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Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I stand before you today with one goal in mind…
I will demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt, why your audience not only WANTS, but NEEDS you to consider starting a podcast.
But before we address the reasons why your business needs a voice, let’s begin by confronting the three reasons why people typically avoid it and why, if you’ve been doing likewise, they should no longer stand in your way.
AVOIDANCE REASON #1: I Don’t Have an Audience
I totally get it. Why start a podcast, if there’s no audience to create it for, right?
This is one of the most common objections for starting a podcast, but the irony is that a podcast is a great way to begin BUILDING an audience.
The rising popularity of podcasts combined with the fact that they’re easily consumed (unlike reading a long article, or ebook) means you’ll have a far greater chance of building a loyal audience that likes, trusts and feels like they know you.
AVOIDANCE REASON #2: I Don’t Have Room in My House / Business for a Studio
If you have a desk – you have all the room you need for a podcast.
This is where I podcast:
Since podcasting is still relatively new, our mind tends to link the concept of podcasting – to radio broadcasting. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of today’s most popular podcasts are being created in a small corner of a room.
And you don’t need that fancy microphone to get started, either. Believe me. I just used my Apple headphones when I started in 2010.
Speaking of equipment…
AVOIDANCE REASON #3: I Can’t Afford the Equipment
You’ll be surprised with how little you need to begin.
All you need is…
- Computer.
- Microphone.
- Podcasting Software (Mac comes with Garageband already built into its applications).
- A good topic to discuss.
Ok, let’s get to the good stuff.
10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Voice!
#1 People really, really like podcasts nowadays
According to recent study conducted by Edison Research podcasting continues to show strong growth over the past 7 years. In fact, many believe that 2017 will be the break-out year for business podcasting, particularly.
#2 Not everyone has time to read 4550 words
The average blog posts is approximately 700-words, which can can be read in about 5-minutes. However, the average podcast is 35-minutes which translates into 4,550 words, the equivalent of 6.5 blog posts.
Not only does this allow you to deliver more content to your audience, but it’s also delivered in a way that’s easy to consume.
And as a side note, if you’re not taking advantage of listening to podcasts during your drive to and from your place of work, or while taking a walk, or on a plane journey, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to leverage your time.
#3 It’s easier to produce a consistent podcast, than blog posts
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut.” ― Stephen King
Whoa! If the great Stephen King is saying there’s no shortcut to writing, then what does that mean for the rest of us?
The good news however is that podcasting allows you to create an amazing piece of content without having to go through countless revisions of your work. In fact, the more conversational and casual it is, the better it will connect with your audience.
That’s one of the biggest compliments I get about my podcast, Youpreneur FM – that it’s like a couple of friends talking in a pub, or over dinner.
But if you’d still like to clean up your audio after recording you can easily find an inexpensive editor on Upwork and have them take out any pauses or “ums” and “ers”.
#4 Podcasts are sticky
When someone decides to listen to a podcast they’ll usually listen to the entire show, and if they like it, there’s a good chance they may listen to another.
That’s a LOT of content!
What’s great about this is that they’ll either feel closer and resonate with your message, or they’ll decide this isn’t the right place for them, and that’s a good thing. The whole point of getting your voice out there is to attract and build the right audience for YOU and your business.
#5 Your personal brand will benefit
I’m a huge believer in building a personal brand, but having an impressive logo and catchy slogan will only qualify you as being average in today’s digital marketplace. What’s most important is that your business has a personality. And I can think of no better way to give your business a personality than by giving it your VOICE!
#6 Become an instant, welcomed guest
When someone listens to your podcast you’ve suddenly become the “invited guest” within their home or office. No different than sitting across from this listener and having a face to face meeting with their undivided attention. Yeah! That’s pretty powerful stuff.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a huge fan of email marketing, video marketing, and consistent content marketing (such as blog posts and infographics), but there’s nothing like the level of intimacy podcasting creates.
#7 Align yourself with successful people
If you choose to launch and grow a interview format podcast, all those guests you’ll be chasing down to have come on your show will make a difference to your overall brand, too.
The more successful people you have on your show from your industry, or niche, the closer aligned you’ll be seen to them and their success. Perception is key and is often very, very contagious.
#8 The on-going servicing of your existing audience
No matter how big or small your current audience I can guarantee they’re listening to podcasts.
So if they’re going out of they way to open your emails, read your blog posts and register for your webinars – why not service them with a podcast!
Not only will your podcast help form a deeper relationship, but it can also serve as a platform to spotlight members of your audience who are putting your teaching into practice. Some the best content you can create are case studies, which demonstrate that what you teach actually works. My buddy Pat Flynn does this better than almost everyone else I know.
#9 Develop your speaking skills
I absolutely love speaking, but like anything else, speaking is a skill that needs to be developed.
What’s great about podcasting is that it will allows you to continually work on your craft. It also helps you to build confidence in your speaking ability without needing the approving laughter, or applause from a live audience.
It can be a bit strange speaking to an invisible audience, but that same skill will help you deliver engaging and entertaining webinars, which is a skill every digital entrepreneur should be improving.
#10 Opportunity to repurpose content
Each of your podcast episodes can be repurposed into additional pieces of content.
Here’s a few ideas:
- Have your podcast transcribed and distilled into a single blog post with a call to action of listening to the entire show.
- Have the best points of your podcast turned into a 7-point, or 10-point infographic.
- Breakup a single podcast recording into 2 or 3 episodes. I highly recommend this if you have the opportunity to attract a popular guest on your show. Just make sure to communicate in advance to them that you plan on breaking it up into 2 or 3 shows that way the two of you can properly plan what to cover and where to break things up.
- Turn some of your most downloaded podcast episodes into Slide decks to share via social, or even into live presentations.
- The opportunities for repurposing are literally endless!
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A Closing Word on Starting a Podcast
Creating something of value takes practice and patience. Remember that when you’re planning on starting a podcast.
Don’t make the mistake of expecting your first few episodes to be perfect, or to attract a lot of downloads.
The goal of your first few episodes should simply be to complete them (aka “ship your product”) and learn as much as you can from the process. With that mindset and approach, your following episodes will continue to improve in both delivery and content.
Trust me. Your audience will thank you for it. Mine does… every week.
And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I rest my case!