5 Things I Learned Producing My First Video Podcast

“You’d rock a podcast, 100%”

I had someone say this to me and thought, “why not explore this option?”

I had an idea that I was passionate about and had seven days to complete the application for the grant before the deadline—however, I definitely recommend giving yourself more than a week to start the application process! Three months later, I received an email saying, “Congratulations, your STORYHIVE Video Podcast project has been selected!” 

All my life I’ve had a strong desire to follow my soul and have channelled my energy into helping others. I followed my passion and love for fitness and opened Soul Studio in 2014 in Vernon, BC. Music, movement and community was a driving force behind Soul Studio. The fitness industry was directly impacted by COVID and I was forced to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic and made a heartbreaking decision to close my business in 2022. I went from being the busiest person to the complete opposite; something I never envisioned my life would lead me to. I was forced to slow down and learn about a different side of life. The transition was not easy, but I’ve learned that life has so much to offer once you take the time to slow down.

So here we are eight video podcasts filmed, submitted and premiered on TELUS Optik TV, Stream+ and STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel. Looking back, I can’t believe how much I’ve learned!

My podcast is titled Feed Your Soul. Through the podcast, I get to know a few Vernon locals as they share their experiences through life transitions that have led to beautiful transformations. The journey of self discovery is inspirational to living your best life. Lead with your heart and move towards alignment in body, mind and soul.

Starting from scratch, I decided to do some research on how to create a successful podcast and broke them down into the following five categories. These are the key things I learned producing my first video podcast. 

1. The Idea

Come up with an idea that you are passionate about. This is the main underlying message of your podcast. When you have passion and expertise about something your conversation should just flow naturally, and that is what makes a great podcast have an authentic feel!    Define your target audience and select your guests accordingly. Take the time to dive into some details on how you envision your podcast, and this will give you a strong foundation to build your show.

Since this podcast is an extension of the work I did at Soul Studio, I wanted to continue my mission of helping others be the best they can be! The guests on Season 1 have all gone through major transitions in their life or have shared stories on how they discovered joy in places they never expected to. I’ve always been inspired by listening to others so conversation was able to flow naturally.

Define your target audience and select your guests accordingly. I broke down my target market into 4 segments – demographic, geographic, behavioral and psychographic. Take the time to dive into some details on how you envision your podcast, and this will give you a strong foundation to build your show.

2. Marketing Campaign

What image will represent this podcast? You may need to invest in a photo shoot to get an image that will catch the eye and draw your audience to your podcast. Come up with a colour scheme and logo that you can keep consistent on your website, thumbnails, social media and other ways you will advertise and distribute your podcast. The image is a big part of what will draw a listener to your podcast!

3. Create the Space

Once you’ve got an idea of what your podcastI is about and how you are going to market it, take those ideas into the space where you will film. What colours represent your ideas?  How will you pull a space together that will visually draw your audience to watch? What kind of furniture will look good on film? What accessories will be needed to add colour or to fill a space?  Keep your set simple: less is more! Make sure you have proper lighting and aim to have two different camera angles.

4. Audio/Visual Equipment

Here is a list of equipment I purchased with some of the grant funds

• 2 – Shure MV7 XLR Podcast Mics

• 2 – Boom Arms

• Neewer 700W Equivalent Softbox Lighting Kit

• Sony ZV-10 Camera (main camera)

• Refurbished Iphone 13 for 2nd camera

• Mac Laptop (my laptop was old, so needed a new one)

• USB Hub

• Riverside Subscription for recording

Items I already had:

• Tripod

• XLR Cables to hook mics up

• Roland USB Audio Interface
  

5. Find your Community

Because podcasting was so new to me, I had to find a few people to help me take my vision to the next level. I needed expertise on camera set up and making sure all the audio components were in good working order. I also needed someone who could edit and put together my episodes. Make sure you find people that understand who you are, what you are trying to accomplish and can stay within your budget. More heads are better than one! 

My final point is to create checklists, especially for the day you film. There is so much to remember and there were a few episodes where we forgot a few things including selecting the correct mic to pull the sound from. So, creating a checklist is a great way to make sure you have everything in place before you hit ‘record’.

I’m grateful for the opportunity from TELUS STORYHIVE to create my own video podcast, something that I never once imagined doing. I am so proud of what I accomplished and how much I learned along the way.  

Be yourself, have fun and enjoy the process! If you’re considering making a move to digital content creation, video podcasting, live streaming or filmmaking, keep an eye on STORYHIVE’s current Editions and programs at STORYHIVE.com/programs and start your application!

Watch Feed Your Soul as part of the new TELUS STORYHIVE Video Podcast premiere now on TELUS Optik TV channel 9, Stream+ and STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel.