“Should I Start a Podcast?” I have been asked this question so many times in my podcasting career – so much so that I created a podcast entitled exactly that, Should I Start A Podcast? to answer that very question. Hundreds of components make up the journey of a podcaster, so to hear the stories and get insight from those who are creating episodes week in week out, is invaluable as a guide.
I had the pleasure of sitting on a star studded panel of successful podcasters, live at the 13th annual Networx conference, 2018. On the guest panel were two highly successful podcasters – Stevie, the social media trainer and strategist guru from Stevie Says Social, and host of The Twenty-Something Train Wreck podcast, Phoebe Parsons.
Whilst I had my fair share of things to say about the ins and outs of podcasting, these two certainly brought some incredible insights to the table. Seeing as I love to share and educate, here are some of the most useful points they shared.
Be Consistent
Consistency is not always on the agenda for a new podcaster, but you should certainly take it as a rule of thumb.
“In my first season I released episodes whenever they were ready, and once you start to get a following people don’t like that, people like their routine,” explains Phoebe. It was during her second season that she began #trainwrecktuesdays dropping an episode every Tuesday at midnight – no-matter-what.
Guess what, after she kept her word, her following became increasingly engaged which upped her download rate and boosted her rankings.
Find Guests That Can Bring Value
Your only job as a podcaster is to get someone’s story.
“I go to people that inspire me,” explains Stevie. If someone is in a position that you aspire to, why not take the opportunity to have them on your show and ask the questions you want answered.
What if your guests are people that no one has ever heard of before? This shouldn’t be a worry, as this is usually where some of the best conversations come from. “I know I love personally hearing about the backstory,” says Stevie.
For Phoebe, she’s only recently diversified her guest list, but it made a huge impact. Phoebe has a very female orientated podcast, so when she brought a guy onto her show, “I cannot express to you the spike in listens we had.” That change in dynamic and perspective was what got her audience excited.
Promote Your Podcast Across Multiple Channels
You can spend hours recording, editing and preparing your podcast but if you’re not getting out in front of the right people, then what’s the point?
Social media is a great way to get your show out there. Stevie finds that Facebook ads in particular are the best method for getting her content seen and heard.
She suggests the use of tags, and tagging the guest in your podcast promotional posts. This encourages your guest to share the podcast they were in, opening your voice up to their crowd and expanding your reach.
Phoebe was an Instagram junkie but now things are a little different. She explains that, “if you continually market to the same audience you’re never going to get new followers or reach a new audience.” She accompanies her podcast now with a weekly column which has pushed her traffic exponentially.
Podcasting is a great way to get your voice heard, share stories and boost your brand.
To understand how you can bring an amazing podcast out into the stratosphere, click here to hear to hear the full episode and get more tips and tricks on how to start a podcast.
Listen to the entire full podcast episode here.
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.