PodCraft | How to Podcast & Craft a Fantastic Show

It's part two of our dive into the Podcaster Cares Survey data. This time around, we're talking NFTs, measuring success, social media, loudness, and bitrates.
We also take a look at some interesting differences between podcasters of five years or more, and folks who've been doing it less than five years.
Podcasters of 5 years or more have stronger opinions on Apple Podcasts and RSS Feeds

• 67.5% of the 5 years or more group agreed that a podcast isn’t really a podcast if it doesn’t have an RSS feed.
• Of the folks in podcasting for fewer than five years, 39.8% agreed, whilst 38.9% didn’t care.
• 25.3% in the 5 years or more group didn’t care about RSS feeds.
• 44.6% of the 5 years or more group believe that Apple could and should be doing more to help podcasters. This is compared to 34.9% of the newer podcasters group.
• 53% of the newer podcasters have no real opinion on Apple either way, compared to 34.9% of the 5 years or more group.

Newer podcasters pay less attention to podcast loudness & bitrates

• 60.2% of podcasters of 5 years or more have a set and consistent loudness level for their show.
• This is compared to 31.4% of folks podcasting for 0-5 years.
• 29.7% of newer podcasters don’t worry about loudness levels.
• This is compared to only 15.7% of the 5 years or more group.
• 42.9% of newer podcasters have no idea what bitrates are. Only 15.7% of the 5 years or more group thought the same.

Get the full Podcaster Cares Survey Report right here.

There's no shortage of things to focus on when it comes to planning, launching, and running your own podcast.

From buying the right mic and choosing a hosting platform, to coming up with a show name and sorting out your cover art, these all fall under the umbrella of "podcasting". But all podcasting tasks aren't created equally. Some of the things you do can have a huge impact on your show's success, whilst others can be little more than a distraction.

On this episode of Podcraft, we decided to reflect on a combined 20+ years of podcasting. Of all the podcasts we've launched and ran between us in that time, which factors do we feel helped move the needle?

Also mentioned on this episode were our Podcraft community and the Portuguese translations of some of our top articles.

Podcasting Factors That Move the Needle (Or Don't)

We both scored each of the following out of 10 (10 for very important, 0 for not important at all), added up the scores, and ranked them into an overall list. The aim was for new and aspiring podcasters to help decide whether they were spending too much time on one thing, or not enough time on something else.

1. Defining Your Target Audience

The most important factor was identifying who you want to reach, and why. Not spending some time nailing this down in the planning stages can lead to your content being directionless and vague. You want new listeners to hear your podcast and think "this is exactly what I've been looking for."

For more help with this, check out the following articles:

• What's Your USP?
• Demographics Vs Psychographics
• How to Create a Value Proposition
• How to Create Your Avatar
• How to Come up With a Unique Topic

2. Deciding on Your Podcast's Name

Naming your podcast can feel like a tricky barrier to overcome. It's also a very important one. If potential listeners don't immediately know what your show's about when they see it, then many of them will skip past it without even reading the description. With podcast names, there's no such thing as "boring". If you come up with an ultra-descriptive "as it says on the tin" name and it isn't already taken - grab it.

For more on this, check out How to Name Your Podcast.

3. Your Episode Titles

This is another huge factor in turning traffic (your target audience, searching for your topic) into listeners. Descriptive and compelling episode titles will help your show be found, and they'll also encourage those searching to hit play. Don't waste this important space by putting the word "episode" in there. You don't need to write your podcast name beside every episode title either.

For more on this, check out How to Title Your Episodes.

Want to See the Full List?
Head on over to the shownotes at ThePodcastHost.com

This week, we're bringing you a final bonus episode, coming from a new show that Colin's just released, called the Podcasting Tools show.
It's a podcast all about gear, gadgets, resources and tools for podcasters, something that Colin's super geeky about, and something that's always gone down well with readers of thePodcastHost.com.
The aim is short reviews, comparisons and tutorials that'll help you improve your show in just 10 minutes each week.
Listen to this episode to see if you like it and subscribe over at:
https://www.ThePodcastHost.com/podcastingtools.

Welcome to Pocket-Sized Podcasting, brought to you by Alitu: The Podcast Maker. And on this episode, we’re talking about choosing a format for your episodes.

The format you choose is really personal, and depends on who’s involved. If it’s just you, you’re not doing a co-hosted show any time soon, for example.

None of this is set in stone, either. So whilst it’s good to have an ‘average’ format, so your listeners know what to expect, you don’t have to stick to it every single time.

You might do your first few episodes using a certain format – for example, solo - then decide it isn’t for you. In this case, you could pivot and start doing interviews. Or, you could bring on a regular co-host.

The first format you try might feel perfectly natural to you, in which case, great. Or you might opt for a ‘mixed bag’ approach where you never stick to any one set format. The beauty of it is that it’s your podcast, and you get to make the rules.

We’re going to dig into the pros and cons of each podcast format in the next few episodes, so make sure you’re subscribed to the show on your listening app of choice!

Interviews are a big part of podcasting, and for good reason.

They break up the potential monotony of one voice talking for too long, they add expertise and gravitas to your episode, and it's a chance to tap into your interviewee's own following – a tale of two audiences!

You'll want to get the most out of your interviewee and maximise their contribution to your cause. That boils down to the conversation you have, and the questions you ask. No pressure.

We've covered how to record an interview extensively, so now it's down to what you should be asking them! That's what we cover on this episode.
Read the full article

There are two parts to this.

First, we'll go into how to formulate interview questions focused on your own topic, and on the interviewee themselves. Every good interview should be mostly tailored to the person you're interviewing after all.

But, second, we'll look at the types of more general questions you can use to dig deep and get some interesting, unexpected responses. Bear in mind, of these, some questions will be more relevant to your show than others. Please use responsibly!
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