If we do the production for you, an episode takes you about as long as it takes to record it on camera, once you've got the hang of it. If you do the production yourself, allow about 10 hours for every one-hour episode.
That's why most of the time saving comes from handing over the production. Prof Michael Chapman AM, whose show we produce, talks for about 10 minutes a week, plus a monthly live session.
How much time yours takes also depends on how often you publish and the format you choose. If you can't give it a few hours a month, it's probably not the right time to start.
During the launch
Your time goes into the strategy sessions with me and recording your first few episodes. In those sessions we work out who the show is for, its format, and how you'll approach the guests you want.
I help you record them, in person in Sydney or remotely. The production is done for you, so those episodes are edited and published and the show is listed where people can find it.
How long the launch takes depends mostly on your diary. The sooner you can book the sessions and the recordings, the sooner the show goes live.
After launch
Each episode needs you to record it. For Prof Chapman that's about 10 minutes of talking a week, and the questions from his monthly live session give him material for more episodes.
Everything after the recording can be done for you under the optional ongoing production. You turn up to a scheduled recording, and my team handles the production and sends you a monthly report.
Carrying on with my team is your choice. Amanda Farmer, a Sydney strata lawyer, hired her own editor and a virtual assistant instead, which kept her time on the legal work.
What makes it take longer
Editing and publishing your own episodes takes the most extra time: about 10 hours for a one-hour episode. After the recording, someone has to edit the episode, write the title and show notes, add the artwork and publish it.
Interviews take more time than talking on your own, because you need to find and book guests. Prof Chapman's show is mostly him explaining one topic at a time, so there's no one to book.
Publishing more often, or making each episode longer, adds time too. So does recording one episode at a time, which is why Amanda batches her interviews.
What Amanda says
Amanda launched her podcast, Your Strata Property, with me in 2016. A few months in, she told me on my show: "I think I had a real misconception about the effort that each episode takes."
"It is literally half an hour of a really enjoyable conversation with one of my peers or colleagues." She recorded, sent the file to me, and "then it comes back to me and it's done."
By the end of 2017 she was batching her interviews. "I'm setting aside one, sometimes two days a month, and I'm scheduling interviews to do two or three interviews on that particular day."
You can hear her in episode 80 and episode 150.
Questions people ask
Do I have to do the editing?
No. The production is handled for you during the launch, and after launch my team can keep doing it, which saves you about 10 hours for every one-hour episode.
How often do I need to publish?
There's no fixed rule. During the launch we set a format and a recording rhythm you can keep up, and Prof Chapman's weekly 10 minutes is one example.
Can I record remotely?
Yes. You can record with me in person in Sydney, or from wherever you are.
Next step
Start with your own numbers. This 5-minute worksheet shows what one client is worth to you, and what getting known would cost.
For how this has worked for a lawyer and a specialist doctor, see how independent professionals use a podcast to win clients.
If you run your own practice and want to know whether a podcast would fit your week, book a 30-minute fit call.
