A new venture can be a daunting thing to contemplate. Whilst podcasting has been with us for twenty years, its methods can be confusing at the outset. Hosting, tech, gear, publicity and recording the actual audio can seem insurmountable roadblocks. That are not the hurdles they once were nor are they overly complicated as you’ll see.
The Promise of Podcasting for Disability Advocacy
Before delving into these barriers, it’s worth recognising the potential podcasting holds for disability advocacy. As a medium, podcasting allows advocacy services to reach their chosen audience, the individuals and other organisations they support, to engage those listeners and build their authority within the sector. Unlike other forms of media, podcasts are highly accessible—they can be consumed on the go, require minimal equipment and allow for a more intimate connection between the speaker and the listener.
Yet, despite these advantages, the obstacles can seem greater than the return to the service.
Costs and Budget Constraints
One of the most significant concerns for any organisation considering podcasting is the cost. This concern is particularly acute for nonprofit organisations, including disability advocacy services, which often operate on tight budgets. The fear of needing expensive equipment, software and production services can be a major deterrent.
However, as Jane Roberts from the disability advocacy podcast “Empowerment Voices” explains, the reality can be much more manageable. “When we first considered starting a podcast, we were worried about the costs but we quickly realised that you don’t need to break the bank to produce quality content,” she says. “We started with a simple USB microphone, free editing software and a quiet room. As our podcast grew, we invested in better equipment but it was all done gradually.”
What you won’t realise when you begin, is the tech side of things is of minimal importance. Yes, you need to capture audio, no, you don’t need a radio studio which is most people’s first point of reference for audio.
Solutions to Upfront Barriers
- Start Small: Begin with basic equipment—a decent USB microphone, free or low-cost editing software (such as GarageBand) and a quiet recording space. As you gain experience and confidence, you can upgrade your equipment, if you really need to. More on that later.
- Have a content creation plan. This relieves a huge level of concern. This will depend upon how you plan to publish your show. Weekly, fortnightly, monthly even or in a serial format. Say 8 – 10 episodes, a few week break and then the next 8 – 10 episodes and so on.
- Choose your hosting service carefully. Whilst some purport to be “free” many come with debilitating restrictions. Even the paid option starts relatively inexpensively, from US$5 a month.
Technical Challenges
This is where a guide can assist. Taking you and your service on a journey by pointing you in the right direction. True enough, there’s plenty of advice on the interwebs but how up to date is it? Will it fit with your workflow? Do you trust the source? I remember way back in late 2015 when I was getting set up, the advice varied so wildly, it took me much longer than necessary to go live. Suggestions like recording each person’s voice into a separate Mac Mini, for some reason I can’t recall now. That advice is still roaming freely out on the interwebs, by the way. There was also a thing called feedburner that placed a level of “protection” between the producer and the host allowing changes of host without needing to alter the rss feed on Apple Podcasts, or iTunes as it was back in the day.
The point is you can save a huge amount of time by outsourcing much of the setup and the routine workflow to allow you to focus on what you already know: Your people, your mission and your stories.
Audio recording is a simple enough process, once you have an understanding of the processes. It is, as I mentioned above, one of the great fears for new entrants. If you listen to 9 out of 10 long term podcasters, they’ll probably change their mics, editing and publishing software rarely. They focus on the content once the audio capturing system is in place and they have their workflows bedded in.
Content Creation Concerns
Which brings us to content creation. This is often seen as the most daunting aspect of podcasting. It certainly played on my mind in the beginning and from time to time since. Questions about what to talk about, how to structure episodes and how to keep the content engaging can prevent organisations from even starting.
Again, this is where a guide is useful. Someone who has walked the Way of the Podcaster, even if it’s only a few steps ahead. A guide will give suggestions, pointing to hidden gems in your field of endeavour where closeness to the issues can be blinding to you. Talking to your people, setting the framework for the stories you are looking for will unleash a level of creativity within your service you may have been unaware of.
Solutions to Content Creation Concerns
- Start with What You Know: Focus on your service’s mission and vision statements and work from there. Share the stories of the people you serve, the staff who support them and struggles they’ve confronted. Highlight the wins but never miss those struggles, they add depth to your storytelling. Lived experience is a great source of stories once those who have lived them realise just what they’ve achieved.
- Plan Ahead: Create a content plan for your episodes in advance. This alleviates so much stress. You have a map, you have a direction. Things can and do change so be flexible but having a plan will allow for that.
Conclusion: Encouragement to Take the Leap
Podcasting offers the opportunity to both tell your stories and build your authority within the sector. It is the longer term marketing tool par excellence. Once you have a few seasons under the belt, you’ll have access to material you can refer new staff, new clients and even the media to. While concerns about costs, technical challenges and content creation are valid, they are more mole hills than mountains. Jump in and start your journey today!
If you’re thinking about or even ready to start your service’s podcast, email me: jon@jmps.au link in the show notes and we can have a chat. I work on a monthly retainer basis and you receive 4 episodes a month, uploaded to a host, clips for use in socials, help with local recordings where you are and all this for A$500 a month on a twelve month contract.
Until next episode, thanks for listening.