In 8 months, I grew my podcast to the top 1.5% of Podcasts in the world and over $100,000 in revenue..
Jason Allan Scott
Investing in & building 7-figure 1-person businesses | Sold companies on 3 continents | 2x Forbes featured | NeverBeABoss/NeverHaveABoss | Founder, Speaker
In 8 months, I grew my podcast to the top 1.5% of Podcasts in the world and over $100,000 in revenue..
It's not even the first show I have done this with, but I did start in 2015 with my first Podcast, The GuestListPodcast - and it did take me over 10 000 hours making, listening, producing, screaming, crying, calling, begging guests to be on my shows ( yes 34 different podcasts and multiple seasons) and hosting to find the blueprint.
But you don't have to go through that, as you subscribe to my newsletter, so here are my
Top 20 lessons for new podcasters:
1. Your first episode matters: No, not Episode 1 but the trailer.
Why?
Because new listeners STILL go back to your trailer when they hear about your show.
So make it something that will get them to like, subscribe and give you 5 stars right from day one!!
And more importantly, tell their friends about it.
2. You need people to hit play the first time.
You want subscribers. But the toughest part of the battle is getting people to click play for the first time.
And if they aren't hooked quickly, then they're probably gone.
That first play is so critical. Make that first episode..LEGENDARY FOR PERPETUITY!
3. We need shorter podcasts.
You don't need to assume your podcast should be 60 minutes.
Since it's so hard to get people to hit play the first time, making the investment of time smaller helps your case.
Sub-30 (perfect world you make it 27-minutes) shows are great.
The average US commute time is?52.2 minutes a day?commuting to and from work, so that's 2 episodes, that's DOUBLE THE LISTENING...THAT'S MATH_A_MAGIC
4. You can do a solo show.
You don't NEED to interview guests.
You don't NEED a cohost.
You can make a compelling show with just you, your research, and your story. In fact, these shows are easier to schedule, plan, and control the quality of. One of our clients does it and her show is pure fire - see here
5. Audio quality matters.
Of course, YOU should have a good mic.
But you need your guest audio to sound great too. And consistent volume matters.
Preferences:
External mic > corded headphones with a mic > computer microphone > Bluetooth headphones > headsets.
ALSO edit, edit, edit....EDIT!
If it takes 30min to record, it should take 2 hours to edit.
This is a SOUND investment, remember
6. Cut out everything that doesn't add value.
Even if you don't want a short show, aim to make your long show as short as possible.
Huh?
What I mean is, cut out anything that doesn't add value to the listener.
If you won't regret it being excluded later, cut it out today.
WHEN IN DOUBT...CUT IT OUT
7. Don't ask the guest to introduce themselves.
Unless your guest is an egomaniac, they're going to be modest. This doesn't help you, them, or the listener!
The listener wants to know WHY they should care. YOU should set that stage.
Brag about the guest so they don't have to. Check out the legendary intro of Tom Bilyeu here -
8. Script your intros.
Since you're going to introduce your guests, you might as well do it outside of the interview recording.
And if you're going to do that, you should script it to keep it tight.
Remember – you want every second to matter. - Listen to Caleb Parker do that in his intro -
9. Plan for ads from the beginning.
If you want this show to be sustainable, plan for ads from the beginning. It's a bummer when shows add a ton of ads later on, but if you've ALWAYS had ad spots, people just expect it.
Have an advert for your company in your show from episode 1, season 1
Promote your own shizzle!!
10. Get ahead of schedule.
The most stressful thing is feeling like you're constantly working under deadlines.
If you're doing a solo show, record a bunch of episodes before you begin publishing. If you're doing interviews, get ahead so that you're protected from cancelations.
11. Audi with Video shows doesn't build an audience.
In 2022 (and 2023) there is a TON of choice in audio with video and almost no organic discoverability.
Think of audio with video as a tool to deepen relationships with your existing audience...it doesn't build an audience (at least not for most). Audio only with some work from a good producer... does.
Think of the power of whisper, how intimate it is to have someone's voice in your ear, and think how horrible it feels to have someone yank out your earphones...
13. Hire an editor.
Whether you're doing audio only or video...hire a professional.
Not only will they do a better job in a fraction of the time, but now you have all that time back for outreach, research, planning, execution and promotion.
Like I always say, you don't need a podcast, you need A PODCAST COMPANY
14. Create transcripts.
These make a big difference for a lot of listeners – both in terms of accessibility and even listener preference.
I have a team, and I have A Podcast Company, but you could use Otto.Ai and then spend some time cleaning it up, I am told.
Transcripts make blogs and blogs are super helpful for website SEO!
16. Ask for Ratings and Reviews
A Squeaky wheel gets the oil!!
People will deny it, but I've always seen a spike in Apple Podcasts' chart position when I get an influx of ratings and reviews.
Not only does it help chart position, but it makes your show look more legit to potential guests and new listeners.
You may not judge a book by its cover, but people will judge your podcast by its reviews and 5-star ratings!!
17. Reach high from the beginning.
People will tell you to get "C-Level" guests so that you can get "B-Level" guests so that you can get "A-Level" guests.
That's bull--number 2.
Pitch enough "A-Level" guests that one says yes. That'll make the next A-Level guest easier (on and on).
18. Create a newsletter.
Like if somebody was ever to buy Kopus, they are not buying Kopus. They couldn’t care less. They spend a couple of million bucks on really good development, they could clone Kopus. They would be buying Kopus because of the customer list. That is the only tangible, valuable asset inside of my business, is my customers who are paying me for something awesome.
It’s the customer list, it is the big, big secret.
Does that make sense?
When EBay bought Skype for, I think it was like 4.2 billion dollars. EBay at the time was the biggest company in the world, why’d they spend that much money for Skype?
They literally could have cloned Skype in a weekend.
They did it because Skype had 420 million users at the time.
That was the asset they bought, the customer list.
Why did Zuckerberg buy Instagram? He could have cloned Instagram in 35 seconds right. He did because he wanted the customer list, the subscribers.
That is the only valuable, tangible asset in your business.
领英推荐
So until you own traffic, until you have your own list, you do not have a business. You can have promotions, and you can have some cash here and there, but until you have a list, you don’t have a business.
BUILD THE LIST!
Okay, so knowing that, our entire focus should be building a list, that should be it, that should the focus, that should be the thing we talk about, we think about, we eat, sleep, breath, drink, that should be the number one focal point.
Podcasting is great because it's a direct-to-listener relationship...but you're also totally blind to who your listeners are.
If you create a newsletter (even if you just share behind-the-scenes of your episodes) you'll build a powerful email list.
19. Cross-promote with other shows and be a guest and visa versa.
It's hard to grow a podcast.
HARD WORK, NOT HARD.
I have 21 ways to promote a podcast but if you don't hire me and my team to do it for you, you will have to do the hard work.
You won't have a problem promoting or being found, you will just have work to do!
So instead, you could hack this by being a guest on other podcasters' shows - as one of the few effective methods is cross-promoting with other shows.
Think of it like a tiny ad for another podcast instead of a product.
The hosts should promote your show to their audience and vice versa.
This is another one of the few growth tactics.
If you are able to be a guest on other podcasts (that actually have listeners) then some of those listeners will check out YOUR show.
You can even do a guest swap instead of a cross promo.
20. Monetise from episode 1!
I got 15min with the legend John Lee Dumas a million years ago and he gave me the best advice for my podcast, which changed the trajectory of my business life.
Monetize from episode 1!
I am gonna put some here, as a BONUS as you have read this far, by the way, this is in no particular order, and I am gonna name the laziest choices to make money -
If you are tired of reading, you can see a recent interview I did about making money from podcasts here with John Spencer Williams
Most people will tell you that the most popular way to monetize a podcast is through sponsors.
While sponsors are a great way to monetize, and they do make up a large percentage of most revenue made from podcasts, they are not always the best way to monetize based on your podcast and your goals.
It’s important to keep this in mind.
For me, the most obvious way to make money, proper money from a podcast should be through Online Courses
I launched my first online course,? in 2019, I think - see it here and yes, I was late to this party.
It was a huge success and I was quick to make more courses.
By that time my next podcast had grown a steady following and listenership, and we were spending a lot of time?engaging with our audience?via email, social media, and at in-person events with NotAnotherCryptoPodcast -
Through that engagement, we learned a lot about what our audience was struggling with, which is the most important thing you could ever know about your audience.
Like Y Combinator teaches you, you want to be close with your customers, to hear their pain so you can solve them!
By 2021 I realized that I was getting a lot of questions about how I?created my award-winning and money-making podcasts, how I got guests on the show, how I was?growing my audience and listenership…in multiple verticals from Property recruitment to Play Therapy.
The pain point our audience was telling us they had was this: they wanted to create, launch, grow, and monetize their own podcast, and they had no idea where to start.
So, after a lot of brainstorming and trial and error, we created the solution: The Perfect Podcast Process Tool, filled with video tutorials, templates, and resources to help you create, grow, and monetize your own podcast.
We added a team of experts to hold you accountable, make content from shows and share more tactics and tricks as we learn them.
So what is YOUR audience’s biggest pain point, and can you create the solution in the form of an online course and promote that on your podcast?
Sponsorships - some great lessons here by JLD
The biggest lessons we’ve learned about podcast sponsorships to date include:
There is no “one size fits all” for podcast sponsorships, and you will always run the risk of diluting your content when you place ads in the middle of it.
So again, it has to make sense for you and your business based on your goals.
Sponsorships also come in many different shapes and sizes, and not all sponsorships are equal. While there are “industry standards” for podcast sponsorships (how much you can and should charge based on the number of downloads you get), your agreement should be what YOU want it to be.
Not every ad deal has to follow the CPM (cost per mille) model. You can create an ad deal that follows CPA (cost per acquisition), or one that is a flat rate for a sponsorship package (including more than just the podcast ad).
Affiliates
First off, let’s talk about the difference between sponsorships and affiliates.
A sponsorship is when an individual or a company pays you a set amount of money to promote their product, service, or company to your audience.
An affiliate is when you promote a product, service, or company to your audience and you are then paid out a certain percent or dollar amount per transaction or customer acquisition.
We’ve been nurturing and growing affiliate relationships with several different partners for years, and to-date it’s proven to be a very successful income stream for us.
Wanna learn more about Affiliates, we just happen to produce the number one chart-topping podcast on Affiliate Marketing - listen to Lee-Ann Johnstone show here
PLEASE NOTE ALL THOSE 5-STAR REVIEWS ?????
So how do you become an affiliate?
Well, it starts with figuring out who – or what – you want to be an affiliate for. Make a list of the top companies you currently use yourself. This initial list should also be based on the products, services, software platforms, or companies you know your audience would benefit from.
A good rule when looking at potential affiliate relationships to pursue is to make sure you know, like, trust – and ideally use – the product, service, software platform, or company you want to team up with.
Some examples of the top affiliate relationships we have right now – and that we get paid a commission on every time we refer a new customer – include:
Again, your goal with the affiliate relationships you build should be to start with finding a product, service, software platform, or company you know, like, trust, and use.
Once you have your list, it’s time to reach out and ask to become an affiliate partner.
Good news for podcasters: there are some companies who offer affiliate programs that are perfect for you and your audience?regardless of your podcast topic.
A great example of one is Audible.
Podcast listeners clearly love consuming content audibly, which means they’d probably be interested in at least trying out a subscription to Audible: an audiobook library where you can download books in any genre and then listen to them on-the-go.
Crowdfunding
This isn’t your typical top way to monetize your podcast, but it has definitely been a successful income stream for me - check out what happened with the original NotAnotherCryptoPodcast and PYNK -
Coaching & Membership Masterminds
Coaching was one of the very first ways I monetized after launching the second season of my podcast.
Within a couple of months after launch, I had listeners reaching out to me asking if I offered private, one-on-one coaching to help individuals?create their own podcasts!
I had proved over 7 years, winning awards and helping others that I was an expert at podcasting – in fact, when I first launched The GuestList Podcast I already had worked on Radio and studied Radio Broadcasting.
But I am a lifelong learner so I consumed content online and in books, plus I invested in the best podcasters in the world to teach me. .plus I studied over 200 of the top podcasts for scripts and best practices.
So when these individuals reached out and asked me to be their coach so they could start their own profitable business podcast, I was more than ready to offer up my expertise.
Coaching might not be your thing, especially when it comes to private, one-on-one coaching. But you might also consider group coaching, or offering?something called a mastermind.
That’s the power of a mastermind: you’re providing a platform for your audience to come together and support one another.
No matter what type of journey you’re on – or your audience is on – knowing you’re not alone, and having like-minded people you can turn to for support: that is priceless.
Monetize Your Podcast Your Way
Now that you have the rundown on the top 5 ways we monetize our podcast, you hopefully have some ideas around how you can monetize your podcast.
There are several strategies I haven’t even touched on in this post that are viable options and very popular when it comes to how to monetize a podcast, like:
The list goes on, and again, this is your time to be creative, listen to your audience, and create the solution to their biggest problem.
We hope you’ll walk away from this post with some great ideas for how to start, grow and monetize a podcast, but also with the understanding that every podcast and every business is different.
Just because one of these ways works for us, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for you, too.
You have to figure out how to start, grow and monetize your podcast your way, and that starts with providing free, valuable, and consistent content to an audience who wants and needs it.
You’ve got this!
And if you get scared, I am but a DM away to help with a team of people ready to help!!
It will Take No Effort
It will take No Sacrifices
You Host, We Do Everything else and Deliver Quickly !!
Global Affiliate Marketing Strategist | Podcast Host | Inspiring Speaker & Educator | Championing Growth for Affiliate Programs Worldwide
2 年Great article and all of it true :) x
I help MDs & ecommerce directors scale their online sales.
2 年I'd say the GOAT of podcasts but I'm just about to start ?? ??
Creating the office of the future, today. Award winning Podcast Host of The Caleb Parker Show & Misfits Mindset
2 年Lots of value in here Jason Thank you ????