087: Growing your business through podcasting with Craig Hewitt
Over the past few years, I’ve found that about 60% of new business I get comes from my podcast in one way or another. This inspired me to write a blog post on growing your agency through podcast networking.
In addition, it also inspired me to reach out to Craig Hewitt of Podcast Motor to talk on the show about the service he offers and about how to be a successful podcaster.
Update: Since launching this episode, I’ve built my own podcast production service called Content Allies. Reach out to us if you are interested in starting your own podcast.
Podcast Motor currently runs 30 different podcasts, so Craig has a ton of insight on creating an amazing podcast.
I hope you enjoy this episode and take some of Craig’s advice back to your own podcast. Or, I hope this episode helps you in starting a new podcast for your business.
What is Podcast Motor?
In just two years, Podcast Motor has become a concierge podcast editing and production service with employees in 5 countries that serve over 30 clients.
Craig had been working on another company, and he realized how time consuming it was to edit audio for the podcast. In fact, everything from writing show notes, to editing, to publishing took time and skill.
From this, he realized there were probably a lot of business owners who would have a need for someone to take this work off their plate. What came out of it was a new business that helped make podcasts higher quality and more manageable for business owners.
Services
Podcast Motor has two main services for their clients, Podcast Essentials and Concierge Service. Each of these services includes writing show notes, editing audio, with the concierge service including publishing the podcast for their client.
As a productized service, Podcast Motor has gotten really good at what they do.
One thing that is important when creating a productized business is making sure you only accept clientele that are within your core competencies. Clients will respect you more if you tell them no for certain requests they have outside of your expertise. You can clearly communicate where your skills lie and help them point to others when they are asking something of you that you aren’t confident you can handle exceptionally.
Getting business with your podcast
As I mentioned before, my podcast has been huge for generating new business, and this can be the case for your podcast as well.
Craig mentioned that monetizing podcasts almost always falls in two buckets.
One, there are a handful of podcasts that generate revenue through advertising. But, to do this, you have to have an extremely huge podcast.
The second way to monetize a podcast is indirectly. Rather than selling advertisements for it, the podcast is more of a content marketing piece for your company. The most successful podcasts are free, regularly published, and have interesting and actionable content for their guests that also supports the company is selling.
This second bucket is where almost every single successful podcasting business falls.
Podcasting is an easy way to convey yourself as an authority. You are literally in someone’s ear for an hour every week, and that can be very powerful.
A good podcast helps you build trust and authority with your audience.
Getting more value out of your podcast
So, what can you do to get more value out of your podcast than recording and episode and slapping it on your site?
Craig had a great suggestion of creating a community around your podcast. This could be done with a Slack group or a Facebook group in order to keep the conversation going beyond the once a week post.
One of the key things with creating a group like this is to start out strong.
When building Podcast Hackers, the Facebook group for Podcast Motor, Craig was intentional about creating a lively environment right off the bat. He established a small group of core members who helped in creating posts and engaging others in conversation as the group launched.
This, coupled with an eblast allowed the group to get off to a great start. The core members helped create the buzz that has led to the group functioning well without much guidance.
In addition to creating this community, be sure to expand your network by being a guest on the shows of others.
One thing that I will sometimes do is have a guest on my podcast and then turn around and do an interview on their podcast. This allows for a mutual benefit for your guests beyond just having them on the show.
Also, I encourage you to check out my blog on podcasting for more information on how to build strategic partnerships and leads through podcast networking.
Final thoughts
It was great to have Craig on the show to hear about his success with Podcast Motor and hear some of his suggestions on how to create an awesome podcast.
He also shared with me some exciting information about their acquisition of Seriously Simple Podcasting. So, be on the lookout there as they work to add some really cool functionality to make it easier for users to create and produce their own podcasts.
As always, I hope you got a ton of value out of this episode. Podcasting is huge for your content marketing and relationship building, and I hope you are taking advantage of it. Please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have about your own podcast.
Resources
List of Best Podcast Production Companies / Agencies
podcastmotor.com
Built to Sell - John Warrillow
Built to Sell Podcast
craig@podcastmotor.com