Yoto Daily, is our daily podcast, packed full of games, activities, jokes, learning and fun, fun, fun. It’s me, Jake, who writes, produces and presents it so I thought I would share a little bit about how exactly I do that. And maybe, for any budding podcasters out there I might be able to offer a few tips to help you out…
I begin by planning out a month’s worth of Yoto Daily episodes. I make sure I see what days are coming up that we would like to feature on the podcast. From Halloween to Hannukah, from Tongue Twister Day to Tiger Appreciation Day, we like to cover a wide range of topics on Yoto Daily.
Build up a decent bank of ideas to begin with. Plan your first 6 or so episodes, not just your first
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to get writing. For Yoto Daily, almost everything I say is scripted. I prefer to be fully prepared and then veer from the script if and when it suits. Most episodes follow a basic structure; an introduction, the main ‘meat’ of the episodes (usually with opportunities for listeners to interact with me) and an outro (followed by birthday shout outs)
Being over prepared is better than under prepared. Script as much as possible, you can always adapt and make changes at a later stage.
Next up, it’s time to record. I like to record 2 or 3 episodes a day, but no more than that. It’s important to keep the energy up and make each episode as engaging as the last. Plus recording more than three days’ worth of birthday shout outs in one sitting can take it out of me! This is the shortest part of the whole Yoto Daily process but definitely the one I need the most energy for
Record with a smile on your face. People can hear the energy you put in through your voice, so try to give each recording the same level of enthusiasm
Once I have recorded an episode the editing process begins; chopping out any mistakes I made, or losing things that don’t quite sound right. This is also my opportunity to include sound effects and music, which are really important for bringing Yoto Daily to life. I use various pieces of music to match the different features, from the jaunty jolliness of Friyay jokes to the calm draw-along soundtrack, the music goes a long way to help set the tone of an episode
Consider you music and sound effects choices carefully - they can have a big influence on the tone of your podcast
Finally, it is time to publish and release new episodes to the world. Yoto Daily is accessed via the button on Yoto Players/Minis but we also publish three episodes a week on other podcast platforms. Then comes the nicest part of all; seeing what people respond to and reading through the lovely messages that I receive. We like to engage as much as possible with the listeners and respond proactively to any feedback we receive
Listen to your listeners - the reaction of your audience will help guide you. Be prepared to make changes to things that aren’t quite working
So that is the Yoto Daily process in a nutshell. I guess the only other thing to say is how much fun it all is; I love making this show and seeing it grow over the last few years has been an incredible experience.
Thanks very much indeed for listening.
Jake