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Are you leveraging the power of podcasting to grow your agency? Whether through guest appearances on industry shows or hosting your own podcast, this medium offers unique opportunities to showcase expertise and connect with potential clients. However, while appearing on established podcasts can help spread your message, creating your own show ultimately provides greater control over brand messaging and client conversion.
For marketing agencies, podcasting has become an essential marketing tool that can drive significant conversions. Today's featured guest, a podcast expert, specializes in helping clients navigate the complex balance between audience value and revenue generation. She tackles crucial questions many business owners face in their podcasting journey: optimal timing for monetization, strategies for brand partnerships, and most importantly, maintaining focus on audience benefit. Her insights reveal how to build a podcast that not only generates revenue but also provides lasting value to listeners.
Traci DeForge is the founder and CEO of Produce Your Podcast, an award-winning podcast and marketing agency that is well-known for helping clients leverage their podcasts for revenue growth. She discusses the significant role podcasts play in driving revenue for business owners and consultants and shares her insights on best practices for pitching to get on podcasts, tips for being an effective podcast guest, and why the best call to action is leading people back to your own podcast.
In this episode, we'll discuss:
The easiest way to be a great podcast guest.
The importance of storytelling to capture your podcast audience.
AI-generated podcast content and it's limitations.
How to re-energize a stale podcast.
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As a professional who helps clients maximize their podcast opportunities, Traci emphasizes that while podcasts can be powerful platforms for business owners to share expertise and promote their ventures, success requires a strategic approach. The most critical step before pitching yourself as a guest, she insists, is to actually listen to the show you're targeting.
Nothing frustrates podcast hosts more than receiving pitches from people who clearly haven't invested time in understanding their show or audience. A potential guest can immediately stand out simply by demonstrating familiarity with the podcast's format, tone, listener base in their outreach, and more importantly, what value they can bring to that audience. Each show has its unique style and requirements, making a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective.
The rise of AI-generated mass outreach has only heightened the importance of personalization. Many people send automated messages with text easily identified as something drafted by AI to be sent to maybe hundreds of people. A personalized approach reflects genuine interest and sets you apart from the countless generic pitches that inundate podcast hosts daily while also establishing rapport. This initial investment of time and effort significantly increases your chances of securing a guest spot and creating valuable content for the show's audience.
Once you get in and are set to be a podcast guest, there are ways you can ensure you'll be a great guest who provides great value to the show while making sure you also drive business.
First, you want to be prepared for how a host usually runs their show. Ideally, Traci recommends you listen to a few episodes so you'll be familiar with the most important questions they ask and be prepared to answer in a thoughtful way.
At the same time, you want to make sure you can come across to the audience as someone who is sharing relevant information about yourself and your business without it becoming an entire infomercial about your business. In this regard, Traci also mentions the importance of having a good call to action. Don't list fifteen different ways people can get in touch with you, but rather one specific request that enables you to continue the conversation with your audience after they've consumed the podcast. Ideally, send people to listen to your own podcast, since there's no better way to grow a show than appearing as a guest on other shows and being exposed to an audience who's already consuming podcast content similar to what you share.
As a podcast guest, another good way to get the audience interested in what you do is to sprinkle some relevant stories throughout the conversation in a way that's not staged or phony. People like to hear stories, and if they're success stories this steps up a way for you to connect with someone's pain points or aspirations.
This is something that will also greatly help you as a podcast host. At its core, podcasting is about storytelling. Listeners are drawn to narratives that evoke emotions, inspire, and offer relatable experiences. The ability to weave personal stories into discussions creates a sense of intimacy and relatability.
Even if you don't consider yourself a natural storyteller, the key is to identify a few authentic stories that you feel comfortable sharing. This approach fosters a genuine connection with listeners who may be grappling with similar pain points or aspirations. When a host shares a success story, it not only provides hope but also establishes credibility, allowing listeners to envision themselves achieving similar outcomes.
Nowadays with AI it's possible for someone to just save a couple of interesting articles about a certain topic, have an AI read it while replicating their voice and tone, and then post it as a podcast episodes after adding their intro and outro music. That's how far the technology has come. However, Traci warns that although these tactics to get episodes out quickly with the least amount of effort can get you into the top of the funnel it'll never replace the trust you build by having an authentic conversation with a guest.
Listeners crave authenticity, and the fear remains that reliance on AI-generated content could lead to a robotic and impersonal experience. The podcasting community thrives on the unique perspectives and experiences that individuals bring, and it is this authenticity that sets successful podcasts apart.
The ability to engage in sincere conversations about your expertise and passion creates an environment where listeners can truly understand what it would be like to work with you. Unlike written blog posts or advertisements, a podcast allows for a more nuanced and dynamic exchange of ideas. The natural energy of a host's voice, along with their unique inflections and pauses, conveys emotions that text alone cannot replicate. This authenticity becomes a powerful vehicle for connection, enabling listeners to feel as if they are part of a shared journey.
As more creators enter the space, the challenge of standing out and reaching new audiences has intensified. The podcasting world is no longer just about producing quality content; it's equally about ensuring that content is accessible and easily found by potential listeners. This is why if you feel your show is in need of a boost Traci recommends digging into the discoverability, which refers to how easily listeners can find your podcast.
As a creator, you must consider how your content appears in search results and how it can be promoted across various platforms. The key elements which affects your podcast's appearance to new listeners goes from simple elements like its name and accompanying description, to how you're utilizing podcast platforms. One of the first steps in enhancing discoverability is conducting a thorough podcast audit.
A well-rounded audit should spend a significant amount of time analyzing the state of the podcast, including its format, production value, and how potential listeners are searching for content similar to what the podcast offers. This perspective shift can illuminate gaps in the podcast's visibility and provide a roadmap for improvement.
Once you've optimized your content, you could turn to surveying your audience to ensure the content you're putting out is the content they're interested in listening to. You can also look at the way you're putting out that content, paying attention to aspects like whether you should prioritize short-form content over long-form content and what are you doing on each side to convert listeners to the other.
The short answer is, yes. The question of when to monetize a podcast often creates anxiety among creators, particularly those with smaller audiences. However, Traci challenges the common assumption that successful monetization requires massive download numbers. Instead, she emphasizes the importance of strategic planning from the outset – understanding your content direction and identifying potential brand partnerships that align with your message.
The power of podcasting as a marketing tool is backed by compelling data: 73% of podcast listeners take action based on their favorite hosts' recommendations. This remarkable statistic highlights both the significant influence podcasters wield and their responsibility to their audience. Understanding this impact should guide creators to prioritize meaningful, high-quality content while strategically integrating promotional elements in ways that feel natural and valuable to listeners.
Traci's experience has shown that successful monetization is possible even for podcasts with seemingly limiting factors, such as niche subjects or geographic restrictions. She's witnessed effective pre-launch monetization strategies and profitable small podcasts, proving that audience size isn't the only path to success. The key lies in developing a comprehensive strategy that addresses both audience growth and monetization opportunities. In her view, the only real limitations are those imposed by outdated thinking about what makes a podcast commercially viable.
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