How to Start a Podcast for Your Business

According to Ofcom, roughly 7.1 million people in the UK now listen to podcasts each week. That’s one in eight people!

If you want more stats, here they are: this figure shows an increase in podcast subscribers and listeners of 24% over 2019.

So now you’re definitely thinking about starting a podcast, aren’t you? It’s even made me think about it! Podcasts are growing in popularity year on year, and they’re only set to continue to be popular among a huge range of demographics. Read on for my tips on how to join in with this lucrative trend and start your own podcast for your business.

Find Your Niche

Whatever your business specialises in, there’s a niche you can exploit. Dig deep into the nuts and bolts of what you do as an organisation. What is it that sets you apart from your competitors? What do your customers find interesting? What are you experts in?

Finding your niche can be as simple as looking at the industry your work within, or as complex as looking at customer data and finding out what links them in new and innovative ways.

Here’s an interesting graph I found that shows what types of topics podcast listeners are mostly interested in. It’s important to remember, however, that while some subjects seem to be less popular, they may have an
extremely devoted fanbase.

Source: Populus Research, March 2019 (Chart taken from the official Ofcom website.)

Choose A Great Name

Your podcast needs a name that your listeners will notice, remember and look out for. Don’t get trapped into thinking your podcast needs to be the same as your company’s name. Unless you’re a household name, it won’t make any difference to how new customers and leads chose your podcast over others in the
subject you’re interested in.

Pick something memorable and easy to say — 22% of podcast listeners use their smart speakers to listen to them, so make it easier for them to find your podcast by voice search.

Outline Your Style, Content and Format

Don’t wing it. While many podcasts seem to have a loose, relaxed feel, the truth is that each episode will have a plan and even a script to make sure it stays on track.

Think about the information you want to sound in your podcast and how you want to put it across. Here are some ideas to help you think about it:

●     Informative

●     Conversational

●     Witty

●     Interview

●     Round-Table

●     Storytelling.

Once you’ve worked out how you’d like your podcast to sound, you can start using your thoughts on your niche to create engaging content for your episodes. Also, don’t forget your podcast is essentially another route for marketing, so be sure to include several ads or plugs within each episode for relevant offers, products or services.

Sort Out Your Equipment

Podcast listeners are surprisingly discerning. Gone are the days when a tinny phone recording full of background noise and choppy editing would suffice.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube that go into details about the best types of podcasting microphones and editing software. I still think it’s perfectly acceptable to use your phone to record as long the sound quality is clear, and there are free sound editing app options out there if you’re looking for a quick trial to see how a podcast would work for you.

If you’re planning to keep making professional podcasts, however, my advice would be to invest in the right tools for the job. Your listeners will appreciate it.

Promote

All that’s left to do now is to promote your podcast! Use your social media channels to get the word out, send a mailout to your customers, add it to your email signature and speak about it to everyone you meet. Word of mouth is so important!

Encourage your listeners to review your podcast so you can take their feedback on board and encourage more subscribers to join your growing group of fans. If you like, you can pay for advertising on your chosen podcast hosting site to bring you up the rankings. It all depends on how important subscriber
numbers are to you.

Are you thinking of starting a podcast? Need some help with scripts, interview questions or marketing content? Get in touch and let’s chat about how I can help you!

Until next time…

Avoiding The Junk Folder: How To Create a Winning Email Newsletter

Email marketing (or e-marketing) is one of the most effective ways to maintain a relationship with your customers. When they signed up for regular updates from you, it was the first sign that they were interested in buying something from your site again. So, don’t waste that energy by sending them emails they don’t want to read.

Here are my tips to make sure your marketing emails make the points you want to make, and quickly grab the attention of your customers. Don’t sit in junk mail; be a must-read publication!

 Think about your customers’ interests — and then be those interests

When you’re writing an email, put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Would you open an email that said “5% off your next cauliflower”?

Well, that depends, doesn’t it? On whether you’re really into cauliflowers?

Your marketing email list represents a diverse cross-section of individuals who are brought together by an appreciation of the products you sell or the services you provide.

Bearing that in mind, think about what it is you give to these people that they like. What is it about your brand, your products and your online persona that brings these people together? Once you’ve come up with your answer, all you have to do is give it to them!

 Get to the point!

Everyone knows email newsletters are selling something. The difference between an email newsletter that ticks a box, and a great newsletter your customers love to recieve, is the quality of the content inside.

You might not be surprised to know that people prefer receiving personalised emails — it makes them feel like you’re reaching out to them directly. But what also counts is relevancy, and getting to the point right away.

If you’ve got a great story to tell — perhaps you’ve got a brilliant review you want to share, or an upcoming special release — get to the point quickly and then elaborate later. In journalism, this is called the inverted pyramid, and it helps to make sure you’re hitting all your important information before you start noodling around with the extra fillings.

Come up with an incredible subject line

Your subject line is what sets you apart from junkmail. When your customer swipes open their emails on the morning commute and sees 17 unread emails since they left the house, which do you think they’re going to read?

●      The ones specifically relevant to their interests

●      The ones that sound important

●      The ones that seem like they’ll be a diversion

●      The ones that are impossible to ignore.

How can they tell which emails are going to fulfil at least one of those criteria? The all-important subject line. The urge to be cryptic and clever is strong, I know, but follow these rules and you’ll create a great subject line every time:

●      Use power words

●      Make promises (you can keep)

●      Be simple and effective

●      Use actionable words — in other words, use verbs rather than passive language

●      Tease and pique curiosity.

You might also want to try A-B testing with emails that have “sale!” or “special offer!” in the subject line, and those that don’t. Often these can be filtered into spam or junk folders by email clients. Give it a go and see what works for you.

Need some support with your email marketing? I can help. Send me a message today and let’s work together to boost your sales.

Until next time…

Christmas Emails and Blog Posts Your customers Will Actually Read

 ‘Tis the season for festive playlists and twinkly, warm-hearted marketing campaigns. Yes, it’s Christmas, and it’s time to push for your end of year sales targets. Jolly! If the idea of creating a Christmas campaign fills you with dread, don’t worry. I have some ideas for festive content that goes beyond announcing special offers.

Tell a Story

People love feeling warm and fuzzy at this time of year. Give your customers and clients an insight into your business that gets into the festive spirit!

Whether you tell the story of how your business’ started in the form of the 12 days of Christmas, or you share some stories about the good work you do within your community, the idea here is to keep things merry and bright.

Help Your Customers Find the Right Gifts

Christmas can be a stressful time as well as a happy one, so offering some help or guidance is one of the most useful things you can do. Creating emails or blog posts with thoughtful gift guides are always popular at this time of year, especially if you write them as listicles, or even create a video to sit alongside it.

Share Other Companies’ Great Content

It might sound counter-productive, but trust me. Christmastime is awash every year with amazing festive content, and even if you do your best to ignore it from a commercial point of view, your customers will be seeing it anyway. So why not get involved?

Make a list of your favourite Christmas adverts (I plan to next month!), or write a take-down of the worst or most tone-deaf of the year. Create a definitive guide of the best Christmas deals and sales of the season. Point your customers towards this years’ top toys, most popular gifts or must-have fashions.

But while you’re doing all this, remember to share your own great Christmas offers, deals and content!

Brace Yourself for Christmas Complaints

It happens. Christmas is the busiest time of year for retail businesses, but it’s also busy further down the supply chain too. Whether you’re a toy shop or a print business, it’s a time of pressure and deadlines that just get shorter and shorter.

So, be aware that while you’re under strain, so is everyone else. No matter how amazing your customer service is, you are going to get a couple of complaints through the net. Head off the festive grumbling with content that makes lodging a complaint easy and efficient, and even better, create a blog post or send an email out that helps your customers and clients get the best possible service even at your busiest times. Include things like:

●      Your busiest opening hours, so customers can plan their trip

●      Realistic delivery times during the Christmas period, to manage expectations

●      Advice on beating queues or avoiding delivery delays

●      Offers of bespoke or personalised help and support

●      Direct contact details

●      Tracking information — you could even write a blog post about how customers and clients can track their goods.

My advice here is: be honest, and be accountable. Make sure your social media managers are totally up-to-date with your complaints procedures, and give your whole team the same information you give to your customers to make sure you’re all on the same page.

Need some help with your content and marketing over the Christmas period? Let’s talk today about how I can support you with a short-term digital marketing solution.