Be your listeners' favorite show with a narrative podcast

Enough of the 'two people talking' shows. Stand out from your competition by creating a truly engaging story driven podcast.

Create a narrative podcast

Let's make a podcast that matters

"Harry and the team are professional, knowledgeable and friendly. But perhaps more importantly though, the output they produce is exceptional."

Michael Bird, Digital Marketing Manager at HPE and host of Technology Untangled

Looking for a podcast partner?

There are a ton of podcast styles you could go with. So why do so many end up being two people talking, just like nearly every other business podcast out there?

This lack of imagination is exactly why so many brands start shows that fade into insignificance.

Don't get us wrong, we love interview shows that are done well (we produce some of them!), but in many cases, the best podcast for your audience - one that will grow the listenership you're looking for and that will deliver on your business goals - involves more thought, preparation, and production.

Narrative podcasts tell stories. They keep listeners engaged. They stand out.

To be your cutomers' favorite podcast, you need to produce something different, something just for them, something exceptional.

What does that sound like?

Have a listen to something we've been working on with HPE UK&I: Technology Untangled

This is the trailer episode and gives you a taste of how many contributors or 'guests' are involved and how narration is used to tell a story.

I want a podcast like this

How does our narrative podcast production work?

It's not easy to make podcast sound professional, and there's a lot that goes into making a narrative show.

Here are just a few of the steps involved to give you an idea of how we work.

Understand your ideal listener

How will your show fit into their lives? What purpose will it serve and where will it add value? What is their existing podcast diet? These factors inform everything else we do.

Create the concept for your show

What will it be about, who will it feature, how often and when will it be released, how long should it be? These are all good questions that need an answer.

Pick a host

You may want someone from your company to host your show, ou may want an external voice - an influencer in your niche, an advocate for your brand, a named talent, or a talented VO artist.

Create a season outline

Plan out the narrative arch of your season and the topics you'll need to cover to contribute to that narrative.

Research and plan each episode

Once we know what each episode is going to cover, we'll dive deep into the subject and learn everything we can about it. We'll create outlines for each episode and plan the structure of your podcast story.

Interview prep

We'lll prepare interview prep sheets for each contributor. These give the interviewer a clear structure for their conversation with the guest and a vision for how each conversation will tie into the overall narrative.

Recording

All interviews are recorded - this can be done remotely by the way!

Transcribe your audio

Once all the interviews are recorded, we transcribe them ready for our writers.

Create your narrative podcast script

We'll begin pulling clips from each interview into an initial edit, then write the script for the narrator. Good narration should guide the listener through the episode, continually re-engaging them, and signposting plot points.

Editing

Once narration has been recorded, an edit is pulled together and our creative team work together to perfect the story. Rewriting and tweaking scripts where necessary.

Music and sound design

Every great story needs the perfect soundtrack. Music and sound design set the emotional tone, keep a listener engaged, and drive a good story forward.

Show notes

Every great story needs a great introduction. Good show notes sell your episode, educate the listener, and help with discovery through search.

Sounds like a lot of work? That's because it is!

And this is just the half of it. If you want to know how to make a podcast sound professional, this the answer.

It takes a ton of planning and research before you hit record and experience and skill to turn raw recordings into something binge-worthy.

Create a story led podcast

“You’re going to want to put out good content from day one. I would describe Lower Street as the go-to place to get your podcast made and get out there.”

Rich Martell, Co-Founder, Secret Leaders (the U.K.’s #1 business podcast)

What does it cost? Sample podcast budget

The short, annoying answer? It depends. But let's try to be more helpful than that.

For context, the average salary for a podcast producer in America is $65,133 and £40,142 in the UK. And an experienced producer is going to cost you more - and they're very hard to find.

Oh, and the number of your favorite podcasts produced by just one full-tim person? Probably zero. There are some really great shows produced by one person but the vast majority of narrative podcasts take lots of work from skilled writers, researchers, editors, sound designers and producers.

Okay, so doing this in-house is expensive and hard. What should your budget be to work with a podcast agency?

A good podcast budget should cover your research and development phase, pre-production (everything you do before getting in the studio), production (in the studio), post-production (editing and sound design), distribution and marketing.

With the big podcast agencies you will easily spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to produce a new season. With Lower Street, you can expect to pay 5 figures that ranges depending on a few things.

Some costing factors to consider

How many episodes do you want to produce and by when? Great podcasts take time to create.

Who's hosting your show? Your CMO is probably going to cost a lot less than a named talent with a following.

How will the show be recorded? An agency could handle everything in a studio, or you could record some of the content remotely.

How involved will you be? We have found the best results happen when we manage the process end-to-end.

What's your promotion budget? We recommend allocating at least 25% of your overall production budget to amplification.

Got more questions? Talk to us about narrative podcasting

Produce your audience's favorite podcast

We'll talk more about your goals, the costs, and what next steps look like

Let's make something amazing

Tell us about what you have in mind, and what you want your podcast to do for your business. We'll be in touch to have a chat about it!