🎤 The Podcast Launch (Issue 86) July 22nd 2022

Prologue

Podcasters Don't Read

Podcasters don't read. At least that was the joke in this video.

But podcasters do read. You're here, right?

Still, for those that love audiobooks, the 101 Podcast Episode Templates audiobook is now available via Amazon and Audible.

But who wants to listen to "podcast templates"? Is that even a thing?

I hear you. So when you get this version, you'll get a free digital version to read, because the templates work better in print. But you'll also get some audio-only bonus content that I know you'll find helpful as far as growing your podcast and making more money with your podcasting skills, including bonus sections on:

How to get your podcast on broadcast radio.
How I book celebrity guests (sometimes via Twitter) and my "great guest" philosophy that you can use to help grow your podcast.

You'll also get the "play-by-play" of what I did to get on broadcast radio, with ideas you can copy for your own pitch. I literally take you in the room with me and run you through the pitching process and what you need to have in order to make radio programmers say "yes" to working with you and syndicating your podcast.

But maybe the best part, for those looking to make money using their podcasting skills now – I walk you through the audiobook production process, so you can do your own audiobooks or use your voiceover and recording skills to start a side business producing audiobooks for others.

Get it here. It's free with an Audible trial. :)

Podcaster Opportunities

3 Steps for a Big Podcast Launch (or Relaunch)

For the last few weeks, I've been working on Big Podcast Launch Planner, so I've been thinking a lot about the question, "How do you get people to pay attention to your podcast?"

This is one of the most frequently-asked questions I get. And it's a good question, so here's a three step process you can use to make your next launch (or relaunch) a successful one:

Connect with somebody who already has the same audience you want and has a relationship with that audience.
Share HOW TO USE what you’ve got in a very specific way, that shows understanding of that audience. In other words, for a podcast, HOW TO HAVE SUCCESS with what you're talking about on your podcast.
Double-down on that success, by getting people connected to you emotionally.

I go deeper into this three-part process on this episode of Build a Big Podcast using real-life examples of launches from two companies you've heard me mention a few times over the last couple of months, Riverside and Focusrite.

Podcast Marketing

Batch Creating Bonus Content for Podcast Episodes

I saw an interesting survey of podcasters on Reddit that asked how people are promoting their podcast episodes. Almost everybody talked about posting clips and bonus content via social media.

But what does this look like? Here's a plan to get 10 weeks of bonus content to help you consistently post on social media or use elsewhere ...

Find your top 10 podcast episodes
Write 5 social posts for each
Create a video, audio , or image asset for each – or use a clip of existing audio/video (Riverside has a built-in tool to do this.)
Schedule your content 5 days a week
Get 10 weeks of consistent posting on social media

More info on the plan is here. Be sure to look at the comments to see how people are modifying this plan and otherwise using it to promote their blogs and podcasts.

Podcast Production

Are Your Podcast Episodes Boring?

I've heard it said that the first rule of radio is "don't be boring."

You could say the same for podcasting.

If you want somebody to listen to your podcast, you have to be entertaining. And for most genres, it helps to be valuable in other ways as well, such as providing helpful information within your episodes. As mentioned above, one of the best things you can do to grow your podcast is for people to have success by using what they learn from you.

This sounds both easy and obvious, but most podcasters skip these "best practices" and do things like:

Copying what others are doing
Focusing too heavily on "search engines" and not enough on people
Creating episodes for people who don't exist – you need to focus on where your listeners are now
Trying to be "everywhere"
Focusing on quantity, not quality

And this is a problem – it actually repels listeners.

Do things the right way. Get the entire list here and start tweaking what you do to get better results from your marketing efforts.

Podcast Monetization

Steal These 10 "Newsletter" Monetization Tips

Newsletters are great to learn from as many offer both free and paid options.

Whether you want to have a "paid podcast" or just make money from packaging your content in a different way, such as a book, membership site, or seminar, you will find these ideas helpful.

Get the tips.