Prologue
A Cat Named Roo - Part 2
Roo is back! And on steroids. Both his front legs have been shaved at the top for an IV (fluids for dehydration), so he looks like he's wearing UGG boots.
Or as T-Pain would say, "tha boots with tha furrrrrrr."
In the previous issue of this newsletter, I asked the question, "What does a sick cat have to do with podcasting?" and talked about how we work with the information (and skill level) we have at the time, but once we know better (and are better), we're able to do better.
That's what gets us where we want to go.
Unfortunately, it's easy to coast based on past effort, kick back, and be comfortable. And when we do branch out, it's easy to return to what's comfortable when "the new plan" gets tough.
You see this all the time when a singer leaves a band to go solo, only to return for a "reunion" when his solo stuff doesn't do well. Or when a criminal goes legit, only to return to the "easy money" of his criminal ways.
I'm not making judgment on this – I've been there. But my situation, as far as business, was sitting around living off royalties from past work and doing nothing to move forward, even though those royalty checks were getting smaller with every passing month.
You can do this for a while. My run lasted about seven years.
This may be where you are with your podcast. You started out great, with a good buzz around you, but now things are stale. You know you need to change what you're doing, but it's easier to show up and "phone it in" when it comes to new episodes and everything else.
Roo is feeling better. The IV hydration worked. The B12 shots worked. He's running around the house, purring, eating, and feeling well.
And if you saw him, you'd think everything is OK.
But there is still work to do – more steroids, more B12 shots, and additional medication, all of which has to be administered by either syringe or pill.
Have you ever tried to get a cat to swallow a pill? You basically have to wrap him up in a towel, like a burrito, pry his mouth open, somehow get a pill between his teeth as he's trying to bite you, and hope he doesn't spit it out and that you have to do the whole process over again.
It's a bitch. But if you want your cat to live, you've got to do it.
The same is true for your podcast. If you want your podcast to live, you've got to do the work that it takes to create great episodes and get people to them.
In this issue of Big Podcast Insider, I talk about "content creation" options from non-podcast media that can be used both on this media (YouTube, TikTok, etc.) as well as translated to your podcast itself.
Almost nobody is doing this. But if you do, you'll have a huge leg-up on the competition and get the listeners you and your message deserve.
Keep going! And if you need help, reach out to me.
Podcaster Opportunities

5 YouTube Trends Podcasters Shouldn't Ignore
If you've read my book, you know that I prefer audio to video and advise against putting the majority of podcasts on YouTube, especially if all you've got is just a "talking head" Zoom-style video.
"Theater of the mind" is far more powerful. Plus, audio is far easier to access than video.
Still, there are some trends happening on YouTube that even audio-only podcasters need to be aware of. And if you do create video, YouTube is a powerful tool that will allow you create additional content that boosts what you're doing with your audio-only podcast.
Podcast Marketing

Best Brands on TikTok: 12 Examples To Inspire Your Content Strategy
This will blow your mind:
- On average, users open the TikTok app 8 times per day.
- The top 50 TikTok influencers have more followers than 16% of the world’s population.
- Netflix posts about three TikTok videos a day and gains an average of one million followers each month.
There's a lot that podcasters can learn about how "big brands" are marketing themselves online as well as how to create effective, short-form content.
Even if you're not on TikTok, this is worth a look, because you can use the same techniques top creators are using there to create great podcast-related content that attracts new listeners and engages current ones. The best brands on TikTok might surprise you. Take a look at the specific strategies brands like Marc Jacobs and P&G are using to dominate TikTok in 2021.

17 Types of Video Content That People Actually Watch
85% of consumers want to see more video content from brands. Note that this doesn't include "talking head" Zoom video – you're going to have to do better than that if you want to attract new people to what you're doing.
Here are some ideas you can try on video (or transpose to your audio-only podcast):
- Vlog / Diary
- Q&A
- How-to / Tutorials
- Product Review
- Testimonial
- User-Generated Content
- Contests / Giveaways
- Personalized Listener Messages
My suggestion – try it on both video and audio. Both will strengthen the main content you release on your audio-only podcast, if done right.
Podcast Monetization

Get More Money for Your Podcast Ads with this "Instagram Trick"
If you have ads on your podcast, keep reading...
You can get more money per ad by offering additional points of contact with listeners of your podcast, such as a mention in a newsletter like this one or something like one of the 28 Instagram Stories ideas mentioned in this article.
Don't have a newsletter? Use this to start one.
Want a free plug for your podcast's Instagram account? Send me your studio photo and I'll link you on the Big Podcast Instagram and our other social media accounts.
The Business of Podcasting

5 Ways to Copy a Successful Podcast (and Still Be Original)
People reach out to me for one of three reasons:
- To get more listeners for a podcast.
- To better spread a message via a podcast.
- To make more money podcasting.
One of the most common problems I see is people copying something that has already been done. And when that happens, you can understand why they'd have a lack of listeners, attention, or money, because it's just as easy to listen to an "original" podcast as it is a knockoff.
Don't let this happen to you.
This article will give you some ideas about how to take the ideas you like from successful podcasts and make them work for you and your podcast, without coming off like a cheap knockoff.
The Wrap Up
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My goal is to better empower podcasters to be more successful spreading their messages and make more money with their podcasts.
I'd love it if you'll help me spread the word about this newsletter by sending your podcasting friends to bigpodcast.com/newsletter.