How to Start a Podcast? Create, Promote and Scale

With the COVID-19 spread in 2020, Indians have discovered their love for podcasts to deliver personalized stories, humanizing the connection with the audience 

Vernacular appeal, easy-to-use technology, monetization, democratization of smartphones, better data penetration and the desire for screen-free moments - all are contributing to the popularity of podcasts. You can create podcasts to tell a personal story, brand story, initiate a conversation, and share knowledge.

Whether you are a parent, a millennial or Gen-Z, podcasts are grabbing attention and offering meaningful content. There are more listeners than ever before. 

Hence this is the right time to start your podcast and let the world know. And the best part is that you really don’t have to be an expert. You don’t need to worry about your visual presence like in videos. Your content will speak for you.

Wondering how to create a podcast? Well! We will cover everything you need to know about podcast creation in this blog. Let’s dive into it.

 

Everything you need to know about podcasting

• What is podcasting?
• Podcasting myths
• The reason you should start podcasting
• How does it actually works?

 

Step-by-step process to create, promote and scale a podcast

Step-1: Create

• Find your interest 
• Choose an interesting title 
• Write a compelling description
• Work on the podcast formats
• Get your equipment ready
• Choose a podcast hosting platform
• Record your episodes
• Edit, export and publish episodes

Step-2: Promote

• Create an aesthetically pleasing artwork of your podcast
• Distribute your podcast to top podcasting platforms such as Spotify, Gaana, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast and more
• Promote your podcast on social media
• Convert a part of your podcast into a video using the audiogram tool
• Add your podcast to your website or create one with a microsite creation tool

Step-3: Scale

• Create a content calendar
• Publish your podcast consistently
• Create keyword related topics
• Build relationships for better networking
• Monetize your podcast

We are sure that by the end of this blog you will have a solid understanding of all the resources and time required for podcasting.

Let’s get started!

 

Everything you need to know about podcasting

What are podcasts?

Podcasts are a great way to build a genuine connection with your audience. These are any audio content that you cannot call music.

What’s unique about podcasting in India is that it breaks away from the general definition set up by the western market.

India has always been a culture focused on audio consumption but we never really standardized this with the term ‘podcast’. From talk shows and interviews to religious and spiritual content such as Hanuman Chalisa and Sadhguru to soft skill educational content about programming - all of which can be further branched out into regional language podcasts. The Indian content space has a very broad definition of what can be called a podcast.

 

Podcasting myths

Like everything, there are myths about podcasts too. Here are some popular myths that you would have come across:

# You need to be a born speaker

You don’t need to be a born speaker. It is not important how great your voice is or how good of a speaker you are. You can groom your speaking skills in the process.

So don’t be afraid of it and give it a try with some real content. The world is full of listeners who will appreciate what you have to offer.

 

# You have to chose a large niche

There are many podcasters who are creating content under small niches and making it big. They have dedicated listeners and companies are reaching out to them for promotions. So no matter what the size of your niche is, you can do wonders with the kind of content you deliver.

 

# You need to be a tech expert

You can be a great podcaster even if you are not tech savvy. The Hubhopper Studio has simplified the steps for you with supportive tutorials and guides. All you need to do is know some basic principles of recording and editing and you will become a pro in some time.

 

# You need a home studio setup for recording

When you are starting out, you don’t need any fancy studio setup. You can start with a simple microphone and a platform like Hubhopper Studio for recording and editing your show.

Once you are experienced and confident of what you are producing, you can think of investing in equipment for high sound quality and clarity.

 

Reason to start podcasting

In today's time, it’s all about creating personal experiences to capture the audiences’ attention.

There is no better way to do it than with your own voice. You will be broadcasting your message to thousands of people. But for a listener, it is just them and you.

Podcasts can turn mundane topics into interesting ones. It will help you build a great connection with your listeners and with the growing popularity of the medium, you have an opportunity to gain good traction for your channel.

Here are some interesting reasons for you to start a podcast:

• Podcasts are platform-agnostic and by this we mean that  they are not confined to a single platform or a single pool of users. Podcasts can be heard across multiple mobile apps, smart speakers, smart cars and even across operating systems thereby allowing you to tap into a much larger audience pool
• Podcasts are easier and cheaper to produce than video content
• Studies have proven that podcast listeners are more loyal than video audiences. This means a podcast listenership has much more value to sponsors as compared to a video channel’s viewership.
• Podcasts are the next big thing in the content creation space. Every big OTT, OEM and audio streaming platform has added podcasts into their directory. This space only looks to be growing and with it arises more and more opportunities

How does it actually works

Excited about creating your own podcast? You must ask these questions to yourself before starting: 

• Why am I starting a podcast? E.g. to increase my brand awareness
• Whom are you creating for? E.g. for single working mothers who are looking to excel in their professional space
• Why should someone listen to your podcast? E.g. because the podcast will feature experts who will share their experiences and knowledge that will come in handy for the audience

 

Step-by-step process to create, promote and scale a podcast

Step-1: Create

Technology advancement has made setting up a podcast easy. We help our creators to create podcasts for free and distribute them to India’s top platforms such as Google Podcasts, Gaana, Spotify, Wynk Music, Hungama Music and more.

Here is a guide that will walk you through the process of launching your podcast.

 

Find your interest 

Just like blogging or video content, you need to find a topic that people are interested in. Choose an interesting concept and aim to educate or entertain your audience through your content.

Spend adequate time researching the topic and create a list of future episodes. Plan a bank of at least 25 episodes beforehand. This hack will definitely keep you going in the long run.

So ask yourself a question: What are you skilled at? How can you add value to a listener’s life?

 

Choose an interesting title

This is very important. Your podcast title is the first thing that will draw the audience's attention. Therefore choose the title good enough to make your customers press the play button.

Your title tells your audience what they can expect when they tune into your episode. This in itself is descriptive. Keep in mind that it also helps in Search Engine Optimization, so do thorough research to find the right title. For example, the below-mentioned titles give you a fair idea about the content that you can expect. 

Note: Avoid using emojis in the name as it leads to server error.

Now, Sign up on the Hubhopper Studio website and fill in your details. 

You will arrive at the dashboard as shown below. Describe your podcast episode under the headers - podcast name, creator name, category, subcategory, title, description, etc.

 

Write a compelling description

You need to write an interesting description of your episode for the audience. After they arrive at the show page, the description will help them decide whether they want to proceed with it or not. 

If you know a little bit about keyword research, this is where it comes into play. It will help you bring the relevant audience to your show. You have limited space for characters so make sure that the audience can make sense of and relate to the description. Leave out all the unimportant details.

Introduce and summarize what your podcast is all about. Include links to your social media handles or your business website for listeners to contact you and know more about you and your show.

 

Work on the podcast format

Decide on the format of your podcast shows. It is basically the specific style of the show that you want to follow in the future as well. For example: If you want it to be in the interview format, solo, multiple people, storytelling or any other.

 

What is the length of the episode you prefer?

There is no standard answer to this as the length of your episode would also depend on the format of your podcast. Solo podcasts tend to be not more than 15 minutes, while interview podcasts can stretch up to 45 mins to an hour. As long as your listeners keep returning to listen to you more, that should help define your ideal episode length. You can use insights from your returning listeners and dropout trends to define your ideal episode length. In India, the sweet spot for the same is anything between 15-20 minutes.

 

How often do you want to publish your podcast?

Make sure you maintain consistency in publishing your podcasts.  We recommend at least a weekly release of episodes as this will help keep your content consistent and at the same time have your listeners returning back week after week. A weekly format works for most as it gives time to the podcaster to curate the content as well as line up the promotions for the upcoming episode.

 

Get your equipment ready

The one most important piece of equipment you need is a microphone, that can ensure good sound quality. Your sound quality is the key to hold listeners’ attention. We recommend starting with your earphone mic as it is easily available and captures good audio quality. Note that microphones do not come cheap, but are an investment worth spending to take your podcast game to the next level.

To help you even better we have a detailed blog that recommends the best microphone among the wide variety available.

Other than choosing the best microphone, you can consider a few other tools that will help you with better sound quality. The key tools are - headphones, shock mount, editing software, pop filters, soundproof treatments, etc.

Also, we have worked out a list of software that could help you record interviews remotely. Refer to our blog.

 

Choose a podcast hosting platform

Deciding on where to host your podcast is a crucial step in starting your podcast. You will need to find a platform that will provide you with the service of allowing you to host and distribute your podcast. Hubhopper studio is an amazing free podcast hosting and distribution platform to launch your podcast. It has a distribution network of over 15+ platforms which includes both global and Indian audio streaming platforms.

 

Start recording

Now, finally hit the record button. Talk it out!

There are several software available online for recording. For your ease, Hubhopper offers its own studio editor that allows the creator to record and edit the podcasts on the web browser itself. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, you can correct it while editing. No one does it seamlessly in one go. It is easy to use and does not require any software to be downloaded.

Have a plan in hand, before you record the show. Start with the end goal in mind. Write down what you want to achieve from this show. What you want to share with the audience. What is the purpose?

 

Edit, export and publish your episodes

After recording now is the time, when you fix everything and make it sound good to finally share it with the world. You can easily edit your audio files on the Hubhopper Studio editor itself. There are tutorials available online that can guide you through the process.

After editing, now you need to export the podcast file into an MP3 file. Save your project and then upload your audio file to publish your podcast live. While publishing you can choose from a list of platforms you wish the system to automatically distribute for you. You also have the option to manually distribute your podcast yourself.

 

 

Step-2: Promote

Create an aesthetically pleasing cover art for your podcast

Get stunning artwork done for your podcast’s cover image. The visual element plays an important role in getting the audience's attention. It is the first thing that listeners will see when they come across your podcast, and many do judge a book by its cover.

The artwork gives the first impression of your podcast and also it competes with several others in the same space.

Your artwork is what people see when they play your podcast on media players, computers and mobile, even when they share your podcast across social media platforms. It helps in building a brand identity among your audience.

To help you understand better, you can refer to our blog designing tips for your podcast cover art. You can simply use the in-built Canva tool on Hubhopper Studio to start creating professional-looking cover art for your podcast.

Submit podcasts to top platforms such as Spotify, Gaana, Hungama, Wynk Music and many more.

Hubhopper offers you different directories where you can submit your podcast. This way you will be able to target a wide audience pool.

Hubhopper studio provides automatic distribution to multiple platforms such as Google Podcasts, Spotify and if you wish to add your podcast to other platforms such as Apple Podcasts, JioSaavn, Stitcher, etc. All you need to do is share the RSS feed of your podcast and submit it across platforms of your choice.

This way your show will be picked up in search engines and will gauge better traction.

Read our blog that will guide you to submit your podcast on different platforms.

 

Promote your podcast on social media

Recorded and published your podcast? You’re already halfway through! Now, how do you get your audience to find you? 

Well, there's a lot involved in the marketing of your podcast. But for now, let’s focus on the following things and you are good to go.

• Launch it like an event. Make it big and let everyone know you are launching a podcast.
• Use your connections, friends, family and any other community that you are part of. Don’t be afraid to take help. Ask people to share it as much as possible.
• Use social media. Create small audio snippets and share/promote them online for better reach. Use catchy captions and words to attract an audience.
• During launch week, reply and thank every single person that comments on your post. 
• Interact with your audience. Ask their valuable feedback to better your future episodes.

 

Convert a part of your episode into video with Audiogram

Audiograms help you convert the audio content for visual platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels. These are usually made of an image, a waveform and captions. Audiograms are a great way to share your podcast and make it available for larger audiences, across various channels.

They are super easy to create, you can use Hubhopper’s free Audiogram tool to create an audiogram of your podcast.

 

Create a microsite to promote your podcast

After publishing your podcast, Hubhopper offers you an easy way to create a website that will help you garner traffic. It allows you to embed your podcast via a link. You can then embed your podcast on your own website or social media for a better reach. Using the right keywords will further help your podcast reach the audience, organically.

 

Step-3: Scale

Scaling your podcast traffic isn’t a difficult task. It’s simply a matter of implementing the right strategies, being consistent and seeing it grow over time. Let’s take a quick glance at what you can do to scale your podcast.

Create a content calendar

Arm yourself with a content calendar. Plan and manage your content in advance. Create topics around the subject. Research what your audience is interested in.

 

Publish your podcast consistently

Publish episodes regularly and consistently. This way you create excitement among the audience about your next podcast episode. This is a way to build a loyal audience.

 

Create keyword related topics

Keyword research strategy. Drive your traffic from search engines through proper keyword research. Your website needs to target specific Google searches that your audience is looking for. 

 

Build relationships for better networking

Build relationships within the industry. It will lead you to grow and scale your traffic. This will help you in guest podcasting, you can connect with influencers in the industry. You can also promote it through various interactive tools such as webinar software, video conferencing, etc.

 

Monetize podcast

First and foremost a successful monetization strategy will involve good content and consistency in publishing episodes. It is important to create a strong demand for your content. In the coming days when podcasts will be booming in India then surely it will have targeted ads based on your listener base.

Just like any content creator in the market space - whether that’s a youtuber, an Instagram influencer or a blogger - each creator leverages on their audience and content value in order to monetize. Podcasts are no different.

You can create sponsored episodes for brands across industries. You can recommend their products and mention the brand name for awareness.

The above point also brings to light the fact that podcasters also earn from affiliate programs. They can suggest products and mention their link in their podcast description on social media and other channels. This will bring revenue with every purchase made.

 

Conclusion

We hope after this good long read you have a fair idea of everything you’ll need to launch a successful podcast. If you have any questions about podcasting or anything related to this guide, please be sure to leave a comment below. 

Happy podcasting!