Now, at this point, you might be tempted to just sit down and start recording your podcast. However, the more you can prepare and plan ahead of time, the more smoothly everything will run when you begin recording.
Creating a podcast editorial calendar ensures that you have things to talk about each week. On this calendar, you’ll want to keep track of and schedule:
The use of hashtags and tagging relevant people is vital to help others to share the word about your show. And again, audiences like consistency, so if you promise to deliver new episodes every Tuesday, it’s best to make sure it happens.
To fill out your editorial calendar, you’ll need to begin with a brainstorming session. Start outlining all the subtopics related to your chosen niche. If you’re doing an interview series, write down a full list of everyone you would like to interview on your show. Better to begin scheduling interview time slots as soon as possible and add those dates to your calendar so you have plenty of time to book guests, ensure they’ll show up at the appropriate recording time, record the episodes, and then edit your shows before they go live.
I highly recommend that you “batch” your scheduling and record several episodes back-to-back on the same day for ease of setup, ensuring a quiet space, and grouping of all tasks required. If you handle all recording of 4-5 episodes in one day, then move to managing the editing the next day, then scheduling the publishing and posting, you’ll accomplish more in less time.
Many episodes will name themselves by nature of the guest and the topics covered. If your show is an interview series and you’ll be chatting with a political candidate running for a School Board seat, then your episode title could be something like “Susan Smith Shares Why She’s Ready to Serve You and Your Children on School Board” or “A School Board Conversation with Candidate Susan Smith."
The goal of each podcast episode name is to focus on what the episode is about. For best results, you want to stick to 60 characters or less, and 12 words or less - like a blog post title. You want your episode titles to be eye-catching and you get bonus points for including keywords and key phrases that are commonly searched.
Let us be your perfect podcast partner in crime… Prepared, but not practiced. And ready to kick-start your story that sizzles for your audience.
Wendistry is about guiding you to launch and grow a successful podcast. Ideally one that does at least 6-figures a year in revenue.
But it's also a journey that begins with the end in mind.
The first phase (we're still in Phase 1) is all about curating ideas for your podcast, assessing those ideas, determining a comprehensive digital strategy, and identifying the audience that you'll serve.
Phase 2 will focus on establishing your platform and launching that podcast.
Phase 3 will focus on some of the more significant details of your new podcast particularly as it pertains to content and marketing.
Phase 4 is about scaling revenue.
Where we go from there is TBD.
Let’s Start Streaming Your Story!
So, what's your Call-To-Action?
Not only do CTAs give your prospects clarity, they also make your marketing campaigns more effective.
A Call-To-Action is an invitation for a user to take some desired action. You often see CTA examples in persuasive writing. Once a brand has made its case in a blog post or video, for instance, they’ll often include a Call-To-Action at the end.
A political action group may write a piece on the importance of voting in the next election, for example. Their piece would probably end with a call for readers to register to vote with a link to a voter registration form.
You will also see a Call-To-Action button on website homepages, in the right rail, or even above the navigation bar. A company will put them anywhere they know their readers are looking to invite them to subscribe, browse products, input information, or a number of other desired outcomes.
For your podcast, you need to open your show with the topic you're discussing and close the show with specific CTAs like:
Remember, pontificating is pointless and painful to listen to with a PURPOSE... a reason to take an action after listening. Hopefully, this reason is also a revenue driver for you!
We're moving into Phase 2!
How to RECORD your podcast... Gear, software, music, production tips, the works.
Nobody listens to a podcast because it has superior sound quality. But people will put up with less-than-optimal sound quality if the content of your show is excellent, so make sure you're thinking through everything Content Strategy that I've outlined above.
You CAN start recording a podcast with just your iPhone and a pair of headphones. Your content is the most crucial part, but next week I'll share what I suggest for optimum sound quality at the most value.
Have a wonderful week and please SHARE this eNewsletter with someone who wants guidance with their podcast. And, as always, DON'T HESITATE to send me any questions or comments you might have!
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