2020 has been a crazy year all around, but there's still time to take your podcast to the next level and make this your best year yet!

The best thing you can do to accelerate your podcast's growth is sign up for the Podcast Movement Virtual Conference which is taking place at the end of October.

Leave a comment under the YouTube version of Podcasting Q&A letting us know why you want to go to Podcast Movement Virtual for a chance to win a free ticket!

It's 10 days of keynotes, breakout sessions, and networking to help take your podcast to the next level. And 9 separate tracks to help you focus on your podcast's biggest need at the moment.

Podcast Movement Virtual Tracks:

1. Creation Track
2. Industry Track
3. Marketing Track
4. Monetization Track
5. Society, Culture, and Advocacy
6. Technical Track
7. Audio Fiction Track
8. Brand and Content Marketing
9. Internal Podcasting

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Gillian from the Breaking Through Careers podcast asks, "Do you need a podcast trailer? And if so, what should you put in one?"

TL;DR
A podcast trailer helps you build anticipation for your new show or new season, while also allowing you to submit your podcast to all the major directories before you release episode one.

This is important, because some directories (like Apple Podcasts) can take up to 2 weeks to approve new shows, and you want your podcast to be available everywhere when it's time to launch.

So in this episode, you'll learn how to make a great podcast trailer that builds anticipation for your show's release.

#1. Make it short

Your podcast trailer should be shorter than a full episode. And, honestly, it doesn't have to be much longer than 60 seconds. The idea is to tell your listeners what they need to know and give them a reason to subscribe to your podcast.

#2. Things to include

• Name of your podcast
• What your show is about
• Who your podcast is for (and not for)
• A call-to-action

A call-to-action is the thing you want your listeners to do immediately after listening to the episode. In this case, your call to action will be asking your new listeners to subscribe to your show in their favorite app so that they can get episode one downloaded to their phone as soon as it's released.

#3. Have fun with it!

You want your podcast trailer to reflect the mood and tone of your show. If you have a fun and upbeat podcast, your trailer should feel fun and up beat.

Include clips from future episodes, add music and sound effects, and get creative!

Examples of good podcast trailers

• Buzzcast
• Dreamful
• Literally! With Robe Lowe

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Kwame from the Negotiate Anything Podcast asks, "What is the value of show notes?"

TL;DR
Good show notes allow you to highlight important information for your podcast listeners, link to relevant information, and help your audience take action on the things you discuss.

So in this episode, we'll discuss how to write good show notes for your podcast episodes.

#1. Make them easy to read

People tend to skim through podcast show notes, so make them easy to scan. Include bullet points and write in short paragraphs so that it's easier for your listeners to find what they're looking for.

You can also organize your show notes into different sections. An example would be splitting them up into a summary of the episode, links to resources mentioned in the episode, and specific calls to action you want your listeners to take.

#2. Don't write a book

When it comes to show notes, less is more. Include the main points, quick links to additional resources, and your calls to action, but don't write any more than you need to.

#3. Create an episode webpage

This is where you put EVERYTHING. Including (but not limited to) an embed player for people to listen, show notes, full word-for-word transcript, and a picture of your guest.

Creating an episode webpage (whether it's on your own custom website or on Buzzsprout's podcast websites) will help search engines like Google quickly find your podcast, categorize it, and start showing it to new listeners.

This will help search engines like Google quickly find your podcast episode, categorize it, and start showing it to new listeners

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Krystal from The Proffitt Podcast asks, "To incorporate video, should I livestream my podcast recordings or use pre-recorded video instead?"

TL;DR
Adding a video strategy to your podcast is a great way to potentially double the amount of content you produce every week with just a little bit of planning and a couple of pieces of software.

So in this episode, we'll cover the difference between live streaming and pre-recorded video and talk about several software options for live streaming to social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Live stream if...

• You don't want to edit the video
• You're okay with a less-polished episode
• You want the flexibility of incorporating listener comments and questions

Pre-record if...

• You want a more polished video
• You want to edit the video before you release it

The two live-streaming software solutions we recommend:

1. Zoom.us
2. Streamyard

Special thanks to the podcasts that shared their video recordings for the YouTube version of this show!

• The Bearded Cactus
• Lead From The Inside Out
• Back Row: Movie News

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Enjoy this bonus podcast episode where we went back through the Podcasting Q&A and 5 Minute Mondays archives to find the top 10 things we wish we knew before starting a podcast.

10 Tips (Check the Chapter Markers for time stamps)

1. Focus on audio quality
2. Podcast intros
3. Ideal podcast length
4. Go on other podcasts
5. Guest promotion tips
6. Use templates
7. Format your show notes
8. Do you need a website?
9. Promoting on social media
10. Batch your episodes

Sharon from the All God's Women podcast asks, "How can use social media to introduce audiences to your podcast and encourage them to subscribe, download, and listen to it?"

TL;DR
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn can help you find new podcast listeners and provide ways for your existing listeners to share new episodes with their friends.

In this episode, we'll breakdown which podcast marketing strategies work best for social media and tell you what to include in your posts.

#1. Start with one platform

It's tempting to try and promote your podcast everywhere, but doing that will only stress you out and make you feel overwhelmed. Instead, choose the platform that's the most popular with your current listeners and focus on that one.

#2. Create teaser content

Rather than uploading your entire podcast episode to social media, focus on creating teaser content that whets their appetite and encourages them to listen to the full episode in a podcast listening app.

A good teaser post contains a visual element like graphic or audiogram, a hook like a question or statement to get them interested, and a direct link to go listen to the episode.

Check out Buzzsprout's Visual Soundbites to easily make short animated videos using your podcast audio.

#3. Which link should you use?

When promoting your podcast on social media, use a link to that particular episode on your podcast website. That way anyone can listen to it, no matter device their using, and they can look for the episode in their podcast app if they want to listen to it there instead.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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Al Pete from the Flowers For The Culture Podcast asks, "Are there any tricks or integrations I should use to decrease the amount of time it takes to edit my podcast?"

TL;DR
It’s easy to spend hours upon hours refining and critiquing your podcast to make sure you deliver consistent, high-quality episodes to your audience. But if you’re looking to optimize your workflow and produce the same high-quality episodes in less time, there are some proven strategies you can implement.

In this episode, we’ll cover the top 3 ways that you can streamline your podcast editing workflow

#1. Use Templates

Templates allow you to reuse work you've done in the past so you don't have to keep repeating your work for every podcast episode. Some low-hanging fruit would be creating email templates for prepping your guests for interviews, starting with the previous episode project in your editing software and keeping your intro and outro segments saved, and copying your show notes from the last episode to get a head start.

#2. Batch Production

Another way to speed up your workflow is to work on multiple episodes at the same time. Schedule all of your interviews for the month during the same week. Edit 3-4 episodes in one sitting. Create show notes and upload 3-4 episodes at the same time.

You'll find that batch production unlocks another level of efficiency and can easily reduce the amount of time you spend on each episode by 50%.

#3. Software Integrations

Find software solutions that work well together. This will streamline your workflow beyond what you could do on your own.

For example, you can edit your podcast in Alitu, Hindenburg Journalist Pro, or Descript and publish it directly to Buzzsprout. This saves you the hassle of exporting the episode to your computer, opening your web browser, and manually uploading that episode to your podcast host. Add up those little time savings over the course of a year and you'll see some big-time savings!

Software that integrates with Buzzsprout

• Alitu
• Descript
• Hindenburg Journalist Pro
• Otter.ai
• Podcorn

Bonus - Magic Mastering

Magic Mastering is a new feature available to Buzzsprout podcasters that automatically mixes and masters your podcast episodes. Once you assembled all the pieces of your podcast episode, simply upload to Buzzsprout using your normal workflow and we'll take care of the rest.

Check out all of the things Magic Mastering does for your podcast.

Record your podcasting question at Speakpipe.com/Buzzsprout to be featured on a future episode.

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