When I started podcasting, I was surprised by the number of small business owners, thought leaders, and marketing professionals who wanted to be interviewed on BrandAPeel: Brand Storytelling in the Digital Age. As I interviewed various professionals, I noticed that podcasting brought unexpected opportunities.
Where I found my Guests
I found most of my guests by subscribing to the PodMatch site, a platform that matches podcasters with guests. Another site I used was PodGuests a directory of people who are looking to be booked as guests on podcasts.
The requests for being a guest have become quieter now that I've interviewed the bulk of the active people on the site looking to be guests on any podcast. I still get the odd message through the site and it has a community, which helps to stay engaged.
Recently, I started to get more emails from people who had listened to my podcast and wanted to be a guest. I must be doing something right if they think their time with me will benefit their brand story broadcasting efforts.
My Guests Taught Me Things
In each interview, I asked questions to dig a bit deeper and find solutions to problems I was having, things I was curious about, and to confirm I was doing something right. During the process I was even offered a job, it didn’t work out, but I did get an offer. The podcast became a catalyst for me to meet business leaders, small business owners, and experts who were becoming thought leaders in their industries. I was talking with people whom I never would have talked to otherwise and it gave me the socialization I needed to stay sane.
I didn’t research guests, I went in cold and it is a good thing because as I learned about who I was talking to, if I’d known ahead of time, I would have been intimidated and the interviews wouldn’t have been as natural. I interviewed the CEO of Stewart’s Enterprise Holdings, which owns the Stewart’s soft drink brand and Hard Rock Café’s drinks in a can. I interviewed a brand storytelling specialist who had been an editor for the Wall Street Journal for ten years. There was the guy who started HBO’s Comedy Central TV Network, and lots of others who had done some amazing things.
The best gift I received was being able to interview Anthony Gruppo about the lessons he's learned in his life and career. He's had an interesting career living out on the edge pushing himself to see how far he could go. He went all the way from New York to London as an International CEO for Marsh's commercial division. He has a lot to teach those who want to climb the corporate ladder and be leaders people want to work hard for. He is one of my favourite people in the world and it turns out, I'm one of his - who knew, I didn't until he told me on my 100th episode in my 100 episode in 100 days challenge. Like I said, it was a gift.
I wanted to know what opportunities podcasting offered others, so I asked and here are some responses I received.
Opportunities as a Podcast Listener
When I listen to podcasts, its like there are people in the room with me instead of being alone. I enjoy podcasts that teach me something about my industry, so I first look for episodes about brand storytelling and digital publishing. Once I've exhausted that list, I'm off to find episodes that dive deeper into topics like history, the world around us, and stories of people over coming hardship to end up stronger on the other side. By listening, I get to learn and those who constantly are learning eventually succeed... hey, even if I don't at least I have a brain full of useless facts that enables me to have conversations with people of different walks of life.
Maria A. McDowell , the founder at EasySearchPeople
A good podcast that has helped me in my life and career is the Entrepreneur On Fire podcast. Hosted by John Lee Dumas, this podcast gives me motivation and drive each day to become a better entrepreneur and achieve my dreams. It's funny, motivating, and full of advice from successful business people like John Lee Dumas himself. The best part of the podcast is how it's broken down into different topics and categories so you can find what you need to hear when you need to hear it. Whether you're just getting started in business or have been there for a while, there's something you can learn from this podcast!
Robert Puharich of Teen Learner
Listening to a podcast changed my career. I was running a small e-comm business and listening to the Specified Growth podcast about entrepreneurship as it had valuable lessons. I learned a lot from the podcast and ended up communicating with the host. As I was so familiar with the content, and had many ideas for the show, over time the host offered me a position with the podcast as an Associate Producer. I am now in this position. From this role I was able to grow and network, which led me to another position as a digital marketing manager for another organization. Listening to this podcast had a profound impact on my career. I grew as a person and have found new positions.
Opportunities as a Podcast Guest
I don't know what I'll be asked and it keeps my mind sharp to answer questions on the spot. I've met some amazing people who are smart, interesting, and we just click in the time we had to chat. It also helps me connect with the right people as I seek out thought leaders, experts, and professionals who want to tell their brand stories on MarketAPeel's platforms.
Being a podcast guest gives my brand credibility and me the confidence to believe in myself again. I have been blessed to have people reach out to invite me on their show.
Rachel Lindteigen of Etched Marketing
I love being a guest on podcasts for several reasons. First, it gives me a chance to meet someone else's audience and help them. Second, if the audience likes me, they'll often follow me on my social media channels or request my freebies. Finally, a podcast will generally link to your website or opt-in which gives you a good link and that helps your SEO. I've built my website's Domain Authority, my audience, and sales through podcast interviews. I actively pitch myself to podcasts that my Ideal Customer would likely listen to and I try to accept any invitations that are a good fit. Podcasting is a great way to grow your business.
Opportunities as a Podcaster
As a podcast host, podcasting is more labour intensive, especially if you are like me and insist on editing the episode to get rid of as many uhms, ahs, stutters, and stumbles as possible before uploading to to the digital podasphere. Yes, I just made up that word.
The opportunities for a host are multiple as I meet interesting people, get to listen to their stories, and ask them questions to draw out the ideas for listeners to take action on. I love interviewing people - Wish I could remember the name of the journalist who told 17 year old me that I'd make a terrible journalist and I needed to consider a different career.
Since growing an audience takes time and people get too busy to stay in touch, it is important to understand the longer term benefits of podcasting and the opportunities that may be coming down the pipeline - if you just keep going. When you are on your own, it is difficult to know if you are any good or if people even care about what you have to say. Thing is - if you take the attitude of needing listeners and money from it - you'll quit.
Here are some opportunities podcast hosts have experienced for themselves to help you stay motivated to keep going.
Krisztian Riez Digital PR Consultant Condo Control
I host a podcast and appear as a regular guest on many podcasts. I think podcasting for me is another form of networking where you get to understand and give value to someone, and their community and they will do the same. The more value you bring to your listeners or to someone else's podcast the more networks you create which in turn I believe will drive more business to your company.
The goal for podcasting is value and keep giving value and not because so you can get business but because you want to help your audience or other audiences with the information, insights and experiences you know. I listen to about 10 different podcasts currently switching from one to another.
Sometimes what I will do is take what I like from one podcast I listen to and incorporate it into my podcast to bring more value for my audience. I think it's a great way of learning how to become a better podcaster is by listening to podcaster that are already great and taking what they do great and creating something that works for you.
KacieWillis of Could Be Pretty Cool
My entire career and in some ways my life was changed by podcasting after participating in the Spotify podcast accelerator. I started a production company after being laid off from my corporate job in 2020 and have been pretty much doing podcasts full time ever since.
Gabby Ianniello host and Founder of Corporate Quitter
A podcast and platform focused on ditching the 9-5. I quit my job and started my podcasting journey in April 2021 without much experience, no following, and not much of a direction… and then everything exploded.
I went from a nobody to a “somebody” within 6 months, having grown my following to 30k+, expanded my network globally, and been recognized as a rising global leader after being featured in 30+ media publications including the New York Times, Good Morning America, CNBC, CBS, Reuters, and the New York Post. Had I not started my podcast, I would’ve never built a globally recognized brand and been able to create an incredible community and new life that TRULY encompasses work-life balance and just straight up joy.
Michelle Ngome, Inclusive Marketing Consultant at Line 25 Consulting
In 2014, I released my book Network, Navigate & Nurture while trying to
find ways to promote my book I stumbled across podcasting. After 3
interviews I launched my own podcast, Networking with Michelle. I managed
this show for 5 years and it led to speaking opportunities, clients, my
second book Success Undefined, and a great network.
IsaacMashman of Mashman Ventures and Guest on BrandAPeel
Podcasting has led to so many opportunities in my life. It is one thing to fake a post on Instagram, but it is much more difficult to fake when you are recording a piece of content live or in audio format. I first started my podcast in 2018, and after launching my current one, have recently celebrated recording over 100 episodes. They are a way for you to get on the same playing field as public figures who are normally out of reach, have a tremendous SEO value, and can lead to other entities reaching out to you. I myself have been invited as an early creator on several learning platforms because of my show.
RyanStewman of Break Free Academy
I’ve done 1 per week, since 2016, for my Hardcore Closer podcast. We’ve had over 1M downloads to that show, and it grows every month. My other show Rewire gets 100k+ new downloads per month and is on over 1.2M phones worldwide. It has over 1,000+ active episodes and is my most popular work of anything I’ve ever done. As far as I know, no one else has a daily 5-minute show like it. That format has killed it for us.
Between the Hardcore Closer Podcast and Rewire, my podcasts are on over 2 million phones worldwide. Not a day goes by that I don’t get at least 50 messages saying, “this episode changed my life”. Having the opportunity to provide people with that kind of value is a great feeling and has been a powerful motivator for myself as well as my business because at the end of the day, I'm here to help people become the best version of themselves and these podcasts have helped me do that very thing.
Joe Davies Founder SEO of Fat Joe Podcasting led to some positive changes in my business, career, or life. I share the exact steps and formulas that allowed me to become a successful podcaster and how your success can be measured on my podcast. The podcasting revolution is changing the way we share information and connection. We have seen that listening to inspiring stories has offered us opportunities to learn more about different topics and has even provoked changes in our lives.
Jacquelyn Son marketing mentor + astrologer of Glow Radio and the Divine Healing Circle
I've been hosting my podcast for about 4 years now and have a ton of positive stories to share!
Since starting my podcast, Glow Radio, I've been able to connect with many inspiring leaders and public figures (even before I built a large following for the podcast!). Some previous guests on my show have included The Holistic Psychologist, Boscia's co-creator Lan Belinky and Founder of Udo's Choice
Melissa Bright of the Bright Side of Life Podcast My life is completely different now that I am a podcaster. I found my passion, grew into the person I was supposed to become, and have learned so many amazing things along my journey of interviewing my guests. A podcast that I listen to changed my life, because there was a guest on there that said how she found her purpose, and I followed her tips and did the same thing for my own purpose.
Farzan Akhtar of the Blockchain and Beyond podcast
My podcast led to me being approached by a startup company looking for someone with expertise in a field that I had done an episode on. I'm in active talks with and them and am planning to support them with their work soon.
Secondly, my research for my podcast led me to identify an opportunity at work in a new piece of technology. Over a few months this culminated in our company winning 1st place in a competition using this technology and put me in a place as a SME in this area.
Ty Smith, the Founder and CEO of Coinbound
Hosting the Coinbound Crypto Marketing Podcast has provided key benefits to my personal brand and the agency’s growth within the Web3 & Crypto spaces. When you post episodes consistently, produce useful, relevant content, and build an engaged community around your podcast, a single podcast can change your life.
Most recently, I added my personal consulting link as well as a direct link to Coinbound’s website to each of my podcast episode’s descriptions on YouTube. This has increased my inbound leads for both Coinbound and my personal Web3 consulting just by including two new links to the “resources” portion of episode descriptions.
Another benefit we’ve seen is that, by having great guests on the show, I’ve personally been able to learn a lot. So, posting educational content really goes a long way for my own knowledge as well as that of the listeners.
Opportunities as a Podcasting Support Business
Matthew Baltzell CEO & Founder Elite Podcast Bookings
I hosted the podcast Real Estate Journeys (114 episodes) and have been on several podcasts. My show is no longer in syndication, but many opportunities have spun from podcasting: 1. I've created a podcast booking agency that places real estate investors on industry-leading podcasts. 2. Attracted investors for real estate deals.
Roger Nairn of JAR Audio
We produces podcasts exclusively for brands. The podcast we produced for Expedia called Out Travel the System. Expedia wanted to be known as a more helpful brand, and the podcast helped them get there
Robert Puharich of Teen Learner
Listening to a podcast changed my career. I was running a small e-comm business and listening to the Specified Growth podcast about entrepreneurship as it had valuable lessons. I learned a lot from the podcast and ended up communicating with the host. As I was so familiar with the content, and had many ideas for the show, over time the host offered me a position with the podcast as an Associate Producer. I am now in this position. From this role I was able to grow and network, which led me to another position as a digital marketing manager for another organization. Listening to this podcast had a profound impact on my career. I grew as a person and have found new positions.
Longer Stories
J.P.Gaston of The Biz Dojo
In late 2019, a friend and I started a podcast called The Biz Dojo. We both had a passion for leadership and personal development, and we had pretty unique and broad networks of interesting people between us. So, as an outlet for both creativity and just a 'thing to do' during the pandemic – we started the podcast.
Our networks had some incredible people - including entrepreneurs, professional athletes, touring musicians, etc. So, we got off to a flying start, and we soon realized that with an interesting angle on the pod, some good past guests and a little bit of strategic positioning, we could land some bigger and bigger guests. We've now had TED presenters, CEO's from major firms around the world, UN Humanitarian award winners, Olympians, influencers, prominent TV and Radio hosts, and more. Along the way, we've won multiple awards, and have even been able to expand our podcast into a full-service coaching and consulting firm (fully incorporated). in fact, we've even won awards for the coaching/consulting we do. So. it's been a ride. It's still a bit of a side-gig, though expanding rapidly. Because we focus on personal growth, both the act of hosting a podcast AND the content we create have had far-reaching influence on me. From my own personal wellness and development to my comfort reaching out and chatting with anyone really - everything is just smoother. I even started into this venture with 10+ year’s experience in radio broadcasting, and I've still taken a ton away from it. It's helped provide me additional structure, and to better understand the challenges of friends and family who are entrepreneurs. I joke that I'm an unintentional entrepreneur - but it's certainly given me new perspective, having to run a business of my own. I really never thought I'd be a CEO. But here we are. *eeek* I do also listen to podcasts and have for a long time.
They help me gather and consider new ideas and perceive the world in new ways. I love a good podcast that has a bit of a 'storyteller' vibe and learning more about our own self. so really listening to another person’s perspective has caused me to rethink my own perspective for much of who I am and what I do. I even ended up starting up a second podcast to share some of what I've learned in that space.
Now, we help businesses around the world start podcasts, or advance their leadership teams, improve business models. all from starting a fun little project just over a year ago. We've made some friends along the way, picked up some incredible hardware, and continue to grow. If you do it right, and if you're passionate about what you do and open to becoming a little better every day. podcasting is an incredible medium.
Dr Naomi Murphy, D. Clin. Psych of Octopus psychology
I listen to a lot of podcasts but I also started a podcast (Locked Up Living - link in signature below) with someone I barely knew during 2020 to cope with all the extra time that I found myself with.
What I love about listening to podcasts:
They introduce me to new ideas / knowledge that I might not have happened across otherwise - the discussion format can raise interesting potential that you wouldn't get from a book No matter what your interest, you will find somebody knowledgeable talking about it on a podcast somewhere. This includes access to v very niche content Many podcasts encourage audience's to participate in their community which mean you can get answers from experts on specific questions you'd never get chance to ask Podcasts enable me to double up my time and use brain-dead time productively - eg whilst cooking/ stacking dishwashers
What I love about podcast hosting:
I had no prior knowledge or skills in this area and am also a bit of an introvert so it involved putting myself outside my comfort zone by putting my voice out there. Although me and my co-host are a bit gauche, I feel proud of some of the conversations we've managed to have on the podcast with some amazing guests and have had brilliant feedback from total strangers.
Although we have had some pretty well-known people on (in terms of the forensic sector) we've also been able to platform people with something really important to say who might not ordinarily get much airtime because they're new researchers.
The forensic sector is a bit of a silo and tends to quash new thinking. I've always prided myself on being innovative and introducing new ideas to the services I've led. This gives me the opportunity to share innovation much further. I've focused on well-being and it nourishes me to have conversations with very nice people sharing ideas drawn from positive psychology to try and inject some nourishment into a sector that can be quite harsh and cynical at times.
The podcast has been a great way to follow my own interests and create a CPD agenda that suits me (and gladly enough other people).
Its been lovely to work with someone who was virtually unknown to me and create something from scratch with the autonomy to make it what we wanted.
Its been terrific for networking - I've been introduced to some terrific people this way and talking to people about something they're passionate about is a great way to form a connection. I've been invited onto many other people's podcasts and I think the podcast has given me visible credibility which has in turn brought me private practice patients and new associates who I've shared really stimulating conversations with. Most importantly, its given me an awful lot to think about.
I've appeared on many other podcasts as a consequence of co-hosting Locked Up Living. All of these conversations have been really enjoyable - because they're often with people from very different sectors, I've been asked some really novel questions that at times have made me look at things a bit differently. Podcasting community is also friendly and welcoming and encouraging.
Marie Gettel-Gilmartin of Fertile Ground Communications
I began my first podcast in July 2020, after the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. I wrote an article about the weaponization of white women’s tears (ala Amy Cooper and the “birding while Black” incident in NYC). I was interviewed by a couple of Black podcasters, and we had the deepest conversations about race and racism I’ve ever experienced. They also inspired me to start my own podcast, and I interviewed both of them for my own show.
Finding Fertile Ground is an interview podcast where I highlight stories of people who have found their fertile ground, by pushing through with sheer grit and resilience.
From the start, I was determined to provide a platform for people from historically excluded communities: people of color, immigrants, queer folks, people who live with mental illness, non-Christians, etc. I wanted their stories to inspire others. I wanted to discuss sensitive topics. I wanted it to be my pandemic gift to the world.
Podcasting has broadened my network in unimaginable ways. As an avid reader and professional writer, I’ve always been driven by people’s stories. I never realized I’d be an excellent interviewer.
I’ve interviewed people all over the world on both of my podcasts (I started another one a year ago, Companies That Care, about business leaders who are trying to change the world). I’ve made deep friendships and discussed their most vulnerable stories. I’ve even gotten the honor of interviewing some of my favorite writers!
My podcasts are technically part of my business, but I do not make any money off them. They have given me positive exposure; potential clients can see what kind of business person I am when they see who I have interviewed.
I feel deeply honored my guests have been willing to share their vulnerabilities with me. We’ve laughed and cried together, and I’ve found more than one soul sister in the process! Each guest has touched me and made me a better person by sharing their challenges and triumphs
What opportunities has podcasting brought you?
Share them in the comments to help others understand why podcasting is a viable platform to build a brand and find success from unexpected places.
I've pulled the BrandAPeel podcast back to twice a week, which is manageable and gives me the time I need to promote the episodes and give my guests the extra reach they deserve. If you haven't read the APeeling Digital Magazine - Podcasting Issue yet, make sure you check it out and instal it on your device to read when you have time or to find an episode that looks appealing to you.
Until next time - Peel Out.
Comments