Latest / Imperfect Marketing / Episode 120: The Power of Podcasting: Building Trust and Growing Your Business
Transcript
- 0:29Speaker 1: Hello and welcome back to another episode of Imperfect Marketing.
- 0:32Speaker 1: I'm your host, kendra Corman, and today I have Sarah St John.
- 0:36Speaker 1: I am very excited about having her on this show because she is an experienced entrepreneur, podcaster, author, animal lover and world traveler, so we've got a lot in common, because I love traveling and she's created several different startups.
- 0:54Speaker 1: She's written books, has a blog, a podcast, and she looks to show people how to launch and manage online businesses on a budget.
- 1:05Speaker 1: Welcome, sarah.
- 1:06Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me.
- 1:08Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me.
- 1:10Speaker 2: I appreciate it.
- 1:12Speaker 1: So I'm really excited to talk to you about podcasting, because you talk about podcasting being powerful overall.
- 1:20Speaker 1: So why don't you tell me a little bit more about how podcasting works for businesses?
- 1:27Speaker 2: Yes, there's so many benefits, I feel like, to podcasting, and regardless of what kind of podcast you have, I think especially if it's an interview podcast just the connections and networking friendships.
- 1:40Speaker 2: Even I've met people that I've been on their show or vice versa and formed friendships.
- 1:46Speaker 2: But for business in particular, I think it's almost expected at this point.
- 1:53Speaker 2: It seems like if you have a business, that you would have a podcast to go with that, because it's an extra avenue for people to discover you and find you and get to know and trust you, and whether you're a coach or a consultant or have some kind of service-based business in particular, I just think it's like the new way, not new, it's like the new form of blogging, basically, but I feel like it establishes trust even more so because people are hearing you for 30 minutes to an hour at least, probably once a week and, yeah, and eventually hopefully becoming a client or a customer in that process.
- 2:40Speaker 1: So my coach, my business coach, has a podcast and she says that it is her largest lead generator.
- 2:48Speaker 1: Not because it's what's really moving the needle for leads, but people are building a relationship with her by hearing her talk over and over again and they start to feel like they know her and that she feels that.
- 3:03Speaker 1: She said to me that's building the no-trust factor better than any other tool that she's using.
- 3:10Speaker 1: That says a lot.
- 3:14Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely agree with that, and even if you, let's say, you don't even have a podcast, but I would encourage anyone, whether they have a podcast or not, to go on other shows as well, because then you get exposure to that person's audience and listeners and become more known or people.
- 3:40Speaker 2: Hopefully you can get customers that way as well.
- 3:43Speaker 2: So either way, as a host or a guest, it really does grow your audience.
- 3:49Speaker 1: So I do both.
- 3:50Speaker 1: I have this podcast that you are currently listening to or watching, and then I also guest on other people's podcasts.
- 3:56Speaker 1: And yeah, it does.
- 3:58Speaker 1: I actually find that I have a spike in my listens when I guest on other people's podcasts, because people want to check out more about what I have to share.
- 4:09Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, it makes sense, because if you are a guest on someone else's podcast, then obviously the people listening to that are already podcast listeners.
- 4:18Speaker 2: It's easy enough for them to just check out your podcast while they're at it.
- 4:23Speaker 1: I've been working with a lot of my clients on the done for you side of my business and I have been pushing them to start podcasts for a while now, even before I had my own, just simply because I couldn't get them to sit down and write a blog or write or update enough content regularly that I was like, hey, you love to talk all this stuff off the top of your head, let's do a podcast.
- 4:48Speaker 1: And I get a lot of pushback because I think they're a little bit unsure on like where to start or how to start and how to maintain it, because I think it's what pod fade happens after on average, what eight episodes or six episodes or something ridiculously small, right, and people just fade into nowhere and stop recording.
- 5:10Speaker 1: What advice do you have for people looking to start a podcast, or what do you recommend they start with?
- 5:17Speaker 2: Yeah, I think one of the issues is people assume that it costs a bunch of money to start a podcast because they're probably envisioning like a radio station or something with all that equipment.
- 5:29Speaker 2: Technically, you could start a podcast for free.
- 5:33Speaker 2: I recommend having a budget of maybe $100 to get a mic there's several mark mics that are like 60 or 80 bucks on Amazon and then you would have to have a podcast host to host the files and whatnot, and that usually ranges from five to 20 a month depending on who you go with.
- 5:56Speaker 2: But aside from that, that's really all you need to get started in terms of financial.
- 6:02Speaker 2: So I think once people know, that's not a barrier.
- 6:05Speaker 2: There's probably also the like maybe they're not comfortable with, maybe they don't like their voice or maybe they don't.
- 6:13Speaker 2: It just makes them nervous, but I get that okay.
- 6:21Speaker 2: For example, growing up, my biggest what would you call it self issue that I had with myself was my voice, because it's on the lower end for a female and whatever, and I never liked it.
- 6:38Speaker 2: But now everyone says, oh yeah, you have a good podcast voice.
- 6:43Speaker 2: I guess maybe because the lower voices actually are better, in a way, for podcasting.
- 6:48Speaker 2: Anyway.
- 6:49Speaker 2: So it's interesting how something that I was self conscious about my entire life really then becomes the thing that I'm using, and don't let that hinder you.
- 6:59Speaker 2: Or once you get into the routine, and it might be nerve wracking at first but you'll get the hang of it.
- 7:05Speaker 2: So yeah, just to get past those financial and, I guess, self esteem type of issues would be the first thing.
- 7:15Speaker 1: So a couple of things I want to chime in with and agree with you on is so before we started, sarah had said oh, you've got a great voice for podcasting.
- 7:22Speaker 1: I was like, oh, thank you so much.
- 7:24Speaker 1: And then I told her that I got it from my mother and she used to yell at us and then she could switch to Hello, this is Marge, how can I help you?
- 7:30Speaker 1: Answering the phone without any issue.
- 7:32Speaker 1: But I hated listening to myself.
- 7:34Speaker 1: I still hate listening to myself.
- 7:36Speaker 1: I don't like listening to myself.
- 7:37Speaker 1: I got over it a little bit after editing my first 85 or 90 episodes.
- 7:43Speaker 1: Now I've got an editor who will do that for me, but I waited until like my 90th episode to invest into a podcast editor.
- 7:51Speaker 1: But I think I don't think it matters how good or bad you think your voice is.
- 7:58Speaker 1: Like we just don't like to listen to ourselves.
- 8:00Speaker 1: But I attended a webinar hosted by Jam Gamble, who she's pretty interesting and I love her attitude.
- 8:08Speaker 1: But one of the things that she said to people about she was trying to talk to people about going live on video and social media and stuff like that, and I think it relates a lot to podcasting.
- 8:16Speaker 1: She goes you're really not that.
- 8:19Speaker 1: Important to me Is what she said.
- 8:22Speaker 1: And she goes I don't.
- 8:23Speaker 1: I'm not noticing if your hair is a mess or your makeup's not right or what your voice sounds like.
- 8:30Speaker 1: She goes there's plenty of people that are going to listen to what you have to say because you are sharing value and your thoughts and your insights and we're just a lot pickier than other people are about our stuff.
- 8:44Speaker 1: So she was basically like get over it.
- 8:48Speaker 2: Exactly, yeah, like the things that we notice or are self-conscious about or whatever, like usually other people don't notice.
- 8:57Speaker 2: But I think, like my issue with my voice also was because someone had this was back in like elementary or junior high someone had commented on like I guess this boy liked me until he heard my voice because it sounded too whatever.
- 9:15Speaker 2: So that I think stuck with me.
- 9:16Speaker 2: But yeah, for the most part nobody cares about how you look, sound whatever, so Right.
- 9:24Speaker 1: It's about the information you have to share and you're building that relationship and I think that is so key and it's key to get over it and to remember you're not that important to them.
- 9:35Speaker 1: They got way more important stuff than worrying about your hair, yeah, and I think that's just once you realize that.
- 9:42Speaker 1: I think it really does help a lot.
- 9:45Speaker 1: That's what got me over it and got me into being able to edit my podcast and listen to myself, and that is I was a guest on the new, a new show for one of my nonprofits.
- 9:55Speaker 1: One time I was there super early in the morning and my husband said you did a great job and I was like, but I'm not watching it.
- 10:03Speaker 1: I still haven't watched it because like it like freaked me out.
- 10:07Speaker 1: I'm like I can't watch it because if I watch it I'm going to judge myself, and I think that's all of us have done that.
- 10:14Speaker 1: So, yeah, and there's always something traumatic that happened in elementary middle school or high school to all of us.
- 10:25Speaker 1: I won't tell you about the most I think the most.
- 10:27Speaker 1: Actually, I will tell you guys, the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me in it was middle school and I passed gas like loudly and everybody was looking at me and I was like, wasn't me, look, what are you going to say, yeah, luckily it was not smelly, but it was loud.
- 10:46Speaker 1: I was still in my.
- 10:48Speaker 1: But again, we all have traumatic events.
- 10:50Speaker 1: There's all different things that we do and have done, and I think it's important that we get over that.
- 10:55Speaker 1: So let's talk a little bit about why podcasting is the new blogging or website.
- 11:02Speaker 1: Why has it replaced a lot of those things?
- 11:06Speaker 2: Yeah, because, like with a blog or even a YouTube video, it requires someone's like full attention, basically their eyes, whereas with a podcast, someone could be like driving, they could be doing the dishes, a million things and listen at the same time and multitask.
- 11:29Speaker 2: And it's like one of the few, or maybe the only way of consuming content that allows you to multitask and because of that, people do and are able to listen longer.
- 11:44Speaker 2: People reading when I read a blog, I usually just skim it and then, like a YouTube video, they're like if it's longer than five minutes, you're just like over it.
- 11:54Speaker 2: So, as far as though the website, though, I think it's important to have a website and then, if you have a podcast, to have your podcast on your website as well.
- 12:08Speaker 2: So, yeah, I just think that, plus back to my other point, with a podcast versus a blog, for example, someone's able to really get to know you and the whole no interest thing is a lot easier and quicker with a podcast than a blog.
- 12:31Speaker 2: Not that you can't do both, because I usually will take my podcast episodes and turn them into a blog or at least show notes, just giving Google more things to search for.
- 12:44Speaker 2: But yeah, I think it's definitely.
- 12:47Speaker 2: If you were to pick one, I would go with podcasting, just because of that.
- 12:54Speaker 1: So you just said you recommend that people have their podcast on their website.
- 12:59Speaker 1: So I do have a section on my website, but a lot of times I'm lazy I'm actually several episodes behind right now as of the time of recording, of getting them on my website and a lot of times I use I take the shortcut and I use my podcast hosting provider, which is Buzzsprout.
- 13:15Speaker 2: So people can obviously find you in Apple and Spotify and all these different apps, but I think it's important to have it on your website.
- 13:21Speaker 2: So if someone were to find you from a Google search or they go directly to your website, they know that you have a podcast and they can listen to it even right there on your website, instead of having to go to Apple or wherever.
- 13:35Speaker 2: As far as what you were mentioning about for getting to update it and all that, most podcast hosts like you mentioned Buzzsprout they do have a website option where it's just your podcast.
- 13:51Speaker 2: I actually use and disclaimer actually work part time for so whatever Pod page, which is a.
- 13:59Speaker 2: It's a website for your podcast, like it syncs with your RSS feed and then automatically updates with show notes and people can leave reviews there and voicemails and all this stuff.
- 14:13Speaker 2: But even if you used WordPress, there's different plugins you can use, like simple podcast press I think is the one I used before I switched to Pod page A same kind of thing.
- 14:25Speaker 2: You connect your RSS feed and it automatically updates for you.
- 14:30Speaker 2: So, yeah, there are options there so that you don't have to remember.
- 14:37Speaker 1: I know my site is WordPress, so maybe I need to look into one of those plugins for sure and definitely take that down as a to-do follow up from this recording.
- 14:47Speaker 1: Okay, so let's go ahead and talk about promotion and let's talk a little bit about affiliate marketing.
- 14:55Speaker 1: I was just actually scrolling through TikTok the other day and I found like 17 people talking about affiliate marketing probably because I said it near my phone but they all these people talk about affiliate marketing and how it's passive income.
- 15:08Speaker 1: And finally I heard one lady is just like affiliate marketing is not passive income.
- 15:12Speaker 1: You're not working on this one to two hours a week and like ranking in $10,000 a day, but a podcast can be a great way to help promote some things that you are an affiliate for, right?
- 15:27Speaker 1: So tell me a little bit more about that and how you work with affiliates and how you represent companies through your podcast.
- 15:36Speaker 2: Yeah, a lot of people, when they're thinking of how to monetize a podcast, they're automatically thinking of sponsorships, which you could do.
- 15:43Speaker 2: But an easier and a lot of times more profitable way would be affiliate marketing, which is similar in a way, but instead of getting paid like a certain dollar amount per download or per thousand downloads or per episode or whatever, basically so say.
- 16:06Speaker 2: For let me just use an example Say you have someone on your show and they happen to be an author and they have a book, like you could mention or put in your show notes, the Amazon link.
- 16:18Speaker 2: Now, granted, amazon affiliate doesn't pay much.
- 16:21Speaker 2: But or if you have someone on your show who has a software program or a course or something like that, generally there's an affiliate program that you can join and then you could include that in your show notes.
- 16:37Speaker 2: But even you could work out a deal with the person or the company and get like a coupon code, for example, to so your listeners get like 10% off or something like that, to encourage the person to sign up under your link versus just going directly, because it doesn't cost the customer anything more and in fact they might save money by going through your link.
- 17:03Speaker 2: But when you say, the link on your podcast.
- 17:07Speaker 2: I recommend creating like a pretty link which and there's different platforms that you can do this on like for WordPress, there's pretty links or or you could do the other ones.
- 17:18Speaker 2: I can't like URL shortners, but basically it'd be like your podcastcom forward slash name of product or name of course or whatever.
- 17:28Speaker 2: So that's a lot easier to say and a lot easier for someone to remember, because usually affiliate links are like a whole bunch of numbers and letters and all kinds of weird stuff.
- 17:39Speaker 2: It's just not conducive to somethingcom forward.
- 17:43Speaker 1: slash a, b, q, t, two dash.
- 17:49Speaker 2: Yes, exactly, yeah.
- 17:51Speaker 2: So what I recommend if someone's looking to monetize, starting out right out of the gate, is if you have a guest on your show who has an affiliate program of some sort whether it's for their software program, their book, their course, whatever sign up for it and then get that link and create a pretty link out of it.
- 18:13Speaker 2: So it's easy to say and then you're not going to make a million bucks doing that.
- 18:17Speaker 2: But some of these things like software in particular, you'll get recurring, like it'll be.
- 18:25Speaker 2: Let's say there's a software that's $100 a month and there's a 40% commission, which is fairly common.
- 18:31Speaker 2: Then you'd be making like 40 bucks a month per person that signed up through your links, so long as they're a customer there.
- 18:40Speaker 2: So it can add up, especially if you have a bunch of listeners and whatnot.
- 18:45Speaker 2: So I definitely recommend like using that first and foremost.
- 18:50Speaker 1: Yeah, and just to back that up, I think I saw a number recently from Amy Porterfield who does courses and I did take her course on how to make your own digital course and I think she said she brings in over $300,000 a month from affiliate marketing.
- 19:07Speaker 1: Now, granted, she works her butt off and she's got a staff of 26 people.
- 19:11Speaker 1: Like I'm not expecting to bring in that off of affiliate marketing, just so y'all know.
- 19:16Speaker 1: But even Jenna Kutcher, who has one of the top business podcasts, golddigger, g-o-a-l Digger she was saying that when she started her podcast she had a camera where it was like Honey Book or one of those softwares.
- 19:31Speaker 1: She got them to sponsor her podcast because she was like I want them to cover the costs because I don't want to spend anything on creating a podcast, and so I think they were like sponsoring like $250 an episode or something like that she's.
- 19:43Speaker 1: If I had to do it over again, she goes, I would have done put my affiliate link there, not taking a sponsorship, because she was getting like $250 for every sign up or something and crazy, and so she lost out on revenue by taking a sponsorship over a affiliate link, which is just crazy right.
- 20:03Speaker 2: And also another thing you can do is create like a resource page or something like that on your website, or recommended resources or whatever you want to call it, and where it has like links to all the different products or services or courses that you recommend.
- 20:22Speaker 2: And, of course, I recommend only referring stuff that you actually either use or something that you've tested out in some way, shape or form to know it's good.
- 20:33Speaker 2: Don't just be like referring stuff just because of a high commission payout or something like that, but but yeah.
- 20:42Speaker 1: I strongly recommend making sure it's something that you use.
- 20:45Speaker 1: I on my website, kendercormancom forward slash resources, you can find what I recommend.
- 20:52Speaker 1: I'm actually getting ready to update that again because it's constantly evolving and one of the ones that that I had on there.
- 21:01Speaker 1: I no longer recommend and I'm no longer using, and so I'm changing it out.
- 21:05Speaker 1: And not all of the links on there are affiliate links, because some of the things I just feel passionate about and want people to know about.
- 21:15Speaker 2: Yeah, because some places they don't have an affiliate program, but don't let that stop you from referring something like just because they don't have an affiliate program, you can still refer.
- 21:25Speaker 2: And then, if you want to even take it a step further, okay, this is what I did initially, though I don't really do this anymore but instead of having a resources page, I would create a PDF, but like with clickable links, and that would be a lead magnet.
- 21:43Speaker 2: Hey, if you want to see my 20, I think I call it like 27 tools or whatever, go here and then.
- 21:49Speaker 2: So then I would get the person's email address to join my email list and all this.
- 21:52Speaker 2: Now, that could be a good way to maybe start out to grow your email list, but I think having it on your website, if you're, I think that's helpful if you're trying to grow your email list, but once you're actually trying to make money, then having a resources page on your website would be the way to go.
- 22:11Speaker 1: Yeah, and I've heard some people call them everything pages and a bunch of other things out there, so test out and see what works for you, but I think that affiliate links and promoting the services that you use and recommend adds so much value to your listeners.
- 22:30Speaker 1: It's value added to your listeners to get the discounts or the information or even to hear what it is that you're using and to be able to use it themselves.
- 22:39Speaker 1: There's just a ton of value there that you can add and it you should always be focused on value.
- 22:45Speaker 2: Yeah, and when you were talking about Jenna Kutcher, I was thinking she could have worked out a deal and I've done this where you get the company to sponsor your episodes so 250 for her but then also use an affiliate link with it, like they might pay for the 250 to sponsor your show but then on top of it, maybe they provided a 20% off coupon code that then links to your affiliate link.
- 23:15Speaker 2: So then you're still making money on top of that.
- 23:18Speaker 2: That's really because now you're what's the expression?
- 23:22Speaker 2: A double dipping or something.
- 23:24Speaker 2: I guess you're getting sponsored and affiliate commissions.
- 23:29Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I think that's a really good way to look at it.
- 23:32Speaker 1: So I think that it's very and podcasting is just so powerful.
- 23:39Speaker 1: Those of you listening or watching on YouTube clearly know that podcasting is powerful because you're tuned in, and I appreciate it.
- 23:46Speaker 1: But even for those people that haven't listened yet, there's a ton of podcasts out there.
- 23:53Speaker 1: There's a ton of people adding value.
- 23:56Speaker 1: But I still think and I believe I'm correct in saying this there's less podcasts than blogs, there's less podcasts than YouTube channels, there's less podcasts than a lot of other things, and it allows you to be seen in a very crowded marketplace.
- 24:16Speaker 2: Yeah, significantly.
- 24:17Speaker 2: I haven't looked at the statistics in probably two years now, but when I did, because I was doing like this webinar and I was talking about how, because everyone thinks, oh, podcasting is a crowded space and of course it is more so now than it was before COVID, but I think there were what was it?
- 24:38Speaker 2: 600 blogs per podcast.
- 24:42Speaker 2: And I forget YouTube, I think it was up there too, but, yeah, so definitely a lot less populated or infiltrated than blogging and YouTube videos or YouTube channels.
- 24:55Speaker 1: And I think that it's really important to note that people are looking for certain pieces of information and you have that expertise to give that to them.
- 25:03Speaker 1: And so while some people are watching and that are listening to true crime stories and murder mystery channels and things like that, other people are listening to things about imperfect marketing.
- 25:14Speaker 1: So I think it's important to figure out where your niche is and the value that you can provide and provide that and provide it well.
- 25:24Speaker 2: Yeah, that's.
- 25:24Speaker 2: Another key thing is, if you're thinking about starting a podcast, niche down as much as you can.
- 25:29Speaker 2: For example, my podcast is called Frugal Prenuer.
- 25:33Speaker 2: So yes, it's a business podcast, but it's specifically about how to boot strap a business.
- 25:40Speaker 2: Basically, yeah, try to niche down as far down as you can.
- 25:44Speaker 2: And you might think, oh, now I'm going to get fewer listeners.
- 25:46Speaker 2: I don't know.
- 25:48Speaker 2: You're more likely to actually get more listeners because you're so narrowed and niche down versus however many business podcasts or whatever it might be.
- 25:59Speaker 2: But if they're just general, like yours, is imperfect marketing.
- 26:02Speaker 2: So it's very specific about marketing for business and then further down marketing and even further down, like how to market more effectively or different examples of imperfect marketing, how to improve it and whatnot.
- 26:20Speaker 1: And so, yeah, yeah, again, there's just a huge opportunity, and I always talk regularly about niching down on this podcast.
- 26:29Speaker 1: That is a big trend of stuff, because it's something that a lot of people just don't do including ourselves, right, because I think sometimes we forget to take our own advice on a regular basis.
- 26:41Speaker 1: Sarah, thank you so much for all of these insights on podcasting and what you've learned having your successful podcast.
- 26:50Speaker 1: We'll definitely have a link to that in the show notes for you, so be sure to check that out, or below the video description if you're watching on our new YouTube channel.
- 26:57Speaker 1: And then I do want to ask you, before I let you go, the question that I ask all of my guests, and that is the show is called Imperfect Marketing because, as we all know, marketing is anything but perfect.
- 27:11Speaker 1: What's been your biggest marketing lesson learned?
- 27:16Speaker 2: So, in terms of podcast specific marketing, I would say, since that's what we're talking about is podcasting I would say marketing on social media isn't nearly as effective as marketing through podcast player apps, podcast player directories and like podcast newsletters, like stuff that actually, because if someone's already on a podcast app or player, clearly they're a podcast listener and it doesn't take much effort to click over to yours, or if they're subscribed to some newsletter.
- 27:56Speaker 2: That's about podcasting versus social media.
- 27:59Speaker 2: Who knows if even 10% of the people reading your stuff even listen to podcasts?
- 28:05Speaker 2: So, in terms of marketing a podcast, I would recommend and there are some free ways to do it or even getting on apps like Good Pods or Podvine.
- 28:18Speaker 2: Those are free and you can.
- 28:21Speaker 2: They're like community apps, like you can actually interact with people.
- 28:24Speaker 2: But then there's other platforms where you can pay as little as $100 to run a campaign to have either your podcast trailer at the beginning of someone's episode or like an ad, or it to actually pop up like a logo, like your cover art, within the app.
- 28:42Speaker 2: Stuff like that is definitely more effective than social media marketing for a podcast.
- 28:49Speaker 1: No, that's an awesome tip.
- 28:50Speaker 1: I love that because, yeah, you don't have the Education Curve.
- 28:54Speaker 1: People know how to access the podcast, they know where to go, they know how to search, they know how to listen, they know how to subscribe and rate and do everything else, which, hopefully, if you guys learned something today, that you do that for imperfect marketing here, because that would really help me out.
- 29:09Speaker 1: But this has been a fantastic conversation.
- 29:12Speaker 1: Thank you so much, sarah.
- 29:15Speaker 1: We've been trying to get together for a while now, sarah and I, because I do think that she has a lot to offer everybody.
- 29:22Speaker 1: We'll have a link in the show notes to Sarah St John, thesarahstjohncom forward slash free and some resources that she has and some more information about podcasting and all of the different resources we talked about today so that if you're interested in starting a podcast, that you can do that.
- 29:42Speaker 1: If you are interested in guesting, you're are welcome to reach out, because I'm always looking for people that have an interesting story and tips that people listening can learn from on this podcast.
- 29:53Speaker 1: So thank you guys, all so much for tuning in, have a great rest of your day and I look forward to seeing you on another episode of Imperfect Marketing.