#270: Start Your Health Coach Podcast in 3 Steps

Hello there, health coaches. You know what? This podcast has been around for a bunch of years. I don't know how long you've been listening, but it's kind of getting to a very important moment where we are going to go over 400,000 downloads and the next week. So it seemed like the right time to talk about podcasting here on the show because I know health coaches are out there and you're thinking, maybe I should start a podcast. She's got a podcast. This other person's got a podcast. Why don't I have a podcast? Have you ever considered it even just in a small way, has the thought passed through your mind that you might want to start your own podcast one day? I know that it can feel overwhelming, just like so many things when you're starting your business, and this could feel overwhelming to you even if you've been a health coach for decades, but you've just never used this avenue of marketing before.

So today I have three simple steps for you to follow and get started in no time. I promise it can be more simple than you think. Now, who's this for? Obviously this is for you if you definitely, definitely, definitely want to start a podcast. It is also for those of you who want to dabble a little bit, you want to see what it's all about, what it's like to be behind the scenes, creating a podcast episode, recording yourself, putting yourself out there in this way, and you can try it out in a very, very low pressure, zero cost way. Sound good? Okay, we're going to do it. But first, this episode is brought to you by Practice Better. My favorite practice management software that many, many coaches in our community are using, and we love it Practice Better, handles all your billing, all your scheduling, all your online programs, so much more to just streamline your entire process.

And for a limited time, I can give you a bonus Kitchen Cleanout program built right into the Practice Better platform, so you can start using it with your clients, plus you'll get 30% off your first three months. Go to health coach power.com/pb to get started. Stands for Practice Better health coach power.com/pb, and all the details will be in the show notes. I also need to give a shout out to Melissa. Hey Melissa, who wrote this five star review on Apple podcast. She said Michelle's podcast and her programs are superb for anyone who is a health coach at any stage. I have found the information helpful when I was starting out motivating, when I'm feeling low in my game and transformative when I took a break from my business and am restarting it. Wow. Her content always gets my game mindset on. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you and I'm so glad you're back from your break. Please send your email to us at support@healthcoachpower.com. Just reference this episode. We have a little thank you gift to send your way and for everybody who's listening, it would mean the world if you would take a minute and leave a written review on Apple Podcasts. This is how we reach more health coaches. It's how I'm able to continue bringing you high quality free content every single week. And who knows if you leave a review today, I might read yours on the air next week. Podcasting, right? You got to love it. This is what it's all about, publishing, connecting with your audience, getting reviews also helps a great deal. Listen, when you start your show, don't worry too much about ratings and reviews. You don't have to make a big splash right out of the gate. These things come in time. I promise you promise. I did not have over a hundred, over 150.

Now, five star reviews on this show in the first year, definitely not. That is not how it works. Slow and steady. That's how it works with podcasting. It is slow and steady to win the race. Which brings me to my very first step to get started with your own podcast. This is going to sound trite, but I mean it just start. Just start. And I know the first thing that everybody thinks about is, but I need a microphone and I need certain software and I need this and I need that. No, you don't. You really don't. Don't worry about getting it perfect. This show has been a huge success and I've actually had two other successful podcasts through the years. None of my shows were particularly fancy. I started this show with a pair of earbuds, these things. That's it. That's all I had in terms of equipment, just the exact same little microphone that came built into my earbuds.

And you know what? Good enough is good enough. You all came, you listened. You're still listening more than 250 episodes later. So the only thing that you definitely want to try for in terms of audio quality is a quiet environment with as little echo as possible. Some people podcast from inside their bedroom closet. I've tried it or inside a coat closet because actually there's really great acoustics inside a closet that's filled with clothing. But honestly, look at me. Here I am every single week I'm in my office, which has hardwood floors. Sometimes even just a minute ago, you might've been able to hear a train in the background. That's because I live right off the Hudson River line. Yes, that Hudson River line from the Billy Joel song, it's right there. So you're going to hear the train sometime. Apparently it's okay, right? The show can still be successful.

So equipment and the perfect recording studio, it does not matter. What matters is your content. So don't spend the next month saying, oh, Michelle said I should start a podcast. I better research microphones for weeks on end. No, don't worry about getting all that soundproofing stuff on Amazon and putting down a rug and changing your whole situation in your house just so that you can record a podcast episode. Don't worry about it. Just get started. Your listeners are going to listen for what you have to say far more than they're listening for that perfect audio quality, okay? You're not Mariah Carey. It doesn't have to be that great. But what does have to be great, and this is the second step, is that when you're starting your podcast, you're going to want to plan your content because almost every podcast that ever gets started fizzles out, I want to say after three or four episodes.

I don't know what the statistic is, but they definitely fizzle out quickly. I think podcasters say, oh, I'm going to start a podcast. I'm so excited. I know I want to talk about this and this, and they don't know what else. So then it's like, well, I will release a podcast episode when inspiration strikes and maybe that doesn't happen. So what you want to do is brainstorm ideas upfront for what kind of topics you can do episodes about in advance that's going to help you stick to a publishing schedule. And you might be thinking, how am I going to come up with topics? What kind of topics should I talk about if I started a podcast? Let's start here with this hot tip. Don't create episodes about solely what you want to talk about. I mean, of course, it should be something that you're interested in.

However you want to create episodes that your ideal client wants to listen to, something that they would actually stop and give you their time to listen to. So instead of thinking, what do I love? What do I want to talk about? What gets me excited? You want to think first of all, who do I want to listen to this podcast? What kind of person who is my ideal client is really the question? And then what topics are they interested in? What do they want to hear about? What are they confused about? What are they going to stop and go, oh yeah, I got to hear this. And you can also think beyond health topics. Very likely. Let's say your ideal client is like a mom in her forties who lives in New York. Wait, that's me. Okay. Anyway, she might be interested in gut health. She might be interested in balancing her blood sugar.

Maybe if she's pretty nerdy about this stuff already, if she's already a health coach. But let's say she's just like the average person. She's like my next door neighbor. She might be interested in hearing about how she can further her career, how she could be more productive at work. You can tie that into lots of health topics. She has kids, right? So she's going to want to hear about raising her kids, getting her picky eaters to eat certain things. Her teenager who only wants to drink soda and eat Doritos. What to do with that? You could get to her by talking about her kids. Think about this person. Are they into a particular sport? Are they into a particular hobby? Weaving these topics into your shows, that is a surefire way to connect to your audience. Remember, your ideal client may not want to hear all about why the bacteria in her gut is so important that could be boring to her.

So I think about what she wants and make a list. Oh, there's that train. Did you hear it? That was a really loud train honk right there. There it is again. Oh my God, my podcast is ruined. I'm going to stop here and end the recording and start all over because of the, no, I'm not. I'm just going to keep going. Just keep going. Okay? Even if you make a mistake, even if it's not perfect, even if the stupid train is really loud for some reason, I want you to make a list of 10 to 20 possible topics that you can get started with. And remember, you don't have to be the foremost expert in picky eaters to do an episode about picky eaters. You don't have to be an expert in intermittent fasting to do a show about intermittent fasting, and you don't have to share an hour's worth of research during your show either.

You could do a show about intermittent fasting and it's 10 minutes long. Maybe you just share your opinion about fasting, especially as it relates to your ideal client like that 40 something mom who lives in New York, what does she need to know about fasting? That's what your episode can be about. So your opinions, your thoughts. It doesn't have to be like, here's the rigorous research. Let me read it to you also. That's boring. You could share a couple of anecdotes either from your life or your clients who have tried something like this anonymous sharing client stories. That's okay. But you want to keep your shows simple. The content does not have to be complex. Keep it accessible. So it's something that people actually want to listen to. They can make sense of it. And don't try to be a researcher, a doctor. If you're not, that's okay.

There's space for your voice in the podcasting world too. Clients want to hear your voice, not just data. Make sense? Okay. And finally, let's talk about the tech involved here. The tech of running a podcast. It can be a giant pain in the patooty. Let's just be honest, because any podcast requires hosting for your audio files. It's kind of like a website. It needs to be hosted somewhere. And then you get into this whole can of worms. So should I host it here? Should I host it there? How much does it cost? What's the process point is the MP threes that you record, which you can do on your earbud microphones. Remember very easy. You can record right onto your phone. You can record in whatever recording software you have on your computer. I'm sure you have something, it's going to be completely free. But then that MP three has to live somewhere.

Again, there's different ways to do this. Some will have a monthly fee involved, but you probably don't want the monthly fee upfront, at least not at first. You're just like, is this something that I want to do? Let me try it. And I'm guessing you probably want this part to be as quick and painless as possible. So I'll tell you what we put together for this episode, a free podcast, quick start guide for you. It's going to walk you through the tech setup that you need in like five minutes. That's it. You'll be done. You'll be all set up, and then you could just be like, thank God that's over. So you can grab your free podcast, quickstart guide at healthcoachpower.com/podcastguide. Again, that is health coach power.com/podcast guide. It's completely free. And then just follow the steps. And I'll tell you what, when your show is officially live, I mean literally if you've recorded yourself and you spend five minutes setting this up, boom.

You can upload your recording. You've got a show, let me know about it. Email us, okay? Because I would first of all love to check it out and I will give you a shout out right here on an upcoming episode. So the question is, can you be brave? It does take courage to share your voice with the world, right? Your first episode, you might find yourself talking a little bit like this because you're a little bit afraid, but as you gain confidence, it sounds like this, it's a totally different energy and you just have to get there. By doing it, you're going to do your first episode. You're going to hate the sound of your own voice. That is totally normal. Do the second episode, do the third. I am here to tell you after 250 episodes, and that's just this show, I can listen to my voice no problem. But in the beginning it was a little weird. I was a little scared. So can you move forward imperfectly and simply start publishing so you get in the habit of this new routine? Because when done consistently over time, and again, that's what podcasting is, the slow and steady game, you're going to learn more, you're going to improve. And podcasting is truly, I promise you, it's an amazing way to find your voice so helpful and get used to being in the spotlight without actually standing on a stage or being in any spotlight. I mean, I'm just home by myself in my house right now. It's perfect for introverts and also perfect for extroverts who like to share, who like to talk. Either way, I think podcasting really has an advantage. And you're going to find clients who have listened to your voice week in, week out. They're going to be ready to sign up with you. You're not going to have to convince them at all because there is that know, like trust factor that's being built up every week as you release your episodes. I am very, very excited for you to begin.

I can't wait to hear your first episodes or semi your second or your third or whenever you feel comfortable. But trust me, no judgment here. I was a complete beginner stumbling through this for a long time. I'm happy to share what I know with you now. So remember, grab that quick start guide. It's completely free at healthcoachpower.com/podcastguide, and this episode is brought to you by That Clean Life and awesome resources for health coaches to create recipe books and help clients with meal planning on any kind of diet. You're going to love it for a limited time. I also have a discount to share. You can get 20% off your first four months when you join at healthcoachpower.com/tcl. That stands for That Clean Life. And I'll see you next week. Take care, everybody.