Creating transformation. Sharing your voice. Making change happen.
This is why we create any type of “content,” and it’s also why we are in business.
I’m a strong believer that everyone should start a podcast and do at least one season. This is if you’re a business owner, employee, or otherwise.
I’ve often talked about this, and regularly cover the benefits of starting a podcast.
I’ve shared this on social media a fair bit, including here and here. I also podcasted about it back in episode 20, which can be found here.
I also get a lot of questions on this.
The podcast questions I get are what I would call “tactical” questions:
What microphones do I use?
How do I host it?
How do I start it?
When we dig deeper though, we find that these tactical questions really aren’t the questions we need to answer.
We see that either A) Google or YouTube can help you out here in a flash, and that often, B) These questions are simply token questions that are being asked as we delay starting and try to understand the bigger picture.
So today, I wanted to dive into the real questions.
I wanted to break down some steps to follow for those of you who may want to create a podcast that resonates with your audience.
Again, these steps aren’t covering the tactical questions*. This is the harder work we do at the front end to create something that people care about.
These questions involve cultivating empathy for the people you want to serve, and tussling with how you are going to wrap this into a show that’s worth listening to.
(*We also touch on some of the tactical questions like “gear” at the end)
Why create a podcast?
Before we get stuck in, it’s important to recap on the essentials. When we create a podcast, we do a few things:
- We create a valuable asset that can help our audience transform
- Through this asset we build trust and attention over time
- We meet amazing guests
- We have a platform to share our assertions and stories
- We improve our ability to communicate and articulate a point of view
- We learn how to produce a show, ship it out on time, and stick to a process
- We cultivate more empathy for our audience
- We can build a marketing asset that helps the sales process
Human-centred design
OK, so you’re on board.
You’re excited to do a season of this thing at least. You can see the value it might bring.
You’ve got two choices here.
- You can do whatever you want, regardless of how you feel on the day, and regardless of the market, or,
- You can create something specifically for a particular listener or group of listeners, that is designed to give them value. You can design your podcast with a particular listener at the centre of it.
Of course, we can see where this is heading.
When we focus on delivering value to a small audience, we have a shot at making something that resonates. When something resonates, it can spread. When something starts to spread, we can get traction, positive feedback, and that “feel good” stuff that pushes us to continue.
I talk about this concept of “traction” in a recent podcast you can find here.
A large part of this framework then is focusing on the listener, and, pushing ourselves to create something that is both creative, and also that resonates with the listener.
The goal is to create a podcast for your niche (I call this your Superniche), helping them in the transformation they seek to make, and giving them a story to share about the experience with their friends.
Let’s get started.
The Framework
To create a podcast that resonates, we need to cultivate empathy for our desired podcast audience.
To do this, we are going to walk through a 9 question framework, and each question will ask you to dig a little deeper than you normally would.
Through this simple framework, we will find some insights that can help you create something that resonates.
Here is an overview of our questions:
- Who is it for?
- What do they believe in?
- What is the transformation you are asking them to make?
- How do you want them to feel?
- What are they going to tell their friends?
- What story will you tell?
- Format, quality, frequency
- What is your reflection process?
- How will you overcome the resistance?
After the framework, I’ve also included a “gear list” to help with any remaining tactical questions.
How to do this…
I recommend grabbing some bigger sheets of paper (like in the videos) or using a notebook to flesh this out as you go.
Personally, I take big sheets of paper and put them on the walls, and then use post-it notes. This allows me to “stand back” from it all and keep the overall project in mind.
Now, be warned – this will feel a little messy. It would be much easier just to put something out and hope for the best.
This framework is asking you to dive into some soft-skills. We’ll look at the world views of your target audience and deploy design thinking to try and create something with intention.
If you get stuck, walk away for a bit, and then come back to it. You can also come back to this as you go with your podcast – the key thing here is to understand the process and the “why” behind the framework.
OK, here’s the framework. Let’s get stuck in.
1. Who is it for?
While much of the framework is based on what are called “psychographics,” in this one question we dive into demographics. Basically, here we are getting clear on our target audience member.
A lot of people have huge resistance to this – because it asks us to “narrow down.” It’s easy to stay broad and generalised, but alas, this is why so many podcasts don’t spread or move forward.
Here are some questions that might help guide you through this:
- Name, age, location?
- What is their job?
- Are they in a relationship?
- Do they travel for work?
- Do they own a home? Or rent?
- Do they have kids? A dog? A fish?
These are “surface level” questions, that help you to identify who you are speaking to.
If you own a business already, the person you come up with will likely be the same as your niche for your main business offering.
Watch below as Rod and I work through this question as he gets ready to kick off his own podcast:
2. What does your audience believe in?
Here we dive into our “world views” or narratives.
As we move forward in a hyper-connected culture, our demographics matter less and less and we find the internet becoming a long-tail environment filled with millions of interest groups, belief systems and world views.
As consumers, we can “belong” to any of these interest groups. Your job as a podcaster, is to speak directly to a particular audience.
So, in this section, put yourself in the shoes of your audience and try to uncover their perspective on things.
Be ready, this is the hard part.
Write this in first person, as if you were them.
Start sentences with:
“I believe…”
“I want….” or,
“I think….”
Here you should also touch on their more urgent pain points or belief systems. While we just went through a few here in the video, you could fill a couple of pages diving into this.
As before, if you have a business, the belief systems that we uncover here should match those of your target audience for your main business.
Check out the video below as Rod and I start to navigate the world views of his ideal listener.
3. What is the transformation you are asking them to make?
When we engage with podcasts, books or services, we do so because of the transformation they help us make.
When I read a book, not only am I a little more “educated” in a certain field, but by moving forward in that little area, I might consider myself a more well-rounded member of society.
We seek transformation almost continuously.
So, the question becomes, who are you asking your listeners to become through listening to your podcast?
What is the transformation you’re asking them to make?
Is this aligning with their world views and belief systems?
Examples of this couple be:
- I’m asking them to become someone who is more confident, who stands tall and lives life to the fullest.
- I’m asking them to become someone who does work they’re proud of.
- I’m asking them to become a better athlete, who is more educated in their training.
- I’m asking them to become someone who can then teach these concepts to someone else.
- I’m asking them to become someone who opens up discussions on social justice.
- I’m asking them to become someone who meditates each day for greater peace of mind.
All great innovative products, services (and podcasts) help to transform their users.
Who are you asking your listeners to become?
What is the transformation you’re helping them make?
4. How do you want them to feel?
We engage with products or services because of the emotions that they evoke. We come back to a restaurant time and time again because of how that experience makes us feel.
As the creators, we get a choice here.
We get to choose the tone, energy, tempo, duration and overall feeling that we evoke in the podcast.
Here are some emotions that we could look to create in our work:
- Lit up
- Enthusiastic
- Happy
- Entertained
- Affiliated
- Connected
- Empathetic
- Enlightened
- Educated
- Outraged
Write out the key emotions you want to evoke with your listeners. Does this resonate with your overall brand and tone for your business?
(note: consider that some emotions help “spread” ideas more powerfully, for example mainstream media regularly evokes “fear” as a tool to boost viewership)
Check out the video below as Rod and I talk through this question.
5. What are they going to tell their friends?
“Have you been to the new cafe down by the beach yet?”
“Nope, why?”
“You have to go, you’ll love the single origin espresso they have. They serve it in little orange cups, and they teach you all about where the particular bean came from.”
Whether it’s a café or a podcast, we need people to tell their friends. We need the early adopters to pass along the torch to someone else.
Sure, when we start the podcast, we can do a certain amount of work upfront to distribute or “share” the work.
We can try to “tell” people about it ourselves on all kinds of different platforms. But ultimately, we need it to be passed along.
We need to give the listeners a story to tell.
So, how can you bring creativity into your podcast? How can you create something that they’ll tell their friends about?
What exactly will they say? (As you may see, this relates to the previous question)
Check out the video below where Rod and I talk through this question.
6. What Story Will You Tell?
Why did you start a podcast?
What is the reason behind this?
Why now and not earlier?
Why do you go solo on it? Or, why do you get guests?
The “story you tell” about your podcast may not seem so important (and in all likelihood, it won’t come up too often) but, when you understand the “why” it really helps to maintain momentum.
This question asks you to spend some time to flesh out your reasons for creating the podcast (quick check, are these reasons coming from generosity? Or self serving? Which might be more powerful?)
Check out the video below where Rod and I talk through this question.
7. Format, Quality and Frequency
Finally – the nuts and bolts!
Now that we’ve made it through a lot of the empathy deep dive work, we need to zero in on the “packaging” of your podcast.
The main questions we ask here are:
- What format is going to work for me? What is sustainable? What is enjoyable?
- What is going to work for the listener? Is this convenient or workable for them?
You might choose a 30 minute episode, you might choose a long-form conversation, or you might choose something else.
How often will you publish?
What will the quality be like? High end? Quick and dirty?
How will this resonate with the world view of your particular audience?
These are important areas to be clear on before you kick off, as it will allow you to create consistency with your podcast from the beginning.
Check out the video below where we talk through this question.
8. What is Your Reflection Process
As we learn to juggle, it’s expected that we drop the balls.
When this happens, we automatically think – OK, what could I do better here?
What needs to happen?
Maybe the left hand needs to throw it higher?
It’s the same with a blog, podcast, or any other project. We need to set up a system to ensure that we continue to ask the question of “what does better look like?”
This is called the reflection process. This question then, is asking us to set up this process – how often will we sit down and reflect? Who will we do this with? What will it look like?
While most people simply keep on keepin’ on with their content, getting clear on your reflection process can really help to elevate your work.
Check out the video below where I work through this question with Rod.
9. How will you overcome the resistance?
“Resistance” is a term coined by Steven Pressfield, in his book The War of Art. He describes the Resistance as the invisible force that is constantly at work to stop creators from doing their art.
When you have doubts about starting your podcast, that’s the resistance.
When you want to “stop” at episode 12, that’s the resistance.
When you aren’t sure whether or not to tell people about your new podcast you have out, that’s the resistance.
When you feel too tired to do an episode, that’s the resistance.
So, once we know about this persistent, ruthless invisible force, we can work around it.
How will you hold yourself accountable?
Who is in your corner to hold you to your word?
Can you set specific dates to publish your first episode? How many episodes will you commit to initially?
Check out the video below where we talk through the resistance.
Microphones, Cameras and Podcasting Setups
OK, so the tactical side of podcasting is actually pretty simple, and depends a little bit on your wants and needs. However, here are some basic requirements:
- Microphone. A simple podcasting mic is recommended. This doesn’t need to be more than $200 to get started. These work great.
- Editing software. To begin with, either Audacity or Garageband work great.
- A “host” – this is a platform that hosts your audio file. It then “distributes” the file out to iTunes, Spotify and other platforms. Personally, I use Pinecast, but there are many others.
- A camera. This is optional. If you want to “repurpose” your content, you can film the podcast, and then bring clips of this out to other social media platforms.
- A computer to run all of this.
Where to go from here
Like all things, the first step with creating a podcast is deciding to do so.
From here, go through the 9 step framework above and get clear on your audience, their wold views, and what this might mean for how you shape your show.
Finally, set a launch date. Commit to putting out your first episode on this date, no matter what.
After this, lean into the work of distributing your show – if you have guests, get a lot of different guests. If not, then use other platforms to share your work and point back to your podcast.
From this point, it’s a case of consistency and reflection.
Congratulations! You’ve got a podcast. Now, let’s get those first 50 episodes out…
Enjoy this? Feel free to share, and make sure to subscribe to my daily blog below:
