Prologue
Small Podcast > Big Podcast ... Sometimes
Everybody's talking about Chris Rock's live Netflix special. In it, he shares four ways to be famous:
- “Showing your ass.”
- Being infamous
- Being excellent
- Playing the victim
One of the downsides of the "connected" world we live in is that the baseline for any of these four things has become more extreme. To put it bluntly, you have to be more or do more than ever to stand out, because the competition for people's attention is tight.
But the good news about being in our "connected" world is that it's easier than ever to find people (or be found by people) who are just like you and will really benefit from what you're doing.
Is it a lot or people? Not always. But if you're looking to be well-known, respected, and "famous" within a certain group, I've never seen a situation where there isn't room for you to make that happen.
This is worth repeating ...
You only need to be known within a certain group to do well. For example, I worked with a guy who has a podcast about the bug extermination business that's never had more than 1000 downloads per episode. And he's making a very nice living from the clients it brings him.
But how do you make something similar happen for yourself?
A good first step is getting in the same room with people who are likely to be interested in what you're doing, then making personal connections with them. This gets you immediately connected to the people most likely to listen to your podcast, which is the foundation of what you need to build upon. You can learn about what they're looking for as well as personally deliver that very thing to them.
What you can do today to get started on this:
- Look for tightly-focused, in-person meetups in your area that you can attend.
- Connect with other podcasters and business owners who are in a similar position that you're in, and learn from each other.
- "Borrow" connection with the people you want to reach from those who are willing to share the stage with you, such as other podcasters.
This issue of Big Podcast Insider has thoughts on how to do all three.
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Podcaster Opportunities
$1,080,000+ via Podcast Interviews
Casey Hill has been a guest on hundreds of podcasts.
Anybody who has ever done guest booking, for themselves or others, knows this isn't as easy as it sounds.
According to Casey, the pitch is
A good pitch includes a compelling hook, a body section that builds authority, and a conclusion that offers specific, compelling topics you can speak on.
Something worth mentioning here is the 80/20 rule of podcast guesting. 80% of the results you get from being a guest on podcasts will come from 20% of the podcasts on which you appear.
Again ... Small > Big
Don't get caught up in busywork and let "podcast guesting" be a distraction from what's really important for growing your business and spreading your message.
Podcasting Q&A
Not the Same
I had a conversation earlier this week with a client who compared his podcast audience of 200,000 to "ten Madison Square Gardens."
That comparison is wrong. But that's good news for you.
Madison Square Garden holds 20,789 people. To attend an event there, each person has to:
- Buy a ticket.
- Physically get there at a certain time.
Both of these things take a lot more effort from somebody than what it takes to subscribe to a podcast.
To attend an event at Madison Square Garden, somebody has to have money, knowledge of the subway system (or other transit), and enough interest in the event to overcome last-minute "resistance" elements, such as rain, traffic, fear of COVID, etc.
This is why selling out Madison Square Garden is a big deal.
Let's flip this on its head ... What about that live event you did with just 20 people?
Just 20 people.
To do this, you had to have something interesting enough for somebody to spend money, schedule time, and overcome last-minute "resistance" elements, such as rain, traffic, fear of COVID, etc.
That's also a big deal.
As much as I love podcasting, when it comes to impact and gaining customers, I'd rather speak to an audience of 100 people night after night than have thousands of people listening to my podcast each week.
The good news is we can (and do) have both – I'm not telling you to ditch podcasting for live events. But I am telling you that even a small audience can be valuable when you have the right people there. Consider this next time you compare your numbers to those of another podcaster.
Not all audiences are equal.
Podcasting Events
RocknPod - March 18 in Nashville, TN
If you've got a music-related podcast, this is one you don't want to miss! A couple of years ago, I did a live broadcast with Dave Jr. from Megadeth and, last year, I did one with three of the "original" MTV VJs.
This year, over 70 music-related podcasts are exhibiting, doing interviews with guys from Mr. Big, Twisted Sister, Great White, Joan Jett, Alice Cooper, Exodus, and many more. There's also an entire stage dedicated to podcaster education on how to grow an audience, booking more (and bigger) guests, and podcast marketing.
I'll be doing a live taping of Music Business Radio talking about the good, bad, and ugly of reality television for musicians, including what it feels like to be on a national stage and have P. Diddy reject you!
If you're doing a music-related podcast, you want to be at RocknPod.
PodConf - April 29 in Portland, OR
Speaking of small ... PodConf is a one-day, intimate (around 125 people) event created for independent podcasters. The goal is to create a space for podcasters to learn from each other (as well as selected speakers) in an in-person and supportive environment.
PodConf is being organized by Pat Cheung, founder of PodInbox and host of Podcast Growth Hacks.
I love events that are this size. They're big enough to where you can meet a lot of great people, but small enough to where you can meet a lot of great people. First-year events are always a punt, but Pat is an established member of the podcasting community and, if you're close to Portland, I think attending PodConf is a no-brainer!
Podcast Humor
One More Podcast Can't Hurt!
A serious note about episode frequency ...
It's a common belief that, "if you want twice as many downloads, release twice as many episodes."
And it's true ... in some cases.
But a "download" doesn't mean that somebody actually listens. So be aware of this and be careful not to overwhelm your audience with too many episodes. When you do this, they'll over delete everything and not hear anything.
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The Wrap Up
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- Grow your podcast audience.
- Get people talking about your podcast.
- Make more money with your podcast.
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