How to Start a Podcast When You Have No Audience
Although it may seem like you need an audience to start a podcast, this simply isn't true. All you really need is a great idea, some basic recording equipment, and the willingness to put in the work.
Many would-be podcasters never get started because they think they need an audience before they launch. This is a common and crippling misconception. In reality, you don't need an audience to start a podcast. All you need is a great idea, some basic equipment, and the magic ingredient: a willingness to put in the work.
Here's how to get started.
Pick your topic and title carefully
Your podcast topic should be something you're passionate about and that you know at least a little bit about. It should also be something that you think other people would be interested in hearing about. And finally, it should be something that hasn't been done to death already - your topic can be popular because there's still a lot of value in your perspective, style, and tone of voice. Once you've settled on a topic, come up with a catchy title that accurately reflects the content of your show.
Invest in some basic equipment
You don't need top-of-the-line recording equipment to launch a successful podcast. Any laptop or desktop computer with a built-in microphone will do the trick. If you want to get fancy, you can purchase a separate microphone, but it's not necessary. You'll also need some software for recording and editing your episodes. Again, there are dozens of options out there, but any basic audio editing program will do the job just fine.
Record and edit your first episode
Now it's time to actually record your first episode! Sit down in front of your microphone and start talking—but don't worry if you make mistakes or stumble over your words at first. This is normal! Just keep going and edit out the rough spots later on. Once you're finished recording, upload your episode to your computer and edit out any dead air, long pauses, or bloopers. Then add intro and outro music, if desired—and you're done!
Publish
There are dozens of different ways to publish your podcast episodes online—but perhaps the simplest is to create a blog post for each one on your website or blog (if you have one). Just embed the audio file into the post and write a brief description of what listeners can expect to hear in that episode.
Then share your new episode across all of your social media channels and encourage people to subscribe to your show so they don't miss future episodes!
You can also submit your podcast to directories. Finally, don't forget offline word of mouth. It can be surprising how many people you can get to subscribe to your podcast if you start with your friends and family.
Here are some services you can use to host and promote your podcast. Some of these services even manage advertising around your podcast making it easier to monetize your content:
Get creative with promotions
There are lots of ways to promote your podcast without spending any money. For example, you could reach out to bloggers or other podcasters in your niche and see if they'd be willing to exchange links or promote each other's content on social media. You could also submit your podcast to directories like iTunes or Stitcher, or create blog posts or social media posts around specific episodes (with attention-grabbing titles and visuals, of course).
The sky's the limit—it just takes some creativity (and maybe a little trial and error) to figure out what works best for you and your show.
Consider investing in advertising... eventually
Organic promotion is always going to be the best way to grow your audience because it doesn't cost anything and it allows you to build relationships with potential listeners. But that doesn't mean there's never a time when investing in paid advertising can be beneficial. For example, once your show has been running for a while and you have a few episodes under your belt, placing some ads on relevant websites or using targeted social media ads can help increase visibility and bring in new listeners who may not have otherwise found your show. Just remember that paid promotion should always come after organic promotion—never the other way around!
Although it may seem like you need an audience to start a podcast, this simply isn't true. All you really need is a great idea, some basic recording equipment, and the willingness to put in the work. With just those things, you can easily launch a successful show that people will love tuning into episode after episode. So what are you waiting for?
