Introduction:

How do you start a podcast for your business on your own?

It starts with a lot of preplanning! Don't rush over to your computer and press record! Chances are, you'll fall flat on your face.

You've been warned.

Let's pick the right topic, set up your gear, edit your recordings, and get your podcast out to the world!

The Right Topic

What is the right topic?

How do we know if this is the right topic for your podcast?

Very simply.

First of all, start off with what you already know.

Is there something you already know and really enjoy talking about? Are you that annoying person at parties that can only talk about that one subject and everybody knows you're gonna come up with that one subject over and over and over again?

Guess what?

That might be a perfect place for your podcast. Start there.

What is it that you enjoy doing?

What are you good at?

Are you pretty good at what you like to talk about or you just like to talk about it because it's fun?

I enjoy talking about cars, but I'm not very good at messing with them or improving them or doing stuff with them. I enjoy turning some wrenches, but I don't talk about it all the time. (Well, my wife might disagree with that.)

What I'm saying is, I don't think that'd be a topic for me. Might be for you. Maybe you enjoy wrenching and you can talk about, oh, I don't know, the settings of the points on a 1952 Chevy. 

Okay, if you knew that right off the bat, that's probably your topic, so go for it.

The right topic for your customers

When it comes to your business podcast, the most important thing you can consider is what your customers want.

If you're using this business podcast as a lead gen or something to get more clients to you, to start that dialogue with them, to start to move the ball forward, to get them up your value ladder, think about where they are right now.

What questions do they already have?

What questions are they asking?

When you go to work, what are the questions that they're already asking you in your meetings?

For example, if you're a financial planner.

People are always saying, "Well, what do I do about my 401(k) or what is this about a Roth IRA?"

They're asking those questions.

Take a few minutes and record an answer. You can put that on your website to prepare people before they even visit you.

Or better yet, find out the SEO question. What are the questions that people are already asking the internet, whether it's Google or YouTube, use that exact phrase and make a YouTube video of it.

So any one of these things, you've got a source of information to answer the right questions already. And that should lead you to your topic.

Recording gear

Once you have your topic all set out and you've done your research and you know what you're gonna be talking about, it's time to set up your equipment.

For a podcast, it's pretty simple.

You could go down to one microphone that plugs into the USB jack of your computer. Or you could get a little fancier.

Let's say you decide to do an interview situation. Two microphones, a little tiny mixing board.

They make these little tiny mixing boards and they're really not mixing boards per se. They're actually referred to as interfaces.

It's an interface between the microphone and your computer. Cause you can't plug two probably directly in, you're gonna need separate controls for it.

So that little interface will take care of that.

And then where's it going? It's going into your computer into what? Some type of recording software.

Podcast recording software

You can do recording software as cheaply as free.

There's a good chance you may even have one already installed on your computer. That would be the easiest way to get started.

Now don't get me wrong. It's probably not the best, but you know the best is probably going to come with a little bit of a price tag.

If you want to upgrade your game, save that for later.

I have said this over and over and over on this channel. My job is to get you over that technology hump and start producing content now.

You can probably do that with what you have already between your computer and your smartphone. You're probably good to go. I don't want to hear any excuses about, "Oh, I don't know which ______ to get. Camera, lighting gear, microphone."

That's not what's holding you up.

Get started today right now.

And to that end, you've got your equipment set up. Record! Press record and start talking.

Be prepared, follow your outline, know what you're going to say, but do not hold back.

Editing your podcast

Once you get over that hump of the first one, and you know it's going to sound terrible, right? You know you're going to stutter and stumble. You know it's going to be bad.

Two things:

Number one, you don't have to post that one...so no one will ever hear it.

Number two, if you do want to post it - because you're probably pretty good at it, you covered the topic thoroughly because it's something you're passionate and you know a lot about and you enjoy doing - any mistakes, you just cut them out, nobody will ever know that it was there.

You can get rid of your mistakes.

That's such an "a ha" moment for so many people who are thinking about doing any type of recording, whether it's video or audio. "Oh! I can edit it out!"

Yeah, you can. I hope that gives you a whole new lease on life and you feel the weight off your shoulders of being perfect. You don't have to be perfect, but you can certainly look like you are. Thank you to editing.

If there's something I need to cover for you, let me know in the comments below. I don't want to leave you stranded. I want to help you. This is what I do and I want to be able to help you. So what is it you're looking for? What help do you need? Just put it in the comments below. I check them all out and I'll get back to you maybe with a new video.

I briefly introduced editing in the paragraphs above, and that is the magic of it all.

You go ahead and make your mistakes. Go ahead and feel uncomfortable. I give you permission and now you need to give you permission to make the mistakes. Go ahead and do it because those are the ones that you're really going to learn from and there's going to be some editing mistakes as well. That's fine.

Practice, practice, practice.

You're going to do this over and over again. You've got all these episodes coming up. You're going to have plenty to talk about...

...and when you start to do the editing, it's going to get smoother, it's going to get faster and you're going to find your rhythm and your signature style.

So don't be afraid of it but run with it.

And then, finally...

Publishing your podcast episodes

Get them up and out to the world because the world is actually looking for what you have to say.

I know you might not think that and that probably sounds cliche and kind of corny but they are.

Let's say you and I are both going to go head to head on the exact same topic. You will connect with some people that I don't and I'll connect with some people that you don't.

Who do we want to leave out of the equation?

You bring something to the table that I don't and those people need you.

So please, you're doing a disservice to the world and I mean that.

You're doing a disservice to the world if you keep it inside you. Somebody had a very famous quote and I can't remember who it was...it was something like...

"The saddest thing about a graveyard is all of the songs that were left unsung."

You've got a song and I totally believe in you because you are going to connect with the folks that I'm not and they need you.

So please don't hold back.

One of the foundational elements to a podcast is being able to connect with your listeners and to turn them from raving fans into paying customers and I've got a short PDF for you. It's absolutely free down in the description.

It's called, "Engaging Your Audience: The 3 Secrets to Skyrocket Your Podcast Success"

Here's the link to get your copy now.

If you get these secrets under your belt - one's a pretty big mind shift and it takes a while to implement but the others are very quick and you can get them implemented immediately - before you even record your next episode, you'll have a whole new podcast.

Get that PDF and blow your competition away.

Click here and get your free copy right now.