7 Tips for Podcasting Easier (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)

This post is an amalgamated condensation of episode 173 “Why should you have a podcast (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)?” (https://bit.ly/Ep173podcastvid) and episode 176 “6 Tips for How to Podcast Better (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)” (video: http://bit.ly/Ep176podcastbettervid and podcast: http://bit.ly/Ep176podcastbetterpod ).

Yeah, we know….

As D.I.Y. Rock Stars, we’ve got quite a lot to juggle already; why would you want to ADD podcasting to the pile? We felt the very same way, back in 2017, when we started trying to formally build a creative empire. We had a YouTube channel that we were just posting live performance videos on. We had just started a blog and were trying to figure out the type of content that we wanted to share there. Oh, and we had our music website. We had this idea that we wanted to share with people the kinds of conversations—on the couch and nearly every weekend—that we have amongst ourselves with the rest of the world. It hit us then, that one of the most effective ways to deliver this kind of content was through having our own podcast.

Find your musical voice (http://bit.ly/findvoiceblog

We like podcasts, because depending on what mood you’re in, you can almost find something to listen to as you’re doing something else—which, OF COURSE—is our jam! —Anytime we get a chance to do two or more things at once and be pretty effective with it, we’re all in! —Some podcasts teach; some entertain; some are like radio plays; some are funny, etc. Once you find a few to love, you become attached to the hosts—which is the super power that we are wanting other D.I.Y. Rock Stars to tap into. It can introduce people to you and your work in a unusual and a more intimate way.

3 Unusual Ways to Sell More Art ( https://bit.ly/Ep139sellartblog )

Podcasts are an excellent way to help fill in some of the gaps for the project you want to pursue. A friend of ours is interesting in self-publishing her upcoming book, so she’s found a podcast that specializes in that. What is ironic, too, is that she probably would have never found this resource if she hadn’t been faithfully listening to our podcast. But, according to Semrush.com, “Most podcast listeners (75%) listen to learn new things,” and “21.7% of podcast lovers are subscribed to over 70 different podcasts!” with lends credence to the idea that podcast listeners listen to more than one podcast. (https://www.semrush.com/blog/podcast-stats/ ) So, it isn’t any wonder that now that she is listening to one—which is actually a YouTube video (and then made into a traditional audio podcast)—that she will begin listening to others. Since it doesn’t seem as if podcasting will go away anytime soon, and, in fact, the audio form is actually growing in popularity, this is a GREAT time to use it to amplify who you are and what you care about.

Well, here are AT LEAST 4 good reasons:

1. Helps you get your message out

2. Helps gather your tribe

3. Helps highlight your unique personality

4. Helps draw attention to your music, ultimately

Don’t forget to check out the episode to make sure you know why YOU need a podcast.

“Why should you have a podcast (for the D.I.Y. Rock Star)?” (https://bit.ly/Ep173podcastvid)

Now that you are sold on the idea of podcasting and want to know how to start and maintain this pursuit WITHOUT losing your ever-loving mind, this post is for you. We’ve been podcasting nearly 4 years now, but we’ve learned a thing or two along the way. We hope this will help you, if you are considering taking on this amazing audio adventure.

Here are 7 Tips for Podcasting Better:

1. Decide on your topics

We suggest that you choose at least 3 areas that you deeply care about; topics you won’t get bored talking about. Things that you are so curious about that you can’t get enough of. If you’re interesting in learning about something, you probably have TONS of questions that you will love to explore that topic and share as you learn. And, of course, this is an opportunity to network AS you learn by setting up interviews with people who are willing to share what they know on the topic on your podcast.

2. Invest in learning as much as you can to set your sound up adequately

While you can get as elaborate as you want to here, we suggest that you start simply; especially because you don’t even know if you will like doing this. Therefore, using a smart phone will likely do, but spend some time figuring out what will work for you, use it, and then, if and when, you decide you want to upgrade, do so after you really understand what you need. (Over time, we added a Zoom H1n, as an external audio source, but that was after figuring out what was missing, which, for us, was a higher quality consistent audio source than any of our cameras could capture; http://bit.ly/zoomunboxing )

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3. Batch recording has been important

Because we KNOW that you’re busy, it’s helpful to record a few episodes at a time, so that you can set up things once and get a few done at one time. –We do this with our video recording as well. We shoot 2 episodes at a time, so that it actually FEELS like we’ve the week off to rest, to reflect, to gather ideas, and then to come back at it with renewed vigor. But we didn’t always do it that way; we used it record it the day it was due up, but I realized that sometimes, in the hustle and bustle, we weren’t doing our best, most creative work, and we felt rushed and frazzled each Sunday. By shooting two at a time, I get time to edit when I feel like it—and NOT just because it has to get done TODAY—and I enjoy the process more, because I get time to mull over how I want to proceed when ideating, recording, editing, and publishing our episodes.

Another great tactic that falls in this category is to group topics for series—which is a long-term content strategy that we will discuss at a later time.

Music Branding Checklist

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4. Decide how long you want to make episodes

Deciding on a typical episode length is a little harder, because that’s personal. The great thing about podcasting is that there is NO particular length that you NEED to adhere to (unlike in broadcasting, where shows have to be timed to the half hour or hour). With podcasting, whatever time feels and you will figure that out as you work through some early episodes. What’s more is that there is a place in the marketing for ALL kinds of lengths; from 3 minute episodes to ones that last 3 hours! So, it’s really up to you to decide what feels right. –When we started, our episodes used to last as long as 40-ish minutes, but over time, we find that the 10 to 25 minutes area is our sweet spot, so now we know how to outline episodes that last roughly that long. Anything longer and we break it into two episodes (to keep people coming back). But, again, it took us doing it for a couple of years before we knew what felt right for us.

Getting Sh*t Done

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5. Decide regularity

How often will you post your episodes? While it doesn’t HAVE to be weekly, make sure that you decide on SOME sort of schedule, so people who like you will know to look for you. –We have one super-regular listener and, once I pushed our episode back a day, because it was a long holiday weekend, and she mentioned that she looked for our episode, but did not find it on the day we normally post. We had no idea it mattered, but then we began to think of how we look for TV series that we watch to be delivered by a certain day of the week, so that we can watch it on our allotted day, so that helps remind us to stay consistent. It’s not that inconsistencies will never occur, but knowing that the people who care about your content will miss it provides that extra layer of accountability. So, even if no one reaches out to you—like our listener did with us—just know that, if you’re putting your podcast out on streaming services like Spotify and Stitcher, etc., it will be being delivered to 126 countries. There is no doubt that regularity is going to help people follow you more easily.

5 Secret Weapons of the D.I.Y. Rock Star

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6. Be sure to add show notes

Even if you decide NOT to write a separate blog post, you should definitely write show notes. (Show notes refers to the information that shows up in the description box of each particular episode.) It helps people connect with you on a deeper level. This is where you can have people follow you on your—or their—favorite social media platforms. You can include links to We’ve said it before, but people buy into who you are, so if they like you, they MAY want to know how else to connect and/or what else you are doing. That’s where these show notes come in. For instance, if you want to point them to your current single, this is the place to include those links.

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7. Consider re-purposing content

Though this is not for EVERYONE, consider taking one piece of content, like a video recording then make it an audio version (for a podcast) and/or go and back and make blog posts out of your favorite parts. Because not all of the people you want to impact listen to traditional audio podcasts, and some only read blogs, so this way you maximize that same content to reach more people. This is EXACTLY what we do and we reach ENTIRELY different people with the same content. You can do the same thing with a song. Take out portions of that video to make Instagram Reels from it. You can always continue to share the full song—or video—link as a part of that post that features just that one part. (For even more on re-purposing content, be sure to check out Gab & Jam episode 179 (video: http://bit.ly/179repurposevid and podcast: http://bit.ly/179repurposepod ) This will allow you to get the most mileage out of the content that you have, so that you won’t constantly have to share the SAME content and/or so that you won’t struggle to figure out what NEW content to create/share.

For even more on re-purposing content, be sure to check out Gab & Jam episode 179

(video: http://bit.ly/179repurposevid and podcast: http://bit.ly/179repurposepod )

Again, we’re all about working smarter and NOT harder, so these are the tips we are using. We hope they help you too.

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