Your business has a product or service to sell. Why would you ever need a podcast? You’re not looking to become famous. And you know that it’s not likely that you’re going to have hundreds of thousands of fans listening in.
But you still need a podcast. Here’s why:
Think of a baseball team: many of the best teams are built on consistent and stable talent at crucial positions in the middle of the diamond like catcher, pitcher, shortstop, and centerfielder. These positions impact the greatest number of plays and have the most reach. Similarly, in your business’s content strategy, you need a central element that has the most impact and reach. That’s where podcasts come in.
Just like making it to the major leagues in baseball, there is a very low probability that your podcast will impress you with the number of downloads or fans it garners. However, the impact that your podcast can have for your business is major league.
There are three things that make content succeed: it must be clear, consistent, and compelling. A podcast can help you check these boxes in the long run because it requires staying on schedule and allows you to leverage a single piece of content into multiple outputs, reducing the lift on you and your teams to create new content.
A single piece of long-form podcast content can drive weeks of content for your business. In today’s content-heavy world, you’re missing out if you aren’t staying in front of your customers and prospects.
While monetizing your podcast might not be the primary goal, it’s worth noting that successful podcasts can open doors to sponsorships, advertising, and other revenue streams. However, focus first on building quality content and a loyal audience.
First, start. You don’t need perfect equipment to get going. Use your phone or computer and record away. What often holds us back is thinking we need all the knowledge before we begin. Start doing, and use immediate feedback to learn what works and what doesn’t.
However, don’t fly completely by the seat of your pants. Have a vision in mind and work on your strategy continuously. Quickly dial it in to get to a place where you can operationalize it.
As you learn what works, write it down. Data from a recent study by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that the act of writing notes by hand improves retention by increasing brain activity across several regions with connection patterns spanning visual regions, regions that receive and process sensory information and the motor cortex. The latter handles body movement and sensorimotor integration, which helps the brain use environmental inputs to inform a person’s next action.
Keep your north star in mind to avoid veering off track. If you don’t have your north star figured out yet … you should be driving toward that with every episode.
As you narrow your focus, you sharpen your podcast, ensuring you have the impact you want.
Put the structure in place for operational efficiency from the beginning. Consider the journey for guests and automate scheduling, booking, reminders, etc. Establish processes for show notes, social content, and guest thank-yous.
Podcasting is a personal experience for listeners. Find ways to humanize guests. Research them, read their books if they have any, and reference them in the podcast. Do a prep call to set the tone and audience expectations, and identify any "no-go" topics. Be conversational and share your own stories to create genuine moments.
Consistency is key. If you commit to a weekly release, stick to it. Here are tips to stay on track:
Keep your podcast clear, consistent, and compelling, and you’ll build a valuable asset for your content strategy.
If you have questions or want to learn more about how a podcast can help you grow your business, I’d love to hear from you.