The Podcast Why

We as podcasters, on the whole, underutilize LinkedIn as a marketing and connection tool. A majority of our time is spent on the other big three - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. So what are we missing? Why are we NOT living on LinkedIn like we do these other social media platforms? Could it be we just don't know about some best practices and new features? So what better way to learn how to use t...

This Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp incident on October 4, 2021 was more than a mild inconvenience. Or as Facebook internally called it "a snow day." As a podcaster, we hope you now see the urgency in creating a standalone website entirely separate from social media. If this downtime were to happen to Spotify or Apple, far too many podcasters would end up losing listeners. And even worse, reven...

Before you launch your podcast, so much of your time and energy will be spent getting the sound and feel just right. Choosing the right format. Researching the best publishing frequency and day of the week. You're doing all the podcast things you’re supposed to do in order to make a really great podcast. Soon the time will come to press publish, and you need a plan to promote the podcast. Here are...

September 2021 marks 5 years for Circle270Media Podcast Consultants. And what a 5 years it's been. I wanted to put together a quick "look back" for me, and for anyone else looking for advice, incentive, or insight, on how to march forward from working for someone else to working for yourself. What have I learned? Trust your gut instincts on when to start. Surround yourself with trusted people to h...

Success stories are always fun to talk about. My client, Yavitch & Palmer, Attorneys at Law, produces a weekly podcast, Lawyer Talk: Off The Record.  In September 2021, Steve Palmer, the host, will be recording and publishing the podcast’s 200th episode. What keeps this podcast going?  Well, I can tell you, it has seen it’s ups and downs since the first episode published in February...

A 5-Step "Podcast Guest Pitch" Process There are hundreds of little details to think about when pitching yourself as a podcast guest. But for now, focus on these basic elements: 1) Listen to a few episodes of a podcast before pitching. If a podcast isn't a good match for what you do, don't pitch it. If a podcast doesn't have guests, don't pitch it. 2) Check for a "guest submission" process before...

I occasionally like to go through podcast Facebook groups and save posts that have interesting questions. And then go back over time, say two, three, four weeks later, to see all the comments. And this post from a few months ago was asking the question, what was the worst advice given to you as a podcaster? The answers were really insightful and contradictory. I think a lot of it comes back down t...

One of your top priorities for your podcast is to increase your audience size. So at first glance, you may think that running Facebook Ads or organic posts would be a good marketing option to help increase your listening numbers and followers. After all, Facebook ads allow you to finely target your audience. And you can do it in a very cost-effective way. The point with this episode is not so much...

Let’s cover 3 different podcast marketing ideas that will work for you. Whether you’re just launching your podcast or simply want to increase your podcast followers and subscribers. 3 Podcast Marketing Ideas When you produce a podcast, focusing on specific marketing channels can significantly impact your podcast’s success. Here are 3 online marketing strategies that can increase your listeners and...

For years, the prevailing wisdom has been that your podcast name and episode titles are the biggest factors in helping listeners find your podcast. But, a good, detailed but not over-long description can help capture some of those relevant search terms? Well, maybe, kind-of, not always, but sometimes, but rarely, probably not. The truth is that’s pretty much never been the case for Apple Podcasts....

Apple doesn't publicly disclose a lot of information about how their podcast rankings work. And if you think about it, that makes sense. If they did, many podcasters (and marketers who sell to podcasters) would try to “game” the system, which would devalue the entire thing. Here’s what we instill in our podcast clients from the very start. Forget about Ratings and Rankings. Podcast reviews are wha...

If selling podcast sponsorships is not your thing, the power to make money from your podcast is in your control with these options. Affiliate Advertising This is where you direct your listeners to a company that you love using, by offering a link or special discount code. You earn a percentage of the sale for every sale the company gets from those who have used your link. Run these just like you w...

Podcasting may be the next step in brand building your personal brand beyond your blog.  Some days, it can seem impossible to reach your target market with just content, social media marketing, and advertising. You have a message that needs to get out there. And audio can help you do this faster.  Establishing yourself as a leading authority in your industry is an important goal. To do t...

How to Turn Your Blog Posts into Audio Podcasts (And Why You Should)   You might be thinking that starting a podcast isn’t right for your business. But that’s not the case. You can turn your own blog content into podcast episodes that your audience can listen to while they drive to work, while they’re walking, while they’re working out — pretty much any time, anywhere.  Why should you tu...

We’ve put these five strategies together to take your business podcast to the next level.  Podcasts are as important to content marketing and branding as a blog was a few years ago! So, if you thought podcasts were just a fun way to create content for your prospective customers….think again! It’s now become a vital way to do so. Podcasting for Businesses Podcasting is a great way to raise awa...

"Today, Brett Johnson helps us understand that making mistakes on your podcast is totally fine. You just have to learn from it and use the right tools and equipment to elevate your show." This episode was originally published on June 17, 2021. Podcasting is a MARATHON, not a sprint. Be patient, take action and apply yourself. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your business in the next 12...

While eMarketer forecasts time spent with radio to stay steady over the next several years, its projection for digital audio shows an increase of 20 minutes per day from 2019 to 2023, according to the research company's May 2021 report “US Time Spent with Media 2021.” The report also sees average time spent daily with podcasts more than doubling from 2019 to 2023. Digital audio – which includes al...

Starting multiple podcasts can be a great way for you to expand your podcast horizon. It gives you the freedom to explore new topics with new listeners. Audio has limitless possibilities. There are no gatekeepers to tell you what you can and can't put out there. This absolutely  can  be done. For the purposes of this episode, when I talk about multiple episodes, I am...

The biggest benefit of starting a guest focused podcast is that it can give you access to influencers and people who you personally look up to. You should always be bringing on guests your listeners will benefit from.  From there, make sure they have a story to tell or something to teach that your audience will benefit from are someone that you personally have an interest in talking to So kee...

There was a recent story published by Timber.fm’s Amanda Cupido about podcasting. Near the end of that piece, she interviews Gabe Bender, who is Google Podcast’s product lead. Bender hints to some big changes coming to Google Podcasts involving search and discovery.  He didn’t specifically say what is coming up, let’s take a look between the lines of what he said. Google will make features th...

How Do You Make a Business Podcast That Stands Out? Podcasting continues to be a growing medium. Every day, new shows are launched. And as of this recording, there are now well over 2,000,000 podcasts available in Apple Podcasts.  The motivations and ambitions of those who get into podcasting vary from person to person. But for those who put the time and work in, the rewards can be huge. Busi...

Chances are, more of your podcast listeners than you even realize care a great deal about proper grammar. Your podcast represents you, and how you speak. You want your podcast listeners to understand what you’re saying, to think you’re bright and competent. But your weak word choice might be raising eyebrows and red flags. With the incorrect word choice, people might not actually know what you’re...

We are always looking for opportunities to increase our listenership for our podcasts, aren't we? And I think we tend to forget to encourage our current listener base to be our advocates, to get other listeners, to get more listeners to your podcast. We've come up with eight small steps to help you support your podcast without spending a dime. Let’s talk about what podcasting can do for your busin...

Beyond optimizing your podcast episode title and description, consider creating a show summary on a blog or website and embedding the audio file within the page.  Google appreciates the added context and will rank websites and blogs that incorporate multimedia higher than those that don’t.  Transcribe episodes for the blog or to create additional content to promote the episode on social...

A small change with a big impact: no more “subscribe” as podcasting moves to “follow.” Apple Podcasts will no longer be using the word “subscribe” in a few weeks. The new wording will be in iOS 14.5, which should be released later this March. Listeners will be encouraged to “follow” their favorite podcasts instead. Apple, as usual with any changes they make in Apple Podcasts, will communicate with...