The document serves as a comprehensive guide for small businesses on how to start podcasting, emphasizing its potential benefits such as building audience relationships, enhancing content accessibility, and establishing industry authority. It outlines necessary steps for creating a podcast, including research, content planning, equipment selection, and marketing strategies. The guide also highlights the importance of content quality and audience engagement, as well as technical aspects like software and hardware required for effective podcasting.

1. The Small Business Guide To Podcasting

2. You’ve probably heard about podcasting by
now.
• It’s kind of like your own radio show available via iTunes,
Google Play Music, and a number of other audio services.
Maybe you listen to them. Maybe you don’t.
• However, millions of people do, and you could be reaching
them.
“How,” you ask?
• No, not through sponsorships (even though that would work).
• You could be reaching your share of podcast listeners if you
had your own.
Today, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know to
get started.

3. There Are Tons Of Reasons Your Small
Business Should Be Podcasting
• Podcasting is a unique
content medium.
• Your small business can get
tons of benefits a great
podcast.
• This might explain why it’s a
rising trend as a marketing
format.
• Let’s go over some of those
benefits before we dig into
our how-to.
• I want you to really
understand why podcasting
is worth your time.

4. You’ll Connect With
Your Audience Better
• Listening to someone’s voice for hours on end
month after month can create a connection well
beyond a blog article or YouTube video.
• Even though podcasting is one-sided, it’s proven
to be excellent at building relationships with the
audience.
• Your listeners tune in because they feel like they
connect with you.
• They have something in common with you or your
brand.
• This relationship improves the trust your audience
has in your brand.
• That’s going to improve conversion rates and
sales.
• After all, people would rather buy from a
friend than a stranger.
The human voice
can be powerful.

5. Your Audience Can Consume Your Content
Nearly Anywhere
• I know you’ve seen those people who watch
videos while they drive.
• There is literally nothing safe or smart about
driving distracted.
• However, listening to a podcast while you
drive is perfectly safe.
• Also, sitting in traffic is a great time to do
some learning, and many people opt to.
• In fact, 23% of Americans have listened to
podcasts in their car.
• See, the beauty of a podcast is the portability.
• You can listen while you work, work out, or
drive to and from work.
• When listening to a podcast, your hands are
still free to cook dinner, send an email, or
wrench on a car.
• That kind of flexibility allows your audience to
consume your content while they go about
the rest of their lives.
• Something that just isn’t possible with an
article or video.
• And, because podcasts are free and readily
on any phone, they’re limitlessly
accessible to your target audience.
• There’s nothing else like it.
Have you ever tried to read a blog article while sitting in traffic?
God, I hope not!

6. People Will Listen To More Than They Read
• If you’ve read our articles before, you’ve probably seen the read timer at the top.
• People want to know how much of their day will be taken up by anything they read.
Over 55% of people are only sticking with your blog for 15 seconds.
• The rest will usually stick with a quick read of 5 to 10 minutes.
• If you’re in a real niche market, you might get someone to stick around for 15-20 minutes.
• Longer than that and people are looking for the TL;dr.
• Videos can grab a little more attention, but not usually for long.
• If a video exceeds 5 minutes, people tend to watch less of it, and usually, don’t make it
to the end.
• Podcasts, however, tend to average over 30 minutes, and people will listen to them
completely.
• That ability to get your content heard and provide complete value to your audience can’t be
overstated.

7. People Will Recognize
You As An Industry
Leader
• Some will be interviews with industry
leaders.
• Others will be discussions about your
topic.
• In the eyes of your audience, you’ll
become an industry leader too.
• Many people have built entire empires
around their podcast.
• They’ve been interviewed on podcasts
all over the country.
• And, as an added benefit of their
empires, they’ve been invited to speak
at all kinds of industry events.
• They can be a huge value for your
small business.
When you podcast,
you’ll be using a ton
of different formats.
Yes, a podcast can do that.

8. You Can Get More Mileage For Your Content
Content is king, and if you don’t know that yet,
it’s time to learn!
• In a world where Google and
Social Media rule, getting more
mileage for your content means
you’ll get seen more.
• That means you’ll get found more,
too.
• Repurposing your content is a
smart move if you want to get
your message into more people’s
heads.
• By putting your content into
multiple formats, you can reach
more people where they’re willing
to find you.
• You’re also putting trusted
content in more places that are
connected to you, showing Google
that your information is relevant.
• That ups your SEO as well.

9. Small Business Podcasting Is Simple, But Not
Easy
• Listen, the idea behind podcasting is super simple.
• Convey your content by recording your ideas through a
microphone.
• The process, which we’ll go over in just a minute, is pretty simple
too.
• However, getting yourself to move forward with a podcast can be
difficult.
• There are a few things you may have to work your way around.
• As we talk about what you’ll do to get your small business’
podcast going, we’ll address those as well.
• I want to make sure you’re totally prepared to start your podcast
and make it successful.

10. Here’s Everything You
Need To Know To Get
Your Small Business
Podcast Going
Today, I’m going to cover the
basics, the industry
recommendations, and what I
personally do for the following
topics.
• Research
• Content Planning
• Equipment
• Format
• Scheduling & Marketing
By the time we’re through today,
you’ll be equipped to get your
podcast off the ground and
start seeing the benefits that
your voice can bring.
By now, you ought to be
ready to start a podcast
for your small business.
But, before you go
spending money on studio
time or expensive
equipment, you ought to
know what you need to do
to get started.
Let’s get started.

11. Do Your Research
To start your small business podcasting journey,
you’ve got to learn about other podcasts.

12. Do Your Research
• You’ve got to know what a good podcast sounds like.
• Make sure you give these a critical ear, too.
• Try to think in terms of an audience member.
• What makes the podcast interesting? What don’t you enjoy
about it?
• Does it offer anything that will help you?
I want you to make sure you listen to some
podcasts from great podcasters in your field.

13. Do Your Research
• The Jocko Podcast: A former
Navy SEAL that uses military
stories to teach discipline and
leadership.
• The Tim Ferriss Show: Ferriss
is an entrepreneur, author,
investor who breaks down
what successful people do for
you to duplicate.
• EOFire: John Lee Dumas is
quite possibly the best
podcaster of all-time,
interviewing entrepreneurs the
world over to find out the
secrets of living your passion.
• The MFCEO Project: Andy
Frisella is a no-nonsense fitness
entrepreneur who digs into
self-improvement with a foul
mouth and hard-earned
experience.
I also want you to check out these great entrepreneurial podcasts.

14. While you’re at it, you
can check out our podcast
over on SoundCloud too.
• As you listen to these podcasts,
try to learn something from them
about success, too.
• I mean, why not grab all the
lessons you can while you’re
there?
• Put together notes on the
podcasts you listen to.
• They’ll help put together your
plan.
Do Your Research

15. Determine The Content Your
Audience Wants
If your podcast is off-topic, boring, or outright offensive,
you can unplug your microphone now.

16. Determine The Content Your Audience Wants
Here’s where the real difficulty
comes in.
That is if you’re averse to doing
work.
• Podcasts aren’t a work-free
path to success.
• There’s a ton you have to do
before you get your podcast
running when it comes to
creating the content.
• Unless, of course, you’re some
kind of blend between
Andrew Dice Clay and
Ben Stein.

17. Determine The Content Your Audience Wants
Start thinking about who your target audience is, just like any of the
other content you create
• If you haven’t put together a set of
buyer personas yet, now is the right
time.
• If you have put them together already,
think about some of the content you
already have that’s successful at
bringing the right people in.
• Those topics are a great starting point.
• Try to expand the value in some way.
• Switch up the content a little bit but
keep the foundation the same.
• It’s one of many ways to repurpose
successful content.
• Be prepared to handle a little bit of
technical work, too.

18. Determine The Content Your Audience Wants
• Be prepared to handle a little bit of technical work, too.
• Your content won’t always be ready to go the second
you’re done recording it.
• As you start getting a feel for the right content, be
prepared to spend about 3-6 hours a week on the tasks
around your small business podcast.
• You’ve got to edit, prepare the podcast file on a host,
market your podcast, and create content for your
episodes.
• That’s what most people call them. Get used to the idea.

19. Determine The Content Your Audience Wants
• Again, it’s a lot of work, and some of it may
seem technical in nature, but most people
can get the hang of enough to produce a
decent podcast without a problem.
• Thankfully, all it takes is a little time
management to get it done.
• When you do, your podcast will become a
benefit to your company.
• You may even start to enjoy it, as I found I
have.

20. Make Sure You Have The Right
Podcasting Gear
Here’s the biggest section of content you’ll need to
pay attention to.

21. Make Sure You Have The Right Podcasting
Gear
You might want to take notes.
• As I said earlier, I’m going to go into what the most basic
options are, what the pros recommend, and what I personally
use.
• I think this is the second most important part that you need to
understand next to the content itself.
• Getting the equipment wrong can become a very expensive
mistake.

22. Make Sure You Have The Right Podcasting
Gear
• Getting the equipment wrong can become a very expensive
mistake.
• See, back in the day, podcasters used to use anything they
could record digitally with.
• Literally didn’t matter.
• That’s why the medium got made fun of so much. And still
does.
• Now, it’s a helluva lot more sophisticated, and that means a
lot of advice you’re going to get comes from gear snobs.
• You know who I’m talking about.
So, let’s run down the list, shall we?

23. A Computer
• To start with, you need a
computer that you’re going
to center all of your podcasting
around.
• You need a spot to plug in the
mic.
• You need something to record
from.
• Editing your podcast has to
happen somewhere.
• And you’ll need to be able to
listen to your recording.

24. A Computer
Factually, this doesn’t have
to be a computer.
• The Basics
A phone. Literally any smartphone.
As long as you can run SoundCloud or Anchor, it
works.
• What The Pros Suggest
Actually, the pros don’t have any specific
suggestions for this.
Any computer that can run the software you
want to use without lag will be good enough.
• What I Use
Specifically, I’m using an HP Spectre X360 15”
laptop. While I rather enjoy it, I didn’t buy it for
the podcasting. The other things I do require
something at this level.
Don’t spend more than you need to.

25. A Microphone
Microphones can get a
little tricky.
• There are dozens of options out there at the beginner level.
• If you’re not in the audio field already, you don’t know what
most of the specs mean.
• Like, what’s a cardioid mic?
• I wasn’t familiar with any of the terms that go with audio
equipment.
• Some of it is still a mystery.

26. The Microphone Bare Minimum
However, I did figure out
what I needed to get started.
If you can’t get anything else, use the mic on your
phone.
Or the one in your earbuds, more specifically.
That’s because it works on both your phone and your
computer.
Is the sound quality the best? No.
However, it’s what I did my first 3 episodes on, and it
works.

27. Microphones The Pros Suggest
AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Mic
The recommendations tend to be a toss-up between two
different models.
ATR2100-USA

28. The Mic I’m Using
You’re currently hearing me on
the Blue Snowball ICE mic.
I love the sound that this mic produces.
I selected it because of a review I listened to.
I don’t remember who did the review, but he put several
mics to the test in the same video.
The sound from the Blue Snowball was almost as good as
his mic, which cost 5 times as much.
That was before processing.
I highly recommend it.

29. Recording/Editing Software
• Your final output is going to be heavily influenced by
the software you choose.
• If you’ve got too many bells and whistles, you might
get overwhelmed in the beginning.
• If you haven’t got enough features, you’ll be left
having to re-record over every mistake you make.
• However, most of the software that’s available allows
you to at least trim out mistakes.
The nitty-gritty.

30. The Most Basic
Software
Going back to your phone on this
one.
• Anchor and SoundCloud allow you
to record directly in the app.
• However, if you want to edit in
SoundCloud, you’ll need to trim
the mistake and re-record.
• Anchor, on the other hand, allows
the most basic editing features.
• You can trim and splice your audio.
• It also has music and sound bites
you can add into your podcast.

31. Software Advice From The
Pros
The experts seem to unanimously
agree on Audacity.
• There is more than one available
software at the same quality level.
• You can look at Garage Band on
Apple devices.
• Adobe Audition CC works great if
you’re already subscribed to
Creative Cloud.
• Audacity is a full-featured audio
recording and editing platform.
• And it’s free.
• It easily rivals anything you’ll have
to pay for.

32. Where I Do My Recording &
Editing
I agree with the pros on this one.
• I personally use Audacity.
• I’m a huge fan of open source
software.
• This one is a big
recommendation from me,
too.
• If you choose to use Audacity,
Buzzsprout has a great how-to
to help you get familiar with
the editor.

33. Headphones
• Headphones are a key component to recording a great
podcast.
• You ought to be able to hear what things sound like as
you’re recording.
• You also ought to be able to hear details as you edit.
That’s where a great set of headphones comes in.

34. You’ve Already Got The
Basics
• Just like the microphone, use what
came with your phone.
• Your earbuds can work on either
your phone or your computer.
• Most of them do a decent job of
getting rid of background noise,
too.
• That lets you hear the audio you
need to edit better.

35. The Headphones The
Pros Suggest
• It should be no surprise that the
pros recommend the same brand
of headphones that they do mics.
• After all, great sound is great
sound.
• The detachable audio cable allows
you to switch for a Bluetooth
adaptor, giving them wireless ability.
• You can also use a longer-than-
stock cable if you prefer.
• They say they aren’t noise-
canceling, but reviews say they do a
great job of blocking a lot of the
noise.
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x
headphones are known as the best bang
for your buck.

36. My Headphones • I’m not that picky when it comes to
headphones.
• However, I alternate between 2 pairs.
• First, I have my Jabra Evolve 40
headset.
• Technically, it’s a phone headset for
office use, but the sound is good, and
I already had it.
• Second, I have my Samsung Level U
Wireless Headphones.
• This one has some of the best noise
canceling ability I’ve ever used.
I suggest you go with
whatever you have around.
If you have to buy
something, this list has
some great options for you
to try out and see what you
like.

37. Optional Extras
• There’s a bunch of other little conveniences you can grab,
too.
• They’re not necessary, but they make the quality of your
small business’ podcast better.
• In this category, I’m not going to discuss what the basics are
or what the pros use.
• I’m simply going to talk about what they are and what I have
for them.
• Whatever I don’t use, I’ve got a list of options for.

38. A Mic Boom Stand
• Most mics come with a stand.
• They’re usually short desk
stands.
• They can be hard to stay close to
and record on.
• A boom stand can fix that.
• I have the Earamble Pro Boom
mic Arm.
• It’s got a clamp-on desk mount.
• That allows me to secure it to my
desk and place the mic close to
my mouth.
• I can record a lot clearer that
way.

39. A Pop Filter
• Certain sounds make nasty pops and
sibilance when you record.
• They’re caused by air hitting the
mic at high speed.
• A pop filter is a screen that diffuses
that air.
• It reduces the amount of noise the
air makes when it hits the mic.
• I use the Earamble Pop Filter.
• It’s easy to use and universal.
• It’s also inexpensive.

40. An Echo Dampener
• High-end podcasts are
recorded in soundproof rooms.
• They’re covered in acoustic
tiles.
• Those tiles stop echoes from
feeding back into the mic.
• Those echoes can create a
nasty tin-can sound in your
recording.
• You could opt to set up a
soundproof room for that

41. An Echo Dampener
• However, if you don’t have a place
like that – as I don’t – you can still
prevent that echo.
• Personally, I have a piece of foam
and flannel attached to the wall
behind my mic.
• You have two decent pre-made
options for eliminating that echo.
• One, you can attach an acoustic tile
to the wall behind your mic.
• Second, you can get a portable
sound recording panel.
• The first option is cheaper, but the
second is cleaner.
• It’s also better if you can’t attach
your acoustic panel to a wall.

42. An Audio Intro
• They set the tone for the content
you’re going to share.
• It’s a simple soundbite that you’ll
play at the beginning of every
podcast.
• Lots of podcasters grab songs that
are CC0.
• Some pat for licensed work.
• Others create songs of their own as
we have.
• Public domain songs are hard to
find.
• However, you can use Free Music
Archive and FreePD if you like.
• Anchor also has a list of songs and
Almost every podcast
has an intro.

43. A Mic Splitter
• If you plan to have more than one host or
plan to record face-to-face with your
guests, you’ll need a way to split audio
input.
• Most USB mics won’t work on a
standard input.
• You’ll likely need a more advanced
setup.
• I haven’t done this yet, but the
recommended starter option is a
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.
• If you go this route, I recommend mics
that use XLR cables.
• Also, use 2 of the same mics to keep the
recording bitrates the same.
• It helps avoid compatibility issues.
Get your equipment together and you’ll be ready to record.

44. Mix Up Your Podcast Formats
Your podcast’s format is going to play a big role in its
success.
But which one will work the best?

45. Mix Up Your Podcast Formats
• Well, that highly depends on what your target
audience prefers.
• And the only way to find out is to experiment with
formats.
• Like a blog post, you can try out tons of different ones.
• Literally, any format you use for a blog will work as a
podcast.
• That’s a great way to assure that you can continually
create content in every format.

46. Mix Up Your Podcast Formats
Try out some different options.
• News In Your Industry
• Interviews With Industry Leaders
• How-tos
• Product Reviews
• A Rant Or Two
• Audience Q&A
• Case Studies In Interview Format
Try and error. It’s the only way you’re going to find what works.

47. Like Everything Else, Consistency
Matters
Want to lose any potential fan base?
Be inconsistent.

48. Consistency Matters
• Just like a TV show, podcasts
get the most followers when
they get released regularly.
• Content calendars are a great
way to stay on track.
• They help you plan your
content ahead of time, which
will make your podcasting more
efficient, keep you more
focused, and increase the
quality of content you record..
• Secondly, you need to create a
process for your podcasting
• Find a way to create a
production schedule for your
small business podcast.
• This will help you keep your
guest scheduling, recording,
editing, uploading, and
marketing organized.
• Pod Parrot has a great
walkthrough using tools you
might already be familiar with.

49. Speaking of Marketing, that’s all a Part of
Consistency
• You need to not only release your podcasts on a consistent
schedule, but you need to have a consistent marketing strategy
too.
• Determine when you’re going to announce your podcasts,
through which marketing channels (social media, email, etc), and
what they’ll look and feel like.
• There are literally a hundred plus ways to market your podcast.
• The key to marketing well is to choose what you can do
consistently.
• It’s not a great idea to sporadically market. It makes the
campaigns impossible to track.

50. Your Podcast Can Bring Your Small Business
To New Heights
The opportunity that podcasting provides your small
business can’t be beaten.
• The ability to talk directly with your audience for hours every
month is something you can’t get from any other medium.
• Initially and throughout it takes a ton of work.
• If you want the most benefit, take the time to educate yourself
completely.

51. Your Podcast Can Bring Your Small Business
To New Heights
Prepare your overall strategy.
• Prepare carefully for each individual podcast.
• Listen to and learn from other podcasts so you can continually
get better.
• If you put in the work, your podcast could become far more
than you expected.
• It’s happened to others and could happen for you too.
Just make sure you take this information and put it to work!