Podcast Creation Tips

I built a Top 100 Global video podcast on Spotify. Here’s exactly how I did it. Six months ago, I launched Hot Smart Rich, a video-first podcast for anyone obsessed with the future of culture, creators, startups, and self-growth, on Spotify. We hit Spotify’s Top Business Podcasts in week one. Since then, we’ve charted 7 times, peaked at #5 in the U.S., and landed in Spotify’s Top 50 US podcasts overall. What surprised me most? How quickly video unlocked growth. On Spotify, my audience could seamlessly switch between watching and listening—just like the 300M+ listeners on the platform doing the same thing. That flexibility helped us attract not just more fans, but the right fans. The kind who binge episodes, send me DMs, share clips with their group chats, and now proudly call themselves HSR Angels. And yes, I turned it into a business. Through the Spotify Partner Program with Spotify for Creators, creators can monetize video content without giving up creative control. It’s real revenue, real reach, and a real community. (And let’s be honest: most platforms can’t say that.) If you’re thinking about launching, here’s what I’d tell you: - It is not too saturated. But you do need a plan. Get clear on your tone, flow, format, and point of view. Your audience doesn’t want a copy—they want something new. - Don’t waste money on aesthetic fluff. No one cares about your new photoshoot. Spend that cash on solid audio, decent lighting, and a camera that works. We started with iPhones. - Cut up your clips like your life depends on it. Post. Everywhere (Including Spotify). All the time. - Be consistent. Experiment early. When no one’s watching, try things. Switch formats. Get weird. Then double down on what hits. - Make it your personality. If you’re not hyping your own show, no one else will. You don’t need millions to start. You just need a camera, a mic, a message, and Spotify. Check out how to grow your video on spotify below. https://lnkd.in/gnB5ejaS #podcast #business #spotify #spotifypartner #videopodcast #growth

You’ve got that podcast idea but not known where to start. Here's my complete beginner's guide --- My Podcast Launch Process 1. Define your concept Who is it for? What problem does it solve? Why you? One sentence. If you can't write it, keep thinking. 2. Pick your format Solo, interview, or co-hosted. Most business owners start with solo or interview. Pick one and commit for 20 episodes. Then test new ideas and formats. Podcasting is all about experimentation. 3. Plan 10 episodes before recording 1 If you can't plan 10, your concept isn't ready. If you get to 30 easily, you're onto something. 4. Get the setup → USB microphone (Shure MV7+ is excellent) → Headphones → A decent webcam (Osbot/Insta 360 or use your phone) → A quiet room → Remote recording software (Riverside) Audio quality beats video quality for first impressions. Always. 5. Choose a podcast host Podbean, or Buzzsprout for most beginners. They distribute to Spotify, Apple, and everywhere else automatically. Distribute to YouTube separately for best results 6. Record your trailer episode 2–3 minutes. What's the show? Who's it for? How often? New listeners find this first. Make it strong. Film in landscape for optimal repurposing. It’s also used as a headline video on YouTube. 7. Launch with 3 episodes, not 1 Gives new listeners something to binge. Signals commitment to the platforms. Improves your early discoverability. Help the algorithm & stagger the releases on YouTube . 8. Choose your publishing schedule Weekly is the standard. Fortnightly works too. Inconsistent is the only wrong answer. Don’t lose the love always do what is manageable for you. --- We've launched a lot of podcasts in nearly 10 years. The clients who succeed aren't the ones with the best ideas; they're the ones who stop planning and start recording. Then release episodes consistently over time. Thinking about starting a podcast? Drop a comment or send me a message we’re happy to help. Oh! And we’ll plant a tree for every episode you release! 🌳

Starting a Successful Podcast: Lessons from 5 Years of Experience As I've grown in the podcasting space, the most common questions I receive center around building a professional show without excessive overhead. Here's what I've learned from creating a top-ranked Apple podcast with over 100,000 monthly listeners – all from my kitchen table. Common Misconceptions: Many aspiring podcasters believe they need expensive equipment, a professional studio, a large production team, major sponsors, and massive download numbers from day one. The reality is much simpler. My Essential Tools: - A quality USB microphone (I started with a Blue Yeti and upgraded to a Shure) - Zoom for recording interviews - A small but mighty team - Streamlined systems and workflows - AI-assisted content tools for production efficiency What Drives Success: - Creating consistent, valuable content for your audience - Developing and maintaining your authentic voice - Implementing efficient workflows that save time - Building genuine connections with your listeners, even if you start with just 100 - Creating scalable systems that grow with your show Important Truths About Podcasting You can begin monetizing with a small but dedicated audience. Smart automation can streamline your production process, and you can create a premium experience for guests without significant expenditure. The key is identifying which tools and processes truly matter for your show's success, rather than getting distracted by expensive equipment you don't need. Looking to Start Your Own Podcast? I've guided numerous entrepreneurs in launching successful podcasts using this approach. If you're interested in learning my complete process, I'm currently accepting applications for my next podcasting cohort. Drop a " 🎙️ " in the comments for details about the upcoming session and follow along for more practical podcasting growth strategies.

Some podcasts take forever to plan… and still flop. Some podcasts launch quickly… and perform. What’s the difference? Most people assume a great podcast is all about: → A studio → A big production team → Professional editors Not true. What you actually need is: → Knowledge of what your ICP care to know. → A clean workflow and AI tools to power it. → A hybrid PMM and editor mindset. When I launched my GTM Engineer School podcast, I gave myself 7 days and a $100 budget. Two weeks later, we had: → 10 episodes recorded → Clips formatted for every social feed → A repeatable system to keep distributing content Here’s our step-by-step playbook: Day 1: Define ICP, messaging, positioning Structure your target audience, value prop, competitors, so you know how to stand out in a crowded market. → Use Octave Day 2: Develop content pillars & core topics Based on your ICP and messaging, select 3–5 main podcast themes. Create sample episode questions under each theme. → Use Claude Day 3: Build guest list Scour your feed for trusted guest types. Share questions with them — same questions for each guest save you time and allow you to go deep on topics and extract common patterns for internal research. → Use LinkedIn Day 4: Record your first episodes You need high-quality audio/video, but not a full studio setup. If you record 30 mins episodes, you can record 4-5 in a day. → Use Riverside (or Zoom) Day 5: Upload episodes & generate clips Upload your episodes on Substack and YouTube. AI automatically creates show notes and metadata. → Use Substack / YouTube Day 6: Create clips and share on social Automatically creates and distributes clips for LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and X — automatic captions and cross-channel bulk scheduling included. → Use OpusClip Day 7: Repurpose into SEO content Now you have a podcast and a library of content to fuel distribution — re-invest your time in turning transcripts into blog and newsletter articles. → Use Claude __ My biggest surprise wasn’t the tooling or the cost, but how quickly momentum built once we hit “record.” AI made the podcast cheaper, of course, but it also made the entire process possible for one person. __ What's your excuse for not starting your own podcast?

Some learnings from getting a top 3% podcast in our first few weeks of launch with Angles and Insight. 1) Having a unique format (in our case a debate style), helped bring in outside media attention. When these features went up, it helped boost views. 2) Using all parts of the whale is critical. We made dozens of video clips that teased highlights from the show and helped us drive more listens and overall engagement on the podcast content. Listens is only one slice of the impact, the overall impressions on podcast related content is a much bigger metric to track. For example, 600,000 impressions on podcast related content vs. 4000 direct listens. 3) Asking questions in your podcast like “What is your favorite AI company in 2024?” is gold because the guest will mention a few tools, and then you can snip those video clips, send to the tools mentioned and get extra distribution from them too. If you mention the outside tools in a post you do, you can also do a 50/50 Linkedin ad promotion split (We will boost this post that talks about the pod but also mentions your tool for say $500/week if you agree to boost it as well) 4) An advantage of having guests that are highly active on social channels, like Linkedin, is when they share clips of their highlights that you create for them, it drives great reach. 5) Have an internal doc where you encourage the team to do key activating behaviors when you launch like: Leave an Apple Review, Watch the Show, Share with at least 1 non-company employee. That helps give a little extra buzz week 1. I find that versus just asking folks in a team slack message, having the visibility of a doc where people leave their name, department and check each behavior off as they do it, increased adoption from an usual 5-10 folks doing an activation aid, to 50 people doing it for our launch _______ Here are some data points from talking with 30+ podcast hosts and getting their listen counts and ranking, and our own first-hand data at top 3%. Top 10% -> 100-300 listens per episode. Legacy 500+ views. Top 5% -> 100-1,000 listens per episode. Legacy 2500+ views. Top 3% -> For us we are at ~4,000 listens, which because we have 1 episode, is both our per episode and legacy view count. Top .05% -> 5,000 -> 30,000 listens per episode. Legacy 100,000+ views.

I got 30+ Fortune 500 product leaders to say yes to my podcast, even when I had no FAANG tag. When I launched my podcast, I was an international student trying to break into tech. Every other day, I see international students or job seekers complain about not getting a response from people. Be it recruiters, hiring managers, or any professionals they are trying to network with, nobody responds to their messages. But in my case, it was the opposite. The majority of professionals I connected with were willing to have a conversation. And the primary reason was that I didn’t ask for a favor. Instead of saying: “Would you come on my podcast?” I said: I’m building a resource for professionals who want to break into product who don’t see their path into PM clearly. Your journey can make it tangible. That specificity changed the perspective. Because now it wasn’t: → Doing me a favor It was → Contributing to access. I represented it as a bridge for people navigating H1B stress, career pivots, and breaking in without connections because I was living it. I also did three things most people skip: 1. Made the guest the hero. I showed how their story could unlock doors for someone who looked like me. 2. Reduced friction Tight agenda. Sample questions. Previous guests. 3. Engaged before asking I referenced specific talks, product launches, or posts before talking about my podcast. By the time I mentioned the podcast, I didn't appear as a stranger asking favors. If no one is responding to your messages, maybe it’s your approach. So instead of: “Can you refer me?” Make the conversation about them and make them the hero of the story. Switch the conversation from taking to contributing. That’s what changed everything for me. Follow Rufeda Ali for more real, tactical breakdowns on breaking into the U.S job market as an immigrant and positioning yourself with intention.

The biggest barrier to starting a podcast isn't the tech. It's not the graphics. It's not the questions. It's procrastination dressed up as preparation. I've launched over 40  B2B podcasts. Here's the pattern I see every time: People who get started early get wins early. Those wins create momentum. That momentum makes the hard work feel easier. People who wait until everything is perfect? They never start. Start with simple show art. Have a current customer or a peer as your first guest. Get a basic condenser mic. Use an all-in-one tool like Riverside for recording, editing, and hosting. Or work with an agency 🙂 Finally, lots of people get stuck on the questions they should ask. If you can't figure out the perfect questions, use this question framework: 1. Get your guests' unique perspective? Example: What’s your strategy for building relationships with your ideal customers? 2. Get your guest to put that strategy into a story Example: Tell me about a time when that strategy worked for you. 3. Get your guest to give a practical step for listeners Example: What practical steps can someone listening take to implement your strategy? That's it. Whatever is getting in your way, publish with what you've got. You'll learn more in your first five episodes than you will in five months of planning. #podcasting #podcast #b2bpodcast

I help purpose-driven impact makers launch podcasts that elevate their influence, increase their reach, and spark meaningful change. Here’s how I do it—and how you can too: 1. Purpose is your fuel, but strategy is your engine. Impact-driven entrepreneurs often have a powerful mission, but no clear strategy on how to turn that into a compelling podcast. Here’s the deal: Passion alone doesn’t create a great show. You need to strategically align your content with your audience’s deepest needs. You think your listeners want to hear about your “why.” But what they really care about is how you’re helping them solve a pressing problem. Want to make a real impact with your podcast? Determine: → Who you’re speaking to (their pain points, goals, and ambitions). → What your key message is, framed around what they need, not just what you want to say. → How your expertise and stories can be their solution. Without this clarity, you’re just another voice in the crowd. 2. Your podcast isn’t about you—it’s about them. Too many purpose-driven entrepreneurs think their podcast should center on their story. Reality check: Your audience isn’t tuning in to hear your journey—they want to know how your journey can help them solve their problems. Focus on delivering real value: → Speak to your audience’s challenges. → Share actionable insights that lead them toward transformation. → Build trust by highlighting how your expertise can be applied to make a tangible difference in their lives or businesses. Purpose is important—but your podcast must be laser-focused on how that purpose can create real impact for them. 3. Use your podcast as a leadership platform—not a megaphone. A podcast isn’t just about sharing your message. It’s about positioning yourself as a leader in your space. Thought leadership in podcasting looks like this: → You create conversations that no one else is having. → You become the trusted voice that your audience goes to for clarity and insight. → You attract high-level collaborators, clients, and opportunities by demonstrating your expertise, not just talking about it. I always tell my clients: Thought leaders don’t broadcast; they engage. You need to spark meaningful conversations, not just talk at your audience. Want to know the trick to growing your platform? Bring others into the conversation. Feature experts, share diverse perspectives, and make your podcast the place for deep, impactful dialogue. Launching a podcast with a purpose is one of the most powerful ways to amplify your message. You don’t just get a platform—you get the opportunity to shape how people think, act, and connect with your cause. Ready to make an impact? Let’s discuss how we can turn your mission into a podcast that truly moves the needle.