“It's not that hard to start a podcast. It is much harder to get people to listen to a podcast.” - Ben Gregson

Creating a podcast seems easy today thanks to the influx of new publishing technology and tools. But many podcasts are not creating the traction the creators have hoped for — particularly business podcasts. 

With increased competition for share of ear, companies and individuals wanting to grow a loyal following through digital audio need to be strategic in the development and execution of their shows. The key? Think of running your podcast like a startup. 

In Episode 48, we turned the mics around to interview Crate Media, the production team behind the Strategic Momentum Podcast. We heard from three founding members: Cody Boyce, Founder, CEO and Executive Producer, Hayden Lee, Production Director,  and Ben Gregson, Lead Copywriter

Scaling from one employee to a talented collective of passionate writers, audio engineers, designers, and composers, Crate Media has now produced a broad range of shows across a variety of clients, from individuals wanting to share their own point of view to small businesses to F500 companies (learn more about their origin story here). 

Cody, Hayden and Ben share their advice for establishing, launching, and managing a successful podcast. Here are the eight key takeaways: 

1. Start with a Business Plan

With the perception that building a successful podcast is easy, many don’t think to put a strategy behind it. But like any other business venture, you need to start out with a plan: a clear purpose for being and a vision for where you want to go.

2. Define Your Purpose

You should not start a show because you have “a great podcast voice.” There should be a meaningful reason for starting your podcast. Your show should be based on your own passions,  sharing knowledge or entertaining, and helping people and delivering value. If you can’t find a deeper meaning for your podcast, re-think your mission.

3. Don’t Fixate on Revenue

Don’t make generating revenue the purpose of your show. Building relationships with potential listeners should come first. When you do monetize, don’t think you are limited to running ads. There are various ways you can get income, for example, donations, partnerships, speaking events, products and affiliate marketing.

4. Outsource Whenever Necessary

Delegate and minimize unwanted tasks. Do not make your show a burden to yourself. If there are certain parts of producing a podcast that you do not enjoy, then remove the tasks from your own to-do list so you never lose your joy or passion in creating the show.

5. Put Quality Above All

Podcast content is essentially evergreen – anyone can listen to any episode you’ve published at any time. So make sure every episode reflects your best work and never publish just to publish.

6. Create Authentic Experiences

As a host, be yourself and be true to your audience. Cody explained, “What people want to hear is who you are, your personality, how you talk to these people. And they really want to feel like they connect, and they know who is hosting the show that they're listening to.” 

7. Be Patient & Evolve Over Time

Don’t be rigid in your publishing style and expect your show to evolve. Instead, test-and-learn, meaning adjust over time to build an audience that truly connects with your story. This is both a short-term and long-term process. In the short term, you have instant feedback on every episode that you can use to improve the next one. In the long-term, you learn what content your audience likes best and the best way to deliver it.

8. Prioritize Consistently

Consistency is far more important than frequency. A monthly show that publishes on Mondays at 10 am is better off than a weekly show that publishes “whenever.” Audiences like a downloading routine.  Further, consistency in quality is most important. Don’t sacrifice the quality of an episode for the sake of publishing at an exact time and date.

Want to learn more about starting your podcast? Get in touch with us here!