Ryan Foland speaks with Max Branstetter and Eric Sim, the former is the founder and producer of MaxPodcasting whilst the latter is a managing director at UBS Investments Bank, turned speaker with over 2 million followers on LinkedIn.
In this episode of our series, Ryan, Max and Eric talk about the ten steps that are required to start your own podcast and what’s the best way to go about starting off a potential hit podcast.
One of the key messages in this interview is that before kicking off your podcast, you need to ask yourself ‘why you want to start a podcast?’. The answer to this question will set the target audience for you as well as help you figure out important podcast details.
Tune in for an interview full of ideas and advice on how to start your own podcast.
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Here is your host, Ryan Foland.
Ryan Foland: Welcome everyone to another special, special, special episode of the World of Speakers podcast.
I am your host, Ryan Foland and today my goal is to convince Eric Sim to start a podcast.
And in order to do that, I have brought my friend Max Branstetter to help him with the technical side.
I will be here as a shaman of what to do once all the nuts and bolts are set up.
Together, this trio today is going to discuss why you should consider having a podcast and how that truly is a new form of public speaking that you can dive into.
Max, roll call, how are you, Sir?
Max Branstetter: Roll call, I am present.
I am doing very well, thank you so much for having me.
I share the same goal with you.
We're just here to convince Eric to start a podcast, so with that goal in mind I'm super excited.
Ryan Foland: Max, you can think of him as the I'd say Instapod of podcasting you can take what you have and throw it into, well not even a slow cooker, a fast, pressure cooker and what comes out, in the end, is a delicacy that tastes and looks like whatever your creation is, but it's going to taste good, it's going to be fast.
Mr. Eric Sim, roll call, how are you today, Sir?
Eric Sim: Fantastic.
I am present as well, very excited to be here, from the last time we spoke at the World of Speakers.
I am curious how do you become such a good host for podcasting?
The podcast that we made about sharing tips for other speakers—
Ryan Foland: Yeah, and that title real quick, that was a good one, it was going from the keynote to the e-note.
Eric Sim: Yes, From Keynote to E-note.
I got so much good feedback and people are now asking me to do more podcasts and some asking how they can do a podcast as well.
So today I want to seek the expertise of Ryan and Max on how do you start a podcast, how do you become a good host, what equipment do we need, and how to distribute the podcast as well.
Ryan Foland: Now, for those of you who don't know Eric, think of him as the Obi-Wan Kenobi for soft skills.
Does that work?
Eric Sim: Yep. That term may not be familiar in Asia.
Ryan Foland: Okay, well what's the equivalent of Obi-Wan Kenobi, essentially a mentor to those who are coming up in the ranks to fight for their honor and whatever force they have.
Eric Sim: In Asia sometimes we use the word Guru.
Ryan Foland: Okay, yeah, guru, right.
But is there a fictional character?
Because I'm thinking Star Wars, and I thought Star Wars everyone knew.
Eric Sim: Because I do not know Star Wars, maybe some people, most people don't know.
Max Branstetter: I think we need to end the call, Ryan.
Ryan Foland: No, no, lesson number one, having a podcast you don't have to cater to everyone.
In fact, the more you know the market or the people who you are trying to approach, the more you can cater to it.
So if you want to have an international podcast make sure you're using references that are known internationally.
Max Branstetter: I see, okay.
Ryan Foland: Eric is the guru of soft skills along with the instapod of podcasting, I am here to be the Price is Right host on a Plinko game of ending up with a podcast as the big prize.
I want to start off this special episode with how we normally start, which is about storytelling.
So we're going to go in reverse order.
Eric, I want to know the story behind why you're interested in a podcast.
Eric Sim: I have got a follower who has been following me for a year plus and just last month he came and said that he wanted to do a podcast with me as the first few guests on imposter syndrome.
But he's not ready yet, so obviously he's getting his thoughts around, and doing a podcast is not doing a one time, you need to have a series, you need to plan out who are your guests.
I'm also curious what's the process, can I help him to do his podcast faster, better and from the expert, that's why I'm here.
Ryan Foland: All right, so we've got the speed, we’ve got the expertise.
I will keep count of the number of lessons that we have, so lesson number one was know your audience, which we talked about.
Lesson number 2, I will say that when it comes to the soft skills of a podcast, the more times you host a podcast the better you'll get at podcasting; the more times you're a guest on a podcast, the better you'll become as a guest on podcasting.
I truly think that just like public speaking, the best way to become a better speaker is to speak more.
So, Eric, I commend you in your story to help someone else with their podcast.
Does that inspire you to have your own as well?
Eric Sim: Yes, it seems like there is a demand for somebody who's young, he's probably below 30 years old, and still trying out hustling and he already wanted to do a podcast.
And I have got so many people coming to me asking if I can convert my articles into podcasts, interview some people to give them a different perspective.
I'm all for it, I want to learn and I hope I can do a podcast quite soon.
Ryan Foland: Lesson number 4, learn by doing.
All right, Max, to you what is a story that started your passion or changed you when it comes to podcasting?
Max Branstetter: Well, first of all, I think we've already convinced Eric, he sounds pretty excited already, so I think our job is done here.
But just for the sake of sharing some more tips here, I first heard of podcasts, actually, it was a basketball team, my favorite baseball team, the Cleveland Cavs, and they had a few guys, Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye who had the show called "Road Trippin'."
It was the first time I'd ever listened to something where I felt like I was sitting there in the locker room with these NBA players, these guys that are huge stars who I just previously thought was untouchable.
So that was the first real experience I had listening to a podcast that just blew my mind of,
"Wow, this is a real intimate connection, a real, powerful form of storytelling that almost can make you feel like you're in another place or take your mind to another place," that I just had never experienced before.
That's the first time I heard a podcast.
I eventually did start one for my family business, Wild Business Growth Podcast, which I still do today every single week.
A love for podcasting has expanded beyond just podcast hosting, really, really loved the podcast production side as well and ultimately started my own business, MaxPodcasting where, as Ryan says, I am the instapod of podcasting, I'm all about saving you time and delivering a high-quality podcast to help you grow your business.
It's kind of started as a listener, then turned into a host, still a host and still a listener, and now a producer as well.
Ryan Foland: Okay, lesson number 5 is that podcasting can transport you into becoming an insider, whether it's the locker room or whether it's hanging out with Eric or sailing with me, whatever it may be.
Lesson number 6 is up for grabs. So I want to transition into really looking at the technical side of creating a podcast.
Now, Eric, on a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you know about the technical side of starting?
Just from your own sense and the research that you've done?
Eric Sim: I'm probably at number 3.
Ryan Foland: Okay, this is perfect.
I think a lot of people who are interested in a podcast and they want to maybe learn more about it, they might get to like 1, 2, or 3 and then want to learn more information, but not know where to go.
So Max, for somebody who's at a 3, what do you think those first 3 steps would be?
I want you to guess what Eric has already thought about or gone through and we'll together come up with the 10 steps technically for starting a podcast.
Max, what do you think those first 3 steps would be?
Max Branstetter: There's the pure technical side here which is like the equipment and software, things that you need to actually record the podcast.
But then there's also the more planning side, that's kind of multiple things grouped into one here, I think.
Let's start with what's essential overall to have in mind when you start a podcast, and I think the first thing before you even purchase anything is number one— why are you starting that podcast?
You need to know what are your goals for starting that podcast. Is this something that is just for you personally, just for having fun?
Is it something for your personal brand?
Do you have business results that you want to see from this, do you want to drive more sales?
Because what your goals are and when you really dig deep and think, "Okay, why am I starting this?" that sets the course for the entire course of your podcast.
Ryan Foland: Okay, so lesson number 6 is don't just start a podcast to start a podcast.
That's lesson number 6, so the first step is going to be understanding why.
Eric, why do you want to start a podcast?
Eric Sim: So that I can reach more of my followers.
And one of my followers listened to the podcast that Ryan and I did when she was exercising in the gym.
So reading my articles you can't do that in the gym, but listening to podcasts they can.
So it's giving my followers another avenue or channel to consume content.
Ryan Foland: So it's an expansion of your existing brand, correct?
Eric Sim: Yes.
Ryan Foland: Are you going to look at this as something that will generate leads that ends up having paid clients?
Or is this more of a brand awareness?
Eric Sim: For me, it's brand awareness to help people consume more content in a convenient manner.
Ryan Foland: Okay, so you're extending your reach.
So if you are a speaker now and you have thought leadership pieces and you're writing an article, as Eric explained, someone on the treadmill is not going to read your article but they might listen to the article so it's a new way of delivering what could be the same type of content.
Now Max, before we get to step 2, does why you want to start the podcast also include what the podcast topic would be about?
Or is that the next step?
Max Branstetter: That's the next step. It, of course, ties closely but there's a little distinction there.
Ryan Foland: Okay so step 1 is to actually decide why you would want to, don't get caught up on what your show is going to be, get caught up on why you would do it, is it a brand extension, is it just an exposure, is it going to directly influence leads, are you driving people to a product or a book.
I know people that started a podcast to support their book, created a podcast to support a learning course.
I think it's easy to get tripped up on thinking about steps 1 and 2 at the same time because you're like meshing them between those 2, so I like this Max.
Number 1 is why number 2 is I'm assuming the ‘what’ your podcast will be about.
Max Branstetter: That is exactly what was on my mind, you read it.
Ryan Foland: Okay.
I was going to say this is where you ask Eric what his show is going to be about and you can maybe tease out how that process could work, what are some of the things he should think about.
Let's try to define what his podcast should be on, now that we know why it is. I'm giving you the host ability right now.
Max Branstetter: All right, I feel it, perfect.
So, Eric, you know what your goal for this podcast is.
If you could picture the perfect podcast, you're the host, you're talking about whatever you want, you're interviewing whoever you want and you're sharing it out wherever you want.
What would that look like?
What would you be talking about?
What are the types of stories and conversations that are being had?
Eric Sim: My writing is about career skills, what you can do to advance your career to achieve success in life as well.
And there are many small actions that people can take.
I like to interview some of my followers who have taken small action after reading my articles and how it has impacted them.
For example, a) the follower who wanted to do this podcast.
A year ago he read my article on "Think of yourself as the CEO of the consulting firm rather than an employee".
That mindset change helped him to go through some boring tasks because as an employee you're bound to have some mundane tasks to do.
By not changing any external factors, but simply changing the mindset he's now able to enjoy his job better.
So I want to bring him on my podcast to talk about small actions, and this particular small action is think of yourself as the CEO of a consulting company and get his perspective.
So every podcast will have one action and the result, the impact onto somebody who has taken the action.
Ryan Foland: Okay. I think that's great.
What do you think, Max?
What's clicking in your head and what would you do with that information now?
Max Branstetter: I think that's awesome.
I think one of the most difficult things to figure out, in the beginning, is what the podcast looks like and what the format is like.
And I think already and just what naturally came out of your mouth right there, Eric, is that this clearly needs to be an interview podcast and there's a clear tie back to your personal brand and your impact online.
And you want to interview people that have consumed some sort of pieces of content that you've shared out and then tie it back to actual business results or personal results that they have seen.
This is a really, really cool thing for you because you have such a great reach and you know about followers that have seen results from your stories and pieces of content that you provide.
This is coming full circle and then taking those stories and sharing them out to a broader audience and all it is is just more proof for the impact and influence that you have.
But also, it's really, really cool opportunities for your followers to have the spotlight on them and to showcase their business.
So it could be a little bit different, it could be a totally different business in every episode, but you and a value that's provided is that common thread throughout.
Eric Sim: And also for the other followers who are listening on, they get reminded of the action to be taken and validate that,
"Hey, that action worked for somebody else, maybe it will work for other people as well."
So I have got some other participants who have attended my webinars, they have gone on to use some of the techniques to go through interviews with big international banks and they got the job, they got the internship, they got the full-time job.
I think that their process, the process that they've gone through tough interviews must also be interesting for some of the students and young professionals out there.
So this podcast is not going to be just me sharing my experience, but also what other people have experienced or what other people have done combining with what I have told them.
Ryan Foland: Excellent.
Now I'm going to jump in.
I have a couple of things that I noticed. Max, what I liked that you did is you just basically reaffirmed what Eric, his instincts were, and I can even tell as of that transaction, he's more confident and you see very clearly what he sees.
I think a lot of times it takes somebody else to ask you the questions for you to answer to get it out of your head.
And I don't know how long you've been thinking about that, Eric, but it came out pretty well.
And I think that Max, just by the fact that he's somebody that you don't know that has experience, he just basically repeated what you said and you're like, "Yes," and you're like, "That's it, I love it," right?
Eric Sim: To be honest, I thought of this only when I started the session review, it's in my head but it wasn't very clear.
So as you went through the why and the what with Max, then I'm thinking you've got to ask me right, so what is my podcast going to be?
And for me what's holding me back is, can I sustain?
I don't want to do a podcast that is good for only 3 episodes, I want to do a podcast that can last for a year with new content coming out.
So as I was thinking what's the new content that's going to come out, because every week I've got somebody coming to me to say,
"Thank you, Eric, I took your advice and I did this."
I will get new content, I will not run out of content because now I am inviting other people, I am inviting my followers to give them a voice.
Ryan Foland: Yes. And what I want to also point out for step number 2, is that Max talked about the type of interview, which is an interview format instead of you just more of a monologue.
He also pointed out the fact that you covered the type of guests, where would you get them?
You know because they're already your followers.
And then also he covered the action which ties into the why, which is what would people be doing.
You're literally creating this for your existing followers to showcase the magic of the putting of simple habits done and done over time.
So, Max, we've got step 1 and step 2, my question is does the name of the podcast fit into step 2, or is that step 3?
Max Branstetter: That would be step 3.
Ryan Foland: Okay.
Max Branstetter: You read my mind, you read my podcast name.
Ryan Foland: And I've got a little sticky note here some things that I heard.
So Eric, are you comfortable with steps 1 and 2?
Eric Sim: Yes, very comfortable, thank you for clarifying.
Ryan Foland: Okay, on to number 3.
Max, I set you up for this, but I want you to ask Eric, pretend like I'm not here, I'm just a ginger fly on the wall.
I want you to ask him what his podcast title is, I want to see your process and when you're ready for my crazy ideas, I'll trip in.
Max Branstetter: Perfect.
And on the naming note, this is kind of, depending on how you want to look at it, this could be 3, 3a, 3b, 3c.
Because what's important now for this next block of steps is to iron out, it's part of your planning process, what are these key essentials that your podcast listeners are actually going to see when they go into whatever podcast app they use or when they're looking online for your podcast and that is the things like name, podcast description, podcast artwork, themes you include in the episode titles and descriptions.
To keep it simple, as Ryan so often does, let's focus on the name for now.
And the key thing with a podcast name is you want something that is short, you don't want to be much longer than 2, 3, 4 words.
It's got to be short, it's got to be memorable, bonus points if it's got a little kind of pun or a little witty words in it but the most important thing is that somebody should be able to look at the name of the podcast and know exactly what the podcast is talking about.
So Eric, what would be a fitting name for your podcast?
Eric Sim: Okay, I have 2 and I would like your advice. Number 1 Small actions, big career, or, Small actions, creating big success in your career.
Ryan Foland: Wait, by the way, I just want to say that my first suggestion was Small actions, big results, and this is without us talking at all.
All I want to do point out here is that sometimes we'd say what the name is going to be on accident and I just listened to the way you were describing.
Again, another reason to not think about these initial steps on an island, you can call a friend, you can talk with a follower, you can have an excuse to connect with somebody, you can have Max that will do some exploratory things.
But I feel like a magician because I almost guessed the podcast name, just as a ginger fly on the wall.
So, Max, I want to know your feedback.
Max Branstetter: I think this is the perfect time to convince you, Ryan, to finally start your magician podcast, so this is perfect.
Ryan Foland: I prefer to be a gingergician.
Max Branstetter: There we go, that's not a tongue twister.
Ryan Foland: That failed the test that Max set forth.
Max Branstetter: This is amazing, the way it's worked out, both you Eric and you Ryan had very similar answers that you jotted down as your first answer, think that's like a sign that you're onto something good.
But whether that last word is career or results, that's something that you can iron out a little bit down the line, you know, ask family, friends if you are using a social media platform that allows you to do polls or ask questions to your audience, that's something that you can do a little market research there and figure out.
But small actions / big career or small actions / big result I think that's perfect because as I mentioned before, it's 4 words, you don't want to go much longer than that.
It's clear that, okay, this is clearly something about people that are taking some sort of small action, it's nothing life-changing but it's made a really big impact on their career.
That's something that once we get to the artwork, when you couple it with artwork and you have your image there, Eric, as well as some sort of imagery that ties back to results then it's immediately recognizable what it is to the potential podcast listener.
Ryan Foland: And here's what I like from what I hear, is that Max wasn't too judgmental on your idea, it was already there based on what you had sort of said.
What I listened to was him saying this is good to move on to the next step and so many people probably get stuck at the name of their podcast.
But if you come up with something and then as Max said, come up with 3 versions of it and ask your followers, get a little bit of market research.
So I like that we didn't get stuck on this.
I'm going to share with you some of my other ones and we'll see what you think.
One possibility would be Mindset change just in general, Action mindset, I've never heard of that, you might have a concept of an action mindset that seems like an interesting combo.
I don't know if you like this one, but Baby steps.
Eric Sim: Baby steps? Yes.
Ryan Foland: Right, like listen to my podcast, Baby Steps.
What's it about?
Obviously, it's not about children, it's about the baby steps you take to land your next job or whatever.
Small actions, big advice, that would be interesting and the flip here would be not that you're giving the big advice, but that the person who's taking your advice is showing how big the impact is.
Eric Sim: Wow. That is profound.
If you can come through with that and it's not mistaken that I'm the one giving the advice, yeah.
Ryan Foland: And now this context could be built out in the description, it could be shown visually in the image but it starts with the name.
Here's another one, Small reminder.
This is the idea of like it's a small reminder podcast if you have X amount of time I'll give you one small, today I'm going to give you one small reminder make your bed, and that's the episode topic and that's what it is because I'm sure you tell people to make the bed, right.
Eric Sim: I've watched that speech.
Ryan Foland: Okay, and the final one which is probably the lamest, but will score me the biggest points on the punny scale, The Pudding Podcast.
And at least in the US, there's this cliche of like the proof is in the pudding, and so it's like, it gets a little cerebral, but and that's the smallest at the very end of my piece of paper, but I just wanted to give you an idea of just very fresh ideas, just listening to you.
So if you do ask somebody to help you come up with an idea for your podcast, tell them to listen to you and just write down as many things and keywords and then you can look and discuss.
Eric Sim: Yeah, I got 1 more to add, Small action, big success.
Ryan Foland: Yeah, I think that might have been the second one you said but it really encapsulates the podcast is about small things and big success is not hyperbolic and it can be relative to who's thinking.
And especially since you're showcasing people who maybe are on their way to success, you're not trying to get the Max Branstetter's and the Ryan Foland's and like the biggest names in the industry right off the gate.
Max Branstetter: Exactly, thank you. Sometimes a reputation precedes you.
Ryan Foland: Eric are you clear on steps 1, 2, and 3, are you ready for step 4?
Eric Sim: Yes.
Ryan Foland: Okay, I have no idea what step 4 is, I'm going to ask Max to make it up.
Max Branstetter: Well I have a question for you, Eric.
Would you rather for the sake of this recording and for the sake of this exercise, would you rather continue down the path of ironing out some of those other basic essentials that are more on the planning standpoint, such as artwork and description, or do you have some questions about the more technical side, podcast equipment, software, things you would need to actually record it as opposed to just keep these ideas in your head or on paper?
Eric Sim: I want to go into the technical bit.
I think the artwork I can figure it out on my own and those I'm sure you can tweak, it doesn't mean that once you are out is fixed.
I think the title should be fixed but artwork you can always add along the way in episode 3, 4, you know, you keep changing.
Ryan Foland: And I will give a couple of two-cents on the image and Max, you can probably jump in as well.
But there are standard things like it's a 3000 by 3000 pixel image, if you can get your face, your likeness on there.
I think that's a good branding effort, using colors that are on the opposite end of the color spectrum to create a nice contrast in a bright pop, not getting too wordy or too in the weeds.
I believe you should have your name front and center as much as you can, so Small advice big success with Eric Sim that these ideas of really packing that in, those would be my essentials, get your face, get your name and have the biggest font as you could relatively speaking.
Max, what do you think?
Max Branstetter: Yeah, and that's such a great point when you're thinking about the size and how this is actually going to look when you lay it out.
Keep in mind that most of the time when your listener is looking at your podcast artwork, it's not going to be more than 1 to 2 inches so 2 to 5 centimeters my conversion is spot on, I'm sure. But it's not going to be more than half of finger length or so.
With that in mind, it's super important like Ryan said, it is a podcast that ties back to you as a person or your personal brand, it is extra important to have a great image of you that's kind of front-centered or something engaging.
You want to have that podcast name and as big a font as you can without it completely taking over the artwork.
And you want your final artwork to be eye-catching or thumb-stopping because often your artwork is going to be seen against other podcasts.
I mean, there are over a million podcasts now and that's only going to go up and up and up, and anything you can do to stand out, be exciting while still being clear about what your podcast is about it’s going to work better for you when you're seen up against other podcasts.
Ryan Foland: I think that's enough for him to go on for step number 3.
So to recap, we have number 1, answer the question why do you want a podcast?
Number 2 what is your podcast going to be, and that includes the type, the format, the guest structure, the actions that people will be taking that you hope that they'll be taking.
Step 3, once you've gotten the basics, you've got momentum, you are trying to decide your name, you're not getting stuck on stupid, you're keeping it simple, and then getting some versions to test and get some market research and feedback.
You've got your description as an opportunity to lay out your goals with the podcast, the artwork is a good visual way to tie in with your brand.
Step 4, I'm assuming Max that we get more technical here from an equipment standpoint since we've already, we've gotten ourselves to a point where we're invested in this idea but now we got to actually invest?
Max Branstetter: Yeah, exactly.
So let's go down the technical route for a little bit.
The first thing, the elephant in the room, which I think won't be a shocker to anybody listening, the first thing is a good quality podcast microphone.
It sounds funny but until you get your microphone it's going to take a little while to get comfortable talking like you will in the podcast.
And the funny thing that happens is especially if you're somebody who's not used to using a microphone, you kind of have this tendency to speak like a sports announcer or a newscaster, and you project your voice a lot like a lot more than you normally would just because you want to project and have your podcast come through clearly.
But when you're using a microphone on a podcast, you want to have as normal and natural voice as you are just when you're talking to a friend or a family member, when you're hanging out, it needs to come through like that.
So buying that microphone, practicing is the absolute number one first step as far as the equipment side goes.
It depends on what you're looking for but you can get some really good mic options that are a great bang for the buck, it won't cost you your entire wallet or your entire savings and they're going to be really dependable something that you can use for years and years.
It's definitely a worthwhile investment to get that pretty early on in the process.
Ryan Foland: Okay, so step 4 is going to be your microphone.
And I'm also going to add in a video component if you do plan on making this a podcast to capture the video.
Now, Max, you may not know this, but Eric is more set up than anyone in the history of the world because when the pandemic hit, he went and spent more money than you can imagine on all of the coolest and the most amazing gear, ever.
So, Eric, I know you got this one covered, right?
Eric Sim: Yes, I think I can use some of the equipment that I use already now for a podcast.
The microphone that I've used the most is the Blue Yeti microphone.
Ryan Foland: That's exactly what I got here, my friend.
Eric Sim: Oh, fantastic.
Max Branstetter: Wow, I'm outnumbered, I'm out Blue Yeti-ed.
Ryan Foland: You don't have a Blue Yeti Max?
Max Branstetter: Since we're name dropping, I have the ATR 2100 USB mic which is now the ATR 2100 X, which is a fantastic USB mic as well.
Blue Yeti is great, both of those options are not going to break your bank, but the quality is going to be really, really good so you're a step ahead on that, Eric.
Ryan Foland: One thing that I will suggest, one thing that I did learn is that you should get your microphone off of your desk, that's why you should invest in a little arm that can stay off your desk so that if you're writing notes, you're doing things it's not picked up.
A lot of times people have the Yeti and it will sit on their desk the editor or they might have to edit out all these big noises and like, what is that, it's you touching your desk.
So get your microphone off your desk.
Eric SIm: Yes, I will do that. What do you call that, the hanger?
Ryan Foland: It's like an extension arm.
Max Branstetter: It's a Boom Arm.
Ryan Foland: Yeah.
Okay, Max, in sake of time here we are on step 4, am I correct to assume that step 5 is exploring software?
If we are under the impression that step 4 is microphone and video set up to be professional production?
Max Branstetter: Right, so there's the hardware side like the microphone, the boom arm, the pop filter, there are things like that that are pretty low cost, that can really improve your quality.
And then on the software side, this is going to get very meta, but Zoom is a fantastic free tool or low-cost tool if you're interested in getting the membership.
Zoom has opened so many doors from the podcasting standpoint, obviously, it's taken off in recent years as far as how popular it is, and so many people are familiar with it.
But what's really cool about Zoom, one you can record audio, or you can record video or both.
You can also if you have the settings right, you can record on separate audio tracks, which is super helpful for your editor, whether that's you or somebody else doing the editing.
Because Eric, let's say you're talking, you're the host on your podcast, you're talking, your guest for whatever reason has a giant truck drive by.
What you can do after editing there, you can actually go in and silence out that truck on your guest track, but leave your track untouched on that part.
And what essentially happens is that giant truck noise becomes invisible to the listener, so by recording on separate tracks you just cleaned up a major loud spot or blemish on the podcast that previously wouldn't have been possible to take out.
So really cool options there.
And so Zoom is very easy to use and very easy to record and save with.
Ryan Foland: You know there are programs that are free like Audacity if that's still free.
Max Branstetter: Yeah.
Ryan Foland: I use Adobe Audition from the Adobe Suite for the editing.
I had a radio show for over 3 years and I ended up doing all of my editing for post-production of the shows that I repurposed as a podcast, and I will tell you, it was difficult to get used to audio editing because especially if you're used to looking at the video you just feel like there's more there.
Once you do editing on a video platform enough you start to like, you see something you're like, "Oh, that's a num that's an n," and it just becomes natural.
So if you are looking to start a podcast, though I still do think it's great to get help from the production side, it's important to understand some of the fundamentals so that you can best communicate with somebody who you've hired to help with the sound.
Another resource is Zencastr.
This is an audio-only cloud-based recording we've used here at the World of Speakers, I've used as well before, we’ve played around with it.
During COVID they've made their process free and they're in beta for video launch but Zencastr, Z-E-N-C-A-S-T-R, it does a nice job of recording in the cloud and the audio whatever technology they use is nice.
Now, Max, just quick thoughts from the software standpoint.
Do you see any trends with video as a key component or with audio just primarily?
Tell Eric what he should do, should he just go audio, should he go video, does it depend?
I think people are thinking about that, they don't know what to do.
Max Branstetter: Yeah, yeah that's a great question, and it's one that's getting asked more and more I think.
First of all, whatever you're most comfortable with is going to come through best in the final results, so if you're somebody who maybe has a really big personal brand and is a big speaker, used to being on camera, video that's a natural fit.
If you're somebody who's never recorded a video in your life, never wants to even touch the video at all, it's like a giant hill to tackle, don't even worry about it, just focus on the audio.
But I think as far as the trends go there's definitely more and more interest in recording video for your podcast.
What's interesting here is there's a lot of people now that are recording video as they're recording their podcast episodes, even if they don't ultimately share out that final podcast video, they want to have that content there because the video is the most rich content that you have.
They want to have recorded video in case somewhere down the line they do chop it up in the snippets and share it out or they edit it a little bit, put it on YouTube to have a visually engaging option there.
There's definitely a lot of upsides to the video standpoint, YouTube is great for SEO and discoverability, it's a great way to grow your podcast, get it to more people because as you know YouTube video sites like that are an incredible search engine in themselves.
I think the one caveat, and this is the biggest caveat, this is something that I will repeat over and over again— even if you are recording a podcast with video, you need to make sure that audio is still your priority.
Because as you mentioned earlier, Eric, your listeners might be listening to this while they're on the treadmill, they might be listening to this commuting or while they are working, or cooking, or cleaning, working out, things like that.
That's one of my favorite parts of the podcasting medium is that you can multitask, you can do something else while you're listening and still retain that value, listen to the fascinating stories, educational stories, things like that.
With that in mind, you need to keep the focus on the audio even if you are recording video, so if you're recording video make sure you're still speaking close to the mic, make sure you're not making a ton of visual references or calling out, telling how nice Eric’s shirt looks, things like that, that are going to be irrelevant to the audio listener.
Because there are still going to be a lot of people, probably the majority people that only listen to the podcast.
Eric Sim: Fantastic, I'm very happy to hear that Zoom is good because as a beginner I hesitate to learn another piece of software for recording.
So if you're telling me Zoom is good for recording, and now we can even record different tracks for easy editing later, this is fantastic, so I can do it right away.
Number 2, whether to record video or not, I'm comfortable with video now after doing so many webinars, so I'm likely to record video, not with the intention of using video as the main but probably as a snippet that Max suggested, in order for people to come and listen to the full podcast.
And number 2 is although I want to record a video I want to ensure that my guest who has come on to say that,
"Don't worry, if you're not comfortable with the video we don't need to do video".
I can be on video but when we are showing video it will be his audio, maybe with a bit of my face for 30 seconds, but you'll still be on podcast audio-only.
In this way I think my guest will feel comfortable.
I remember going on my first guest podcast, I was already quite nervous and in my very first video recording I was totally freaked out, yeah.
Ryan Foland: I'm really glad you brought that up because I think that if I'm going to trip in from a non-technical and from the soft skills of being a host, it really is about getting your audience to be comfortable.
It is nice to see their face so you can interact and you can tell as you're with them and you can engage, but they might have really bad lighting and they might not want to prim themselves and it just might be something where it takes them away from feeling natural.
So be careful if you do choose a video route, make sure as Eric is so conscious of his guests, make sure it's something that they're comfortable with, but they should all be comfortable with audio.
The other thing I'll trip in about audio is that it's a lot easier to edit audio than video.
There have been some episodes where I give Max notes afterwards, I'm like, "Max, this part didn't work a dog came into this part," and we're able to patch it together, cut out whole sections without losing a beat.
So those are some of the things from the audience standpoint, I think that's great.
So, gentleman, we've got the 5 steps of technically building a podcast.
Why are you going to start it?
What is your podcast going to be about— the type, the guest structure, the action people will take?
Number 3, naming your podcast, don't get stuck, but just name it, start to get feedback.
Number 4, hardware, video, microphone, making sure that audio is a top priority.
And then number 5 is the software, which I think to keep it simple, people are comfortable with Zoom, they know how to use it.
So if you want to start, start there, if you want to get crazy and fancy you can go further.
But Max, on that software, can you as a very high-level let people know how these podcasts are published and syndicated through software?
Because I want that in the bubble.
Max Branstetter: Yes, absolutely and that's a distinction that is very specific to podcasting.
What you're talking about, Ryan, is you have yourself as the host, it uses the word host, but you also need a type of software that is a third party host, and this is really, it's a website, there are plenty of these companies online.
One that we've used and had great success with is Libsyn, L-I-B-S-Y-N, and what a third-party host like Libsyn does, you buy a plan, which is a pretty low cost, you set up your show and what it does is it creates an RSS feed.
And what that RSS feed is, it's a little bit of code that's specific to your show to start.
And every single time you publish a new episode, it adds a little bit more code in all of these different platforms out there, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google podcasts, there are endless podcast platforms out there.
They all are updated based on the updates to the RSS feed.
And that is how your actual podcast gets sent out and shared on these platforms and that is ultimately how your listeners listen to the podcast.
So it's really important to get set up on a third-party host, whether it's LIbsyn or somebody else to set up that RSS feed and allow you to actually distribute the show.
On top of that, these sites, these third party hosts can store an incredible amount of data and file sizes, and that way all these files, they actually lived through these third party hosts as opposed to trying to squeeze everything on your website from start to finish, and then next thing you know your website is crashing all the time, which I don't think anybody wants to happen, it's really important to get set up like that.
Ryan Foland: Okay.
So Eric that's a lot, does that make sense, do you have any questions, are you confused, are you clear?
Eric Sim: It makes sense, this is probably the part that I least understand.
Number 1 is you are saying that we host this, it's like hosting it on YouTube then sharing the YouTube link to LinkedIn, sharing YouTube link to Facebook.
Ryan Foland: Let's look at it like a website, so the website your URL is like the address on the house, right, you have to know where to go, that's the address.
Then your house is actually built on a foundation like it's actually sitting on land somewhere, there's that space.
There's going to be a structure that's maybe the framing of the structure, which is your house, it's already set up, but then maybe you come and you decorate, you move some walls and you do things like that.
So those are the elements of the website, you have the hosting of the website which holds a cloud space that you can hold your data from your website, you have a structure, it's already framed out and it's built, that would be like a website template or that would be a way of the structure around what's housed, and then how you artistically create your inside and your outside of your house that's more of your brand design.
And then the URL is what is called an RSS feed, it's this real simple syndication.
So let me take this further here.
For a podcast, if a podcast was a house, that's an analogy to the website, you have to have some sort of place, a foundation to house them, a hosting.
Don't think YouTube, think like GoDaddy or Hostgator or some sort of hosting.
Eric Sim: Okay, GoDaddy I understand.
Ryan Foland: Then on there, there's something that holds that's built on it, that would be iTunes, it's a framed house that basically says here's the frame and if you want to decorate it you put your image on there and your description and then that's where it's housed.
But how does anybody find that?
How does anybody get to it?
Well just like an address or a URL, there's this RSS feed and when you take that feed it virtually let's open houses for anybody on all these platforms to listen to all the different podcasts that are in your house, that are housed by this iTunes or some other big platform that's sitting on a foundation that's stored in some sort of cloud storage.
Eric Sim: Okay, clearer.
I think some of my followers and myself may need some hand-holding as we reach this step.
Ryan Foland: Okay.
So Max, for somebody who's confused, that's where a podcast producer like you would essentially handle that side of it, is that correct?
Max Branstetter: Yeah, exactly, that's something where you could give your podcast producer, make sure you're on the same page as far as what sort of account you want, how many episodes you are planning per month, things like that because it impacts storage space.
But your podcast producer can go in and fully set up your show and get it to the point that you launch the show and then can go in on your behalf and publish every single episode.
This is totally something that it's important to know a little bit about, but you don't need to get too bogged down in all the details, the key thing is that you need to use third-party hosts like that in order to actually have a podcast.
Ryan Foland: Now Eric, I don't like that part of it, okay.
I've got 2 podcasts, I am launching another one, I have Max take care of all that, and the SpeakerHub team takes care of all of that.
So I think that having somebody at least initially to have a budget to help through that process, it can be very affordable if you value the time that it would take you to figure it out versus not.
There are some platforms that syndicate and publish out, people that will sell you on certain bells and whistles on certain platforms to make it easier on you, but there are limitations sometimes.
It's best to follow the industry standards and a lot of times you just hire somebody who does that for a living and it will make your life so much easier.
Eric Sim: That's what I like to do as well.
I find that everyone should find out what they do best.
For me it's getting followers to come onto my podcast, creating the content, I have already an audience so I should focus on that.
Whereas the RSS, the hosting thing, who the host, that if Max is the best person then I should engage Max to do that, then I can continue to do my other stuff.
Ryan Foland: Absolutely.
And I think focusing on your strengths is a key part, that's a simple piece of advice that helps you build your success.
In respect of time here as we're approaching the hour mark, I want to check in with Max, because we initially said 10 steps and we are technically at 5 steps.
So Max is there anything from the technical standpoint that we're missing or has this really covered all of the tech?
Max Branstetter: Those are definitely most of the key essentials as far as the key building blocks.
One other thing that involves a little bit of tech and important to touch on, we don't need to dive fully into it, is licensing music to use in your show.
This is something where you can either, there's plenty of sites out there, it varies based on what country you're in, but there are plenty of sites out there where you can license music for pretty low cost, once you find a track that you like and that is a good fit with you, a good fit with your show.
You can then procure the music license, download that track, and then you or your editor can chop it up into an intro theme song, an outro theme song, you can make music, little transitions in there if you want to have different segments on your show.
There's a lot of really cool things you can do with it.
So music licensing is something that's a little tacky, but it's more involved in making sure that you find a song that you really like and you want to hear every single week because that's what's going to be there and you want to make sure it's something your listeners are going to like every single week.
Ryan Foland: I'm going to put that into step 2.
Max Branstetter: No problem, I'm all for organization.
Ryan Foland: All right.
So Eric, to make this simple on you and your friends, and your followers and everyone here listening, on the World of Speakers podcast, we have 5 steps to get you halfway, which really covers the technical side: know why you're doing it, know what your podcast is going to be about, including the type, the following, the action, the music, all that jazz.
You've got your name to flush out with the description artwork.
Step number 4 is going to be the hardware, microphone, video.
Step 5 is software. Zoom, some of these hosting platforms, and possibly somebody to help you figure that out.
Now that leaves us with 5 more steps and I think we should come up with 5 steps that have to do with the non-technical and the softer skills of it to really round this out.
Now, this will be a rapid-fire session and I've already got the 5 steps that I think we can lay out.
So I'm going to say the step that I think, we'll just sort of quickly run through this is a good flow and then we're going to do a lightning round we'll be like,
"For this step what do you think, what do you think, what do I think?"
And we'll just do a round robin that way to create structure.
I think the number 6 should be scheduling. Max, any opposition to that?
Max Branstetter: No, that sounds great.
Ryan Foland: Number 7, I would say show structure including ads and possibly monetization.
Do we like that, yes or no?
Max Branstetter: Yes.
Ryan Foland: Number 8 I think is about the energy of your show that you want to bring to it.
I think that's a whole step in itself.
Do you agree Max?
Max Branstetter: Yes.
Ryan Foland: Good, then I'm going to say that number 9 is the follow-up and the sharing and the routine that you create for your guests to help share the podcast when it's live.
Max Branstetter: Affirmative.
Ryan Foland: And number 10, very important, have fun with it.
Max Branstetter: You read my mind, that was going to be a bonus if you didn't include it.
Ryan Foland: And I'm telling you, I think not only should you focus on doing what you're the best at and where skills are, if you're not doing something that makes you have fun, then you're investing time and things that will make you miserable.
So we have the next 5 steps set up, this will be the lightning round, and here's what I'll do— I will talk about scheduling as a step, maybe give one tip on it or insight, Max you do too, and then Eric you can either add or ask a question about it, okay?
Step number 6 when it comes to scheduling.
I use a service called youcanbook.me, there's Kalendi, something like that, but it's so important to make the scheduling process easy.
For me, it integrates into my existing calendar, I let people book on it directly, I have an application link, it's very dynamic that you can set it up.
And the worst thing you can do is just like, "Oh, I'm just going to email my guest, and then they're going to email me back," because you'll get so confused and stressed about it.
Max, any tips on scheduling?
Max Branstetter: Get ahead of your schedule because it's much less stressful and much more fun that way if you have guests lined up.
And even if you have episodes that are recorded a month to 6 weeks ahead of the actual release date, you're going to be much happier, much less stressed out that way than always being last minute on something.
Ryan Foland: Yeah. Eric, what do you think about scheduling? Any questions or comments?
Eric Sim: I do that for my LinkedIn posts so I post every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:45 in the morning Singapore time.
And because it's a fixed schedule, over the weekend I start thinking of what to post, and also I keep a few post ideas as well.
So I think for the podcast, I will do the same if it's a weekly or monthly release when it is, so way before, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks before getting it done.
And I think it's very important what Max said, keep 1 or 2 ahead of schedule so that last-minute you forcing, your guest didn't appear, there's always some backup that you can release.
Ryan Foland: Yep, I'm a big fan of sandbagging, get a bunch of them in there and it makes your life that much easier.
Also, fun fact, Max you'll have to fact check me, I believe something like 75% of all podcasts never make it past 7 episodes.
Is that about right, Max?
Max Branstetter: Yeah, I haven't seen the latest numbers on this 7 episode stuff but that's kind of like a famous infamous podcast fact.
What I have seen is 8 out of 9 new podcasts don't make it past episode 10.
Ryan Foland: Wow, okay.
Max Branstetter: 8 out of 9.
Ryan Foland: Okay, and just think, if you want to fight that create 10 episodes, find 10 guests, commit to 10 so that you can be part of that top tier that actually gets it done.
So step 6 in the bag, scheduling and being ahead of the game.
Number 7 structure ads and monetization.
Max, explain what we do with my 3-1-3 podcast as a way that you've helped me create more value for me in addition to more value for my guests.
Max Branstetter: Absolutely.
So I think monetization, getting some sort of ads, sponsorship, that's something that a lot of new podcasters have in mind.
Ryan Foland: Thank you SpeakerHub, go SpeakerHub.
Max Branstetter: To preface that, it can take a very long time to build up your listeners, to build up your support in order to attract maybe some of the biggest advertisers out there that you might want.
But I think whether it is directly through ads or indirectly, there are lots of ways to make money for your podcast.
And what's really cool, what Ryan is talking about we've done with some of his podcasts and specifically for the 3-1-3 challenge because it ties back so closely to some services that Ryan offers as part of his business, we've integrated ads that are even read by Ryan himself but they're specific, targeted ads where he has a specific offering of something for a specific price amount or an ad that's specific for the few months around when the episode is released.
And you can change up and add for every single episode but the host read ads and when I say host read I mean talking about Ryan where he actually goes and he integrates into the podcast so it makes sense.
And for the listener, it's even kind of fun to listen to because even though your listener knows it's an ad, they still enjoy hearing from you.
Those can perform really well as far as driving back to something else that you have to offer as a business.
Ryan Foland: And I'd like to add that you can have a pre-roll mid-roll or post-roll.
So Eric, just for example, even when you start going you don't have to overthink it but you can have a mid-roll with a little bit of a music break telling people that you post every certain day on LinkedIn and next Tuesday at that time I just want you to go on LinkedIn and find my name.
So again, it's a way of utilizing the time you have with people, in the beginning, the middle, or the end, that's something that I've learned and I wish I would have just done it sooner.
Eric Sim: Yeah, I think that will be very useful for me.
I've got a newsletter, a monthly newsletter on LinkedIn.
Ryan Foland: So you can promote your newsletter from your podcast as an ad.
Eric Sim: Yeah. It's great because even LinkedIn news promoted my newsletter.
Ryan Foland: Wow, you are one of the top voices of LinkedIn and I'm going to tooth your own horn for that but you know, there you go.
Eric Sim: Yeah, I'm glad that to be able to use these and also for the guests that come on board, if they have something that they want to share, want to sell, if it's appropriate for my other followers, then I will allow them to do that as well.
Ryan Foland: Great idea of letting your own customers have their own little ads to make sure it's valuable for them and if you do that, they will be more interested in sharing.
That's step 9, let's go to step 8, I just think the energy of your show should not put people to sleep.
And this is one of my strengths, I get excited, I get pumped up.
Max you've mentioned that you do want to have this normal as though you're talking, I have that but I'm also fired up.
I just want people to obviously be themselves but know that your energy is contagious.
And if you are not smiling and you're not excited and you're asking open-ended questions, the guest might pick up on that energy and just be low energy and not give you their best.
So Eric, what kind of energy do you want to have for your show?
Eric Sim: Before I answer, I want to say that from our last podcast I did with Ryan I was influenced by Ryan.
So by nature, I'm a more mellow person, whereas Ryan is on the other hand so energetic, so I can't help but be energized by him and that makes it so much more fun to do that podcast.
So I think as a host, you must be energetic yourself and at the same time, bring out the energy in your guests, because we can expect guests to be nervous, we put them on the spot, yeah so their energy may come down a little bit.
Ryan Foland: And just for fun and ironic, we're talking about energy and one of my main lights have just gone out so if you're listening to this audio, imagine I'm talking about energy as my entire face goes dark, which I think is funny.
It's an indication that we're close to the end of the show.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on step number 9, which is a follow-up and a routine for you to help your guests share your podcast.
For World of Speakers we do all kinds of stuff, we transcribe it, we make it into a blog, we make images, we make quote cards.
For my 3-1-3 challenge, we do an audio clip, we do 3 images, my assistant knows to send it out Monday, Wednesday, Friday, there's a routine.
When you make it easy for people to share your show and you give them valuable assets, they will. Max, any insights on that?
And then Eric's thoughts before we go to step number 10.
Max Branstetter: I was just about to say that I feel like we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel this is literally the opposite because we've lost the light at the end of the tunnel.
I think that's exactly right.
I think the key thing there is to make sure that your guests are as excited about recording the podcast and sharing out the podcast as you are.
So when you keep that energy that Ryan talks about naturally that it flows through to your guest and if your guest has a great time more often than not, they are at least going to share that with their audience in some form.
Ryan Foland: Yeah and make it easy for them to share, make the images, give them an audiogram, tag them on LinkedIn, give them a heads up 2 weeks before it's going to launch so that they're not caught off guard.
There's a lot of best practices that are just for digital marketing which applies to that. Eric, any comments on that?
Eric Sim: Yes, this is very key because I get to be a guest, and sometimes when people don't do enough for me to share and I don't share then they lost the opportunity to distribute.
It could be a great podcast, but for me, because sharing podcasts is not natural, it's not something that I've done frequently so I do not know which one to share, is it the iTunes version, is it somebody's website version, or is there something else that is best.
I share your sharing, for example, if Ryan shared on LinkedIn, should I share his LinkedIn, or should I then copy the original source and share it on my own and then tag Ryan.
I think that bit is as important as making the podcast.
Ryan Foland: Yeah, if your podcast is posted on a forest, on a tree and no one's there it doesn't really exist.
Eric Sim: Yeah, especially when I have followers who want to listen in, and if I do not know how to share or nobody teaches me then the effort of making that podcast has gone down the drain.
Ryan Foland: And I think that and I want to know Max's opinion before we get to the best tip yet, but I think the answer is that it depends, and that's why it's confusing.
So sure, you can send it to iTunes, but also I like to bring people back to my website, so using the RSS feed to my website, I would prefer to push them there.
Yet, on my newsletter, for people who are warming up to me, I don't want to be too pushy and I don't want them to just go back to my website, so on my newsletter, I send the iTunes link because I know it's easier for them to subscribe.
So the point here is that it is very important that you help your guests understand how you would want them to share, make the decisions for them, help to guide them. Max, to you.
Max Branstetter: That's exactly right, it definitely does depend on a general way to think about it, more often than not sending them back to your website is favored because that is your real estate, and often your podcast goals are going to at least tie back to your website in some form, whether it's a business website or it's just your personal brand, it ties back to you.
So driving back to your website which it could be, you might have a podcast player, an embedded player on your site that you can play right there, or you might do a show notes blog post for each episode and then you can check out the blog post link which often has an embedded player as well.
So we don't need to get into all those details now, but more often than not you're going to want to drive back traffic to your website, it does depend on your goals though, you might have a high desire to have your podcast rank highly on the Apple podcasts charts.
If that's super important to you, of course, you're going to want to share out that link to Apple podcasts and make that the priority.
So it definitely depends and it depends on the medium you're in, but more often than not it's your website or Apple podcasts.
But I will say Spotify, globally is growing a lot in the podcast space, so it's a good one to keep in mind as well.
Eric Sim: Yeah, Ryan, you may be pleased to know that the last podcast we did, I put it on my website IOL.life, it's looking very nice over there.
Ryan Foland: I'm going to go check that out and I'm going to tweet it, how about that?
Then I might LinkedIn it, then I might do whatever, but we are here with 9 simple steps and the 10th step, and Eric, I want you to speak to this: Have fun.
What is going to be fun about your podcast, for you personally? Like why is this going to be fun for you?
Eric Sim: I think the possibility is enormous.
I can invite not just my followers, I can invite senior leaders because, among people who follow my work on LinkedIn, I've got CEO, I've got senior leaders in education, they can come in, they may not have taken any action from reading my work, but they can share more of their tips and how they become successful and what small action advice that they can give to the listener out there.
Ryan Foland: Yep, now I'm going to interrupt you because you're answering a different question. I'm going to put you on the spot.
You just tell me why it would be valuable for the people to be on your podcast and to share it.
But I'm asking you the official 10 steps of a podcast is having fun, that means you having fun.
And I didn't hear you say word fun in there.
So are you excited to interview these people, what are you going to have fun with?
Because otherwise I would suggest not start a podcast because then you'll be miserable.
What kind of fun do you see in this, as he's laughing?
Eric Sim: I think it will be great fun for me to be interviewing other people and I may enjoy grilling a lot of people, I will enjoy very much finding out what action people take.
Now I don't actively go out there to find out,
"Hey after reading my post, what action did you take?"
I don't do that.
I get the information because people come to me on their own.
But once I start doing this podcast, I will be more proactive asking people and I think that will give me a lot of joy, a lot of fun to know,
"Hey that guy did that, let's get in on, grill him a little bit."
Ryan Foland: I like that, I like that you have fun grilling people, I do too, it's a blast. I will accept that answer.
So congratulations.
Max do you have any closing comments about the number 10 which is have fun?
And then for perpetuity, I'm going to put in stone the 10 steps that we've set out here, which is a pretty comprehensive look at starting a big project of a podcast all under 10:00 hours, or at least I'm saying the time that it's taken.
What do you think?
Max Branstetter: This 10-hour recording.
Yes, have fun, it goes back to what you said earlier in this conversation, Eric, one of your biggest questions was how do you sustain your podcast, how do you become somebody who has dozens or hundreds or even thousands of podcast episodes, not somebody who falls off within the first 10. I think it all goes back to having fun.
If you have fun that's the most important thing that will keep your podcast going because it's going to be something that you're excited to record and share out every single time.
Ryan Foland: Now I will wrap up the 10 steps here with a certain filter for all of the speakers listening.
Yes in this world that is in a pandemic and will be recovering from the pandemic for the foreseeable future, stages are gone, what we used to know is not there.
But you have an opportunity as a podcast to create your own stage.
Maybe you were speaking in front of hundreds of people before a podcast could help you speak in front of thousands or hundreds of thousands.
A podcast can be an extension of your brand, it can help you build your business, it can give you a platform to practice your art of speaking.
Wherever you are in the world, people are ready to consume content.
Here are the 10 tips, the 10 Maxamilliam- Ginger-Sim-approved tips for starting your own podcast.
Number 1, decide, answer the question of why do you want to start a podcast.
Number 2, decide what type of podcast you want it to be.
Number 3, name your podcast.
Number 4, get the hardware set up.
Number 5, get the software set up.
Number 6, figure out your scheduling system and machine.
Number 7, create a structure and don't forget to include self-serving ads as well as encourage your guests to be able to send ads of their own in real-time.
Number 8, create an energy that doesn't make people fall asleep.
And really good content can keep people awake, so I don't want you to think that you have to be like, "Ra, ra, ra," because you might annoy people.
And I run that thin line between annoying and funny and energy, but it's my own line. You can be a successful introvert and have a podcast that's super mellow but super cerebral, so I just want to clarify that.
Number 9 is all about a follow-up and a sharing strategy so that you make it easy for you and your guests to share the podcast episodes with the world.
Number 10, have fun.
I want to go back to number 7 because we're here at the show and at the end of it, I want to give an ad and a plug for SpeakerHub for the amazing team there, what they do with this podcast, for sponsoring this.
If you have not checked out SpeakerHub, go to speakerhub.com, get your own speaker profile, you can search for events, you can showcase yourself as a speaker.
And now I would also like to implement another number 7 by asking Max how you can get in touch with him and how he can help you through this process for your podcast.
Max, what's your ad?
Max Branstetter: Perfect.
Well, thank you so much, Ryan.
My business is Maxpodcasting so you can find everything about that at Maxpodcasting.com, reach out to me anytime with questions on podcast production.
And my podcast that is released every Wednesday morning is the Wild Business Growth Podcast, you can find the link there at Maxpodcasting.com as well.
Ryan Foland: All right, and Eric, I want you to give a promotional ad for the podcast that you're going to make, that's the challenge.
And just send them to your website.
But I want you to really pretend like you're 25 episodes into it, you're just a guest on this show and you are going to pitch your podcast.
So I hear you have a podcast, Eric, tell me about it, and where can people find out more?
Eric Sim: My podcast, "Small action, big success" I've got so many guests who came on board to share with us what kinds of small action they have taken and the impact on their lives, I hope the listener out there can also benefit from this podcast.
And yeah, come on in and listen to the information is on my website IOL.life, life is L-I-F-E you will hear not only me but Ryan and Max as well.
Ryan Foland: That's right, because you know we're going to be guests on your show.
Wow, what an episode, this was a special, special, special episode where we tease out 10 simple steps for you to start a podcast.
And when I say you, yes you who's listening and you Mr. Eric Sim who are on your way because you're already at like step 2, 3 you've got 4 down, we just need to get you from 5 and beyond and we know Max can help you out with that.
So gentleman, on behalf of the World of Speakers, myself, and SpeakerHub, this has been a pleasure.
I'm excited, I'm having fun because I think this single podcast episode could inspire hundreds, if not thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of speakers to share and spread their voice and their message to build community and to support the world, all around the world.
All right, Max, thanks again. Eric, thanks so much.
Eric Sim: Thank you for having me.
Max Branstetter: Awesome, thank you so much. Thanks so much, Eric.
A bit about World of Speakers
World of Speakers is a bi-weekly podcast that helps people find their own voices, and teaches them how to use their voice to develop a speaking business.
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