How to plan an engaging podcast episode in Milanote

You’ll find the board for collecting research on your Podcast Episode Plan board. Double click the Research board to open it and get started.

Wikipedia, blogs, and news websites are a goldmine for researchers. It's here you'll find historical events and records, data, and opinions about your topic. We're in the 'collecting' phase so just save links to any relevant information you stumble across. You can return and read the details at a later stage.

Video and audio are great sources of inspiration for your podcast. Try searching for your topic or guest on Vimeo, or Youtube. Other podcasts are a great reference too. Find conversations about your topic on Spotify or any podcast platform and add them into the mix.

Sometimes the quickest way to understand a topic is with an image. They can transport you to another time or place and can help you describe things in much more detail. They're also easier to scan when you return to your research. Try saving images from Google Images, Pinterest, or Milanote's built-in image library.

You never know where or when you'll find inspiration—it could strike you in the shower, or as you're strolling the aisles of the grocery store. So make sure you have an easy way to capture things on the go. As creative director Grace Coddington said, "Always keep your eyes open. Keep watching. Because whatever you see can inspire you."

Research is an ongoing process and you'll probably continue learning about your topic throughout your creative process. Reference your research as you go to add a unique perspective to your show. Read the full guide on Organizing research for your podcast to learn more.

You’ll find the empty Outline board on the Podcast Episode Plan board. Double-click it to start adding the mapping out your script.

Start by laying out the major topics or questions you know you want to cover. A great place to start is with the traditional storytelling structure of beginning, middle, and end. Don't worry too much about the order or details yet, just get the main parts out of your head. This is a quick flexible way to brainstorm the centerpieces of your show.

Next, add a sentence or a bullet point for each talking point or question you might cover. There are no rules for how much detail to add, do what works best for you. You'll be referencing these as you record your podcast, so try and keep them short, snappy, and easy to scan as you're talking. They're the equivalent of cue cards you might use when giving a speech.

Seeing your episode at this level lets you make connections between themes and concepts you might otherwise miss if you wrote a script in a word document. Re-read your outline so far. Look for points that feel out of place. Perhaps your transitions need some tweaking or a topic appears without a proper introduction. Highlight areas that need more work and move points around to get the sequence just right.

While imagery probably won't make an appearance in your podcast, this is a great technique for kickstarting new ideas. Experiment by adding images or video clips that relate to your topics. You can have them on-hand and reference the details when recording to tell a more vivid story. Try saving images from Google Images, Pinterest, or Milanote's built-in image library.

With any creative technique or project, it’s important to be open to constructive feedback. Now that the first version of your outline is done it's time to ask for specific feedback on the sequence and talking points from your co-host or team. Make sure you stay open to suggestions and improvements and try not to take criticism personally.

If you're interviewing a guest, it's helpful to share the outline with them before recording. This gives them the opportunity to prepare and results in a deeper, more lively conversation.

Now that you've finished your outline, you can start recording, confident that your episode has a strong foundation. If you want to learn more about this stage, read the full guide on how to outline a podcast.

Create a new board to setup your Podcast Schedule. Each episode will live inside this board, making the entire process easy to manage.

This template maps out your process from raw idea to published episode. Simply drag and drop episodes into the relevant column to match their status. Everyone works in a different way, so you can update the columns to match your workflow.

Hopefully, this guide has helped you stay organized while building a solid foundation for your podcast show. If you're just starting a new episode, use the Podcast template below to get set up in minutes.