Why should you start a podcast?
Imagine yourself. You just finished listening to an episode of one of your favorite podcasts. The idea floats through your head and you think to yourself “I could do that”. Podcasting is a wonderful way to establish a platform to spread your message. That message may be of a story of empowerment that you’ve experienced, or a message about a product of your company that you’re trying to sell. When it comes to podcasting, the opportunities are endless. Your journey to starting a podcast all starts with an idea.
The premise of your podcast is surrounded by the idea that you wish base it on. Think of this as a foundation in which you are about to build a structure on. If you have a weak foundation, then the odds of your structure toppling down are higher. Whereas if you have a strong foundation, or in this case a strong idea that you are passionate about, the odds of it toppling down are lower. If you have ever taken some time and searched any of the podcast directories, you will quickly find out that there are podcasts on anything and everything. From true crime to talking about history. There is a place for your idea and an audience waiting to be tapped into. Let’s dive into the personal side of podcasting that can be a very rewarding opportunity not only for your audience, but yourself.
When you start a podcasting one thing that is constantly on your mind is how am I going to grow my show and please my audience. This is an important question, but take a minute and ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”. Obviously you want to grow and run a successful show, but deep down you’re doing this for yourself. Find your why. Podcasting can be a rewarding opportunity in the sense that it can help bring a change to your life in a positive way. For example, on my show Life & the Stories Within It, I interview people with empowering stories of positivity, hope, and determination. I have a need to help people and love doing so in a positive way. My podcast is just another source for me to do that, while being able to help share that with others. On the other hand now, there may be a different reason that you are wanting to start a podcast.
According to Buzzsprout for the population in the United States ages 12 and up, “Over one-third (104 million) of Americans listen to podcasts regularly”. For business owners who are trying to sell a service or product, this means that there is a huge potential market to try to tap into to help market your products. Buzzsprout also added that “88% of Americans own a smartphone”. This means that even if an individual is not an avid podcast listener, you can still connect with them about your show over social media and sell your service or product. One reservation that some business owners have is that podcasting is a “hard to measure” marketing resource. The reasoning behind that is that you can get information on how many people are listening to the podcast, when they stop listening to the episode, and a few other data points. These data points do not show how many of your listeners have bought your service or product from one of your episodes. Now “hard to measure” marketing resources may be difficult to track, but are not impossible.
Marketing trends. We have all been affected by different marketing trends where we realized it or not. One that always comes to mind for me is those around all of the holidays. For example, there are plenty of different Christmas themed ads that appear. Whether it was the M&M’s running into Santa Claus, or the famous Polar Bear Coca-Cola commercials. This may seem like the normal thing to do during the holiday season, but there is a purpose behind it. When companies deviate from a non-holiday traditional marketing tactic, they can see whether or not sales go up or if they go down. The same concept can be applied to podcasting a businesses’ service or product, with an added bonus that you get to build your brand in addition to selling your product.
Once again, podcasting is a very rewarding experience. From sharing your wealth of knowledge on a topic, to trying to sell your newest invention to your listeners, there is a place in the podcasting realm for you. If you are struggling with your next step as to how to start a podcast. Check out some of the other articles on our site that will help you get on your podcasting journey. So what are you waiting for, get out there and start podcasting today!
Resources: Buzzsprout, Podcast Statistics and Data [September 2022], Alban Brook, https://www.buzzsprout.com/blog/podcast-statistics
