Have you been thinking about starting a podcast but feel so overwhelmed by everything that comes along with it? Stress no more my friend, in this episode I’ve got my favorite podcast expert, and friend, Jeanette Tapley on to share with you everything you need to know before hitting record!

Who Are You Talking to and Why

This one is HUGE. Knowing who you’re wanting to serve with your podcast and why you’re wanting to serve them is paramount when you’re starting out. If people don’t know that your podcast is for them or why it’s for them, they’re more than likely not going to tune in. While most of us want to serve everyone, if you’re not serving with the idea of one specific person in mind, you not actually able to serve anyone. Get crystal clear on who your show is for and what they’re going to get out of it.

Solo Episodes or Interviews

There are so many ways of doing this. I’ve seen just solo shows, just interviews, a combination of both, even a combination of both within one episode. Whatever you’re wanting to do, pick a game plan and map out what this will look like. If it’s interview style, what type of questions are you going to ask? Are you going to have an outline or just hit record and start chatting. There’s no wrong choice here, the key is just to prepare ahead of time what you want the end result to be.

Tools and Equipment

Something podcasters get asked a lot is “What mic do you use? How do you record? What do you use to schedule interviews?” Here’s the low down on what we both use for each of our shows:

Blue Yeti Microphone

Calendly- to schedule all of your interviews

Google Sheets- keep everything organized in one spot

Interview Tips

The power is in the prep. The biggest tip when it comes to interviewing is be prepared. Have a really good idea of who you’re talking to before you jump on the interview. The more you know about them, the better the questions are that you can ask. Do your social media stalking, check out their website.

Another great tip that Jeanette mentions in the show is to take notes while you’re in the interview. If while they’re talking they say something interesting, write it down so you don’t forget to dig deeper into that!

One of my favorite things that Jeanette said was, “have your outline, but hold it loosely. Be willing to go off script if you feel like there’s a really great question you want to ask.

How Are You Going to PromoteYour Podcast

There are so many options for where to market your podcast. You have YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, E-mails, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn and I’m sure a million other places I can’t think of. Deciding where you’re going to focus your attention on and creating a game plan for that is huge. Our favorites are Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

Batch Work as Much as You Can

Something that keeps you from feeling like you’re always behind is batching as much as you can. That can look like recording all of your episodes for the next couple of months in one week or a couple of days. Batching ahead of time keeps you ahead of the game and feeling on top of things.