If there wasn’t already enough on my plate as a father to a newborn who publishes 3X a week, I decided to finally start a podcast on iTunes. Each podcast episode takes me about 30 minutes to 1 hour to record on average, due to all the many different takes.
The funny thing is, for the past year, I thought I had already had an FS podcast channel on iTunes because my random audio versions were showing up on my Podcast feed on my phone. Alas, I realized only I could see my audio versions and nobody else.
So finally, after being brutally honest with myself and listening to constructive criticism by my readers, I figured out how to set up my iTunes channel officially and get to work.
Reasons Why You Should Start A Podcast Even If You’re Terrible
1) Tap into a massive new audience of listeners.
An estimate 112+ million people listen to podcasts at least once a month. That is ~40% of the estimated 12 and over population in America. Monthly listeners is growing by around 20% – 25% a year. Meanwhile, the iTunes platform accounts for around 81% of all podcast listeners.
2) You already have the content to produce a podcast.
Once of the hardest things about podcasting is producing a script. If you’ve decided your post is good enough to publish, then your post is simply a meaty script for what you can discuss on your podcast.
At the very basic level, you can just read off your post as a podcast. Then you can start adding some nuances to the post that can only be found in the podcast. Finally, you can use the post to use it as a topic of discussion between two people.
3) You get nice links back from Apple, Spotify, Google.
Not only does itunes.apple.com link back to your main page, each podcast your publish links back to your post in the show notes. Further, the show notes can link back to multiple different posts.
4) You get some nice ego boosting reviews.
Even if you don’t deserve the great reviews since you just started and don’t know what you’re doing, you’ll still get some positive reviews from long time readers of your site.
5) You practice your communication skills.
Being an effective blogger is all about learning how to connect with your audience. If you create audio versions of your podcast you will catch yourself wanting to improve your written and oral delivery.
So many times I’ve found myself going back to edit my post and my podcast for better flow. The better you are at communicating, the more traffic you will ultimately receive. The top finance podcasts have clear and concise messaging.
6) You could make some money podcasting.
After the first week of launching the Financial Samurai iTunes channel, I was approached by two advertisers who want to advertise. I haven’t dug into the advertising metrics for podcasting yet, but I’ll probably just start with a set fee in the beginning, just like how we sold a banner ad or link back in 2010 before we had any traffic.
7) You build your brand.
Adding audio is just another way of building your brand, however you envision it to be. Audio versions help crystallize your message. There is much less ambiguity when you can couple prose with audio.
Further, a lot of podcasters DON’T have posts! Having both makes your brand that much stronger. Ultimately, your click through rates will improve.
8) You gain respect from your peers.
Part of building traffic is getting mentioned by your peers over social media, in their posts, or podcasts. By starting your podcast, you will naturally attract other podcasters who want to give you a shoutout or interview you. Your peers will also respect you for maximizing your content, as they will want to follow suit.
You also build more respect and more closeness with your blog readers. A win-win!
9) Your children, family, and friends will hear your voice long after you’re gone.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to start a podcast was so that just in case of my untimely demise or after I pass away from a natural death, my son and my wife can hear me speak for hours and hours if they start missing me. It’s like listening to a voicemail message from a friend over and over again because you miss him, but better. The more topics you can discuss on your podcast, the more you will always be a part of your loved ones.
10) You gain a sense of deep satisfaction.
We know from data analytics that around 97% of people never take action because they are either afraid, lazy, or don’t know how to get started. Just by launching your podcast, you become one of the 3% who actually try and do something scary and new.
Even if you fail, or even if your podcast goes nowhere, you will find great satisfaction knowing that at least you tried. Never fail due to lack of effort because effort requires no skill!
The secret to success is 10 years of unwavering commitment! Keep going!
You’ll Be Glad You Started Five Years From Now
When I started Financial Samurai in 2009, there were already hundreds of personal finance blogs online. People said it was way too late. But boy am I glad I went ahead. Financial Samurai gives me a wonderful outlet in early retirement to connect with other people. The site helps stimulate my creativity and allows me to never have to go back to work again due to the revenue it generates.
I see the same thing happen to my podcast in 5-10 years time. In 5-10 years time, I will have produced 250 – 1,000 new podcasts under the Financial Samurai brand.
I’m sure I’ll meet many new podcast listeners and podcasters as well. There is no doubt in my mind that if I keep up my efforts, I’ll become a better podcaster and communicator as well. Finally, you just never know where your new venture will take you.
Five years from now, you’ll be glad you started your podcast today. Financial Samurai is now one of the best personal finance podcasts today. It just took five years of consistently publishing new episodes.
All you’ve got to do is record your podcast on your mobile phone, e-mail the file to yourself, download the file, and upload the media file into your post. Then connect your feedburner to the iTunes store or whatever podcast platform you want and your podcast will be uploaded automatically with each post.
Good luck everybody! Luck favors the bold!
Regards,
Sam
