Best Practices For Podcast Development That Will Elevate Your Content
Podcasts have become a particularly efficient method to grow your audience and promote your services. Therefore, it's no wonder that more and more businesses are taking their development more seriously in recent years. However, just producing and uploading a podcast doesn't guarantee success. On the contrary, you need to keep a set of guidelines in mind to accomplish your goals. In this article, we share 10 best practices for podcast development that will ensure you produce high-quality content that your audience will listen to and benefit from.
10 Podcasting Best Practices For Maximum Results
Structure Your Episode
One thing that you will notice about popular podcasts, regardless of their format or main subject, is that they have a specific structure. Meaning, to acquire a loyal listener base, your podcast must have a beginning, middle, and end that best works for what you're trying to achieve. A general rule of thumb is to introduce the topic in the intro and use the outro to motivate listeners to perform an action, such as visiting a website or accessing additional material. The main core of the episode should be made up of segments that listeners will grow to recognize and expect.
Respect Your Audience's Time
Apart from a well-designed episode outline, listeners also expect content that adds value to their lives. If they realize you are wasting their time, they will make a quick exit. To avoid this, be mindful of your podcast's duration and the actual information it contains. Namely, stay within the ideal margins for podcast duration, which are anywhere between 20 and 40 minutes. Now, when it comes to content, make sure that it is well paced and solely contains valuable information. This is not the place for verbosity and rambling, which is what you need to remember during the editing process.
Publish Consistently
Giving your audience a specific day when they can expect your podcast to be uploaded greatly affects their chance of becoming loyal listeners. Therefore, a must-follow best practice of podcast development is creating an uploading schedule and sticking to it. It can be biweekly, weekly, or even monthly. As long as you remain consistent, your audience will find a way to fit it into their schedules and make the time to listen to it. Remember to be realistic about your deadlines so that you don't end up burnt out and struggling to churn out content on time.
Say It Twice For Good Measure
It's certain that your podcast will contain quite some information that you want your listeners to remember. And while it's easy to go back and reread a sentence, it's less likely that learners will rewind the podcast, especially when they don't know what's considered essential or not. For this reason, you have to pinpoint key points and repeat them a few times throughout the episode. If there are any links or websites that you need learners to access, make sure to add them to the description so that listeners can easily find them.
Keep The Language Simple
It's unrealistic to expect your audience to dedicate all their attention to your eLearning podcast. Most of them will be listening while driving, exercising, or doing house chores. Consequently, your wording must be easy to understand and follow. If your listeners have to take notes all the time or rewind to understand what you were saying, they will quickly lose interest. But if the subject you are discussing requires the introduction of unfamiliar or niche terminology, make sure to explain it promptly and concisely to avoid confusion and get the point across.
Change Up Your Format
We've already talked about the importance of sticking to the structure of your episodes to create a sense of loyalty and consistency for your audience. Yet, that doesn't mean you should never make any changes, as this could end up being dull and uninteresting. Refresh the pace of your podcasts by inviting guests and conducting interviews from time to time. A different perspective can give your listeners a fresh approach to their subject of interest while possibly opening up your podcast to an untapped audience.
Focus On Sound Quality
Ensuring good sound quality is a podcast development best practice you can't forget. Even if your content is insightful and well-paced, listeners won't stick around for long if the sound quality is subpar. Usually, voice clarity directly depends on the microphone, which is why you must do your research before investing in one. Additionally, it's crucial that you know how far from the mic you need to speak, as well as what type of stand or pop filter you need. Each microphone has its own requirements, so you will need to make these choices based on your equipment. Don't forget that most editing solutions can automatically smooth out and equalize sound abnormalities.
Collect Feedback And Analyze It
Opening a communication route between you and your audience is essential for monitoring how the podcast is performing. Even though listeners cannot participate in real time, you can still prompt them to share feedback with you on the streaming platform. This will increase engagement and help you gradually improve your content. Most platforms will also give you data regarding the number of people who have listened in and their demographics. By analyzing these, you can gauge which subject or podcast format attracted the most listeners and gain a deeper understanding of your audience's preferences.
Create A Media Library
Listeners need to be able to find your podcasts in more places than one. Sure, the streaming platform will be their first choice, but it doesn't hurt to create a website or media library for quicker access. Such a website would allow you to organize episodes by categories so that visitors can identify the content that interests them in a matter of seconds and even share it on their social media accounts. Not to mention that you can work on the Search Engine Optimization of your website so that more people can find your content.
Transcribe Your Content
Accessibility is a crucial element of developing and growing a brand. Considering that you want your content to reach as many people as possible, you can't afford to exclude anyone. Transcription is the process of putting your audio material into written form and either pairing it with your podcasts or sharing it on different platforms. Apart from promoting accessibility and inclusivity, transcribing your podcasts can also be very beneficial for you as a creator. Having your podcasts in writing allows you to republish them as blogs, easily create subtitles for video snippets, or isolate quotes for your social media.
Conclusion
The benefits of using podcasts to grow your audience and share valuable information about your services with them are undeniable. However, it takes some extra effort to develop content that will allow you to enjoy them. In this article, we described some of the things you need to know, such as being consistent in your structure and publishing schedule, utilizing simple wording, and focusing on sound quality. By following these, we are certain that your podcast will help you achieve all your goals.
