Prologue
How to Be an Influencer (and Make Money Doing It)
Whether you want to influence people with your podcast, make money with your podcast, or both, this issue of Big Podcast Insider is for you.
Basically, you need three things to make this work:
- A powerful message delivered in the right way.
- The right audience – not necessarily a big one (although that helps).
- The right deal.
I cover all three below, giving you examples of how to set everything up, so you can attract both the right listeners and high-value sponsors to your podcast.
Need help coming up with great episode ideas? Get 101 Podcast Episode Templates for only $.99 today!
Want to make your ads better, so people don't skip them? Have an idea on how to do this that you'd like to share? Join the conversation here.
Podcast Marketing
4000+ Subscribers in the last 9 weeks ...
I'm leading with this as it's the perfect example of how growth in podcasting works.
Slow (or somewhat slow, in this case) – one year to get 3000 subscribers ...
Then things "suddenly" take off as you get another 4000+ subscribers in just nine weeks.
I've seen growth curves happen like this in many different aspects of business, from income, to fame, to other types of "success." So as you read through this issue, consider that getting your house in order as far as sponsorships may take a minute, but once you do, when things blow up, they blow up big!
Some of the tips mentioned:
- Consistently remind people to subscribe. Like I'm doing with this link to the podcast subscribe page. :)
- Optimize your subscription page. For example, how this page gives you three options to subscribe, depending on how you listen to podcast. Feel free to steal this, by the way.
- Give people a reason to respond. This is advice for email subscribers, but also works for podcast subscribers. And the way you do this is by having multiple episodes available when people subscribe, so they can listen to more than one while they're still excited about you and immediately get into the habit of listening.
- Deliver surprise value. For podcasters. one of the best ways to do this is a "quickstart" episode that shows listeners how to get the most from your podcast.
- Be patient. Results don't happen overnight – you have to keep at this!
24 Perfect Moments to Use Email Signature Banners to Boost Your Podcast
Speaking of slow and steady growth for your podcast, as I've mentioned before, one of the best ways to do this is to use an email signature that attracts people to your podcast and gets them to listen.
You set it up once, which only takes about 10 minutes, and let it do its thing. And it's cheap – this email signature tool is only $9!
But if you want to take things to the next level, here are 24 Perfect Moments to Use Email Signature Banner to Boost Your Podcast.
Do it, even if you just use the built-in "signature" option on Gmail.
Podcasting Tools
Which Podcast Artwork Do You Like Best?
This free image voting tool that will engage your listeners, make them feel part of your podcast creation, and help you create podcast artwork that gets attention and attracts new listeners.
No more asking "Do you like A or B better?" This is an automated tool that handles everything for you. And it's free!
Podcast Humor
Do You Skip Podcast Commercials?
When you're a great host, people stick around for the commercials you deliver. This is why companies love advertising on podcasts.
I'll give you an example, so you can hear exactly how this works ... This episode of Build a Big Podcast has three mentions of remote recording software, Riverside, all of them fit seamlessly within the story and without the "trainwreck" delivery of most commercials.
What are your thoughts on skipping podcast ads and how can we make them better for listeners? Join the conversation here.
Podcast Monetization
Brand Deals 101
If you want to set up a brand deal for yourself (or your podcast), you can learn a lot from "influencers" on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
Two years ago, Lauren Flymen had only a handful of followers. Then she started posting short videos of herself as she learned how to jump rope.
Today, 1,100,000 people follow her. And not only does she have her own signature jump rope, she also has deals with multiple apparel companies.
The story of how (and why) she started is here.
Here's a feature from The Sun, which helped her grow her audience even more – this is an example of the "compound effect" mentioned above.
You probably know of people doing similar things.
But how do you take something from a hobby to making money with it?
What should you charge? Who should you contact? And what differentiates a good brand deal from a bad one?
Make Sponsors Come to You
Your job as a podcaster is to be a leader. When you do that, sponsors come to you. Beyond that, when potential sponsors know who you are from your podcast (and other content), they sell themselves on working with you. And you get more money for the same work.
This is an interesting thread on the subject. Read the comments, because that's where the info you need is.
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.