A video tutorial walking though setting up your podcast to record in GarageBand.

As independent podcasters, we know that audio quality is important, but we also know what our budgets look like. Let’s talk about simple and inexpensive ways we can improve our podcasts’ audio quality right now.

We know you just spent hours and hours, preparing, recording, editing, and publishing your podcast, but there’s still a bit more work to go. Now you need to connect your podcast with its audience. And unless you have a marketing background, this can be overwhelming. Let’s talk about three things you can do to market your podcast right now.

Guests are such an important part of many podcasts, but it's likely a podcast guest is not a podcast expert. If you've never been on a podcast before, what should you do to do a good job?

Podcast trailers are an easy way for potential new listeners to sample your show without committing the time to listen to a full episode. They’re also a valuable marketing tool. You can share your trailer everywhere. Here’s how to make a podcast trailer that stands out from the rest.

How many podcasts have you tried out that started with something like…

“Heyyyyy Sarah how are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?”

“How was your weekend?”

“It was good.”

It’s just not a compelling way to start. Your introduction is super important. It’s the first thing your listeners hear, and if it doesn’t grab them, they’re not going to stick around. Let’s talk about creating a podcast introduction that pulls listeners in, and doesn’t push them away.

The key to a successful podcast interview is to be prepared. With a little work ahead of time, your interview will go smoothly and you’ll reduce your stress during recording by about 1 million percent.

You have your podcast episode edited and you click export on your computer. Now what? There are so many options to choose from. Let’s talk about the best way to export your podcast so you know exactly which options to select next time you export an episode.

Sometimes before a listener even hears one second of your podcast, the only thing that makes them click on it in a sea of other podcasts is the artwork. Let’s talk about how to create a podcast image that stands out from the crowd.

If your podcast is a party, your podcast description is like the invitation, and your goal is to get the listener to RSVP. When your listener gets to the party, they’ll decide if they want to hang around, but the description is what gets them in the door in the first place. Let’s talk about writing a description that does just that.

If you have a space that can be permanently set up for recording your podcast, you can treat the space by hanging sound traps on the wall.