We discussed how podcasting has been exploded during the last decade or so. We took a look at some interesting statistics and we highlighted that this medium is still underutilized.

We also examined the social audio emerging trend and what it means for business owners, agencies, brands, marketers, and people that want to share their message online.

We clearly defined a series of major benefits associated with podcasting and social audio.

We provided a list of social audio platforms and a list of hosting platforms for podcasts.

If you are intrigued by the amazing statistics and you fully understand the tremendous opportunity that exists today, you’ll want to start your podcast, right?

But as with any business, you can’t just dive deep and go all in without a proper plan in place. I don’t say you won’t make it through trial and error, but it’s the hard way.

Why wasting valuable time and resources when you can choose the “right” way?

Let’s see how I can help!

Podcasting & Social Audio 

Marketing/Business Strategies

Illustration by vectorjuice/Freepik

Identify Your Target Audience

The first and most important step for any business, not just podcasts. 

Have in mind, that even the best products in the world might flop if they are exposed to people with little to no interest.

It does not matter if you have millions to spend on advertising or an army of influencers and celebrities to endorse you.

Your offers should be presented to people that are interested.

So how do you identify your target audience?

We have a process, a methodology where we categorize the market into segments, buckets of people, and then we target one specific group of people to get started.

From there, we can expand upon new markets and audiences, but one at a time.

But here’s a quick trick.

Narrow down your niche, your approach, don’t try to target the whole population. The world is a big place and your message will get lost.

Also, let’s take a look at these numbers and facts.

According to PodcastInsights, there are around 2M podcasts.

Well, you might think, this is a big number. It’s not compared to 1,2B+ websites.

Did you know how John Lee Dumas got started in podcasting, almost 10 years ago?

Imagine that at that time, there were way fewer shows but still, John was able to narrow down his niche effectively.

He wanted to start a podcast about entrepreneurship.

But he discovered that were 300 business podcasts already. He did not want to be #301.

So he researched for a sub-niche. Business podcast interviewing entrepreneurs. He discovered 7 of them.

You might think that 7 is just a small number, but John was looking for something special. He did not wanna be just another guy doing what everyone does.

So, he carved a micro-niche. He created the first-ever daily business podcast interviewing entrepreneurs.

No one was doing it daily. He decided to give it a go. And his podcast, “Entrepreneurs on fire” exploded.

Related:

• Identify and reach your target audience – comprehensive guide

Define Your Style

There are various formats from which you can choose but here are the most popular:

• Monologue
• Conversational/with co-hosts or guests
• Interviews with one guest or a group of guests
• Storytelling (fictional/non-fictional)
• Repurposing existing content
• Hybrid (be creative)

Also, you can host your own show or appear as a guest on other people’s shows.

You can choose to do it live and record the shows or just record and publish when you are ready.

Now you need to think about your target audience again and how you can differentiate your positioning from the competition.

Find a loophole like John in the previous example.

After you defined the style of the show it’s time to think of ways to engage with your listeners. 

Are you going to teach or educate, entertain, intrigue, or challenge them?

You can always be creative and use a mix of these strategies to add variety. 

It depends on your target audience, the show’s style, and your character.

Preparation

Try to get the hang of it. Record at least 5-10 episodes and listen to them. 

Don’t try to be someone else, the world needs your unique message and your own tone of voice, they want to feel your emotions and energy.

Practice with audio editing a little bit. Audacity is a great tool and it’s open-source. If you don’t want to get involved with audio editing, then you can hire someone to do it for you.

Related:

• Time-Tested Hiring & Outsourcing Platforms

Invest in design and creative material. Invest in a powerful music intro and other sound effects and music you are going to use inside your shows and recordings.

You are building a business, a brand.

Related:

• What is branding in business and how to build a brand
• Direct response marketing – all you need to know
• Direct Response Marketing vs Branding

You can even experiment with various apps and tools online alone.

Related:

• Multimedia resources (AZ directory – images, graphics & design, audio & music, video, animation, themes, plugins, code, apps, tools, education, jobs, buy & sell, communities, freebies)
• Best photo editing online apps
• Best Online Graphic Design Tools
• Popular Design Marketplaces
• Exceptional Photography Marketplaces

Publishing/Hosting/Distribution

If you are ready and you have at least 5-10 episodes available, it’s time to dive deeper.

You can test the waters with free hosting platforms, like AnchorFM.

The majority of platforms distribute your episodes on other platforms and mediums, but you should also do it yourself.

Related:

• Top podcast hosting platforms

Forums, Communities, Networks

It’s not enough to create a show and wait for people to discover it. You gotta move the needle.

Become an active member of various forums, communities, networks. Make connections and interact with people.

Give and take feedback so you can grow and help others grow as well.

Don’t be a spammer by any means. People hate them. Try to add value to people’s lives and you will gain exposure and visibility.

A few examples of active communities you can join right away:

• BuzzSprout Facebook community
• Meetup/Podcasting
• Podcast movement private FB group

Social Audio Platforms

Social audio is an emerging trend. Brands, entrepreneurs, marketers, coaches, and random people are using these platforms and apps to communicate with customers, answer questions, host live parties and events, and so much more.

Create your own chat rooms and clubs, join other discussions, interact, have fun, become visible, build connections. 

Play the game by the rules.

Related:

• Popular social audio platforms

Social Media

You can not go without being social. The more you appear online the more people trust you. Social channels offer you an opportunity to spread your message, create fans and connections.

Market yourself and your podcast but abide by the rules. Every network is different. 

You can create personal or business profiles and pages, and create or join related groups.

Appear as a Guest

What a great way to increase your visibility, expand your reach, and share your passion on other people’s podcasts and shows.

Do some research prior to approaching other podcasters. You want to appear on shows that are relevant to your show and also add value to the hosts’ audience.

You also want shows that are active, meaning the last episode should have been released recently. If the last episode was released over 2 months ago, you might want to avoid such a connection.

Listen to some episodes of the hosts you want to connect with. Visit their website to learn more about them and to help you shape a strategy for approaching them with the right messaging.

The key thing is to engage with the host’s listeners in order to develop rapport and come across as someone they want to connect with and learn more.

You need to be prepared and know a thing or two about the host of the show and their audience’s needs.

Engage with their audience and display your expertise. You can even challenge the host’s listeners to do or try something new so you add incredible value and provide an interesting and exciting experience.

If you play the game ethically, new doors will open up and you will be able to partner up with more podcasters and hosts.

Invite Guests

As your show is growing, you want to add some things to the mix.

Sometimes people are getting bored hearing the same voice.

It’s human nature.

Invite other people, podcasters, business owners, or even fans, anyone that can add value to the show.

Share stories, engage with your audience, promote them so they will promote your show as well.

The same principles with you appearing on other shows apply.

Connect only with people that are relevant to your show and listeners. Do some research and repel people that may be famous but are not directly connected to your specific needs.

Merchandise

When you get people’s attention, you can start monetizing your voice.

Create your own t-shirts, books, journals, supplements, jewelry, and much more. Branded merchandising is a phenomenal way to generate revenue, create a community, and with varying price points, from just a few dollars to hundreds of dollars and more, you can create items that meet every budget.

Advertising/Sponsorships

The majority of hosting platforms will let you monetize your presence. 

You’ll be able to add advertisements and you will be approached by various sponsors that want access to your fans and followers. 

Proceed with care in the case of sponsors and partner up with entrepreneurs and brands that meet your high-quality standards and can offer complementary services to your audience. 

Your Own Website

A website will help you show up as professional and trustworthy. It’s a must if you want to take your podcasting game to the next level.

Your website is your storefront and can be used to deploy a series of marketing and business strategies.

Those that don’t invest in a website, are left behind.

Create a dedicated page for your podcasts beyond the homepage.

Start generating leads and collect email addresses. Give your subscribers a reason to follow you. Giveaways, special episodes, never-released interviews, and so on.

If you gain traction and a good amount of traffic, you’ll be able to monetize your online presence as well.

You’ll attract sponsors and advertisers that want to get in front of your listeners. Your audience might be interested in other products as well beyond your podcast episodes and shows. A win-win-win.

There are literally hundreds of ways to monetize a website’s traffic.

Also, invest in SEO (search engine optimization) so you get rankings and targeted traffic. Describe your podcasts in a compelling way and use keywords that your listeners use when they search for podcasts online.

Related:

• WebMarketSupport services

Repurposing Episodes

Now that you invested in a professional-looking website, it’s time to add some content. It helps your SEO efforts, builds trust and authority.

Transcript your episodes and shows and create blog posts.

Turn the episodes into videos that you can use on your website or on video channels like Youtube, Vimeo, etc.

Turn some parts of your episodes, shows, or interviews into short video clips that you can use on social media.

Turn interviews and stories your guests shared that follow a common theme into a book or use your own stories. You can distribute the book on Amazon, other retailers, and your website.

Use parts or whole episodes and turn them into presentations and case studies.

Influencers/Public Relations

How do you approach influencers and celebrities?

Do your research and find out their audience’s needs and wants.

You can alternatively reach out to mid-level influencers with let’s say a following of 5,000 or 10,000 people.

Dedicate a series of episodes promoting them and make a contact to let them know how much you admire them and how you can bring value to the table.

This creates reciprocity.

The key here is to give first without asking anything in return. The opposite of what the majority of brands do. Just give away and watch your engagement explode.

We can use PR professionals that are extremely valuable as they maintain relationships with journalists, influencers, editors, and media with status, visibility, and authority.

Again, first, we need to create great content before we attract PR agencies and pros.

Print Material

You can print material like magazines, brochures, flyers, postcards, business cards, and more.

You can distribute them via direct mail or postal services, using guerrilla tactics, or street promotions.

You can use them to announce an event, showcase expertise, and even make money from sponsorships and advertising (in the case of magazines).

If you’re going to send direct mail to reach new audiences, there are ways to segment and target audiences with specific characteristics so that your message won’t be ignored.

Related:

• Guerrilla marketing – ultimate weapon if done right
• What is branding in business and how to build a brand
• Direct response marketing – all you need to know
• Direct Response Marketing vs Branding

Guerrilla Marketing

Here, the only limitation is our imagination. This type of marketing includes unconventional, unusual ways to market products. We use interruptive strategies to push our messages in front of random people and we try to keep the budget low.

These tactics are usually applied in public, crowded places to get the attention of the masses but they work on a low-volume scale and individually as well. 

The media in this section could be anything from flyers you leave in a bus station, under doors, inside of mailboxes, and any idea you can come up with. You can even share your business cards with strangers, buy someone a coffee, print messages in public toilets.

Or even create graffiti on the walls, ads on taxis, buses, public transportation, posters on the streets, at stations, airports, and all this crazy stuff.

Related:

• Guerrilla marketing – ultimate weapon if done right

Direct Response Marketing/Copywriting/Paid Advertising

Direct response is a marketing approach where we use messages and campaigns to motivate people to take some kind of action. 

Direct response marketing is about asking for a response from consumers in contrast to branding, where we communicate a brand’s values, beliefs, standards, and building its image over time.

You can pay for ads to drive traffic to your website and podcast pages. 

To make content and paid advertising work, you must create compelling ads that speak to the groups of people you’re targeting and also take into consideration the channel that is going to be used.

Copywriting is key here. Copywriting is about writing persuasive marketing messages, materials, and advertisements that motivate and propel people to take action.

You need to get people’s attention.

You need to trigger their emotions and help them justify their buying decisions with logic, examples, guarantees, and more.

One of the best ways to utilize copywriting is through emotional storytelling.

Also, copywriting will help you increase your conversion rates once visitors click on your ads and are redirected to your landing pages.

As a rule of thumb, try to ask requests from your listeners. Let them know the next step you want them to take. 

It might be reviewing your podcast, check out a webpage or offer, buy something. 

Related:

• Direct response marketing

Email Marketing

We use email marketing to nurture, retain, and delight our subscribers and customer base.

Email marketing goes hand in hand with paid advertising.

Once we drive traffic with paid ads, we need to convert some traffic into leads and potential customers. 

You can utilize email marketing to engage with your audience, answer questions, and give advice. Imagine email as a way to educating your prospects about your brand and about the benefits that they get if they purchase from you.

You can use email to conduct surveys, polls, and quizzes. You can collect those data and opinions in order to create your next big product or service. You can additionally send email messages to promote your new podcast episodes, or to announce the launch of a new membership section. You can advertise your products, and promote other companies’ products, or you can share any other marketing material like newsletters, big announcements, promos, coupons, discounts.

Related:

• WebMarketSupport services

Expensive Media

Mediums like direct response television (DRTV), billboards, and similar methods sometimes can make a difference.

You can create infomercials with a toll-free number people can call immediately or with a vanity URL that is easy to remember.

The length of the commercial plays a big role.

TV ads as all video ads provide a meaningful, enjoyable, and unique experience.

Billboards generate a high volume of impressions and views, but they are very costly, depending of course on various factors such as the city or area, other ads in the area, estimated traffic, the production cost, and the construction.

Of course, you want to use these tactics when you can easily afford it.

Related:

• Direct response marketing

Partnerships/Joint-Ventures

If done right, partnerships give you the leverage you can use to explode your visibility and growth.

When you become visible in the marketplace, your brand is a subject for discussion. And have in mind, that other brands and business owners are always on the hunt for partners and ventures to further expand their reach.

Again, proceed by first giving away stuff and sharing valuable content to serve their audience. 

You can easily advertise to their audience and vice versa.

Membership Programs

When you reach a certain point of popularity and your following is growing day by day, you can even expand on new things.

You can create a membership program with exclusive releases for your members on an ongoing basis for example.

People join membership programs for various reasons. They want to satisfy needs, master skills and subjects, they want to belong in tribes, clubs, and communities, and they want to be entertained.

Digital Products

At this point, you’re probably a podcasting expert. If not an expert, you are at least an advanced showman with vast experience.

You can teach other people to grow their following with podcasting.

Turn your knowledge into eBooks, online courses, and training material.

Let us help you with our private training workshops.

Coaching, Consulting, Masterminds

You can coach other people and do it in the form of groups or 1-on-1 sessions. The same philosophy with digital products applies except you are creating something bigger now.

You’re an expert or you can report on other people’s expertise.

Let me show you how we do that with our training workshops.

Live Events

Now that you gained popularity and trust, and you made some powerful connections it’s time to take your game to the next level.

There’s always the next level.

Gather guests that appeared on your show, influencers, and people you met on social media, forums, and communities. Excite your fans, followers,  subscribers, and listeners with an incredible experience.

Bring speakers and celebrities, other podcasters, and share inspiring stories, strategies, and your vision.

Live events are also a magnet for serious sponsorships and joint ventures.

Affiliates

Now that you have a track record and a series of products that already sell, you can utilize affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing can give you a push to your marketing efforts. With the help of affiliates, you can promote your podcast, your digital products, memberships, training, and live events. 

We can use ad networks as a medium, affiliate managers, or spot affiliates on our own.

This model has countless benefits for all the parties involved.

I got started online using this model and it quickly opened up a whole new world of opportunities.

Related:

• Affiliate marketing index (informational articles, how-to’s, guides, resources, networks, forums, and more)
• What is affiliate marketing
• Affiliate marketing history
• Affiliate marketing key benefits 
• Affiliate marketing pricing models
• Affiliate marketing statistics
• Marketing publishing mastery: training to help you master every aspect of this business model
• Advertising/Affiliate networks (AZ directory and overviews)

Epilogue

There you have it. A multitude of marketing and business strategies to hone your social voice, grow your podcast show, and explode your presence.

Take one step at a time, this guide is carefully structured to help you do just that.

Do you need help identifying and reaching out to your potential customers? Do you need help with your podcast show and marketing campaigns?

Schedule a free video-call interview to help us understand where you are at your business right now, your needs and goals, and we will give you a detailed analysis of how we work. Then, we’ll create the first campaign for you for free to prove we can get you results.

That’s it, another article has finished, here on Web Market Support. I’m waiting for your comments and thoughts. Till next time.