What’s the hardest part about podcasting?
Most podcasters will tell you it’s marketing…..
This Friday at noon I’ll be chatting with podcast veteran, Nick Lozano. He’s built solid followings on more than a couple of shows, and this week we’ll hear some of the tactics he uses to build engagement.
Tune in for this energetic conversation atTalkRadio.nycor watch theFacebook Livestream by clicking here.
Jeremiah introduces his message of the week, “If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”, specifically on how this quote relates to marketing. He then introduces his guest, Nick Lozano, successful and well versed podcaster. Jeremiah discusses his past living in Virginia, where Nick is currently located, and the differences in climate between Virginia and New York, as well as the other places the two were located in the past, including Florida and upstate New York. The two discuss starting a podcast, and Nick brings up the point of being comfortable of not being perfect at the medium, as he explains the first few episodes one will make for a podcast will not be their best work, and for a while you will be the only person consuming your content. Jeremiah compares podcasting to creating music, as he participates in both of the mediums. He explains how in his formal music education, he was never taught how to market himself, and whether you are creating a podcast or releasing an album, you have to market yourself and your content the same as a brand. Nick agrees, saying that marketing and promoting is the most important aspect of creating a podcast, as discoverability is incredibly difficult. The two continue to discuss how many people are intimidated by creating podcast, but many of the factors that intimidate people the most, such as recording and editing, can be overcome easily over a couple of episodes, but if one doesn’t market themselves properly, they can be hundreds of episodes in and still have little to no following.
Jeremiah and Nick discuss the reasons why different people decide to start podcasts, with the main reason being people wanting to share information on a topic with other people. Nick explains that if one is not sure what to make a podcast on, that if they focus on a topic that they are passionate about, they’ll find it easier and more fulfilling to create their content. He also discusses the benefits of creating a podcast, as well as the importance of discovering and refining your target audience, as if one understands their audience, they’ll be able to share information through their podcast more effectively. The two also discuss how even if your following is small after discovering your target audience, it will be the right following for you and your content, and it will continue to grow. The two discuss efficiency in running a podcast, and if one is not outsourcing different steps in the content creation process, and are doing everything on their own, it is incredibly important to be as efficient as possible to get everything done correctly at high quality, including the marketing. Jeremiah brings up the importance of looking at data and statistics to see if your methods for marketing are working the way you want them to. The two continue on to discuss companies creating podcasts as a form of marketing in itself, and Nick says while it's valid to do this, it is also important to have substance to these podcasts, as no one will want to listen to an hour long advertisement. Jeremiah and Nick continue to discuss the editing process of podcasts, and Jeremiah explains how he edits his own podcast without headphones to better understand how it would sound in the space that listeners would experience it through.
The two discuss how it is important to understand your goals for podcasting, so that it will be easier for you to understand how to run your podcast. Along with this, the two agree that podcasts should be fun and entertaining, and that running a podcast should not feel like a chore, and once it does you should reevaluate your situation, and figure out how to enjoy podcasting again. Jeremiah and Nick discuss how the idea that every second of a podcast should be filled with value is one of the most prominent elements that causes creators to no longer enjoy podcasting. Nick discusses how it is noticeable when someone has certain questions lined up that they want to go over during a podcast, and that they drive the conversation towards those questions. He explains that one of the aspects of podcasting and livestreaming that he enjoys the natural flow of the conversation, which is hindered by a curated question layout. While having scripted questions is fine, stopping the natural flow of conversation to stay strictly to the set of questions is not his ideal podcasting format. The two talk about online live streaming, and Nick brings up the potential of Twitch. He explains that Twitch was isolated to the gaming community only for the past few years, but more and more recently different kinds of content creators, like musicians and artists are also appearing on the platform.
Nick explains his favorite way to market his podcasts, which is microcontent off of a longer episode. That he finds one or two sixty second sound bite, to use as a teaser on social media, to get people to listen to the entire episode. He explains that someone is more likely to listen to an entire episode of a podcast if they really resonate with the short clip they saw on social media. The two discuss Nick’s experience recently with Jiu Jitsu, and how he’s just got back into training after being out of training due to injury. Jeremiah explains one of his recent experiences while training against another competitor who was incredibly talented. The two discuss that having the expectation that anyone you compete or train against is better than you is helpful to you during the training, as you are on guard and won’t underestimate your competitor and get injured. They also discuss Nick’s most recent competition he participated in, and the differences in the sets of rules between different competitions.
