How to start your own podcast : Do’s and Don’ts

For starting any podcast, be it a business podcast, a history podcast or even a romance podcast, it is very essential that you know the best practices of the industry.

This article breaks down the step-by-step process of starting your own podcast and answers the most common doubts of aspiring podcasters.

Pre-Production of Podcast

In the pre-production phase, you will need to set up the stage for recording.

This will include finding a niche podcast topic, deciding on the episode length and networking to find a co-host(optional). You will also be faced with the choice of an English Podcast and a Hindi Podcast.

While deciding on the length of the episode, you should consider what episode frequency you will be most comfortable with. This is because the recommended lengths for daily, weekly, and monthly podcasts are different. For eg. for a daily podcast, the recommended length is 1 to 15 minutes. 

It is imperative that you have a pre-interview talk with your guest in the pre-production phase to let them know about the format of the show and the topic you will cover in the episode.

If you don’t want to go wrong with the pre-production process of podcasting, do tune in to this episode of Yeh Podcast Vodcast Kya Hai where the pre-production process is explained very much in detail including how to pick up a topic, choose episode frequency and drill down on a genre.

How to get guests for your podcasts?

There is a high chance, you have that one favourite podcaster who inspired you to start your own podcasting journey. And you are dying to get them on your show. But pitching to your dream guest speakers can be daunting.

Therefore, it is recommended that you first onboard guests with a similar listen count as yours. You can also try to get featured on some other podcasts in your niche to increase your reach. 

And when you feel that the time is ripe to invite your dream podcast speaker, you should not commit the most common mistake of cold emailing them. You must convert them into a warm lead first to get high chances of a positive response.

To do so, interact with their social media handle. Like, comment, retweet, and share their posts. Let them know that you are a keen follower. And only when the time is right, drop a DM to them. 

If you are committed to making it big in the podcasting world, you must tune in to this episode of Yeh Podcast Vodcast Kya Hai wherein Deepti Ahuja, a podcaster with over 60 million listens reveals her trick of scoring big guest interviews.

How to monetise your podcast? 

The next obvious step after getting traction for your podcast is monetisation. 

Third-party platforms which connect sponsors to podcasters have made monetisation tremendously easy these days. This is because these platforms do not have a listen threshold. You can register yourself and get paid according to the sponsor’s Cost per Thousand Impressions Bid.

Besides, it is also not at all new these days to charge a subscription for premium episodes even ask for donations. Many podcasters have been  surprised to see the positive results direct monetisation has generated for them.

If you are still not convinced and want to get monetisation tips from someone who has been there, done that, tune in to this episode of Yeh Podcast Vodcast Kya Hai. Herein Deepti Ahuja interviews the famous Filter Kofee Podcast’s host – Karthik Nagarajan on how he built his profitable podcasting brand.

Podcast Data and Analytics: How to measure the success of your podcast?

After starting your podcast and recording those first few episodes, it will be time to get a reality check done.

To measure your podcast’s success, you can look at various KPIs like Listen Count, Completion Rates, Customer Ratings, and organic traction on social media. 

It would not be very hard for you to know whether or not you are on the right track. If audience is really resonating with your content then you will observe an increasing follower count on social media handles, and a spike in guest speaker pitches from your fellow podcasters.

Some other KPIs that can be tracked are ad revenue and ad conversion rates.

If you want to become a pro podcaster then you must tune into this episode of Yeh Podcast Kya Hai.  know what is IAB  In this episode, Deepti Ahuja, Podcast producer, and coach, discusses podcast analytics using IAB(Interactive Advertising Bureau) with Shalin Dhar, board member, IAB.

If you want to continue the conversation, connect with Deepti Ahuja, host of Yeh Podcast Vodcast Kya Hai or Pearl Babbar, the author of the article.