Podcasts can be found across the web. Not just on sites like YouTube and other streaming services, but also as audiobooks, and on podcast hosting sites that are created specifically to host someone’s podcast channel.
These digital recordings are as popular as ever, with over 140 million US citizens tuning in to listen.
Did you know?
For a form of media that’s been around since the audioblogging of the early 1990s, podcasts have become extremely creative and very varied. These digital files have helped many people find their feet in the world of art and media, with many making entire careers out of podcasting.
Grow Your Personal Brand
We’ll begin by talking about personal branding.
To turn your podcast into a career progression route, you should aim as high as other professionals in the industry do when sharing their branding and their ideals. Your personal brand will grow with you as you make more progress.
Below, we’ll talk about the vital elements of personal branding and why you should implement these elements into your podcast career.
What is your brand?
You may be just one person or a very small team of friends doing this as a hobby, but you should still have a good idea of the kind of public persona that you want to showcase.
This is especially important if you already have a job somewhere and you’re doing your podcast on the side. Using your own name and posting about your podcast on social media is a sure-fire way to have your company notice that you have an online presence (no matter how small it is).
Personal branding
Market yourself as a brand!!!
Think of the numerous social media influencers whose names are known far and wide. Your personal brand will help you promote your podcast in a unique way, but you need to understand how to utilize the three areas of personal branding:
- Your purpose
- How you deliver your services
- What makes you different (aka your tagline)
To use these areas efficiently, look at the three Cs of personal branding. These are coherence, commitment, and clarity.
Coherence requires style. It’s not enough to look professional and copy what the rest of the industry is doing, you need to connect, build a network, and form partnerships. 80% of the professional world considers networking to be a vital part of their success.
Without a clear idea of what you want to do and how you want to get there, you cannot commit to this new venture. Committing to your brand doesn’t mean you have a 20-year plan to stick to, but you should have an idea of the elements of podcasting and career progression that will get you there.
Lastly, clarity. It’s crucial that you understand why you’re doing this. Starting a podcast with career progression in mind is not a step you should take lightly. Visualize the big picture.
Build Your Network with Leaders in Your Industry
We know, we know. You’ve just started out, how are you supposed to network with any top podcaster out there?
But that’s not quite what we mean.
It’s important to be able to reach out to the podcast community and create a network for yourself. You can do this in a number of ways, and you’re likely to be lucky and find several podcasters who remember what it was like when they first started out.
If someone offers help, advice, anything – take it. They might even do a little podcast advertising for you!
Podcasts have evolved with the rest of technology. For example, individuals who listen to a lot of podcasts, or often tune-in, usually listen when they’re away from home.
Why a network is important
Entering a podcast network is a business strategy. You might not think of your podcast as a business, but it can easily become one and give you plenty of prospects.
A podcast network will help you spread the word about your podcast. Each new contact that you make is another step towards shaking hands with managers, executives, and business owners.
Your podcast could easily create new job opportunities for you. A network full of industry contacts puts you in the direct sight of higher-ups and decision makers. One of those decisions could be a consulting role or other position that opens itself up for you.
Podcasting for business is not a new idea. Podcast marketing is used in every industry because of how popular podcasts have become over the years.
Getting in touch
The first step is to complete some research and find potential guests to bring onto your show.
To do this, you’ll want to find out if they have any preferred ways of others getting in touch with them. Many executives will have business web pages with contact details. Getting someone on-board can be tricky, so you’ll need to be persuasive.
If you don’t receive a reply after two weeks, move on. There’s no point chasing a busy person. Contact multiple special guests at the same time for the best results. Sell your podcast, make your show sound exciting.
Your guests are going to be your way forward.
Gain Insights during Podcast Interviews
Good podcast interviews can give you a lot of insight into the podcast creator and the person that they’re interviewing.
You’ll know that you’ve done a good interview if you were able to stay in control of your show while giving your guest time to answer questions.
These interviews are a vital part of your career progression. The people that you choose as guests should be astonished by your skills and charisma. This is how word of you will spread back to their employers and their company.
Podcasts and you
To summarize, creating and running a podcast channel allows you to expand your network, gives you the confidence to contact people and converse with them, and gives you project management skills.
Every skill that you gain during podcasting is an employable skill that can be transferred over to other types of work. You’ll also spend a fair amount of time learning how to win people over and being successful at it.
The more guests you invite onto your show, the more you will build your network. Your guests will have their own contacts too, and can easily spread the word about you and your skills.
Once word of mouth brings more attention to you, it’s possible that you might find yourself meeting with executives that believe you have the right skills for a job they’re offering you.
Your career
It’s going to be a lot of work and you might feel somewhat overwhelmed at first, but it’s completely possible for you to run a podcast alongside your current career until you are offered more.
A podcast will get you noticed. You’ll make a network full of important contacts. These people have the ability to push you further, advertise for you, and give you advice. Some may even be the reason that you end up in a new role entirely.
The more you advertise yourself and your brand, the more opportunities will come to you. Maybe you’ll be even offered a social media manager role.
Combining your two career paths is the reason you’re reading this, after all. If you hit the ground running without any fear of failure holding you back and remember that you’re doing this for fun when you start out, we’re sure that you’ll enjoy yourself.