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This post is part of an ongoing series that is based on the ebook "Top 21 marketing ways for membership sites Written by the Subscription Coach Amanda Northcutt.
The entire collection is available in a book
Make your own show
Making your own podcast an immense undertaking, and your capacity to go each week week should be carefully considered before committing. Numerous owners of membership websites struggle with the decision to start one or not, because as the SEO plan It's a marathon not an easy sprint.
The marketplace for podcasts is inundated currently, however if you go narrow and deep within your niche it is likely that you will increase the number of people who can be members for your site over time. Making your own show is an excellent way to reach out to influential people and even become one!
You must make a 12-18 month commitment, releasing 1-2 podcasts per week, in order to give this method of marketing the chance to be successful. This is akin to the opposite of creating a short Facebook campaign which is easily tracked after a short period of time. As with other content type, I suggest recording your episodes in batches, 4-10 in one sitting, so you're not burdened every week, or multiple times each week to make the same episode.
Podcasting is among the most personal methods to connect with potential customers on all levels sometimes, greater than writing the word. Take care of your listeners. Show empathy and that you are able to understand the pain of your audience and are able to help them: Your Membership!
The subjects you discuss in your podcast ought to appeal to people who have the ability to grow into power users on your membership site. No one else matters. Just like with your marketing strategies, casting a wide net will attract unqualified prospects that will clutter your mailing list or, worse yet, get churned out quickly. Again, going in a narrow, deep area of expertise is essential to your success.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that the volume of downloads is the only metric you need to track or. What questions should you be asking yourself to determine success include: Are my listeners taking notice of my CTA and entering my funnel for marketing? Do new subscribers cite my podcast as a reason they signed up or how they learned about my brand? Does the authority I'm establishing through my show helping establish relationships and credibility with influencers in my space? Are I using my podcast to connect with others by having relevant guests on my show?
Promoting your podcast on your list of email subscribers, current members via your social channels, and influencers. Podcasts should be an integral part of your content marketing strategy, though because it's such an undertaking, it deserves a category of its own among my top 21 lists.
The podcast you host could be an effective tool in your marketing mix. However, don't begin until you're ready to keep it going. It's a good idea to consider the alternative option to running your podcast is to maintain an ongoing presence on other peoples' podcasts.
Be a podcast guest
The same principles of guest blogging are applicable here pretty seamlessly. People who are committed to hosting podcasts of their own are confronted with the exact same responsibility that bloggers do. Reaching out to the right hosts in the right way will likely result in the granting of a number of guest spots that are great and ease the content production burden of hosts.
If you have your own podcast, being a guest to other podcasts can enhance your results by utilizing your podcast. In the end, those who listen to podcasts, are listening to...podcasts.
If you do have an own show or you don't, make sure to include the CTA in the event of a guest spot. CTAs could be to download an offer for leads, offer a discount on your membership, a short consult, or any other thing related to your website. If you run your own podcast, certainly make it a point to invite the listeners of the podcast(s) in which you're as a guest to join yours too.
Start by identifying the podcasts on which you could give value and insights to your listeners. They will be likely to be influential industry podcasts, that have an audience similar to your ideal audience. Podcasts hosted by guest hosts can make up a part of your overall influencer marketing strategy.
Do not make the error in reaching out hosts that have 100,000 subscribers at first. Beginning small, you can gain experiences and create a podcast resume of sorts, then begin to climb the ranks of influencers.
Your outreach email to a host should contain a couple of kudos to them, qualifications for you (in an honest manner) and examples of other podcasts you've been on and/or links to your own blog posts, YouTube channel, etc., and perhaps the topics you'd love to speak about in the interview.
Do not quit even if you're rejected. If you are rejected by an influential person in your field the first, second, or even the third time, go to this section on organic influencers to try to build social capital with them prior to attempting another time.