Podcasting 101 for freelancers

We all heard it before. The phrase ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.’ No matter what business situation you are in, it’s most likely best to have options. Same applies to your social media strategy. If Instagram is the only platform that you are selling your service on, chances are, you aren’t too happy when the platform is down! But besides the other social media suspects like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, you might want to consider a medium where you own your content. Like an e-mail list for a newsletter or a podcast. In social media language this is considered an omni-channel strategy, when you are on more than just one platform and also consider other mediums like that newsletter or the pod. 

If you are interested in learning more about omni-channel strategy, find more info here. 

Let’s get into the details of podcasting and what it could mean for your business. ‍

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How to get started‍

Start with choosing a name and format. Will you only have solo episodes, or do you plan on bringing on guests? Having other guests with other podcasts is a great way to cross promote each other’s podcast and helps to fuel the collaboration. What’s the length of each episode?

To start out, you can make a podcast with just your phone and a computer. But if you prefer slightly better quality, the basic foundation of a podcast setup is a microphone for better sound quality, recording and editing software and your laptop to record, edit and publish those episodes. 

The good news is, any equipment you’ll have to purchase, like a microphone or software, will most likely - if the podcast is related to your business - going to be a business expense. Lunafi can help you in itemizing those purchases and avoid any tax hassle with the upcoming tax season. ‍

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How to find guests and the content to talk about‍

Make it relatable to your audience and business. If you own a nutrition business, you could talk about topics that naturally come up in your discussions with your clients. Or you can provide even more information on the podcast and you can use that to refer your clients to your podcast. Which helps you save time because the content is already produced. Use your podcast as a free educational tool. 

Podcasts are super easy to consume which means that with everyone getting busier and having less time to grasp information, podcasts are perfect because they save you time and you can consume them while you are multitasking. On your way to see a client or working out? Podcasts are perfect for that and the best part - your audience connections are genuine and your brand’s loyalty will grow stronger! 

Attending podcast conferences is also a great way to connect with other podcasters that might become guests on your podcast and vice versa.

Batch Recording‍

Pre-planning your podcast episodes and batch recording them will save you a lot of time. Which requires a lot of topic brainstorming and also reaching out to guests and making sure those are available the time and day you are batch recording your episodes. You might still want to react to impromptu life situations more timely than waiting for your next batch recording. Don’t forget - your podcast is something that is a very personal medium, where you can get very raw with your audience and share very personal stories without a filter. ‍

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Podfading ‍

You might ask yourself - what on earth is podfading? Podfading is the term for when someone suddenly stops a podcast. That after the feeling of excitement to start your podcast and publish a few episodes, to a slow or sudden stop of doing so. In fact, podfade happens to about 75% of podcasts. This is why batch recording will help you because you’ll have continuous ongoing podcast content - if you continue your bath recording sessions. ‍

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Don’t get discouraged ‍

As with every social media platform, don’t expect to gain thousands of followers overnight. Your podcast might just have 100 downloads in the first few months but always imagine - that’s a big room full of people that are interested in hearing what you have to say! So don’t get discouraged!‍

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Katie Hake is a registered dietitian and fitness professional that was featured in Men’s Health magazine and other publications before. Listen to her podcast Fit Friends Happy Hour on Apple Podcast where Katie and her guests discuss all things health and fitness.