If you’re wondering whether launching a podcast is worth it, the answer is YES! While podcasts have been around for years, their listenership really took off during the pandemic when people spent lots of time at home. And since then, their popularity has remained strong.
At a recent Houston Social Media Breakfast, podcasting coach and Pod Houston founder Ozeal Debastos noted that while many podcasts exist, the number of truly active ones is comparatively quite small. “People are yearning for audio podcasts,” he said, making now a wonderful time for newcomers to create a quality program.
Ozeal shared his 4-part BAMM podcasting methodology, which stands for Brand, Audience, Marketing, and Monetization. Check out some highlights below, then watch a replay of the full event.
Branding Your Podcast
- Regardless of whether a brand is a personal or business one, the very first thing podcasters need to be clear about is what their brand stands for and what specific reputation they hope to cultivate through it.
- Ozeal says that new clients sometimes want to discuss external aspects of their brand such as logo and color scheme rather than first creating a solid foundation on which to build everything else. To get back on track, he suggests coming up with one word that they want their audience to think of when hearing their name, and to build around that. For example, The North Face is associated with adventure and Nike is associated with winning.
Attracting a Podcast Audience
- To draw audiences in, it’s also important to know their pain points, what problems they are seeking solutions for, and what solutions a podcast can offer them. He recommends that companies focus on educating their customers rather than immediately launching into sales mode. Cultivating a relationship and creating community must come first.
- When first building an audience, it’s important to spell out the benefits listeners will get from tuning in. Ozeal says it’s vital to be strategic about the reason given for why they should listen to a particular episode. Avoid a long-winded introduction and instead immediately explain something along the lines of “is this episode I’m going to share with you 3 tips about…” or “in this episode I’m going to show you how to…”
Marketing Your Podcast
- There are several ways creators can market their podcast. One is to identify industry-relevant newsletters and offer to write a guest post. Another is by appearing as a guest on someone else’s show, while a third is presenting at an in-person event. Using hashtags on social media can also help draw in people looking for particular types of content. Add a brief description of the show, making sure to stay away from salesy language, and instead focus on reaching out to others without first requiring them to commit to anything.
- Ozeal also recommends that individuals and businesses own their domain names and host their podcast on their own website. That way they retain complete ownership of the show and benefit from strong SEO.
Monetizing Your Podcast
- Revenue-generating options for podcasts include brand sponsorships or offering one’s own proprietary products and services, whether that’s a coaching program, an online course, or something else. But it’s important that before focusing on monetization, the necessary infrastructure is in place.It's really important to build an audience before trying to get money from them.
- An easy way to maximize the value of each podcast episode is to use excerpts of every recording for marketing purposes. Consider sharing highlights on social media, perhaps a guest’s most interesting quote, to draw audiences to the podcast or even a particular older episode.
- While there is a place for long-form podcasts, increasingly people are looking for quickly consumable content, so short-form episodes presently have the upper hand. Because people are often listening on the go, sharing what’s most important earlier in the program ensures an audience won’t miss what the content creator wants them to hear.
- A big trend right now is video podcasting. Done right, it allows creators to take advantage of both audio-only platforms and video-centric ones like YouTube. But it’s important to ensure that the content is created in such a way that it provides a high-quality, stand-alone experience for listeners.
Learn more from Ozeal, including what tech and equipment to use when first getting started, by watching the replay here!