Hosting a podcast can be a fun and rewarding experience. With hard work and getting very lucky, you might even make some money from it, too. It can be daunting to start a podcast if you don’t already have an audience from social media. How do you start a podcast with no audience?
The secret is consistency and a great idea. Let us show you how to build a podcast concept even if you don’t have an audience.
Should You Start a Podcast With No Audience?
Before starting a podcast, it’s worth asking why you want to do it in the first place. If your goal is to make a lot of money quickly, then there are definitely easier ways to do that.
The podcasting “gold rush” is over. While revenue streams are still available to podcasters, the marketplace is very crowded. Accordingly, newcomers have difficulty building listenership that opens doors to sponsorships and ad deals.
That said, podcasting is a fun, accessible, and extremely flexible medium. A podcast can be anything from sharing your subject expertise with the world to an excuse to get on a call with your friends regularly and crack jokes.
How to Start a Podcast With No Audience: Develop Your Concept First
One of the easiest ways to stand out in the crowded podcast landscape is with a strong concept. It’s fine to start a show that’s just you chatting with your friends, but getting other people on board might be tough without a hook. Here are three steps to developing a podcast concept.
Step 1) Start a Podcast That Interests You
It’s tempting to try and start a podcast based on what you think people will want to hear, but if you’re not interested in the subject matter, then it’ll be hard to make your show compelling listening.
Step 2) Think about Your Skills and Resources
If you don’t know how to research historical topics, then a history podcast might not be the best idea. If you know a lot of interesting people, then you already have a good pool of guests to draw from.
Step 3) Think about What Is Useful to an Audience
“Useful” here can literally mean helpful information, as in podcasts with educational content that listeners can apply to their own lives. However, utility can also be an entertainment value for podcasts that are engaging on their own terms.
Step 4) Come Up With a Name and Branding
Your podcast’s name should describe your premise or at least be memorable. You should also create some visually distinct podcast art, remembering that most of the time, people will see your show’s art at a very small size. Take a look at some popular shows in podcast directories to get a sense of how to lay out an eye-catching and effective piece of art for your podcast.
Get Some Equipment and Software
If you’ve got a concept, you’re going to need some hardware and software to start your show. When you’re getting into podcasting, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all of the gear that you might need. The most important thing is to not overinvest in expensive stuff, especially just when you’re starting out. It’s best to begin with entry-level gear, remembering that you can always upgrade later.
To start a podcast, you need a microphone, recording/editing software, and somewhere to host your show.
Microphones for Starting a Podcast
There are countless debates on which type and brand of microphone is best for beginning podcasters. However, if you want to cut to the chase there are two favorites that are great starting places.
First is the, Blue Yeti USB microphone, starting at $99. With a simple to plug in USB interfact and great sound, it’s a popular choice for beginners.
If you’re working on a budget, the Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB is another great option. It starts at $79 but regularly sells for $45. The ATR2100x-USB, in particular, has the advantage of being able to hook up to a mixer via an XLR cable. You may find that useful if you decide to purchase a mixer down the line.
Consider adding a boom arm to the mix. Using a boom arm can improve the stability of your mic and, thus, the audio quality. Otherwise, you may end up with bumps and sound from your desk picked up as you record.
Check out either the Rode PSA1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm or, for a budget option, the NEWEER Adjustable Microphone Suspension Boom Scissor Arm Stand.
Software for Starting a Podcast
Just like with microphones, there are a lot of different software suites available for professional and amateur audio engineers to record and edit their audio. You don’t need to drop a ton of money to start. Go with a free option like Audacity, which is fairly simple to use and learn.
If you’re recording with guests remotely, you’ll also want to record their audio. The easiest option here is a service like Riverside.fm or Zencastr. These let you and your guest(s) record audio locally while podcasting online, protecting audio quality even if your connection gets bad during the call.
There are countless podcast hosting services out there like Acast, Podbean, and Libsyn. However, ultimately all you really need is a way to generate an RSS feed.
Starting an RSS feed can be as simple as hosting your show on SoundCloud. Once you find a host you like, you’ll want to submit your podcast to the major directories: Apple Podcasts and Spotify are the two big ones.
Find an Audience
You’ve nailed down your concept and branding, your equipment set up, and maybe even recorded your first episode. Now, how do you get people to listen to it? This is the biggest challenge for many podcasters, even among those who create high-quality work. Here are a few steps you can take to grow the audience for your new podcast.
Step 1) Tell Your Friends and Ask Them To Tell Their Friends
Word of mouth is going to be a big help at this early stage, and your first listeners will likely be people you already know. This is also a good opportunity to work on your elevator pitch and explain what your show is about in a concise and compelling way.
Step 2) Try To Get Guests Who Will Promote the Show to Their Audience
If you’re just starting out, you’re probably not going to get big-name celebrities on your podcast. But you might be surprised at who will say yes when you reach out to people you admire. That said, you shouldn’t have a guest on your show simply for the potential boost to traffic it will get you — they should be someone who fits the theme and who you think you’ll be able to have an interesting, useful, or amusing conversation with.
Step 3) Advertise Your Show
There are plenty of options for podcast advertising out there. One option is to buy ads in podcast apps, which are useful since they’re being shown to people who already listen to podcasts. Some possibilities here include Podcast Addict and Overcast. You can also try advertising on Spotify, Google Ads, and on platforms like Reddit.
Get Started Making Your Podcast
Starting a podcast is, in many ways, easier than starting a YouTube channel or Twitch account. But it still comes with challenges. Thankfully, you don’t need much equipment to get going, and the only way to get better is to start recording audio.
If you decide to start your own podcast, good luck and don’t get frustrated if your project doesn’t become the next Chapo Trap House or Joe Rogan Experience overnight — remember that everyone started somewhere, and that success in podcasting comes only with time, luck, and a lot of hard work.
