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Planning Your First 10 Podcast Episodes For Long-Term Success · Abbey the Podcast Lady

0:04
Well, hello and welcome back to Abby the podcast
0:07
lady the show that helps you actually start the
0:09
podcast that you've been talking about doing
0:11
for Years and sound good doing it. I'm Abby graves
0:14
I'm an international podcast producer a consultant
0:16
and an audio nerd who's made dozens of podcasts
0:20
from shows from cattle ranchers in the outback
0:23
to business coaches in the Midwest. We really
0:26
cover it all here at Abbey Graves Productions.
0:28
Today's episode is one of our tips and tools
0:30
episode and it's all about planning your first
0:33
10 podcast episodes. If you're still in the idea
0:37
swirling around in your brain phase, hopefully
0:40
this episode can get you out of it and actually
0:42
get you to start making your show. Because here's
0:45
the thing, a lot of people think they need to
0:47
plan the one perfect episode to launch their
0:50
podcast. But really, I want you to think bigger
0:53
than that. Your podcast is more than just one
0:56
perfect episode. You're going to want to put
0:58
out a perfect episode every week or every other
1:01
week, depending on what your launch schedule
1:03
is. So planning your first 10 episodes is really
1:06
going to help you launch with some momentum.
1:08
And you're not going to get stuck in that dreaded
1:10
pod fade phase that we are going to discuss in
1:14
a later episode, because that is a very important
1:16
topic that is near and dear to my heart. So I
1:18
just want you to have a really solid foundation.
1:20
I think planning these first 10 episodes is really
1:23
going to help with that. So today we're going
1:24
to cover how to brainstorm content. based on
1:27
your goals and based on your audience. We're
1:29
gonna talk about balancing solo episodes versus
1:32
guest interviews. We're gonna do a sample content
1:35
calendar as well with themes that you can steal
1:37
and copy paste for your own show. And then we're
1:39
also gonna get into titling your episodes so
1:43
people can find them. So important. So let's
1:47
start with the brainstorming based on your goals
1:50
and your audience. Before we start just writing
1:52
down random topics that we want to cover, which
1:55
helpful but not super helpful, I want you to
1:57
anchor your brainstorming in a few things. I
2:00
want you to define your goal and your audience's
2:03
needs. Your podcast exists to do something. Maybe
2:06
it's grow your business. Maybe it's positioning
2:08
you as a thought leader in your industry or giving
2:11
people value between launches of products that
2:14
you have. or events that you're throwing, whatever
2:16
that is, that is going to shape the content that
2:19
you create. So here are some helpful things to
2:22
ask yourself when you are in this planning phase.
2:25
What is your audience Googling at two in the
2:27
morning? What keeps them up at night wondering
2:30
about what you can offer them? Put yourself in
2:34
their shoes. If you're up at 2 a .m. and you're
2:36
curious about a topic, what are you typing into
2:38
that Google search bar? The next thing you can
2:40
ask yourself is what problems do they have that
2:43
you can solve? What problems do they have that
2:47
you... can solve with either your business, your
2:50
service, your product. Write those things down.
2:53
And then what stories, lessons, frameworks, or
2:56
tools do you have in your toolbox that you can
3:00
share with them that will help them better their
3:03
own lives? Those are the things that you're gonna
3:05
wanna be writing down. Not just random topics
3:07
you can cover, but those specific things are
3:10
gonna be huge. And then totally flip them around.
3:13
What do you want your audience to know about
3:14
you, your process, your perspective? through
3:17
those lenses, write those down. That is your
3:20
starting point. So let's use an example of a
3:23
business coach launching a podcast. Your first
3:25
10 episodes might focus on mindset shifts, marketing
3:29
strategies, lessons from client experiences,
3:33
that sort of thing. If you're a therapist, maybe
3:35
you're going to start with some common themes
3:37
that you see in sessions or maybe like myth busting
3:40
or misconceptions about healing through therapy.
3:43
Those are super great examples of how to use
3:46
this brainstorming session. If we want to use
3:49
my own example here, Abby, the podcast lady.
3:52
So my first episodes, especially the case study
3:54
ones where I break down different shows of what
3:56
they're doing well and what they can improve
3:58
upon. I want to use shows that I listen to regularly
4:01
that I know like the back of my own hand that
4:04
I can pick some really solid advice from to share
4:06
with my audience. But I also want to pick shows
4:09
that kind of show my taste in what I like to
4:12
listen to because that also gives a glimpse into
4:14
who I am as a person. If we're going to go with
4:16
the tips and tools episode, like the one that
4:18
you're listening to now, I want to really focus
4:21
on beginner tips and tools because my core audience
4:24
is people who are looking to start a podcast
4:26
and get that momentum going. So I want to meet
4:28
them where they're at in that beginning phase
4:30
with the ideas swirling around. I don't know
4:33
what to do. What questions do I need to ask myself
4:35
before starting a podcast? I am talking to the
4:38
beginners, so I want to meet them and answer
4:40
their questions where they're at. Ultimately,
4:43
my goal, and I hope your goal too, isn't just
4:45
to go viral with a podcast because that doesn't
4:49
build an audience. That's microwave growth versus
4:52
crock pot growth. great example from one of my
4:54
clients. Like you want to build an audience that
4:57
is going to grow with you. And these are the
4:59
questions that you need to ask yourself to really
5:01
get them to grow with you and meet them where
5:03
they're at and really help them along the way.
5:05
So let's get into balancing solo episodes versus
5:09
guest episodes. A lot of people think that they
5:12
need to do interviews in order to have a successful
5:15
podcast. And spoiler alert, you don't. You don't
5:17
need to do interviews. You can do a solo podcast
5:20
and be just as successful. Solo episodes are
5:23
where you really show your authority, but in
5:25
a good way, not like, authority, like, just like,
5:28
you're the expert. Let that show. It's your show.
5:31
own it and I really am a big fan of a solo episode.
5:36
They're faster to produce, they're easier to
5:38
control and they're a great way to speak directly
5:40
to the audience that you are trying to talk to.
5:43
You don't need to worry about anyone else's schedule
5:45
except for your own and maybe your producers
5:47
if you have someone else helping you edit and
5:49
create content from it and you can really focus
5:51
on building that deep connection with your audience
5:54
so they get to know and trust you. I think every
5:57
show should start Solo if they can because it's
6:01
just a great way to really build a solid connection
6:04
with your audience Guest episodes do offer variety
6:07
and I love listening to interviews I love a good
6:10
interview based podcast for my casual listening
6:13
preferences. It offers new insights It helps
6:16
you grow your audience, especially if you can
6:17
get guests on that are willing to share your
6:19
show with their audience so it's great for expanding
6:23
when you're ready for that phase, but something
6:26
to keep in mind is that you are going to have
6:29
to schedule around someone else's schedule. And
6:32
that gets very tricky. First hand experience,
6:34
I started podcasting with an interview based
6:37
show. It was called The Small Town Tourist and
6:39
I did it for a couple of years. But it is not
6:42
easy to book those interviews because when I
6:45
was doing it, I was working full time and I also
6:48
had a side business DJing weddings and I had
6:51
a lot of extra things going on. So I was really
6:54
trying to juggle my own schedule and then trying
6:56
to fit other people's schedule in to record.
7:00
My show for me and it was not easy It is not
7:04
easy to work with other people's schedules because
7:06
the people that you're having on are probably
7:08
very successful in their own ways So they're
7:11
also very busy people. So it's just something
7:13
to really keep in mind I went into my interview
7:16
based show without knowing that information and
7:19
I wish there was someone who could have told
7:21
me that hey, it's doable but just brace for that
7:24
impact and I just wish someone would have told
7:26
me that. So I'm telling you that right now from
7:28
one friend to another. My core takeaway from
7:30
it is if you're just getting started and you
7:32
can do a solo show, do a solo show. Get a few
7:37
episodes under your belt at least before you
7:40
start bringing people on. Get your rhythm. Get
7:42
comfortable being in front of a camera. If you're
7:44
doing video, get comfortable being behind a microphone.
7:47
If this is a new thing for you, really find your
7:51
voice and your footing in your show before you
7:53
start bringing people on. because you want your
7:55
audience to get to know you, get to know your
7:57
show and what it's all about. And when you do
7:59
bring on guests, make sure that you're picking
8:01
people that not only align with your core audience
8:05
that you're trying to reach, but also people
8:06
who are going to add value to your audience that
8:09
are gonna leave them feeling like they got something
8:11
from the interview, not like their time was wasted.
8:14
So that's something we'll get into in a future
8:16
episode because it's also something I really
8:18
care about, but just. So I'm going to keep in
8:20
mind as you're getting started and planning out
8:21
your first initial episodes of your show. So
8:24
let's get into that sample content calendar that
8:26
I talked about earlier that you can copy and
8:28
paste and steal and run through your own filters.
8:31
So here is the real good stuff guts of this episode,
8:35
if you're asking my opinion. So this is a kind
8:38
of a plug and play format that you can use to
8:40
map out your first 10 episodes right here and
8:43
right now. I think I'm actually going to put
8:44
a downloadable PDF in the show notes below. So
8:48
if you want to write down what these are. I will
8:50
have a download for you in the show notes that
8:52
you can go and print off yourself and fill out
8:55
like a worksheet. So here is what I would do
8:59
if I was a business coach. We're going to run
9:01
it through like the business coach lens of starting
9:04
a podcast. This isn't like, oh, I have to be
9:07
a business coach. Whatever industry you're in,
9:09
whatever podcast you're starting, you can use
9:10
this too, but we're just going to use the business
9:12
coach example for today. So episode one, I want
9:16
you to start with your origin story. Why does
9:19
this podcast exist? What is your background?
9:22
Who is this podcast for? What can the listeners
9:24
expect from the show? You can actually go back
9:27
and listen to my origin story episode of this
9:30
podcast. And honestly, a lot of people do do
9:33
this. I think if they're really serious about
9:35
their podcast and taking it and treating it like
9:39
a business. I think a lot of people do offer
9:40
that origin story episode if you scroll far enough
9:43
back. So I would strongly advise starting with
9:46
your origin story. Let your audience know who
9:48
you are and why you're doing this. It's so important.
9:51
Moving on to episode two. This is your foundational
9:54
topic. This is usually launched along with the
9:57
origin story. At least my clients I try to encourage
10:00
them to launch these episodes pretty close together.
10:03
if not on the same day, just so people can really
10:06
get a taste for what the show is about and encourages
10:09
them to subscribe and stick around for more.
10:11
So this is your core message. So think along
10:14
the lines of like, what do people get wrong about
10:17
hiring a business coach? What is the misconception
10:21
about it? What is that foundational topic that
10:23
you really want to hammer home? What is the one
10:26
thing that you feel really confident in talking
10:28
about? I think that is a really important way
10:31
to look at it. What could you talk about for
10:33
an hour? I'm not saying your podcast needs to
10:36
be an hour long, but what could you talk about
10:37
for an hour? What do you feel passionate about?
10:39
I think that's a great foundational topic to
10:41
do for episode number two. Episode number three,
10:43
I would love for you to share a quick win. Give
10:47
your audience something tangible, a framework,
10:50
a list, a step -by -step guide. If you're the
10:52
business coach starting this podcast, maybe it's
10:54
a, hey, here is how I helped a client scale from
10:58
$1 ,000 a month to $10 ,000 a month, and here
11:01
are some strategies that you can apply to your
11:03
own business. in order to get there yourself.
11:06
Like something, a quick win like that. Give them
11:08
tools to help them along the way because then
11:11
they're getting something from your show more
11:13
than just. Jabber for better or worse words to
11:18
describe it like it's giving them something to
11:20
try and do and succeed at hopefully Episode 4
11:23
I would love for you to share a personal solo
11:27
story So share a personal experience that connects
11:29
to your topic that vulnerability is really going
11:32
to build trust It's gonna let people in especially
11:34
if this story does have like maybe some hard
11:37
times or Maybe you were up against a challenge
11:40
that you thought you would never succeed at and
11:42
you did succeed it like Let them know that you
11:45
are not just this perfect person up on a pedestal
11:48
and you have a podcast and you're the expert.
11:51
Like let them know why you're the expert. What
11:52
did you have to go through to get here? personally,
11:56
like I had to go through a couple of job changes
11:59
in order to have the business that I do now.
12:02
And that was a really hard time for me. I lacked
12:06
direction in my life, to say the least. I went
12:08
from working a super fun radio job to then switching
12:12
to a government job, like 180. That is two totally
12:16
different ends of the spectrum. And I was crying
12:17
all the time and trying to figure out what my
12:19
purpose was until I found podcasting and maybe
12:22
I'll share my own solo story in a bonus episode
12:25
or something like that because I don't really
12:27
feel like starting to cry right here and right
12:28
now but share that vulnerability share those
12:31
hardships that you went through and how did you
12:33
overcome them and inspire people in that episode
12:36
for that solo story now we're getting to episode
12:39
five we're halfway through this list of the first
12:41
10 episodes now would be the time if you do feel
12:44
strongly about bringing guests on this would
12:47
be the time Try it out. See if it works for you.
12:50
By now, you'll have a month worth of shows if
12:51
you're releasing them every week. And I think
12:54
this would be a good time to test the waters
12:55
of what bringing a guest on would be like. Now,
12:58
you're going to want to bring someone on that
12:59
is aligned with your topic, aligned with your
13:02
niche to share their perspective. This would
13:05
be a good time to bring on someone you really
13:06
trust and you know you can have a good in -depth
13:09
conversation with. So just really think about
13:11
who you're gonna bring on before you bring them
13:13
on and choose wisely. Make sure that they're
13:16
adding value to your show and not... taking away
13:19
value because you're still trying to get listeners
13:21
to really hone in on your topic and stick with
13:24
you. So just be careful about who you're picking
13:25
if you do decide to bring on a guest expert in
13:28
episode five. Episode six, let's do a client
13:31
or a case study. So you're sharing a transformation
13:34
or a result that you've helped someone achieve.
13:37
Now, this one would be a good one not to do like
13:40
bringing the client on to share what they achieved
13:43
when they were working with you, but maybe you
13:44
have them just like either fill out a questionnaire
13:47
like a Google for and you ask them questions
13:49
and you can read them off, or maybe you have
13:51
them drop you a voice note or something that
13:53
you could include in with the podcast. I think
13:55
that would be really cool, but really dive into
13:59
what your client's problem was and how you helped
14:02
them fix it. A case study, like I do case studies.
14:06
the first Thursday of every month of what I am
14:09
reviewing on the podcasts I'm listening to. So
14:11
like something like that, but with your own spin.
14:13
I think that would be really cool and it would
14:15
show your listeners like, hey, yep, I'm the expert
14:17
and here's some real deal, real case study of
14:20
how I helped someone and I can help you as well.
14:23
Episode seven, I would love to see you do a deep
14:26
dive, go in depth on one specific topic or question
14:29
that you get a lot. I'm in so many podcasting
14:31
Facebook groups and the question I see almost
14:34
daily is what Mike? should I use to start a podcast?
14:37
I could probably do a half hour episode on what
14:41
microphones you should be buying when you're
14:43
starting your first podcast. Like that is something
14:45
that I could easily deep dive on. And you just
14:48
got to find that topic that you can deep dive
14:50
on and share that. experience and expertise with
14:53
your listeners because they're coming to you
14:55
for it by this point. Episode eight is a behind
14:58
the scenes episode. Take listeners through your
15:01
workflow. What does it look like to work with
15:02
you as a business coach? What does it look like
15:04
to work with Abby the podcast lady? Show them
15:08
what tools you're using. Show them what a day
15:10
looks like in your life and how you can help
15:13
make their lives easier. better, more educated,
15:17
I don't know, most smartest, like show them how
15:21
you can improve based on what you're doing in
15:23
your day -to -day life to help them along their
15:26
journey. Episode nine, it would be a great time
15:28
to do a frequently asked questions or an ask
15:31
me anything kind of thing where you have listeners
15:33
who have been along the ride with you. Maybe
15:35
you're starting to build that core audience and
15:37
maybe they're coming at you with some questions
15:39
in your DMs and your emails and the contact form
15:41
on your website. Answer those questions on the
15:44
podcast because chance are good if there's one
15:46
or two people reaching out to you with those
15:48
questions there's 10 more in the sidelines waiting
15:51
to have someone ask that question so they don't
15:53
have to because they might be too shy or too
15:55
scared to approach you so a frequently asked
15:57
question or an ask me anything episode would
15:59
be great for episode 9 and then episode 10 it
16:02
would be a great time to reflect on the past
16:04
10 episodes and maybe do like a recap of what
16:07
people have missed in the past few weeks like
16:09
play little snippets of it's like a best of episode
16:12
almost where you're like okay well we this this
16:14
and this this is what really resonated with people
16:16
on social media so we just wanted to revisit
16:19
these topics and then make sure that you're giving
16:21
them something tangible as well maybe it is a
16:24
PDF download maybe it is some a freebie on your
16:27
website a online free webinar that you're hosting
16:29
with your coaching service give them something
16:32
with that best of episode to kind of recap it
16:34
all. And then what you can do is you can take
16:36
these episodes and maybe you start from the top
16:39
and you rinse and repeat them. And then you just
16:42
do that five times throughout the year and you
16:43
have a year's worth of podcasts. Or maybe you
16:47
take that and you're like, you know, I really
16:48
liked doing a quick win episode and I really
16:51
had fun doing that deep dive. And maybe you take
16:54
those two or three formats that you really liked
16:56
and that becomes your core podcast. Like this
16:58
is a good variety of things to try out and see
17:01
what really lights you up inside and makes you
17:04
want to do more of. So it's a good variety to
17:06
test the waters and just see what's resonating
17:08
within you and within your audience. This podcast
17:11
feels a little all over the place, but I still
17:13
want to get into naming your episodes so people
17:16
find them. And maybe we'll do a deep dive episode
17:18
on this later on. We'll just kind of scratch
17:20
the surface here, but there's some things that
17:22
I want you to think about when you're making
17:23
your first 10 podcast episodes and naming them
17:27
is so important. I see people mess this up all
17:30
the time and I try steering them in the right
17:33
direction as much as I can. So thinking about
17:37
your podcast titles, I want you to think about
17:40
actually naming them something that people understand
17:42
and not being too cutesy and creative with them
17:46
because cutesy and creative is not SEO friendly.
17:50
cutesy and creative is great if you have a thousand
17:53
people who are listening every week because they
17:55
love you and love you for you and they get your
17:57
humor but when you're trying to build a new audience
18:00
cutesy and creative doesn't work you need things
18:02
that are searchable you need to describe what
18:04
you are doing to your audience so here are my
18:07
key tips for naming your podcast be clear not
18:11
clever that is tip number one what's going to
18:14
work better is three ways to start a podcast
18:17
without fancy equipment instead of cheap and
18:20
chic audio dreams. Like what does cheap and chic
18:23
audio dreams mean? It means nothing. Tell them
18:25
what you're actually talking about. Three ways
18:27
to start a podcast without fancy equipment. That's
18:30
a title. Cheap and chic audio dreams, not a title.
18:34
Take the guesswork out of trying to figure out
18:37
what your episode's about. When they see that
18:38
title, they want to know what they're getting
18:40
into. Tip number two I have is to use numbers.
18:44
Five podcasting mistakes to avoid is instantly
18:48
scannable. The listener knows what they're gonna
18:50
be walking away with at the end of that episode.
18:52
Put a number in your podcast. Heck, there's a
18:56
number in this podcast title. Tip number three
18:58
is to ask a question. So maybe that question
19:02
is, should you script your podcast episodes?
19:05
One of my clients actually has a great... case
19:07
for using a question as a title. She's a flower
19:10
farmer and she has a series called Should You
19:13
Grow This? Should You Grow Zinnias? Should You
19:15
Grow Dahlia's? Should You Grow Cone Flowers?
19:18
Those podcast episodes are almost guaranteed
19:21
to spike her download numbers because people
19:23
know exactly what they're getting from that episode.
19:26
Ask a question that your audience is asking and
19:29
then answer it in the episode but use it as the
19:32
title. Tip number four I have for you is to highlight
19:34
a benefit. What to say in your podcast trailer
19:37
and then in parentheses and why it matters. Use
19:40
parentheses, use brackets to highlight things
19:43
in your title, make them stand out. I would avoid
19:46
using emojis to highlight things because emojis
19:48
don't always translate well on phones or different
19:51
devices. So use parentheses and brackets to highlight
19:54
different things in your title. And then tip
19:56
number five I have for you is to keyword it.
19:59
Use your titles as your search. engine optimizers.
20:03
Use terms that your audience is gonna be Googling,
20:05
like how to start a podcast, podcast gear for
20:08
beginners. What is a podcast? Like think of your
20:11
title as answers or questions in a Google search.
20:14
That is gonna help you be more discoverable to
20:16
your audience. If you're unsure about what keywords
20:19
to use, use ChatGPT. Such a great tool. Run it
20:23
through ChatGPT and... have it spit out some
20:26
title options for you that are SEO friendly or
20:29
SEO optimized. Use that sort of structure when
20:31
you're asking ChatGPT to help you write your
20:33
podcast titles. You don't need to be sitting
20:36
there toiling over this. Use ChatGPT. It is a
20:39
tool. I wish I was sponsored by them. So let's
20:43
wrap this up because I feel like we are all over
20:44
the board today, but there's just a lot of things
20:46
I want to cover with you and only doing two podcast
20:48
episodes a month. I feel like I should probably
20:50
go to weekly. I'm just not ready for that right
20:52
now. And that's all about just, you know, knowing.
20:54
what your capacity is, but wrap this up here.
20:56
I feel like this episode was kind of all over
20:58
the place, but I want you to really think about
21:00
what your first 10 episodes of your show is gonna
21:02
be versus just that one perfect episode to start.
21:06
So planning your first 10 podcast episodes is
21:08
more than just filling in some content on a calendar.
21:11
I really want you to have some great content
21:13
to kick off your show so you keep that momentum
21:15
going. So it's really about grounding your ideas
21:17
in your audience's needs and in the goals that
21:20
they have and the goals that you have. You gotta
21:22
choose a mix of solo and guest content. and that
21:24
builds trust, but also fits your schedule as
21:27
best as it can. I also want you to use structure
21:30
to help you stay consistent. Again, be sure you
21:32
head down to the show notes and grab that PDF
21:35
of the 10 podcast episode formats I think you
21:38
should use to kick off your show. And then be
21:41
sure that you are writing titles that make your
21:44
show searchable and discoverable. So important,
21:47
don't be cutesy with it, be real with it. If
21:50
you have been stuck in that swirling, I wanna
21:52
start a podcast someday phase and you're ready
21:54
to get out of it and you're ready to do it right,
21:56
this is your sign to get moving on it. You don't
21:58
have to do it perfectly, you just have to start.
22:01
You're always gonna be improving every single
22:04
time you hit record. So just keep that in mind.
22:07
do it imperfectly. You just got to start somewhere
22:09
and now is the perfect place to start and I'd
22:11
love to help you along the way. So if you're
22:14
looking for a production help, if you're looking
22:15
for a podcast consulting help, I am here for
22:18
you. We got more information on that at abbygravesproductions
22:21
.com. Links are down in the show notes below.
22:24
I'd love for you to leave a five star rating
22:26
and a review of this podcast. It helps a ton
22:28
and I will catch you next time on Abby the Podcast
22:32
Lady. Thank you so much for tuning in today.