Episode Summary
“Starting a podcast is no easy feat, and creating a great show is even tougher,” says Justin Brown, Co-Founder of Motion and host of this episode of Recorded Content. He explains that the key to starting a successful podcast is having a plan in place for leadership.
But where do you even begin with planning a podcast? Format, host, topics, design, equipment, episode frequency, distribution, KPIs… it’s a lot to think about.
That’s why we created a 3000-word blog post, an editable PDF workbook, and this specific podcast episode to break it all down. In this solo episode, Justin covers why a podcast business plan is essential and what key components it should include. Plus, Justin shares the metrics you need to keep an eye on to measure the impact of your podcast once you get going.
Featured Co-Founder
- Name: Justin Brown
- What he does: He's the co-founder of Motion.
- Company: Motion
- Noteworthy: Justin is also the co-host of the Recorded Content podcast.
Key Insights
- Creating a podcast seems straightforward. But, once you begin, you’ll find that it gets more complicated as you go deeper. Keeping that in mind, when he is on a sales call with a prospect, the first thing Justin says is that podcasting is hard. ''The reason I have that is that there are a lot of moving parts in a lot of aspects of podcasting. Where will your podcast be hosted? How will you develop the content that comes out of it? What is going to be your frequency? What's the name of the show? How's it going to be designed? What's the theme of the show? Who are your guests? Those are just a handful of questions that could be asked in that meeting with leadership.''
- Prior to launching a podcast, define two things: who you are creating it for and your podcast's purpose/objective. ''The target audience is who the show is for, and your content strategy is how the show is going to help them.''
- Where and how will you distribute the podcast? The great thing is your show can be available on every digital channel you use, from your website to social media. ''A podcast is more than just an audio channel. Your company's podcast is much more than an mp3 file distributed on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.'' In addition, you can use each episode to create written, audio, and video pieces of different lengths. ''The show can be a centerpiece for your company's entire content marketing, especially if you produce a video podcast.''
Episode Highlights
With or Without the Help of an Agency, You Must Be Prepared to Answer Leadership’s Questions on Launching a Podcast
”If you’re using an agency, they may be the ones who are going to help you with that strategy. When someone works with us [Motion], we create a 25-page document outlining everything from the theme to the guest profile to the audience to show structure.
We help our customers create designs from cover art to video storyboards to standalone quote cards. But it’s not usually enough for a marketer to go to their boss and say, ‘Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be handled by Motion.’
You’re going to have to define those things on your own. You’re going to have to define those things most likely in advance if you’re going to want leadership to approve your podcast.”
Key Components of Your Podcast Business Plan
”Understand your objectives for how you’re going to create content that’s focused, relevant, and engaging for your target audience. It’ll also help you get started on solid ground with that management team. […]
Once you’ve identified the goals and objectives of your podcast, the next step is to define your target audience. […] The next piece is developing your content strategy. One of the keys to a successful podcast is a strong content strategy. […]
You’re also going to want to outline your distribution plan when you produce a podcast business plan. It’s important to discuss how the podcast will get distributed to your ideal audience. […] You’ll want to identify your budget and resources.”
Measuring the Success of Your Podcast
”You can measure the impact of your podcast with a basic list of KPIs such as subscribers, followers, downloads, website traffic, social engagement, reviews, mentions, and/or revenue. These metrics can give you a sense of the reach and impact of your podcast on your target audience.”