How To Prepare For Your Podcast Launch

After many false starts, it’s finally happening. A few weeks ago, I had a spur of the moment idea.

Create a podcast!

It was a spur of the moment idea, but it’s not the first time I thought of creating a podcast. I thought of creating a podcast in which I would provide digital marketing advice the way I do on YouTube.

That never happened.

I also thought of hosting a podcast where I would answer people’s questions. People emailed me their questions, and although I answered those people individually, I never turned those questions into a podcast.

I have all of those emails saved, so the possibility of me finally answering those questions for everyone (over a year later) is VERY strong.

Podcasting has eluded me for a long period of time. I always felt as if an invisible wall stood in front of me. But the spur of the moment idea got stronger, and I was sending out emails to potential guests.

Once the first guest said yes, I knew I was committed. Whatever was holding me back no longer stood in my way.

How To Find Great Guests For Your Podcast

If you don’t have guests in your podcast episodes, then you don’t have to worry about this step. However, having guests is a great way to get more exposure for your podcast because the guests will promote the episodes they are featured in.

I decided to have guests on my podcast. Once I was committed to the podcast (the first guest said yes), I had to think of ways to get more guests on the show.

I started off by asking people who I know within my niche. Some of these people said yes while others were too busy at the time.

However, this tactic will only work for a short period of time. You have to come across new people and ask them to be a guest on your podcast. These people must also be the type of guests you are looking for.

Now it’s time for the power tip. Believe it or not, it’s easy to find great guests for your podcast. I often read blog posts on ProBlogger. For a long time, I read those blog posts with a focus on obtaining more knowledge.

I still read ProBlogger’s content with the aim of learning something new. But now I look at the author. Getting your content on ProBlogger is tough. You have to be a highly skilled blogger to get your content featured there.

When I read guest contributions that I liked, I’ll read the author’s bio. If I like the content, and the author seems like the right fit for my podcast, I contact that author.

I’ll let the author know how I found him/her, invite the author as a guest, and then tell him/her what the podcast is all about—all in five sentences or less.

I am replicating this method across various blogs and media sites with prominent writers who would be great to have on my podcast.

The One Picture That Saved Me

So I have several guests. Now what? I had to get back to them but knew nothing about creating a podcast episode and how to interact with the guests as the show date got closer.

It was a picture I saved over a year ago in case I ever started my own podcast. It revealed the workflow that goes into a seamless experience.

If you are worried about what type of work creating a podcast entails, this workflow will bring a lot more clarity to what type of work creating a podcast entails—and how to get it done.

Building Relationships With Influencers

I know many people within my niche, so I had a group of people who I could contact. I asked them if they would like to be a guest, and a bunch of these people said yes.

But at some point, I didn’t know any of these people. How did they get to know me?

To put it simply, I helped them first. I wrote guest posts, promoted products, appeared on their podcasts, and similar things of that nature. When you help someone in a big way, you get that person’s attention.

A successful relationship between you and any influencer starts with an imbalance. You help the influencer as much as you can (multiple guest posts, promote the person’s product multiple times, etc) before that influencer does anything for you in return.

Then, you ask for the favor. In the case of a guest appearance on a podcast, the favor benefits both you and the influencer because you’ll both get more exposure.

The key thing to take away is that it takes time to get the influencers on your podcasts. You have to build relationships with them if you want them on your podcast. The more credible your podcast becomes, the easier it will be for you to get influencers.

If you are considering creating a podcast, then my recommendation is to build relationships with influencers now. Even if you don’t launch your podcast, those relationships will help you in the long-run.

You’ll Need Help

No, this is not the part where I promote consultation services or anything like that.

There are a lot of components that go into a successful podcast launch and successfully maintaining the podcast. You’ll end up doing most or all of the work associated with your podcast’s launch.

To save time, you’ll want to eventually outsource some of the tasks to other freelancers. I am a big fan of outsourcing, and it saves me countless hours of time in a given day. If I didn’t outsource, it wouldn’t be possible for me to expand into new opportunities—like podcasting.

I don’t have a team of freelancers helping me with my podcast yet, but I have given it a lot of thought. I am considering hiring someone to edit the audio and help me with the show notes. I’m sure I will consider (and hire) freelancers with more roles as time goes by.

Don’t be afraid of hiring freelancers to help you out with your podcast. Even if you feel like you have your podcast under control, you can hire freelancers to help you with tasks outside of your podcast. That way, you’ll have more time that you can utilize towards your podcast’s success.

In Conclusion

If there was one thing I thought I would NEVER do, I thought I would never start a podcast. So many false starts, a demanding schedule, and a vague idea of how I would get started.

Now I finally have my own podcast, and it feels great. When I first considered launching a podcast, it seemed very difficult. I have learned that things only look difficult when you haven’t implemented them yet.

Then you are forever stuck at square one having no idea how to advance to the next level. The decision to implement is the equivalent of driving on the road to success instead of walking on that road with mental baggage.

If you want to create a podcast, my best advice is to just do it. Once you begin the process, creating and maintaining the podcast will automatically become easier. The work will be the same, but now you’ll have clarity on what to do.

What are your thoughts on launching a successful podcast? Which of these tidbits was your favorite? Sound off in the comments section below.