I get a lot of questions as a podcast producer. So, I’ve turned to my listeners over the past few weeks and asked what you want to know about podcast launches. In today’s episode, I’m diving into those questions as well as some frequently asked questions podcasters ask during their onboarding.
Clocking In with Haylee Gaffin is produced and brought to you by Gaffin Creative, a podcast production company for creative entrepreneurs. Learn more about our services at Gaffincreative.com, plus you’ll also find resources, show notes, and more for the Clocking In Podcast.
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As a podcast producer, I get some really good questions, some really fun questions, and I even get questions that I don’t know the answer to and have to learn myself. I usually will create full episodes or blog posts out of these, but today I wanted to cover a few questions that I’ve not really highlighted yet. So let’s go through a few of those questions.
1. How long does it take to launch a podcast?
The short answer is as little or as much time as you need. You’ll want to factor in the setup and approval process for all podcast players. But I’ve prepped, planned, and scheduled a podcast launch in just one day for multiple VIP day clients. So a fast launch is totally possible.
On the flip side, I’ve also walked my clients through 4-6 week podcast launch timelines. I think it really depends on how much lead time you want for planning or how ready you are to just do the thing!
2. How many episodes do you recommend publishing at launch?
I always recommend launching with three!
I actually had a client test out pre-launching an episode just for her launch team before she officially announced it to the public. That went over really well, but on the official launch day, I encourage you to have your trailer and three episodes! I talk more about the reasoning behind this in my blog here.
3. What music can I use for my podcast?
Music is always something that holds podcasters up, but don’t let it! There are licenses you can purchase for royalty-free music on so many sites and there are tons of options! I actually have a full blog post that dives into this here.
4. How do I get my podcast on all of the podcast players?
There are tons of options for podcast hosting platforms out there, including Acast and Libsyn, plus so many others. Once you set your podcast up on one of these players – you have to have either a trailer or your first episode ready when you do, you’ll use the RSS feed that they provide to submit to the major players like Apple, Spotify, Google, and more.
I go into more detail on this, specifically with my recommended hosting platform, Acast in episode 021. Listen to that episode here!
5. What should I consider having in place before I launch my podcast?
Now this is actually a question that got me thinking really hard, and I may do a full episode on it in the future. But I think there are tons of systems you should have in place specifically for your podcast before you launch. I actually talked with my friend and client Dolly DeLong about this on her podcast, the Systems and Workflow Magic podcast. You can listen to that here!
But I also think you should have existing marketing channels set up for yourself or your podcast because just because you’re releasing your podcast doesn’t mean you’ll immediately have listeners. You have to drive traffic there from social media, newsletters, and more.
6. How do I get my podcast sponsored?
Now this one… it’s a doozy. I think there is so much more that goes into that than a simple answer.
First, by sponsored, are you wanting to monetize in general or actually pitch a company to pay you to place ads on your show? If you’re simply looking to monetize, I did a whole series in episodes 39-42 about ways to monetize.
If you’re looking for an actual sponsor, you’ll have to consider your audience size, the industry rates, which are by download (about $25 per 1,000 downloads), and your relationships with other brands. Securing a podcast sponsor is more than just pitching, you have to show your value—which is podcasts live for a long time.
7. What’s the best way to reach you to help me launch my podcast and what do you actually offer?
Now, I do get asked this pretty often, because podcasting is still somewhat of a new industry (even though it’s been around for a while). Many people don’t realize there are opportunities for support for launching, managing, and strategizing their podcast!
First and foremost, if you’re looking for more information on podcasting, I have a ton of free and paid resources over at gaffincreative.com/resources. We put out a weekly blog post, offer free worksheets, and have paid workbooks and templates to help with your podcasting needs.
If you’re looking to launch your podcast, there are a few ways you can work with me! At the time of recording this episode, we offer Podcast launch kit, which is the DIY course for launching your podcast. We also offer VIP days where we spend an hour planning your podcast with my podcast planning workbook, then come back a week or so later and go through the ENTIRE podcast planning, recording, and strategy process to have your podcast ready to launch within the next 7-10 days! Additionally, I offer a 4-week podcast launch program for those who work a little better without the pressure of a timeline.
We’re also working on another option hopefully launching in June, so keep your eyes peeled and make sure you’re on that newsletter I mentioned at the beginning of the episode at gaffincreative.com/newsletter.
At Gaffin Creative, my team and I also offer podcast production and management where we’ll handle the editing, show notes, graphics, social media content, and more! You can also get strategy and content planning support as well!
Now, if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, but something is holding you back, make sure you reach out to me over on Instagram or head to gaffincreative.com. I’d love to jump on a call, hear about your idea, overcome what is holding you back, and make sure you leave with a goal for your podcast after our call!
Time-stamps:
How long does it take to launch a podcast? (01:35)
How many episodes should you launch with? (2:10)
What music can I use for my podcast? (2:50)
How Do I get my podcast on all of the podcast players? (3:25)
What should I consider having in place Before I launch my podcast (4:05)
How do I get my podcast sponsored? (5:10)
What does Gaffin Creative offer and how do I reach you? (7:15)
Links Mentioned:
Episode 021, 039, 040, 041, 042
Dolly Delong’s Podcast Episode
Work with The Gaffin Creative Team
Review the Transcript:
Over the last few weeks, I dropped a few question boxes and polls on social media, along with a questionnaire in my newsletter asking you what questions you had for podcast producers about podcasting.
In today’s episode, I’m running through some of those questions, along with some of the most commonly asked questions I get asked in the onboarding process in this rapid fire style episode! Let’s do this!
INTRO
Now if you’re tuning into this episode and you’re not on my newsletter, I want to encourage you to head over to gaffincreative.com/newsletter to get on that list! You can even select the content that you want to hear about!
As a podcast producer, I get some really good questions, some really fun questions, and I even get questions that I don’t know the answer to and have to learn myself. I usually will create full episodes or blog posts out of these, but today I wanted to cover a few questions that I’ve not really highlighted yet. So let’s go through a few of those questions.
How long does it take to launch a podcast?
The short answer is as little or as much time as you need. You’ll want to factor in the setup and approval process for all podcast players, but I’ve prepped, planned, and scheduled a podcast launch in just one day for multiple VIP day clients. On the flip side, I’ve also walked my clients through 4-6 week podcast launch timelines. I think it really depends on how much lead time you want for planning or how ready you are to just do the thing!
How many episodes do you recommend publishing at launch?
I always recommend launching with three! I actually had a client test out prelaunching an episode just for her launch team before she officially announced to the public and that went over really well, but on the official launch day, I encourage you to have your trailer and three episodes!
What music can I use for my podcast?
Music is always something that holds podcasters up, but don’t let it! There are licenses you can purchase for royalty free music on so many sites and there are tons of options! I actually have a full blog post that dives into this and I’ll make sure we link it in the show notes!
How do I get my podcast on all of the podcast players?
There are tons of options for podcast hosting platforms out there, including Acast and Libsyn, plus so many others. Once you set your podcast up on one of these players – you have to have either a trailer or your first episode ready when you do, you’ll use the RSS feed that they provide to submit to the major players like apple spotify, google, and more.
Over in the show notes, I’ll make sure we link to episode 21 where we go into more details on this, specifically with my recommended hosting platform, Acast.
What should I consider having in place before I launch my podcast?
Now this is actually a question that got me thinking really hard, and I may do a full episode on it in the future, but I think there are tons of systems you should have in place specifically for your podcast before you launch and I actually talked with my friend and client Dolly DeLong about this on her podcast, the Systems and Workflow Magic podcast. So we’ll link to that in the show notes.
But I also think you should have existing marketing channels set up for yourself or your podcast, because just because you’re releasing your podcast doesn’t mean you’ll immediately have listeners. You have to drive traffic there from social media, newsletters, and more.
How do I get my podcast sponsored?
Now this one… it’s doozy. I think there is so much more that goes into that than a simple answer. First, by sponsored, are you wanting to monetize in general or actually pitch a company to pay you to place ads on your show? If you’re simply looking to monetize, I did a whole series in episodes 39-42 about ways to monetize. If you’re looking for an actual sponsor, you’ll have to consider your audience size, the industry rates, which are by download (about $25 per 1,000 downloads), and your relationships with other brands. Securing a podcast sponsor is more than just pitching, you have to show your value—which is podcasts live for a long time.
What’s the best way to reach you to help me launch my podcast and what do you actually offer?
Now, I do get asked this pretty often, because podcasting is still somewhat of a new industry (even though it’s been around for a while). Many people don’t realize there there are opportunities of support for launching, managing, and strategizing their podcast!
First and foremost, if you’re looking for more information on podcasting, I have a ton of free and paid resources over at gaffincreative.com/resources. We put out a weekly blog post, offer free worksheets, and have paid workbooks and templates to help with your podcasting needs.
If you’re looking to launch your podcast, there are a few ways you can work with me! At the time of recording this episode, we offer Podcast launch kit, which is the DIY course for launching your podcast. We also offer VIP days where we spend an hour planning your podcast with my podcast planning workbook, then come back a week or so later and go through the ENTIRE podcast planning, recording, and strategy process to have you podcast ready to launch within the next 7-10 days! Additionally I offer a 4 week podcast launch program for those who work a little better without the pressure of a timeline.
We’re also working on another option hopefully launching in June, so keep your eyes peeled and makes sure you’re on that newsletter I mentioned at the beginning of the episode at gaffincreative.com/newsletter.
At gaffin creative, my team and I also offer podcast production and management where we’ll handle the editing, show notes, graphics, social media content, and more! You can also get strategy and content planning support as well!
Now, if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, but something is holding you back, make sure you reach out to me over on Instagram or head to gaffincreative.com. I’d love to jump on a call, hear about your idea, overcome what is holding you back, and make sure you leave with a goal for your podcast after our call!
Looking forwards to hearing from you and if you enjoyed this rapid-fire style episode and want me to do more in the future, let me know! See yall next week!
