So You Wanna Start a Podcast 🎤
25 simple steps to launch your own podcast
Hey Besties!
This week’s issue was inspired by a fellow Substacker seeking advice on starting a podcast (shout-out to Alex Dobrenko, the reluctant comedian behind Both Are True). So I wanted to send out a guide to all my Besties. This should help get your pod off the ground if you’re an aspiring podcaster. If you’re already a podcaster, let us know if you have any advice to add in the comments below!
Before we dive in, I just want to put the word out to the podcasting industry at large: Invite me to your conferences! I had a blast moderating at Podcast Movement, and I learned a lot recapping a recent session from the Multitude Podcasting Conference — I want to do more of that again soon. ✨manifesting✨
From starting my first podcast in 2013 to going pro, I’ve learned A LOT along the way. I’ve learned to treat my podcast like a business; these days, it’s actively generating client leads, media attention, and sponsorships. Not to mention, it’s grown my personal and professional network and enhanced my résumé, reputation, and sphere of influence. (Okay, slow down, Napoleon, lol.)
I first got into podcasting as a vehicle for comedy, and I loved it. A few years in, the podcast industry was booming, and eventually, I put two and two together and realized — oooooh, THAT should be my job!
💡 From my light bulb moment to officially landing (and leading!) my first pro show took about one year of taking every workshop and hustling every lead… and, of course, using my indie podcast as my calling card. Today I'm thrilled at the incredible opportunities I have to work in audio. Podcasting has changed the game for me.
✨ It’s changed my ability as a storyteller.
✨ It’s changed how I feel about my job.
✨ It’s changed my financial situation.
✨ It’s changed my mindset.
✨ It’s changed my life.
And now, it’s my mission to help my Besties reach their goals through podcasting. Starting a podcast isn’t easy, but it can be very rewarding. Here’s my advice on how:
1. Set a Goal
Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with this podcast?” And answer honestly.
✓ I want to generate X more leads for my business per month.
✓ I want to make a handful of high-level contacts in my industry this year.
✓ I want to establish myself as a thought leader in my field, which will help me land more speaking engagements.
✓ I want to help listeners solve Y problem.
✓ I want to tell an important story that I think my community should hear.
Your short-term goal should be specific and attainable, but feel free to shoot for the stars with your long-term goal (i.e., “I want to interview my hero Tony Robbins.”).
2. Concept
Okay, you know WHY you want to make a podcast, so now it’s time to decide WHAT the show is. First of all, what are your strengths? Lean into those as you come up with your concept. Then consider what’s already out there that’s similar to what you want to do, and determine the unique twist that will make you stand out.
Concept = Format + Genre + Niche
Examples:
A 10-minute solocast of ASMR mindset pep talks.
A 30-minute interview-style podcast with CEO guests sharing what they learned from their biggest failures that led to their success.
A 45-minute nonfiction narrative show featuring old Hollywood true crime stories from a feminist POV.
3. Target Audience
Now that you know WHAT the podcast is ask yourself, “WHO do I want to listen to this podcast, and what do I hope they get out of it?” Create an avatar of your target listener. Perhaps you’re trying to reach career-driven new moms struggling with work-life balance. Or techies who want to stay up-to-date on the latest advancements. How can you best serve this target audience through your show?
4. Mission
The next step is synthesizing your goal, concept, and target audience into a mission statement for your podcast. This is the purpose of your show. Are you seeking to entertain, destigmatize, or shed light on an important issue? You don’t have to post this anywhere. It’s just for your own reference whenever you’re like, “wait, WHY am I doing this again?” It can also help you determine which collaborations and monetization are aligned with your mission down the line.
For example, our mission for Private Parts Unknown is to destigmatize conversations surrounding sex, relationships, and sexuality and make them less shameful for ourselves and our listeners.
My mission for The Bleeders is to demystify the book writing and publishing process for myself and other emerging writers through interviews with authors, agents, and people in the publishing industry.
5. Show Name
Title your show. Creative phrasing is great, but make it obvious what niche you’re targeting. Not everyone has to “get it,” but your target audience does.
Another important thing to consider: SEO. If you have a B2B marketing podcast and you include the words “business” and/or “marketing” in your title, it’s going to be a lot easier for your audience to find you.
6. Tagline
You can always change this later, but a tagline helps to distill your vision into something easy for listeners to grasp and remember, and it’s good to include in the intro and/or description of your show, as well as marketing and promo materials.
Our tagline for Private Parts Unknown is “a podcast about love and sexuality around the world.”
My tagline for The Bleeders is “a podcast (and support group!) about book writing and publishing.”
7. Determine Frequency
Are you going to release episodes weekly? Biweekly? Monthly? Daily on weekdays? Is it a limited-run series? Consider the best fit for the concept AND what’s sustainable for you.
Not every podcast needs to be a weekly podcast.
I’m gonna say it again in case you missed it: NOT 👏 EVERY 👏 PODCAST 👏 NEEDS 👏 TO 👏 BE 👏 A 👏 WEEKLY 👏 PODCAST. 👏
Your frequency just needs to be clearly communicated, so listeners know when to check back for new episodes.
➡️ If you’re unsure, check out my reflection on cadence.
8. Premiere Date
Set your target premiere date. How much lead time do you need to comfortably prepare for your launch and have at least a few episodes in the can? (Preferably the whole season.) Having a premiere date in mind can help inform your production schedule.
9. Logo
Simple yet striking is a good rule of thumb for podcast logos. For inspiration, look through your podcast player and see what catches your eye. Hire a designer through 99designs or design your own with Canva.
10. Episode Planning
Outline at least your first three episodes (ideally 5–6 episodes or your first season if it’s a limited-run series). Plan topics, guests, and segments.
11. Book Guests
Depending on your format, you may need to book guests. You’ll want people who are funny and/or interesting. You might need experts, depending on your concept. Try HARO if you need help finding media-friendly experts.
12. Research
You’ll want to do some research on each episode topic and/or guest. I recommend doing a little extra at the beginning. Preparation is a great way to feel confident going into an interview.
13. Prep Rundown or Script
Prep the episode rundown (if you're doing an interview or chatcast style show) or write the script (if you're doing a scripted solocast or narrative show).
14. Record
You don’t need fancy equipment, just a USB mic that connects to your computer. You can upgrade over time.
Microphone recommendations:
Lots of podcasters start on the Blue Yeti.
I’ve been using the Shure Mv7 for the past year or two, and I love it.
I also use a Zoom H4N recording device and plan to upgrade to a Zoom H6 the next time I'm on the road. An easily portable recording device is essential for my travel podcast, but if you’re recording directly to your computer with a USB microphone, you don’t need one.
Use Zoom (idiot-proof) or Squadcast (higher quality) for remote interviews. Make sure you’re recording separate tracks, and everyone’s wearing headphones to ensure you can edit out the inevitable overtalk. I recommend recording a local track for each location. You can do that via GarageBand, QuickTime, or a smartphone's voice memos app.
15. Edit
Don’t overthink this. You don’t need to start out in ProTools. If you’re not super tech-savvy, I recommend an easy editing software, Descript, that allows you to edit a transcript. I always do initial cutdowns in Descript, which saves my sound editor and me a lot of time. If you want something more advanced but still user-friendly, look into Hindenburg. If you have no interest in editing and at least a small budget, you can outsource this to a podcast editor on Fiverr or ask for recs on Twitter. But it’s a valuable skill in the industry if you want to learn it yourself.
16. Music
What do you want your show to sound like tonally? Do you want intro, outro, and/or transitional stings? Epidemic Sound is an affordable site for licensing music.
For Private Parts Unknown, our musician friend let us use a few of her instrumental tracks in exchange for a shout-out at the end of each ep.
17. Produce Trailer
It’s time to make your trailer! I recommend doing this after you’ve recorded a couple of episodes, in case your vision shifts slightly or you want to include guest clips. Try to keep it under a minute, 90 seconds max, unless you have good reason to go longer.
Trailer examples:
The Appearances “Prologue” is a memorable example.
18. Choose Hosting
Select your hosting site. I started on Libsyn and hosted one of my shows through them for years before we recently moved to Megaphone along with our network. I hosted another podcast on Simplecast and enjoyed their UX design. I’ve also heard good things about PodBean and Captivate — both were strong contenders last time I was in the market — but I ultimately went with Spreaker for my latest show. Their ad marketplace is an attractive feature if you‘re eager to monetize your podcast as soon as possible.
19. Marketing Plan
Create your marketing plan in advance of your launch. Lean into your best resources to reach your audience vs. spreading yourself too thin. If you’re trying to generate PR with your podcast, you’ll want to make a media kit (you can do this in Canva if you’re on a budget.)
➡️ Check out these launch tips from podcast marketing pros Lauren Passell and Arielle Nissenblatt.
20. Promo Assets
Brainstorm what social media assets you’ll need to promote the launch of your show. Prepare those in advance, so you’re not scrambling last minute. (Again, Canva will be your best friend for this.)
21. Publish Trailer
You’re on the home stretch! Publish your trailer via your hosting site. I recommend doing this at least one week before dropping your first episode, ideally two weeks prior.
22. Promote!
Promote your trailer to get your target audience excited about your upcoming show. Send an early preview of episode one to any press leads.
23. Publish 1st Ep
It’s time to publish your first episode! Congrats, you’re officially a podcaster. Don’t get hung up on your numbers the first week. This is only the beginning…
24. Promote!
Try to spend one hour on promotion for every hour you spend on production. This may seem unfathomable, but it’s important not to skimp on this step, especially during your launch. Folks can’t listen to your show if they don’t know it exists.
25. Rinse & Repeat
Repeat the relevant steps to sustain your podcast. Avoid the perfectionist trap, but make improvements in quality as your skills improve and your ear becomes more refined.
Of course, there’s a learning curve to doing anything well, even if you’re a natural. So let the godfather of podcasting Ira Glass’s famous quote be the North Star on your podcasting journey:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal, and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
But you’ll never know how good your podcast can be or how big of an impact you can make if you don’t try. So get started today! Who knows, it might even change your life…
Share Podcast Criticism with Galen Beebe - Have you recently read or written some good podcast criticism? Share it with Galen Beebe for her new project, Podcast Critics Exist, and join “in ending the myth that podcasting is a medium without critics.”
PRX’s Big Questions Project is Accepting Applications - The podcasts produced in PRX’s Big Questions Project will provide listeners with a deeper understanding of how abstract issues like spirituality, character, ethics, and humility connect to their daily lives. PRX will provide finalists with editorial, production, and marketing resources to fully develop at least two seasons of their podcast, each 6-8 episodes long. Applications are due Monday, 10/31.
Live in Brooklyn? Submit for a Brooklyn Arts Fund Grant - Brooklyn residents are eligible to apply for funding up to $5K from the Brooklyn Arts Council. They cover electronic media disciplines. Info sessions and application consultations are ongoing; the deadline is 10/16.
Applications Open for New KALW Public Radio Reporting Fellowship - This looks like a cool opportunity for San Francisco-based early-to-mid-career journalists and audio producers to focus on a topic they are interested in and produce audio features for KALW with coaching in story selection, pitching, interviewing, sound editing, and writing. Fellows will receive a stipend of $1,250/month to produce one audio story per month for a 12-month period—applications are due this Sunday, 9/25.
AIR Welcomes a New Executive Director - Keisha Salmon has been named the executive director of AIR, the Association of Independents in Radio, a 1500+ strong membership organization of independent radio and podcast producers, editors, engineers, and reporters.
The Most (And Least) Crowded Podcast Categories - Amplifi Media collaborated with Podnews editor James Cridland to analyze the 4 million podcasts listed in the Podcast Index — of which only about 155,000 are active — to determine the oversaturated vs. underserved categories. They suggest: “A thoughtful content flanking strategy.”
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
For those who have been podcasting for a while, what’s YOUR best advice for new podcasters? Aspiring podcasters, do you have any further questions?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.
ok first off I am honored to be featured and second off this guide ruled thank you!!