Show Notes

Welcome back to the Designer Practice Podcast and I’m your host Kayla Das.

Ever consider starting a private practice podcast but not sure where to start?

When I first considered the idea of starting the Designer Practice Podcast, I sat on the decision for over a year and that’s because I just wasn’t sure what the right steps I should take were and how long those steps would take for me to even start.

After reading every blog on the first few pages of Google and listening to every podcast start-up video on YouTube, while also investing in courses that were supposed to quote unquote give me all of the steps, I just felt more confused than ever.

I had the podcast name and topic ready, But I just did nothing, and I often thought to myself, someone is going to have the name used before I even make it a reality. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, and of course, as you know, the Designer Practice Podcast is here today.

But fast forward a year to March 2023, and I had finally decided that it’s enough with the procrastination. And I set up the podcast using the steps that I’m going to share with you in this episode today, so hopefully that you don’t get stuck where I was.

So, let’s get started with the 10 steps that I had taken to start the Designer Practice Podcast.

Step 1. Decide the main theme or topic area of your podcast and your ideal podcast listener

Before you start a podcast, it’s important to gain clarity about what your podcast’s main theme or topic area is about, and who it’s aimed for, because this will guide your podcast through the next nine steps that I will teach you.

Although there are podcasts out there, that are called quote unquote hobby podcasts that may not necessarily have a clear theme or ideal listener in mind. But if you’re intending to use your podcast to support your private practice awareness and growth, it’s a good idea to ensure that you have this clarity. And that’s because if you don’t have a clear idea of what you’re going to talk about or who you’re going to talk to, your ideal listeners will certainly not know or even be convinced that the podcast is targeted towards them, and they just won’t listen. Also, your main topic area or theme will be your guide for guiding podcast episodes ongoing.

So, let me give you an example, and let’s use the Designer Practice Podcast as this example. As I’m a business coach for Therapists and Coaches, it’s easy for me to determine that my idol listener would be therapists and coaches, like you. But when it came to what the main theme will be, of course it was going to be business and private practice, but I wanted it to go a little bit deeper than just that, as that seemed a little too broad for me.

I thought about why I do what I do, my practice purpose, so to speak. And I wanted the main topics or themes to be about designing a practice that therapists and coaches want and love to work in that’s not necessarily inside the traditional way that we view private practices. In other words, just one to one therapy. As I personally don’t ascribe to the notion that we have to fit inside the box of therapy, coaching, or private practice that’s typically laid out for us, unless that’s what we want for ourselves.

I wanted to create the main theme or topic area to be around designing a practice that fits the lives of therapists and coaches so that episodes may be topics that are more traditional or less traditional, depending on the episode. So that listeners can take what they want and leave the rest. Because I believe there’s no wrong way to design a private practice, there’s just your way. So I did know my topic area would be ways to start, grow, and scale private practices in different ways. As well as talk about topics that are not regularly discussed concepts in our field, also the gaps in our trainings or teachings, and other educational or informational topics such as dissecting untraditional, taboo, or even controversial concepts.

So, as you can see, knowing what your podcast is about and who it’s for are the first steps.

Step 2: Choose the title for your podcast

Next is to choose your podcast title. Your podcast title will likely revolve around the main theme and your ideal client. You want your title to be clear and concise and less wordy as possible. I like to stick to the rule of having your podcast title about five words or less, and that’s because it encourages us to be clearer and more concise. But of course, if you choose a 6- or 7-word podcast title, it’s not likely going to negatively impact you as long as it’s clear and concise and somewhat describes the podcast overall. Going back to the example of the Designer Practice Podcast, as designing the private practice that you love is my motto or slogan, I reframed the title to a shorter, more concise version of that. Obviously, the Designer Practice Podcast.

There are some things you’ll want to consider when choosing your podcast title, though. First, you’ll want to make sure that no one else is using this title as well. Like I said in the intro, I had my title picked out for about a year after doing my research and seeing that no one else was using it. One of my biggest worries is that someone might just magically think of it and use it. But fortunately, that didn’t happen. But you do want to make sure that no one else is using it.

So, there’s a few ways to determine if the podcast name is taken. First of all, is searching through podcast directories such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcasting platforms. You can also go on Google and search the title you want to use and see if it shows up anywhere. Also, it’s important to ensure that it that even if it’s not a podcast name, that the name you choose is not trademarked by someone. So, in Canada, to determine if something is trademarked, you can search the Government of Canada’s Canadian Trademark Database, and in the U. S., you could search the You can search the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s, Trademark Database.

And as I mentioned earlier, also ensure that the title is clear, concise, and describes your podcast. In addition, it’s a major plus if some of the keywords that you use in your podcast title are what your ideal client will search for when they’re searching on platforms for a new podcast channel. Although once you start creating episodes, you can also plug in specific keywords into episode show notes, which also helps with the SEO side of things so people can find you more. But it’s still a plus if you can have it in there.

Step 3. Create a cover for your podcast

Next, you’ll want to create a cover for your podcast. This will need to be 3000×3000 pixel image. You’ll need this to set up your podcast inside of your hosting platform.

There’s a few ways you can create a podcast cover. The first way is to create it yourself in any graphic design tool. For my podcast cover, I used Canva as I have a Canva Pro account that I use for all of my business designing needs. If you don’t want to create from scratch, what I love about Canva Pro is that they have pre-created templates that you can choose from, and you can just swap in and out of images, and you can plug in words and fonts that you want to use. However, Canva Pro does have a cost. But Canva does also have a free version as well, so you don’t necessarily have to go out and pay for a designing tool if you’re just using it to create the podcast cover. But of course, the free version has limitations with the images you can use, the fonts you can use, and you won’t actually be able to access the pre-created templates. So, the pre-created templates is Canva Pro specific.

The second way is you could have someone create your podcast cover for you. Depending on how much you want to invest, you can do this through an online freelancing service such as Fiverr or Upwork, or you can hire a professional designer in your area to design an image for you.

But whether you design it yourself or you have someone do it for you, make sure that it’s 3,000 by 3,000 pixels so that you can successfully upload it to your hosting platform.

Step 4. Choose your podcast music

Most podcasters have both intro and outro music. In this step, you can start searching for podcast music that you can use. Now, a disclaimer is you can’t just use any music due to copyright laws. It’s important that you have a license for use on any music that you intend to use. There are paid services online where you can find and pay for podcast music and gain a license for use.

But you can also find some really great websites that give you what’s called a Creative Commons license, where creators grant permission to use their music under copyright law. One of my favorite platforms is Pixabay because they have images, videos, and music that you can access for free and once you sign up for a free account on Pixabay you can download the music that you like, and then download the license with it, so that you have proof moving forward, just in case you ever need it.

The music of the Designer Practice Podcast is actually from Pixabay, and actually is from a creator called It’s Water, which is spelled I T S W A T R. And you can find a lot of great creators on Pixabay.

Step 5. Create a script, record, and edit your podcast trailer

When you are at setup stage with your hosting platform, which we’ll discuss shortly, you’ll be prompted to upload a trailer for your podcast. This is usually a 2- to 4-minute-long introduction of your podcast, such as who it’s for, what it’s about, and any other information that you feel would be helpful for your ideal listener to know.

So first of all, you’ll want to create a script for yourself so you’ll know what to say in your trailer. Now, of course, this is unless you’re someone who is really good at talking off script. Obviously, this is totally optional. I know for me, with the Designer Practice Podcast, I need a script for everything, even this podcast episode. So, if you are someone who needs a script, this is about the time you would create it.

And then you’ll want to record your trailer. You can record it on any software that records. I use either Camtasia or Descript to record my individual episodes. But I actually use Zoom to record any guest episodes. You can use Zoom to record your trailer as well. I’ve even heard podcasters recording using iPhone’s Voice Memo software, but you’ll likely need another software to edit episodes afterwards if you’re using Zoom or Voice Memo.

Then you’ll want to edit your trailer. The reason I use Camtasia or Descript for my recordings is that it actually has the ability to edit the recordings right inside of the platform, but both platforms do have a cost. The thing that I really like about Descript is that it transcribes your audio so that you can upload your transcript to your website. And the other benefit is when you remove a word from the transcript, it automatically removes the whole word from the audio as well. Descript is also really great if you are trying to create other types of content as well, such as digital courses, vlogs, etc., as it simplifies the work for you.

However, if cost is an issue, another editing platform that is free on most Mac computers is a software called GarageBand, which you can also record and edit your podcast as well. So, you don’t have to just go out and buy software if your current device has that capability. So, as you can tell, there’s lots of choice out there. You don’t necessarily have to go out and pay for software. It’s okay to start low budget and use the software that already exists on your devices.

Also, a trailer is probably one of the most listened to episodes on your podcast because many people want to listen to the trailer to determine if they even want to listen to the podcast episodes moving forward. However, in saying that, don’t worry if you’re not totally satisfied with your first take and you want to replace it later on. You can always upload a new one. So even though you need a trailer recorded to set up your podcasting accounts, I want you to never feel that you’re stuck with whatever you upload, because you can easily upload a new one to replace the older version in the future if you need to. And that’s the same with any episodes moving forward too. You have the ability to upload new episodes, whenever you want, right into your hosting platform.

Step 6. Choose a launch date

Now you want to choose a launch date, which is the day you want actual episodes to go live. Having a launch date in mind helps keep you accountable to getting your episodes out in the world. It’s also a good idea to have a little bit of time in between when your trailer goes live and when your first couple episodes go live. This way you can share and advertise your podcast and build up hype for your launch date. This is what I did when I first started. I think it might have been two to three weeks in between when my trailer went live, then when my first three episodes dropped.

Also, I encourage you to choose a date that you think is reasonable with how many episodes you want to release on launch day. You can release one episode or many. Like I said, when I first started, I launched three, just so that I had a few there for people to listen to. But you still want to give yourself a reasonable time frame so that you have them prepared, uploaded, and scheduled, so that when that date comes, there is something for people to listen to.

Step 7. Choose a podcast hosting platform

Now we want to choose a hosting platform. And a hosting platform is a platform that distributes your podcast episodes or trailer to the major podcasting stations, such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. This is where you upload all of your episodes, content, cover image, and then the hosting platform does all the rest of the work of distribution for you.

For the Designer Practice Podcast, I use Kajabi to host my podcast, and I absolutely love how simple the platform is so that it doesn’t over complicate anything. The only thing is, Kajabi does have a monthly fee. I already use Kajabi in my practice for my digital courses and other business needs, so it just made sense for me to use it for all of my podcasting. However, some other hosting platforms are Buzzsprout, Podbean, Libsyn, and Anchor. I’ve never personally used any of these softwares, but I have heard of podcasters who do.

Also, once you set up your hosting platform, you can add your cover image, your podcast description and your trailer to the platform so that it’s ready to go when you get to step 9.

Step 8. Set up your accounts for major podcasting platforms

Now is the time when you’ll want to decide which podcasting platforms you’ll want to be on. This may also depend on the hosting platforms you choose and who they distribute to. Sign up for podcasting accounts with each platform. For example, at the time of recording this episode, the hosting platform that I use, which is Kajabi, distributes to three main podcasting platforms, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. Which, in my opinion, are the top three platforms anyway, so that is where my podcast gets distributed. But there are other podcasting platforms that some hosting platforms might also distribute to, such as Stitcher, Amazon Music, among others.

Step 9. Link your RSS feed URL

When you set up an account for each podcasting platform and your account is verified, each account will have a URL that you’ll need to insert inside of your hosting platform. And your hosting platform will also have what’s called an RSS feed URL, which you’ll need to add to each of your podcasting platform accounts, so that the hosting platform and the podcasting platform can speak to one another.

RSS feed URL to work you’ll need to ensure that you’ve already set up your podcast description and trailer. If you haven’t uploaded a trailer, the podcasting platform might not link properly as it needs some audio content to successfully set up and be approved. So, if you did miss that in step seven, you will need to ensure that you upload your trailer for it all to link successfully.

Step 10. Record, upload, and schedule your podcast episodes for launch day

Since you’ve basically did all of the setup, now it’s time to make the magic happen, for you to record, upload, and schedule your podcast episodes for launch day. And of course, any future episodes you create thereafter.

And there you have it your private practice podcast is live.

Recap

Now let’s recap the 10 steps.

Step 1. Decide the main theme or topic area of your podcast and your ideal podcast listener.

Step 2. Choose your title for your podcast.

Step 3. Create a cover for your podcast.

Step 4. Choose your podcast music.

Step 5. Create a script, record, and edit your podcast trailer.

Step 6. Choose a launch date.

Step 7. Choose a podcast hosting platform.

Step 8. Set up your account for major podcasting platforms.

Step 9. Link your RSS feed URL

Step 10. Record, upload, and schedule your podcast episodes for launch day.

Now, I hope with today’s episode that I removed at least one roadblock that might be preventing you from starting your podcast, the steps to get started. So please take these steps and use them so that you can share your message with the world.

Thank you for tuning in to today’s episode and if you like this episode or the designer practice podcast overall, I would really appreciate if you would share the podcast with a colleague so that they too can benefit from these episodes. The more people that hear this, the better.

Until next time, bye for now.

Credits & Disclaimers

Music by ItsWatR from Pixabay

The Designer Practice Podcast and Evaspare Inc. has an affiliate and/or sponsorship relationship for advertisements in our podcast episodes. We receive commission or monetary compensation, at no extra cost to you, when you use our promotional codes and/or check out advertisement links.