Podcasting: what not to do when recording

Podcasting is an increasingly popular way to promote businesses and organisations, and for good reason.

They’re a brilliant way for your business or organisation to convey it’s message directly to the audience and present it with a human voice, without the filter of a journalist or radio producer deciding which bits of an interview to use.

They can be used to deliver news, to offer tips and advice, to give instructions, to offer added value to your website, for example by a series of interviews with key experts and associates – or just for sheer entertainment value.

But they’re very easy to get wrong and if you post a bad one on your website, it can be far worse than having none at all.

Here is what not to do when podcasting

1. Put the podcast on your website without an explanation, pictures or text to help put it in context. It looks rubbish and people just won’t understand what the recording is going there. Here’s an example on iTunes of the Success ID podcast, which explains clearly what each episode is about.

2. Record it without thinking about it in advance. You’d don’t need a rigid script, but if you don’t do any preparation, the danger is that you’ll just waffle on, and your podcast won’t have a clear point or structure, which can be a real turn-off for listener.

3. Make it too long. The danger is that people will just give up listening – research shows that listeners prefer podcasts of less than 16 minutes. The average podcast is 30 minutes long and people tend to give up listening after 22 minutes.

4. Sound bored, overly formal, nervous, or “mannered”. All of these are off-putting for listeners. Delivery is important and the best podcasts are conversational, interesting, engaging and jargon free. Listen to You, Me and the Big C to see what we mean.

Here are four things to avoid when podcasting. Contact us if you want advice about how to make sure your podcasts are professionally produced and reflect your skills and expertise. We will create a bespoke podcast course for your organisation.