What should my first episode be like?

Have you had an idea for a podcast, but don’t know where to start? If so, you aren’t alone! Over the last couple weeks I’ve been talking to a lot of people thinking about getting into podcasting. Most of them have a specific subject the podcast will revolve around, but aren’t sure how their first episode will go. Understandably, you’d want to feel prepared for that first sit down at the microphone and not feel like you are wasting your time and money. I’ve put together a few tips that can help you get up and running for that first podcast.

Tell your story.
A good first episode might be just letting your listeners know who you are, and what your “mission statement” might be. How did you get to where you are (in front of a microphone)? If your podcast is about a specific topic, you’ve probably got some stories about what formed your interest in it. If I were to spend an episode giving my background, I could relate a long series of events, starting with wanting to be a heavy metal guitar player, to realizing I find more fulfillment in the behind the scenes work that supports other artists. I went from playing guitar, wanting to record myself, wanting to record my band, having to figure out how mixers work so we could actually play shows, realize I hate playing shows (or just trying to work with other band members in general), operating mixers for other bands, getting into music equipment sales, live sound recording, stage handing, and finally becoming a studio owner. For your first episode, really think about the series of events that inspired you to start the podcast. Make it personal and genuine, and you’ll be more likely to connect with your listeners. Sincerity will go a long way in getting people to keep listening! If you are a solo host, aim for 30 minutes for your introductory episode. If you have co-hosts, you might be able to easily spend an hour telling your stories and bouncing questions off each-other.

Get the feeling right.
Having a great intro song can be a good way to get you into the right head space. We can pump your intro track into your headphones to give you a launching point at the beginning of your recording. Do a google search for “royalty free music” and you’ll find plenty of websites that offer music across a wide range of genres that you can use without worrying about any copyright claims. This will also be the first thing your listeners hear, so be sure to pick something that conveys the kind of tone you want to set. If you can’t find anything for free that you like, you could try checking out some music sites that offer “micro licensing.” These tracks are generally produced to a higher standard and don’t cost as much as licensing a song by a major artist. If you’ve got that radio broadcaster voice, you could even spend some of your time at the studio recording a voice over introduction on top of your music. We also have voice-over artists that you can collaborate with if you need some help! A great banner or logo for your podcast artwork is something you can start working on right away as well. I recommend canva.com as a quick and easy way to make one.

Just go for it.
Before I was really fluent with recording software, one of my biggest problems was managing to get it all working to capture a musical idea I had before the inspiration went away. I can’t tell you how many guitar riffs I’ve had disappear from my mind forever because I couldn’t get the program running on time. Audiohive Podcasting takes away all of those technical issues. You just have to show up, sit down (I guess you can stand if you want) and start recording!

If you’ve never been in front a microphone before, it can feel a little awkward. They are sensitive to your position around them, you’ll find that your voice changes depending on your proximity and angle to the microphone. It can be off-putting to hear your own voice played back in headphones for the first time. “Is that how I really sound?” Yes, it is! The important thing is to just dive in and start talking. Over a couple podcasts, after listening back to your recordings, you’ll start to develop an ear for what works best for your voice. It’s also important to listen back because you will quickly realize things you want to change, or bad habits you didn’t know you had. I personally realized that I say the word “like” an incredibly annoying amount of times the first time I recorded a podcast. I hated it! I realized that I wasn’t taking the time to think about what I was about to say, and “like” is my version of “um.” I’ve been conscious of it ever since and have been trying to slow myself down in every conversation to think about what I’m going to say before I say it. If you go back and listen to the first couple episodes of any podcast that’s been around for a couple years, the hosts will probably sound like completely different people. Microphone technique is a real thing that you can practice and improve on.

Hopefully I’ve answered one or two questions you might be asking yourself, or at least answered some you hadn’t thought of already. I’ll keep trying to put out useful information as much as possible! If there’s any questions you have that you think I can help with, feel free to get in touch and we’ll get them figured out!

-Brian Mackender
Audiohive Podcasting

Audiohive Podcasting uses Transistor.fm to host your podcast!

Can you make money from podcasting?

One of the most common questions I’ve been getting asked by people visiting the studio is this: Can I make money doing a podcast? The answer is yes! There are several ways to monetize your podcast. Not all of them may apply to you, but there’s probably a model that will work for you. Keep in mind, most of these require you to establish a bit of a listener base first, so its important to start with consistent and quality content.

Traditional Sponsorship.
You can think of this a lot like a television or radio add. Interested advertisers offer an up front payment for you to run their add at some point (usually before or during) in your podcast. These ads are valuable to the sponsors because podcasts are usually topical and have a very targeted audience. If your podcast is about hockey, a sporting goods store can be sure that their ads are reaching the right audience. Other sponsors may pay on a CPM, or “cost-per-thousand” basis. Rather than an up front payment, you would earn anywhere from $15 to $25 per 1,000 downloads of your podcast, depending on the ad length and placement. One more model would be referral based, where a sponsor pays out a pre-determined amount for every sale of their product or service that comes with your referral code attached. Joe Rogan made $25 off of me when I signed up for Ting.

Sell your own product or service.
If you have a product or service to offer, a podcast might be a good way to market it. One of my favorite podcasts is about the music recording business, and the hosts both have specific services that they offer. One has a service called Filepass, a tool for sharing audio mixes with clients and collecting revision notes on the songs. Their podcast isn’t specifically about this Filepass service, but the vast majority of the listeners see value in it because they are active in the recording industry that could make use of the service. They made $70 off me for a year subscription. The other host of the podcast is an audio mastering engineer, and while the podcast isn’t specifically about mastering, I’m sure he’s gotten quite a few jobs offered from people who listen to the podcast.

Affiliate Marketing
Generating sales of someone else’s product or service can also generate revenue for your podcast. It’s fairly easy to become an amazon affiliate and generate affiliate links that can be put in your show notes or youtube video description. I get asked a lot about what I use to record with in the studio, so I have amazon affiliate links in my show notes for all of the equipment I use in the studio. If someone clicks the link and buys the product, I get a cut. If you have a guest on your podcast that offers a product or service, you could work out an offer where you get paid a commission for generating sales for that guest based off of their podcast appearance. Both parties benefit! Your guest reached a targeted audience that is interested in their product, and you make some cash on the side.

There’s A LOT more to talk about when it comes to monetizing your podcast. Reach out to us today to schedule a visit to the studio and we can go more in depth on this, or any other questions you might have!

Who’s listening, anyway?

I was doing some research about podcast listeners this weekend, and I found out some pretty interesting stuff. For example, did you know the country with the highest percentage of podcast listeners is South Korea, as high as 58% in some polls?

  • Where does the U.S. Rank?
    I’ve read quite a few different reports, but the general consensus shows that about half of Americans polled have listened to a podcast last year. 33% have listened to a podcast in the last month. That ties us with Australia for fourth place! Sweden, Spain, and South Korea all have a higher percentage of podcast listeners. The total United States population is much larger than those countries, so there’s still a higher total number of listeners in the U.S., but it made me wonder, why  was there was a higher adoption rate in South Korea?

 

  • Freedom of Speech!
    My initial thoughts were that maybe they just adopted the technology more quickly. After all, there are some pretty big tech companies headquarter in South Korea, such as Samsung and LG. I found that I was not alone in this initial thought, and many people also pointed to longer daytime commutes (an average of 75 minutes) as a possible reason. It turns out, the most popular podcasts in South Korea are political! Liberal South Koreans felt that traditional media outlets like terrestrial radio and television stations were bought out and towed the establishment line. They found a way to voice their opinion to the country and bypass the networks that could keep them from reaching the masses. These shows are accredited to driving previously inactive members of the country into political action and helped the Democratic Party get in to office.

 

  • Find your hive, no matter where they are.
    Italy, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, and the U.K. all have significant amounts of the population listening in. That number looks like it’s going to keep growing, especially as more and more of the world population gains internet access and turns an ear to the airwaves. Did you know that Elon Musk plans on launching something like 12,000 satellites into space in the next few years that are going to provide wireless broadband internet to basically the whole world? There’s currently about 4 billion people out there without internet access! Ideas are going to truly have the potential to be shared globally in the future. Your podcast doesn’t have to be a catalyst for country-wide political reform like it was in South Korea, but it’s good to know in podcasting that we are in control of what we say, how we say it, and who we can say it to.

 

Audiohive Podcasting offers you everything you need to get your podcast up and running. If you’d like to visit the studio and find out everything we have to offer, email us today!

 

Not sure what to podcast about?

What are you passionate about?

Is there a subject that you are particularly well educated on, simply because you think its cool or interesting or helpful? That’s a good starting point! It’s almost guaranteed that if you are really in to something, there’s other people that are in to it as well. Podcasting is a great way to connect with people from all over the world with common interests. Me? I’m into audio recording (duh), but I’m also interested in outer space, martial arts, and video games. I listen to podcasts specifically about these subjects, and guess what? I wish there were more of them! The market is NOT saturated at all in regards to content right now. Maybe you really love baseball, and think there are a hundred podcasts about baseball, so why start another? The fact is, there are a LOT of listeners out there, and some of them are going to prefer listening to you and what you have to say over someone else!

  • Are you a business owner, or service provider?

Are there questions that you get asked by just about every single new potential customer or client? Do you give the same answer so many times a week that you sometimes recite it in your sleep? Those questions would be great topics of your podcast! In my profession, audio engineering, I get asked a lot of the same questions by people new to recording. If you ask me what a compressor is, I can prattle off a basic 25 second answer that I’ve given literally 12,000 times in my life. It’s a short answer that I can give when I’m face to face with someone looking to buy something off the shelf right this minute, but I could easily spend another 40 minutes talking about the appropriate ways and places to use a compressor. That’s a whole podcast episode. So i’ll give my short answer and follow up with something like “if you really want to go deep into how to use a compressor, you should check out my podcast. It’s got way more information than I can give you right here today.” If my customer listens to the podcast, they will quickly realize I am an authority on the subject. I know what I’m talking about. Closing a sale with them next time they are in my store is going to be that much easier because they know they can trust my information. Can you apply something like this to your business? A podcast can be a great way to establish the trust of your potential clients!

  • Are you an educator, politician, public speaker, or a pastor?

You can use a podcast to get more ear-time with your audience. It’s key to remember that podcasting doesn’t require the listeners undivided attention. They can be listening on their way to work, while jogging, or doing the dishes. Maybe you wish you had more than an hour for your class or sermon, or maybe more speaking time at that city council meeting. If you are in a situation where having more time with your audience would let you more effectively convey a message, a podcast would make a great platform! It doesn’t have to be about making money or closing a deal. Sometimes just getting your complete thoughts out to the people you care about, serving your community more completely, is a great reward in itself.

These are just a few thoughts to get the ball rolling. If you’d like to speak with someone at Audiohive Podcasting, don’t hesitate to reach out today, we’d love to help you start your podcast!

No interruptions

Ever wonder what it would be like if the guests on your favorite late night talk show had more than 6 minutes to talk before a commercial ran? Or wish a politician had more than 3 minutes to respond in a debate? Or does it drive you nuts when the same ad plays 16 times during a 75 minute episode of Columbo on amazon video? For the most part, this just doesn’t exist in podcasts. You can choose to spend as much time as you want talking with your guests, really getting into the meat of things, without having to bow down or self-censor due to advertiser pressure. Sure, you can choose to have ads on your podcast, but you decide when and how, and your listener has the option to just skip ahead if they want.

Are you a public speaker, coach, pastor, teacher, and wish you had more time to talk to your audience? Podcasting can give you that time!

Like and share this post, let’s encourage people to speak their mind!

Longevity

If Jerry the plumber spends $200 to take out an add in this months local news publication, next month it’s gone. No one reads last months newspaper. That one month of exposure is all that $200 could ever buy him.
Podcasts have staying power. When someone discovers your podcast, they will be able to go back and listen to everything you’ve ever published. I’ve found great podcasts that have years of back episodes. I generally listen to the newest episodes as they come out, and then start with episode 1 and work my way forward through the catalog. I binge listen.

Have you, or someone you know, spent money to advertise your product or service, only to feel like it didn’t amount any return on investment? Podcasting is a great use of your advertising budget!

Help spread the news that Audiohive Podcasting Studio is open in Joliet! Like and Share this post! Thank you!