There are a lot of things that a first-time podcaster learns as they dive into their first published season, so the season finale on the Wander Mom Dairies Podcast covers my reflections, learnings, and some special appearances at the end. If you have never been in the world of podcasting, you're going to get an inside look at it today!
Topics covered in this article
Podcast Audio
Alright, here are a couple of things that I learned from my very first season of podcasting, the first being…finishing with good quality audio is HARD. I think almost every time I've tried to interview somebody or recorded a solocast, the technology has failed me in some way, shape, or form.
When you are recording a podcast, audio quality is really important. I often try to prepare my guests to have them wear headphones so that you don't hear my voice on their ends as we're recording because that's really hard to edit out. I have them try to sit in the closet, a walk-in closet if they have one, or just be surrounded by very soft materials so that it doesn't sound too echoey. And then, ideally, have some kind of decent microphone. The Apple headphones seem to be pretty good for interviews.
But most of my guests are not podcasters so far. So having to help them with the audio on one end has been tricky. And then and then I could have my own mistakes were selecting the microphone for myself, I don't pick the right one and I do an entire interview and my sound quality is terrible. Having consistent, high-quality audio is definitely a goal for season 2!
Recording Software
I'm also recording (solo casts) and editing on an iPad. So that's also been a learning experience. It took me about 10 different times of trying to record my very first episode before I realized that there was a tiny little setting in GarageBand, where you need to allow yourself more than eight bars of recording time.
I don't know why it's preset to that setting, but it was just recording eight bars worth of sound (about 10 seconds) for me and then it just stopped recording! So troubleshooting with the garage band app was a learning curve as well for this first season. I'm learning as I go, and I feel like I am pretty savvy with GarageBand when it comes to podcast editing now, and I am capable of doing the whole process all from my iPad, which I think is pretty unique ;).
Sometimes I'm on a computer, that's usually for guest interviews. For those So I use a program called Zencastr, I prefer that one I noticed the audio quality is a bit better than Zoom. There's a setting in both of these programs where you can record separate audio, so it will record the audio of the guest separately from my audio. This allows me to be able to edit a lot easier, for example, if somebody coughs or my dogs start barking, I'm able to edit that sound out from my end, and then be able to merge the two files together.
So I use these different apps for podcasting and know Zoom works on my iPad but Zencastr does not, and learning how to adapt to whatever situation the guest might be in because they might not have access to Zencastr. I interviewed somebody in Australia for season two, and Zencastr just wouldn't work, so we did zoom instead.
I compare the audio quality between Zoom and Zencastr, and I do think Zencastr provides better audio quality in the end, but Zoom is more accessible. So it is still a continuous journey in finding a way to get consistent, high-quality audio. Just know that I am really trying hard on my end to make it sound really good for your ears!
Podcasting has a lot of components
The next reflection is that it takes a lot to do a podcast. It’s not as relaxing as sitting down with a cup of coffee record, post, and be done. There is a lot of editing involved, a blog post to write, transcripts to upload, keyword research to complete, social media posts, Pinterest pins, and more! Eventually, I'd love to foster a community, but I'm just not quite there yet. I need to set more of a solid foundation first.
It's a lot. So if you're interested in podcasting, and you want to just talk to the microphone, not edit, and post...go for it! But if you really want to have that professional look and feel, which I hope this podcast is, then there's a lot of work that goes into it. But I don't think there's any part of the process that I don't enjoy, which is a good sign!
Learning from mistakes
There are a few things that I learned from mistakes with season one that I hoped to apply to season two. And the first thing is a launch. I listened to a lot of podcasts about making podcasts. And they always talk about a launch. Apple podcast is the number 1 podcasting app right now, and I was told, you could have three weeks until your podcast is approved on that platform. It took 24 hours for mine…
So before I knew it, my first episodes were up on Apple Podcasts. So I had no opportunity to have a proper launch for the podcast, which I think really hurt in the end. I was then caught up in just trying to release an episode a week, even though I gave myself some buffer time. I use that up quite quickly. The past few weeks I have been recording week by week, which I don't prefer. So the first thing is, I want to do a launch for season two, which means that there's going a build up. And hopefully, some fun social online events that will bring hype up the excitement for season two, and hopefully grow the audience a little bit.
Thank you to anybody who has promoted the podcast. Podcasts grow the most through word of mouth. So if you have spread the word for me about my podcast, and have shared it with a friend, thank you so much, that is the best thing that you can do.
Improvements for Season 2
Some other things that I learned from season one that I want to apply to season two. Creating more smaller pieces of digestible content for people to learn and get engaged. Whether it be through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or Pinterest, I would like to get more of a variety of shareable content, because right now, everything is pretty long-form blog posts and podcasts.
There is also a new feature called Facebook podcast players, which has been great! My podcast was accepted, which is awesome :). You can listen to the podcast directly on the Facebook podcast page, The Wander Mom Diaries.
I also hope to have posts and shareable content ready and scheduled out to recap season 1 and then share about season 2, but I’m going to need some time to do that. So right now, my launch date for season two is tentatively January 2. So I'm going to have some weeks of December to catch up.
With no particular planning, I’ve noticed the collection of interviews I have set for season 2 have an overarching theme of self-care and women empowerment. So season two is going to be focused a lot around that which I think is very, very appropriate, especially during these dark winter months to hopefully make more of an emotional impact and support you in any way that you need.
I have some amazing guests, including women from different parts of the world that will cover different topics ranging from self-care to building resilience to woman empowerment. In each discussion, we touch base about travel so they are all going to be a great listen!
For Season 3, I already have a plan to have a theme around out-of-the-box education. Topics will include, but not be limited to, outdoor education, living on the road and homeschooling, and innovative strategies to engage with your kids. So I can't wait to dive into doing some of those episodes because I'm a teacher at heart and have a lot of things to say about the world of education!
Another thing I'd like to highlight is the website. I’m putting a lot of work into the website right now to help it be more accessible with all the links in the blog posts and an upcoming feature of transcripts for each episode.
Final Takeaways
The final takeaway that I've gained from season one of the Wander Mom Diaries Podcast is that I truly love connecting with my guests, interviewing them, and having these conversations. I think it's a highlight of the whole process of podcasting. I also like sharing my personal experiences and knowledge on my solo casts and hope to continue the balance between both types of shows.
I also will be going on a bit of a break. So please check back in in the month of January. My hope is January 2 is the launch for season two. So in the meantime, please share about this podcast. I will be posting a lot about the blog posts that I've written about these different episodes from season one and I'll also share some sneak peeks into season two interviews and topics. So please make sure you're following me on the socials @wandermomdiaries.
If you have any questions or topics that you want to be answered on the podcast, please leave me a voice message for that as well and you can get featured on the episode!
I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday and have a great new year. And we'll see you back here and January 2, 2022!
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