How to Phone In a Podcast Episode

Allow me to set the stage for you.

You’ve got a podcast release coming up next week.

You’re out of runway.

You don’t have an interview booked until after the release date.

You don’t have a solo script in the bank.

Your producer is sending increasingly urgent messages asking when they can expect the raw audio and threatening a replay… but you just did one a couple of weeks ago.*

You feel about as creative as buttered noodles.

Do you miss a scheduled release date?

You do not.

You half-ass it.

Look, it isn’t ideal, but we’ve all been there. If the choice is between skipping a release or shoehorning in an unwanted replay and phoning it in - phone it in.

Here’s how.

1. Ask someone for an idea

If you have coworkers or a cohost, they’re your first and best bet. Last year when I was having one of those weeks and ruminating glumly about the big “record The Company Show episode” on my list of to-dos for the day, I was utterly uninspired, and more than a little irritated with myself. So I sent a Slack message to my business partner and she hit back immediately with:

Do an episode on how to cheat an episode when you don’t have any ideas.

Well, okay then.

Not only did that become a pretty popular podcast episode - it’s getting new life in this newsletter. Brings a tear to the eye.

If you don’t have someone on your team or in your network you can ask on zero notice, then you can ask Chat GPT! You might want to prompt it with something like: ”Can you suggest 15 episode ideas for a podcast about widget manufacturing?” or “What are 10 questions business owners might ask before starting a podcast.”

2. Revisit an old episode

If you’ve been podcasting for a while, you’ve probably recorded a few episodes that could use an update. I’d say it’s good practice to spend a little time with your episode archive every year to see what you’d like to update, expand on, or correct, if things have changed. A gap in the editorial calendar is a great time to do it.

Listen to the old episode, note any updates you want to make, write a new intro and outro, and re-record. Once you have a new version, make sure to link to it from the old one’s webpage, or replace the embed code, and add a note that you have improved the content from the original.

3. Seek Inspiration from other podcasters in your space

You’re probably not the only company podcasting about what you’re podcasting about, so if you’re scrambling for an idea see what your fellows are talking about.

You don’t want to replicate their content by any means, but you might find topics you have your own opinion on, ideas you want to respond to, or just get inspired by the good work other people in your industry are doing. It never hurts to give credit in these instances, or even to share a link with the creator who inspired you and ask for their thoughts.

4. Search your inbox or your social media channels

Look for questions that people in your industry are asking about your industry. If you’ve got a sales or customer support team, they can be great to tap into for this too.

If someone cares about an issue enough to make a post about it, they probably aren’t the only one, and it could become part of your own question-and-answer library that you can have on hand when it comes up again in the future.

5. Arrange a feed-drop

Find a podcasting friend and ask if you can do a feed drop. Most people are pretty receptive to the chance to share an entire episode with a new audience.

Ask for the produced version of one of their episodes that you know your audience will find valuable, and record your own intro and outro for it (in addition to their intro and outro, not replacing them) and enjoy the extra relationship building. For the notes, just edit your intro and outro script and link to the other podcaster’s website.

6. Still not inspired?

• What’s the biggest mistake your clients make before they work with you? Explain the mistake, how to fix it and what the benefits of doing so will be.
• What are 5 things you wish other professionals in your space would STOP telling people? List them and bust those myths.
• When is the last time a client was delighted with you? Tell that story, and what other people can learn from it.
• What are your 3 favorite books in your industry? Review them and ask for further recommendations from your audience (then email the authors and let them know what you did!) Alternate: the same thing, but with podcasts.
• If your industry is filled with jargon, do a vocabulary lesson. Explain common but weird terms for your audience and clients. 10 is a nice number to shoot for.
• You probably have a philosophy, or set of beliefs that inform the work you do. Share how you came to develop specific solutions, how they help people, who they are best for and why they are structured the way they are. (Then put it on your sales or FAQ page!)

Now you should be able to get an episode out the door before your production team starts browsing the dark web for untraceable poisons. As soon as you do, record an extra one that you can pop into the bank and pull out next time the inevitable happens. And remember, no matter how you're feeling, smile while you're recording. We can hear it.

What are your favorite phone-it-in podcast ideas?

*There’s nothing wrong with replays, for the record. They can be a great way to give new life to old episodes, renew a relationship, and allow for things like vacations. What they shouldn’t be is unplanned, too frequent, or deployed without good reason.