New podcasters are often surprised at the number of steps and the details involved in launching a podcast and releasing episodes. While many think you can hit “record,” upload the audio, and then publish, it can be far more complex.
There are many steps to consider when launching a podcast, from guest management to editing, creating show notes, uploading, and promotion. My clients have so many steps to their podcast (and steps can differ from podcast to podcast) that I use a project and task management tool to make sure I complete each step.
Asana is my favorite tool for managing podcasts, but you can use other project management tools in a similar fashion.
Here’s how I break down the tasks and use Asana to keep track of each step in the process for my podcast:
Launch Management
Launching a podcast is no small feat, and a project management tool will help you keep track of each step.
I break down my project into four sections:
Plan — Questions
This section helps you strategize your podcast.
It asks questions that help you understand your audience, your content strategy, your podcast goals, and most importantly – your why.
Plan — Details
This section hits the nitty-gritty details of a podcast launch from the release frequency to the hosting platform, your intro and outro scripts and recordings, your show format, and more.
Upload to the Hosting Platform
These are the details you need to create the podcast on the hosting platform. Most hosting platforms require the same information, based on the distribution platforms’ requirements, but when I create this section I typically log into the platform and create a task based on each piece of information required.
Promotion
This section is to help you choose the methods you’ll use to promote the podcast. This section is very flexible based on the marketing channels you use. It may include Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, YouTube, newsletters, and blogs.
A podcast launch can be very involved and time-consuming. It’s why I plan for eight weeks when clients purchase my podcast launch package. We strategize, get all the details together, and understand exactly how the launch and subsequent promotion of the new podcast will go.
Episode Management
Asana is key when it comes to episode management. Yes, if you release episodes each week you’ll get into a routine, but with a number of steps, I create a task for each so I don’t miss anything. I track everything from planning each episode to recording, editing, and promotion.
Here are the three major sections I use for episode management:
Plan
Whether you host guests or record a solo episode, you’ll need to plan your podcast. My standard tasks include outlining the topic, researching, and writing out a script.
Record and Edit
Recording might seem like an obvious task, but this section is all about the production tasks. These can include editing the episode, confirming podcast sponsors, writing show notes, and uploading the podcast to the hosting platform.
Promote
Similar to the promotion section in the podcast launch, this section will include the platforms you use to market your business and podcast.
Other tasks
Every podcast is different based on host preferences, so while one may include even more steps than my template, others might have less. For example, one client’s tasks include much of the above plus:
- Create graphics
- Create audiograms
- Upload to Google Drive and Dropbox
- Ad new sponsor information to show notes
But another client only has me create a blog post, create an email, and create social media copy for Instagram and Facebook.
Decide exactly what you need to do for each episode and how you want to promote it, then plan out the tasks in your preferred platform.
Guest Management
Guests add an extra layer to managing your podcast. You need to communicate information to them and receive information back from them. Once I approve a guest to be on my podcast, I set out a set of tasks that include:
- Send email to guest
- Set up interview recording link (Zoom, Zencastr, etc)
- Confirm the guest filled out the release form
- Confirm the headshot or other photo was received
- Send a reminder email 24 hours before the interview
The task, “Send email to guest”, also includes two subtasks. These are the things I make sure to include in the email: the scheduling link to my calendar so the guest can schedule a time, a link to my release form, a simple request for a photo or headshot, and a sample question list so they can get a feel of how the interview will flow.
With guest episodes, I also add a task to the Promote section to send the podcast links and release date to my guest about a week before the episode goes live.
Don’t let the number of tasks intimidate you from hosting guests on your podcast. Guest interviews are incredibly beneficial to your podcast and are a lot of fun!
Final Thoughts
As you develop your podcast, write down each task you need to complete. Not only will it help you as you launch, release episodes, or manage gusts, but it will help a virtual assistant or podcast manager if you eventually outsource.
You can quickly adapt the projects and tasks pictured here to your preferred project and task management platform. If you use Asana, you can also purchase my Podcast Management template from Templana (note that I do receive a commission for each purchase). This template is for solo and guest episode management, and once purchased, can be customized to your preferences.
Originally posted to Medium.com on January 3, 2021