Starting a Podcast (or The Power of Podcasts)

Sometimes it seems like everyone has a podcast, and there is some truth to that. There are thousands of active podcasts posting content weekly on every major streaming platform. Celebrities, successful people, and pretty much everyone that thinks they have something to say are starting a podcast, and there are some good reasons for it!

Even though most of these podcasts are lacking in quality, they still reach people and those people tend to interact with the content. This audience is usually engaged in the content and hosts and this makes it easy to promote new services and products to them. 

Of course all of this is much easier said than done as creating a podcast and making it have a decent following is not something everyone can do, especially not without a guiding hand helping them out! So let’s see what we can learn about podcasts in this article!

A Bit More About Podcasts

Podcasts today are the modern evolution of radio shows. They got their first popularity in the days of the iPod, hence the name podcasts, but the real explosion happened with Joe Rogan. Like him or not, the JRE show singlehandedly showed people that podcasts are not just a trend, but a form of entertainment that fits perfectly in the modern age. 

In the beginning they were really hard to get going and not many people cared about them, but as they got more and more popular, people realized that there is a lot of value in having a successful podcast. 

The biggest one is having a huge audience that follows you around and is interested in what you have to say. To get to a spot like that you need to be an authority in your niche, interesting to listen to or bring in great guests.

Affiliates usually tend to make podcasts that talk about success in the industry, how to achieve certain things, and they promote their own offers, courses, and products through the same podcasts. 

Why Podcasts are Great for Affiliates

There are a lot of benefits to having a successful podcast. Here are some of the biggest ones!

• Audience Engagement

Podcasts are one of the best ways to engage with your audience. The long format is perfect if you want your audience to get to know you. They can learn about your company and understand who you are and what you stand for. With a good selection of topics, knowledge, and a fun approach, you can become an influencer! If you do things right, people will consider you as an authority for that niche!

With the right approach, you will quickly notice that people tend to interact more positively and convert more with any offers you have. This is the real power of podcasts, and it's the main reason they are so popular!

• Diversifying Content

Most affiliates do the same few things over their entire career. They talk about the same things, they use the same ways to interact with their audience and they promote the same things over and over again. 

A good podcast is your chance to change that for you. You can create a new and diverse platform for your audience and interact with them in a new way. 

• Long-Form Content 

Podcasts are long. Since they allow for a lot of information, you can use this to your advantage. Talk in detail about your topic. Show your audience various insights only you have. Interact with them and get to know them the same way they get to know you. 

The more you spend on creating a link between you, the better results you will get! It's the reason podcasts are so popular! You can’t beat a great connection to your audience!

An Example

Let’s say you promote copywriting courses. If you have a podcast that shows how your copywriting skills are above average, how you had success, and you show people that there are easy ways of improving, they are likely to think of you as an expert on the topic. 

They will likely be engaged with your content and they will want to ask you questions about certain writing topics, how to write better, what tools to use, and how to find jobs. 

This podcast could also help you spread the word even further as it's another way to spread the word except social media posts and word of mouth. And since your viewers are also now interested in the content, they are likely watching entire podcasts and learning more about who you are and what you know about the topic. 

Combining these together means that they will likely consider anything you promote on that topic as a good recommendation, and this can help you sell a lot more courses than you would otherwise.

Pros And Cons Of Starting A Podcast

Podcasts are not easy to make! Here are some of the things you should know before starting!

• Pros

• Higher Engagement

Engagement rates with podcasts are higher than unusual. Since you can create a unique link with your audience, you can also experience higher engagement rates!

If you become an influencer in your niche, there is a big chance that people will look up to you. If they do, then you will have a lot of influence on what they decide to inform themselves on. How they interact with content from this niche in general. And what they buy and convert on!

• Trust

If you have a podcast that focuses on a certain topic, then you are likely to become an authority on that subject. Once you get the trust and respect of your audience, they are likely to engage with anything about your post with ease. Keep in mind trust is earned and not required. If you scam your audience and trick them to do something just because you are an authority on the subject, you will lose that audience and they will react harshly to you. 

• Evergreen Content

A good podcast can be watched today or in 5 years, and the main ideas should still be relevant. Similar to videos on platforms like YouTube, all of your content has some chance to go viral at every point. If your content is good enough and posted on the right platforms, you can get views and revenues from it over months on end, so make sure to give your best at making the podcasts in the first place. 

• Trending

Podcasts are now trending. Everyone in every industry is at least considering making one, if they don’t already have it. Podcasts are trendy now and with this popularity comes a lot of people searching for the next big podcast that they can spend their time on. If you have the right content, this could be perfect for your business model. 

• Affordable Go Start

Unlike some other ways of marketing, podcasts require a low upfront investment. To start, you need a camera, a microphone (sometimes these can be found in a good laptop) and a computer. This is enough to start an amateur podcast. But for more professional podcasts, you will need to invest a bit more, though it's never as expensive as advertising the podcast itself. 

• Cons

• Time consuming

If you want to make anything decent, you will have to invest a lot of time into it. For podcasts, you need to learn how to talk, research your topics, and learn how to be interesting. Editing and sound mixing are also skills that could come in handy when uploading finished podcasts to the web. 

Researching should be your main focus. It's what determines your topics and your approach to them. The more time you spend researching, the more interesting and important the topics are to your audience!

• Engagement issues

If you have issues with reaching your target audience, then get ready for a lot of issues with engagement. An engaged audience can't be bought, you have to earn them through a quality podcast that they tune into by their own will. This is why, if you don’t manage to hit the sweet spot, you can have some issues. Audiences are likely to not respond well to your efforts and ignore whatever you have to say. Making your efforts just a waste of resources. 

• Hard to get an audience

There are hundreds of podcasts on the web, and the number is only growing with every day. The amount of competition means that it's hard getting new people to spend time listening to your unproven podcast, when there are so many that they are already listening to and enjoying. 

• Delayed Monetization

Unlike some other forms of advertising, with podcasts the results aren’t instant. The main goal is to get an audience that listens to you and likes what you have to say. Getting to that point can take a while. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

With podcasts there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Luckily there are things that you can avoid that are common issues with newcomers. 

• Not Defining Your Niche: When starting people often try to do a lot of things. This usually ends up being not great as they become good at some things, but not great at anything. Define your niche early and try to stick with it. 
  
  
• Pushing Products Early: A lot of affiliates push their products and services way too early. You should look for establishing a relationship first and building trust before you push anything to your audience. 
  
  
• Not Leveraging Your Existing Channels: To help you make this work, you should utilize everything you can. If you already have existing channels that work, make sure to promote your podcast through them!
• Not Collaborating With Others: Podcasts are perfect for inviting people and sharing experiences. Find experts in your niche and invite them to collaborate and grow together. 

Conclusion

Podcasts are a great way to grow if you have the right strategy and plan in place. As an affiliate you need to make a plan and follow though to make the most out of it. 

Podcasts are a cheap thing to get started, but making them work can require a lot of time and effort. And success is not guaranteed, no matter how hard you try! But there are things you can do to improve your chances. 

Have you thought of starting your own podcast? Did you go through it? How did it end up going? Share your experience with us in the comments below!