So you're interested in making a podcast?

There are many reasons to want a podcast.

Maybe you want to be viewed as the leader in your space, you want to drive more sales, or grow your network. Whatever the reason is, podcasting is worth considering.

Podcasting's growth and success makes sense. For one, audio has an unfair advantage. It's one of the few mediums you can consume while doing something else.

Want to listen to a podcast while driving? Awesome! Want to watch a video while driving? Please don't...

Other benefits include the honesty of the medium, our natural interest in listening to the stories of others, and the connection we're able to make with our listeners.

However, these benefits of podcasting don't automatically make it the right move for your company. In order to figure out if it is a good fit, we need to review 3 questions.

1. What is your goal?
2. Who is your target audience?
3. Why a podcast?

The answers to these questions are foundational in determining whether a podcast is where you should invest your time.

What to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Podcast.

What Is Your Goal?

Your goal will be determined by your ideal outcomes. Your goal also helps decide what style and format of show you should have.

Should it be a simple interview-based show like Joe Rogan or Tim Ferriss? Or maybe a story-driven show like Serial or something you'd hear on public radio. Knowing your goal will help you answer your most fundamental questions.

6 Common Goals for Podcasts

After studying and working in the podcast industry for several years, 6 main podcast goals are apparent:

1. Grow your thought leadership and authority in a space.
2. Drive awareness and new leads to a specific product, service, or idea.
3. Grow your network by building new relationships and strengthening existing ones.
4. Teach and support your prospects, clients, and/or employees.
5. Earn additional income from podcast sponsorships and partnerships.
6. Broadly influence or spread a message to a large audience.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

The second question you want to consider is who is your target audience?

You can't reach your audience if you don't know who they are and "everyone" isn't an audience!

The most successful podcasts know who their audience is. Knowing helps you decide how to format your show, where to promote it, and what kind of help or value they are looking for.

Why a Podcast?

The final question you should ask is why do you want a podcast to begin with? Is audio the best way to reach your goal? Is the timing right? Do you have the time and resources to start one?

Understand that podcasting is a long-term investment. The decision to create a podcast should be intentional if you want it to be a successful move for your business.

You (Still) Want to Start a Podcast. What's Next?

You've decided on your goal, who your target audience is, and why podcasting is a good idea. Now you need to determine what kind of help you should hire.

You don't need to hire anyone. You can technically create a podcast for free with nothing more than your phone. However, you likely don't want to do that.

It's easy to create a podcast. It's hard to make a podcast that's worth listening to.

The best podcasts require strategy, technical expertise, and human qualities to truly stand out. You are going to want some help to pull this off. That's where hiring a good podcast production company or specific support for your needs, can help.

Decide on Who to Hire.

Knowing how to choose a podcast production company for your project can be difficult. Generally speaking, there are 3 kinds of help you can hire to produce your podcast.

1. Consultant: This is usually a person who (hopefully) has experience making successful podcasts. They will guide you through the process. This is a great fit if you want to do all of the work but make the learning process shorter.
2. Technical: This is the most popular type of podcasting help you can get. Typically technical help is a person, service, or small agency that assists you with the technical side of running your podcast: editing, posting, etc... It's a great fit if you want to manage and direct everything but need someone to do the regular tasks.
3. Full-service: True full-service agencies are a perfect fit if you need an actual partner who understands the audio, marketing, and business development aspects of a podcast. Full-service podcast solutions work best for busy individuals or teams that have a sense of what they want to accomplish but aren't entirely sure how to get there.

Decide on Your Budget.

So what should a podcast cost anyway? Solutions exist for every budget. Understand that you're always going to be spending time or money.

If you want to save time, consider full-service help. If you want to save money, a consulting solution might be a better fit.

Decide on a Plan.

Lastly, you'll want to have a plan to take your podcast from an idea to a launched show. Generally speaking, you can break this into 4 phases:

1. Plan: The planning phase includes things like setting your goals, branding your show, and learning how to use your equipment.
2. Produce: The producing phase includes preparing for interviews, conducting interviews, and editing your episodes.
3. Publish: The publishing phase includes setting up your podcast distribution, creating promotional assets, and actually launching your podcast.
4. Progress: The tracking progress phase is often overlooked by many podcasters and agencies. This phase includes defining key performance indicators, evaluating the data, and making improvements on your findings.

In Closing...

Starting a podcast that is worth listening to and represents your brand well is no easy task.

However, by defining your goals, understanding your audience, figuring out what kind of help to hire, defining a budget, and following a plan, the process becomes much easier.