The Podcast Plan on a Page

Because The World Definitely Needs Another Podcast

If you are struggling to take action on creating your podcast then I’ve created a Plan on a Page guide based on this TEDx talk by Dr. Sarah Glova.

Dr Glova has a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology and a Master of Science in Technical Communication. This plan uses her three-part framework, below, for goal setting and execution.

Specificity is Paramount: Your single-page plan should begin with a clearly defined and specific goal.
Prioritise Action Over Planning: Glova emphasises the importance of focusing on key actions that move you closer to your goal, avoiding the trap of endless planning.
Leverage the Power of Community: A crucial element of the single-page plan is identifying and cultivating a supportive community.

With this single page of focused planning, you might just avoid becoming another statistic in the podcast graveyard.

Keep this plan visible – stick it on your wall, tattoo it on your forearm, or have it skywritten above your house. Just don’t let it gather dust in a drawer like your dreams of becoming a professional juggler.

Section 1: Specify Your Goal (Like Actually Specify It)

Listen up, future Joe Rogan wannabe. Simply writing “start a successful podcast” is about as useful as a chocolate teapot. Here’s what you need to nail down in excruciating detail:

What’s your actual angle? “True crime” isn’t specific enough – we’re drowning in those faster than bodies in a Victorian murder spree. Are you investigating unsolved cases in abandoned theme parks? Now that’s specific.
Why you? What makes your voice different from the other 8 million podcasters currently shouting into the void? Maybe it’s your background as a former carnival fortune teller, or your unhealthy obsession with medieval dental practices.
Target audience: “Everyone” is not an audience, it’s a delusion. Who specifically will waste their precious time listening to your verbal masterpiece? Identify these poor souls.
How will your show transform or improve your ideal listener? Because apparently, we’re all supposed to be Tony Robbins now. Here are some examples of transformation promises:
- Financial podcast: “Transform from a person who impulse-buys artisanal toast into someone who actually understands what a credit score is for.” (Achievable, unless your listener is beyond saving)
- Productivity podcast: “Convert your listeners from scrolling social media like zombies at a phone buffet into people who actually finish things.” (Good luck competing with TikTok’s dopamine factory)
- Wellness podcast: “Help your audience evolve from microwaving ready meals into green-juice-chugging demigods who meal prep like they’re preparing for the apocalypse.” (About as likely as finding enlightenment in a Chuck E. Cheese)
- Self-help podcast: “Guide your listeners from being regular humans with normal insecurities into ‘their best selves’ – whatever the hell that means in our late-stage capitalist hellscape.” (Warning: May result in excessive vision board creation)
- True crime podcast: “Transform your audience from normal people who trust their neighbors into paranoid individuals who triple-check their door locks and suspect their cat of plotting against them.” (Congratulations, you’re now part of the anxiety industrial complex)
Release schedule: Weekly? Bi-weekly? Whenever Mercury isn’t in retrograde? Pick a schedule and stick to it like gum on a theater seat.

Section 2: Priority Actions (Or How to Actually Do Something Instead of Just Talking About It)

Stop faffing about with your microphone settings and focus on these milestones:

By Week 1:

Record your pilot episode (Yes, it will be terrible. Yes, you must do it anyway)
Create show artwork that doesn’t look like it was made by a caffeinated toddler
Write episode descriptions that don’t make English teachers cry

By Week 2:

Build a content calendar (because winging it is how podcasts go to die)
Record and edit three episodes (congratulations, you’ve outlasted 50% of podcasters)
Choose your distribution platforms (Spotify, Apple, or whatever hellscape currently hosts podcasts)

By Week 3:

Launch the damn thing (your mom’s listening, at least)
Implement feedback from the three people who aren’t related to you
Start promotion that doesn’t make you look like a desperate street hawker

Section 3: Your Support Network (Because You Can’t Fail Alone)

The Technical Guru:

Find someone who knows their XLR from their USB
Bonus points if they can explain compression without making you want to cry

The Honest Friend:

Someone who’ll tell you when your episode sounds like a drunken karaoke night
Must be willing to listen to multiple takes of your intro without plotting your murder

The Industry Connect:

Another podcaster who’s actually making it work
Preferably someone who won’t just try to sell you their “How to Podcast” course

The Content Expert:

Someone who knows your topic inside out
Will fact-check your wild claims before you embarrass yourself publicly

Remember: These people are your lifeline when everything goes pear-shaped (and it will, spectacularly).

The Brutal Truth

Your podcast probably won’t make you the next Serial. This does not matter.

The world will thank you for actually planning this thing out instead of just hitting record and hoping for the best.

Keep it simple and fit your plan on a page. Then make it happen.