For the past six years, I have been a cohost on the podcast Books N’ Betches, a comedy podcast where we discuss, dissect, and disagree about books. Throughout that time, I have learned that planning is the most important stage in beginning and maintaining a podcast, even if it isn’t the most fun.

This past week I sat down to plan a special episode about a short story I have been enthralled with called The Egg by Andy Weir. During the planning stage, I realized it had been a while since I brushed up on my podcasting skills. I think it’s easy to get into a flow and forget where you started.

While I enter a week of recording and editing, I wanted to share some insights on the planning phase and the research I have done that has helped me strategize. Below are some great articles if you’re looking to start your own podcast and some insights I pulled from them. I also included a mind map of the episode I am working on and the full document that runs through my plan for this episode! Enjoy!

THE INVISIBLE SCRIPT

The idea of an “invisible script” when it comes to podcasting is one that I am very familiar with as a podcaster. When we first started Books N’ Betches, we asked the question many hosts ask, “Should our podcast be scripted?”

While many podcasters choose to completely script their shows, we decided to take a looser approach and resemble more of the “invisible script” style this article discusses. In our planning stages we will figure out which books we want to discuss and then write out some bullet points we want to make sure we hit during our discussion. But for the most part, we are speaking freely.

The elements that Anderson discusses in the article, in my opinion, are the most important. Hosts should have a solid plan in place for a welcome message, top line of what’s being discussed, introductions, sponsored messaging, thank you, and close.

CREATING A GREAT SCRIPT

There are many pros and cons to writing a podcast script vs. winging it entirely. It all comes down to host comfortability. Sometimes shows thrive with fully-fledged scripts and the host can make their scripts sound personable. Sometimes shows sound too robotic when they’re read word for word. 

Often, hosts will start with a script and move to bullet points as they get more comfortable. I can relate to this way of podcasting. When we first started Books N’ Betches, we had a massive outline that we felt compelled to stick to. But overtime we became more familiar with our audience and more comfortable on the microphone. Now, we just make sure to hit our standard talking points without using outlines or scripts.

THE POWER OF WORDS

Taglines and hooks are an extremely important part of podcasting. The most successful podcasts will have both. The two-step variation this article mentions really stood out to me because it’s a format we utilize in the open of our podcast.

Every episode we open with the same line, “Welcome everybody to another episode of Books N’ Betches. I’m Kristin and with me I have Erica and Maria.”

After that introduction line we hit the audience with our tagline, “We are a triple S podcast: we swear, we spoil, and we talk about sex.”

These two lines “provide a point of entry for new listeners” and the audience knows exactly what they’re getting the second they start listening.

PODCAST TOOLS

It’s impossible to start a podcast without the tools to do it. You don’t need the best equipment in the world, but having the right tools will only make the podcast sound better. It will also help with the planning stages.

In this article, Mclean runs through a list of essentials when it comes to recording, planning, and posting a podcast. Personally, I don’t think any planning tools are necessary. I think you can plan a podcast on a sheet of paper if you wanted to.

In my opinion, the best place to invest your money when creating a podcast is in your sound equipment. Have a great microphone, recording device, and editing software. The article shows some great equipment, but there are also AI tools you can leverage if you’re just starting out.

Software like Autopod is a ‘great way to edit video versions of podcasts.

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Presentation skills as a podcast host are everything. An audience wants to feel connected to the people they are listening to. How you present, breathe, speak, and what language you use is critical when podcasting. This article runs through some tips and tricks for handling that most challenging aspect of hosting a podcast: sounding natural.

It’s common to feel nervous when you hit record on anything or have to speak in front of an audience. It’s important to understand that every listener is different and they will interpret your podcast in a way that works for them. You can’t control how people react to what you’re saying, but you can do your best to engage, educate, and entertain.

Learning to breathe is a key element in speaking on podcast or in public. If you mess up? That’s fine. Take a breath and keep going. Thigs can always be edited later, and if it’s live, you’d be surprised at how forgiving audiences are when they know they’re listening to other humans.

Just remember to relax and speak like you would to a friend.

RESEARCH TO INFORM: PODCASTS THAT WORK WELL

There are three podcasts that I think work extremely well with very different formats.

The first format is entirely scripted.