Four things to think about before you start your podcast.

Podcasting is huge right now.

It’s blowing up, and everyone and their mother is starting a podcast. Maybe you’re thinking about one of them. And maybe the fact that so many people are starting one makes you want to go back on all of your ideas.

I’m here to encourage you to start the podcast. Take it from me, there’s no harm in beginning and seeing where it goes (that’s what I did back in September 2018 and I quit and then restarted before I saw real success).

And right now? I truly think there’s no better way to share the message you feel called to than through podcasting. Here are just a few reasons why I love podcasting:

-There are more people than ever searching for podcasts to learn from with messages they resonate with.
-Your audience connects deeply to you when they can hear your voice.
-There’s nothing to see here! You don’t have to be on video! Yay! No need to clean up the toys scattered everywhere, put your makeup on before pressing record, or change out of your pajamas. In fact, you can podcast in the early morning, during naptime, or after your kids go to bed.

The last point especially is why I love podcasting as a mom who wanted to build an income from home doing something creative.

And while there’s no harm in just hitting record, using a pair of apple earbuds as your microphone, uploading it to a hosting platform and sending your first episode to itunes, I have a few helpful things for you to think on before you start.

The work you do leading up to putting your first episodes out to the world can really determine the success of your podcast as you start out. Doing a little pre planning can help you stay consistent and create an impactful podcast, episode after episode.

Here are some important questions to ask yourself before you release your podcast out to the world. These questions will also help you form an idea for your podcast if you’re feeling stuck in that beginning stage.

1. Who you are talking to?

   Who is your podcast for? Don’t be afraid to get VERY specific on this. Who is your ideal listener? What is she like? How old is she? What does she do in her everyday life? How does she spend her time? What does she struggle with? What questions is she trying to answer? What is she trying to figure out? Give her a name if you want to, even.

   
   It’s so helpful to have a clear picture of the person you are taking to over the microphone or planning out guest conversations for. An actionable, relatable podcast that resonates with your audience is one that is created with a clear picture of who your audience is in mind.
   
   A little faith application: Pray for this person. Pray for your ideal audience. Pray for the person you hope will stumble upon your message. Pray for the person who needs to hear your message and learn from the ways in which you’ve struggled and learned. Pray for God to give you the words that will resonate with this person and truly help them.
   

2. What are your core values?

   What messages will be the foundation of this podcast. What values will you check each episode against before it goes out?
   
   Start by listing out the things you want to tell your ideal audience. What do you want them to know? Not just for one episode…but what do you hope your podcast will help them see and believe and understand about life, themselves, etc. week after week?
   
   Now, form these things into a short list of core values that are the foundation of your podcast.
   
   Take this a step further: These core values can become topics for your first few episodes. If you are creating a bingable podcast that people love (that’s the hope, right?) your listeners will scroll down to these first few episodes again and again. That can feel like a lot of pressure, I know, and it’s totally okay if your core values change along the way. BUT, it’s really smart to start out with a few episodes that share your story and touch on your deep core values that you think will stay the same as you go.
   
   These are the core messages you’ll come back to and make sure they are weaving within each and every episode in some way. They’ll also help you create a clear intro for your podcast that helps your listeners understand what you’re all about.
   

3. What time can you dedicate to this?

   What time are you going to be able to dedicate to this each week? A huge reason podcasts don’t succeed is a lack of consistency because podcasting certainly takes some time- especially when starting out and fumbling through the learning curves of the technical side of it all. My least favorite part of podcasting to this day is the most time consuming part of it all: editing.
   
   Look at your week and your days. How are you currently spending your time? If you’re a mom, your free time might be slim. If you have a full time job? It might be hard to figure out where this can fit. But I promise you if you really WANT to do this, you can make it happen. Maybe that will look like waking up earlier, asking for help on the weekends so you can squeeze in an hour or two of creating, or saying no to something so time for podcasting can replace it.

   
   Just know this: If you want a successful podcast, the first thing you need to do is plan for consistency and make sure you can dedicate some time to it each week before you even start. You might have to change what that looks like along the way, but start with some sort of plan and schedule before you even start actually hitting record.
   

4. What are your goals?

   What goals do you have for your podcast? Do you have goals that deal with numbers? Do you care how many downloads you hit within a certain amount of time? Do you want to monetize through ads? Sell your own products? Or maybe it’s a hobby for you- you just want to put your message out to the world and see if anyone ends up listening? A creative outlet?
   
   Get clear on what your goals are. They may change along the way, and that’s fine, too. But there are so many things to think about when starting a podcast and it’s easy to get swept up in a super long to do list. Start with a goal in mind so you know where to start when you do sit down for your work time each week and focus on creating content plus growing your show.
   
   Take it a step further: List out a few goals for your podcast and write down a few action steps you can take immediately for each goal, even if that action step is just a little research.

I’ve said it already and I’ll say it again, start with a plan for consistency if you want to see success. Consistency isn’t the only thing you’ll need for success, but it’s such an important step.

I’ve got some resources to help you with that, like my free episode planner. It will help you plan valuable content for your audience every single week, plus you’ll brainstorm your next 26 episode topics (that’s half a year of episodes for a weekly podcast!)

Want the free episode planner? Grab it by pressing the button below!

I absolutely love podcasting, and I have so many resources coming for you to help you start and grow a podcast where you can share the message you feel called to with the audience that needs to hear it.

If the tips in this post have helped you in your creative journey towards starting or growing your podcast, I’d be so honored + grateful if you’d share it with a friend who is a podcaster or share it on social media!

As always, I’m cheering you on as you create, friend!