Streamlined Podcaster: Save Time Podcasting with Systems and Automation

Here are 5 things you can do to grow your podcast:

1. Get a Decent Mic. You don’t need to spend $400, but you should use a decent USB mic. I recommend the ATR-2100x

2. Don’t just record and release. Too many people just record a Zoom call and release it as a podcast. Listeners expect more than that these days.

3. Do a little research. Don’t go in cold. If you’re interviewing someone, do some background work on them and don’t have them introduce themselves — get right to the heart of the interview. If it’s a solo show, fact-check yourself and have an outline.

4. Make it easy to share episodes. Have an easy-to-remember URL, and have the share buttons on the episodes page! Help people help you!

5. Make helpful social media posts. Don’t just point a link to the episode. Create useful content on the platform, then link to the episode for more context.

Each of these shows your listeners that you've decided to go the extra mile and put a little more effort into your show for them.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

Today I want to talk to you about DAI, or Dynamic Ad Insertion. DAI is a way for you to automatically insert ads (or any audio clip) into your already produced podcast episodes. There are lots of services that allow this, like Transistor and Buzzsprout, which makes it super easy. The way it works is this:

1. You upload your episodes
2. You upload the audio clip you want dynamically inserted
3. You mark whether it’s a pre-roll, post-roll, or mid-roll ad You can also (based on the service) set an expiration date, or manually turn it on or off. This allows you to do a few things, but the two I’m using it for are:
4. Selling a limited run ad-campaign (so a 30 day mid-roll on specific episodes)
5. Dynamically changing my call to action depending on the time of year. I got the latter idea from my guest Sam Munoz . Most of the year, I’m promoting my newsletter (this very newsletter, in-fact). But when there's some time-based event or special, I’ll be promoting that instead, without have to re-edit every episode.

What do you think of DAI? Can you see it being useful for your podcast?

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

There’s a myth that if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit. I say it’s a myth because it’s been debunked. Several times.

The truth is, no matter how long a habit takes you to form, the more complicated it is, the more easily broken it is.

So producing a podcast is likely not a habit you’re forming. It’s work you’re doing, as efficiently as possible, without sacrificing content. But listening to a podcast, that can be a habit.

It’s why I often tell my clients and students that you don’t need a weekly show, but a monthly show can be a tough sell if you want to be part of someone’s routine.

So as I work on the next deep dive, I thought I’d share what I’ve learned about how to produce a daily podcast, and where I can improve.

👉 IN THIS EPISODE

• A daily podcast can be an incredible authority-building asset for you
• Pick a format and topic that lends itself to your business goals
• Batching content is a super important aspect of a daily podcast

Read the full article here: https://podcastworkflows.com/daily-podcast-process/

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

In an episode of the now-retired show Podcast Pontifications, Evo Terra drops a truth bomb for all the “record to tape” or “record and release” podcasters:

But if you look at the larger universe of podcasting, which is now millions of podcasts strong, you’ll see that podcast listeners are voting for the kinds of shows that take more time and care than can be put into a linear record and release style of podcast.

He was talking about people who record a show and then release it as is (known as record and release, or record to tape). But from that ailment comes another symptom: people using Zoom to record.

You need to stop using Zoom.

Similar to Evo’s point above, listeners today more than ever expect quality. They want you to sound like you’re in the room with your guest.

And that’s easier than ever with great tools like Riverside.fm, which records everyone’s audio locally, and separately. No weird robot video from bad internet connections here.

This is important because bad audio can erode trust, which could stifle your podcast’s growth, and your ability to establish expertise.

One of the reasons I feel my show grew quickly is because I’ve added a commitment to the best possible audio quality from the very beginning.

If you’re not sure where to start, I strongly recommend Riverside.fm. It’s affordable, well-made, and the most reliable of the tools I’ve used.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

Does anyone know you so well, they can describe you in a single sentence?

When I was at Craft + Commerce, Mike Pacchione gave some great advice for when you tell stories:

When describing someone, use a single sentence that instantly tells the listener who they are. Here’s an example:

My dad always told people, “Joe would argue with Jesus Christ if he came off the cross.”

You probably think I’m…opinionated, to put it nicely.

You should do the same thing with your podcast, and episodes.

What would that look like?

If I’m describing my show How I Built It , I might say, “You get free coaching sessions from the best creators.”

I can then extend that out to specific episodes. “You get one coaching session from Mike on Public Speaking,” for example.

For this show, I can say, "Bite-sized tips to help you improve your podcast process."

As you figure out the best one-liner for your podcast, keep your show’s mission in mind.

The one-liner can be based on the mission, or even define it.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

One way to grow your podcast audience is to leverage the audience you have on other platforms.

Short-form video can be a particularly effective medium here because many of those platforms, like TikTok, prioritize discovery over followers.

So here's what you do:

1) Record a short-form video (vertical, 60 seconds long), taking about one thing from a recent podcast interview or episode. I try to do this right after I record the episode, so it's fresh in my mind.

2) Upload it to TikTok, Instagram Reels (which can also post to your Stories and Facebook), and YouTube Shorts.

3) Include a CTA and link to subscribe to your podcast or newsletter so they don't miss the episode.

This will add 5-10 minutes per episode, but if it doesn't right, can funnel people to your show and create new fans.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

One low barrier for entry these days is asking for donations from listeners. It likely won’t be a huge money maker at first, but it’s an easier sell than a membership.

When a listener really enjoys your content, they can send you a few bucks.

So what are some platforms that make it as easy as possible for listeners to donate? Here are three:

Buy Me a Coffee : Popular among podcasters, Buy Me A Coffee allows you to create a profile, connect a Stripe account, and start accepting donations (usually in $5 intervals) super fast.

ConverKit: ConvertKit is the ESP for creators, as evidenced by the fact that they have a ton of features to help creators. That includes a “tip jar” on a custom domain for people to send you money – on the free plan

GiveWP : If you use WordPress for your website, GiveWP is a fantastic option. It’s free, you can set your own donation levels, and everything neatly integrates with your WordPress site.

Once you select your donation platform, you can add it to your show notes (a big benefit of GiveWP is embedding the form on the show notes page), make it your CTA, or include it in your newsletter.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

The #1 question potential listeners will ask when they find your podcast is, "What's in it for me."

Optimize for that question and that experience and you will get more listeners.This was the crux of what we covered when Hollie Arnett hired me for a podcast audit of her show, Brand Your Podcast.

In this episode we'll cover the Top 8 takeaways from that audit, as well as what Hollie should do next.

If you want to get your own Podcast Growth Audit, you can do so here: https://podcastliftoff.com/audit

And if you want to watch the entire, unedited audit, check out this video.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

Something that many new podcasters are resistant to is transcripts, and it’s perfectly understandable why.

The free/cheap AI-generated ends up taking more work because they aren’t super accurate, and human-written ones cost a lot of money that many podcasters feel they don’t have.

But if you want to grow your podcast, you need transcripts.

And let's be honest: the AI-generated transcripts are WAY more accurate today than even 6 months ago.

Not only do they make your show accessible to those who physically cannot listen, but they also provide more text and content for Google (and even podcast apps) to search.

Luckily, there are some helpful tools when it comes to transcripts. If you’re interested, I wrote all about it here:

Why Your Podcast Needs Transcripts

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!

We’ve all had the experience of an over-eager salesperson.

The moment they see you, you're marked as a potential sale and you’re immediately asked if you want to buy whatever they’re selling.

And even if you walked into the store, expressing some level of interest, it still feels icky.

That's kind of what it feels like when you open your podcast with a CTA.

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About Streamlined Podcaster: This is the show for solo podcasters who love their podcast but hate how much time it takes. Each week, host Joe Casabona shares the systems, workflows, and podcast automation that let you run a great show without burning out.

Joe has been a solo podcaster for 15+ years and helps solopreneurs replace manual tasks with reliable systems so they can take time off worry-free. He knows firsthand what it takes to produce a quality show solo — and he's here to help you do the same.

Get Joe's favorite podcasting tools: https://streamlinedpodcaster.com/tools

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jcasabona/

Have feedback? Send a voice note to the show!