How to build a profitable podcast.
This post contains the 15 things you must do before launching your podcast
The world of media is constantly evolving. It is safe to say the world is experiencing a media revolution 🌋
Despite the numerous forms of media out there, podcasting is on the rise 🚀
Unlike other forms of content, a podcast does not require much attention or effort from your target audience. Because people are constantly on the go, they do not have the patience to give any form of information their undivided focus.
The great thing about podcasts is that you can listen to them whenever you want or wherever you go 🏃♂️
On that note, every podcaster that wishes to succeed in an industry that’s waiting to be maximized must focus on creating a podcast that will intrigue their audience and keep them coming for more.
For a successful podcast launch, we have curated an ultimate checklist for you to follow.
Before deciding to launch a podcast, you must obviously know or learn how to make a podcast and why you want to. It could be for different reasons; promoting your business, talking about your passion, religious talks, creating an identity for yourself, or just having fun. As long as you have the right tools in hand and the perfect strategies, your podcast launch will be a success.
This short learning phase will help you understand the world of podcasting better and what you need to start. You don’t have to start recording now, you only need to understand what needs to be done.
Making a podcast episode can be successfully achieved by having the right tools and equipment. You need to have a podcast script, set up recording tools such as microphones, record it in a quiet place, and avoid distractions and background noises. When making a podcast episode, you should consider having a guest on your show. There are ways to get more from having a podcast guest host your show by following our guide on 13 ways to find insanely great guests for your podcast here.
2. Create A Niche
We are all unique to our needs and desires.
Creating a niche for your podcast should be the foremost of your checklist. That would give you an idea of the type of topics to choose from and show potential listeners what to expect on your show. The limit to what you can do to your podcast is in your imagination.
You can base your show on neuroscience, arts, culture, celebrities, and so on. To launch your podcast, you must have created the kind of topics you want to talk about on your show.
3. The Podcast Name
Your podcast name has a lot of impact on the success of your show; you need to choose a name that will provide satisfaction in the long run, long after your first podcast episode. Before starting a podcast, you have to decide on the name for it. You can determine a name by brainstorming, using search engines, podcast name generators, checking the availability, pitching it to people, and putting your content into consideration. There are things you need to consider when choosing a name for your podcast:
4. The Podcast Cover Art
Your cover art is one of the things you need to work on before launching your podcast. This is what a prospective listener will notice from afar. It plays a massive role in their decision to give your podcast a chance. With the use of several apps such as Canva, tailor brands, adobe sparks, Fiverr, and 99 designs, you can get your art designed. There are many ways to achieve an excellent podcast art design
5. Set Up Social Profiles For Your Podcast
Before launching your podcast, you need to create a profile on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.
This will enable potential listeners or sponsors to get familiar with what your show is about. You must have had a niche in mind, created a name and developed an art design or logo to have an organized set-up on social media.
6. Create A "Coming Soon" Web Page
After potential listeners have viewed your social profiles, you want to provide a link to direct them to a coming soon web page. This page will inform them of plans you have for your show and the date they should look forward to getting the first episode.
This web page can eventually become a home base for your podcast even after your launch. Potential listeners should be able to learn more about your brand, get your transcripts and show notes, and lastly, listen to new episodes.
7. Prepare Your Podcast Equipment
Although the content of a podcast is the most crucial thing potential listeners look forward to in a podcast, it helps to have one with a quality sound.
To achieve this feat, you need to invest in good podcast equipment.
It can get confusing when choosing the right podcast equipment, but having the following essentials will put you on the right path to having a successful podcast launch.
8. Publish Pre-launch Episode
After preparing your recording equipment for your first episode, you will want to publish it on your social media page. This will give potential listeners a taste of your podcast show across all your social media handles and provide them with something to look forward to.
This will create buzz and inform listeners to drop reviews and share your content in return for a gift. You can also encourage them to sign up for your newsletter from here, thereby steadily building your email list.
9. Submit To Podcast Directories
A podcast directory is a list of where you can find podcasts. For your show to be on the foremost, you have to put it in as many directories as possible so that potential listeners can quickly discover your podcast. You must submit your podcast RSS feed to directories. To learn all about podcast RSS feeds, click here. This is the list of top podcast directories to get into:
Having a bCast account automatically makes you easily share your podcast on these directories with no hassle; we will do the hard work for you. You can likewise check out our guide on how to submit to the podcast directory here.
10. Create Shownotes
These notes are essential before you decide to launch your episode.
It is a write up that summarizes the entirety of the show. It is where listeners can read detailed information about a particular episode. It is vital because it helps Google translation, and listeners who prefer to read can refer to it. You can learn how to write a podcast show note by:
11. Record And Edit Your First (Or First Few) Episodes
This is something to take note of when planning a launch.
You do not want your listeners to be kept waiting for too long after you release the first episode. Keep in mind that you might have not-so-good episodes at first, but the best thing about creating a podcast is that with consistency, it gets better.
There are steps to recording a successful podcast episode; the first thing is to:
Editing is essential on your checklist. It will polish your already recorded episode by reducing all the background noises. You can also insert any audio you want, such as the intro, outro, pre-recorded ads, and voiceovers. Editing your podcast is pretty easy to do, and with the proper software, even a newbie will figure it out. Tools like GarageBand and Audacity will readily give you pointers on how to start editing your podcast episodes.
12. Create an Email Waiting List
Creating an email waiting list should be one of the things you should check before your launch. Half of the success of your podcast show depends on the content. The other half depends on the interest of potential listeners before the launch. To achieve this feat, you have to build an email list by encouraging potential listeners that check your various social media to sign up for newsletters.
13. Decide On A Publishing Date And Launch Your Podcast
After ticking the above things off your list, you should decide the day you want to publish. You have to stick to the date so that potential listeners can have a degree of trust in you. Subsequently, you need to be consistent on your dates and content. So go to your calendar and have a thorough look at when it is perfect for you.
Now that everything is set and everything on your list is checked, you can hit publish. It is also vital that you send an email to your email subscribers on the day you launch. You can tell them what platform to listen to your podcast and ask for their honest review afterwards.
After your launch, the next thing to do is promote your podcast to achieve high ratings in the SEO ranking and market it. There are several ways you can promote your podcast:
14. Get Confirmation From Apple Podcast
Before you launch your first episode, you must wait to get confirmation from the Apple podcast. You must have submitted your episodes days before you go live to get the approval before you launch.
15. Marketing Your Podcast
You have done all this work, and you might want to make money from your podcast. Here’s a quick guide on podcast launch checklist marketing. It is important to note that every download of your podcast means at least one person is interested in it.
However, if you want to add to the numbers, there are extra techniques in marketing your podcast to reach the right audience. Having a good marketing strategy can help your podcast in so many ways, such as:
And these marketing strategies can help to grow your reach and increase your audience. Methods like
You can also make use of podcast marketing services such as fame, field cast, no good, true native media, frqncy media, Seattle podcast.co, and pod fly. They will save you stress and help you with an effective marketing strategy to produce a good result.
There you have it; the ultimate podcast launch checklist, fifteen (15) things you must do before launching. As a reminder, everything on the list must be ticked to have a successful podcast launch.
Starting a podcast isn’t just about talking and uploading files… It's beyond, there’s editing, marketing and other things that are behind the scene. The fact is you ought to be prepared for all these before you decide to launch your show.
We have worked with this checklist too at bCast and it's proven to be effective. Just make sure everything is ready before and after you launch by following our guide and success is yours.
And of course, if you have any questions about how to distribute your podcast, hit us up on support@bcast.fm and we will be happy to help 🚀🚀🚀
