5 Tips to a Successful Business Podcast

There’s no denying the fact that podcasting is an amazing tool in today’s marketing world and since its first launch as an audioblog in the 1980s, there is no looking back as it has come a long way now. Podcasting is an excellent medium through which you can get your voice heard on numerous subjects, including business. With great advances in the world of apps and technology there are more ways to efficient networking so podcasts are on the rise.

Starting a podcast is a piece of cake if you are looking forward to putting your journalism, expertise or opinions in an audio form. But the thing is, you need to put in extra effort in letting people know about your podcast and at the same time create a listener base. 

A research study by Edison Research managed to determine that the US Citizens spend about 1.7% 

of their entire time listening to a podcast. This gives room to the podcasters to discuss topics of mutual interest, and for many entrepreneurs it becomes a labor of love.

Here are 5 tips to a successful business podcast.

Launch with Full Force

Launch your podcast with a bang with more than two episodes at the beginning and a few more episodes every other week afterwards. Keep this pace for a few days or weeks. This strategy will help you generate your library later on, allowing listeners more new episodes to binge on, thus, increasing your downloads. Meticulous attention to detail will allow you to be in the limelight, consequently getting you more attention of renowned podcast players such as Google Play Music or iTunes. This attention can bag you a prominent position. You could be featured on their front sites, where potential and existing listeners can view interesting, new podcasts.

Encourage listeners to leave you a feedback, preferably in the form of ratings. Influence your listeners for rating on platforms like Google play or iTunes, where around 70 % of podcast

listening takes place, as per Nieman Lab. Getting a space on these pages can be a little tricky, but not impossible. A spot can benefit those who wait for your podcast.

Make your launch a happening event. Treat it special. Creating much abuzz can get you instant attention. Make use of your existing following, be it through a newsletter, social media, or any other platform, to reveal the podcast. Remind followers when the launch date gets closer, guiding them how to listen when it launches.

Get in Partnership with Other Podcasts

Connecting and networking with your competitors and contemporaries is very important when it comes to gaining potential new listeners. Get in contact with podcasters whom you think might add value to your business. Go ahead if there is a decent venture to partner up with. Make sure that you agree to mention your partner’s podcasts. Mentioning each other’s podcast will divert the existing and potential listeners to your program.

Collaborating with guest-stars on either podcasts is another good way of sharing potential listeners. It is always worth an effort to make new friends and new connections in your field. The support network that you create sustains your business. Remember, competition is important, but nothing beats having a strong bond.

Calling up Guest Stars

If you plan to invite guests on your show for interviews, make sure to get the most out of their presence. Make prior announcements or create promos about the forthcoming guests, and use their celebrity power to create more hype and attention about your upcoming episodes. Just a single post about the episode from their official/personal social media accounts has the capacity to bag tons of downloads, depending upon their fan following. This is an ideal way to improve traffic generation of your business. Remind your guests by sending out emails to them with the episode’s link, once it’s live. This will help them share it easily. Your guest’s fan following can become your potential audience if the listeners are highly engaged in your podcasts.

Post on Various Platforms

Hands down, Google Play and iTunes are widely used platforms to download podcasts, but don’t you underestimate the power of other famous platforms including, Overcast, SoundCloud, Pocket Casts and Stitcher. These podcast platforms are equally reliable and famous just as Google Play and iTunes. Lot of people around the world, especially podcast users make use of these apps to discover and explore new and exciting podcasts.

First things first, make your own RSS feed. Creating a podcast on platforms like iTunes will have you go through Podcast Connect; the step will let Apple acknowledge your submissions. But before the acknowledgement of submission process, you have to have an account on iTunes Store followed by an Apple ID.

Make sure that your podcast content is original and must not contain password protections, homophobic content, explicit language, or misogynistic, racist material. Similarly, you can’t promote profanity, graphic content or violence or illegal drugs. Just like iTunes, Google play music comes with similar set of restrictions.

Involve Your Audience

Building a name or leaving your mark as an attractive podcast with a network or community is key to retain and generate more listeners with time. A prominent name from Fire Nation, Kate Erickson, through her podcast Kate’s Take, thinks that it is very important to grow your audience by interacting with them and building a stronger community. Do your research or hire an authority marketing agency that will cement your position as a speaker and generate higher leads. 

Communicate with your fans to understand them better so that you can develop business products accordingly. Respond to their feedback. Your prompt and timely response will let the audience know that they are being heard and not condemned for their criticism.

There’s no magic wand that would help you build an audience for your podcast with a blink of an eye. You will have your share of ups and down in terms of growth, which could be slow initially. However, if you regularly come up with content, make sure to promote it and engage with the audience and you’ll see an exponential increase in podcasts, adding profits to your business.