How Long Should It Be?You can’t write a guide to podcasting without addressing this question, and everyone has their take on it. There are as many answers to how long a podcast should be as there are podcasters. The truth is there’s no set answer. For every person that tells you that you should keep things short, there’s someone else who will be more than happy to tell you that Joe Rogan or John Gruber can go for 3 hours and are wildly successful.

I came across this question once on Quora. Quora is a platform where users can ask questions and receive answers from people with varying degrees of knowledge for the uninitiated. Unfortunately, no sooner had I shared my opinion — and I always emphasize that this is my opinion — another podcaster that I lump in with the ‘gurus’ took me to task. He gave me the contrary opinion I mention at the beginning of this article.

The simple fact is that neither of us is correct. The problem is that neither of us is wrong, and someone else will come along and disagree with both of us. So, in an area where there is no right or wrong answer, I’m going to share my take on it.

My smarmy pod-guru friend is right. Many people have podcasts that last well over an hour. However, those people are known outside the world of podcasting and had an existing audience they brought with them. Those listeners have already bought in, and they’re going to listen to that show no matter how long it is. You and I? We might not be as fortunate. For that reason, I think starting with a show length a bit more reasonable is a good idea.

There is an opinion that you should use the average commute time as a reference point. According to the US Census Bureau, the average time of the last report for 2017 is 26.9 minutes. I can think of several popular podcasts I listen to right off the top of my head that is less time than that, and they all have one thing in common: They’re all of a news headlines variety, and they run Monday through Friday.

I’ll grant you that this is anecdotal, but in my experience, most of the podcasts that I run across — and indeed most of the ones I subscribe to, are less than an hour. I think there’s a ‘podcast sweet spot’ of around 35–45 minutes. So although there’s no correct answer, I can make the argument that there does appear to be a rule of thumb.

Would you please not fall into the trap of cutting a good show down or stretch a bad show up to meet that time? Your podcast should take as long as it takes. If you have the material to take a show long, do it. If you think it’s too long, then make it a multi-part episode over a few weeks. Or, make some of it ‘bonus content’ for Patreon, If. If you only have enough material for a 10 minute or less podcast, do that.

In the final analysis, it’s not about the time but how you fill it.

What’s In A Name?Next, we’re going to talk about what you should name your podcast. Next to a show description, which we’ll talk about a little later, the name of your show is one of the most important ways a listener will discover your show and decide whether or not they want to listen to it. A lot of thought should go into this.

You pretty much have three choices when it comes to naming your podcast. You can be searchable, you can be cute, or you can use your name. So let’s drill down a bit further and address each one.

A SEARCHABLE Name means that your audience will be able to put in the name of a topic and find your show listing. Usually, that’s going to be something that listener is, what they do, or what they like. In my example podcast, the Mid-Life Creative, the seeker may be looking for a show on Mid-Life crises or searching for a show about creativity. If you want to create a show about fly fishing and call it The Fly Fishing Podcast, there’s no doubt about what the show covers. It’s straight to the point.

Some folks might think naming a podcast like that is a bit too ‘on the nose, or they may find it boring. However, if you’re just starting, I’d urge you to go this route. It’s going to cut out all the problems with discoverability and remove any obstacles to people finding your show. A Searchable show will give you every chance at success.

A CUTE name is just that. It’s cute. It’s clever. A related story:

My made-up podcast — The Mid-Life Creative — That’s what I should have named a real show I have done in the past. It was called The Bluejacket Creative. Unless you know what the term Bluejacket means or the book I pulled the name from, you wouldn’t know what the show covered.

I came up with a too-clever name for my show based on a book that all Naval Personnel receive on their way to boot camp, and it helps the recruit make the most of their new career in the Navy. It’s a reference book that has been around since 1902. I know of it because I’m the son of a career Navy man, and I live in Hampton Roads, Virginia, an area that has a significant Navy presence. However, if you grew up a civilian or live in an area that doesn’t have the military presence that mine has, I wouldn’t expect you to know the term Bluejacket, and that was my mistake.

The moral of that story is that you should remember that it may be harder to find if you go this route. If you decide to have a CUTE name, you might add a tagline to help describe the show. As an example: The Bluejacket Creative — A Manual For New Creatives may have been more helpful.

Of course, you could choose to use your NAME, but if you’re just starting, I’d strongly advise against it because, as a new podcaster, no one knows who you are yet. If you feel you need to have your name in the title, I’d use the searchable name method and add your name. ‘The Mid-Life Creative with Kris Roley’ would be an acceptable use of our name in the title. As a newcomer to podcasting, I’d avoid just using your name with nothing else for the listener to go on. Most of the time, this is a fast track to a failing podcast for beginners.

Once you’ve come up with a name for your show, do yourself a favor and develop two more that you can use and write these down in whatever notebook you’re using. Once you’ve completed that, the next thing you’ll want to do is make sure that no one else is already using your preferred name or that someone had used it in the past and has since ceased podcasting.

Naturally, the first place you’re going to want to check is Google. Search for the name of your podcast and make sure it’s available. Also, pull up your podcast app of choice and search for it there. If your first preferred name is not available, check for your 2nd and 3rd choices, and use the first free one.

Two things I wouldn’t do: I wouldn’t just go ahead and use your first preferred name if someone else has used it in the past, and I wouldn’t try to contact that entity and see if they’ll...

Many people will tell you that the most challenging part of making a podcast is the production, distribution, or promotion. While I’ll be the first to admit that all those parts are complex, I think they’re wrong. The hardest part of making a podcast lies at the beginning of the journey and the Three Big Questions. I’ve produced podcasts where I didn’t answer these questions, and those shows failed.

Answering these questions is often the difference between a successful show and a failed one, and it’s also the difference between a show that lasts a long time or one that goes into podfade — a show that just fades away after a few episodes. Podfade happens to about 75 percent of podcasts. Many podcasts fizzle after one episode, some don’t make it to ten episodes, and even fewer get past their 20th episode.

Podfade happens because people get discouraged by their download numbers and realize they’re not going to ‘make it, so they give up, but here’s what I want you to know. Growing an audience takes time. Unless you have a pre-built audience that follows you, you’re likely starting from scratch. So it’s going to take a long time, which means a lot of episodes, and a lot of work.

Make this work and these episodes a lot easier by answering The Big Three Questions, which are:

1. Why are you starting this podcast?Why do you want to make a podcast? Are you starting a business? Are you trying to market a service? Are you trying to put your name out in your field as an authority? Or, are you a fan of a show or a particular interest and want to connect with other fans?

All paths to podcasting start here. Answer this question. Write it down and post it somewhere if you need to. Keep this answer handy because this is your “Why.”

2. Who is this podcast for?Who is your podcast for? Who’s your ideal listener? If you’re a hobbyist, this could be something as simple as “Other fans of pre-Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd.” If you’re coming at this from a business perspective, an excellent place to start would be your business model. A Life Coach may want to target an audience interested in personal development, time management, career development, and mindfulness practice, for example.

You may want to create a profile of your ideal listener to help guide you through your journey and refer back to it whenever you feel blocked. Then, if you know what that listener would want, you can resolve that block.

3. Why should anyone listen to your podcast?You’ve got to give a potential listener a reason to listen to your show. Are you providing information that can help someone in your niche (we’ll get into that a bit later), are you interviewing people in your field, or are you providing a place for people who have the same interests? These are all valid reasons for people to listen and for them to come back for more.

Give some serious thought to The Big Three Questions. Then, answer them as clearly and — most importantly — as briefly as you can. Think of this as an elevator pitch, something you can say clearly to someone in a short time. I’m making this podcast because 1, for 2, and in this podcast, I will 3.

For example:

I’m making The Mid-Life Creative because I want to teach people how to start a creative career later in life. I believe people like me want to create a new creative life in their 40s, and in this podcast, I will show them the things I learned to make my transition to a creative career easier.Take some time and fill in those blanks before you move on to the step, where we’ll talk about naming your podcast.

Podcasting, once considered to be ‘amateur hour’ by no less than Steve Jobs, has become a dominant force in media. Today, there are over two million episodes of various podcasts on a wide range of topics. So, today, if you have a passing interest in a particular subject, you can bet someone has made a podcast about it. But, what if you can’t find one about the topic that interests you? Well, maybe that’s a call to action for you to be the one that makes it.

Hi. My name is Kris Roley, and I’ve been a podcaster since 2006. I’ve produced over 1000 episodes of several different shows, and I’ve helped several people create and start their own shows. I’m not a name you immediately think of when it comes to podcasting. I’m not famous, or even ‘internet famous,’ and I’m very ok with that. Up until now, I’ve done this because of my love of podcasting and my passion for teaching people how to do something and leaving them in a better place than where I found them.

However, in the past few years, many of the people I have helped have asked me why I haven’t created something to help as many people as possible. Frankly, I’ve been torn about it. Of course, I would love to help as many people as possible start their shows, but to do that, I felt I would be joining the ranks of a group of people I don’t care for very much. I call those people the Gurus.

To their credit, the Gurus have made quite a nice living for themselves. That’s entrepreneurialism for you. The Gurus have rounded up all the information about how to start and grow a podcast, which you can find on Google, and charged people what I think is outrageous amounts of money at times. To be fair, a lot of the courses offer access to a mastermind or community during and after the fact, but I’ve always felt that it’s not necessary to ask someone to pay to learn the basics. If you want to learn how to grow a podcast, that’s one thing that marketing gurus are there to do. That’s their purpose, and they can have that. Starting a podcast is information I think should be easily accessible to all.

I still believe in the democratization of media, in which we all have the power to create a voice in our communities, no matter how niche they might be. I believe that podcasting gives people the ability to serve the underserved and provide a spokesperson for the marginalized where none existed before. In addition, I think podcasting creates an opportunity to create thought leaders in those communities, and those thought leaders become a proxy voice in the larger society. To do that, we need to ensure that those future voices can enter the space at a low cost. Yes, podcasting costs money to do it right, but it need not be exorbitant.

Imagine where we would be as a society today if there were a voice in a marginalized community 20, 30, 40 years ago that could reach people as quickly as they can today with podcasting. At the very least, there would be people who would know they weren’t alone. Sometimes, that’s enough. Sometimes, that’s just a start. But, always, it’s better.

So I’ve decided to pour what I know about starting a podcast into the following pages. I hope that you will find it helpful, and I hope you’ll take this knowledge and create something of your own. Your voice is no less important than anyone else’s. Let’s get started.

Hey, freaks. Wanted to tell you about a new podcast starting on 9/6/2021 called The Mid-Life Creative. It's a podcast for those of us who have set a new course after half a life at a career that didn't fulfill our need to Be. The first season is an adaptation of the Podcast Guide I created a few weeks ago, and all 21 chapters will drop on 9/6. Before that, I wanted to give you something else. This is called "The Rise Of The Mid-Life Creative." I hope you enjoy it.

BUT!!!!

All 21 chapters are available NOW for Patreon Subscribers. Go to http://patreon.com/krisroley to subscribe and get early access.