PODCASTS ARE BOOMING, WHERE IS YOUR VOICE?
Podcasts are one of the easiest, most cost-effective ways to market your skills and connect with people who are interested in what you have to say, be that your peers or potential clients. They are broadening peoples’ listening habits in every age group, appealing to rapidly growing audiences on an exciting and constantly developing platform that’s still relatively fresh, with content listeners can’t access through traditional radio. They set you aside from your competition and give you a literal voice that you may also use in social media. Podcasts champion niche content, are unshackled by archaic regulation and have no national or international borders, encouraging outward thinking and personal brand loyalty. Podcast listenership in the UK has been increasing year-on-year, reaching an estimated 17.7 million listeners in 2022. They’re a passive medium, meaning you can listen to shows whilst doing other activities; driving, walking, and commuting. They’re a personal way to communicate and build a following.
Sound is the most potent trusted medium according to both editorial and commercial research. People believe what they hear above what they read and view.
CAN I REALLY PODCAST?
Unlike launching a YouTube channel, the barrier to entry is relatively small in technical and creative terms. You are the creator, writer, host and distributor. This is a truly democratic medium where large podcast titles sit side by side with smaller no to low-budget projects; that’s the beauty of podcasting.
Aside from music licensing and depending upon which platform you choose to host your content, there are no further costs, save the personal time you invest. A radio station launch requires applications to formal authorities, regulatory hoops, time invested winning or bidding for licenses, expensive studios, staff and broadcast distribution, and with podcasts in every international region gaining traction and ground on traditional media, without a doubt, podcasting bypasses that cost and financial risk.
Some of the biggest titles in podcasting today started out of a laptop connected to a USB microphone and basic audio editing software.
WHAT WILL I PODCAST?
As a photographer, you already have a creative spirit running deep within you, so think broadly when you consider how precious sound can be. Think outside of a studio environment, taking listeners on your physical journeys can be a great way to connect with an audience.
Perhaps you’ve always wanted to talk with your peers and discover how they make their pictures and stories? A podcast opens those channels of communication. Photographers are, in my experience, generous with their time and happy to talk.
Think too, about the benefits a podcast can have for your business. A podcast that isn’t designed necessarily for large audiences, but is a service for clients or followers to understand how you work and think. Over time this might extend to include short conversations with your customers; an ideal social media and website tool to promote what you love to do, photography.
MY BACKGROUND AS A TUTOR AND MENTOR
I’ve been a broadcaster for thirty-five years, though it has shared time with photography for the previous twenty. I’ve researched, produced, presented and programme directed, and for three years during that time trained radio presenters wishing to turn their dreams into a career. In the early ‘90s I spent four years presenting at the BBC’s biggest national UK networks; Radio 1 and 5 Live, plus during that period enjoyed time recording documentaries.
As a podcaster I have produced seven titles, three of which are still episodic and one that remains weekly with over 360 episodes available. Two of those titles, The Photowalk and The FujiCast chart impressively in their niche genres and enjoy a position in the top percent and a half of podcasts globally. I also produce titles that are one-off programmes, event recordings that take podcasting into a new arena; legacy production.
Training individuals and companies to devise and produce podcasts is an exciting new venture in a reasonably new media that is open to all. When I started broadcasting at a small local radio station in the UK, there was no Internet, no way to show your films, photographs or share the sound of your story. It was a privilege reserved for companies with reasonably deep pockets in the main. It’s exciting to see the World change and help people find their voice not just locally, but internationally. If you’d have suggested this tech would be available to all quite soon, when I first turned on the microphone in a live studio environment, I would have raised my eyebrows in genuine disbelief.
FROM NOVICE TO PODCASTER IN TWO DAYS
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DAY 1
Identifying what your podcast is going to be about and who you want to target.
Establishing a title.
A full kit rundown, from the very basics of recording on the move into your smartphone, to modest personal studio sets ups.
Understanding how your podcast will be published and listened to.
Setting up a host platform for your show.
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DAY 2
How to interview and the technical requirements to record Zoom conversations.
Editing an interview.
Writing scripts, working from notes and preparing the ‘voice wrapping’ for your material to sit around interviews.
Recording your first five to ten-minute show and making a trailer.
The basics of marketing your podcast.
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POST WORKSHOP
A follow-up Zoom appointment to answer further questions about launching your show.
A FULL debrief of your first podcast with production advice to building your sound.
ENQUIRY AND FEE
The two-day workshop starts each day at 9am, breaking for a working lunch at midday and ending at 4pm. It’s hosted at a full broadcast facility in Newbury, Berkshire, one hour west of London with good rail and road links. All handout notes and lunch is included and the workshop is open to a maximum of two delegates. Enquire below for available dates.
The cost per delegate is £750 for a two-day workshop and post-event mentor session.