Podcasting Q&A

Four beginner mistakes to avoid at all costs!

November 09, 2020 Buzzsprout
Podcasting Q&A
Four beginner mistakes to avoid at all costs!
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Jared from the All Things Connected podcast asks, "What are some classic beginner mistakes we should avoid?"

TL;DR
While every podcaster is bound to make mistakes from time to time, there are certainly some best practices and things to steer clear from for experience and beginner podcast hosts alike.

In this episode, we'll share four things that every podcaster should do their best to avoid.

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Sarah:

In today's episode, you'll learn some classic beginner mistakes that you should avoid in podcasting. Welcome to Podcasting Q&A, where you learn the best tips and strategies to launch, grow and monetize your podcast. This week's question comes from Jared.

Jared:

Hi, this is Jared Hocking hosted the all things connected podcast. I love your show and find it very useful. Thank you for all that you're doing. I was wondering if there are any things we should avoid on our podcasts that you find really annoying or bad practice that you've noticed about other podcasts as we're trying to grow our audience. Thank you very much.

Sarah:

Thanks for your question, Jared. Now, I know that I have made my fair share of mistakes and have learned from them. Now that being said, there are some basics that all podcasters should know when they're starting their podcast. So let's take a look at some classic beginner mistakes that you should avoid in your show. Mistake number one is bad audio quality. Now, it doesn't matter how good your content is, if you have bad audio quality, it's going to turn off new and existing listeners, it sounds like you've a pretty good mic, Jared. But just as a review, it's always a good idea to have proper mic technique being a quiet space, and we're headphones or Apple earbuds so that it reduces the Echo, which in turn gives you the best audio quality that you can get for your guests, they may not be as tech savvy as you are. So you want to come up with a plan on how you're going to coach them to get the best audio quality possible. That can mean things like making sure they're in a quiet space, having them wear headphones, or even having you invest in recording software like Riverside or squad cast, so you can capture the best audio quality possible. Mistake number two is not preparing enough. your audience's time is valuable. So you want to make sure that you do enough preparation so that when it comes time to press the record button, you know what you want to say your listeners are deciding between whether or not to listen to your show, or another one. So the more prepared you are, the more that you're going to build that trust with your audience so that they know what to expect every time they tune into your show. Mistake number three is not having a call to action. A call to action is simply a next step that you want your audience to take, whether that's leaving a review, sharing your episode, or even heading to your website. So having a clear call to action, either the beginning or the end of your show is going to help your audience know what to do next. But if you don't have a call to action, your audience won't know what to do so they won't do anything. Mistake number four is not having a marketing plan, you took the time to create an amazing show. But if nobody knows about it, who's going to listen. So some examples of marking your podcast can include making sure that you listed in all the major directories. So your audience isn't limited to just one. It could also mean finding great guests, and creating social media images, so that they can share the episode for you. It could even mean creating an email list. So you can maintain a relationship with your listeners. And so they know when new episodes drop. Now the term marketing seems really intimidating. But if you think about it, it's just a way for you to make sure that somebody knows about your show. So taking these small but mighty steps is really going to help you build your audience. At the end of the day, you're going to make mistakes and that's okay. But if you want to minimize those mistakes, feel free to check out our how to start a podcast playlist on YouTube. We'll leave a link in the show notes. And remember, podcasting is a marathon not a sprint. So even if you do make mistakes, learn from them and grow because your audience will love you for it. Thanks for sending us your question, Jared. If you have a question you would like for us to answer in a future episode of the show head to speakpipe.com/ uzzsprout or click on the link i the show notes and leave a brie audio message. Podcas ing Q&A is available both video nd audio format. If you'd like v deo, please subscribe to the Bu zsprout YouTube channel. And if you'd like audio Podcas ing Q&A is available on all yo r favorite podcasting apps. hat's it for today. Thanks for listening and as always keep podcasting

Intro
"What are some classic beginner mistakes we should avoid?"
Bad audio quality
Not preparing enough
No call to action
No marketing plan
One more thing...