…and we’re not just saying that because we’re prepping to launch our own podcast, Between the Coffee and Us.
Every entrepreneur, influencer, and small business owner who’s interested in growing a business, selling something, or sharing an idea should learn how to produce a podcast. The power of voice in marketing is on the rise and there are plenty of places to be heard:
Audio-first consumption is exploding like a 2-liter Diet Coke full of Mentos.
You know what this means right?
We Smell An Opportunityyyy
Gather round kids. We’re about to blow your minds with some trippy podcast stats:
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- 64% of Americans have heard of podcasts. And more Americans know what a podcast is than know who the Vice President is — only 40% of Americans can name the US VP.
- 44% of the US population has listened to a podcast before
- 12 million people listened to a podcast for the first time last year
- 26% of Americans listen to podcasts every month
- Monthly podcast listening among American women jumped 14% between 2017 and 2018
- Podcast fans listen to an average of 7 shows every week — up 40% from 2017
- 80% of podcast listeners hear all or most of each episode they consume
- 49% of podcasts are listened to at home
- 23% of podcasts are listened to in the car
- 69% of American podcast listeners primarily listen on a mobile device
Every single business owner/entrepreneur out there, we don’t care what you do or sell, should already have or be working on producing a podcast right now. Not because of the revenue opportunity, and boy is there a lot, but because of the marketing opportunity.
The Marketing Opportunityyyy
Y’all, there’s no other way to say it. It’s huge. The marketing opportunity with podcasting is huge. Gargantuan. Elephantine. Monumental. For example…
Let’s say somebody gets on one of the audio platforms we listed at the start of the post looking for advice on how to dominate Fortnite: Battle Royale — a super popular, super free to play, co-op survival video game that everyone and their Nana is playing right now.
And just for giggles, we’ll say you, your cousin and even your Nana play this game together practically every day. You freakin’ love it. It’s great for bonding. And better than all that bonding stuff, you’re good at Fortnite. You’re obsessed with it.
Good! Use that!
You’re talking about it all the time when you’re not playing anyway so you, your cousin and Nana decide that just for the heck of it, you’ll start recording yourself talking about Fortnite because it’s fun and you want to share your pro-tips and talk Fortnite with other players who love the game as much as you do.
All it takes is that one somebody who comes across your podcast that finds the conversation you’re having about Fortnite interesting and the tips that you’re giving away valuable and you’re in. So is Nana. No more bingo for her. She’s a go-to gaming expert now.
Thanks to the knowledge bombs you and Nana are dropping on the podcasts, you’ve got the opportunity to hook a listener who’s going to go tell all of their video game fanatic friends about your Fortnite podcast and before you know it you’ve got a couple thousand listeners.
You have your own community of gamers/podcast listeners. People are watching you play on Twitch now (which is another post for another day). And then you start earning revenue from talking about/playing Fortnite with your Nana every Thursday – Sunday night.
What is this life?!
Freaking awesome is the answer.
The Revenue Opportunityyyy
In addition to the marketing opportunity podcasting presents there’s also a substantial revenue opportunity that can come with producing a quality podcast.
Popular podcasts can get some sick ad offers but podcasting also opens up the door to diversify revenue beyond just advertising. We’re talking merch, subscription services, partners.
The revenue earning potential for voice is insane right now.
How’s that even possible?
It’s where all the people are. It’s because podcasting is on track to replace talk and satellite radio in 2018!
Podcasting revenue exploded 85% between 2016 and 2017. Big brands and advertisers are going where the listeners are and it’s not radio anymore — its podcasts.
Marketers and advertisers know that by sponsoring/getting their ads on podcasts, they can reach people who skip ads elsewhere who they can no longer reach via more “traditional formats” like radio and television.
And if you’re lucky enough to get your foot in the door on a video game sensation like Fortnite, dude, just think of all the possibilities.
We Ain’t Stupid
Since the start of 2018 Z Coast Media has had a podcast in the works. It’s not going to be about Fortnite because even though it’s an awesome game, it’s not what our business is about and it’s not something we want to talk about on a podcast.
That’s rule number one for creating your podcast. Talk about what you’re passionate about. People can tell when you’re faking it and if you or Nana are feigning your interest in Fortnite just because you know it’s a popular thing to talk about right now.
Don’t taint Nana’s image like that. You’re better than that. But moving on…
This is where we’re at with our own podcast:
- We have a name: Between the Coffee and Us
- We’ve picked a format: We want to do “8 episode seasons” where each season has a theme and each episode covers a topic related to that theme
- We’ve got gear: We’ve got our mics, recording, and editing software and we’ve started experimenting and recording trial episodes because we’ve never done a podcast before
After another test run or two, we’re going to record all 8 episodes of season 1 of the podcast and release it. We’ll let you know when we’re getting close. Until then we’re just gonna keep documenting the journey and what we’re learning along the way.
You can do this too. You don’t have to be an expert to start podcasting. Nobody starts out being an expert in anything. Everyone has to start somewhere.
Experts are born when people are willing to take risks and open up their mind to learn more and more every single day.
The only way you’re going to be found/considered an expert in your field is by figuring out where people are looking and then building your castle there.
And if podcasts are where people are looking/listening?
We’d all be stupid to ignore it.
Xx Paige & Nick xX
Stats courtesy of Convince and Convert; and Podcast Insights
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