Everything you need to launch properly, from the first idea to your hundredth post. Record with us in Salford, or bring your own recordings and we'll do the rest. Scroll to launch.
A free step-by-step guide, from first idea to first hundred posts. Record with us, or bring your own.
Over half of listeners decide within five minutes whether a new podcast is for them. Your launch is your first five minutes. Here's how to get it right, from the first idea to your hundredth post.
Five stages, from your first idea to growing your audience. Start where you are. We'll show you your next three moves, and your ticks save on this device.
Where are you at right now?
Get clear on your show before you press record.
Before Apollo 11 launched, the launch director went round every console in the room with one question: go or no go? Nobody launched on a maybe.
This list is your go/no-go poll. Get a go on every box before you press record.
Most people plan episode one and nothing after it. A list of ten ideas gets you through the hardest first months.
Make the first five minutes count, and capture everything you will need later.
The Saturn V's first stage burned through more than 500,000 gallons of fuel in under three minutes. The hardest part of the whole climb happened right at the start.
Your opening does the same heavy lifting. Over half of listeners decide within five minutes, so put your best stuff first.
Long, slow intros. Over half of listeners decide within five minutes whether to keep listening to a new podcast.
Record at The ClubThis is where a show starts looking professional.
On the way up, the rocket dropped whole stages the moment they'd done their job. Nobody carries dead weight to the Moon.
That's your edit. Long intros, dead air and waffle all get dropped before you go anywhere.
Letting the app pick a random frame as your thumbnail. YouTube says 90% of its best-performing videos use a custom one.
See our thumbnailsGet on every platform people actually use.
20 July 1969. Four words, and the whole world knew it had happened.
Launch day is your landing. Trailer out first, a few episodes ready, and everyone you know told on the day.
Skipping YouTube. It is now the most used platform for podcasts in the US, ahead of Spotify and Apple.
One episode should give you a week of posts.
Landing was only half the mission. Apollo 11 still had to get home, splashing down in the Pacific on 24 July 1969.
Launch is half the job too. Most shows stop after a few episodes. The ones that grow are the ones that keep going.
Posting the episode once and moving on. Most people find podcasts through YouTube and social media, not in the apps.
Get your clips madePick a launch day. We'll work backwards and tell you what to do each week, and what to do after, because that's where most shows stall.
What most new podcasters miss. Each one's a thumbnail. Open it for the data behind it.
The stuff new podcasters lose sleep over, that matters a lot less than you think.
A quiet room and decent microphones beat a £2,000 setup in an echoey kitchen. Or skip the gear and record with us.
Clear beats clever. If people can say it, spell it and search for it, it's a good name.
Early downloads tell you almost nothing. Showing up every week is what builds an audience.
People listen for the host, not a flawless read. The edit takes care of the ums and restarts.
Curiosity carries a show. Good questions and good guests are worth more than knowing everything.
Keeping going. Only 16% of shows on Apple Podcasts have released an episode in the last 90 days. Plan past launch day and you're already ahead.
Plan past launch dayEven Apollo 11 had rehearsals and wobbles.
Apollo 10 flew all the way to the Moon and came within 47,000 feet of the surface, then turned back on purpose. NASA called it a dress rehearsal.
For you: record a pilot nobody hears. Get the nerves and the mistakes out, then record episode one for real.
Source: NASAMinutes from landing, a computer alarm the crew didn't recognise kept going off. Mission Control had seen something like it in practice and called it: we're go on that alarm.
For you: something will go wrong on your launch. A mic, a guest, a file. Stay calm, have a plan B and keep going.
Source: Monash LensPodcast words, in plain English. Tap one.
Everything above, done properly, in one launch kit. Here's what's in it and why it matters.
Final details and timings coming soon.
You're the astronaut. We're mission control. It took around 400,000 people to land two of them on the Moon. You shouldn't launch alone either.
A fully managed podcast studio at The Old Bank in Salford. Sets, cameras, microphones and an on-site team, so all you do is show up and talk.
Home, office or another studio, it's all fine. Send us your files and we'll turn them into a show that looks and sounds ready to launch.
Your idea, who it's for and when you want to go live.
Cover art, trailer, thumbnails, intro and outro, all made to match.
We get you set up on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube, with launch week content ready.
No account, no password. Take your plan with you as a PDF, or save your own link and pick up where you left off on any device.
Your link holds your ticks, your stage, your launch date and your show name. Nothing is stored on our side, and this page only remembers things on your device if you allow it in Cookie settings. Bookmark it, or email it to yourself and open it whenever you're ready for the next step.
Tell us where you're at. We'll come back with a plan and a quote.
No, but it helps. You can pair the kit with studio sessions, or bring episodes recorded elsewhere.
It depends where you're starting from. Try the launch planner above to see a realistic timeline, and we'll confirm yours on a call.
Yes. Tell us what you've already got and we'll only make what's missing. Not everyone needs the whole kit.
Your idea and who it's for. If you have them, bring photos of the host, any logo or brand colours, and a few episode ideas. If not, we'll help you get there.
No. A quiet room and decent microphones matter far more than the price tag. Or record here and use ours.
Yes. Use it however you like, whether or not you work with us.