Start a Podcast: A Good Choice for Work From Home Moms
It’s no secret- the age of the podcast has arrived. It is an enriching way to express yourself creatively, and create deeper connections with an audience, and it is possible to monetize a podcast. In recent years, the number of moms who host the podcast is increasing. I will share with you why you should start a podcast now and the five secrets to creating a show with staying power.
Why you should start a podcast
First of all, what is a podcast? A podcast is simply an audio file that is accessible online and may be downloaded to your phone or computer to listen to. The word ‘podcasting’ seems to have been derived from Apple’s ‘iPod’ and the word ‘Broadcast’.
It is like radio but on-demand, as you can listen to the content whenever you want. Because you don’t need to look at a screen to read or watch a video, you may read or watch it while exercising, driving, or cooking.
Here’s why you should consider jumping into the podcasting game:
1. Podcasting is the new blogging
Many people, and businesses, have made boatloads of money from blogging. It’s still one of the best and most effective ways to build an online brand and improve your search engine rankings on Google. And you know, those who got in early on the blogging game were the most successful. The early bird gets the worm.
Podcasting has the potential to be the next big thing.
Besides, podcasting is the new frontier for search engine optimization. Google started to analyze the audio from YouTube videos and podcasts to determine the content contained within them and show it in the search results because they knew that people were becoming less and less interested in reading.
As of March 2020, 104 million Americans consume podcasts on a monthly basis. According to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC, ad revenue in this industry is projected to surpass $1 billion by 2021. Molly Beck from messy.fm stated that you have three years to get going before the podcasting revolution leaves wannabe hosts behind.
2. Very little extra effort required
If you already have in-depth, long-form, and engaging blog posts, you can repurpose your content. What you have to do is just pick up a microphone and read them with enthusiasm.
If you don’t have one, your procedure will be writing blog posts, turning them into scripts, recording myself reading the script, then taking that audio, adding an intro and outro, and making a few edits. A new podcast episode is ready for consumption. Want to start a YouTube channel? Just place it in an awesome video, and create some engaging visuals to accompany it.
You see, it’s quite simple.
How about the cost? With Anchor (the likely future YouTube of audio), podcast hosting is completely free. The total additional investment required to produce this podcast is nearly nonexistent.
How to start a podcast
There are six steps to start a podcast:
Step 1: Planning
You’ll start with choosing a topic, format, and name.
Scroll through iTunes and you’ll notice that podcasts can be about literally anything. Select something you are passionate about and stay with it, not what is popular right now. Passion is contagious; when you feel most alive and most like yourself, the audience leans in and comes back for more.
The second is figuring out who your future audience is. Define the profile of your ideal listener, and answer who will benefit from your content. Then pick a niche and serve people accordingly. 10 engaged listeners are always better than 1000 random people.
Besides, you should consider how a topic lends itself to revenue in the future.
Next, there are five common podcast formats that you can choose. They include Monologue podcasts, Co-hosted podcasts, Interview-based podcasts, Panel podcasts, and Storytelling podcasts.
For a podcast name, it should clearly tell what your show is about, and be easy to read and understand. If your podcast is about your life, you can name it by your name.
Last but not least, properly organize your topic before starting a podcast to avoid frustration later. You should plan the topic and idea for your first 10 episodes.
Step 2: Recording and publishing
To record your content, you need some equipment (microphones/ headphones), software (for recording and editing), and a bit of knowledge on how to use them.
To make sure you have a seamless first recording session, writing a script is important when you’re just starting out. It can be word-for-word what you plan to say, or an organized list of bullet points. Talking intelligently, smoothly, and clearly is challenging without practice! So, practice the script, either while you’re recording or before you even hit the mic.
Editing and production processes of making a process is often the biggest hurdles for new podcasters. You can use Audacity to edit your audio.
To publish your podcast, you first choose a podcast hosting platform (such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, etc), then set up and customize your podcast channel.
Step 3: Launching and growing
Finally, you can coordinate a strategic launch plan, focus on audience growth, and ultimately monetization opportunities. For each new episode, consider doing a handful of these marketing activities to steadily increase listenership over time and generate more subscribers. You’ll need to play the long game instead.
Summary
Launching and producing a podcast required minimal effort, and the potential ROI is much greater than any other channel I can think of. As work from home moms, we have a lot of things to share with each other, including baby care, education, financial management, time management, work from home jobs, startups, etc. The world needs smart women to share their voices. Follow your curiosity. You’ve got this, mama. “If you build it, they will come.” I can’t wait to subscribe to your show.
