CHAPTER 12
STAGE 5:
FINAL WEBSITE CONTENT AND SHOW NOTES
The pre-launch production of your podcast is quickly coming to an end. Soon your vital priorities will switch to romancing your Dream 50, promoting your show with excellence and tenacity, and selling! But before we tackle new priorities, you need to select a Show Notes template for your podcast website, consider several guest-friendly content pages for your website, and set up your Libsyn account along with your distribution linkages into iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.
We have included easy-to-download templates for the Show Notes, FAQs, and About Host content pages at PredictiveROI.com/Resources/Stage-5.
Figure 12-1 illustrates the highlights of the production process in Stage 5.
Bonus Training: Being an Infusionsoft subscriber is not a requirement for creating a successful podcast. However, if you are looking to take your guest advocacy system to the highest level of automation, then you will want to visit PredictiveROI.com/Resources/Stage-5 for our comprehensive (free) tutorial on best practices. The tutorials include Infusionsoft campaigns to help ensure that revenue-generating opportunities with your guests are captured. Our online Resources library is continually updated in order to keep pace with the new features at Infusionsoft and ScheduleOnce. Our tutorials cover topics such as:
How to integrate Infusionsoft with ScheduleOnce
How to create guest advocacy campaigns in Infusionsoft
How to tag guests in Infusionsoft upon registration
How to create and distribute marketing automation campaigns to your guests
How to build and edit lists
How to build and embed Infusionsoft forms into your podcast website forms
And much more
The Stage 5 Project Sheet template (Figure 12-2, p.146–147) is available for your free download at PredictiveROI.com/resources/Stage-5. As with the earlier Project Sheets, it is a Google Sheet template so you can copy it into your Google Docs account and share it with all of the members of your team.
Completing Stage 5 should take you and your team one or two days.
Recipe #1: Documents for Review
INGREDIENT #1: SHOW NOTES TEMPLATES
You or your team should write a “Show Notes” summary highlighting each episode’s key lessons or discussion points. Think of your Show Notes as an individual blog post created to house each of your episodes on your podcast website. A Show Notes page is not a full transcript of the episode; it is just enough information to pique the reader’s interest in listening to the full episode.
We typically produce Show Notes for clients using one of two templates: Style A (Bullets) or Style B (Q&A). Using an A/B template will save a lot of time. Your clients will be able to listen to the recording, take notes, jump from question to question, select a highlight, and then move on to the next section in the Show Notes.
Productivity Tip: Encourage your team to create hidden placeholder pages in the podcast website for each upcoming episode once you decide on the template/style of Show Notes. For example, your team could have twenty fully completed episodes “in the can.” They would include audio edited and uploaded to Libsyn and scheduled for distribution, Show Notes created for each episode and scheduled in WordPress to match up with the Libsyn air dates, and social media posts preloaded/scheduled into Hootsuite and SocialOomph. When your team can put this predictable and repeatable system into place, it will begin to feel as though your podcast were running on autopilot. Working ahead like this helps you, as the host and business owner, shift your attention toward developing relationships with your Dream 50.
Style A Show Notes: Bullets
Episode Title, with Guest’s Full Name
You can find an example here: http://buildabetteragency.com/scott-monty/.
The first paragraph in your Show Notes introduces the guest, regardless of Show Notes format. Typically, three to seven sentences long, this is most often the bio that the guest provides, either via ScheduleOnce or through email. If this episode is a solocast, then we’re talking about your bio.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
Topic 1
Topic 2
Topic 3
Etc.—through every topic discussed in the episode
Ways to Contact [Guest’s First Name]:
Website
Email
Twitter
Etc.—Whatever your guest provides
Predictive ROI Note: The biggest advantage to Style A is that it is the shortest template. It showcases what each episode offers rather than giving it away in text. This urges anyone reading your Show Notes page to take the next step and listen to the episode. This is our recommended format for most podcasts.
Style B Show Notes: Q&A
Episode Title, with Guest’s Full Name
You can find an example here: http://onwardnation.com/jay-baer/.
As with Style A, the first paragraph in your Show Notes introduces the guest in a three-to-seven-sentence bio.
Following the first paragraph, this style of Show Notes will feature every question from your official question list and the answers your guest provides.
Example:
A question could be:
Is there a secret, time-saving technique that helps you focus and tackle your most vital priorities each day?
We could put that exact question into the Show Notes or abbreviate it as:
Secret time-saving technique
And then the answer would follow. This style would repeat for every question in your question list.
Ways to Contact [Guest’s First Name]:
Website
Email
Twitter
Etc.—Whatever your guest provides
Predictive ROI Note: Style B is intended for podcasts that will use the same questions week-to-week.
INGREDIENT #2: PODCAST WEBSITE CONTENT PAGE FAQS
You can find an example here: http://focusisyourfriend.com/faq/.
Thank you so much for agreeing to be a guest on [Podcast Name]. I absolutely cannot wait to speak with you. But first, here’s everything you need to know to make sure our conversation can happen without any mishaps—technological or otherwise.
[Podcast Name] is focused on [Description of podcast].
Schedule Your Interview
Please click the link below to schedule your interview. I normally record interviews at specific times, but I can be flexible if need be. If none of the times on the schedule work for you, shoot me an email at [Email Address], and we’ll work something out.
[Schedule your interview button]
What I Need from You
When you schedule your interview through the above link, I’m going to need the following information from you:
1.Name
2.Email
3.Company Name
4.Role in Company
5.Website
6.Twitter Handle (makes sure we connect with the right person/account via social media)
7.Skype Handle (helps you connect on Skype)
8.Phone Number
9.Mailing Address (for mailing thank yous, future communications, or gifts)
10.Links to whatever you would like us to promote in your Show Notes page
11.Guest bio (for the website and use as an intro)
12.Headshot (for website and social media)
The Interview
We will record our interview on Skype, and it’ll take about forty-five to sixty minutes of your time, depending on how in-depth we get with our conversation. We’ll talk for a few minutes before we start the recording so that we can get to know each other a little bit and check the sound. I’ll also answer any questions you might have, and I’ll have you pronounce your name for me. After that, we’ll begin the recording.
Technical Details
[Podcast Name] is an audio-only podcast, recorded on Skype. If you do not have a Skype account, please sign up for a free one by clicking here and downloading the software to your computer. My Skype name is [Skype Name], and you’ll need to add me to your contact list. I will call you via Skype at the time that we’ve scheduled for our interview.
To make sure our interview sounds great, please review my sound guide PDF.
[Sound Guide: Click Here]
You’ll also need to:
Sit in a quiet place for the interview (e.g., not a coffee shop).
Silence your phone(s).
Connect Skype to your headset/microphone.
Silence your Skype notifications (here’s how: Windows and Mac [include links]).
Turn off other on-screen applications that might be running on your computer.
Use a headset with a built-in microphone or a stand-alone mic with earbuds.
Interview Promotion
After our interview, I will promote your podcast episode extensively on social media and through my email list. I encourage you to do the same thing. Promotion on your part isn’t a requirement for being a guest, but I highly recommend that you bring our interview to your audience’s attention. I’ve created a guide to help with that, which you can download here [Download link]. The day before your episode airs, you will be sent links for all of your episode information.
Thanks, and I can’t wait to speak with you!
INGREDIENT #3: DESCRIPTION FOR ITUNES
There are two options for how to complete this section on preparing your description that will be displayed in iTunes (see Figure 12-3).
Write down, in your own words, what you think is the right description for the podcast. Explain what you hope to achieve and why people should listen. Ultimately, you’ll answer the question for readers of, “What’s in it for me?”
Simply record your thoughts and goals for the podcast and what people will be getting out of it. Our team will then take that audio and pull it apart to write a podcast description for you to review.
Recipe #2: Libsyn, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play Setup
Your final step before recording your interview is to set up your Libsyn account so it is ready for you to upload your completed episodes. Hosting more than 25,000 podcasts, Libsyn has been a leading podcast-hosting company over the past ten years. At the time of this writing, we have produced, uploaded, and distributed nearly 1,000 episodes through Libsyn and have never had a single problem. We’ve never even had to connect with their support department. Their platform is that stable!
You may be asking yourself, “Why do I need a podcast host if I want my episodes to be available inside iTunes?” Excellent question. I wondered the same thing when we were working through the Onward Nation launch process.
Libsyn is where you will upload, store, or “host” all of your audio files (your episodes). When each upload is complete, Libsyn will give you a URL for where you can find the episode. For example, you can find my interview with Gary Vaynerchuk here in Libsyn: http://traffic.libsyn.com/onwardnation/Gary_Vaynerchuk_Interview.mp3. Or, you can find the same interview at OnwardNation.com/Gary-Vaynerchuk. Either way, it’s the same audio file. The only difference: OnwardNation.com is pulling the audio file from Libsyn into our website to give it a better presentation. But the content is still coming from Libsyn.
Plus, with each episode you upload, Libsyn will automatically update the RSS feed for your show. Your podcast will run on an RSS feed similar to a blog. When a new episode is available in Libsyn, and the publishing day and time you set inside Libsyn has arrived, Libsyn will add your latest episode to your RSS feed. Once added, your latest episode will quickly appear in iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play because your RSS feed is a new immediate conduit of content into those platforms.
Setting up your Libsyn account is simple. We created a step-by-step tutorial for setting it up: PredictiveROI.com/Resources/Stage-5.
And PredictiveROI.com/Resource/Launch includes tutorials on how to set up your iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play accounts. However, don’t set up those accounts until you’re ready to launch. That’s because once you provide iTunes with your RSS feed, it’s out of your hands; iTunes will immediately get to work in creating your iTunes channel and making your content available in its directory. That’s why setting up iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play are part of our launch recipe.
For now, please create your Libsyn account and then move on to Stage 6 to master all things audio.