This episode is not going to go through the technical side in detail, but I'm going to give you some excellent resources for that. Rather, we're going to look at the elements you need to consider from timing, planning, cover art design, naming your podcast, managing your assets, budgeting, and all those other details.

Now you'll hear me mention resources from Bamby Media throughout today's episode. I've spoken about Bamby Media many times before because I am a genuine advocate of their experience in this space. Plus, they are my production team and I am a raving fan of the work they do, so I know firsthand that using their free and some of their paid resources, as I have and I do, will set you up for success.

You might be looking to share. expertise or a passion. You might be looking at building or enhancing your influence. Perhaps you're looking to connect with a community. You're using it for business marketing and growth. You might be using it for educational purposes or entertainment or networking or a combination of those different elements.

So first of all, you need to think about What is your podcast going to be about?

Next, I would suggest you consult with an expert. Book a briefing call with a producer or contact an expert. For me, this was a second step I took in my planning phase. And I did this really early on. In fact, many, many months. before I started genuinely getting to the planning of my podcast. It provided me with really valuable information on the whole process and helped me consider elements that I really hadn't thought about before.

Video takes extra time and effort and sort of pre and post production requirements. So think about how you're going to launch your podcast. Is it video or audio? Another important consideration is, are you going to have a producer or are you going to produce that is edit Your content yourself. It was really important to me that I allocated a budget for a professional production team.

And at the risk of sounding like this episode is one giant sponcon for Bamby Media, it's not. Remember I'm a genuine fan. They have also just launched an affordable DIY. podcaster course. And I was blown away by the inclusions of this course, because the team there steps you through everything you will need to set you up to produce high quality professional podcasts on your own.

If you are not using a producer, you're going to need to look at the different podcast distribution platforms or hosting services to get your podcast online with the major platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Part of that hosting service means that you will need to submit your podcast to directories.

It's then listed in the directories. It's important to note this because you'll need to factor this into your launch timing because this approval could take hours or it could take days or if something goes wrong it could take longer. So don't expect to, your podcast, get it online and published all in the same day.

You need to factor this timing in. Now, let's talk about naming your podcast. What is your podcast going to be called? Is the name SEO friendly? Is it unique? Is it catchy and memorable? Does it describe the conversations that you're going to be having in your podcast? Have you thought about whether the use of the name might Fringe on any other trademarks.

First impressions count. it's just not the sound of your podcast, but that cover art. Your podcast cover art is often the first thing potential listeners can see. So it's an important factor in attracting their attention and sparking interest. And a well designed podcast cover can also convey your brand's identity and message so it'll make it memorable and recognisable among your audience.

It sounds easy, but once you sit down and start planning that out, it's a little bit more difficult. Back in episode 11, Podcasting for Influencers, we talk about podfade and this is when a creator has an idea for a podcast and they have around five to seven episodes ready because they're really excited about launching the podcast.

So you can be constantly in different stages of production to keep momentum on your show. Once you've got those ideas, you know, on post it notes or on your iPad or an Excel spreadsheet, start. putting them into a production schedule. The production schedule should include something like the title or working title of the podcast episode, whether it's a host episode or you've got a guest there, the date you plan to record it, the release date, plus other information that's useful for that episode.

The right equipment doesn't need to be expensive, but it does need to be suitable to produce good quality video. If you are using it and sound, you'll need a good mic, headphones, and a camera. As a guide, my mic and headphones set up was around $1,500, so that was my entry point. And as I mentioned earlier, I outsource my editing of the podcast, so I don't need any additional equipment.

It could be a bedroom, a closet or any small enclosed space. You want to make sure it's away from lots of external noise like traffic or construction or music or TVs. Ideally, it's got some sound dampening in the room, so things like soft materials, rooms with carpets, curtains and upholstered furniture. A room that has minimal echo, those big empty rooms produce echo.

And of course, you need to be able to work in a space where you're not going to be interrupted. So ideally a space, a room with a door that you can put up a note to say, do not interrupt or let people around you know that you're recording a podcast. So keep that sound down. If you can't set up at home or work, look for co working spaces or podcast studios that are often available to rent by the half hour, half or full day.

Put together a budget for the first 12 months that includes all of the costs that you can think about. So things like If you need to get a designer to design your cover art, are you going to have a production team? are there going to be hosting fees for your podcast? Yes, there are. What other fees do you need to think about?

If you're starting a website to support your podcast assets, there'll be costs associated with that, including hosting fees. There are going to be various costs. to start up your podcast. Plan for that, create your budget, tweak your budget as you move through and learn more about the costs and make sure you've got a strategy to set aside the money that you need to keep momentum on your podcast once you're started and committed to it.

There is one other element I'd like you to consider in this planning stage, and that is, of course, your content strategy. In the planning phase, you are going to think about a content plan that's going to cover a pre launch phase, your launch week. Your launch month, and then all of the ongoing content.

There's a few more things I want to cover in today's episode. Obviously launching a podcast needs a lot of moving parts and things that you need to do and it would be difficult. to cover all of those off in one episode. So today I want to touch on episode management and distribution of your podcast before we wrap up on today's show.

Your production schedule is going to be your Best friend as is batching content. Batching content is where you set aside blocks of time to complete tasks for your podcast. We step through content batching in episode 17. So I'll link that in today's show notes. Now, thinking about each episode, you're going to want to write a storyboard for each episode.

Back in that planning stage, you've listed some titles or some concepts. Just prepare yourself for a really focused recording, so you hit the notes of the information that you want to convey in your episode. You're going to write out a storyboard. How you do this could be up to you and your own personal preference.

As well as linking those past and future episodes to the current episode you're recording. You're ready to record your episode now. Set aside regular time in your schedule to record episodes. Ideally, batching your content as we've just discussed so you're recording multiple episodes in a day. It is not always possible.

For each podcast episode that you produce you need to create the show notes which are published on each podcast network. So think about if you open Apple Podcasts or Spotify and you look at that little introduction that provides listeners with the quick overview of the episode. It's useful to include time stamps to relevant parts of the episode to break down further information that you cover.

Ideally, you'll be creating an episode transcript, perhaps a blog post, social media content, such as. audiograms, video snippet if you're using video, static content, you should RSS feed set up to YouTube so your episodes are automatically populating to there and other platforms. Are you going to send out a newsletter to your subscribers with each podcast episode drop to notify them that you've got a new episode available and encourage them to listen?

I allow 12 to 15 hours per episode. That's a lot, isn't it? It's pretty confronting number. Now let's think about that across your year. I plan to have 48 episodes a year at a minimum of 12 hours per episode. planning and execution time per episode. That's 576 hours a year or 14 and a half weeks. That's time that you need to allocate in your schedule or in your budget.

Is higher for those episodes, research your guests so that you're aware of their key strengths, their service offerings, and how they can add value to your audience. Approach potential guests from your existing network, ask for introductions or referrals or approach guests directly.

So let them know when you're going to provide an episode overview and what sort of questions or topics you'll cover in your episode discussion. The format of the episode. Is it audio? Is it video? If it's video, will they need to have suitable lighting? Let them know if you need anything specific from them, like a bio, a headshot, confirm their preferred social media or website links.

The final topic I want to discuss in today's episode is podcast distribution.

At the top of the episode, we spoke about setting up a podcast host. Now, if you've got a team, a production team, you're probably going to send the raw audio file over to them and they're going to make all the magic happen. Once each episode is recorded and edited, it does need to be uploaded to your host, complete with your show notes.

So you've recorded your podcast. It's all edited. You need to allow enough time to get it. edited and uploaded and ready to go live to suit the frequency of the schedule. If you have an external team, they're going to have some deadlines around this. But if you're doing it yourself, of course, you can be far more flexible in this timing.

I'm going to finish today's episode by saying that podcasting can be a really rewardable and very, very valuable content creation strategy. Like any new projects, the process might feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable to start. Don't let that deter you though. Once you get into the rhythm, it becomes a familiar part of your content plan.

I'm going to be taking a short break over the December period, but I'll be back with new episodes every Tuesday from the 2nd of January, 2024. Until then, stay creative.