How many times have you heard the phrase “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”?
In my previous job I heard it a lot. It was part of our daily routine to fill in several planners for staff break patterns, cleaning jobs and our own work. As much as it always felt like a ball ache, it worked.
When it comes to your podcast, the exact same rule applies.
You’ve probably got an idea in your head. Maybe it’s a possible title, a potential guest or just a format.
Now you could rush in and start to record that first episode. You might believe in your idea so much that it will all just come good.
It won’t.
Or at least it won’t straight away.
When I began the It’s All Cobblers To Me podcast in 2018 I had a vision of what it would sound like. I spent time looking for people to share my vision with. Most of my time in fact. My focus was on getting others involved to be my co-hosts. I sold them the idea of the podcast on my vision. Looking back, I was lucky I got anyone to agree to help me at all.
It took a good dozen episodes to get the show sounding anything like I had envisioned. Even now I am still tweaking the format to make it the best it can be.
Now I’m not saying that I wouldn’t be doing this had I taken more time over the planning of the podcast.
But…
It would have been a lot better, a lot sooner.
I’ve recently started a new project and have been at the planning stage for a little while. Below is the way I have gone about it.
Idea
What is your idea? Lay it out on paper. This will be what you refer back to as you shape and grow the podcast.
Why
Why are you going to do this? Think about this one. As Simon Simnek says, “it all starts with why.” Is there a gap in the market? Has someone asked for it? Write it all down and make sense of it. I promise it will help later when you want to tell people about your podcast.
What
What is it? Yes, it’s a podcast. I know that, you know that. The ‘what’ here is about the format, the length, the style. Don’t just write podcast. Write audio drama or news show. Whatever fits.
How
How will you do it? What equipment will you need? Where will you record? Do you need other people to be involved? Will you need to spend any money to set it up?
There are lots more things to think about when it comes to how but these will get you started for sure.
Who
Now it’s time to think about your audience. Who do you want to be listening and how are you going to get them to know about your podcast? Research hashtags and Facebook groups for the type of people who fit your audience criteria. Join in the conversation as well as advertising your podcast to them.
Have a look at who already interacts with your target audience. There could be someone who will champion your podcast for you, becoming a partner or friend of the podcast.
So that is where I am up to in my own podcast planning. I am yet to even record a single word and yet so much is already in place.
Is there anything else you do when planning your podcast? Let me know in the comments.
