Podcast Workflows - Tips for podcasters to grow their podcast without wasting time.

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There's a reason lots of podcasters fall victim to pod fade. Podcasting can be a difficult thing to do. Especially if you are doing long episodes with guests that need to be cleaned up and edited.

But, recently over on the Podcast Host, they wrote an article about how many podcasting is on the rise. I shared this article with my newsletter and it's one of the most clicked on links in the history of my newsletter. Lots of people are interested in mini podcasting. and it's for good reason. Mini podcasts are a great way for you to produce a show for several reasons.

So in today's episode, let's look at what mini podcasting is, how it works, why it works, and of course, how you can make money with it.

Hello! And welcome to Make Money Podcasting, where I teach you how to make your first $10,000 with your podcast. On this show, you'll learn tried and true methods to increase your revenue and turn your podcast from a money pit into a money maker.

Hi! I'm your host, Joe Casabona. And my podcasts have been making money from day one without a lot of downloads. I'll share everything I know with you here on Make Money Podcasting presented by Podcast Liftoff and Nexcess.

All right. First, let's talk about what is mini podcasting. Simply put a mini-podcast is a short podcast. That's generally 20 minutes or less. This show qualifies as a mini-podcast.

Now, really when I look up definitions, that's it. Right. That's what makes a mini-podcast. But let's go a little bit further here. I think a mini-podcast is not a single-topic podcast but it definitely has a very clear niche.

So this podcast, for example, is all about making money podcasting. Every episode of this show should focus on that in some way, shape, or form. There are other many podcasts out there like ingenious by Relay FM in that podcast. The hosts, Mike and Steven, talk about a Wikipedia article and give you a high-level overview in general. Those podcast episodes are 10 minutes long robot or not by the incomparable network mini podcast where they basically take a thing and determine if it's a robot or not. It's a little bit more complicated than that. But it's a good podcast and I strongly recommend it. So these are not really single-serving podcasts. But I think each episode is kind of a single serving versus longer podcasts that have different segments or interview shows that cover a wide range of topics.

So that's a mini-podcast. It's a short podcast, generally 20 minutes or less. And it's basically the show is going to cover a very niche or specific topic. And each episode will probably cover one thing.

So now that you know that, I want you to start thinking about if a mini-podcast is good for you. And I personally, obviously, have a mini-podcast. I actually have two. One is called WP Review and that's kind of picking a topic at the intersection of WordPress and the creator space and talking about that. But I think it's a good format for a lot of reasons.

So now, let's kind of talk about that. What makes a mini-podcast, a good format? First, as I alluded to at the top of the show, it's easier than a long-form interview show. And so you're less likely to fall victim to pod fade, right? Which is generally starting a show. and then just letting end because you don't have time to do it. It's easier because you don't have to coordinate with guests, for one. There's no complicated editing, right? Usually, when it's you and a guest, you have to sync up the audio. You need to level them out so that you are both at the same volume. You probably have to clean up your audio or the guest's audio. And there's none of that. It's just you and a microphone, which makes the editing easier, right?

Usually, if it's not live, you can rephrase something. You can stop and start where you need to, and you can do some simple cleanups. I recommend Descript. I record my solo shows in Descript because they make their editing tools a lot easier. You can cut stuff out by highlighting text, hashtag not a sponsor. It's just that Descript goes a long way in making these mini podcasts a lot easier, especially for a solo show. So that's the first reason that mini podcasting is a good format.

The second reason is that you get to showcase your expertise with a mini podcast. You're doling out helpful advice for a specific niche or audience. That means that you are establishing trust and expertise with your audience. So it's you and a microphone. You pick a topic, and you go kind of deep, right?

Talking for 20 minutes is still kind of a long time. And it's hard for a lot of people to do. But you pick a single topic and you tell someone or your listeners everything you know about that topic. It's really a place for you to shine. Again, if we're comparing it to interview shows, your job is to make the guests look good, and maybe you're having a conversation with that guest. But you have that guest on for a reason. It's to teach your audience something.

With a mini podcast, especially one where it's just you talking about your niche, you are the one who gets to shine and show off your expertise. And that's gonna come into play later when we talk about how to monetize it.

Number three. You can batch more episodes at once. Take it from me. Batching a lot of interviews in a row is exhausting. There have been some days where I've recorded four or five podcast interviews in a day. And by the end of the day, I'm totally spent. And if I had to put money on it, I'd say my second interview of that day is a lot better than my fifth interview of that day. So I try to only do three now. I do the interviews and then on a different day, I batch a bunch of episodes.

But with a mini podcast, you can batch more at once. You create three or four outlines or short scripts. I think a script is a great way to go for a mini-podcast because then you have a blog post too. And then you record them \and edit them or send them off for edit again. I think Descript makes the editing a lot easier for this. and you could probably do three, four, or five episodes at a time making you super consistent, right? Even if you're releasing it weekly, you pick the last week of the month to batch four of these mini podcast episodes. And now, you have the next month's worth of content.

And then finally, listeners love them. There is a trend towards shorter content. That's what the podcast host article was about. And you see it happening, right? TikTok allows three or 10-minute videos now. But YouTube is making it easier for people to clip their full videos to make shorts.

So by having a 20-minute or less podcast episode, you're telling listeners, “Here's a quick win without a large time commitment.” And they'll appreciate that because let me tell you. Some of my favorite podcasts are like two hours long. But I know I got to be in it to win it at two hours. Usually, I reserve those for my morning walks where I know I'll be able to listen to 40-60 minutes uninterrupted. But I can't sit down and listen for two hours at a time. I've got kids and work to do. But mini podcasts are right in the sweet spot, right? A 20-minute walk, a 20-minute commute, a 20 minutes for something to eat or running an errand. This is a great time to listen to a podcast. And so that's why micro or mini podcasts are on the rise.

So let's get into how you should make your mini-podcast. But first, a word from our sponsor.

Sponsor: This and every episode of Make Money Podcasting is brought to you by Store Builder from Nexcess.

As a podcaster, you might be wondering what's the best way for me to implement some of the things that we talk about on this show. How can I easily make money with my own website? And when it comes to setting up an e-commerce site, you kind of have the choice between an easy but limited platform or a limitless platform that you need to manage yourself, taking precious time away from your podcast.

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Joe Casabona: Okay. So how should you make one? First, start with your mission statement.

In Episode 006, I talk about how you can define your mission statement over at [makemoneypod.com/006]. Defining your mission statement's going to be really important, right? You're gonna answer the question: Who are you serving? What problem are you solving for them? And how do you solve that problem? This is really important for a mini-podcast because when you answer those questions, now, you know what topics to cover and how you could keep it to a tight 20 minutes or less.

And then once you have that mission statement, make a list of 20 topics or maybe 25, 20-25 topics that serve your mission. 20-25 topics and then take them in batches. What I like to do is come up with a bunch of different topics, order them in a way I think will work as far as kind of continuity. Right? I did the mission statement before this one. So I know I can reference the mission statement podcast. But make a list of 20 and then come up with outlines or scripts. I outline this show. It's a pretty verbose outline. But it's not a verbatim script read.

My other podcast, WP Review, that's a verbatim script read because it's also a blog post. It's a written-to-be-read article. So that takes a little bit longer. It really depends on your comfort level here. I'm comfortable kind of talking off the cuff. I've been podcasting and acting and making videos for a long time. But it really depends on your comfort level. Either way, maybe start with outlines, and then you can kind of fill in the blanks on the days that you batch.

So, mission statement, 20 topics, come up with outlines or scripts,, and then record three to four at a time. Since these are short, this should only take an hour or so to record, right? So maybe you shoot for 12-15 minutes and then you can record four and process them, edit them, however you the best you can. And then release them weekly or fortnightly. And now you have a really good process in place to showcase your expertise, to have a consistent podcast that you can monetize.

And so let's end here with how you can monetize your mini-podcast. Like I said, this is an opportunity to showcase your expertise. So, there are a few things that you can do.

Number one. Have a clear call to action that aligns with your mission statement. Maybe you want to get people onto your mailing list where you go deeper into these topics. So get them onto your mailing list. Maybe you have a product, a workshop, a course, a coaching program, a book where, “Hey, I talked about this today. I go even deeper in my book. So head on over to [podcast.com/book] and order it today for just $999.”

Now, people are interested, right? And at $999, that's a pretty impulse buy price. But this is the first way that you can monetize your podcast because it's so focused on you and your expertise, and have a call to action that aligns with your mission statement. This is probably part of your niche or your niche, and get people onto your mailing list or sell that low dollar, or maybe even high dollar product.

Number two. Find a brand that solves the problem your mini podcast also solves. So the sponsor of this show, Nexcess has a product called Store Builder that makes it very easy for creators to set up their own online store. That is another way podcasters can Make Money Podcasting. They think it's a good fit to sponsor this show. I thought it was a good fit. And so you can do the same thing. You have a clear mission statement. You are solving a specific problem for a niche. Find a brand that also solves that problem for the same niche and get them to sponsor your podcast.

And then finally, you're establishing expertise so you can use this to get clients or gigs. If you're constantly talking about this topic in 15-minute increments or 20-minute increments, you're showing people how much you know. So maybe your call to action says, “Do you want me to do this for you? Head on over to this website and fill out my contact form” Or if you're a speaker or an author and you wanna do speaking gigs, you can talk about that too. “Hey, do you want me to talk even deeper about this at your conference? Get in touch. I do speaking gigs.”
So those are three ways that you can monetize your mini podcast.

Now, of course, there are also affiliate links. But I think that since we're so focused on your expertise in solving someone's problem, we wanna make this about how you can leverage this audience and your expertise to get more clients, get more gigs, or sell a product. At the very least, build your mailing list, and then you can sell to your mailing list.

So that is it. We talked about what is mini podcasts. Why they are a good format for a lot of people? How you should make one? And how you can monetize them?

If you want to learn more about how to launch a mini podcast, let me know. Write to me at joe@casabona.org, and I'll make it my next workshop. I'm working on a workshop series. I wanna serve you the best I can. So if you're interested, let me know. Or just, if you're thinking about starting a mini podcast, let me know that too. I'd love to hear what you have in the works. but that's it for this episode of Make Money Podcasting.

Thanks so much for listening.

Make Money Podcasting is presented by Podcast Liftoff and Nexcess. For all the show notes and to subscribe, you can head over to [makemoney. pod.com/008].

Again, thanks so much to our presenting sponsor, Nexcess.

Until next time. I'm Joe Casabona, and I can't wait to see what you make.