Have you recently launched your podcast? Or are you thinking about starting one and doing research? Well, I want to provide you with ten tips for new podcasters! 

I had no idea what I was doing when I started my podcast. Just like when we start anything new, we learn as we go. However, throughout my podcasting journey, I’ve seen new podcasters feel overwhelmed with all the work it takes to get a podcast up and running. And you’ve heard the statistics too many times: over 90% of podcasters don’t continue past the third episode. But I’m here to help! I want to provide tips, tools, and strategies to set you up for success in your podcasting journey. 

I want to share a few tips I’ve learned along the way, which will help you in your podcasting journey. 

Be Yourself 

People love nothing more than when people online are being themselves—their authentic selves. Too often, people try to be something they are not or someone they want to be, but people love authenticity. Your audience will listen to your podcast for your content but return for your personality and authenticity. 

Think about the podcasts you listen to—why do you continue to listen to them? Is it the content? The host? The guest they have on their podcast? I know I listen to the podcasts because of the hosts. They are good at interviewing people, they share their own lives and experiences, and they are authentic. You can tell when someone is authentic and genuine. So be yourself! 

Send Questions to Your Guests

Podcasters feel differently about doing this, but here is why you should send questions to your guests before you record. First, it prepares them for their answers. A lot of times, guests (myself included, because I do appear on podcasts at times) will have those long pauses trying to come up with an answer when they don’t know the questions beforehand. Or they may not like their initial answer because they don’t know what will be asked. 

If you don’t want to send them questions beforehand, set up a meeting before recording to get to know them and discuss what topics will be discussed on the day of recording. Podcasters who disagree with sending questions before say they want the conversation to be natural and flow, but I send questions to my guests, and conversations have always flowed. You can also ask follow-up questions based on their answers, so you don’t have to stick to the script. 

Sending your guest questions helps you, especially since you’re just starting your podcasting journey. When I first started, I struggled with asking questions, and I didn’t like the feeling of not knowing what to say next, so having questions helped me pivot and guide the conversation to the next topic. 

Confirm the Meeting 

Life happens, and things come up that may prevent your guest from appearing on your show when you first scheduled it. Depending on what happens, they may need to remember to reach out to you to reschedule. So, it is best practice to confirm with your guest at least two days before the set recording time. 

There are two ways to approach this. First, you can sign up for a scheduling platform like https://calendly.com/ and automatically send reminders to your guests. The second way is to manually send an email reminder to your guests. If you are going to incorporate sending questions to your guests, that’s the perfect time to confirm the recording appointment. 

Outline Your Episodes 

If you are doing solo episodes for your podcast, one of the best things you can do is outline your episodes before you record. This will help you conduct research beforehand, gather your sources, and stay organized. It will also help you stay on track while recording. 

One of the biggest complaints I see online from podcast listeners is when podcasters get off track in their episodes. For example, the title and summary will say one thing about the episode, but when they listen, the podcasters go a whole different direction. Outlining your episode will help you stay on track. If you need an episode outline, you can find one in my Podcast Starter Kit in my Stan Store. 

Practice Recording 

Before you publish any episodes or even your trailer episode – practice recording! Getting this podcasting thing down takes practice – so you don’t want to publish the first thing you record. Practice a few times, get your jitters out, and then publish. 

One of the tips I like to give new podcasters about recording is if you’re on a good run and then you mess up, instead of starting all over, pause for a second or two and start from where you messed up. This way, you can edit the mess up and the pause out, and the final edit sounds smooth. 

Make a Plan

Before starting your podcast or right at the beginning of your journey, make sure you make a plan. Plan your episodes, research beforehand, and write out the questions you want to ask your guests. If you’re going to have seasons, decide how many episodes per season you wish to publish. Once you decide how many episodes, plan them out. What will you talk about in each episode? Outline each episode. Batch record your episodes and then schedule them out. This way, you can take a break between seasons and have time to plan out your next season.  

One of the main reasons new podcasters don’t make it past the 10th episode is that they don’t make a plan. They record their first three episodes and then feel like they’ve run out of things to talk about. Don’t be like that; make a plan you can stick to and change it if you have to. 

Batch Record

This is best for solo episodes. Batch recording is when you plan out multiple episodes, outline them, and record them all simultaneously. Then, you edit all of them; on another day, you can create the graphics for them and then finally schedule them. 

For example, if you do ten episodes per season, you’ll plan out all ten episodes and create an outline for each. Again, this will help you stay on track while recording. Record all ten episodes – once you schedule them, all you have to do is focus on marketing them as they are released. You can take a two-week break or take however long you want, then focus on your next season. 

This helps you stay organized, focused, and consistent. Podcasting involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work, which can be overwhelming in the beginning, but once you make a plan and get your flow going, it will be smooth. 

Listen to Podcasts in Your Niche 

One of my favorite tips for new podcasters is to highly recommend listening to podcasts in the niche you want to pursue—not to copy or imitate, but to get an idea of how others do it. If you’d like to have guests who talk about their journey of starting their business, listen to those types of podcasts. Maybe you want to start a podcast about real estate—listen to podcasts about real estate. The same applies if you’re considering starting a podcast about pop culture. 

This will help you get the flow of different shows and help shape your own. Again, once you start and get into your flow, your show will be unique to yours. This is a suggestion to get your ideas going. 

Be a Guest Before You Start 

If you’ve listened to my Masterclass on launching your podcast, you know that my first experience with podcasting was being a guest. I was invited to Blended on The Bluff, rebranded as The Empowered Stepmom, to discuss my experience growing up in a blended family. After we recorded, I expressed to the host my desire to have my show one day and asked her questions. She encouraged me, and I loved her willingness to take that extra time to answer my questions. 

And being a guest on her show made me see some of the behind-the-scenes work it takes to run a podcast with guests. You need certain information from your guests and different podcasters recorded on various platforms so you can familiarize yourself with them. 

There are other benefits to being a podcast guest before starting your own, but I’ll save them for another post! 

Let’s go into the last of the tips for podcasters!

Celebrate Your Launch!

Once you’ve published your first episode, or even after you publish your trailer episode, make sure to celebrate! This is a huge accomplishment because SO MANY people want to start a podcast and pull the plug at the last minute. However, you’re someone who does what they say they are going to do and launches your show! You’ve made it past the most challenging part: TO START! This is something to celebrate and celebrate big! 

One thing I would do differently if I were starting my podcast now would be to celebrate. I didn’t – I launched and just kept on going, now realizing how big of a deal starting a podcast actually is. I’m going on for two years, and I want to celebrate those two years because I’ve recorded almost 100 episodes and have published half of them! I have people pitching themselves to be on my show, and I’m a year out of releasing episodes; it’s wild to think about! 

Anyway, make sure to celebrate—either with a launch party, dinner with friends and family, or a fun photoshoot! 

What Would You Add to This List? 

For my seasoned podcasters – what would you add to this list of tips to help new podcasters in their podcasting journey? I’d love to hear it! Let me know in the comments! 

With Love, Heidy 

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