Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own.
We all have something that is our passion. Many podcasters find that speaking about their passion makes them more consistent.
Podcasting has some amazing benefits.
- Being seen as an expert
- Keeping your brand in front of customers
- Increasing sales of products or services
- Gain understanding of your market
- Increasing trust in the eyes of potential customers
- Reaching a global audience
Another word for “your passion” is niche. There is a power in all niches.
The Power of the Niche Explained
A niche comes along with tremendous power. If you have a podcast about triathlons, you have a captive audience interested in triathlons. If someone has a product relating to triathlons, they could advertise on radio, but only a tiny portion of those they advertise to will be interested in triathlons. If they advertise on your show, the entire audience is interested in triathlons. Where would you spend your advertising dollars in that case?
Your Content is King
If you've been involved with content creation for any length of time, I guarantee you've heard this phrase before. When you want your podcast to grow, you need to create amazing content.
The main idea of podcasting is to build relationships. If you create bad content they won't come back. If you don't have repeat listeners you have not created a relationship. Without a relationship there will be little money coming in.
What exactly makes for great content? It is content that speaks to you. It taps into your emotions. It will make you laugh or cry. When you are motivated to consume content, the motive is generally that it moves you. The content inspires you in some way. If you ever find yourself sitting in your car while you finish listening to a podcast, that is amazing content.
Podcasting allows you to have the same global reach as a huge network. If you create great content you are going to get great results. Listeners will find you and, best of all, they will listen to what you have created.
Great content creates trust. Trust means when you sell a product or service, people will buy. This is how you can make money podcasting–sell other services and products that relate to your show.
Don't get so caught up in your equipment that you forget to put some focus on your content.
Your Presentation is Queen
You probably have not heard this one too often. If your content is the king, your presentation is your queen. What constitutes presentation?
- The look and feel of your website
- The quality of your audio/video
- The flow of the content in your episodes
Most people don't understand why presentation is important for a podcaster. A sponsor's first impression of your website will inform their decision as to whether they send you a free product to review or not.
The biggest mistake podcasters make with their websites is they put too much on it. It gets difficult to find what you are looking for. Take a moment to consider your priorities and then make your home page fit those priorities.
Are you trying to capture email addresses? Some type of capture form needs to be made available. If you're trying to get RSS subscribers, be sure a link for that exists on your home page.
All podcasters are aware of the need for ID3 tags. I strongly suggest adding an image to that tagging process. ID3 Editor has a feature where it will add an image of your choice to your MP3 file. The importance of this isn't always immediately clear, but if your show is played on a media player the image shows up to let the user know what they are listening to.
The quality of your sound is also very important. People aren't as picky as you think, but if your show sounds like you are under water, they won't bother with listening to it. If you have two or more participants in your show, make sure your volume levels match. Levelator can help you fix that issue.
The flow of your content is a big part of your presentation. The time of your listeners is valuable and you need to respect that. When you do an episode on a certain topic, get to the point quickly. I once sat through 13 minutes of a show before they spent another 7 minutes on the actual topics. I had to listen to all sorts of irrelevant banter. Don't do that to your listeners.
More Episodes Equates to More Sales
Many of my clients have asked me about this topic. They have a 30 minute show weekly. Could it be that 3 episodes 10 minutes in length would be a better fit? Personally, I think it leads to more sales.
The more times your listener touches your brand the more often you can remind them of why they need to work with you. Put out more episodes and you increase the number of times your listener touches your brand.
Keep in mind that if you shorten the show you also need to shorten your promo segments as well.
Feed the Hungry Search Engines
It takes time to record and edit and release a podcast. To stay relevant to the search engines, release a blog post. This gives the search engines more content to consume. It helps people to find you as well.
It takes about an hour to put out a 15 minute podcast. A blog takes much less time to write. By approaching this in the manner I've described, you provide extra content for the search engines and extra content for your listeners. They remain connected to you. New visitors will find your show as well and hopefully give it a listen.
Turn Your Show Notes into a Book
Once you've put out about 6 months of podcast episodes, you can take your show notes and edit them into a book. You can use Google Docs to write this book. This can be turned into both an ebook and a physical book. Look at CreateSpace.com for more info.
If you are not very good at typing, you can have your book done via audio that you then transcribe at either Otter.ai or Rev.com.
Please understand that I am not saying your show notes make an instant book, but they give you an amazing head start on creating a book. You just have to compile the notes and then edit them so they turn into a book. Most of the work has already been done for you.
Hit the Speaker Circuit
As a podcaster, you will be seen as an expert in your niche. Take advantage of that. Market yourself so that people come to you to speak at conferences, school campuses, meetings, etc. This gives you a credit you can add to your website. In all cases, you get exposure. In some cases, you get paid.
When you hit the speaker circuit, you will see that money will start coming in. People will pay you to help them out.
The Personal Touch
As I've already stated, the main benefit of a podcast is building relationships. This relationship will help you figure out what products and services to offer your audience in the future.
Bob Baker is a music marketing guru. When he was writing his book, he pre-released it to people who wanted their name on the back cover. They also provided him with instant feedback. This approach works and it builds relationships.
Make sure to answer every email you receive, thank every comment, and appreciate every audience member. One podcast I listen to actually thanks their paid subscribers by name at the end of every episode. It works!
A well-known internet marketer proves the value of relationships twice a year when he releases his sought after product. Other marketers clamor to promote it. He held a contest to see who did the best job promoting the course. The guys who came in second had a mailing list 17 times larger than those who won, but those who won had stronger relationships. They were able to get through to their list and get them to buy.
Make Some Money
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a way to make commission sales online. When you sign up with a company, they give you a unique link that you use on your website and other marketing materials. They usually give you an online portal so you can see how you are doing.
When you use affiliate links in the United States, you need to make full disclosure of that fact. I put a disclaimer page on my website and I have a disclaimer on ever blog post. It essentially says “Some of the links in this article may result in me earning a small commission. Clicking these links and purchasing the products won't cost you anything extra.” It meets the legal requirements from the FTC.
Picking Products That Match Your Audience
If you hope to make money with affiliate marketing, the products you pick must match the audience.
If you do a podcast about music, being an affiliate for Guitar Center is a good idea, while being an affiliate for the yarn store probably is not. One exception is computer and mobile phone products. People who consume podcasts will have both of these items and will want some products that can help them with either or both.
How to Find Affiliate Programs
As you browse the web, look for links to affiliate programs. Some companies manage their own while others outsource.
The absolute best place to find affiliate programs is an affiliate marketplace. Some popular affiliate marketplaces are listed below.
The advantage to an affiliate marketplace is your commissions are pooled together. This helps because most programs have a minimum amount before they send you the money. By combing commissions for you, the marketplace makes it easier for you to get your money.
If you join the Amazon program, they have a special tool to generate unique links to the products you want to sell. It makes it very easy to sell products and earn commissions.
Pretty Links
If you opt for affiliate marketing, be sure to install the Pretty Links plugin on your site. It enables you to mask your links. It has a host of great features you will appreciate.
Mailing List
There is definitely money in the list. It has been estimated that you will earn $1 per month for every subscriber you have to your email list. Make it easy for your subscribers. Send out an email campaign based upon your RSS feed. People will appreciate receiving updates in this manner.
At Yogi's Podcast Network, we currently use MailerLite and an RSS campaign to update our subscribers on new podcast episodes as they get released.
One way to get people to sign up is to let them know that you offer bonus content. People will sign up and you will have an immediate way to get in touch with them.
Get to Work!
You've now learned what you have to do to turn your passion into a podcast. It is now time to take action. The best way to start is to create a plan that outlines the things you've learned above.
Steps to Getting Started
I recommend the following steps for getting started.
- Decide what your niche is going to be
- Look through the Apple Podcasts directory to find the podcasts in your niche
- See what their show graphics look like
- Pay attention to their show name
- Pay attention to what keywords they use in their show description
- Go to Google and research keywords that you can use on your own show
- Craft your show name based upon keywords in your niche
- Craft your show description based upon your keyword research
- Keep a list of keywords in a Google Sheet that you can use in your episode titles down the road
- Create your social media accounts and begin recruiting followers
- Determine what your first 3 episodes are going to be about
- Record your first 3 episodes
- Get registered with Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts
- Launch your show
- Market your show everywhere you can
Most of all, have fun! This is your passion turned into a podcast. Make sure you enjoy every minute of this very rewarding process.