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Hello, hello, and welcome back to Up an Octave with the new year. I know a lot of us, especially business owners, Are thinking about how we spend our time and taking inventory of what feels good and how we can put systems in place to help make things easier. So we can spend more time creating, spending time with our people, doing the things that light us up.
So with that said, I wanted to dedicate an episode to helping you implement systems that keep your podcast strong and thriving in 2025. These are the systems that I use for myself and my clients. to keep them in the honeymoon phase with their podcast. Before we get rocking, take a moment to grab your phone, a notebook, whatever, so that you can take some notes on the things that make sense for your show.
And, you know, feel free to leave the things that don't. All right, if you have been hanging out with me for a while, you know about the three P's of podcasting. I talked about it exclusively in episode 10. It's plan, produce, promote. And I always talk about the planning phase being absolutely the most important.
The same is true when talking about systems for sustainability. The first system that I use is content calendars. This is the first system that I encourage you use for the planning phase is creating content calendars. Now, I admit that I am 100 percent a Virgo calendar loving girly, but even if planners and date books don't come naturally to you, creating a content calendar is step number one to keeping all of your podcasting ducks in a row.
Not only is this going to help you know when you're releasing what, it also helps you prepare to generate that content. Whether it's researching your episodes, sourcing and pitching guests, recording post production, show notes, social media, all the things that go into creating your episodes and their assets.
Decide what length of content calendar works best for you, and this is going to depend on the function of your show. I talked a lot about this in episode 55. If your show works with evergreen topics, you can literally take a day, post up in a coffee shop, and plan out your entire year. But if your podcast depends on current or trending topics, things are going to get a little bit stickier.
Three months worth of content has always been my sweet spot, and my podcast launch clients start with a 12 episode content calendar. The trick is that when you're about halfway through your calendar, it is time to start generating new ideas. Even if you're not ready to like, flesh them out fully yet. By doing this, you give yourself the gift of knowing what lies ahead.
And you can start creating your assets before it feels like crunch time. In my experience, the biggest culprit for Podfade is the weight of having to do so many tasks for your podcast all at once each and every week. Podcasting should not feel like never ending laundry. Next up is batch recording, which, if we've ever worked together or you've just been listening for a while, you know that I'm a big fan of.
If you have ever had that, oh frick, I still have to record this week's episode and it's 8pm the night before the new episode comes out, then oh boy am I about to change your life. Here is how it works. Instead of recording one episode at a time, you carve out a chunk of time, maybe it's an afternoon, maybe it's a full day, maybe it's the middle of the night like me, and you knock out two, three, even four episodes all at once.
You're already setting up your mic, you're in the zone, and with any luck, your kid is asleep. Maybe that's just me. Batching saves you the effort of setting up and tearing down your recording space if you're not in a place to have a permanent setup for it. Batching also helps you get into the mindset of the task you're doing instead of having to switch gears and pivot to a different element of podcasting.
Something else that I want to make sure to mention is the value of batching different elements of your podcast. I was recently talking about batching content and systems in general on threads and had so many people who were batching episode by episode and their minds were blown by the idea of batching step by step.
So hopefully that's something that resonates for you too. This is where the content calendar really lays the framework for everything else. Thanks. When you know what's coming, you can do all of your research and notes for, say, the next month of your show one day, record the episodes the next day, spend the day after that editing, and then the final day can be dedicated to doing your show notes, creating social media posts, whatever else your post production looks like if you're doing all of those tasks for yourself.
Batching gets even easier when you outsource to a podcast professional. And it makes life easier for them, too. There is nothing that I love more than when a client sends me a drive folder with three episodes in it all at once so that neither of us are rushing. And if batching feels daunting to you, remember that you get to drive here.
Do what feels right. Maybe for you, that's recording two episodes in one session. Maybe it's recording six. You know what feels good to you, but batching is so worth it. Because once you get into the rhythm, it takes so much of the grind out of podcasting and gives you back hours to do the other tasks on your to do list.
Or to binge Netflix while folding laundry, if you're me. This is a very laundry heavy episode, if you can't tell that I just got back from traveling. And it's definitely staring at me. Now I want to talk about one of my favorite tools for podcasters, which is an idea bank. This is your safety net for when you feel like your creative well is, like, absolutely dry.
An Idea Bank is simply a running list of episode ideas that you can pull from whenever you need to. It doesn't have to be fancy. Mine lives in the Notes app on my phone. But for my first show, I wrote down ideas that just, like, came to me, or that I'd, like, Looked up on slips of paper, and I kept them in a coffee can so I could just pull them out randomly whenever I needed an idea, and that was so fun.
However you keep track of your ideas, wherever you put them, whether it's your notes app or a coffee can, the critical thing is jotting down ideas when inspiration strikes. Which means clinging to the shower thought until you're dried off. And that might be the hardest part. And that said, your idea bank can be as detailed or as basic as you want.
Sometimes I will get an idea for an episode concept that's complete with bullet points. Other times it's just a phrase or a question like, What I wish I knew before starting a podcast. And I can go back later and flesh it out. Revisit your Idea Bank regularly. When you're planning your content calendar, look for the themes or ideas that naturally flow with each other.
For example, if you've got like a bunch of ideas that feel like branches off the same topic, if we're doing like a mind map situation, create a mini series around that topic. Your Idea Bank isn't just about having backups, it gives you a low pressure way To see what is exciting to you and what keeps coming up for you about your niche, to help your content stay fresh.
Next up, we are talking about outline templates. If you don't have an outlining template for your podcast episodes yet, this is going to change everything about how you see your podcast. This system is the key to making your episodes float effortlessly, Keeping you consistent, and most importantly, saving your sanity.
Having an episode template puts an end to the blank cursor syndrome. When you sit down to write your recording notes, you already know the flow of your episodes. What you need to make sure to include. All you have to do is drag and drop the topic content in a way that makes sense. You've got a beautiful pre built roadmap guiding you every step of the way.
No more second guessing what comes next. No more rambling off on a tangent about what you had for breakfast, because you can't remember what you actually meant to talk about. Unless that's your thing, in which case, tangent away, my friend. But, I'm going to give you a reusable outline template that you can use to streamline your process for every single episode.
And remember that this looks different for every show, so feel free to take what makes sense for your podcast and leave behind what does not. Start with your hook. We talk about hooks so much in the online space, and podcasting is no different. You want that hook in the beginning. Thanks This is your opening punch.
It's almost like a trailer that grabs attention and makes people think I can't skip this episode. Maybe it's a bold and big question. Let's say you have a Pilates podcast. You might open up with what's the one Pilani move you're probably doing wrong. Or you can give like a little juicy teaser, like today I'm breaking down my go to 10 minute routine to strengthen your core.
And this allows you to quickly introduce the episode's topic, let your audience know what they're gonna get out of it, And why they should be spending their valuable time with you. This is how you stand out in a busy niche. I talk all the time about how oversaturation is a myth. And as long as you are doing something that is only you, something that is unreplicable, That makes you stand out, there is no such thing as oversaturation.
Bonus points with the hook are if you can tie in like a personal story or an anecdote to make it feel more intimate. Next up is your main segment. Chunk out your episode into main points. This is where you deliver the meat of your content. And this is where you can really break it down for your show.
Maybe you're doing like a, an ask and answer. Maybe you always have a Mid section where it's almost like vloggy style and you're like, oh, yeah, this is a thing that happened. Maybe it's Maybe it's banter at the beginning an ad and then Whatever the topic of the day is you get to decide what your main segments look like but remember that this is the Entree if you will of your episode And, you know, if you are more of like the funnel type of podcast, and this relates back to your business, or even if you are just like a mindset girly or a wellness podcast, give your audience something that they can do, a tip, a tool, a mindset shift.
You're not just here to give your listeners the warm and fuzzies. You are here to move them to action, or at the very least, leave them feeling like they learned something. And then you wrap it up and offer your call to action. Bring it home with a strong conclusion. Recap the key takeaways, drop a killer call to action, like, okay, if you're the Pilates podcaster again, you know, that's when you invite them to save a spot at your fabulous Tahitian Pilates retreat.
And then you end it by reminding them, you know, this is where you can find me, make sure that you are subscribed, all that good stuff. This framework works for solo episodes as well as interviews. For a guest episode, you'll just add time at the top to introduce your guest and, you know, allow them the space to talk about themselves.
But the rest of it is going to look really, really, really similar. Once you've got this template in place, you never have to start an episode from scratch again. You're welcome! It's just that easy to make podcasting magic. This outline doesn't just help you record faster, it makes the entire production process smoother.
Writing show notes? Boom. Your outline already has the structure. Creating social media posts? Boom. Grab the key points from your outline. Outlines aren't just for recording. They are the backbone of your entire workflow. And if you're thinking, Rue, I don't have time to build a template for my show from scratch.
Babe, I got you. I build templates with my clients. To save them hours every single week, and this is something that I offer for like my one hour consulting clients as well as the clients who work with me. So if you're ready to podcast smarter, not harder, we need to talk. All right, now let's talk about editing workflows because I know that this is a part of podcasting.
That typically makes people want to throw their laptop out the window. But editing doesn't have to be evil and scary and bad and something you dread doing. When you have a clear system in place, it becomes manageable. Maybe even a little fun. Here is my golden rule for editing. Treat it like a checklist.
Chunk out the tasks. I know it sounds basic, but it is a game changer. When you break it down into bite sized tasks, you're not staring at this like hour and a half long audio file going, Oh my god, where do I even start? So here's an example of my editing workflow. Feel free to steal it. Step one is your quality edit.
I broke down a lot more about editing way back in episode four, so I'll keep it short here. But your quality edit is where you clean up the audio and it stays the same pretty much every time. So this is something that you can literally just check the boxes and you don't even have to have your headphones on.
You're just letting your DAW, audacity, come on, audacity, uh, run in the background. This is where you're doing your background noise reduction. This is where you're equalizing to your voice with your profile. This is where you're setting your LUFS. This is where you're closing the noise gate. Like, all that good stuff happens in step one.
And just treating the quality of your audio is something that you can so easily just check off. Step two is your content edit. And here you'll tighten the conversation. You'll cut out filler words, long pauses. Anything that just doesn't serve the episode. This is where you're spending your time under your headphones.
This is where you're listening. This is when you're like cutting and super gluing and really making that magic happen. And then finally, step three is when you just add your music, transitions, ads, anything that you have to add in after the just straight up audio file. Keep it simple, but consistent. And remember that your intro and outro music should feel like your podcast's theme song.
I. Had a whole episode about this, but I'm like really hammering at home right now because, uh, I had a friend who is taking over a podcast for an organization that they're a part of, and they were like, can you listen to this? And, you know, help me there. super knowledgeable about podcasting, but just wanted to have some extra ears on it.
And they had me listen to it and it is straight up like the jazzy saxophone 90s, like sexual harassment, corporate training music, um, also poorly mixed. It's just not good. And so I'm really on that with intro music. Anyway, that's a little tangent. Uh, the next system that I want to talk about is hiring a podcast professional.
You do not have to do all of this alone. If you are drowning in editing, show notes, or promotion, it is okay to ask for help. Hiring a podcast professional isn't about giving up control, it's about getting your time back. And any podcasting professional, worth their salt, works with you to make your show feel like you.
They're fingerprints should not be on your work, but they should make your show feel elevated and bossed up. When a client hands me their workload, suddenly they're not rushing to meet deadlines. They're not stressing over audio or perfectly worded show notes. They get to focus on what they actually love about podcasting, which is connecting with their audience, creating killer content and growing their show.
While I do the less fun parts. If the idea of handing over some of the heavy lifting makes you feel like you can breathe again, you need to slide into my DMs. I have helped clients go from overwhelmed to overjoyed with their podcasting process, and I want that joy to be yours, too. But if DIYing makes sense for your pocket, or if you're just proud to say that you produce your show by yourself, there are still tools that can help make it feel a little bit more effortless.
And this is where AI is really your personal assistant. You can train, like ChatGPT, for example, to shoulder some of the load of podcasting with transcription, show notes, and more. And aspects of planning and brainstorming. One of my favorite ways to integrate AI into my podcasting workflow is generating transcripts.
And transcripts are magic for podcasting. They're not just for accessibility, though that right there is a huge win. They're also major for efficiency. When you transcribe your episode, you've already got most of the text that you're going to need for show notes, blog posts, social media posts, you name it.
Instead of having to spend the time listening back through your episode or like, keeping your notebook with you while you edit, you have everything laid out word for word. So back to the Pilates example again. Let's say you just recorded an episode about three core exercises for beginners. With a quick transcription, you can pull out the key points, what the exercises are, why they matter, tips about form, and boom, you have the foundation for detailed show notes.
And you can take that same content and Instagram post or an email blast to your subscribers. This is going to elevate your podcast's assets. When your show notes are clear, engaging, and chock full of keywords, you are helping your podcast get found by new listeners, and you're also just coming across as super profesh.
I am gonna go way deeper in using AI for podcasting in my course, Podcasting on Autopilot, AI That Works for You, which launches in February. This is not about getting all willy nilly with the rocket emoji, or just throwing tech at the wall and seeing what sticks. In this course, I am giving you systems that actually work for your show that you can customize to be as unique as you.
If this sounds like something that you need, make sure that you are signed up for the waitlist. You can find the link in my show notes and I am super excited to bring this to you. Because it is going to make stress free, consistent podcasting in 2025 easy breezy. Now that you've got your batched episodes, you are ready to set it and forget it with pre scheduled publishing.
This tip is a game changer for consistency. Because life happens. Your kid gets sick, you've got 10 other deadlines, or maybe you're on a freaking vacation? And that's okay, because pre scheduled publishing has your back. Once your episode is ready, fully edited, and has show notes and all of its promotional assets, you schedule it to go live on its release date.
Hosting platforms, you know I'm a buzzsprout girly, make this ridiculously easy. All you have to do is upload your audio, add your title, show notes, all that good stuff, Set the release date, and then you're done. It is like a forehead kiss to future you, saying, I got this! This gets even better when you realize that combining pre scheduled publishing with batch recording and batching out your other tasks allows you to free up weeks or even months at a time for yourself.
You can get to the point where you have an entire month's worth of episodes scheduled and ready to go. You can have your Instagram posts scheduled, you can have your blog posts scheduled, like, getting as far out from under the ball as possible is a gift to yourself. That way you're not scrambling every week and you've got time to focus on your other projects.
Which is, of course, a huge help if your podcast ties into your business. Let's say that you're hosting a workshop. You can plan a series of episodes to build excitement for it, record, and schedule them all ahead of time, and then you spend your actual event week engaging with your audience instead of rushing to finish an episode, make sure it gets out, and working out any kinks.
It is a win win win. And if you're using AI tools to streamline things like transcription, show notes, and This process becomes even smoother. Your content pipeline from planning to publishing gets tighter, more efficient, and way less stressful. This is what I want for you. Before we wrap up, I want to shift gears a little bit and talk about something that doesn't get enough hype in the content creation world, and that is Taking breaks and staying passionate about your podcast.
If you are running on fumes, your show will start to feel like just another chore. Ahem. Laundry. And that is not why you started this, I know that. Luckily there are systems that you can put into place for this part of podcasting too. So, first, I want to talk about break management, because no one can operate at full speed all the time.
Ask me and my failing body how I know that. Podcasting is no different from anything else in your life. Whether you're a business podcaster, a Pilates podcaster, like we've been talking about, or you have a true crime show, stepping away occasionally is crucial to your long term success. But, planning breaks does not mean abandoning your audience.
It means being intentional about when and how you step back. And one way to do this is by building time off into your batch cycles. If your show is batched and scheduled, you don't have to babysit it. You can use that time to regroup, plan your next content calendar, recharge your creativity, and just exist in the world.
Another option, if you find yourself just needing a freaking break sometimes, is to have a break glass episode. And these are evergreen episodes that you have in your back pocket if you ever need them. I learned the importance of emergency reserve episodes a few years ago with my first show when I had to travel, like, fly across the world, um, when we were living in Germany, when my father in law ended up passing.
And I found myself recording an episode of that show. In my in law's guest bathroom. Uh, because we ended up being gone a lot longer than we thought we were going to be. So, break glass episodes give you the freedom to step away at the drop of a hat. While still giving your audience value, these can just live in a folder on your computer completely produced edited show notes, ready to go episode assets, ready to go so that if you ever find yourself just needing to get away and you don't have a chance to record or whatever else is part of your process.
You can just, boop, get those up from anywhere in the world. Also, breaks don't have to mean weeks off. Sometimes it is as simple as giving yourself a week of lighter tasks. Maybe you skip recording a new episode and just share like a best of compilation. Or you re release a favorite interview. Let's also talk about passion, because honestly, this is where your magic lives.
When you are passionate about your podcast, it shows your energy, your excitement, your creativity all shine through. But passion isn't something that just sticks around automatically. It is something that you have to nurture and you can't do that if you are overwhelmed by the tasks of running your podcast.
One way that I stay connected to my passion is by regularly checking in and asking myself, what is lighting me up right now? If I feel bored or stuck, I know that it's time to mix things up and that might mean tackling a new topic I've been curious about or experimenting with like a different format, like shorter episodes or mini series or more guests.
But, for example, let's say that you're a business coach who has been doing instructional episodes. For months. And maybe that's leaving you feeling like you are stuck in a rut. So maybe it's time to get a guest on. Maybe it's a therapist who can talk about mindset. Or maybe you even share a personal story about how you used your strategies to transform your life.
Passion is not always this, like, big guiding force. Sometimes you just need, like, small tweaks that bring new fire to your content. All right, finally, before I let you go, I want to talk about accountability partners and co hosts. This is a sleeper system, but a, a really important one. So having someone in your corner, whether that's a co host, a fellow podcaster, A podcast professional can make all the difference in staying consistent and staying motivated.
Accountability partners can help you brainstorm ideas, celebrate your wins, and give you a push when you're feeling stuck. If you have a co host, lean into that collaboration. Divide up the workload so that it doesn't feel so heavy. One of you can handle research while the other focuses on social media, or find a delegation that makes sense for your show.
And if you are flying solo, think about joining a podcasting community. There's plenty on Discord, Facebook, you name it. Having a group of people who get it can be incredibly helpful. Those communities give you a place to talk about your wins, vent about your challenges, and just brainstorm ideas off of each other.
Okay, we have unpacked a whole lot of systems and strategies to make podcasting sustainable, streamlined, and dreamy. Like I mentioned earlier, my course on using AI for your podcast is launching in February. It'll help you double down on what you learned in this episode to work smarter, not harder, With tools that can transform how you approach your podcast.
I am talking transcription and show notes practically done for you, brainstorming tools at your fingertips, and workflows that cut hours off your production time. If you've ever wished that podcasting felt lighter or just more manageable, this course is made for you because I love you. The wait list is open now, so just head to the link in the show notes to save your spot.
And finally, I want to hear from you. What system from today's episode are you excited to implement for your own workflow? Slide into my DMs or tag me on Instagram or threads at Sonovia Studios. I love hearing what's clicking for you. And of course I am here in your corner cheering you on every step of the way.
Thank you so much for tuning in. Please share this with a podcaster who deserves to have producing their show feel a little easier. Thanks for helping me take podcasting up an octave.
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