215: Essential Guide to Launching Your Podcast: Key Steps and SEO Strategies

Heidy: 0:00

And so I just love listening to people's stories, like you know the things that they went through and stuff like that. So I was like man, like I really love that the interview, listening to people's stories, and I really think that sharing our stories is really powerful, right, and it changes the world and everything. So I was like I want to start a podcast.

Camille: 0:24

So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO. Welcome back everyone to Call Me CEO.

Camille: 0:46

This is your host, Camille Walker, and here we celebrate stories of mothers building businesses and making real waves and ripples in the world, and I am so thrilled. Today we have Heidy De La Cruz with us on the call and she's going to be telling us about how to launch a podcast successfully as a business owner, as well as what are some SEO tools that you can use today to have more visibility in your podcast. And I'm really excited about this because I just launched a baby brand new podcast called five minute meditations for kids. So, in addition to this podcast, I now have another one that we're just starting out brand new. So I feel like this will be a good refresher for me and for you if that's something that you're looking to do. So, heidi, thank you so much for being on the call today.

Heidy: 1:36

No. Thank you so much for providing the space and for me to be able to share my story and some tips with your audience.

Camille: 1:44

Yeah Well, I failed to mention that your podcast is the American dream in the eyes of immigrants, which is such a beautiful approach to podcasting. How did you get the inspiration to start your own podcast?

Heidy: 1:58

Oh my goodness. Well, I've been a fan of podcasts years before I even decided to launch one, and particularly there was just this one where people come on, mostly authors. They will share about their book and what brought them to write their book, and things like that, and so I just love listening to people's stories like you know the things that they went through and stuff like that.

Heidy: 2:18

So I was like man, like I really love that the interview, listening to people's stories, and I really love sharing. I really am. I really think that sharing our stories is really powerful, right, and it changes the world and everything. So I was like I want to start a podcast. So it was going to be just like me and you know, people that I know, and just sharing the good thing that God was doing in their lives and how they're impacting the community around them. But, again, I had wanted to start a podcast and I didn't for years, which is actually very common for people who want to launch that itch for years and they don't actually do it until, like you know, two, three years later.

Heidy: 2:55

So that's the same thing that happened to me. So, finally, I was on maternity leave in 2022. And I was like, oh, I have some extra time. You know, let me start this podcast that I still want to start. So, as I'm researching, literally googling, how to launch a podcast, gathering you know all the information, I'm like, okay, what do I want this to be?

Heidy: 3:15

And then, all of a sudden, I come across this article for on medium, and it was this article about an immigrant who came from Kenya and she was sharing how each cultural shock that she experienced in the United States really diminished her confidence in herself. And I was like, oh my God, this really hit home, because my parents are immigrants. They came from the Dominican Republic in the nineties, I was born here, and then my husband is also an immigrant. He also came from the Dominican Republic when he was nine years old. So, you know, just a lot of things came to my like my family stories, my husband's story, and so, after reading that article, I went up to my husband and I was like, hey, you came when you were nine years old. You know that's young. Do you remember, like, how you felt the experience and things like that? And he was like, yeah, very vividly. So he's telling me his story of, like when he first went, when they first landed in New York. So from the Dominican Republic very tropical Caribbean, you know island to concrete jungle, right.

Heidy: 4:12

And he was like you know the shock of it all and so, as a nine-year-old, you know it impacted him. So he's telling me this, his story. I'm like, okay, that's what my podcast is going to be about. We? I'm like, okay, that's what my podcast is going to be about. We're going to share immigrant stories. We are going to share about that, about coming to United States. What brought them here? How was life back home? And we talk about cultural shocks that they experienced. If anyone helped them, you know who helped them? How did that help come about? And it's funny because a lot of the majority of people, like the church community, is like really involved in like helping them get situated and things like that, which I find that so beautiful. So that's how my podcast, the American Dream in the Eyes of Immigrants, came about and it was really just kind of a tribute to like my family's journey is my husband's journey and just a journey of all the immigrants out there that come to this great country.

Camille: 5:03

Oh, that's awesome. I love that you're sharing those stories, especially where I feel like a lot of the stories shared in that spotlight through the news are not happy stories and can focus on the negative, and so the fact that you're getting those real on the ground stories is so powerful, because there is still the American dream that can happen and it isn't all negative, so that's really cool. So let's talk about shifting gears to launching a podcast because, like you said, I even thought for a few years before I launched my own podcast if I should do it, if it was oversaturated, if I had what it took. So let's go through some of those frequently asked questions that you get of how to start a podcast and if it's a good idea.

Heidy: 5:51

Yeah, so you, you touched one. Um, is it too saturated? And it's like it seems like nowadays everybody and their mothers has a podcast, Right. And it reminds me of like back in the day, like when everybody was blogging, you know, like that was a big thing and it's like oh, everyone has a blog. So now it's like oh, everyone has a podcast, but the thing is that a lot of people don't know is that actually the percentage of podcasters who don't make it past the 10th episode is really high.

Camille: 6:14

It's like over 90% yeah.

Heidy: 6:28

And so it's like okay, that's one of the biggest thing is like, if you're thinking about launching a podcast, my biggest, my tip is to know your why. Why is it that you want to start a podcast? What is it that you want to talk about? Is it something that is passion driven? Because you know you can make money for podcasts? But, just like building a business, just like building a blog, everything takes time, right? So just, I really tell my clients and everyone to just really hone down on what is your why and then write down at least like three to five goals that you would like to reach with the podcast and then also think about your mission and your vision. So what is the mission with the podcast? What is it that you're trying to achieve? And then, what is the vision? Like, where do you see the podcast going, let's say, five years from now? Right? So that's how I really start with my clients and the tips that I give people.

Heidy: 7:14

Because podcasting is a lot of fun. Like, because podcasting is a lot of fun, like I love this, I love being a guest, I love connecting with others, I love sharing the immigrant stories. But there is so much work behind the scenes that goes into podcasting and that's why a lot of people like don't really realize until they're in it and it's like, oh man, this is a lot. So that's why a lot of people don't make it past the 10th episode. But I really like set people up with a plan. Really, you know, honing down your why, what are we going to talk about? How often are you able to publish? How often, you know, are you going to edit? Are you going to be able to outsource that? So there's a few things to think about. But most importantly, I say, like, start off with your why, why do you?

Camille: 7:52

want to start that's. I agree with that 100%. In fact, a freebie that I have on my website, camillewalkerco, is discover your why. Because, whether it is starting the blog, the business, the podcast, whatever the thing is, you really have to be cozy with that why? Because there will be hard times where you'll ask yourself, why am I doing this? And you need to have a really solid foundation of remembering why, what those reasons were. Do you think that people that's hard for them to define, or is that something that seems to come pretty easily?

Heidy: 8:30

It really depends. Like I've had clients who just immediately knew right away why they wanted to start and what they wanted to talk about. And there are some clients who are just like well, I have a lot of things that I want to talk about. I'm interested in a lot of things, like how do I narrow down? So when I have those clients, what I have them do is like, okay, your first homework and if there's anybody's out there who's in the same boat, you can do this too.

Heidy: 8:51

So your first homework is brainstorm and brain dump all the ideas, all the topics that you want to talk about. Right, write them all down and see if there is a common denominator between them. If you can find a common denominator, then you can go ahead and niche down to that and then from there you can expand. Right, so that's what I have people do. Because, yes, like that happened to me when I, as a writer, like I was like, oh, I need a, you know, niche down, niche down. And it's like I don't know. Like I like talking, I like writing about very different things, and now I, I now I'm just writing about podcasting and sharing tips about podcasting. So eventually, you know, I was able to niche down. But so yeah, so it's just brain dump all the ideas that you may have and just see if there's anything common denominator, and then that way you can go from there.

Camille: 9:38

I like that. What do you think is one of the hardest hurdles for people starting a podcast?

Heidy: 9:44

Getting over listening to their own voice recording. It happened to me. Like you know, you always like watch those videos or like recordings, like I don't want to hear my voice, but then, as you get your reps in and like you keep recording episodes, you get over that so like, for example, I would record, you know, reels on Instagram and, like my husband will listen to them.

Heidy: 10:07

Like next thing, I'm like no, like don't, I don't want to hear myself, I don't want to hear myself. Yeah, yeah, now it's just whatever. It's like, oh, I'll, I'll tell him. Like hey, I have a new podcast, I'll like you want to listen to it. Like, let's watch it, you know, together, because you just it's just something that you would get over, you know, just as you get your reps in.

Camille: 10:25

Yes, I agree with that. That goes the same for recording reels or making it. You know, any kind of social media where you're seeing your face or you're hearing your voice. One way that, if you're not quite used to that and you want to practice hearing and listening and seeing yourself, is Marco Polo. I love to have people that I'm coaching start out with seeing and hearing themselves talk on Marco Polo, because it's something you could do private or you could do with a friend.

Camille: 10:55

But it's getting used to seeing your mannerisms, your voice, the way you look on camera, and if there's something that you want to change, you can, but most of the time it's really just the repetition, like you said, getting used to what you look and hear, like here, like, yeah, that makes sense. So, yeah, I agree with that a hundred percent. Let's switch into SEO, because I feel like when you're launching that podcast, you have your why, you know what the topic is, you're excited about it, you get the gear. What is the best practice for descriptions, tags, titles, what are some tools that you use to make it really SEO friendly so it's discoverable?

Heidy: 11:38

Yeah, just once you discover your topic, then you're able to discover, you know your keywords. What are the keywords that you're going to be using in your podcast title, which is important in your podcast description, which is telling people what the podcast is about. So you definitely want to have keywords in there. And then you know your episode titles. You definitely want to have keywords in there as well. And just so everyone knows, like, wherever you listen to podcasts right, whether it's Apple podcast, whether it's Spotify, wherever it is, they have their own algorithm, so they have their own searchability, right. So if you go and you want to find a podcast, let's say on business, right, you will type in podcast for business. So, whatever podcast is high on SEO with a keyword business will come up. So that's what you want to think about when you're launching your podcast.

Heidy: 12:26

It's like what is the word or keywords that I want to be discovered for, right? So, for example, mine is about immigrants. So my, my keyword is immigrants and it is in my title, although it is on the. It is the last word, but it should. You know, you should have it closer to the first word. Your keyword, Right. And then also in my podcast description when I where I share what my podcast is about. It's about sharing the stories of immigrants coming to the United States. So just making sure that those keywords are there so people can find your show within the podcast listening platforms.

Camille: 13:01

Is there a tool or something that you use to help you come up with your keywords or your subtitles or the titles of your show?

Heidy: 13:10

Yeah, so you can use. I believe it's Google keyword, I can't remember the exact name it's in Google that you can use to find what, like, the most popular keywords are. You can see what people are searching on Google and what's trending Right, so you can definitely use that. And then I also, when I'm coming up with podcast titles, I run my title through, capitalize my title dot com, and what that does is you would put your title in and it will give you a score on how good this title will rank or not, and you want that score to be over 60. So if it's less than 60, I think it gets like a yellow light and then if it's like really bad, I'll get like a red light. So you want to think green, good, right, so you want to get a score of 60 or higher and then you can click on it and then it'll also give you like a breakdown of like the reliability score, the SEO score, and I can't remember what the other one is but it will tell you if it's SEO good.

Heidy: 14:08

I also like to use chat GPT to try to generate ideas for different podcast titles. So if you know what your podcast, you know it's going to be about, then you can tell. Just chat GPT like hey, give me 20 SEO friendly podcast episodes for this topic, Right, and of those twenties, run them through capital as my title and see which one has the highest SEO score, and then there you go.

Camille: 14:30

I like that. Using those two together, that's really smart. I have used chat GPT to even upload, say, I've written a blog post and I say I want to rank for certain keywords. I will also ask ChatGPT to write a meta description. This is more for the actual blog posts, not so much the podcast, but you can have it help you write social captions or meta descriptions, alt tags, so that it kind of does the hard work for you. Oh my gosh, chatgpt saves so much time.

Camille: 14:59

I love the idea of using it with the capitalize. My title, that is gold. I'm for sure going to have to do that. Yeah, so when you are launching a baby new podcast, what are some ways that you like to maximize the launch of that podcast? I know there's some different tactics and tools for this to try to hit the charts, but I'm curious what you would say.

Heidy: 15:21

Yeah. So I like to break things down into like little tasks, right, so it's not overwhelming, because there's just so much moving parts when it comes to launching a podcast. So I like to say I like to launch, I like to help people launch the simple way. So we'll break things down, like I said, starting with our why and then getting into, like the goals and what we're going to talk about. I also like for the clients to really think of that target audience. So really that one person, right that avatar. So like what do they do with writing? Yes, same thing with podcasting. Like really think of that avatar. Like who are you going to be talking to get specific male, female, age range? Um, income bracket, are they moms? Are they not moms? You know things like that, um, and so just really try to take it one step at a time, because there is a lot out there and it can get overwhelming.

Heidy: 16:12

And that's how I was at first, when I was literally Googling how to launch a podcast. So much information out there that I was so overwhelmed and I was like, ok, I need to take this one step at a time. So when I was creating my course that's how that's like I went back to like when I was launching my podcast, I was like, ok, how would I do it this time? Right, and I really would like for people to set a realistic timeline, because I know like people like, oh, just press record and go ahead, right, but I'm like, no, you really want to plan it and really want to, you know, do things with on the right foot. So really plan out. I say like six weeks. It should be like a good soft, a good space for you to launch your podcast.

Heidy: 16:54

And yes, there are many tools out there. Like I said, you know the capitalize, my title for the SEO and things. But then also, you know, even for editing, like I came across a few months ago this website called Afonik and it removes, you know, background noise. It removes, you know, unwanted noise right from the, from the background, and it really makes your audio crisp. And they offer two hours for free of editing so you run your audio through there. It will remove whatever it is that you wanted to remove and then you can listen to the difference too. You can listen to how it sounded before Alphonic and how it was afterwards, and it's just been so, it's just been so good to using that platform for the editing of the audio.

Camille: 17:39

Oh, that is really nice, Is it Alphonic A-L-P-H-O-N-I-C?

Heidy: 17:51

It is A-U-P-H-O-N-I-C. It is A-U-P-H-O-N-I-C.

Camille: 17:51

I'll find it. I probably mispronounced it. It's the Spanish in me, sorry. No, it's okay. I just wanted to make sure we heard what that was. That's really helpful. Which hosting platform do you like to use for your podcasts?

Heidy: 18:00

So I am using Spotify for podcasters because of the video portion of it. But even before they had the video, that was the one that kept coming up when I was researching Spotify for podcasters and so I, from the jump, I've used it and I've I've liked it cause it works for me, but I know that it gets you know. Some, like a lot of other podcasters, don't like it. They say to use a paid service better. Supposedly it pushes out your content more, but it's been working for me. People have been finding my podcasts and things like that, so that's the one that I am using. But for I've had clients who use Simplecast, some use Buzzsprout, podbean.

Heidy: 18:43

My biggest thing is like I don't just because I use Spotify for podcasters, I don't try to sway my clients to use those. I always say let's do research. What is it that you need for your podcast? Because what you need may be different than what I need. Not everybody has a video podcast and not everybody needs a video podcast, so they don't need the video aspect of Spotify, right? So I really tell people just to do their research on like the biggest ones and just see what features they have and what actually they need for their podcast yeah, that's helpful.

Camille: 19:12

The one that I just launched, the five minute meditations for kids. We love that. Spotify has video too, because we have video that goes with the audio, and it's been so fun to see it because I use Buzz, I use Buzzsprout for my distribution, and so I hadn't really paid a lot of attention to that video aspect, which is really helpful. Do you put your podcast on YouTube as well?

Heidy: 19:36

I do, but I don't use the RSS feed that they just put out there when they got removed the Google podcast. I just put my video on YouTube like if it was a regular YouTube video and I don't have a specific reason why I haven't used it. I just know that, like you know, youtube has has been a video platform from the jump, and so they have their own algorithm and their own search engine. So I just rather put the video on there. Yeah, worth there, yeah, work with it there. So but if you, if you want to use the RSN feed, you know it's there for you and people can, you know, listen to your podcast there and things like that. But I just, you know, I just see YouTube as more of video than a podcast platform right now. I mean it could change in the future just how things are going, but that's just me and my personal preference.

Camille: 20:25

Yeah, one thing to keep in mind for YouTube especially is that it is its own search engine as well. So if you're when, like the podcast, I just launched five minute meditations for kids, when I searched that on Google, it's videos that pop up more than anything else and so immediately from the jump we were like, okay, we need video, because that's where a lot of the searches is going to pop to the top is the video where on call me CEO podcast, it's more business oriented, more. It's just a different kind of of podcast. So I'm I am still putting videos on YouTube for this podcast, but it's not for the same purpose it's. It's not as much of a priority, I guess. But video is the future, they say in everything. So if you're recording the audio, I assume may as well just record the video and put it up if you can. Those baby steps, but that's just what I think. So, with recording the podcast, where do you like to tell people to film?

Heidy: 21:30

do you like to tell people to film? So I use, I use um zoom, and the reason why I use zoom is because a lot of my guests are not podcasters and everybody knows how to use zoom, so I don't really have to like teach them. But I know that Riverside is really popular and Riverside also has where it creates video clips for you Um, right in there, yeah, and it transcribes the video. So it's really good, it transcribes a video, so you have that as well, and I know that a lot of people like to use. I think it's Chromecast, the other one, that a lot of people like to use. I've heard really good things about those two platforms, but me, I use Zoom just because it's easier for my guests.

Camille: 22:07

Zoom just because it's easier for my guests. Yeah, yeah, I agree with that, and the video quality is good enough and if you want, you can get a webcam, but for me it's. It's been fine, but I don't. I bought a webcam and then I didn't end up using it, which I think is. It's interesting, the things you learn going through it. And then launching a second podcast, I'm like, oh, this is easier, because the first time everything just feels so foreign. And then you do it again and you're like, oh, this isn't as scary or as overwhelming as it used to be yeah Well, this has been really helpful.

Camille: 22:36

What last tips or hangups would you suggest for people? Maybe in lessons you've learned the hard way from helping people do something and seeing people get tripped up in doing it the hard way, from helping people do something and seeing people get tripped up in doing it the hard way.

Heidy: 22:49

What I love to tell people all the time is whatever it is that you want to start whether it is a business, whether it is a blog, whether it is a podcast is to reach out to someone who's doing it and ask questions. You'll be surprised how willing people are to help. You'll be surprised how willing people are to help and I say this because I did it myself the podcast and I was so overwhelmed which is why I became a podcast coach and to help others because of my experience and how overwhelmed I was and I didn't know anyone around me no family members, no friends were launching podcasts when I was doing it, and so I really didn't have anyone to lean to. So I really highly suggest, like, whatever it is that you're trying to launch or start, reach out to someone who's doing it More people are willing to help than not and then just get those tips and things like that and learn from other people's mistakes. You know, so you don't have to make the same ones?

Camille: 23:43

Yeah, I would. I would reiterate that, with asking for help and then also getting the support you need. Because for me it was more of setting up a system where I don't have the bandwidth to edit and distribute the way that I would like to. But sometimes you have to start there and that's okay. But for me I was like it's not going to work unless I have a system where I can record and send for it to be edited and then sent back, and that has been a game changer for me.

Camille: 24:09

So just really understand your bandwidth, of starting a podcast with something you can maintain, because I think in the beginning we have all these good intentions of showing up and doing it and and making it all line up perfectly. But sometimes it's about getting that support and if you need help with that, you know that I help with that and I help line people up with virtual assistants who can help you do that for your business. So this has been so great. Heidi, I'm so grateful that you are sharing your voice, helping people launch podcasts. I do think that stories we share, and especially ones with so much purpose that you're sharing, is what really is changing minds and giving ideas and giving people the courage to share their own voice, which is, I hope, what is the message that is being delivered today for everyone listening.

Heidy: 24:58

Thank you so much for having me.

Camille: 25:00

You're welcome, all right. Well, everyone, thank you for tuning into this episode. Make sure that you are subscribed and leave a five-star rating so that others can find and discover these amazing stories of mothers building businesses and changing the world. Thank you so much for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Hey CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment and a five-star review. You could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at call me CEO podcast, and remember you are the boss.