If you are wondering how to start a podcast in 2021, you are most definitely not alone – the audio entertainment landscape has been blowing up of late! A whopping 51% of Americans report that they having listened to a podcast at least once in their lives, and while our metropolitan listenership in South Africa is only at around 10%, this medium still offers many exciting opportunities for new voices.
Here are a few tips to get you started with your own podcast in South Africa in 2021 and beyond:
5 STEPS TO STARTING A PODCAST IN SOUTH AFRICA IN 2021 & BEYOND
- Choose your theme
Not surprisingly, the first thing you need to do when you want to start a podcast is to decide what you want to talk about. It’s always best to focus on one topic in particular. While your interests may include bee keeping, pottery and shopping for bargains at flea markets, it’s fairly unlikely that your listenership will include people with that exact same cross section of passions.
As such, it’s best to choose one theme and stick to it, so that people who come to find out more about tending their backyard hives don’t end up confused when you share information about the best places to purchase clay and resins in your next episode.
- Decide how often you will post & in which format
The duration and frequency of your podcast is entirely up to you. Some people publish short, minute-long episodes a few times a day, while others take two weeks to craft hour-long episodes that their listeners can enjoy in a single sitting. It all comes down to the type of content you create and how your listeners like to consume it.
For instance, if your target demographic is home-schooling moms, you are likely to fare better with shorter episodes that they can listen to in between the myriad of tasks they have to accomplish on a daily basis. On the other hand, if your audience includes folks with long daily commutes, you may find that longer episodes are very popular.
The golden rule is to be consistent in how often you put out your podcast and to keep it as concise as possible – while longer episodes do get traction, no one likes to listen to incoherent content, so stay on point.
- Get kitted out with recording + editing equipment
Next up, it’s time to invest in recording and editing equipment. If you plan to produce your podcast professionally, it’s best to get your own set-up. This includes headphones, a quality microphone, pop filter, recording and editing software, as well as a hosting account.
If you feel overwhelmed by all the options out there, consider reaching out to an established podcaster to find out what their set-up is – most should be willing to share their input.
- Secure a podcast host
Podcasts need to be hosted just like regular websites. There are many international platforms to choose from, but you can also support a local service provider like this one.
- Identify the ideal marketing channels for your podcast
Once you have all this in place, all you need to do is upload your content and begin to promote it. Leverage your personal network and harness the power of social media to get your message out there. It always helps to think where your listenership will be ‘hanging out’ online and to find them there. For instance, if you want to publish content about beekeeping, you could seek out local beekeeping groups on Facebook and share your link there, etc.
CONCLUSION
If you want to start a podcast in 2021, you should start by choosing your theme, and deciding how often you will post and in which format. Next, you have to get kitted out with recording and editing equipment, secure a podcast host and select suitable marketing channels to get the word out.
