The Ultimate Guide to Live Podcasting
The world of live podcasting is a logical next step for those who host a podcast. Live streaming your podcast offers a host of benefits for your brand, including real-time engagement and feedback from your audience, opportunities for community building, and even new avenues for monetizing your content.
In this post on the ultimate guide to live podcasting, we will share the whats, whys, and hows of live podcasting. By the end of the article, you’ll be well-equipped to give your first live podcast a try.
Table of Contents
- What is Live Podcasting?
- Why Podcast Live?
- 5 Types of Live Podcasts
- How to Podcast Live
- 3 Tips for Live Podcasting
- Live Podcasting on Maestro
What is Live Podcasting?
Live podcasting is exactly what it sounds like: streaming a podcast live to a virtual audience.
Unlike a traditional podcast, which is recorded and then distributed on platforms like Spotify, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts for your audience to stream, the live podcast is more akin to a radio show that your audience consumes in real-time.
Keep in mind that your live podcast can be streamed in a live audio podcast format, a live video podcast format, or both.
Why Podcast Live?
There are many reasons why you should podcast live, so let’s review a few.
Boost Your Engagement
One of the biggest benefits of live podcasting is that you can capitalize on the excitement and engagement of a live broadcast. Live podcasts create experiences that are more lifelike than pre-recorded shows.
Imagine all of your most devoted fans tuning in at the same time while you’re doing a podcast episode and the excitement they’ll have being able to ask questions, provide feedback, and engage with you (and each other) in real-time.
That immediate feedback loop makes your content more directly valuable to listeners and viewers, and it provides a unique opportunity to build a community around your brand. Plus, if you only go live on occasion, a live podcast can be a great way to call attention to a special event, promotion, or business milestone.
Stay Ahead of the Competition
How many podcasters in your industry are routinely going live? Many are creating pre-recorded content, but not everybody has jumped on the live-streaming bandwagon yet, so by adding a live component to your podcast, you can easily stay ahead of the curve.
There’s something special about an unvarnished, real-time conversation without the possibility of edits or cuts. This content is raw and real, so by being willing and able to do a live podcast, you’ll garner a reputation as someone with authority and authenticity.
Even better, you may feed off of the energy of delivering content live and do a better job than you would in a room with no spectators or instant feedback. The incredibly high stakes of a live podcast may also encourage you to prepare better for the broadcast – and perform your best while it’s happening.
Repurpose the Content
One of the best things about live podcasting is that it doesn’t have to be a one-time event.
In fact, there’s a lot of content you can mine and distribute from a single piece of content.
You can still record your live episode into a piece of content that can later be accessed on-demand. Not only can you publish it as an episode on your podcast, but you can also cut up snippets for social media and even turn the show transcript into a blog post.
Monetize Your Show
Another exciting benefit of live podcasts is monetization. There are many different ways to monetize your audience as a conventional podcaster, including sponsorships, ads, and affiliate marketing.
However, a live podcast opens up additional ways of making money, such as charging admission to exclusive events, offering subscriptions for access to premium content, and selling merch in-stream with live shopping.
What creator doesn’t want additional options for monetizing their podcast and maximizing the return on their content creation investment?
5 Types of Live Podcasts
Now that we’ve gone through a few reasons why you should start podcasting live, let’s talk about five of the most popular types of live podcasts you can produce.
1. Interviews
The bread and butter of many podcasts is the interview format, where the host conducts a live interview with one or more guests. In a live podcast, you can allow your audience to submit questions, which the guest can answer in real-time for a more interactive and inclusive experience.
2. Q&A Sessions
For an even more intimate format, you host do a Q&A-style podcast answering questions directly from the audience. This is probably best if you invite an expert or panel on your podcast that can share knowledge on a topic that the audience is interested in.
For a Q&A format, here’s a quick tip: always come prepared with a few questions to answer ahead of time, just in case it takes a little while for the audience to warm up.
3. News Updates and Analysis
Whatever your podcast topic or industry, it’s likely that there are news updates worth sharing with your audience.
This can be as broad as major industry trends or as specific as a personal update or update on your company or brand. The news update format is a particularly good format for a live podcast because it conveys urgency in a way that your pre-recorded episode cannot.
4. Workshops or Panels
Pick a specific topic that your audience wants to know about and turn it into a how-to workshop or panel discussion. Choosing a specific topic is the way to go since it’s usually best if you set expectations for a certain outcome or benefit that the viewer will walk away with.
For example, if you have a marketing podcast, hosting a specific workshop on something specific like “How AI Will Change Marketing Forever – and What to Do About It” will be more attractive than a general workshop on “Marketing Tips.”
Whether your topic is shared by a single presenter or a panel with different viewpoints, you can produce a lot of interesting and engaging content with this format.
5. Behind the Scenes
Lastly, you can try a “behind the scenes” style podcast where you share a live look at something unique or exclusive for your audience. This could be a tour of your studio or workplace, a deep dive into your content creation process, or a “day in the life” style broadcast.
You can get creative with behind-the-scenes content, remembering that your audience will appreciate the authenticity of the live podcast format.
How to Podcast Live
The ultimate question in an ultimate guide to live podcasting is, “How do you podcast live?”
Well, the good news is, podcasting live is a similar process to recording a podcast, so any previous podcast experience gives you a head start in the art of podcasting live.
The main difference is that you’ll need to use streaming software like Maestro to broadcast your content to the world in real-time. You may also need a slightly different equipment setup to ensure a smooth live stream.
We put together a dedicated guide that breaks down how to podcast live, so check that out to learn more about this process.
3 Tips for Live Podcasting
We’re sure you have experience with traditional podcasting, but making the shift to live podcasting can be quite a leap. Here are three important tips to keep in mind as you dive into live podcasting.
1. Prepare Ahead of Time
If you’re accustomed to a more conventional recorded podcast format, then you may be in the habit of making content adjustments on the fly. It’s easy to look something up, do a quick fact check, or re-record part of your episode if there was a flub or you think of an interesting new angle for your content.
Of course, live podcasting doesn’t afford you the luxury of changing your horse mid-stream, so to speak. You need to do all of your research ahead of time and, ideally, actually do a trial run on your content at least once to make sure you’re ready. Not only will this help you avoid any slip-ups during the real deal, but it’ll also elevate the quality of your live podcast performance for your audience.
(Quick note: This doesn’t mean you should be too rigid. Unexpected things can happen, so have a solid plan in mind, but still, be prepared to improvise if necessary.)
2. Know Your Technical Setup
There’s nothing worse than technical glitches during a live podcast. That’s why you need to think through every aspect of your live streaming setup, including your internet connection, your audio and video equipment, your live podcast streaming software, and anything else that’s involved with broadcasting your live content to the world.
We recommend doing at least one tech rehearsal before the live podcast officially happens, where you make sure all your equipment and software are working. This should include your guest(s) as well to validate that they’re able to join you live without any hiccups.
Along with the technical setup, you’ll need to think through logistics. What if your main guest sleeps in and isn’t there at the start of your live podcast? What if one of your cameras isn’t working on the day of?
Whenever possible, think through every possible issue and have backups of backups to ensure nothing can knock your live podcast off track.
3. Make It Special for Your Audience
The most important tip to remember about live podcasting is to take maximum advantage of the live format, especially when it comes to engagement. There are many ways you can do this, such as:
- Answering audience questions live
- Polling the audience on a topic and sharing their responses as they come in
- Responding directly to audience comments in the live chat
- Shouting out individual listeners or viewers who are engaging with you
Remember that a live podcast represents a two-way street. Yes, you’re presenting content to your audience, but you’re also giving them a chance to interact with you.
Simple gestures like answering their questions or calling out answers in the live chat will reward your most dedicated and engaged fans for tuning in live.
Live Podcasting on Maestro
Live podcasting may be a bit different from what you’re used to as a podcaster, especially if you’re used to the audio-only format. However, it’s totally worth it to improve your engagement and unlock new monetization opportunities.
If you’re looking for a software platform that can support your live podcast, Maestro could be the choice for you. Our streaming platform supports both live and on-demand video streaming.
What makes Maestro unique is that we offer a variety of tools to make your live podcast episodes engaging and interactive, including live chat, polls, and more. Additionally, we offer a slew of video monetization tools so you can generate more revenue from your show.
Are you ready to launch your podcast on Maestro? Sign up today to start live podcasting for free.
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