Want to start podcasting? Not sure where to even start? Here are some helpful tips and tricks!

Watch

Listen

Read

Starting a podcast can be a great way to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. In this blog, we walk through the basics of starting your own podcast, from setting up your equipment to recording and publishing your first episode.

If you're thinking about starting a podcast, but you're not sure where to start, this video is for you. In it, we'll cover: Why podcasting is a powerful marketing tool for accountants, The basic equipment you need to get started, How to record and edit your episodes, and so much more!

Let's dive in!

Why Start a Podcast?

Well, Podcasting is a great way to share your knowledge and expertise with the world. It's a powerful marketing tool that can help you attract new clients and grow your business. I talk about content pillars all the time on this channel and Podcasting is by far one of my favourite kinds of content to create, and consume.

Before we dig into WHY podcasting is a great marketing tool for your accounting firm, lets take a look at a couple numbers around podcasting.

According to the podcast exchange, 31% of english speaking,Canadian adults listen to podcasts on a monthly basis, and that number is only growing.

And half of Canadian podcast listeners are highly educated and in the hard to reach demographic of 18-34 year olds.

This gives you the amazing opportunity to connect with and provide value to an audience that is looking to learn, and improve, their businesses or startups.

Here are a few more reasons why you should consider starting a podcast for your accounting firm:

1. Podcasting is a great way to build thought leadership and establish yourself as an expert in your field.

When you start a podcast, you're providing valuable content that helps people learn and improve their businesses. This establishes you as an expert in your field, and helps people trust you and your advice. When it comes time to make a decision about who to work with, many people will choose the expert they know and trust over someone they don't. Podcasting can help you build that trust with your audience.

2. It's a great way to connect with potential clients and build relationships.

When most people think about podcasting, they solely focus their attention on the number of listeners they get and measure their success entirely on that. I believe that to be a HUGE mistake!

A knowledge based podcast where you share advice and information to your audience is a great excuse to network. Let me explain.

If you are recording podcast for local business owners in your city or town, think about other thought leaders in your community that have the same audience. Inviting them to be a guest on your show doesn't only allow you to potentially tap into their audience, but also build a relationship with your guest!

We all know that networking and building relationships is the best way to grow your business, and inviting someone to talk about themselves for 30-60 minutes is a great excuse to get together!

Podcasting is a wonderful way to connect with other like-minded professionals and build a community around your brand and your firm.

Podcasting can also help you attract new clients, and deepen your relationship with your current clients. Sharing valuable information on a regular basis will keep you top of mind as a go to resource for advice.

Now that we've talked about why you should start a podcast, let's talk about how to get started! First, what gear do you need?

What Do You Need to Start Your Podcast?

I'm going to need to restrain myself here because I am a bit of a tech nerd and love all things podcasting gear, and you truly don't need the best of the best gear to get started, so I'll recommend some entry level gear, mid level, and my favourite gear and you can choose what works best for you and your budget!

To start recording your podcast episodes, you'll need a microphone, pop filter, audio interface (this is optional depending on your set up), and some headphones.

Let's start with entry level

If you're looking for the quickest way to get started a USB mic is the way to go. Something like the Moano AU-A04 is a great starting mic and set up, it comes with a pop-filter, and you can plug it directly into your computer and select it as your microphone on Teams, Zoom, or any other video conferencing platform where you may record your podcast. Obviously as the price increases on microphones, the better they will sound.

Next up is the middle of the road.

I highly recommend the Rode Podmic. It's a a great entry level microphone for podcasting. It's affordable at around $130 CDN, it records great quality audio, looks awesome on camera and is simple to set up.

In this case you will need an audio interface to convert your microphone's cable, an XLR, into something your computer can use, like USB, or USB C.

I'm using the RODE AI-1 Single channel to record right now. It's a great, simple unit that connects to your computer and allows you to monitor your audio while you record which is great!

For the more professional level or if you're wanting to do more in person podcast recordings, I would recommend:

The Shure SM7B microphone, which is the quintessential podcast microphone that you see all major podcasters use, or you can really use any dynamic microphone, including the pod mic.

For an audio interface, the RODEcaster Pro is a wonderful mixer that allows you to record natively on the device so you don't have to worry about having a computer with you to record if you don't want to!

All three options will get the job done!

Okay we've talked about gear, now what?

How to Record and Edit Your Podcast

Now that you have the gear, it's time to start recording! Before you start, make sure you spend some time planning out your episodes. What topics will you cover? Who will be your guests? How long will each episode be?

Once you have a plan in place, it's time to start recording. Most people record their podcast interviews in person, but if that's not possible, don't worry, you can always use a teleconference or video call platform like Zoom or Skype, or my favourite recording platform, called Riverside.fm.

Make it stand out!

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Visit the link here, to get started with Riverside.fm.

One thing to keep in mind is background noise. Make sure you pick a quiet spot to record and avoid any distractions.

Once you've recorded your episode, it's time to edit! This can be done with software like GarageBand on an iPad or Audacity on a computer. I use Adobe Audition as it's part of the Creative Cloud suite and allows our team to collaborate on all of our creative projects!

Now that your episode is edited and ready to go, it's time to publish! You can simply publish your podcast on various platforms, but my go to is Anchor. It allows you to upload your podcast, enter your show notes, and publish it to all the top podcasting platforms in one fowl swoop.

I actually share the gear, process, and platforms that we use to produce, publish, and promote our podcasts, in the Ultimate CPA Marketing playbook which you can download right now at Marketmycpafirm.com. So be sure to check that out!

Tips for Promoting Your Podcast

Once you've published your podcast, it's important to start promoting it. Here's a quick checklist to get you started:

1. Make sure you have a great cover art and episode descriptions.

2. Share your podcast with friends, family and colleagues, employees, clients, and on social media!

3. Share the new episode on your website, on a blog, or a dedicated podcast page.

Structuring Your Episode

The final thing that I want to talk about is how to structure your podcast episodes.

I like to think of podcast episodes as being like mini-conversations.

One thing that can be helpful is to come up with a template for your episodes. This doesn't mean that every episode has to sound the same, but it can be helpful to have a general structure to follow.

Here's an example template that you can use for your episodes:

Intro: In the introduction, you'll want to introduce yourself and your topic. You can also give a brief overview of what the episode will be about.

Meat: The main body is where you'll get into the meat of your topic. This is where you'll share your knowledge and expertise.

Outro: In the outro, you'll want to summarize what was covered in the episode and offer any final thoughts. You can also let listeners know how they can get in touch with you and your guests to find out more information.

What I will often do is record an intro, outro, and commercial that we use for every episode so that it simplifies the editing process and elevates the production value of your podcast.

Wrap Up

That's it for this post, and I hope that you are feeling more confident about launching your podcast!

Thanks for reading!

If you're interested in more content like this, be sure to check back every Tuesday!

I'll see you next time.

Need some additional help? Book a FREE Discovery Meeting today, here, to chat about how I can help!

About the Author

Bryton Udy is the Founder and CMO of atHeart Creative, and host of the Accountant Marketing Mentor YouTube Channel. Dedicated to helping accountants simplify their marketing and communications so they can grow their accounting, bookkeeping, and financial planning businesses, he is passionate about harnessing creative marketing to support the independent accountant.