We are almost a year into hosting Right Side up Leadership Podcast. I’m infinitely grateful to my friend and co-host, David Bloom, for convincing me we needed to launch this podcast. Many people had told me, “You should host a podcast”, but David brought it back to what I truly cared about; helping leaders GET HEALTHY + REACH MORE IMPACT. While I don’t believe every leader, team or organization should host a podcast, I do believe podcasts crack open heavy doors.

People ask nearly every week to “pick my brain” on how to launch a podcast. I’m no expert, but I’ve learned a few things this year. Here are my most crucial pieces of podcasting advice.

Host it with someone else. Podcasting in a pair or team gives you the best chance of sustainability. Hosting with someone else brings more accountability, better dialogue and it’s just more fun.

Unleash a batch of 4-6 episodes day one. This creates momentum in many ways. You will feel excited releasing multiple episodes, others will be able to binge on your podcast immediately and podcasting sites will give you better positioning with searches when you start with multiple episodes.

Release it consistently. Pick a rhythm (monthly, every-other-week, or weekly) and stick to it. Listeners need to be able to track with the exact time you release your podcast or they will lose interest.

Batch your recording times. Block off chunks on your calendar and record multiple episodes back-to-back. It’s exhausting to chase an episode every week and play catch up. This also allows you to take long breaks from recording if you want to. We took a few months away from recording this summer and came back with a renewed passion.

Tackle topics YOU want to talk about. If you’re curious and excited about what you’re discussing you’ll want to keep recording episodes. Listeners can tell how passionate you are, and it’s contagious.

Bring on guests YOU want to talk to. Guests are crucial to podcasts! One benefit of hosting a podcast is you get to talk to fascinating people. Hosts are often surprised by how many amazing people are willing to share on their podcast.

Be persistent in sharing but patient for growth. Reach out and share every episode link with 5-10 folks who you think will resonate. Then share it on social media. Keep sharing it, but realize that sustainable listenership grows slowly. If you keep doing the things on this list your podcast will grow.

Make recording and editing processes simple. Eliminate complexity wherever you can! Make every aspect as simple as possible for the excellence level you want to achieve. You can literally record directly to your phone (Anchor.fm is great for this) if you’d like, but desktop and lapel mics work great too. We have an iPhone rig for live interviews, and we completely ditched the mixer in order to simplify.

Let guests schedule at their convenience. If you make it too hard for busy guests to schedule you’ll lose them. We use calendly to schedule guests so they can select the time that works best for them.

Listen to every episode and make tweaks. Podcasting is a craft that you refine over time. If you listen to every episode you’ll find ways to improve your format, questions, and discussion.

Trust the process. Creating a podcast takes time, don’t rush it. Check out Seven Steps to Launching Your Big Idea for help fleshing out your process.

Know a friend who hosts a podcast or wants to? Share this with them.

Are you a podcaster? I would love to hear what you would add to this list.