Want to travel the world for a living? Start a travel podcast and make your voice travel across the globe. This article explores six tips on how to start your own travel podcast.
What do podcasts and traveling have in common? They are very popular these days. More people are traveling more than ever before, and more people are listening to more audio content than ever before. So, a travel podcast sounds like a winning combination.
Podcasts are popping up like daisies these days. In fact, in 2021, there are as many as about two million podcasts out there. This is a significant growth considering that in 2018, there were only 500,000 podcasts. What’s more, in 2020, there were nearly 485 million podcast listeners worldwide, a number expected to increase to 800 million users by 2025. So, there’s no better time than NOW to start a podcast.
That being said, keep reading below to learn these six tips on how to start a travel podcast.
1. Select a travel niche
You know that your podcast’s topic will be traveling. But do you know what about traveling exactly? If not, you need to start by figuring this out.
Traveling content is very vast, having various niches from budget travel to traveling with kids, business travel, continent travel, couples travel, hiking travel, and solo travel. And, these are just a few examples. There are many more niches related to traveling that you can choose from.
Now, when selecting a travel niche for your podcast, make sure that you choose something that you are passionate about and an expert in. For example, if you choose the budget travel niche, make sure that you are a pro in traveling for less and that you know all hacks for this. Or, if you choose the niche of traveling with kids, make sure that you hold some precious insights about the topic for other parents who want to travel with their little ones.
2. Make a podcast plan
It can be tempting to sit down and start recording your thoughts on a topic to get it started. But, it may not be the best idea if you’re planning to make your podcast really successful and not have it flying under the radar.
To have an excellent podcast and attract many listeners, you first need to be a professional yourself. One way to do that is first to sit down and make a plan. Here are some key factors you should consider:
What will you talk about?
You have a topic and a niche. But what exactly will you be telling your audience about them?
If you want to be a professional podcaster, you can’t simply record yourself saying whatever things go through your head about the subject. You need to have a specific structure in your speech so that you’ll be sure that you only include relevant information in your content. Here are some options you have to build your travel content for your podcast:
- To share your adventures
- To offer tips on transportation, budget, documents, etc.
- To review specific locations.
What format will your podcast have?
Next, once you know exactly what you want to share with your audience about traveling, it is time to decide on a podcast format. Will your podcast be like a monologue? Or maybe you want your podcast to be a conversational one? Will you take interviews in your podcast? Or maybe you want to share your travel stories? Think of which format suits your podcast idea and personal preferences, and go for that.
3. Buy your recording equipment
What will you record your podcast with? Sure, you can use your smartphone. Modern smartphones have pretty good recording capabilities. But, if you want to create a professional podcast, you may have to invest some money in more quality equipment.
The minimum of gear you’ll need to record a podcast includes a computer, microphone, audio interface (which is particularly important if you’ll have guests in your audio show), headphones, and podcast recording software.
When you’re just starting your podcasting journey, you probably don’t have or want to invest too many resources in top-quality gear. Don’t worry about that! Some average quality equipment will do as well, as long as your listeners won’t have to strain to hear what you or your guests are talking about in your episodes.
4. Screen potential guests
If you’ve decided that your podcast format will involve other people as well, you need to do your research on who to invite to your audio show. Guests are a pretty big thing in the podcasting world because they can make an audio show more exciting and can attract new listeners.
But, this doesn’t mean that you can invite just anyone who has some opinions about traveling. If you want your podcast to be relevant and interesting to your listeners, you need to pick quality guests who actually have valuable insights to share about your podcast’s topic.
For example, you can invite really famous people from the traveling industry, like travel influencers, travelers who beat records for climbing, or anyone who can bring a fresh breath to your show and share exciting facts with your audience.
When choosing guests, it is also a good idea to take a look at their following base. The more popular they are, the bigger the chances for their fans to get excited to see their names in your show and watch it. This can quickly transform your guest’s fans into your podcast’s fans.
5. Promote your podcast
You could create the most incredible travel podcast that ever existed. If no one hears about it, it’s nearly impossible that it will get any fans. This is where marketing shines. Be as serious as possible about promoting your podcast everywhere. You can use social media, email marketing, word-of-mouth, in-person events, whatever suits your target audience better.
Don’t forget to be as visual as possible when promoting your audio show. Science has confirmed that our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. You can, for example, create audiogram video content to provide your audience with a few insights about your latest episodes. Or, you can use social media to share photos about the process of making your episodes.
6. Be consistent
Like it or not, your listenership numbers won’t grow overnight. Having a successful podcast requires time and commitment to upload fresh content, even when you only have a small base of listeners. So, use all the tips above to create a good podcast and be consistent with your efforts to grow it over time.