Latest / She Speaks to Scale / 4. The Lessons I Learnt From Launching a Podcast in One Month (That Will Help You Take Action Too)
Transcript
- Sarah Collins: Thank you for listening to this episode of She Speaks to Scale. If you liked the episode or you think it will be useful for someone else, please follow and leave a review. If you've got any questions, do let me know via the social handles in the show notes. And remember to speak with intention, not hesitation, and let your voice be heard. Although the title suggests this episode is about creating and launching a podcast, which it absolutely is, these lessons can also relate and be applied to any short-term speaking goal you have set yourself. Hello and welcome to She Speaks to Scale with me, Sarah Collins. The podcast that empowers women in business to own their voice, be heard and create impact, one communication insight at a time. I'm a media trainer and communication coach and a former senior television producer. It's my mission to bring the communication skills we need to thrive in today's world of business to the generation of women who simply weren't taught them. Now, one thing that did stop me from launching my podcast earlier than I did was this underlying fear that I would need a lot of time allocated to it within what was already a busy working week. Whether it's scaling your voice to step into thought leadership in a media interview, speaking with confidence on camera, on stage and beyond, or scaling the way you communicate when it really counts. This podcast will help you use your voice to be heard in the moments that matter. And that fear had built up to the point where I assumed it would take so much time. How was I possibly going to be able to fit it all in? And I know you're listening to this podcast because you want to evolve and scale the way you speak. As you go through, I want you to think of a speaking goal would like to achieve and answer the questions to help you make progress towards that goal. For me, I knew World Voice Day was the date I wanted to launch my podcast. So around about mid-March, I had an overwhelming feeling that unless I set myself a challenge, this podcast was never going to come to fruition. So on the 16th of March, I announced to my audience I would be launching a podcast in one month on the 16th of April, 2026. And I would encourage anyone looking to achieve something, whether a long or short term goal ⁓ to set a date and announce it publicly. Why? Because then you're being held accountable. So what are the options here? Let's look at them. Either you announce it and then see it through or you don't. Most people wouldn't go through with announcing something if they don't intend to follow through on it. And it's this fear of failure that holds too many people back in the first place. So just to touch on podcasts, if you're looking to raise your visibility, they really are a great platform, not only to appear in, but also launching your own, if that is perhaps a goal of yours. They allow you to get in front of another person's audience in a way you wouldn't have been able to before. Most people listen with headphones in, so it's quite an intimate act of having your voice in someone's ear, creating that know, like, and trust factor. And you're either sharing your story or it can propel you into that expert status, providing value relating to your expertise. They're also easily accessible. Most people have some way of listening to them. So let's get back to the goal. the first question I want to ask you is what goal could you set that feels achievable but slightly challenging at the same time? Even better if you put a date on when you want to achieve it. Now, let me take you back to week one. I had already booked in a couple of interviewees and I'd commissioned a designer to do my graphics. Now this isn't a necessity, ⁓ love being creative and can spend ⁓ hours in Canva. ⁓ what I designed was a far cry from what the brilliant Anna from AJP Creative ⁓ for me. So if you do want to invest in something, I would thoroughly recommend it being on the design of the podcast graphics. And looking back now, really, this was just an ⁓ because now I'm out the other side. ⁓ I absolutely see how it fits into my and the benefits too of having this platform as a business owner. One of the things that really spurred me on and I think is important if you do have a goal is to find yourself an accountability partner. I met Jess at Joanna Lott's in-person event back in November, and we both stated our goal for the staff to 2026 was to launch a podcast. We began meeting up regularly to share what we were with proceeding with it. ⁓ And I'll be honest, I'm not sure I would have through with launching the podcast had it not been for Jo herself, ⁓ who has a weekly podcast for coaches and Jess, who will be launching her own podcast in a couple of months time. Whenever you start something new, you need to get clear on what it is, who it's for and why you're doing it. And for me, that meant week one, spending most of the week creating a master document with all the information I needed for the podcast. So whenever I needed copy for a webpage or my show notes, or perhaps to write a pitch, I had it all right there. There was no overthinking and no wondering what I was going to say. Now it did take a while to do this, but it was really beneficial and I would thoroughly recommend taking that time out to do it. So question two, who can hold you accountable along your journey? Someone that will spur you on and act as your cheerleader along the way. Now going into week two and I was definitely putting something off and I built this thing up in my head so that I'd become quite fearful of what it might entail. And that was the tech, the recording, the editing and the hosting. What was that going to look like? I had asked my audience what platforms they use because I think a recommendation is really handy. However, at the end of the day, I am a creative and I needed a platform I was going to find easy to navigate. was that for me. After a short play around which included conducting and then editing interviews with both my girls, note both not one you can never just do one, I quickly got the hang of it and they enjoyed the process too which was lovely to see. Back in my TV producer days, I used to spend time editing a VT before it going into the edit suite. And honestly, they were some of the best parts of my job, sitting there at the desk with my headphones on, immersed in just this different world. And editing the podcast has really brought that back for me. I'm definitely in my happy place. Back to week two and I wrote my intro and outro for the podcast and placed those in my master document as well. And I did have a little bit of help from chat GBT, but mainly after I had written out what I wanted to say and just asked for any potential amendments. I also wrote a press release this week. It really helped. had an awareness date pegged to the launch. It felt like it was more of a campaign than just a podcast launch. So think about your goal as a bit more of a campaign. Can you take people behind the scenes? Can you allow them to come on the journey with you? So question three, what are you holding back on and putting off that will help you progress towards your goals? Now make a list of small steps you can take to bring your goal closer to reality. And try out what that thing is that you're holding back on or putting off because the likelihood is, it's not going to be as bad as you think it will be in regard to the tech. It actually was much more straightforward than I thought it was ever going to be. And that's what stopped me from going through with the podcast before. Now week three, this was going into the Easter holidays and I had that juggle, but I really desperately wanted to carry on proceeding with the podcast launch. I knew my time would be limited, so I took small steps to keep me on track, which worked really well. And I managed to maintain talking about it publicly, which held me accountable to keep going and created a buzz around the launch, which was great. not sure I would have launched something so soon after a school holiday again, as it did temper a little bit for me. I couldn't relax as much as I would have liked. So that's definitely something to bear in mind next time. But even I managed to record my first guest interview, which was absolutely brilliant. I was nervous to edit this because I knew my perfectionist TV producer tendencies would come in and I actually put it off for a few days because of that fact. But when I began, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the process. It was a brilliant episode with TV reporter, producer and broadcast journalist, Sangeeta Kandola. Go and check it out if you haven't already listened to it. And then I also managed in week three to choose my music and scripted and recorded my trailer. Life can so easily get in the way of us achieving our goals and the way that you proceed anyhow is by addressing what that might be ahead of time as best as you can and plan accordingly. So question four, what obstacles may arise and get in the way and how can you continue to make progress despite these? Going into week four, the bank holiday meant it was a shorter week and obviously the kids were still off, but I did manage to publish my trailer and tell everyone about it so they would go and listen. I edited my guest interview and probably spent far too many hours on that, if I'm being honest, but I really did enjoy that process. I sent out my press release to the local press and I kept up with publicly announcing the podcast launch. I also recorded my solo episodes. What really struck me that week, the week before the launch, I started to have some wobbles in terms of what I was doing. Thoughts like who is going to want to listen and then looking ahead, how am I going to be able to keep this up? ⁓ Now I've learned that the best way to help these thoughts subside is by taking action. So I kept promoting the podcast and I kept building the momentum, even despite the fact that I was feeling that way. And what was really lovely was the messages I was getting on my socials, but also privately as well ⁓ about the support that people had for the podcast. ⁓ everything was being really well received and people were looking forward to listening. And that's what spurred me on. Question five is what action can you take when those doubts and fears start to come up for you? And as we headed into week five, which was the launch week, I had a really busy week because I feel like I was catching up a little bit after the Easter holidays. I finished editing all the episodes for the launch. kept momentum posting across my platforms and sent emails to my email list. ⁓ I chased local PR opportunities and actually managed to bag myself a spot on BBC Radio, sorry, on the day of the launch. I'm sure I'll talk about that another time. And I did an Instagram live on the day. There's nothing quite like that feeling of setting a goal and then seeing it through. But I think the step we quite often forget, but it's so incredibly important. Question six, how will you celebrate? For me, I was really quite exhausted, but I did manage to have lunch with a friend and then celebrated in the evening with my family too. And also a big lie down after all the extra hours that I'd put in over the last few weeks. Whatever your speaking goal or maybe you too want to launch a podcast, I hope you found this episode useful. If you're looking for accountability and support to help you on your way, then this is the work I do with my one-to-one clients. In fact, a client I worked with last year did actually go on to launch her own podcast after working with me. So the possibilities are endless. You can reach out to me via the details in the show notes.