A workflow to save the day
Getting a podcast to launch takes several things. There are the pre-launch processes and then there is keeping it alive after you have launched. They are really 2 separate beasts. I’m going to start with the pre-launch. While researching for this article, I realized that this is really a huge subject and a single post won’t do it justice. I want you to learn and be able to grow. The more detail the better, so breaking this down into a multi-part series hopefully will take care of that.
The podcast pre-launch
Interview podcasts
The workflow for an interview podcast has a few steps. The first part is finding the right people to be guests on your show. Once you have identified the right gests you need to come up with an email template for sending to your potential guests. Now one of the things you need to make sure you focus on building your relationships. When you send out the email, you need to make sure there is a good part of it that is personal to each guest. You need to make it about them and relate on a personal level.
Once you are sending out emails, you need to have a good way to schedule them and keep track of interviews. Using a calendar software or a scheduler like Calendly will help set up your time and availability.
Recording and processing is your next big step. I use Adobe Audition. I set up an audio template that already has my intro music, intro, any sponsors, and exit ready to go. I just have to record with the guest and plop it into the template. It saves a ton of time!
Show notes or blog posts will be based on the content of your interview. You will either want to take notes while recording or listen back to the show and capture the messages and lessons you wish to convey to your audience.
Publishing to your podcast is another part of this process. You can batch upload several episodes at one time. This will let you set up a schedule so you are not running around all the time trying to work on podcasts.
You will want to follow this up with a blog post or some kind of written article. The written word will never die and a lot of people prefer to browse blogs and read them like a newspaper.
Lastly, you will want to hit the digital marketing hard. No one will be your cheerleader at first. You need to tell people why they want to consume your content and what makes it different and worth their time. You need to also understand where your audience is. Not every audience can be built on Facebook. Some live on Twitter, others Pinterest, or even SnapChat. You are going to understand your readers/listeners better than anyone so make sure you know where to look.
I am including a good workflow diagram and a PDF download so you can follow the process! Download the General Podcast Workflow!
