3 Things To Consider Before Starting a Podcast

You’ve been feeling that persistent itch to start a podcast for a while now, but every time you Google “how to start a podcast” you open 15 tabs, notice each tab offers a completely different game plan, and close the whole window with an exasperated sigh as you wonder…

How the heck do I start a podcast?

I get it! Starting a podcast when you’ve never done it before can feel like learning a new language.

There’s all the technical shit of learning how to edit, all the money shit of deciding what equipment to buy, all the confidence shit of “Will people actually want to listen to me yap for 45 minutes straight?”

And what’s worse you don’t know what comes first and much less after.

I have two solutions for you:

Solution #1: Start with building a solid, unique concept. That’s what this blog post will be all about!

Solution #2: Join my podcast launch group program, Saturday Morning Launch Plan. It will take you from conceptualizing, which is what we’re doing today, all the way to launch day!

Now let’s jump into the good stuff. Here are 3 things you need to figure out before buying a microphone:

1. Your WHY.

It sounds a bit abstract and maybe like a complete waste of time, but trust me, this is the most important question to ask yourself:

WHY DO I WANT TO START A PODCAST?

Is it to build a community? Practice your speaking skills? Network with people? Establish authority? Share your love of Tamagotchis?

Whatever your WHY is, keep it front and center as you embark on this journey.

Because it will get challenging, and maybe even discouraging. There’s a reason why 90% of podcasts don’t make it past three episodes.

But you’re not gonna be one of them! Because you found this blog post, and you’re not going to build your lovely castle on fucking sand.

I recommend pausing here and whipping out your journal so you can reflect on your motivations for starting a podcast. If you need inspiration, check out my Instagram post of intrinsic vs extrinsic motivations for starting a podcast. The caption has a long list for both, so you can pick and choose what best fits you!

If you are actively working toward your WHY and making steady progress, you will be strong enough to keep going even if your first 3 episodes get a total of 10 downloads.

Unless you’re WHY is to become the next Call Her Daddy, there’s no need to obsess about the numbers, especially when you’re still starting out!

2. Your unique concept.

Once you figure out why on earth you want to start a podcast, it’s time to start thinking about what will make your podcast stand out among the crowd.

Having a strong and unique podcast concept is non-negotiable.

It’s not enough to say, “I want to start a podcast where I interview interesting people” or “I want to start a business podcast.”

If you can create a list of existing podcasts that sound almost exactly like your podcast concept, that’s a red flag! 🚩🚩🚩

And if this step takes you a long time to figure out, that’s OK!

Because when you have a solid concept:

• Your podcast stands out and draws attention.
• You attract listeners who care about what you have to say.
• It becomes easier to promote your show.
• You don’t run out of episode topics.

And that is sooooo worth it!

A solid podcast concept is:

A. More specific than you think.

Suppose you want to start a podcast about books. There are a bajillion podcasts about books, and the most successful ones have unique concepts. I listen to three excellent book podcasts: one about the airport bestsellers that have ruined us, another that interviews the biggest names in horror fiction, and another by two best friends who “unbind books to get to their hearts.”

Notice how each of these podcasts is memorable and unique. That’s what we’re aiming for!

A good exercise here is to try to narrow down your podcast concept to one sentence. Here are a few sentence starters to help you:

• The podcast where we/I…
• A podcast for…
• The show where…
• (adjective) (noun) from (description of you)

B. Capable of generating endless topics.

Notice how easy it is to generate episode topics for the three book podcasts that I just mentioned. There will never not be new airport bestsellers, horror writers, and books to “unbind.” These podcast hosts and their listeners can come up with topics pretty much forever.

That’s the goal!

Once you have your concept, a solid way to test how well it will work for you is by trying to generate 15 episode topics in one sitting. If you find yourself struggling with this, the concept might still need some tweaking.

3. Your audience.

One last thing to think about for today is who your podcast is for (because it’s certainly not going to be for everyone!)

Your ideal listener is the person who’s going to hear the first 5 minutes of any of your episodes and immediately feel like you made this just for them.

So how do you figure out who that person is without just… guessing?

Try this:

Research the podcasts that are kind of like the one you want to create: same subject, same tone, same vibe. Look up 3–5 of them.

Check out where their audience hangs out. Do they have a strong Instagram following? Threads? Substack? Wherever they are, stalk them! Check out some of their profiles, read their comments, get curious about who they are and what they’re talking about.

Build a mini listener profile. Use what you learn to write a short “listener bio.” It can be as simple as a short paragraph about who they are and what they’re into.

Here’s an example for the airport bestsellers podcast:

“They’re in their early 30s, probably with a liberal arts degree and a full bookshelf. They listen to podcasts during their commute or while cooking dinner, and they love a sharp, funny critique of things that are usually taken too seriously. They’re skeptical of anything that claims to be “life-changing” and appreciate hosts who do their homework, call out bullshit, and make them laugh in the process.”

The goal here is to direct your podcast at real humans and to make sure your content connects with them.

Being able to visualize your listeners will also help you when you find yourself in front of the mic in an empty room talking to yourself. Instead of seeing it that way, you can picture your listener and talk to them!

So now you know that the very first step in starting a podcast is building a solid, unique concept. Nothing else matters more when you’re just starting out!

Ok, but I’m a total beginner, and I need a step-by-step guide to starting a podcast

If you read all this and thought, “This sounds great, but I wish I had an actual step-by-step roadmap that tells me every single thing I have to do, HOW to do it, and in what order, along with someone next to me answering every question that pops up and giving me feedback,” wellllll, hi! I’m Adrienne, and I help aspiring podcasters like you launch and manage their dream podcasts through my signature podcast launch group program, Saturday Morning Launch Plan.

I also deliver free podcasting tips like this every Wednesday straight to your inbox through my newsletter, Sounds Like Brunch.

Thanks for reading! 🥂

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