The 6 Reasons Why You Need To Go On Podcasts

Back in 2009, I left a 12-year career in the airline industry to become a coach, the life and business kind rather than the National Express kind. I had spent several years training myself up and was already working part-time at it and I knew that flinging trays of chicken and beef at people in a metal tube at 35,000ft was not something I wanted to do forever, so when redundancy was offered, I jumped at it.

Skipping ahead 10 years, I had become reasonably successful as a coach but I wanted a new path and some new challenges. I decided I wanted to do more public speaking and writing, as these activities really push me to connect to my creative side and allow me to pull on a wealth of knowledge. I saw that these things could enhance my professional life and were very complimentary to a coaching business.

In that time, I’ve been fortunate enough to get invited onto some big stages to present, at both in-person and virtual events. I’ve achieved my big goal of getting paid to speak many times over and something that once used to fill me with dread is now fun and exciting to me (ie. public speaking). It wasn’t a big leap to go from there to making my own podcast.

My buddy Bob Gentle asked me what I wish I’d known 5 years ago when I appeared on his podcast. I don’t recall what I answered in the moment but on reflection, I believe there is so much power and potential in podcasting that I wish I had made it a bigger part of what I do much sooner, rather than a fun side thing. It has taken me several years to realise that I wanted to be working full-time in the podcasting world and helping others to leverage the power and potential that had taken me so long to identify.

A big part of my personal mission now is helping other coaches and personal brand business owners leverage the power of OPAs. If you’re scratching your head at OPAs it just means other people’s audiences. I’ve always jumped at the opportunities to get onto other people’s stages but podcasts offer something a bit more unique. I think many people underestimate the value of being on podcasts as a guest.

Here are just 6 of the key reasons why I believe being a regular podcast guest can make your business grow and generate lead flow:

1. The opportunity to regularly speak about what you do and who you help makes you better at speaking about what you do and who you help. Obvs!

2. You will build a network of amazing people to whom you are now connected and who can connect you with their amazing network & you should look to do the same for them. (Be relational, not transactional).

3. You will be actively promoted by the hosts of the shows you appear on and very often will have to do very little of the grunt work yourself.

4. You have been given a tacit seal of approval and degree of trust from the host of the show you go on which means you automatically get that from their regular audience.

5. Unlike public speaking gigs or most online events, the episodes are truly evergreen and when people find a podcast they like, they will often binge listen to past episodes, which means you can still pick up opportunities from shows you appeared on several years ago.

6. Most shows will give you the opportunity to make a CTA (call to action). Doing this can build an email list, or get people to buy your book or whatever makes the most sense to you. (Have just one CTA).

Understand that when you start this, unless you already have a significant following, what you talk about will be far more important than who you are. Many people make the mistake of thinking people only tune in to hear big names but most interview-based podcasters can tell you that a compelling topic usually does far bigger numbers than a recognised industry name.

Get started. If you’re not feeling confident to do this yet and you’re just starting out, try getting yourself on to some newer shows with small audiences. You’ll feel less pressure to be at a higher level and can relax more into enjoying the experience. Seek feedback on your performance from the host, by asking people to listen to it and by working with your coach. (Good coaches have coaches, not excuses.)

Be prepared to suck. Nobody starts out great. You will undoubtedly have some experiences and interviews that will not go so well. Some may even make you cringe, especially when you’re more experienced. If you’re not ready for that then you won’t even get started.

Have fun. The best conversations and interviews happen when you’re relaxed. Enjoy the experience.

Use your better appearances as promotional tools for yourself. Feature them on your website, share them on social media and cut clips from them you can use to help establish your expertise. As you get more experience, you can start getting yourself onto shows with way bigger audiences that will give you more bang for your buck.

The number one objection I usually hear to this is about how much time it takes. Whatever kind of marketing you do, you have to pay. Paid marketing costs money, and organic marketing costs time. If you don’t want to do it, don’t do it but… I do think there are multiple long-term benefits to having evergreen marketing assets out there in podcast land. Let’s put it this way though if you’re a speaker and you charge $5,000 or more for your bookings, one or two strategic appearances could conservatively get you a couple of opportunities each month.

I have seen many coaches going down the path of trying what I think are some pretty sleazy marketing practices, like poaching people from other people’s communities, sending unsolicited emails or trying to make controversial viral content that may ultimately damage their credibility in the long term. Goodness knows some take the same approach with their guest pitches. It’s not just a numbers game. Volume matters but it won't help much if it’s all you care about. You can and must do better.

Most coaches will jump at the chance to speak on someone’s stage or at a virtual event with 50-300 people and yet get blasé about being on a podcast and yet the listenership may only be 20-50 people on small shows but that’s still 20-50 prospects for you with more that may come as the show grows… if it does. Many high-level business coaches and speakers are already onto the potential of this strategy for marketing and it’s high time you do too.

How to pitch and how to be a great podcast guest are some of the additional areas I talk about in this newsletter, so make sure you’re subscribed and if you got any value here, please share this article with your network. Next time, we’re talking about how to pitch yourself as a guest. Don’t miss it!

To help you out with getting on podcasts, you can check out this episode of Speaking Influence with Nancy Juetten on how to make a bio that will get you booked.

And your musical energiser for the week is... as the summer comes to an end and the rains start to come once again, it could only be Belinda Carlisle's Summer Rain. Enjoy and have a great week.