Starting a Business Podcast is Easier Than You Think

WHO IS THE IDEAL LISTENER?

Many people make the mistake in thinking that they are addressing a large audience when they record a podcast.

Remember, there is no audience of hundreds sitting together in one space listening to your podcast.

Your podcast has to speak to an individual person, probably someone driving to work in their car or taking a walk with their earphones on their heads. 

You have to decide who your ideal listener is. It is only once you have created an avatar of this person that you can start understanding who this person is and what their pain points are.

Once you start unraveling this mystery, it will guide you in what content will be valuable for this person. 

The secret to a great podcast is that the listener must feel that they are the only person listening to it, and that it is helping them solve problems they experience in their life.

When a listener gets real value from your podcast, they will start talking about it and sharing the information with those in their circle of influence.

WHAT ARE YOUR REASONS FOR PODCASTING?

Why are you wanting to create a podcast?

Do you just want to sell something or do you want to help your listener in some way?

What information do you have to share and what are the benefits of sharing it, both for your listener and yourself?

Any content marketing worth its salt will ultimately build your brand and, if you have been able to add value, start creating rapport with a potential customer.

The clearer you are as to your own motivations for getting into podcasting, the clearer your messaging will be.

ARE YOU BEING AUTHENTIC?

In the past few years, there has been a big move from in-person to online.

This makes building relationships both easy and challenging at the same time.

People generally are becoming more adept at distinguishing between what is real and authentic, and what is less than true. 

It is only when you are authentic, when you are all that you are, that you will be confident and that will come across to your listener, leading to them trusting you. 

Once you can establish trust, you are already halfway in your journey of building a relationship.

Authenticity will also lead to rapport, and your listener will return again and again to listen to what you have to say, provided of course they find your information valuable.

START WITH A MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT

Your first few episodes will be far from perfect.

The process of podcasting will be a tremendous learning curve and you will need to solve problems as they crop up.

As time goes by and you gain experience, your podcast will develop and grow, both in terms of content and production.

Always be open to getting professional advice and help when you need it. 

Next, make sure that your personality shines through and beware of coming across as rigid or professional.

Just be you and provide information in an entertaining way.

You should never be afraid of taking a risk and exposing your true personality.

Some people adopt a “radio voice” and this will come across as fake. It is said that podcasting rewards the difference, so don’t be scared of criticism, you should welcome it.

One thing you should never be and that is boring.

WHAT VALUE ARE YOU OFFERING?

If what you have to offer has no value, then do not go to the trouble of even starting a podcast series.

Be very clear about the value, as that will attract the right audience as well as guests you may want to interview. 

It might be a useful exercise to connect with other podcasters and interview them, as well as being featured on their shows, to test out the value proposition before you get stuck too deeply into producing your own podcast.

Test the waters, as it were. 

DON’T GIVE UP

Of all the podcasts available on Apple iTunes, some 26% have just one episode. There are many reasons why people start and then don’t get past episode one.

Perhaps they expected many listeners and were disappointed when only their parents listened, or they overcommitted and were then overwhelmed by the amount of work it would take to regularly produce episodes. 

It takes time to grow an audience.

It might take months or even years to build up a following.

Regularity is key.

Don’t quit.

Keep going. 

NOW WHAT’S IN IT FOR THE LISTENER

You first of all need to be very clear as to what the purpose of your podcast is before you will get an inkling of what it will achieve for your intended listener.

Nobody does anything if they do not get something out of it, so you have to answer this question as if you are your target listener: “What’s in it for me?”

A bit of market research will not do you any harm, so be brave and ask a few people what it is they want and what they would want to get out of listening to your podcast.

As soon as you have an answer to the “what is in it for me” question, you should share this as widely as you can.

It should be built into your promotional branding and the podcast introduction, as well as all the descriptions when you upload it to your podcast host.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS

One of the big reasons podcasts don’t make it past episode one, is that a person would decide to do multiple podcasts per week or month, overcommitting themselves, and then getting stuck as soon as they start.

It is better to create a few episodes first before even thinking of publishing one.

This helps you to create some leeway for yourself, as you have already ‘banked’ a few episodes, giving you some breathing space. 

Some people publish a series of perhaps 12 episodes all at once, so that there is browsable content for a listener, while others publish regularly, perhaps once a week or once a month.

Whatever schedule you choose to adopt, make sure that it is sustainable and that it fits in with all your other responsibilities.

Keep going for at least 12 months before doing an evaluation on the way forward.

NCHE INTO THE NICHE

Oftentimes when asking a podcaster who their intended audience is, they answer, “Everyone.”

This is the worst mistake they can make, as ‘everyone’ usually translates into ‘no-one’.

To have a successful podcast, you have to first find your niche.

Your ideal niche will align with both your expertise and your passion.

Once you have found your niche, you then have to dig deeper into that niche to get as specific as you possibly can.

You may have to initially play around with different formats and styles before you will discover which resonates most with your listeners.

It will take some time before you get comfortable with podcasting.

Once you have established a rhythm, producing regular episodes that are filled with compelling content, your audience will grow beyond your niched niche and have wider reach.

TAKE IT ONE STEP AT A TIME

Think of podcasting as a process and break it down into its various steps.

Start by experimenting and learning the basics.

Find out what your audience likes and change what needs to be changed.

Ask questions and get feedback.

Then gradually work on the quality of your content, which will grow your audience.

The more entertaining the content is, the more your reach will increase and the more it will resonate with your audience.

You are going to learn so much, not only about podcasting, but about your topic and, more importantly, about yourself.