Episode 61: How To Start A Podcast Series: Planning (Part 1)

*some links included in the show notes may be affiliate links (see disclaimer below)*

-Canva: https://www.canva.com/join/upscale-well-computer

-AudioJungle: https://audiojungle.net/

-Buzzsprout Podcast Hosting: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1247684
(use this referral link for a $20 Amazon Gift Card)

-Samson Q2U (Microphone): https://amzn.to/3QRbrZn

-Knox Microphone Shock Mount: https://amzn.to/3OrRsim

-Tonor Microphone Boom Arm & Pop Filter: https://amzn.to/3AbFxRx 

-Bose QuietComfort 35 II Headphones: https://amzn.to/3nlpJnz

-GarageBand Audio Editing Software (included with Mac)

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DISCLAIMER

Some links included in this description may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission, however there is no additional charge to you. Thank you for supporting Mountain Practice Journeys so I can continue to provide you with free content!

Links to other websites, products, and services do not endorse or guarantee the services, products, or information contained at the other sites. The information, products, resources, materials, services, and documents found here are not intended to be a substitute for legal, financial, or other professional advice, nor does their use establish a professional relationship between you and Cindy Norton or Mountain Practice Journeys.

INTRO

You’re listening to the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast: a comfy, cozy place for private practice introverts, highly sensitive therapists, and solopreneurs who help and heal.

This is the place for practical, nature-based, magickal support for your business and life.

MAIN

Hello there, and welcome back to the Mountain Practice Journeys podcast! I’m your host, Cindy. Welcome to Season 7! For this season, all my solo episodes are going to be about podcasting: how to start one, the specific tools you’ll need, how to produce a podcast, as well as how to go about being a guest on a podcast, and much more.

But if you’re not interested in podcasting, I hope you’ll still be tuning into my guest episodes this season as we’ll be talking about how to heal your way to success, how to transition to a more authentic landscape, the influence of media and capitalism on feelings of failure, and identifying signs that you may be an exploited therapist.

Now, onto today’s episode.

Here in Episode 61 I’m going talk more about the initial planning of a podcast and share some basic considerations for getting started. I’ll also be highlighting some specific elements and resources for podcasting.

Let’s start with your idea for the podcast, and how you want to share it with the world. In this section I’m going to talk about the name, description, topics, frequency, and format.

As far as the name goes, the topic or topics covered in your podcast will likely inform the name. I’m not going to give you a clever strategy for naming your podcast. Trust yourself and go with your instincts. After all, you are the creator and will be the one constant in the podcast, so it’s important that you like the name.

Just brainstorm a few names and imagine yourself answering this question from a friend, colleague, or stranger, “So, what’s the name of your podcast?” How does it feel to say this name? Are you happy with it? Is it easy for other people to understand?

Also, it’s important to do a quick search to see if the name of your podcast is already taken. First do a google search, then go to some of the top podcasting platforms such as Apple and Spotify and search for the podcast name there.

I didn’t try to think of a clever name for my podcast. I went with the most simple and practical name: the name of my already established business, Mountain Practice Journeys. This is also a name that will allow me to talk about a variety of topics, should I want to switch things up a bit.

Speaking of topics, it will be a great idea for you to make a list of things that you want to talk about on your podcast. Something that was helpful to me was to sit down and write at least 40 episode topics that I could speak on, as that was the number of episodes that I needed for my first year of the podcast. That way I knew that I wouldn’t run out of ideas or things to talk about.

So, start writing and see how many ideas you can come up with. You may start to see a theme, and this may be a good time to write out your podcast description. Don’t overthink it. It’s just a little bio for your podcast. If you had to tell someone what to expect out of your podcast in a few sentences, what would you share?

You’ll also want to consider your schedule. How frequently do you want to release episodes? Do you want to do seasons and incorporate breaks?

Before I started my podcast, I already knew that it would be a major undertaking and that it would take a lot of time and effort to produce. I had heard the statistics that a large number of podcasts don’t make it past the 7th episode. So I was prepared for it to be a bit more difficult than I imagined, and I was correct.

Armed with this information I knew that I wanted to set up my podcast in a seasonal format to allow for breaks, and I’m really glad that I did.

I’m going to share a few examples of how podcasts can be structured, but know that you can do anything that you want.

You can publish weekly episodes. You can publish every other week. You can publish once a month. And you can create your own seasons. Or you can do something else entirely.

A lot of people have questions about seasons, and what they actually are. There’s really not a standard for seasons. Some podcasts say that a year is a season. For example, their first year was season 1 and their second year was season 2.

You can also specify seasons as a specific number of episodes, such as having 8 episodes per season. You can also designate a season based on the specific topic you cover. For example, if you have a business podcast, maybe season 1 is about networking, and season 2 is about online marketing, and so on.

For this podcast, since my business is so connected to nature, I decided to do my podcast seasons so that they correspond with the actual 4 seasons that I experience here in Western North Carolina: winter, spring, summer, and autumn.

I also knew that I wanted to give myself a break in between seasons, so I landed on having 10 weekly episodes each season, then a 3 week break during the changing of the seasons. This has worked perfectly for me.

Play around with some sample schedules and frequencies and see what feels best for you.

The last consideration in this section is about the format. Do you want to have a solo show, an interview show, or a combination of both? And, actually, this isn’t something that you have to decide right now. You can experiment with different formats and see what you like the best.

Personally, I like a combination of both. I absolutely love bringing on guests so they can share their own unique wisdom that can support listeners. I also enjoy sharing my thoughts on different topics.

Now I want to talk about music. Again, this is not something that you have to do at all. You don’t need a fancy intro and outro. But, if you do want to include music in your podcast, please be careful in that you are choosing music that you have the right to use. Be sure to read the terms & conditions and license agreements of any free or paid music that you find. In the past I have gotten royalty free music from the audio library on YouTube, and I have purchased music from AudioJungle.

You’ll also need artwork for your podcast. Some people hire a designer for this, but you can easily do it yourself. Just go to Canva and create a 3000 x 3000 pixel graphic, as this is the size needed to upload for most podcast hosts. I also create an additional duplicate graphic of about 1000 x 1000 pixels when a smaller size is needed for other online mediums. I have a link to Canva in the show notes if you don’t yet have an account.

When you’re creating your podcast cover art, you’ll want to make sure that the design is easy to read when in a small icon format. Just think of the podcasts that you listen to, and what their graphics look like. Better yet, go to your podcasts now and take a look at some of the cover art and see which ones stand out.

You’ll want to make sure that the font is bold and easy to read. And you’ll likely need to make the font larger than you think it should be, so that it can be read easily.

If I’m critiquing my own current podcast art, I would say that my font could be bolder. However, the font that I chose for my branding isn’t a very thick font, so it doesn’t get any bolder. I made the decision to prioritize branding consistency over a more bold font. I also chose my main branding color as the background, so even though the font isn’t super bold, my signature color is easily recognizable.

There’s a lot more that I could say about planning for your own podcast, but I’m going to leave it at that for today. This is definitely not an exhaustive list of all that’s required in the planning phase a podcast, but I wanted to share a few considerations and helpful resources to get you thinking.

In Episode 64, which will air in 3 weeks, I’ll continue on with this topic and share the basic tools you’ll need to get started with your podcast. I’ll let you know the podcast host that I highly recommend, as well as the specific equipment that I use, so be sure to tune in. And if you just can’t wait and are ready to get started, I’ll share links to the things that I’ll be mentioning in the next upcoming episode about starting a podcast in the show notes for today’s episode.

And I want to leave you with a special note on this topic. If you want to speak on a podcast, but all of this sounds like too much for you to add to your plate right now, or you just aren’t interested in the behind the scenes maintenance and responsibility of producing a podcast, you may want to consider being a podcast guest. This is much less work. You can just show up and share your passions. This season, in Episode 70, I’ll give you tips on how to go about being a podcast guest.

ACORN (Tarot Card Pull)

Welcome to the acorn segment. With each solo episode I’ll be drawing a tarot card to help provide some magickal inspiration and insight.

The card for this episode is actually two cards that were jumpers.

If you’re unfamiliar with what jumpers are, I interpret them as cards that really want to be seen. So, when you’re shuffling the deck, there may be cards that fall out, or jump out of the deck. When this happens, I usually just read those cards.

There are two cards that jumped out together for this episode and they are the Ace of Wands and The Hanged Man (reversed).

I’ll describe these two cards for those of you who may not be familiar. The Ace of Wands features a hand emerging from a cloud holding a wand that is sprouting, and The Hanged Man shows a man that is suspended upside down from a piece of wood. He appears calm and serene and has a halo of light emanating from his head.

The Ace of Wands is a perfect card to talk about related to the topic of starting a podcast, as it represents new opportunities, inspiration, and potential for growth. New possibilities are here for you, but are you courageous enough to act on them? When the Ace of Wands shows up, it is a sign to go for it. So when you have a hit of divine inspiration, don’t waste too much time on planning and researching and take action.

The Hanged Man in his reversed position is all about surrender, letting go, and new perspectives. You are being called to look at your life from a new perspective and let go of the outdated beliefs that no longer serve you. This will reveal new opportunities for you, but you may have to take a pause before you can see them clearly. This may mean anything from a walk in nature to clear your head, or a sabbatical that will allow you to time to reset.

Maybe one, or both, of these cards are speaking to you today.

I’ll post a picture of these cards along with the message today on my instagram @mountainpracticejourneys so head on over and let me know if this message resonates with you at this time.

THANKS

Thank you so much for joining me today. For episode 62 I’ll be chatting with Dr. Shannon South on how to heal your way to success.

And don’t forget, I’ll continue on with the topic of podcasting and share the basic tools you’ll need to get started, along with my specific recommendations, in Episode 64, which will air in 3 weeks.

OUTRO

I’m truly grateful that you choose to join me here for practical, nature-based, magickal support for your business and life. For more inspiration and to see what I’m up to, join me over on instagram @mountainpracticejourneys If you’re enjoying yourself here, please head over to Apple Podcasts and hit those 5 stars and I’ll be over the moon. And if you’d like to work with me, join me in Forestmind, my cozy, small-group mastermind for private practice introverts, highly sensitive therapists, and solopreneurs who help and heal. May the forest be with you.