Prologue
Guitar vs. Podcasting
I started playing guitar again after taking a little more than 20 years off.
When I walked away, I was playing at a very high level, having gotten my degree in music and worked as a musician professionally. But today, I'm basically relearning everything.
Fortunately, there is a lot "muscle memory" for me to fall back on. And I'm confident that I could be back to where I was with about a year of daily practice.
Keep this in mind if you've put a pause on your podcast and you're thinking about jumping back in. You can make this happen, if you want. But you need to start.
Here's something else I've noticed, which I think you'll find helpful to your podcasting. This is so simple, yet so many people neglect it. And I think it's actually the secret to learning anything.
Break down what you're trying to learn into small chunks.
For music, that means taking one line, or even one measure, at a time. For podcasting, maybe it's learning one option of a piece of software. Or getting a single interview and working with that.
Here's a simple trick that will help you put great episodes together, whether you're interviewing somebody or doing a narrative ... Start with a focus sentence.
Try it. It's a simple "trick" that will change the way you interview and edit.
More podcasting tricks below ...
Podcast Marketing
Grow Your Podcast with this Marketing Swipe File
This is a gallery of real world marketing examples from successful companies that I think you'll find helpful in marketing your podcast.
Want to perfect your cold email pitches to potential guests? Get more of your listeners to tell their friends about your podcast? You'll find it all here!
Browse the case studies or filter by category. It's a great resource!
Speaking of templates ... 101 Podcast Episode Templates – Powerful, Done-for-You Episode Templates to Grow Your Podcast Audience is on sale today for just $.99!
Podcast Hosting Skills
Podcast Emergency!! Now what?!
What happens when you're in the middle of a show and something goes wrong?
Watch and see for yourself ...
The tech, not the guitarist, is the one to pay attention to. The tech is the guy who jumps in and handles things, immediately going to work on determining the problem and fixing it.
As a podcast host, you need a similar skill, especially if you are doing anything live. This is one of the reasons I recommend doing a daily "Sausage Factory" podcast to work on the needed skills to keep things moving forward with your show.
But even if you record everything in advance and, thanks to editing, nobody can hear your mistakes (or problems that happen), it's a good feeling to know you can handle anything that's thrown at you.
For example:
- a guest doesn't show up for the interview
- a guest doesn't deliver and the interview isn't good enough to release
- your co-host decides to quit, but you still want to do the podcast
The better you are as a host, the more opportunities you have in podcasting. And being a better host comes from spending time behind the microphone. Serious podcasters release podcasts.
Podcast Production
Is There an Ideal Podcast Length?
"Never too long, only too boring" is the common advice when it comes to podcast episode length. Still, you'll find this interesting, and it's something to think about ... It's actual data for the optimal lengths of different types of written content, which you'll find helpful for determining the lengths of your podcast episodes.
- Press releases – 400-700 words
- Announcements – 400-600 words
- News – 600-1000 words
- B2B use cases or demos – 500-1500 words
- Informational segments – 1000-1500 words
- Guides and how-tos – 1500-2500 words
In the English language, people speak about 140 words per minute. A fast speaker will get to 170 words per minute, a slow speaker will use around 110 words.
Something to consider ... Most podcast episodes, especially co-hosted episodes, go way too long, so these numbers are a good benchmark for determining "optimal" lengths for you to try.
Podcast Monetization
Understanding Why People Don't Pay for Podcasts
Why don't most people pay for podcasts? Some insights ...
We are living in an amazing time when it comes to our ability to access information. For example, thanks to YouTube, all those guitar lessons I need to climb my way back to playing at a professional level are free. :)
But "free" can be frustrating to content creators. Yeah, it's fun to make a podcast, but it's also a lot of work to do it right.
If you've got an audience, sponsorship is possible. For example, Riverside, a remote recording platform (try it free) sponsors Build a Big Podcast.
But what about direct sales of your episodes and other content?
Last week, I mentioned SupaPass, which will allow you to sell episodes of your podcast and keep 100% of the money for a one-time free of $69.
But how much should you charge? And what will it take to get people to spend money with you? That's where this info comes in handy.
My advice, for most podcasters, is to keep your podcast free, focus on growing the biggest audience possible, and make money from affiliated products and services with a "secondary income" of sponsorship.
Need help doing this? Stay subscribed. I've got something that will walk you through the process coming at the first of the year.
Until then, subscribe to the podcast. Every episode is about how to grow your podcast audience.
The Wrap Up
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- Grow your podcast audience.
- Get people talking about your podcast.
- Make more money with your podcast.
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