These days, the podcasting landscape is robust and interesting for millions of listeners, including writers. You may already have a few favorite writing podcasts, and if so, you understand the appeal of this typically casual, conversational format. 

Podcasts aren’t just great for your listening pleasure, though — they could make a valuable addition to your own marketing efforts. Just think: many podcast audiences are already full of your ideal clients and customers. 

As a writer, you can use podcasts as a new avenue to reach your best markets in ways that raise your profile and build rapport…and that’s good for business!

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own podcast but you weren’t sure if it was the right move or how you’d pull it off, this post is for you. I’ll show you how to use your own podcast as a marketing tool, go over a few strategies and approaches, and show you how to make podcasts work for you whether you write for others or for yourself. 

How to know if podcasting is right for you

I hang out with a lot of marketers, and as much as I love them, I’ve learned to be careful with them because they really dig hype. Many would tell you that if you’re any kind of service provider or a creative professional (*ahem* writers and authors), you must have a podcast. 

I don’t completely agree, but I do think there are a lot of us in this writerly world who could benefit from doing a podcast. 

Podcasting might be right for you if: 

• Learning a new technology is relatively easy for you (meaning, it won’t take you four months just to figure out how to do basic audio editing)
• You aren’t a perfectionist and you’re ok with the less formal feel of a podcast
• You’re clear on your intended outcomes for the podcast
• You have some time to devote to publishing regularly, whether that’s twice a week or twice a month
• You know the audience you want to reach, whether it’s the type of niche client you serve or the best readers of your books

As a busy writer, I’m careful before committing to anything that takes up a chunk of time and mental energy. After thinking about podcasting for several years, I finally felt like the time was right to launch one earlier this year. 

Because I had a stable client load, I felt freer to do things with my own name attached (after spending nearly a decade mostly ghostwriting). I also decided to use a format that would be easy and efficient to produce, which meant my show wouldn’t take up too much time to plan and record. 

Choosing your audience: The most important step 

When you’re considering a podcast idea, there are two potential audiences you can reach: the audience of people who do what you do, and the audience of your potential clients or customers. There may be some overlap, but generally these will be two distinct groups of people. 

I’d advise you to choose one of these groups for your show, because it’s a lot easier to create content for one specific audience than it is to try to balance two different ones. You can always make a second podcast if you love the medium. 

As a freelance writer, the main benefit to choosing your ideal clients as an audience is that you’ll be creating content that will benefit them, while also setting yourself up as the go-to expert. If your niche is email marketing for small businesses, your podcast could cover all kinds of email marketing topics that these small business owners need to know. 

What you’re doing is educating your prospective clients on the importance of the service you provide. When they’re ready to move forward with email marketing, you will most likely be the first provider they contact.

As an author or creative writer, think about what your readers might enjoy hearing from you. It could be book reviews or interesting interviews with other authors in your genre. You could also use the podcast as a place to discuss your thoughts on your genre, or to share poems and shorter pieces you love but haven’t published elsewhere.

Another fun idea might be to do your podcast in “seasons” with each season documenting the process of planning, drafting, editing, and even launching your next piece. Think about what your readers might enjoy most. When they find your show, they’ll become more attached to you, more aware of your work, and more likely to buy when you have a new publication.

How to structure your show

Generally speaking, your podcasts will be one of two formats: you, talking into the mic and sharing your content; or you interviewing someone else. Some shows will be mostly one format with an occasional episode done the other way. 

Your “talking head” podcasts can be scripted or unscripted, and I’ve heard great podcasts in both styles. I typically prefer this type of podcast myself, because there tends to be one key message or point and the quality is consistent. 

For my own podcast, I script some episodes, but I’ve found that I prefer just to work up a few talking points for each episode. This is easier and more efficient, because I don’t have to take the time to draft all the copy and I’m able to “go off script” when I think of new points to make as I’m recording. Another benefit to going unscripted is that it takes a lot less time to edit; I don’t correct myself when I’m speaking off the cuff, but when I’m reading there are lots of flubs and re-starts to edit out. 

If you decide to go for it, expect to make some adjustments along the way. It’s ok to change directions! This is your show, and it makes sense to do what works best for you, even if it takes you a few episodes to work out the kinks.

Why this format works for lead generation: I chose to target up-and-coming writers as my audience, knowing that having a podcast would also raise my profile and lend credibility to my pitches conversations with prospects. My podcast is very young and it launched with almost no fanfare, but it’s already helped me land some high-end client work. 

While they aren’t my personal preference, interview shows can be really powerful as a marketing tool if you’re strategic in how you set the show up. One way to do this is to interview colleagues and (possibly) past clients and/or editors about topics related to the work you do.

For example, ghostwriter Derek Lewis is a ghostwriter specializing in business books. On his podcast, he interviews “authors, business leaders, and publishing industry experts about what it takes to successfully write, publish, and market a business book.” Many of the people he interviews are past clients, and there’s a clear tie-in between the interviews and the service Lewis offers. 

Why this format works for lead generation: Anyone who’s interested in writing or leveraging a business book could benefit from this podcast, including Lewis’s ideal clients… who then hire Lewis to write their books. He’s clearly the expert, and his client interviews serve as powerful social proof. 

Not ready for your podcast yet, but curious?

If you want to see how much a great podcast could do for your writing but you aren’t ready to commit to your own show yet, start pitching to appear on other podcasts. You’ll still get a feel for how podcasting works and start benefiting from the ongoing content marketing and SEO juice baked into podcasting. 

Look for shows that are geared toward your ideal client and pitch to appear on them. (I often see calls in various Facebook groups for new podcast guests, and that’s an easy way to land spots.) In other words, don’t look just for writing shows; look for the kinds of shows your clients would listen to, and then try to get on those shows. 

For example, if you want to write for real estate agents, look for podcasts that talk about marketing and lead gen for realtors, and then pitch yourself as a guest to discuss content marketing and how it brings in buyer and listing leads. 

Your goal is to speak authoritatively about the benefits and value of the service you provide, while making it known that this is something that can be outsourced to someone like you. You’ll be set up as an expert and then you’ve had a chance to get in front of that audience and effectively sell your services without ever saying “Hey, come hire me!” 

Another example: If you want to sell more books, look for podcasts related to the things your ideal readers would seek out. This might mean you’re looking for shows that do author interviews, shows that support people in your niche, or even shows for writers in your specific genre.

The goal for you might be to share what makes your work unique and attractive, build your email list, or even do straight promotion of your latest piece. People who enjoy reading your genre will be able to discover you and then become new readers of yours. 

Should you podcast?

Podcasting may be the “it thing” right now, but it’s also been around as long as — if not longer than — blogs, which suggests to me that it’s not going anywhere. As a good marketer, you’d do well for yourself to tap into this highly engaged source of leads, however it fits into your business! 

Photo via antoniodiaz / Shutterstock 

The website. 

Just think about it — many of us, when getting started, have no idea how to make a website that promotes our freelance writing services and there’s a mountain of decisions to make, plus a steep learning curve facing us. Even with a great tutorial about how to start a blog, it’s tough to get it all sorted out. 

Why is creating a writer website so challenging?

Here’s how it often plays out. 

You want a website but you don’t know how to choose a domain name. Should it be your name? A business name? Something cute and clever? And you’re hesitant to do anything else for your fledgling business until you’ve picked out the greatest business name of all time. 

Once you move past the name debate and settle on a good option, there’s all the tech to fret over. Talk about intimidating!

In fact, intimidation is the name of the game, and it goes a lot deeper than just figuring out how to create a website. For many would-be writers, website costs are the first real business expense you incur. You are paying real money to invest in this business…and putting some skin in the game, no matter how small, makes it real. 

What do humans do when they’re facing something new and scary? We avoid. 

Enter: Website analysis paralysis. We overplay the significance of every detail to make this procrastination “valid” and then feel justified in delaying the real work of freelance writing (which is, of course, the actual hard part). 

I’ve seen this cycle play out many dozens if not hundreds of times over the past 10 years, first among my colleagues and then with my students. 

Here’s an easy solution: Create a one-page website

Finally, I found a workaround. 

What I’ve been recommending lately — with good results — is what I call the one-page website. 

It’s a simple, elegant solution for freelance service providers who don’t have the budget or bandwidth to put together a robust site (the way we’re “supposed to”) but still want something more custom than some of the writing portfolio websites for writers on the market. 

The one-pager is exactly as it sounds: a website that has one page.

It can be as stripped-down as a simple landing page or as robust as a multi-section scroll-fest (also known as parallax style). 

No matter what, everything you need is right there on the front page. 

The beauty of the one-page website is that it delivers all the necessary information while removing the “pressure” of building and then filling multiple pages of content. For serious beginners who want to do their website “the right way” but find the tech parts too intimidating, the idea of leaning on a one-page theme and writing just a couple of paragraphs is welcome relief. 

Curious? Let me show you how it works. 

What should a one-page website for freelance writers include?

The one-pager distills all the critical information your clients need and presents it in a small, tidy package. This includes: 

• Your name
• Your experience
• The service(s) you offer
• Samples of your writing
• Testimonials and social proof
• How to reach you
• Great photo of you (highly recommended, but not required)

That’s it! Certainly there’s more you could include if you wanted, but those are the essentials. 

Could you come up with a sentence or two for each of these sections? Way faster than writing an entire site’s worth of content? Yep, I thought so. 

How to build a one-page website

The most challenging part of putting together a one-page website is finding the template you want to use. 

I use WordPress and always have, so my go-to for a one-pager is WordPress templates. Many WordPress themes, including free themes, come with built-in one-page templates. A few I’ve heard others recommend are Uncode, OceanWP, Astra (the free Happy Paws theme is a great place to start) and Clear-Fix. 

The easiest way to get started on WordPress is through BlueHost. When you buy hosting from this company, it costs just $2.95/month, and they’ll throw in the domain of your choice. Then you can add WordPress to that site with a one-click install. (If this sounds confusing, here’s a guide to starting a blog that walks you through it.) 

If you need inspiration, The Muse has an interesting collection of one-page websites. Some are extremely simple and look like landing pages; others are more complex and design-focused.

As you review examples and consider themes and templates, look more at layouts than specific details like colors and images. See where photos are placed on these templates, and think about what photos you’d want there instead. 

Also keep in mind how you want to approach testimonials; some themes have a whole section devoted to them, and others have section breaks built in throughout the page that might be a good place to park a review or two.

Building a website from scratch takes some time, especially if you’ve never done it before. If you find yourself spending more than a week or two on it, however, you might be veering into “overcomplication” territory. 

Lean into the one-page website to streamline the process and get your site built quickly, so you can get onto the part where you build your rock-solid freelance writing business. 

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

Photo via GuadiLab / Shutterstock 

While I certainly had my share of challenges (and a few awesome resources like The Write Life to help me out), I did have one thing going for me: A journalism degree. Because of my journalism coursework, I knew how to write well and quickly.

Knowing how to “write fast” makes a huge difference in your ability to earn more income. As a writer, you don’t get paid for your ideas; you get paid for the content you produce.

If you can become more efficient at the actual craft of writing, you’ll be able to produce more in the same amount of time, which means you’ve got the potential to earn more.

So how can you become the blazing-fast writer with the healthier bottom line?

1. Learn to touch type

The average person can type 36 words per minute (WPM) on a regular keyboard. The average person who can touch type — type without looking at the letters on the keyboard — can do an average 58 WPM. That’s nearly twice as fast!

Here’s the thing: It’s not unthinkable that you could double the touch-type average. On a slow day, my typing speed is 112 WPM. Getting words from my head through my fingers and onto the screen is no longer a limiting factor in my productivity.

In fact, it’s not that uncommon for me to write 1,000 words in 20 minutes or less when I’m familiar with the subject matter.

Just think about what your effective hourly rate would be if you could charge a flat fee for each of two or three 1,000-word posts that took you an hour in total to write.

Take the free typing test at TypingTest.com and find out how you stack up. Then, look for opportunities to increase your typing speed. Free training is available online, including at the test website.

When you’re away from your keyboard, use any mental down-time — like when you’re sitting at a traffic light, waiting in line, or stuck in a meeting — to practice typing. Song lyrics, snippets of conversations (real or imagined), even your mental to-do list can be discretely tapped out on an imaginary keyboard, or invisibly “typed” in your mind.

2. Use outlines

Outlines are hands-down one of my most important productivity tools. They’re taught in English class for a reason: Developing an outline is a tremendously efficient way to write.

Even though it might seem like it’s a waste of time, making an outline sets you up to write incredibly more quickly when the time comes.

Even if you’re just jotting down three bullet points on a topic you know well, having an outline will save you all kinds of time when you’re doing the actual writing.

Think about it: How long would it take you to come up with a 900-word blog post if you had to sit down and type it from the beginning, without making any notes to yourself? Maybe an hour?

Now imagine how long it would take you to sit down and write 900 words if you already had a two-sentence overview and three bullet points with one or two sentences to explain or expand each one. Much faster, right?

Once you’ve drafted an outline, you already know what you’re going to write about and you’re already pretty familiar with the subject matter because you’ve already researched it (or you specialize in that niche).

You’ve effectively set yourself up to blaze through the assignment.

The time it takes to sketch out an outline plus the time it takes to write it up is almost always less time than if you’d sat down and written the whole thing from scratch.

3. Leave clues for yourself

Many of us go into freelancing for the flexibility. Flexibility is great — it’s one of the biggest perks of being a freelance writer — but it also comes with the understanding that you won’t necessarily have six to eight uninterrupted hours for working each day.

The trouble is, interruptions and irregular working hours can completely kill your productivity if you don’t handle them properly.

The way I deal with my on-again, off-again work schedule is to leave myself clues when I leave my keyboard.

If I’m wrapping up for the day, I jot down the first two or three things I need to do when I get back to work. If I’m leaving an outline unfinished, I’ll make notes at the bottom of the document about what I need to research next. If I’m in the middle of typing up an article, I don’t need to do anything because I’ve got my outline to tell me where to pick up.

Whether it’s a comment in a Google Doc, a short “do this next” list, or highlights on the scratch pad where you brainstorm, plan your next steps before stepping away from any task.

Do it while you’re already in the thick of the project, while the next steps are pretty obvious.

Then, when you come back to work, you won’t waste time getting reacquainted and then figuring out what to do next. You already figured it out for yourself!

What’s your favorite strategy for being more efficient as a writer?