The Rise and Rise of Podcasting - Should you jump on board?

It seems like everyone is hosting a podcast these days, and if you haven’t started your own podcast show yet, chances are you at least listen to others (my personal fave is Joe Rogan’s!).

Thanks to the tech we now have at our hands, almost anyone can set up their own podcast show, even those with very little technical skills. All you really need is a quiet room and something interesting to say on a regular basis!

Because of this, there are now approx 850,000 active podcasts (and around 30 million episodes!) in the world and whilst some of them are utterly awful, lots of them have gained huge audiences, caused businesses to explode and generated a fair bit of revenue for some.

"Dude, how did podcasting become so popular?"

MTV video jockey Adam Curry and software developer David Winer are credited with the invention of podcasting back in 2004 thanks to a programme they created called iPodder. This enabled them to automatically download internet radio broadcasts directly onto an iPod and….. the podcast was born.

According to Edison Research, the number of monthly podcast listeners in America almost doubled for five years after 2014, from around 39 million Americans to an estimated 90 million and it’s growing more and more every day.

The reason we love podcasts so much is because they perfectly fit into our busy lives. They give us the ability to dive into a HUGE range of topics without having to stop to watch a video or read. They’re perfect to listen to when you’re on your daily commute, at the gym, driving or anything else! They are convenient, and humans love convenience....

"Should I jump on the podcasting fun-bus?"

A podcast can be a great way for you to build your following. Also, humans have the attention span of a goldfish these days but around 80% of listeners will listen to most or all of a podcast show, compared to just 10 seconds with videos on Facebook.

So, if you do it right, a podcast could be one of the best things that happens to you and your business!

One of my favourite things about podcasts however, is how much social media content you can create from a single episode. Seriously check this out:

Let’s say you do a 30 min show and you video yourself doing it:

1. Chop the video into 3x 60-second teaser videos

2. Create 3x 30-second audiograms of the most important bits and post these onto your Instagram

3. Take quotes from the episode and post as normal text posts or turn into graphics

4. Write awesome social copy

5. Post the whole video of the podcast onto YouTube, and the audio episodes onto your website, Spotify and Apple Podcasts etc

With all of this in mind? Why wouldn’t you want to start a podcast?

But hold up!

Here are some things you need to consider before running out to buy your microphone:

1. Be mindful of your tone and pace – unless your podcast is a lullaby show, don’t speak in a monotonous voice or you’ll likely bore the hell out of people, even if you have quite interesting content.

2. Be consistent – whether you’re going to do a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly podcast, keep it consistent! (weekly is best, if you're serious about really building your show).

3. Choose your niche – Is the main aim of your podcast to be educational or purely entertaining? What are you an expert in? You audience wants to know what to expect from you and if they don’t, they’ll lose interest. Maintain a focus for your show.

4. Plan ahead – Don’t read everything from a script as you’ll sound too wooden and un-engaging. DO plan the theme of each show in advance and have an idea of what you’re going to say. This is to help you to avoid any rambling or going off on a complete tangent.

5. Be patient – Don’t expect a following overnight. This could take months and months of consistent episodes. Also, remember that this is something you’ll get better at with time.

"OK sounds great, but isn’t creating a podcast going to take forever?!"

Starting a podcast is a pretty big commitment (especially if you’re going to do it weekly), but apart from the actual prep and hosting of the show, you can pretty much outsource everything else, even down to finding guests for your shows!

Managing podcasts has become one of my favourite tasks as a VA. So much so, that I’ve even created a Podcast Management Package where I'll take care of everything for you, from the show notes, to the social media graphics!

So, if you think you’re ready to jump on board the podcasting bandwagon, I’ve got your back.