Description

On this episode of Rhodes to
Success, I interview Yann Illunga, who is a podcaster and
podcast strategist who helps entrepreneurs, business owners, and
creatives leverage the power of podcasting to build authority,
network with influencers, generate more leads, and acquire new
customers. Yann is the host of the 360 Entrepreneur
podcast and the Podcast Success Summit, and is the founder
of the Podcast Success Academy. During the show, we discuss
podcasting as an art form, making yourself accessible as a host,
auditing your website, getting listeners to engage with you,
Facebook groups, managing communities, and bringing listeners onto
the show.

Main Questions
Asked:

• What are your thoughts on looking
  at podcasting as an art form, as well as something that generates
  leads?
• Talk about the power of having a
  Facebook group for your podcast.
• What do you think about bringing
  listeners onto the show?

Key Lessons
Learned:

Podcasting as an Art
Form

• Even if you host an
  interview-based podcast, you as the host are the common
  denominator.
• People show up to connect with you
  as the host as the starting point, so it’s important to add your
  personality.
• It’s more difficult to build a
  human connection through text, whereas audio is the basis of
  storytelling.

Make Yourself
Accessible

• This could be as simple as sharing
  your email address during the podcast or managing a Facebook
  group.
• Let people know you are there to
  serve them and that they shouldn’t be afraid to contact you as the
  host.
• Starting out as a small podcast
  means you are able to interact with your audience one-on-one more
  than someone with a larger audience.
• Rather than chasing new fans,
  focus on the ones you already have.

Audit Your
Website

• How easy is it to find and contact
  the host?
• How easy is it for listeners to
  engage with you?
• Check your site as a ‘secret
  shopper’ or get a friend to assess.

Facebook Groups for your
Podcast

• The barrier of entry for starting
  a Facebook group is low.
• People come for the content but
  stay for the community.
• There will be people who are
  ‘lurkers’ and will get value out of it, but won’t be
  active.
• Come up with a weekly structure so
  it doesn’t become the ‘wild wild west’ and people-spam without
  adding value.
• Structure also manages
  expectations of how the group works.
• Think about organizing the group
  in terms of how you can get user-generated content and become ‘core
  creators,’ and push the group toward the best possible
  functioning.

Developing
Communities

• Remember that it is risky to
  develop on someone else’s platform, as the rules may change with
  regards to engagement and payment.
• Slack is an alternative to help
  start a community for your podcast.
• Come up with ways for people to
  sign up for your newsletter as a way to get members from the
  Facebook platform to your own list.
• Empower the community by giving
  them a platform to be recognized as a super fan.

Subscribe to the show
in  "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rhodes-to-success/id923134962">iTunes or Stitcher
Radio!