You’ve checked your list and know that you’re ready to start that membership association podcast. An association’s podcast is a communication, marketing, and membership development activity, and as a result, many departments in your organization should have input.
Let’s walk through 12 things you need to know as you start this engine:
1. What are your goals by starting a podcast?:
- Shape public perception/policy
- Member business development
- Reach new audience
- Deepen your network
- Get to know your members and industry leaders
Whatever your motivation, plan your content to align with your business goal.
2. Know your audience. Do not rush this step. Many podcasters develop their content to a specific listener type. This is typically a single representative of the large audience, similar to a buyer persona. The podcast is created for this person. Speak to this person. Will this person enjoy this episode, this guest or topic? If you think about and speak to this person when planning your content, you will create focus and a niche audience. This is typically easier for membership associations, because you know your members so well. Aim for the audience you know your content will click with.
Do not be afraid to create specific members-only content vs. for the masses. If the internet has taught us anything, it is that there is something for everyone. Case-in-point: Ever notice that there is an association for every profession or interest?
3. Commit. Weekly, monthly or by “season,” commit to the podcast. Without a plan, you may get the “seven-episode itch” and quit. Starting a podcast is relatively easy. Maintaining one is difficult. iTunes and other podcast directories are littered with podcasts that publish fewer than five or 10 episodes. About 10 episodes into this venture, you will still be figuring out your recording and editing workflow.
It will get more difficult before it gets easier. Which is why working with a podcast management group like AVNation is a great option to share the load. While there are many resources online from expert podcasters, you still learn by doing and by going through your own learning curve. You will also discover this new venture is a lot of work and takes more time than you anticipated. If you commit to posting regularly no matter what, you will learn to streamline your workflow.
4. How often will you publish? Establishing how often you post an episode correlates to the aforementioned “Commit” consideration.Whether you choose to post an episode weekly or monthly, once you commit, stick to your schedule. The key to building an audience is posting regularly. I expect a new episode every Monday on Bill Burr’s “Monday Morning Podcast.”
Want to take a break? Some successful podcasters produce “seasons” like TV shows. NPR podcasts like Serial and Invisibilia do this.
If the content is not time-sensitive, you may want to “stock up” on a few episodes so you can take a vacation, or publish over a holiday. It is also common to upload a “rerun” of a previously published episode.
5. Who will host the podcast? While people might listen and subscribe to your podcast because of the title or the subject matter, they will continue to listen because they appreciate the host’s stance, opinion or style. The host or hosts tie(s) the show together. Ensure that whoever hosts the show, they are committed to the process of producing a regular piece of content. Be it your CEO to your favorite member who loves to host sessions at your annual conference, ensure they’re onboard for the long haul.
6. Script. One thing I love about the podcasts I listen to is I can always count on certain things happening or being said.
Many of the most popular podcast shows are successful partially because listeners love their format, executed by their script. Having a script does not mean reading from a page word-for-word. A podcast script can simply organize intro and outro music, promotional reads, advertisements, when one speaks and the general flow of an episode.
It will also help you be more organized. Your script helps layout the order of the episode long before we start recording. It aids in planning and gives the listener an idea of what to expect from your show each episode.
8. Scheduling guests. If you do have guests on your show, then you will discover that scheduling a time is like scheduling any other meeting: there’s a lot of back and forth to find space on each other’s calendars.
You want to make it easy on your guest, so use a tool like Hubspot or other scheduler-app that will show your availability. Tools like this will integrate with your work calendar and allow the guest to book only on days or times you choose.They can choose a time slot that works for them while ensuring I am not double booked.
9. Equipment. Here at AVNation, we run more than 10 podcasts and have launched many more for other associations and brands. We want to state that while you do not have to go out and buy hundreds of dollars of equipment to start. However, you do need to budget for some podcast equipment.
We’ve created our list of favorite podcast equipment and we can help you get it for a great price. Let us know if you’re interested.
10. Podcast hosting platform. Choosing the platform that works for your association is a big decision. There are free or $5/month platforms, and $15-20/month platforms. Consider how often you will publish episodes. Most podcast hosts have a tiered platform based on how many megabytes you upload or host per month.
11. Preparing the guest. Whether you have a guest host, panel or guest, ensure you are preparing them to hit the ground running.
We’ve created a document that we share with our guests that helps them book a time and prepare their surroundings for the best quality recording. Awareness of distractions and noise in their office will increase the audio (and video) quality of your show.
12. Ready to launch. Are you now listed in the most popular directories? It might take 1-2 months to be approved. Once you can confidently tell your members that the show is found wherever they listen to podcasts, you are ready to go.
How will you get the word out? One way is to send an email template to guests and their marketing contact, which asks them to participate in promoting their episode. Other promotional activities we recommend you do for each episode:
- Post to your online member forum
- Email to all members
- Post to association’s LinkedIn company page
- Personal LinkedIn profile
- Tag interviewee and your LinkedIn page.
- Post to association’s LinkedIn group
