How to Prepare for a Podcast Episode: What to Do Before You Hit Record

May 2

Recording high-quality podcasts isn’t something that just happens.

It takes preparation, both on the content side and on the audio setup side.

As a podcast host myself, and someone who has helped over 30 business owners start and produce their own podcasts through our Podcast Launch Services, I’ve seen that effective podcast prep boils down to two things:

Who you’re going to record.
What you’re going to record.
How you’re going to record it.

This article is all about how to make sure you’re covered in both of these areas so you can create the best possible content every time you record.

Want everything we cover in this article in an easy-to-use checklist format?

Bonus: Steal our Free PreRecording Checklist for Premium Audio Quality

PREPARING WHO YOU’RE GOING TO RECORD

Podcasts are a fun way to get to know people from different walks of life. These guests play an important role in the success of your podcast.

They bring diversity, fresh perspectives, and invaluable expertise to your episodes, which helps keep your listeners engaged and coming back for more.

But this doesn’t mean you can just hop into your studio and talk to just anyone.

You have to be intentional about who you’re inviting to your podcast. Sure, you can do a solo episode, but it’s not like you’re planning to do that for the rest of your episodes, right?

Use Your Network

One of the best ways to find potential guests is by tapping into your existing network.

You can reach out to friends, colleagues, industry contacts, and even past guests, and ask them for recommendations or introductions to individuals who would be a good fit for your show.

Or if you want a more systematic approach, add “recommend people” in the guest form to make sure you will have unlimited potential contacts. Some people set it as a requirement, but I advise against doing so as it could come across as forced.

Just remember, these personal connections can help you secure high-quality guests and build rapport before the interview.

Identifying Potential Guests

The first step in finding great guests is to know where to look. Check out social media platforms like X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram to find industry experts, thought leaders, and influential personalities.

Use hashtags, groups, and search functions to find guests who align with your podcast's niche or topic.

You can also look at news media outlets, both traditional and online. Keep an eye out for people who have been featured or interviewed for their expertise, as they may be open to appearing on your podcast as well.

Lastly, don't overlook other podcasts in your niche—guests who have appeared on similar shows are likely willing to share their insights with your audience too.

Conducting Thorough Research

Are they really the guests you’re looking for? It’s easy to look people up online, but how great of a fit they are to your podcast topic?

Go to their websites and review any published content that they have. This gives you a direct insight into their areas of expertise, communication styles, and personalities—all important things to determine if they’ll be an engaging and informative guest.

If these guests have been on other similar podcast shows, you might want to give them a listen or watch.

This will help you understand their interview style and allow you to create unique questions that haven’t been covered elsewhere.

Crafting a Compelling Pitch

Now that you’ve got your research ready, it is time to connect with potential guests and give them a compelling pitch.

Keep it Short and Sweet: Your email or DM should highlight the value of your podcast, explain what you want from them (be specific!), and reference something specific about their work to show you've done your homework.

Offer Value: What's in it for them? Mention your podcast's reach and how the interview can benefit their career or project.

End with a Clear Call to Action: Let them know how to respond or ask questions.

Building Relationships and Following Up

Remember, securing great guests is more than just a pitch—it's about building relationships and following up consistently.

If someone declines your initial invitation, don't be discouraged. Say thanks and express your continued interest in having them on the show.

Building these relationships not only opens doors for future guest appearances but also helps position your podcast as a reputable and professional platform.

PREPARING WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO RECORD

The first thing you need to do is figure out your content.

What’s crucial here is approaching your podcast with the mindset of being a champion for your audience. Whatever you’re going to record, it has to be with your listeners’ best interest at heart.

Would they benefit from hearing how to avoid common mistakes entrepreneurs tend to make? Advice for shifting their thoughts around food and weight loss? What to look for when investing in real estate?

Whether it’s an interview or a teaching episode that features you doing a deep dive into a subject, you have to know what your audience wants to know and needs to hear. That is the key to knowing your content.

Pro tip: Ask your audience. Do you have an established community? What better way to create content for your target audience than to ask them directly? If you have been keeping up with a bunch of popular podcasters, you will notice that they are all about using social media to throw out questions about topics they are into.

Avoid Overplanning

Keep in mind that there is such a thing as overplanning what you’re going to say.

A lot of people make the mistake of scripting their episodes or listing out every question for their guests in an effort to figure out exactly what’s going to be said in the episode.

I don’t advise this approach.

This kind of overplanning will make your podcast seem scripted and rigid, and it takes away from the conversational feel you want to have.

Outline Key Discussion Points

A better approach is to list 3-5 bullet points of what you want to cover in the episode. This works for both solo shows and interviews.

Any subject you want to cover on your own should be one that you can speak freely about based on a bullet point reminder, and whatever nuggets of wisdom you want to uncover in an interview can be added to your list, as well.

For solo shows, you can make a note of the main ideas you want to cover or any experiences or situations that you want to use as educational stories within the podcast.

These can be real stories of clients or customers of yours, parables intended to help listeners better understand a scenario, or questions that have been submitted to you.

For interviews, make a list of the wisdom you want to uncover from your guests that your audience is itching to hear.

Then, instead of having pre-scripted questions that can feel forced and interrupt the natural flow of conversation, you can gently guide your guest toward the subjects in each of your bullet points.

Pro Tip: Interviews, in particular, are where it’s crucial to advocate for your audience.

If you get a response that feels inadequate or doesn’t quite deliver what you know your audience wants to know more about, ask more questions to dig deeper.

You want to be the person who’s able to uncover the most useful information for your listenership. Keep at it until you feel like you’ve revealed enough that is valuable in its own right as a piece of content for a podcast episode before you move on.

Explore Different Episode Formats

Don't just default to the standard solo commentary or one-on-one interview format every week. Mixing it up keeps things fresh and interesting.

Solo episodes give you the chance to do a deep dive into focused topics through narration, storytelling, tutorials, etc.

Interviews let you extract insight and experiences from industry experts. You can also get creative with formats like:

Having panel discussions or roundtable talks
Doing product, service, or book reviews and commentary
Streaming live Q&A sessions and taking caller questions
Inviting guest co-hosts for different perspectives

Changing up the format prevents content from feeling stale and gives you new ways to create value.

Test Record and Practice

Before hitting the record button for a new episode, do a brief practice run either alone or with any planned guests.

This lets you get comfortable with your opening remarks, test out audio levels, and get any pre-show jitters out of your system.

For solo episodes, you can practice your delivery out loud to identify any areas that sound confusing or disorganized.

For interviews, you can treat it like a live rehearsal and check that your guests can smoothly transition between different talking points.

This step exposes any other holes in your preparation so you can continuously improve each episode's quality and flow.

PREPARING HOW YOU’RE GOING TO RECORD

Before you hit that red button, take a look at your recording setup.

You want to anticipate potential hiccups before they can impact your audio. A little preparation goes a long way in ensuring a smooth recording session.

Here are some things to consider:

1. Is your microphone positioned appropriately?

This all depends on what kind of microphone you have, but typically, you want to be 3-6 inches from the mic and talk past it.

If you have a condenser microphone, it's more sensitive and might require closer placement (2-4 inches) than a dynamic microphone (3-6 inches).

Ideally, you’ll also want a pop filter. USB microphones often have built-in pop filters, but it's still wise to check.

If you don’t have one, make sure your microphone is pointed slightly away from your mouth to avoid sound spikes as much as possible.

Check out our blog post How to Optimize Your Podcast Audio Quality for more tips and tricks.

2. Are your audio levels where they’re supposed to be?

Within your recording software, take a moment to check your audio levels.

When you speak, you want to be between 5 and 7 decibels, or at the top of the green and yellow area, but avoid the red zone.

If your levels are too low, adjust the gain on your audio interface or microphone preamp. If they're too high, lower the gain or move further from the mic.

When you’re silent, your audio levels should be completely flat.

3. Is the room ideal for recording?

The space you’re using to record can make all the difference when it comes to audio quality.

You want to choose a room that doesn’t have a heavy echo or allow in a lot of background noise. If it’s not possible to avoid these things, there are steps you can take to minimize them.

For example, bringing a mattress or lounge into the room can help deaden sound and eliminate echoes or the dreaded “far away” sound.

You can also bring in curtains or pillows to help. Putting a few pillows around and/or behind the microphone can make a world of difference!

If you’re willing to spend more, consider using acoustic panels or foam tiles to absorb sound reflections and reduce echo.

4. Have you tested all your equipment?

The last thing you want is to start recording only to find out a mic wasn't plugged in or the batteries are dead.

Do a full equipment check before going live.

That means powering everything on, checking all connections, and replacing batteries in wireless mics just to be safe. It's also smart to have a backup mic and cables ready to go in case something craps out mid-recording.

5. Are you likely to be interrupted?

The last thing you want when you’re in the middle of recording is to be interrupted.

Let any guests know in advance about the importance of a quiet environment and muting their devices.

Double-check that you’ve turned off or muted your cell phone and desktop notifications, and don’t forget to ask guests to do the same.

If you have children or pets, make sure they are occupied and won’t need anything from you during the time you’re recording.

If possible, record separate tracks for each participant, making it easier to edit out any unexpected noises or interruptions later.

And, of course, you want to make sure you have everything you need so you’re not the cause of the pause. That means your notes are nearby, you have a glass of water handy in case your voice starts to get scratchy, etc.

Pro Tip: For a more comprehensive list that you can print out for your desk, download my free pre-recording checklist:

Run through it for yourself and with any co-hosts or guests prior to recording a podcast episode to ensure production quality audio every time.

6. Do you have all your show materials ready?

Avoid awkward dead air by having everything you need right at your fingertips. Print out notes, scripts, outlines—whatever you need to stay on track.

If using music beds, sound effects, or pre-recorded clips, make sure those audio files are queued up and easy to access when it's showtime.

7. Have you picked the right time of day?

Timing can be everything when it comes to quality audio recording. You'll want to avoid neighborhood hangout times when cars, lawnmowers, and outdoor voices could sneak into your mics.

The overnight hours are usually the quietest, but that's not exactly convenient for most of us. Instead, think about times like mid-morning or late evening when people are typically at work or have settled in for the night.

And if you live in an apartment or have nearby neighbors, give them a heads up that you'll be recording. They'll (hopefully) keep the volume down while you lay down tracks.

8. Have you scheduled ample recording time?

No one wants to feel rushed when recording. Build in a little extra time before and after your scheduled window.

That pre-recording buffer gives you a chance to get settled, do mic checks, chit-chat, etc. without feeling like you're watching the clock. And leaving some post-recording time means you don't have to abruptly end things if you go a bit long.

Having some breathing room puts everyone at ease and allows for a more natural vibe. Getting flustered because you're crunched for time? That tension comes through in the audio.

9. Have you found your most energetic self?

If you're feeling tired or lethargic, it'll likely come through in your recorded audio performance with a lack of enunciation, energy, and emotion.

Do whatever you need to do be wakeful and engaged before recording - whether it's chugging a cup of coffee, doing some jumping jacks, or a brief meditation to get centered. This is no time for sleepwalking!