10 Steps to Start a Podcast & Launch in 30 Days or Less

Hey Friend!

How to start a podcast in 10 steps. The exact process to start and launch a successful podcast in just 30 days including a FREE Podcast Launch Checklist HERE.

Have you been wondering if you should start a podcast? Or, you may have decided that podcasting is for you, but you keep wondering… what are the actual steps? What do I need to do to be fully prepared for a successful execution and podcast launch? Am I missing anything?

I am walking you through 10 steps to start a podcast in 30 days and basically giving you a mini-course inside this episode. You’ll need a notebook and pen because it’s almost time to start a podcast, friend! You’re doing this!

* This post contains affiliate links. This means that I get a percentage of sales at no additional cost to you.

10 Steps to Start a Podcast in 30 Days:

1. Pray over starting your podcast

Invite God into your podcast journey. Pray for his guidance and clarity on your journey. God will provide you with a direction and help you walk His path for your business.

2. Clarity on the direction of your podcast

Know a basic direction of what your podcast is going to be about, who you want to serve, and how you will solve their problems. Focus on a niche-specific market and don’t launch a show without a focus. Need help getting clear on the direction of your show? Here’s a live coaching episode to help you!

3. Get the equipment and software to start your podcast

Starting a podcast doesn’t have to be expensive! I recommend a Yeti Mic and Podbean for your equipment and software. Best to keep it simple and save money while you’re at it.

4. Pick a sticky title for your podcast

Having a keyword-rich title that tells your listener what they get or what the show is about is best. A three-word title like, The Organized Homeschool is great because it has the what and the who inside. Here’s another episode that teaches about creating a highly converting podcast title.

5. Choose relevant content pillars before you start your podcast

What are the 3 main topics you will cover in this podcast? These are your pillars. They need to be relevant to the promise of the show and need to directly help your listener solve their main problems. An example of this would be the pillars of the Homeschooling Curriculum, Organization in homeschool, and homeschooling mama mindset.

6. Get professional channel art

Enough said. The investment for professional art is small, but the payoff is HUGE. Look professional and immediately stand out from the competition.

7. Do your keyword research for a successful podcast launch

What is your listener Googling? What are the words they are saying? Dig in deep to figure out what your top keywords are for your niche and start utilizing them on your podcast, inside the titles, description, and content.

8. Do avatar research to help you start your podcast with a bang

Find out what your avatar is like. Who are they? Is your listener saying and wanting the things you’re assuming? This is worth its weight in gold and will be the catalyst for your growth. Market Research is your new secret to success!

9. Follow a proven launch plan to start your podcast

Don’t throw spaghetti at the wall when it comes to starting your podcast. Follow a proven launch plan like this one so that you know exactly what to do when you launch a successful show.

10. Stay accountable

If you need more help starting a podcast, check out Podcast Pro University! The complete podcasting course to help you plan, start, record, edit, launch, and scale your show. Podcast Pro University will teach you how to make money from your podcast and grow your show into a lead-generating machine that creates both income and impact!

I pray this blesses you,

RELATED EPISODES:

PUSH vs. PULL CPick a Podcast Title That CONVERTS! 4 Must-Have Components of a Stellar Podcast Name

How to Plan and Start a Podcast in 30 Days!

10 Tips to Start a Podcast the Right Way From Plan to Launch

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00):
My name is Melodie Bishop, and I just wanted to share how grateful I am to have launched my Abundant MomLife for Network Marketers Podcast in late July ranking in both US and Canada in the entrepreneurship category and in Canada for the business category.

In just a short time, I already have 32 reviews on my podcast and people are loving the content. I’ve had new pees funneled from my podcast into my Facebook community and grabbed some of my website freebies.

I loved Stef’s Podcast Pro University updates, and the step-by-step process and launch tips helped me have a successful podcast launch. If you’re thinking about starting a podcast, you need PPU.

(00:45):
Hey, everybody! Thanks for that testimony, Melodie. I am so excited about today’s episode. Guys, we are just taking it back to the basics today in an episode that you guys have been asking for, what are my top tips for you to get started with podcasting in 30 days or less?

It’s actually easier and more simple than you might expect. So I’m really excited to share these tips with you guys. And if you need some help launching your podcast, you can go grab my complete Podcast Launch Checklist at thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com.

It has every single step that you need to start and launch a successful podcast along with I think, five or six bonus trainings for you guys in there. So again, thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com and if you’re like, I am not doing this by myself, you’ll be crazy.

Then I want you to head to podcastprouniversity.com and grab my number one course on how to start edit, record, launch, and scale your very own show so that you can have a passive revenue, booming evergreen lead generating machine, all from the comfort of your own home in your comfy, from behind your mic, bra-less and flaw-less, honey. Let’s get it! 10 tips to start a podcast. Let’s go!

(03:23):
All right, friends, let’s do this. So the first tip, you’re gonna need a notebook and pen for sure. I’m gonna give you lots of tactical stuff today. Number one, the first tip to start a podcast in 30 days or less is to pray.

If we don’t have God’s blessing on the direction of our show, we’re just gonna be doing it the world’s way. And we know that when we try to launch something and leap into the unknown, without God’s blessing, it always comes crashing down around us.

And it never feels as seamless and blessed and beautiful and clear as it could have. When we, you know, tell God that we wanna partner with him and allow him to be the CEO of this project.

So pray, and ask for God’s leading and guidance on your podcast. Just invite him into the process and then be really obedient and open when you get the leading from holy spirit on the direction of your show.

(04:13):
Number two is you need clarity on a direction. You don’t need to be a hundred percent sure that your podcast is gonna be what this is gonna be for the next 10 years. You don’t have to marry this unforeseeable outcome, but you do need to have a direction and your direction needs to be niche.

So let’s change number two to clarity on a niche direction. I don’t want you guys starting a lifestyle podcast about, you know, organizing and traveling and homeschooling like it’s too much.

You have to pick one specific micro-niche. And allow that to be your direction and allow God to work in that one direction. To really help you get to an outcome over time.

(04:58):
We’re not gonna know exactly what our person wants. We’re not gonna know what our top downloaded episodes are. Our top topics are until we start, but you do need to have a direction.

If you guys are totally stuck right here on step two, you’re gonna actually go backward and take my Clarify Your Calling course, clarifyyourcallingcourse.com because that’s what that course gives you the five-tier brand map so that you know, the title, tagline, direction, avatar, clarity, the pieces of the puzzle that you then come plug into my podcasting course, Podcast Pro University. But we have to have that direction and that niche.

(05:34):
Number three, you need to get some equipment. Can you podcast for free? You could with your phone and some of the free podcast hosting sites, but I do not recommend that guys, those sites actually own your content, most of them.

And you know, you don’t get to see the analytics, which is one of the most important pieces of having a good podcasting host is being able to see like what’s working, what’s not working. What are the demographics of the people listening to the show, and which episodes are really hitting?

(06:06):
So we wanna make sure that we’re investing in the proper software and equipment in Podcast Pro U, I give you guys all of my preferred software for this whole process and all in like literally all in you’re gonna be spending about a total of 150 to $200. That includes your mic.

That includes your software. It includes your editing platform. Everything it’s like super inexpensive to start a podcast guys. But I do think you should do it right. As far as your mic, do you need something so fancy that’s wired through the ceiling and dropped down and it’s got all the cool little things?

Absolutely not. If I’m being honest with you guys, y’all, can’t really tell when I record from my phone versus my mic, but you do need to have a mic.

We do wanna be as professional as possible, but sometimes we’re on the go or we just need a pattern interrupt and we wanna record outside or something. Then your phone is okay for that purpose.

(07:07):
Tip number four is to have a really sticky name. We gotta pick a sticky podcast title. So in my opinion, I really love three, or four words. If you can’t stand it, but three words or less titles.

And if you are willing, really making that title, super SEO specific, that’s keyword specific something that your person or your direction is really clear and aligned with.

So for example, let’s say that you have a podcast. You wanna start with homeschooling. It’s specifically about organizing your homeschool, super niche, great direction. I’m here for it.

(07:50):
Well, if you call your podcast, something like, Mrs. Kay gets it together. Or like Mrs. Kay organizes. It’s not clear. Organizes what? Who’s miss Kay? You know, but if you have something like the organized homeschool, and that’s the name of your show, you’re gonna go so much farther, faster.

The actual, what that you’re teaching is in your name. And you guys are gonna learn a lot about naming your show in my course, Podcast Pro University. But if you don’t end up taking the course, I really want you to think about having a really sticky keyword-driven outcome-specific title.

(08:32):
Tip number five. You’re gonna pick three content pillars. Only three. I used to say that you guys could have four, but I changed my mind. You’re allowed to have three pillars. What is a content pillar? This is the stuff you’re actually gonna talk about.

So in our the organized homeschool podcast, what would the pillars be? What would the content actually be that we’re gonna talk about? Super simple. You know, pillar one would be homeschooling, and pillar two would be tactical organization.

And then pillar three might be connecting with your kids or the mindset of mom, mom mindset, something like that. Like you wanna look at this from a holistic approach. So top-down, what are the three buckets that get people the promise of this whole podcast, which is called your TSO statement, your tactical specific outcome.

And that’s a whole nother can of worms, which we’re not gonna talk about today, but it’s supercritical that we have a clear promise of our podcast. That way, as we build content and we record episodes, we constantly check ourselves. Am I solving what I promised I’d solve?

Am I promising what I promise? What am I showing up and giving them what they’re here for? So those pillars are gonna keep you in line. They’re gonna keep you in check that you’re not going rogue talking about date night when you have a homeschooling organization podcast.

(09:56):
Tip number six is to have three episodes ready to go for your podcast launch. What three episodes should you have? Well, the first episode I would really have is why having an organized homeschool creates an environment for success. Why are you even doing this?

Why should they care? What is this podcast about? Episode two for me is really speaking to the pillars of the show.

So if your pillars are homeschooling in general and then organ organized homeschooling and maybe pillar one is more tactical like curriculum or something, whatever you’re excited about when it comes to having an organized home school, maybe it’s flexible homeschooling, like one of my clients teaches, Kawai.

(10:43):
So maybe you go into pillar three and talk about mindset, right? Episode two would be something like, maybe three tips to organize your homeschool and be more productive in less time.

So see how I have a lot of components in that title that are really gonna make people stop in their tracks and care about this episode. You know, three tips to doing what? Organizing my homeschool back to the promise. What’s the outcome? Why do I care? It helps us to be more productive and less time.

So that would be maybe episode two. And then, let’s say episode three is frustrated with the disorganization of your school. Two ways to involve the kids in flexible curriculum or something.

So you get the gist. You’re gonna record three and you’re gonna be ready to go. Now in Podcast Pro University, I do teach you guys how to edit yourself as you go so that you can save a lot of money and save a ton of time.

(11:44):
That’s what I do. It’s what most of my students do. It’s so fast. Instead of spending 50 bucks an episode on editing, let’s just edit as we go and save all the money. Editing does not need to be a big thing.

Editing should be very simple, very easy, and very streamlined. It should take you an extra five minutes an episode. Which I’ll teach you guys in the course.

(12:06):
Next, number seven, tip number seven, get professional channel art. This one, I am just not willing to budge. I used to be like, oh, you can create your own in Canva. Absolutely not. I can tell.

Unless you’re like a literal graphic designer, okay, fine. Or you’re super talented with graphics. Please get professional channel art.

(12:32):
This is not expensive. So I did forget this number when I said you’re $150 y’all in. Let’s add channel art, so you’re 210 bucks, and you’ve launched a podcast professionally, the right way. Channel art’s gonna run you 50 to $75. My favorite human being on the planet, my graphic designer works with all of my students to get you guys art.

So that’s really great. She already knows what to put on the art to make it really highly converting for you. So get professional art, this is like the cover of your book. We don’t want our art to look like we made it ourselves. Therefore, we want it to look like it’s professional.

It can still be fun, but it needs to be neat, tidy, and have all the elements of high converting art. It really needs to stand out because you’re showing up against a sea of other homeschooling podcasts that are gonna pop up in the search field. People are gonna make a determination based on your art.

If they’re even willing to go read the title of your show, also if they’re even willing to go read the description of your show.

(13:37):
Tip number eight is to do some keyword research. So as we get a little bit more comfortable here and we’re ready to go, the tactical stuff is done. The tech stuff is ready. We’re looking at future episodes, cuz consistency is king. We gotta know what else am I gonna talk about on this podcast?

You wanna go in and do some keyword research. You guys there’s a million places to do keyword research. Some of my favorites are Ubersuggest, the Pinterest search bar, and the Google search bar by typing stuff in, you can get results and see what other people have created, not to copy, but to see what’s most searched.

(14:15):
What are people looking for when it comes to homeschool organization? Are they looking up how to organize my homeschool or organization tips for homeschoolers?

Are they looking up a specific type of organization, curriculum organization, or homeschool organization? I don’t know, but you need to know.

So do that keyword research to see what your hottest key phrases are for your person. And you can start to build out some topic and some content around it. You’re gonna do that for each of your pillars.

(14:50):
Tip number nine is to do some avatar research. So now that we think we know, we have to prove that we know who is actually gonna listen, who is listening. So this is where you’re gonna go. And you’re gonna find homeschooling moms, and you’re gonna ask them what’s going on with your organization at home?

(15:10):
Where are you struggling? Why is that a pain point for you? What do you wish was different about this? And you’re really gonna dig in and find out what is keeping them from having an organized homeschool, because your podcast, your entire promise was to help them solve this problem.

So you can’t just guess what you think is going on. You have to know how you do avatar research. I have a whole portion of my courses about this.

If you really are excited about digging deeper into doing this in a faster way, with accountability and with all of the tools and templates that I can offer you so that you can kind of follow in my footsteps.

At this point, I have almost 800,000 downloads show. We will pass a million downloads this year, which is all God. And some SEO and keywords and strategy, podcasting strategy.

(16:01):
I love the word strategy you guys, but it all really comes back. And that’s only in three and a half years, right? Like the podcast is my funnel, so it’s how I grew a multi-six-figure coaching business. It’s how we’ve grown into a million-dollar business, two courses, one program it’s just absolutely insane.

And it all came from digging into this one. Number nine avatar research. As I got to know my person, you guys, I got to understand your fears, your thoughts, your worries around starting your own show, where you were stuck. What’s my thing and also, I don’t have clarity on my calling.

What’s my tagline and title, Stef? Help me with topics. I don’t understand. Help me title my episodes. What am I gonna talk about? Who’s gonna listen? I’m feeling self-conscious. What if my voice sounds weird?

(16:52):
I knew all of the things that you were thinking. So I was able to create content around your pain points.

So how do you actually do this? You sit down with people, you go on zooms, you get into voice DM’s with people, you do market research, you ask questions and you just listen. And then you create a huge BA spreadsheet full of their language and you use it for your podcast.

(17:17):
And last but not least tip number 10 is to have a really great launch plan. So as I mentioned, at the beginning of today’s episode, I have a totally free checklist for you guys, thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com. It’s got like all the pages it’s really robust.

And it takes you through every single step that I’ve talked about today in order along with so much more, when it comes to starting your own show and then a launch plan, that’s really gonna help you have as much visibility as possible.

(17:47):
We do care about launching our podcast successfully because it helps us really get ranked. It helps us grow on the charts faster and really have that boom, that catalyst for growth right from the beginning right out of the gate. So thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com, is totally free.

So, as far as what’s in a launch plan, go get the free launch plan checklist, cuz that’s an entirely separate episode. It could take me 30 minutes to walk you through, but it’s all inside the plan. It’s very easy though, very simple. It is only gonna take two days for you to really focus on your launch plan.

(18:21):
Now last but not least, if you really want some help launching your own show, you know that you’re sick of algorithms and social. You just wanna grow an audience, get more leads and also touch people’s hearts from behind a mic guys.

Guys, this is life, I’m in my slippers, my comfies right now, I have all the drinks. I have coffee. I have kombucha. I’m just recording this for you guys from my little notebook. It’s super simple and thousands of people will hear this episode all across the world.

And then we’re gonna share this episode in some really simple places, strategically and more people are gonna find it. And then we’ll have dozens of people who decide that this is for them and maybe they’ll buy the course or they’ll definitely download the checklist.

So you see how an episode actually is your it’s your free thing. It’s the thing you put into the world. It’s your long-form content that goes out and blesses people. And then if they decide you’re for them, they’ll come back and hang out with you, spend money with you, become your student, become your client.

(19:24):
Podcasting is the answer to hugely organic growth without any hustle. I spend less than 30 hours a week in this business. And it’s all because of this show and what God has done with it is absolutely unbelievable.

It truly is, I sometimes don’t even have words, but it all started from deciding this was for me, deciding God had planted it in my heart, leaning forward and leaping, even though the outcome was unclear and then following a roadmap of actually how to get it done, which I have for you guys.

So podcastprouniversity.com and of course thepodcastlaunchchecklist.com. And I can’t wait to hear from you, so you guys come tell me if you want more episodes like this. What do you wanna hear from me on the show over at The Stef Gass Community, which is stefgasscommunity.com.

We wanna know you and hear from you. We’d love to see what your thoughts are. If this episode helped you, bless you in some way, please share it. So honored that I get to be your coach and mentor through this process. God bless you. I can’t wait to see your podcast in the world really soon. Let’s do this!