How to Start Your Baseball or Softball Podcast Today | The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

If you’re a baseball or softball entrepreneur, coach, player, or parent who’s trying to expand their online presence, then you’ve no doubt done what’s called content marketing already – even if you didn’t know its official name yet. 

Basically, there are numerous types of media or experiences that you can create to add value to our communities, while promoting your brand.

Some popular content options are social media videos posted across different platforms, blog posts, infographics, and releasing software tools – like a best bat-size calculator. 

But one stellar form of content gaining in popularity every day is podcasts. You likely listen to a few yourself. 

These days, podcasts span every industry and niche, from general news and movie reviews to sonically immersive audio stories. 

And our games feature loads of colorful characters, great stories, great debates, complex training methodologies, and passionate fans. 

This makes baseball and softball uniquely suited to this emerging medium – which is probably why a quick search of “baseball” podcasts alone on Listen Notes yields nearly 5,000 results. 

In this ultimate beginner’s guide, you’ll get a crash course in how to start a baseball or softball podcast. 

We’ll cover 7 main points:

• Why starting a podcast is a great idea
• Podcasting equipment and gear
• Tools to make podcasting easier
• How to write and prepare a podcast
• How to upload and promote a podcast
• The metrics of a successful podcast
• Some examples of great baseball and softball podcasts to inspire you 

#Why Should You Start a Baseball or Softball Podcast?

You can probably think of plenty of reasons not to start a podcast. 

Here’s all the ones that we’ve personally heard from fellow baseball and softball friends and colleagues over the years: 

• I’m too busy
• I don’t like the sound of my own voice
• I have no idea what the technical requirements are
• I already post regularly on social media
• There’s too many out there already

These are all legitimate concerns, but what if we told you each one was surmountable? 

Let’s take them one at a time. 

#Excuse #1: You’re too busy

Maybe you have a lot going on, between team coaching, giving private lessons, and juggling all of your family obligations – or some other mixture of responsibilities that are equally time-consuming. 

But once you invest the time upfront to get your setup squared away, and once you get the hang of it, podcasting takes much less time than you might think. 

And the audience engagement you earn with podcasts stands to be significantly more meaningful than with a social media post. 

Someone who invests between fifteen minutes to multiple hours of their time listening to you speak and hearing your voice inside their heads with any sort of regularity is a much higher calibur audience member than the half-interested “likes” that many dole out as they scroll quickly down their social media feeds. 

Let’s approach this important difference metaphorically. 

For many, giving a thumbs up on a social media account they follow is like nodding and smiling to someone whose name you’d struggle to remember if pressed, but you see them at a lot of the same travel tournaments and have chatted a few times.

Neither of you is all that invested in the relationship, but you recognize and appreciate each other’s presence when you come across each other. 

But listening to a new podcast is like inviting a new friend into your home for dinner. 

And, as you listen to more episodes, the relationship evolves to you asking them on vacations with your family until you end up in their wedding party one day.  

So it’s worth borrowing some time that you spend on social media to put into your podcast. 

#Excuse #2: You don’t like the sound of your own voice

We get it. Most of us cringe when we hear ourselves speaking on an audio or video recording. 

But that discomfort is completely in your head. Unless you speak in a deliberately awkward way, most listeners won’t mind your voice at all.

#Excuse #3: You have no idea what the technical requirements are

That’s why you’re reading this guide.

The equipment that you need to get started isn’t extensive at all and you can learn how to use it quickly. 

Luckily, these days, a lot of it is plug and play. 

#Excuse #4: You already post on social media

Even if you’re utilizing another form of content, there’s still a great opportunity with podcasts. 

As we’ve already touched on, podcasts are more engaging, as listeners tune in for a longer time than they would spend even reading a blog post – let alone the goldfish mentality that pervades social media.

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#Excuse #5: There are already great baseball and softball podcasts out there

It’s true some excellent shows about playing and coaching baseball and softball already exist, but that doesn’t mean you should permanently bench yourself before you even get a chance to play. 

Use existing podcasts as inspiration – we’ve given you a list of some of the best later in the article – but find your unique voice. 

If your baseball or softball ideas, voice, or business is even remotely distinct, then a podcast is the perfect place to share your ideas and possibly even debate with other coaches, players, and professionals in our field. 

Also, there are major second-order benefits to appearing on and hosting podcasts. 

• It allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of our industry.
• Podcasting creates audio and visual content that can be repurposed easily into other content forms – growing your social media presence in tandem. 
• Hosting a podcast will allow you to grow your network of trusted colleagues and connections in the sport – and you never know where such connections might lead. 
• If you have a website, appearing on and hosting podcasts is the best and cheapest way to earn high-quality and industry-relevant backlinks for your site. 

We know that you were likely with us until that final “backlinks” point. 

Backlinks are a huge, multiple-book-length topic in and of themselves. 

But for now, all you need to know is that these links signal authority in the eyes of Google, and they allow you or business to get found much faster and easier by potential clients or customers. 

Relevant backlinks to your website are like gold nuggets, and podcasts are the panning and pickaxes that enable you to mine them easier than just about any other method.

#Some Podcast Stats Worth Checking Out

If you’re still not convinced that you can – and should – start a baseball or softball podcast, then check out the following statistics:

• 32 percent of Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month
• 197 million Americans have heard of podcasts and 51 percent of Americans over the age of 12 have listened to podcasts
• 74 percent of podcasts users listen to podcasts to learn something new; the number of users who listen for fun doesn’t trail by much, at 71 percent
• The average podcast listener subscribes to 7 different shows weekly
• 52 percent of podcast subscribers listen to entire episodes

 As you can hopefully see, podcasts have massive potential. 

But now that you’re ready to start your podcast, what should you do first?

#What Equipment Do Coaches and Entrepreneurs Need to Start Podcasting?

Before you start writing scripts or contacting guests to appear on your new show, you need the right gear. 

Technically, you can record your podcast just on your smartphone. But it’ll sound like it was recorded on a smartphone, AKA, not great. 

After having their ears tuned to high-quality audio from networks like ESPN, the New York Times, or NPR, listeners can now intuitively tell the difference between high and low-quality podcasts. 

You don’t have to drop a small fortune to get equipment that’ll sound great, though. You just have to be willing to invest a little in your podcast to get it off the ground. 

Once it’s up and running and you’ve had some success, you can think about advancing your equipment even further. 

The basic equipment you need is a computer and a microphone. 

Ideally, you don’t want to use your desktop computer or laptop’s built-in microphone.

This might suffice for Zoom calls, but the quality will often be too shoddy for creating podcasts. 

If your podcast will only feature your voice, then a USB microphone is a great option.

If you’ll have co-hosts or other guests on your podcast recording together in the same studio, you may want to eventually opt for XLR microphones and an audio mixer.

These will certainly take things to the next level, when you’re ready.

Also, when choosing an XLR microphone, we recommend going with a dynamic microphone option – these will pick up your voice better and filter out unwanted background sounds. 

Your computer must also be powerful enough to handle recording and uploading .mp3 files. But, luckily, most modern computers that run Windows or Mac OS will do this just fine. 

Again, if you want to go further than the simple computer and microphone duo – which will work wonders to start – here’s a list with some more advanced podcasting gear:

• Audio interface or mixer – Both interfaces or mixers convert the analog signal from your mic into a digital signal that you can save and edit afterwards on your computer. But mixers just give you a lot more control over the sound and are recommended if your podcast will feature regular call-in guests.
• Windscreen – The little filter that fits over microphones is called a windscreen, and it prevents the mic from picking up little air blasts that come out of your mouth when you speak.
• Headphones – With headphones, you can hear yourself or your guests speaking live, so you know if there are audio mishaps while you’re recording.
• Mic stands – To be comfortable while you’re recording, get a mic stand to position your microphone in front of you. Mic can be held by a base or be attached to a desk. 
• Shock mount – Shock mounts prevent unwanted sounds like tapping on your desk or small vibrations you couldn’t normally hear. Check if the same brand you bought your microphone from sells shock mounts too, as most do. 
• Microphone cables – You need the right cables to plug your mic into your audio interface or mixer. Especially if you’re using XLR microphones, cables are not a piece of podcast equipment you want to skimp on. 

Keep in mind that most of this equipment is only really recommended if you’re planning to host guests or have more than one person, like a co-host, on your podcast. 

But just getting started is always more important than any idyllic perfection, and most beginners can stick with a computer and a good USB microphone for quite a while.

#More Tools That Baseball and Softball Podcasters Will Need

Gear only accounts for some of your podcast prerequisites.

You’ll also need editing software, podcast hosting, and possibly website building tools. 

#Editing Software

If you’re starting a baseball or softball podcast, you’ll want good editing software. Many options are available, with different capabilities depending on your needs. 

Adobe Audition, for example, has great podcasting software and there are many online tutorials to help you navigate its professional-grade features. 

But, most ballplayers aren’t also sound engineers, so in our guide we’re instead recommending software that’s a bit more automated and intuitive.

#BounceCast

If you want your softball or baseball podcast to sound truly professional, you can consider a tool like BounceCast. 

BounceCast handles podcast post-production, allowing you to enhance and optimize your recorded audio files. 

You can use it on mobile or on desktop to toggle noise removal, rumble filter, and click removal – as the sound of you clicking the mouse or typing on your keyboard isn’t exactly pleasant in someone’s ear. 

BounceCast even has an intelligent audio enhancement to automatically boost your podcast quality to a professional level with a click. 

You can record directly in the app, use the soundcheck feature to ensure the best recording set-up, then enhance your audio all with BounceCast’s features. And they have both free and paid plans available.

#Podcast Hosting

In addition to editing software, you’ll also need a platform to host your podcast files on. 

Many people think you can host podcasts directly on iTunes, however, it doesn’t host your .mp3 files, it just reads your RSS feed. 

You could host your podcast on your website, but, depending on a lot of factors, it might risk bringing your site speed to a crawl – which is very bad in the eyes of both Google and website visitors.

And you may or may not have a website yet. 

So a dedicated podcast hosting platform is what’s often suggested. 

Buzzsprout is a great hosting platform for many podcasters getting started. 

But we actually recommend most baseball and softball coaches with zero technical experience instead consider a software platform that has your basic audio-enhancing, editing, hosting, and podcast distribution all in one super beginner-friendly place. 

Enter, Anchor. 

#Anchor

If you’re not very tech-savvy or just want to avoid literally all the hassle detailed above, you could use an all-in-one podcast platform like Anchor. 

You can create, edit, host, and even monetize your podcast on Anchor alone. And the app is available on Android and iOS.

Podcast beginners can use the crazy-simple episode builder to create new podcasts, take voice messages from listeners, import or upload existing audio, and add transitions or music to their podcasts. 

They even have a cover art creator studio, so you can design the look of your podcast as well in a few clicks.

But some of the greatest features of Anchor, though, are its podcast hosting and promotional options. 

You can host an unlimited amount of audio content for free, distribute your podcast to every major platform that people listen to podcasts on, and find your first sponsors for your show. 

And Anchor even gives you built-in audience insights and metrics for your podcast. Which will become more important as your podcast takes off and you’re approached by sponsors. 

For baseball and softball coaches completely new to podcasting, an app like Anchor can be a hugely beneficial tool.

#Creating Baseball or Softball Website For Your Podcast or Entire Coaching Business

To be clear, having a website is certainly not a requirement to create a podcast.

You can get away with just using editing software and a podcast host, then sharing your podcast’s feed to distributors like Spotify and iTunes’ Apple Podcasts.

And, again, platforms like Anchor do all these things and more in one simple-to-use place. 

But, whether you go with Anchor or not, having a website for your podcast will certainly help your cause. 

Here’s why.

#Resource hub

Podcast websites can become a hub for current and future listeners to get more general information about you and your brand.

It's where listeners can receive updates on the podcast or any other products or services you might offer, and – depending on how you set up the site – find a community forum of like-minded individuals.

#Marketing capabilities

Websites can integrate with all the marketing tools you need to truly grow your overall baseball or softball brand. 

Whether it’s offering lead magnets to grow your email subscribers, running Google and Facebook ads, or setting up an e-commerce shop to sell merchandise, you need a website to create most marketing and revenue funnels around your podcast and other entrepreneurial efforts.  

#SEO

Also, podcast websites can be optimized for podcast directories, Google, and other search engines, which will help potential listeners and future guests find you and verify that you’re legit much faster and easier than piecing things together from across your social media accounts.

#Backlinks

And lastly, as we mentioned at the top, having a website allows you to both give and receive backlinks.

Aside from growing your online authority in the eyes of search engines, backlinks serve another important function. 

The ability to give backlinks can be the difference between landing or not landing top guests on your podcast who are more marketing savvy. So if you’re looking to have guests on your podcast, this is worth considering.

#What are your options for making a podcast website?

We realize that most baseball and softball experts are not exactly computer programming wizards.

So, in the majority of cases, an easy-to-use drag and drop website builder will be your best bet.

But before we go over your options, just remember that your website can and likely should start off very basic. 

All you really need is a “Homepage,” “About” page, and maybe a “Contact” page. 

If you offer instructional services like in-person or virtual private lessons, these should likely be alluded to somewhere on the homepage, but you might also want to add a “Services” page. 

As your brand or business grows, your website can and should grow along with it, of course. 

Okay, for most baseball or softball experts, there are four website routes that we recommend based on lots of experience: 

• Squarespace
• Wix
• A dedicated podcast website builder
• WordPress. 

To read about each of these options and others in great detail and see them compared across features and price, check out this stellar article. 

Our very basic overview is that Squarespace and Wix’s website builders are super easy to use, and also feature the strongest SEO, marketing, and e-commerce integration capabilities.

If you can post on different social media sites, you can make your own website using either of these website builders. 

Next, there are dedicated podcast website builders, like Podpage or Podcastpage.io. These are the least amount of work to set up with lovely templates for podcast-specific sites right out of the box. 

But using podcast-specific builders means sacrificing lots of customization, marketing features, and e-commerce functionalities.

This is especially worrisome as a baseball or softball expert, who may do lots of things besides podcasting. 

You may be offering clients virtual private lessons, running national clinics or camps, creating clothing and other merch, or building the next big hitting tool or software. 

So a dedicated podcast website builder may not be the best long term play for you. 

WordPress is widely recognized as the most versatile, customizable, and powerful option, but it’s also by far the hardest to set up and manage. 

And choosing this WordPress option will likely require hiring a freelance developer for help at some point – which is an added expense on both your time and money. 

With most of this technical talk finally out of the way, let’s now get to the fun stuff. 

What will your podcast be like?

#How to Prepare and Format Your Baseball or Softball Podcast

Once you have the proper equipment and digital podcasting tools in place, you can start making the big decisions. 

You’ll need to think about both content and format. 

#Finding Content Ideas For Our Game

Your content, in this context at least, is the meat of your podcast – it should be the driving force behind your show. 

If you’re thinking of starting a podcast, then you likely already have an idea of the topics you’ll cover on your podcast. 

First, make a list of all the subjects you’d like to talk about.

This list will come in handy, so don’t skip this step. 

And then make a second list with any and all potential guests – if you’re planning to have guests, that is. 

Your potential guest list can be gleaned from your current friends and colleagues in the game, your favorite personalities on social media, as well as looking at the guests who’ve appeared on similar podcasts to yours.  

Having your content ideas written out ahead of time will eventually help you plan and outline each episode of your podcast. 

Your content ideas should initially come from your own expertise and passions – your so-called “why.” 

But it’s also highly recommended that you think deeply about and actively uncover who the specific target audience will be for your podcast. 

And saying something like “baseball people” is not an answer that’s going to start either your podcast or overall brand off on the right foot.  

So save yourself a ton of time, money, and headaches and check out our ultimate guide to establishing a baseball or softball brand to learn everything about finding the right target audience for you.  

Lastly, during this content ideas phase of your journey, it’s also a good idea to find and listen to any and all podcasts that cover similar topics and themes as you hope to.

Then ask yourself:

What unique take or angle can you – or a guest of yours – provide on that topic or theme that other podcasters may have missed?

#A Free Podcast Format Template for Coaches, Players, or Parents to Employ

What patterns will your podcast follow?

Audiences, and people in general, crave consistent patterns. 

Your podcast formatting can be completely innovative and unique, but it needs to eventually be pretty consistent to garner engaged, repeat listeners.  

Podcasts have several common setups:

• One-person shows
• Co-hosts, featured guests
• Listener call-in’s. 

Each setup has its pros and cons and its own set of best practices. And, of course, they can be mixed and matched.

If you want to do a one-person show, for example, keep in mind that listeners typically start to lose interest with a single person talking after a while – so you’d likely want to keep it on the shorter side length-wise. Think in the 5 to 20 minutes range.

But think about the podcasts you listen to.

Most popular podcasts today either have between 2-3 co-hosts talking with each other, or they feature a single host speaking to rotating guests.

Ultimately the setup is a very personal choice based on a ton of variables, like:

• How much time you have to reach out to and coordinate back and forth with guests for each show?
• What podcast gear you have at the start?
• How much access you have to guests right at the beginning who have their own built-in audiences that’ll help you grow your show?

But regardless of the setup you start with, before you hit record, you should practice your delivery and potentially what you’re going to say. 

If you’re solo, you could even start by writing out an entire script to just read word-by-word. 

After you get the hang of it, you can instead make outlines with bullet points of your episodes and speak from those. 

The following is an example of a typical podcast outline that’ll work for any setup you may choose:

1. Opening with branded music
2. Introduction – Quick pre-written monologue introducing yourself, your hosts, and the subject of today’s episode
3. Segue with either more music or a sound effect
4. Topic 1 – about three minutes
5. Segue by saying something like “Now we’ll move on…” or something similar
6. Topic 2 – about three minutes
7. Space for a sponsored message or advertisement
8. Segue back with music
9. Topic 3 – about three minutes
10. Closing remarks, thank your audience and guests, mention related resources or links, possibly preview an upcoming episode
11. Closing with your music

The above template is a solid outline for a typical podcast of about 20 minutes length. 

If you want your podcast to be longer in length, the same template works – you can just speak for more time about each of your chosen topics.

So, instead of spending three minutes on each topic, it could be 10 minutes, for example. 

You can also, alternatively, just stick with one or two topics instead of three, and go into more elaborate detail. 

Ultimately, it’s up to you how you want to structure your podcast, but this template is a good jumping-off point for almost any podcast to consider – as it works whether solo or with guests.

#Uploading Your Podcast to iTunes

After you’ve recorded, edited, and published your podcast, it’s time to upload it to a hosting platform.

For hosting-only options, we mentioned Buzzsprout, but there’s also Libsyn, Soundcloud, or TuneIn. 

After uploading, you can take your podcast to iTunes via an RSS feed. 

It only takes a few steps to set up your podcasts on iTunes: 

1. You need to create an RSS feed. Some hosting sites, like Libsyn, create an RSS feed for you automatically.

2. Go to iTunes and click “Submit a Podcast.”

3. Enter your RSS feed URL, as well as other information about your podcast (Name, Author, Description).

4. Submit.

Your podcast will be reviewed, which takes between 24-48 hours, then you’ll receive a notification if it’s been approved. 

In another three to five days, your podcast will be searchable and findable on iTunes and Apple Podcasts. 

#Video Recording Your Podcast for Ballplayers

When just starting out on your podcasting journey, we recommend getting the purely audio recording and uploading process fully dialed in first and foremost. 

Even with all-in-one software tools and our gear guide, we know it’s a lot for anyone who’s new to the game. 

We also know how tempting it is to simultaneously video record each of your podcasts from a content marketing and distribution standpoint. 

But just like a pitcher should ideally learn how to be an effective thrower, then to pitch and place their fastball, before ever learning a curveball – nail audio first, then look into video recording. 

Once you’re ready though, most podcasters take their first foray into video by using Skype – mainly because it’s both reliable and free. 

And because it can be done with still just your laptop or desktop computer’s camera and most of your guests are already familiar with using the platform, we recommend baseball and softball coaches start video recording their podcasts this way as well.  

Skype has a recording feature you can use to capture audio from multiple people, so you can call your co-hosts or guests – whether remotely or in-person – via Skype and edit the call afterward with the editing software of your choosing. 

But as your personal brand eventually grows in the industry and you start having higher profile guests to your podcast, and, also, begin appearing on other podcasts more regularly, you may want an upgrade. 

For example, if you’re recording video of your podcasts with more than one person, you might want to record both you and your guest’s parts separately.

Doing so, will give you more options for how to post and present the clips of this podcast recording onto social media.

It’ll also give you or your hired editor more options for stitching the segments together later in post-production. 

And doing this, along with getting professional, up to 4k quality, video is all much easier with a tool like Riverside. 

The free version of Riverside might be worth trying to check it out – but you’ll eventually want to get one of their paid versions.

If you plan on repurposing visual podcast recordings for social media, then it’s become an almost must-have these days that’ll save you tons of time editing clips and putting them into different aspect ratios for each social media platform’s content.

If that last sentence didn't make any sense, we’ll try to break it down.

Basically, a tool like Riverside helps individual creators and larger brands execute a so-called omnichannel approach to content marketing that starts with a podcast’s audio and video recordings and spreads it across the internet to reach audiences in various formats.

Aside from publishing your podcast’s audio on all the major podcast providers, like Apple and Spotify, you also can upload the entire video recorded podcast to long form content places like YouTube and LinkedIn. 

Next, you’d want to take the most engaging short clips from the larger video recording and format each clip to fit the different ideal aspect ratios for places like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Then, you can have the audio portion of your podcast transcribed into text. And with this text, you could post the entire transcripts of your podcast onto your website’s blog. 

And, also, you’d take the most engaging bits of text to tweet out on Twitter or turn into graphic Feed or Story posts for your Facebook and Instagram. 

This is a simple explanation for such an omnichannel approach that baseball and softball entrepreneurs might try. 

And, honestly, if you have never tried this the hard way, you can never fully appreciate how much time and energy a tool like Riverside saves.

It allows you to do all the video clipping, putting those clips into ideal aspect ratios, and generating audio transcripts all in one simple place. 

#Promoting Your Baseball or Softball Podcast

Okay, now that your podcast is finished and uploaded, it’s time to draw in some listeners. 

Promotion is its own can of worms.

But essentially, it can be broken down into four categories:

• Owned media
• Shared media
• Paid media
• Earned media

These four categories are a framework to help understanding, but they aren’t really neat separate boxes. They work together and constantly overlap – as you soon see in our graphic a bit later. 

Now let’s dive into how these four traditional concepts apply to marketing your podcasts. 

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#Owned Media Promotion

Some owned media promotion efforts depend on where you upload your podcast. 

If you use SoundCloud, for instance, you can easily share your podcast directly to Twitter, Facebook, or other social channels. SoundCloud also lets you embed your podcast directly on your website, like on a specific blog post about the episode. 

Like we mentioned before, if you don’t already have a website and blog to promote your podcast, then consider making one. 

And, as we alluded to in the previous video recording section, many content creators will create a new blog post based on the podcast conversation’s transcript when each new episode airs so that their brand gets double exposure.

Adding a full transcript of your podcast to a blog post can also help with your site’s search engine rankings – especially once you add optimized headings that section-off the different parts of your chat.

Such headings can basically be based on that podcast outline template we provided earlier. And they will will make it easier for Google to crawl and rank your blog content. 

Next, if you have or want to have a vibrant social media presence, using a tool like Riverside to clip and format your podcast’s audio or visuals is a great idea as well. 

So those are owned media plays, now let’s cover something shared. 

#Shared Media Promotion

Even the way you set up your podcast can have benefits when it comes to promotion and shared media distribution. 

For example, having guests on your podcast is inherently conducive to growth and success because you can briefly hijack a small portion of their podcast or social media audience after each appearance. 

“Making it easy” for guests after their appearance on your show can include sending them their own best quotes from your transcript for them to use on Twitter. 

But, ideally, it would also include sending them video or audio clips that are already formatted in all the main social media aspect ratios – 1:1, 4:5, and 9:16 – so they have all of the creative assets necessary to get the word out effectively. 

#Paid Media Promotion

Aside from free organic social media promotion, which is a no-brainer, you might feel tempted to try paid promotion for your podcast in places like Facebook or Instagram as well. 

We would strongly recommend caution here, though. 

Paid marketing has a very steep learning curve. There’s a reason that individuals and entire agencies make whole careers out of being Facebook ads experts – because it’s a specialized skill. 

There’s also the fact that many podcasts – even one’s you’ve definitely heard of – who have experimented with buying ads for their shows on social media have often been disappointed. 

#Earned Media Promotion

A much cheaper, easier, and more reliable way to promote your podcast is to guest appear on other podcasts in our industry.

The end results of this effort makes it possible to categorize it as an earned media play.

Being a captivating guest for an audience of listeners who already like listening to baseball or softball podcasts is 100% worth doing.

There’s not much more we can say about this strategy other than it’s likely to be the most needle-moving of all the promotional activities that we’ve gone over so far. 

And it’ll earn you well-earned backlinks to that website we hope we’ve convinced you to build. 

But this is the ultimate guide after all, so we’ll go a few steps further.

#Advanced Podcast Guest Pitching Best Practices

Here’s some seriously pro tips to kickstart your appearances on other podcasts – with an eye toward growing your own.

1. Warm Up the Host
   
   You want to ideally like and comment on a potential podcast host’s main social media account’s posts for somewhere between 3 days and 2 weeks before sending any sort of email or DM outreach. Also, strongly consider following them. 
   
   Once you look into the podcaster you’re trying to reach, you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly which social media platforms are most important to them – and you want to meet, reach, and warm them up where they are. 
   
   For our industry the main platforms that podcasters engage with most at the moment are Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Most people that you’ll be trying to reach will live on one of these three platforms, and sometimes on two out of the three. 
   
2. Send a Selfie-Filmed Video Pitch
   
   This next guest podcast pitch tactic involves self-filming personalized outreach messages to each podcast you wish to appear on.
   
   Once you’re ready to pitch some bigger podcasts in the industry, this is definitely worth trying. It’s much harder to ignore a personalized, selfie-filmed video outreach message made just for you than a text one. 
   
   While this tactic may not mass-scale very easily, it can certainly help you break through the inbox noise of podcasts you really want to connect with. 
   
   These video pitches have three huge benefits. They show that your super invested in being on their podcasts, they stand out in an inbox, and they display your technical competence.
   
   The host or their team know they won’t need to hold your hand through the recording process if it’s remote, because you’ve shown you can record a selfie video with good sound quality and send it.
   
   Doing this tactic via something like Instagram DM’s is pretty obvious and easy. But when sending video outreach messages via email, you’ll want to use a tool like Bonjoro – trust us.
   
3. Include a Scheduling Link in Your Pitch
   
   Whether it's SavvyCal, Calendly or SimplyBook.me, you will want to include a link to some online booking system at the bottom of your pitch. 
   
   That way, your fellow podcaster can save time on going back and forth with you, and instead book a recording slot immediately if they wish.
   
4. Always Follow Up
   
   If your first message to the host doesn’t get a response, don’t stop there. Any popular podcaster will inevitably have an inbox flooded with guest pitches. So don’t take radio silence personally. 
   
   Instead, send over a follow up pitch 3 days and then 14 days after the first DM or email before finally calling it quits. This is considered best practice in the podcast industry.
   

#Podcast Guest Pitch Template

Here’s an actual guest pitch template for baseball or softball podcasts that you can plug your info into and see results with today.

Email Subject Line:

<Name of their podcast> + <Your Name>?

Email Body Template:

Hi <insert the host’s first name>,

I’ve been following your podcast, and I really enjoyed your recent episode on <whatever the episode you truly enjoyed was on>. I found it all very insightful and important because <explain why it was important to you>.

A quick bit of background — my name <insert your name> and I <insert your baseball, softball, or podcasting background here>.  

I wondered if you might be interested in having me on your show to chat about <Insert something likely to be of value to their audience>

Here’s a few things I could potentially cover:

• <Specific point or type of story or tip you can share>
• <Specific point or type of story or tip you can share>
• <Specific point or type of story or tip you can share>

Anyway, I would love to hear your ideas and would be thrilled to join <name of their podcast here>. If you're up for it, lemme know.

<your online scheduling tool link goes here>

Best,

<your name>

#The Metrics of Successful Podcasts That All Entrepreneurs In Our Industry Should Know

Just like hitting or pitching development, performance metrics for podcasts give you insights on how to improve. 

Take a look at some of the ideal metrics below to help you get started planning your podcast.

• The ideal length of a podcast is 22 minutes, according to podcast app Stitcher. After 22 minutes, our attention spans start waning. Just look at TED Talks, which have an 18-minute time limit. You can aim to keep your podcast around the 20-minute mark – especially if you don’t have guests – for maximum audience engagement.
• The best day to post a podcast is Tuesday, according to Buffer. According to their data, 60 percent of regularly updated podcasts post new episodes early in the week, before Wednesday.
• The best frequency for a podcast is a new episode weekly. Buffer also tabulated the publishing schedule of the Top 25 podcasts on iTunes, noting that 40 percent post once per week. 

Your podcast doesn’t have to conform to these metrics, but they’re at least worth consideration if you’re hoping to reach a wide audience. 

Apart from general podcast analysis and statistics, you should also look at other baseball and softball podcasts to see what works for them.

This point is so important, that we said it a second time.

How long are typical baseball or softball podcast episodes? How frequently do they post? Does their format feature guests, co-hosts, or a single speaker? 

Drawing inspiration from successful podcasts in our niche can help you identify what works and what doesn’t. 

#Some Baseball and Softball Podcasts To Get Inspired By

We together example podcasts that were started by a larger brand, a local coach, a former pro player, a young high school ballplayer, baseball parents, and a training facility. 

Hopefully, you’ll see that wherever you’re starting your journey from as coach, player, or parent, you can definitely find and grow an engaged podcast audience. 

Okay, let’s get some inspo.

#Driveline Baseball Podcast

Driveline Baseball is a baseball training and development program for coaches and players. They run a baseball research lab, where they study biomechanics, physics, and resistance training. 

They also offer many online resources, courses, and training programs for high school-level players and up, as well as sell baseball-specific training products. 

Their podcasts average around 45 minutes, on which the two co-hosts discuss baseball training and field questions sent in from listeners via Twitter.

#Ahead of the Curve with Jonathan Gelnar

The host of Ahead of the Curve is Jonathan Gelnar, baseball coach at Union High School in Tulsa and former college baseballer. 

Gelnar posts podcasts weekly, talking about coaching strategies and player development. 

His podcast format is an in-depth interview with one new guest each week, including university coaches, trainers, and other professionals in baseball development. 

Most episodes hover around one hour in length.

#Everything Fastpitch

Coaches Tory Acheson and Don McKinlay host Everything Fastpitch, aiming to provide a valuable resource for parents, coaches, and players of fastpitch softball. 

Each episode is broken into segments, with product reviews, responding to listener questions, and analyses of softball news. 

The show releases episodes in different formats, with smaller “Coach Prep” editions at around 15 minutes, and one-hour more newsy episodes.

#The Robby Row Show Baseball Podcast

Host Robby Rowland brings all the experience and knowledge he’s gained over the course of his 10+ year professional baseball career and from being the son of a Major League catcher.

Across the tons of free resources he provides on just about every social media platform and on his website, Robby seeks to equip up-and-coming ballplayers with the tools and correct information they need to get better, while better appreciating our great game. 

His podcast episodes range from around 20 minutes to 1-hour in length. They usually feature a conversation with a guest, but he has also been known to do some powerful solo-episodes full of candor and personal insights. 

#Play Ball Kid

Play Ball Kid is hosted by sixteen-year-old baseball player Sammy. He delivers 10-20 minute interviews with current and former players, coaches, and professionals. 

The focus of Play Ball Kid is informing listeners on techniques in baseball skills development, as well as expanding knowledge of the game. The podcast is published on Apple Podcasts, but also has its own website where listeners can read more about it and the host, Sammy.

#Moms and Baseball Podcast

Moms and Baseball is a wonderfully relatable podcast for youth baseball moms, dads, coaches, and players. 

Co-hosts Diana Stephens and Stephanie Malley share their own thoughts and personal  stories. But they also interview experts from all levels of baseball development – from youth to MLB.

Their episodes usually run around 20 to 45 minutes in length.

#CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast

The CSP Elite Baseball Development Podcast is run by Cressey Sports Performance (CSP), a baseball training facility in Boston, MA. 

The format is, again, a weekly, in-depth interview with coaches, trainers, physical therapists, major-league players, and other specialists lasting about an hour. 

The podcast is hosted on CSP’s website as well as on all major podcast platforms.

#Wrapping Up

Getting started with a baseball or softball podcast is a big undertaking, but so is everything worth doing. 

Just take it one small step at a time, and let things grow and evolve organically without putting too much pressure on yourself. 

Starting a podcast doesn’t require special skills, only time and dedication. If you have the commitment to make a great podcast, and are willing to read and fully absorb some tutorials like this one, then you’ll be able to knock it out of the park like a juiciest of curveballs. 

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