Should i Start a Podcast?
6 Questions to Ask Before You and Your Team Hit the 'Record' Button
By Wolf Point Media More people are listening to podcasts than ever before, and it's prompting many media organizations, nonprofits, and brands to ask themselves: Should we get in the game?
Our answer is almost always: *maybe* — but only if you've thought it through and are ready to invest the time and money it takes to make it a success.
A well-executed podcast can be an extremely powerful tool for building trust, reaching new audiences, and telling the kinds of stories that stick. BUT a poorly planned show can drain your budget and your team's energy… without delivering much in return.
Wolf Point Media is a podcast production house made up of former and current public radio journalists, and between us we've created or worked on dozens of shows — from legacy talk shows to award-winning narrative series to innovative experiments in community engagement, and several shorter-lived projects that taught us just as much. We have a handle of what works, and what doesn't.
So before you buy a microphone or book your first guest, here are the six questions to think through when considering whether to get into the game, boiled down from our recent session at the Online News Association's annual conference in Chicago, led by Jessica Pupovac, Erin Allen, Shawn Allee, and Alyssa Edes.
For more on any one of these points or to contact us for support with your current or future shows, contact our founder and ringleader, Jessica Pupovac, at jessica@wolfpoint.media.
1. Why are you making this show?
'Maker, know thyself.' It sounds simple, but it's important to really interrogate this question and refine your vision and goals from the get-go. Are you hoping to educate your audience, entertain them, both? How, exactly, will this podcast build upon and advance your mission? How does it advance your brand?
Every editorial decision you make — from what topics you cover, to how you structure episodes, to who you invite as guests — should trace back to this foundation. Shows that drift away from or never really articulate their "why" risk throwing their nets too wide, which will eventually mean struggling to find their audience, and eventually losing even their internal champions.
2. Whom are you making it for?
The what of your show should be driven by the who. And who needs to be specific — not just "people who care about news" or "our existing audience."
We push teams to develop real, detailed audience portraits. Here are a few examples of what this might look like in practice:
Bilingual Hispanics in the Chicago region who discover news content through group texts, WhatsApp, and similar environments
White and Black men in western North Carolina who haven't finished college
Progressive young millennials and Gen-Zers who feel overwhelmed by national political news
Notice what these have in common: they're specific enough to help guide real decisions about content, framing, marketing, and events. Knowing your audience helps you find them and helps them find you. It also gives you a clearer lens through which to evaluate whether each episode is actually delivering.
Next, the what and who will help you articulate why your audience might need this show — beyond the generic "they want information." Some real-world examples:
"They need to solve civic problems they can't currently navigate well."
"They've been ignored by mainstream media but bitten by misinformation in social media-driven alternatives."
"They want to break out of feeling 'isolated' by the news."
Yes, you can and probably will reach other demographics, too, if you're creating something strong. But don't worry about that, especially not in the beginning. Hone in on your North Star. Prioritize hitting one editorial target, and everyone else is gravy.
Honing in on your target audience and determining how to speak directly to their needs and the solutions you intend to offer should guide the development of your show's voice, tone, style and the selection of the appropriate host, music, and everything else. That includes your outward-facing language. For example, in What A Day podcast,the host literally says to the audience, "It's not your imagination. Politics are crazy, and we're with you." It's more than a marketing line — it's an editorial compass.
3. What kind of show are you making?
Format is often where production realities start to set in. Here's a quick rundown of the main podcast formats, from simplest to most complex:
Solo-cast: One person, one mic. This might work if you have a clear, authoritative voice, boatloads of charisma, and something original to say -- but it's very difficult to pull off and, frankly, not typically very successful.
Chat-cast / talk-cast: This is a lightly edited or unedited conversation with one to two hosts and maybe a guest or two. The ceiling for this format is high, but audience growth usually requires either a well-known host or a niche and often salacious or politically reactive subject (think My Favorite Murder, National Park After Dark, and The Joe Rogan Experience).
Edited interview: This format is often the best fit for newsrooms and organizations new to audio who plan to adhere to existing editorial and production standards. It requires more prep — crafting an interview arc, vetting guests, sometimes asking questions a second or third time for clarity — but it can be both informative and engaging.
Narrative / audio documentary: Think scripted narration, layered sound design, carefully structured arcs… Narrative shows take the most effort but, when done well, can be the most powerful, bingeable, and memorable. This is where shows like Serial, This American Life, and You Didn't See Nothin' live.
4. Who's going to make it?
The best podcasts look and sound effortless. Unfortunately, they are not. If you want to make something worth listening to, you're going to need at least one person who is well-versed in developing and producing podcasts; the more the merrier.
Here are the key roles you'll want to have on your team:
Host: The voice and face of the show. Conducting interviews is only part of the job. This person typically (but not always) also plays an editorial role in shaping episodes.
Producer (must-have)*: The lynchpin of the operation. A producer typically handles guest booking, researches the subject, writes questions and intros/outros, handles recording logistics, edits the tape after the recording session, and coaches the host throughout the recording and planning process. If you only have a budget for one hire beyond your host, make it a producer with solid audio experience.
Editor: The most overlooked role in podcasting, but often the key distinction between a show with longevity and one that quietly fades into the ether. Where the producer is in the weeds, the editor is looking at the big picture: Is this episode achieving its purpose? Does it flow? This is your outside ear. A story editor is essential for any scripted or narrative show, but can also make a huge difference in any type of show. (You wouldn't publish a print story without an edit, why skip this important step with your audio product?)
Engineer/Mixer: The person who handles recording quality, mixing, sound design, and music. Not absolutely necessary for simpler formats, but a real asset when you’re going for higher production quality. This person is often vital during recordings, making sure equipment and software are functioning correctly and eliminating any background distractions and noise, making sure everyone sounds their best.
A production assistant and fact-checker are also great to have on produced interview shows and a must-have for any narrative series. Both help free up your producer to focus on content and can help keep your quality standards high as you scale up. They also typically charge a little less hourly than a producer.
The bottom line: making an audio show requires people with audio experience. This isn't a task to hand off to a communications intern. If you don't have audio expertise in-house, find some — whether that means hiring a single freelance producer or bringing a production house (like us!) on board to help you realize your vision and set you up for success.
5. How are you going to pay for it?
Ads, sponsorships, merch, crowd-funding, and events are all revenue streams that can help mitigate costs. If you're a nonprofit or media organization, grants might also be an option, depending on the nature of your project.
However, many of these options require a solid audience base before you can get paid, so you're going to need a funding plan that supports 100% of your costs at least for the first year or so.
So, how much does it cost?
Well, it depends.
The range is vast: from about $1,000 to $6,000 an episode for a simple chatcast to up to $50,000 or even $100,000 (!) an episode if we're talking about premium audio documentary (aka "narrative") shows.
On the equipment side, you can either rent out a studio to record (typically at about $200-$500 per session) or set up a basic in-home or office studio. If you go the DIY route, you'll need, at a minimum:
microphones (the Rode NT1 at ~$250 or the Shure SM7 at ~$400 are solid starting points)
mic stands
cables
headphones
Then, for your post-production (editing, adding music, laying in your intro/outro and credits, etc.), you'll need:
transcribing software like Descript (typically for a minimum of $24/month)
Editing software (or a Digital Audio Workstation) like ProTools or Adobe Audition (Descript can also do some very light editing but nothing too sophisticated or polished)
a podcast hosting platform such as Spotify for Creators, Podbean, or RSS.com (some of these are free, others about $12 to $20/month).
If you decide to build your own team, the Association of Independents in Radio rate guide is a good place to look for industry standards. If you hire a team, they might handle a lot of this for you as part of their rate.
A note on revenue:
We aren't going to sugarcoat it — advertising revenue for new or small shows is modest, at best. A show with 5-8,000 downloads per episode might generate around $150/month in programmatic ads. YouTube ad revenue is similarly limited until you build a larger subscriber base. The shows generating meaningful money from podcasting are typically doing it through live events, merchandise, Patreon/crowdfunding, auxiliary products like Substack content, and direct sponsorships.
That said, don't confuse direct revenue with your podcast's value. Brand authority, audience trust, and content that fuels your other channels can all represent real returns. The podcast, in that case, can be an investment that helps make everything else you do more successful.
6. How will people find it?
Publishing a podcast without a distribution strategy is like printing a magazine and leaving it by the door to your house.
Here's what actually moves the needle:
Launch with a plan. Prepare your SEO language, episode descriptions, transcripts, and social assets before your debut. Launch day is chaotic — you want everything ready to go.
Email newsletters. If you have an existing audience there, use it. This is one of the most effective channels for spreading the word about a new show.
Short-form video. Strategic clips, Reels, and audiograms are worth the time and effort if your content has shareable moments.
Ask your guests to share. Simple but often overlooked. When you're starting out, your guests' networks are one of your strongest distribution tools.
SEO: Show notes and transcripts are your search engine footprint. Don't skip them.
YouTube: More setup and cost, but can be great for discoverability. More people are watching podcasts now than ever, so even if your show is audio-only, it doesn't hurt to have an RSS feed routing to your YouTube channel. As an added bonus, you can post the occasional video and promo there, too.
Cross-promotions and feed drops. Swapping promo spots — or even full episodes — with shows that have a similar audience is one of the most effective (and free!) growth strategies available. It's harder to pull off without some existing audience, but worth building toward.
Consistency. This one sounds obvious, but it's where many shows falter. Audiences form habits. Show up on schedule and deliver on your promise. Become part of your audience's routine.
Word of mouth. Personal recommendations from friends and colleagues is still the single best driver of podcast discovery. There's still no substitute for simply making something good, memorable, and buzzworthy -- and it doesn't hurt to explicitly ask your listeners to share it.
Ready to start planning?
These six questions won't answer every challenge you'll face in launching a podcast, but they'll tell you a great deal about whether you're ready to start the conversation— and what it's actually going to take to make it all worth your time.
Wolf Point Media was created to help media organizations, nonprofits, and mission-driven brands make an impact in the podcast space. We're a team of people who have been in the podcast and public radio world for years and are eager to put our collective knowledge and experience to work telling true stories that connect people and reach audiences. Whether you need a sounding board to work through these questions, a single producer to help you get off the ground, or a full production team to build something from scratch — we're here for all of it.
Email us at jessica@wolfpoint.media and let's figure it out together.