In episode 123 I broke down for you exactly how I plan and prepare for a daily podcast episode. So after I’ve planned and prepped, it’s time for the 3rd P, which is Production.
So during my planning phase, I created a template podcast file in Audacity that has my intro, outro, and music – so I open that up, save it as a new file with my episode number, and then I mute the tracks that have audio on them, so they don’t play when I hit record, and then I hit record and start reading my script. In the beginning, I’d mess up a lot, or if I’m tired I’ll stumble on my words, so I stop immediately, edit it out, and start over and keep going. That’s just what works for me because I don’t want to have to go back and listen to the whole thing and edit after the fact. Once I’ve finished my part, I move what I recorded to the right spot after the intro, move the outro to the right spot, normalize it so all the audio is at the same level – that’s an effect in Audacity – and then once it’s done, I export it as an MP3 to a special folder that’s linked to my Dropbox, and I’ll tell you more about what I do with that in the 4th P.
Then I save that file as the next episode, remove what I just recorded, start recording the next one, and repeat the process with my template until I’m done!
If I have a guest, I’ll start the call with them with some chitchat, and then when we’re ready I’ll be like okay I’m gonna start in 3, 2, 1 and then I introduce them. After I wrap up the podcast part, typically we’re still on the line, I thank them and let them know I’ll follow up to get pictures and let them know when their episode is going live. And then I download the audio file from Zoom and import it into Audacity.
After those episodes, I do go back, I listen to the whole thing and I write bullet points on what we talked about. I split it into two episodes, and then I write a quick intro and outro for each one.
Then I open up that same template, record my intro and line it up, import the interview audio and line it up, record my outro, line it up and then add my general outro. Save, export to MP3, Done.
For 7 episodes, it takes me about 4 hours to write them, and 4 hours to record and export them.
Which brings me to the 4th P – Publish.
This is a step that I did myself when I first started, and now I’ve outsourced it to my awesome VA team. I did it myself with the full intention of figuring out the process and handing it over to them.
Once I’ve got my episodes exported to that special Dropbox folder and my spreadsheet of dates, titles, and descriptions done, I hand it over to my VA team. They upload the episode, add all the details, and schedule the episode for release in LibSyn which is the company I use to host my podcast.
They create graphics for Pinterest, Instagram, and my website.
They schedule my show notes as blog posts on my Pep Talks for Side Hustlers website, and they schedule social sharing of all of my episodes.
When I was doing it myself, that whole process took about an hour per episode. So now I’m saving an entire day in publishing.
Speaking of my podcast website, if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, please also build a dedicated website for it. I’ll teach you how to DIY inside of my Free 5 Day Website Challenge, and in episode 125 I’m going to break down How to Build a Website For Your Podcast which I’ll link up in the show notes so you can see the special things I added on to help me promote my podcast.
And maybe I’ll get to the point where I don’t need to pre-write the episodes – or maybe I’ll get to the point where I’ll have someone else listening to my guest episodes, writing those show notes, and scripting my intros and outros so all I need to do is record. And maybe I’ll get to the point where I’m literally just recording my part and someone else is lining up the intro, outro and exporting the file and updating my spreadsheet.
That’s the goal anyway.
A podcast is a labor of love, I think. You have to be really passionate about the topic because it’s a lot of work. Marketing your podcast and building a listenership really fun, but also a lot of work.
And I 100% recommend Pat Flynn’s PowerUp Podcasting Course – it will not only break down all the tech, it will show you step by step how to get your show into iTunes, how to launch and market it, and every detail you didn’t know you needed to know about podcasting, Pat covers in that course.
So if you have any other questions about starting a podcast, reach out! You can find me on Instagram and Twitter @shannonlmattern, join our Facebook group at Pep Talks for Side Hustlers.com/Facebook or just email me, shannon@wp-bff.com – I’d love to hear from you!
Today’s pep talk is brought to you by Bluehost. Go to www.shannonmattern.com/bluehost and get 36 months of web hosting for just $2.95 a month. That’s less than one trip to Starbucks a month – and if you’re anything like me, you’re at Starbucks more than that!
Then you can sign up for my Free 5 Day Website Challenge at www.shannonmattern.com/5day and I’ll show you step by step how to get started building your new website for your side hustle.
