Guide: Podcast Advice

Podcasting

Building a podcast* isn’t as complicated as you think and the way to getting your podcast off the ground is with some plannng. This guide will help you consider what you need to think about before starting your podcast.

Quick quiz

Do you need a podcast?

What will your podcast be about?

What will your episode topics be?

Can you source content and contributors?

How will your podcast be distinctly 'you'?

Is your content of interest to others?

What format(s) will your podcast be?

Who will present your podcast?

How often do you want to do episodes?

If you can't answer all these questions that is to be expected, the guide that follows will help you identify if podcasting is right for you and your content. It also provides tips as to what you should be doing in preparation for your podcast and if you have further questions please contact the KM and Comms team.

Planning

Do I need a podcast?

If you have something to say that will benefit others then a podcast could be worth considering.

What will the podcast be about?

It is important that you are clear in what your podcast is about, being vague will make it difficult to market and less likely to attract an audience.

Episode numbers

Once you have decided what the podcast is about then decide how many episodes you want to do. Don’t over-commit, a first season of 6 or 8 episodes will give the audience a good idea of your content and give you a good idea about the appetite for more.

Episode topics

Work out the topic and/or title of each episode to help you identify your content needs such as contributors, research, writing, etc.

Sourcing contributors*

In the beginning contributors are likely to be drawn from your own network, this will give a level of assuredness in your conversations and topic areas but as your podcast grows you may make new connections that give you access to further expertise and contributors.

Episode format*

There are lots of different types of podcast, conversational, round table, interview, repurposed content, monologue, theatre, etc. Your podcast could be just one of these or it could be a mixture, much will depend on the content you have, the content you wish to make and the contributors that you attract. Speak to the KM and Comms team about which format(s) might be right for you.

Planning

Episode segments*

Some podcasts will be about a single topic but others might have a second or third segment to help break up long content or to diversify the episode to make it more appealing to a wider audience.

Ideas for additional segments include;

• Recent news

• Announcements

• A-Z of (...my program)

• Fact check

• How to / resource information

• Factoid of the episode

• Listener engagement segment (followed up via social media)

• Advertise upcoming events / documents / podcasts / videos / webinars

• Q&A

What will make the podcast sound distinctly ‘yours’?

There are no set ways to make your podcast distinctly yours but in order to help your audience know what they are listening to give them some audio cues.

Ideas for creating a podcast identity include;

• Introductory music

• Record a fresh consistent way of opening each episode to allow for tailoring

• Name of the podcast and episode title given near the start

• Music transitions between segments of the episode

• Have a delivery style - think about how you speak to different groups of people and use this to define your podcast voice

• Have a consistent exit to end the podcast (like, subscribe, produced by, copyright notices). This could be recorded by the editor, adding a new voice that signals the podcast end and listeners may now switch off.

Speak to the KM and Comms team about what touchpoints might be right for you and your audience.

Planning

Will my podcast be scripted?

There should be an element of scripting, the introduction and the end of the episode should be written but can be recorded separately from the main content. Doing this after the main recording will also allow you to more seamlessly feed the introduction and end of the episode with what has been said during the episode.

Monologue episodes should be more tightly scripted - this will help keep the episode succinct and remove some of the natural stuttering and mumbling that we all do in conversation. It is worth saying though, that even scripted episodes should have a freedom of expression, to avoid a monotone delivery.

Podcast presenting

Who will present your podcast will be for you to decide, however, a clear confident speaker is key and, if the podcast has an interviewing element to it, that the presenter understands what is being talked about and can respond to other contributors remarks to make for a more engaging listening experience.

Episode length

To a certain extent the content and contributors will define an episode length but the sweet spot would be sub 40 minutes; enough time to discuss a complex topic but not enough to allow the conversation to be rambling.

Prior to each episode it is recommended to draw up four or five points that you aim to talk around and this will help keep your episode on topic.

It is worth noting that for 40 minutes of conversation you will want to record around an hour of audio, the editing process will attempt to remove much of the unnecessary space and noise from the podcast to make it an easier listen.

Encourage like and subscribe*

During the beginning, end or even between segments in an episode you can encourage listeners to like, subscribe and follow your podcast. You may even mention future topics, online destinations or other podcasts within the Improvement Service that might be of interest to listeners.

The reason to do this is to encourage the platforms to recommend your podcast to potential listeners will similar listening habits and therefore grow your audience.

Planning

Equipment

You can do podcasting with lots of fancy gadgets but they aren’t strictly necessary, however, there are a few things that will make it easier for both you and any contributors to record an episode;

• Quiet space to record

• Computer (with a microphone)

• Headphones or earphones

• Microsoft Teams

• Internet connection

Content capture

There are lots of way to capture content and within the Improvement Service there has been a significant transition to the use of Microsoft Teams which has a built-in recording function. This is a useful facility for recording your audio especially if contributors are located a long way from you.

However, research indicates that where the listening experience isn’t smooth and easy on the ear that audiences can and will switch offtinny audio can be unpleasant no matter how good or relevant the content is.

Whilst some improvement can be made in the editing of the audio it will be worthwhile speaking to the KM and Comms team to assess what practical and equipment support can be provided to make your recording sessions as good as possible.

Planning

Backing out

You may have guests back out of a recording or of doing an episode entirely, therefore always have a spare episode topic planned that you could use to fill in, this is likely to be a scripted monologue episode as it is your backup but it means you won’t fall short in your episode commitment.

The other scenario is that a contributor pulls out after the recording and no longer wishes to appear - there are number of things you can do;

• Speak to the contributor about their concerns and offer to re-edit/ re-record any content that might be of particular concern. Be wary of compromising the value of the episode though and if the changes are too much then consider the second option below.

• Cancel the episode and go to your backup episode, perhaps look at other ways the contributor content could be used such as a blog post but always work, where possible for an amicable and positive outcome.

• Having had the contributor sign a release form * you could launch the episode regardless of their wishes. However, this is not advised, it hurts relationships and there might be reputational damage beyond the podcast.

Releasing episodes

Podcast episodes can be released hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or however you want but keep it regular. This means that you should have all your episodes ready before the first episode is released, this means you won’t be caught by a resource shortfall and leave your audience wondering where the next episode is - they will find something else to listen to if you don’t turn up as scheduled.

Episodes will also need graphic and branding* content - these would appear on social media and the podcast platforms* (iTunes, Spotify). The KM and Comms team will be able to support the creation of this content.

Planning

Accessibility*

Maximising your audience means making your podcast as accessible as possible or you risk missing out on key groups of potential listeners. Below is a list of things that you might want to consider requesting as part of your podcast creation;

• Provide your podcast on an accessible website

• Provide a transcript

• Convert the audio to video and include subtitled versions on video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo

• Make your podcast available through voice control devices such as Alexa

Speak to the KM and Comms team who will guide you through the best choices to make your podcast as accessible as possible.

Challenges

• Not enough promotion

Social channels and full life cycle* marketing should promote the podcast, request reviews and subscribes, engage with contributors to share as widely and join groups where relevant content podcasts can be shared.

• Released at the wrong time

Release your podcast when your audience is most engaged with you. For example, if you know that most people listen when they are commuting then release episodes early in the morning but remember not all platforms share at the same speed (iTunes can be slow to pick up new episodes). Also consider external factors such as big news days - these can be a distraction to your natural audience and disruptive to your download numbers.

• Released on the wrong platforms*

Listeners will use a wide variety of apps and platforms to engage with you. Speak to a member of the KM and Comms team about how to efficiently reach the widest audience.

• Describe your podcast

Like all social content, podcasts need to be accurately described, tagged, categorised and labelled. The more accurate these descriptors are then the more likely it is that the audience you are seeking will find the podcast.

• Content isn’t very engaging

If the content isn’t very engaging, even if it is useful, then your audience might turn off. The presentation of the messages and information is important in making sure the audience listen to the episode. Breaking up content, waypointing and other audio cues will help to maintain the interest of the audience.

• Podcast not being shared within your network connections and beyond

Use of social channels and full life cycle marketing to promote the podcast will aid you in finding your audience. Requesting reviews and subscribes*, engaging with contributors and listeners to share as widely as possible within their networks will also help. Finally join groups where relevant content podcasts can be shared and begin discussions that might lead to listener feedback that will inform improvements in later episodes.

Breaking up content, waypointing and other audio cues will help to maintain the interest of the audience

Challenges

• Podcast not being reviewed

Request reviews from listeners either via digital communications and social media or in the audio of the episode.

• Poor audio

If the quality of your audio is poor then consider this might require change on how recordings are made. Speak to a member of the KM and Comms team about this.

• Ensure guests sign release forms*

Prior to a recording please have all contributors sign a guest release form, this will give clarity to you and the contributors about the expectations. The release form should be sent several days in advance of a recording and can be supplied by the KM and Comms team

• All external or copyrighted* content is cleared for use

If there are any audio clips or music taken from a third party they must be either copyright free or cleared for usage. The KM and Comms team will help you with this.

Glossary

Overview

Podcast

A podcast is an audio programme you subscribe to on your phone, computer or digital assistant and listen to it whenever you like. The most recognised podcast sources are; Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Audible.

This glossary is used to give you an overview of terms used in this publication and the wider podcast world and aims to explain how they relate to your podcasting. If you have any questions about podcasting not covered in this document please contact the KM and Comms team.

Content

Content are the scripts, conversations, research, audio recordings or anything that you use during your podcast

Contributor(s)

A contributor is a person(s) that provides content for your podcast.

Platform

A platform is where a podcast is stored, you upload episodes to a platform where others can find and listen to your podcast from. Examples of platforms include Acast, Spotify and Buzzsprout

Apps

Apps are a software type found on a computer, tablet, phone or other electronic device - most platforms have an app that listeners can use to hear your episodes.

Reach

Reach can mean two things in the context of podcasting, the first is, ‘how many listeners do I have?’ and this can be easily answered by the statistics that your podcast will be generating.

The other side of reach is about audience connectionyou might be reaching lots of potential audience through promotion but not getting listeners because where or who you are reaching aren’t the right places or people.

The feedback and information generated from analysing episode reach will help you to tailor your content and help the KM and Comms team to tailor the promotion of your podcast. Don’t be afraid to make change to increase and improve your audience.

Glossary Episodes

Episode formats

Podcasts take many different forms, there are many factors that affect what type of podcast you will make such as how many people are contributing, what the topics are and who the audience is. The following is a short list of some of the most popular types of podcast;

• Conversational

Informal podcast style seeing two (or more) people chatting about specific themes or a topic. Being informal means, this works best when the participants have a good rapport so the podcast runs smoothly.

• Panel / Round table

The panel or round table podcast is made up of small groups of experts, opinion makers, thought leaders or general contributors discussing specific themes or topics. While these episodes might have a regular presenter for introductions, etc these episodes are best led by one of the experts in the topic and supported by the other contributors.

• Interview

An interview podcast revolves around one or two hosts who speak with one or more guests each episode. In this format, the guest provides unique expertise or insights on a given topic, industry or theme

• Repurposed content

You may have some existing audio from another project, perhaps something old that is relevant - this content can (possibly) be used in the repurposed content format. To ensure relevance it would be advisable to mix it with more modern content to provide context rather than just releasing old audio. The other repurposed content might be videos, blogs or publications that have already been created and could quickly be converted into an audio format to give your podcast a quantity and quality feel.

Podcasts take many different forms, there are many factors that affect what type of podcast you will make such as how many people are contributing, what the topics are and who the audience is

An interview podcast revolves around one or two hosts who speak with one or more guests each episode. In this format, the guest provides unique expertise or insights

Glossary

• Monologue

The monologue podcast has the presenter speak for the entirety of each episode. These podcasts are usually hosted by someone who is an expert in their field. This type of episode usually requires a high level of scripting, a clear, confident host and one capable of expanding on the scripted segments.

• Magazine

The Magazine podcast takes all the above elements and uses the ones that are required for the content and contributors you have for each episode. Episodes may be made up of a mix of segments for example an episode might be made up of an interview segment, a news segment and an audience interaction segment and these, when put together, will make a cohesive episode. This podcast format would be similar to a conventional radio show such as The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 or televised content such as This Morning on ITV.

Segments

If your podcast has different talking points with different contributors these can be referred to as segments and are most commonly, though not exclusively, found in magazine style podcasts.

Intro / Outro

A podcast needs to have a strong, concise introduction that tells listeners;

Glossary

Music

Would you just wander into someone’s home and start speaking at them? No, and the same courtesy should apply for a podcast - introduce yourself before you start speaking and a great way to do this is with a musical intro.

The musical intro can also form the basis of the exit to the episode and is an easy way for listeners to recognise they are at the end of the episode.

Remember though the things you hear on the radio or that are in your music library are out of bounds - the KM and Comms team will be able to help you produce some copyright free, cost free and legal intro music.

Music transitions

Music is also a great addition to content if you have segues into other segments or if you wish to skip through a boring or irrelevant section of audio and there is no easy edit to make the cuts seamless.

Glossary

Production & release

Release forms

Release forms enable contributors to confirm they are happy for their content, voice and/or image to be distributed by the Improvement Service. All contributors in an episode, no matter how small their role, should have a signed release form.

Forms are available from the KM and Comms team.

Branding

The Improvement Service is not a household name and will have a limited impact on generating an audience, therefore, in conjunction with the KM and Comms team, it must be established if the lead name of your podcast is;

Once this is established the KM and Comms team can support the development of your brand style that will be used across all digital media. Having a consistent look will help your audience find and recognise you

Graphics

You might think a podcast is all about the audio but the visual side of podcasting is just as important. Well-crafted and easily understood graphics, as part of your branding, will help you attract and retain listeners.

Copyright

Copyright is the legal right that protects the use of your work once your idea has been physically expressed. If you are using material that you did not generate then ensure you have copyright clearance, from the original author or owner, to use this.

Some people will cite the ‘fair use’ rule for content but this is a complex area and one to be avoided - permission is always preferable and if in doubt don’t use it or speak to the KM and Comms team.

Transcripts

A transcript of the audio are the words spoken in the podcast. There are a number of reasons that you should do a transcript for each episode including;

• The Improvement Service presents < insert podcast name >

< Insert podcast name > from the Improvement Service

Glossary

• Accessibility: make sure that your content reaches the widest audience

• Records: having a record of your podcast output for future reference

• Repurposing: use the written content in publications, social media, video or blog posts

Waymarking

You may have seen hashtags on social media or descriptions of a video you have watched located around the thing you are viewing and these wayfinders are a significant part of the way people discover content.

For you this means having good accurate and succinct descriptions and tags that allow search engines, platforms and potential listeners to discover you. There is no magic set of rules regarding waymarking but there are some tips that will help your audience find you;

• Describe

Give a short, punchy description of your podcast and each episode that will engage the listener before they have even pressed play. Long paragraphs of content don’t engage listeners and they don’t engage search engines. However, the description is a great place to add URLs to relevant additional content, contributors websites, social media, video channels, publications, other podcasts or useful articles.

• Tags

Use relevant tags so that when people search for podcasts yours may come up as a podcast that could be of interest to them. You can use generic tags such as ‘local government’ or ‘public sector’ or you can be more specific and make your tags relevant to your content and contributors. A mixture of both is preferable.

• Categories

Having your podcast in the right categories is crucial for finding the audience you are looking for, there is little point having a podcast about, ‘protecting vulnerable adults’ in the ‘sports podcast’ section so it is worth giving some consideration to which categories you would like platforms to store your podcast under.

The KM and Comms team can help with you with identifying the best way to do each of the above to reach your audience.

Give a short, punchy description of your podcast and each episode that will engage the listener before they have even pressed play

Glossary

Promotion

Full life cycle marketing

Full life cycle marketing is all about reaching your audience.

Full life cycle marketing can include lots of strands of promotion, such as; digital newsletters, online advertising, branding opportunities, online and offline collaborations, blogging, social media promotion, in-person or digital event promotion, word of mouth, feedback and analysis.

By completing your podcasts personalised marketing lifecycle, there is an opportunity to maximise audience reach but also to learn about improvements that can be made for future episodes both in episode content and promotion.

(NB: Not all podcasts require a full set of marketing activities).

Reviews and subscriptions

A subscriber is someone interested enough in your podcast that when you release a new episode they will be notified.

Having subscribers to your podcast means that the platforms where your podcast is stored will then begin to recommend you to a wider audience with similar listening habits - this can be a big positive for growing your audience.

A review of your podcast is a personal opinion on your content, visible to other potential listeners.

Reviews, good and bad are useful, being reviewed means that you are being listened to, good reviews mean that you might attract new listeners, bad reviews can help you to make the changes to improve your podcast.

Asking for subscribes and reviews in your podcast is a positive step to helping others find the useful and informative content you are providing, so be confident when asking for them, it shouldn’t be an afterthought.

Having subscribers to your podcast means that the platforms where your podcast is stored will then begin to recommend you to a wider audience with similar listening habits