Considering a Podcast for Your Business? Here’s What you Need to Know

I used to have a podcast called Marketing with Walker & Grimm. I recorded it with my friend and colleague Marcus Grimm. We recorded 15 episodes of carefully planned, well produced content that we promoted through social media platforms and email.

Let me share what I learned to help you decide if a podcast is right for your business.

Podcasting projects thought leadership

“If he can talk about it for 35 minutes, he must be an expert!” It’s true.

Podcasting positions you as a thought leader and it makes you become one! Preparing 30 - 40 minutes of content on your topic area twice a month, forces you to think through issues in detail. And the format of podcasting gives you a platform for a very deep dive into the content. The result is that you position yourself as a thought leader.

Podcasting is video for introverts

Podcasts are much easier to produce than videos because there are fewer variables to control. With podcasts, there’s basically just sound. With video there is sound, lighting, location and the look and actions of the on-camera presenter.

Podcasts are also great for introverts who are uncomfortable on camera (me).

You won’t make money but you might expand your network

There are a number of ways to make money from podcasts but most rely on building a large audience. And I promise you, building a large audience is very hard. So for business owners, I recommend using podcasts to promote yourself, building your brand or gaining awareness for your business like you would with other marketing. Leave the sponsorships and affiliate marketing to Conan O’Brien.

But one benefit of podcasting is the way it can build your network as you make new connections with people. The way to do this is to ask people to be guests on your podcast to talk about their expertise. These can be your clients, prospective clients or even well-known figures in your industry. The reality is they want the exposure that your show brings. And they’ll promote the heck out of their appear on your show on their networks. And so your network grows as it starts to overlap with theirs.

Your audience will be small but it might be highly engaged

Recently I had someone stop me at a coffee shop and say, “Hey, are you John Walker? I listen to your podcast.”

Now let me put this paparazzi moment into perspective. The audience for Marketing with Walker and Grimm was very small. If we got fifty listeners to an episode, we were quite happy. But none of that mattered to him. He said he enjoyed what we covered and listened to quite a few shows. To him, I was an authority on marketing. Mission accomplished. Want my autograph?

As the postscript to this story, Marcus and I discontinued the podcast when we both switched jobs. Marcus started another podcast called The Revenue Stream which is excellent. And, together, we've turned Marketing with Walker & Grimm into a newsletter that continues to cover marketing topics.

This post was written by John Walker, Principal at J. Walker Marketing. Contact John directly to discuss your marketing challenges. John@JWalkerMktg.com.