The rise of podcasts was not unlike that of the radio or ebooks. They are with us on the go or easily accessible on your company’s website. They provide a surge of information encouraging your customers to work with you or purchase your product. (Check out our collaborators Biz4Good and their many good podcasts, including mine!) Yet, where do you start? Here are 9 easy steps to follow when considering a podcast for your product or service:
Have your processes in place first. Creative podcasts are an excellent way to boost traffic and sell products. However, it can be hard to tell it it’s the right time for your company to start a podcast. If you have a product funnel ready to support a new flow of potential customers, you’re ready to move onto step #2. If you’re not sure, take a month or two and get your product funnel, website, marketing, etc. ready for supporting an additional project.
Build your followers. Podcasts only work if you already have a great product or a faithful following. Remember, the podcast is meant to be a supplement to what you are already doing. If you don’t have a solid follower base, take a month or two to brush up on your social media and email lists, send promotions, and get people excited to follow you.
Find your voice. Take the time to identify what it is you want to say. If you’re not sure where to begin, consider topics that you are naturally passionate about. These ideas can give you enthusiasm to create different topics for numerous podcasts. However, don’t just talk about your personal soap boxes. Do a little market research on your favorite topics first to determine if they will help a significant number of your followers. If not, take a week or two and come up with some topics that are currently trending and relate to your interests, products, or services.
Organize your content. After you’ve created some ideas, write them down or store them in a Google doc. Create an outline of topics that will go well together and build themes based on your blog articles and social media posts. Creating related content helps people remember what you are talking about; it’s also a smart marketing technique. After that, you’ll want to type generate a list of businesses or influencers that you could collaborate with on these podcasts. On this same bulleted outline, identify what promotions or products you’ll highlight at the end of the podcast. These should be similar to the theme of the podcast, and again, help solve a problem of the audience.
Locate your studio. Determining where you are going to record your podcasts can be a challenge. Even if you are using your own home, your studio still needs a good microphone, reliable computer, simple editing software, and fast internet speed. At the office, you’ll need a conference room with NO interruptions and the same equipment listed above.
Record and finalize. After you test out the platform, playback speed, recording, your nerve level, etc., you are ready to record your podcast. After taking a breather, edit and save your podcast as an .mp4. Next, make sure you have professional artwork. Pairing eye catching images with your podcast title can mean the difference between limited viewership and success.
Upload to a podcast host. A podcast host functions as a library that houses many other podcasts. GooglePlay and iTunes are reliable options, but they often have hefty upload costs. If you aren’t sure how it is going to go, try some really great smaller ones that will let you pay per podcast or per listener. Check out this blog article on 21 Podcast Hosts for some great options.
Publish the podcast on your platforms. When you finish your podcast, you’ll want to share it to places where your information normally resides so your customers can find it. We recommend having a dedicated page on your website at minimum. If possible, consider dedicating homepage space or including a widget on your landing page. Be sure to send a link to your email list and your social media platforms each time you publish. Every link back to your website will increase SEO. and get people looking at what else you offer. This is why it is critical for your topics to be relevant to your audience, solve a problem, or prove the credibility of your products and services.
Keep on posting according to your schedule. You can update the content, change topics, and collaborative speakers, but you must stay consistent with your posting schedule. Remember, the more interesting content you have, the more consistently your followers will see why they need your services or your products.
No matter what your podcast is about, if you take a fun and enthusiastic approach, you’ll have a great podcast. Click here to get a free consultation for Gerber Business Solutions to coach you through this process or strategize, edit, and market your podcast for you!