By now, you’ve probably heard the news…
podcasting is taking off like a rocket ship!
As an online entrepreneur, you have a tremendous opportunity to leverage this platform to get your content, your brand and your marketing message out to a wider audience.
There are four primary reasons podcasting is making such a huge resurgence, but before I get to those, let’s take a quick look at how podcasting stands up to a couple of the largest tried and true platforms.
First let’s examine blogging. By some estimates, there are 450 million English language blogs, with a new one being started somewhere in the world every half second…so no matter what your niche is in the blogging space, it’s already saturated with hundreds and maybe even thousands of other bloggers writing about the same topic.
Maybe you have thought about putting videos on YouTube to attract leads. But consider this: a whopping 4 million hours of new video content a month is going on YouTube!
In contrast, there are only around 225,000 active podcasts…and, many of them have not been updated in months, many have poor quality content and for many of them, the audio is subpar. So in reality there is even less competition.
But, there is also a mistaken impression floating around out there that you can launch a podcast, get tens of thousands of downloads nearly overnight and make gobs of money from sponsors and selling your products. That is patently false.
Like anything else, making a quality product or service takes time and effort; producing, hosting and promoting a podcast is no different.
[Tweet “Making a quality product takes time and effort; producing and hosting a #podcast is no different.”]
Lots of people rushing to get their podcasts launched and into iTunes will start off with a bang, but many of them will likely lose interest as they realize podcasting is going to take consistent effort, both in production and in getting and staying visible.
That happens to be great news for online entrepreneurs who have persistence, staying power and the ability to produce a high-quality show.
So now let’s take a look at those four big reasons demand for podcasting is building and why you should start a podcast now:
1) Rise of the Smartphone
There are now over 1 billion smartphones in use and if you’re like me, you take this little device everywhere you go.
So as a podcaster, you can go with your audience…on a flight across the country, on a road trip, to the gym, while they are folding clothes or doing the laundry, while going out for a walk, and yes, you can even get into the shower with your listeners via waterproof speakers!
2) For Their Ears Only
Podcasting, unlike video, is an ‘ears only’ medium, meaning of course that people do not have to be sitting in front of their computers to consume your content.
You will build a faster, stronger, firmer relationship with people more quickly, because they are listening to you…to your voice directly in their ears. It’s never been easier to develop your unique ‘voice’ and authentically inject your personality into your business.
And unlike a website or even your blog, where visitor ‘bounce rates’ are likely to be measured in seconds or at best under a couple of minutes, your audience will have no difficulty listening to you for half and hour or even an hour or more when you are engaging them on a topic they enjoy.
Take Dan Carlin’s extremely popular Hardcore History podcast, released every couple of months, where episodes can last for two or even three hours or more! This is completely unheard of in the blogging world, where time on your blog is measured in a few minutes if you are lucky and a few seconds for most.
3) Access to Experts
You are also going to also find it easy to gain access to experts in your niche by inviting them to be a guest on your podcast.
This gets you exposure to their audience when they tell others about being on your show. You also get what I call the ‘Larry King’ effect otherwise known as becoming an expert by association, which I took advantage of in the dozen plus telesummits I produced and hosted over the last decade.
4) Content on Demand
Finally, your audience is going to have access to you 24 hours a day, when THEY want to listen, not when some commercial radio station says they have to.
The popular Stitcher app is going into many American car models this fall and into 2015 plus Apple is getting into the game as well by adding Car Play, allowing drivers voice access to all their apps. Soon, dialing up a podcast will be as easy as tuning your car radio to your favorite station!
So it’s no surprise that Denise and I are busy planning and producing a podcast for The Future of Ink and we are putting together a live, in-person intensive experience where you can learn podcasting in a beautiful environment guided by experienced leaders and surrounded by like minded colleagues…
The Future of Ink’s Podcasting Summer Camp at beautiful Serenbe Farms just south of Atlanta this August…
Denise was in the ‘first wave’ of podcasters back in 2006, and she’s been doing her Adventures in Visibility Hangouts for over a year…
plus, I’ve had a decade of experience producing and hosting over a dozen telesummits where I’ve interviewed hundreds of the most well-known names in marketing and self-development, including Dr. Joe Vitale, Mark Joyner, Lynne McTaggart, Andrea J. Lee, Dr. Jean Houston and many others, and…
we are also excited to announce we’ve added veteran podcaster, audio engineer and WordPress Expert MaAnna Stephenson to our team! She will be at the retreat and stands willing and able to help each Camper get up and running with their podcast…
Plus, you’ll walk away with a custom podcasting strategic marketing and promotional plan specifically crafted for YOUR business…
not to mention the opportunity to make lifelong friends…
so if you are an online entrepreneur who is intrigued by podcasting and wants to learn in a beautiful, immersive environment…
please consider joining us for this limited attendance retreat! Just click here to get all the details.
On demand content is a biggie Ellen. Thanks!
You are most welcome Ryan! Love how you are pointing out the difference between ‘content’ and ‘on demand’ content. Totally agree…