Just like any endeavors we have in life, with podcasting, you have to start with the end in mind. This is how our guest for this week, Leon Flitton ensures the success of the podcast shows he manages.
Leon started out his podcast editor and podcast strategist career by editing the podcast of his better half, Samantha Riley. Now, with 14 podcast shows (including Chasing Dreams and Podcaster HQ News) under his management, Leon shares his best practices.
When asked about his advice for people who want to start podcasting, Leon stated, “start with the end in mind.” You have to be clear about where you want the podcast to be in the future.
In line with this thinking, podcasters need to start it right and build consistency around it. As Leon explained, an excellent episode starts with good audio. He adds, “once the audio is damaged, it’s damaged.”
Leon debunks the famous misconception that audio engineers are magicians. If podcasters don’t record good audio in the first place, you can’t do anything about it. He adds, “where you record it is where the magic happens.”
Podcasters need to remember that what they’re putting out there is a representation of themselves and their guests. In saying this, if the audio is bad, the recording has to stop.
It’s never advisable to continue recording in the presence of bad audio. The workaround is to schedule the interview for another time. Give your guest enough time to fix their audio quality.
As per Leon’s blog, the number one rule to make sure your audio sounds incredible is to use a good microphone. The microphones on our laptops or our webcams are never enough, they can easily absorb background noise.
Aside from the audio quality, Leon believes that podcasters need to grow their community. In fact, not advertising is the surest way to podfade. You have to let your audience know where they can reach you other than listening to your podcast show.
Podfade may be unintentional, but the best workaround is to be intentional about where you want the podcast to go. Advertise with your listeners, through this, you are keeping them interested, and you’re inspired to keep on giving value.
Aimee asks Leon why he thinks podcasting is important, and he answered, “it’s being able to have your stage and tell your own story.” Podcasters may have different reasons why they started a podcast, it could be that they wanted to tell their narrative in a unique way.
Podcasts can be used to give social opinions, business advice, additional knowledge, or even entertainment. Whatever the reason is, podcasting is a platform that gives voice to people of different niches.
Your podcasting journey is not always going to be easy. It will demand consistency in hard work, effort, and learning. No matter how complicated it seems, you have to remember that it’s always best to start with the end in mind.
