If you’re looking to start a podcast for your business, you’re probably already aware of how involved this process can be. It can be daunting to know where to even begin.

That’s why AMA-Madison’s October event focused on podcasting for beginners, tapping into the minds of four podcast experts: Bennie Johnson (Marketing And), Meaghan Ziemba (Mavens of Manufacturing), Bianca Martin (City Cast Madison), and Wesley Morgan (Screw It, Let’s Do This).

This panel of experts provided valuable tips and tricks for starting and sustaining a podcast, including what to do and what not to do. Let’s dive into the top 5 considerations podcast beginners need to examine pre-launch for best results.

5 Considerations to Set Podcast Beginners Up for Success

Consideration #1: Select a Strategic Release Schedule

Podcasting is time-consuming, so to avoid burnout, be sure to choose a sustainable posting schedule. But beyond your own constraints, there are other elements to consider.

For example, Wesley and his small team started with weekly releases for their podcast. It was certainly resource-intensive but still doable for them. Surprisingly, weekly releases ended up being too much for listeners to keep up with, so they moved to a biweekly schedule. This is a fantastic example of how valuable it is to consider listener feedback and analytics and pivot as you go.

Still, you don’t need to simply choose between weekly or biweekly uploads, either. Bennie and his team ultimately decided to go with a seasons-based posting schedule. This meant they put together a series of podcast episodes based around a specific theme and then released them week by week as a season.

This strategy has not only gained traction but has also allowed Bennie to take his time finding the best-fit guests for the topic he’s exploring, leading to higher-quality content. And if a certain guest is busy for the next three months or needs to reschedule, he can easily plan around that.

Consideration #2: Set Your Goal & Metrics

Goal Setting

In response to the topic of goal setting, all four of our presenters agreed: Do not let your goal be views!

Bianca explained that focusing on views just isn’t realistic. Building a large community of listeners isn’t easy, no matter how big your social media following or newsletter subscriber list is. Almost zero podcasts will consistently go viral, but that’s okay because they can still hold great value for your brand, like awareness, building an engaged community, or creating educational content.

Meaghan shared that a big driver of her podcast is inspiring girls ages 5-13 in real time. This is especially valuable because Meaghan’s podcast focuses on women in STEM, manufacturing, trades, and other male-dominated career paths. She regularly hears from viewers who are tuning in with their young daughters, and that’s one part of podcasting Meaghan is especially proud of.

In addition to impactful stories like Meaghan’s, Bianca pointed out that the listeners you do have are also highly engaged, and that’s powerful. Your podcast could only have 100 listeners, but that’s still 100 more people who are aware of your brand.

Metrics

Moving past goals and into metrics, Wesley shared the key metrics that are worth checking for:

• Episode downloads in 1st 7 days
• Reviews
• Retention rate
• CTR
• Episode downloads over the past 30 days
• Social media followers (this indicates returning listeners)

Wesley shared that an additional metric that plays a key role in determining your podcast episode’s success is the attention it retains within the first 60 seconds of your podcast episode. To optimize this timeslot so it retains listeners, Wesley has started using a teaser at the front of every episode. Here, there’s a short “mission statement” describing what the podcast is and the hosts introduce themselves.

As you watch your numbers, remember to be patient. Bianca shared that it is important to look for slow and steady growth. You may only be growing in tiny increments, but know that this is a long game and a slow process, so celebrate the small wins.

Consideration #3: Assemble Your Setup (To Video or Not to Video)

On the question “to video or not to video,” it really boils down to the atmosphere and setup of show you’re looking for.

The Case Against Video: Retention Rate & Tone

As a video professional, Wesley and his team started their podcast with both an audio and a video version, with the video version being extremely polished and edited to a T. But soon after, they found that their YouTube video retention rate was extremely low, delivering diminishing returns that were at odds with the time they were devoting to creating the videos. So, they decided to move to exclusively audio podcasting.

Another consideration is that if you’re interviewing guests, their comfort level around being interviewed will affect the episode’s tone. Bennie doesn’t share the video footage of the Zoom calls where his episodes’ audio is recorded. He landed on this decision because he’s found that people are generally more at ease this way, which has helped him lead robust, authentic conversations.

The Case for Video: Live Interactivity

Meaghan’s podcast episodes are streamed live on video, which has let Meaghan offer her community opportunities to interact with her show in real time, like listener shout-outs. To break through the sense of unease that some guests may have about being on video, she does a pre-briefing show video call where she chats with the guests, gets to know them in a relaxed environment.

Equipment isn’t Everything

If you decide to try video podcasting, Wesley advises against investing in top-quality video and audio equipment starting out – content matters more than quality. Meaghan agreed, saying that she started out with just a laptop, and that if you have captivating content, starting out simple will work just fine. Still, quality needs to be good enough to where volume is balanced and there aren’t distracting background noises.

An Easy Video Alternative

If you decide that video isn’t right for you, transcripts might be a helpful alternative. Instead of releasing video episodes, Bennie has started releasing a transcript of his episodes, which has been great for searchability.

Consideration #4: Find Ways to Make Your Content Stand Out

Tap Into Your Organization’s Expertise

Sometimes, the inspiration for your high-quality, unique content lies within your organization. The people within your organization have expertise and a unique point of view, and some of them might even surprise you with their charisma! Wesley brought up the example of a client he’s worked with who started a podcast doing in-depth interviews with doctors. It produced stellar content, and it didn’t take as many resources as it would’ve taken to source content externally. You can even recruit multiple experts and create a panel.

Try New Environments

Another way to keep your content unique and interesting is by recording in unconventional settings. Meaghan shared that an emerging trend she’s noticed is podcasting live in interesting spaces, like in the middle of a tradeshow. Bennie has even tried this tactic, recording four podcast interviews in a row in New York Public Radio’s studio, with a variety of additional figures coming on to chat informally, and passersby loved seeing the spectacle of it.

Prepare Accordingly

It’s also worth mentioning that you can’t have quality content without proper preparation. Bianca suggests that podcast hosts do plenty of research ahead of time instead of spitballing. She’s found that feeling prepared not only helps her create high-quality content by enhancing its accuracy but also helps her feel more comfortable as she’s recording, which helps her create all-around better episodes, too.

Bennie agreed that preparation work is important. For his research routine, he purposely doesn’t listen to his guests’ appearances on other podcasts ahead of time. He’ll read up on their work, but he doesn’t want to know the specific questions other interviewers have asked. He’s found that this strategy has helped him ask fresher questions and build authenticity because being unaware of pre-treaded ground helps him come up with angles that are outside of the box. He says that when a guest says, “No one’s ever asked that!” his goal has been met.

Consideration #5: Stretch Your Content

Evergreen Content

Create evergreen content if you can. If your podcast is focused on something like current events, that probably isn’t possible, but with some topics, it’s doable and can be a fantastic way to make the most of your content and all the hard work you put into creating it.

Don’t Be Afraid to Repost at Strategic Times

Bennie and his team have even tried reposting a previous podcast season when its theme ties in with a marketing initiative. They found that the podcast episodes got even more attention the second time around than the first.

The Sales Funnel

As another way to stretch your content, make podcasting a part of your sales process. You can treat episodes as a lead magnet in the sales cycle, just like you would use a solution summary or a customer story.

Paid Media

And lastly, paid media can be a powerful way to grow your podcast. Bianca shared that she’s tried working with micro influencers and using paid social media ads. In her experience, the micro-influencer world is a lot like herding cats, with it having too few returns to justify the effort and money that goes into those partnerships. She’s gotten far more traction with social media ads, though, and sees them as a good investment.

Podcasting can be a powerful tool for marketers. By following these expert tips and evaluating your own goals and vision for your podcast, you can create engaging, high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

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