Advertise on podcast: Podcast Launch Pad

We've all heard podcast or radio interviews that have hit the buffers. And it's excrutiating! The monosyllabic answers to questions. The desperate rephrasing of questions by the interviewer. The sense that everything is imploding.  You literally live the participants' panic with them. Fortunately, a pre-recorded podcast interview is nothing like as traumatic as a live radio interview and on this episode Serena gives plenty of tips for what to do during the interview if your guest  seizes up or if they appear offended. In part 2 next week, we'll look at how to rescue an awful interview in the editing process. About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

Setting correct podcast volume levels both at the start of recording and in the editing process is pretty important.  No one like having to tweak their volume controls while listening to a podast.  And if they ARE inconsistent, it is a sign of sloppy post-production work... so don't let anyone accuse you of that!  Besides which, it is not a difficult issue to sort - as Serena explains on this episode.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

In this episode, Serena sets out the pros and cons of podcasting solo or with a co-host.  As with all such decisions, it ends up being a personal one to suit the individual.  You might really enjoy and benefit from the input of a co-host and your conversations with guests might be livelier, better informed ... funnier even.  On the other hand, unless you are completely certain you can rely on your co-host - it might prove to be a disaster if they drop out after a while.  What's more, the vibe between you might not work terribly well.  And podcasting solo allows you to be completely in control of the material, the interview questions and the time and place of recording.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

Ouch - that was a hard lesson to learn.    What happened? I needed a break after a year's worth of uninterrupted weekly podcast editions and the podcast itself needed a refresh. I promised my following that I would be back in just a couple of weeks. In the end, it took me about 7-8 weeks to revamp the podcast and to re-energise myself while  working all the while on some important client accounts. But some of my followers simply turned elsewhere. They are slowly returning to the fold along with new ones but it's not a mistake I intend to repeat - and I hope you learn from it too. About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

Launching a podcast is fun and rewarding. But there are new skills to learn and sometimes it saves you time to seek help elsewhere.  Most podcasters are naturally gifted with the talking bit! Otherwise, they wouldn't have started one.  But the technical aspects of editing, mixing and mastering audio can be time-consuming and possibly not as much fun as interviewing your peers.  So, consider outsourcing that. You can also seek professional help in the marketing of your podcast. It's really all about saving time while making the maxium impact.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

In this super short episode, Serena implores podcasters to focus on getting straight down to the content of their production.  There's nothing worse than listening to the podcast host or hosts rattle on about how their week was, or about insignificant stuff that has nothing to do with the podcast theme.  This is especially true for business podcasters because people are making the time to listen to you to learn something.  Generally, they are not interested in people's mundane lives unless they are really well-known in which case, they seem sadly to be completely fascinated.  But most of us are not famous! Listen for a useful tip on how you can combine a little bit of the personal with a whole lot of useful input.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

We used to think we had to record our podcasts in sound-proofed booths. Maybe we thought about hiring a sound engineer too to make sure everything ran smoothly. But the pandemic changed everything,  as this podcast episode makes clear. Listeners are now more accepting of the kind of noises you might expect to hear at the end of any telephone line. Like dogs barking or children playing. This podcast episode discusses what that might mean for podcasters, old and new and what measures you still need to maintain to ensure respectable audio quality.   About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

In this episode, I bring you news of  exciting new trends apparent from entries in the first round of the British Podcast Awards which I helped judge in April 2022. Exciting new trends, yes, but also evidence that some podcasters are still making basic errors which I also report on. It was a huge privilege to be involved in the British Podcast Awards and I loved to see how podcasters are becoming more inventive, experimental and imaginative in their productions. There were some amazing entries from the LGBTQ+ communities which really stretched the podcasting envelope. Equally impressive  were the podcasts which gave voice to those fleeing barbarism in all its forms. There was some awesome interviewing skills on show this year which left me full of admiration. And sound design is becoming much more of "a thing" in podcasts in 2022 with some excellent work on show. On the negative side, there are still too many podcasts out there with semi-celebs and poorly prepared hosts. And it was a pity to find the odd podcast that reinforced stereotypes or whose hosts never got the "sound energised" memo. There was even the odd painful technical issue. It will be fascinating to see who wins this year - there are some great contenders. About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

More than a rant - this episode makes it crystal clear how to leave a podcast review on Apple for your favourite podcasts.  Go on - have a quick listen and then do as Serena suggests! Follow the easy steps she outlines and leave a nice review for the podcasts you love to listen to.  You really will be doing the podcast teams behind the productions a huge favour.  Up to now you may have found it tricky to work out how to leave reviews. This is because it is easy to confuse the podcast landing page (where there's space to leave reviews) with the individual episode pages (where there's no space to leave reviews).  As you'll hear in the very short rant section - this is a problem that Apple could  easily resolve and it's a mystery to Serena as to why they haven't.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

There are important decisions that have to be made when you first launch a website. And one of them is where to host information about your podcast.  Hosting a podcast on your existing website will take up too much band width. That's what podcast hosts like Buzzsprout are for.  But you do want to host links to each new episode as well as information about the podcast and its producers in addition to news about your services and special offers.  So this episode supplies a handy solution to the problem - which is how to host a dedicated podcast tab on your existing website.  You can also easily create a podcast website through your podcast host. They make designing it super easy and although the end product is relatively limited, it might be just what you need at the start of your podcast journey.  About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

Are there enough podcast-savvy older listeners to make it worth launching a targeted podcast? You bet. A bunch of reliable statistics from established market researcher such as Edison Research show that older listeners are huge audio fans - and they're fast catching up with the number of younger podcast listeners. As ever, it's all down to nailing your ideal podcast listener and catering exactly for their needs. About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!   

There are good and bad ways to introduce a podcast guest - but, in my experience, the podcasts that pull in listeners bother to do it right. In this episode, Serena literally spells out - word for word - an introduction lasting about 45 seconds that achieves the following: 1. pronounces the name of the guest correctly (disastrous when you can't even get that right!) 2. chooses a few relevant details to highlight your guest's impressive background and relevance to your ideal listener 3. helps establish a rapport and eases your guest into the first question This sort of introduction doesn't take half a day to write and research but it does require a little effort from the podcast host. Honestly, it's worth it - both for the sake of your show and the impression it leaves with your guest (who you'll want to help promote the show when it's published). About me Hello, I'm Serena Gay, a BBC-trained journalist and a former international satellite TV presenter. I have many years of news and audio production experience which I now use to great effect as CEO of a podcast making company called "Made4U Podcasts". I've  also helped run family businesses in the UK and Germany in the tourism and wine education fields. So I understand the pressures on businesspeople to perform, promote and reach new and profitable streams of clients. That's why these podcasts are short, pithy and full of information - not blather! Contact... Facebook: @Made4uPodcasts Website: www.made4u-podcasts.co.uk Email: [email protected] Why not download my guide to business podcasting  too - you'll find it a treasure trove of information as you start your podcasting journey P.S. I use and recommend podcast host Buzzsprout to new podcasters who want to  get their shows listed on every major podcast platform. You can use this link to sign up. If you choose a paid plan  you’ll get a $20 or a £15 Amazon gift card. This will also help support my show - so thank you!