► Tell us about you and your podcast
At Bedtime Stories For Kids, we go on a brand new adventure every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every day parents reach out and request that their child be the star of the next episode.
The show is doing well in the standard English-speaking countries, I am also thrilled to see that people in countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, etc are finding their way to the podcast
► Why & how did you start this podcast?
I launched Bedtime Stories For Kids because I was looking for a creative outlet to counterbalance my professional life. In my past life, I used to be a volunteer and worked with children aged 6-8. From that period I remembered just having lots of fun telling stories. So when I discovered the bedtime niche, it was a match made in heaven.
I started by just doing! My phone + a microphone. Nothing more. No fancy anything. The creativity of the story needs to be the star, not the audio quality. (My audience doesn't really care for crazy editing either). So for me, the most important thing is to have lots and lots of fun creating each episode.
► How'd you find the time and funding to do this podcast?
I purposefully stick with 3 episodes a week. The first reason being that I can manage this number of episodes in a consistent way and secondly, it is the sweet spot for my creativity. (If I had to do a story every day then I fear a creative burnout at some point)
As my publishing days are set, I record and edit the day before. I usually record and edit in the evening times when there is nobody to distract me. Combined with writing, recording, editing, and uploading it takes me 2/3 hours to create one episode of bedtime stories for kids podcast.
► What do you gain from podcasting?
I have yet to monetize. I know I am big enough in terms of daily downloads to start earning but as I am in the children's niche, I want to be very careful with how I monetize and this is something I am still thinking about.
Right now my satisfaction comes from the validation that people are listening. That 100% of my growth is organic. That parents take the effort to email me and that their kids love the story I create from them.
► How does your podcasting process look like?
My process is fairly simple. I have a content calendar so every day I look at what child is next in terms of story. I then look at the child's age and interests (given to me by the parent) and then I go and write a story.
I fully script each story. This takes me roughly one hour to do. (I do get distracted along the way but that's fine as it is just part of my process) from there I record my story and for this, I used my iPhone 12 and a rode microphone. I then share the audio file and upload it into Garageband, do the basic editing, and export it before uploading it to my podcast host.
I'd love to stress to anyone reading: You do NOT need fancy equipment to get started!
► How do you market your show?
I have not done any marketing. This is literally the first piece of PR I am doing. 1000% of my growth so far is organic and that is just amazing to see. I will be exploring PR and partnership opportunities in the near future as I want to continue to grow my reach and put more smiles and more kids' faces.
► What advice would you share with aspiring (new) podcasters?
Just get started. Do not worry about not having the right equipment. All you need is your phone and you are good to go!
► Where can we learn more about you & your podcasts?
Please visit www.bedtimestoriesforkids.co - the best way to support the podcast is to simply request a story for your child!