Storylines Live

1. Consistent content and a well-defined process, including a marketing plan, are crucial for a podcast's long-term success and growth beyond its initial episodes. 
2. A podcast can be launched with minimal equipment, as modern technology and platforms make high-quality recording and distribution accessible to anyone. 
3. Successful podcasting requires more than just recording, as backend work like promotion, show notes, and transcripts is essential for discoverability and audience engagement. 
4. Developing strong relationships with guests, being a curious host, and allowing for organic conversation can lead to a more valuable and compelling listening experience. 
5. Podcasting is primarily a powerful tool for building thought leadership and demonstrating authority, rather than a guaranteed path to significant income.

00:14 Host Introduction 

04:59 Getting Your Podcast Listed on Major Platforms 

06:31 The Importance of Video Elements 

08:06 Necessary Equipment for Beginners 

09:34 Gathering Guest Information 

11:18 Scheduling in Advance 

13:03 Finding and Being Selective with Guests 

16:21 Conversing with Guests 

21:31 Post-Production and Promotion 

22:42 The Value of Transcripts 

23:39 What Paul has Learned Along the Journey 

27:16 Staying Consistent

We wanted to share a list of some of the things we’ve learned, and we want to do in the future. Thank you for listening, watching, sharing, and being a part of this milestone, and we hope you find valuable tips below. 

10 things we learned about tech/podcasting platforms: 

1. In the show: Find out how we got connected to the Marketing Podcast Network! 
2. In the show: Why you want to be visible everywhere and how to do it.  
3. Microphones are great, watch your P’s and S’s. There is equipment to help with this, and it really comes with practice and feeling confident in your own voice.  
4. Recording on Zoom is great for audio and/or video for virtual guests.  
5. Technical difficulties will come up, have a backup plan in place.  
6. Pick a podcast platform that’s easy to use and reliable. We use Podbean.  
7. Think about framing and how and when to use virtual backgrounds. Ensure your guests know they are being recorded visually, so they can prepare their space.  
8. Glitches and mistakes are common. Find a good editing partner either on your team (like Maggie on our team!) or another resource to keep your episodes accurate.  
9. You need to be on the fastest growing podcast platform – YouTube! This allows people to watch you or listen to you, and it helps your SEO rankings. The transcripts are also very valuable.  
10.  Something we might want to do in the future: In-person interviews with local guests!
     

10 things we learned about promotions: 

1. Give your guests the date and time of their episode far in advance so they can plan their promotions.  
2. Find out in advance where your guests plan to promote/if they plan to promote, so you can reshare their posts.  
3. Have correct names, titles, and updated photos, so your content/graphics are accurate. Find out in the show how and why we use Jotform.  
4. Ensure all your links are working and live before they are sent to guests. 
5. Have a calendar in place; we talk more about this in the show!  
6. Schedule out far enough in advance that your episodes are produced, promotional materials made and delivered to your guests to make sure they can use them to promote their episode. 
7. An interesting guest is a table stake; one with their own established audience is a difference maker because they will bring new people to your podcast.  
8. Seek podcast guests who are also podcast hosts; they “get” how to promote an episode, ideally to their audience. 
9. Be consistent in promoting your podcast; building an audience takes time! 
10. Something we might want to do in the future: Create graphics and additional promo material for our guests.

10 things we learned about finding guests and coming up with topics: 

1. Reaching out to people we already knew and trusted allowed us to showcase our amazing network. 
2. We all know a lot of people and every person on the team helped find guests!  
3. LinkedIn is a great place to connect with potential guests and ask questions.  We talk more about this in the show! 
4. Guest referrals brought us a lot of great connections and even some work! 
5. Our audience guided what we shared, and we listened to their ideas.  
6. In the show: Learn why we always do a pre-interview with our guests.  
7. Have a plan and goals for your podcast. A lack of commitment and consistency is why most podcasts fail. 
8. Don’t hesitate to ask “big names” in your industry to be on your podcast. Some will say yes and ideally introduce their audience to your podcast. 
9. Don’t say “yes” to every potential guest. Be choosy and align guests with your podcast focus. The ratio of potential guests to podcasts is ten to one. 
10.  Something we might want to do in the future: Research trending topics and create episodes to match.

10 things we learned from guests: 

1. Everyone has a story to share, and each guest provided value for our audience.  
2. Interview topics can be planned, but organic conversations should and will arise. We chatted more about this in the show! 
3. We can be our own guests (Chapters with Paul) was born from that concept. 
4. Follow your guest where their story takes them to create memorable episodes. 
5. In the show we chat about picking guests that will interest you as well as your audience. 
6. Be willing to challenge your thinking about the focus of your podcast if a guest brings a different perspective. 
7. It’s great (and okay) to have a guest return if they have more to share with your audience.  
8. If your guest has a podcast, be a good neighbor and offer to be a guest for them, as well! 
9. Guests sometimes have to reschedule interviews. Give everyone a chance to stay in touch and keep following up.  
10.  Something we might want to do in the future: Find better ways to promote our guests' resources.

10 things we learned about ourselves: 

1. Working a few months ahead is key to staying on track. 
2. In the show we talk about why adding video along with audio is a nice option for our guests and our rankings.  
3. Drink water before speaking, not just coffee.  
4. Our office is a pretty great podcast location and in the show, we talked about using resources we already had and how you can, too.  
5. Our guests are our best teachers, and you can learn from your podcast, too. 
6. Podcast success takes time, about 30 episodes minimum to get traction. 
7. If you have an interview podcast, the goal is to showcase the guest, not yourself. By hosting the podcast, you’ll gain credibility and traction. 
8. Be willing to evolve your podcast as you learn more about yourself and your audience. 
9. We know a lot, but we have a lot to learn! 
10.  Something we might want to do in the future: Storylines merch? Who doesn’t love a mug or a new pen?

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