Your 2024 guide to launching a podcast
Launching a podcast for your business can feel overwhelming, but with the right plan in place and tools by your side, it’s not as complicated as you might think.
With over 460 million worldwide podcast listeners (Statistica, 2023), it’s unsurprising that many brands consider podcasting a serious way to create more content for their business. Some are doing it through strategic partnerships and collaborations, but a few are taking the plunge of launching a business podcast.
In this blog, we’ll break down step by step how you can launch a business podcast in 2024, along with all the resources to help you through the journey. Consider this your official checklist to get started and on your way today.
How to Launch a Business Podcast
1. Pick a Name for Your Podcast
The name of your podcast will be the first thing potential listeners see and hear and it’s important to make it easy for them to find. When choosing a podcast name, pick one that’s catchy, memorable, and relevant to your topic and area of expertise.
We recommend keeping it simple, clear, and descriptive and avoiding words that are hard to spell or difficult to pronounce.
Look to see if your idea for a podcast name is already taken or trademarked by someone. You can easily look through a few podcast-listening apps to see what comes up when you type in the name.
2. Choose a Hosting Platform
A podcast hosting platform is like your website hosting provider. It “houses” all of your podcast content and then shares that information with each of the podcast listening apps. This way, you don’t have to upload that one piece of content to over thirty different apps.
Your podcast hosting platform will push each episode of your business podcast out to all the podcast players (think Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.). It’s also where you’ll upload your show notes and get data and analytics.
Choosing a podcast hosting platform doesn’t have to be complicated. Find the one that has the features you love. You can always switch to a new hosting platform later if you need to.
Here at Galati Media, we use Buzzsprout for all of our clients. We love its ease of use, great user interface, reasonable pricing, and dynamic ad insertion options.
3. Design the Artwork for Your Show
Like the podcast name, the artwork is one of the first things people will see when they discover your show.
Unless you want to show up like a hobby podcast, your branding and artwork for your podcast should align with your current business branding. Your podcast is an extension of your brand, so it’s important for the two to be cohesive and work together.
In addition to your cover art, your podcast may also need individual episode graphics, graphics for your podcast website, and other social media graphics for things like quotes and audiograms.
4. Write Your Show Description
A podcast description, or show description, summarizes the who, what, and why of your podcast to potential audience members and future leads. It explains the topic of your show and a simple but concise description that lets them know if they’re in the right spot as a listener.
As a business, it’s important that your show description includes some of your brand story and how your listeners can take that next step to connect with you.
5. Choose Your Music
It’s the little things that make a huge difference in setting your show apart from all the noise from other podcasts. It’s also the little things – like your music – that help you to welcome your listeners in with how you want them to feel as they listen to your show.
Choose music that’s a reflection of you, your brand, will appeal to your listeners and that you plan to consistently use each and every episode.
Choose catchy music that helps your listeners remember your podcast and recommend it to others.
6. Plan Your Content Strategy
Current stats show that 50% of podcasters don’t make it past the first seven episodes. After they hit that point, they tend to “podfade.”
We don’t want you to podfade. It’s important to remember that podcasting is a long game, and your topic should, ideally, be something you can keep on talking about. Or start with a limited series which is 12-25 curated episodes very specific to your niche and topic. You can then repurpose those episodes in a bunch of different ways.
For any podcast, the best way to avoid podfading is to map out your content strategy.
What does your audience need to know first?
How can each episode build off of the other to give them everything they need?
We recommend mapping out at least your first 10 episodes before getting started. You can also read Firebrand’s blog, Five Content Assets Every Startup Needs, for some startup and business content ideas.
7. Record Your Intro / Outro
Things should start to feel much more real to you by this point. You have the podcast art, and the music, you’ve chosen a name and a content theme. Now you’re ready to hit RECORD for the first time and create the introduction and “goodbye” for each show.
The intro does exactly that – it introduces your show, you, and any co-hosts, acknowledges your audience however you like (Welcome, friends!, etc.), and sets the tone for the show by briefly sharing who it is for and what it’s about. Your intro should be less than 2 minutes.
The outro is where you thank listeners for enjoying your content, and often invite them to take next steps, whether that be:
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- Working with you or visiting your website
- Connecting with your business on social media
- Sharing the episode with a colleague
- Writing a review
- Following the show on their favorite app
- Signing up for your free content
Just remember not to give them too many things to do at the end. One or two options to connect with you further are more than enough. Your outro should be less than 2 minutes as well.
8. Develop Your Podcast Launch Strategy
We don’t recommend you do this part alone. A strategic podcast launch is key to helping you attract maximum listeners right away with your show and share it with the world when it airs. With over fifty launches under our belt, we know what goes into a successful podcast launch and can guide you every step of the way.
We offer full-service podcast launch management, which takes the pressure off you to know exactly what is involved in launching a successful podcast. Be sure to let us know you heard about us through Firebrand.
If you do decide to do it by yourself or you’re on a budget and DIY-ing while launching your podcast, we recommend listening to Episode 23 of Listeners to Leads: How to Create a Podcast Launch Plan.
The more intentional you are at the beginning, the better. When you launch in a thoughtful, strategic way, it can help your show be more successful from the start, and save you a lot of frustration.
9. Record and Upload Your Episodes
Now, it’s time to sit down and record your first episodes and upload them to your podcast hosting platform.
You need to do this with your trailer or welcome episode before launch day because it takes time for the podcast hosting platform to get the show approved and ready in podcast directories.
We recommend giving yourself two weeks from the date of launch to the date of uploading your trailer episode to ensure that everything goes smoothly in getting them into all the podcast directories. That way, everyone can find your show on launch day.
Your first official episode (Episode #1) will be scheduled for launch day (we’ll get to that in a minute) and ideally, you’ll have two more behind it for people to listen to and discover.
10. Launch Your Podcast
You want to start telling people about your podcast weeks before launch day.
Don’t keep it a secret. We recommend you assemble a launch team, people who will support you by listening to your show, as well as help you market and share when the episodes go live.
On launch day, your first official episode drops and you’ll want to market it far and wide, letting your audience know your episodes are live. Also, encourage your team and network to share it on launch day to maximize the number of downloads in those first few weeks.
Important reminder: Don’t stop talking about your podcast after launch day. One of the major marketing mistakes new business podcasters make is that they stop sharing about their podcast after launch day because they think everyone already knows.
You must continue marketing and promoting your show with regular social media posts for about a solid week after launch.
Launching can feel overwhelming and daunting, and it’s crucial to take a strategic approach in this step to ensure the most successful podcast possible right out of the gate.
Using this step-by-step guide in launching your business podcast, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying all the many benefits of podcasting and sharing your content and thought leadership with your listeners.
If you’re looking for support, book a chat with us. We handle these steps (and more), taking it entirely off your plate. We’re able to get some incredible launch results for our clients and we’d love to do the same for you!
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