PodBeta | 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Podcast
It seems like everyone and their mothers are starting podcasts these days. And to that, I say, awesome! The more the merrier. We operate in an abundance mindset over here in the Holland household.
So many people reach out about starting their own podcast and often, I find they are just starting a podcast because they see tons of their friends or colleagues starting them, and some having success through the medium.
If you want to start a podcast, I would recommend asking yourself the following questions:
1. What is your vision?
So many people just want to start a show and they don’t stop to understand their WHY. Why do you want to show? What do you want to accomplish through this podcast?
Write down a vision and mission for your show. This will give you the foundation you need to excel in the space. Not to mention, a great place to come back to when things get frustrating.
2. What do you hope people walk away from your show with?
Write down 3-5 things you want your listeners to get from your show. It’s important to establish how you’re going to serve your audience members with your content from the very beginning.
3. Who is your target audience?
Similar to having your vision, knowing your audience, truly knowing them, will help you understand how to create the most impactful and relevant content for them on your show and beyond.
Identify key characteristics, demographics, hobbies, education levels, etc. Really get granular here. You can even create personas to come back to.
4. What skills are you bringing to the table?
It is important to know what you’re bringing to the table. Do you have audio equipment and an understanding of how to use it? Do you know how to build an audience on social media? Do you know how to interview? Will you be editing the show yourself?
It is important to know what tasks you’re going to be able to do easily and what you may need to learn or eventually outsource completely.
5. How much time do you have to dedicate to this project?
Now that you have a list (above) of what skills you can bring to the table, what you’ll need to learn, what you’ll need to outsource, you should have a good view of how much time this will take given your skillset.
Match that with how much time you actually have to dedicate to this project. Don’t answer this by saying the amount of time you’d like to have. Be realistic.
One of the most challenging parts of podcasting is understanding what you can really give to it. You’d rather be realistic upfront than get burnt out super quickly and no longer be able to do it after a handful of episodes.
