I've been asked this questions in a few interviews. As there are no rules and you can do anything you want in a podcast, are there are any Podcasting Best Practices? Well as we all see podcasting through many different lenses I thought I would share my opinion on the best practices.

Have a Topic You Are Passionate About, as in REALLY Passionate about.

Next week you will hear Jamie from Horses in the morning talk about her L O V E of horses. In the past I have said you need the passion that a sixteen year old boy has for getting his driver's license.

WHY: Because when you first start out, it will be awkward, and you will still be getting comfortable behind the mic. You will have next to no audience and it is soul crushing to put that much work into something and have next to nobody listen to it. When you have that passion, you will talk about it even if nobody is listening.

Know Your Target Audience

I know, "But Dave you just said I don't have an audience." I know, but who is the person that should love this content. Also, I don't mean "34-48 year old Women. That is identify who they are. I mean KNOW THEM. Go hang out with them, and find out what makes them tick.

WHY: One of the biggest fears is sounding stupid. How do you avoid this? By knowing what your audience needs (we cover this in the planning your content course, as well as "Content is King" course).

Know WHY You're Podcasting

Every podcaster says "It takes more time than I thought" when you start a podcast (for the record it takes more time than you thought for many things if you think about it). Starting a podcast is easy. Start is GOOD podcast can tricky. You've identified who your audience is, and what your topic is, but the why can help shape the content. If you're trying to keep your brand in front of your potential customer you might do three five minute podcasts a week. If you want to be seen as an expert, maybe you do a weekly 20-minute show where you answer a question. If you're trying to grow your network, maybe you do interviews with other people in your field.

WHY: When you start to achieve your goal, it puts gas in your tank. If you are NOT achieving your goal you know you need to adjust the content or turn up the marketing.

Get The Best Equipment You Can Afford

I typically say you can sound pretty good for the price of an Xbox (about $300). By the time you get a microphone and some sort of interface, etc. You're looking between $70-$300 depending on how many co-hosts you have, etc.

WHY: Look at the top 200 shows in Apple and see how many were recorded using their phone (although you can make "OK" recording with your phone when used correctly).

Have A General Idea Of How a Podcast Works

I've been driving since I was 16. While I don't know enough about my car to work on it. I do know enough to do some basic troubleshooting.

WHY: By understanding the mechanics of a podcast you can avoid a lot of unnecessary panic when your episode doesn't appear in an app a few minutes after you press publish.

It's YOUR Show

Aisha Tyler said at Podcast Movement one of the biggest reason she loved her podcast was because it was HERS. Don't interview people if you're not sure they are a good fit. If you don't want to talk about a topic, don't. If you do want to talk about a topic - do. It's your show.

Make Yourself Available Everywhere

I talked about this in the episode about growing your downloads,

WHY: A boss walks into the board room and says, "I just heard this (insert name) podcast on the way in it was great. Everyone pulls out their phone but some people subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify, Overcast, Stitcher, etc.

Don't Pick a Release Date Until Your In All the Apps

I had this happen to me. My new show Grow Your Community was in Apple, but NOT in Overcast (even though Overcast pulls from Apple). In the same way that...

School of Podcasting - Plan, Launch, Grow and Monetize Your Podcast

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