An engaging conversation is a great foundation for a podcast episode. And when you have good rapport between the host and the guest, the audience gets a lot from the conversation, too.

But one of the biggest challenges I faced during my earlier days in podcasting was with the opening phase of a podcast interview. During my first few interviews, I stumbled out of the gate. And I found that it was hard to build rapport before getting into the core topic.

So how do you open a podcast interview? How do you create a welcoming environment for your guest and create momentum right after you hit the record button?

With remote podcast recording platforms like Riverside or SquadCast, you can capture interviews with subject matter experts from anywhere in the world. Building connections with industry influencers, prospects, and customers from the comfort of your home office has never been more accessible.

But even though remote podcast recording platforms make capturing interviews easier, it’s still important to test out your setup before you hit record.

After a company records its first podcast episode, I often get asked, “What did you think?”

And I used to stumble through some feedback. I picked a few things that stood out to me when listening to or watching the episode.

But after a period of time, I realized I wasn’t helping customers that much. It’s not that the points I identified weren’t helpful. It’s that the entire feedback loop wasn’t constructive.

I realized the feedback process had to be more actionable. And I realized there had to be a way to incorporate feedback so your company’s podcast improves.

Your company’s podcast doesn’t have to be a series of back & forth interviews.

There are a lot of ways to share stories. And there are quite a few formats you can use to connect with your audience.

But when you’re trying to plan out your podcast recordings, where do you go to get inspiration for the actual topics for each of your podcast episodes?

Only 24.454% of the active podcasts on ListenNotes (i.e., the RSS feed hasn’t been deleted) published an episode in 2022. This means that only 713,653 podcasts out of nearly 3 million have published an episode this year.

But why is podfade such a problem for podcasters? And why do companies who throw a lot of resources at podcasts experience the same issue?

When new customers come to us for help with launching a podcast, we hear about the struggles.

We learn about how their team produced 15 versions of cover art. We uncover how the company’s leadership team took 4 weeks to review the first podcast script. And we hear about all the different names the team created before choosing one.

But one of the biggest hurdles we hear companies struggle with is getting the host to hit record for the first time.