HOW TO GROW YOUR PODCAST WITH MARKETING

Your great content will only get you so far. You need to master marketing in order to succeed.

It’s not just marketing your business. You also need to grow your podcast with powerful marketing. It all works as a system.

I recently spoke with a few podcasters on the verge of throwing in the towel and ending their podcast. However, I’ve had a few conversations with other podcasters who are doubling down and going all in.

The difference between the two groups is marketing. To build a successful podcast, lean into your marketing.

THE ROI

The first podcaster, let’s call her Anne to protect her identity. She is frustrated by the perceived lack of return on investment.

Ann told me, “Although I love podcasting, I am not sure I can justify the investment of time and money for the ROI that I am receiving right now in leads and revenue. I am just not seeing that things will shift soon enough and I know it’s a long game. I haven’t decided yet if I am pausing the show or going to do seasons or how I am moving forward but I know I need to step back from everything and reevaluate.”

This is common in all podcasting.

There is an old saying in the advertising world. It is to marketing pioneer John Wanamaker. He is quoted as saying, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is I don’t know which half.”

Marketing is cumulative. Each piece add to the next.

Business owners want to believe if they run an ad on Facebook, it immediately generates a sale. That isn’t how marketing works.

THE SUM OF THE PARTS

Here is an example of how your marketing might work.

Your ideal client will hear you mentioned on another podcast. Awareness has begun.

She hears you interviewed on another podcast. Now she might think hmm, that brand sounds familiar.

When she next sees you on a summit, familiarity starts to set in. She might download your lead magnet.

Next she might see your logo as a sponsor of an event. That triggers memory of the lead magnet that she digs up to review.

Your lead magnet gets her to check out your podcast. She listens to a few episodes and starts to understand what you do.

Finally, she comes across your Facebook ad. She clicks the ad and takes action to schedule a call with you.

So, let me ask you this… Which piece of your marketing worked?

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It all builds on each other. Each part serves a purpose.

Your podcast allows you to build the relationship with your audience over time. When she is ready for your solution, you are top of mind.

It truly is a long game. You don’t become best friend with anyone overnight.

MARKETING FOR REVENUE

The next podcaster needed to focus on revenue. Let’s call him Bill.

Bill was a couple dozen episodes into his show. He was getting frustrated with the lack of growth.

When we talked, Bill told me, “I’m pausing everything right now to get other pieces in place. I need to focus on things that generate revenue. Right now, I have so many things swirling around that I’m not getting clear. I’m getting derailed and distracted.”

What Bill needs is a strategy. How does the podcast fit into the overall revenue generating strategy for his business?

“Build it and they will come” sounds great when Kevin Costner’s character hears it in the movie Field of Dreams. But the real world isn’t like that.

Growing your audience takes marketing. Not advertising, but marketing.

The Oxford Dictionary definition of marketing is, “the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.”

Advertising is part of marketing. But all marketing isn’t necessarily advertising.

Everything you do to make people aware of your product, service, podcast, or anything else is marketing.

When you mention your podcast from the stage, you are marketing. Mentioning the show in your newsletter is marketing. If you’re getting interviewed on another podcast and you mention your show, you’re marketing.

MARKETING FOR AWARENESS

To get your show to grow, start making people aware your podcast exists.

This doesn’t need to take a ton of time. Tie it in with everything you already do. If you speak, mention it. When you email, mention it. As you’re being interviewed, mention it. If you participate in a giveaway, mention it in your lead magnet.

Be intentional.

When you say, “I need to focus on things that generate revenue”, marketing is a big part of that.

Get in front of new prospects. Give those people something for free in exchange for their name and email address and get them on your email list.

Send emails to your list, and invite those people to listen to the podcast.

Create great content on your show that shows people what you do. Invite them to a sales conversation with you, such as a discovery call, webinar, or video sales letter.

Give great value in the sales conversation, and ask for the sale.

Rinse and repeat.

It’s a system that grows over time. Business is not a get rich quick game. Build relationships over time and get the flywheel turning.

Once you begin creating success stories for clients, highlight those success stories on your podcast as part of the system.

UNCERTAINTY

The third podcaster isn’t sure where he is going. Let’s call him Chris.

When he emailed me, he simply said, “I think it may be time to wrap up this project, but I’m not sure.”

This is natural. There are ebbs and flows in our journey.

When I begin working with a client, we spend time on their purpose. If you don’t have a strong “why”, it is difficult to get through these periods of self-doubt.

A strong purpose will help get you through the dark times when you’re not sure it’s all worth it.

It will also help to document your successes. When you receive positive email from your listeners, print them and put them in a folder. You can review them when you need that pick me up.

When great things happen or you help a client achieve big things, write it down. Add it to the folder. Revisit those successes when you need some motivation.

We all encounter times when we wonder if it is worth it and if it is time to pack it all up and call it a day. The great things you accomplish and the people you help will remind you how valuable you are.

GOOD ENOUGH

Now, let me show you a few examples of podcasters who pushed through the doubt wall.

I recently sent an email with the message of good is good enough when it’s done.

When you are working on your next big thing, perfection is your enemy.

You don’t have to get it perfect. You just have to get it going.

Take action, and get started.

Edwin sent me an email. Here is a bit of it.

“I will cross the threshold with the podcast. I wanted to have eight of them completed before launching. That was my perfectionist point of view.

I want to record podcast number seven. And the next week after that I’ll follow up yet number eight. And I will have finally crossed the dreaded podfade threshold.

Perfection is an illusion; things only get perfected as we put them out there and keep making small changes and improvements. And that’s what I’m doing with my podcast. Looking for those improvements to keep making it better and better.”

Edwin understands the value of pushing through. He understands the long game.

I love the way he sees his perfectionism getting in the way, and pushes through anyway.

That seven episode benchmark is important. Many podcasters fade away at that mile marker. The honeymoon is over. The shine has worn off. It is now time to produce the podcast for a bigger, more powerful reason than it’s fun.

This is the point where your purpose kicks in. Define your why and revisit it often. Then, get to work marketing your podcast. Get it to grow.

THE MARKETING PHASE

That’s where Charlie found himself when he reached out to me.

Charlie says, “I’m an expert producer but not expert podcaster. We do consistently 300 to 500 downloads per episode. Now is time to market it.”

Charlie gets it. He has done a great job building the foundation and creating the show. So far he has created about 36 episodes.

The party is right. The tables are set and the food is out. It is now time to invite the guests.

When your podcast is brand new, it is good that your audience is small. You only get one chance at a first impression.

A small audience allows you to mess up without hurting your downloads. You can try things without much consequence.

Over the first year, you can refine your content and find your voice. You have the chance to get the show right. Then, the marketing can kick in.

Charlie is ready for the next step. He has a solid foundation and has found his voice. He has tried a few things to get the podcast to grow. It is now time to create an effective marketing system to grow the audience.

Your show doesn’t grow on it’s own. It will take some effort on your part. Marketing doesn’t take a lot of time and money. When you have a marketing system, you can do it in about 15 to 30 minutes a day without spending money.

THE RELAUNCH

The last podcaster has gone through both sides of the journey. Dan has relaunched his podcast. It’s called Narrowing the Divide with Dan Woerheide.

When he emailed me, he said, “I paused a lot over the last 18 months. Much was self-inflicted. I’m now getting back on track and getting motivated. My purpose is to encourage and inspire others. I’m getting back into coaching. I feel connected in that space. My podcast will be one of the outreach efforts.”

Dan understands his purpose. After the evaluation of his situation, he understands how the podcast fits into the system.

Your podcast isn’t your system. It is part of the marketing system.

If we go back to our example at the beginning, we can understand the journey.

Your ideal client will hear you mentioned on another podcast. Awareness has begun.

She hears you interviewed on another podcast. Now she might think hmm, that brand sounds familiar.

When she next sees you on a summit, familiarity starts to set in. She might download your lead magnet.

Next she might see your logo as a sponsor of an event. That triggers memory of the lead magnet that she digs up to review.

Your lead magnet gets her to check out your podcast. She listens to a few episodes and starts to understand what you do.

Finally, she comes across your Facebook ad. She clicks the ad and takes action to schedule a call with you.

Which piece of your marketing worked?

THE LONG GAME

I was recently on Dan’s show. We talked a bit about that next step.

Define your why and your purpose. Create your long journey. Understand how your podcast fits into your marketing system.

Your podcast doesn’t stand alone. It is part of the machine.

What are your goals? How are you measuring success?

When you can define the measurable benchmarks, it is much easier to understand if you’re succeeding.

More downloads is a good benchmark. It isn’t great.

More discovery calls or more registrations for your webinar or increased email list would be better data. This will tell you if your marketing system is working.

All of the parts work together to grow your business. There isn’t one piece that can stand on its own.

Your podcast is designed to build relationships with your listeners. It builds the know, like and trust. And your podcast works hand in hand with all of the other pieces in your marketing system.

But none of it will work until you overcome the perfectionism, get started, and push through the valleys.

If you would like my help defining the process, let’s talk.

 

If you don’t have a mentor who can take your hand and walk you every step of the way, go to www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/apply, click the button and apply to have a chat with me. We will develop your plan and see how I can help and support you to achieve your podcast goals.