So, you may have seen a “podcast” link on my website. Yes, I’ve started a podcast. I haven’t launched it yet…officially. But if you’d like to already check it out, you can do so on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or choose your favorite streaming platform here.
What’s my podcast about?
My podcast is called “A Self-Published Author’s Diary”. And in it, I discuss the ups and downs and everything-in-between of my self-publishing adventures. I’ll also chat with writers at different stages of their writing (published and not published).
I even have a trailer…
Why did I decide to launch my podcast?
Several reasons. I may have mentioned some before but here’s a recap: (1) I was inspired by L. Penelope and her podcast My Imaginary Friends, which I really enjoy listening to; (2) being behind a mic and yet connecting with people, giving me an outlet in a way, because yes, I’m an introvert but connecting with people is still important; (3) hopefully be helpful to others and interesting and entertaining; (4) talk about writing with other writers and have more people discover them and their books; (5) yes also have more readers discover my books; (6) Keep track of my progress; (7) My husband encouraged me to do it, so while I had been toying with the idea. It’s great to feel the support.
What are my goals?
Some of my goals are mentioned above: provide helpful information, keep track of my writing and all.
When it comes to my podcast stats, I’d like to have 50 “followers” in the two weeks (after my official launch) and at least 5 reviews. And then grow, as I release more episodes.
If you’d like to already help me with that, you can go onto your podcast platform, the one you use to listen to this and click on “follow” or “subscribe”. And then you can also leave a review on the show on Apple Podcast. It really helps.
I did set-up the podcast to be able to have “monthly supporters”, but I don’t have a goal with that in mind. At least, not yet. Here’s the link for it in case you’re interested in becoming my very first monthly supporter. 🙂 : you can give $0.99, $4.99 or $9.99 per month and stop at any time, of course. I am not planning a patreon at this stage, because between podcasting and writing and my part-time audiobook narration jobs (which are not regular but still happen here and there) and my research part-time freelance gig, I don’t think I could give enough of my time to truly give content to a Patreon group right now.
I’d really like to see readers discover new authors and again to have writers feel like they’re having coffee with me by listening to my podcast.
What podcast platform do I use?
Anchor.fm They distribute the podcast for me and I use their podcast creation platform. So far, it has been pretty cool: they have transitions and background music and all…
The questions I’m wrestling with…
How often should I publish episodes? Consistency, I think, is key. I know exactly when the podcasts I listen to release episodes and I look forward to the episodes dropping.
When should I publish the episodes? I’ve been reading a lot about this. There are quite a few articles explaining when you should publish episodes (Podbean Blog, Medium...and more) and they all seem to agree that the best days are between Mondays and Wednesdays. However, I also read one (which I think was on Anchor and I’ll link to it when I find it again) that mentioned that the best days were Mondays and Fridays.
I asked the question on my Instagram on Sunday (see video capture from that particular Instagram story below).
And there is no consensus.
I talked to the Chemical Engineer about it. My husband…not just a random chemical engineer who nicknamed himself The Chemical Engineer. And he mentioned something about how if a listener really enjoys your podcast, they will listen whether you publish on Monday or on Friday. Which, true. And several articles do agree with him. I do listen to the podcasts I love (currently: True Crime Obsessed, My Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope, Noble Blood, The Murder Squard, My Favorite Murder) on the day of their release or whenever I have time that week and I do go to their podcast to get the latest episode. But some people might just listen to the top one of their list, the one that just got uploaded. The good thing is I can readjust those days too…but I need to be consistent at the beginning.
I think that to keep track of the week Mondays might be better. But to give me more time, Tuesdays might work best.
So, my episodes will be published on Tuesdays and Fridays. On Fridays, I will publish the chats I have with authors and on Tuesdays, the diary of my adventures: the things I’m learning, the things I’m trying, the things I’m writing, my weekly goals.
Yes, I’m an author, I use the word “thing” a lot when I’m not writing.
All my episodes will be published early mornings (East Coast time) because that makes sense to me. While my audience might be worldwide (I’m crossing my fingers it will be), I am guessing a lot of my audience will come from North America. If my audience ends up being mainly in Australia, I’ll adjust the timing I think. You know, if people decide to listen to the episodes when they’re having breakfast or drinking their coffee or tea or getting ready…And then on Friday, it is the same thing. And on Fridays, technically, there would be two audiences maybe listening: my own regular audience and the one of the writer I’m talking to. 🙂
And it does give an episode for the Friday itself and for the weekend as well. Maybe it’s because I listen to podcasts on the weekend too, when I’m cleaning or getting ready.
Launch plan. What is my launch plan?
Soft Launch:
I’ve been doing a soft launch in the last week. I’ve let some of my closest friends and my family know. I asked for feedback and incorporated said-feedback. I’ve added one link in my blog and in the blog articles where I do have that blog article as an episode. I’m writing this blog post right now about it.
1. The logo of the podcast. I used Canva to create the artwork. It’s based on the logo I had created for my blog articles for the A Self-Published Author’s Diary.
2. The logo for each episode: easily changeable so that I can edit it for each episode. Based on the logo of the podcast. For example, here’s the graphic for the March recap episode:
3. A trailer for the podcast.
4. A list of writers/authors who are interested in chatting with me. 🙂 I am so grateful that some authors I was going to cold query in a way already mentioned they wanted to learn more about my Five Questions Friday feature.
5. Several episodes are already published. Not only did it help ensure me that everything was going smoothly in terms of production and feedback but…it also helped ensure the podcast is available on all main streaming platforms before launching.
Here’s a list of the episodes already published:
- Ep. 1 – Do you want to learn more about my adventures in self-publishing?
- Ep. 2 – Let’s start, shall we?
- Ep. 3 – The One with The Interview with Audiobook Narrator Megan Carter
- Ep. 4 – A little March recap: keeping track in an ocean of to-do lists…
- Ep. 5 – Self-publishing platforms and…cicadas?
- Ep. 6 – The One With the Behind-The-Scenes of Launching A Podcast
6. I have an official email (in addition to my regular author email): aselfpublishedauthorsdiary@gmail.com
7. I have purchased the domain: aselfpublishedauthordiary.com and it is linked to my website. I still need to add a button to the right of my website with the different subscription possibilities and work on my podcast page. Currently, the “podcast” link you can see in the menu above links to my Anchor.fm podcast page which, to be fair, links to the streaming platforms, has the trailer and so on…
Official Launch:
1. I will launch it with the episode on the chat with my husband. He’s my first official interviewee.
2. Emailing my author list announcing I have a podcast and then emailing them again on the day of the official launch. And email my self-published author’s mailing list. (They already got a little preview).
3. I have been thinking about a giveaway but am holding off on that because not sure yet what to offer for my giveaway. And I feel like
4. Announce it on all social medias (including one $2 per day add on Facebook for 5 days) + sharing the audio wide.
And then adding content. Like with a book release, the official launch date doesn’t mean that’s once it’s launched I never talk about it. 🙂 I will be adding content to all my social media and this blog…And share what I’m learning and of course share all those chats with the writers I will be talking to.
I can’t wait.
As always, thanks for reading and … listening.
Quick reminder: if you want to support me, my career and these oosts, the best way to do so is to either (1) purchase one of my books and/or audiobooks or recommend them on Overdrive to your library, (2) Subscribe and rate my podcast ( Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or choose your favorite streaming platform here), (3) sign up for the monthly support on my podcast, (4) forward the post to a friend, (5) talk about my books to your friends/family and/or (6) talk about my podcast to your friends and family.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared with my top 3 self-publishing mistakes, if you’d like to get a FREE pdf of my top 5 self-publishing mistakes and receive weekly emails from me: just click here or on this cover, add your email and you’ll get access to the full pdf…
Thank you for reading…and listening!
If you have any questions about my adventures in self-publishing or anything I shared with you today, don’t hesitate to reach out and leave a comment and I’ll make sure to reply in my email next week.
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Elodie Nowodazkij 