Streamlining Your Podcast Process
Alex Sanfilippo is the host of the top-rated entrepreneurship podcast Podcasting Made Simple, and the founder of PodMatch.com and PodcastSOP. Listen to learn about why some podcasters stop podcasting, what to do when you’re starting out, how SOPs can help your workflow, and how PodMatch and PodcastSOP came to be.
How Alex Took Notes When He Got Started
When he first got started, Alex used sticky notes, before “upgrading” to a laminated piece of paper that his wife would check off and erase when it was time.
After that, he started using whiteboards and Excel, but it was a sort of a “productivity nightmare”, though.
Reasons Why Podcasters Stop Producing Their Show
Of the several reasons that lead some podcasters to stop going forward with their show, there are a couple that Alex highlights.
The first one is the unrealistic expectation related to the monetization aspects of being a podcast host. Some people assume that they’re going to become millionaires overnight, or some sort of a celebrity of some sort, with their podcast.
A second reason that often leads to podfading is the fact that some hosts find the overall process stressful. Disorganization on the back-end being at the very top of the list when it comes to this.
Alex has found that about 90% of independent podcasters don’t run their show after just one year. He is saddened when he sees hosts, whose individual voice can actually serve somebody, stop what they do…
Don’t Compare Your Day One With Someone Else’s Year 20
One of the things Alex did to prepare for this interview was browsing the Smooth Business Growth website and content.
While he said that, in his opinion, I’m doing a terrific job with how I appear to have systematized my workflow and content creation, he also stressed how that could be intimidating to someone starting out.
As Alex mentioned, one of the big mistakes we make is comparing our day one to someone else’s year 20.
When it comes to having a strategy, however, he believes that the first thing to do is to actually have your own strategy.
What to Do When You’re Just Starting Out
Alex recommends not getting stuck with looking at all the great podcasters who are out there, rather focusing on the message you have and that can serve a certain group of people – and sharing that in the simplest, minimum viable, way possible.
Having this attitude will help you take pressure off yourself and is going to help you tackle the fear of being in front of a mic, pressing Record, and sharing your message with the world.
Podcast SOPs
SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedures and it’s something Alex and his team have focused on and built in the form of PodcastSOP.com.
They provide podcasters with easy-to-follow steps – as well as templates – they can use to get their podcasting workflow from A to Z and release episodes with ease.
Having a proper SOP in place is key, not only for podcast episodes but for any form of content, for the fact that it removes friction.
This is helpful because, as Alex says, what’s important to do is free up your time.
The Key Aspects of Podcasting
When you’re recording by yourself or hosting an interview, you’re doing what Alex considers the thing that matters most. The conversation is far more important than all the work that comes afterwards.
And true, the energy you put into editing and similar tasks matters and contributes to a better listening experience, but listeners don’t know nor necessarily care about how long it took you to edit the episode.
They want the final product because it’s what serves them. This is what you should want as well, according to Alex.
For Alex, it’s when you think about how you can get everything organized quickly and remove stress, so that when you’re recording or hosting an interview you can be fully present to your audience and guests, that you can really make an impactful and impactful show.
Pre-Production and Pre-Administration
There are two key pieces of the puzzle that Alex focuses on.
The first one is pre-production. Things like identifying potential guests and topics to cover, etc. The second thing is what he refers to as pre-administration. Tasks such as creating and sharing a calendar invite fall under this category.
And, as for pretty much every task, having your podcasting SOP to follow will be a big help. Remember: one of the most important lessons about SOPs is to organize what you’re writing down for your process into buckets so that it’s easier to focus on a particular bucket – or category – and the tasks associated to it, or even go with a broader approach and get an overview of the entire process.
How PodMatch Came to Be
After speaking at PodFest, Alex asked many attendees what their #1 with podcasting was, and about a hundred of them said exactly the same thing: finding ideal guests for their show.
He looked at the online dating space and apps in order to understand the features platforms and apps could have to help users find their match, and he and his team built an algorithm that works in similar fashion. That’s how PodMatch.com was born.
Today, years later, PodMatch has a user base of over 23,000 people, and that includes both podcast hosts looking for their ideal guests, and podcast guests looking for podcasts to be interviewed for.
About Alex
Alex Sanfilippo is the host of the top-rated entrepreneurship podcast, Podcasting Made Simple (formerly Creating a Brand), and the founder of two podcasting software’s, PodMatch.com, a service that matches podcast guests and hosts together for interviews and PodcastSOP, a project management software that is specifically for podcasters to help them keep episode releases on track!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsanfilippo/
https://www.facebook.com/AlexJSanfilippo
Resources mentioned:
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