PODCASTING FOR BEGINNERS
Crescendo Studio in Avondale, Auckland answer all the beginners podcasting questions whether you’re a brand, charity, or small business. Whether you’re a small business owner, fundraising manager, beginner podcaster, seasoned podcaster or a marketer looking to expand your companies brand awareness, Crescendo Studio are happy to discuss your podcasting questions.
What is a podcast?
A podcast is an episode on a topic or ideas that is primarily created to be listened to. Podcasts can be one person talking, interviews, storytelling, discussions etc. Podcasts are free and available through streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple podcasts. Some podcasts are videoed and available also on YouTube. Most people listen to podcasts on their mobile devices.
People can ‘subscribe’ to a podcast and get notified when new episodes are released. They can also be downloaded and listened to offline.
Why make a podcast?
People usually listen to podcasts at times when they are not distracted by other mediums, i.e. while running, driving, walking the dog or cooking. It is a great opportunity to reach new audiences outside of social media or newsletters.
Podcasts for businesses are a great way of sharing your brand personality through the choice of topics or host. They can be used to attract people into your industry, be informative about topics your audience would be interested in, or a campaign add-on as an additional medium to get key messages out.
Podcasts for charities can be used to inform people about the work you do, interview people that are affected by your cause or highlight advocacy issues and the change your charity is aiming to make.
What should my podcast be about?
Podcasts can be about anything! When planning to make a podcast, have a clear idea of the audience you are trying to reach and what they would find interesting. At first, podcasting for beginners should be about gaining brand awareness, providing value, and learning what your audience likes about your topic.
Once you think you have a topic, try and write 6-7 episode ideas on the same theme. These will likely change as your podcast idea progresses, but it helps tease out if your idea is interesting enough for people to listen to more than one episode.
How long should my podcast be?
Podcasts can be any length from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Most podcasts are between 25-45 minutes. Not all podcast episodes in your series need to be the same length.
A good way to determine approximate length is to envision how your audience will be listening – are they likely to be chilling (can be a longer episode), or driving to work (usually a 25 mins window) etc.
How often should I release my podcast?
Top podcasting tip for beginners: Have a look at what people with similar podcasts do? Do you want to release them all at once so people can binge listen, or release episodes weekly or fortnightly.
Are your podcasts part of a social media campaign where dropping episodes weekly would help with content.
If you are not releasing them all at once, most people will pre-record some episodes and have them ready to go so they don’t have the pressure of having to meet deadlines.
Should I video my podcast?
It is becoming more common for people to release their podcasts on YouTube as well as just audio streaming platforms. If you should release a filmed version of your podcast comes down to how your audience will find or consume your podcast.
If your target audience consumes content predominantly on video and uses YouTube as a search engine to find content, then it makes sense to have a video version of your podcast.
Also, if growing your podcast audience is reliant on social media – have a think if your audience will flick from social media to an audio only platform to listen.
How do I get my podcast on streaming platforms?
Once your podcast is completed, you will want to have it appear on popular podcast platforms like Spotify, Apple Podcasts etc. To do this, you need to create an account with a ‘podcast distribution’ platform. Spotify’s platform is called AnchorFM.
Once you have an account, you need to upload your episode, add an image and episode notes.
When everything is ready, you ‘publish’ the podcast and choose which podcast platforms you want your podcast to appear on.
What does it cost to make a podcast?
The cost of producing a podcast is based on the level of service and audio quality you require. Factors include if you want creative input and feedback on your idea, if you are recording in studio, if you need music created for your intro, the amount of editing time and effects per episode, the number of episodes and if you want a filmed version of your podcast.
Costs can range from $200 per episode to $800. Crescendo Studio can give you an estimate after having a phone conversation.
Feeling more confident now that we’ve answered your questions about podcasting for beginners, brands, charities and small business?
If you’ve got a podcasting idea that you’d like to discuss we can help you plan, budget, and make it come to life. Learn more about our Auckland podcasting studio services by contacting us for a chat.
