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Find Your Voice With an Authority-Building Podcast
A Life Worth Living | Nov 12, 2022
Harry Duran
November 12, 2022
Do you have a message burning a hole in your soul?
If you're like the majority of humans on this planet, the short answer is yes.
The fact of the matter is that every single person has a story that's waiting to be told. It's just a matter of asking (or being asked) the right questions.
There are a handful of ways for you to get that message out.
Some people are naturals in front of the camera and so for them, it's easy to "go live" on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
For others it’s writing. This is a skill I've recently revisited (via this newsletter and Twitter), and it will be I will constantly be looking to improve for the rest of my life.
But I will always be grateful for my podcasting journey as I wouldn’t be here writing this letter to you, had I not started mine.
While there is no shortage of good, great and (let's be honest) confusing information around starting a podcast, I wanted to provide an overview of the basics here. I realize, as with all tech-driven mediums, things can easily change over time, so consider this current advice as of today.
Where It Started
A bit of background in case you’re new to my story.
As Host of Podcast Junkies since 2014, I've had the honor of having over 300 conversations (as of this post) with some of the most fascinating podcasters and podcast luminaries in the podosphere.
During that time, I've learned a lot about what it takes to successfully launch, produce and market an authority-building podcast.
Granted, podcasts have been around since 2004-ish, but what is incredibly interesting is the rate at which these shows are growing.
According to Podcastindex.org, there are over 4 million total podcasts!
Now, while that can seem like a daunting number, when you take a look at that page, you'll notice that the number drops significantly down to 360,000 when you only measure shows which have published an episode in the last 30 days.
That said, I still feel that it's a great time to launch a podcast as a vehicle for getting your message heard.
Here are a few important basics to note that will save you a lot of headaches down the road.
Name & Artwork
To start off, always use SEO best practices when naming your show. What's that mean? Below are 2 examples.
One of our clients, Natalie Jennings, has been a successful photographer for over 10 years. In 2019, she launched a show to guide new photographers on best practices to help them build their photography business.
We decided to name it Photo Business Help. I know, go figure. 😆
The show has been running for over 2 years and the most impressive stat is the fact that Natalie hasn't missed publishing an episode since launching in May of 2019!
As Natalie says during her outros and definitely something to keep in mind when committing to your show:
Consistency is Key!
In an earlier letter, I shared the inspiration for starting my second show Vertical Farming Podcast. You can read the full story there, but suffice it to say, when creating the show I strategically chose to give it the most obvious name possible.
Did it work?
1000% yes! If you google the words "vertical farming podcast", my show is the #1 site listed. Notice also how I registered the domain as well.
Don't underestimate the SEO power of a podcast name. No cute names unless you have crazy visibility.
When it comes to artwork, Canva is our team's go-to for creating compelling Apple-compliant designs.
Keep it simple. Sans serif fonts with high-contrast colors work really well. Prior to my recent rebrand of Podcast Junkies, this was the artwork I use for the first 8 years of the show.
A Home For Your Show
One of the most important considerations is where to host your podcast. There's no shortage of incredibly reliable hosts to choose from. The main consideration: Go with a reliable host who's been around for a while and has a strong customer base.
Our current favorites are Captivate, Buzzsprout and RSS.com. There's also Transistor, Libsyn, Blubrry, Podbean.
For those of you who are interested in ways to monetize your show, one consideration will be how much your selected host supports the new Podcasting 2.0 features.
Rock The Mic
Yes, I know. There are dozens of microphone recommendations. So I'll keep it simple.
Hands down, the #1 recommendation I make when it comes to gear is the Samson Q2U (available on Amazon USD $60-$85).
The best part about this kit is that it comes with not only a tripod extender but a foam windscreen. No pop filter needed.
It's a dynamic mic that sounds great, has very little handling noise (when holding the mic) and comes ready to use with both a USB and XLR connection. USB is incredibly convenient when you're on the go. I routinely stash the Q2U in my bag when traveling.
Now naturally, there will be some of you who are ready to step it up to the next level and want to start building your own podcast studio.
I can't say enough good things about the Shure SM7B. It's an industry standard mic for good reason, it just sounds great. One caveat is that it is a gain-hungry mic, so I highly recommend pairing it with my go-to recommendation for sound cards...
The super-clean sounding Focusrite Vocaster 2. I've been grateful to the team at Focusrite for being a long time supporter of Podcast Junkies, and can't say enough good things about it. It has great pre-amps and provides precise control over your microphone and headphone levels. It's also the perfect size for your in-home studio.
Now you might think I'm going to recommend a ridiculously expensive set of headphones to go along with this gear, but I have to admit I've been incredibly happy with these Sony MDRZX110 headphones. These are super light and collapsible, and only USD $15. For more professional over-the-ear headphones, it's more of personal preference and I encourage you to do a search for "podcast headphones" on Amazon.
Remote Recording
OK, now let's get to recording our interview, shall we?
This one's easy. I've had the honor of working with the team at SquadCast over the past few years as their Founding Advisor and can easily say that it is the best way to record remote high-quality interviews.
Their patented technology allows each speaker to be recorded locally to ensure the highest quality audio and video.
Production Time
If your editing the show yourself, use a simple editor like Hindenburg Journalist. It's an easy learning curve for new editors.
When your edit is done, run it through Auphonic to master and level it. They provide 2 hours free per month, which is fine for most shows.
Go Time!
Once you have your name, description, cover art and first piece of audio (which should be your podcast trailer), you can then submit your show to Apple Podcasts. Once confirmed you can then continue submitting your show to all the available podcast directories. This is key. There are so many destinations where your show can be heard and it's critical that you be found on every single one of them.
Thankfully, my friend James Cridland, Editor of Podnews has put together this incredibly useful resource, How to add your podcast to every podcast directory.
You also want to make sure your show credits are listed properly on Podchaser. It's the “IMDB of Podcasting”. And not only the show(s) you host, but those on which you've also appeared as a guest!
You'll also want to register your show at RateThisPodcast. They'll provide you with a simple to remember URL that you can give your listeners to make it drop-dead simple for them to Rate and Review your show. As those come in, be sure to read them out on future episodes!
You don't want to overlook YouTube. I know a lot of podcasters think posting their audio-only podcast there is a waste of time, but there's one stat that I can't ignore. It is the #2 search engine after Google.
Our friends at Headliner will help you create stunning audiograms to help in the promotion of the show and can also ingest your show's feed to help you publish your audio-only show to YouTube.
While it may not be where your episodes will be listened to in their entirety, it's totally possible that it will help it be found. To see what I mean, head on over to YouTube and search for "podcast junkies".
Wave That Promo Flag!
OK, time to create a site to promote your podcast. Naturally, you want to have a good looking website for your show. Podcastpage or PodPage are both great resources that will help you build a standalone website that will automatically update the site when a new episode is published.
You always want to think about ways to repurpose your podcast episodes. One of the best ways to do this is to grab 2-3 audio snippets when editing and create 30-60-second audiograms with Headliner, which we mentioned earlier.
These 'movies' can then be posted on your Instagram and Twitter Feeds. Bonus if you embed the captions as well since 80% of mobile users have sound off as a default.
If you're in need of a transcription, definitely check out Descript. I had a couple of great chats with the founder and former CEO of Groupon, Andrew Mason.
Configure your email signature using a tool like WiseStamp to display your show's RSS feed dynamically with new episodes.
Send an email to every single guest once their episode is live. Make sure you attach the artwork and audiogram you created and make it as easy as possible for them to share. We now build these pages using Notion, and you can duplicate a recent one here for your own use!
Use clicktotweet.com to create hyperlinked copy that the guest can simply click to share to Twitter. Again, we're trying to make things as easy as possible.
A Call To Action 🎬
Ask yourself: "What's the ONE thing I want a listener to do as a result of listening to this episode"?
That's your Call-To-Action (CTA)
You can use your outro as an opportunity to recap the show and direct listeners to your website where they (hopefully) learn more about your guests and all resources mentioned. You can also remind them to rate and review the show and tease out next week's episode.
Make it Profitable
Research which podcasts would be good for you to appear on with a service like PodMatch. Create a One Sheet that you can give to podcast hosts (see Canva above). Mine provided here as an example.
When you appear on other shows, as your answering the host's questions, look for opportunities to seed your current programs or offers: “When I was working with my client...” or “In my membership area recently...”
There are several services that will get you booked as a guest on a wide variety of shows. One of our favorite partners is Interview Connections. Their done-for-you service will even help you prepare that One Sheet.
And as your show grows, look to engage an agency like True Native Media to help with your sponsorship! If you do head down that path, you'll definitely want to use Chartable to get your analytics in order!
OK, I think that gets you most of the way there.
No more excuses! Get your voice heard.
As always, I'm only a reply away from any questions you might have.
🙏 with gratitude,
Harry
What I Created This Week
🌿 Vertical Farming Podcast (Season 6) sponsored by Cultivatd
🎧 Podcast Junkies | The Podcaster's Voice sponsored by Focusrite.
🙋♀️ P.S. When You're Ready...
Here are a few of ways I can help…
✡️ Download a free copy of my Conscious Voice Expansion Plan. The most powerful way to transmit and elevate your voice is with a podcast. This plan will outline for you the pillars of success needed prior to the launch of your show!
🎥 Watch my free video, 5 Key Pillars of a Profitable Podcast that every business owner needs to know prior to launching their show.
🎙️ Subscribe to Podcast Junkies + Vertical Farming Podcast to hear inspiring stories guaranteed to make you a better host.
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