The hardest thing about becoming a podcaster is getting started. To get motivated, read all of the benefits of starting a podcast in this post. If you think you're a terrible speaker, relax! It doesn't matter.
Don't let fear of your voice or a busy schedule stop you. I felt the same way before I started my own podcast. But, I got over myself and focused on the benefits of just starting a podcast. And I'm glad I did.
I was a brand new father to a newborn, and busy publishing articles on my blog 3X a week when I finally decided to start. I launched the Financial Samurai Podcast on iTunes in late 2017.
There Are Lots Of Benefits Of Starting A Podcast
In the beginning, each podcast episode took me about 30 minutes to 1 hour to record on average. This was due to all the many different takes. Now, that I've been running my podcast for over four years, I can whip a podcast together in about 15 to 30 minutes. Practice really makes things easier!
The funny thing is, before 2017, I thought I had already had an FS podcast channel on iTunes. The random audio versions I'd recorded of my posts were showing up on my Podcast feed on my phone. Alas, I found out only I could see those audio versions and nobody else.
So finally, after being brutally honest with myself and listening to constructive criticism by my readers, I got started. My wife and I got my iTunes channel officially setup and I got to work. If you've been thinking of starting a podcast, you should! Here are 10 no-brainer reasons on the benefits of starting a podcast.
10 Benefits Of Starting A Podcast
1) Tap into a massive new audience.
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. Even if you just get 0.1% of the listeners each month, that's an extra 120,000 people listening to your work!
2) Maximize your existing content.
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. Everybody should have their own website to at least brand themselves online. Don't let Facebook, Twitter, and the rest of those sites get rich off you. Get rich off yourself!
3) Get nice links back from Apple And Other Platforms
Not only does Apple Podcasts and other platforms 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 as well.
4) 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.
Here are some reviews from long-time readers of Financial Samurai who are more than happy to help me get started.
5) 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 better your communication skills, the better husband, wife, father, mother, daughter, son, brother, sister you will be.
Communication skills trump knowledge in many work scenarios as well.
6) You might even make some money!
After the first week of launching the Financial Samurai iTunes channel, I was approached by two advertisers who want to advertise. I didn't advertise initially. But now I occasionally select sponsors when the timing suits me and the fit is good.
As you gain traffic, you can find sponsors and move on to CPA type advertising, which is much more lucrative. The chart below can be updated with podcast income if one tries.
Related: How Much Money You Can Make Blogging For A Living
7) Build your brand – One Of The Best Benefits Of Starting A Podcast
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. Related: How to Build A Stronger Brand For Your Blog, Career, And Business
8) Gain respect from your peers.
Part of building traffic is getting mentioned by your peers over social media, in their posts, or in their 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.
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'll feel proud of yourself for trying your best.
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!
Recap Of The 10 Benefits Of Starting A Podcast
Here's a quick recap of all ten benefits of starting a podcast. Now go get started already!
- Tap into a massive new audience.
- Maximize your existing content.
- You get nice links back from Apple and other big platforms.
- Get some nice ego boosting reviews.
- Practice your communication skills.
- You might even make some money!
- Build your brand.
- Gain respect from your peers.
- Your children, family, and friends will hear your voice long after you're gone.
- You'll feel proud of yourself for trying your best.
You'll Be Glad You Started Your Podcast 5 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 by writing three new posts a week. And, Financial Samurai 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 published 250 – 1,000 new podcasts under the Financial Samurai brand. My Financial Samurai podcast page quickly accumulated over 30 podcasts in the first few months.
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. 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 or to a hosting service like Libsyn. Starting a podcast cannot be easier.
Luck favors the bold! Step one is to start your own website today. I look forward to hearing what you've produced.
Regards,
Sam
Further Reading
Here are some additional articles to enjoy.