There are two schools of thought regarding your first episode. One says you only have one chance to make a good impression and so need to craft a perfect episode. The other maintains that the sooner you get your content out there, the better. The best position is probably somewhere between these two extremes. A pilot should definitely be good enough to cause people to hit the subscribe button and come back for more.
Pilot
The first episode of many
Tips & Tricks
Don’t make the pilot an “introductory episode”. Instead of using it to just introduce yourself and the show, put some of your best content up front. This means featuring a great guest or very interesting story. You want to hook people so they come back for more.When first starting out, record two or three trial episodes and ask friends and colleagues for feedback on them before making them public.Burning Question
Will I be judged on my first episode? No. You’ll be judged based on your most recent episode, so if you’re putting out a weekly show you want each episode to be incrementally better. Try to focus on constant improvement and not what happened in the past.Common Mistake
Expecting to be perfect right away. No matter how much you workshop the pilot, you’re going to look back on it and find plenty that you don’t like. That’s just a symptom of learning and growing through the process of making your show. As with any new activity and skill, practice makes perfect.Links
- Tool: What to say in your first podcast episode
- Article: First Podcast Episode Ideas
- Tool: The GUM Guide to Evaluating Your Podcast Pilot
TIPS from OUR Network
- Consider: Can you maintain this level of quality consistently?
- If your pilot wasn’t great, don’t stop!