Podcasting Starter Guide: Tips for a Successful Podcast

Have you noticed that podcasts are becoming increasingly popular? Podcasts are accessible, easy to listen to, and require very minimal effort for the listeners. Podcasts are a form of marketing that can not only grow your brand’s audience, but also its credibility.

So why are podcasts so popular? Because they are incredibly huge money-makers. Plus, they are a great marketing tool, and a fantastic branding vehicle and it’s a communication channel that you should consider for your brand.

If you’ve been privy to the digital world you may have heard about the PESO model. The PESO model takes the four media types—paid, earned, shared, and owned—and merges them together. Owned media comprises digital marketing channels that a company exercises complete control over, such as their branded website, social media and yes, their podcast. The more owned media you have, the more chances you must extend your brand presence in the digital sphere. Improving upon and leveraging owned media efforts often increases the effectiveness of paid media and earned media for online businesses.

Here’s our top tips for a successful podcast:

Choose the Right Theme

Deciding what your podcast will be about is the most fundamental decision you will make. For many brands, this may seem like an easy or obvious decision, but it may require more care and thought than anticipated at the start. Whereas you can make slight changes to the format as the podcast grows, core changes to the topic and structure, once it’s been established, are rarely a good idea.

A good place to start is by thinking about the context of the podcast. Is it to enhance the content you already publish as an additional channel, or will it stand alone as another stream of content? Both have their advantages and disadvantages but deciding this will perhaps narrow down some of the options below, and how much resource to commit to it.

Being genuinely informed and interested in whatever you choose to talk to will keep your audience engaged, and they will appreciate you for it.

Publish Quality Podcasts

This should be obvious, but it’s amazing how many would-be podcasters are so focused on their podcast’s title, artwork, and launch, that they forget about the most important thing: the podcast itself.

It may seem easy, but unless you are an experienced media veteran with years of broadcasting under your belt, your first few podcast episodes probably won’t be particularly good.

Like all things in life, you will have to practice podcasting to get good at it. To have a successful podcast, you are going to have to become a good podcaster. And the only way to get to that level is to keep recording. Eventually, you’ll get to a level where people will enjoy listening to what your podcast has to offer.

Be Authentic

Be decisive and control the direction of where you want your podcast to go and what you want your podcast to be. Podcast audiences don’t want to listen to pushovers. They want real, hard-hitting podcasting.

Have an opinion, and a solid identity your listeners can slowly get to know and enjoy.

Choose the Right Guests

Guests can be an incredibly valuable factor in the success of your podcast. An expert guest will not only have intelligent and interesting things to share on your pod for your listeners, but they will also most likely be bringing in plenty of their own followers.

You might be an expert on your podcast topic, but there is always value in hearing a different perspective than yours, both for yourself and for your audience.

Of course, if you are fortunate enough to get a great guest for your podcast, be sure to treat them with respect. This means not only sticking to whatever questions and script you may have written out for the podcast but allowing them to explore topics and experiences they want to share as well.

Be Consistent

Like everything in life, consistency is key when it comes to having a successful podcast. Find a schedule you can commit to and commit to it fully. Your listeners want to know they can rely and depend on you to come out with a podcast on a regular basis. By giving them a sense of security that you are there for them, you can begin to build loyalty with your listeners.

Nothing will lose you listeners faster than a sporadic and inconsistent podcasting schedule. You want to be part of their lives and their routines.

Choose the Right Podcast Production Company

A great podcast starts with an experienced, talented team. Producers should focus on essential, creative considerations when developing your podcast. The production team should be able to create a warm, inviting, and professional-sounding podcast that will keep your audience engaged, interested, and coming back.

A great Podcast Production Company takes the hard work of post-production off your hands, leaving you free to grow your show and connect with your audience.

Podcasting is a medium that is here to stay. CF Communications produces podcasts that build trust with your customers, establish your authority, market your services, and engage your audiences. Our podcast editing service is staffed by our own team of seasoned audio engineers, talented show note writers, and producers take care of every aspect of your podcast after you record an episode.

Find out more.

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