Podcasting is the new blogging, with over 50 million episodes downloaded every MONTH and Aussie weekly podcast listeners tuning into over 5 eps every week.
The more channels you offer your content, the more opportunities you have to meet your potential audience where they’re hanging out. If you’re only concentrating on Insta and TikTok, you’re missing the listening commuter audience that podcasting could capture.
And podcasts provide the perfect opportunity to invite guests so you can leverage their brand equity. Plus, if they share the ep with their followers, you get exposed to a whole new audience.
Quick tips to expand your organic audience with podcasts:
Record one podcast with video rolling and you’ll instantly produce a tonne of usable content:
Drip feed your best content, sneak peeks of upcoming launches and engage with your listeners via Q&As or Lives. The more they Know, Like and Trust your brand, the more likely they are to buy when you’re ready to sell.
Just don’t turn every ep into a Home Shopping Network sales pitch.
You’re the published broadcaster. That instantly conveys a level of authority and thought leadership. Sure anyone can start a podcast. But you did. So own your position as subject-matter expert. Share value-adding content, spark debate, take a strong position on a polarising topic.
No, you don’t need a fully tricked recording studio and A-List guests. You can start your podcast super-lean. (Get our podcasting starter kit checklist of the essential equipment you’ll need.)
Audio is portable and the perfect multi-tasking media. Your audience will listen on their commute, while exercising, at work, at home. Skip, save and share. All on their phone, all at a click. Easy.
Podcast ad revenue is expected to grow to $1.13 billion in 2021. Ads, affiliates and sponsored posts all provide additional revenue opportunities for your brand. And don’t think ads will turn your listeners off – a US survey found that 78% don’t mind ads and 62% buy after hearing ads on podcasts.
Think of every episode like a new product launch or campaign. Plan it all out in advance, decide what assets you’ll need to create, integrate your podcast content with your other channels (social, ecomm, eDM, ads etc) and use those channels to also drive traffic to your podcast.
Here’s how:
Step 1: Podcasts are storytelling. Decide on 5-7 content pillars you’ll niche down on. This forms the framework for all your podcast content.
Step 2: Brainstorm – flesh out all the angles, different POV and free resources you could create from those 5-7 pillars. Now you’ve got your episode themes.
Step 3: Research potential guests, collabs and partners for specific episodes and secure your interviewees.
Step 4: Decide on your release schedule. You might be recording in November but not releasing until Jan. So don’t mention ‘end of year’ or ‘Christmas is coming’ in your recording.
Step 5: Align your podcast release schedule, promotional schedule and free resources with your overarching brand strategy. Your podcasts should drive awareness and traffic to your sales activity, not distract from it.
Step 6: Download our free Podcast Content Planner template to make creating your podcast seamless.
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