There is a content medium that is smoking hot right now.
There’s nothing new about it – in fact, it pre-dates online video content – but what is new is the environment around it has changed.
Yes, we are talking podcasts.
They were first known as “audioblogs” but only really took off in the early 2000s with the popularity of mobile audio devices like iPods (hence the name – that was first coined in 2004 by a British journalist writing for The Guardian newspaper).
Then, as Buggles predicted; video killed the radio star. The rollout of fast broadband and platforms like YouTube captured people’s attention and podcasts went underground again.
But now they are back with a vengeance!
So, what changed? Why are they so big again?
Well, there are a few reasons…
Firstly… Convenience.
We all have an audio device connected to the net in our pockets these days. We all have earbuds or headphones. When we get into our modern cars, we can hook them up to the sound system in there too.
You can listen to audio content passively (as I am listening to the radio while writing this). When I listen to a podcast or a radio show, I don’t have to be looking at a device as I would if I was on YouTube.
I can do it while walking, jogging, on the bus, on the train, while driving, cycling…or just crashed out on the sofa.
Secondly…It “speaks to you”
This is content that goes directly into people’s ears. Your voice, speaking directly to your listener. Far more powerful than a blog, when you think about it. Much easier to build the “know, like, trust” thing, wouldn’t you agree?
Thirdly… Technology, prices and ease.
Making podcasts these days is easier than it was 20 years ago. Equipment has got far better and far cheaper. There are amazing free and almost free software products to edit audio that just were not available outside of the broadcasting industry back then.
This means you don’t need to be a professional producer to get professional results.
It also means that creating audio content is far easier than creating video content. There are fewer working parts to consider. You don’t need a camera and it doesn’t matter if there is an unmade bed and dirty underwear in the background.
Fourthly… You can monetize the content from day 1.
Well, you can if you know the right platforms to use to host your podcasts,
Why should you consider it?
1. There are far fewer active podcasts out there than there are YouTube channels. This is clear, blue ocean in comparison.
2. Podcasts are becoming more popular every single day. It is growing. People who are Podcast savvy are open to more content that resonates with them and there are more and more people dipping their toe into the podcast pool every day.
3. All of the specific advantages I mentioned earlier in this article. They are easy to make, easy to monetize and they allow you to speak directly to your audience in ways and at times that are convenient for them.
So, how does someone like you or me, who loves the idea but has no clue how to do any of this, get a podcast up and running?
Here’s how… We get an expert to tell us what to do and how to do it.
A course to teach this is not like the kind of IM course that we get pitched on every day in this space.
There are very few independent courses out there that teach this – and the ones that do are tied to a particular product or platform that wants you to use their system and charge you monthly for doing so.
However, Steve Mellor has put together a masterclass course called Podcast Advantage that walks you through the whole process.
As you move through this course you go from knowing absolutely nothing to being able to plan, record, edit, distribute and monetize a podcast in a very professional way.
He shows the best equipment to use (spoiler; it’s not the high priced stuff that many others suggest you use), how to use editing software to get the results you want without getting bamboozled by technology, and how to use a free platform that will make distribution and monetization as easy as pie.
There’s a lot in this – but everything is covered. It really is a masterclass.
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