211: Creating a Successful Podcast – Advice from Pat Flynn

Advice from Pat Flynn on How to Create a Successful Podcast Today I have a treat for anyone who has ever considered starting a podcast (or already has one), because I’ve just finished a Skype call with Pat Flynn about the art of podcasting.   As I’ve mentioned in the past, Pat’s teaching on podcasting is the number one thing that helped me as I was starting the ProBlogger podcast two years ago. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn't have started at all. And so I was very excited when he launched his Power-Up Podcasting course earlier this year, because I knew it would help many more Pre-Podcasters get into this amazing medium. Pat spoke at our Aussie ProBlogger events earlier in the year (he'll also be speaking at our Dallas event in October), and during that event we talked about how often I heard ProBlogger readers say things like "I really should start a podcast". It’s a statement I hear all the time. But it's almost always followed up with something like "But I don’t know where to begin"’ or "But I don’t have the right gear" or "But it all seems so overwhelming". So I asked Pat if he’d be willing to come on the show and help those in our audience interested in podcasting take their first steps. Today we jumped on Skype, and I put a lot of your questions and challenges to him in this interview. Not only that, Pat has also opened up his Power-Up Podcasting course exclusively for ProBlogger listeners. His course opened for just a week in July when a couple of hundred students signed up, but then he shut the doors so he could concentrate on serving that first intake of students. So this is pretty special. He’s opening it back up for only one week, and only for ProBlogger readers and listeners. You can see what it’s all about over at ProBlogger.com/powerup. Whether you enroll in the course or not, I encourage you to stay tuned to today’s interview. In it Pat and I talk about A tip for growing your podcast audience through Facebook Groups (it’ll help you grow your blog too) What two of his most successful podcast episodes have been What microphones he recommends if you’re on different budgets Working out which format of podcast is right for you Interviewing techniques to help you get conversations flowing Surfacing stories in those you interview Editing podcasts The pros and cons of seasons vs ongoing episodes, How to make your episodes sound more alive and energetic Much much more. Pat is incredibly generous with his advice in this episode. So whether you take his course or not, you’ll get a lot of inspiration and ideas from staying with us. Again, if you’re interested in checking out the Power-Up Podcasting course head to problogger.com/powerup where for the next seven days you can enroll. If you’re listening after that seven-day period there will be an option to join his waitlist until the next time he opens the doors. Links and Resources Pat's Course  (Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Pat’s course but as you'll hear I’m a genuine fan of what he does.) Dallas Event Audacity Garageband Libsyn Buzzsprout Microphones ATR2100 from Audio Technica (affiliate) Heil PR40 (affiliate) Full Transcript Expand to view full transcript Compress to smaller transcript view Darren: Hi there. My name is Darren Rowse and I’m the blogger behind problogger.com, a blog, podcast, event, job board, and a series of ebooks all designed to help you as a blogger to grow a profitable blog. You can learn more about what we do at ProBlogger over at problogger.com. Today, I have a real treat for anyone who has ever considered starting a podcast or anyone who’s already got one, because I’ve jumped on a call today with Pat Flynn to talk about the art of podcasting. As I mentioned in past episodes, Pat’s teaching on podcasting is probably the number one thing that...