Solo Podcasting Done Right: From Idea to Execution and Marketing

If you are thinking about going into solo podcasting, now is an excellent time. Podcasts are quite popular nowadays, and they have completely replaced radio. Some argue that podcasts are the natural evolution of radio shows, and this explanation does sound logical. The only problem is that everyone wants a podcast these days. There is also a lot of competition, and you have to set everything up right from the very start.

This sounds like a bite that is too big to swallow, but fear not. If you want to do a podcast solo, we will provide excellent tips to help you out. We will start with the basics of branding and choosing a topic and end by teaching you how to use Filmora, the best video and audio editing software for podcasts that will help you prepare promotional material.

Examples of Good Solo Podcasts and What They Do Right

There are many successful solo podcast examples. These success stories prove that this is a viable career path. Let’s see some examples of good solo podcasting and take a closer look at what they do to keep people engaged.

1. Hardcore History by Dan Carlin

Dan Carlin, the creator and host of this podcast, is a certified history buff. He loves this branch of science, and you can see that because each episode is structured like an audiobook. His voice is engaging, the narrative is well thought out, and everything is well-researched.

Dan Carlin’s popularity spread because his loyal fans spread the word. Also, given that he provides excellent history content, his podcast is ranked high in history categories, which brings organic traffic.

2. The Mindset Mentor by Rob Dial

Rob is on a mission to spread a positive mindset and give listeners and viewers something good to think about. Unlike the previous example, Rob chooses shorter daily episodes that are easy to binge. He gets straight to the point with zero fluff. What is most amazing about this podcast is its consistency.

Rob’s regular publishing regimen boosts his algorithm because search engines love consistency. He also pays close attention to creating podcast titles that address specific viewer pain points.

3. The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday

Ryan’s podcast deals with philosophy and spreads a tiny dose of daily wisdom. He uses even shorter episodes than the Mindset Mentor, which is perfect for quick inspiration. Each episode is directly connected to a specific stoic principle or quote. Also, daily episodes build a loyal following.

To stay discoverable, Ryan focuses on clear branding. His niche is connected to the word “stoic” and each episode is connected to that word in some way. He adds backlinks to his blogs and newsletters to connect everything.

Now, since we have covered some real-life examples of the best solo podcasts, let’s dive deeper into the topic and see what type of gear and tools you will need to get started.

Basic Gear and Software Tools to Start A Solo Podcast

Since we have covered solo podcast examples, we can move on to a section that will serve as a quick checklist for everything you need for solo podcasting in terms of gear. Let’s go over the essentials.

• A good microphone: Get a solid mic that will capture audio correctly. Go for something that costs about $100. You want your voice recordings to be crisp and easily understandable.
• Solid headphones: Any headphones that offer good sound isolation will do. Be prepared to spend about $50 here. You want to be able to hear your voice normally.
• A solid laptop: Paying for a good laptop will save you a ton of time in the long run. You can go with some of Apple’s products, as they are very well-developed.
• Recording and editing software: Instead of getting a bunch of small tools, get one tool like (available on macOS and Windows) that offers everything you need in one place.
• A comfortable recording space: You need a good chair, a solid desk, and a room that has proper sound isolation. You should also design it to be cozy and welcoming.

It’s worth mentioning here that there are two different types of podcasts regardless of the solo podcast example you select. One is audio-only, and if you choose that type, you will need the gear we talked about. If you want to add a video component to your podcast, you will need proper lighting and a solid video camera.

Since we have covered that, let’s move to developing a brand identity.

Developing a Brand Identity for Your Solo Podcast

Developing a brand and figuring out which solo podcast topics to talk about takes time and effort, and above all, you need to stay consistent. To help you out in this complicated process, we have prepared some building blocks that lead to a well-defined brand identity.

• Personality and style: Decide on the personality you want to portray in your podcast, choose a particular podcast style, and stay consistent in every episode. This will increase audience retention and your recognizability.
• Target audience and tone: Define your target audience before you even make your first podcast. Knowing who you are talking to is important. Also, set the tone in the first episode and stick to it in every subsequent one.
• Logo and cover design: The logo and cover of your channel on platforms like YouTube and Twitch can make or break your podcast. Make sure to go with a design that resonates your brand’s values and tone.

We already mentioned Filmora, and we need to do it again here. With this software, you can explore a huge library of stock footage, and you can even utilize the AI Image feature to create images from prompts. This can go a long way in helping you develop a logo and cover in a short time.

Before we move on to marketing, we need to help you with one more thing first. Let’s explore some tips on how to create great solo podcast topics.

Great Solo Podcast Topics

Before you select a category for your solo podcast topics, here are five important aspects to remember before you even begin creating your first episode.

1. Is your podcast topic sustainable, and is it wide enough to provide content for countless episodes?
2. Are you well-versed enough in the subject matter to provide actionable insights in your best solo podcast episodes?
3. Is the topic broad enough to allow a meaningful connection with the audience that can grow into something great?
4. Is the topic unique enough to help you stand out from your peers and attract a wider audience?
5. Is the topic flexible enough to allow pivots at certain critical points in your career?

With that covered, we can move to some specific solo podcast examples that are popular today.

• Business tips: Many people are looking to start their careers, and every year, a new generation enters the job market. If you have experience and actionable insights into a specific business niche and are willing to share your knowledge, this is an excellent option for you.
• Daily motivation: If you are good with people and have cool tips on how to have a positive mindset every day, this can be a good choice. Here, you need to work on your personality. People will respond more to life tips if they come from someone who is likable.
• Expert advice: If you are a well-known entity in your line of work, whether it is handiwork or sports, you can host an expert podcast and transfer your skills in each episode. For example, if you are a retired pro athlete, you can share some industry insights and help people reach your level faster.
• Rants: Not all podcasts have to be radio-friendly. If you feel dissatisfied or downright angry about something, you can host a podcast solo where you rant about specific issues. This type of podcast is way more energetic than the other options on our list, and it requires more energy from the host.
• Creativity and art: If you are an artist, whether it is painting, music, or anything in between, you can host a podcast where you can talk about your art sphere, or you can simply walk people through your creative process in each episode. Here, you can be as creative as you want. That’s the point.

After considering everything we discussed thus far, you will be ready to make your first podcast episode. After that, you immediately have to move to promoting your podcast and building your audience. Filmora is the perfect tool for solo podcasting to help you with that, and we’ll show you why in a jiffy.

Making Your Content Look and Sound Spotless

Recording the best solo podcast with proper equipment and in the right way is one thing, but creating quality promotional material is something completely different, especially if you are new to the video editing world. We already mentioned Filmora a few times in the text, but at this point, it’s worth introducing this amazing video editing tool properly.

Filmora is designed with ease of use in mind. If you are a complete beginner and video editing seems like science fiction to you, strap in to learn that creating awesome short clips to promote your podcast on various platforms is actually very easy. Filmora is available on macOS and Windows. There is also a mobile app available for Android and iOS.

For this solo podcasting tutorial, however, we will focus on the desktop version. Follow our easy guide below to create the best solo podcast promo clips.

The first thing we’ll teach you is to cut your long podcast video or audio file into shorter clips.

Step 1: Download and install Filmora on your device.

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Step 2: Open Filmora on your desktop device and click on New Project.

Step 3: Click on Import, which will automatically open a window where you need to find your podcast audio or video file. We’ll go with the video, but keep in mind that the software works the same for audio files.

Step 4: Drag the uploaded file to the timeline.

Note: The file we uploaded is rather short, but the file you upload will be significantly longer. This makes no difference, though, as you will be able to follow the guide regardless.

Step 5: Locate the spot that marks the beginning of an interesting segment in your podcast and click on the Scissors icon in the timeline to make the cut.

Step 6: Then, locate the spot that marks the end of the interesting segment and repeat the process.

Step 7: Next, click on all the other parts of the video and hit Delete on your keyboard to remove the unwanted clips.

Step 8: Finally, click and drag the clip to the beginning of the timeline

Step 9: Finally, click on Export at the top-right of the screen.

Step 10: Make sure to go through all the export settings to set everything up and hit Export again if you want to export the file to your local device.

Step 11: Filmora also allows you to export files directly to your social media. If you want to do that, you can click on Social Media in the export window and follow the instructions to log into YouTube, TikTok, or Vimeo. You can then schedule a time to post your video there directly.

We have officially finished a tutorial that teaches you how to create a short solo podcast clip with Filmora. But what happens if you are short on time? In this case, Filmora has an awesome feature called Smart Short Clips. This feature is designed to sift through long videos and extract short clips that you can use on different social media.

Here’s how it works.

Step 1: From Filmora’s welcome screen, click on Toolbox to access Filmora’s AI Toolbox, and then click on Smart Short Clips.

Step 2: Click anywhere in the allotted area to upload your video.

Step 3: Select the Language that is spoken in your video, the desired Duration of the output clips, and pick a Theme. Finally, click on Advanced to explore some advanced settings.

Note: Because our video is short, the Duration section only has the Auto option. In your case, you will be able to select various durations (30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.).

Step 4: Pick the Aspect Ratio depending on the social media platform where you plan on posting the video. You can also activate the Smart BGM Generation feature, which will automatically generate background music for your video. Then, in the Main Topic box, you can add keywords that you want the AI to focus on. Filmora will then generate clips that contain these keywords. Make sure to divide keywords using spaces, like in the screenshot below.

Step 5: Finally, you can go through the Templates provided by Filmora. This will help the AI find clips that match the template, and it will also generate subtitles based on the selected template. When you are done, simply click on Generate.

The AI will take some time to generate videos, and you can review them and export them directly to social media. Filmora has an excellent guide for Smart Short Clips, and you can check it out for more detailed steps if you run into any hiccups. It is worth mentioning that Filmora’s resources and tutorials on their site are very helpful.

To offer even more help, Filmora has a special feature called AI Voice Enhancer, which is excellent for podcasters. If certain parts of the podcast feature some disturbances and the audio is not crisp enough, you can use this feature to fix everything. Here’s how it works.

When you have a video with audio in the timeline (or just an audio file), you can go to Audio > Basic and activate the AI Voice Enhancer feature. It will automatically lower the volume of all background sounds, isolating your voice in your solo podcast. Additionally, you can explore various Denoise features to remove unwanted sounds. Consult the screenshot below for help.

If you go to Audio > Voice Changer, you will see that Filmora lets you add effects to your voice. You can even change the Voice Character to get some fun results.

You can access the AI Music section from the AI Toolbox if you cannot find adequate royalty-free music.

This feature will generate songs based on the mood and genre you are looking for. This is an excellent way to create some memorable music for your podcast without worrying that you will get a copyright claim.

With all these features, you can create dozens of best solo podcast promotional clips and use them to grow your audience. Use the knowledge you gained while reading this to grow your channel fast.

Before we conclude, we would like to give you a few more tips on how to market your podcast.

How to Market Your Podcast

Since you are making a podcast solo, you should try to promote it on your own. Your podcast promo videos should be an extension of your podcast as a whole. If you are hosting a funny video podcast, then all your promo clips should be short and funny, highlighting extremely fun moments in your show. On the other hand, if you are hosting a more serious solo podcasting channel, you can go with insightful clips that will make the audience want to learn more.

One of the best ways to market a podcast is to create a kind of quick “best of” montage. This will be a collection of short clips stitched together to create a video that highlights important moments from a particular episode or set of episodes. When making this type of clip, you can use fast cuts if you are short on time, but we suggest that you continue using Filmora to add Transitions, Effects, Titles, Filters, and Stickers. Transitions let one scene switch to the next in an interesting way, effects will keep users engaged, titles will provide some important context, filters will help you select a color scheme for your video, and stickers will attract a younger audience. There is something for everyone.

In Filmora, you can access all these features by looking at the top of the project interface.

All of these features work in more or less the same way. Let’s consider transitions.

When you open a tab (regardless of which feature shown in the screenshot above we are talking about), you will see a search function. Use it to narrow your search. When you find something that you like, simply drag it to the video timeline and place it at the appropriate moment in the video.

The last piece of advice that we will give you in this text is to look for cool ways to monetize your solo podcasting efforts. You can ask listeners for a paid subscription, explore options for paid promotions and sponsors, or you can try creating and selling merch. There are other options, but these three are the most prominent in the industry.

Conclusion

Creating the best solo podcast in your sphere of interest is not an easy task. It takes time and dedication, and you will need a bit of luck to make it to the top. While you are on your journey to success, you will need all the help you can get, and as we have proven countless times in this article, Filmora can be a real lifesaver for those starting a new podcast because it is designed for everyone to use.