Considering starting a Podcast or YouTube channel? Don’t know what’s involved? How much time and money it will take? How to get started?
Presented by Sarah Williams: Author, Publisher, Podcaster, Serenade Publishing
Sarah is indy published
- 5 books in 2 years
- Www.sarahwilliamsauthor.com/write-with-love
- Www.facebook.com/WritewithLovePodcast
This was breakout session 2 from Romance Writers of Australia Conference 2019.
So what is a podcast anyway?
- A podcast is an audio blog that is streamed and distributed over the internet
- Podcasts can be talkshows, interviews, lectures, novels or anything else you want to produce in audio
- Podcasts are a great way to reach a wider audience
Benefits of podcasts
- Listeners can download the audio whenever they want
- If they connect with the host, they can download back content and binge
- Backlist is evergreens
- Most common podcast players are Apple Podcasts and Stitcher
It’s not crowded…yet
Currently more than 700,000 active podcasts and over 29 million episodes
Growing market, gain in popularity
51% of the US population have listened to a podcast
Average aged 18-45
Benefits of hosting
- Human voice is most persuasive marketing tool
- Voice is easier to connect with than words on a page
- Educate and inform a
- Become ‘expert’ in the subject
- Expand your brand and extend audience reach
- Interview personalities
- Free publicity
- Build a community
- Global platform and an audience you can measure
- Podcast listeners are more likely to be audio book listeners
Why podcast anyway?
- Podcasting is a great way to reach people with information, inspiration or entertainment
- Your voice imparts your personality and listeners can get to you kno in a more personal way
- People need to know and like you
Making money
- content marketing
- Optimise your website with content for SEO
- When the listener arrives at your website you can showcase your products and services
- Patron.com
- Sponsorship from businesses
- Future possibilities
Step 1: plan the podcast
- Sweet spot – 20 – 35 minute range
- Plan schedule in advance – especially for interviews
- Prepare notes and topics to discuss, share with interviewee
- Podcasting is a form of marketing. Sarah is bringing her audience new authors.
Step 2: record interview and create the raw audio
- She uses Zoom, and it is free and does recording
- She records interviews in video and has a YouTube version
- Find somewhere that does not sound cavernous.
- Use a headset, will help avoid echoes
Step 3: editing audio
- Leave Mum’s, has, and little mistakes in, this humanises people
- Get rid of technical problems, long silences big mistakes.
- Found editing programs – Audacity, Audition, GarageBand, and Reaper.
Step 4: distribution
- Use a feed so people can have podcast delivered automatically to their mobiles
Step 5: market the episode
- Show notes
- Transcript (optional, but makes it accessible)
- Attractive graphic on Canva
- Share it with Facebook pages and groups, ask interviews to share it
- Link in fortnightly newsletter
Is it worth it?
- Podcasting takes a LOT of time
- Approx 4 hours for every 1 show
- Be consistent and deliver on promises
- It is not something you do for income. It is content marketing. Draw them to your website where you can then offer products and services.
- You do it because you want to learn and help others. You want to connect with your audience using your voice.
- If you’re going to podcast, then commit for at least six months. IF you make it that far, you’ll be hooked
My notes: Sarah seemed to use a lot of expensive options. She hadn’t heard of Anchor.FM which is a free podcast host, recently bought out by Spotify. If someone is thinking of starting a podcast, I would suggest beginning there as it reduces startup costs.