Written by Derek Konofalski, Sleepytime Studios
Podcasting is everywhere nowadays and, with a smartphone in every pocket and platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it’s never been easier to find your niche. Before you dive headfirst into starting your own podcast, though, check out the CATALYST in Gilbert’s Heritage District. I recently had the privilege of hosting a workshop there on starting your own podcast and got to meet some very thoughtful people dipping their toes into podcasting.
If you’ve never been to the CATALYST, it’s a great small business accelerator space that offers workshops, a podcast and audio recording studio, a photography and video room with a wall-sized green screen, and even a mini-conference room with a webcam and a secondary display to plug your laptop into. Small businesses in the community can come to the Heritage District and reserve any of these spaces for free ahead of time.
For this most recent workshop, we talked about how to create a podcast for a small business. We covered a brief history of podcasting from the original 80’s audioblogs to the most downloaded podcast series of all time Serial and all the way through to today. We learned how to plan a podcast by setting up a plan for your first season from episode to episode. We looked at an overview of recording and editing and talked about hosting and publishing to platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and IHeartPodcasts. We even touched on some simple tips for marketing a podcast.
I also feel like it’s important to talk about the resources, time, and energy that go into making a podcast so we spent quite a bit of time discussing expectations for podcasting for your business. These shows are a great way to build engagement with listeners and even employees but you have to make sure that you’re prepared for the amount of planning, work, and collaboration it takes to be successful. Most podcasts don’t even make it through their first season and the vast majority of podcasts aren’t sustainable on their own! You need to know what you’re getting yourself into and what you’re doing.
There are also multiple types of podcasts that many people don’t necessarily consider because we’re used to a plethora of public podcasts. Internal podcasts are a modern way to deliver information to your teams instead of emails that no one reads and that are ineffective. Narrative podcasts can deliver messaging, missions, and values that your average podcast can’t deliver. Sometimes, the best way to engage with podcast listeners is to be a guest on other podcasts rather than starting your own!
I’m so excited to be a sponsor of the Audio and Recording Room at CATALYST because I love hearing how small businesses want to use technology to reach people and podcasts are no exception. Check out the workshop schedule and the CATALYST website for more resources available there. If your business needs help with starting a podcast, media production, or any creative technology problem, check out the Sleepytime Studios website and book the Audio and Recording Room at CATALYST.
Lastly, I’d like to thank everyone at the Gilbert Chamber for hosting all these fantastic resources. CATALYST is a wonderful resource and space but it’s the people and faces at the Chamber that make it a community center. Spaces like this wouldn’t exist without them and it’s incredible to have such a great, dependable group of people to help support all of the local businesses that make our Gilbert community as great as it is.
