Podcasts are fast becoming one of the most popular formats through which internet users consume information. Recent stats show that 24% of Americans listen to podcasts every week and almost 80% of them are familiar with the format. Podcasts are a convenient way to build a personal connection with your audience.
However, in terms of reach, very few formats can stand up to blogging. Almost 40% of internet users read blogs about 1-3 times a week and there are some unique advantages offered by blogs. They help drive traffic, blogs are easier to rank using Search Engine Optimization (SEO), are better organized, and are the perfect medium to execute a sales funnel. So why not convert your podcasts into blog posts?
Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of converting your podcasts into blog posts as well as some tips on how to craft an informative and engaging article from a podcast.
Why Can’t You Just Use a Transcript?
Several people look at a blog as nothing but a string of words and wonder why you can’t simply transcribe a podcast directly into an article. Despite how convenient it may seem, There are several challenges associated with this method.
The first issue is length. Most podcasts run for at least 20-30 minutes and consist of conversations containing thousands of words. On the other hand, the average blog post is about 1500 words and can be read in roughly 5 minutes. So simply transcribing a conversation directly is not feasible.
Another issue is that podcasts are hard to optimize and rank efficiently on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), while articles are much easier to optimize using SEO techniques. A blog post also gives you control over the tone and primary focus of the article, with many podcasts containing an array of different ideas, themes, and subjects.
It is also easier to promote your guests in a blog since it’s shorter and gives you greater control over when and how to introduce them. These are just some of the reasons why it’s vital to understand the key steps in converting a podcast into a highly successful, well-ranking, and easy-to-read article.
Steps To Converting a Podcast Into a Blog Post
Here are some simple steps to follow to transform your podcast into an engaging blog post.
Analyze the Podcast
The first step is to listen closely to the podcast while taking note of all the key themes discussed and important insights delivered. A good note app is very helpful during this stage or you can also simply use a transcription service to obtain the conversation in text format. A useful tip would be to use a transcription service that can identify individual speakers or otherwise manually note each speaker during the conversation.
If possible arrange the entire podcast into key segments based on the stage of the conversation, as well as what is being discussed. For example,
At 10:31 guest A discussed the advantages of a podcast over a blog post such as its personal nature, convenience….
At 12:54 guest B discussed the benefits of turning your podcasts into blog posts such as better ranking, superior organization….
Choose the Topic and Tone of Your Blog Post
As we mentioned earlier the average podcast usually contains several ideas and topics. Since not all of these can be incorporated into a standard blog post, you should choose a primary topic (and possibly craft separate posts or subheadings with the other ideas). When choosing a topic is important to remember that there are four types of internet user queries (often referred to as search intent), namely;
- Commercial; when the reader is seeking to purchase or sell an item or service online.
- Informational; when the internet user is seeking some sort of information.
- Navigational; when a user is seeking a particular page or platform.
- Transactional; when a user wants to perform a particular action such as pay for tuition.
Identifying the user’s search intent is a useful tip for choosing your blog topic. For example, you can derive several blog ideas from a podcast on purchasing used vehicles. They could include; Where To Purchase Used Vehicles On Facebook (navigational), Things To Check Before Purchasing a Used Car (informational), Paying For a Used Vehicle on CarMax (transactional), and Buying a Used Car Online (commercial).
After choosing your topic you have to decide on the tone of your article. This could be formal, humorous, informative, conversational, and so on. Choosing a tone that matches your topic is very important as well. For example, a moderately humorous tone can be used for a post on the Do and Don’ts of Buying a Used Item on Craigslist but will sound out of place when discussing How To Handle Credit Card Debt.
Do Your Research
Now you have your transcripts, as well as have decided on a topic and tone. The next step is to do some research on the topic. This involves several key aspects. One important research tool is Google Trends, a website that allows you to obtain analytical information on Google search queries. It offers information on the popularity of search queries based on season, region, SEO, demographics, related search topics, and niches.
Another useful type of research is keyword research. This is an important part of SEO and involves improving the ranking of the article on SERPs by including important keywords as well as related buzzwords. Some important tools which can be used for this include platforms such as Semrush, Google Trends, Ahrefs, Wordstream, and so on.
Search for your topic on a search engine and scan through the first 5-10 articles. These are the top-ranked articles and can give you a strong idea of what improves search engine ranking as well as reader satisfaction. It’s also useful to look at the “People also ask” section on the search engine webpage to obtain more information on what readers are looking for in the article.
Create the Outline of Your Blog Post
Using the information you have obtained, it’s time to craft an outline for your blog post. This includes considering the relevant segments identified in the podcast, using the information on the headings used by similar blog posts, and adding some relevant headings which you believe will improve the ranking and reader satisfaction.
Write and Optimize Your Blog Post
The next step is fully fleshing out your outline by writing the blog. When writing your blog there are some key principles to keep in mind which improve the readability of the article and as well as its Google search ranking.
- Your headings should be arranged according to H1, H2, H3…
- Choose an engaging title that captures the reader’s attention without sounding salesy or spammy. You can also use a tool such as the Coschedule Headline Analyzer to evaluate the effectiveness of your title.
- Keep the number of words under each heading to 300 words or less.
- Relevant images and videos should be embedded into the article to improve reading comprehension. This also includes embedding the podcast episode as well.
- You can also add direct excerpts from the podcast. This includes direct quotes or paraphrased sentences. However, remember to ensure that you keep these to a minimum and make them as straightforward as possible.
- Don’t force the blog post to follow the sequence of the podcast. Feel free to rearrange each segment to ensure that the blog post has a logical flow and is easy to read.
- Use bullet points, subheadings, and bolded keywords to make the article easier to read.
- Add useful internal and external links to the article to improve its ranking as well as provide more information to the reader.
- A good idea might be to create a frequently asked question (FAQ) section by combining the relevant questions asked during the Q&A session after the podcast with other popular questions suggested by your search engine during your research.
- End the blog post with a call-to-action (CTA). A call-to-action is a prompt designed to encourage the viewer to take a particular action. This could be buying a product, reading an article, or watching a video.
- The length of a blog post can vary widely. However, most successful blog posts are between 1000 to 2000 words.
- Avoid keyword stuffing, as this raises a red flag with the search engine algorithms. The general rule of thumb is to avoid having any word or phrase make up more than 2% of the total article. A keyword density checker tool like SEOBook is a great way to keep track of this.
- Always keep in mind that the primary focus of a blog post is to provide useful, actionable information to the reader. So avoid stuffing unnecessary filler content or words into the article.
Conclusion
Converting a podcast to a blog post is a great way to improve usability and SEO ranking. It also gives you greater control over the organization and logical flow of the dialogue between you and the reader. All you need to keep in mind are these few principles and you can turn any podcast into an engaging, informative, and strongly ranking blog article.
