Podcasting is celebrating its twentieth birthday. It is not the brand new child on the block. With so many podcasts floating round on-line, the thought of beginning one would possibly seem to be an uphill climb. And for those who’re on the lookout for a get-rich-quick scheme primarily based on a flood of promoting {dollars}, podcasting will not be the way in which to go.

Nonetheless, for those who’re making an attempt to develop your community and produce high-level, audience-grabbing content material, all whereas deepening your experience, look no additional. 

As director of selling at Summit Digital CFO by Anders, I’ve made podcasting a central a part of our technique, particularly because it pertains to providing area of interest companies. 

It might appear counterintuitive, however you do not should be a well-established thought chief in your area of interest earlier than you launch a podcast. That is the fantastic thing about podcasting: It offers you the chance to have conversations with business specialists and, as you invite the viewers to hear in, to place your self as an knowledgeable.

“The problem will not be a lot your talent set,” says Pat Helmers, a visitor on a brand new podcast collection we lately launched. “The problem is popping out of obscurity in order that others find out about you, your mission, your worth.” A self-taught podcasting knowledgeable, with 600-plus episodes underneath his belt, he argues, “Podcasting is a good way to try this as a result of it offers you devoted time to speak to somebody and others get to take heed to it.”

On this noisy world, long-format content material like podcasting provides a strong alternative to chop by means of all that noise. Based on Jeff Bartsch, communication and thought chief coach at Story Greenlight, “Individuals who take heed to podcasts count on a long-format piece of content material, they usually’re extra possible to provide you their consideration for half an hour or longer simply by advantage of what a podcast is. You might say the very same factor on a social media platform, and the identical folks would possibly swipe on by and miss you utterly.”

So sure, beginning a podcast is an funding. Nevertheless it additionally has a really excessive potential upside. 

Podcasting and accounting: excellent collectively

One of many explanation why podcasting is a pillar of our advertising and marketing is as a result of it goes hand-in-hand with our enterprise mannequin: niching.

We have written extensively about the advantages of niching for accountants, however some of the compelling causes is that it permits CPAs to work smarter, not more durable — which is extra vital now than ever with the variety of CPAs leaving the occupation. 

Within the phrases of one among our favourite podcast visitors, Geraldine Carter: “Concentrate on a distinct segment. Grow to be extra particular on who you’re employed with. It makes your supply simpler. It makes your advertising and marketing efficient. As an alternative of taking place a black gap, it makes your gross sales conversations a lot simpler. Your confidence goes manner up. Your skill to articulate your worth goes manner up after which your conversion charges go up, which implies you spend much less time in discovery and also you get extra time again and also you plow that further time into determining tips on how to present extra worth on your area of interest. It turns into a virtuous cycle.” 

To find out a distinct segment, you want to perceive your viewers: their issues, their passions, their alternatives. As soon as you have accomplished that work, it naturally interprets right into a podcast viewers, because you’re already considering from their perspective: What issues have they got? Who might you invite on the present to assist them deal with these issues?

Do a deep dive

Podcasting is a chance to attach with, and be taught from, specialists: You get their undivided consideration for 30 to 60 minutes to ask them the questions you need. When you begin recording a number of episodes, you develop a nuanced understanding of what is taking place in your business and the place your voice matches in that dialog.

Do not hesitate to succeed in out to folks you admire and invite them to be visitors (after you attempt a observe run on some trusted colleagues or mates). Individuals love speaking about themselves (particularly folks with a brand new ebook or service line to advertise), so do your homework and attain out to folks in your business.

Talking of doing homework, one other main advantage of podcasting is the accountability it offers by way of creating your experience: If you happen to invite a visitor on a present, or conform to visitor on another person’s, you are going to be sure to’re prepared. As Bartsch explains, “There is no manner you may let your self present up unprepared and threat wanting silly, so that you pressure your self to do the prep work you understand you want to do anyway.”

For Helmers, internet hosting a podcast enabled him to construct a wealth of knowledge from his interviews that he then remodeled into the skeleton of his ebook venture, “The Tao of Gross sales Babble.” The common cadence of episodes additionally helped present him with the construction and self-discipline to place pen to paper and make the ebook occur.

Construct a content material windmill

If, like most CPAs, you do not have a background in advertising and marketing, you in all probability aren’t the most important fan of “self-promotion.” Have you ever ever caught your self asking: “What do I’ve to say?” “What can I placed on my social media?”

Podcasting is a good way to reply that query. Podcasts will be the centerpiece of an omnichannel content material advertising and marketing technique: 

• With AI instruments, you possibly can clip the podcast into a number of short-form movies. 
• You may repost the episode audio or video to your weblog with a brief intro and a transcript which you can then promote on social media. 
• You may write particular person articles primarily based on the podcast, which your visitor could also be prepared to cross promote. (If you do not have the bandwidth for this, freelance platforms can join you with specialised content material creators.)

And, for those who’ve accomplished the work to make sure your visitors are properly matched to your viewers, it’s going to be extra possible that the viewers will interact in a significant manner.
Make gross sales much less salesy

Few CPAs like advertising and marketing and guess what? Not many like gross sales. “It is too … salesy!”

However that is one of many advantages of podcasting: “If you place your self as an knowledgeable by means of podcasting, you place your data out into the world the place others can see it,” says Helmers, whose long-running podcast has a gross sales focus. “That is a significantly better and totally different promoting expertise than going out and making an attempt to promote your self.” 

If you podcast, you create a number of vital relationships. You present your viewers you understand the business by offering them glorious assets. You give your visitors a platform to share their experience. Possibly a few of your listeners will grow to be purchasers of yours; possibly they’re going to attain out and faucet a visitor for his or her assist; possibly a visitor will find yourself enlisting your companies or vice versa.

None of that is quid professional quo, and it is a lengthy recreation, to make certain. However while you use a distinct segment podcast to develop relationships, you get higher, longer-lasting purchasers.

That is by design: Bartsch explains, “If folks make investments period of time with you thru listening to podcast episodes, you are constructing that relationship. There is a transformation that occurs within the dialog — folks hear you, they start to belief you, which implies they’re that a lot nearer to doing enterprise with you.”

Tips on how to get began

Podcasts do not simply begin themselves. Helmers put collectively his first podcast over a collection of six months, researching each aspect and asking for assist alongside the way in which.

That is his finest recommendation for tips on how to get began: “In all probability top-of-the-line issues I ever did was be fearless about asking for recommendation. Simply admit you do not know what you are doing. Ask folks, ‘If you happen to have been me, what would you do? How would you method this?’ Some actually nice folks helped me, simply by me asking, ‘What recommendation do you’ve got?'”

If all this sounds just a little too daunting, there are professionals who make it simpler: 

• Communications coaches, like Jeff Bartsch of Story Greenlight, will help you hone your message earlier than you go on air.
• Take into account guesting to dip your toe within the water: Platforms like PodMatch or concierge companies like Interview Valet make it straightforward to seek out the appropriate podcast on your experience.
• Businesses like Habanero Media work with people and companies to begin podcasts.