3 Unexpected Benefits of Starting a Podcast

Starting the Passion Business Podcast has been the best thing I’ve done for my coaching business in a long time.

I discovered podcasts as a fabulous medium for inspiration, learning and entertainment quite some time ago, while sewing meters and meters of ruffles for flamenco costumes (if you’ve ever tried you know you can’t watch videos or read anything while sewing :-).

You can listen to podcasts everywhere, and the sense of really getting to know the people you’re listening to is only rivalled by video.

At some point there was the thought of starting my own podcast.

With it came questions and doubts though ..

• Will it take up too much time?
• How will it benefit my business or is it just “another thing to do” ?
• What would I even talk about, and
• Who would want to listen to it?

Then I listened to an episode of the The Sales Gorilla Podcast (one of my favourites) and the idea that inviting people to an interview or to be a guest on a podcast is a great way of opening up a conversation with people you wouldn’t normally get to speak to really resonated with me.

What if it wasn’t just about the listeners? What if ..

.. The Gold Is In The Guests

That’s when I knew I was going to launch a podcast and started researching and planning.

Soon after I asked in a Facebook group who’d be up for being a guest on my yet to be launched podcast. The next day I had 4 interviews booked and the Passion Business Podcast turned into a real thing.

At the time of writing I have 17 guest episodes recorded and I love everything about it. 

Yes, it’s because I love talking to people and because I’m a geek who loves the tech side of things. But it isn’t just fun, it’s ..

.. Great For Business

The benefit most people (including me) initally think of when they consider having a podcast is to build or reach an audience. And yes, I’ve had people leaving comments telling me they enjoy the podcast, I had people reach out to talk about working together. Yes, your guests will share their episode with their network so new people hear about you from a trusted source. But having guests on the podcast has also been incredibly helpful with ..

Building a Network

A podcast interview (or how I like to call my episodes, a “casual conversation with a wee bit of structure”) is quite an intimate conversation. In the case of my podcast we talk about the guest’s life and journey, what brought them to where they’re now and where they’re headed. That creates so much more connection than the usual interactions on social media. As a result, if you’re for example looking to get a new website, if you’re looking to publish your book, if you need some support with Pinterest or LinkedIn etc. I know who to send you to .. and your guests also know who to refer to you.

You’re in each other’s world now and the doors are wide open for referrals, collaborations, client relationships.

Market Research

When you first start out or change focus you have an idea of who you’d love to work with and what you’d love to offer to them. The thing is, there is only one way to find out whether that’s something people are actually interested in .. talk to these people.

If you’ve tried

• emailing your list if you have one
• surveys
• your own facebook group
• research interviews, etc.

you know it’s not easy to get people to 1. respond and 2. to open up to you about what they’re struggling with.

The good news is, people LOVE to be on podcasts. If you plan your podcast in a way that your guests are the people you’d love to find out more about you’ll find you’ll get extremely valuable insights about what’s on their mind, what they want and what might get in the way, in a totally non-creepy way.

Content Inspiration

Apart from the actual podcast episodes (which you can upload to youtube or transcribe to create a written version) you’ll find the conversations with your guests and the comments from listeners give you a never ending stream of ideas for the content you create online. No more staring at a blank screen wondering what to talk about, and whether anybody out there would be interested in hearing what you’ve got to say.   

Bottom line ..

A podcast can be an amazing catalyst for relationships and conversation – the heart of any business.