The Complete Guide To Starting Your Own Podcast In 2023

Intro

Whether you’re thinking of starting your own podcast as a hobby, a side hustle, or perhaps simply to give voice to your opinions, you’re at the right place. This guide will walk you through all the crucial steps required to get started with podcasting.

According to Statista, the number of podcast listeners in the US is likely to spike up to 160 million by 2023. This simply shows that if you’re planning to start podcasting, now is the right time to do it. Additionally, this can be an avenue for you to repurpose the knowledge you’ve gotten from blogging, utilizing even re-promoting the digital assets you already have.

In this post, before thoroughly discussing all you need to know and prepare for a podcast (from a podcast concept down to creating a high-quality podcast), we’ll give you 7 reasons why you should do it. After this read, you’ll have the knowledge needed to take that mic, hit that record button, share your thoughts with the world, and reach your podcasting goals.

Let’s start with a brief definition of what a podcast is.

What Is A Podcast?

A podcast is a popular category of audio entertainment that features online episodic series of discussions on a particular topic. A podcast can be created by a single or multiple hosts. The topics can vary from science and technology to arts, entertainment, and just about anything that interests you.

Listeners can find and access the podcasts via popular podcast directories like Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, etc. Moreover, they can subscribe to their favorite podcasts to get notified whenever a new episode launches.

(Image Source)

If starting a podcast is still open to questions for you, here are 7 reasons to convince you to get started with this audio content format.

7 Important Reasons For Starting Your Own Podcast

If you’re a business owner, digital marketer, freelancer, or expert in any field, setting up a podcast can be beneficial for your career growth. However, even if you feel like just an ordinary guy that has something to share, podcasting would be good for your online presence too.

You’d be able to find and connect with your target audience closer than you would when doing blogs or vlogs. Eventually, it can help to build a trustworthy relationship with your audience while adding authority and credibility to your brand.

If you’re gearing up to start your own podcast, chances are you can relate to one or more of the following points.

I. Building An Audience

Podcasting is super effective if you want to build an audience from the ground up. Not only is podcasting easy and inexpensive, but it can also reach thousands of listeners.

Additionally, what’s great about building an audience in this format, is that because it can foster a closer connection with the listeners, you can have stronger organic traffic for your content. With this stronger connection also comes stronger credibility. If you have to promote a service or product, your audience will be highly likely to try them.

II. Proving Your Expertise

With podcasting, you can prove your expertise in a particular industry or niche. Insightful podcasts on topics you’re super comfortable discussing can prove highly impactful in building a positive reputation for yourself or your business.

While other content mostly comes with script and outlines, a podcast is a home to a more free flow of thoughts. That’s not to say that podcasting doesn’t utilize scripts. While scripts can be used, the overall content is mainly a natural conversation with the audience or with a co-host.

If you can naturally talk about a certain topic, you can prove your expertise and build on your credibility better.

III. Gaining Monetary Benefits

If you need another income stream, podcasts are a powerful medium to sell your products and services. Moreover, you can monetize your podcast via sponsored advertisements to earn more money.

However, before diving into these money streams, it’s best to build on your credibility first. Until you get a good audience count, it’s best to prove your expertise and test the waters to see what your target audience wants from you.

Once your credibility is built, you can start with promotion but don’t overdo it. Remember how much we hate hearing more ads than songs on the radio? Your future audience will feel the same if you pitch too much.

IV. Having Fun

Another great advantage of starting your own podcast lies in the fun that comes with connecting and socializing with new people. Even if you don’t have a product or service to sell through your podcast, you can become a beginner podcaster for the sole purpose of enjoyment.

People love to talk about things they love and things that interest them. Your podcast can be an avenue for that. What’s better is if you can invite like-minded people to get on your show. You don’t only generate more content, you get to learn more, and you build on more connections you can leverage later on.

V. Podcasting With Zero Investment

You can start your own podcast with zero investment. You just need a mobile phone or laptop, free recording software, and free podcast music then you’re good to go.

This can work if you’re still paying the field and checking if podcasting is a sustainable endeavor for you. But as you get deeper into it, start by investing in a good mic to ensure you get great audio quality for your listeners.

VI. No Expertise Required

No one requires you to be a 5-star content creator or blogger to get started with a podcast. Even if you’re an average communicator, chances are you’ll improve with upcoming podcast episodes.

The key point to remember here is to niche down to a topic you’re genuinely interested in. It can be about an interest like health and fitness or pottery, sports like free diving or paddle boarding, or a secular field you’re good at like digital marketing or stock investment platforms.

Expert Opinion:

When you’re into the sports niche, it’s best to keep track of the trends like new sports seasons to stay relevant and get as much traction as possible.

Whatever it is, it has to be something you’re truly interested in so that the conversation gets going and so podcasting can be sustainable for you.

VII. Podcasting As Community Service

Lastly, it’s good for your mental health to be of some benefit to the community. If you share useful content through your podcasts, chances are you’ll feel good about yourself. Podcasting can be a great hobby to express your ideas, insights, and thoughts in an enjoyable way.

With podcasts, you share about a book you love and what you learned from it, you can share crime stories you read or research, or you can share about causes you’re supporting and why you think your audience has to take part in it.

(Image Source)

By now I’ve given you enough reasons why you should start podcasting. If you’re ready to go, here’s how you can get started.

The Complete Guide To Starting Your Own Podcast In 2023

If you’re all set to launch your podcast but don’t know where to begin. We’ll walk you through this 6-step guide to get you started without second thoughts.

1. Planning Your Podcast

1.1 Select The Podcast Niche

The very first step in setting up a podcast is defining your niche. Think of a topic you’re always passionate about and open to discussing whenever the opportunity arises. It could be music, storytelling, book reviews, technology, sales and marketing, hustling, entrepreneurship, and just about anything you’re comfortable talking about.

Remember that whatever podcast idea you’re choosing for the podcast should be broad enough to be talked about for around 100 episodes, at least. At the same time, it must not be too generic to form a connection with a particular audience. So for example you want to talk about finance, you have to choose between stock market trends, savings schemes, spending principles, or insurance.

1.2 Name Your Podcast

It’s important to give your podcast a unique name. Why? Well, people tend to remember names that are rare and exotic. However, make sure to make it a bit specific by adding other words that show what it’s all about.

For example, there’s an Apple Podcast on paddle boarding with a quirky title, “The Joy of SUP”. Here SUP stands for stand-up paddleboarding. Not only is this title unique but it’s also descriptive, fun, and easy to remember.

(Image Source)

1.3 The Three Important W’s To Ask Yourself

Before you dive into your own podcast, you need to have a strong grip on these questions:

• Why are you starting a podcast? There has to be a good-enough goal to keep you motivated and persistent in your podcasting journey.
• What results do you expect from this podcast? Reasons can vary from person to person but are not limited to generating business leads, building credibility, generating passive income, and many more. Know what to expect so you can measure if you’re hitting the target or not.
• Who is this podcast for? Getting to know your target audience or ideal listener is super important in the planning stage of setting up your podcast. Ultimately, you’d be able to build an intimate connection with people through your podcast if you target the right listeners.

Consider knowing their:

• Beliefs
• Lifestyle
• Interests
• General goals
• Demographics
• Activities/hobbies

2. Choosing Your Podcast Format

The next important step in starting your own podcast is the selection of the podcast format and the episodes.

The three most common podcasting formats you can choose from are:

2.1 Solo Podcasts

Solo podcast hosts are by far the most popular format. As the name suggests, you do the podcast alone. This format offers schedule flexibility, builds more host authority, and makes calls on sponsorship way more conveniently.

2.2 Co-Hosted Podcasts

Co-hosted podcasts can be recorded with someone else. It could be a friend or a colleague who has the same interest as yours. This podcast format is helpful for overcoming mic fright as you’d simply be chatting with a friend.

However, a good level of coordination is required in this podcast format, unlike the solo. You have to work around your schedules and find a way to connect naturally so the banter doesn’t stop and cause any dead air.

2.3 Interview Podcasts

Interview podcasts are a great way to get to know your superheroes more closely. This will be your chance to invite somebody prominent in the niche you’re discussing. Chances are, these guests already have a good fan following, some of which you can attract to your podcast if they listen to the interview show increasing your audience network.

Among the 3 types, this will require the most coordination. Well-known guests will likely have a tight schedule so you have to work your way around that and be patient enough to handle reschedules. Choosing this format would also mean you prepare interview questions in advance so the guest won’t get caught off guard.

2.4 Podcast Episode Length

The length of each podcast episode depends on the content type you’re sharing. For instance, if you’re an entrepreneur wanting to discuss your success journey from scratch in one episode, there has to be a lot of content. The episode length can go anywhere from 45 minutes up to 3 hours or more. That can turn out to be dragging causing listeners to harass the skip button on podcast players.

For this, you can choose to break it into several podcast chapters with 20-30 minute episodes. This short podcast chapters tactic is done by successful podcasters to also consider how long their future audience wants one episode to be.

However, the sweet spot for podcast episode length is anywhere between 20 to 45 minutes. Similarly, your audience is another factor that dictates the length of podcast episodes. Once you've built a podcast audience, you can always conduct surveys to monitor whether they’ll enjoy shorter or longer episodes.

2.5 Podcast Cadence

Cadence refers to how often your podcasts are going live. It could be biweekly, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.

We’ve seen many beginner podcasters fretting over “how often should I release new episodes”. The simple answer is: There’s no hard and fast rule for that. It solely depends on your schedule.

However, if you’re just starting a podcast, we suggest you release new podcasts weekly or fortnightly for maximum outreach.

Nevertheless, it’s important to build a podcasting schedule and religiously stick to it. That’s because once you’ve built an audience, they expect new podcast episodes from your end. Do not keep your listeners guessing when your new podcast is going live.

3. Selecting Recording Equipment And Editing Software

If you’re thinking of starting your own podcast and not quite sure how much to spend on podcasting tools, we’ve got your back.

3.1 Finding the Right Recording Gears

Intriguingly, you can begin your podcast with just your phone, tablet, or computer. All you need is an internet connection, and you’re good to go.

However, having professional podcast equipment like mics, headphones, and paid recording software can level up your podcasting game. We recommend you purchase a podcast microphone (USB microphone) even if you’re starting your podcast as an amateur. Why?

Because a clearer and better sound quality is one of the most important keys to a successful podcast. Another important question here is “how expensive is a podcasting microphone?” A podcast mic can range anywhere between $20 to $9000.

Most podcasters begin their journeys with zero to a minimum investment. However, it’s always better to gradually upgrade to premium podcasting gear, especially when you practically discover that podcasting is something you’re passionate about or if you become an experienced podcaster.

3.2 Free Podcast Editing Software

When it comes down to free podcast editing software, Audacity and GarageBand come at the top. They’re nearly as good as paid ones. However, you can always purchase premium audio editing software like Alitu, Adobe Audition, or Hindenburg Journalist if they fall within your budget.

3.3 Outsourcing Podcast Editing

While many like to record podcasts, fewer people enjoy editing them. It can be a tiresome and time-consuming task. You can choose to use a project time tracking tool to manage the task into sections.

Hiring a freelance podcast editor to do the editing for you is perhaps the easiest option. This reduces production time and also makes choosing the popular option for sound effects, outro and intro music, and podcast trailer faster.

But if you like to learn the ropes yourself, you can always enroll in podcast editing courses. These courses help you correct any common misconception and answer common questions. It can also guide you in exploring the best podcast concept, provide you with daily podcast tips, supply you with a podcast cheat sheet, and teach you how to come up with a high-quality podcast.

4. Record And Edit Your Podcast

After finally setting up your recording gears, it’s time to begin recording. It’s up to you to decide whether you’d follow a pre-written script or just go with the flow with a podcast title at hand.

However, keep in mind that a free flow of words is more engaging to hear instead of something just read off a script. While a pre-written script can help with the first few episodes and podcast intros, aim to be spontaneous.

That’s no secret that your first podcast is likely to take up a lot of recording time. Not to mention endless retakes, breaks, pauses, and tons of editing before you get the proofread version of your podcast.

While recording and editing, follow these magic points to get successful podcast audio.

• Record in a room with minimum echo or disturbance for a crisp and clear sound
• Maintain balanced recording audio (not too loud or too soft) throughout the podcast
• Always start speaking after 30 seconds of silence to evaluate the noise print of the recording room
• Keep the position of the microphone consistent with your mouth placement. This will ensure smooth recording of audio
• You can use royalty-free music via Youtube Audio Library, Soundstripe, 909 Music on Soundcloud, The Free Music Archive, and so on
• Always record a high-resolution audio file type ( WAV or AIFF) for maximum audio quality. For many beginner podcasters, a resolution of 24-bit, 48 kHz works well
• It’s always a good idea to do multiple test recordings to evaluate the sound quality. You can also compare your test audio MP3 files with other podcasts to test the waters

5. Publish And Promote Your Podcast

After the podcast recording and editing part is over, it’s finally time to launch your own podcast.

5.1 Publish To Podcast Directories

Podcast directories give your podcast a channel for the world to listen to, download, as well as subscribe to. When uploading your first podcast, you’d be asked by podcast websites to add the podcast title, description, category, and decent cover art for your podcast listings.

Be sure to make an inviting title and description inviting with attractive cover art. Don’t scrimp on your podcast artwork, it can make or break your content. Many potential listeners judge podcast content depending on how enticing the cover art is. Podcast recordings usually have artwork with a pop filter, so that’s an option you can consider.

If you can’t think of a decent podcast artwork by the time your content is ready for publishing, you can temporarily use a logo because podcast hosts usually require this when making a podcast listing. For this, you can take advantage of podcast logo templates. Having a good logo also helps with a great-looking podcast website if that’s a podcasting goal you’re going for in the future.

Here’s a list of the top popular platforms for you to choose from.

• Spotify
• GooglePlay
• Apple Podcast (submit to Apple Podcasts Connect)
• Stitcher
• YouTube
• SoundCloud
• Pocket Casts
• Amazon Music
• Pacific Content

However, it’s worth mentioning that Spotify is one of the most popular platforms with an estimated reach of 32.5 million podcast listeners per month compared to Apply Podcasts with 28.5 million. Aim to get your podcast in the first 3 podcast platforms mentioned in the list.

(Image Source)

Note: if you’re a complete beginner in the podcasting business, we don’t recommend availing yourself of a podcast hosting service. You’ll do just fine with the podcast directories, and can later tap podcast hosting providers when the demand allows for it.

5.2 Choose Your Episode Titles

Create the episode titles based on the content. For instance, If an episode talks about the latest fashion trends for women, episode titles like “Women Fashion Trends 2023” or “Girls Fashion 2023” are good titles. While it’s important to avoid being misleading, being clickbaity at times can be helpful. Just make sure you don’t go overboard and deliver what the title promises.

Also, incorporate keywords your listeners will likely search about. It’s important for SEO purposes too as you’d want your potential listener to find your podcast easier. Lastly, make the most out of online podcast naming advice.

5.3 Write Your Podcast And Episode Descriptions

Write an interesting, engaging, and promising summary of your podcast show. Just like most people buy books after reading the summary, the same rule applies to podcasts. Similarly, you'd be required to write a brief description of individual episodes of your audio content.

Descriptions are a great way to include any resources including URL links you talked about during the podcasts. The best part, you can promote your business, other brands, books, and just about anything this way.

A good podcast description must include:

• Brief introduction of what it’s about
• What listeners can expect from the podcast
• Who this podcast is for
• What possible outcomes of this podcast are
• What your podcast cadence is
• Where people can connect to you other than the podcast

Here’s an example from Jenna Kutcher you can consider:

(Image Source)

5.4 Best Ways To Promote Your Podcast

Once you've uploaded your first podcast, it’s time to jump into its marketing. You can send a direct URL to your podcast to your friends and family. Social media can also come in handy to promote podcasts for free.

However, it can reach your target audience faster if you’re running a paid social media ad campaign or an email marketing campaign using email finders and running it with email verifiers. If you go this course though, it’s best to consult with a digital marketing expert to get a professional opinion on how to boost your show.

We recommend you create a separate social media account for your podcast on multiple platforms other than your personal account. Over time, setting up a website and tapping podcast hosting platforms for your podcast is another great way of marketing it. Having an active social media presence will get more people to discover your podcast.

The following social media options are great for podcast promotion:

• Tiktok
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Snapchat
• Facebook
• Instagram

Here’s a podcast account David Tennant made for his channel:

(Image Source)

6. Monetizing Your Podcast

Once you’ve published a couple of podcasts and started to build some audience, the next crucial step is to monetize it. There are many options you can try.

6.1 Sponsored Advertisements

Sponsored advertisement is a common way to monetize podcasts. As a general rule, sponsors set a pay rate per 1000 podcast downloads. For instance, you can earn anywhere from $20 to $50 if 1000 listeners download your podcast.

Brands can reach out to you for better offers if you’re a successful podcaster with a large audience. On the contrary, you can also reach out to brands to get your podcast sponsored. Though, it’ll require a lot of cold calling with brands to get a positive response.

6.2 Affiliate Marketing

Podcasters can earn a good sum of money through affiliate marketing too. All you need to do is spare a few minutes in your podcast to promote a company. You’ll earn a percentage of the commission for each product sold through your podcast.

Amazon Associates, Skillshare, eBay Partner Network, LTK, ShareASale, and ClickBank, are a few of the leading affiliate marketing networks you can join.

6.3 Sell Your Products And Services

You can promote your products and services for free via your podcast. However, double-checking whether your products and services are aligned with the podcast topic is needed to maintain the trust of your listeners.

Some popular things to sell through your podcast are eCommerce products, consulting services, courses, books, digital webinars, events, lifetime licenses, etc.

Conclusion

Starting your own podcast may feel intimidating in the beginning. However, as you get a good hold of it, you’ll find it the easiest and most interesting way to get noticed by people while also making a living out of it.

Since you’ve made this far into this guide, we assume you're super passionate about starting your own podcast. Now the only thing left for you is to get started with your first podcast with the same spirit. One thing we’re sure of is you’ll learn, enjoy, and improve along the way.

Once you get your first podcast live, reach out to us so we can help you reach the best potential online target market for your podcasting journey.