Are you wondering how to make money doing a podcast? It’s the question that’s on everyone’s mind, well…everyone who is thinking about starting a podcast for their business that is. You may have heard the term branded podcasting, it’s starting to sprout up faster than conspiracy theories on YouTube.
Branded podcasts are essentially sonic branding for your business but more importantly they are massive revenue generators. No seriously, massive.
When most people think about monetizing a podcast they imagine someone in their basement streaming on YouTube trying to be Joe Rogan but when it comes to branded podcasting, it’s all about the strategy. Creating a podcast for your business can build a runway for strategic relationships, client retention, client acquisition, thought leadership positioning, and even employee attraction. When done right, there is a mountain of money to be made from your podcast. It’s not always going to be about sponsors, in fact with branded podcasts it almost never is. It’s meant for your business, not to be a business. That’s the key difference.
The real question is why do you want to start a podcast? Not to get all Simon Sinecky but you really need to know where the goal post is before you start kicking the ball down the field. There are no wrong answers but producing a podcast to create strategic relationships with the people you want to do business with looks very different from a podcast aimed at creating cache and awareness in your industry. Before you go spending a ton of money on bad podcast equipment recommendations, and yes I have thoughts on that too, let’s really dig into why you want to do a podcast.
One of my favorite things to do is strategize podcast content ideas for businesses. If there was a game show that was like speed dating but it’s just me coming up with 3 ways a podcast can help any business in less than 10 minutes, I would win. I seriously love brainstorming branded podcast ideas and then laying the groundwork to implement them for my clients. You’ve got to get creative and after spending 20 years creating and promoting content for businesses large and small, I have a mountain of unique and effective ways of creating content that actually moves the needle.
If you are a business looking to start a podcast, the needle is revenue. Period.
There should be a direct correlation between your podcast and your bottom line. If not, it’s time to dock the boat and take a look at the hull. All worthy boats rise with the tide, but you better check for leaks first. Too many businesses start podcasts without a clear goal in mind. They get buried in production and forget all about strategy and what happens after the podcast. They focus on what the audience wants instead of defining the audience and focusing on the guests, which I would say are more important than the audience. Good content brings good audiences, you can’t have one without the other.
What happens before and after the podcast is far more important than what most people get lost in the sauce on. You are creating a runway and touchpoints to the people you want to work with, do business with, be seen with, be considered with. We gotta have a plan Captain or we will run to ground in no time at all. Sorry for all the boat references, I moved to Costa Rica last January and I am a little out of control with my boat life right now. Bear with me, por favor.
I digress, the point is your branded podcast can be done on a budget and when it’s done properly it will yield outstanding, long term, measurable results. Branded podcasts might be a term you have only just heard today but I promise you it is the future of marketing and media, mark my words.
There are three pillars to a branded podcast; strategy, production and amplification. If you have all of these in place you can guarantee a podcast that will be 1000000% worth the investment of time, energy and effort. You have my word on that, I have seen it work and it can work for you too.
