By Derek Konofalski with Sleepytime Studios
Podcasting is having its most recent renaissance, thanks in part to the accessibility of podcasts. 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 into starting your own podcast, check out The CATALYST in Gilbert’s Heritage District. I recently had the privilege of hosting a workshop at The CATALYST 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 little 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 mobile 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 today’s workshop, we talked about how to create a podcast for a small business. We covered a brief history of podcasting from audio blogs to Serial to today. We learned how to plan a podcast 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.
As a technologist and small business owner, I also like to talk about the resources, time, and energy that go into making a podcast. These shows are a great way to build engagement with listeners and even employees. Internal podcasts are a modern way to deliver information to your teams instead of emails that no one reads and that are ineffective. 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 The 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 small 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. The 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.