Doesn't it seem like everyone is starting a podcast these days?
In fact, there are over 2.4 million podcasts in 2022, with over 66 million episodes between them.
When you think about it, a podcast is a great way to generate long form content and turn that into social media micro content later down the road.
But having a podcast isn’t simply having a guest and an internet connection. (You can follow my podcasting journey here.)
The thing is, a podcast needs planning and there is so much that goes on behind it, and you want to promote the podcast too. I can’t emphasize enough how much planning and prep work that goes into it.
But guess what?
You know it!
With the right system and automation set up, you can just show up and press “Record”.
How to begin
The first question you need to ask is: what kind of format do you want your podcast to be?
Here are some options:
- An interview style podcast.
- Conversational/co-hosted podcast format.
- A panel podcast format.
- The solo podcast format.
Really, the list goes on.
There are multiple formats, and having a system in place to run each of these is a little bit different, but here are a few points that you want to think about when you're putting a process for a podcast in place.
Scheduling the guests
If you have guests on your podcast, have a scheduling link set up so that they can schedule a time for the recording, or if you're doing it live, schedule a time for the live. Have a form where you collect the relevant information that you need. This is not just their name and their company name. If you're using a photo of them, like a headshot, have them upload it. If you're using any reference links and if you want to have all the links to their social media, have them fill that out.
I would recommend Airtable for this and if you're using a tool like ScheduleOnce to do all of that, then it integrates really easily to Airtable.
If you want the form to be after they have already signed up, then have a trigger on sign up or put it in the notification email after they sign up, with a link to the form and use an Airtable form. Either way, have a form where they can upload everything so that you don't have to have tons of emails going back and forth.
If you have certain instructions that you want to pass over to your guests, have an email go out automatically after they schedule or x amount of time before they go live. This will help them prepare for it. It's also a great way to engage with your guests and show them that you're on the ball.
This can all be personalized. You can totally have it different for each client.
Again, using Airtable, you could have a table where you select from different questions or games or topics that you want to talk about and put that in the email that goes out to them automatically.
The next stage
The next stage is doing all the pre-prepped work for the podcast. If you have certain things that you want to go through, have a checklist.
For example, have your lighting in place, have the questionnaire in place. If you print out any information before about your guests about the topics you want to talk about, have that ready.
If you're using a script, have a deadline set for the script.
Again, I use Airtable for all of this.
When I schedule the next episode, I write anything that's relevant for that episode and I have it in place when I go live.
The production process
What I recommend is having a system in the background that will automatically assign the next step to the next person in the production process.
Once it's been recorded, you upload it and set the trigger to automatically push the link and send an email to your post-production editor. If you want to have production notes, you can put that in the database and it will pull them automatically and add them to the email to the editor.
When the editor is done, have them upload the final product to a different folder in the cloud. I personally use Google Drive, but you can definitely use Dropbox or any other cloud format that you have.
When they upload the video into your preferred cloud storage folder, it will trigger an email to you and will change the status of that podcast episode to review. And you now know that you have to review it.
You can also turn your audio file of the show into text based transcripts that will allow your video editor to create captions or your copywriter to turn the show into blogs or social media posts. Again, this can be set up in the automation system.
Oh, and before I forget, you can decide if it needs to be sent back for more editing or it’s complete and it will go to the next step, which is creating a thumbnail if you need that for the episode. I've done a whole podcast episode on thumbnails.
Then the task could be assigned to your graphic designer. Once that's created, they send it back to you for review as well.
The last step
The last step in the process is once everything has been approved – the thumbnail, the review of the clip itself, the transcription, the captions – you can now schedule the podcast for publication and assign that that task to your social media manager, your podcast manager, your VA, or whoever's doing that. And they will upload it to the different platforms (there are automation systems that can do this as well).
Final thoughts
I hope I was able to help show you how to set your podcast in motion so that all you have to do is show up and record and everything else is streamlined.
Podcasts can turn your content strategy into a machine as well.
One 1-hour podcast can (easily) turn into 10 pieces of content each week. With your podcast automation and system set up, all you need to do is devote time to the prep of the show and having fun with your guests.
If set up right, you no longer have to worry about coming up with high quality content each day. The system makes it happen for you.
If you need help setting up your podcast process, send me an email and I’d love to walk you through my process.
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