Influential Introvert: Communication Coaching for Professionals with Performance Anxiety - Podcast Audit: Simple Tweaks to Add More Sparkle to Your Show

Episode Date: September 24, 2020

With more than 1 million shows in Apple Podcasts, how can you make sure your show stands out?    On Podcasting Step by Step, I talk you through my 5S framework for creating the kind of irresistible podcast that builds your brand, increases your influence, and connects you to your community on the deepest level.   Use my 5S test to audit your existing podcast or as a pre-launch blueprint for creating a bingeworthy, brand-building podcast.   sarahmikutel.com *** Hello. I’m Sarah, your host and founder of Podcast Launch Academy. Are you ready to launch a podcast that builds your brand and business, connects you to your global community, and grows your influence? Visit sarahmikutel.com to see how we can work together. Here’s a special treat for you: Use my Buzzsprout affiliate link to sign up for their podcast media hosting and get a $20 Amazon gift certificate. I’ve gotten to know the Buzzsprout team over this last year and love their customer service so much, I moved my shows over there. sarahmikutel.com/buzzsproutDo you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

With more than one million shows in Apple Podcasts, how can you create a show that really stands out? The kind of irresistible podcasts that builds your brand increases your influence and connects you to your community on the deepest level. Well, your podcast needs to pass the 5S test, and I will walk you through my five-step framework on this episode. Welcome to podcasting step-by-step, where you will learn how to create a podcast that's irresistible. I'm Sarah Mikital, a podcast launch consultant and an American who has been permanently based in Europe for more than 10 years. I especially love helping fellow expats and location independent entrepreneurs build their online brands and businesses through the magic of podcasting. Looking for one-on-one support, visit sarahmicatel.com to book a podcast launch BIP day with me or to check out one of my online courses. And make sure you grab your launch a legendary podcast checklist at sarahmicatel.com slash launch.

checklist. My grandmother, my grandma Micatel mowed her own lawn into her 90s. She was the only girl in a family of seven boys. So she was used to rolling up her sleeves and being outside. And my sister recently bought a house. And whenever I see her now, she says, oh, I'm just like Grandma Migateau, because my sister loves to be outside in her garden, planting flowers, doing home repairs. She's always going to Home Depot. I am not the same at all. I don't really like getting my hands dirty. I'll just be perfectly honest with that. I like going to garden parties. But also, I don't have a garden. I live in an apartment. So maybe that has something to do with it. But I love that my sister is feeling such a deep connection to my grandmother and that she is refreshing her house and renewing it.

So she didn't knock the house down when she bought it. She is making it her own and transforming it. And it's kind of like your podcast. Once you have an established podcast, it's going to evolve and change. It's not going to be the same thing as when you first created it. And so today I really want to talk to you about how you can audit your podcast. not to completely change it or tear it down, but to make it the best that it can be. And I think it's a good idea for everyone to do this at least once a year, just to make sure that you're growing the way that you want to.

So I recently refreshed my own podcast using my 5S framework for podcast success. And this is a framework that I use with my podcast launch clients. But you can also use it to audit an existing show. And this is something that I've talked about. as a guest on other people's podcasts, but I haven't talked about the 5S test here on this show. And I actually used to call it the 4S test. I've added an S, and I'll tell you what the fifth one is as we go on. But this is the first time I've talked about it here on podcasting step by step. So I'm excited to share this with you because I think this will be a really worthy tool. So if you want to create

a binge-worthy brand-building podcast, your show needs these five ingredients. specific, seductive, searchable, sound good, and systematized. Now, I thought about adding a sixth S related to sales, but selling doesn't make your podcast irresistible. Selling is something that you earn the right to do after you've got the five S's in place. Now, before I get into ways of how I recently refreshed podcasting step by step using this framework, I just want to take a sec and offer this friendly reminder that podcasts are more like poetry than paintings. What I mean by that is when somebody finishes a painting, usually it's done. But with poetry or prose, you're going back, you're revising, you're taking in feedback,

you're incorporating new ideas, you're trying different things that you think might be fun or interesting. And the same is true for podcasting. So don't let having the perfect logo or the perfect music. hold you back from launching your show. All of that can be changed very, very easily. And I am definitely guilty of being a procrastinator and just waiting way too long to start my show because I thought everything had to be perfect from Go. No, you can revise as you go. And that is the beauty of podcasting that it can evolve and change and it should evolve and change. So all right. Now for the 5S test. Your podcast needs to be specific. So you need to know exactly who you're podcasting for

and why. Now, I know you know that. We talk about what is your niche, who is your ideal listener. But niching is common knowledge, but it's not common practice. A lot of us know who we want to be talking to, but then we get a little bit scared that we're niching too much. So then we broaden it up and we speak to a more general audience. And I felt like my intro could use a little bit of tightening up. And I did ask for feedback on my music and intro and people generally liked it. They didn't really see a need for a change, but I felt like I needed to. And I wanted to speak more to my ideal listener. And I also wanted to revise, or not revise, but I wanted to reflect on who my ideal listener actually is because it changes as you go along as you get more customers and more

clients and people in real life. So when you start when you're starting your podcast and starting your business, you're sort of making up this ideal person. But then these people become real. You start to get podcast listeners and customers and clients. And so I wanted to revise who my ideal listener is based on feedback that I've been getting over time. So I just updated my intro to speak more specifically to online business owners who I've been designing my content for all along, but I thought my intro, as I said, could use some tightening up. Now, my values haven't changed. My mission hasn't changed, but I wanted to get even more explicit in who I'm talking to. And of course, I hope that I serve like many more people than who my ideal listener is.

My goal is to help as many people as possible. But I wanted to be more specific and targeted to who I was talking to. But as I said, my mission hasn't changed. And so here are just three things that I had written a few years ago on what my mission is. So it's to help people feel deep in their bones that someday has arrived and to give them the tools they need to take action on their dreams today. Help fellow world wanderers share their message, connect to their community, and build their brand and business through the magic of podcasting. Build confidence in people and help them find their voice through podcasting. So there's so much alignment with what I'm doing with podcasting step by step

and the Postcard Academy. That's my other travel like expat focused podcast. And so I really wanted to take a look at, as I said, who my ideal listener is. And I actually spent time over this past weekend rewriting the story of my ideal listener. Now, when we talk about these ideal listener exercises, I think some of us feel like, it's a great idea, but I don't have time for it. Or we're like, well, just write the story in my head and have it like mulling around in there. Because it sounds like work. It sounds like a lot of work. But I have to say that rewriting the story of my ideal listener was so much fun because this is a person you want to connect with. This is the person you want to help. And so writing her story and just really getting to know her better, I felt, through the

storytelling exercise was so much fun for me and really, really helpful. And so if you would like to do this exercise yourself, you can find the worksheet at sarahmicatel.com slash listener. So think about this. Who is your ideal podcast listener? and why do you want to talk to them? Okay, the next S is seductive. You want to create content that your ideal listener wants to return to again and again. Your fans subscribe to your show to be entertained, inspired, and or educated, and what they want is so subjective.

So remember, you're not creating content for the messes. You're creating content for your ideal listener, the person who wants to work with you. I recently updated my podcast music and I might go back and change it on all the episodes. I haven't decided yet. So if you're listening in the future and you're like, hey, all your music's sound the same. Well, at one point, it didn't. But anyway, I updated my podcast music and there was nothing wrong with my previous music. I liked it. Other people said they liked it. But I was in the mood for a change. And so I decided I wanted to give my ideal listener something positive, fun, and upbeat and warm. And I really wanted to feel like I'm. welcoming you into a party when you tune into this podcast. So I got my music from premium beat. They're one of my favorite places to buy music. And when you're there, you can listen to a bunch of different tracks. You can choose what mood you want. So it's so fun to just play around in there. I had a quilting habit for a really long time from like

grad school through like when I lived in New York. I would do quilting like hand quilts. or like make quilts, but I rarely finished anything, but I love to look at the fabric and my different colored fabric. It was just so fun for me and I feel that way about music as well. So anyway, it had my eye on this music track in Premium Beat for a long time and then I ended up buying something else on a whim. But anyway, I think it's a fun new opening. So I hope that you like it. And I want you to think about what kind of vibe do you want to welcome your ideal listener with? And more importantly, what is the content that you'll be delivering once your listeners get there? So think about what burning questions haven't you answered on your podcast yet? What is keeping your listener up at night? What is going on in their life that they need help with right now? So when I talk about seduction as like the second S in this framework, I'm talking about the desires of your specific ideal listener. And these desires can be to move toward pleasure or move away from pain. Maybe you're designing luxury honeymoons for people who marry late in life.

Maybe you're helping women in corporate deal with performance, anxiety. Whoever you're helping, remember the specific needs of your specific audience. And this also goes for the calls to action on your podcast. I mentioned the ideal listener worksheet that you can get a few minutes ago, and I've created a few new bonuses for you, including my launch a legendary podcast checklist, so you can get that at sarahigatel.com slash launch checklist. Now, that wouldn't be of any interest to somebody who does not want to start a podcast, but I created it specifically for you. So while you're reflecting on who you want to serve, think about the best way to serve them. And I'm now offering a podcast launch VIP day because I know that my ideal

person wants to launch her show like now. She's been dragging her feet for too long. She really wants to do it. And she knows that she will love it once she gets started. But she's a little nervous. She wants some serious handholding. And she wants the process to be fun and collaborative, you know, working one on one. So she doesn't feel like she's in on this. all alone. And once she gets the ball rolling, she's going to be on fire. Like she is with everything. But for a course that's rolled out over a few weeks, she might lose a little momentum. She knows herself. So for her, a podcast launch BIP day is perfect for her. So as I was reviewing my podcast and who my ideal listener was, I'm also reviewing the services that I'm offering and how I can

best serve my ideal person. And that's a good idea for you as well. So, while you're reviewing the story of your ideal listener, also review the products and services that you're offering them. Is there anything that you want to add or subtract based on what they need? So when you are doing your podcast audit, you will want to look at your podcast intro and outro. Are you speaking to your ideal person? You might also want to refresh your podcast description. Does it still reflect what your podcast is about? The format of the podcast. the length of the podcast. And are those things still serving your ideal listener? My friend Lynn Lindbergh used to have kind of like an hour-long interview show. Now she has five-minute

daily episodes because it works better for her schedule and her listeners love it. They love those little bite-sized nuggets that they can take to improve their lives. So take a look at all of these different elements of your podcast. Intro, outro, your description, your format, your length. Is it still working for you? Is it still working for your ideal listener? The next S is searchable. Make sure that your listeners can find your show or your potential listeners, I should say. Right now, in Apple Podcasts, show titles, episode titles, and your author, those all have like good SEO. So make sure you're using the right keywords that your ideal listener is going to be looking up. on your website, you're using the right keywords that people are going to be searching your content for.

And make sure that your podcast and your website are still in alignment when it comes to messaging. Sometimes we tinker around on our sales page. We might be updating our homepage, but then it's not reflecting in our podcast or vice versa. So when you do an audit, you want to just take a look at the big picture. Are we or you creating a consistent message? and a consistent story throughout all of your platforms because your podcast is part of your whole ecosystem that you're sharing with people. And you want to make sure that everything is consistent. So your podcast, your website, how you're showing up on social media. When people read your bio, do they know what you do and do they care? Do your posts and videos? Make it clear what you do

and how you can help people. And also, make sure that you have subscribe buttons on your website. So those are buttons that make it really easy in one click to subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. And in the show notes, I will show you how to do that. Another place you might want to start building your presence is Pinterest. Now, a while back I did an interview with Kara Chase on the power of Pinterest, which is a visual search engine. So you can go back and listen to that episode if you want to learn how to improve your search engine optimization that way to lead people to your website, which can lead people to your podcast and, of course, your business.

The next desk is all about sound. Of course you want your podcast to sound good and lucky for you. These days, it's quite easy to create a podcast that sounds good. And it all begins with a good recording environment. What do I mean by good? Well, you want to be recording ideally in a quiet space that doesn't have a bunch of hard services, because sound is going to bounce around the hard services and create sort of like an echoey reverb that doesn't sound very good, which is why the bathroom is typically the worst place where you can record a podcast that and big echoey conference rooms with glass windows. I've had to edit a few of those.

and it's not pretty. So find a quiet room in your house, hopefully with some sound absorbing material. So rugs and carpets are great. Bring some pillows in there. If you've got furniture, that's wonderful. Bookshelves filled with books will absorb sound. Make sure you draw the curtains. So you're covering the windows. I always put a tablecloth or something over the desk that I'm at. Currently, I'm visiting my parents. and I'm in my dad's den and that's just full of a bunch of stuff and this really lush carpet. So it makes a good recording environment. But when I'm in England, in my own place, I bought clothing racks and have hung duvets over them. And that makes a really good DIY local booth, essentially.

In the past, I would do blanket forts and those work too. But it can get quite hot under there. So I really like my little duvet setup that I've got going now. After you record your podcast, you're going to need to edit your podcast. Now, you don't have to go crazy and delete every um and awe. But you do need to make it sound pleasing to listen to. So if there are ums that are distracting, I would definitely get rid of those. If you're interviewing somebody or even on a solo episode and there are obvious mistakes or like restarts, you're going to fix those up. But then also tighten up, like really long, excessively long pauses, delete tangents that kind of go nowhere or are kind of boring. You really want to kind of edit for pace and flow. And you never want the listener to get bored or to feel motivated to turn off the podcast because they're just not into it anymore. So edit by section or by sentence. It's very tempting when you're first starting out editing to edit by the word and try to, yeah, just go down to like the word detail. And that will make you lose your mind. You will spend 20 hours editing a 30 minute podcast if you try to edit word by word. Do like sentence or longer if you want to chop things out. And I've got a course called podcast editing made simple if you need more help with that. And finally, you'll want to use a microphone. You're,

computer microphone just won't cut it. It's okay if your remote guest doesn't have a microphone, but you as the host always need to sound better than your guest. So use a microphone. I really like the Samsung Q2U. You can plug it right into your computer and it's a dynamic mic, so it's not going to pick up as much background noise as a really sensitive condenser mic like the blue Yeti. Don't panic. if you've already bought the Blue Yeti, you can make it work. Just make sure you're in a very silent environment when you're podcasting. But if you haven't put your mic yet, then I like the Sampson Q2U. All right. And the fifth S. So this is something I added recently, but I really think it'll be helpful to you if you want to create a really great podcast. If you make it as easy for yourself

as possible, which is why my fifth S is systematized. So have a production plan to produce your podcast in a consistent way. So that's fun for you. And it doesn't make you feel like you're on a hamster wheel. Like, oh my God, I, you know, I'm supposed to publish Shmarrow. I haven't done any interviews. What am I going to do? Who can I call? Can I throw together a solo episode? So do you have a plan for your podcast production? When do you interview? When do you record? When do you edit? When do you publish? Do you have a system for reaching out to podcasts? Yes. Are you a editing yourself or are you outsourcing and what is your process for that? So think about how you can make your life easier. Get time on the calendar to do certain parts of your podcast. Maybe at the beginning of the

month, that is when, say, like on the second, you are doing podcast outreach so you know that you always have like a consistent flow of people to interview. Maybe you are only recording on, you know, the second Wednesday of the month. So think of what works best with your life and make sure that you get time on your calendar to do the work so that you're never scrambling. And also have a system for your listeners to take the next step with you. So what do you want them to do after they listen to your show? Do you want them to download a freebie or watch a video of yours? A good call to action is to give them something of value. So we call these like freebies, lead magnets, so they can become part of your email list and you can continue the

relationship with them that way. So if you are using your podcast as a marketing vehicle to build a relationship with your listeners and, you know, hopefully future customers, then you're going to want to build your email list and stay connected with them that way. So what do you want your listeners to do after they listen to your show. And as part of my podcast refresh, I have included freebies in both the intro and the outro. In the past, I just had things that you could download. I just mentioned that in the outro, but I realized it's a good idea to include that in the intro as well. So create a production plan to make your podcast life easier and think about how you want your listeners to connect with you. What is that call to action? When you create a system

to organize how you podcast. It just makes the experience a lot smoother, a lot calmer, and just more fun and sustainable. I don't want you pod fading away. I want you in it for the long haul. All right. So there you have it. My 5S test for podcast success. You want to be specific, seductive, searchable, sound good, and be systematized. If you are planning your podcast or you want to do an audit of your existing podcast, you can use this framework to make sure that you are creating. a podcast that will build your brand, connect you to your community on the deepest level, and increase your impact, influence, and income. That's all for now.

To learn how you can sign up for a one-on-one podcast launch BAP day with me or to learn more about one of my online podcast courses, visit sarah micotel.com and make sure you grab your launch a legendary podcast checklist at sarahmygatel.com slash launch checklist. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? created a free conversation cheat sheet with simple formulas that you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarahmicatel.com slash blank no more.