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5 ways entrepreneurs can still win the podcast game<\/p>\n
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With millions of podcasts released into the ether every year, it\u2019s easy for entrepreneurs to believe the market is already saturated and that it\u2019s not worth any of their time or money to create a show of their own. However, listenership is also on the rise, surging to 464.7 million listeners worldwide in 2023<\/a>. Within that, the U.S. podcast listener base has grown by 40%<\/a> over the past three years, with 51% of consumers saying they started listening during the past two years. There\u2019s still time for you to capitalize on this growth.<\/p>\n Ryan Gallego believes creating a podcast as an entrepreneur will prove to be a worthwhile investment. As the founder of video marketing firm Media Pouch and fully autonomous podcast studio, Pouch6 Studios in Austin, Texas, he feels that creating success in the podcast world is about to become more predictable for entrepreneurs. Gallego has been obsessed with recording techniques since his teenage years and his studios have hosted influential people such as Chris Williamson, Codie Sanchez, and Dr. Peter Attia, all of whom have expanded their personal brands with podcasting. Gallego\u2019s dream is that podcasting at the highest level of quality will soon be available everywhere for everyone, without all the production costs.<\/p>\n For any entrepreneur thinking about dabbling in podcast hosting, Gallego doesn\u2019t just believe it\u2019s worth a shot. He believes meteoric podcast success is completely predictable with the right plan, sufficient understanding of podcast creation, and optimal allocation of resources. I interviewed Gallego to find out his top tips for success.<\/p>\n \u201cThe psychology behind successful podcasting is that people don\u2019t listen to brands, they listen to people,\u201d explains Gallego. Entrepreneurs must relate to people, whether through reading social media updates or listening to a podcast episode about a topic they care about. \u201cIf you\u2019re an entrepreneur, you have to share stories about yourself for people to understand who you are and relate to you.\u201d When you start a podcast, don\u2019t make it about your brand. Don\u2019t make it a sales pitch. Make it about you and the value you bring to an audience.<\/p>\n Although it might feel self-indulgent for your podcast to focus on you, listeners are searching for entrepreneur personality they can relate to. They are trying to find inspiration and idolization and you could be exactly what they\u2019re looking for. Find a format that brings out your personality, because you\u2019re passionate about delivering valuable information in this way. Whether through wild founding stories, hot takes on the policies of your industry, or lessons from your journey practicing what you preach; put your slant on every topic related to your field. Look to own a concept in listeners\u2019 minds. Even if your brand is incredibly well-known, you will build valuable trust by people getting to know you personally. Be front and centre instead of behind the scenes.<\/p>\n An obstacle thwarting potential podcasters is the money and time it takes to build a proper studio. Creating a podcast set with the wow factor feels near impossible without an audio engineering background, production experience, or interior design skills. Fake it until you make it is definitely true in the world of podcasting. In fact, the more professional a podcast\u2019s setup, the more professional the hosts are seen by listeners. With a few tricks, you can do this at home. \u201cYou don\u2019t even need a cinema camera, you can get away with using your iPhone,\u201d said Gallego, adding, \u201cGo into your iPhone settings, put it on 4K, select 30 frames per second, and put the Apple ProRes RAW on it for good measure. Then you\u2019re golden.\u201d<\/p>\n But there\u2019s more to this than just your camera. \u201cSmart entrepreneurs understand the importance and financial viability of outsourcing as many tasks as possible,\u201d Gallego said. Hiring a studio is an easy way to outsource production tasks and equipment costs, among various annoyances that can come with trying to do everything yourself. Recording from home sounds like it will be fine, until the doorbell rings, the acoustics aren\u2019t great, and there always seems to be something better to do. Gallego\u2019s advice is to \u201cGoogle podcast studios near you and find an option that suits your budget and timeline.\u201d Leverage your large audience to get a good deal. If you\u2019re not blessed with a huge listenership right now, \u201cyour professional setup will make that happen much faster.\u201d<\/p>\n 5 ways entrepreneurs can still win the podcast game<\/p>\n <\/fbs-accordion>Pouch 6 Studios<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Gallego believes that, \u201cpodcast studios will become a sort of Soho House for entrepreneurs.\u201d He\u2019s biased, but he\u2019s got a point. Entrepreneurs make deals and collaborate on projects with people they would\u2019ve never met had it not been for their membership to entrepreneur networks. Meeting fellow entrepreneurs trying to start and grow their podcasts will work the same way, but with more aligned goals. \u201cStart your show in the same room as the podcasts and podcasters you view as being 5 to 10 steps ahead of you. Network, learn and innovate with those already seeing success.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re making a podcast, you\u2019re a content creator.\u201d Identify with this title and find others who do too. Gallego wants you to brandish the label around to get ahead. \u201cAsk the studio manager who else is recording on your booking day, or find out who uses which studios in your area.\u201d Then work the room. \u201cMake an excuse to show up early, shake hands, and offer ideas for collaboration. Look at going into the studio the way you would look at walking a trade-show floor.\u201d<\/p>\n Don\u2019t sit there struggling to come up with titles. Use the tools now readily available to outproduce other shows and build familiarity with your audience. \u201cAsk ChatGPT for the top 5-10 video topics trending for your specific audience, in catchy headline format.\u201d You can go one step further with the right prompts. \u201cAskChatGPT to write a 30-second introduction script about a specific topic for a specific audience, so that all you have to do is hit record.\u201d Make it easy to fall in love with podcasting and your high energy will carry through to your shows.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t stop at titles and intros. Use AI tools to find impressive guests, send outreach emails and follow ups and summarize episodes into show notes after recording. Make shareable graphics and bite-sized quotes, find follow up topics for that same guest, and turn questions and comments from listeners into more content. Use AI like your very own podcast assistant and be amazed at what you can produce.<\/p>\n AI can take care of the content and promotion, but Gallego believes the production is best outsourced. A growing podcast needs a system by which it consistently produces multiple forms of content, and you should, \u201clook at the entire endeavour as creating content, not recording a podcast. Nevertheless, this stems from a valuable and high quality episode. At the very least, Gallego said, you should, \u201cfind somebody just starting out in the production space and ask them to record your content.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re in this for the long game, it doesn\u2019t make sense to edit your own episodes, which can be difficult and time consuming. To ensure costs don\u2019t get out of hand, set yourself a budget and produce a defined batch of episodes with help from the professionals. Compare listener numbers and feedback to the batch before, and consider what the upgrade has added in terms of time saved, growth and perceived production value. Compare and contrast to make your plan for the next steps. If you can, use that same person or company to repurpose your episode into multiple content forms, and \u201cget skin in the game however you can.\u201d<\/p>\n Podcasts are here to stay. Put your personality forward, don\u2019t scrimp on equipment, network with those a few steps ahead, leverage AI to outproduce and find trusted partners for professional production. Stand out and stay on the cutting edge of the industry while making your podcast a worthwhile investment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n1. Put your personality forward <\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Don\u2019t scrimp on equipment <\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Hang out with fellow content creators<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Leverage AI to outproduce <\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Consider outsourcing podcast production<\/strong><\/h3>\n