Thinking about starting a podcast? In an age where everyone and their dog seems to have one you might be wondering whether this space is already saturated.

Never fear: there’s still plenty of room for your brand’s podcast—and plenty of value to offer B2B listeners. A podcast gives you a direct line to engage your audience and establish authority in your industry. It also acts as a sounding board to test ideas and get audience feedback.

But how exactly do you go about starting a B2B podcast? In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through everything you need to plan, produce, and promote your own podcast.

A podcast isn’t just a standalone tactic—it can be foundational to your larger content marketing strategy by feeding other channels with multimodal content that resonates with your audience.

But first, you’ve got to plan to win. Here are 10 steps to launch your B2B podcast.

If you’ve been in B2B marketing for any amount of time, we don’t have to tell you that defining goals is the first step of starting a podcast—or literally any new project. If the goal of your podcast isn’t crystal clear, frankly, you don’t have the time or resources to invest in it.

Rachel explains that podcast goals usually fall into one of three buckets:

• Organic brand-building. Your podcast is a space to show off your brand’s personality and expertise in your industry.
• Demand generation. Podcasts typically aren’t a performance channel, but they can be an opportunity to strategically build relationships that drive demand.
• Audience growth. Starting a podcast can help you grow an audience in a new space or engage with your current audience differently.

For example, if your goal is audience growth, you might consider potential collaborations with industry influencers, which can significantly expand your reach. On the other hand, if your goal is brand building, you might focus on highlighting internal SMEs so your audience gets to know the people behind your brand.

In fact, humanizing your brand is one of the biggest benefits of producing a podcast.

“I think the thing that we’re really hungry for,” comments Rachel Elsts Downey, Founder and CEO of Share Your Genius, “is authentic human connection—and the number one way to connect somebody with somebody is through conversation. Podcast specifically is the channel to do that in a very authentic way.”

Pinpointing your podcast’s main goals will guide both your creative and technical decisions, ensuring that you stay true to those genuine connections with your audience.

The most successful podcasts have a compelling concept. Start by defining your target audience and identifying the unique value your new podcast offers. Take time to ask questions like:

• What challenges does my audience face?
• What solutions and unique perspectives can I offer?
• What’s the solid thread that will connect all my episodes together?
• What’s my podcast’s name?

A well-articulated concept attracts listeners and keeps them coming back for more. But don’t worry—you don’t have to have your whole podcast figured out to get started.

“A lot of times, people will launch a podcast as an opportunity to figure out their point of view in the marketplace and sort of experiment with the way that they’re speaking about what they do,” explains Rachel. “The barrier to entry for creating a podcast is really low,” she notes. “You can create a podcast pretty quickly and you can do it in a pretty good way without having to do too much."

Consider launching an MVP (minimum viable product) podcast with a high-level theme, then refining it as you go. Building your podcast in public allows you to adapt based on listener feedback, ensuring your content remains relevant and engaging.

Your podcast format should align with your goals and audience preferences. Here are some popular formats for B2B podcasts:

• Audiograms. Create an engaging experience combining images, text, subtitles, and translations. Audiograms are perfect for social media where accessibility is critical.
• Interview-based. Engage thought leaders and influencers to provide diverse insights on industry trends. Bonus points: This format opens lots of cross-promotion doors to new audiences.
• Roundtable discussions. Facilitate dynamic conversations between multiple guests or cohosts, offering varied perspectives on relevant topics.
• Solo episodes. Dive deep into niche subjects, showcasing your expertise and establishing authority.

In addition to the above, you also have some logistical details to nail down:

• Video or audio-only?
• Pre-recorded or live?
• Guests in-person, virtual, or both?
• Average episode length
• Frequency at which you’ll publish
• Episode structure—are there recurring segments? Consistent intro and outro?

Make sure your decisions on all of the above jive with your broader content strategy. For example, creating a video podcast from the beginning gives you a ton of content repurposing options for other channels.

A solid studio setup impacts the quality of your podcast and how it's perceived by your audience. But don’t worry, you don't need an extravagant setup—just the essentials needed for consistent quality. Key podcast equipment includes:

• Microphones: Invest in a high-quality XLR/USB microphone for clear audio recording. (If you plan to have in-person guests, you’ll need two.)
• Headphones: Use them for monitoring audio quality during recording. (Again, one for you and one for guests.)
• Camera and lighting: If incorporating video, a good camera and lighting system are crucial.
• Recording software: Choose tools that simplify the editing and publishing process.

If your podcast includes video—which we highly recommend—your studio setup becomes even more important. It should feature your brand’s logo, colors, and memorable imagery.

Again, you don’t have to build an entire studio tomorrow. Even if your podcast is remotely recorded, you can edit and add your branding elements to your video using a tool like Content Lab.

Selecting the right podcast hosting platform is crucial for managing your podcast's distribution. This platform stores your podcast files and generates an RSS feed that syndicates your show to major podcast directories like Spotify, Amazon, and Apple Podcasts.

There’s a lot to consider here. Compare features like storage limits, distribution, analytics, and cost. Some hosting tools go beyond the beginner-level basics to offer in-platform editing tools, promotion features, monetization opportunities, and video integration.

Choosing the right one comes down to your plans for your podcast, your goals, and your budget. Popular hosting sites include:

• BuzzSprout
• Libsyn
• Captive
• Transistor
• RedCircle

➡️ Dive into our analysis of the best podcast hosting services for B2B in this guide: Top 7 Podcast Hosting Platforms for B2B Marketers.

If you’ve followed the first five steps, you’ve already gathered much of the information you need to compile your official podcast content strategy. A strategy document helps ensure your podcast stays consistent and aligned with your overall marketing goals.

It should cover:

• Content themes. Lay out the thematic framework that guides your podcast topics and aligns with your brand's messaging.
• Guest planning. Identify potential guests and decide whether to prepare scripts or adopt a more conversational approach.
• Promotion strategy. Plan how to market each episode across different channels to maximize reach and engagement.
• ROI metrics. Determine success KPIs to track and evaluate your podcast's performance over time.

Think of it this way: If you won the ultra jackpot tomorrow and hopped on a one-way flight to the Maldives, would someone else be able to take over your podcast with relative consistency? That’s the goal.

The podcast recording stage is where all your prep pays off. 🎉

Here are some tips for a seamless recording:

• Opt for a quiet, controlled environment to minimize background noise.
• Position your podcast microphone correctly (about 6-12 inches away) to avoid distortion and ensure clear sound.
• Monitor audio levels throughout to maintain consistency.

Last but not least, be flexible in your approach. While it's important to stay on topic, being open to impromptu ideas can add value and authenticity. We recommend having a clear outline for each episode, but allowing room for organic conversation and spontaneity.

Editing takes your raw recording and polishes it into valuable content. This process often includes:

• Trimming unnecessary content
• Adding branding templates
• Addressing quality issues with audio files or video
• Integrating other media elements, e.g. event content, clips from other videos
• Adding captions, subtitles, and translations to video

Some hosting platforms also offer audio editing tools, which can be nice for keeping everything all in one place. For example, in Goldcast Recording Studio, you can record, edit, host, and distribute your podcast without leaving the platform.

Other popular podcast editing platforms include:

• Audacity
• Descript
• REAPER
• Riverside.fm
• GarageBand (yes, it’s still alive and well!)

We analyzed the best editing tools to jumpstart your research. Dig into the Best Podcast Editing Software: 9 Top Tools for B2B Marketers.

You might have the most enthralling podcast in the world, but without a promotion strategy, it likely won’t reach your intended audience at scale.

Our top tips to amplify your podcast’s reach:

• Publish show notes. If you have a dedicated podcast website or page, you can publish a transcript or “show notes” for each episode.
• Create marketing assets. Develop social media graphics, teaser clips, and audiograms. Bake this into your podcast production workflow so they’re ready to go from the outset.
• Engage with industry communities. Identify industry publications and even other podcasts where your audience hangs out—and hang out there yourself.
• Incorporate SEO. Optimize your show notes blog post, and incorporate relevant keywords into your episode descriptions.
• Cross-promote. Feature guests who can share episodes with their networks. Win-win. 🙌🏽

Again, we really can’t overstate the value of repurposing each podcast episode into multichannel content. From one episode, you could develop:

• SEO blog post with key takeaways
• YouTube video with captions and search-optimized description
• Email newsletter blurb
• Case study or white paper
• LinkedIn article
• Social media graphics and audiograms

“I think we’re sitting on this gold mine of content that we should be repurposing,” says Dave Gerhardt founder of Exit Five and host of the B2B Marketing podcast Name, Title. “Imagine what you could do taking the transcript from this interview…. There are three or four articles in here. There are three or four newsletters. It’s stuff like that I think is really powerful from a content standpoint.”

If a member of your target audience listens to your podcast and it doesn’t show up on your dashboard, did they even listen?

Podcasts may not be a “performance” channel but that doesn’t mean there’s no way to track their performance. In fact, it’s vital for continuous improvement.

Focus on metrics that provide insights into listener engagement, like:

• Total downloads/streams: How many times an episode has been played
• Unique listeners: The number of individuals tuning in
• Subscriber growth: How many people are following your podcast over time
• Average listen duration: How much of an episode people listen to before leaving
• Completion rate: Percentage of listeners who finish the episode
• Drop-off points: Where most people stop listening

You can also take a look at ratings, reviews, and social shares to understand how your audience receives each new episode. Your podcast hosting platform should offer detailed analytics, helping you refine your strategy based on real data.

Producing a podcast involves both one-time investments and ongoing costs. These costs can vary, but here’s an overview to help you budget:

Don't let valuable content go unused. All your podcast content (even the outtakes!) can be repurposed.

Goldcast Content Lab streamlines the repurposing process, taking you from video to multimodal assets with record speed. Start with long-form footage from a video podcast or event, then use Content Lab’s powerful AI to spin up blogs, social snippets, emails and more.

You don’t have to take our word for it. With a free account, you can upload up to an hour of video per month and repurpose to your resourceful, creative little heart’s content. Create your account today or schedule a demo for a full walk-through.