Authors should approach podcasts with a message in mind

Authors should approach hosting podcasts and appearing as guests on other shows with a clear idea about the message they want to send, Molly Ruland, founder and CEO of podcast production company Heartcast Media, told the National Press Club’s Independent Authors Group at their Sept. 8 meeting.

“Create a plan for the content and your specific goals,” she said. “Is this a book tour? How long are you willing to commit, and how many episodes do you want to record?”

Ruland added, “Every interview should have a purpose and a clear call to action. Provide the listeners and/or host with the direct links to your book, ideally a specific page on your website.”

Preparation is important for each interview. “Podcasting is intimate, [so] make the experience memorable for everyone,” she said.

Guest authors create a list of 10 questions they want to be asked and make sure they answer in a way that makes listeners want to buy their book as soon as the podcast is over, Ruland said.

She emphasized the importance of using a good quality mic for all interviews. “You will get booked faster on other people’s podcasts when you have a great sound.”

Authors should “do a test call with the guest or host before the interview to help ensure you have an intimate conversation,” Ruland said. “This will help ensure that the vibe is friendly.”

Club member Edward Segal shared his experience hosting his recently launched Crisis Management Minute to help promote his 2020 book, Crisis Ahead: 101 Ways to Prepare for and Bounce Back from Disasters, Scandals, and Other Emergencies.

Segal explained the benefits of having shorter format podcasts because of the limited attention span of listeners and the value of outsourcing the production and other aspects of his shows.

‘According to the analytics for my shows, people are more likely to listen to shorter episodes,” Segal said. “The shorter the better.”

Segal said his time was better spent writing and delivering content rather than dealing with the technical aspects of a podcast.

“I found that the nitty-gritty aspects of editing podcasts were too time-consuming, and was happy to outsource those tasks to Heartcast Media,” Segal said.

The Independent Authors Group is an informal forum for independently published authors to discuss the business of authorship and share successes and challenges of writing, publishing, marketing and distributing their books.