145. Here's How I'm Planning for Maternity Leave (and Getting Ahead in Podcast Content)

Sara Whittaker 0:01

Your Podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners, and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whitaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager, and I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators.

but actually for the rest of: 2024

I have a small team of amazing women who helped to get these client episodes out every single week, there are systems that have been put in place. And this is something that I have worked very, very hard at for the last couple of years is putting these systems and routines in place. We use clickup. for project management, it's a pretty robust situation that we got going on and click up. And so for the most part, it's a pretty well oiled machine when it comes to our production schedule and our routines. So from our clients perspective, it's going to be just business as usual. It's not, they're not really going to be affected they they don't have to get us their episodes crazy early or anything like that. The biggest thing that I am needing to prep here is the roles that I play with retainer clients. So there are still a lot of shows that I'm doing production for, or at least pieces of the production. Plus, I always have final eyes on things and handle all the client communication, when it comes to like questions that they have, or if we're talking through something that we want to try with their podcasts if they need to get on a call, keeping their episode schedules on track, updating their stats, all of that. Those are things that I am always doing. So in the months kind of leading up to April, which is you know where I am right now at time of recording. I've been working on filling in the gaps and replacing myself in production tasks. So people who were already on the podcasting for educators team are taking on additional tasks, and I'm hiring one additional person. And I've been doing this slowly over the course of a few months. And like I said we already have clear systems in place. So this has gone really well so far. And then one of the members of my team brandy, who also produces this podcast is essential Really replacing me while I'm out. So she's going to be the person who has final eyes on everything, and will be the point of contact for clients, she was already starting to take on this kind of like account manager type of role. And so this is such a huge help to me. So brandy along with the other ladies, they already know our systems, they know this business, they know our clients podcast. So I'm really grateful for how everything is working out. And they're absolutely incredible. And I 100% trust them, and they do amazing work. So I feel really confident that things are going to go smoothly. Having my eyes away from client work is by far going to be the most difficult part of leave for me, it's going to be really hard not to like constantly want to check in on things and make sure that things are going well. But I know that everything's gonna get done just as it should be while I'm gone. And honestly, this is going to be good for me to do, we really should all be able to step away from our businesses from periods of time without everything just crashing down, especially as we work to reach those different stages of growth in our business. Okay, lastly, let's talk about how I am prepping my podcast for maternity leave, probably comes as no surprise that of all the platforms I put the most energy into, it's going to be my podcast, my podcast is kind of my non negotiable here, during maternity leave, I'm not going to be skipping any episodes, I'm not going to be re airing previous episodes, I didn't want to just put out a bunch of random content just because I'm going on leave. So I have worked really hard to intentionally plan out all of my episodes, so that my podcasts can really help my business and help my listeners while I'm away. The two things I knew I needed to do to plan my podcast content was get far ahead and get far ahead early. Second thing was to have a plan. So I really started to get ahead further ahead than I already than I normally am with episodes back in December. So by the time I go on leave in mid April, I'll have episodes recorded at least through August. My number one piece of advice with prepping your podcasts for an extended leave is to have a content calendar. This has really been my lifeline. As I pieced together my plan while I'm out and really just helps keep you on track so that I know that I'm not just like I said before throwing out random content. Again, my strategy call with Mel that I mentioned at the beginning also really helped me plan out my podcast content because I kind of have a theme I'm sticking with each month in terms of how I want my listeners and my email subscribers to take action. So while I am out on leave my just so you know, so you can know what to expect as a listener is my episodes are going to consist of new solo episodes, so that doesn't need much explanation. It's also going to consist of guest takeover episodes. So this is something I'm really excited about. These are going to be episodes of previous guests that have been on this show. And they are coming on to take over the podcast for a week. So they have recorded an episode specifically for this podcast, brand new content for you. That will be airing while I'm out. So in these episodes, you're gonna hear an intro and an outro from me. And then the rest of the episode will be from one of these guests. So you can kind of think of this as like a bunch of little free mini trainings that you're getting. I talked through the topics with each of these guests. And so they're going to be things that haven't been covered on the podcast before and that are going to be a good fit for listeners of this show. So I'm really excited for that. And I hope that you guys enjoy it. While I'm out on leave also have several guest episodes featuring listeners of this podcast. So maybe you're listening right now. And you might be one of those people who aren't going to be featured on the podcast. That was a goal of mine this year was to get some more of you on this show just to be able to highlight your voices and be able to share about your unique experience with podcasting. And I've already recorded several of these episodes and they're they're so fun to record. It's been really cool to be able to connect with a lot of you see you face to face. Hear about your individual story. Every one of these episodes kind of has a big takeaway or like a specific thing that we're focusing on in the episode. So be on the lookout for more of those. And then in July I believe it is is when I haven't scheduled is I did repurpose one training that I have, it's a training that I did first summit. It's one of my favorite trainings that I've ever recorded. And it's, it's a high quality training, it's not a bunch of fluff, it's something that you're going to be able to take action on. And, you know, I recorded it with my mic and everything. So it sounds nice. And so I am going to repurpose that for this podcast. And I'm splitting it up into two parts. So it will actually be two episodes. And what I did for that just kind of like a tip for you guys, if you ever want to do this for your podcast, I do recommend anytime that you're repurposing any kind of training, not just to throw it up there. But like, listen back to it and create an intro for it for your podcast that lets people know where this training is coming from. So they have some context before they listen to it. All right, so that is my plan for episodes and I have just been doing a ton of recording. Like I said, from like December through March, I'm not doing any recording past March. So by the end of March, I'll have all of my episodes recorded for leave and beyond through the summer, I'll also be running dynamic ads that I can record ahead of time and set dates for ahead of time, so that I can have all of that set, I don't have to do any of that when I'm on leave.

And you know, like I said, I have Brandi who is my podcast manager. So after recording and providing her with episode details, she really takes it from there. And if it weren't for that, I don't know that I would be able to get this far ahead. So I mean, if you're able to, and you're planning an extended leave, hire the help, it's going to be so worth it. One thing I just love so much about podcasting is that, you know, I have a plan for all of these new episodes while I'm gone. But then I also have my whole archive of episodes. And I have episodes in my emails and my nurture sequences, and, you know, on social media and all of these places. So I really know that my podcast is kind of working for me on the back end, even with older content. So all in all, I'm really trying to be as strategic and organized as I can, when it comes to things like Instagram, like I said, I'll do what I can do. And that's just going to have to be enough for now, when you're planning to be out on an extended leave, and you don't have this huge team, that's like doing all of your marketing for you. You can only do so much. That's the place that I'm in, I have helped with my podcast. But when it comes to any other kind of marketing, like my emails, or my social media or you know any other kind of like visibility things that's, that's on me, I don't have other people helping me with that. And so I just have to kind of pick and choose what I am going to focus the most on. And recognize that that's the season that I am in right now. And later this year, I'll be in a season where I'll be able to pick things up. And I think that's really hard for a lot of us as entrepreneurs to do is take a step back from certain things. And I know it's going to be easier said than done. But I really do think that we all deserve time to step away. And I know, for me personally in this specific situation, I want to enjoy that newborn time, and really soak it all up because it goes by so fast. All right, I want to end this episode by sharing a few tips from me, you guys. So I had posted on my Instagram Stories asking for you all to share some of your best tips for planning a maternity leave or an extended leave as an entrepreneur and you guys shared some really great things. So I'm just gonna have run through some of these tips that you all shared. Number one, you said that you need to have systems and SOPs laid out if you are going to have a team take on more yes, if you don't already have SOPs in place, this is such a good time to do that. Someone else also said Be really clear with your team what you do and do not want to hear about while you're on leave. And I thought that this was such a good piece of advice. This is something that I hadn't completely thought through and it made me start thinking about that. Like if you have people who are on your team and who help you regularly, there might be certain things that they would typically come and ask you. But you might not want that while you're on leave. And they're probably things that that your team members can take initiative on and make decisions about without your input. Someone else also said to spend time planning and scheduling out your non negotiables like your podcast, email and socials. 100%. Like I said, for me, my non negotiable is my podcast. build out a master calendar where you schedule out your long form content and your emails. Great idea. limit how many things you decide to schedule per week, for example, one email, one Instagram post, etc. Yes, I completely agree. Like, like I said a few minutes ago, even if it's less than what you're used to doing. That's probably What needs to be done, you need to do a little bit less when you're planning for a leave like this batch extra in advance extra episodes, social media, email, etc. Yep. Repurpose as much as you can don't try to create all new content beforehand. That's another really great idea. I think that this could be done really well for social media, go back and look at some of like your most your highest performing posts, and just recreate some posts based on that. Someone else said, enjoy your rest. Yes, that is something that we all need to actually do while we're away from our business. And then lastly, hire the help not just in business, but at home to like with laundry, cooking, etc. And if you aren't able to hire help with things like cleaning, don't be afraid to ask for help from people in your life around you. Because most people, especially during that postpartum stage, like they want to help and they're not always sure the best way to do that. Alright, so stay tuned to hear how my maternity leave actually ends up going. If you aren't already, definitely follow me over on Instagram at podcasting for educators, because that is likely where I'll be sharing the most on my stories. While I'm out. Wish me luck, because I am definitely type A and we'll see if I can keep the promise to myself to pull away for three months. And really, actually enjoy those precious early days with our new baby. And if you enjoyed this episode, and have enjoyed some of my other episodes, I would love, love love for you to go into Apple podcasts, find this show, scroll all the way down and leave a rating and review. I know that you have a million things to do every day. But I promise this will only take a minute. And I read every single one of them. It completely makes my day when I say that I have a new review. It also helps other people decide if this is the show that they should listen to. So take just a minute and go do that today. If you do thank you so much, and I'll catch you here next week. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.

Share Episode

Shownotes

Transcripts

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube