Create a Podcast in 5 Easy Steps

Originally published in November 2021, this blog has been updated by the author to include new information.

Guest blog by Jill Vanden Heuvel

Jill is a Dream Doula and helps dreamers give birth to their soul babies. She believes in creating the life your soul desires by building your self-worth, setting strong boundaries, and connecting with your intuitive nature.

Jill loves supporting people on their healing journeys, and encouraging them to embrace all parts of themselves in order to fulfill their soul's purpose. She delivers 1:1 coaching, and also runs the podcast called "Soul at Ease". She's also hosted a podcast called “There’s a Coach for That” to share the variety of amazing coaches in the world. Jill Vanden Heuvel is a 2019 graduate of the Lumia Coaching Intensive. You can follow her work on Instagram/Facebook @jill.vhcoaching or by visiting www.jillvh.com.   

How To Start A Podcast In Your Life Coaching Niche

Hosting your own podcast is a cost effective marketing strategy, and also a fantastic way for your audience to get to know your style and personality. As a coach your authenticity and brand message are deeply personal, which makes podcasting a great way to share your passion and deliver value to your listeners.

If you’ve been interested in creating your own podcast but don’t quite know where to start, the 5 steps I’ll be covering below will tell you everything you need to know! However, before we begin, there is one important question that needs to be asked:

WHY do you want to create it?

While increasing your audience and ultimately gaining clients is a goal to keep in mind, if that’s the only reason you have, you may want to reconsider. Running a podcast takes time and effort, so including your own personal enjoyment in the process is a must!

• Does it sound like a fun project to maintain over time? 
• Are you a great conversationalist? 
• Do you have a lot to share with your audience and really enjoy speaking about it? 

If the answer is yes to these questions, then let me be the first to welcome you to the world of podcasting! This is an exciting decision, so take that energy and bring it with you during the following steps to get started.

1. Develop Your Show’s Personality

I know this is a podcast, and not a living being, but it WILL have character. It’s up to you to create its personality, and also to ensure that it doesn’t give off unintended vibes! It all starts by asking yourself:

What is the main theme and general purpose of this show? 

Listeners need to know what to expect when they tune in, and will be more loyal if you can maintain a consistent thread. Content will also be easier to come up with if you have your own guidelines to follow. 

Once you have an idea of your theme, create a name that is short, easy to remember, and makes sense for your show. You’ll also want to design the cover art. Canva is a great program to use for this - it’s very user friendly, and they already have tons of templates for you to build from.

At this point it would also be helpful for you to determine how frequent you’ll be publishing your episodes. Consider, too, the ideal length of time per episode that you’d like to stay within.

2. Planning the First Episode

Once your overall show theme has been established, it’s time to think about individual episodes. You can record the intro and outro messages that will be published with all your recordings. Since these will repeat for each episode, try to keep them around the 30 second time frame. 

You can also add background music to your intro and outro to create brand recognition as listeners hear it each week. You can find great options for instrumental music through PremiumBeat.com. There are many other options to find music, and some are even available for free. As you consider all the options, remember to keep the sound consistent with the show personality you developed in the last step! For instance, classical piano may not be the right fit for a show about current pop culture.

If you plan on having guests, schedule at least 5-6 interviews to start off. If you aren’t already familiar with your guests, it can be helpful for both you and the guest to have a short pre-interview call to get to know each other better and answer any questions they may have. At this point, I recommend creating a spreadsheet to keep track of your guests, deadline dates, and any other information you need to reference along the way.

In terms of equipment needed, there are a lot of options out there for headphones, microphones, etc. To keep it simple, the minimum requirement for quality audio would be to purchase a microphone. In the beginning you don’t need the top of the line brand, and you can always upgrade as you go along as desired.

3. Time for the Big Show!

Now that you have everything ready, you can start recording your first episodes! Programs like Skype or Zoom are great for this. I personally use Zoom and I’m able to download audio only recordings after the interviews take place.

Whether you’ll be recording a solo episode and talking with a guest, it can be helpful to have an outline to follow to make sure you get your points across effectively. As a courtesy to your guests, you may also want to send them a list of questions or the topics to be discussed ahead of time.

A few other tips when it comes to working with guests...

Ask them to write up how they’d like to be introduced on the show as well as what  contact information they would like shared. You may also want to request a headshot photo if you plan to use it for advertising the episode.

Something to remember when interviewing is that you’ve invited this person to speak on their topic and share their expertise on your show. I personally give my guests a lot of space to talk, and don’t run off with my own agenda during the interviews. I’ve received more positive feedback about this than any other feature of my show, so I highly recommend that you do your best to allow your guest to speak for most of the interview. As a coach, think of it almost like a coaching session. You should be listening more than talking!

4. Tidy Up the Recording

Editing your podcast can be as simple or as detailed as you want to make it. Some people hardly do any editing, while others do so extensively. I recommend holding a balance between the two, always keeping in mind the listener experience.

You want the people who tune in to experience each episode with a high degree of authenticity, but still keep it easy on the ears so they’ll listen to the full episode. This means allowing for some nuances in the conversations (like slip-ups in speaking, some throat clearings, laughter, etc.), but editing out distractions (very long pauses, or most of the “ums” if there are a lot of them). 

When it comes to editing, you’ll have to use your own judgment with this piece. When in doubt,  put yourself in the shoes of your listeners.

There are different software options for editing. I use GarageBand and find it very simple to use. If you’d like to find other options, a simple Google search can help you out with that as well. Generally, whatever program you use should have tutorials or help sections to get you started.

Don’t forget to add the intro and outro to the beginning and end of each episode before publishing, and add any other features you would like to make the show your own. For instance, I also add a little blurb from the episode to the very beginning (before the pre-recorded intro) to hook the audience a bit. Find what you like by listening to your favorite shows and getting inspiration from them.

5. Publish and Advertise

Publishing is one of the more simple parts of the process. You have choices for programs to use, and can search around if you’re looking for specific features. Anchor.fm is free to use and will send it to the major podcast platforms on your behalf.

After uploading your audio to the platform of your choice, enter in the show details which will include a description of the show and also any relevant links for people to reference.

Once the episode has been published, you can advertise on your website and also social media platforms. Be sure to tag your guests so they can also share on their platforms as well. (That’s another benefit from including guests on your show - it extends the reach of your Podcast!) If you add episodes to your own website, you can also use a transcript service to increase your SEO, but this isn’t a requirement. You can always add that part later.

That’s a Wrap!

This may seem like a lot to absorb at first, but as you go through the process you’ll find it’s actually not too complicated. Plus, most of the steps above are part of the initial creation. Once you’ve completed the setup, you’ll only need to repeat some of the steps for each episode.

Now remember how you confirmed in the beginning of this article that podcasting seems like an enjoyable project? Don’t forget about that, and have fun with it! You can make adjustments as you go along, so feel free to experiment a bit if things aren’t feeling quite right. Changing is better than quitting!

Are you ready? It’s time to start planning and putting your voice out there for the world to hear! And one last time for good measure... Have Fun!

Looking for more tools to help you achieve liftoff as a coach? Check out: Tools of the Trade: Resources To Jump Start Your Coaching Practice.

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