As a podcaster, creating a great show is about delivering engaging, informative content to your listeners. But how do you make sure your event is well-organized and flows smoothly?
One way to do this is to create a visual outline of your event before you start recording. This outline can be as straightforward or as detailed as you like, but it should provide a general overview of the topics you plan to cover and the order in which you’ll cover them.
Creating a visual outline can help you stay on track while recording and be a helpful reference point when editing your episodes. In this article, we’ll show you how to create a visual outline to help you stay on track and make the flow more smoothly.
Steps To Create Visual Podcast Episodes Outline
If you are new to podcasting, the process of outlining and scripting can seem daunting. But fear not! Creating a visual outline is a great way to organize your thoughts and understand what your podcast will sound like. Plus, it can be a helpful tool to reference when recording and editing your event.
Here are a few steps to learn more to create a visual outline for your podcast:
1. Choose A Topic For Your Podcast And Come Up With A Working Title.
Your company podcast can be about anything you think would be interesting or valuable to your audience. It’s essential to choose a topic that you’re passionate about, as this will come through in your voice and make your podcast more engaging. Once you’ve selected a case, you’ll need to develop a working title for your podcast. Try to make it catchy and descriptive so that people will know what your podcast is about. For example, if your company makes software for small businesses, your podcast could be called “The Small Business Podcast” or “Software Tips for Small Businesses.”
Once you have a title, it’s time to start planning your podcast. You’ll need to develop a format for your show, decide on how often you’ll release new episodes, and start lining up guests (if you’re planning on having any). Once you plan, you can begin recording and promoting your show.
2. Brainstorm A List Of Potential Episodes. What Are Some Topics You Could Cover Under Your Main Topic?
Brainstorming a list of potential episodes for your podcast can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by thinking about what you want your podcast to achieve. Are you hoping to build thought leadership, generate leads, or drive sales? What are some issues that your target audience is interested in? What questions do they have that you could answer? Once you know your goal, you can start brainstorming a list of potential topics that would help you achieve that goal.
If you’re stuck, try thinking about your main topic from different angles. For example, if your webcast is about marketing, you could brainstorm on content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and more. If you’re still stuck, try reaching out to your network or doing a quick Google search for ideas. With a bit of brainstorming, you’ll be well on your way to creating a great podcast. To get started, try thinking of 5-10 potential topics that you could cover. Once you have a list of possible issues, you can begin to narrow down the list that you think would be the most popular with your audience.
3. Create A Visual Outline For Each Episode.
There are many different ways to create a visual outline for your podcast. You can use a mind map, a bulleted list, or even a blank piece of paper. The important thing is to have a clear idea of what you want to cover in each episode before you start recording. This will help you stay on track and ensure that events are well-organized and informative.
Here are a few tips on how to create a visual outline for your podcast:
- Start with a mind map. Draw a big circle in the middle of a paper and write your topic in the center. Then, add branches from the main issue for each subtopic you want to cover.
- Make a bulleted list. Write down your topic at the top of a piece of paper, and then list all the subtopics you want to cover, each with its bullet point.
- Draw a diagram. Draw a simple diagram with your topic at the center and each subtopic represented by a circle around the main topic. Then, connect the circles with lines to indicate how they’re related.
4. Use Your Outline To Script Or Rough Out Your Episodes.
If you’ve followed our advice and created an outline for your webcast, you’re probably wondering how to use that outline for scripting or roughing out your episodes. The good news is that it’s pretty easy to do.
- Start by taking your outline and turning it into a list of topics you want to cover.
- Once you have your list of topics, you can start fleshing out each one with more detail. For each topic, think about what points you want to make and what examples or stories you can use to illustrate your points.
- Once you understand what you want to say for each topic, you can start putting together your script or rough outline. Start with an introduction, move on to each of your issues, and end with a conclusion.
5. Record Your Podcast Episodes And Let Your Audience Know When They Can Expect New Event
Your podcast will be most successful if you space out your releases and let your audience know when they can expect new episodes. If you release your episodes too closely together, your audience may not have time to listen to all of them, and you run the risk of diluted engagement. On the other hand, if you release your episodes too far apart, your audience may forget about your podcast altogether.
The best practice is to release new episodes once a week or once every two weeks. This gives your audience enough time to listen to each episode and stay engaged with your podcast. Make sure to promote your new episodes on social media and other channels, so your audience knows when to expect them. Here are a few things to keep in mind when planning your recording schedule and release schedule:
- Decide how often you want to release new episodes. This can be weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or even quarterly.
- Figure out how you’re going to record. Will you do it all in one day or spread it out over a few days?
- Make sure you have enough content for each episode. Aim for around 30 minutes of content, but you can go longer or shorter depending on your format and audience.
- Let your audience know when they can expect new episodes. You can do this by creating a schedule.
Bottom line
Creating an episode visual outline is a great way to ensure your events are cohesive and flow well. By mapping out each episode, you can ensure that your episodes are well-planned and provide value to your listeners. To create a visual outline for your podcast episodes, start by brainstorming topics, then create a rough outline of each event. Once you have a general idea of each episode’s direction, you can start your podcast.