14 tips for creating successful podcasts

In recent years, the podcast has become the fastest growing media. Although the first podcast was published more than 15 years ago, it is only now that it has exploded in popularity and has become a real chance to make money online by creating podcasts with great content.

Inspired by radio “round table” programs, podcasts are exclusively audio, although some podcasters film and make recordings available on YouTube channels. On the other hand, this is not a necessity.

That is, the podcast is ideal for the shy who have a lot to talk about, but are not so interested in appearing. Want to create successful podcasts? So stay tuned for the tips that we will show below.

1. Start with what you have, but invest in equipment

The only things you need to start creating podcasts is an isolated, noiseless space and a cell phone or computer with apps to record your voice. If you do not do the podcast alone and intend to bring guests on all programs, it is important that they also have these resources at their disposal.

However, if you are thinking of the podcast as a business, it is interesting to invest in equipment to improve the quality of recording and editing. These devices will allow for better audio quality or make your podcast reach more people.

2. Choose a main theme

There are podcasts without a defined subject and some of them are quite successful. On the other hand, we do not recommend that you do this at first. When choosing a main theme, you are more likely to attract that specific audience.

Can a podcast that does not have a specific topic reach a larger audience? Yes. The problem is that it can also end up not attracting anyone, since there is no shortage of podcasts of this type that are already successful.

Even if your goal is to expand the theme, choose only one to start building a community.

3. Learn how podcast searches work

Much is said about the Google and YouTube algorithms. However, aggregators such as Apple Music and Spotify also have their own algorithms and it is interesting to study SEO for podcasts.

Study well what keywords you intend to use in the episodes of your podcast and make sure that it is present in the title and in some points of the description. On the other hand, remember to do it in a way that makes sense, or the algorithm may understand that it is doing spam.

This will reduce the chances of being discovered in searches by the keyword itself. That is, the opposite effect to what you want.

4. Participate in other podcasts

Networking may seem inconvenient to many, but it is essential in any medium that is willing to work. Fortunately, the podcast community is usually very receptive. If you have good knowledge of the topic you are addressing, you can ask to participate in podcasts made by other content producers.

In doing so, you gain a platform to attract the listeners of these podcasters to also become your listeners. However, we do not recommend that you start targeting the main podcasts, unless you have a very specific knowledge that fits their proposal.

At first, it is interesting to look for some podcasters that are more or less at your level and that deal with topics that may relate to yours.

5. Invite other podcasters to join your

Don't just ask to join other podcasts, but invite podcasters to join yours! In this way, you encourage the mutual growth of podcasts, as well as bringing content that will be new to your first listeners.

In fact, nothing prevents them from negotiating a mutual invitation, in which the podcaster participates in an episode of your program and you also participate in his.

6. Be consistent

It doesn't matter if you want to create podcasts, create a blog, try to make money on YouTube or become an influencer on social media. Being consistent is the key to growing your audience.

This means planning and organizing yourself to deliver new content frequently, but without letting the quality of your program decline. To achieve good consistency, we recommend that you repeat these four steps:

• Use a note-taking app to record ideas as soon as they come.
• Use a calendar app to organize the posting date for each idea. In addition, you can also use them to schedule the day of searching, recording and editing.
• Set aside a good day to record as many episodes as possible. Thus, you will have content to publish even on a bad day.
• Avoid procrastination and use productivity apps to stay focused.

7. In the beginning, do not create guidelines according to the audience

It is normal to listen to podcasts and see that the speaker asks the listeners for help in creating the next agendas. If you are still at the beginning of your podcast, you will not have an audience so significant that it allows you to do that.

Unless you are already a public figure with an established audience before creating podcasts, it is best that you have a well-defined agenda of agendas. Only after creating an audience does it become interesting to involve your listeners in the creative process.

8. Ask for reviews

One of the factors that podcast aggregator algorithms use to define whether your podcast is relevant is listening ratings. As with apps like Uber, your podcasts can be starred.

Therefore, it is interesting to reserve an episode space to ask for positive evaluations from your listeners. Be transparent: ask listeners to leave a positive rating if they liked it and mention that it helps your podcast reach more people.

9. Make sure you have good sound quality

Caring about sound quality is essential, even if you are starting without equipment. After all, your voice is the only thing your listener should hear during the episode. If it is too loud, too low or too noisy in the background, chances are your listener will drop your program in the middle.

Therefore, develop strategies to isolate the sound and direct the microphone only in the direction of your voice. Preferably, keep the room where you are making the recording closed and without anyone but you and any guests.

10. Consider paying for a hosting service

When creating podcasts, there are services that will allow you to host episodes of it for free. Hosting services are necessary, as aggregators only pull your podcast from these hosting services. That is, they just redirect listeners without them noticing.

This means that your podcast's audio file does not stay in these aggregators. The problem with free services is that they usually do not have a good customer service, in addition to having any flaws. After all, it is certain that the amount of podcasts stored in these services is much higher than in paid hosting.

For good service and a commitment to keeping your podcast live 99.99% of the time, consider investing in a paid hosting plan.

11. Consider creating a blog to promote your podcast

Another way to publicize the podcast you just created is to promote it on other platforms. As a hosting service is required to place your podcast, you may well create a blog on the same domain.

The usefulness of using a blog to support the dissemination of the podcast is to write articles that can be ranked on Google search, attracting people who are not necessarily searching for podcasts in aggregators. Even if it is not their goal, they may be interested and become listeners.

In addition, many podcasters often use the blog to present summaries of episodes for those who do not have as much time to listen but are interested in the content. Others even transcribe the interview completely, affecting both those who prefer to read and those who prefer to listen.

12. Also consider using email marketing

Email marketing is also an excellent tool for those who want to create podcasts. However, his goal should not be so much to attract new visitors, but to keep his current listeners following the episodes.

Through email marketing tools, it is possible to send emails to listeners notifying them when new episodes are aired. In this way, you increase the retention and loyalty of the audience you are building.

13. Seek to make money from your podcast

Money should never be the end goal, but it is important for your podcast to grow and reach more people. So it doesn't hurt to look for ways to monetize it. A defect in podcasts are the few ways to do this.

There are currently three established ways to earn extra income from podcasts. Are they:

• Episode announcements: companies can look for you to insert a small ad during the episodes, as it happens on traditional radio.

• Affiliate Selling: You can indicate products you trust and leave a personalized purchase link in the podcast description. When a listener buys from your link, you earn a commission percentage.

• Sponsored episodes: in addition to small insertions, companies can hire you to record a special episode, focused on publicizing the company's services. Just remember to alert your listeners that the episode is sponsored, or you may lose listeners due to a lack of transparency.

14. Search for successful podcasters

When creating podcasts, you will need to study hard what makes certain podcasters very successful. What do they say? How is the format of the episodes? What kind of guests do they bring? How do they interact with the public? What is their audience?

Try to do a lot of research and answer these questions. That way, you can extract valuable lessons and get interesting references to test on your own podcast. But remember: research is not plagiarism! Copying content is the right way to lose any relevance or authority.

If you want to create podcasts and turn your content into a profitable business, don't even think about plagiarizing any content!

Creating podcasts: what do you think about starting now?

We are still in the beginning of 2021 and podcasts continue to grow in popularity. Last year, for example, even media groups like Rede Globo invested in podcasts to attract more audiences.

How about you repeat the steps of the broadcaster and start investing also in creating podcasts? You never know, but this type of content can be the key to making money at home during quarantine!