When it comes to podcasting, there’s a lot of information out there. I mean, A LOT.
- How to start
- Why to start
- What to buy
- When to publish
- How to be a top X% podcaster
- And more.
Like any industry, some of the information is good. While some is just…. well, not. And while a lot of it is well-intentioned, it’s this latter source that can harm not only you as a podcaster but also what you’re doing for your clients when it comes to their podcasts.
So, let’s redress that balance and look at what helps in this podcasting guide.
It’s Not the Gear That Matters, It’s Having the Right Gear
There’s a great myth doing the rounds that you need to have the best gear you can afford to get a great sound. So, new podcasters will be told to buy a condenser mic (they offer more details), and their show will immediately sound better.
Except, no. While condensers offer more details in the sound, they are also more sensitive to sounds around them. So, if you’re in a room with a lot of hard surfaces (bare walls, hardwood floors, windows, tall ceilings, etc), you’re going to sound as if you’re shouting down the Grand Canyon, with the amount of echo and reverb you’re going to hear.
The same goes for video podcasts. You’ll be told to buy a 4K Sony mirrorless camera for $1,000, but then wonder why your videos don’t look as good as those on YouTube, not knowing anything about the lighting and positioning you need.
It doesn’t matter what gear you buy if it’s the wrong gear. You’ll look and sound awful. And if you’re responsible for making your client sound or look good, and you’ve fallen for the kind of advice above, that’s not going to put you in good stead.
So before you start a podcast for yourself (maybe as a business lead to attract clients), or offer podcasting as another option of your client services, take the time to learn what gear does and doesn’t do.
- The importance of room treatment: a $50 mic in a treated room will sound better than a $500 mic in a bare, harsh room
- Mic technique: learn how to sound like the pros you hear on podcasts and other audio mediums and why mic technique is a key reason for this
- What kind of mic is better for your recording space, a dynamic mic or a condenser (hint: unless your room has some form of sound treatment, it’s usually a dynamic)
- The difference between a USB mic, a USB-XLR hybrid mic, and a pure XLR mic (since this will determine if you need to buy extra gear to speak into the mic)
- What lighting is best for your specific needs if you have (or are planning to have) a video podcast
These are just some of the things to consider when it comes to podcast gear. Take the time to understand and make your decision, as it’s one of the most important decisions you’ll make.
Downloads Are the Currency of Success – Err, No, They’re Not
Back in the old days of podcasting—you know, when you almost had to be a NASA scientist to upload your episode to a server—downloads were the main metric for success. And this made sense—to listen to someone’s podcast, you physically had to download the file to your device so you could play it back since there wasn’t the kind of “streaming” we see with Spotify, etc.
So, the more downloads you had, the more successful your podcast was. Skip forward to 2024, though, and we should be talking about other metrics now (in fairness, many podcasters and podcast hosting platforms are).
While downloads are still the starting point—after all, you can’t have a listener without that initial download—there are more important metrics you should be looking at to gauge your success, as well as what you should be reporting to your clients.
- Listen time: also known as listener drop-off or consumption percentage, this is how far into an episode a listener gets before stopping
- Listener engagement: are they skipping parts, replaying sections, sharing, etc
- Verified listeners: because downloads can be automated and never listened to, data like verified listeners shows who actually listened (and ties into listen time)
- Followers: these used to be called subscribers, and these are the loyal fans who want every episode as soon as it’s released
- Attribution links: what calls to action are being clicked, and from where—are there links in your podcast episode shownotes or audio calls to action?
This last one is a great way to show the value of podcast measurement. Let’s say your client wants to advertise on a podcast and wants to gauge how successful a campaign is. So you set up two attribution links (these are just simple tracking links to measure how many clicks they result in):
- The first link—let’s say domain.com/podcastnamespecialeoffer—is to be used in the episode show notes only
- The second link—let’s say podcastname.com/brand—is to only be mentioned by the podcast host during the episode as the main call to action
Now, you can see how many clicks the show notes link received and how many direct URL opens the audio call to action received. It’s simple, effective, and lets you know exactly where the success of that campaign was driven.
As a podcaster, you can use all of the above to show why you should be someone brands work with—as an agency owner or communicator, you can use them to show what kind of data you track, and why that sets you apart from your competitors when it comes to who a brand should work with.
More Reviews Equal More Visibility in Search—Sorry, Nope
One of the most frequent calls to action you’ll hear on many podcasts is asking the listener to leave a review. And that’s normal. You create something for you or your client, so you want it to be recognized. Heck, I sometimes ask for reviews on my podcasts.
But a lot of this is down to the belief that reviews help your podcast get found more and help you climb up podcast charts—except they don’t. And don’t take my word for it. This is direct from Apple Podcasts.
So, yes, reviews can help potential listeners decide to check out your show. After all, a podcast with 100 reviews looks more “attractive” than one with little to zero reviews, but even that’s not a signal of quality, thanks to review farms and Fiverr giggers.
But they don’t help you climb the charts or place your show higher in search results on Apple Podcasts. Instead, that comes from consistently delivering on your promise of informative content that answers the questions your audience is asking.
So, instead of chasing reviews, simply ask your audience to share your show with people like them. If you want your show to grow, you need more of your ideal audience persona. Who is better at sending those to your show than already loyal listeners?
Beware of False Podcasting Prophets
As I mentioned at the start of this article, there’s a lot of advice online when it comes to podcasting. Even more so since 2020, when there was such a huge lift in interest due to the pandemic lockdowns, serious money started coming into the industry, and shysters and fake gurus saw an opportunity to charge for “expertise” because they read the foreword to a podcasting book.
The problem is, while some of the advice is genuinely well-intentioned, it’s also harmful to both podcasters and agencies looking to offer a great podcasting service to their clients. That’s when bad sound, poor metrics, and more start to come into sharp focus, and you realize the advice was bad.
So take the time to ask questions of those who would advise you—their expertise, background, results, and referrals. And, most of all, their podcasts. Yes, something as simple as asking to listen to podcasts they’ve hosted or produced.
While certain skills can cross mediums—marketing, promotion, research, etc.—I’m a huge believer that if someone wants to give you podcast advice and, more importantly, charge you for the privilege, the very least they should have is a podcast (or two) of their own that they grew.
Otherwise, they’re no further along the podcast journey than you are, but at least you’re honest about that…
