In times of trouble, the greatest opportunities
are not just revealed, they are created. Over 37% of American adults are now
regular podcast listeners, while leading professionals and entrepreneurs
leveraging their podcasts for tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.
Even with the disruption caused by COVID-19,
there has never been a better time to explore one of the fastest growing
pathways to business growth. Here are three ways a podcast can transform your
Business.
1. Offer a win-win.
As we all know, there are plenty of sharks
out there happy to screw on a client to make a quick buck. This focus on
a single transactional element, rather than building a long-term relationship
through a mutual exchange of value, is arguably the worst trait a company can have.
The voice humanizes your brand, so having your own
podcast allows you to gain the trust of your potential audience and your
existing customers, while ensuring that your staff keeps your company's mission alive.
before the mind. With each episode, your content will constantly add value to
enhance the lives of your listeners, whoever they are, without you
even needing to leave your home/office.
This value comes in many forms. For example:
How I built this reveals how leading companies were created;
Serial uses investigative journalism to explore criminal cases; and
The Joe Rogan Experience seemingly breaks every mold with its uncensored long form
conversations about civil liberties and current affairs.
In what should be good news for entrepreneurs
and professionals everywhere, there is no box you have to fit into. As the
previous podcasts illustrate, you might even find the greatest rewards in the
most enigmatic places.
Your podcast is also the perfect way to
educate your audience. Whatever the industry, strive to provide the best
service possible to your customers and focus on building long-term relationships – a
win-win.
2. Align your brand
with industry experts.
One of the easiest ways to grow your audience is
to bring in interesting and engaging guests. Not only will it build your
credibility, it will allow you to attract even bigger names, then
you are only limited by your imagination. Think of it as a way to
elevate your own personal network, while boosting your
audience count.
Once you've secured your big name interviews and
established your captive listener base, it's extremely important not to
complacency. A lot of podcasters are confused, but the reality is that your
audience won't stay loyal – they will if you keep
providing great, valuable content. Remember, they are your audience, so at
you owe them at least some ROI on their time. Always focus on creating value,
with your guests and listeners.
3. What to do with a successful
Podcast.
If you follow these steps and focus on
consistency, you'll be well on your way to successful podcasting! So
what can you do with it? It will depend on your ingenuity. The
best podcasters in the world are leveraging their shows for massive growth in a
lot of ways. Eventually, you'll reach a tipping point where
high-profile guests will reach out to appear on your show, rather than
you need to chase them away. But that's just the beginning.
If you really want to make an impact, your
main objective should be to learn more about your growing audience and what
issues they face. The more you understand what struggles they have,
it will be easier for you to introduce solutions that alleviate those pain points.
There are also an endless number of products and services you can create
such as virtual events, coaching programs and retreats.
A successful podcast will also give you a
platform to highlight causes that are important to you. For example, maybe
there is a charity you want to raise money for or a crowdfunding to support.
Having a captive audience that believes in your spirit will give you the opportunity
to light up the world in the way that suits you.
Starting a podcast seems easy enough until you
actually start doing it. In his quote "An hour of planning can save you 10
hours of work", Dale Carnegie reminds us how a detailed plan can
be easier. But, when it comes to starting a podcast, how do you start
this plan?
First, you need to ask yourself a few questions.
With clear answers to these questions, the process of planning – and launching
your podcast – becomes much easier.
1.Why do I want to
do this podcast?
This question may seem obvious, but seriously,
why do you want to do a podcast? If you're not sure of the answer, or aren't
just going through the motions because "everyone does", you may need to
dig a little deeper deeper.
For example, if you are a family lawyer, your
motivation for starting a podcast might be that you want other family lawyers
to know that they are not alone in their feelings, their doubts and their anxieties. This mission
would only have been more useful in the COVID-19 pandemic, as people
all over the world are required to stay self-quarantined at home — more
alone than ever .
The Family Law Podcast could be created not only
to dispel your own feelings of being alone, but to let other lawyers know that they
had an ally in you and your audience as well .
2. What do I want to achieve with this podcast?
We all experience stage fright before we do anything outside our comfort zone, especially if we expose our emotions to
the world. However, if you start your podcast for the right reasons, you
bring advice and support to people who desperately need it. Yet, only
once your podcast is launched, will you truly experience this validation.
To make sure it resonates with your audience, think
about what you want to achieve with the podcast. In our previous example, the
family lawyer may want to give voice to lawyers who experience
the same feelings of self-doubt and sadness. The podcast would be a safe avenue
to explore these feelings, while introducing strategies to bring more happiness
and fulfillment to their work and, ultimately, their life.
What you want to achieve doesn't have to
revolutionize the world. In fact, it is this quest for perfection that leads to inaction. Your goal could be something as simple as filling a need that doesn't currently exist in podcast form.
As humans, we all have times when we feel lonely,
so if your goal is to connect others through a shared experience,
might suffice.
3.Who is my ideal
listener?
Once you've answered the first two questions,
this one should be easy. Think about who your ideal listener is – for our family
lawyer example, that would be lawyers who feel burnt out in their profession.
A great way to figure out who your ideal listener is would be to simply start talking to you. Yes, talk to yourself.
Start playing around with some topics you want to cover on your show and make
notes on key points. Once you see your talking points and desired messages
on paper, it will be easier to imagine who would benefit most from those words.
The questions are how do we travel the world
us, and it's no different when starting a new business or developing
a podcast concept. Ask yourself these questions and listen to the answers.
The rest will fall into place.
We Are Podcast will host the House Sessions virtual event on May 21-23, 2020. This will be the first multi-speaker, multi-day, multi-stream live virtual podcasting conference for businesses and brands. The at-home sessions will feature renowned experts in podcasting, marketing and entrepreneurship. Buy your tickets here .
