Are you one of the 116 million Americans that listen to a podcast every month? The number of podcasts and the number of people listening to podcasts have been increasing for more than a decade. In 2010, 23% of consumers had listened to a podcast. Today, 57% of the U.S. population over the age of 12 have listened to at least one of the 2 million active podcasts. If you’re ready to start your own podcast, we have some podcasting tips from members here at The Haven.
Podcasts, also known as downloadable niche talk radio, are an increasingly popular way to consume content. Content creators and entrepreneurs looking to grow their audience should be aware of these statistics:
- 3 out of 4 podcast listeners in the US say they listen to learn new things.
- Ad revenues from US podcasts are expected to surpass $2 billion in 2023.
- 24% of the US population listens to podcasts weekly.
- 41% of the US population listens to podcasts at least once a month.
- 45% of monthly podcast listeners have household incomes of more than $75,000.
- Podcast listeners listen to an average of 7 different shows per week.
- Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre, followed by news and true crime.
Podcasting Tips from Four Haven Podcasters
You may know that we have a podcast room at The Haven, but have you met the members that use it to record their podcast episodes? We spoke with four members about their podcasts recorded right here in Bend, Oregon, and gathered tips for aspiring podcasters. Whether you’re looking to start your own podcast or you’re on the hunt for your next show to subscribe to, here’s what our in-house podcasters have to say about this trending medium.
Gail Menasco’s podcast, Experiences You Should Have, launched in 2017.
Jenni Gritters and her co-host, Wudan Yan, launched The Writers’ Co-op in 2020.
Marcus LeGrand, Emerson Levy, and Anthony Broadman launched The State of Bend in April 2021.
Jody Bagno’s podcast, Vibe Builders, is scheduled to launch soon.
We spoke with them to find out more about how to create a podcast, their respective niches, and each of their preferred methods for recording and distributing these audio files.
What’s the focus/topic of your podcast?
Gail: Travel and Adventure, essentially a how-to guide for amazing experiences. I also bring accessibility into the conversation as I’m looking for accessible travel ideas around the world.
Jenni: It’s a business podcast for freelance creatives, focused on best practices for designing a stable business that supports your art.
Marcus: Government, social justice, and collective work in our community.
Jody: Our discussions and training focus on providing practical tools to help leaders change the culture of their organizations by investing in the 3 elements that build VIBE (Clarity, Competency and Chemistry), and eliminating the most common Vibe-Killers.
Who are your target listeners?
Gail: Digital nomads, experience-focused millennials, retirees with time/money to travel, and people with limited mobility that are looking for adventure travel ideas.
Jenni: Our listeners are small business owners and freelancers who offer services in the creative field — writers, artists, graphic designers, educators, and beyond.
Marcus: People wanting to be informed about issues in Central Oregon and how they impact our community and the State of Oregon.
Jody: Our target listeners are people who are in positions of leadership or who aspire to be one day.
How would you describe your experience level with podcasting? Where are you now?
Gail: It was quite the learning curve getting into podcasting, but now I feel comfortable producing my podcast and have grown in my equipment over the years. I will be a forever student and learning on my podcasting journey.
Jenni: When I started podcasting in January 2020, I was a complete newbie! My podcast co-host, Wudan Yan, and I had no idea what we were doing. Now we’ve developed a skillset for scripting, and we know so much more about the software and equipment we need to use to record cleanly. We don’t edit our audio, though; we have an editor to help with that!
Marcus: In the beginning, not much, but now we are getting better at making sure the conversation is relevant to issues that are affecting our community.
Jody: We are just starting but have completed five podcast episodes. We will launch when we have ten ready to go.
Do you batch record your podcast episodes or record on a weekly basis?
Gail: I’d love to be able to do this, but getting people to commit and do their homework for an interview can be challenging. In reality, I record one episode weekly (or every other week). However, pre-pandemic when I used to travel more, I would batch record on a trip as I met interesting people.
Jenni: We usually batch episodes by recording 2-3 each time we sit down; each season has 10 episodes and we’re starting work on season 4 this month (October).
Marcus: It depends on the availability of guests and with COVID it makes it hard to coordinate schedules.
Jody: Not sure yet, but I most likely will batch and occasionally record special interviews separately.
What’s your favorite podcasting equipment?
Gail: Love my BCD-1 mic (on a boom) and absolutely love my Zoom H6 Recorder.
Jenni: We use Hindenberg to record, and Zoom has been a really handy tool as well when we have guests join us. My co-host and I live in different cities, so we’re always trying to figure out ways to make our audio sound similar. We use basic mics and I do love my wireless Bose headphones!
Marcus: A good microphone because it helps with clarity.
Jody: The Zoom has been excellent for recording.
Do you have any tips for members interested in starting a podcast?
Gail: Lower your expectations on this being a money maker. Producing a podcast takes a lot of time and most podcasts don’t make it past 10 episodes. Listeners want consistency and want to know when to expect that next episode, which means there is always work to be done on it and there may be many nights and weekends you are pouring into it with slow growth in listeners. Keep at it.
Give yourself a goal for how long you want to stay in it before re-evaluating. Also, do not neglect your show notes! Treat your show notes like a well-written blog post and do your homework on the subject you are talking about, research what the searcher wants to know, and answer those questions. If you have extra cash, recommend hiring an editor to free up your time. Finally, work to guest on other people’s shows and cross-promote each other’s shows to grow your visibility.
Jenni: My biggest piece of advice would be to figure out what problem needs to be solved for your audience, then to think about service and growing a community before tackling big things like marketing. We don’t market much and a lot of our momentum has come from word of mouth, which is because we offer something that doesn’t exist elsewhere! Service has been key to our mission since day 1 and we’re always asking our members: “How else can we help you?“
Marcus: Do your research on how to set up your content on a platform, make sure to have a guest(s) who has information to move the needle, have a co-host(s) who are informed as well and are willing to do research, have or make time to edit, be open to feedback, and have fun because the process should be fun and something the community needs.
Jody: I’m too new to give advice but one thing I am learning is: Learn the craft. Listen to a variety of podcasts and study what makes a great interview. Also, please don’t waste the beginning with lots of words that don’t say anything; if you use this time as a warm up for you, you may lose listeners.
You can check out the links below to learn more about these Haven podcasters. When you’re ready to press record on your first podcast episode, go to The Haven Coworking app > Bookings > Room > Podcast Room or visit the podcast booking page.
Gail
Jenni
- The Writers’ Co-op Website
- The Writers’ Co-op Twitter
- Listen on Apple
- Join our Patreon membership program
Marcus
Jody
Meet the author
Kasey Yanna
Haven Ambassador, Communications Specialist
Kasey is a Haven member, freelance communications specialist, and proud mom. An entrepreneur at heart, she dabbles in many ventures, including food blogging and leading local coffee shop tours. With a deep appreciation for good food and gatherings, Kasey is your go-to person for tips on the best food and drink spots in Bend.
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