Ep 93: How to Create and Launch a Podcast – Full Tutorial

00:00:00 The Lazy Girl's Guide to Podcasting: Creating Your Podcast From Start to Finish

[00:00:00] Verity: Hello there and welcome back to another episode of the lazy girl's guide to podcasting with me Verity. Now I am gonna do something a little bit different this episode. Usually my episodes are 10, 15 minutes long. I try and keep them around the 10 minute mark. This particular episode I have got no idea how long it's going to be and you might be thinking why not Verity?

[00:00:21] Verity: It's because I haven't really planned this in my head too much. I just had this idea a couple of hours ago where I was like I need to create an episode, a podcast episode, where I literally tell somebody how they could create their podcast from start to finish. Just no, like, tiny fragments because that's what this podcast is all about. We only do one thing about podcasting such as, like, creating an intro, creating an outro, looking at this tool, looking at that tool, and we only look at that for 1 episode. So what I thought we should do this episode is actually just say, sod it.

[00:00:53] Verity: Let's just do one episode where we pack everything into that one episode of exactly what it is that you need to do to create your podcast and why you just need to get over whatever that fear is that's stopping you from creating that podcast and just get going. Let's start with this and I hope I'm not actually going to jump around too too much because, like I said, I haven't scripted this. I've got no list written out. I've got no points or anything. I am just diving straight into this.

00:01:19 Getting Clear on Your Podcast Topic and Audience

[00:01:19] Verity: First thing that you need to do when you decide that you want to start a podcast is grab your notebook and write down what it is that you want your podcast to be about and really get clear on what it is that you want to podcast. Now it may be at the beginning that actually you don't know about this. You know, people talk about niching down. You might not know exactly what your niche is. You might not know exactly which audience you want to serve.

[00:01:47] Verity: Equally you might know exactly who your audience is and exactly what your niche is. So it doesn't really matter either way but you need to write down or get really clear in your mind just what your podcast is going to be about and who roughly or specifically your target audience is. Now I say roughly because I know a lot of podcasters, myself included, who have started out just creating the content, and then as they find their feet, then they have got more specific and clearer about who their audience is. But sometimes you just need to get a few episodes under your belt. You need to get used to things from the podcasting tech side of things before you can kind of concentrate on exactly who your audience is.

00:02:29 Tips for Starting a Podcast Successfully

[00:02:29] Verity: And the whole thing about podcasting is it's a learning process at the end of the day. Very few podcasts have started and just been amazing because so many indie podcasters, we've all got to start somewhere. So that would be my first night number one tip is my number one stage rather is get clear on what your podcast is gonna be about and who it is that your audience is. The next thing I would do is get another piece of paper and write down at least 20 episode ideas. Now the reason I say that is because around statistically speaking anyway, around 90% of podcasters will not get past episode 3.

[00:03:07] Verity: And my personal opinion is that a lot of that is because people go in with great steam to start their podcast, and then they just run out of episode ideas. And they're like, what do I do next? It could be about not gaining traction as well, but I think as well a lot of people run out of ideas very, very quickly for their episodes. So I always suggest to people write out at least 20 episode ideas. If you cannot come up with at least 20 episode ideas, you've probably not got a podcast and you're probably going to run out of ideas for content very, very quickly.

00:03:36 Generating Podcast Content Ideas

[00:03:36] Verity: The great thing about having that list of 20 ideas is that you don't necessarily have to use all of them. But worst case scenario, you've got nearly 6 months of episode ideas assuming that you're gonna do weekly episodes. And if you do biweekly episodes, you've actually got nearly a year's worth of content there. So you've got a lot of you've got a lot of content basically. You've got a lot of content ideas.

[00:03:59] Verity: You've got a lot of potential for your show. So once you've listed out those ideas, I would suggest that you start looking at a name as to what you want to call your podcast. I would go to podcast directories, things like Spotify, Apple Podcasts. I'd go on Google as well, Google the search engine. I would go on YouTube, and I would type in what I'm thinking of calling my podcast to see if other podcasts are called the same thing.

00:04:22 Choosing a Podcast Name and Checking for Copyright Infringement

[00:04:22] Verity: Because what you don't want to do is either a, podcasts are called the same thing because what you don't want to do is either, a, get done for copyright infringement or, b, get confused with another podcast. Now if somebody else has got your podcast name and it's not protected by copyright, On a technicality, yes. You can use that name. Do you want to? I would suggest no.

[00:04:46] Verity: And this is purely my opinion, but what you don't wanna do is start getting your content confused with another creator's content because that's gonna be really confusing for your audience. And, yes, you could say that it's challenging to come up with a completely original name in 2024 or beyond, but that is my take on it. If however you found a podcast and maybe they haven't published episodes in, like, a few years, it might be safe to assume that that podcast is probably dormant. You might wanna use a similar name, but just check you're not infringing on anyone's copyright. The next thing I would say to do once you've settled on the name is to go to social media and see what handles are available that relates to your podcast name Because, again, what you don't want is to choose something and then find out all the logical social media handles are actually taken for that already.

00:05:36 Setting up a Podcast: Key Steps Before Recording

[00:05:36] Verity: And, actually, on that note, check domain names as well. So we've done all this. We haven't even picked up a microphone yet or even turned a computer on because you can do all this on your phone at this stage. Check domain names as well because you might not want a domain name to begin with but I think it's always worth buying a domain name if it's available even if it's only a couple of dollars for the year. You never know when that might come in useful.

[00:05:59] Verity: You also never know when you might want to use it further down the line and then somebody's already bought it and, damn, that's that's a lost opportunity. Once you have done all of that, the next thing I would do is record a trailer for your podcast. And the reason I say this is because when you are going to set up your podcast hosting platform and submit to different directories such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etcetera, you are going to need a piece of content to get that setup process going because Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etcetera, they won't let you create a podcast on their directory without a piece of content. So start off with a trailer. You don't have to start promoting this straight away, but the trailer is basically saying this is what my podcast is about.

00:06:43 Creating a Trailer and Podcast Artwork

[00:06:43] Verity: This is why it's awesome. This is why you need to subscribe so you are ready as soon as episode 1 drops. And check out the link in the description box or in the show notes because there is information there about creating a trailer for your podcast. So when it comes to creating your trailer you can use a whole range of software to do this. You can use QuickTime.

[00:07:03] Verity: You can use GarageBand. You can use Riverside. You can use Descript. You can use Hindenburg. There's loads of places that you can record either for free or in paid software, edit it, and have it ready for publishing.

[00:07:16] Verity: And I've got different tutorials for some of the software I just mentioned, again, down in the show notes and description box for those links. Once you have created your trailer, you've decided on a name, head over to a graphic tool such as Canva so that you can create your podcast artwork. And don't worry if you're not arty. You don't need to pull anything amazing out of the bag. What you do need to do though is go to the templates, scroll through the templates on Canva, choose one that you like, change it around a little bit in terms of put your picture on there.

[00:07:45] Verity: If you want your face on the front of your podcast cover, make sure that the colours all align with your brand, make sure your title is on there, make it sure it's obvious what your podcast is called, Make sure that when you create your podcast artwork, it is 3,000 by 3,000 pixels. Platforms such as Apple Podcasts will not take your artwork if it is not 3,000 by 3,000 pixels. So make sure that your podcast artwork fits that specification before you download it. What you're now going to do is choose a podcast hosting platform. Your podcast hosting platform is where all of the information gets stored about your podcast.

00:08:22 Choosing a Podcast Hosting Platform

[00:08:22] Verity: The name of it, your podcast artwork, your episodes are going to be uploaded there. It's gonna give you links to listen to your podcast. You're gonna have literally all your information. It's gonna give you an RSS feed as well, and it is the RSS feed which is going to push the information out from your podcast hosting platform to the different podcast directories where your audience are going to listen to your podcast. So there are a whole ton of podcast hosting platforms out there.

[00:08:52] Verity: And depending on what you're looking for, for example, if you want it for free, if you want to pay, if you've got the budget to pay, different features, if you need a website, if you're gonna build your own website, if you want to embed YouTube videos with within your podcast data, just whatever you want. The features are going to dictate and the pricing is going to dictate which podcast hosting platform you go with. There are 2 which I tend to recommend the most, and those are Captivate FM and Buzzsprout. I started out on Buzzsprout. I was with Buzzsprout for probably the best part of a year before switching over to and then I actually tried out a few different ones.

00:09:31 Setting up a Podcast on Captivate FM

[00:09:31] Verity: And I have been with Captivate FM for quite some time now. Absolutely love them. I have not come across a podcast hosting platform with more features than Captivate, and their customer service is also absolutely amazing. So if you wanted to try Captivate f m out who I 100% completely recommend then check out the link in the show notes or the episode description for a free 7 day trial of Captivate. When you have got your podcast hosting platform all sorted, I e with Captivate f n.

[00:10:04] Verity: And then any good podcast hosting platform will walk you through the steps that you need to do to set up your podcast. So you're gonna enter the name that you've decided. You're gonna write out a podcast description as well and that's think of that like a little blurb of a movie almost. You know, what is it that somebody is getting out of what getting out of listening to your podcast? Make sure you include keywords in there as well.

[00:10:28] Verity: So, for example, for the lady girl's guide to podcasting, in the description for the podcast, I've got keywords such as podcasting tips and podcast growth, and I'm trying to think what else I've got in there now. But they are keywords that I know that my audience is searching for when they are on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etcetera. Upload all of that information. Upload your trailer as well when prompted and where prompted. Make sure that you also include your episode artwork, and then your podcast host will guide you through submitting your RSS feed to the different podcast directories.

00:11:04 Maximizing Your Podcast Reach with Directories

[00:11:04] Verity: Directories. Now what's important to remember is that the different podcast directories, some of them are automated, some of them are not. Your podcast hosting platform may give you instructions as to submitting to certain directories. My advice is always to just get on as many podcast directories as possible. We have seen over the last couple of years some quite major players shutting down, for example, Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, and there's been news of somewhere else now and I can't think who it is.

[00:11:32] Verity: But my point is is that you never know where people are listening from and you always need to be able to give people alternatives Just because you might think, oh, that's a really really small podcast directory that no one's listening to, that could be your number one fan or listening on that podcast directory, and they tell other people who then might still listen on Apple Podcasts, but if that number one fan hadn't been listening on that really random podcast directory, they might never have known about you. So my point is is just get on as many podcast directories as possible. As I said, when you're on your podcast hosting platform, a lot of that will be done automatically. Some of it is done with one click import, and it will take literally 30 seconds. Other ones, it takes up to 24 hours to verify.

00:12:15 Launching a Podcast Successfully

[00:12:15] Verity: But in my personal experience, and I've set up 2 podcasts at this stage, I've never waited longer than I think 2 hours was the longest I waited for a podcast to appear on a podcast directory. But just get it done just in case you are in the 24 hour wait period for whatever reason. And once you've got all of that information uploaded and sorted and you are pushed out to all of the different podcast directories, go on the podcast directories and actually check that you are there. Give it a day or so, and then just check that everything is there. Because what you don't want to do is launch your podcast, tell people to go and search you, and for whatever reason, there's some kind of glitch in the system or, I don't know, something's happened and you have not appeared there.

[00:12:53] Verity: So just go and check. What I would recommend you now doing is going and recording your first three episodes and releasing all three of those episodes on your launch day. Now the reason I say that is because people want content to listen to and to watch and to view. If you're just giving them the one episode they might be like oh yeah that was nice. Not subscribe or like oh yeah that was nice but then they kind of forget about it.

00:13:20 Tips for Building an Audience and Promoting Your Podcast

[00:13:20] Verity: By giving them multiple episodes you're really pulling people into your world. People are wanting the next episode after this. You're giving people more of a reason to subscribe because they're realising you're not a one hit wonder. They're realising that actually there is more to come then they like your style. They like your content.

[00:13:39] Verity: There's a reason for them to subscribe and to give you their time really to say I'll come back next week and listen to the next episode or watch the next episode. So I would pick a day whichever day of the week it is. We know that statistically podcast episodes that are released on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday statistically tend to do better but I know plenty of podcasters who release on Mondays Fridays and get really really good download numbers. It's about what your audience come to expect from you. I could tell you the most ideal time is Tuesday in the morning but then you've got question more morning for who for example and I say that because something like nearly 60% of my audience for ladies girls guide to podcasting 60% of them are over in America so not the same time zone as me at all, and I think when we talk about time zones it's something like 90% of my audience are not in the same time zone as me at all.

[00:14:34] Verity: So that then immediately gets you thinking of, well, whose morning are you publishing in? So just get the content out there basically. There'll probably be a lot of people that disagree with that. Don't get hung up is what I'm saying about what day of the week and what time you publish as long as it's regular and as long as your audience know when to come to expect new content from you then you'll be okay. What you are going to do now is build up that audience and that rapport with your audience on the different social media channels that you like to show up on, that you, you know, your audience is showing up on.

[00:15:09] Verity: And I say that because if you hate creating TikToks, for example, don't stress about trying to promote on TikTok you know find somewhere else where you do prefer to hang out like Twitter or Instagram equally if you don't like Twitter don't go there it's going to show in your content basically if you don't like showing up to whichever platform you're promoting on. So just show up on and promote on whichever platform you're comfortable with. And on that note as well, don't get bogged down with trying to be like some of the big podcasters, which are on every single social media channel. What you need to remember is that some of the biggest podcasts globally have got whole teams dedicated to just social media. I read recently that, and I don't know if it's true, it's just something I read on the internet, that Stephen Bartlett's diary of the CEO employs somebody to just work on the thumbnails for the youtube videos.

00:15:59 Tips for Starting a Podcast

[00:15:59] Verity: I don't know if that's true could just be a rumour but my point is people with these huge podcasts have got social media teams and specialists so if you are like me and you are a mum and you also work you can't be expected to put out the same social media content if you're doing that yourself and your podcast is the side hobby or a side hustle of what you're doing. You can't be expected to put out the same social media content on all of these different channels as some of the other podcasters who are hiring professional social media teams so don't beat yourself up about it. Do create some solid content that promotes your podcast, get people to start subscribing before those 3 episodes drop. And once you have set your launch date and you've got those 3 episodes, then make sure that you're still continuing with the buzz. I've got the episode 4 coming out, and then the next week, it's episode 5.

[00:16:48] Verity: And keep that momentum going. You see a lot of people give up by episode 8 because they don't see this amazing growth which they've suddenly decided is gonna happen in their minds. What you need to remember is that podcasting numbers are very, very different to YouTube numbers. Podcast directories are not search engines in the way that YouTube is, for example. When I wanted to buy my new iPhone, I went to YouTube to type in iPhone 14 pro reviews.

[00:17:17] Verity: I didn't go to Apple Podcasts to do that. So you're not going to see the same numbers for downloads as you necessarily do for YouTube views. And on that point, according to Buzzsprout, if your episodes get 32 downloads in the first 7 days of release, then you can count yourself as a top 50% podcast. This is what I mean. If you had a YouTube video with only 32 views, nobody would be saying that to you.

[00:17:44] Verity: So the point is the numbers are very different for podcasting and for youtube. I would say that that is probably my nut shell deep dive onto how to start your podcast. I say from beginning to finish. It's really from beginning to continuum because I'm not expecting you to give up after those first few episodes and to keep going. I would love to know have you thought that I've missed anything out?

00:18:12 Tips for Starting a Podcast

[00:18:12] Verity: Is there anything that you think I should have included? I know that I only talked about from the point of view of solo episodes, didn't talk about guest episodes and how to get people onto your podcast if you want guests. Is that something you would like in a future episode or a future video? Do let me know in the comments if you're on YouTube or contact me at veritasongon on Twitter if you are listening to the audio podcast of this. If you've got somebody in your life who is thinking about starting a podcast, you would like start a podcast with or you just think that'd be an amazing podcast host, I would love it if you could share this episode with them because you never know.

[00:18:45] Verity: It might just give them the encouragement they needed to just get going with their podcast. Otherwise, I'm Veracy. This is the lazy girl's guide to podcasting. Thank you so much for spending another episode with me, and I will see you next time.