School of Podcasting: Expert Tips for Launching and Growing Your Podcast

How to Podcast Step 1: Your Podcast Idea

Oct 26, 2015

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I'm going to be going over podcasting in the next few episodes. So many people think it starts with a microphone (which is a logical start), but it doesn't. It starts with an idea. It might be an idea that is fueled by a need. That need may be to help people. It may be to make them laugh, cry, think, grown, or inspire them. You want to connect with impact. This is where your podcast starts. It starts with an idea.

Taking Your Podcast Inventory

This topics starts at 14:21

What do you like?
What are you good at?
What do other people say you're good at?
What do you not like?

According to the Book Secrets of Dynamic Communication you are either intending to persuade or enable people.

Persuading People

Everyone _______ should _____ (i.e. Every coach should podcast).

Enabling People

Every ____ can ______. (i.e. very coach can podcast).

Even sports shows are insinuating that everyone can/should cheer for their team. A comedy show might be getting you to think about something in a different (funny) way.

Why Would People Listen to Me?

This is a common response. After all it's easy to focus on ourselves. We are our favorite subject after all (right?). So instead of focusing on what people will think about you, think about what you are giving them? It's usually not scary to give someone a gift they know they will love, so why should delivering content that will positively impact them be scary.

Communication is about the person (singular) who you will be helping, persuading, instructing, entertaining them.

So How Do You Know If Your Podcast Will Impact Your Audience?

You need to live in your niche. You need to hangout where your audience hangs out. This could be Facebook groups, Google Groups, Linkedin Groups, Meetup.com, etc. You need to go to where they are, and see what they are talking about. You can read books about our subject, and read blogs as well. You can watch movies about your subject. This is one of those "simple but not always easy" kind of things. There are no shortcuts.

Once you know who your podcast is for, you know WHAT to talk about.

Why Are You Getting Into Podcasting?

There are many reasons:

Be Seen as an Expert
Reach a Global Audience
Find Like Minded People
Boost Sales of Your Own Products
Boost speaking confidence
Engage Your Community
Make additional income
Fun with friends and family.

The WHY is the rudder of your podcast boat. It helps direct the content in the direction that will help you achieve your goal. It your message and your goal are out of sync then you will find it harder to achieve success.

The Main Hurdles of Podcasting

There are many things that stop people from podcasting. Here are what are feel are the top 10 excuses.

Nobody will listen to me
I hate my voice
I just need "one more thing"
People might say negative things
I'm not a geek
I don't have time

We all know that speaking in public is the #1 fear among humans. This means at a funeral, you'd rather be the person in the casket then the person delivering the eulogy.

A Podcast Is A Recipe

My wife makes a kick butt spaghetti sauce. To watch her make it, one might think she has no idea what she is doing. She doesn't measure anything. She has some core ingredients, but at some point she starts adding a little of this, and a little of that. She samples the sauce, and tweaks some more. In the end, it's awesome. It took her years to perfect it.

Every now and then, we will be eating at the table and she will announce that it still needs _____. To her it's missing something. Meanwhile the rest of us are on our second helping as we loosen the buttons on our pants.

When you aim for perfection and miss, you land on really, really good.

If you never serve your sauce until it is perfect, people will starve. In a world of Kardashians and Celebrity Wife Swapping, MY GOD ARE WE STARVING FOR GOOD CONTENT.

Don't Fuel The Stupidity Fire

Podcasting starts with an idea - not a microphone. If you've not figured out WHAT you are going to podcast about and take the step to purchase equipment, you are fueling the stupidity fire. Why? Because it becomes a reminder that you still haven't launched. It puts pressure on you. Now that you've spent money, you NEED to podcast so you don't look stupid purchasing a microphone.

Why you don't want to feed the stupidity fire is you will have enough voices in your head that fuel your lack of self-confidence. This is natural. Unless you have a background in talking in public, you're not going to be confident in your decision to start a podcast - AND THAT'S OK.

With this in mind, don't purchase your Podcast Equipment just yet.

Write Down Three Ideas For Your Podcast Episodes

Do a quick exercise and write down what your first three episodes will be about. Don't worry about the length, format, artwork, etc. What will you talk about. You don't need to script it out, we are just brainstorming. What would your audience like to hear?

When you get that done, do it again. Turn off the TV, NetFlix, YouTube and brainstorm potential ideas for your show.

Once you get that done. You have planted the seed of a podcast. Choosing a name, a website, etc will be in the future, but you have identified that you have something to say, and can create content. Don't over-think this. You can start a podcast.