4 Ways Starting a Podcast Changed My Online Business—and My Life
How Podcasting for Business Changed My Life
Simply put: podcasting has changed my business and my life. For the better.
When I initially emailed Kathleen and told her that I wanted to start a podcast with her, I also told her that podcasts were the future AND that podcasting would make us famous. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t wrong.
When we were only a year-and-a-half into it, I could easily look back and really see the changes that had happened in what really was a short amount of time—to both the business that I set out to support with creating a podcast and also in how my life operates around the businesses that I run. And those changes are massive. Let me share:
Podcast Hosting Diversided My Income
When we all start out doing business, we usually begin with a single stream of income, and it’s usually one-on-one services or selling a product.
This is all great and good until you need to take a week off for vacation. If all of your money is directly tied to you actually being there directly doing the work then you’re not making money if you aren’t working—that can hurt.
Starting my own podcast has given me new avenues for bringing in money, from sponsorships and affiliates to developing a paid community and leveraging myself for speaking opportunities. These are avenues that aren’t necessarily tied to the direct number of hours that I am working in a week.
No longer is my online business based solely on a single stream of time-based income. Instead, I have a diverse selection of income streams that helps me find stability in running a business.
And that stability—desired by every business owner I’ve ever met—has created a shift in my mindset of life and work that gives me the freedom to more easily focus my energy on where I want it to be, and less on where it has to be for me to pay my next mortgage payment. Hello, freedom.
Being a Podcast Host Connected Me With A FAST-GROWING, TIGHT-KNIT COMMUNITY
The digital landscape continually changes from blogging to social media platforms, and the way people connect is always evolving. And, at least at the moment, the spotlight is on podcasts for being a place where people consume their content and connect with thought leaders.
In 6+ years of doing business online before starting a podcast, I had never had a platform gain me the kind of traction that podcasting has, and because of the these-are-the-words-from-my-mouth style in which podcasting content gets delivered to my listeners, it’s caused a veracious growth in a hungry community who are here to support what I am doing—as well as each other—in their missions to build businesses doing work that they’re passionate about.
Our community is what drives us forward, and I’m so grateful for it. I have found many of my own business besties in the community that we’re creating, and I see the same connections going on between other bosses daily. This is what we’re here for—it’s the fuel that keeps us going.
Join us in the Being Boss Community a Space for Creative Entrepreneurs
A Podcast Brand is AN EASILY SYSTEMATIZED BUSINESS
As a creative who found her success by offering one-on-one web design services, I am absolutely familiar with the woes that come from trying to systemize your business in order to delegate tasks to a team, while still having your clients wrestle to deal with only you every step of the way.
Though a stern hand and lots of practice can absolutely get a lot of your creative business delegated, systemizing and delegating the parts of podcasting has been a gazillion times easier than any part of any business that I have ever run.
If you don’t want to edit your own audio, manage your own social media, or schedule your own guests in your venture of podcasting, there are pros that will handle it all for you, and no one cares. Your job can literally be to just show up, hit record, and say what you’re here to say.
Finally having a part of my business that really strives on pairing it down to focus on what I’m best at is only going to do great things for the quality of content and experience we’re able to give you—and an easily systematized and delegated process is the dream of any entrepreneur.
Podcast Hosting Provides MORE FREEDOM TO LIVE WHAT I LOVE
As I stepped away from my own one-on-one work to focus on the business of Being Boss, shifting my focus to the world of podcasting and creating badass digital products, I am feeling the effects of having a really diversified income stream that isn’t based on one-on-one projects, but also I am loving that it’s doing a great job bringing people into the products and services I already offer.
Producing my own podcast has proven to me to be an effective marketing and content tool that allows to me worry less about booking the next project, and focus more on showing up to do what I’m here to do with the most impact, so I can get back to living the life that I’m here to live.
When you can create digital products that serve the masses (something I know a lot of you dream to do) or really just sit back and do the work that you’re here to do, and support it with a high-impact content avenue that can be easily delegated out so that you just have to show up and talk, then you’re working with a system that allows you to work smarter, not harder. And that, folks, is what dreams are made of.
Should You Start a Podcast for your business?
For you, maybe one-on-one work is where you want to stay, and podcasting can give you a marketing outlet to focus on delivering a new kind of expertise-proving content to build for you a base of hungry fans.
Or, maybe you’re like me and want to move away from one-on-one work to focus on creating digital products.
Or maybe you just want more speaking gigs, a new medium for sharing your message, or a place to interview people who you think are awesome.
Whichever you choose, podcast hosting could get you there.
7 more benefits of PODCASTING FOR BUSINESS
After reading just how important podcast hosting has been in Emily’s career, you might be itching to get started. One thing is for sure, the podcast industry is still growing and new listeners are still discovering podcast episodes for the very first time. So if you’ve got a message you want to share, starting a new podcast can be a great way to amplify it.
And while there are many benefits to podcasting for your business, one of the main things to consider before you create your own podcast brand and produce your first podcast episode is if you enjoy podcasting. This might seem like a hard question to answer. How would you know if you enjoy podcasting if you don’t already have your own podcast?
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Start by listening to a few episodes from other podcasts. Understanding the medium, the platform, and the types of shows will be important when you begin to create your new podcast.
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Try being a guest on other podcasts. You can get experience being recorded and sharing a message in the podcast format by guesting on other shows. Doing a great job pitching podcasts and being a great guest is important for growing your audience and can also help you hone your craft as a podcast host.
If you’re still ready to do the work and start a podcast to help amplify your message and help promote your small business, let’s dive into the benefits.
A Podcast is a Convenient Content Format
Podcasts are convenient for not just the audience but for business owners as well. The format of podcasts makes them easy to consume and fairly easy to create. Your customers can listen to podcasts from their office, car, or morning walk. If listeners choose to subscribe to a podcast, they will be delivered new episodes automatically through their chosen app.
When it comes to recording and producing your podcast, it is easy to get started with minimal equipment. If you are running a small business, you’ll likely already have access to a computer and an internet connection. Throw in a decent microphone and some editing software and you are well on your way. If you have access to a quiet room in your office or house, you won’t have to spend money on studio space either.
Audio also makes a great alternative to video content. So if you aren’t comfortable or capable of capturing and editing video, podcasting for business can be a great way to gain the attention of an audience that might not find your website, blog, or social media content otherwise.
Repurposing Your Podcasts + Increase Traffic
We truly believe that podcasts are huge for new traffic! If you can commit to a consistent recording and publishing schedule, your new-found audience will have even more reason to keep tuning in as they being to look forward to your new episodes.
Once you begin to publish your podcast not only do you increase your chances of being found on Google but you can also show up in multiple podcast directories. But the benefits don’t have to stop there.
Episodes for your podcast are big pieces of content that will require planning, recording, editing, and publishing. It can be a lot of work but if that is causing you to reconsider your podcast goals consider how easy it is to repurpose a singular episode into many other pieces of content.
You can easily turn your show notes into robust blog posts that feature the embedded audio files of your podcast along with a summary of the key takeaways and a cleaned-up transcript of the episode to increase the accessibility of your podcast. If you approach this content piece with SEO in mind, you can help drive organic traffic to your website and even help new listeners find your show.
Social media platforms are another great place to not only promote your podcast but to share bite-sized content from your episode. There are many ways to pull out smaller pieces of content from your podcast. You could share quotes, your featured guests, reviews from your audience, or the key points from interviews.
Learning to make your content work for you in this way will have a huge lift on your marketing efforts and help you stay in front of your customers consistently through multiple channels. And if you are worried about sounding repetitive, remember that most people need to hear or see the same message multiple times before they take action.
Creating a strong connection to an audience
Emily mentioned this as one of the main ways hosting a podcast has changed not only her business but her life. But it warrants repeating.
When your audience can hear your voice it creates a stronger connection to you and the message you are sharing than if they were simply reading the same information in a blog post or a newsletter.
Podcast listeners who keep coming back to tune into your episodes will eventually become familiar with you. Bosses share frequently that they feel like they know Emily or that she is a business bestie that gets it, even though they haven’t met her yet.
Your voice is a strong marketing tool for producing familiarity and trust with your potential customers. It also helps you feel approachable as podcasts have a more informal feeling to them than writing where it is harder to truly convey your real personality.
Most podcasts, regardless of the format are a form of storytelling. And that can help you build real, meaningful connections with your audience. Most forms of marketing can’t do that!
Build Authority + Awareness
Podcasting for business builds your brand. Blogging or social media have remained some of the easiest ways you could build your own authority and awareness without help from someone else’s platform. Podcasts offer these same benefits, allowing you to share your experience and knowledge with an audience.
As we just mentioned, a podcast gives your listeners the extra advantage of a more personal connection with you and the convenience of being able to easily consume audio on the go. And if you already have a strong blogging or social strategy, your podcast can work in tandem to further amplify your marketing and messages.
Grow Your Network and Business Relationships
Your podcast can also help you build your own professional network. You’ll likely have the opportunity to invite guests to your show for interviews. This is a great way to bring your audience different perspectives from other experts.
By sharing your audience and exposure with other business owners, you are starting new connections and opening up new opportunities for further collaboration. You can also be a guest yourself to promote your show and find new customers. So don’t be afraid to pitch yourself!
Diversify revenue for your small business
Once you consistently produce episodes and have a growing audience, you’ll be able to consider monetizing your podcast through sponsorships and paid advertising.
The more listeners you have the easier your ability to create additional revenue through advertising will be. However, the podcast industry is still rapidly growing and the accessibility to sponsorship for smaller podcasters changes all the time.
When starting to monetize your podcast, consider collaborating with businesses that have similar or shared audiences. For example, if you are an artist speaking to an audience of mostly artists or aspiring artists, an art supply company or an artist’s retreat might be a great place to start when pitching for sponsorships.
Use Your Podcast to Market Your Own Services or Products
While your podcast is an obvious place to showcase your expertise, knowledge, and story it is also a great place to tell people what you offer. You can promote your own services or products organically through the stories you are telling, or you could consider recording and placing actual ads for yourself into your podcast.
If your audience is tuning in regularly to hear what you are sharing for free, they are likely to be potential customers. And according to Nielsen, host-read ads produce about a 50% increase in purchase intent when compared to non-host-read ads.
Ready to start podcasting for business?
To get an idea of different podcast formats, check out our entire library of podcast episodes and shows.
And if you’re ready to dive into starting a podcast of your very own, you’ll want to read our article: So You’re Thinking About Starting a Podcast.
