What We Learned from Launching a New Podcast
Lori Young
Helping holistic wellness brands grow their business online with strategic business, marketing and operational support | Creating a Healthier World | Certified Master Marketer | Certified Online Business Manager
We launched our Boosting Business Breakthroughs podcast this year. On August 29th, to be specific. It’s geared toward coaches dedicated to growing their business, navigating the digital marketing landscape, and creating a transformation for their clients. This podcast has been a labor of love, and like any new labor of love, it has taught me invaluable lessons. Today, I want to share them with you.?
Launching a New Podcast: What We Learned
1. It’s Important To Understand Your ‘WHY’
Why do you want to launch a podcast? Why on a particular topic? What do you hope to gain (or from it? The reason ‘Why’ you want to launch your podcast will be a major motivation behind keeping momentum when things get tough.?
Before we launched the podcast in August, I had a strong feeling that I needed a new way to start networking with like-minded people. I needed to get out from behind my computer and actively market, person to person. I needed to talk to people 1:1 and not just address them via email, blogs, and social media.?
I felt like there was a missing piece in my marketing plan. I felt that this podcast would be just the thing to grow my business and market it while having fun. It would also allow me to learn new things from all the amazing experts out there.
This is the ‘why’ that carried me through the days when impostor syndrome stuck. When it felt as if I wasn’t getting any traction with my podcast. It even helped me reach out to potential guests with more confidence. Plus, there was this dream…
2. Don’t Ignore Your Dreams And Intuition.?
Let me tell you how this podcast idea was born.?
About three months ago, I had a very vivid dream. In my dream, I was launching a podcast. The dream revealed to me the name of the podcast as well as all of the interview questions I was going to ask guests. I woke up feeling completely inspired.?
I’ve had several creative dreams like this before where detailed ideas for my business just come to me. Most of the time, these ideas have led to success. So to me, these ideas are divinely delivered, and they are often really hard to ignore. So when I woke up to real life, with this idea fresh in mind I knew not to ignore it.?
This may happen to you. Maybe not as a dream, but ideas and inspiration may come out of nowhere, without even thinking about them. Call it your gut, your intuition, or divine inspiration…listen to it.
These ideas and feelings come from the part of our brain that connects various events and past experiences (in seconds!) to help us make a decision. And sometimes, that happens when the brain feels you need to know certain information that would be helpful to you. Don’t rationalize it away. If nothing, at least dwell upon it for a while. There’s a reason you had that idea or thought.?
And speaking of dwelling on an idea or inspiration…
3. Don’t Let Impostor Syndrome Stop You From Acting On Your Podcast Dream (Or Any Dream)
When I woke up from the dream to real life, I was confronted with the question, ‘Should I really do this?’. I asked myself all sorts of questions like;
But then I remembered that I had this dream for a reason. So before I nipped the podcast idea in the bud, I reached out to people I trusted. I reached out to my spouse, team, and others who had their own podcast to see what they thought of this idea.?
Everyone was excited and totally on board, which gave me a boost of confidence. So we planned a launch date. And here we are.?
As Nicole Kidman says,
And the best way to do that is to reach out to people whose advice you trust. To people who only have your best interests at heart and are open to new ideas and creative ways of doing things. Those who know your work and industry, or are willing to ask you the right questions.?
4. Research Is Your Best Friend
When I decided to start, I didn’t know a lot about podcasting. So I researched. And then I researched some more. I started to listen to other podcasts to see what that world was all about. I talked to our VA, who LOVES podcasting. She’s an expert at it and was super helpful in helping me define what’s involved in the process and how to go about it.
If a lack of information is preventing you from launching your podcast, research! Reach out to people who know something about it, watch YouTube, check out blogs like the Buzzsprout blog on all things podcasting. It will help you find the right tools and processes for your podcast.?
5. Before You Start Your Podcast, Have A Process In Place. And Then Test Test Test.
I’m the type of person who is structured, organized, and process-driven. I knew I needed to have a process in place before I started. I spent most of July documenting an entire process we could follow – from reaching out to potential guests, interviewing them, publishing the podcast, to marketing it to a wider audience. I reviewed it with Taylor to ensure we didn’t miss any important steps.
We tested the entire process with the first few guests to see what worked and what didn’t. I kept on refining and optimizing the process until it was smooth and doing what I wanted it to do.
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There were also all these other aspects to consider . Like:
Missing out on any one of these would have left me scrambling madly during the podcast launch instead of focusing on delivering the best podcast experience to my guests and viewers. So before you launch your podcast, make sure you have a process in place and all your podcast assets covered.
6. Don’t Let The Debbie Downer In Your Head Control The Reins
As you probably know from your own personal experience, anytime we try something brand new, that little voice inside us attempts to sabotage our success. But as one of my beloved coach clients said to me, tell that voice to tag along, pull up a chair, and watch you as you shine. Great advice for anyone struggling with self-doubt .? That’s exactly what I did with my podcast, and I couldn’t have been happier.?
7. Finding Guests Is Not As Hard As You Think
Since I was doing interviews, I needed to find guests, and that was a little intimidating at first. I wasn’t sure if people would say yes to being a guest on a brand-new podcast. But I didn’t let that stop me from reaching out to people. Only, instead of reaching out to strangers, I decided to reach out to people I already knew. I reached out to:
I was very passionate about having them talk to my audience and that showed when I reached out to them. I was fortunate to book out the entire 2023 in a short time with just 1 rejection and 1 ghosting.?
My takeaway, start reaching out for the easy yesses, to people who know you and your work and see the magic that happens.
8. Getting Momentum Is Hard, Not Impossible
A major struggle any new podcaster faces is getting momentum with their podcast. The views are slow to trickle in initially. Especially if you don’t have a large audience already primed for it. And getting this audience takes a LOT of promotion. That means repeated posts to your social media platforms and email list. It means talking about the podcast all the time. That means a lot of writing, designing, and posting.?
This is where your marketing plan comes into play.?
I use a tool called Deciphr – which is great – with my marketing plan. It produces social blurbs, show notes, and a pretty good article, all ready to go with a few tweaks. In less than an hour after publishing an episode I have the following podcast collaterals:
I promote my podcast 4 days a week on Instagram and LinkedIn. I also occasionally mention it to my email list.?
Pro tip: Rope in the guests you interviewed to promote the podcast on their social media channels too!?
9. Podcast Growth, Traction, And Return On Investment Is A Long Game.??
A podcast expert I talked to told me I needed to give it a few months. So I went in with the mindset that I had to give my podcast 18 months to see it take off. I also knew I had to build an audience to get more and more interest from guests. Right now, I have pretty good guests that I’m proud of. But I know I need to get more high-profile guests, and that requires me to build an audience.?
So that’s it. The long and short of my podcast journey and what I learned so far. I know as I move ahead on this path, there will be more opportunities to learn and grow. And I’m looking forward to every bit of it.?
Need support for your marketing activities? Reach out to Amazing OBM. Our goal is to take your overwhelming marketing projects off your plate and provide you with a one-stop marketing team that is dedicated to creating results and growing your brand.
??? Tune in to the Latest Episode on the Podcast ???
Episode 7 is officially live! Tune in here to listen!
In this episode, Lori Young interviews Jen Dys, a human design coach and marketing strategist. They discuss the concept of human design and how it can be used to create magnetic content for your business. Jen explains the five different energy types in human design and provides specific tips for each type on how to approach marketing and content creation. She emphasizes the importance of aligning your content with your unique strengths and gifts, and offers insights on how to do so based on your energy type.
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