Pod Pointers

When interviewing a guest, especially if you’re doing so virtually, give them an overview of best practices before you begin. Keep in mind, your guest wants to come off sounding just as good as you, and technically they are the featured component of that particular episode. One important thing to remind your guests is to lean into their microphone. As you chat, guests have a tendency to get comfortable and lean back in their ...

Podcasts are typically thought of as audio content consumed from smart devices. This is true, but as we’ve seen in recent years, the phones we carry around, as well as cellular service providers, are getting faster and better at supporting HD video quality. With this in mind, think of your entire audience. From the MySpace to TikTok generations, each likes to consume content differently. Recording your podcast sessions is one...

There is a lot of fancy equipment out there today. From mixing boards to microphones, you could easily spend thousands of dollars for what is promised to be the best possible sound quality. If you’re just starting out, don’t drive yourself into debt by trying to buy the best-in-class items. Focus on quality content and consistent episodes. If these items are intact, utilizing the microphone within your laptop is going t...

Being a good conversationalist begins with being a good listener. When you have a guest on, you should have prepared for the interview in advance by researching the individual, getting to know a little about their area of expertise, and having prepared questions to drive the conversation forward. As your guest begins to open up and share, be sure to listen for interesting points. These may change your line of questioning, but havin...

I hate to say this, as it has become a marketing term that is vastly overused, but you need to be authentic, as in your real self when recording. If you create a persona for your podcast, keep in mind you are committing to acting for each and every episode. This can be exhausting as well as come across to your listeners as being fake. When you are not yourself behind the microphone it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to speak ...

You have a podcast. You have a website. These are two key pieces to your podcast platform, but in general, they are typically one-way communication paths. Your audience may be able to leave a comment, but they aren’t that likely to see a reply, nor have the ability to deep dive into a discussion with you or other listeners. By creating a Facebook group, you are giving your audience the ability to build a community around your...

As podcast hosts, we are very familiar and comfortable being behind the computer screen. Tucked away in our homes and studios, we have a non-physical wall between ourselves and the audience. By creating a podcast hotline, you can give your audience a place to call and leave voice messages and commentary on episodes. You can also promote this at the end of your episodes by featuring clips of messages that have been left by listeners...

If you have setup a website, or at least a web page for your podcast, you’re probably aware that podcast players are not the best when it comes to search engine optimization. These players are small bits of code that lack headers and text, which are the primary things being looked for as search engines crawl your site to categorize the content. Adding transcripts to your podcast website can be beneficial in helping search eng...

You may be surprised to know that not everyone knows how or where they can listen to podcasts. The first thing you should do when launching your new podcast is to setup a website or webpage about your show. Depending on where you are hosting your show, you can typically grab a bit of code and plug a player directly into a web page. This is something we provide to you in your PodOpst Hosting account. In case you were wondering.

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In the movie Clueless, there is an insult where the main character refers to someone from a distance as a Monet. More or less, when people see your podcast cover artwork, you want them to see something with wow factor, not something that looks like a big old mess up close. This may mean having to make changes along the way and getting some outside assistance from a graphic designer. You may need to make several changes and tweaks, ...

This probably seems simple enough, but you should have a plan for every episode you are intending to record and produce. Think of it like the podcast you are listening to now. I mapped out dozens of topics before we began recording. I had topic evolution in mind as the goal is to support you as our listener in growing your own podcast. When all of that was in place I began to record and produce. If I had sat down at the microphone ...

You’re so excited to drop your new episode. You’re talking all about the latest news headline. You spent hours, days, even weeks doing research and putting together the perfect episode. The only problem is you are sharing a topic that is not fresh, people are not excited to hear about this topic, and you probably aren’t able to share an angle so new that it’s going to pull in listeners. Add on top of that, y...

Most people are happy to talk about themselves and their businesses. However, it’s not always easy to find guests, or cheap. When you have a guest, say a local bakery, you can have the guest share a promotion at the end of your interview. Think, buy one muffin get one free on ‘X’ date. Then, you can share the promotion via social the day the show drops, and the guest is highly likely to heavily promote the episode...

You need to do your homework two-fold for a podcast. First, if you’re just getting started, dive into other shows that you love and make notes on what is engaging to you. Is it the host, the topic, or the guests? Think about what components you can make your own and bring into your show. The second thing is in regard to content. If you are presenting facts and figures, or grilling a guest on a topic, make sure you are well re...

This seems like it should be obvious. You want to be passionate about your podcast show’s topic. Your enthusiasm, or lack thereof, will carry through the microphone and right to your listeners. If you’re lackluster about the show’s topic, you’re likely to have a monotone voice and fall flat. This will make you less entertaining to your audience. On the other hand, if you love the topic of your show, you&rsqu...

A listener persona is a written description of a fictitious person. For example, Gaby is a mother of two, podcast listener, yoga instructor, and a social influencer with over one million followers. She loves true crime podcasts and sharing the shows she is enjoying with her followers via TikTok and Instagram. As you define these people, and there can be more than one, it helps you to define the content you want to produce. If Gaby ...

You’ve taken the plunge into the world of podcasting, recorded your first episode, and nobody is listening. It’s okay! Think of it like this; Nobody is great at something the first time. Your first episode may kind of suck. Maybe you’re a bit nervous, or you’re still trying to fully define your listener persona, or even your show’s tone. All of these things can be worked out and adjusted as you record ...