Grow Your Damn Podcast!

Episode Summary:
In this episode of "Grow Your Damn Podcast," Mitch McGarry delves into the critical topic of content planning and scheduling for podcasters. Understanding the significance of a well-structured content calendar, Mitch offers strategic insights into defining podcast goals, brainstorming content ideas, and organizing them effectively. This episode is a must-listen for podcasters aiming to maintain consistency and avoid pod fade.
Mitch starts by highlighting the importance of a clear content plan, which helps in reducing stress and avoiding last-minute scrambling. He outlines key steps to develop a content calendar, from defining podcast goals and brainstorming relevant content ideas to organizing these ideas into themes and scheduling them strategically. Mitch emphasizes the need for flexibility within this plan, allowing for adjustments based on unexpected opportunities or current events. Throughout the episode, Mitch provides practical advice, ensuring that podcasters can deliver high-quality content regularly and engage their audience effectively.
Key Takeaways:
  • Define Your Podcast Goals: Setting clear goals is crucial for aligning content with objectives and measuring success.
  • Brainstorm Content Ideas: Focus on topics relevant to your niche and engaging for your audience, using varied formats to keep content dynamic.
  • Organize Ideas: Categorize and theme your content ideas to ensure a balanced mix and easier planning.
  • Create a Content Calendar: Use tools like Google Calendar, Trello, or Asana to map out your episodes for the next 3-6 months.
  • Plan for Flexibility: Be prepared to adjust your schedule based on new opportunities or events, including buffer time in your planning.
Notable Quotes:
  • "A well-planned content calendar can be a really good friend in this journey." – Mitch McGarry
  • "Planning your content in advance can allow you to deliver value consistently and keep your audience engaged." – Mitch McGarry
  • "Step one is define your podcast goals. What do you want to achieve with your podcast?" – Mitch McGarry
  • "Consider different formats such as interviews, solo episodes, Q\&A sessions, and panel discussions to keep your content varied and engaging." – Mitch McGarry
  • "It's important to have a plan, but it's equally important to stay flexible." – Mitch McGarry
Resources:
For those looking to enhance their podcasting journey, tuning into this episode promises valuable insights and practical tips. Don't miss out on more expert advice—subscribe, leave a review, and share with your fellow podcasters. Visit the website to book a free consultation with Mitch McGarry and continue growing your audience naturally.

What is Grow Your Damn Podcast!?

Are you ready to grow your damn podcast? Growing a podcast can be challenging and time-consuming. Whether you have an existing show or are looking to start a brand new podcast, our mission is to help you naturally expand your audience.

0:00:00 - (Mitch McGarry): Welcome back to grow your damn podcast. I'm Mitch McGarry. I'm here to help you learn how to naturally grow your podcast. Today's episode, we're going to talk about content planning and scheduling and how to develop a content calendar and stick to it. So let's go into it. One of the biggest challenges podcasters face is maintaining consistency so a well planned content calendar can be a really good friend in this journey.
0:00:32 - (Mitch McGarry): It not only helps you stay organized, but also ensures that you're regularly delivering high quality episodes to your audience. So let's dive into how to create and maintain a content calendar for your podcast. Let's start by discussing why content planning is so important. When you have a clear plan, you reduce the stress of last minute scrambling and avoid the dreaded what we call pod fade, a term used to describe podcasts that start strong but slowly disappear, which is very common when you don't have a clear plan.
0:01:07 - (Mitch McGarry): Planning your content in advance can allow you to deliver value consistently and keep your audience engaged in coming back for more. Now we're going to talk next time about quality over quantity, and this will just set up for that. I have a few steps on how to develop a content calendar, so the first thing you need to do. Step one is define your podcast goals. So start by defining your goals. What do you want to achieve with your podcast?
0:01:39 - (Mitch McGarry): Is it to educate, entertain, or inspire your audience and setting those goals? They will help you align your content with your objectives and measure your success. Step two is to brainstorm content ideas. Think about topics that are relevant to your niche and interesting to your audience, and consider different formats such as interviews, solo episodes, Q and A sessions, and panel discussions to keep your content varied and engaging.
0:02:11 - (Mitch McGarry): Step three organize your ideas. Once you have the list of ideas, organize them into categories or themes. This can help you ensure a balanced mix of content and avoid repetition. Grouping similar topics together can also make it easier to plan episodes in advance and batch record so that you're always a few weeks ahead. Step four is to create a content calendar. Now you can use tools like Google Calendar, Trello Asana, or even a spreadsheet if you're into excel spreadsheets, and start by mapping out your episodes for the next three to six months.
0:02:50 - (Mitch McGarry): I usually tell people to plan out at least ten to 25 episodes in advance, and that can just be a title or a topic, something you want to discuss, or even the format that you want to do. I want to do an interview. Who it is? You can figure that out as you get closer, but have that planned out in advance. Assign specific dates for each episode and include important details like the episode title, format, and any guest information.
0:03:20 - (Mitch McGarry): Step five plan for flexibility it is important to have a plan, but it's equally important to stay flexible. Sometimes unexpected opportunities or current events might require you to adjust your schedule. It's good to build in some buffer time for such instances and to prepare to shuffle things around if needed. Thank you for tuning into this discussion about content planning. Next time, we're going to talk about tips for sticking to your content calendar and how to achieve that long term, and not to get burnt out on your podcast again. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with fellow podcasters.
0:03:59 - (Mitch McGarry): And if you need help growing your podcast, visit grow yourdampodcast.com or click the link in the show notes and it will take you to the website where you can book a free consultation with me to discuss how to naturally grow your podcast and grow your audience. Until then, happy podcasting.