Learnings from a Podcast Launch

It’s been gratifying to hear from friends and colleagues about how much they liked the first three episodes of the Princeton Spark. I couldn’t have done it without them and their tremendous help. To pay it forward a little more, here are some learnings. 

The two other biggest things that helped me was an online class by Alex Blumberg of Gimlet Media/Spotify called “Power Your Podcast with Storytelling” at CreativeLive.com and the book So You Want to Start a Podcast by Kristen Meinzer. 

I like all kinds of podcasts but my favorite ones have a story at the center of them, like narrative journalistic podcasts 99% Invisible and This American Life. When it came time for me to do my own for the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council, that was my inspiration. 

At PEC, we’re big on the educational programming part of our mission to support entrepreneurs, and as a storyteller, I opted to do more than just “turn on the mics and let it fly” like a straight interview-type podcast. I knew it was going to be a lot of work to make stories that taught something along the way. I had to refine my storytelling process so that it would be good in a strictly audio format, as opposed to video or written stories I had been doing. This is where the “Power Your Podcast with Storytelling” class was pivotal. The three most impactful things for me in the class were: 

• Drilling down to what the story is about, and why the story is interesting
• How much to pre-interview a guest before the on-tape recording
• How Blumberg conducts an interview and what equipment he uses

This online class really boosted the content factors of the equation. The other part of the equation – the nuts and bolts of the actual podcast – was boosted by So You Want to Start a Podcast. I’m not a prolific reader by any stretch, but when my wife got me a copy of this book, I read it immediately, in basically one sitting. The three most impactful things I learned from the book were:

• How to distill my podcast idea into one sentence, three sentences max
• How to write a pitch email to a potential guest, and including my podcast info in my email signature
• To embrace my identity as a podcaster

I had a few different versions of a one sentence distillation bouncing around. But after reading the book, I was inspired to go on a slight detour, and instead clearly state the objective of the first season of the Princeton Spark:

In the first season of the Princeton Spark, we will learn about what it takes to succeed in entrepreneurship from experienced Princeton startup founders, investors, mentors and more.

I used the book’s suggested email format to send a couple pitches to potential guests right away. Ironically, I got cricket noises instead. (I’m still going to use it though.) But I also immediately took the suggestion to add the podcast information to my email signature, and I’m glad I did that, because it also dovetails nicely into the third point: to embrace my identity as a podcaster.

Early in the planning process, I was binging on old episodes of the podcast Startup, in which Blumberg details the building of his podcasting company on the podcast itself. On the show, he hosts the first season, and then hands off hosting duties to Lisa Chow for the second season and onward. At the time, it looked like a good framework to me, because “I wasn’t really a podcast host.” But during the whole production process, it occurred to me that I actually am one.

It’s been my personal mission since the day I joined PEC to put Princeton entrepreneurship “on the map”. I realized recently that this podcast could uniquely be my best way to do it. After that realization, I embraced my identity as a podcaster and I haven’t looked back.

Listen and subscribe to the Princeton Spark on your favorite podcast app! Also, I will be attending the Sound Education conference in Boston on October 10 and 11. Looking forward to the speakers and workshops, and meeting new people. Say hello if you see me!