Podcast, free money and marketing!

Is your campaign stuck on mud? Customers just not buying? Podcasts are here to liven up your social media visibility and drive the herd.

In this blog post, I will go through six reasons for you to implement podcasts as part of your marketing. Why six, you may ask. Because I like to go one step further.

1. Low costs

Podcasting is dirt cheap! You basically can (even though you shouldn’t) start podcasting simply with your hands-free and a laptop. Podcasting needs nothing else except a recording device, editing software, and a platform. All of this can be attained through free means.

This doesn’t mean you should cut all costs, as it will affect the quality. Even so, podcasting is almost free. Recording gear doesn’t really cost much if you know what you are doing. You don’t need to buy the most expensive studio microphone. Basic RodeNT can go even below 100€ and is more than enough for your podcasting. Of course, you can, if you want to burn money and aim for media house quality, but that hardly is demanded of you.

You also need recording software. Now, most operating systems come with built-in recorders that you are quick to ignore. Instead of meddling with something like that, just download Audacity, which is a robust recording software completely free of charge. If Audacity doesn’t suit you, you can also download Reaper. Reaper is a studio-level program and requires a purchase. However, due to some shoddy coding, the program lets you extend the 30-trail period infinitely. This way you have a great tool and you don’t have to give the company one dime.

With editing software, you should be picky and their prices can run pretty high. No worries however since your production guru is here to guide you. You can freely forget Adobe licenses and all that, just download DaVinci Resolve. It’s a completely free version of the DaVinci Studio program. Now granted Resolve is a stripped-down version of its sold counterpart, but Studio has a whole bunch of options that you just don’t need when simply working with sound for your podcast. Take it from a pro, Resolve is more than enough for your podcasting needs.

Studios also can easily turn into money sinks, but you don’t need to trouble yourself with that. You ain’t here to record an album but to make a small podcast. When it comes to soundproofing, some cardboard boxes are sufficient.

 

2. Quick to make

Podcasts are incredibly versatile to churn out content. You can have a podcast basically about anything. Everything can be a topic for the episode and there’s no standard length for the episode. You can do an extremely well research and deep-diving podcast, but you can just have your “rumblings of the day” product. Thanks to this your output and hence your social media activity can rise quickly.

 

3. Easy to branch out

Speaking of podcasts being versatile it also abides to themes, even on an individual episode level. If you just can come up with an excuse you can take your podcast and tie it together with another podcast. What does tourism in Lapland have to do with movies? Who knows! What brings coffee and car parts together? Who cares! As a marketer you are supposed to be an inventive person, so invent a reason! Just push those collaborations into any podcast you come across and don’t care about anything. Quickly you can ride other people’s goodwill and listeners.

 

4. Everything else is cheap too!

So, you like free stuff? You like cheap labor? Of course, you do, and podcasts are a great way to get both. I’m not talking about just the free samples and products you can ask to be sent your way, but also free stuff made for you. As a podcaster, you can chase certain clout, unlike as a marketer because who gives the deserved admiration to marketers these days, right? With clout, you can ask stuff from your listeners.

But you can also buy cheap labor. Places like Graigslist and Fiverr are full of content creators, editors, artists who all work for dirt cheap. You can buy a whole visual outlook for just a few tenners. Better than that, you can get it all free! Just make the deal, wait for the finished work to arrive and, kick the artist to the bloody curb! Don’t pay anything!

“But Henrik you Carpatian superman” I hear you say. “Won’t he threaten to sue?” Well, he certainly can, but here’s the nasty little secret, most of these people are poor! Many may have loved ones in need of medical attention, which is just a money drain. They don’t have the cash to chase you to the court. Sure, sure, there may be the individual one who manages to do just that, but the odds are stacked in your favor. And if you pick your workers from the right regions (Middle-Eastern and Indian territories are good), they will most like also be too insignificant to harm your brand through social media. They may whine about their treatment on Facebook and Twitter, but you if pick the nobodies how will your customers ever hear about it?

 

5. It can be a payday for you too!

Pay attention, this is where the real magic happens. As luck would have it, podcasts these days are also a magnificent way to make money. And it’s the best kind of money, the kind that can stay hush-hush. So here’s the thing, podcasts these days are almost expected to have a Patreon account or similar service. If you set up one too no listener will ever realize to question it. Thereafter all is a reason why we in this business talk about customers as whales, sheep, and other animals.

And I know, I know, you are all talking about the t-word. Well, as it turns out the taxation officials are once again really lagging behind. They have virtually no way to know if you are reeking in Patreon cash unless you tell them, and who would be stupid enough to do that? Just have a separate bank account, or better yet bitcoin, and the government won’t be any wiser.

Better yet, you can keep this money secret from your employer even if the podcast would be for his brand. Most of the time employers are interested in listeners, clicks, likes, and some such. It’s good if they barely even follow the podcast that’s supposed to be so important to them. So do the podcast, set up a Patreon for that podcast, and never tell your employer. After all, no matter are you the CEO or someone at the cash register, these days everybody is a marketing face for the brand they work for. So if your employer can’t sell you his reasoning why he should have the Patreon money, he just doesn’t deserve it. Sure he would come up with better reasons if he just would want it bad enough.

6. Podcasts are a life-saver, at least for you!

Last but not least, podcasts are a good way to get away from the, shall we say, less enticing elements of working for any brand. And yes, I am talking about the customers. These days if you aren’t the CEO you almost certainly are expected to do some customer service. And who wants to do that? Well, believe it or not, podcasts are here to help. “What is that? We are short-staffed, and there’s a boatload of customers?” Well, it’s just too bad, but you must record the next episode right this moment. Oh, the humanity! Play your cards smart, and you can eliminate seeing customers completely.

 

So here you are, the best reasons to start podcasting today! Now go out there and get-that-dollar!