As we edge into March (crazy right?!), we wanted to do a formal check-in on those podcasting New Year’s resolutions. Just check in, see how they’re going, remind you that you in fact did make a goal – but not in a passive-aggressive “hey, remember that thing you said you’d do but never did” way. More like a helpful, supportive friend that only wants the best for you way!

As is tradition, we took to Twitter! We asked our followers: “What are your podcasting goals” and “Do you have a content plan to support your podcasting goals”. The results:

With that, we want to use this blog post as an opportunity to expand on those questions while checking in on your podcasting goals. In this blog, we will establish why goal setting matters, provide tips and tricks to help you achieve your podcasting goals, and let you know how Headliner can help.

So why does goal setting matter?

Goals are great (…not to be biased or anything). Goals provide direction, help keep focus, and support a growth mindset. They are efficiency fuel!

Statistically speaking, people are more likely to perform better when they set goals and are 10 times more likely to achieve success. They provide a road map of where you are heading aligning your thoughts, actions, and resources to one thing giving you more time and energy to focus on the thing that matters – your podcast.

Like we said, goal setting helps provide a sense of direction. When you set a goal, you are working towards something, and it becomes easier to align your objectives with your podcast and content. Having a sense of direction allows you to clearly prioritize tasks and evaluate decisions – aka goals help create decision criteria acting as a powerful, decision-making tool that saves you time and energy.

Goal setting also helps keep you focused. It is so easy to get bogged down and caught up in the noise of everyday life. Having a goal helps you to better filter out that noise and create your own (MP3 files of course). Goals help you quickly discern if something is building towards the outcome you want.

Goals also support a growth mindset and provides you with a path forward. Along your path, you will likely discover new things and insights that either improve your workflow or inspire you! Who knows, you may find your next podcast script along the way – even if not, you’re still 10 times more likely to achieve your goal.

What is content planning and how it can help?

Like social media posts? (*grimaces in marketing* ?). No, not exactly.

Content planning is the process of curating your message while designing content to help you achieve your podcasting goals. It identifies the types of content you want to create while establishing an actionable production process.

Sticking with the same analogies here, content planning is the road map for your marketing strategy! It signals who your audience is, what you will be communicating to them, and where they are, all while laying a clear path forward for your marketing activities. Content planning to gives direction, helps to keep focus, and, once again, supports a growth mindset, guiding your marketing strategy.

Content planning is a process, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting one! If you ask us, it’s pretty fun (again, no bias here ?). And the good news is, if you have a podcast, you likely have most of the grunt work done.

Our tips and tricks for developing a content plan

Here is a list of our favorite tips and tricks to help you develop an effective content plan that supports your podcasting goals.

  • Set a goal or two you’d like to accomplish
  • Create a content calendar
  • Make a brand book or style guide
  • Batch and repurpose content when possible
  • Automate as many things as you can

The first step is setting a goal. So if you’ve made it this far in the blog, you’ve probably already started thinking about one or have one in mind. From there, you can use your goal to guide your message and go about establishing your content plan.

Next, one of our Marketing team’s FAVORITE tricks is to create a content calendar. A content calendar is a schedule for content that you plan to publish – it sets a clear, consistent posting cadence while clearly identifying the “where” of content planning. Best of all, it does not have to be anything fancy! In fact, we recommend using a simple spreadsheet to get started (that’s what we do!).

We also recommend designing a brand book or style guide. A style guide develops a consistent look and feel to your podcast that allows your audience to quickly identify your content. It creates a unified look by leveraging consistent colors, fonts, images, and uses the same logo across content.

Depending on the type of podcast you have or the goals you’ve set, your style guide can evolve into a more formal document called a brand book. A brand book will include more high-level concepts like a mission statement, vision statement, “Do’s and Don’t,” voice and messaging – lots of things really –  in addition to your style guide elements.

Our final two recommendations go hand in hand: batch, repurpose, and automate when possible. The ability to batch and repurpose content cuts down on production time and allows you to create high-quality content that builds value while connecting to your podcasting goal.

Remember, you’ve got this!

When you’re making your content calendar, you may start to feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of things you need to make and post. However, the key to an efficient content plan is knowing when and where you can repurpose what you already have. It is perfectly okay if your audience receives the same core message, just be sure to make a few tweaks to the content so it is not the EXACT same thing. These adjustments can be as simple as changing copy around or swapping a color out on your designs.

How Headliner Can Help

Okay, so that may seem like a lot, but don’t worry! A) you’ve go this and B) we’re here to help!

With our easy-to-use product kit, Headliner saves you time and energy, allowing you to focus on the thing that matters most – your podcast. We’ve purposefully designed a tiered product kit to best fit your podcasting needs and ensure you only get access to the features you need to achieve your podcasting goals.

Here’s just a short list of the many ways we can help you execute your content plan and achieve your podcasting goals:

  • Create a stylized, branded template. Upload your custom fonts, HEX codes, or use your logo to make a watermark. Be sure to save your final design so you can reuse it again and again!
  • Connect your YouTube account in Headliner to set up automatic posts. You can even upload your entire back catalog using your RSS feed. Learn how it works here!
  • Export your final design in 1080p. You can even vary the format to be optimized for Reels, Shorts, and TikTok to full-length episodes perfect for YouTube.
  • Use our AI to generate and batch automated content for you. By selecting automatic audiograms, we’ll do all the heavy lifting! All you need to do is choose a template and review – we will take it from there.

Take the stress and guesswork out of content planning with Headliner. If you’re interested in learning more, check us out here or follow us on social @headlinerapp.

Happy podcasting!