Podcasts; they can seem like a saturated market, everyone’s doing them, so you shouldn’t bother, right? If these women are anything to go by, we’d say there are plenty of reasons to start your own show! We asked three new(ish) podcasters 6 quickfire questions to find out all about launching their podcasts and what they’ve learned along the way…
The New Craft House Podcast, with Hannah and Rosie
The New Craft House Podcast is hosted by Hannah and Rosie, founders of The New Craft House, a fabric shop with sewing classes and workshops in East London.
Can you tell us about your podcast?
Our podcast is called The New Craft House Podcast (imaginative name!) and in it we talk about everything sewing. We have guests on most episodes from the sewing world, business owners or people with interesting careers in sewing. It's quite informal and we both host every episode.
When and why did you decide to start it?
It was during lockdown when we had the headspace to start a new project. I think it was actually Hannah's boyfriend's idea, he's a musician and said he could do the editing for us. That was about six months ago now.
How do you approach the technical side of things?
During lockdown we were recording them remotely, so it took a lot of co-ordination with different laptops and zoom calls! We actually just record them on our phones at the moment but for the second season we're going to invest in some actual equipment like a real microphone. Hannah's boyfriend still edits for us.
Are there any aspects of running a podcast that you didn’t expect?
We didn't expect people to want the show notes so much. It was such a last-minute thing to do the podcast, so the show notes were all delayed but we had so many requests for them!
Have any opportunities arisen as a result of you starting your podcast? Has it opened any new doors?
Not new opportunities exactly but it's been great to be able to have in-depth conversations with people we wouldn't usually have had the opportunity to chat to.
Any words of advice for someone thinking of starting a podcast?
Someone else told us to record the start after recording the bulk of the episode, you'll already be warmed up and sound more natural!
Un:CUT, with Alice, Atia and Juliet
Un:CUT is hosted by Alice, Atia and Juliet, three friends who met through the crafting community. You can listen to the podcast here.
Can you tell us about your podcast?
Un:CUT is ‘the makers’ podcast’. Through laid-back chats we delve into how everyday people from different walks of life approach creating the things they love. It's really relaxed, we just chat (and often laugh!) our way through topics that our listeners can relate to.
When and why did you decide to start it?
The three of us are friends through sewing, and in February Juliet messaged me (Alice) and Atia saying she’d had an idea…! We jumped at the chance and wanted to get going straight away but then lockdown hit so we parked the idea for a while. We then realised we could record remotely so within a week we’d booked a date and recorded our first three episodes! We didn’t really have a specific reason for starting; we’re all multi-crafters though, so we intentionally made the podcast open to all makers, not sewing-specific.
How do you approach the technical side of things?
We record on Zoom, it’s so simple, no technical equipment needed! Juliet has a good microphone, but Atia and I just wear basic headsets as we’ve found it makes the sound clearer than using the mics on our computers. Juliet then edits the episodes using Final Cut Pro, but it’s quite time consuming so we’re going to look to hire someone to edit for us. We share a graphic each week to show what the episode is about, any guest we have on and if there’s a sponsor, so I design that on InDesign.
Are there any aspects of running a podcast that you didn’t expect?
The feedback! It’s been wonderful, we’ve received so many supportive and kind messages from listeners. People have made suggestions for topics, and put themselves forward as guests, which we weren’t expecting at all.
Have any opportunities arisen as a result of you starting your podcast? Has it opened any new doors?
We’ve been featured in a few craft magazines which blew us away! We’ve got more in the pipeline, too, which is so exciting. Also, it’s been wonderful to have in-depth chats with people we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to talk to.
Any words of advice for someone thinking of starting a podcast?
It’s more time consuming than I’d anticipated – not the recording or planning the episodes themselves, but the extra ‘stuff’ that comes with it – promoting and marketing it, so make sure you’re happy to invest the time.
I really would say to just give it a go! When we decided to go for it, we’d recorded within a week; it’s something you can make happen really quickly, and it’s so much fun.
The Enthusiast & Co Podcast with Ellie Kime
Ellie is a creative consultant and all-round enthusiasm spreader. You can find more about her work here. Nina was a guest on The Enthusiast podcast last month – listen to her talk about The Career Girl, her love for London and the empowerment of sewing bras(!) here.
Can you tell us about your podcast?
The Enthusiast & Co is a podcast talking to people about what they're enthusiastic about in work, life, and play. I believe one of the best things is listening to people talk about what they're really, truly, enthusiastic about, so I chat to a whole host of different guests about what lights them up.
When and why did you decide to start it?
I started The Enthusiast & Co in April 2020 - it was in the pipeline before Coronavirus anyway but happened to go live just after the UK went into lockdown. I started it for mostly selfish reasons - I love getting to know people, and there's nothing I enjoy more than chatting to people about what they're enthusiastic about; I thought other people might feel the same too! At the start of lockdown, I released an episode every week, hoping that it would give people something to look forward to in the week, and then tapered to my original plan of fortnightly.
How do you approach the technical side of things?
I'd already co-hosted The Business Proposal Podcast for a year and a half before starting this one, so I had a bit of a head start in terms of the technical side - I bought a mic from Amazon (though Apple headphones and your phone recording app are actually fine quality!) and use Libsyn as my publisher. I also outsource my editing, as I find it exceptionally difficult to cull my own chats!
Are there any aspects of running a podcast that you didn’t expect?
Ooh what a good question! The planning always gets me - I like to keep my audio as current as possible, so my biggest struggle is recording it with enough time to edit, but not having too much of a backlog so as to release in 4 months’ time! (There are just too many great people I want to chat to!)
Have any opportunities arisen as a result of you starting your podcast? Has it opened any new doors?
It's amazing to have a place to point people to for more in-depth chats about what I do, rather than snippets on Instagram. And people have listened in over 30 countries, which blows my mind!
Any words of advice for someone thinking of starting a podcast?
DO IT! It may feel like everyone is doing a podcast now and it's not worth trying, but only a third of podcasts are fronted by women - a stat we definitely want to up! Stats also show that your average podcast listener listens to 6 or 7 podcast shows a week, so even though there are plenty of podcasts out there, there's absolutely room for yours too!
Brilliant closing words from Ellie, there. If you’ve got a topic you’re passionate about and want to share with others, please do go for it, we’d love to listen!
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