Sometimes the simplest ideas create the biggest impact. A voice notes podcast — literally you talking into your phone for a few minutes — can deepen relationships with your audience, build trust, and even drive sales.
I first started mine as a lead magnet, but realized the off-the-cuff episodes were connecting more than the polished ones. Turns out, your audience doesn’t always want perfect — they want real.
In this episode, I break down why these short, raw audio episodes work so well, how to record them without overthinking, and what you actually need to launch one today (hint: just your phone and five spare minutes).
Takeaways
- A voice notes podcast builds stronger audience connection because it feels personal and conversational.
- Keep episodes short (under 10 minutes) — like a quick message from a friend.
- Minimal gear needed: your phone + a small mic (DJI Mic or similar).
- Skip heavy editing — authenticity > polish.
- Use your existing feed or launch a new one with clear branding and a simple promise.
- Treat your trailer like a movie preview — tell listeners what to expect and why it matters.
- Use custom artwork or a naming cue (like “[Audio Note]”) if mixing with longer episodes.
Links
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Hey everybody, welcome to The Streamlined Podcaster,
00:00:03 --> 00:00:06 a show that teaches you how to create a podcast
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 that's worth listening to so you are not spinning
00:00:09 --> 00:00:12 your wheels. My name's Joe Casabona. I've been
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 podcasting for 13 years, and today I want to
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 talk to you about creating a voice memos podcast
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 or a voice notes podcast. Recently, my good friend,
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Becky Pearson -Davidson went on Podcraft. and
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 talked about how beneficial her podcast has been
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 to her. She says, she says this on LinkedIn.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 I'll link it in the show notes. The podcast takes
00:00:37 --> 00:00:39 her 15 minutes a week and it's changing everything.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:42 She's made deeper connections with subscribers.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:46 She's nurtured leads to close more sales and
00:00:46 --> 00:00:51 she's created more quality human content in less
00:00:51 --> 00:00:54 time. Shout out to Becky. She also gave me credit.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 for this. I know I'm not the first person to
00:00:58 --> 00:01:02 do voice notes podcasts but I feel like I did
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 bring it to our circle of friends. It was something
00:01:04 --> 00:01:08 that I tried doing as a private podcast at first
00:01:08 --> 00:01:12 just like a lead magnet and I realized this content
00:01:12 --> 00:01:16 was really good and I didn't want to just like
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 put it behind a paywall. I wanted to create maximum
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 impact so I made it its own feed and then eventually
00:01:21 --> 00:01:25 I just started making it as part of my kind of
00:01:25 --> 00:01:28 flagship show, Streamline Solopreneur. So now
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 those voice memos episodes show up in the same
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 feed as my main podcast. They talk about pretty
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 much the same thing. But today I want to talk
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 to you about why you might want to do this and
00:01:39 --> 00:01:42 how you could go about doing it. So why would
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 you want to do a voice notes podcast in the first
00:01:45 --> 00:01:48 place? Well, my friend, Luria Petrucci, who just
00:01:48 --> 00:01:53 knows so much about creating great video, talks
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 about two different types of content, right?
00:01:55 --> 00:01:59 She talks about the thought leader content, which
00:01:59 --> 00:02:02 is the type of content that requires a video
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 setup like the one I have. Great lighting, it's
00:02:05 --> 00:02:09 maybe scripted or semi -scripted, and you are
00:02:09 --> 00:02:13 imparting wisdom in a very structured way. But
00:02:13 --> 00:02:15 then there's also the more relatable content,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:20 the seemingly casual, behind -the -scenes, imperfect
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 content. And that's the stuff that nurtures and
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 builds relationship. Becky talks about it for
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 her voice memos podcast. Luria mentions that
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 you need to do both if you want to build relationships.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 And a voice notes or voice memos podcast is a
00:02:37 --> 00:02:41 perfect way to do this. You are giving people
00:02:41 --> 00:02:48 raw, possibly unfiltered, definitely unpolished
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 thoughts. it feels like they're having more of
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 a conversation with you. A podcast is already
00:02:54 --> 00:02:59 a great way to build connections because it is,
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 I've always said, a more intimate medium, right?
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 It is you in someone's headphones most likely,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:10 and they are listening to you talk. But a voice
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 notes podcast almost feels like a friend is calling
00:03:13 --> 00:03:17 you, and the connection is stronger. I've seen
00:03:17 --> 00:03:21 it on my show, Becky has seen it on her show.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:25 There's a reason why these are becoming, I would
00:03:25 --> 00:03:29 say, more popular. But the other reason is that
00:03:29 --> 00:03:34 producing a podcast is hard. Especially now,
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 if you are trying to integrate video with your
00:03:38 --> 00:03:44 podcast. And a voice memos podcast is decidedly
00:03:44 --> 00:03:49 easier. So... It feels like all upside, right?
00:03:49 --> 00:03:53 It's easier to produce. You don't need super
00:03:53 --> 00:03:56 expensive equipment and you're forming a stronger
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 bond with your audience. You could be like Becky
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 and you're nurturing leads to close more sales.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:09 That sounds like a win win win. So let's talk
00:04:09 --> 00:04:14 about how to produce a voice memos podcast. First,
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 you need a topic. or a promise. This is true
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 of every podcast, right? Your show needs to promise
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 something to your audience. What problem are
00:04:25 --> 00:04:29 you solving for them? What are you telling them
00:04:29 --> 00:04:33 you're going to deliver? For Becky, it's about
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 building memberships and communities. She's offering
00:04:35 --> 00:04:39 essentially like five minute tips on building
00:04:39 --> 00:04:42 a community. Super consumable and amazing for
00:04:42 --> 00:04:44 her audience. And then again, her audience is
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 saying, hey, what you're talking about is great.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 Can you do it for me? My voice memos podcast
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 gives you a behind the scenes look at what it's
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 like running a solo preneur business while also
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 being a super present father. There's a lot of
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 challenges there and I feel like there's not
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 a lot of content for parents. And my voice memos
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 deliver on that promise. Here's what I'm thinking
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 about. Here's what I'm struggling with. Here's
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 what it's like on a day where my kids are all
00:05:13 --> 00:05:18 sick and my wife's at work Very relatable content
00:05:18 --> 00:05:23 and honest to God Those episodes get way more
00:05:23 --> 00:05:29 feedback than my longer form episodes So what
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 is your promise? Can you deliver that promise
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 in 10 minutes or less? That's like that's not
00:05:34 --> 00:05:37 a hard requirement, but that is something I think
00:05:37 --> 00:05:41 about because again We don't want this content
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 to get too long. We don't necessarily want it
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 to drone on for a while. And if we're delivering
00:05:48 --> 00:05:50 these voice memos, like imagine if somebody sent
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 you a 15 -minute voicemail. I don't even know
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 if you can do that, but you'd stop listening,
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 right? So what is a promise that you can deliver
00:05:59 --> 00:06:05 in bite -sized content? Now, as far as gear goes,
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 Again, we want to make this as simple as possible.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:18 I strongly recommend the DJI mics. I've got one
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 and I've got a pair. I find actually the pair
00:06:22 --> 00:06:26 sounds better than just the one I have. I'll
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 have an affiliate link in the show notes, but
00:06:28 --> 00:06:32 these things are super portable. They plug right
00:06:32 --> 00:06:37 into the bottom of your phone and the audio quality
00:06:37 --> 00:06:41 is a lot better than just the built -in microphone
00:06:41 --> 00:06:43 but you know i mean the new new phones have really
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 good built -in microphones but i like to pace
00:06:46 --> 00:06:50 i like to walk and having you know having the
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 portable microphone allows me to have a consistent
00:06:53 --> 00:06:57 sound quality even if i'm walking or moving around
00:06:57 --> 00:07:03 so i would strongly recommend the dji mic Road
00:07:03 --> 00:07:07 has a similar one. There's a couple, right? There's
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 a receiver that plugs into the bottom of your
00:07:08 --> 00:07:13 phone. And then a phone. That's it. A phone and
00:07:13 --> 00:07:17 a microphone. That's all you need for this podcast.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 You could have an AI tool. I was using an AI
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 tool for a while. I have stopped doing that.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:26 Because I was using it to make the transcript
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 and summarize and create a full -on description.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:33 But I have found that With a five minute podcast,
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 have a good title and have a one -liner about
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 what it's about. You don't want people to spend
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 more time reading about the episode than listening
00:07:40 --> 00:07:45 to the episode. So I think whatever summary you
00:07:45 --> 00:07:50 have of those five to ten minutes is fine. So
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 those are really the two things you need. And
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 then of course you need a voice recording app.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 If you have an iPhone, there's voice memos. If
00:07:56 --> 00:08:00 you have Android, I think there is a suspect
00:08:00 --> 00:08:03 that there's an equivalent. I also like whisper
00:08:03 --> 00:08:07 memos on the iPhone or their super whisper. We
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 want to keep it as simple as possible. I would
00:08:10 --> 00:08:12 just use the voice recording app on your phone.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 Voice memos on your iPhone definitely automatically
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 transcribes now in newer versions of iOS. I'm
00:08:19 --> 00:08:21 gonna go out on a limb and say the Android version
00:08:21 --> 00:08:25 also does that. You don't need the transcript
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 per se, but I do like releasing the transcript
00:08:28 --> 00:08:31 of all of my episodes. So that's one less step
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 that I would need to do as well with the voice
00:08:34 --> 00:08:41 memos app. OK, so your phone, a DJI mic, a recording
00:08:41 --> 00:08:47 app. I like voice memos. The idea here also in
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 getting a decent mic and keeping it short is
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 we don't want to have to edit these episodes.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:58 Because editing turns it from raw, unfiltered,
00:08:58 --> 00:09:02 like a friend is leaving you a voicemail, to
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 thought leader stuff. Because now you are shaping
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 your message. And that is really important for
00:09:07 --> 00:09:12 full -length podcasts. Always edit your full
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 -length episodes. But for things like this where
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 the purpose is different, I don't think you should
00:09:18 --> 00:09:23 edit them. Hosting. I'm going to recommend RSS
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 .com. It is very affordable. I am the evangelist
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 for RSS .com, so full disclosure there. But I
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 also just think it's the best hosting for most
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 people. It's easy to use. It works very well
00:09:34 --> 00:09:40 from your phone. And it has a lot of really great
00:09:40 --> 00:09:45 features for podcasters. So RSS .com, big fan.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:51 I wouldn't be their evangelist if I wasn't. Also,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:54 You know there are like other like we I mean
00:09:54 --> 00:09:57 we have RSS .com we have like dynamic ads now
00:09:57 --> 00:10:03 but the feature set is really focused on creating
00:10:03 --> 00:10:09 a really good podcast so I like RSS .com. Okay.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:13 Publishing your first episode. I think every
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 podcast should have a trailer and so I would
00:10:17 --> 00:10:20 recommend you do the trailer in the same format
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 that you're going to do the episodes. You can
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 maybe semi script this because I think the trailer
00:10:25 --> 00:10:29 should follow a story. Why are you doing this?
00:10:31 --> 00:10:33 What's the show about? What are people going
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 to get from it? How can they listen? And again,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:40 you can keep that to one to two minutes. So if
00:10:40 --> 00:10:43 you're launching a voice notes podcast separate,
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 I still say have a trailer. If you're adding
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 it onto your main show. I would just preamble
00:10:49 --> 00:10:53 the first voice notes episode with what this
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 is and why it's different and let me know if
00:10:54 --> 00:10:58 you like it. So that's publishing the first episode.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 And then you need all the stuff that a normal
00:11:01 --> 00:11:05 podcast needs. You need a title, make the title
00:11:05 --> 00:11:09 clear, have a tagline for who it helps, what
00:11:09 --> 00:11:13 problem it's solving. Make some artwork. I think
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 if it's a voice notes podcast, your face should
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 be on it. It is you. people should get to know
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 you. And then you need a description. I think
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 podcast descriptions should read like movie synopses,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:30 synopses, where you agitate the problem or you
00:11:30 --> 00:11:33 set up the promise and then you talk about how
00:11:33 --> 00:11:38 you're going to deliver on that promise. So that's
00:11:38 --> 00:11:41 it. That's everything you need to start a voice
00:11:41 --> 00:11:46 notes podcast. I also one kind of like side tip
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 here is since I am releasing my voice notes podcast
00:11:49 --> 00:11:53 on my long form podcast feed, I like to append
00:11:53 --> 00:11:57 square brackets with I call them Joe's audio
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 notes. So I append audio note to the end of it.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 And I do have custom episode artwork that's called
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 Joe's audio notes for those episodes to help
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 them stand out a little bit more in podcast players.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 Especially ones that support custom artwork,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:16 which I think most of them do now. Apple does.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:21 Spotify does. All the ones I do do. So that's
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 just kind of a side tip. If it's a strict like
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 voice notes only podcast, you don't really need
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 to do that. But if you're adding it to your long
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 form, I like to make them stand out a little
00:12:31 --> 00:12:36 bit so people know immediately the type of episode
00:12:36 --> 00:12:40 they're getting. But that's it for this episode
00:12:40 --> 00:12:42 of Streamline Solopreneur. If you want to learn
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 more, if you want help launching a voice notes
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 podcast, I mean, you're listening to this show,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:49 so you probably don't need help. But if you do,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 I'll have a link in the description and you can
00:12:51 --> 00:12:56 head over to Casabona .org to get in touch. Thanks
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 so much for listening. And until next time, I
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 hope you find some space in your week.