Podcasting and Business: Tips for Success and Standing Out Amongst the Crowd
BY ASHLEY POWERS
You’ve probably heard the word “podcast” a million times. Your friends are discussing the latest episode of their favorite true-crime podcast. You see people at the gym listening to podcasts in lieu of music. There’s a high chance someone you know sends you weekly invites to listen to their podcast. Contrarily, if you’ve never heard the word, you are not alone. I recently saw a flier for an entire seminar about podcasts, “how to find them, download, and listen to them.” However, avid podcast listeners and podcast newbies have one thing in common—they’ve likely never considered turning podcasting into a business.
My fiance Benjamin Guilbault and I started a podcast three years ago, called Let’s Go to the Movies with Ben and Ashley. We were podcast lovers and recent graduates of an arts conservatory. We were tired of watching the same things over and over so, in an effort to encourage us to watch new movies, we started LGTTM just for fun and our friends love it. We never dreamed we could turn it into something that could open up opportunities or even make us money.
Since March 2018, I’ve been co-hosting a different podcast with my friend Caroline King (sound designed by Benjamin). With her great idea and our experience in podcasting we started Bitch Beer. In terms of popularity and audience growth, the difference between Bitch Beer and LGTTM is night and day. BB currently has over 5,000 listens and over 1k followers on Instagram. We’ve been asked to judge a chili competition at a local brewery, attend media events to sample new beers before the public has, and host a business panel at an absolutely massive women’s beer fest. LGTTM has been around for three years and we average roughly fifty listens per episode, our Instagram is a ghost town, and we have, sadly, never been asked to judge anything. Don’t get me wrong. Let’s Go to the Movies is a blast to make and I love having a creative outlet with my significant other but it’s a hobby. We approached Bitch Beer as a business and treat it as such. I’ve listed some helpful tips that we learned and continue to use in the hopes that you can turn your great idea into a business.
Have an Idea
Bitch Beer came to be through just that—a good idea. Caroline came to Benjamin and I in January 2018 with a subject that had been eating at her, women in beer. She, like many women, felt there wasn’t a place for her to turn in terms of a safe environment to ask questions about craft beer and not be judged. As fellow beer enthusiasts, Benjamin and I loved this and started researching what other podcasts already had this idea. We were floored that there weren’t any. There were so many women in the beer industry, just local to us in Atlanta, who weren’t being given the opportunity to tell their stories.
Because we weren’t going into an oversaturated market we received immediate interest from breweries. Movie reviews, riffing comedy hours, and all encompassing “talk about whatever” podcasts are overdone and won’t bring you listeners as readily (looking at you, LGTTM). Listeners are eager to consume content that has a clear point of view that’s engaging and even binge-worthy. That topic you want to know more about, that idea that’s been stuck in your head that you can’t figure out how to use, it could make a great podcast. Do research and see how many others have the same idea as you. You might be as surprised as we were.
Quality Counts
Podcasts have been around for 15 years. That’s over a decade worth of content about anything you could think of. An easy way to set yourself a cut above is to spend some money on a quality microphone and some editing software. It doesn’t have to break the bank; the cost of your equipment doesn’t magically make your podcast better. However, going for this initial investment will make you more pleasing to listen to. It also eliminates any potential reviews about not being able to hear or understand you. (Pop filters are a lifesaver!)
Be Willing to Evolve
Our original idea was to record six episodes for our first “season” and wait to record more to see what listeners thought/if any further interest was catching on. We were humbled to find that before all those initial six episodes aired, we were scheduling interviews with people for several months. We decided to continue recording and releasing.
We also found there were many men interested in being interviewed about their thoughts on women in beer. Our overarching MO is to be all inclusive. We’d be hypocritical to tell a man he isn’t welcome. In those interviews we opened up doors we hadn’t thought of. Having dialogue open to all genders means we’re all having the important conversation rather than keeping it one-sided.
All of this is to say, your creativity will continue to flow if you don’t grip on to your original idea with an iron fist. Trees that bend in the wind stick around while the stiff ones break.
Stay Consistent
Consistency is something you owe to your listeners and it will keep them coming back. Before you’ve even recorded your first episode, set a realistic release schedule for yourself. Bitch Beer realized we had a lot of life to tend to outside of the podcast and decided bi-monthly would be best for us. Now our listeners know they’ll have a new episode waiting for them every other Tuesday.
Brand to Expand
If you take nothing else from this, burn this section into your brain. As previously stated, there are over a million podcasts in existence. That’s a lot of noise to cut through! Marketing yourself to the most appropriate demographic will pinpoint your audience. If they’re already interested in what you’re talking about, odds are they’re already looking in the places where you’d fit perfectly.
The easiest (and cheapest) way to market yourself is social media. For absolutely free you can create an Instagram Business account. It has all the features of a Personal account except it has a built in “Insights” tab that allows you to track profile interactions, how many potential new listeners are discovering your page, and when is the best time to post content (down to the time of day). With that information you can construct a schedule that will get the most eyes on it, per post. Setting up a Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat account is another way to connect with listeners. Prioritize which social media works best for you by choosing ones you already use regularly in your personal life.
Hashtags are your friend. Websites like all-hashtag.com allow you to put in a word you think best sums up your podcast, i.e. #beer, for free. It generates thirty relevant hashtags you can use on your posts so a wide array of people who don’t yet know about you can find you. As crazy as it sounds, statistics show an average of thirty hashtags gets someone the most views/likes/comments.
Is scheduling when to post getting to be too overwhelming? There are paid services such as HubSpot and Hootsuite that allow you to plan your posts ahead so you don’t have to be glued to your phone when that perfect posting time comes. And if you’ve got money to spare, consider hiring someone to take care of it for you.
Never Let the Stress Outweigh the Joy
This one, for me, is the most important and the easiest to forget. No matter why you started your podcast, it should never become taxing. If you find yourself not looking forward to brainstorming for the next episode or groaning when the interview with your next guest approaches, take a step back and reassess. Podcasts are, innately, not money making machines. Don’t expect sponsors to come pounding at your door. This, first and foremost, must be a passion. The format of a podcast lends itself to that. You have a unique opportunity to directly connect with people all across the world about something you care about, from the Vietnam War to crocheting for cats. These connections are what lead to opportunities. Maybe this listener knows someone who’d like to be on your show and can widen your audience. Maybe this listener owns a business and they’d like to give you money for an advertising spot. With these connections, you’ve put in the work to show your listeners you care. Compassion and integrity breed loyalty.
If you ever realize you’re not getting out what you’re putting in, take a break, reevaluate, and focus your creativity on something else. So long as you’re upfront about it, your listeners will understand.
Like any business, starting is scary but taking that leap could lead to big things. Your idea can be more than something you only share with friends. Your idea could impact listeners from all over, allow you to learn and grow in other parts of your life, and even lead to meeting new people who could help get other ideas off the ground. Having the opportunity to write this article is a prime example of getting opportunities from places you never considered. Now get creating!
Meet the Writer
Ashley Powers is an actor, writer, and comedian in Atlanta, GA. When she isn’t podcasting she’s performing improv and sketch at The Village Theatre. When she isn’t doing any of those things she’s definitely cross-stitching while cuddling her Labradoodle and watching RuPaul’s Drag Race. Follow Bitch Beer on Facebook and Instagram: @bitchbeerpodcast.
