Podcasting Tips for Beginners
Podcasting has been a valuable way to engage communities since the earliest days of the internet. Now is a great time to start your own podcast. There are now more than 2 million podcasts available, and listeners have grown 29.5% in the 3 years between 2018 and 2021. But what do beginners need to know? This post gives you 8 great tips for podcasting beginners.
1. Know Your Audience
It helps to have as clear an image of your audience as possible. Take some paper and visualise them by answering these questions:
- Who is your perfect audience?
- How old are they?
- What are their interest?
- What is their occupation?
- Why are they listening to this podcast?
Continue until you run out of questions. At the end of this exercise, you should have a clearer understanding of your audience. Whenever you plan or record, keep this audience profile in mind.
2. What’s Your Beef?
What is the problem you want to solve with your podcasts? Consider what your your key message should be and keep it consistent in every recording and every guest interview. Remember that it’s okay to have opinions. Audiences want you to have an attitude. It makes every recording more interesting, and how else will they know where you stand?
3. Repetition is a Great Way to Build Brand Presence
You should always be thinking about building your brand. Here’s a great way to reinforce that brand with your listeners. Always state your name and the name of your podcast at the start of every episode.
4. Can You Say It?
This may seem a little basic, but all the most important fundamentals appear basic. Without them though, every else can become more difficult. When you choose the name of your podcast, make sure you can pronounce it easily. You’d be surprised how many new podcasters make this elementary error and end up embarrasing themselves.
5. Invest in the Right Equipment
Selecting the right equipment is not a simple process, but it comes down to a few different factors:
- budget
- acoustic environment
- availability
Budget: As a general rule, you should never spend more than you can afford. Microphones can be cheap or cost thousands. Select a microphone that is small enough to fit your desk/studio space. However, the fact is that most of us already own a reasonable quality microphone that is suitable for beginners: our smartphone. Using the voice recording app on your phone can work surprisingly well. As you progress, you can do some research and upgrade. Many podcasters upgrade several times. You can decide, based on your studio setup, whether you need a microphone stand or other equipment. If you opt for an external microphone, be sure to get a pop filter, they are inexpensive and definitely worth it.
Acoustic Environment: Try to record in a place without too many hard surfaces. If you can, invest in acoustic panels. If not, try adding plenty of soft furnishings, blankets or cushions to reduce echo.
Availability: Just about any equipment you will need can be bought online. Do some research (there are plenty of reviews on YouTube). If your budget is tight, use your phone, it’s always available.
6. Focus on Quality
Get better at improving your skills. This takes practice, training and time. You should always be considering which skills you could improve:
- interviewing?
- writing intros?
- planning?
- vocal expression?
- public speaking?
- audio post-processing?
There is no such thing as an instant expert. Stay focused on constant, steady improvement and the results will show in your podcast.
7. Choose Great Guests
Learn how to find guests that your audience will enjoy listening to. You can find great guests in a variety of ways:
- other podcasts in your niche
- see who is mentioned in industry press
- look on social media
- ask your network for recommendations
- think about who you would like to hear being interviewed and approach them
8. Start Already!
Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before starting. Get going first, improve along the way. Podcasting is a journey.
Plan Your Podcast Episodes for Success
This post is a small selection of the tips taken from our range of Podcast Episode Planners. You can read the rest of the tips and advice by picking up a copy, available from an Amazon website near you. Just follow these links: