How To Start Your Sustainability Podcast

Julie Starr • Dec 06, 2021



The number of people listening to podcasts across the world is continuing to increase. In the UK, it is estimated that 20 million people will be listening to podcasts by 2024. That’s a huge potential audience. But there are a lot of podcasts out there too, fighting for people’s attention. 

A podcast can be a great way to get your message out to people and really create and engage in conversation. But if you’ve never been involved in a podcast before, you may not know where to start. 

Buying the right kit

You can get started in podcasting with just a few pieces of equipment in addition to your laptop or pc. Your basic equipment should include: 

  • A microphone
  • Headphones 
  • Audio recording software
  • Editing software 

As with most AV equipment and software, entry prices can be extremely low, but it is best to look at reviews in order to find the best balance of price and quality for your budget. The best microphone for streaming or editing software can be hard to find if you don’t have any experience. 

Decide on your identity and audience 

Rather than just jumping into producing a podcast, you first need to get a few things straight, as this will inform your strategy. For example, will you cover sustainability as a wide concept or a specific niche? Who will be your target audience ? How often will you be producing content? 

Defining your target audience is hugely important as it will allow you to focus your content, as well as inform your promotional strategy too. 

Name your podcast

There are a number of different routes you can take when naming your podcast. For example, you could use something descriptive that tells a listener exactly what to expect. Or you could choose a clever name or play on words. As long as your show notes and keywords give an idea of the content, it shouldn’t make too much of a difference to how you are found on the various podcast platforms. 

Plan your format and first episodes

If you approach everything in an unfocused way, podcasts have the habit of sucking up a lot of time and resources. The best way to avoid this is to plan ahead. Decide what the format of your podcast will be, what the running order will be, guests and any other sections you want to include. Create a running order for each episode and plan at least the first 3-5 to be recorded in advance of launch. This gives you extra breathing room to keep creating content at a manageable pace. Unless your podcast is time-sensitive (for example you cover news events), then you should be recording in advance. 

Editing

Editing a podcast can be very time-consuming, especially if you haven’t done it before. There are many podcast editing software options out there, some you can even use from your smartphone. Many people choose to outsource this part of the podcast process to a freelancer or company that can do it to a high standard very quickly. 

Art work

All podcasts need cover art. You need to create something that is professional-looking and eye-catching. If someone is scrolling through a lot of podcasts, you want them to stop at yours. Again this is something you can outsource, or there are a lot of great templates you can use on platforms such as Canva . 

Show notes

Once you’ve published your podcast onto the various hosting services, you’ll need to show notes to go with it. Show notes are the calling card for your podcast, like a movie trailer. They give people information about your podcast and entice them to listen. Each podcast episode will also have its own separate description and resources. 

Don’t neglect your show notes as they are very important for attracting new listeners, both on a podcasting platform and through search engines. 

Promotional plan

Producing a great sustainability podcast is one thing but then you have to go out there and find your audience. This can be done in a number of ways such as email, social media, display advertising and PR. It may take some time for your profile and listener numbers to build, but keep consistent in your marketing efforts. 

Takeaways

Podcasts are going from strength to strength and remain one of the best ways to attract a loyal audience, but they do take a good deal of planning and promotion to do well. There are so many great resources out there to help you every step of the way. 

Is Your Small Business an Appealing Place to Work?

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Bringing passionate, enthusiastic and talented people into your business is obviously a top priority when you’re growing a company. However, the only way to onboard the brightest talent is by ensuring that your brand is an appealing place to work. Driven employees have certain expectations when it comes to choosing their ideal workplace, so you need to show them what you have to offer. Whether you’re looking into your business ethos , or reassessing certain compensation plans, you can do so much to ensure you’re attracting the best possible employees. Consider some of the following methods and your small business will soon be the go-to place for skilled, driven and talented individuals to work. Pay and Benefits Should Be Competitive When you’re running a small business, the idea of paying regular salaries to your employees will always be on your mind. Keeping up with bills and ever rising costs will never be easy, but you have to offer a competitive salary in order to attract the right type of people to your business. You should also consider all elements of a compensation plan so that your employees always feel valued for their contributions at your workplace. It may be worth talking to your current staff members to see what would be most important to them so you can assess it in the near future. Create a Career Development Plan Working towards the next goal is certainly something that most career driven individuals are keen to do. Staying stagnant in the same role for a prolonged period of time can reduce motivation and cause issues with staff retention. Making sure that there are clear progression opportunities will help to bring in the most talented and focused employees who are willing to put in the work and climb the ladder within your business. Adopt an Eco-Conscious Approach More and more employees are looking for workplaces that put the environment at the forefront and actively choose sustainable processes. Taking care of the planet and going green with your business may help you to align with the right talent for your company. Although this might not be the priority of everyone, it’s certainly a very popular value that a number of people carry in the modern day. Working in an environment where sustainability is a priority is extremely appealing and these people will help you to work alongside like minded colleagues within your business. Your small business goes above and beyond you as an individual; it’s also about the people who work for you and the potential employees you could be onboarding very soon. You can be sure that you’re reaching out to the right type of people and attracting the best possible talent by offering competitive salaries and benefits and working in a sustainable way that always keeps the environment in mind too. Hopefully, these ideas will give you a huge advantage when it comes to bringing in new people who would be an asset to your business.

How to Make Clinical Trials More Sustainable

By Julie Starr • 07 May, 2024
Running a business means you should know how to follow a sustainable path toward success. But while this is straightforward in some industries, it can be trickier in other professions. One common problem involves scientific businesses and laboratory environments that often struggle to ensure full sustainability and eco-conscious approaches. So how can clinical trials become more sustainable? Here is some advice to consider. Early Planning Planning is always a useful tool when working out how to improve sustainability within any workplace. You already know what you need to do, so why not focus on planning the different stages to ensure you can avoid delays or other problems that could generate wasted resources and electricity? Planning in laboratory settings is arguably even more crucial as the controlled environment requires a careful approach that is entirely error-free to ensure success and genuine results that scientists can use. Digital Solutions Businesses are using digital solutions more often as these can accelerate lessons and help them find accurate information immediately. The same can apply to clinical trials where using AI will reduce costs and provide quick insights into what you have learned, allowing you to make the most of the data without worrying you’ve made a mistake. Furthermore, this approach can avoid delays and reduce the number of people required in the lab at any time, meaning you can use fewer resources and don’t need to worry about getting to and from the lab. Partnerships Partnering with other companies or organizations can also help clinical trials become more sustainable. You can collaborate to share information, which means you have an entire library of data at your disposal without needing to collect it yourself. This can provide fast and efficient solutions and you don’t need to waste time and energy going into the field to collect this data yourself. Finding The Balance As much as clinical trials can improve sustainability, they also need to know how to find the balance. Since many central laboratory services require face-to-face conversation, it’s important to determine when to hold these meetings and invite patients into the controlled laboratory environment. You know you need to collect samples, but you must do as much as possible to avoid wasting resources. Ensuring you get everything right the first time will make a significant difference and help maintain a sustainable approach. Recognizing Where to Improve No business is perfectly sustainable, so understanding where to improve will be a continuous process. Clinical trials and similar environments can identify strategies to reduce the carbon footprint and take a more eco-friendly approach to their work. Although you won’t reduce your emissions or environmental impact entirely, you can do as much as possible to minimize any damage by maintaining transparency and following compliance regulations that put your laboratory in the best position to excel in every area. Sustainable Building sustainable practices is vital for any industry, and scientific environments are no different. These tips should highlight how and why clinical trials can become more sustainable to improve conditions and reduce the impact on the planet while also striving to further humanity’s knowledge and ability to overcome diseases and other issues.
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