Podcasting Live: Why Podcasters Should Consider Live Streaming Your Interviews

In this post, Ash Borland dives deep into how podcasts can use live streaming to their advantage. Not only as a time-saving production tool but also as a way to engage with and build a community around their podcast!

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Read the Blog Post: Podcasting Live: Why Podcasters Should Consider Live Streaming Your Interviews

There are three main ways you can use live streaming in your own podcast. We will look at how they work and how you can implement them yourself as a podcaster. Before we get into that, we first need to address one thing:

Why should podcasters live streams? I have talked to podcasters about doing live streams. Some are pretty reluctant. Others are nervous and do not want to venture into something they might not fully understand.

Yet, I remain a firm believer that live streaming is worthwhile and something podcasters need to learn and embrace.

Here are some reasons why.

Community building. Livestreaming helps you build a community. How often do we create content and feel like we are talking into the void and getting nothing back?

Livestream allows you to build a tribe of people around you who can listen to you every week.

Discoverability. How often do we hear that the discoverability of a show is a problem? Livestreaming helps create more touchpoints for your show and increases the chance that someone will actually find it.

Feedback. We actually get direct feedback from our listeners. So not only is it nice to know that people are listening, but we also get to know what they want, what they like, and what they do not like.

And the best part is that we can respond in real time. That means your show is better tailored to listeners.

Now I’ll list some live streaming approaches every podcaster should consider, whether they are a solo podcaster or an interview podcaster.

Method 1 on How to Use Live Streams in Podcasting: The After Show

The after-show is very similar to a review. It’s an unpacking of what the podcast has been. Here is an example of how an after-show would work.

Let us say you watch an episode every Monday. You could host a live show on a Friday where you break down Monday’s show in more detail.

That’s really great for podcast hosts who want to give their opinion on what guests are saying.

If you are trying to position yourself as an expert, you can talk about some of the learning points you took from the guests. You can also bring the guest back into the conversation if they want to.

On some of my interviews, the episode show might not come out for eight weeks. One of my shows is literally scheduled six months in advance. That means I can say to the guest, “Listen, the show you recorded is out now. Would you like to come back and do a live show?” I do this live aftershow and it’s a great opportunity to answer questions from the audience and go into more detail on certain topics.”

Another great benefit of an aftershow is that you get to engage the audience in the live stream.

There’s a lot of software out there that can allow you to easily include community members as guests in the aftershow.

They’ll feel like they are contributing something to the show. It’s also a great way to boost discoverability as they will share the live stream with their friends and family.

This is a good time to queue up the next episode and make sure listeners are gearing up for it.

Method 2 on How to Use Live Streams in Podcasting: The Idea Farm

If you are like me and always looking for new episode ideas, new potential guests, and new opportunities to explore as a podcaster, this is the strategy for you.

With this option, you would post a live Q&A once a week to a closed group, YouTube channel, or wherever you want to set it up.

I like to call mine My Power Hour.

During these live Q&As, people can ask questions about any topic you specialize in, so this is an especially good strategy for shows that are very niche.

The reason I call it an idea farm is that after the live show, you should jot down any questions that came up. Then if you are doing solo episodes, you could answer those questions, or if you do an interview-style show, you could look for guests to answer those specific questions.

That creates this amazing, cohesive experience that most podcast hosts tend to overlook.

I really think that this idea farm is something that most podcasters could use in their arsenal. In fact, I currently have lists and lists of questions that my listeners have asked me during these live Q&As.

Method 3 on How to Use Live Streams in Podcasting: Live Recording

The last type of podcast episode you can live stream is the actual recording of the episode.

This is the variant that most people default to. It lets us podcast and live stream at the same time.

However, this is actually a lot harder than you think.

The problem with simultaneous live streaming and podcasting is that live streaming relies heavily on interaction between you and the audience.

With podcasting, that’s not so much the case. It’s very intimate. There may be a large number of listeners, but it’s very intimate. You are addressing a single person (your podcast avatar).

This is not to say that it’s not possible to combine the two.

To successfully live stream a podcast episode, follow this three-step format.

Set a time each week for a meet and greet

This is the time when you welcome the listeners and have a chat with them. If the guest is present, you might have a chat with them for 5 or 10 minutes.

Or you can have them wait in the green room. Either way, this gives you the opportunity to interact with the guests who have turned up. They are there and they are excited.

You can think of it like a pre-show meet and greet. This way, you are really creating a shared experience with yourself and your audience.

Record the actual podcast episode

It’s really important that you do not engage with the listeners in this phase.

It should be just you or you and the guest going back and forth.

No matter how many comments pop up in the corner, you should be fully engaged in the discussion with the guest.

The selling point is that your hardcore fans will always get first access to the live recording.

If you do this consistently, they will show up.

Once the show is over, do a live Q&A

This is where you turn back to your audience and ask, “How are you doing, did you enjoy the show?” It’s also the time to scroll through the chat and answer any questions people might have asked.

You can answer them along with the guest.

This three-step strategy for podcasting and live streaming allows your loyal listeners to interact with your guests.

You also get to accomplish multiple things in one place this way. Keep in mind that this requires a little preparation and training of your listeners. But if you do it right and over a long period of time, this format will pay off.

When you are ready to publish the podcast episode, you get rid of the pre-show and Q&A and you are left with a really great podcast that you recorded. Now you can edit it if you want and do all the good stuff.

Wrap Up

Why should you live stream as a podcaster? It goes right back to what I said at the beginning.

You want to build a community, you want to increase your discoverability, and you want to get feedback from your listeners so you can create the best show in real-time.

You do not have to commit to only one of these three.

Also, you can combine them as you see fit. There is no one size fits all.

As long as you remember that with live streaming, you are giving your listeners the access they crave.

They want to support you, talk to you, and have their voices heard on the shows they love. Give them that chance.

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