Sarah Williams steps into the Podcast Diva spotlight to talk about getting started in podcasting and what it’s done for her and her business after just a few months.
In 2013 Sarah quit her banking career of 8 years. Since then, she’s written two books, and travelled the world seeking adventures like climbing Kilimanjaro in Africa, working as a chalet host and cycling Death Road in Boliva. Sarah’s also set up Tough Girl Challenges and gives talks in local schools to encourage and motivate young girls to do more and be more.
As well as being host of the Tough Girl Podcast, interviewing inspirational women from around the world, Sarah’s a panellist for Bay TV in Liverpool, where she talks about women's issues.
Sarah’s enthusiasm, insights and story provide practical advice, information and encouragement to anyone thinking of starting a podcast or simply seeking inspiration and motivation.
“I’m so proud of my first podcast, because actually it is something I’ve put together, something I’ve created. And it may not be perfect, it may not be the best recorded, it may not be the best edited… but all these little things I learned how to do myself”.
In episode 8 of Podcast Divas find out about:
- How Sarah went from banking to podcasting
- Amazing women role models who’ve overcome difficult sports and physical challenges
- The 3 month learning curve
- Why Sarah’s super proud of what she’s achieved
- A key mistake it took 3 episodes to rectify
- Whether to have an introductory first episode or get straight on with the show
- Concerns about getting it all together
- Making the linkages work
- Putting your download numbers on your website
- How to decide on 1 or 2 episodes a week
- The importance of finding a balance
- Knowing your audience
- Turning listeners into guests
- Becoming something you do
- Imposter syndrome
- Realising the networking potential of podcasting
- What podcasting’s done for Sarah’s business
- Podcasting and confidence
- Podcasting as the missing link between being professional and getting personal
- Starting out on a budget
- Not getting distracted by equipment
- Content v quality
- Sarah’s podcast process
- The warm up chat
- Using different interviewing styles for to get the best out of guests with different levels of communication skills.
- When you don’t want the ‘awesome’ word
- How to automate tweets to promote shows and set up twitter queues
- Future monetisation
- Requesting sponsorship and finding the right partners
- Why Sarah’s goal is 52 episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast
- Sarah’s future life as a digital nomad
“It’s a way for me to build a deeper connection with my audience. They can really get to know me as a person and what I’m about.”
Podcast equipment and tools
The tools Sarah uses to produce and promote her show
- Hardware – Macbook Pro and no microphone
- Interviews – conducted through Skype and recorded on Call Recorder
- Editing – with Audacity
- Media host – is Libsyn
- Episode artwork – using Canva
- Promoting the show – mainly through Twitter using Social Oomph to schedule and automate tweets and Crowdfire for automatic direct message to new followers
“Having the best microphone doesn’t mean you’re going to produce the best podcast. Yes you’ve got to have the quality to be able to hear your guests, but it’s more about the content you’re producing”.
Advice on getting started in podcasting
- Podcasting can add a lot of value to your business; it’s a great way to build trust with your audience because they listen to you every week. People learn in different ways and it gives another way to engage with your audience.
- Don’t get distracted by all the bits of equipment you could buy. Focus on a good idea and just start because you’re going get better every week you do it. Every week you do it you’ll learn something new and will be constantly improving.
- It’s all about consistency. Decide if you’re going to do a podcast every week, or do seasons and if so how many episodes will you have in each season.
- Have a goal and structure.
- Don’t worry if not everyone is totally supportive of you. Go and find the Facebook communities where they will support you
- Take a course to get started; there are many available for a reasonable price.
- Then just start.
- If you’ve got an idea there will be a niche market for you but you need to do self-promotion for it, so start on social media now building a following on Twitter and Facebook.
“I thought this is an amazing way and another way to communicate with my audience and also to spread these messages.”
An episode of the Tough Girl Podcast to listen to
Tough girl – Stacey Copeland – British Boxer 2015 Nations Cup gold Medallist - November 3rd, 2015
Sarah says:
“I loved recording this episode, there are so many learning points, and for me, it really does show no matter what happens, its never to late to go after your dreams and with hard work, commitment and focus you can make it happen and you can achieve amazing things. You just need to go for it.”
Get in touch with Sarah
Website – www.toughgirlchallenges.com
Sarah is on Twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL and Podcast Divas is on Twitter @PodcastDivas – we’d love to hear from you.
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