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Pre-Launch Checklist - Plan Your Show

(What a creator needs in place before their show goes live under YAS Work)

This is about clarity, structure, and sustainability, not tech.

A. Concept & Identity

• Show title (finalized)
• 1–2 sentence show description (clear, tight, public-facing)
• Target audience (who is this actually for?)
• Core theme or focus (what makes it distinct from other network shows?)
• Tone (educational, messy, funny, journalistic, intimate, etc.)
• Release schedule (weekly? biweekly? seasonal?)

B. Format Decisions

• Solo, duo or interview-based?
• Episode length target
• Recurring segments? (ex: advice section, listener question, rant, research corner)
• Video + audio or audio only?
• All guests need to sign a consent form with YAS Work, click HERE to find that email template with agreement link.

C. Branding Assets

• Show cover art (square, high resolution)
• Show-specific color palette or vibe (if applicable)
• Host bio (short + long versions)
• Show intro/outro script written
• Theme music chosen (licensed or royalty-free)
  

  One-time files

  • Show logo (PNG with transparent background)

  • Show cover art (square, 3000 × 3000px)
  • Website banner (landscape, 1440 × 500px)
  • Host photo (square, 500 × 500px minimum)
  • Use this form to send us all of these items listed above when you are ready.

  Per episode

  • Episode art (square, 3000 × 3000px)

  • Use this form to send episode assets as they are available and getting ready for publish.

 

D. Infrastructure

• Recording setup tested (you can use your own infrastructure, but you also have access to YAS Work’s software: Riverside)
• Editing workflow decided (self-editing or utilizing YAS Work’s access to software: Descript?)
• File naming system
• Folder system for storage (YAS Work’s Descript and Riverside accounts can be used for this)
• Publishing platform access (Podbean, YouTube, etc. all accessible from Descript)
• RSS feed confirmed
• Social media handle created (We recommend that you have your own podcast social media account and collab with your personal and YAS Work to grow that account)
• Email for show (or decision to use network email?  YAS Work can set up an email address for you. Ex: yourproject@yaswork.org)

E. Legal / Ethical

• Participation agreement signed
• Guest release form template ready (you should have access to a copy and paste email that includes a consent form link for guests to sign)
• Clear content boundaries (what topics are off limits?)
• Consent protocols for guests
• Crisis protocol (what happens if controversy happens?)

F. Launch Strategy

• Launch date
• Minimum 3 episodes recorded before launch
• Trailer episode created
• Promo clip(s) created
• Launch week posting plan
• Who cross-promotes it?
• Call-to-action decided (subscribe? donate? join the mailing list?)