7 Truths when Creating your Own Podcast

I’ve been getting some questions around creating your own podcast and thought this might help.

My buddy and one of the most successful podcasters of all time, John Lee Dumas, shares some podcasting tips with you in today’s post.

My Take and History on Creating Your Own Podcast

It was April of 2014 and I was the keynote speaker for my buddy Vince Reed‘s event called Internet Traffic live. A guy went on stage that I had never heard of and talked about his how to do a podcast. I was so impressed with what this guy had to say that I went on his website while he was speaking and bought his how to do a podcast course. The next morning I got up at 3am and got my first podcast up and running.

I’m very thankful for meeting that dude, John Lee Dumas, and since meeting him my podcast has now had over 1.2 million downloads and I have had the honor of being interviewed on John’s podcast, which gets over 1 million downloads PER MONTH twice. You can check out our most recent interview here – Ray Higdon on Blogging.

Super grateful to John for sharing his podcasting tips below. If you appreciate him sharing his thoughts with us be sure to leave a comment at the bottom. Click Here to Tweet Thank John!

7 Podcasting Tips Everyone should know by John Lee Dumas

There’s a lot of hype around podcasting and what it can do to help you grow your credibility and authority in a specific niche, your relationship with your audience, your entire business – and for good reason.

It’s true: creating your own podcast can help you do all of these things.

But there are a lot of truths you might not know – truths that every podcaster should know – no matter what stage of your podcasting journey you’re in.

These are the truths that will help ensure you’re creating a podcast that people actually want to listen to – one that provides valuable content on a consistent basis – and one that will help you grow your business.

Because let’s be real: if you’re not going to reap the benefits of a podcast, then why put in the bandwidth, energy and monetary investment?

What it takes to create, grow and monetize a podcast

Let’s kick things off with some myth busting: what exactly does it take to create, grow and monetize a podcast?

Well, it doesn’t take a custom-built, thousand-dollar studio setup.

In fact, my partner here at EntrepreneurOnFire, Kate Erickson, podcasts from our extra bedroom with an ATR-2100 ($60 on Amazon) plugged right into her MacBook Pro.

It doesn’t require that you have experience in radio broadcasting, or in editing audio files either. When I started EntrepreneurOnFire, I had neither.

Over the past 3 years I’ve learned A LOT about what it takes to create, grow and monetize a podcast, and I’m all about sharing everything I’ve learned with those who think podcasting might be right for their business.

That’s why I created Free Podcast Course: a 15-day email and video course that walks you through what it takes to create, grow and monetize a podcast.

Here at EntrepreneurOnFire we see over 1 million downloads in over 145 countries every single month, and we also consistently monetize to the tune of over $200k per month.

Throughout Free Podcast Course I share the same steps I took to create, grow and monetize my podcast with you.

The 7 Truths

Now that we’ve busted a couple of myths and you know how low the barrier to entry is to creating your own podcast, I want to share the 7 Truths with you that will help you grow and monetize your podcast.

Remember, these are podcasting tips that will help ensure you’re creating a podcast that people actually want to listen to – one that will help grow your business.

Truth #1: The weight of the world isn’t on your shoulders: Your avatar can help

The most important thing you can do when creating your podcast is define your avatar: your ONE perfect listener.

This isn’t only about demographics – defining your avatar is about knowing them inside and out.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help get to know your avatar:

What is their name?

What is their family life like?

Do they have a job?

What are their dreams and aspirations?

What do they wish they had that they don’t currently have?

What do they struggle with on a regular basis?

What keeps them up at night?

These are the kinds of things you should know about your avatar, because in knowing them inside and out, you’re going to be able to provide them with the most valuable content possible via your podcast – content that will help them solve their pain points and get one step closer to where they want to be.

Also, you’re going to come up against a lot of tough decisions when you’re first creating your podcast, like how long it should be, what the format should look like, whether you publish twice per week or every other week, and what topics you should discuss.

Good news: these decisions are not up to you to make; they’re up to your avatar to make.

What is it that THEY want? Click to Tweet This Tip

Truth #2: If you try and talk to everyone, you end up talking to no one

One thing many podcasters – and entrepreneurs alike – are deathly afraid of is niching.

“If I focus in on a topic that’s too narrow, then I’m going to be missing out on a whole new audience that might be interested in what I have to offer.”

WRONG.

When you niche, you’re making it very clear what it is you have to offer and whom it’s for (your avatar). That means people will love you, or leave you, which is exactly where you want to be.

Niching is going to help you gain credibility and authority faster because you’re going to be focusing in on a single expertise instead of several. It’s a lot more attractive to your avatar to know you’re best at one thing versus sort of good at a lot of things.

Niching is also going to help you market directly to your target audience: those who you KNOW want and need what it is you have to offer – not those who might want and need what it is you have to offer.

If you’re not sure whether or not you’ve niched far enough, then niche again.

Truth #3: Relationships and community are golden

You know when you’re feeling alone – like there’s no one to turn to for feedback, encouragement or help who actually understands what it is you’re going through?

It’s not a fun feeling, yet so many podcasters find themselves in this situation because they haven’t taken the time to build relationships or join communities where like-minded people are hanging out.

There will be multiple times on your journey when you feel like giving up. You’ll look at your download stats, or you’ll post something on social media that gets 0 likes, and you’ll wonder if podcasting was really the right medium for you to use to grow your business.

This is the EXACT moment when the relationships you’ve built and the communities you’re a part of will come together to help support and encourage you. They’ll jump in and provide feedback that will help you pivot or try something new.

They understand what it is you’re going through, and having that support is priceless.

Truth #4: Yes, differentiating yourself is THAT important

There is A LOT of noise in the online space, and as podcasting continues to grow it gets easier and easier for copycats to get lost.

You don’t want to get lost.

So how do you ensure you don’t get lost?

Figure out a way to differentiate yourself.

Once you have your podcast idea, your name, and a vision for your artwork, go to iTunes and search for related podcasts. Is there someone else out there doing exactly what you want to do?

If so, awesome! That’s proof of concept!

NOW it’s time to differentiate yourself from the other podcasters in your space.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help:

What will be different about the format of my show?

How will I bring my own unique personality to the table?

What about my process will be different from others in my industry or niche?

How can I make my listener’s experience different from their experience listening to any other podcast?

Without a unique differentiator, you’re going to have a very difficult time attracting people to listen to YOUR podcast instead of “the other guy’s”. Make it a no brainer for listeners to choose YOU.

Truth #5: Podcasting is still very young – and that’s a GOOD thing

What’s up with this podcast explosion? Even the president was on a podcast!

It’s true: podcasting is exploding, and one of the reasons why is that the medium is still very young – and that’s a good thing!

It’s also because podcasts have A LOT to offer, and every single day people across the world are finding out about them for the very first time:

They’re FREE

Targeted, on-demand content

Easy access: in your car, on your smartphone, in your home

You don’t have to say “no” to what you’re doing right now to listen to a podcast

A worldwide reach

Edison Research reports that in 2006, only 11% of Americans over the age of 12 had ever listened to a podcast. In 2015, that number jumped to 33%. (http://www.edisonresearch.com/the-podcast-consumer-2015/)

Podcasting is still very young – and that’s a GOOD thing: it means we have a lot more room to grow and many more people to reach.

Truth #6: Consistency is your best friend (and required when you’re first getting started)

Creating your own podcast is NOT an overnight growth tactic.

But if you can commit to being consistent with providing valuable content to your avatar – who you know wants and needs it – then podcasting WILL help you grow your audience.

Consistency doesn’t have to be scary; you just have to commit to it.

In fact, consistency is whatever YOU choose: a daily, weekly, bi-weekly podcast?

The important part is that whatever you choose, you commit to it, because your consistency is what will help you gain trust, loyalty and likeability with your audience.

Your consistency is what will help you start to grow an audience who knows you, and who will continue coming back to you for help over and over again.

Truth #7:  There are multiple ways you can monetize a podcast

Without fail, the first question I get asked when I say I have a podcast is, “How do you make money?”

Funny thing is, there are so many ways you can monetize a podcast, and if you follow the previous 6 Truths I’ve shared, then monetizing is very possible.

So what are some of the many ways you can monetize a podcast?

Products

Services

Sponsorships

eBooks

Affiliate relationships

Within each of these categories there are tons of possibilities, it just depends on your niche and the pain points you’re trying to solve.

For example, a product might be something physical, but it could also be an info course where you share video tutorials and resources.

A service might be you editing others’ podcasts for them because they don’t want to do it themselves, but it could also be some type of coaching.

Once you start to grow your audience, monetizing your podcast is very possible. All you have to do is listen to their biggest pain points and struggles, and then create a solution they’re willing to pay you money for.

How do you know if podcasting is for you?

All right! Now you know creating, growing and monetizing your podcast is very possible.

I’ve even shared the 7 Truths every podcaster should know that will help ensure you’re creating a podcast that people actually want to listen to and that will help you grow your business.

But what if you’re not sure whether or not podcasting is for you?

Every other week, we host a free, Live Podcast Workshop, where we talk about how to create, grow and monetize your own podcast. You can register for the next one here.

During this live Workshop, we also do a Q&A session, so you can ask me any questions you want.

So if you love the idea of a podcast, and you’re down with the 7 Truths I just shared, but you’re not quite sure whether or not it’s for you and your business, claim your spot on our next Live Podcast Workshop and we’ll help you figure it out!

John Lee Dumas is the Founder and Host of EntrepreneurOnFire, a top-ranked podcast named “Best in iTunes 2013”. John interviews today’s most inspiring and successful Entrepreneurs 7-days a week and has been featured in Forbes, TIME and Inc. Magazine, among others.

He is also the Founder of Podcasters’ Paradise, a community where Podcasters can create, grow, and monetize their own podcast. EntrepreneurOnFire generates over 1 million unique downloads every month, with past guests like Seth Godin, Tim Ferriss, Barbara Corcoran, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Guy Kawasaki. Recaps of the 1,000+ episodes and MUCH more can be found at EOFire.com.

Did This Help You? If so, I would greatly appreciate it if you commented below and shared on Facebook

Ray Higdon’s Network Marketing Blog
Skype: ray.higdon
Email: [email protected]

“I Teach You the Marketing, Mindset and Sales Strategies to Make More Money and Follow Your Passion!”

PS: Free 10 Day Online Recruiting Bootcamp Teaches you How to Recruit Using the Internet, Click Here for Access