podcasters, but many other people as well. If you cut content that does not resonate inside you in any way, the audience will understand this over time and stop listening to you.

2. Desire to make it perfect right away

Popular disease, huh? And because of it, many do not release a single podcast: for six months they try to bring it to the ideal and eventually merge.

Get a C, look at the feedback, and fix bugs in the next release.

3. Lack of purpose

Answer yourself, what should be the result of your activity?

It is most important. You must understand your goal precisely and work towards it. Want to improve your speaking skills? Do you want to become the most popular podcaster in the CIS, the world, the universe? Do you want to share knowledge with people? Or maybe entertain them?

The goal determines your actions, your attitude to what and how you will do. And most importantly, when a person acts purposefully, he gives the impression of a much more powerful and confident person compared to someone who acts aimlessly.

Finally

The podcaster receives many benefits from its activities: expanding the target audience, new customers and partners, as well as useful skills, such as correct speech, the ability to structure information, better concentrate and not lose thought. All these things affect other aspects of life, it becomes more pleasant and interesting to communicate with you. And the meetings are more efficient.

So if you've been thinking about podcasting for a long time now, it's time to get started.